Stick A Fork In Me

If you haven't noticed, I haven't been updating very much. This isn't because I don't like you, or because I stopped playing - neither of which are true. It's simply because I haven't been keeping up with the times. I don't lead PUG raids very much anymore, nor do I raid 25-mans with my guild, nor do I get to instance much at all. And I'm not a PvP fanatic, so I haven't arena'ed a lick. I've been logging in sporadically, leveling a hunter alt or trying/failing to get a guild PUG raid going. I'm most often found online when there's a scheduled 10-man raid I'm going to, which is once a month or so, on average. (In a related note, has anyone seen Siha? She hasn't posted in over a month, I'm starting to get worried.)

That said, I can't fill the purpose of this blog anymore. I originally used the blog as a platform to lobby for the fair and ethical treatment of retribution raiders. With each successive patch and update, Blizzard brought retribution damage and contribution in line with other DPS'ers, making the need for a ret-lobbyist disappear. Then I began gearing it toward educating the masses about how to raid as retribution, so as to minimize the teeming masses of retnoobs that sully my/our good names. My increased responsibility at work combined with the master's program I'm in killed my ability to raid regularly and my ability to keep up with the latest theorycraft on EJ and elsewhere. Since I'm not raiding and I'm not scouring the forums, I'm just another uninformed ret paladin now. I can't educate or theorycraft with the authority I used to. I can't fulfill this blog's purpose to the standards that I've set for myself.

So, here we are, at the crossroads. Do I try to reinvent the blog into a "this is what I've been doing" sort of blog? Or do I try to scour the forums once more and become an armchair ret theorycrafter (since raiding regularly is out of the question)? Or, the third option, do I stop posting regularly and just bow out of the blogging scene, like several others have done recently.

I've never been one to like the personal chronicle-type blogs, and I don't have the time or the inclination to theorycraft without practicing what I preach, so option three is what needs to happen. Fear not, gentle readers, I have places to send you for your retribution needs:

• Ferraro knows her shiznit, and she is an internal tester for Blizzard, so she doesn't just think things, she knows things. she may or may not be real. Either way, good guides on Paladin Schmaladin.
• Suicidal Zebra is always spot-on when he analyzes a change or a trend in the paladin world. Give him some lovin'.
• Retpaladin.com has several knowledgable paladins on staff, among them Slayton (of Vis Maior fame) and the aforementioned Ferraro.
• Hofflerand is one of those Retpaladin.com folks that has spun off his own blog. He blogs about PvP tactics, from beginner to advanced. He is everything that I am not.

There is a very good chance that I will continue to revise the Ret FAQ and post it after each major patch revision, so this blog is not dead and buried. I feel an obligation to keep the FAQ up to date since I've set it up in a way that it only needs minimal maitenance and it remains useful. I'm going to leave it up in its full form, without cleaning out the archives and without altering it in any way. You shouldn't expect me to post anything terribly informational or helpful in between patches, though.

I hope that this blog has been useful in your adventures as a paladin in Azeroth. Good luck, safe travels, and Light be with you.

-Josh
Cathmor, Malfurion-US
formerly Baelor, Runetotem-US

EDIT 6/1/09: Ferraro may not actually be who she has been claiming to be, but the guides on Paladin Schmaladin are still good and accurate. I stand by my linkage.

Cathmor IRL

Is that hot or is that hot? I'd like to reiterate that my girlfriend is some sort of fantastic. If I ever get someone with a digital camera into my apartment, I'll post better quality photos. For now, ones snapped with the camera in my phone will have to do.

Just looking at it makes me want to buy an Argent Dawn tabard t-shirt. Is that weird? It sounds weird. Too bad I don't think anyone has produced 'em.

For those that are wondering, the items Cathmor is fashionably displaying are the Vengeful Gladiator's Vindication complete set, along with the season 3 belt/boots and a Tabard of the Protector. I would have gone with the Lightbringer set, but the red accents in the arena set go better with the Sulfuras and his red hair.

This was all made possible by the great folks over at Figureprints. Consider this a ringing endorsement! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stare longingly at his Sulfuras and wish for a life-size version.

Figureprint Is Here!

It's purty. And pretty gorram accurate, too. I'll post picture(s) as soon as I get my hands on a digital camera.

My girlfriend is friggen awesome.

Oh, and I might be going to Ulduar-10 on Thursday night. If I do, and I don't tank, I'll post my impressions of the zone from a ret P.O.V. for all to read.