Summertime Strategies

Summer is creeping up, things begin to slow down in game, it's not unique to anyone, it just happens every year, and definitely more noticeable before a new expansion is on the horizon.  Rather than let yourself be bummed about it, there's still a lot of opportunity to keep things interesting. 

Changing things around with what you have:
It's a great time to check out those macros you've been a little nervous about trying out! You've heard someone talk about it here or there but maybe have been a little too nervous to break old habits yet.

Trying out some new hardware:
If you're feeling really adventurous it could be a great time to try out some new gaming hardware.
Maybe you've had your eye on that Gaming mouse but have been a little nervous about what you're going to do with all the extra buttons. 
Maybe you're looking at a gaming pad, or a new gaming keyboard.

Trying out a new Role:
Maybe you've done all of those things above, and instead, you want to try out a new role. Inbetween expansions can be a great time to get into a group in a new role as people take their breaks and are missing a given role for their group. It could even be a good time to secure that new raid spot and role by showing the raid leaders you're reliable, always there and ready to go.

Why is "Now" the time?
By this time, you're probably already pretty familiar with most or all of the current content.
At this point of an expansion there's very little difficulty in obtaining some potent gear for a new character.
Because of this, there is often a lot more room for error while you're learning, giving you more room to breathe while you adapt to a new kind of play regardless if its Trying out macros, new hardware or new roles.

Even if you're just into running fairly casual stuff, Break out of that mental autopilot mode and try out something new! By changing just a couple of things can often open new doors in how you play and new perceptions on ways to do new things and even improve your performance. Sometimes those little changes can feel like you're playing a whole new game.

Now is a great time to experiment with new things while the waters are calm.
The penalties for a learning curve are low, and the ease of acquiring some competent gear for your character is very accessible.

~Hoof

YouTube Spotlights with Horderlies!

More Cowbell lives on, just not in any regular scheduled releases it seems.

I have some goodies for anyone looking for some tips in raiding Dragon Soul (Normal 10 man).
These videos are on my YouTube channel, but here's the links specifically to them.

Morchok
Zan'ozz (added later, original recording didn't come out well)
Yor'sahj
Haraga the Stormbinder (added later, original recording didn't come out well)
Ultraxion
Warmaster Blackhorn
Spine of Deathwing
Madness of Deathwing

All of these videos are from a tanking viewpoint, however I've tried to include everything I can think of for the entire encounter for any role.  These are basic strategies and ones that we use in guild on a consistent basis.

I've left most of the Voice chatter so you can see how everyone communicates things to each other.  Some of the really long or repetitive fights are sped up though and do not have that audio, but it is only sped up after the explanations before it begins to repeat.