Ember Isle Lore Segment (updated)

 To understand the Lore relations between the Ember Isle and Telara,  I have tried to provide a brief synopsis of key events in Telaran lore.

As a major component to the Ashes of History, the Ember Isle will reveal some important insights on the forging of Telara. On the Ember Isle, an alliance will form between the dragon cult of Laethys (dragon of earth, represented by the Golden Maw), and Maelforge (dragon of fire, represented by the Wanton). The cultists have been overpowered by the influence of these dragon aspects, and it is from the Isle that they intend to build their forces in secrecy, so that they might prepare an invasion force capable of conquering Telara.

The cultsts' enslavement by the dragons has lead them to this place. Due to Akylios's death, the Telaran sea (currently impassible), has been made accessible to the Telarans via enchanted Travel Stones. And it is reported that the dragon cults joined forces to transport mysterious artifacts across the sea, though the purpose of this activity is current unknown the the Ascended.

It is speculated that Maelforge himself is imprisoned within a menacing Volcano near the Isle, and it is the objective of the Wanton to free him. Just as Prince Hylas sought to dispel the magic that confined Lord Greenscale, so are the cults becoming ever more successful in their quest to free the dragons. Should these activities continue unhindered, all of Telara will be consumed by the same warfare and destruction that threatened to destroy it a millenia ago...

          Background

When the gods formed Telara from Sourcestone (a material capable of converting elemental energy to mass), at the nexus of the elemental planes, they were pleased by their creation. Much to their dismay, however, the newly formed planet attracted the unwanted attention of the gods of The Blood Storm. These malicious gods were a pack of intergalactic invaders who, in their mission to conquer, consume, and annihilate, sought to plunder the world of its Sourcestone, leave it in ruins, and move on to the next healthy host. These invaders embodied the six essential forces represented by the elemental planes: life, death, air, fire, water, and earth.

Upon reaching Telara, the gods of the Blood Storm manifested the attributes of great and powerful dragons. Their leader, Regulos, Eater of Worlds, represented the force of death. He was a harbinger of darkness who traversed the cosmos in search of more Sourcestone to devour, and his Blood Storm assisted in this goal by disregarding all forms of life.

At the height of their assault, however, the malefic gods decided not to consume Telara, but rule over it instead. As members of the Blood Storm quarreled over who would assume the leadership of the Sourcestone-rich world, this decision lead to dissension. Relentlessly, the members fought one another to assume control, resulting in a rebellion against Regulos, who simply wanted Telara to be destroyed altogether.

Divided, the Blood Storm was heroically driven back by the stalwart denizens of Telara, and, being too strong to vanquish them outright, the gods were imprison by elemental bindings within the world itself. It is known that Laethys and Maelforge, participants in the Blood Storm, are currently imprisoned within Telara, and their power increases in proportion with that of their native elemental Planes...

       Defiant Perspective

It is important to note that during the early years of the rifts, Ember Isle had been a Kelari capital city. They had thrived here before the Blood Storm, and were making bonds with the resident elemental powers for hundreds of years. When their sacred bonds became influenced by the imprisoned Planar dragon aspects, wherein the goal was manipulation, the spirits of these Kelari became corrupted, dismayed, and altogether consumed. Fortunately, not all the Kelari had succumbed to this malign influence, despite the temptation of increased power that it offered.

  

As the corrupted Kelari gained more and more power this way, their minds became warped, their spirits changed, and they were Kelari no more, but Pyrkari- ones who had sacrificed their will to the destructive influence of the dragons. Eventually, the normal Kelari who'd remained, lead by the High Priestess Anthousa Mona, began to take actions into their own hands. Together, Anthousa lead a force opposing and fighting back against the Pyrkari. Unfortunately, the outcome of this conflict did not sway in her favor, and eventually she ordered her people to flee the Isle, so that they might seek refuge and find a new home for themselves. This lead the Kelari to Freemarch, where they allied with General Catari. However, the High Priestess is still quite adamant that the Kelari are her people to lead, and no one is willing to question that authority.

And so, the renewed focus on the Ember Isle, for the purposes of suppressing the dragon cults, serves a dual role for the Kelari, as this also gives them the opportunity to reclaim their homeland.

Guardian Perspective

Hundreds of years ago, a rag-tag band of Dwarven heroes came from all around Telara to settle on the island. As dwarven ingenuity would suggest, they quickly established a society with what little means were available to them. When faced with diversity, it was due to their dwarvish creativity and knack for improvisation that enabled their. Throughout the years they prospered, but conflicts arose with their Kelari neighbors on more than one occasion. Being the dwarves that they were, it would have been their initial intention to share stories and alcohol with the Kelari, though it did not appear as though any mutual cooperation might have arisen from these actions.

