The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 5: The Sundering

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Aug 092013
 

The Burdens of Shaohao, Part 5: The SunderingThe Last Emperor of Pandaria has faced fear, despair, doubt, and anger, and overcome all. Now comes the final test.

Emperor Shaohao returned, enlightened by his journey, and without a moment to spare: the Great Waterspeaker’s vision had come to fruition. In the face of disaster, would Shaohao be able to protect his people?

Find out in the final chapter, “The Burdens of Shaohao—Part Five: The Sundering.”

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The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 4: Anger

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Aug 082013
 

The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 4: AngerThe Last Emporer of Pandaria, Shaohao, is learning to master himself. So far he has faced and beaten his despair, doubt, and his fear. Now comes a new challenge: Anger.

In a new series of six dramatic shorts, we travel back to the time of the last pandaren emperor, a golden age before the land was enveloped by mist.

After having cast away doubt, despair, and fear, Emperor Shaohao sought an army. The White Tiger saw Anger in the emperor and issued a challenge. Would the emperor temper his rage?

Watch “The Burdens of Shaohao—Part Four: Anger”

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The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 3: Fear

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Aug 072013
 

The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 3: FearThis is part three in Blizzard’s series on the Last Emperor of Pandaria, Shaohao. He is subjected to various trials which might end his journey, but he has been finding ways to overcome his doubt and despair. Now he faces fear.
(See the links below for the prior videos. )

Emperor Shaohao found himself in the land of the Mantid, the mortal enemy of the Pandaren. With advice from the Black Ox, he followed his feet through the waking nightmare.

Would Shaohao overcome Fear?

Watch “The Burdens of Shaohao—Part Three: Fear”

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The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 2: Despair

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Aug 062013
 

The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 2: DespairThis is #2 in a serioes of six videos, by Blizzard, of the ancient emperor Shaohao.

In a new series of six dramatic shorts, we travel back to the time of the last Pandaren emperor, a golden age before the land was enveloped by mist. Emperor Shaohao pursued his friend with great haste, but one misstep took him from his path. He fought to free himself from the swamp, struggling only making him sink into Despair. Would Shaohao find a way to escape?

Watch “The Burdens of Shaohao Part Two: Despair” to find out.

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The Burdens of Shaohao Part One: Doubt

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Aug 062013
 

part 1 - doubtIn the Prelude we’re introduced to the last Pandaren Emperor, Shaohao. He received a vision that was not quite what he hopes…

Fearing for the future of his people, Emperor Shaohao sought out the Jade Serpent, Spirit of Wisdom, for council. He struggled to find meaning and fell into Doubt. Would the emperor triumph over his inner demons?

Watch “The Burdens of Shaohao Part One: Doubt” to find out.

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The Burdens of Shaohao – the Prelude

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Aug 032013
 

Blizzard will be releasing a series of videos on ancient Pandaria  lore, The Burdens of Emperor Shaohao.

In this Prelude we’re introduced to the last Pandaren Emperor, Shaohao. He receives a vision that is not quite what he hoped it would be…

 

This is his story:

 

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Mists of Pandaria Launch Date

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Jul 252012
 

As you likely know, the official launch date is 9/25/2012.

Get ready!

40 bux and comes with level 90 cap, Pandarans, new Monk class (roles of Tank, DPS, and Healer,) pet battles, new PvP, new dungeons/raids, new lands, squash 85s like bugs, and much more.

An Enhanced Version is available for $60, but doesn’t offer much (in my view.) ibtimes says there’s an $80 version as well, with DVD, sound track, art, and more stuff. Sounds a little more interesting to me.

You should be able to buy it all over the place, including the Bliz store and Amazon. Some sellers might have incentives.

Official Bliz splash page

Mists of Pandaria on Amazon
Mists of Pandaria Collector’s Edition ($80)

 

 

 

 Posted by at 12:07 pm

The Combat Rogue in Mists of Pandaria

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Jul 182012
 

Worgen Rogue in Tier 13 with Legendary DaggersYou’re the swashbuckling master of the flashing blades and are at or near the tops of the DPS charts. Maybe not so hot as an Arena machine, that’s Subtlety’s forte, but you can do just fine in the Battlegrounds. Leveling, of course, is quick, easy, and painless for you.

Due to the complete revamping of the talent system in Mists of Pandaria the Combat Rogue just might be interesting in PvP, as well as a DPS machine.

Rogues, all Rogues, have a pretty high skill cap. This means that it will take some work to get to the top, but you’ll rule when you do.

