Zayr - Prot Paladin [Accepted]

Personal Info:

- First name: Laurie
- Age: 19
- Location: UK - Oxford, Soon to be Cardiff.

1. Why are you interested in joining Unstable Connections?

The guild seems to be the most well thought out and put together project aiming for the fabled new server at the moment. It's a guild that is run by seemingly competent and experienced officers who want to get the very best out of the game in the future, and have high hopes for the guild. All in all it seems like a project that will make a big impression on the new server and survive for a long time.

2. Do you know any members in the guild who can vouch for you?

Not yet, have spoken to Daniel and Chris over MSN and IRC recently but that's it.

3. Tell us a bit about yourself

I'm going to be a Student of English Literature in September, cannot wait. I'm a big music geek and love messing around with my various synth-making machines, and my viola, sax and guitar. I also go to far too many concerts

About the character you want to reroll:

- In-game name: Zayr
- Class: Paladin
- Race: Blood Elf (Considering reskinning my client so I see a troll though )
- Talent spec: Protection with a retri or holy offspec, whichever I find more fun. For protection something like http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#sVZE0tAbuMGsIufdxb:N, but I'm still ironing out the details.

1. Why do you want to roll this class and spec?

I played a paladin on release, and have always harboured a soft spot for the class (despite the hellish state they were in back that. Rank 6 Holy Light spam from BWL to Naxx, awesome.) With the new streamlined retri spec (read: hideously overpowered) and the new mechanics involved in paladin tanking, I thought it would be the perfect combination of learning new skills and reusing old ones to keep it fun and interesting. That and the ability to play a myriad of roles appeals to me.

2. What stats do you think are most important for you class/spec

Well I'm still reading a lot on this. But if it's anything like warriors, which I would imagine it would be, number one priority is becoming uncrittable with 540 defence. This would always be priority and I'd never raid without having this sorted, through shifting gems/gear/enchants or whatever. Beyond that, it's juggling avoidance to achieve the best effective health possible. So obviously, dodge/parry, block are all important, as is taking extra defence to improve them all. Armour is great for mitigation but that's just a by-product of gearing up. Stamina is also lovely but I'm not sure if it's worth particularly aiming for other than slapping it in blue sockets.

In addition, gotta keep them threat-helping stats up. Strength, hit and expertise are all important, especially to get at least dodge-expertise-capped.

3. Are you willing to respec for raids to Provide the best possible setup?

Yeah, of course, even happy to farm up an alt set so that in encounters which need fewer tanks, I can take over another role.

4. Which professions will you take and why will you take them?

Not entirely sure at the moment, but leaning towards enchanting/mining to start, and later dropping mining for JC. This may well change, and I've been considering herbalism instead of mining (and taking inscription later - I hate SoH )

5. What Faction reputations will be most beneficial for your class?

Wyrmrest revered is my first port of call, as there aren't many quests for it and they have the sexiest pre-raiding chest and pretty damn nice boots. After that it's Argent Dawn revered, but to be honest that's not exactly a grind as there are about a billion quests. Then of course, it's SoH dailies for the exalted shoulder enchant.

Raiding:

1. What raid experience do you have? List all the bosses/instances you have cleared

Vanilla (Release) - 20s: ZG and AQ, 40s: MC, BWL, AQ40 (C'Thun Kill a week before Xmas 06 ), Naxx 40 up to 4 Horsemen.
Strawberry (TBC) - 10s: Kara and ZA, 25s: SSC, TK, Hyjal, BT (All before attunement nerfs and later boss HP nerfs). Never stepped into sunwell.
Chocolate (WOTLK) - 10s: Naxx, Ulduar up to Mimiron. Few hardmodes. 25s: Naxx, Ulduar up to Yoggy p3. No hardmodes.

2. Are you comfortable with raiding 4-5 days a week when new content is released?

Absolutely, if the times are suitable.

3. What do you believe is the key to progress raiding?

If I'm honest, striking the balance between smashing your head against a brick wall and "easy" raiding. No-one enjoys weeks and weeks of the same crap with no improvement and no discernible problems. I hope and expect this guild to be one that is not caught on any challenge for too long without improvement but, in such cases, it's always better to take a week to farm gear, work on something more attainable, etc, that to attempt something that is out of your league.

4. What is the most important part of raiding for you?

In contrast to what I said above, finally downing that boss you've been making 1% improvements on for nights and nights. The sheer euphoria as you realise that you've put in the necessary teamwork and dedication to make some pixels die, well that's why I play. That and having your mates shoulder to shoulder as you do so.

5. What internet sources will you use to learn more about your class?

I tend to steer away from completely playing according to websites and find out and work out as much as I can on my on. Whilst I'm not quite drawing up spreadsheets, it makes far more sense and is far easier to remember stuff if I can figure it out myself. However, elitistjerks and tankspot are both great reference points.

6. How do you believe you can contribute to Unstable Connections?

I believe at the most basic level I can offer a raider who is serious, hard-working and always brings his best performance. Beyond that, I'm a sociable guy and love the social aspect of wow and the great camaraderie that is achieved through playing.

In addition, I'm an experienced leader and manager in WoW throughout the years, even in the last year GMing my very own reroll project and steering us through the end of TBC and into WOTLK, where we achieved moderate success raiding through naxx and Ulduar. I'd be really happy to help out with this end of things if there's any need down the line, though I should add that you folks seem to be doing an ace job of it so far.

7. List all your important previous characters with armories included

Armory is down right now, but here they are anyways.

http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Stormreaver&n=Iseult - Rogue Main
http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Stormreaver&n=Healarious - Priest Alt

Unfortunately my TBC/Vanilla chars are either deleted, owned by others or not available on armory. Happy to give guild websites etc if you'd like to check them however.

8. What do you expect from Unstable Connections?

A competitive and serious arena to raid in, and a group of guys who will become my friends as we tackle the challenges of the new server. I expect this to be achieved through both competent management and hopefully all members sharing the same goals and motivation.

Comunication and gameplay:

1. How reliable are your computer & internet connection?

Very decent computer, built for wow really (/embarrassed). Have not had any probs with internet connection since I installed, it's Virgin Media and I run at about 40-80MS in raids/cities.

2. Can you speak/understand English well enough to understand tactical commands?

I'd hope so, I do live here :p

3. How many hours a week do you spend playing WoW?

Honestly depends, at the moment 2-3, just doing the odd raid etc. Usually however it gets up to about 40 hours a week or more.

4. Will you soon be going to a university or demanding new job that may significantly affect your play times?

Yes to the first, unsure to the second part. Have spoken to Daniel and Chris but basically, I'm not sure what will happen. I think it's unlikely that it will impede on my playing times but there will definitely be a few weeks in september/october where I won't play when I'm moving in/getting settled.

5. Are you willing to take constructive criticism to always work towards becoming a better player?

Always. I know I'm not perfect

6. Are you able to make a long-term commitment to the guild?

Absolutely, with you the whole way.

7. Are you able to attend at least 80% of raids?

Should be, providing the times are convenient. a 19.30 start might not work, but I've heard this is not set in stone so we can see ^^

8. anything else you might want to add to your application?

Nope, think I've written enough to kill even the skimmiest of readers. But...I want to have fun with these crazy smileys!



9. Any questions you want to ask us?

Nope, again, have questioned Chris and Daniel to death already...

Many thanks for reading, hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you for your application Laurie, Our team of officers are currently reviewing it and will let you know the outcome in a short while.

Hey Laurie, you seem like a very nice fit for the Protection Paladin position, We'd like to welcome you on board.

Have fun spamming the forums,

Sincerely,

Daniel