Can We Talk Hunters for a Minute?

Milo is acting out my hunter frustrations

Out of all my toons, the patch changes to hunters are my least favorite. Go figure. The very first thing I did, even before transmog, was switch Maruka over to beast master from marksman. As a hunter, I feel that being able to have pets out is one of the most, if not the most, important aspect of my class. What's a hunter without a pet?

I've raided with her as bm twice and I've run all the lfrs with her for the last two weeks. My numbers are fine. I'm first in our raid and usually #1 or #2 in LFR. Whatever. Who cares? What bugs me is the rotation. Take out the legendary ring, my trinket proc, and a couple cds, and I have three buttons to push. Kill command, dire beast, and cobra shot. It's BORING! And what's more!! It's ANNOYING!! All the whistling with dire beast is freaking annoying. Amiright?? On top of only having three main abilities to use, it seems like they're always on cool down or I'm waiting for my focus to regen. Granted, my gear is specced more towards marksman than bm and as such, I'm light on haste, but still.

Everyone keeps telling me to be patient and wait until I get my artifact weapon. And I am. I still consider Maruka to be my main and as of right now, I plan on raiding with her in Legion. I have to wonder though, is it more sentimentality that has to do with keeping her as my main or because I actually believe she'll be more fun with her artifact weapon? Time will tell I guess.

Download Update Message in WoW

I tried launching the game today and received the following message:

An updated version of World of Warcraft is available. Please launch the Battle.net app to download the update.

At first, it seemed like everything was normal because as soon as I okay'd that message, a download started. It finished up, said the game was ready, and I tried launching again. Same message. I completely closed down the app and tried launching again. No go. Then I turned to Google and found the following suggestions:

1. From a Reddit post:  Im assuming you are on US server, go into your WTF folder (C: > Program Files(86) > World of Warcraft > WTF) Then open Config.wtf with notepad. Look for "SET portal "EU"" should be at the top. Change EU to US, save it and make sure to restart battle.net or it will just change it back.

I am on a U.S. server, but when I tried this fix, I was already set to US. This didn't work for me. 

2. This suggestion was from a forum post and I wish I had saved the link, but I didn't. Go into your World of Warcraft folder and delete the WTF and Cache folders. 

I tried that and it didn't work either. 

3. This is another suggestion from the WoW forums:  Run a scan and repair. In case you don't know how to do this:

• Open the Battle.net app
• Select the icon you want to fix. This was the World of Warcraft icon for me.
• Click on the "options" icon. This is a little blue cog located underneath the World of Warcraft:  Legion logo to the right of all the game icons. It took me a minute to find this because I kept trying the Bnet drop down menu icon at the very top of the screen.
• In the "Options" drop down menu, select "Scan and Repair" and let it do its thing. It's not a fast process either.

After about 20 minutes of scanning, I got a message from my computer asking permission to allow the app to make changes to my computer. Then another download ensued. Then I got the message that the game was playable. This solution finally worked for me. Not sure what it found and fixed, but the game launched as if new, with the startup movie and everything. 

Maybe either of the first two options might work for anyone else having this problem since they seemed to work for quite a few others but only the third worked for me. Try all three before resorting to anything extreme like uninstalling and reinstalling. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have, but I'm not tech support and only know what I know from Googling it myself. ;) 

Frost Mage Transmog

As I said in my last post, I decided to switch my frost mage to a fire mage for Legion. Frost is underperforming since the patch so it made more sense. Also, much to my delight, fire mage is FUN.

I tried both fire and arcane a few months back and just could not seem to get the hang of the rotation. My timing was always off and practice didn't seem to make it any better. I switched to the supposedly lesser Frost spec and my numbers went up. Just like they're supposed to do. Also, quick sidenote, whatever happened to playing specs you have fun with versus the top performing and/or must haves? Whatever.

Back to my main topic...

For my frost mage spec, I put together the following transmog (click the pics to embiggen):

Full on screenshot

Selfie. And she's lamenting the fact that this pic cost her 489 gold to take.

There you have it. I was really feeling this transmog. I wish I had remembered to take out her weapons, but I was unwilling to pay another 489 gold to switch out my transmog to take another pic. Uh uh. 

Whaddya think? Fire, vs. frost vs. arcane? Thoughts?

Fire Mage Transmog

I started out thinking I would keep my mage as frost, post-patch but holy bones! Her deeps just weren't up to snuff. I had tried both fire and arcane a few months back and didn't like either one. However, knowing what I know about how hunters changed, I figured now would be the time to learn a new mage spec. And I was right. I like the rotation and it doesn't feel boggy or slow at all. Feeling the change, I also needed to come up with an appropriate transmog. This is what I have so far:



(click to embiggen)

I definitely like the shoulders and my offhand. I'd like to get a flame-ier belt though. That's the best match I could get to my robes. As for the robes, they're okay but I can do better. I also wouldn't mind getting a flame-y helm too, which is weird for me because I usually opt to go helm-less. Howver, I think her goblin hair detracts.

