Sound the Blogging Horn!

I'm a dedicated Alliance player, as you well know. I've been playing as a Human Paladin since 2006, when I first installed the game, on the same character. His name and server have changed, but it's the same avatar and the same character I started with, and the only character I've taken to max level.

"Josh, you've said this all before at least twice. Get to the point! Stop dancing around it with a re-introduction of your background, we've heard it!"

Gosh, sorry! I have a need to qualify everything I say, it's a habit.

Anyway, as an Alliance player, I only know what I play - I can speak to life as a denizen of Stormwind, chew the fat about Alliance versions of quests, and babble on for an hour about Seal of Command and its interaction with weapon speed and damage range. What I cannot talk about with any semblance of accuracy or personal experience is life on the other side of the faction line - I grab my sword and fight the Horde, you won't catch me saying "Blood and Thunder" or "For the Horde" any time soon. But, unlike Holy or Protection specs, Retribution is a different animal for Horde Paladins. The use of the racial ability Seal of Blood instead of the talent ability Seal of Command as a raid DPS seal changes many things about effective skill rotations, gearing, and the like.

With that in mind, I'd like to add another author to the Eye for an Eye team. If you've been itching to share your thoughts about Retribution Paladins but don't want to maintain a blog all your own, here's your chance to speak to a (small) readership without the fuss and muss of going it solo!

What am I looking for in an E4AE contributor?

• Candidates must have a level 70 Blood Elf Paladin whom he or she plays as his or her main.


• Paladin must be played as Retribution spec for a majority of play time.


• Candidates must have at least deep tier 5 level raid experience, with a strong preference for deep tier 6 or Sunwell experience. This is to counter-balance anything I might post with regard to upper tier raiding, so that any nuances of Horde raids or the Blood Elf experience can be fleshed out, and vice versa for Alliance raiding.


• A command of the English language is a must. It does not have to be the candidate's native tongue, but fluent written English is required as this blog is primarily read by English-speakers.


• An affinity for investigation and explanation, and a curious nature are big pluses. A main focus of this blog is shining light in dark places when it comes to the mysteries of how to gear/spec/play a Retribution Paladin, and oftentimes how to min/max a Ret Paladin in a raid environment. Doing a little digging on forums, WoW-related fansites, and other such resources is part of the experience.


• Higher-rating (1900+) arena experience as Retribution would be highly desirable, so that the PvP'ers out there can get a window into life as a serious arena-competitor.

Some among you are thinking "Feh, if I wanted to blog about Ret Paladins, I'd make my own blogspot site! What would joining E4AE do for me that my own blog wouldn't?"

Well, since you asked...

• You would be afforded carte blanche to post as much or as little you like as long as some effort goes into blog posts with regards to veracity of information, linking to reference sites, and the occasional related image embed. There would be very little expectation/pressure from me or the readership to post on a regular basis. Of course, if you wanted to post regularly, I'm sure no one involved would mind!


• Full authorship status would be granted - I'd put your very own "About the Author" section on the front page and separate it from both myself and the "Welcome" message, so you would establish your own identity on the blog and be instantly introduced to the community.


• You get to address a semi-established readership! E4AE averages between 150 and 300 unique page loads per weekday (when most of my material gets published), which means you would be able to dive head-first into the blogosphere and speak to an audience without having to build a reputation first.


• You wouldn't have to build your own blog! This could be seen as a plus or a minus depending on how you view it, but you wouldn't have to go through the hassle of securing your own web space or formatting pages (unless you want to do that for E4AE, in which I'd be very happy to hear your suggestions. I'm an HTML noob and am generally too busy to fiddle with the coding).

Interested? Here's what you do. Send me an e-mail via the link at the top right of the page with your character's name, server, and armory link, and give me a little background on you and your character - who you are, how long you've been playing WoW/your current main, why you're interested in joining E4AE, and any other pertinent information you feel would give me insight into the zen of you. After that's written up, include a sample write-up for an article entitled "Boss Spotlight: Leotheras the Blind." You don't necessarily have to model it on my Kaz'rogal write-up as far as format goes - I'd like the article to display your usual writing tone, your knowledge of Retribution Paladin in raids, and your descriptive & explanatory prowess. Images are not necessary for the sample, but appropriate in-line linkage for reference sites are encouraged and appreciated.

If you have any questions, please direct them to me via e-mail, or send me a quick e-mail requesting my AIM screen name for further discussion.

I look forward to your e-mail!