# World of Warcraft General Discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 4, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294 "2009-03-04T17:44:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 337
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6721 "2009-11-12T23:38:19Z")
One of my former in-game mentors once mentioned to me that he had yet to figure out how to (and how best) to use this maneuver. I have it on my action bar and use it when in combat, so my question (I guess) is: Is there a certain time (sequence) when it is more effective than at other times? It kind of surprised me that would say this, since he was in his 70’s (level-wise;)) at the time. What say y’all. BTW, the 30 rune cloth quest? I only got 4 XP out of it.☹ Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6722 "2009-11-12T23:41:44Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Indeed. Play a gnome for a while and you feel like you’re zipping all over the place. Then switch to a tauren and experience for yourself the word “lumbering” 😃 Is there an advantage to shrinking yourself? Maybe “hiding”? AND do you retain all your strenghts/abiltities? Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6723 "2009-11-13T00:21:02Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > We turned off the satellite TV when I lost my job and kept WoW - WoW being the better entertainment buy. Runes of magic is reasonably enjoyable as a WOW clone, and is free. I am on a US server, Govinda. If you want to play there let me know, Ill slip you a few diamonds to get you started. Let me know =) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6724 "2009-11-13T00:23:10Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Is there an advantage to shrinking yourself? Maybe “hiding”? AND do you retain all your strenghts/abiltities? > > Thanks > > Q Gnomage sucks, you can not see over the countertops into the banks or auction houses sometimes, you get stuck in crowds where you cant clicky on NPCs or items, and at one point in time you got stuck trying to go up staircases and rocky paths but I think all the spots got fixed a couple years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6725 "2009-11-13T00:38:17Z")
Thanks, **a**! While you’re here, can you help me with the above? Is there a way to silence him that I may be missing on the interface? Not only is he out of sync (I can thunder-clap, for instance when the box is full and he still says “That ability isn’t ready yet”), but he’s gettin’ on my last nerve.:mad: Thanks! Q PS: **Broomie** , Good choice, were my SIL not paying for cable (which is why I can play WoW), I’d do the same thing! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6726 "2009-11-13T00:52:04Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Runes of magic is reasonably enjoyable as a WOW clone, and is free. I am on a US server, Govinda. If you want to play there let me know, Ill slip you a few diamonds to get you started. Let me know =) Thanks, but _Guild Wars_ is my free fallback. I’ll keep in mind. But at this point I have nearly 4 years sunk into WoW and several 80’s, it’s _really_ hard to leave it behind. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6727 "2009-11-13T01:44:53Z")
… of Kel’ Theril. Slay Suffering Highborne" Okay, I THINK this is right, just need confirmation. I have to kill the correct SufHi for that thing to appear, right, 'cause I’m in another one of those places where I’m 3 yards away from it and the green arrow is pointing straight down?😕 Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6728 "2009-11-13T01:56:13Z")
I was in STV today with my draenei mage, doing the quest [The Second Rebellion](http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=203). As I was looking for Kurzen Jungle Fighters to kill, I think I figured out why these guys are so loyal to Kurzen: he offers one hell of a health plan. Seriously, I think there were five Kurzen Medicine Men (who, of course, count for nothing on that quest) in the area for every Kurzen Jungle Fighter I saw :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Goblinboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3be4f8/32.png) [@Goblinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goblinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6729 "2009-11-13T02:15:33Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > One of my former in-game mentors once mentioned to me that he had yet to figure out how to (and how best) to use this maneuver[Heroic Strike]. > > I have it on my action bar and use it when in combat, so my question (I guess) is: Is there a certain time (sequence) when it is more effective than at other times? > > It kind of surprised me that would say this, since he was in his 70’s (level-wise;)) at the time. Heroic Strike is a little tricky to use because of it’s effect on your rage generation. You understand that you get more rage from both hitting