Mind Control in Vortex Pinnacle

There are one or two difficult trash pulls in Vortex Pinnacle, the worst being the pack of centaur-things located at the bottom of a small stairway, inside the spell-redirect triangle. The healers can drop 100k heals when MCd, and if you don't care about loot or rep, you can just MC one at a time and make them leap off the side.

Video:

Raid Night

As usual, I'm posting way past bedtime, so I'll be brief and incomplete. A few things I wanted to post before the raid:

• Please have food and potions with you, and make sure every piece of gear is gemmed and enchanted. If you still have a 333 you didn't enchant because you're hoping to vendor it soon, I'd prefer to waste some mats and have a stronger raid.

• Double check that you're at the hit-cap for level 88. For most of us, this will be the first time fighting anything over level 87.

• Thanks to Rainsong for donating about 7-8k worth of herbs to make flasks. Unless you're bringing your own, please do not use a flask until we have a good sense of the mechanics of the fight and are ready to attempt the kill. It costs about 2k an hour to keep the raid flasked.

• BoE Epics will likely drop from trash, if not today then soon. We haven't decided on the exact policy just yet, but (partially to deal with the flask/repair expense of raiding) we would prefer to have the BoEs benefit the raid as a whole, and to avoid a situation where one player can win a roll and make 10-20k off the drop. Here's a rough sketch of a BoE rule: If the piece is an upgrade for your main spec, you can roll on it just like any other piece of loot. If no one rolls main spec and you want the piece for offspec or for an alt, you can purchase it from the raid for half of the market rate. If two players want the same piece for an alt, they could roll to see who pays this fee, rather than enter a bidding war. If a piece is left unclaimed and unpurchased, the item will be sold at market value and the money will go into the Guild Bank. (Some exceptions may be made to the "off-spec" rule. For example, I've asked X to have a Mutilate offspec for when the raid needs the 8% spell dmg taken debuff; if a piece of loot was an upgrade for this spec but not for Combat, the he shouldn't have to pay a fee. Or if we end up relying on Moo to heal sometimes... etc. blah blah blah you get the point, the details would be crafted around a "whatever's best for the raid" policy.)

• BoP loot policy is simpler than it used to be, as armor specializations make "downgrades" (Mail-> Leather, Leather -> Cloth. etc.) almost always a bad idea. The new hybrid talents that convert spirit to hit add a new layer of confusion to the loot priority system, but as Moo is the only Hybrid DPS, it won't be too complicated. Moo can roll as he normally would on DPS gear & can have all cloth spirit gear, as no one else can use it. As healers are already at a slight disadvantage (3 of them to gear, vs. 2 caster dps), the weapons and jewelry that have spirit are for healers to roll first, the ones with hit are for DPS only, the ones with haste/crit/mastery are for everyone.

• If we have Tol Barad tonight, we'll kill Argaloth. Should be no problem for us.

• We'll probably spend most of our raid time on Magmaw. Omnitron, Halfus, and a few others are possibilities if Magmaw ends up being much easier or more difficult than expected; I think this fight will be manageable but sufficiently difficult to keep us occupied for a while. Please everyone familiarize yourself with the basics via videos and guides. I have 2 different plans we'll discuss in detail but it would help if we're all going in with a pretty solid idea of what to expect.

Here's a concise overview:

Phase 1 is almost entirely about adds that spawn from lava pillars (we'll have to move from the pillars before they spawn); the adds bite and give a gross-sounding "Living Bomb - like" effect and a grosser sounding debuff that causes more of the same adds to spawn. This can get out of hand quickly, so they have to be slowed, kited, and zerged. Rain will probably go frost (Blizzard + 2/2 Ice shards) for this fight just to help us cope with this mechanic, and Lateef's Ice Trap (talented and glyphed, though Battle.net is down and I can't check specs) will provide similar kiting/slowing effects. Rogues may or may not have to help with the AOE after the ranged have initial aggro. Boss damage on this phase is minimal.

Also: we'll have to move from the pillars during this phase, manage armor debuffs via tank swaps, and move from one side of the room to the other when the boss sets our side on fire. The healers will also be coping with Lava Missiles on the raid.

Phase 2 is a burn phase. The rogues will climb up on Magmaw's head and use a special ability to chain it to the ground. All damage is increased to 200% in this phase, and the boss mechanics stop entirely, giving the healers a break.

