80 Rogue - Happy and Stabby and all that good stuff.

Character Name: Flashheart

Your Age: 28 years physically, but both older and younger (mentally), depending on the mood!

Class: Rogue

Level: 80

Talent Spec: 20/51/0

Armory Link:

Professions: Engineering and Mining. Engineering for BiS enchants, Mining for the HP bonus; I realize it isn't much, but there are certainly fights it has saved me on. I would be willing to power-level JC or Leatherworking if neccessary.

Post a link to a screenshot of your UI (prefer in raid combat):

I currently employ quite a basic UI setup; I use RoguePowerBars and RogueFocusClassic which can track any and all buffs/debuffs on my targets very effectively (including those applied by other classes), Omen for threat, updated DBM, and OmniCC for timing on abilities. I have experimented with PitBull frames and the like in the past, but really never particularly "took" to them. I can say that I've never experienced a situation wherein my lack of mods has killed me, but would be willing to adapt any the guild requests.



Post a link to a combat log parse for a recent raid you did (such as WOL/WMO/WWS): I'm afraid my current guild does not employ WWS as a whole, and neither have I. As our guild has currently ceased raiding, it would be nigh-impossible to obtain a valid one any time soon. What I can share is a screenshot from a post-Festergut fight from a few weeks back; top rogue, 10,800 DPS as Combat spec. Naturally, I would hit even harder as Mutilate, but I "took one for the team", because Combat's +4% physical damage debuff is only matched by an Arms warrior (and we don't have a consistent Arms warrior).



Current Guild: Kingship of the East

Previous Guild/s & Reason/s for leaving: I very much like a lot of the people in the Kingship, but after being there for two years, I'm realizing that my own aims within the game are becoming somewhat dissonant to those of the ruling body. By no means do I begrudge them their stance, but it simply doesn't match my own any longer. Ultimately (as everyone on ED knows), Kingship is an RP guild first and foremost, and a raid guild a distant second. Much as others have done in the past (such as Vahlin, a paladin healer friend who now main heals for Relax, a guild you all must know), I have found that my desire to push content is taking center-stage. It is not that I do not value a good social atmosphere (I certainly do), it is rather that I would have said social atmosphere *and* progress-pushing raiding. I do not see why the two should be mutually exclusive, and your guild's emphasis on both is a strong factor of appeal for myself. I do not wish to pressure friends into becoming more progress-oriented just for my sake, and so the best solution appears for me to part ways...that, and I have always been Horde at heart (or lack thereof - I had a Forsaken Warrior for years!).


Why are you interested in joining Merciless: I briefly touched on this above; I am in pursuit of an socially open and welcoming guild that wishes to do its very best in pushing current content. I have always sought to be in such a structure, and for two of the three years I was in Kingship, it was fairly close to that. Recent re-emphasis on RP above raiding, however, has meant that I am left with a great deal of the former (socializing) and not much of the latter (raiding progression). I am a competitive fellow at heart, who greatly enjoys sharing this WoW experience with like-minded individuals, in a healthy and mature atmosphere. When I saw the word "family", and spoke to Ashuos the other day (briefly), he was exceptionally polite in responding to my questions (I messaged him on a troll rogue of this user name).


What do you think you will gain from joining Merciless: I believe I will achieve what I am looking for; a socially mature atmosphere wherein progression work and shared struggle against mutual challenges are met with a steadfast resolution. Cheesey it may sound, but that's the sort of gaming environment I enjoy, and from what I have read, you lads/ladies certainly provide as much.


What do you think Merciless will gain from you joining: I would like to avoid stereotype and cliche - mentioning things such as high personal awareness and strong command of my own class would naturally have to be a given if I even wanted to *consider* applying. I would like to think, therefore, that what I offer is a team player in the best spirit of the phrase. I do not give loyalty easily, nor remove it easily, as my nearly three-year tenure in Kingship of the East demonstrates. I believe that loyalty and a genuinely positive outlook, even when confronted by adversity, is rare these days. As I am a highschool teacher in real life, and must constantly deal with very difficult issues on a daily basis, I feel I am well equipped for tackling any challenges that we may face. After all, if I can coordinate 30+ hormonally-charged teenagers, I'm quite positive that I would have no trouble fitting in with you fellows!


