So this morning I went to my usual afk spot in Dal to grab some coffee. This horde troll on his ravasuar follows me and sits right on top of me.
Then, two alliance on their wintersabers followed him and soon enough they were all crowding around me.
I started to get really uncomfortable. Why are they all gathered around me? I didn't get a chance to ask the troll what he was up to, as he ran off before I could tag his name. It all left me feeling bewildered and confused.
If it's just a game, how come my personal space threshold felt threatened by having strangers surround me for me no stated reason?
Saturday, August 29
Thursday, August 27
So maybe not getting the T8 was a good thing?
It's been reported before, but the T8 4pc set is getting nerfed, at least it is being tested as a nerf. Many sides argued if this was a good or a bad thing.
I passed on a lot of the tokens because we had so many DKs, Mages, Rogues that getting their dps up seemed more important to me than looking good on the healing meter. Many of them were either new to the guild, rerollers, or otherwise had to take a break from the game and came back undergeared.
We do have a druid with the 4pc and it has greatly improved his overall healing. In this regard, I see the nerf as something that will hurt our healing team.
At the rate these instance have been coming out, I am actually happy now to not be tied down by set bonuses.
I don't like all the crit on the T9. I love my yummy haste too much, especially as a raid healer. Now that the tokens are generic and available for all classes, which I think should drop two not one per boss, I'm even less inclined to scramble for my set pieces.
I am going to have to disagree with Lissanna here: I don't have the T8 and I still throw Rejuv around on everyone for my raid healing, at least in Ulduar. Maybe I am behind the times during our ToC raids and should be using regrowth more. The faction champion fight comes to mind as far as changing my healing style. Something more bursty is needed. In this I agree with Lissanna, that being more than a two button healer something druids need to move to.
If the Idol is any indication, they still want rejuv to be a solid hot to keep on the target. A free, trinket like spell power bonus is just too freaking good. I pray to the game gods that it won't be nerfed.
I will still be employing the method I did for Ulduar, going for incremental upgrades instead of saving up everything for set bonuses.
I passed on a lot of the tokens because we had so many DKs, Mages, Rogues that getting their dps up seemed more important to me than looking good on the healing meter. Many of them were either new to the guild, rerollers, or otherwise had to take a break from the game and came back undergeared.
We do have a druid with the 4pc and it has greatly improved his overall healing. In this regard, I see the nerf as something that will hurt our healing team.
At the rate these instance have been coming out, I am actually happy now to not be tied down by set bonuses.
I don't like all the crit on the T9. I love my yummy haste too much, especially as a raid healer. Now that the tokens are generic and available for all classes, which I think should drop two not one per boss, I'm even less inclined to scramble for my set pieces.
I am going to have to disagree with Lissanna here: I don't have the T8 and I still throw Rejuv around on everyone for my raid healing, at least in Ulduar. Maybe I am behind the times during our ToC raids and should be using regrowth more. The faction champion fight comes to mind as far as changing my healing style. Something more bursty is needed. In this I agree with Lissanna, that being more than a two button healer something druids need to move to.
If the Idol is any indication, they still want rejuv to be a solid hot to keep on the target. A free, trinket like spell power bonus is just too freaking good. I pray to the game gods that it won't be nerfed.
I will still be employing the method I did for Ulduar, going for incremental upgrades instead of saving up everything for set bonuses.
Sunday, August 23
Will you stay Tauren/Night Elf?
They are hoping to add race changes along with faction changes in the near future. Which got me thinking... do I want to stay a cow?
The alliance kind of got lucky here and have their new race, the Worgen, able to be druids. This is a yummy blend of all that is shapeshift-y and I think it's cool. On the Horde side of things, Trolls will be able to rock it with the claws, feathers or leaves. (See the chart for more a visual look at the class/race combos)
I believe they said that they were looking into different looks for the new races as they shapeshift into druid forms. It would be a stretch to have a troll druid have horns in Cat form (tusks now on top of the head?) so having a unique look makes sense.
Am I on board with Trolls being druids now? Kind of. I wish it were Orcs, as being tied to the elements seems a smoother transition to being tied with nature. However, Trolls are one of the oldest races in Azeroth (and the least played) and a sense of evolving past their cannibalistic ways seems like a good move.
Will I go troll? I might. If anything, for the booty shake over the Electric Slide.
What about the rest of the Druids? Any thoughts so far about changing? No pun intended...
The alliance kind of got lucky here and have their new race, the Worgen, able to be druids. This is a yummy blend of all that is shapeshift-y and I think it's cool. On the Horde side of things, Trolls will be able to rock it with the claws, feathers or leaves. (See the chart for more a visual look at the class/race combos)
I believe they said that they were looking into different looks for the new races as they shapeshift into druid forms. It would be a stretch to have a troll druid have horns in Cat form (tusks now on top of the head?) so having a unique look makes sense.
Am I on board with Trolls being druids now? Kind of. I wish it were Orcs, as being tied to the elements seems a smoother transition to being tied with nature. However, Trolls are one of the oldest races in Azeroth (and the least played) and a sense of evolving past their cannibalistic ways seems like a good move.
Will I go troll? I might. If anything, for the booty shake over the Electric Slide.
What about the rest of the Druids? Any thoughts so far about changing? No pun intended...
Saturday, August 22
I'm not sure where to begin.
Let me first say that I have been super busy with Real Life, that thing that I do while not blogging or playing games. Fall term is fast approaching, and people at work have been taking vacations so I pick up shifts to cover for them.
Of course, the expansion announcement has pulled me out from under my rock to comment.
I have mixed feelings so far about how this will all turn out.
New Races
I am saddened that Horde doesn't get Worgen, but for the lore it makes sense. If it turns out as well as I hope it does, using the phasing system for these new races will help better connect with their stories and how they fit into their respective faction sides. Especially, for Goblins. It's not like these guys are new and shiny, but the phasing while leveling should give those who roll them a greater understanding of how the heck they got to Kalimdor and why Thrall said "Ya, come join us."
Old Zones are New again
A complete re-do on all the Old World zones is intriguing. More so when they announced that it will affect everyone, regardless of if you bought the expansion. This, I can get behind. I personally feel like I would be playing a new game again after seen the trailer (Barrens split into two parts, Desolace actually with grass instead of desert, for example).
Of course, flying. When BC came out, I predicted that we would be flying in Azeroth within a year. I was waaaay off. But the chance to fly will finally be reached with the expansion.
The game is going to be completely redone. Not just with zones and new dungeons, but also class/race combos and game mechanics. They are redoing how we gain higher ranks of spells and how stats fit into the game play.
My character screen is full, like my inventory
Leafshine makes a good point. Need more character slots. Seriously.
Bold move
Despite feeling both excited and so boggled that I can't wrap my head around many of the changes, I think (today anyway), that Blizzard is doing the right thing by changing the game. It's five years old, and possibly will be six when the expansion comes out (just speculating, don't quote me on that). There needs to be something done in order to bring new life into the game. This is beyond an expansion but a re-imagining of the world we play in. Shifted lowbie areas, new quest hubs, new mechanics all will send folks for a loop (put down the quest helper and learn to read quest text again!). As someone who openly admits she needs something new to look at, hence my Aion beta playing, the New World of Warcraft might entice me to keep playing for a little while longer.
Lore, lore, more lore
I am deep down a RPer. I can't help it, after years of table top RPG and many FFs and the like before even picking up my first MMO, I am invested in the lore of my games. So, imagine my shock when I read about the new, new horde. As a member of the Horde and a Tauren, I feel a sense of loss and confusion. The lore will have to strongly encourage me, as a player to get behind the changes.
I probably will add more of my 2 cp later as more things develop. Read about the announcments at MMO Champion, World Of Raids, the Official Site and a blog near you.
Of course, the expansion announcement has pulled me out from under my rock to comment.
I have mixed feelings so far about how this will all turn out.
New Races
I am saddened that Horde doesn't get Worgen, but for the lore it makes sense. If it turns out as well as I hope it does, using the phasing system for these new races will help better connect with their stories and how they fit into their respective faction sides. Especially, for Goblins. It's not like these guys are new and shiny, but the phasing while leveling should give those who roll them a greater understanding of how the heck they got to Kalimdor and why Thrall said "Ya, come join us."
