Acronymification, FWIW

The last few editions of The Queue had a lot about tanking, and deciding which Heroic is the best Heroic to tank your first time around. Adam said Utgarde Pinnacle was a good training ground, and his opinion was thoroughly stomped upon for being wrong. I have to say, though... Utgarde Pinnacle was my first Wrath heroic as a tank and it worked pretty well. I did a lot of tanking in The Burning Crusade so maybe I'm a little different since I already knew what I was doing, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be. Mobs in Utgarde Pinnacle hit really hard, and it taught me to get back into the habit of using my cooldowns properly and not relying completely on my healer to keep me standing.

I won't say Adam was right, but I also won't say he was wrong. Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle and Heroic CoT: Stratholme are the two dungeons that taught me the most about tanking. Teaching myself to remember to use my own cooldowns and mitigation abilities, learning how to pace a group and keep them moving, relearning how to handle different types of mobs. They were a challenge, oh yes, but that's why I learned so much from them. Easier heroics like Violet Hold didn't teach me to do much because you basically nap through the thing. Then again, I am sort of a 'trial by fire' kind of guy. I need to die a few times to figure out whether I'm capable of something or not.

CallMeIrd asked..

"Are they going to change or remove the School of Hard Knocks achievements? It's pretty much impossible for a lot of players to achieve."

I seriously doubt it. Why do I doubt it? Because it's not impossible at all. It's marginally more difficult than the other Children's Week achievements and it's pretty poorly designed, but impossible? Never. That's like saying Hail To The King is impossible. It isn't. Why would it be?

My big pet peeve about School of Hard Knocks is knowing that the achievement (besides Alterac Valley) is easiest to get if you simply play the Battlegrounds as intended. Let them run their course, and you'll probably get a flag cap (or whatever you need) before the match is over. Just go with the flow of battle, be a quick clicker, and you've got it. When everyone is obsessing over the flags, the battleground goes sour and nobody gets their achievement. Don't obsess over the achievement objectives. Play the battlegrounds right. Alterac Valley is the only exception, because holy crap that one was poorly thought out.

This thing usually takes no more than 3-4 hours for most people. That definitely does not strike me as worthy of being removed from a meta.

Quickshiv asked...

"If you see a player with a horrible spec (at level 80) what should you do? I don't mean in raid or even group just running around some times I will inspect someone to see what gear they have if I don't recognize it. If their spec is very bad should I comment in a nice way or just let them go on about their business."

If they're just someone I spotted in the auction house or out in the world at random? Someone I've never grouped with, and don't need to group with? I don't say anything. I don't know them, and they don't know me. I can be as polite as possible and there's a pretty good chance they'll be offended, because I'm basically that stranger that walked up to them on the street to tell them their shirt is ugly. The best you're going to get is a sarcastic, 'Thanks.' The worst you're going to get is a punch in the face.

Sure, once in a blue moon you'll find someone that's appreciative, but I like to avoid alienating dozens of people in between those rare few.

Now, if you feel absolutely compelled to discuss it with someone, what I would probably do is ask if they have any experience with X build, or if they've tried it. By opening a conversation with "X and Y talents are bad" you're going to piss someone off. If you ask someone if they've tried Z talent yet, there's a good chance they'll be less irritated at the unsolicited conversation. They'll say yes or no, and you can strike up discussion from there.

Merlista asked...

"How do you politely bow-out of a group request while not implying the door is closed for later? Its rare I can guarantee uninterrupted time of 3 minutes or more but when I can I really enjoy grouping. Of course I don't join unless I'm virtually guaranteed uninterrupted time. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Its an annoying mouthful "Sorry, can't guarantee my time right now, look me up later?"...Perhaps there's an acronym I haven't learned yet. Thanks!"

I usually just say something like: Appreciate the invite, but I have some stuff going on RL and am going AFK a lot. If you're still around later though, I'd be happy to help!

Which would be ATIBIHSSGORLAAGAFKALIYSALTIBHTH