Jan Feb 09

Volume 2, Issue 1

January/February 2009

The Wheel of Time D a r k f r i e n d s

R a i d

Special points of interest: •

G a m i n g

Written by Razlaghul, Guild DK main tank.

Guild main DK tank, Razlaghul, writes his first two articles for the newsletter.

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Member Profile: “I bring the thunder” Moyder

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Totemic Rage By Meowcake

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Starter’s List and Information

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Murderburger is now a guild main tank.

Inside this issue: Guild Member Profile

2

Raid Progression Cont.

2

Totemic Rage

2

Featured Class: The Shaman Cont.

3

Totemic Rage Cont.

3

Guild Announcements

4

Starters Information

4

C o m m u n i t y

P r o g r e s s i o n

ian Sanctum, though achievements are still a

With many of our guild members now 80 and raiding, Darkfriends has progressed quickly. Currently we have three groups, two scheduled for the evening and one to accommodate the late night members. Group 1, run by Belal, begins at 5:30 pm Server. Group 2, run Until recently, Thaddius was proving to be a formidable opponent. by Pennery, starts at 6pm. Group 3, led by Disciple, is scheduled goal to be reached. to begin at 10:30 pm server and is looking to Though occasionally recruit a few more DPS. hitting bumps in the Both evening groups do road with attendance well in Naxx and Obsid- and bosses, all three

F e a t u r e d This newsletters featured class is the shaman. "Shamans are the spiritual leaders of their tribes and clans. They communicate with spirits, have visions of the

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groups are close to entering Malygos. Malygos has sexy gear including pole arms, shields and other items that would make some of our members have a wet dream. Despite the sexy gear in the ten man raids, I’m sure we can all agree we want our tier 7.5 gear. That being said, we have begun 25 mans and are doing extremely well for our first couple times going in with a full guild group. We are clearing OS easily on 25 man. In 25 man Naxx we have

T h e

future, and guide their people through the darkest of times. Many mistake their wisdom and serenity for a pacifist nature. When challenged, though, shamans have a range of powers available for

(Continued on page 2)

S h a m a n dealing with threats to the natural order." Blizzard’s description of the shaman is a descriptive and appropriate one. Shamans have 3 different specs to (Continued on page 3)

Page 2

“I

The Wheel of

Bring

Moyder, often known for his easy going way and sense of humor, plays a fury warrior. He also has other toons, including a shaman, but prefers the warrior due to its lack of using mana. His favorite WoW moment would be his first ZG run on Moyder when he got the Halberd of Smiting. His least favorite, as with any plate wearer would be the 80 gold repair bills. When not playing WoW, he also plays ultimate Frisbee, does all kinds of dancing (a definite way to catch chicks guys!!), and works as a dishwasher at a pub.

“As determination usually does, we have successfully downed this boss and will be working towards progressing further through Naxx in the near future.”

the

Thunder”

Moyder was a member of ASP and when that guild started falling apart, he sort of stumbled across Darkfriends. Since joining he says he couldn’t be happier with the members and the atmosphere of the guild. He thinks it’s cool what Belal wants to do with the guild, making into a large sized gaming community for multiple MMO’s. He hopes that Darkfriends keeps rockin’ out in WotLK, downing new content and having a great time. Moyder has been playing Blizzard games since Star-

Raid

cleared the first three quarters up to Thaddius on our first and second week. After that we are being stomped by Thaddius just because he’s a hard ass that needs a crap load of DPS and everyone to be on the ball with polarity shifts. However, as determina-

Favorite Video: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ceSxEjwXHcM

And the last bit that Moyder would like to add is:

When it comes to the Military Quarter, Instructor Razuvious has blocked our way because we have lacked the priests with hit to mind control the needed mobs

witch doctor told him to slay tigers in the deep forests of Stranglethorn Vale. Tiger after tiger he slew, the scent of beast and blood mixed with his own fury. As Meowcake stopped to rest though, A strange tiger appeared. The tiger was not like the others, Meowcake could

“I BRING THE THUNDER BABY!”

Favorite Boss: Heigan the Unclean in Naxx

tion usually does, we have successfully downed this boss and will be working towards progressing further through Naxx in the near future.

Totemic Meowcake was a decent shaman, He trained in the art of enhancing his weapons to deal more damage to the enemy, Upon mastering it he could enchant his weapons to attack time and time again, relentlessly tearing apart foes. When Meowcake hit level 38 a old

craft came out and when a friend of his told him about WoW, he signed up for the beta and has been playing ever since. His only advice is to level mining as a profession because “miners are badass.”

Moyder, in Australia.

Progression

(Continued from page 1)

By Meowcake

Moyder

Cont. to help tank the boss himself. Now with the needed classes,, progression through the rest of Naxx should be fairly easy, allowing us to eventually cross it off our list! That concludes my first time writing the article on raid progression for Darkfriends. -Jake (Razlaghul)

Rage sense its intelligence. It was a druid, and it wasted no time in pouncing upon Meowcake. Berserking with fury and quickly casting a healing spell, Meowcake let out a cry for help, and there it appeared. An orcish war cry was shouted as a figure flew (Continued on page 3)

Meowcake

Page 3

Volume 2, Issue 1

T h e

W h e e l

o f

T i m e

fense.

(Continued from page 1)

Though many of us are familiar with this basic information about a shaman, not many of us have had the opportunity to level one to 80. I have recently done so and find that my main difficulty with a shaman is that sometimes their defining ability, the totems, can be a hindrance or burden in some PVP situations.

Shaman are known for nature based spells, such as chain lightening.

choose from, including Enhance, Elemental and Restoration. With three different types of playing styles available with these three specs, shamans have some of the best versatility in the game.