Old Zones are New again
A complete re-do on all the Old World zones is intriguing. More so when they announced that it will affect everyone, regardless of if you bought the expansion. This, I can get behind. I personally feel like I would be playing a new game again after seen the trailer (Barrens split into two parts, Desolace actually with grass instead of desert, for example).
Of course, flying. When BC came out, I predicted that we would be flying in Azeroth within a year. I was waaaay off. But the chance to fly will finally be reached with the expansion.
The game is going to be completely redone. Not just with zones and new dungeons, but also class/race combos and game mechanics. They are redoing how we gain higher ranks of spells and how stats fit into the game play.
My character screen is full, like my inventory
Leafshine makes a good point. Need more character slots. Seriously.
Bold move
Despite feeling both excited and so boggled that I can't wrap my head around many of the changes, I think (today anyway), that Blizzard is doing the right thing by changing the game. It's five years old, and possibly will be six when the expansion comes out (just speculating, don't quote me on that). There needs to be something done in order to bring new life into the game. This is beyond an expansion but a re-imagining of the world we play in. Shifted lowbie areas, new quest hubs, new mechanics all will send folks for a loop (put down the quest helper and learn to read quest text again!). As someone who openly admits she needs something new to look at, hence my Aion beta playing, the New World of Warcraft might entice me to keep playing for a little while longer.
Lore, lore, more lore
I am deep down a RPer. I can't help it, after years of table top RPG and many FFs and the like before even picking up my first MMO, I am invested in the lore of my games. So, imagine my shock when I read about the new, new horde. As a member of the Horde and a Tauren, I feel a sense of loss and confusion. The lore will have to strongly encourage me, as a player to get behind the changes.
I probably will add more of my 2 cp later as more things develop. Read about the announcments at MMO Champion, World Of Raids, the Official Site and a blog near you.
Thursday, August 13
New Ony
Blizz has announced they will introduce a leaner and more pissed off version of Ony for the 5th Anniversary of WoW.
Is this rehash or nostalgia?
Given that it is being released for the anniversary, I want to go with nostalgia. However, I would be more convinced of this if it was updated for a limited time. Maybe even attach some lore to it (which they still might do). Something like "Can't trust the help (Sartharion) to do the job right, I have to do it myself" kind of thing. And, since she's supposed to be dead, have one of the Aspects bring her back. I'm just grasping at straws, I know.
Considering that most Alliance and many Horde already know she had her claws in more than a few pots in Vanilla WoW, bringing her back into the story line would be helpful in leading me to believe this is more than a gimmick.
Without knowing when it will be released, it is hard to say at this point where it falls in the dungeon time line. However, we are looking at a possible two or three months of ToC before this new dungeon is released. Will be interesting to see if this is enough time for players to fully enjoy the new instance we have now before we are bombarded with somewhere else to go.
Meaner, but also harder?
Since they had announced that the upgrade would be here to stay, many are hoping it won't be dumbed down. Given it's supposed to be "fun" I have a feeling it won't be too much of a challenge to many guilds.
Deep Breaths are back, but they have also said they will update it to be more in line with what raiders are used to now (paraphrasing).
Wonder what they will do with all the old quests that were attached to her? Will the classic raider achievement be altered to compensate for the changes?
Blue has posted that the old level 60 version will no longer be available. This may be the start of a trend to phase out older content in favor of a longer end game.
Oh goodie, the helms are back!
That was sarcasm. I do NOT want moose antlers. Thank goodness for tree form and the Off Option. I suppose if I was a lock or a rogue, I would be excited.
New toys... for me?
It wouldn't be a dragon encounter without the chance of being able to get a new mount. This is one I will actually be trying for, since the new change to our flight :)
And, of course, I would be insane to not get the pet. On all characters. Even my bank alt.
Insert the classic humor
I can't really argue with the popularity of the announcement, though. Already, I'm seeing classic quotes from the infamous Onyixa video, and references to the patch notes regarding deep breaths. People are excited for many reason about this up coming release. I am not, but will still go because my friends will.
All in all, there are many good and bad things attached to this change, and I expect to be seeing more revamps in the future.
Is this rehash or nostalgia?
Given that it is being released for the anniversary, I want to go with nostalgia. However, I would be more convinced of this if it was updated for a limited time. Maybe even attach some lore to it (which they still might do). Something like "Can't trust the help (Sartharion) to do the job right, I have to do it myself" kind of thing. And, since she's supposed to be dead, have one of the Aspects bring her back. I'm just grasping at straws, I know.
Considering that most Alliance and many Horde already know she had her claws in more than a few pots in Vanilla WoW, bringing her back into the story line would be helpful in leading me to believe this is more than a gimmick.
Without knowing when it will be released, it is hard to say at this point where it falls in the dungeon time line. However, we are looking at a possible two or three months of ToC before this new dungeon is released. Will be interesting to see if this is enough time for players to fully enjoy the new instance we have now before we are bombarded with somewhere else to go.
Meaner, but also harder?
Since they had announced that the upgrade would be here to stay, many are hoping it won't be dumbed down. Given it's supposed to be "fun" I have a feeling it won't be too much of a challenge to many guilds.
Deep Breaths are back, but they have also said they will update it to be more in line with what raiders are used to now (paraphrasing).
Wonder what they will do with all the old quests that were attached to her? Will the classic raider achievement be altered to compensate for the changes?
Blue has posted that the old level 60 version will no longer be available. This may be the start of a trend to phase out older content in favor of a longer end game.
Oh goodie, the helms are back!
That was sarcasm. I do NOT want moose antlers. Thank goodness for tree form and the Off Option. I suppose if I was a lock or a rogue, I would be excited.
New toys... for me?
It wouldn't be a dragon encounter without the chance of being able to get a new mount. This is one I will actually be trying for, since the new change to our flight :)
And, of course, I would be insane to not get the pet. On all characters. Even my bank alt.
Insert the classic humor
I can't really argue with the popularity of the announcement, though. Already, I'm seeing classic quotes from the infamous Onyixa video, and references to the patch notes regarding deep breaths. People are excited for many reason about this up coming release. I am not, but will still go because my friends will.
All in all, there are many good and bad things attached to this change, and I expect to be seeing more revamps in the future.
Tuesday, August 11
Camping
I've been involved the last few days with Raptor Camp 2009. What is Raptor Camp? It is the hours I have been spending waiting for the rare spawns to emerge so I can have a tiny non combat pet, of course!
I wasn't really going to spend so much time on them, but I kinda got sucked into it. It started off with 20 runs of WC. Then, sitting in Dustwallow for a couple hours waiting for Dart but giving up because a guildie needed a healer for ToC.
It changed when another guildie cursed himself for missing the Takk spawn and watched another player grab him. I noted the time and through the course of the conversation, I thought he wasn't going to come back a few hours later for it and instead go to bed. I sat there, waited for Takk, killed him not 30 seconds before the guildie logs in. I felt like such a horse's ass. And I am to a degree because I didn't go back and try for another one on behalf of the guildie.
I tried again for Dart. I saw many people come and go as I sat there for a few hours. I realize now that my original camping spot was flawed because when I checked for him the second time around, I literally watched him spawn on top of me on the little mount next to the hill. I was shaking from excitement because I had just seen another horde player ride past me just a couple minutes before.
Now, I'm casually killing raptors in Zul'Drak. For some strange reason, sitting in one spot is easier than killing spread out monsters in a loop. At least during my Dart camp, I could watch a movie or read a book.
I tell ya, these pets are a sickness. But each new pet gives me a sense of glee and I start to squeal and talk in a high-pitched voice about how cute they are.
93 pets and counting...
I wasn't really going to spend so much time on them, but I kinda got sucked into it. It started off with 20 runs of WC. Then, sitting in Dustwallow for a couple hours waiting for Dart but giving up because a guildie needed a healer for ToC.
It changed when another guildie cursed himself for missing the Takk spawn and watched another player grab him. I noted the time and through the course of the conversation, I thought he wasn't going to come back a few hours later for it and instead go to bed. I sat there, waited for Takk, killed him not 30 seconds before the guildie logs in. I felt like such a horse's ass. And I am to a degree because I didn't go back and try for another one on behalf of the guildie.
I tried again for Dart. I saw many people come and go as I sat there for a few hours. I realize now that my original camping spot was flawed because when I checked for him the second time around, I literally watched him spawn on top of me on the little mount next to the hill. I was shaking from excitement because I had just seen another horde player ride past me just a couple minutes before.
Now, I'm casually killing raptors in Zul'Drak. For some strange reason, sitting in one spot is easier than killing spread out monsters in a loop. At least during my Dart camp, I could watch a movie or read a book.
I tell ya, these pets are a sickness. But each new pet gives me a sense of glee and I start to squeal and talk in a high-pitched voice about how cute they are.
93 pets and counting...
Friday, August 7
New Eclipse and other things.
Solar, Lunar, Both?
Just when I thought I had the whole spam wrath till Solar proc thing figured out, a surprising thing happened to me in VoA last night: I got to see how the new Eclipse mechanic worked.
Wow. It's odd, feels weird, but kind of nice all at the same time. Not sure how I want to handle it though in the next raid I dps for, however. I just recently changed my spec to drop some points in Meditation, but realized it was too easy to burn through my mana while maintaining the Solar-Lunar cycle consistently. I will say that once I figured out what was going on, my dps did see an improvement but time will tell as more experimentation goes through. The new change to innervate may help on some fights, and of course, I still have a healthy supply of mana pots.
Empowered Touch
On the healing side of things, I have not changed my spec to take advantage of the new Empowered Touch. This is largely because of my raid role and, frankly, I haven't healed in a raid yet. Our guild took a week off of regular raiding while folks were dealing with the patch and the 10 man we did play around with, I was boomy. In a five man situation, I could see it being very effective, as Nourish is my second most effective spell in ToC.
I am just not quite ready to give up GotEM or Revitalize yet. I may move some points away from Gift into Empowered Touch, but again, I need to see things in a real raid setting.
OMGZ! I HAF OVERHEALZ?!
I recently read on Restokin that our HoT overhealing are now being shown in the combat logs, which means people will finally see how much our hots are NOT doing. I for one will not change how I play and really, any druid worth their salt shouldn't either. As a raid healer, I use hots very preemptively. I toss them on before I big aoe, I toss them on in between waves, etc. Rejuv is going even though I know my target will be snap up by the disc priest or pally because it will still be there when they have moved on.
To change how we heal just to look good on the numbers would be a mistake. HoTs have always been the buffer between direct heals, and just because they now have a numerical, definitive value attached to the overhealing, doesn't mean we should hold back.
However, I read that someone suggested that this overhealing will cause agro. This makes me scratch my head and ask "It does?" And honestly, I do not know. I play a Disc priest and a Resto druid, and while I never looked for it before, I didn't notice anything regarding this mechanic. Perhaps on the next raid it might show up. But, I have my doubts about this claim or else our Pally healers would have been snapping up agro left and right.
I look forward to us coming back from our raid break to test these things out.
Just when I thought I had the whole spam wrath till Solar proc thing figured out, a surprising thing happened to me in VoA last night: I got to see how the new Eclipse mechanic worked.
Wow. It's odd, feels weird, but kind of nice all at the same time. Not sure how I want to handle it though in the next raid I dps for, however. I just recently changed my spec to drop some points in Meditation, but realized it was too easy to burn through my mana while maintaining the Solar-Lunar cycle consistently. I will say that once I figured out what was going on, my dps did see an improvement but time will tell as more experimentation goes through. The new change to innervate may help on some fights, and of course, I still have a healthy supply of mana pots.
Empowered Touch
On the healing side of things, I have not changed my spec to take advantage of the new Empowered Touch. This is largely because of my raid role and, frankly, I haven't healed in a raid yet. Our guild took a week off of regular raiding while folks were dealing with the patch and the 10 man we did play around with, I was boomy. In a five man situation, I could see it being very effective, as Nourish is my second most effective spell in ToC.
I am just not quite ready to give up GotEM or Revitalize yet. I may move some points away from Gift into Empowered Touch, but again, I need to see things in a real raid setting.
OMGZ! I HAF OVERHEALZ?!
I recently read on Restokin that our HoT overhealing are now being shown in the combat logs, which means people will finally see how much our hots are NOT doing. I for one will not change how I play and really, any druid worth their salt shouldn't either. As a raid healer, I use hots very preemptively. I toss them on before I big aoe, I toss them on in between waves, etc. Rejuv is going even though I know my target will be snap up by the disc priest or pally because it will still be there when they have moved on.
To change how we heal just to look good on the numbers would be a mistake. HoTs have always been the buffer between direct heals, and just because they now have a numerical, definitive value attached to the overhealing, doesn't mean we should hold back.
However, I read that someone suggested that this overhealing will cause agro. This makes me scratch my head and ask "It does?" And honestly, I do not know. I play a Disc priest and a Resto druid, and while I never looked for it before, I didn't notice anything regarding this mechanic. Perhaps on the next raid it might show up. But, I have my doubts about this claim or else our Pally healers would have been snapping up agro left and right.
I look forward to us coming back from our raid break to test these things out.
Thursday, August 6
In just seven days... I can make you a man!
Ok, it won't take seven days, and he won't be a man but a mount! I couldn't help the Rocky Horror reference.
I'm talking about the new Ravasaur mount offered by Mor'vek in U-crator.
Toxic Tolerance
First step is to get "splashed" by poison off Venomhide Ravasaurs. However, in order to get splashed you have to hit them melee style. Now, I recommend hitting them with fists. As a caster, this shouldn't be too difficult since our melee skills suck. My DK friend had to take off all his gear and switch to tank spec in order to do this effectively. On PTR, seems you had to be splashed 2,000 times, but in 3.2 it is only 20. The poison does hurt even at level 80, but as a druid, just cleanse and go about your business.
Venomhide Eggs
The next step asks you to gather 4 venomhide eggs which are found in the marshlands where you fought the bigger versions. As the quest text says, it will be lighter in color than the other eggs, and really they aren't too hard to find. Just mouse over the nests.
After you return the eggs to Mor'vek, he gives you a hatchling to care for as he is growing up. The Venomhide Hatchling is only usable in certain areas and he offers you a daily quest. I was given the quest to feed him Silithis Eggs, but others have had to collect Roc Feathers, or feed him silithid meat and raptor meat. He's a vicious little bugger, that one!
It will take 20 teeth, 20 Rugged Leather, 20 Runecloth, and 80g to make the saddle and allow time for your little guy to be a full grown mount.
Whistle of the Venomhide Ravasaur
Overall, I would have to say if I was alliance, I would be a bit miffed. No rep grind, and the "grind" of 2,000 poison hits was removed. Having not done the Wintersaber grind, I can only gather from some Ally rerollers how much of a pain it was and I will say we as horde have it easy. However, since it took several years to actually implement it, I am just happy to have the chance to actually get the mount.
I'm talking about the new Ravasaur mount offered by Mor'vek in U-crator.
Toxic Tolerance
First step is to get "splashed" by poison off Venomhide Ravasaurs. However, in order to get splashed you have to hit them melee style. Now, I recommend hitting them with fists. As a caster, this shouldn't be too difficult since our melee skills suck. My DK friend had to take off all his gear and switch to tank spec in order to do this effectively. On PTR, seems you had to be splashed 2,000 times, but in 3.2 it is only 20. The poison does hurt even at level 80, but as a druid, just cleanse and go about your business.
Venomhide Eggs
The next step asks you to gather 4 venomhide eggs which are found in the marshlands where you fought the bigger versions. As the quest text says, it will be lighter in color than the other eggs, and really they aren't too hard to find. Just mouse over the nests. After you return the eggs to Mor'vek, he gives you a hatchling to care for as he is growing up. The Venomhide Hatchling is only usable in certain areas and he offers you a daily quest. I was given the quest to feed him Silithis Eggs, but others have had to collect Roc Feathers, or feed him silithid meat and raptor meat. He's a vicious little bugger, that one!
It will take 20 teeth, 20 Rugged Leather, 20 Runecloth, and 80g to make the saddle and allow time for your little guy to be a full grown mount.
Whistle of the Venomhide Ravasaur
Overall, I would have to say if I was alliance, I would be a bit miffed. No rep grind, and the "grind" of 2,000 poison hits was removed. Having not done the Wintersaber grind, I can only gather from some Ally rerollers how much of a pain it was and I will say we as horde have it easy. However, since it took several years to actually implement it, I am just happy to have the chance to actually get the mount.
Wednesday, August 5
Does Gear determine who is a good player anymore?
Is the game too easy mode?
Some how I had forgotten that Emblems of Triumph were the new tokens to get until I did the heroic daily to finish off my Proof of Demise achievement. Then I was like "Sweet, I wonder how many it will take to get a new helm?" A lot. As in, some heroic dailies won't quite get me there. I will still have to raid, and that is totally fine with me.
But it got me thinking, after looking at the rash of applications we got recently, that just looking for purples don't cover our needs anymore. VoA, emblems, the new dungeon offering item level gear similar to Naxx means that folks who are up and coming now are getting geared faster.
This is great news for our newly invited folks. We take the approach of Low Maintenance, meaning as long as you keep your head down and do what needs to be done, we are willing to over look some lack luster dps and carry you. With the changes to how gear is acquired, we expect to see those guys start to catch up in some areas.
Double Edged Sword
One thing about some other MMO's is once the population is out of your level bracket, it becomes difficult to get anything done. Without a guild or some friends, it is like pulling teeth to even get a group going. WoW is not immune to this problem, but they tackle it with Recruit a Friend. The normal on my server at least is running noobies through dungeons they have no real right to be in. Quests are easier, traveling is easier, acquiring gear is all much easier than when I first started playing. This is not saying a whole lot since it was pretty easy compared to my EQ days of leveling off rats for a week.
Many players don't even set foot in dungeons at the lower levels. Some of it is because of the community and some of it because it's slower and the gear that is there will just be out leveled in a few days. Many folks don't see a dungeon until they hit 80. I don't know how many VoA's I've seen with people in greens. Some who have done dungeons are hitting VoA in T4 or T5, which boggles my mind.
This leads to a severe lack of understanding of the game and one's role in it. I recall a blue poster (and I believe it was GC) who said that players are getting smarter. Really? Which players was he referring to, because as I see it, the general population is not. It does not help that Blizz rehashes some mechanics, but I see more and more people choosing to ignore their surroundings or even take a moment to think critically about an encounter. It is a pet peeve of mine to hear over vent "OW, what killed me?" Sigh. Do me a favor and look through your logs or recount before spewing that. Even the question "What happened?" is starting to annoy me. But I will stop there before I start to digress.
Many PuG leaders are stepping up and trying to tackle this problem. Setting requirements like "If you are not pulling 2 or 3k dps by the time we get to the boss, you will be booted." Then folks QQ. But is is a start, even if it's a rather blanket requirement. If you can pull those numbers in your greens, then props to you. I met a druid who did as much healing as I in blues which made me step up my game. It was healthy competition.
Instant Gratification
I had opened trade channel to get some pug time in (yes, on my server, trade is the LFG channel), and after the patch I had to shut it down. The amount of lame ass questions was large. So many people didn't either look at the patch notes or research any of the information that has been out for a month. Why bother when you just ask in open channels what you need to do. Hell, don't know how to update your addons? Ask the channel (true story).
Playing in Aion Beta did make me miss WoWhead. After running around for 20 mins looking for a quest item, my boyfriend said "I bet it will be right under our noses" and sure enough, after asking, we realized we walked right past it. Some things in various games are pretty vague, and for that some help is appreciated and given out willingly. Simple things are not.
Taking the good with the bad
The many minor improvements the game has made since launch I wouldn't ask to be taken away (Remember when we didn't have marks and people had assist macros? How did we kill anything?). With the game being as old as it is, and some servers just as old (mine is one of the early ones) you need something in place in order to allow the new folks or rerollers a way to catch up to their friends. But the downside to that is the dumbing down of the game on many levels which I feel is a slippery slope.
Some how I had forgotten that Emblems of Triumph were the new tokens to get until I did the heroic daily to finish off my Proof of Demise achievement. Then I was like "Sweet, I wonder how many it will take to get a new helm?" A lot. As in, some heroic dailies won't quite get me there. I will still have to raid, and that is totally fine with me.
But it got me thinking, after looking at the rash of applications we got recently, that just looking for purples don't cover our needs anymore. VoA, emblems, the new dungeon offering item level gear similar to Naxx means that folks who are up and coming now are getting geared faster.
This is great news for our newly invited folks. We take the approach of Low Maintenance, meaning as long as you keep your head down and do what needs to be done, we are willing to over look some lack luster dps and carry you. With the changes to how gear is acquired, we expect to see those guys start to catch up in some areas.
Double Edged Sword
One thing about some other MMO's is once the population is out of your level bracket, it becomes difficult to get anything done. Without a guild or some friends, it is like pulling teeth to even get a group going. WoW is not immune to this problem, but they tackle it with Recruit a Friend. The normal on my server at least is running noobies through dungeons they have no real right to be in. Quests are easier, traveling is easier, acquiring gear is all much easier than when I first started playing. This is not saying a whole lot since it was pretty easy compared to my EQ days of leveling off rats for a week.
Many players don't even set foot in dungeons at the lower levels. Some of it is because of the community and some of it because it's slower and the gear that is there will just be out leveled in a few days. Many folks don't see a dungeon until they hit 80. I don't know how many VoA's I've seen with people in greens. Some who have done dungeons are hitting VoA in T4 or T5, which boggles my mind.
This leads to a severe lack of understanding of the game and one's role in it. I recall a blue poster (and I believe it was GC) who said that players are getting smarter. Really? Which players was he referring to, because as I see it, the general population is not. It does not help that Blizz rehashes some mechanics, but I see more and more people choosing to ignore their surroundings or even take a moment to think critically about an encounter. It is a pet peeve of mine to hear over vent "OW, what killed me?" Sigh. Do me a favor and look through your logs or recount before spewing that. Even the question "What happened?" is starting to annoy me. But I will stop there before I start to digress.
Many PuG leaders are stepping up and trying to tackle this problem. Setting requirements like "If you are not pulling 2 or 3k dps by the time we get to the boss, you will be booted." Then folks QQ. But is is a start, even if it's a rather blanket requirement. If you can pull those numbers in your greens, then props to you. I met a druid who did as much healing as I in blues which made me step up my game. It was healthy competition.
Instant Gratification
I had opened trade channel to get some pug time in (yes, on my server, trade is the LFG channel), and after the patch I had to shut it down. The amount of lame ass questions was large. So many people didn't either look at the patch notes or research any of the information that has been out for a month. Why bother when you just ask in open channels what you need to do. Hell, don't know how to update your addons? Ask the channel (true story).
Playing in Aion Beta did make me miss WoWhead. After running around for 20 mins looking for a quest item, my boyfriend said "I bet it will be right under our noses" and sure enough, after asking, we realized we walked right past it. Some things in various games are pretty vague, and for that some help is appreciated and given out willingly. Simple things are not.
Taking the good with the bad
The many minor improvements the game has made since launch I wouldn't ask to be taken away (Remember when we didn't have marks and people had assist macros? How did we kill anything?). With the game being as old as it is, and some servers just as old (mine is one of the early ones) you need something in place in order to allow the new folks or rerollers a way to catch up to their friends. But the downside to that is the dumbing down of the game on many levels which I feel is a slippery slope.
3.2 is here!
After an awesome weekend on the Aion beta, filled with pizza rolls and coffee, it was time to jump into 3.2 on WoW.
Of course, it was laggy, I crashed a few times, and there were too many people on the JC vendor, but I managed to at least get my Orphan quest done and try for one of the pet raptors in WC. All this while others in my guild tried the new 10 man and 5 man versions of the instance.
New forms
Apparently, everyone was going to be a black bear/cat which disappointed me. Kir has been a black cow since the start of the game and I must admit I was little upset and sad to have to change her.
However, I like the white versions of the forms and I will be sticking with them for a while. MMO Champ has a good graphical layout of what you will look like with each color scheme.
Pets
I grabbed the raptor in Dalaran and finished up my orphan week quests to get my very own Wolvar.
See, I when the expansion first came out, I thought I would get one from doing their dailies, but I guess better late than never :)
He's so cute.
Only took me 20 runs or so to get the new Raptor from WC.
