Kurn's Q&A Time

So I’ve been poking through my web server stats and have noticed a bunch of interesting questions coming to me as the referral through search engines that brought people here. I thought I’d take a few of them and answer them, since many include keywords that I’ve talked about, but haven’t necessarily actually answered.

#1) “aspect of the wild stack with gift of the wild”

Nope, sorry. Aspect of the Wild and Nature Resistance Totem do not stack with each other, nor with Gift or Mark of the Wild. Paladin auras for Frost, Fire and Shadow Resistance also don’t stack with Shadow Protection from priests, totems from shammies or Gift or Mark of the Wild. I know, I know. It’s sad, isn’t it?

#2) “resetting cross realm instances”

Seriously, I don’t know how. Anyone out there know?

#3) “first gear from emblems of triumph mage”

Honestly, it depends on your gear. I went for the shoulders first because I knew I was scrubby and the ilvl 232 shoulders (T9 from badges) at least give me the appearance of some kind of legitimacy.

#4) “best way to dps as a hunter while moving alot patch 3.3”

Of course, hunter DPS will always be better while standing still, so we can get our autoshots and steady shots off. The best way, IMHO, to DPS in a fight with lots of movement is to time your instants. Like, step, shoot, step, shoot, if you can. Or, just get to your destination ASAP. Use Kill Command for your pet while you’re moving and consider Rapid Fire once you’re at your destination, unless you have a specific burn phase you want to use it on.

#5) “holy paladin improved judgements”

DON’T TAKE THIS TALENT IF YOU ARE A HOLY PALADIN. See: http://kurn.apotheosis-now.com/?p=317

#6) “how long does it take to run icecrown citadel”

That depends. The first four bosses, in a non-PUG, should take about 60-90 minutes, if you’re familiar with the fights, either on 10 or 25. Festergut, Rotface and Putricide are a good deal more challenging than the first four fights. My current guild has not yet gotten Putricide with 5 attempts used this current reset and I do not believe anyone on my server or my past two servers have gotten him yet on 25-man. He is apparently doable (though not easy) on 10-man. It took my guild about 80-90 minutes of attempts to get Rotface down and about an hour to get Festergut down, though half the raid had 10-man experience.

#7) “which icc dungeon has the vendor”

It’s actually inside the raid instance. Basically, go up the front steps to Icecrown Citadel, past the battering ram. That’s the raid entrance. Any two people (as long as they’re both over level 10) can make a raid, and you don’t need a clear raid to get in, either. So party up with someone, make it a raid and then zone in. Your tier vendors are scattered throughout the first room. And there’s a portal to Dalaran over on your right, too. (Note the Argent Crusade repairman for those not exalted with the Ashen Verdict — cheaper repairs if you’re exalted with the crusade!)

#8) “how we get t8 paladin”

Okay, I chuckled. Run Ulduar. Or kill Emalon.

As a reference, here’s where the tier is located in Wrath content and how to get it, apart from getting it in VOA:

Tier 7 – Naxxramas, Obsidian Sanctum (gloves)
Tier 8 – Ulduar
Tier 9 – Three ways: a) Emblems of Triumph for the ilvl 232 version. b) Trial of the Crusader for a Trophy of the Crusade, which can be combined with Emblems of Triumph for the ilvl 245 version. c) Trial of the Grand Crusader, killing Anub on heroic, for a class-restricted token/token/token that can be exchanged for the ilvl 258 version.
Tier 10 – All tier must be bought with Emblems of Frost for the ilvl 251 version. Once you have this version, a class-restricted token (same classes as T6, T7, T8, T9), which drops from end-bosses of wings, so like Saurfang and Putricide, can be combined with that item for the ilvl 264 version. This DESTROYS the ilvl 251 version, including enchants, so when you upgrade, bear that in mind. Once you have the ilvl 264 version and heroic modes open up (after killing Arthas) you will be able to access other tokens that, combined with the ilvl 264 version, will give you ilvl 277 versions.

#9) “how to get aggro as dk damn fast on boss”

Well, I’m not a death knight, but make sure you’re in Frost Presence (you’d be surprised how many DK tanks don’t use it) and ensure that you drop Death and Decay. Then I think you go about applying your diseases. I could be wrong about the diseases, but D&D is a high-threat move on a 30 second cooldown that lasts for 10 seconds. You should be able to establish aggro pretty quickly in the first 10 seconds.

#10) “eye of the beast in icecrown citadel”

I presume you mean Eyes of the Beast, meaning using your pet to look around and such. Standing outside of the Plagueworks the other night, waiting for the hunters to pull Stinky or Precious, I was whispering to my RL friend (and healing lead) about how long the hunters were taking and I laughed, remembering that I used to be THAT HUNTER who had to do the dreaded pet pull for Baron Geddon and Shazzrah in Molten Core. So I was like “pet pull!” and my friend replied that that’s what one of the hunters was doing. :) I was like “YES! Way to go hunter! Kickin’ it old school!!”

