528 Blood DK

[Shaffer]

Yep, your 100% right, i had just recently got these heroic legs (Which are not bis) so i was playing around and switching things up. The goal is not to be under the 7.5%, before reforging i was at 7.8 or something.

[Shaffer]

As we have been talking on this thread, ive been working with reforging, gemming and what not and reading up on what it better suited for 25m

[Hip]

Whats up Shaffer

I see that you did some re-gemming/reforging and I’m going to need a little help understanding what went on with that. You’re now just over hit cap and just under expertise cap (after having gone all the way to expertise hard cap at 15%).

Were you unaware of the DK spell mechanics prior to your application? Did you just switch to placate me so I’d be happier with your gearing? Take me through your thought process a bit there please.

From the Logs

I’m going to use the Jin Kun fight as it’s been the furthest heroic most of our recent applicants have been working on and the analysis I’ve been using.

Spell usage/rotation looks in-line and your dps looks decent.

I’m a bit concerned about your Frost Fever/Blood Plague uptimes on the kill you only maintained them at 75%. That’s too low. What tools are you using to track FF/BP and what is your strategy for refreshing these spells on that particular fight. (I see low uptimes as a trend through other fights as well so please address this in your reply).

Defensively Death Strike’s look very low at 35916.5 average healing per DS. But I’m also seeing nearly 60% overheals on DS so I’m guessing a lot of them were cast while not actively tanking the boss? What is your role on that fight?

I’m seeing good use of AMS, what attacks were you using this CD for? I’m seeing 3 misses on Slimed as well as fairly low Infected Talons damage so just curious.

Rune Tap use is pretty decent at 12 of a theoretical 20, but you do have 35% overhealing on that spell so it could have been utilized a bit better. Nice to see that you didn’t totally overlook it however.

Bone shield uptime looks good at 80%

Vampiric Blood use also looks nice at 5 casts, depending on tanking rotations you might have been able to eek out 1 or 2 more of these, but I would guess this is probably constant use of the spell, nicely done.

4 casts of DRW, also in-line with proper usage. How are you timing this spell? What things do you take into account before you press that button to maximize its benefits?

Only 1 cast of IBF for the fight, why such little use? What situations are you using/saving that spell for?

I’m also seeing very low use of your Trinkets, how do you have these set-up for use whilst tanking (again a trend across other fights)?

I also see that you’re spec’d into Death Pact and that you proc’d Will of the Necropolis, so your health dropped fairly low. However I don’t see any healing for Death Pact. How do you use this spell/what situations do you want it for? How have you set-up your UI to make it’s use easier? When do you get your ghoul out?

I see damage from your AoD, how are you using this spell in a typical fight?

Summary

Overall things look decent to me.

I’ve got a few questions and I’m seeing some room for improvement but it feels more like polish to me than an overhaul.

I’d be curious to hear your answers but I could even concede that some of the gaps I’m seeing are more to do with playing in a 10s environment moreso than a deficiency on your part.

Looking forward to your response.

Hip

[Shaffer]

Hey Hip,

As far as the gemming and reforging its just a testing thing right now, since im not 100% raiding and just filling for a group right now, im able to switch stuff around to see what is better. just note that what my armory currently says, may not be the final product. As far as switching gems and going to 7.5% (which i fixed the 0.5% with a quick item upgrade) exp cap instead of the 15% is simply just taking your advice and going with it and testing it out. I do know the mechanics of my class, yes. I've looked at alot of different blood dks 10m and 25m exp and so many do different things.

As far as logs go, at least for ji-kun it was a fight i had not seen on heroic, and it was on farm for them. so my play style may have not been perfect due to not having any exp on the fight, as to where someone progressing on the fight would learn when to use what each attempt. I use the default bars from ElvUI on my target frame to track diseases. and again, 75% is low i agree but could have been up closer to 95%

For the DS usage i would have to say that is more of 10m style of play, and correct me if im way off. But i DS when i take damage sure, but even when tanking and i have a shield built up, it is not worth sitting on the runes for damage to come. So i tend to keep a blood shield up and stacking while i tank. alot of it as well is when i was OT. i guess the healing and overhealing for this would differ per fight.

I was using ams on this fight as much as i could to soak up puddles even when i was tanking.

Rune tap could have been used more effectively for sure, just practice knowing when damage is coming and if i can snipe the deficit before a healer does. VB i suppose would be in the same boat. that is usually gone on CD if im tanking or there is huge aoe dmg out.

For DRW it was used first at the start of the fight with my initial burst, then i used it on each platform when tanking the bird so i could double blood boil and spread dots to the eggs and do a little extra dmg to help out. and then was used again after 35% to stack up soul reaper.

Oh the trinkets. lol... This was actually a HUGE mistake by me and how i didn't catch it i guess there is no excuse. i had recently redone my UI because for some reason ElvUI reset all my bindings, so i had missed my trinket key bindings and didn't notice it until lei shen. so when i thought i was using my trinkets i actually was not because they were not bound. so that's that..

Death pact is pretty self explanatory, although i did not use it during the fight because i believe will proc'd with the quill damage and then a talon strike right after, but i think i got LOH so pact wasn't needed, normally i would be aiming to use this when ever Purgatory proc's because it is a massive self heal that would save me otherwise as well.

AOTD is popped before the boss on the pull for damage. i haven't really used it defensively much. i think the last time i needed to use it was on madness progression for the 4th impale as a CD. But as far as this tier goes i have yet to use it for that purpose.