Do you consider yourself guild oriented? Why?: I very much consider myself guild-oriented for two reasons. Firstly, I feel that my gaming experience is lacking when I do not have people that I care about and respect with whom I can share it. MMO's are meant to be social affairs where friends and family can spend time together enjoying something that is entirely more visceral than what one can do on their own. Secondly, I feel that I am truly one of those outgoing personalities who helps create a positive attitude and atmosphere wherever I go; again, being a teacher, it's practically my job to be that way! I very much enjoy being able to participate in any group activity where people are smiling, sharing a good joke, and working together to accomplish something. If that does not define what a good guild truly is, then I'm not sure what does.


Rank these in Order (Loot, Progression, Helping Others, Self, Friends): Well this is a bit of a loaded question, in some regards. Everyone has regards for themselves, and most people probably look out for "#1" more than they would like to let on. I won't lie - I like getting new gear, getting into raids, and getting really tough encounters down. I'm pretty sure most people do! If I had to rank these, though, I'd list Friends (Guild-mates) first, because I think without them you aren't going to get loot, or progress, or self-benefit, and probably won't be very effective in helping others. I would list helping others second; especially where PvE is concerned, the raid is indeed greater than any individual, and ensuring that a balanced loot distribution is at least somewhat in place as well as ensuring that everyone is on-board and prepared for what is to be done is vital if any success is to be had. I would list progression third, although it's really pretty much tied with second; progress is what we are here for to a large degree, and without progress, one might as well join a strictly casual guild. After all, working together towards beating the best this game can throw at us is a strong motivator for anyone who likes a good challenge. I would put "self" fourth; I spend a good deal of free time in this game as a way to relax and get away from what can be a very stressful job (YOU try handling all those teenagers on a daily basis!), and I would be bald-faced lying if I said I didn't want to personally participate in the guild's activities as much as possible. I would put loot fifth, at least in the personal sense. I realize that an individual's contribution to a raid is more than just the gear they bring, as strong players can always compensate for lesser gear. Sure, their theoretical glass ceiling may be lower, but that doesn't mean they can't be very strong contributors who can bring a great deal to the raid in terms of personal skill, and their ability to coordinate with others.


List ALL of your Raiding Experiences: I did not get this characer into mainstream raiding until T8, but over all my characters in the past years? Well... almost everything! I started playing WoW back in Vanilla, only a week after release. I experienced most of MC (up to Rag), cleared AQ20, cleared ZG, and did parts of BWL - basically I was.. err.. "mid-core" back in Vanilla, to describe my skill/interest level. In BC, I cleared all of T4 and did 95% of T5 content. I did about half of Black Temple, but due to the fact that I went to Europe for a year to complete my Master's degree, raiding had to take a back seat at times, even though I was pushing content in a Horde progress guild. In current content, I have done all there is in WotLK, with some hardmodes scattered about; I successfully did 25-man Three Drake back on my old main, pre-Ulduar (which was, at the time, a major accomplishment (I can link my old main to you for proof, if need be). In ICC, I am at 10/12 on ten-man, and 8/12 on 25-man.


On a scale of 1-10 how well do you know your class/spec (Be Honest): I'd say a solid 8.5 or so. I'd like to say 9, but my grasp of Rogue PvP is not as strong as my grasp of Rogue PvE is. I've dabbled in arenas only very casually, and have never in this entire characters' life tried Subtlety even once. I have a very strong command of raid dynamics, however, having played both Assassination and Combat extensively. I "main switched" to this character last summer, for reference, the first time I've ever done such a thing in quite a long while.


Do you use your keyboard to turn? Do you use your mouse to click on your spells?: I have a neat keyboard called a Merc Z-board which is designed for gaming; I have all my significant combat skills bount to a letter key, and have used Snowfall key press in the past to further enhance reaction times. I have not keyboard-turned since Vanilla... it's way too damn slow. Mice FTW. The Sindragosa fight is an excellent way to spot people who still only keyboard turn... /sigh.