Updated Raid Comp Info

Here's a more complete list of possible raid buffs and debuffs, minus the specifics of some resistances, the values of which I was unable to find easily online - all the usual sites have this gibberish that looks like a math equation with typos:

(cond($lte(level, 70), level,cond($lte(level, 80), level + (level) * 5, level + (level) * 5 + (level) * 7)))

It probably makes sense to X, but ... you think that makes you special? You calling me stupid? We don't all watch Frasier, you jerk.

We'll get the exact numbers in-game and see which, if any, stack (Kings/MotW/Resistance Aura & Totem/Priest Shadow Protection).

We have two paladins and a shaman, and the combination of auras and totems is something I haven't worked out yet. Expect a few updates in this area, soon.

I'm using our main group as a reference point; as we switch things up we'll know what we're losing & gaining.

Italics indicate a buff we'll definitely have in the raid.

Buffs

"Heroism"

Shaman/Mage/BM Hunter with Core Hound

5% Stats (Str/Agi/Stam/Int)

Druid MotW (also resistance)

Pally Kings (also resistance)

Hunter w/ Silithid Pet

549 Agility/Strength

Warrior Battle Shout

DK Horn of Winter

Hunter Roar of Courage (Hunter cat/Spirit Beast)

585 Stam

Priest Fortitude

Warrior Commanding Shout

Warlock w/ imp Blood Pact

4075 Armor

Devotion Aura

Stoneskin Totem

10% AP

Blessing of Might

Blood Dk's Abom's Might

Marksmanship Hunter Trueshot Aura

Enh. Shaman Unleashed Rage

5% Critical Strike Chance

Elemental Oath (elem shaman)

Furious Howl/Terrifying Roar (hunter pets)

Leader of the Pack (feral druid)

Rampage (fury warrior)

+3% Damage

Arcane Tactics (Arcane mage)

Communion (Ret Pally)

Ferocious Inspiration (BM Hunter)

+2126 Mana

Arcane Brilliance

Fel Intelligence (warlock w/ Fel Hunter)

Mana Regen (326 mp5)

Blessing of Might

Fel Intelligence

Mana Spring Totem

Melee Haste

Hunting Party (Survival Hunter)

Imp Icy Talons (Frost DK)

Windfury Totem (any Shaman)

Reduced Pushback

Concentration Aura

Totem of Tranquil Mind

Replenishment

Vampiric Touch

Revitalize (resto Druid)

Enduring Winter

Soul Leech

Communion (ret pally)

5% Spell Haste

Mind Quickening (Shadow Priest)

Moonkin Aura

Wrath of Air Totem

+6% Spellpower

Arcane Brilliance

Flametongue Totem

+10% Spellpower

Demonic Pact (Demo Warlock)

Totemic Wrath (Elem Shaman)

(obviously you can't get both buffs, just get either the good one or the less good one)

Spell Resistances:

Kings/MotW (all magical resistances), Resist Totem, Glyphed Healing Stream Totem, Priest Shadow Resist, Pally Resist Aura (now gives fire/frost/shadow resist) Aspect of the Wild (Nature Resist) .

The numbers on all resistance buffs, as well as info on which, if any, can be combined, to be filled in later. Which Totems + Auras overlap and which ones we'll use will likely follow logically from that. I notice we don't need spell haste, we don't need melee haste, we don't need Stoneskin or Str of Earth Totem or Mana Tide because other people will provide equivalent buffs without any trade-off.

Debuffs: (done hastily, to be updated and expanded tomorrow)

Reduced Armor

Prot warrior Sunder, Rogue Expose Armor, Faerie Fire, Hunter pet abilities

Reduced Attack Speed

Warrior Thunderclap, lots of other stuff

Reduced Physical Dmg done

Warrior Demo shout, Druid copy of this, Curse of Weakness

+4% Physical Dmg Taken

Combat Rogues and others.

5% Spell Crit chance debuff

We don't have this. Fire mages and Warlocks only.

8% spell damage taken

Druid Earth and Moon, Warlock Curse of Elements, Various Hunter pet abilities, Assassination Rogues.

Our main group has everything easily covered except for 5% Spell Crit Chance debuff, 8% Spell Damage Taken, and 5% Critical Strike chance.

Hunters can now cover various gaps, but not more than one at a time. So Lateef can bring 5% critical strike chance with a Wolf or Devilsaur, or he can cover 8% spell damage taken with a Dragonhawk or Wind Serpent. We have 2 Combat rogues in our main group; I know on some nights, at least, Tim will have to work and we will have a different set of variables. But on nights when both are present, if either has any interest in trying a different spec: Assassination rogues have Master Poisoner for the 8% spell damage debuff, which would leave Lateef to cover 5% critical strike chance, while Subtlety rogues have Honor Among Thieves for the 5% crit, leaving Lateef with the 8% spell dmg debuff from the appropriate pet.

