Mastering tanks, one boss at a time.
This is my particular brand of crazy — some may even call it a gift. The truth is, I can wipe many, many times without become too frustrated, at least before we score that first kill. (Wipes after that first kill…well no one’s patience can last that long.)
Since I am nearly done wiping in Cataclysm, here are my all time high scores, complete with recent pictures I’ve taken while wiping.
We haven’t downed him yet, as we’re still trying to figure out the OMGWHATISGOINGON that is phase 4. But I’ve learned some things and drawn some pictures that might aid others.
In most cases, it’s not worth going into cat form when you’re not tanking. You lose your vengeance, the DoT does more damage, and all you can do is mangle-spam.
Here’s my first attempt at a narrated tanking guide. I hope I can keep doing these and improve on them, so feel free to contribute any constructive criticism.
What are the best trinkets for bear tanks in Firelands?
The short answer:
[Matrix Restabilizer] and [Ancient Petrified Seed]
This guide applies to both heroic and normal versions of the encounter. I’m not going to go over the strategy or the abilities in the Dungeon Journal, you can look that up yourself.
My guild downed Shannox, Beth’tilac, and Lord Rhyolith in the last two days. We’ve made some progress on Alysrazor as well, and will hopefully down her tonight. I gotta say, this instance is awesome. I wasn’t particularly burned out on Bastion of Twilight or Blackwing Descent, but Firelands took me by surprise.
I was concerned that the raid would be too dark. Screenshots and videos are pretty dark, but the raid is bright enough with plenty of contrast. I love the huge, outdoor zone, and the endless horizon. There are fireballs flying everywhere, armies of elementals, and tiny little lavaworms. As much as I hate trash, it feels somehow fitting that you zone into a foreign plane of existence and cower at the vast volcanic plain that is simply dripping with hellhounds and fire elementals. I wonder if this is how walking into Mordor would feel. And there’s music!
The Firelands are coming! A little too soon for me, since my guild is still one boss away from fully completing all the content, but I’ll welcome a change in environment. Even though the change is from one fire-covered city and shadowy tower with a fire-covered basement to an entire fire-covered realm
For the full list of changes, go here.
As always, my Bear Guide and Gear List have been updated to reflect 4.2 changes.