All Red

This weekend I decided to dive into another zany Heroic Naxxramas PUG, prepared for the usual endless wipes, random afk'ing, finger-pointing and loot drama, but came away pleasantly surprised after a totally pro-style full clear.

The addition of Ulduar-level gear has definitely made it's impact on the PUG scene, as we were able to steamroll the place quite easily, picking up these two achievements along the way.

Typically, I try not to set any expectations for winning gear when I do these things, as the random number generator always seems to be in cahoots with Murphy. Instead, I like to focus on having fun, improving my own performance and collecting badges along the way.

In fact, I had been saving EoV's in order to convert my remaining Elemental-flavored blue T.7 pieces into their red T7.5 counterparts: shoulders and legs. (Something about having mismatched gear really brings out the OCD in me, I guess.) But as luck would have it, I managed to pickup both pieces during the run, and didn't have to out-roll anyone else to do it! Good karma FTW.

So now what to do with those EoV's? Oh wait... there's news on the emblem front!

3.2 Emblem Changes
Apparently in the next patch, EoH's and EoV's will cease to drop from heroics and raids, to be replaced by EoC's! There will still be trade-downs available to buy things like gems/orbs, heirloom items, and PvP gear, but overall I'm very excited that raiders will have additional incentive to run heroics again. As I stated before, it's good mojo for guilds to have better-geared toons mixing-in with new 80's and alts.

So currently, Ex has a few EoH, 60-ish EoV and a handful of EoC. With the new system coming, I'll be zeroing-out my EoH's for an orb, and the EoV's can now buy a nice upgrade for my DK's wrists, which will solidify his ability to backup-tank for the guild. Woot! (as long as I remember to enable the right spec...)

And apparently, the new Icecrown instance/raid thingy and daily heroic quests will bring us Emblem's of Triumph - looking forward to seeing what they're all about.

The Alt Report

• Neverus - the obligatory 80 DK alt now has 2/5 T7 and has tanked most of Naxx10 up through Kel'Thuzad. WTB moar hit rating and expertise, though.
• Lightus - with improved regular flight speeds incoming (150% up from 60%!), I've stalled his leveling at 78. Just don't have the patience to putter around, nor do I want to drop yet another 5k on an alt! For now, he's sitting in IF, happily disenchanting random greens.
• Haelus - also stalled at 77, but have been considering a Shadow spec revisit. I've been routinely impressed by their DPS output, and they're always in demand for Naxx25 (uhh bring the player, not the class?). Plus, Nev can craft this shiny new knife for him!
  
• Ciribrus - still sightseeing in Howling Fjord at level 71.