Wednesday, November 14, 2007

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.

We meet again, dear readers. Once more unto the breech!

Recently I have despaired that Gweryc had nothing left to accomplish before the next expansion was released. It’s proven to be more work than is worthwhile to repeatedly convince people I bring value to a 5-man group, and it’s debatable whether Gweryc could ever be raid-capable. I'm disinclined to raid, in any case. Put simply, Gweryc had no end-game to pursue. One of my server's forum regulars suggested, possibly jokingly, that I form an arena team through which I could exercise my prowess as a melee hunter.

One brave soul actually responded to the arena suggestion and invited me to team with him. Fellow Hunter Beren of Argent Exodus has proved himself a capable Duelist, as well as a knowledgeable mentor. Whereas I am entirely new to the arena specifically and a PvP noob in general, Beren deals death with all the grim efficiency of a veteran killer. Learning from him and working with him is a delight, and the experience has wholly revitalized my ardor.

Our 2v2 arena team, Woe and Muscadines, hasn't done too badly for itself. We've only been playing for a couple weeks, and - especially coupled with the fact that I am a total greenhorn - I think our current 64% win rate (9-2 the first night, currently 18-10 for the season) and our ability to protect a 1600+ rating both weeks is a notable achievement.

While I did prepare somewhat by levelling my ravager Prognathous to 70 for use in PvP and by upgrading a couple of my more abhorrent pieces of armor, my gear will need to be reworked to better suit the arena. This beautiful weapon, the Vengeful Gladiator's Waraxe, will likely be the first arena reward I purchase. My respec, which technically has changed me from a Survivalist to a Beast Master, seems to be working, but I'll of course keep an eye out for possible improvements.

It feels good to have a purpose again, and I've found the arena to be enjoyable in a way that the battlegrounds are not. I'm looking forward to improving my performance therein.

9 comments:

Brian Westley said...

Congrats on "losing" your +5 gun skill for a perfect 1! (thanks to the 2.3 patch changes)

Unknown said...

Gweryc, I have regaled my guild with your story and chided other hunters who fancy themselves melee hunters with same.

You are doing something especially loony with your toon and for that, I salute you! You'd be welcome in any run I was a doing!

Anonymous said...

Gweryc, if you need a new challenge, you might want to try getting a Ghost Wolf pet...

Anonymous said...

I suppose this is actually applicable to the theme of the post...

I want to thank you for inspiring me to make the "worst" (if by "worst" I mean "most likely to get me roundly criticized by the rest of WoW players) possible combination of race, class, and playstyle: a melee blood elf hunter.

The way I see it, I should have no mana conservation issues and be an excellent caster-killer capable of body-pulling them wherever I want them. ;) But of course the rest of the world will never greet poor Doallyn Firewing with open arms, so I figure most of the pleasure in playing him will be the perverse joy I take in doing something most people thought impossible, and doing it as well as I can.

Hopefully I can live up to the standards you've set.

If you've got any recommendations on spec, gear, or pets, I'd love them. ;)

Unknown said...

Can you tell me - do the names of ypur heroes mean anything? And who created these names?

Gweryc said...

@humanus: I think you must mean the characters I play? "Gweryc" was produced by an online name generator, but I later learned it's Cornish for "earth," which I thought was pretty cool for a Dwarf.

Anonymous said...

I've been toying with the idea of starting a Melee Hunter for some time now since I love the Old DND Rangers and I'm not a huge fan of the "normal" hunter playstyle.. Which tree would be best to get started down? BM or SV?

Gweryc said...

@Brokle: Vek'nilash:

Hmm... I never really thought about a Melee Hunter Leveling Guide. Your first five points absolutely should be 2/2 Savage Strikes, then 3/3 Humanoid Slaying. You won't parry all that often, so I'd hop over to the BM tree next and take 5/5 Endurance Training, then 3/3 Improved Aspect of the Monkey. Not sure what I'd recommend from there out... I'd probably jump back into the Survival tree at and start chasing Resourcefulness, which for me at least, had a huge impact on my mana. Resourcefulness was the difference between drinking constantly, and never drinking.

Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

I read all the way through your blog and I just have to say--right on. I'm considering a bizarrely themed RP character myself and although she doesn't have quite the same disability yours does and should be able to largely function normally it's still a huge inspiration to read through such a well-thought-out character. Even heartwarming. I can only dream of achieving the same thing myself.

Thanks for the blog!