Contents

stats weapons poisons gems enchants
race professions raid build & glyphs

 

Stats

  • Primary: Agility, and then more Agility.
  • Secondary: 7.5% Hit > 7.5% Expertise > Haste
  • Weaker Stats: Hit over 7.5% > Mastery > Crit > Hit over 17%
  • Useless: Hit over 27%, Expertise over 7.5%, Int, Str, Spirit
Hit and Expertise now use the same progression:
  • 3% for same level enemies
  • 4.5% for +1
  • 6% for +2
  • 7.5 for +3, eg: raid bosses.
Reforge weaker stats to stronger stats.
Get that Hit and Expertise, then all else goes into Haste.

 

Weapons

Once upon a time Combat Rogues had talents giving them extra stats with particular weapon types. That is no longer the case. Use the best one-hand weapons you can find, if you have a choice between available weapons then pick the one that matches your racial (eg: Human expertise with Axe and Mace.)

  • Weapon speed is no longer a factor in Mists of Pandaria. Any one hand weapon should be fine in either hand, though you could put a dagger in the off hand if you want to experiment.

 

Poisons

Poisons are abilities and buffs, you no longer have to stock them in your bags or buy them from a vendor. You can use one lethal (eg; deadly) and one non-lethal (eg: Crippling) at a time. Each “dose” lasts for one hour and is weapon independent. You can switch weapons (and poisons) at any time and you’ll still have your poisons working, without having to re-apply them.

Lethal

  • Deadly (lev. 10, ability) does damage over time. You will use this one in all PvE content (ie: dungeons and raids.) In PvP you should only use it when the opposition is not being healed.
  • Wounding (lev 30, ability) does instant damage and suppresses enemy healing, which makes it more valuable for PvP.
  • Instant poison is dead and gone.
Non-lethal
  • Non-lethal: Crippling (lev 20, ability) slows your opponent’s movement. Nice for mobs (or players) that run away.
  • Mind Numbing (lev 28, ability) slows opponent spellcasting.
  • Leeching Poison (lev 45, talent) heals you for a percentage of the damage done. Harder hits from you = better healing.
  • Paralytic Poison (lev 75, talent) stacks up and on a 5th stack stuns your opponent for a few seconds.

 

Gems

Once you get into item level 417+ gear get into the M of P gems, even if they’re grimly expensive. They’re far superior to the Cataclysm gems.

In M of P the gems for secondary stats will have higher values than those with primary stats. For example, this quick gem vs the comparable delicate gem. In Cataclysm Rogues could stick with all Agility gems and be just fine, in M of P the gemming will be more interesting. You will probably want to match socket bonuses.

 

Enchants

As with gems, the Mists of Pandaria enchants are much better than the earlier enchants. Head enchants are gone, shoulder enchants come from the Inscription profession. Go for Agility first, then Haste, then whatever looks best according to the stats above.

MoP enchants require item level 372 or better and you’ll notice that they are somewhat better than their Cataclysm counterparts. New enchants (and gems) are always very expensive when the appear, and sometimes afterwards. If you need more cash to be able to buy these things then check our Tycoon review.

 

Race Choice for Combat Rogues

Pandarens can become Rogues, Draenei and Tauren still can’t.

Blood Elf

  • Arcane torrent restores some Energy and silences opponents. Skilled with Enchanting.
Dwarf
  • Can wash away bleeds and reduce damage. Ranged expertise is mostly useless.
Gnome
  • Expertise with (small) swords is nice and their escape ability has occasional use, especially in PvP.

Goblin

  • Rocket jump is a nice leap into or out of combat (it also breaks stealth.) Vendor discounts make compulsive buying less painful. A bit of added Haste is nice.
Human
  • Diplomacy makes for easier rep grinding, Mace/Sword expertise is nice, as is their escape ability (especially in PvP.)
Night Elf
  • Shadowmeld can save your butt if things go bad, since it drops aggro and is usable in combat. S’meld to stealth to escape. Quickness makes you a bit harder to hit and you also get slightly faster movement while stealthed.

Orcs

  • Blood Fury is a great burst racial, and expertise with Axes and Fist weapons is pretty cool.

Pandaren

  • Bouncy for less falling damage, faster leveling through longer lasting Rest XP, better buffs from food, skilled with Cooking, can choose to be either Horde or Alliance.
Troll
  • Berserking is a nice racial for bursts, ranged expertise is pretty useless.
 Undead
  • Can wash away fear and such, drain life and be healed, eati dead bodies frees up a bag slot since you won’t have to carry basic food.
Worgen
  • An extra Sprint is sweet, added Crit is nice, but it’s not your best stat. Skilled with Skinning (which adds some Crit.)

