Stomrage had no queues last night at 8pm.  From 3 hours last week and 6000 people, to dink all.  All without a peep from Blizz.  I work in IT and with client relations.  I can honestly say that I’ve never seen this type of behaviour before, at least not at this scale.  Impressive kahunas.

The Maw

There was a +41 relic as a WQ reward, plus I had a couple quests to complete in the Maw of Souls.  The tank was new to the dungeon, the healer was taxed, and one of the DPS (a DH) must’ve had issued because he died a dozen times during the run.  Including 30 seconds into the final boss.

The bosses themselves weren’t too bad, 3 majors, 2 minors.  This one was much more melee friendly than others, though there was certainly a fair chunk of movement for DPS.  Being a WW Monk, and Helga being the last boss, I only ever really saw her belly.  I’m sure that the bellows effect would be hard to detect for some folks, as positioning can be a challenge.

Anyhoot, the tank did a superb job.  There was one really rough pull inside the ship, but we pulled through in style. And I think the root cause/solution is simple enough, interrupts and positioning.

Go to the Place

DH tanks, so far, have been a challenge to play with.  They move a LOT.  My guess is that they’ve mapped their movement buttons into their DPS play and just forgot that it’s a bad way to tank (and not needed).  A boss that spins continually means cleaves for everyone, and melee folk are running everywhere.

A solid tank will put the boss in one place, typically with the tank’s back on a wall.  If they need to move, they do so in small steps.  Enough to avoid whatever spell they need to avoid, but not so much that they cross the entire floor.

Press the Buttons

I am still of the firm belief that Proving Grounds should be mandatory for everyone, if only to show them where, when and how to use an interrupt.  Is the cast time under a second? Don’t bother.  Is it a channeled spell? Whack that crap.

Helga had an AE spit attack that hit random spots on the ground.  She didn’t when I used my interrupt.  Some mobs had an AE fear attack, not when they are sucking floor from a Leg Sweep.  You know how much DPS you lose while being feared?  More than if you miss a GCD, that’s for sure.  More than if you’re dead, too.

WoD Woes

And I think this is just me gripping because of what WoD has left as a legacy.  Heck, what LK started if we’re going to get at it.  AE everything, ignore the mechanics.  Power through everything and close your eyes.  And truly, that works.  Once you’re 3 months in and 100% more powerful than the expected level, that is.

Which makes each new expansion a challenge.  How to make people play smart again, when the last year+, and the solo PvE content for that matter, requires no thought?  All of a sudden you have to pay attention.

Legion sort of addresses that with world scaling.  Even at 110, things hit hard.  An ilvl of 840 (850 is current cap) still wouldn’t mean a cakewalk.  Elite WQ can, and will, kill you.  I like that.  People complain about it (they complain about the sky being blue), but they will learn and it will be a good way forward.  I’m a bit worried about power creep, where when we’re in ilvl 890 we’re right back to WoD, but that’s for another time.