The ghost of Karine, the first Bard, has reached out to the Ascended, and the Guardians are unrelenting in their resolve this mission, for it was Karine who was part of the force that would guard Maelforge's prison within the Volcano. Very few Guardian dwarves are even aware of the existence of this island clan, and very little is known about them. What is known of these dwarves is that they've unlocked secrets regarding the forging of Telara, and what they have done with this power in the meantime has yet to be determined. If anything, progressing through the Ashes of History will hopefully culminate in a reunion between long-lost peoples, and many drunken celebrations are anticipated.

Summary


The Ember isles are rich in Telaran lore. First and foremost, the Isles represent an allegiance between the  Wanton and Golden Maw cults. One might recall that the wanton are a dragon cult associated with Maelforge, the dragon of fire, and the members of this cult are chaos-seeking pyromaniacs. Maelforge simply wants the world to be bathed in eternal flame, inasmuch the Ember Isles provide a perfect outlet for this cult’s thirst for destruction.

Members of the The Golden Maw cult, associated with Laethys, the dragon of earth, are a backstabbing, corruptive people overcome by greed and sinister intentions. They prize wealth and resources, and are captivated by the acquisition of material profit. They will stop at nothing to hoard their way to ultimate riches. The Ember Isle is where the forces of Laethys and Maelforge unite to combat the Ascended, so that they may escape from their prisons and wreck havoc upon Telara.

Who among the Ascended are brave enough to stop them?

(all images courtesy of http://rift.mmosite.com/patch1.5/gorgeous_screenshots_from_ember_isle.shtml )

(Kelari image provided by me).

Rift: Riftstalker - BD vs. Ranger

Back when I was new to the Rift guild Addiction (world first Alsbeth and GSB), I decided to write an article about Riftstalker tanking. It basically was to determine what was a better spec for tanking, and it is needlessly complicated ~_~ 

Oh well!

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Current build: HP: 10762, Dodge: 8.27%, 6% -dmg.

Rift barrier: 35% damage reduction, up to 26905.

Boss damage needed to break shield:  81483 (6% of 76871 is 4,612).

BD build: 10762 – 538.1 = 10223.9, 18.27% dodge (50% for 15 seconds).

Rift barrier: 35% damage reduction, up to 25559.75.

Boss damage needed to break shield: 73028

Results.

1345.25 damage absorption

In a 1 minute fight, a boss attacks once every two seconds, for 3,333 damage each hit, and a total of 30 hits. This amounts to 100000 damage.

For one with 8 points in ranger, this becomes 94000 damage.

[(.6827)(15s)+(. 1827)(45s)]/60s = ~30.8% dodge over 1 min.

So, assuming 30.8% of bosses melee attacks will be dodged, this is a potential mitigation of ~9 melee attacks, or practically 1/3^rd of incoming hits (30,796 damage).

For a 2 minute fight (the cool down timer for sidesteps), dodge becomes [(.6827)(15s)+(. 1827)(105s)]/120s = 24.5% (~14.7 hits: 48,995 damage mitigated)

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So, this is a 16.23% dodge increase over ranger. 16.23% dodge alone works out to 32,456.8 damage mitigated over the 8 minutes. By comparison, the damage reduction from ranger works out to 11,998.8, and 16,538.346 from dodges = 28,537 damage total. Now take 60(3333)/26905 = 7.43 applications of rift guard needed to sustain it. With 1345 higher damager absorption for ranger over BD (5% health increase), this amounts to 9,997 in absorption over 2 minutes. This brings the total mitigation for ranger to 38,534 for this 2 minute, simulated fight.  

After a bit of reading, I was curious to see which is a better use of points for rogues who want to tank. Once you've put the standard 7 points in bard and 51 in riftstalker, you have 8 points left. What to do with these? Well, you have two options. Blade dancer clearly seems like the more attractive option, as it offers 10% dodge, a 50%, 15 second dodge cool-down, and a reactive cp generating ability. For ranger, you have 6% damage reduction, and 5% hp.

Now, it would seem that BD is the clear winner, as having all that extra dodge is quite helpful. However, I want to put forth an example that compares it to ranger, using a dumbed down boss scenario.

First of all, here are some numbers, using my own stats in mediocre tank gear.