 

Professions

Profession bonuses are much higher in Mists of Pandaria than previously and many crafts will requires Bind on Pickup items to create (requiring Spirit of Harmony, for example, though the finished item might well be Bind on Equip. Pretty much like the old Chaos Orbs from Cataclysm, but a lot more recipes will requires the Spirits. Maybe they’ll become BoE, like the orbs did, but they aren’t there now.

The Haste buff from Herbalism makes it worth considering.

  • Alchemy – You get better and longer effects from your own potions. For example, and extra 320 Agility and an extra hour for the best elixir.
  • Blacksmithing – Equip two more of the gems you can find.
  • Enchanting – Enchant your own rings for added agility. +40 to each ring in Cata, 160 in M of P.
  • Engineering – create useful items and equip Synapse Springs, for a big agility burst for 10 seconds. 480 in Cata and 2,940 in M of P. Beware of side-effects in PvE settings. Lots of generally useful gadgets and backfire don’t matter so much in PvP.
  • Inscription – Nice shoulder enchant. +130 Ag in Cata, 520 in M of P. In addition to making glyphs you (or some other scribe) will be making everyone’s shoulder enchants.
  • Leatherworking – The bonus is a pretty nice bracer enchant for added Agility. +130 Ag in Cata, 520 in M of P.
  • Jewelcrafting – create (and equip) better gems than otherwise available. +67 Ag in Cata, +320 in M of P.
  • Tailoring – Make your own flying carpet. Oh, you want damage. Well, you can add a nice cloak enchants that sometimes adds a nice chunk of attack power. +1000 AP in Cata, +8,000 Sp in M of P.
  • Herbalism – A small heal over time with a very nice Haste effect (+2880 Haste rating for 20 seconds at skill level 600.)
  • Mining – More stamina, 480 at max level.
  • Skinning – More crit rating, also 480 at max level.

 

Combat Rogue Raid Build

These are the abilities that you pick up from choosing Combat as your specialization (spec.)

Talents are completely revised. Take all your Cata build and throw them away. You now have six tiers of talents, gained (one tier each) at levels 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90. Any spec can pick any one talent from each row. Any level 60 Rogue can now take Shadowstep, for example.

Talents and glyphs are swapped in the same way. Tome of the Clear Mind is what you use to swap glyphs at 86+.

Combat Rogue Talents

Combat Rogue DPS build for Mist of Pandaria

Talent Descriptions:

  1. Shadow Focus – Abilities no longer cost Energy while you are stealthed. Sap to Ambush (or any opener) at zero energy cost. Nightstalker might be better for leveling, with it’s speed and opening damage.
  2. Combat Readiness – Take less damage as fight gets longer. Not really a great tier for PvE and CR’s probably the best of the lot.
  3. Leeching Poison – your strikes heal you. Toss up between this and Elusiveness. Leeching might provide more general utility and take a bit of pressure off your healers.
  4. Preparation – Finished cooldowns. More vanishes to energy free Ambushes. Also resets defensive cooldowns for added survival.
  5. Prey on the Weak – When you disable an enemy with your stuns they suffer increased damage from all sources for the duration of the effect. If your opponent can be affected by Cheap Shot or Kidney Shot and and is being attacked by several people then it can take quite a bit more damage. Paralytic Poison might have value against trash that survives long enough. Dirty Tricks is more for PvP.
  6. Anticipation – Stores excess CPs on target and applies them after a finishing strike.No more wasted Combo Points. If you do a lot of target switching then Versatility might be a good choice.

Glyphs are a bit different from before. Primes are gone, Majors modify damage and effects, Minors make small changes to some effects, such as increrased range.  You can have three each, six total, at level 90. Tome of the Clear Mind is what you use to swap glyphs at 86+. Get supplies to changes talents and glyphs from your Inscription supplies vendor or off the Auction House.

Major Glyphs: 

  1. Deadly Momentum – Kills refresh Slice and Dice and Recuperate. Great for leveling and fighting trash. Leaves more Combo Points to spend on damage.
  2. Adrenaline Rush – Reduces important cooldowns by a small amount.
  3. Sprint – Faster sprinting, for the Usain Bolt Rogue, when you just have to be there right now.
Minor Glyphs
  1. Distract –  Increased range for this ability.
  2. Blurred Speed – Run on water while Sprint is active.
  3. Killing Spree – Returns you to the same spot which you started, for a bit more positioning predictability.

Blast through Mists of Pandaria to the level cap!

 Blast through Mists of Pandaria to the level cap, Click Here to Start!

 

 Posted by at 1:32 pm  Tagged with: