Fight Log Blood DK - How am I doing?

[Deleted]

I have to contradict DarklingThrush a little here, as I don't think it is a good idea to pull with Outbreak, simply because it doesn't give any immediate threat. I used to do that as well for quite a while, but when you play with better DPS players, this will usually mean that they snap aggro from you for a moment. Then the boss runs around a bit and makes things more than a bit awkward. My recommendation would be to pull with taunt, blood boil, death strike and then outbreak. The RP for glyphed Outbreak are then a non-issue (especially so if you used Army on the pull).

The other recommendation I have would be to always keep one frost and one unholy rune (or the equivalent in Blood tap stacks) up, so you can Death Strike when you take a big hit. As alluded to by Paxz19 the resolve mechanic really helps in moments where you take a big burst and then DS immediately afterwards.

[Deleted]

OK..its been a while since I posted and I genuinely appreciate all the help I had, regardless.

We cleared 9 bosses in HFC tonight...so how am I doing now? reports/Vf1GcKFH4Yn2vT7p/

[Nisth]

Well to start off you're looking much better compared to your last logs, so great job! A few things stick out to me though.

1. I see that you're using blood tap and that's great; however, you are capping out your charges quite frequently which is not so great. I'm not sure if you're using it in a macro or manually (you should try to learn it manually if not), so that may affect it slightly. Anyway, if you're using it manually try to not cap your blood tap charges if possible. Always keep in mind though when managing your resources: runes > runic power > blood tap charges.

2. It appears that you're using outbreak on every single new target that pops up and other times simply using it too frequently. Since you have outbreak glyphed, you should really only be using it in two situations: i. On the pull when you gain enough runic power for it; and ii. After you use plague leech and there is NOT another target nearby. I'm not sure if you know or not but blood boil will spread and refresh your diseases to all nearby enemies within 15 yards.

3. Coming back to plague leech and since you have outbreak glyphed, you should ideally be using this ability on or around cooldown. However, you should only use this when you have two fully depleted runes (for example, you don't have a single frost or unholy rune to use).

4. You've improved a lot in regards to not capping your runic power but you could still improve on this a bit.

5. You should be using defile on cooldown as it does a decent amount of your damage. This can be delayed SLIGHTLY due to new adds; however, if you're waiting for more than 5-10 seconds, it's not worth waiting.

6. You could improve your soul reaper usage. It is a HUGE part of our damage and is a very high priority once the boss is at or under 35% health.

7. Some fights you aren't using dancing rune weapon. You can essentially use this on cooldown if you're not having problems dying.

Sorry if it's a little long but I went into more detail this time since you improved quite a bit. Try to fix some of these things and then post some more logs and we'll let you know how you did.

[Dracodraco]

I have to contradict DarklingThrush a little here, as I don't think it is a good idea to pull with Outbreak, simply because it doesn't give any immediate threat. I used to do that as well for quite a while, but when you play with better DPS players, this will usually mean that they snap aggro from you for a moment. Then the boss runs around a bit and makes things more than a bit awkward. My recommendation would be to pull with taunt, blood boil, death strike and then outbreak. The RP for glyphed Outbreak are then a non-issue (especially so if you used Army on the pull).

The other recommendation I have would be to always keep one frost and one unholy rune (or the equivalent in Blood tap stacks) up, so you can Death Strike when you take a big hit. As alluded to by Paxz19 the resolve mechanic really helps in moments where you take a big burst and then DS immediately afterwards.

That's why you hit outbreak and taunt at the same time to glue the boss to you for 4 seconds (Taunt isn't on the GBC). 4 Seconds, even with running time at max distance, means you can still hit it with 2x death strikes, which should be plenty to grab initial aggro. No issue hitting both outbreak+taunt at the same time, and it's probably what is ment by "pull with outbreak". I can't think of any situation where a tank *shouldn't* initiate the fight by taunting the boss. It removes all risk of overaggro "in the start".

[Deleted]

Cheers Nisth....

1: I hadn't noticed that actually, well I knew I was capping at times but didn't think so often. I think I tend to bank and use them when I can get 2 runes i.e. DS , DS, BT, BT rather than for Blood Runes or single runes. My reason for this is to not end up with out of sync F/U Runes (or Death Runes as the case may be). FYI I do this manually, never been keen on macro'ing key skills. I will keep more of an eye on this.

2/3: Yeah.....was starting to think this too...this feeds into point 3 though, I try to use plague leech on cooldown as much as I can which is when I tend to use Outbreak but in retrospect there is often mobs still around and so blood boil would probably suffice.