With 8 in ranger: | HP - 10762 | Dodge - 8.27% | (6% damage reduction)

With 8 in bladedancer: | HP - 10224 | Dodge - 18.27% | (50% dodge for 15 sec.)

There is only a 538 health point difference between the two, and clearly 10% dodge is far better than a mere 538 hp. However, there is more to consider.

Consider a boss that melee attacks for 3333 every 2 seconds. Over a 2 minute interval, he will deal 60(3333) = 199,989 damage.

No, with sidesteps factored in, your 2 minute dodge percentage with NB is going to look something like this: [(.6827)(15s)+(. 1827)(105s)]/120s = 24.5%. So, 18.27% + sidesteps becomes 24.5%. Even better, right?

I'm not done. Firstly, this is a 16.23% dodge increase over ranger, which would in this case account for (60)(.1623)(3333) = 32,457 points of potential damage mitigated.

By comparison, taking the equivalent damage and factoring in the 6% reduction from ranger gives us 11,999 damage ignored. With 8.27% dodge from ranger, you can expect to mitigate about 16,538 damage in this case. This amounts to 32,457 damage mitigated by bladedancer, and 28,537 mitigated by ranger. But there's more.

That 5% health buff in ranger gives a nice benefit to rift guard. Since improved rift-guard provides a 35% damage reduction, up to 250% of your max hp, this would give me 26905 points of damage absorption over 30 sec, vs. 25,560. This is a difference of 1345 points, which at first does not seem like much, but over 2 minutes, against a boss that deals 1,666.5 dps, roughly 7 applications of the shield are necessary to keep it active. This amounts to 7(1345) = 9415 greater absorption by ranger. This totals to 37,952 points of mitigation for ranger, vs. 32,457. The 8 points in ranger have provided the rogue with an additional 5,496 points of damage mitigated.

I should also mention that dodge is completely useless against magic damage.

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Revised:

After a bit of reading, I was curious to see which is a better use of points for rogues who want to tank. Once you've put the standard 7 points in bard and 51 in riftstalker, you have 8 points left. What to do with these? Well, you have two options. Blade dancer clearly seems like the more attractive option, as it offers 10% dodge, a 50%, 15 second dodge cooldown, and a reactive cp generating ability. For ranger, you have 6% damage reduction, and 5% hp.

[Disclaimer: since I am not fully versed in tank knowledge, there could be a few mistakes here]

First of all, here are some numbers, using my own stats in mediocre tank gear.

With 8 in ranger: | HP - 10762 | Dodge - 8.27% | (6% damage reduction)

With 8 in bladedancer: | HP - 10224 | Dodge - 18.27% | (50% dodge for 15 sec.)

Next, consider a boss that melee attacks for 3333 every 2 seconds. Over a 2 minute interval, he will deal 60(3333) = 199,989 damage.

Now, with sidesteps factored in, your 2 minute dodge percentage with BD is going to look something like this: [(.6827)(15s)+(.1827)(105s)]/120s = 24.5%. So, 18.27% + sidesteps becomes 24.5% over 2 minutes. This becomes (60)(.245)(3333) = 48,995 points of avoided damage.

Now taking the equivalent damage and factoring in the 6% reduction from ranger gives us (60)(.06)(333) = 11,999 damage mitigated. With 8.27% dodge from ranger, you can expect to avoid about (60)(.0827)(3333) = 16,538 damage in this case. This amounts to 48,995 damage avoided by bladedancer, and 16,538/11,999 avoided/mitigated by ranger.                                                                          Even with 35% damage reducing (up to 250% of health) benefit to rift guard, you only end up with 1345 points of absorption higher with ranger. Over a 2 minute interval, against a boss that deals 1,666.5 dps, roughly 7 applications of the shield are necessary to keep it active. This amounts to 7(1345) = 9415 more points of damage mitigated than the bladedancer. This totals to +9415 points of mitigated damage for ranger vs. 48,995 of avoided damage for the bladedancer. The 8 points in bladedancer have provided the rogue with an additional 11,043 points of avoided damage.

Against non-physical oriented encounters (are there any?) ranger might be more viable, but overall it would seem that BD will provide you with more survivability.

LoL Novel Excerpt(s) #2

A rogue Summoner had escaped to a nearby graveyard, presumably to perform prohibited acts of nectomantic magic. It was rare that cases like these arose, but when they did, the Crimson Elite were entrusted with keeping things under control. Tonight would be a test of that control.

