Patch 2.4 and SoulShardsFollow

thanks alot =)

/hijack

I am doing a videoseries as on raiding with felguard, as i write these lines.
I am so excited to upload them. Hydross video coming up first and should be ready for download in a matter of 2-3 hours, hopefully.

First off, off topic. Flame Fest anyone? A lot of the posts in this thread have nothing to do with the OP and are just people pickering back and forth, although this is something I'm wholly used to on these forums, but most often, the topic being bickered over is something in relation to mechanics, in which there is a definite "best" way to do things. Not my guild is the best or I am the best or any of that crap which is obviously pointless to say, because its just kinda stupid to say stuff like that. When members of Nihilium start posting here that they are the best or the best guild, then MAYBE, and only MAYBE at that, I'll start listening to such grandiose claims.


On to the original topic on Soul Shards and the upcoming patch changes.

I think being able to summon from anywhere to anywhere is something we needed anyways. No, this doesn't mean we'll be back to the days before summoning stones(anyone other than me remember being in a 40 man raid and being the only lock outside the instance...if you don't, then you have no idea about shard consumption, this was back before Soulwells too, back before many of us didn't have access to that old 28 slot bag...because, the mats were just retarded).

Most summons at the start of raids will still be being done with the summoning stones. All this means is now, when the raid leader wants to switch out a member or two(someone needs a certain item from a certain boss, someone needs attuned, someone else would be better suited for that particular boss; melee vs ranged for example) it wont take you 5-10 minutes to have two people run out to the stone, summon at the stone, run back(or get summoned back, wasting 3 shards or more just there) and have to get buffed while everyone else is already buffed and ready.

When the patch hits it'll simply play out like this. Mage opens port, people leaving take port, warlock summons replacement, buffs happen, boss. Much less downtime in my opinion.

As for how many shards I bring to a raid. Depends completely on what the raid is. I use my judgment, just like everyone else should. I use an Ebon Bag(28 slot) and that suits me just fine. On nights we do pre-bosses(basically everything but the final boss of an instance) I try and come with a full 28, but ive gone with less than 15 and had no problems, because I have plenty of trash to get shards off of. Nights we do, like Vashj, or Kael(or soon when we get to Archimonde and Illidan) I always bring at least 35, simply because theres no, or not much trash to really get shards off of.

I will admit, I don't really like having to farm shards in raids as it lowers my overall dps, but to be completely honest, for one, its just plain easier to farm shards in a raid, mobs may die relatively quick, but you can get shards without a mob beating on your face(which is a huge plus for us 0/21/40 locks who are arguably one of the worst specs to solo farm shards on). And secondly, if your really that worried about trash dps, then you really shouldn't. Trash dps overall is negligible and in most situations, just like on bosses, its more important for you do to whats necessary for yourself and your entire raid to survive than to just dps the hell out of something. This means getting shards off trash even if it lowers your dps by some, or just moving the hell away from everyone else when you get the charge from Vashj instead of just standing there dpsing.

Only situation I could see where someone would REALLY care about their trash dps is if your raid leader and/or guild leader is on you about having a low dps(which you shouldn't have as a lock even if your farming some shards, unless you have no idea how to play your class, have a useless spec, or are severely under geared) and are in danger of being removed from the raid for someone with higher dps. In which case, things other than shards need to be worked on lol.

And of course, anytime anyone says anything about you farming shards on trash rather than dpsing, simply ask them "would you rather have that extra bit of my dps on the trash, or would you rather have healthstones, soulstones, and summons?"

Bet I know what their answer will be...

Lastly, another place I farm shards during raids is during wipes. Any boss that has adds that allow you to get shards from, use anytime you wipe to collect as many as you can if your low. I did this on Vashj in particular as theres no trash before her and you can get shards from the elementals. If we were wiping, I would collect as many as I could before running off down the stairs to hellfire myself to death.

Edited, Feb 9th 2008 11:48pm by Primusjuggalo

I dont see anything wrong with the bag sizes. I have never needed that many in the first place, and I am Demonology speced.
What they should do, it makes it easier to obtain soulshards, rather than modify the amount that can be "stacked" per bag slot. Why do I need to get experience or honor, when all the shards are exactly the same, no matter what was killed to get it? Or better, why not give a chance to get multiple shards per successful soul-drain?
Rather than overhaul the whole warlocking process to achieve the above, they could introduce a new soulbag that can do those things.

Edited, Feb 11th 2008 9:55am by sederix

Meh, I just want them to stack because I carry a fairly low amount of shards on me and no soul bag. In general it's wise to carry a full suit of PvP gear with you at all times on my server (maybe not for TK/BT, but surely for high traffic areas like Gruuls/SSC/CoT). It leaves little room for dozens of shards and rarely will i go over 16 so that I can at least have a few slots of a bag for other item use.

My guild is the same way. Although we try to kill the Hunters too.


Edit: You haven't seen jackassery until you've watched a tank drag a cleaving mob through healers just to kill a hunter.

Edited, Feb 11th 2008 2:21pm by Loki

idd, i did forget about Soulshatter and loki, how can you not have enough room for all that stuff? i've got a full pvp set, 2 full pve sets (boss and trash) about 10 mounts and a herb bag full of herbs and still enough room for food/pots/consumables/reagents etc.. ^^

28slot shard, 24 slot herb (or whatever the biggest is. i forget) 20 slot, 18 slot and the good old backpack. gief more 20 slots, i wish they weren't so expensive.

Yeah, I thought you all got the memo. Only sages and gurus with 2k posts or more can be elitists.

I also think it's a great idea. Keep the raid or instance moving. I summon ppl all the time. It was especially useful in BRD which is so convoluted. I never go to raid with less than 20 shards and I farm mine while I am farming motes. So in fact, most of the time I have more shards than I need.

My 2 coppers worth.