4: Probably

5: I try to use defile as much as I can but tend to wait for a Crimson Scourge proc, however I guess if I'm worried about using the unholy rune and leaving myself de-synced or short for death strike then using blood tap more rather than holding on and risking capping will help. So use defile more, check!

6: I knew this and so recently swapped to use compact runes with the soul reaper proc turned on, so I am using it more than I was, needs work though.

7: Like soul reaper, I knew this....needs work


But no, thanks for the long post, it's what I am looking for. We are back in HFC on Sunday for the last 4 bosses...I'll post more logs after that but we've never done them before so it might end up being a little chaotic.

[Paxz19]

That's why you hit outbreak and taunt at the same time to glue the boss to you for 4 seconds (Taunt isn't on the GBC). 4 Seconds, even with running time at max distance, means you can still hit it with 2x death strikes, which should be plenty to grab initial aggro. No issue hitting both outbreak+taunt at the same time, and it's probably what is ment by "pull with outbreak". I can't think of any situation where a tank *shouldn't* initiate the fight by taunting the boss. It removes all risk of overaggro "in the start".

I don't completely agree with starting out with two death strikes considering as a newer DK you should be banking on atleast one set and using that set in case you get quite low? I feel like taunt is ok to use or even death grip as they both serve the same purpose and the other will be off cd.

[nephzor]

I don't completely agree with starting out with two death strikes considering as a newer DK you should be banking on atleast one set and using that set in case you get quite low? I feel like taunt is ok to use or even death grip as they both serve the same purpose and the other will be off cd.

Dark command makes you generate 200% more threat for 3sec, hence why you pull with dark command + outbreak and double death strike, so that you build enough threat for the mages to go ham. Also on pull you should have disc + pally pre-shielding you so you'll have death strike back before you need it.

[Felfaadaern Darkterror]

I don't completely agree with starting out with two death strikes considering as a newer DK you should be banking on atleast one set and using that set in case you get quite low? I feel like taunt is ok to use or even death grip as they both serve the same purpose and the other will be off cd.

I wouldn't say Dark Command and Death Grip serve the same purpose entirely. One has the advantage of boosting the threat you generate for a few seconds, the other is great for repositioning a key mob or picking up a spare (bowling term) that didn't group with the others and wants to stay at range. Death Grip also interrupts spell casting.

There are two ways to use your Death Strikes, and I reckon each has its place depending on the fights. For most fights I can spam DS on cooldown and keep up a blood shield that never gets penetrated. Healers can go dps for all I care. On fights that are going to be more nip&tuck, it might be necessary to keep a DS in reserve, as you suggest. Knowing which fight is which is the key of course.

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Really, if you're using Plague Leech and Blood Tap correctly, you should never be more than a couple of seconds from being able to Death Strike again. My only survivability issues have been when I was CC'd or kept at range so I couldn't Death Strike.

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For those few occasions ^^^, I find that anticipating them and using the heirloom trinket or AMS can keep me whole until I can DS again.

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I have to contradict DarklingThrush a little here, as I don't think it is a good idea to pull with Outbreak, simply because it doesn't give any immediate threat. I used to do that as well for quite a while, but when you play with better DPS players, this will usually mean that they snap aggro from you for a moment. Then the boss runs around a bit and makes things more than a bit awkward. My recommendation would be to pull with taunt, blood boil, death strike and then outbreak. The RP for glyphed Outbreak are then a non-issue (especially so if you used Army on the pull).

The other recommendation I have would be to always keep one frost and one unholy rune (or the equivalent in Blood tap stacks) up, so you can Death Strike when you take a big hit. As alluded to by Paxz19 the resolve mechanic really helps in moments where you take a big burst and then DS immediately afterwards.

I prefer to use Outbreak before Blood Boil, so my BB spreads plague for greater effect. The lapsed time between when I click one and the other is so short, I haven't noticed any problems.

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That's why you hit outbreak and taunt at the same time to glue the boss to you for 4 seconds (Taunt isn't on the GBC). 4 Seconds, even with running time at max distance, means you can still hit it with 2x death strikes, which should be plenty to grab initial aggro. No issue hitting both outbreak+taunt at the same time, and it's probably what is ment by "pull with outbreak". I can't think of any situation where a tank *shouldn't* initiate the fight by taunting the boss. It removes all risk of overaggro "in the start".

It wasn't what I meant, but sounds like a great idea! I have been saving DC for a backup when something shows up and I can't reach it any other way. Thinking about the extra threat, however, plus if it isn't on the GCD, it might be fun to macro it to Outbreak... DC is only an 8 second CD, after all, and how often would you need it within 8 seconds of pull?