JCing
Now that everyone is off the freaking vendor, I can buy my patterns without too much pain. Our guild is separating out the patterns so some are taking tanking some are taking caster stuff, etc. in order to make sure the love is spread through the guild.
Nothing yet from the new instance, as our server practically died as folks were stuck in death and could not release. Hopefully tonight's run will be smoother.
Of course, it was laggy, I crashed a few times, and there were too many people on the JC vendor, but I managed to at least get my Orphan quest done and try for one of the pet raptors in WC. All this while others in my guild tried the new 10 man and 5 man versions of the instance.
New forms
Apparently, everyone was going to be a black bear/cat which disappointed me. Kir has been a black cow since the start of the game and I must admit I was little upset and sad to have to change her.
However, I like the white versions of the forms and I will be sticking with them for a while. MMO Champ has a good graphical layout of what you will look like with each color scheme.
Pets
I grabbed the raptor in Dalaran and finished up my orphan week quests to get my very own Wolvar.
See, I when the expansion first came out, I thought I would get one from doing their dailies, but I guess better late than never :)
He's so cute.
Only took me 20 runs or so to get the new Raptor from WC.
JCing
Now that everyone is off the freaking vendor, I can buy my patterns without too much pain. Our guild is separating out the patterns so some are taking tanking some are taking caster stuff, etc. in order to make sure the love is spread through the guild.
Nothing yet from the new instance, as our server practically died as folks were stuck in death and could not release. Hopefully tonight's run will be smoother.
Friday, July 31
Dpsing reduces my IQ
I don't what it is about being a DPSer. See, when I am healing, I stand in strategic places, I am aware of my surroundings and chuckle when others don't move from things like Hurricane.
Yet, when I switch to DPS, all of that intelligence flies out the window. Maybe it's me watching my Squawk and Awe timers and waiting for the tanks to get agro or whatever, but as soon as I change from Bark to Feathers, I end up doing the dumbest things.
Like, last night. How many times I have done the tunnel to Hodir? Plenty, but sure enough I back up a little to spread out from others and I walk straight into a snowpile. Out pops little worms and I say over vent "Damnit." I apologize profusely while continuing to cuss to myself.
Someone suggested to just clear that pile since every night someone runs into it. I was the first to say No, it's better to mock those who ran into it. Then the MT says something about folks not positioning themselves properly only to get thrown up into the snow. I countered with "I wasn't thrown. I walked into it, thank you very much."
Perhaps its the fact that I dps so rarely on a raid that I tend to get a little overloaded with things. Healing is half automatic because I do it so often, whereas DPSing changes how I think about everything. Watching my timers, threat, positioning all matter and all require different skill sets. With more practice I imagine all that would be easier.
Yes, some would argue that DPS is easier than healing. And certainly there are cases where that is true. But, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be able to perform well not matter the role I am in. In addition, it's not like I have never done the fights before, so there are no real excuses for the little mistakes. Put all of that together and makes for awkward moments.
Please believe, I still don't want to DPS full time. I like my job as a healer. I just need to breath a little bit while nuking so I don't make dumb mistakes.
Yet, when I switch to DPS, all of that intelligence flies out the window. Maybe it's me watching my Squawk and Awe timers and waiting for the tanks to get agro or whatever, but as soon as I change from Bark to Feathers, I end up doing the dumbest things.
Like, last night. How many times I have done the tunnel to Hodir? Plenty, but sure enough I back up a little to spread out from others and I walk straight into a snowpile. Out pops little worms and I say over vent "Damnit." I apologize profusely while continuing to cuss to myself.
Someone suggested to just clear that pile since every night someone runs into it. I was the first to say No, it's better to mock those who ran into it. Then the MT says something about folks not positioning themselves properly only to get thrown up into the snow. I countered with "I wasn't thrown. I walked into it, thank you very much."
Perhaps its the fact that I dps so rarely on a raid that I tend to get a little overloaded with things. Healing is half automatic because I do it so often, whereas DPSing changes how I think about everything. Watching my timers, threat, positioning all matter and all require different skill sets. With more practice I imagine all that would be easier.
Yes, some would argue that DPS is easier than healing. And certainly there are cases where that is true. But, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be able to perform well not matter the role I am in. In addition, it's not like I have never done the fights before, so there are no real excuses for the little mistakes. Put all of that together and makes for awkward moments.
Please believe, I still don't want to DPS full time. I like my job as a healer. I just need to breath a little bit while nuking so I don't make dumb mistakes.
Tuesday, July 28
Balancing Morale and Fun
Not sure if other guilds have to deal with this sort of thing, but Ulduar, strangely, has been a chore in keeping folks happy.
Naxx was a little bit easier in this regard. The only way to get to KT was to clear the whole damned place. Sure, we could mix it up by starting in different wings but eventually the place had to be cleared. Further mixing up could be done by chosing to start the night with OS or Malygos instead of Naxx or any combination of the three. Despite how tedious that got, I look back on this and realize it had some merit.
Progression
Ulduar has optional bosses. This is not unlike some other instances seen before (Kara was a good example of this) but it seems a little harder to deal with in Ulduar. This is because some BiS items are off those optional bosses in either hard mode or regular mode. Throw in different raid compositions from week to week ( or even day to day) and things get a little muddled.
For a while there, every week I had some folks ask me why we were spending time on optional things when we could spend our time on bosses we haven't cleared yet. Other people asked me why we were skipping these easier optional bosses when their upgrades were on them. Sometimes I had the people ask me the same questions within the same raiding week which made my head spin. Seriously? You ask me why we aren't doing the "gear up" bosses then ask me why we aren't working on harder stuff? Shoot me now, please.
Then factor in the definition of "progression". Is progression downing the hard modes or clearing the whole zone? Is progression gearing up every member of the raid with BiS or making sure they all have t8? Ask 5 raiders and I think you might get 5 different answers or all of the above at the same time.
This makes it very challenging when deciding how to plan our raid nights. We go in with a general idea of what we would like to see accomplished but we also have to be flexible. Last minute back outs or sign ups throws things off a little. Some nights we have too many healers sign up and some nights we lose our MT. Other nights has our core dps lacking so we give our new recruits a shot.
New Raiders
We got really lucky and had some new raiders join our guild. I always cringe on those nights they join us not becuase of their performance but ours. I am always concerned about making a good impression and showing how we really roll. Catch us on a night where things just don't click and I start to sweat a little. I am learning to get over that but it's still a concern for me.
What has been slowing us down a tad lately is having to explain the fights to these new guys. Yes, it's needed, but tends to make people fall asleep. During these explanations folks seem to want to take this time to ask random crap over vent that could be said in tells (and by folks I mean officers who should know better). Just because you understand what's going on, doesn't mean that random interjections aren't screwing up the new folks from absorbing the information they are trying to get.
But I have to admit, our new guys are awesome. The strats are watered down or filled with holes (Oh yea, did we forget to mention how Phase 3 of Thorim worked? Sorry you died to lightning), but they plug along and do their best. Low maintenance recruits ftw.
Fun?
Again, everyone has their own definition of fun. Most folks agree that banging our heads against the wall on bosses tends to suck the fun out of a raid night. I personally like wiping in catastrophic ways. I don't know how many times I have laughed my ass off after dying to random ability no. 104 because either it was unexpected or just play from my own stupidity. Granted, I am not so fond this when it happens more than once or other die to it after I just said "Don't be dumb like me."
But Fun and Progression tends to cross into the same territory which brings me back to the same evil cycle. Keeping raiders happy is always a careful thing to handle and sadly it doesn't always work or happen the way it was intended to go.
Next week we plan to cull some of the crap and go for serious work on the General. We have a large chunk of our raiders going on an annual trip which puts a little pressure on us to get some work done. Maybe folks will have fun. Who knows?
Naxx was a little bit easier in this regard. The only way to get to KT was to clear the whole damned place. Sure, we could mix it up by starting in different wings but eventually the place had to be cleared. Further mixing up could be done by chosing to start the night with OS or Malygos instead of Naxx or any combination of the three. Despite how tedious that got, I look back on this and realize it had some merit.