And for what it’s worth, the TankSpot video on how to kill Stinky and Precious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKe2N7wKxKs

#11) “reset dungeon with clique”

OOH, a question I can totally answer! As long as it’s not about resetting cross-realm dungeons… If you use Clique and have bound something to your right-click, you may find that you are unable to, you know, right click on people’s portraits to trade them, inspect them, etc, or even your own character portrait in order to leave group or reset an instance. Open Clique. Go to Frames. Untick anything you don’t habitually click on in order to heal someone. For example, I NEVER heal through portraits and always heal through Grid, so I untick any frames that don’t have “Grid” in the title. That means that your mouse bindings are only active when clicking on the frames you use to heal with.

#12) “new voa 3.3 patch”

Not sure when, but it should match up with the new arena season. There will be a new boss, Toravon the Ice Watcher, to fight that will drop ilvl 251 Tier 10 (on 10-man) and ilvl 264 Tier 10 (on 25-man), as well as PVP pieces and 2 Emblems of Frost on both 10 and 25-man.

#13) “onyxia how many tanks healers”

10-man, you only really need two of each if you’re adequately geared. Otherwise, 2 tanks and 3 healers. For 25-man, 2 tanks (if the tanks don’t suck) and 5-6 healers. If the tanks suck or you’re unsure about them, get 3 tanks. You shouldn’t need more than six healers at the very most.

#14) “how to dps a kited boss”

Very, very slowly. ;) Just kidding. It depends on who’s doing the kiting. Is it a hunter? We have a taunt, so we can keep aggro almost indefinitely — as long as we don’t run out of room to run. Is it a shammy? Watch their threat and pray they’re using Frost Shock. Is it a mage? You will probably eventually surpass the mage’s threat. Possibly with a warlock as well, unless they have time to cast Searing Pain.

Or, if you just mean a traditional tank having to move around a lot, use a lot of instant abilities and get to your destination ASAP.

#15) “guide to halls of reflection heroic as healer”

I’ve tanked it more than I’ve healed it, to be honest. But here are some tips specific to healers, to go hand-in-hand with Kurn’s Guide on How to Successfully Clear Heroic Halls of Reflection Without Being Lame and Cheap.

a) If you’re a PALADIN: Beacon and shield the tank, keep them up and keep the FoL hots ticking. DO NOT worry about the poisons too much and ask a shammy, if you have one in the group, to keep Cleansing Totem down. Once the tank establishes aggro, feel free to hit Holy Wrath and stun all the adds. Make liberal use of any racials to get you out of CC, like Every Man For Himself. Save your bubble for the first boss if you can, if you have Divine Sacrifice. Bubble, DivSac just before a fear. For Marwyn, do not cleanse the magic effect (Shared Suffering) unless people are mostly topped off. Heal first, THEN cleanse. For the waves at the end, turn evil on an abomination if you have a spare global. Use Divine Plea on the run. Still use Holy Wrath when you can. Use Bubble/DivSac if you have it just after the second wave spawns on the last wall.

b) If you’re a PRIEST: Stick close to your tank and be prepared to shackle a ranged (Phantom Mage or Tortured Rifleman). Make liberal use of Guardian Spirit or Pain Suppression. Prayer of Mending is beautiful here, as well. Obviously, you can’t cleanse poisons, so also ask a shammy to drop Cleansing Totem if you have a shammy in your group. Make sure to use your Shadowfiend early on in waves in case you need it again on a boss. Fear Ward YOURSELF for the fears because you’re not going to have as much health as everyone else. Always heal yourself first after a fear on the first boss. For Marwyn, like pallies, do not cleanse the magic effect (Shared Suffering) unless people are mostly topped off. Heal first, THEN cleanse. For the waves at the end, shackle an Abomination if you can, but it’s not the end of the world if you can’t. Expect EVERYONE to have aggro at the last wall and toss out renews, PoM, a PoH if you can, CoH if you’re holy.

c) If you’re a SHAMAN: Drop Cleansing Totem. Chain Heal. Win. ;) Seriously, though, Cleansing Totem is your best friend. Falric’s fears aren’t mitigated by Tremor Totem (they’re a horror effect, I believe), so don’t worry about that. ES the tank, obviously, and make sure you hit riptide and then CH that target for the boost to CH from RT, which will hopefully chain through most of your group. Nature’s Swiftness/Healing Wave at your discretion, usually on yourself or a squishy DPS after a fear. Make sure you decurse Cursed Arrow or any stacks from Well of Corruption. Heroism/Bloodlust is best used when the SECOND group of adds spawn on the last wall on the chase fight, as is your Earth Elemental. Cleanse Curse of Doom as needed and basically do what you can to stay alive. Pop your self-rez if you die and drop mana tide immediately. You cannot be out of commission for long.

d) If you’re a DRUID: Use Abolish Poison if you have no shaman in your group to get rid of those pesky poisons. Keep a Rejuv on yourself and the tank at all times and save Swiftmend for yourself or the tank if you get in trouble. Wild Growth on cooldown during Falric will go a long way towards mitigating the fear damage. Decurse Cursed Arrow and stacks from Well of Corruption. Do not hesitate to use Nature’s Swiftness/Healing Touch on yourself or your tank at any point in time. You can likely do the boss fights with 2 DPS and you can always battle rez someone, so your priorities consist of you and the tank. For the chase fight, keep your hots rolling, WG on cooldown, because everyone is going to get aggro and will take at least some damage.

That’s it for now. Hope you found the search terms as amusing as I did! :)