:::18 November 2005:::
Well, I did re-spec Guuinnes on Monday.  He is now 15/15/21 pulling all the defensive abilities from the retribution tree adding them to the increased AC talents from the Protection line.  I also took improved Seal of the Crusader and Improved Seal of Rightousness so I could have some form of damage.  My DPS did take a hit, but my AC has gained a significant increase.  I did put all but one of my big 2handers in the bank, we'll see how long they stay there.

 

For our Monday Night Crew, we did our first Tribute run.  IT WAS A BLAST!  We took a bit of time to complete it, but we were feeling our way along, trying not to die a number of times.  We did have one wipe due to a pat adding at the wrong time.  Other than that we had one other death (when Laurel was Mind Controlling a mob and MC broke -- Sorry Laurel, my heals are too slow!).  I did get several  upgrades along the way, a "tanking" shield and several +healing items.  The +healing stuff now can improve my heals up to nearly +150.  I hope we do more Tribute runs, and get good at it so we can farm stuff from there for everyone.  My "defensive respec" paid immediate dividends.  When we got to fighting the king, we had to split with me holding the Observer and ther rest of the party taking the king down.  I had to tank the observer all alone, with only my self healing to keep me alive.  I take the fact that no one died, and the King went down quickly as proof that I did my job well.  Once the Tribute run is completed, you are "the king" and it is good to be the king. :)

 

Tuesday night was a guild ZG run.  We took down the Bat boss, the Snake boss and the Raptor boss.  I have collected all the channeler heads I need, now I just need Haxxor's head to complete the quest.  When we took down the Bat boss, I won a Zulian Shield.  A very nice Pally shield with +sta, +int, and +spirit.  I added more spirit to it to really help my mana/hp regen.  It was another fun night.

 

Wednesday was BWL night.  We attempted another run at Razorgore.  That is a BITCH of a fight.  We still are having some difficulties in getting all the eggs down.  We are modifying our tactics and hope to have it figured out soon.  Once we do, BWL will open it's doors to us.

 

Last night was another ZG run.  We did the spider boss and moved to the Tiger boss.  For a while I was "Healadin" satying out of the fight and just clensing/healing raidmembers as needed.  When we finally got enough priests on I moved to a more engaged role in beating the mobs down.  It took us two tries to get the Spider Boss down (due to trying out a new strat).  We moved over to the Tiger boss, but we didn't have three Warriors in the raid.  I tried to be the "third tank" but I was given an example of how badly I need to improve my gear.  I did not last long at all during the fight and we wiped.  We re-formed and Abyrra took over as third tank, he did a great job, I was spam healing him, and we almost were able to win but the Pally mob just would not die (he has an INSANE mana regen).

 

It is always fun to raid.  I didn't get any upgrades last night or Wednesday night. but I was able to be with my guild, do some fun stuff and get to know them better.  I have a much better feeling about the guild and my place in it.  Now to get through the Thanksgiving Holidays.

:::14 November 2005:::
Well, my membership in TE has already brought me to new places (and impressive places at that)  Last night I was in on the Black Wing Lair raid!  This is the current End Game of WoW.  These raids are intense! You have to really be on your toes and have your strategy together.  We are still working on beating Rage, but we are getting close.  I didn't do all that well, but as was pointed out by one other Pally, "no one is expecting you to be perfect, you haven't even done MC yet"  When he told me that, it did lift my spirits.  I had felt that I was a lost newbie during the runs.  I did get more of a feeling as the raid progressed, but I still need A LOT of work.  Tonight TE is hitting Ony, I don't have the key to her zone, and I have a standing Mondy Night run with Dej, Stab, Laurel and Thac.  I think I'll have just as much fun (if not more).

 

It was nice to actually participate in the TE raids over the weekend.  I was beginning to feel lost, as they were hitting areas that I was not able to go.  I was on late Friday night getting BWL attuned -- Actually making two runs at UBRS before I was successful.  It is nice to feel a part of the guild.

 

Things I NEED to do:
 1. Get my Ony key (this will get me a +FR neck and open up another zone for me to raid in)
 2. GET MY FR UP!  I need to do some research to find all the gear that will get my FR up and not greatly diminish my other stats.  I bet good FR/Healing gear would be great on BWL raids.
 3. Get an understanding on exactly what is needed/required for Paladin's within TE.  I know that I will not be a DPS entity.  I need to get my Tanking/Healing better. (although Tanking requires holding aggro, which requires DPS)
 4. Attend more raids.  I want to get off "trial member" status.  I don't think I'll be comfortable until I am either a full member or a raid member. (Hitting ZG and BWL over the weekend should have helped towards that)

 

Things I WANT to do:
 1. Finish my Charger quest! I have all the components I need to gather.  I just need to get the final arcanite bars created from Dej (he can only make one every 24 hours, which sucks! Not his fault, but a game mechanic)  I have the other items and gold.  once I get the remaining bars, I can do that turn in, do the turn in in DM one Monday Night, then get ready to do the Scholo part.  I have the other gems that I need to do the turn in so I need is arcanite and some time.
 2. Get Ghaani to 60.  I know this will take a bit more time than it did with Guuinnes, because I don't play her often and she is un-guilded.  I think getting Guuinnes to full member status will all me to get Ghaani in as an alternate character.  I screwed up when I re-trained Sam.  He lost some abilities.  I need to get Sam another level.

 

I think I am going re-spec Guuinnes tonight (I know I SHOULD wait for 1.9) Since we are going to hit DM-North and do a tribute run, I think a Prot/Holy or a even build would be the best for the group.  I know my DPS isn't going to win the thing, survivability will go a lot farther.  I will have to put my big 2 handers in the bank for a while and go with shield/mace (or axe or sword, whatever is better)  I like Kings, scratch that, I LOVE Kings, but if I am boosting my abilities in other areas Kings may not be all that.  I'll let you know how that goes.