Progression
Ulduar has optional bosses. This is not unlike some other instances seen before (Kara was a good example of this) but it seems a little harder to deal with in Ulduar. This is because some BiS items are off those optional bosses in either hard mode or regular mode. Throw in different raid compositions from week to week ( or even day to day) and things get a little muddled.
For a while there, every week I had some folks ask me why we were spending time on optional things when we could spend our time on bosses we haven't cleared yet. Other people asked me why we were skipping these easier optional bosses when their upgrades were on them. Sometimes I had the people ask me the same questions within the same raiding week which made my head spin. Seriously? You ask me why we aren't doing the "gear up" bosses then ask me why we aren't working on harder stuff? Shoot me now, please.
Then factor in the definition of "progression". Is progression downing the hard modes or clearing the whole zone? Is progression gearing up every member of the raid with BiS or making sure they all have t8? Ask 5 raiders and I think you might get 5 different answers or all of the above at the same time.
This makes it very challenging when deciding how to plan our raid nights. We go in with a general idea of what we would like to see accomplished but we also have to be flexible. Last minute back outs or sign ups throws things off a little. Some nights we have too many healers sign up and some nights we lose our MT. Other nights has our core dps lacking so we give our new recruits a shot.
New Raiders
We got really lucky and had some new raiders join our guild. I always cringe on those nights they join us not becuase of their performance but ours. I am always concerned about making a good impression and showing how we really roll. Catch us on a night where things just don't click and I start to sweat a little. I am learning to get over that but it's still a concern for me.
What has been slowing us down a tad lately is having to explain the fights to these new guys. Yes, it's needed, but tends to make people fall asleep. During these explanations folks seem to want to take this time to ask random crap over vent that could be said in tells (and by folks I mean officers who should know better). Just because you understand what's going on, doesn't mean that random interjections aren't screwing up the new folks from absorbing the information they are trying to get.
But I have to admit, our new guys are awesome. The strats are watered down or filled with holes (Oh yea, did we forget to mention how Phase 3 of Thorim worked? Sorry you died to lightning), but they plug along and do their best. Low maintenance recruits ftw.
Fun?
Again, everyone has their own definition of fun. Most folks agree that banging our heads against the wall on bosses tends to suck the fun out of a raid night. I personally like wiping in catastrophic ways. I don't know how many times I have laughed my ass off after dying to random ability no. 104 because either it was unexpected or just play from my own stupidity. Granted, I am not so fond this when it happens more than once or other die to it after I just said "Don't be dumb like me."
But Fun and Progression tends to cross into the same territory which brings me back to the same evil cycle. Keeping raiders happy is always a careful thing to handle and sadly it doesn't always work or happen the way it was intended to go.
Next week we plan to cull some of the crap and go for serious work on the General. We have a large chunk of our raiders going on an annual trip which puts a little pressure on us to get some work done. Maybe folks will have fun. Who knows?
Saturday, July 25
Summer Time
As things heat up outside (it is supposed to hit 100 in the PNW) sitting at the game feels less exciting.
Almost every weekend this month, I have been making road trips up and down I-5 to visit family and friends for all sorts of reason. This weekend, I visit my neiec for her 8th birthday. Two weeks ago, I visited friends from Georgia.
I am not too much of an outdoor person but I do enjoy the relaxation my summer vacation brings. Catching up with family and friends, catching up on T.V. I missed during school, catching up on sleep (zzzzz) all factor in on what I do with my days.
One slight side affect of all this non gaming time: little things about WoW are starting to get to me.
I feel a little blasphemous discussing my disenchantment of World of Warcraft. I blog about a game that in some aspects I am pasionate about. I love my role as a druid healer, I like the social aspects of raiding and the thrill of downing mobs alongside people I work hard with each week.
But little by little, changes into WoW have started to get under my skin. I don't want to spend a lot of time going over what bothers me about the game. Usually that kind of thing leads to comments like "Just quit if you don't like it" or "No one is forcing you to play this game." and I agree with those comments. But then again, ranting is a cathartic form of expression and I often use that for many other things this game has, namely raiding and dealing with Blizzard's changes.
I am nervous about the fine balance WoW has to walk between PvP and PvE. The latest Q&A over shapechanging and the overbalance of the resto druid is partly driven by PvP issues, but also because of developer vanity.
I worry that each patch is in effort to keep balancing classes while also homogenizing classes so everyone can have a chance to play equally.
I also worry that in effort to keep 10 million players happy, WoW is bitting off more than it can chew in doing so.
Do I want to quit? I recognize the social aspects of being in an MMO. I don't want to lose that or jeopardize it. A break? Perhaps, but a break for me usually doesn't last a week but actually longer.
I am choosing a compromise. My boyfriend has been doing this strategy for about year now and it seems to work well. My compromise is to spend time on another game for a change of pace. Casually playing something else can offer a fresh perspective on the game I have playing for four years.
So what game do I have my eye on? Aion. It has it's gimmicks and it has potential problems and potential success. But at first blush it is refreshing and is doing what several games in the past couple of years hasn't managed to pull off: launch with a polished and ready to play game.
I am in a funk that happens from time to time. Regardless of how I feel about 3.2 it will be a short term shot of interest I need to keep me going. And in two months, school will start up again and I will have less time to anything, no matter game I play.
Almost every weekend this month, I have been making road trips up and down I-5 to visit family and friends for all sorts of reason. This weekend, I visit my neiec for her 8th birthday. Two weeks ago, I visited friends from Georgia.
I am not too much of an outdoor person but I do enjoy the relaxation my summer vacation brings. Catching up with family and friends, catching up on T.V. I missed during school, catching up on sleep (zzzzz) all factor in on what I do with my days.
One slight side affect of all this non gaming time: little things about WoW are starting to get to me.
I feel a little blasphemous discussing my disenchantment of World of Warcraft. I blog about a game that in some aspects I am pasionate about. I love my role as a druid healer, I like the social aspects of raiding and the thrill of downing mobs alongside people I work hard with each week.
But little by little, changes into WoW have started to get under my skin. I don't want to spend a lot of time going over what bothers me about the game. Usually that kind of thing leads to comments like "Just quit if you don't like it" or "No one is forcing you to play this game." and I agree with those comments. But then again, ranting is a cathartic form of expression and I often use that for many other things this game has, namely raiding and dealing with Blizzard's changes.
I am nervous about the fine balance WoW has to walk between PvP and PvE. The latest Q&A over shapechanging and the overbalance of the resto druid is partly driven by PvP issues, but also because of developer vanity.
I worry that each patch is in effort to keep balancing classes while also homogenizing classes so everyone can have a chance to play equally.
I also worry that in effort to keep 10 million players happy, WoW is bitting off more than it can chew in doing so.
Do I want to quit? I recognize the social aspects of being in an MMO. I don't want to lose that or jeopardize it. A break? Perhaps, but a break for me usually doesn't last a week but actually longer.
I am choosing a compromise. My boyfriend has been doing this strategy for about year now and it seems to work well. My compromise is to spend time on another game for a change of pace. Casually playing something else can offer a fresh perspective on the game I have playing for four years.
So what game do I have my eye on? Aion. It has it's gimmicks and it has potential problems and potential success. But at first blush it is refreshing and is doing what several games in the past couple of years hasn't managed to pull off: launch with a polished and ready to play game.
I am in a funk that happens from time to time. Regardless of how I feel about 3.2 it will be a short term shot of interest I need to keep me going. And in two months, school will start up again and I will have less time to anything, no matter game I play.
Something to do with the Achievement Points
I've thought for a while now that a neat thing to do with all those Achivement points would be to spend it on player housing.
Consider that player housing is the only thing WoW has not implemented that other games have.
I really enjoyed how DOAC did their player housing. Aside from guild halls, but player houses were customizable and could hold things like trophies from kills.
Granted, there would have to be a special zone for all this in a WoW setting, and maybe it doesn't go with the lore all so much.
But, imagine your titles, raid achievements like killing Ony, or pvp accomplishments. Others could see what you have done in a more physical way than looking up a list on the armory.
An argument could be made that it would be a time sink, but achievements already are time sinks. PvP in WoW in a sense is a time sink.
However, people like to show off what they have done and others like to see what their friends and competetors have accomplished.
Now, I don't think points should be spent in order to buy things like housing, but all the housing things (special hearths, ports, banks, trophies) could be unlocked as you gain more points, no matter how you gain them.
