It's Time to Kick Ass and Chew Bubblegum - And I'm All Out of Gum!

New York was a blast and I encourage everyone to go there. That city is really something of it’s own and being there during the election just made everything even better. But this is not a travelling blog – it’s about WAR, so back to the bloodshed.

When I left for the states Obersten was on the verge of turning rank 20 and about half an hour after I got back to playing he had himself another tactic slot and a nifty new morale called Raze. If Big Slash opened the door to AoE grinding Raze pushes you through it. I’d been using the Barak Varr PQ two-hander for the last few levels and it had served me well, but in order to prepare for some serious grinding I equipped me trusty ol’ blocker and a big axe. The solo-mob dps takes a dive, but nothing too serious and at the same time the survivability skyrockets – it’s a really nice feeling being able to take a hideous amount of punishment. Tanking at it’s finest.

Over at Da Toughest there’s an excellent guide to AoE grinding that you should take a look at first. This will be my own version of the art and be less of a guide than me blabbering about how much fun it is. And it really is!

So, a basic rundown of the technique used to AoE grind is short and brutish. Don your armor and a mix of toughness and strength gear, pick up a buckler and a good choppa and proceed by running a around gathering mobs. The last bit can be done by hurling choppas at them instead if you’re a bit tired in the leggings – it happens for the best of us. Start with three or four to see if your gear and rank is up for it. The exact number of mobs you tank often needs a slight calibration if your encountering a new kind of mob or it’s a different level. At the moment I can manage four, but feels most comfortable with three mobs about four or five levels above my own. Any more and I get hammered before I get to fire off my Raze and kill them – any less and I feel I’m playing on easymode.

You need to be a bit watchful for adds and respawns. Often I end in the lower quarter of my healthpool and one or two adds could prove lethal (and often does…). Also, it does take a bit longer to finish them off than it would if you soloed just a single mob, but then again, that’s not the case – you’re battering away on three or four bastards at a time here!

I normally open with a Follow My Lead (tactic’ed up by ‘Ave Another One) and Tuffer Than Nails ending with Savin Me Hide. This establish my defensive buffs and opens for a round of battering. Taunt the mob and let loose with either Follow My Lead or Wot Armor, carry on with Right in Tha Jibblies or Big Slash and finish with Skull Thumper. Repeat this last bit but switch Jibblies with Slash (or Slash with Jibblies depending on your first choice). I’m normally ready for a rebuffing by now and then another Taunt followed by the battering procedure. If you got a healer your should be doing things a little different (refer to Da Toughest for instructions), but other wise Raze should be about to pop – so gather the mobs up right in front of you and fire away. I’ve found that Raze has a fairly narrow AoE, so they need to stand right in front of you to make sure you make the most of it. Still, it’s a blast to see the numbers fly and the mobs die once you unleash upon them.

Add to this that I just discovered a lot of Skaven (my favorite race after the greenskins) and I’ve really has had a boost to my gaming enjoyment. If you happen to be on Karak Hirn around Talabheim expect to see a red armored Black Orc sprinting around the Skaven camps giggling with pleasure. And if you do – feel free to join the fun :)