Do you research your class? If so, how, and what resources do you use?: I most certainly do; I am an avid reader of Aldrianna and Mavanas on Elitist Jerks, and am constantly reading their latest theory crafting, and employing their latest spread-sheets. I enjoy doing a little dabbling in theory-work myself, mostly in terms of gemming, but I tend to test and then use the information provided by trusted individuals, such as the aforementioned ones. Rogues, being pure DPS, really need to be min/maxed in order to be worth their raid spot, and I enjoy living up to their promise.


Do you currently know anyone in Merciless: Having been Alliance for the past few years... I'd have to say no! I'm a Horde fellow at heart, and would enjoy getting back into it.


Do you have Ventrilo / DeadlyBossMods / Omen / Microphone (If no mic what is preventing you from obtaining one?): I have and employ all of these and would not consider raiding without them.


List the start time and end time of your raid availability: I am available every day from 4pm MST (GMT -7) onwards. There are certainly perks to being a teacher; finishing at 3pm every day is delightful!


Two people win the roll for the same piece of loot. Player A wins, but Player B will get a larger upgrade from the loot. Who do you think should get the item and why: Interesting question. If I was player A, I'd pass to player B if it truly was a significant upgrade for them. A raid is only as good as the collective whole, and a mimimal upgrade for myself wouldn't benefit us as much as if the other fellow was able to replace some poor/anachronistic item. I've seen it go the other way, though, and that's unfortunate - i.e. people with tons of DKP blowing it all on something they really don't need, leaving less-well geared people in the dust. Not sure how that's supposed to do anything except make it easier to spot someone who really doesn't know how to be a team player. Of course, if the upgrade for Player B was only a *tiny* bit better than it would be for Player A, I would not perceive much (or as much) of an issue.

Conclusion:

Thanks for your patience in reading this. Like pretty much everything I do in life, I like to do well, and I enjoy being thorough. Once more, I'll have to say that has a lot to do with being a highschool teacher, where attention to detail and being thorough are the hallmarks of someone who really wants to do their best for their students, and for themselves. I realize you fellows often only run with one Rogue (I think two trading tricks is always good!), but I would love a chance to make a good impression.

Again, my thanks for your time and consideration, and if the answer is a no - well, give me a reason straight and hard. We rogues like it that way (this emoticon looks like my helm... creepy!).

No idea how, but my armory link went missing from my original post.

Here it is:

Yes, I read how regular armory links get filtered out; thought I did I put it in in a fashion that would work. Clearly I was mistaken.

Just append this part after wowarmory.com, it will work.

character-sheet.xml?r=Emerald+Dream&cn=Flashheart

One of the best applications. By far.

I can't seem to get your SS of the damage meter working for some reason.

As stated, we're always looking for skilled players no matter what. Contact Ashuos in game.

Thanks for your application!

I'm sorry, I know it's small. Squint a bit - does that help?

Doesn't seem to work. Try hosting it using the forums image hoster. There is a button at the top.

It won't let me host an image without a valid log-in, it seems - it asks for a login and password, and won't allow me to register... arg.

I'm not sure what I can do, here.

http:

https://2img.net/h/i123.photobucket.com/albums/o287/BK2FTR/WoWScrnShot_020310_221713.jpg

Combine that together - should work?

Works fine for me. Oh no, someone who might de-throne me on recount! >.>

...jay kay, I love everyone. <3

(Ash, if you use Firefox, just get linkification)

Well done, are you an offspring from Boneitis, since he is a 15 yr old boy but claims to be 30?

Nope, I'm really 28... don't make me post a picture to prove it, I'm sensitive about my age, just like anyone over 20!

Hey hey.

I'm Horde-side, now.

Name changed to "Arrachtas" - it sounds a bit more... angry and Horde-y.

See you guys online.

Aractas wrote:Nope, I'm really 28... don't make me post a picture to prove it, I'm sensitive about my age, just like anyone over 20!

Fuck that! I am 40+ and wouldn't have it any other way! Old fat bald guys FTW!

you aint fat