Scotty: “I’m giving her all she’s got, Captain!”
Kirk: “All she’s got isn’t good enough! What else have you got?”
_
Last night our raid team attempted Festergut (25). Nine attempts in all, and at the end of the night he was still standing. It wasn’t a total waste of effort and we did reach the point where it was the enrage timer that was killing us. Two attempts had him at 7% and 6%.
I felt pretty good about how I was doing. Nobody was complaining, and my dps was well within the range it needed to be, but the boss wasn’t going down. The raid leader was also getting antsy, telling us we needed to step it up (naturally it was in that non-constructive way, like when a track coach tell his runners they need to run faster).
Now on Star Trek it’s usually some dramatic, risky, untested, unconventional and highly theoretical solution that saves day. In WoW those opportunities rarely present themselves. Nope, we have to dig deep to find that extra bit of healing or dps that’s needed to get the job done. We have to keep doing what we’re already doing, only we have to do it better.
Below are a couple of attempts both resulting in wipes due to the enrage timer. I can’t remember what percentage we had him to in the first attempt, but it wasn’t one of the 6% or 7% attempts I mentioned in the beginning. I do know that on the final one we got him to 6%.
Festergut Enrage Wipe I
Festergut Enrage Wipe II
As you can see my dps went up quite a bit in the second attempt. Now there are many factors that can result in fluctuating DPS numbers. Procs, buffs, debuffs and the RNG will all lead to a variance. Still though, adjustments (even tiny ones) also play a part.
After each attempt I try to evaluate my performance. I sit back and ask myself questions such as,
- Am I economizing on my movement, firing instants and pausing for auto shots?
- Am I maximizing my GCDs? Perhaps I’m firing a Steady Shot when Chimera or Aimed are up (old BM habits die hard sometimes).
- Am I using Readiness and Rapid fire correctly?
- Am I recasting Serpent Sting the first time my T10 2-set bonus procs?
- Am I maximizing my cooldown stacking?
- Have I tried pre-potting a speed potion?
- I recently got some new gear, are my gems and enchants in order? Let’s see I’m a JC and I’m using both of my allotted JC only gems. Both!? KHAAAANNNNNN!
Ultimately this is about attitude. It’s very easy to sit back and blame the other guy saying, “My dps is fine, it’s the lower half that needs to pick up their game.” This may be true, but I can’t play the other guy’s toon. I can only play mine, and I choose to be happy with how I play, but never satisfied. As the poet Robert Browning once wrote, “Ah but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp…”
So my question to you is are you giving it all she’s got, and is all she’s got good enough, and if not, what else have you got?
Good Hunting! Live Long and Prosper!
Have you tried creating and spamming a macro that would force your pet to /bite? This could add a couple hundred DPS to your current numbers.
I haven't tried that yet.
*scrambles over to outdps.com to get the full scoop.*
You guys should burn hero right off the start, rather than half-way through – so that it lines up with everyone's cooldowns and trinket procs
Also, are you using some sort of instant when running/disengaging to get under the spore? I noticed that you had no arcane shots, but I use that while moving if chimera/aimed are on CD.
I've suggested that before, but the raid leader like s to wait until after the third spore.
I guess the answer is yes and no. I struggled w/it on our Thu. night raid.
Last night we went back in and got him down. I used Arcane Shot when running to our collapse point (chimera and aimed if not on CD), and I tried disengaging back to my spot after each spore.
All-in-all I noticed that my active dps time on the boss went up which was good.
Grats on the kill!