things and being hit, right? And do you also notice that when you hit things, sometimes the numbers are in white, and sometimes in yellow? The white numbers are for your regular hits caused by autoattack. Yellow numbers are for your special abilities. Heroic strike works by changing your next white hit into a yellow hit. Does that make sense, so far? The problem with this is that only white hits generate rage. Yellow hits do not. Also, Heroic Strike costs rage to use. So when you use Heroic Strike and turn a white hit into a yellow hit, you spend the rage to use Heroic Strike plus you don’t generate any rage because you ‘lose’ the white hit. So Heroic Strike can be very expensive in terms of rage to use. This can lead you to having little to no rage for other abilities. Additionally, Heroic Strike is limited by your white hit weapon swings, not the global cooldown. All of your other abilities are limited by the cooldown between one button press and another, shown by the way they cycle dark to light. Heroic Strike is limited by your weapon swings. So you can use Heroic strike at the same time you use one of your other abilites. This can cause you to burn through your rage even faster. However, as a protection specialized warrior, you actually gain most of your rage from being hit, not from hitting things. This means that your white hits aren’t as important for gaining rage as they would be to another warrior who has specialized differently. This gives you a little more freedom to use Heroic Strike. A good rule of thumb is to only use Heroic Strike when you have 50 or more rage. That is, when the rage bar is more than half full. This can change in a number of situations, but if you’re just soloing, it’s probably the best way to handle it. Keep in mind that you can use another ability at the same time you use Heroic Strike. > [@Quasimodem](#): > > Is there an advantage to shrinking yourself? Maybe “hiding”? AND do you retain all your strenghts/abiltities? It’s a good way to hide from other players. Shrink yourself, and then stand inside a bush, or even a big enough corpse. Keep in mind that they’ll still see your name and guildname floating above your head at full size, but it’ll be lower to the ground. > [@Quasimodem](#): > > Thanks, **a**! > > While you’re here, can you help me with the above? > > Is there a way to silence him that I may be missing on the interface? > > Not only is he out of sync (I can thunder-clap, for instance when the box is full and he still says “That ability isn’t ready yet”), but he’s gettin’ on my last nerve.:mad: There is a way in the interface, but it’s been so long since I turned mine off I can’t remember where it is anymore. You may have to search for a bit, but it is in there. > [@Quasimodem](#): > > … of Kel’ Theril. Slay Suffering Highborne" > > Okay, I THINK this is right, just need confirmation. > > I have to kill the correct SufHi for that thing to appear, right, 'cause I’m in another one of those places where I’m 3 yards away from it and the green arrow is pointing straight down?😕 Sorry, no help for Alliance quests here. For the Horde! Ya mon! ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6730 "2009-11-13T02:19:24Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > One of my former in-game mentors once mentioned to me that he had yet to figure out how to (and how best) to use this maneuver. > > I have it on my action bar and use it when in combat, so my question (I guess) is: Is there a certain time (sequence) when it is more effective than at other times? Heroic Strike exists for one scenario only: when you have more Rage coming in than you can use up on your usual special abilities. In terms of what it does for how much it costs, Heroic Strike is downright awful, but since it modifies your auto-attacks instead of being a proper special on its own, you can use it and specials _at the same time_. So Heroic Strike lets you increase the rate at which you spend Rage. It’s not an efficient way to spend it, but if you’ve got a full rage bar, even low efficiency beats letting it go to waste pouring out the top of an already-full cup. Honestly? You probably won’t have the kind of rage income that makes Heroic Strike useful, unless you’re in really good gear, tanking a group dungeon, or something similarly high-impact. It can be safely ignored most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6731 "2009-11-13T03:18:18Z")
Hoooo-Weeeee! 😃 NOW I understand why my mentor said that to me in-game about heroic strike and when/when not to use it! Okay. We made it to 56. Trained up and Abilitied up. Gonna go to Ironforge (hate that place!) tomorrow for training in mining, since I need that to pick up minerals and such. Unable to anything weapon/armor-wise in AH to improve **Wolkie** , so we bought another flask of major healing potion and let that be it. We had a bunch of nice drops out of WS, so those which I couldn’t use went into the AH. I expect a healthy profit from my “partner” **Wollkie** (Im gonna stop calling him my “mule”. I imagine he kinda frowns on that, plus he does such a great job selling for me, that I cut him in on the profits for when I level him up some more).🙂 Thanks, **Goblinboy** and **Mekhazzio**! **2** more levels, man! **TWO More!😃** Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6732 "2009-11-13T03:32:09Z")
