Post by lizzieborden on Nov 14, 2008 14:57:37 GMT -8
Shadowmane Champion is my mortal enemy of Loping Plains. At the camp of the Lieutenant, the shadowmanes north of the alligator camp and just south of the zone in, Shadowmane Champion spawns at the north east corner of the camp, before one of the two large pillars. An even con at level 80, he's probably the most powerful non-raid encounter in the entire zone.
I had never seen him before when I had accidentally aggroed him and died the first time. When I charmed another mob at the camp to use, he had made short work of that mob, and of me. I needed something more powerful. As the levels at the Lieutenant camp vary, and all conned Dark Blue to me, there was no way of knowing the level of any unnamed Shadowmane. I couldn't risk charming too flimsy a mob. I needed a mob whose power I could be sure off. And closeby. The ubiquitous grizzly bears and frogs, while convenient, were simply too weak. The alligators of the camp just south of me would provide the solution I sought.
I cleared the mobs from the slope up to the plateau where he resided, and all the mobs that would be directly in the way.
Then, I selected the nearest alligator and let fly with my resist debuff, Tash. As always, the mob charged. I charm kited the alligators and a few broken charms have shown me what they're capable of, but this time I was ready. I drove the charging gator back with Beguiler's Directed Banishment. The alligator flew backwards and landed rooted to the spot. He would remain rooted for three ticks, unless he root broke early, which rarely happens. Plenty of time to do what I needed. I charmed, then covered him in my two best runes. Then I cast Night's Dark Terror on him, and a Loping Plains Alligator became a Scarecrow, complete with a terrific dexterity buff and attack bonus, plus a small lifetap proc.
I led my new pet up the side of the hill and got as close as I had dared to Shadowmane Champion. I had my subspell sets made, so it was a simple matter to swap out the spells I needed: two stackable hastes, Feedback (the Enchanter's damage shield), and my mana recursion aura.
(I've done this fight more times than I care to count, but it still makes me a bit nervous. This encounter, although routine for me, doesn't allow room for mistakes. I knew the hard way that one misstep will mean my death, and the hassle of getting a rezz and buffs.)
The hastes and damage shield was for the gator. The mana recursion aura was for me. I cast them, then swapped out the spells I would need (basically my standard charm kiting set, but the single target stun would do nothing against this foe, so another DoT.
The mana recursion aura flashed in my Songs window, and I was ready. I sent my pet in and cast my slow. Shadowmane Champion started to rush me, but he barely made a step before he met my Scarecrow/gator creation. Next I Tashed, and cast my heal over time on the gator. Now that Shadowmane Champion had been slowed and Tashed, I began my more aggressive attacks. Mind Oscillate went first. The Enchanter's mana-stealing DoT, then Strangling Air, another DoT, lesser damage than Mind Oscillate per tick but of a greater duration. Then Thin Air, the lower level version of Strangling air.
Mana Recursion was functioning as it should and procced an extra piece of damage on Shadowmane Champion as each DoT landed. From there, I began to chain nuke, keeping a wary eye on my pet's health vs. that of Shadowmane Champion. My pet had a slight edge, but the worst was yet to come. Shadowmane Champion enrages and my "Frankengator" was nowhere near a comfortable advantage.
No matter. I had planned for this contingency.
After several nukes, which also allowed Mana Recursion to proc extra damage, I recast the Mind Oscillate. As a shorter duration DoT than the other two, it would wear off first. I debated whether I should just continue DoTting or try a slower casting nuke. The point was moot, however, as Shadowmane Champion went into ENRAGE. My pet's time would be up soon.
And it was.
I was summoned. Although I had slowed him and he was very low in health, I would still lose this fight if I stayed this close to him.
So, I didn't. In an instant, I was shunted off to one side. And at the spot where I stood was...me. Or to be more precise, an exact duplicate, called a Doppelganger, stood in my place and began to melee with Shadowmane Champion, who suddenly seemed more interested in my duplicate than in me.
Seconds later, another duplicate sprang into being, and also began to melee. Shadowmane Champion would strike down these pale reflections of me, even weak as he was. I took no time to admire the aesthetics of my deception. My respite would be brief, but I was not out of tricks.
I had maxed out my Hastened Suspended Minion AA, and could "unpocket" my pet in two seconds...which is probably all the time I could spare before Chuckles made short work of my doubles and decided to tango with the real thing again. The twin blades of my unseen minion popped into view, and now, having spent the AAs to give him commands, I sent him into the fray.
My doppelgangers gave "Shiny Bob" enough time to taunt SC, so I would not be summoned...just yet. Although my pet was buffed to the hilt, complete with pet weapons, it was alarming to see how much damage Shadowmane Champion was inflicting on him. I needed a little over five seconds as I cast, and the possibility of my not getting it seemed quite realistic.
But I did get it. My last nuke landed, and Shadowmane Champion tottered then dropped.
Despite the numerous times I'd done this fight, it's uncanny that my fights almost always end this way. Perhaps more focus on Chromatic-based spells would make this not such a close call and cause me to lose my Frankengator.
And although I cannot use what he typically drops, it's nice to be able to give to those who can. It's good to see that some of you are able to use the Elladrial's Cloak of Shining Silk and Orrel's War-staff that I tend to collect Being lore items, I have to do something with them. And it's good to see that some of you are enjoying them.