(If either X or Tim is interested in an Assassination offspec, this guide and and its author seem pretty impressive).

We won't have 10% spellpower (just 6%) or the 5% spell crit debuff with our current raid makeup or any of the people I expect to see filling in regularly. We could get both with a demo warlock, but our only high lvl warlocks are alts of main raiders. The 4% spellpower loss is unfortunate but overall I think we're in a better place regarding buffs & debuffs than I expected.

Here's a reasonable goal: Starting this weekend every main raider runs, if possible, 2 heroics a night, 1 if its a bad night for whatever reason. We prioritize selected heroics, targeting instances with our most needed upgrades, over randoms. We all pitch in and get as many upgrades crafted as possible for our main group; I can't skin or herb but I am happy to mine (and fish for raid food buff stocks) & donate a portion of my Gringotts stash to get this happening. It wouldn't be especially difficult for us to go from 60% (a rough estimate of where we are now) to 85% of optimal pre-raid gearing in one week of work, I think. Sun, Feb 6 (or thereabouts) we try out a few of the easier bosses.

Schedules are going to be tricky, we'll start collecting that information soon.

Raid Composition: Buffs and Debuffs

We're missing very little.

For our 3% crit, Lateef would need to bring either a wolf or devilsaur (assuming the info I found is up to date). We don't have the 5% spell crit debuff on bosses, unless Rain goes Fire, but that's no fun and anyway then we lose the 3% flat damage she brings to the whole raid. We might be missing bleed damage on the target (I think Lateef would need a different pet from the 3% crit one for that), but I need to look up the details.

http://raidcomp.mmo-champion.com/?c=6eudokk9ai000000000000000000000000000000

Raid Composition

Here's a rough sketch of what our raid group looks like at the moment. Please note that we do not intend to have the same 10 people running every raid night; this is to accommodate a. main raiders who would prefer to take more nights off, b. guild members not in our main group who would still like to sometimes participate in raid content, and c. the raid as a whole, which was often gimped by one or two individuals showing up late or not at all and then offering embarrassingly stupid or transparently dishonest excuses for leaving 8 or 9 people sitting around trying to pug from /2 and getting whispers from undergeared DKs who evidently thought they qualified as "caster dps" or "MT heals".

(That last bit is not a passive aggressive attack on anyone who might read this; the players I refer to have moved on in various ways, some are even very successfully not raiding with other top guilds on our server and/or getting ROFLStopmed by Moo in PvP.)

Tank:

Peeve, Zeuze

Heals:

Elewe , Vici, Elaani.

Dps:

Xharybdis, Esdue, Lateef, Moomello, Rainsong.

Others definitely or probably interested in raiding; I am unsure about schedules & availability at the moment but will post updates as I gather more information:

(non-alts of those listed above are in bold to help me keep track of how many people we have).

Tank:

Chico, Raideen (offset, possibly), Troy (geared for heroics on Dravor, but as he's been tanking for years, will quite possibly appear in this role as well), Baiula (X's pally, only a possibility: not yet sure which alt he will favor most).

Heals:

Raine, Chica? (not sure), Baiula (no idea if he's interested in Holy), Asuuna (another X alt), Fangorn (if/when we are short on healers and someone else would like to tank), Fangorn (if/when we need heals and have extra tanks that would like to go), Taisou (where's Waldo Kori?), Fatalia (?)

Dps:

Dravor, Sicnoc/Garion, Puka, Petrynni, Chico, Dramas/Rocketlike, Tharkun, Zoot, Eugoogalizer, Buddahmonk, Khaj, Epicharis, Koriyuki

Not sure about some of the other players who are family/friends/old guildies of Troy; Raine and I need to get together for 10 min so I can get up to speed on all the newer folks and update our "Who's Who" page. If your name is not on this list it is not a sign that our raiding will exclude you; there are just a lot of people I don't know well.