F e a t u r e d Coupled with Warcraft lore for the different species, from Draenei, Orc’s and Tauren, the shaman is the very essence of a nature based class. A shaman’s defining ability is the totems they use. These totems are divided into the four basic elements; earth, fire, water and wind. Each totem is associated with an element and has a different effect. Some provide buffs to a party or raids stats, others are a form of offence and others yet are a form of de-

While only costing about 800 mana to cast, the time in having to cast them and how easily they are destroyed make them inferior to a hunter or warlock pet by far. As a result, I find that I myself don’t use many of my totems in a PVP fight much depending on the situation. In PVE each encounter with a mob or boss is a little different and calls for different totems. They are usually cast at the beginning of the encounter; the totems used being tuned to what is needed. A good example is mana spring

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adaptability for almost any encounter due to being available for melee or ranged DPS and healing with simple spec alterations. Many of us have seen just how useful and versatile the shaman is from raiding with some of guild shamans including Meowcake who is enhance, Pennery who is resto, Ravenshield who is elemental. Anyone who has raiding with these shaman or others know just how useful it is to keep these guys around, from the totem buffs to the blood lust, which provides us with a 30% speed increase which is essential in boss fights where you’re in a race against time. Pretty much, the lesson here is to love the shaman, appreciate the abilities they have to offer and if you are looking for “Shamans are a class that can provide you with kind of the Swiss

versatility in play styles, it’s defi-

army knife of the classes. They have the T h e S h a m a n adaptability for totem is often used for nitely one to con- almost any those fights that are healsider. ing and casting intensive encounter.” to help our healers and mana using DPS maintain a usable mana pool throughout the whole fight. Grounding totems are used for fights where there are lots of mobs that need to be slowed so they can be killed easily. And there are also many other totems available that really affect the raid in way of buffs and use.

My personal opinion is that shamans are kind of the Swiss army knife of the classes. They have the

T o t e m i c (Continued from page 2)

down from a hill and slammed into the earth between Meowcake and the druid, With the druid stunned he roared menacingly and forced the druid to back up slightly, cowering in fear at its new rival.

Totems are the defining feature of the Shaman class. Different totems do different things.

As the beast regained his senses he let out a low growl, and another druid appeared by his side, the orc raised his axe up in the air, Still badly injured Meowcake laid down several totems. the druids pounced, the orc managed to catch one in mid air, He slammed it to the ground, but leaving his side exposed, the other beast saw it's opponents flaw and sank its claws deep into the orcs side. Meowcake quickly turned and

R a g e

C o n t .

called upon the earth to knock it back the druid. The orc roared in pain. The orc called upon the power of the wind from one of Meowcake's nearby totems, and decapitated one. Glimpsing the death of his ally, the druid quickly turned tail and ran, the orc though saw his path and quickly ran to intercept him.

ANNOUNCEMENTS •

Current NO PUG raids are: 10 man Naxx, OS and Malygos. 25 man Naxx and OS

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AoC is looking for members to be a part of their guild and possibly those who are interested in a leadership roll. If you know of anyone who plays Age of Conan or is thinking of doing so, please be sure to have them email us at [email protected] so we can share our information with them. Be sure to let them know we're on the Tyranny server.

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Murderburger is now a guild main tank in addition to Razlaghul and Powerfuloz.

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If anyone is interested in helping to moderate any section of the forums, please don't hesitate to express your interest. Its an easy task that involves reviewing the messages to make sure they are appropriate and bringing to the attention of Blondy those which are not.

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Starter’s have been enacted.

If you’re not a Darkfriend, you’re wrong!! Guild Leader: Belal Newsletter Editor: Nora aka Blondy Guild Email: [email protected] Guild Website: www.darkfriendsguild.com Guild Forums: http://forums.darkfriendsguild.com

We would like to see if there is anyone interested in helping us find leveling guides for professions, classes, etc for the forums for both games. If so, please message Blondy in game for more info, catch her on vent or email her through the forums.

D a r k f r i e n d s G a m i n g C o m m u n i t y

S t a r t e r s Being a starter simply means that you are dedicating your time to helping the guild progress further through end game by committing your time to raids. Because of you putting forth your dedication, you would then have priority on gear over all non-starter positions. Please review the following rules and if you are interested, answer the questionnaire so we can keep track of the starters who are approved.

HAVE A -20 DKP PENALTY.

1. Starter positions are rewarded to those who express their interest, fill out the questionnaire, and have shown dedication by being at every raid ON TIME for two weeks. If you miss a raid, your two week period will start over. These positions are voted on by the officers based on needed classes, player performance and attendance.

5. All newly recruited guild members start out as non starters. As previously mentioned, attendance and dedication and an indication of those accepting the rules will all factor into whom is a starter and who is not.

2. Starters MUST post if they will not be able to attend a raid. If there is a reason that is private, speak to Belal personally and state such in your post. All posts must have a reason listed and those stated as having spoken as having talked to Belal, this will be verified with him. IF YOU DO NOT POST AND YOU DO NOT SHOW, YOU WILL

GUILD 25 MAN STARTER LIST

3. If you are absent more than 3 times in a two week period of time, your position will be reviewed and possibly revoked. This is on a situational type basis.

Tanks Murderburger Powerfuloz Razlaghul Kalk

4. Starters have priority over non starters for gear. DKP rules will be enacted for deciding between starters whom is rewarded the gear.

Heals Mahbubbles Dementor Nora Disciple Pennery Springtime

If you are interested in becoming a starter and willing to commit to this dedication, please express your interest by posting in the forums on appropriate thread or by letting Belal or one of the other officers know for further instruction. Please note that at this time the list is full but that does not mean you won’t be considered in the future.

Ranged Ravenshield Luciferone Mudkicker Rocketcow Belal Zouljin Melee Meowcake Moyder Bones Klades Verith Varona