Embrace the time sinks and let us show off what we have done in the game with pride.
Consider that player housing is the only thing WoW has not implemented that other games have.
I really enjoyed how DOAC did their player housing. Aside from guild halls, but player houses were customizable and could hold things like trophies from kills.
Granted, there would have to be a special zone for all this in a WoW setting, and maybe it doesn't go with the lore all so much.
But, imagine your titles, raid achievements like killing Ony, or pvp accomplishments. Others could see what you have done in a more physical way than looking up a list on the armory.
An argument could be made that it would be a time sink, but achievements already are time sinks. PvP in WoW in a sense is a time sink.
However, people like to show off what they have done and others like to see what their friends and competetors have accomplished.
Now, I don't think points should be spent in order to buy things like housing, but all the housing things (special hearths, ports, banks, trophies) could be unlocked as you gain more points, no matter how you gain them.
Embrace the time sinks and let us show off what we have done in the game with pride.
Friday, July 17
Friday Musings
I wanted to post about my rants on shapeshifting and the comments from GC. Then I wanted to post on my rants regarding raiding and the current outlook. Every time I wanted to go off on tirade, I started to feel like everyone else who is also griping.
I still may rant. I have a lot of things on my mind, but I haven't managed to put them into words and sentences that make sense, yet.
Instead, I will mention that I reglyphed for Glyph of Rejuvenation.
I have been staunchly opposed of this Glyph. Compared to some other healing Glyphs, it falls below optimal. But I am learning to be more open minded and try to new things lately.
However, I decided to give a try for our hard mode 10 man run, and I have to say it got some good mileage. For Heartbreaker, it was 2.3 percent of my healing-- with two other healers no less-- and 2.7 percent of my healing on our Hodir speed run.
Sadly, it starts to drop off during 25 man raids, accounting for barely 1 percent of my healing. A little more during Thorim.
I don't have 4pc T8, and I may or may not see 4pc T9 down the road where it might come in handy. I will say that as a raid healer, with between 40 and 60 percent of my healing comes from Rejuvenation, I don't quite feel the glyph is wasted. I just think it needs a little more love.
A chance to tick an extra 1k healing boost isn't game breaking nor all that lifesaving. However, it is a passive boost that I don't have to worry about attached to a spell I will be casting already.
Like many druids, we like passive things. We have enough stuff going on that having to do extra is just time (and GBD) consuming, so I kind of think of this glyph like a trinket. Not spectactualar for output, but in a small way helpful.
Do I keep it? Maybe. I might have a friend scribe a few Nourish and Rejuv glyphs for those times when I want to switch back and forth. Or I might get perpetually lazy and just keep it. All depends on if I keep my raid healing role or not.
What I would like to see changed... increase Crit chance on Rejuv, in light of the possible T9 bonus and the new idol. It could be small, like 5 percent. That would never happen, but I like to dream.
Wednesday, July 15
Grid and Debuffs
As I am sure you know, there is a lot of crap being thrown around in Ulduar. After some discussion several weeks back, a priest and I thought it would be helpful to see who is taking what damage and when.
Sadly, we were slow to realize that GridStatusDebuffs was an actual mod. However, we found that it added too many things that we didn't want to keep track of.
Instead, we have manually added the debuffs we wanted to track.
List of Debuffs from PlusHeal.com
Not all of them we use, still. Some like Biting Cold would like up Grid like a Christmas tree, though there is some usefulness to be had when you see someone with it for long periods of time.
To set it up, either go in the interface menu or click on the Grid mini map icon. You should see it look like this:
Just left click on the Auras section and this window should appear on the right:
In the debuffs section, just type in the debuff you want to monitor and hit enter.
Grid is customizable as far as how you want to track buffs and debuffs. I already use the corner boxes for my hots and the borders for poisons and curses, so I decided to use the Center Icon for the Boss debuffs.
For that, you will need to go under Grid configuration again, Frames and Center Icon (or whatever you choose to monitor it from). All the debuffs you wish to track just need to be check marked like this:
By using Center Icon, a small graphic of the debuff will display in the center of the Grid box of the player.
There is a little lag time between when the spell is cast and when the icon comes up. However, it does reduce the amount of time it takes for the healer to find the target in the grid, which ends up saving raiders.
Still working through which in the Plusheal list counts as "buffs" and which are "debuffs" so I still have some tweaking to do.
Happy Raiding!
Sadly, we were slow to realize that GridStatusDebuffs was an actual mod. However, we found that it added too many things that we didn't want to keep track of.
Instead, we have manually added the debuffs we wanted to track.
List of Debuffs from PlusHeal.com
Not all of them we use, still. Some like Biting Cold would like up Grid like a Christmas tree, though there is some usefulness to be had when you see someone with it for long periods of time.
To set it up, either go in the interface menu or click on the Grid mini map icon. You should see it look like this:
Just left click on the Auras section and this window should appear on the right:
In the debuffs section, just type in the debuff you want to monitor and hit enter.
Grid is customizable as far as how you want to track buffs and debuffs. I already use the corner boxes for my hots and the borders for poisons and curses, so I decided to use the Center Icon for the Boss debuffs.
For that, you will need to go under Grid configuration again, Frames and Center Icon (or whatever you choose to monitor it from). All the debuffs you wish to track just need to be check marked like this:
By using Center Icon, a small graphic of the debuff will display in the center of the Grid box of the player.
There is a little lag time between when the spell is cast and when the icon comes up. However, it does reduce the amount of time it takes for the healer to find the target in the grid, which ends up saving raiders.
Still working through which in the Plusheal list counts as "buffs" and which are "debuffs" so I still have some tweaking to do.
Happy Raiding!
Whew, so busy!
I know, I know, no one wants to hear what bosses I've downed or anything like that. But seriously, the last couple days of raiding have been insane and wonderful. 5 raiding firsts all back to back. Gotta love that!
Mimiron and Thorim have been our roadblocks the last couple weeks. I wrote earlier about the near meltdown Thorim gave us, and since then we set him aside to focus more on Mim.
Mimiron: our plan was to divide the raid into thirds for phase 1. I was in charge of the right side (as you are facing the big red button). It's a simple plan really. Couple hots on the napalmed folks and move to the MT when the plasma blast hits. Sometimes, if the timing was fine, I would Nourish the napalmed target a couple times to top them off, but Mim generally liked to Napalm right before the plasma blast, so there really isn't a lot of time to switch targets. Our tank is beefy (45k hit points and he isn't even a bear) but lose your concentration and he could go down like a rock quickly.
Phase 2 each side had an group healer and during the machine gun-like attacks, the sides clumped up and we let the healers do their thing.
During phase 3 and 4 myself and a priest were in charge of the range tank, while also tossing aoe heals on various groups of folks to keep them up. All that went smoothly, though things got a little nerve wracking when almost all the melee bit it in phase 4.
We all must have been in a zone because when the fight was over, several of us were like "Wow, did we win?" We were pushing it on getting all three sections down at the same time, so close that we thought we missed it.
Needless to say, on the heals of our Mimiron kill we moved to Thorim and smoked him, too. First time on either and we did them back to back. Whew!
Thorim is rough, I don't care who you are. We came in after a couple week break on him, which also meant upgrades and it nice to finally smoke him. We honestly didn't think we would get that far so quickly and the raid leaders forgot to mention a couple things to the raid: Chain lightning hurts so don't blow up your friends and move away from the little lightning... um... railroad tracks. I called them skittles over vent, which I don't think helped folks move out of the way very well.
They kinda look like skittles
I will also say this... Talenn kicked ASS on Thorim. I don't normally call people out by name, but I was really impressed with how far our fearless leader has come when it involves raid healing (normally he tank heals). Just an amazing job in the arena. So much so, that I had to check the stat reports to just see what he was doing that I was not doing. (Note: more WG and Rejuvs) Great Job!
Next up... our Tuesday 10 man hard mode run. Our little group has been slowly working our way through the towers for FL and some other progression type stuff for a while now, and this week we resolved to hunker down and actually get some good hard modes done.