My thanks for taking the time to slog through this story. I expect I'll be posting more of my adventures on other toons soon.
I had never seen him before when I had accidentally aggroed him and died the first time. When I charmed another mob at the camp to use, he had made short work of that mob, and of me. I needed something more powerful. As the levels at the Lieutenant camp vary, and all conned Dark Blue to me, there was no way of knowing the level of any unnamed Shadowmane. I couldn't risk charming too flimsy a mob. I needed a mob whose power I could be sure off. And closeby. The ubiquitous grizzly bears and frogs, while convenient, were simply too weak. The alligators of the camp just south of me would provide the solution I sought.
I cleared the mobs from the slope up to the plateau where he resided, and all the mobs that would be directly in the way.
Then, I selected the nearest alligator and let fly with my resist debuff, Tash. As always, the mob charged. I charm kited the alligators and a few broken charms have shown me what they're capable of, but this time I was ready. I drove the charging gator back with Beguiler's Directed Banishment. The alligator flew backwards and landed rooted to the spot. He would remain rooted for three ticks, unless he root broke early, which rarely happens. Plenty of time to do what I needed. I charmed, then covered him in my two best runes. Then I cast Night's Dark Terror on him, and a Loping Plains Alligator became a Scarecrow, complete with a terrific dexterity buff and attack bonus, plus a small lifetap proc.
I led my new pet up the side of the hill and got as close as I had dared to Shadowmane Champion. I had my subspell sets made, so it was a simple matter to swap out the spells I needed: two stackable hastes, Feedback (the Enchanter's damage shield), and my mana recursion aura.
(I've done this fight more times than I care to count, but it still makes me a bit nervous. This encounter, although routine for me, doesn't allow room for mistakes. I knew the hard way that one misstep will mean my death, and the hassle of getting a rezz and buffs.)
The hastes and damage shield was for the gator. The mana recursion aura was for me. I cast them, then swapped out the spells I would need (basically my standard charm kiting set, but the single target stun would do nothing against this foe, so another DoT.
The mana recursion aura flashed in my Songs window, and I was ready. I sent my pet in and cast my slow. Shadowmane Champion started to rush me, but he barely made a step before he met my Scarecrow/gator creation. Next I Tashed, and cast my heal over time on the gator. Now that Shadowmane Champion had been slowed and Tashed, I began my more aggressive attacks. Mind Oscillate went first. The Enchanter's mana-stealing DoT, then Strangling Air, another DoT, lesser damage than Mind Oscillate per tick but of a greater duration. Then Thin Air, the lower level version of Strangling air.
Mana Recursion was functioning as it should and procced an extra piece of damage on Shadowmane Champion as each DoT landed. From there, I began to chain nuke, keeping a wary eye on my pet's health vs. that of Shadowmane Champion. My pet had a slight edge, but the worst was yet to come. Shadowmane Champion enrages and my "Frankengator" was nowhere near a comfortable advantage.
No matter. I had planned for this contingency.
After several nukes, which also allowed Mana Recursion to proc extra damage, I recast the Mind Oscillate. As a shorter duration DoT than the other two, it would wear off first. I debated whether I should just continue DoTting or try a slower casting nuke. The point was moot, however, as Shadowmane Champion went into ENRAGE. My pet's time would be up soon.
And it was.
I was summoned. Although I had slowed him and he was very low in health, I would still lose this fight if I stayed this close to him.
So, I didn't. In an instant, I was shunted off to one side. And at the spot where I stood was...me. Or to be more precise, an exact duplicate, called a Doppelganger, stood in my place and began to melee with Shadowmane Champion, who suddenly seemed more interested in my duplicate than in me.
Seconds later, another duplicate sprang into being, and also began to melee. Shadowmane Champion would strike down these pale reflections of me, even weak as he was. I took no time to admire the aesthetics of my deception. My respite would be brief, but I was not out of tricks.
I had maxed out my Hastened Suspended Minion AA, and could "unpocket" my pet in two seconds...which is probably all the time I could spare before Chuckles made short work of my doubles and decided to tango with the real thing again. The twin blades of my unseen minion popped into view, and now, having spent the AAs to give him commands, I sent him into the fray.
My doppelgangers gave "Shiny Bob" enough time to taunt SC, so I would not be summoned...just yet. Although my pet was buffed to the hilt, complete with pet weapons, it was alarming to see how much damage Shadowmane Champion was inflicting on him. I needed a little over five seconds as I cast, and the possibility of my not getting it seemed quite realistic.
But I did get it. My last nuke landed, and Shadowmane Champion tottered then dropped.
Despite the numerous times I'd done this fight, it's uncanny that my fights almost always end this way. Perhaps more focus on Chromatic-based spells would make this not such a close call and cause me to lose my Frankengator.
And although I cannot use what he typically drops, it's nice to be able to give to those who can. It's good to see that some of you are able to use the Elladrial's Cloak of Shining Silk and Orrel's War-staff that I tend to collect Being lore items, I have to do something with them. And it's good to see that some of you are enjoying them.
My thanks for taking the time to slog through this story. I expect I'll be posting more of my adventures on other toons soon.