So here I am in Theramore, wondering if Captain Vimes is named after Samuel Vimes, head of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. But I saw Captain Vimes’ first name is Garran, so I figured, naaaah… Then I looked at the guy standing near him: Commander Samaul. Hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6733 "2009-11-13T04:43:33Z")
So another successful Heroic tank; this time Nexus. I’m getting much more comfortable laying down the area effect attacks and keeping an eye on the rest of my party. I’ve got Omen running now (my first add-on, evar) but I never actually look over at it; I’ve just been checking if anyone’s portrait over on the left is glowing red. Anyway, the party had one player die over the whole run, to a patrol of those trees & druids in the crystal forest area, so that was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6734 "2009-11-13T04:45:29Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > So here I am in Theramore, wondering if Captain Vimes is named after Samuel Vimes, head of the > Ankh-Morpork City Watch in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. But I saw Captain Vimes’ first name is Garran, so I figured, naaaah… > > Then I looked at the guy standing near him: Commander Samaul. > > Hmmm. Yep. Blizzard’s a bunch of geeks. If it looks like a pop culture ref, it probably is one. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6735 "2009-11-13T05:37:47Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Did you get the in-game Brew of the Month Club this year? Sorry to just now be answering, **Broomie**! 🙂 I guess I was stuck on the word “brew”, huh? :smack: I should written “BEER” of The Month Club, not “BREW” sorry!😉 But if there _were_ such a thing in WoW, I’m sure **Wolkie** would want to participate. (As long as the brew didn’t shrink him down to the size of a Chihuahua!🙂 Man! I STILL remember how shocked I was and how I was punching all kinds of macros trying to get him back to normal size while sputterin’ and fartin’!😃 I think it was either **you** , **Rik** or **Boss** who told me to relax and let it wear off! 😃 Thanks Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6736 "2009-11-13T06:36:35Z")
> [@Goblinboy](#): > > There is a way in the interface, but it’s been so long since I turned mine off I can’t remember where it is anymore. You may have to search for a bit, but it is in there. > > It wasn’t in USER INTERFACE at all, but in SOUNDS AND VOICES, **Gb** 🙂 > > I just toggled off “error speech” (“message” or something - don’t remember now) and **FINALLY** shut that dude up! Whew!🙂 > > Sorry, no help for Alliance quests here. > > For the Horde! Ya mon! > > Gotta get back there to run my toon **Quasimodem** , and I will, but right now, I’m excited about **Wolkie** headin’ to 58 and BC!🙂 Thanks, Q ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6737 "2009-11-13T15:52:30Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Thanks, **a**! > > While you’re here, can you help me with the above? > > Is there a way to silence him that I may be missing on the interface? > > Not only is he out of sync (I can thunder-clap, for instance when the box is full and he still says “That ability isn’t ready yet”), but he’s gettin’ on my last nerve.:mad: > > Thanks! > > Q > > PS: **Broomie** , > > Good choice, were my SIL not paying for cable (which is why I can play WoW), I’d do the same thing! 🙂 I think if you go into options and click on sound there is a checkbox next to “erros” or something liek that and that will turn off all the audible error notices within the game. I keep them turned off. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6738 "2009-11-13T16:11:30Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Thanks, but _Guild Wars_ is my free fallback. I’ll keep in mind. But at this point I have nearly 4 years sunk into WoW and several 80’s, it’s _really_ hard to leave it behind. My brother-in-law is a professor in Korea at an arts and technology university and apparently they have a really good video game department (yeah, that’s what I said). The video game majors take abnormal psychology and cover things like why addicts take drugs that they don’t really enjoy and why battered wives keep going back to their husbands. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6739 "2009-11-13T17:19:44Z")
