About Risingdawn, The Tankadin

So if I'm gonna blog about being a pally, I suppose I should start at the beginning with her and my experiences in WoW.

I've been playing WoW off and on since Undead-Beta, playing a variety of classes before settling in on a Hunter with my brothers. I actually wasn't even on Trollbane, but was originally on Kiljaeden as Azazial the Troll Hunter. I made it to 60 just 3 weeks before BC came out, which really sucked, especially since they hadn't quite adjusted BC and I barely had gear, so it was slow. And playing on-and-off during the whole time didn't help.

I came back around patch 2.4, and ended up moving servers for a girl I was playing around with (before I met my current girlfriend). I finally got Azyumi (as I had to change her name, stupid person on Trollbane for having my name) to 70. I got to raid a bit, mostly Kara, with one guild. I was doing well with them, was well liked, and was almost considered for an officer position. However, some other officers didn't want someone coming along and actually doing their job, helping people out, and generally wanting to see more content. Fight/drama insued, and I left. I started my own guild, Crimson Knight, a week later.

CK was great, but problem was we didn't have a tank. Risingdawn was a pally I had on my account that I started but never touched. My gf started playing WoW on my account before I gave her her own account, and she played Dawn up to about level 7 or 8. So I took over and started leveling her. Going from a Hunter who specialized in AoE Grinding with a gorilla to playing an AoE grinding Pally was fun. I fell in love.

Wrath came out and I pushed hard to level dawn. Our guild needed a tank, and I was going to be it. But something happened in life, and I had to take a break for a bit. That kinda of hurt CK in the long run. I came back and we managed to keep the guild going for a while, before realizing how hard it is to run a guild with several 80s and a lowly lvl 60 tankadin. We couldn't do it, so we split the guild.

My gf and I joined another guild while I was leveling up, eventually hitting 80. I proved my skills at being a tankadin by having all the gear necessary to tank heroics and even OT 10-man Naxx ON. MY.FIRST.DAY. I'm not kidding. I had 545 DEF, had the epic tanking ring, shield, boots, helm. Jewelcrafting helped with the gems needed, and I was enchanted out. I had followed all the gearing guides for it, and while I had little experience in tanking things, I learned fast. I even solo'd Ony my first night!!

But things didn't quite work out with the guild. The main tank was the guild leader and he was a DK. There was a second DK, but she honestly didn't have the skill to be a tank. Yet I was told I'd have to DPS instead of tanking if I went. Which sucked. I was told 'go be second string' to a shitty tank. Blah for them. This came right after I did a 10-man Naxx and was pretty much geared out with lucky drops from a guild that already had everything they needed. I had almost everything but Slayer of the Lifeless and a couple of tier pieces.

So I shopped around and found another guild, one where I could be an OT or an MT once I got skilled and geared. Didn't take long. Joined a 10-man Naxx run on Grobb, managed a one-shot, and we did Gluth twice, with me pretty much kiting the zombies in the back. I joined the guild shortly after, and within the next few weeks, helped score 1st time full clears of Naxx for many people, including both the guild leaders on their various toons. I enjoyed myself, but alas it came to an end. Drama ensued due to a returning warlock officer who gave my gf grief, with bad information. It was definitely not cool, especially when I brought it up to one of the guild leaders and it pretty much made us realize that the two were friends and you don't mess with friendships like that. Plus with Uld coming out, some wanted to progress. I was afraid, as the MT, that we didn't have the gear, especially since we barely got 25-mans done (we had Naxx-10 on farm pretty much).

So anyways, we left, which really made a blow to the guild, since I was truly the only tank they had, with the guild leaders having a tank, and either a DPS or a healer alt they used. And often one was on, so once I went, it was 1 tank or 2 tanks. They had other people who could tank, but they just weren't on enough. I was just very consistant about coming to raids and being the tank.

We joined a more serious guild who were about to do 25-mans, as well as two 10mans for Uld. In fact, my first night in, I was asked to come in and help OT Razorscale. That was fun. Also managed to take out Kologorn on the 2nd try. The tanking sword dropped, but I passed to the GL. I'd eventually get it on another go through it.

We were in the guild several weeks before both of us got a serious burn out with raiding. Since we had a mix of 10/25 Naxx gear, we were outstripped by a lot who were in full 25-man Naxx, OS, and Eye gear, many who were really good friends. It became obvious that with the two 10man Uld groups, that we had the elites and the non-elites, which included us. Plus I realized with 6 tanks in the guild (3 Warrior, 3 Paladins), it'd be hard to keep a spot, especially since I didn't even have real DPS gear, nor did I like DPSing. I'm a tank, have always been a tank.

So I took a break, and now I'm back. And here I am. Blogging. Enjoy.

Welcome

This is my blog about my paladin, Risingdawn, who resides on Trollbane. I am also the author of 'Adventures of a Skankadin' which is my blog about my paladin, Risingdawn, on Farstriders. While both share a similar personality, atleast when I do roleplay on TB with my girlfriend, this blog is not about roleplaying. Instead, this blog will focus on various paladin issues found within WoW, along with my take on it. I read a lot of blogs, many that I have linked to my side here. I enjoy reading them, and always wanted to put my spin on things. I am by no means an expert, quite the novice, but I believe I am a decent good tank and I want to teach others how to be one.

As a note, generally I will link to a post about paladin issues that are posted on sites I read, and then I'll give my take on them. So I am giving credit where it is due, so hopefully the rest of the tankadin blogging community understands that. Please don't sue me. I'm broke as it is.