What do you think?

World of Warcraft: Post Pre-Patch Ponderings

The post title? I couldn't resist.

 So, new patch! I don't know about you all, but I felt like this patch was a doozy. I logged in and had absolutely no idea wtf to do with my hunter. All her talents and abilities were different. It was like starting over from scratch. Logging in with my mage, monk, and warlock all caused similar feelings.

Then I started in on the new transmog system. First of all, LOVING my new closet. I should've kept track of how many hundreds of gold I've spent on changing my various toons' outfits. I also discovered that I have a mismash of items. Lots of chest pieces that don't have matching pants, etc. etc.

My raid team decided to go ahead and attempt raiding the same night the patch came out (our regular night). We ran HFC on normal Tuesday night and then on heroic Wednesday night. It was ok. Everybody's numbers were lower than normal and we were a bit sloppy but we still got some bosses down. That was with virtually no practice with our new(ish) toons. I think this week will be better.

I'm loving healing on my monk though. So. Much. Fun!! I even had fun with my lock on destro.

On a side note, I created a page for my guild. We're looking to boost our numbers with some active, fun, friendly, people. If you're looking to raid with nice people in a slow progression environment, then we might have a spot for you. When Legion finally drops, we'll most likely be looking to fill raid team spots then too. Either way, until we chat, I make no promises as far as raiding is concerned. However, if you're looking for a friendly place to hang, a guild to grow with and help grow, and a place where you'd actually have some input, gimme a buzz. Check out The Guild Page for more info. Any feedback, either here or on the page, would be most welcome.

Cutting the Cord - How My Family Cancelled Cable

About six months ago, I decided it was time for my family to cut the cable TV cord. There were several factors that went into this decision.

One, my cable bill went up to over $200 a month. I called to ask wtf and was told that I was on some kind of graduated billing where my bill increased over three years to it's final $200+ that it was. This is for both cable and Internet. Considering how much TV we actual watch, this number was unacceptable.

Secondly, we'd had a little experiment with no cable for about three weeks when our house was struck by lightning and our cable wasn't working. This was my fault because I didn't feel like calling a tech out to the house. In that time, we streamed Netflix like it was cool. We had, at the time, 1 TB of data to use per month and almost hit that limit. And we didn't really miss the cable.

Thirdly, there are so many options out there that allow for you to customize what you want and what you watch. With Google Chromecast, Roku, Hulu, and Netflix (to name a few), there are so many subscriptions and packages to choose from that you can ensure that you're paying for what you want and not for what cable companies force on you.

So, we bought a Roku, cancelled the cable, and upped our Internet to 2 TB a month with a faster speed (not sure what that is). This is the biggest Internet package my cable company offers and it's $99.99 a month. Add in $11.99 for Netflix (that we were already paying so doesn't really count), $7.99 for Hulu, $22.46 for Sling, and $4.99 for FUBO and we're saving money. We're saving about $65.00 a month. What's more, is that the things we are choosing to pay for are things we actually watch. With cable, we were paying $200 for channels we were never watching.

I miss my subscriptions to STARZ, Showtime, and HBO but I can add those if I wish to. I don't at the moment.

Additionally, in anticipation of the 2016 Olympics, we bought a digital antenna and now we get all of our local broadcast channels like NBC, CBS, and ABC. We don't get FOX because we live too far and that's a bummer, but it's nice having those channels again and being able to watch the local news.

What I really like about our television watching subscriptions is that we can cancel them and resubscribe or add new stuff (Sling has add on packages plus HBO, etc.) any freaking time we want to. If you've been thinking about cutting the cord, DO IT!! I have absolutely no regrets.

Update: Guild Situation

Last time I discussed guild stuff, recruiting, and/or raid team stuff, I talked about guild drama and the bumps we've had with our raid team. I figure an update, seeing as how that was like a year ago, is in order.

Things have been quiet. Too quiet. My guild is down to 126 people and of those, only about ten individuals still log in (Individual players, not including all their many alts). Over the past few months, I've been kicking people out that have been inactive for 12+ months and demoting people to the lowest (and thus, the least access to guild stuff) rank for being inactive 6+ months. I wish I had numbers to give you here, but I can't login today cuz my computer is broke.

I, myself, have been less than actively active. I had a lot of stuff going on with grad school and then my dad passed away in March. Because of this, I didn't see the point in trying to get more people to join the guild. It seems like when I don't login every day, as the guild master, people leave the guild more often. It's as if, if people don't see the GM every day, they don't want to be in that guild. Maybe I'm imagining things or putting too much responsibility on my own head. I dunno. But I don't feel right bringing new people into the guild if I'm not there to interact with them and support them. Ya know?? As a result, my guild is really quiet.