So I just had a nice long post typed up, hit Preview, and clicked over to another tab… only I hit the close button instead of the other tab. :smack: > [@Quasimodem](#): > > I have to kill the correct SufHi for that thing to appear, right, 'cause I’m in another one of those places where I’m 3 yards away from it and the green arrow is pointing straight down? Yup, QH is just telling you, “This is the general area that the guys you need to kill hang out.” So just kill them until they drop the item or items you need. > [@Quasimodem](#): > > **2** more levels, man! **TWO More!😃** So close! Save your money, too, 'cause at level 60, you get to fly! (They keep nerfing the price, but I think it’s currently something like 225g for the training and 50g for the flying mount.) > [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > So here I am in Theramore, wondering if Captain Vimes is named after Samuel Vimes, head of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. They call him \*\*\*Mister \*\*\*Vimes. 😃 > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > So another successful Heroic tank; this time Nexus. I’m getting much more comfortable laying down the area effect attacks and keeping an eye on the rest of my party. I’ve got Omen running now (my first add-on, evar) but I never actually look over at it; I’ve just been checking if anyone’s portrait over on the left is glowing red. Anyway, the party had one player die over the whole run, to a patrol of those trees & druids in the crystal forest area, so that was pretty good. Grats on the good run! Tanking can be kind of a crazy adjustment to make, but it sounds like you’re doing just fine. Grats on your first addon, too. 😛 In case any of these might be helpful for you, here are the (fight-related) addons I use (and [a recent screenshot](http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/531/wowscrnshot110909234021.jpg) of them in action): **Acheron** : Death reports for you and anybody in your party or raid. Will display all incoming damage, healing, buffs, debuffs, etc. for a period of time immediately before any death (default is 10 sec or so). Great for figuring out exactly what killed somebody (e.g., did a stray add get them, did the healer slack off, did they stand in the fire). **ClassTimer** : Timer bars (or icons) for buffs and debuffs on you, your target, and your focus. Can display any or all–I only show my target’s. Can also select which abilities are displayed. **Deus Vox Encounters** : Bossmod. Timers, alerts (sounds, flashes, etc.), arrows, marks, etc. for raid encounters. Won’t do anything for you now, but will be godly if you ever start raiding. **IceHUD** : Heads-up display for you and your target. Shows HP and Mana/Rage/Energy/Runic power graphically, as a percentage, and as a number. Will also show some buffs/debuffs as icons or numbers. (E.g., TC icon if I have TC on target; number from 1-5 in the bottom middle for how many stacks of Sunder Armor.) **MikScrollingBattleText** : Scrolling combat text showing incoming and outgoing damage, healing, dispels, etc. Also displays alerts for ability cooldowns and procs, as well as threshholds like low health or mana. **Omen** : Threat meter. You know all about this one. 😃 (Hidden in my screenshot 'cause I’m not in a group. Here’s [an older screen](http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3406/wowscrnshot042509214113.jpg) where you can see it.) **Outfitter** : Gear manager. Possibly obsolete in the age of the Blizz equipment manager, but it’s what I’ve been using forever, so I’m sticking with it. Can create gear sets based on rules or manually; gear sets can be automated, but I don’t use that function. The bar is in the lower-right corner of my screen, with seven outfits (Avoidance, Block, DPS, MaxEH, MaxiLvl, Threat, and Naked). I’ve got more outfits than that, but I only put the ones on the bar that I need to switch among frequently. **RatingBuster** : Comparison tool for gear. Breaks each stat down into exactly what it gives you (e.g., for me, Agi into Crit and Dodge). Also gives a summary with total gains/losses for each stat compared to what you currently have equipped. **Recount** : Meters for damage, healing, dispels, interrupts, etc. I usually keep this hidden and only pull it out when I need to check something. Not 100% accurate, but good for on-the-fly checks when you can’t wait for a report to get uploaded to a log site like WoL or WWS. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294/6740 "2009-11-13T17:26:06Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > **MikScrollingBattleText** : Scrolling combat text showing incoming and outgoing damage, healing, dispels, etc. Also displays alerts for ability cooldowns and procs, as well as threshholds like low health or mana. Ah. The proc and cooldown alerts could be very handy; in particular, knowing when to save runes to reapply Death and Decay and knowing when I’ve got a free howling blast would be handy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294.md?page=336) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-general-discussion/488294.md?page=338)