Kara Revisited

Citadel did their first Karazhan run this weekend, and they graciously let me tag along.  And I’m still amazed at what we were able to accomplish.  5 of the people in the raid had never set foot in Kara before.  Others, like me, had seen some of the earlier bosses, but none of the end bosses.  I believe only 3 of us had seen them all.

Well, to the amazement of all, we had a full Kara clear!  It took us a few nights, but it was well worth the effort.  We proceeded to one shot all of the bosses up to Shade, on our first night.  Shade took us 2 or 3 tries, but he went down, too.  Then on the 2nd night, we did the Chess event, and after a few failed attempts on Prince (damn Infernals, and their random placement), we went and took down Illhoof and Netherspite.  Sunday night, we took down the Prince, and we got Nightbane down to 1% before wiping on our first attempt.  We returned last night to finish Nightbane off.

And I was extremely fortunate to be rewarded with some great drops.  From Curator, I got Garona’s Signet Ring.  From Shade, I received the Drape of the Dark Reavers.  And for downing Prince Malchezaar, I was rewarded with the Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix!  Wow, not a bad weekend at all! 

I am extremely proud of Citadel and what we were able to accomplish through good communication and team work.  I don’t think any of us expected to do a full Kara clear on our first run.  Truly awesome job, guys!

I will not be returning to Kara this week, as there are two other hunters in the guild that we are trying to get geared up.  But I am eagerly anticipating a return trip to Kara soon.  There is little else I need from there, gear-wise.  But I could really use the Badges, and I’d like to see everyone else get geared up, as well.

As for my performance in Kara, I’d have to say that it was ok.  There were a few hiccups, that I chalk up to me being rusty, such as Misdirecting the MT instead of the Off Tank on Curator (thank god for Readiness!).  Or my being a little too slow in getting that Distracting shot off on Nightbane, and having him charge the group instead of the Misdirected MT.  Ouch, that one hurt.  But I’m confident that these small mishaps will be gone once I get back into practice.  And I’m pretty happy with my DPS performance, as well.  Most of the time, I was competing for the 3rd damage slot with a very well geared feral (kitty) druid, with her edging me out overall, putting me at number 4.  And on the Nightbane kill last night, I got the number 2 spot, behind a Mage.  I chalk that one up to Readiness, and very liberal use of Rapid Fire.  Not bad for a Survival hunter in a 10-man.

 

Judge my gear

So ChainTrap posted this over at his blog. Seems like a good idea. I just recently started playing again, after being away since August, so I thought this might be a good way to get some suggestions for gear upgrades. Keep in mind that I’m Survival spec’ed, and that raiding anything above Kara/Gruul’s would be highly unlikely. So here goes.

Head: Gladiator’s Chain Helm (PvP)

Neck: Earthen Mark of Razing (Quest Reward)

Shoulders: Beastmaw Pauldrons (Karazhan, Opera Event)

Back: Cloak of the Inciter (Shadow Labs, Blackheart)

Chest: Laughing Skull Battle-Harness (Black Morass, Temporus)

Wrists: Stalker War Bands (Karazhan, Attumen)

Hands: Vengeful Gladiator’s Chain Gauntlets (PvP)

Waist: Felstalker Belt (BoE crafted, Leatherworking)

Legs: Scaled Greaves of Patience (Old Hillsbrad drop, Captain Scarloc)

Feet: Boots of the Skybreaker (Quest Reward, why are you laughing???)

Ring 1: Ravenclaw Band (Sethekk Halls, Talon King Ikiss)

Ring 2: Truestrike Ring (Random World Drop)

Trinket 1: Bladefist’s Breadth (Quest Reward)

Trinket 2: Ancient Draenei War Talisman (Quest Reward, REALLY want to get an Hourglass of the Unraveller but no luck on the drop yet)

Weapon 1: Sonic Spear (Shadow Labs, Murmur)

Ranged Weapon: Steelhawk Crossbow (Karazhan, Attumen)

I need to work on a couple of pieces (boots especially), and get a few enchants and/or better gems. Right now my Agi is 659 with Lightning Reflexes. I’d like to push that over 700 unbuffed. Also, my crit is around 27.65%. I should be able to get the Gladiator’s Chain Spaulders this weekend. That should help a bit. Next step would probably be to get the Veteran’s Chain Sabatons.

Comments and advice are welcome and encouraged. And try not to laugh too hard at my red boots!