As for the raid team...We can't seem to keep good, reliable healers. They come and go more than anything. It's frustrating. Is it because our team is too hard to heal? What is it? We have about 14, what I would call, regular team members. I like most of them for the most part. I think I've managed to rub a couple of them the wrong way, but that's life. My only complaint is that a couple of our people seem to refuse to learn and progress with their respective toons. We've been in HFC for over a year (is that right??) and these certain somebody's are still making the same mistakes. We've only gotten the 2nd boss down on heroic ONE time. ONCE! Usually, I'm okay with the speed of our progression, but that's just plain frustrating. My hunter main stands at an item level of 720 and there's absolutely no way to get her new/better gear on normal level. With Legion coming out next month, I really have no hope of furthering her along. This being my very first experience at raiding, I have to say that I'm somewhat disappointed with the end results. We've never even gotten Archi down on normal mode. We should've at the very least gotten that far.

Where to go from here?

Good question. Should I start trying to bump up my guild's numbers now? Wait until Legion comes out? Be happy with the people I have now because they're mostly awesome?

Should we kick the under-performers from the raid team for Legion? Wait and hope they improve with Legion? Like I said, this is my first experience raiding and it's my first experience running an open guild. Advice would be much appreciated.

Things That I Don't Geek Out On

Holy cow. It's been forever since I've updated this blog. I have no excuse. I'm lazy.

This post's topic was inspired by a similar post that I read today on Bio Break that tickled me and I couldn't resist writing my own post on the subject.

This about being a geek/nerd. This is an aspect of my personality that I fully embrace and acknowledge. Besides, I'm such a nerd, that denying it would be laughable. Despite being comfortable in my nerdiness, there are quintessential aspects of being a nerd/geek that just don't apply to me and/or I don't indulge in. It's not because they embarrass me or because I think I'm above them, but more that they've never interested me. Some of my list, I have in common with Syp, so maybe others will find things to relate to too. Let's begin.

1. Playing Dungeons and Dragons. I remember my brother playing D&D when we were both younger (maybe he still does, I don't know but wouldn't be surprised) and it seeming to be really boring to me. He said that I lacked an imagination, which is why I didn't like it. Maybe so. Still, it seems really silly to me (no offense) and aside from that, having to verbally participate in a game like D&D totally makes me nervous just thinking about it. I'm too shy.
2. Wearing geeky clothes. I've never had much of a personal style to being with but the older I get, the more I'm trying to wear more "adult" clothing. This means that I've cut my t-shirt collection down to just two:  a pink t-shirt that I got in the men's section of Ralph Lauren (go figure) and a black concert tee that I got at an Imagine Dragons concert. However, I long for some of the geeky t-shirts I've seen advertised online (mostly Facebook). So many of them apply to me and I can relate to them. In the same vein, I've never colored my hair pink or green or blue or whatever. I love how it looks on others, but I feel like I'm too old to do that for myself.
3. Watching other gamers play games. I've never even been to the Twitch website and don't watch YouTube vids either except the ones that show walk thrus. This confounds me. I have no idea what the appeal is in watching someone else play games online. I'd much rather play them myself.
4. Doctor Who. I've tried!!! I want to love this show because so many others do but I can't get into it at all. It's so fake and the acting is so forced. Please! Someone tell me the secret to Doctor Who so that I can love it too.
5. Watching and/or reading comics. The only movie I've ever liked based on a comic book character (that I know of) is the original Batman movie with Michael Keaton. I've tried watching Jessica Jones, Dare Devil and even more importantly, Arrow!! because of this promo poster (YUM!):
   
   But none of them held my attention. I don't even bother with movies anymore because I never like them. I also don't read comics in the traditional sense. I read graphic novels, which many say is the same, but I don't read anything with the traditional comic book characters. I like Saga, Grimm Fairy Tales, and Persepolis. My geek gene is mutated or something. 
6. I've never built my own computer. This is more of a fear thing than anything else. I buy computers. I'm afraid that if I built my own, it'd never work and then I'd be out all the money it took buy all the components and I'd have nobody to blame but myself. However, I'm not afraid to yank stuff out of my computer or go into the BIOS. Stuff like that. As a matter of fact, and why this is on my mind, my computer wouldn't start up yesterday. I Googled some stuff, found some things to try and busted open my computer to try them. As I was doing so, I was naming off all the components in my tower and my daughter was impressed that I knew what I was looking at, lol. I pulled my hard drive, swapped it out in my husband's comp, determined that my hard drive is fried, AND...ordered a new computer last night. It'll be here tomorrow.
7. Playing Chess. My husband is a big chess player. He's actually headed to a competition this weekend in Alabama. I tease him about how much he likes and plays chess. I know the basics of chess, meaning that I know the names of the pieces and how they move, but I can't grasp how to move the pieces or the why of it. Frankly, after watching/listening to my husband play for hours on end, figuring out the game appeals to me not at all. It appears to be boooorrring. I think this might be because I'm just not smart enough to play. In all seriousness and I'm not trying to be self-deprecating at all. 

So, that's my list of the geeky/nerdy things that I don't do. At least, these are the things I can think of. There are plenty of geeky/nerdy things that I do do and that list would probably be longer. Maybe that'll be my next post...