I would like to note that as per fight to fight basis learning them is really the only way to polish your play style, im not sure any group who has not attempted a fight and played perfect on the first attempt to kill a boss. so again as far as these logs, they are by no means perfect. And Logs are a great thing to have because i am able to look back on the previous week and improve on stuff that may have been lacking in the first kill. which has been pointed out here. So thanks

[Hip]

As far as logs go, at least for ji-kun it was a fight i had not seen on heroic, and it was on farm for them. so my play style may have not been perfect due to not having any exp on the fight, as to where someone progressing on the fight would learn when to use what each attempt. I use the default bars from ElvUI on my target frame to track diseases. and again, 75% is low i agree but could have been up closer to 95%

Some food for thought. You're applying to a guild that would provide an environment where you will be facing many fights that will be new for you. New in terms of format 10 v 25 and new in terms of Normal v Hard Mode. You can't afford to miss the basics or allow your base gameplay to get distracted. Review the tools you've got (keybinds, UI, bars/timers) and be sure everything is in working order before you step into the raid.

I agree that experience is the best way to polish your play, but taking a big step up in content won't allow you much practice time to grow.

AOTD is popped before the boss on the pull for damage. i haven't really used it defensively much. i think the last time i needed to use it was on madness progression for the 4th impale as a CD. But as far as this tier goes i have yet to use it for that purpose.

This is a strategy that I'd change. The DPS gain isn't worth the 30%+ damage reduction you get while channeling he spell. If you're so worried about the DPS finish the channel and let the ghouls do their thing.

For the DS usage i would have to say that is more of 10m style of play, and correct me if im way off. But i DS when i take damage sure, but even when tanking and i have a shield built up, it is not worth sitting on the runes for damage to come. So i tend to keep a blood shield up and stacking while i tank. alot of it as well is when i was OT. i guess the healing and overhealing for this would differ per fight.

Yeah, you wouldn't want to camp Runes for too long, nor more than a second or two max but with your set-up you shouldn't be DS'ing on CD. You will want to be a little patient depending on a few factors; known/predictable incoming damage, current Blood Shield size and time remaining, time left on your next pair of FU/DD runes. Mastering this is the heart of Blood DK, particularly in 25H progression

So far so good, and I'd like to chat

We should set something up with you, me and Ashin; when might you be available to do a mumble interview?

[Shaffer]

I'm free all night. Shaffer#1932 if you wanna get ahold of me.

[Estarriol]

Greetings Shaffer,

I see that, as always, Hip pretty much has you covered, but I'd also like to toss in a few questions and comments of my own.

As far as logs go, at least for ji-kun it was a fight i had not seen on heroic, and it was on farm for them. so my play style may have not been perfect due to not having any exp on the fight, as to where someone progressing on the fight would learn when to use what each attempt.

This, honestly, concerns me a bit. You say in your intro that you thoroughly research fights ahead of time, but here it kind of seems like you didn't. Between normal and heroic, there aren't many major changes for tanks, especially in regards to Talon Rakes. I know the timing can be a bit hairy, but when you're on the boss it is basically the same fight as normal, it just hits harder. I feel that it should have been apparent to you that the timing of the major-damage abilities are essentially the same and the dungeon journal should have been able to give you an idea of how to rotate your CDs. You would have had a special advantage in timing your CDs by asking your tanking buddy ahead of time how many Rakes you'll take and if 3min CDs will have time to come back up.

I did exclusive 10m tanking until this current tier and one of the largest challenges I faced was learning to not only rotate my own CDs well, but to also be able to be comfortable calling for external CDs. How well-equipped are you to thoughtfully call for external CDs? How does the other tank's survivability factor in?

Alright, so there's been a bunch of talk about survivability through CDs and active mitigation, but you also have a wealth of unique utility available to you. How have you utilized your toolkit to aid your raid? When researching fights, how do you try to determine what talents and glyphs would be best? How do you plan the use of your toolkit prior to trying out a new fight?

Lastly, a strong connection to my tanking buddy is of the utmost importance to me. How comfortable would you be talking over fights between attempts and before raids with me? Are you familiar with warriors and do you feel you could adapt your playstyle to make optimal use of us both?

[Shaffer]

Hey Estarriol! Nice to meet you

I think me saying that it was a new heroic to me was maybe misconstrued? i knew the mechanics of the fight from the Normal > Heroic fight, and i knew how it worked. i had just never seen the fight before personally besides say a video. And i think we one shot it so i wasnt really able to look back and improve on it. so yes, there were things lacking from the attempt.

And you may be a perfect person to talk to about the changes from 10m and 25m as far as Cd's and what not. i do understand the play style will be different, but haven't had the chance to see how much of a change it will be. I'm sure once i get the hang of things i will learn very quickly what has changed. As far as calling out for things, i've been a GM/Raid leader since firelands so having to call out everything was all up to me. pain supps, sac's etc is not a problem if i know i will need it. i guess the most obvious talent change would be even if minor would be AMZ. if i know the group will be able to stack and i can mitigate a little bit of damage i would opt into that, or even mass grip for adds on lei shen. Researching the fights and people strats is all well and good to learn the basics, but every group may do something different and need something different depending on raid comp.

Communication between tanks is something i miss. in the past couple tiers ive played with silent tanks, or tanks that NEEDED me to tell them what to do during the encounter. i love talking progression with my tanking partner very much, just like healers have a healing relationship and are able to mesh well and communicate for CD's instead of worrying about numbers, i think tanks should be able to do just as well. As i may not be super familiar with warriors i think just talking with you about how we both can work together on a kill would be enough for me, and over time i would be able to learn more and more about the tanking style you play.

[Ashin]

Unfortunately I'm not able to meet up tonight. Monday night is possible after 9pm EST - not sure if that works for Hip. Ofc Hip you can feel free to arrange something without me.

[Evgeny]

i would be able to learn more and more about the tanking style you play.

Just picture 5 feet 3 inches of green-skinned death, roaring like a dragon as she leaps leaps into the largest visible group of mobs...

That's pretty much our Esta