Almost a Perfect Letter
“Dear BRK, there are certain milestones in one’s WoW life that are especially noteworthy … One such moment occurred for me last night when one of our guild’s level 70 rogues whispered me asking if I wanted to do Steam Vaults.
‘Gotta go get some ammo real quick, but H3LL YEAH, I’m in.’
“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that butterfly-in-the-stomach thing with regards to gaming. This was my first instance as a 70 and only my 3rd total as a Hunter. We found a pally tank, a pally healer and a dps warrior and were off into the depths of Coilfang Res.
“First pull…two mobs, down with no problem. Second pull, 3 mobs…I turn the corner and accidentally pull a bog lord…no wipe, but definitely not good work. Apologies are typed, forgiveness is offered and then, I proceed to focus.
“I would like to tell you that everything went OK for me from that point forward, but it didn’t…it was better than that.
“Those nights I spent chain trapping mobs in Arathi [Highlands] back and forth across that god-forsaken zone began to pay off. Misdirection became the word of the night. Ferocious Inspiration was loved by all.
“The healer’s life was spared on 5 separate occasions because I was aware of my surroundings and was able to trap mobs off of her or use Berry (my cat) as a tank until the tank/off-tank could pick up said mob.
“When all was said and done and the last boss finally lay in a hump at our feet, the tank, (who was quite a bit more seasoned than anyone in the rest of the party,) whispered me to let me know that he would take me into any regular instance, any time. The healer thanked me as well for keeping her alive. I was then honored by all in the party who passed on Beast Lord Leggings so that I could upgrade my gear. It was truly an awesome night.
“Now, am I saying that we finished that zone because of me and me alone… /pft, /scoff, /shakes head. We’re a team and we live as a team and die as a team. Our tank was awesome and our healer was amazing.
“But what I am saying is that because of the information you provide on this site, I was able to do my job within that team and do it WELL. Because of that, our TEAM was able to bring down all the bosses - something 4 of the 5 of us hadn’t done before in that instance. Because of the information here, I was able to trap if needed, use my cat as an off tank and provide MQOSRDPS.
“I had planned on writing this letter since last night so it’s not really a response to your post today regarding the Blizz ‘fora’. But there’s a reason sites like yours exist - because there is a large number of gamers who, although we understand it’s a game, want to do our best in said game. Your site provides support and instruction on how to accomplish that goal as a Hunter.
“I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and thanks for all the time that you devote to making this class a better class to play. Kran
“PS. That clefthide armor that I bought from you a couple of days ago looks really good on the Beast Lord Leggings…I’m gonna wear these bastards till they fall off of me in tatters 
“
Wonderful letter, thank you for the love. But there is one thing we want to specifically call out as Wrong and make a Correction.
But what I am saying is that because of the information you provide on this site, I was able to do my job within that team and do it WELL.
It sure wasn’t because of us that Kran was able to do his job Well. It was because he had the desire to Practice the skills we’ve talked about and be thus Prepared for his instancing career to commence that he was able to perform above the level of Huntard and enter the realm of Uber PvE Hunter.
We can write an infinite number of “How To X” posts, but if you don’t go out and put in the time and the effort to practice and make these techniques a part of your playstyle, we’re not helping you at all.
What is Kran’s next step in his adventures in Instancing? He’s gonna get a bad group, that’s what, perhaps even a Pug From H3ll. That’s when he’s going to really see the benefit of his practicing; when he sees people who haven’t. When he gets that noobcake mage who refuses to let the tank get aggro, when he gets that melee-huntard in his party, when he sees his tank is dual-wielding axes, that’s when Kran is going to realize that his preparation and study are not common, but rather unfortunately, he’s the exception.
Are there fewer huntards running amok lately? If so, perhaps we’ll allow ourselves to take a modicum of credit. But as for as his and anybody else’s personal performance and any studliness you’re all bringing to a party, well that’s all you, baby.
And we’re just really proud to be a small part of it.
Comments
12 Responses to “Almost a Perfect Letter”
Leave a Reply
-
Got Something To Say?
Email icon provided by Nexodyne. -
-
-
BRK's Site Meter
-
BRK License Agreement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
-
BRK's RSS Feeds
BRK … your modesty is endearing as, I believe, it is sincere. As one of those who has taken up the task of improving my hunter skills, I do feel that credit should go to the one who puts in the time and effort. However, I am also one who would argue that medals should go to both the doer and the coach as one would not succeed without the other.
BRK … it is your coaching that shows us the path to being better hunters!
It’s time, don’t you think, to stop making mock letters, and then proceeding to write responces to them?