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  At nightfall, this particular graveyard was blanketed by thin layers of translucent fog. Piles of moss and other vegetation had crept and curled about the tombs and other various structures throughout the grounds. Spiraling cobblestone paths leading to underground crypts circled and bent all around, though it was rumored that the most elaborate crypts, belonging to Noxian noblemen and distinguished military figures alike, had no pathway, but were concealed by the stealthy guise of Summoner’s magic.

  And every now and then, a shrill cry would pierce the near-silence, courtesy of the restless ravens who'd yet to seek refuge.

  ‘Just stay quiet and keep up,’ demanded Talon, he let the words convey frustration. Katarina merely nodded in acknowledgement, but her mind was elsewhere.

Why would a banished Summoner be so obsessed as to call upon the empty spirits of the dead? She wondered. 

  Noxian graveyards were not unlike those of Demacia, Ionia, or any other in Valoran. They had ceremonial tombstones, inscribed with phrases of virtue, respect, and discipline. Noxians were a proud a people as any other, and thus all dead citizens were given due respect in this way. Given the reports of this Summoner, it was clear that he was bereft of all respect.

 ‘Yes, whatever you say,’ she replied absentmindedly.

Talon didn’t have the patience for failure, and he had even less patience for incompetent allies. Katarina had proven herself on the fields of battle with high frequency, but this was more than just a routine skirmish against Demacian patrols. In fact, he had no idea what to expect, and perhaps it was this fact alone that put his mind in such a heightened state of mental alertness.

  ‘Just keep your mind on the mission,’ she quipped, not concerned in the least.

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  The pair of assassins had ventured through the graveyard entrance, and were now nearing the ritual grounds. The upkeep here had clearly been avoided, as there were piles of overgrowth, next to no tomb  maintenance in sight, and there was not a not a single lit lantern in sight. Some of the tombs dated back hundreds of years, and others mere months.
 Being surrounded by all this death gave Katarina some time to contemplate the death she'd dealt. The thoughts sensed of remorse, sorrow, and regret, but she had not the tolerance to consider them for long. Expert mental discipline made it possible for her to regard such emotions with transience, and as if washed away by a torrent, they left her mind, replaced by the more immediate sensory perceptions of the surrounding area.

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 And there he was, dressed in black, his arms outstretched and circling in slow motion. His hooded head bobbed slowly back and forth as he chanted some arcane ritual. He did not articulate words, but sounds, and neither assassin could decipher the meaning. Then, without so much as a sound, the situation changed dramatically. Talon’s mind became warped by spell-craft for but an instant that seemed to last minutes…

  ‘What are you DOING in this PLACE!’ he thought… it was the Summoner, somehow interfacing with                                his thoughts. His words resounded with the torment and grief of one who’d devoted a lifetime to believing in    pretentious falsehoods and corrupting power.

  ‘You FOOLS! This is my PLACE. These are the DEAD you are toiling with. I AM toiling  WITH!’

  ‘GET OUT!’ said the Summoner, each word growing louder than the last.

Then, in a swift motion, Katarina whipped around and grabbed Talon by the forearm, nearly bringing him to the ground. Given her slim stature, it was a surprise to him that she could be so forceful.

  ‘Snap out of it,’ she voiced calmly, ‘it’s not real.’ The Summoner had no vanished from sight. Where he had once stood, billowy wafts of pink smoke remained .

  However, the Summoner had left behind much more than smoke and mirrors…

  Talon shook his head.

  ‘How did he do that?’ he asked.

 'I don’t know,’ replied Katarina, ‘but we need to get out of here. He's sealed the exits. There is little time.’

  Pulse quickening, she watched as black forms shifted from beneath the residual smoke that now circulated at the feet of the weary assassins.

  ‘Undead…’ croaked Talon, his voice barely audible, and Katarina said nothing as she readied her blades. The Summoner had left them a sizeable force of minions to contend with, and it was unlike any force that they’d faced before. These minions were empowered by forbidden enchantments. Their eyes appeared as orange spheres blazing fiercely, and their skin was rotten, dead, sores leaking and fizzing with all manner of effervescent pestilence.

  While Katarina took several cautionary steps backward, Talon surveyed the situation with a bored ease that belied his experience on the field. Whereas Katarina was of the opinion that every combative situation should be handled with pinpoint tactics, Talon had the stubbornness to slay at random, irrespective of precision...
 And there was much slaying to be done.

Villains: Get Stormraged.

In WoW’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, it became obvious that Illidan was the main baddie.

