Dropping leaves for claws?

I have been playing WoW since... well I think since Feb or March after release (there's something on the web that tells me, but I can't find it right now). Anyway, in that time, I have done many roles and gone through many incarnations of the druid: cat dps not better than a 41 rogue, bears first foray into tanking MC, restos as the bastard children of healing, etc.

Healing in Wrath made me a goddess. Healing in Cata, while I have not lost my divinity, was a welcome challenge.

Why the hell would I want to switch to tanking? Frankly, I miss it. All through Wrath, I kept my scraps of a feral set in my bank. Once a month or so, I would put it on, then shake my head because I didn't know the first thing about the new feral mechanics. Wistfully, I would plop it all back in the bank.

I still don't miss carrying so many sets of gear. But I do miss the challenge of being up in front, taking the shots. Bears might need a little love in Cata, but I think they (Blizz) will get it right soon. Or in a year... hell, look at Death Knights and how long it took to figure them out.

Guildies worry that the stress of being a tank will break me again. I've gotten a little older, I don't swear in vent so much, and healing has certainly given me a zen approach to when crap happens.

Now, having said all of that, I wish to say that I don't dislike healing. As I said before, I have played all the roles at one point or another and seen virtually all the changes. I don't think Restos are broken or unplayable. I admit, I rock heroics like a queen and was getting apprehensive about the transition to raiding but that nervousness was not the catalyst for the desire to switch.

Our guild lacks a 4th tank (while not needed in 25s, kinda important for running two 10s). It is supposed to be my brother, a DK, but real life is keeping him from raiding. And, our guild prides itself on diversity. We like a good mix of every class and spec and play to the strengths of those classes and players.

Enter the bear. We haven't had a bear since BC and this is my chance before our first real raid to step up and fill in.

Despite my desires and intentions, the jury is still out on what kind of raiding we will actually be able to hit in the coming weeks.

As for the blog, other bloggers have changed their specs or quit their blog entirely so I will keep writing about what interests me or what I observe, with an ample dash of unsolicited opinion.

I know it sucks, but whatcha gonna do?

Now that the early wave of pugging has subsided with many folks headed back to school soon, the quality of players using the LFG tool is starting to slide.

It's no secret that there are some DPS queing as tanks in order to move faster up the chain.

Usually this issue is not a problem on Kir, who is overgeared for just about anything. It becomes a liability on Ciras, who is still trying to shed the last remains of her Naxx gear through doing pugs.

So, Dhoom and Ciras are trying to gear up when we realized that our tank in UP is clearly not a tank. Yes, he was a DK but he was unholy. Now, before you start yelling at me that Unholies can be tanks, let me say that it is probably possible but more than likely doesn't happen.

So, Ciras is PoMin and Shielding like crazy, making use of her Glyph of Prayer of Mending like a mad woman because our group didn't get one but three tanks. Yes, the dps warrior and retadin are also tanking because the Unholy can't hold agro for jack.

The icing on the cake? You know that broken stairway before the boss? Not only did the pally fall down but the warrior as well. To the "tank"'s defense, he was trying to hold the mobs that we were supposed to be on, while the other bozos decided to fight the packs instead of dying like good morons.

After we wiped, the melee's blamed the tank for their failure. I quickly rushed to Unholy's defense and said that he was fine, they were the idiots. I surprised myself because just minutes before, I was cursing at this guy for being a fail-tank. Then, I realized that the rest of group was more stupid than he.

Moral of the story...

Yes, tanks are probably DPS who didn't want to wait for a que. But, if they are indeed trying, don't be afraid to exercise your healing powers and tell the idiots what's what. All it takes is a little push on your part, because frankly, they don't want to go back into another 15 min wait.

Just use your powers for good, not evil.