I don’t know about you, but hunters are our favourite scapegoats! A fair chunk of us have our guild note as ‘I blame (HUNTER)’. Hunter has his note as ‘I BLAME ME’. Hunters are always good for a laugh :).
That said, he’s geared and raid aware enough that we all trust him to make the important calls over TS. Its got to the point that if its not our hunter making the TS calls, I simply tune it out as white noise.
I had my fair share of butterflies on the first couple of test regular instance runs. Grats on not muffing it up :p.
-Sam
/cast [target=Breach] Sarcasm
I think the order is reversed: first BRK writes the answers and only after does the letters!
I’ve learned a bit with BRK and his posts, but, like he says, it’s only practice that gets you THERE. I never did chain trap in Arathi (seems quite a popular place for that!), but I did go to a few instances soloing when the mobs were still green/yellow, which, for me, is a much more appropriate way to hone your skills: you get to do that in VERY close quarters, and have to be wary of other GROUPED mobs, and if you get hit a few times, you’re down… Ultimately, that makes me play better and make up for some flaws when PUGing…
I try to play each and every char to the best of my abilities and keep surprising me that some players just play WoW as if it’s a 1st person shooting game…
Playing the best I can, not only means that my limited time spent WoWing is much better, it also allows me to understand when OTHERS are performing sub-par and then I try and help them. If they improve, so much the better; if they ignore, it’s going to be THEIR problem, not mine!
I too have had instances like that, every trap set and reset, huge dps and by the end of the first area the tank may not always take the sheep last (usually the most dependable CC). My guy is still frozen and I told him 30 seconds yet.
Then, as BRK says, the pug from Hades bastard step children show up. It wont’ be just a normal run, ohh no, its “just quick 2nd key frag for Kara run. What could go wrong?” !!! Come on, everyone has met these peeps. The dual weilding warrior in leather armor (Tankman), shadow priest (healer want to be), mage (dragons breath = 1st spell)
When you can still be that one or two dependable players in the group then usually others will see your practiced and knowedgable of your toon. That means a lot in this game. As you continue in the second half of WoW (end game) being known as a good player will help you tremendously.
Keep up the good work and show other hunters to this great site. Its done me wonders.
@ Breach
If you took the time to email BRK, you’d realize that he doesn’t make up this stuff.
He took the time to personally respond to an e-mail i sent about gearing up for Kara and spec’ing BM over Marksmanship, and cleared up a few theory points for me.
It’s that kind of helpfulness and dedication that shows you he hasn’t fabricated a single one of these e-mails.
Hell, if I ever get an e-mail question on my Survival blog, you better believe that I’ll put it front and center - but for now, I’m just building up content.
Thanks for the love, BRK. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and keep up the great work.
-Track
/cast [target=Breach] Holiday Cheer
Misanthropic much?
I can speak from experience. I wrote a similar thank you letter to BRK a while ago and got a similar reply. Yes, the letters are real. Yes, he answers. Yes, he is a nice guy. If you can’t believe any of this, YOU have some problems.
BRK personally answered 2 or 3 of my mails so far (thanks btw ^^), I think it’s extremely unlikely that he made up the letters on the site xD
/equip [Tinfoil Hat]
*gasp* Now BRK is putting up fake comments to get moar cheers!
Breach = BRK!!! It all makes sense now!
/facepalm
B… seriously… stop with the damn modesty. You are the reason I went from Noobtard to Hunterror… If it weren’t for your site and the information provided on it by you and your ilk that populate the site, I would still be farting around with a 2.0 speed gun, nerfing my own DPS rotation, bobbling around with the wrong enchants because the ones I have look cooler with the weapon they are on, and sitting at the bottom of the DPS meter… Shut yer trap and just say thank you ya purple tiger tamin’ pansy!!! Go get a gorilla for pete’s sake… Knothead may know a female or two out in Ungoro that might serve you well.
Amen! It still feels really cool when I get a whisper that says, “Dude, you’re one of the good ones!”
But it should also be said that the encouragement and success that comes from your posts, and now your forums gets taken back home to our own guilds.
It feels even cooler when you get whispers from your own guildees about their accomplishments with a young hunter, and they are saying thank you for taking the time to explain a talent, or for going with them to Refuge Point to teach them chain trapping.
Although I do wish my first 5 man instance ended with “…and I even got the Beastlord Leggings.”
Sheesh, and they don’t call ‘em the Grieves of Patience for nothing.
Peace
Vik & Kaylee
After reading about and practicing chain trapping, i got invited to a Kara PUG with my guild leader. The practicing gave me the focus to do my job correctly with an awesome team. My guild leader whispered that we are giving our guild a good reputation. He left early and we wiped on moroes but all in all, it was a great experience. Thanks for the tips. They help us make better teams and increase the enjoyment of playing wow.