Scattered thoughts:

• We need more healers - for raiding but especially for our daily heroics which are, of course, essential to getting players sufficiently geared for raiding.
• All of our warlocks are alts of main raiders; I'd like to see one or two more in the guild.
• Our only Moonkin is Moo's alt; this would be ideal for anyone with a druid trying to pick a spec to focus on gearing. (Fangorn and Elewe will primarily be needed for healing).
• We are doubled or tripled up on some classes if you include main raiders and likely raiders not in the original group of 10. This is fine, but it would be ideal to have feedback from everyone on what classes they would like to prioritize (pick a main and prioritize your alts, maybe) so that I have a better sense of potential raid composition. "Whatever's best for the raid" is always great to hear, but I'd also like to know what you are most excited about doing. Post in the comments or talk about it in game.
• If there is sufficient interest from people not in our main group to raid more often, it would absolutely be feasible to get a second group going. This might be a month or more away rather than a week or two, but I think there would be a bunch of alts interested in rounding out that group as well
• If I made any obvious errors or omissions here, please let me know. I'm posting this at nearly 6AM on no sleep.

Mind Control Guide

Principally for our shadow priests (Moo/Fatalia /Chica/ Pet/ Luin/ Impure, others?) interested in getting creative with CC, this guide details the abilities of various mobs susceptible to Mind Control in Cataclysm dungeons.

For those unfamiliar with the ability, the same author has an introductory guide here.

Stonecore, etc

("Who's Who" is in need of updating; I bumped it so it's now the very last post.)

I decided to start posting here again, for when I come across information that might be advantageous for guild members. If you are unable to post on this site, let me know, and I can add your Blogspot/Gmail ID to the list.

The standard of writing at WoWInsider appears to be higher than it was a year or so ago; this post on why Stonecore sucks is worth a read.

Excerpts:

Slabhide uses a very misleading LoS mechanic. To avoid his AoE, you need to use the spikes that fall from the sky to line-of-sight the ability. However, you can't use about half of the spikes -- they're still inside of his hitbox, so you'll still be hit. If you don't already know the exact details of LOS/hitbox interaction from picking apart the game like raiders have for the last six years, it isn't immediately obvious why you're dying. It's not obvious to you, and it's not obvious to your party members. In a PUG, I have seen people die standing behind a spike and get yelled at for it. Neither the person who died or the person who yelled at them really understood why the player died.

The person who died did everything right -- he ran behind a spike when the AoE was cast. Because he did everything right, he assumes that the fight must not be LoS-based; it must be something else. The others in the group assume he is a terrible player and wasn't actually behind a spike, even though he was. None of them know that the real reason the person died was because the spikes don't break line of sight when you're inside of the hitbox, even though it's between you and the mob.

Once I explained it to everybody, the reaction from the group was, "Oh, that's really stupid." It is stupid. It's a very poorly designed encounter, one that I would personally describe as broken. Those spikes should not spawn inside of Slabhide's hitbox at all, unless the purpose of this encounter is to teach players that World of Warcraft's LoS mechanics don't work properly.

...

Ozruk:

The Shatter mechanic is designed in such a way that you will wipe to him when you first encounter him. It isn't negotiable. It isn't a matter of seeing Shatter being cast and then running away from it. If you try to do that you will die, which is different from the normal version of the encounter. You need to turn and start running when the Paralyze ability is cast, including the tank. And then Ozruk will use his ability. There's no way for a tank to know that and adapt to it. There's no picking up the pieces if members of your group don't know how it works, especially the tank. Unless they're clairvoyant, they are going to die learning this fight, and the mechanics are set up in a way that they might not fully understand why they died.

You are hit with Paralyze. If you have a DoT on your character, Paralyze is immediately removed. If you're a tank killing Ozruk for the first time and your Paralyze debuff was removed the moment it went up, you may not have noticed it at all. When you die, your immediate thought is going to be, "Oh, I didn't run out of Shatter fast enough." What is there to indicate that you were supposed to turn and run away? You didn't remove Paralyze intentionally. You didn't plan for its removal. It just happened without your knowledge, and then you died, not actually learning anything about the Shatter mechanic -- a spell that most certainly does not function like other Shatters we have come to know in raiding.

...

From the same post - this might, roughly, be the order of our attempted raid kills:

"...If you want the cop-out answer, I think you'll be fine doing the bosses in any order you'd like, as long as you save Cho'gall, Nefarian and Al'Akir for last. If you want a little more direction than that, my raid's first six boss kills, in order, were:

1. Magmaw
2. Omnotron Defense System
3. Halfus Wyrmbreaker
4. Valiona and Theralion
5. Maloriak
6. Conclave of Wind

Two bosses in Blackwing Descent, two bosses in Twilight Bastion, then we hopped around. I would say the first few bosses in each dungeon are roughly equivalent difficulty.