This fact became self-evident at the release of patch 2.1.0 – the opening of Black Temple, where the self-proclaimed Lord of Outland made his debut. He celebrated this event by mercilessly extinguishing all hardcore raiders for weeks to come.

Illidan was the perfect villain. In the extradimensional realm of Outland, this angry elf demon was often seen wielding the wicked Warglaives of Azzinoth, legendary items sought by Rogues and Fury Warriors alike. He appeared to revere cruelty, as indicated by his vicious, shadowy wingspan and demonic horns.

With respect to Warcraft Lore, it’s important to know what made Illidan such a convincing villain. The first thing to know is that his actions in WoW pale in comparison to his former exploits. Essentially, his meddling with the Well of Eternity, Queen Azshara, and the likes of Deathwing serve to better enforce his status as Über-villain.

Addicted to magic, power, and stricken with jealousy (with regard to his love interest, Tyrande), Illidan was banished to prison by his brother for creating a second Well of Eternity atop Mount Hyjal – an act of extreme danger that resulted in the exile of the Highborne after they tried to blow things up with a magical storm!

While in prison for ten thousand years, Illidan had plenty of time to contemplate the finer parts of life;

Isolation can do that to the mind. Now, after all the long centuries you kept me chained in darkness, it is only fitting that I bury you in turn. –Illidan

Upon being released from prison, courtesy of Tyrande, Illidan went off to cause more problems. He allied with the demons, turned into a demi-demon himself (after obtaining the powerful and corrupting Skull of Gul-dan), and escaped to Outland, where he sought to establish dominance. While in Outland, Illidan was once again lead to do evil things in the name of untold powers of magic, a temptations made worse by his demonic connections (Kil’jaeden). He also made friends with Lady Vashj and Kael’thas Sunstrider: reputed to not be the nicest kids on the block.

Now, players who worked their way through The Black Temple may recall Illidan’s distinct omnipresence. Unlike other bosses, Illidan seemed to possess this aura that authenticated his evil villain status. He was not just after unlimited power and glory, he wanted to spread wholesale death and destruction without provocation. When you got to Illidan, it was truly a feeling of epic accomplishment (usually preceded by extreme frustration, courtesy of the Council fight). When his chamber doors became unlocked, the raid would race up dual stair-cases, and fight a few trash mobs. Then, through the final doors (assisted by the Shade of Akama, and some epic cut-scenes), you were in, and there was no going back. The presentation of the encounter was flawless, and the delivery spot-on. When you got to Illidan, you knew that s*** was going to hit the fan, because this was a half-demon that simply needed to be slain. No compromises were to be made. You thought to yourself, Illidan, the one who’s taunted me since the beginning of The Burning Crusade, is about to bite the dust!
This was motivation enough to endure the countless wipes that were to follow.

As far as WoW boss fights go, the Illidan fight was technically impressive to say the least. Raid awareness, reaction time, positioning, and communication skills were all put to the test here, and it took no small amount of elbow grease and Redbull to stay focused. As some might remember of Ensidia’s (then Nihilum) world-first Illidan kill video, their main tank Kungen enjoyed brief internet acclaim for his liberal use of his custom ‘MAX FOCUS’ raidsay macro.

When the fight started, all types of rocket-ships and pain-trains assailed the main tank. Illidan’s leaping shred attack was almost always accompanied by a 1/3rd or more hp cut of even the sturdiest tanks, and this was the easy part. The annoying part of phase one came when he spewed out shadowy elementals that rushed your raid group, exploded, and caused confusion. After what seemed like an hour of this nonsense, Illidan went airborne, and left two parting gifts in the form of ridiculous fire elementals. These elementals were no easier to tank than Illidan himself, and they had to be positioned near firewalls that would instagib if touched. To make matters worse, he blasted the scared, crying raiders with laser beams that only Chain-Heal and Circle-of-Healing spam could remedy. As a healing priest, this had to have been my least favorite part of the fight! From there, with the fire elementals slain, you needed a pro warlock tank to take shadow-bolt hits for a while, and avoid dying to AoE volley attacks that pummeled the raid.

With the warlock tanking phase complete, you bore witness to an epic moment in video game history, that of Maiev Shadowsong finally hunting her long-sought prey. Even now, I don’t want to ruin it for those who haven’t seen this cinematic, so I’ll end it on a suspenseful note. All in all, if you haven’t killed Illidan, and have an active WoW sub, I recommend you do so asap. If not, then go play My Little Pony the MMO, or Hello Kitty Online. I’m sure those games have excellent villains to contend with.