I wish I had some words of wisdom for healing through Heartbreaker. I spent a good portion of it pacing back and forth between the same 20 yard area in order keep hots on everyone. Rejuv, Lifebloom and Wildgrowth were my friends while the two paladins kept the tank up. Yes, we ran it with three healers and I will admit I cussed a lot as folks were running away- for good reasons- out of my range.
Hodir- we have gotten close on him before (like, 30 secs off the speed timer mark) and last night we tried it once again. I was slated to dps for the fight, but asking two paladins to duo heal it was a little much so we asked one of them to switch to his hunter and I moved back to healing.
Nothing new from my end, rejuv, lifeblooms on everyone. After five or so tries, things weren't looking any better and it was getting late. We called for a Last Try, no holds barred and kill him regardless of the timer.
Then... BAM... without even paying attention to it, we downed him! The cache had a beautifulIcecore Staff, and I was holding my breath while the SP and the Elem Shaman sat on the roll window deciding on taking it or not. Silly dps... sexy staves are for druids :)
(Ed: skittles photo from Flickr by Special
Mimiron and Thorim have been our roadblocks the last couple weeks. I wrote earlier about the near meltdown Thorim gave us, and since then we set him aside to focus more on Mim.
Mimiron: our plan was to divide the raid into thirds for phase 1. I was in charge of the right side (as you are facing the big red button). It's a simple plan really. Couple hots on the napalmed folks and move to the MT when the plasma blast hits. Sometimes, if the timing was fine, I would Nourish the napalmed target a couple times to top them off, but Mim generally liked to Napalm right before the plasma blast, so there really isn't a lot of time to switch targets. Our tank is beefy (45k hit points and he isn't even a bear) but lose your concentration and he could go down like a rock quickly.
Phase 2 each side had an group healer and during the machine gun-like attacks, the sides clumped up and we let the healers do their thing.
During phase 3 and 4 myself and a priest were in charge of the range tank, while also tossing aoe heals on various groups of folks to keep them up. All that went smoothly, though things got a little nerve wracking when almost all the melee bit it in phase 4.
We all must have been in a zone because when the fight was over, several of us were like "Wow, did we win?" We were pushing it on getting all three sections down at the same time, so close that we thought we missed it.
Needless to say, on the heals of our Mimiron kill we moved to Thorim and smoked him, too. First time on either and we did them back to back. Whew!
Thorim is rough, I don't care who you are. We came in after a couple week break on him, which also meant upgrades and it nice to finally smoke him. We honestly didn't think we would get that far so quickly and the raid leaders forgot to mention a couple things to the raid: Chain lightning hurts so don't blow up your friends and move away from the little lightning... um... railroad tracks. I called them skittles over vent, which I don't think helped folks move out of the way very well.
They kinda look like skittlesI will also say this... Talenn kicked ASS on Thorim. I don't normally call people out by name, but I was really impressed with how far our fearless leader has come when it involves raid healing (normally he tank heals). Just an amazing job in the arena. So much so, that I had to check the stat reports to just see what he was doing that I was not doing. (Note: more WG and Rejuvs) Great Job!
Next up... our Tuesday 10 man hard mode run. Our little group has been slowly working our way through the towers for FL and some other progression type stuff for a while now, and this week we resolved to hunker down and actually get some good hard modes done.
I wish I had some words of wisdom for healing through Heartbreaker. I spent a good portion of it pacing back and forth between the same 20 yard area in order keep hots on everyone. Rejuv, Lifebloom and Wildgrowth were my friends while the two paladins kept the tank up. Yes, we ran it with three healers and I will admit I cussed a lot as folks were running away- for good reasons- out of my range.
Hodir- we have gotten close on him before (like, 30 secs off the speed timer mark) and last night we tried it once again. I was slated to dps for the fight, but asking two paladins to duo heal it was a little much so we asked one of them to switch to his hunter and I moved back to healing.
Nothing new from my end, rejuv, lifeblooms on everyone. After five or so tries, things weren't looking any better and it was getting late. We called for a Last Try, no holds barred and kill him regardless of the timer.
Then... BAM... without even paying attention to it, we downed him! The cache had a beautifulIcecore Staff, and I was holding my breath while the SP and the Elem Shaman sat on the roll window deciding on taking it or not. Silly dps... sexy staves are for druids :)
(Ed: skittles photo from Flickr by Special
Sunday, July 12
Things that make me sad...
Pugs who don't move from Flame Wave. Still.
Druids who still spam Healing Touch then wonder why my Disc Priest out heals them.
Mages who's tables have come and gone before any buffing has started.
Skinners who insist that each worm in Hodir's tunnel is precious and reminds us over vent to loot them. Every time.
Those who ask "where do we go?" after we said what the next boss is only to then ask "which teleport is it?"
People who move out during light bombs or gravity bombs when they didn't need to but now are out of range for heals.
Finding out that I didn't have to spend points on my off spec Idol, when it will be on the vendor in 3.2.
Getting all excited that my alt hit 75, only to forget that Cold Weather Flying is at 77.
People who like to blow up others with the bomb bots before Mimiron.
People who would rather go without consumables for a boss fight even though the guild bank provides them.
Druids who still spam Healing Touch then wonder why my Disc Priest out heals them.
Mages who's tables have come and gone before any buffing has started.
Skinners who insist that each worm in Hodir's tunnel is precious and reminds us over vent to loot them. Every time.
Those who ask "where do we go?" after we said what the next boss is only to then ask "which teleport is it?"
People who move out during light bombs or gravity bombs when they didn't need to but now are out of range for heals.
Finding out that I didn't have to spend points on my off spec Idol, when it will be on the vendor in 3.2.
Getting all excited that my alt hit 75, only to forget that Cold Weather Flying is at 77.
People who like to blow up others with the bomb bots before Mimiron.
People who would rather go without consumables for a boss fight even though the guild bank provides them.
Saturday, July 11
Forums make my head hurt
While trolling through the forums this morning (WTB less unscheduled downtimes for my server, kthx), I ran across a debate on the importance of haste for 3.2.
I was curious about the thread though it seemed to derail from haste to Revitalize and its value on a raid. I must admit, I didn't think it was all that good, since the tooltip is misleading. But, I spec'd for it anyway after my DK friend suggested it.
It seems to be a good move. We run a rather melee heavy raid set up, with upwards of three DKs and three rogues/kitty druids. For our frost DK, Replenish gave almost 300 runic power, and for the yellow bar crowd it gave usually over 150 Energy. This pales in comparison to their innate abilities, but since they were getting HoTs anyway, it is free dps for them and no strain on me. A win-win scenario.
Not everyone will have the same results. It still pales next to Replenishment for mana gains, but that is nothing new. But to totally dismiss Revitalize altogether I think is an easy mistake. I know I was reluctant at first but I haven't regretted my choice to pick up since. I see it as added utility. If we were a caster heavy group, I could see the mana gains laughable at best, but with all the melee we bring, anything to boost their dps is a win in my book.
Say What?
What confused me in the thread was this comment (not posting the commentor's name):
...more haste will help you cast regrowth faster, which you will more than likely use more than nourish anyway
Huh? Since they glyphed Nourish, I rarely use Regrowth anymore. Now I am really wondering if I am missing something. There are some fights I use it for (Mimiron, Thorim) but I use it as I think it was originally intended to be- a long slow HoT. For me, its a preloaded hot when I know folks are going to be taking damage at some point, just not immediately. It is not my emergency heal. It is not my primary Tank heal. In Naxx and in my early heroic days Regrowth was my go to spell, but with my role as raid healing, I find other tools to use. My targets usually have a HoT on them (Rejuv or Wild Growth) and if I need to burst heal them, I use Nourish.
Ill drop my 1 point in imp barkskin and drop a point from natural perfection
I didn't think Imp Barkskin was that good, but I haven't done a lot of hard modes (just 10 man versions). I still see it as more of a pvp talent for where I am at in progression.
It depends on raid healing vs tank healing
To me, this is what makes the druid great right now. We have the chance to fill a couple different roles and perform them rather well. We are still jack of all trades in some areas, but to be able to make choices about the direction we want to take as healers puts us above the rest. I agree with some sentiments made that 3.2 will further streamline these directions.
Since I don't foresee my role changing in the future (especially with one of our shaman quitting the game), I will leave the tank healing to the Priest and Paladins. When we do 10 mans, my spec is flexible enough to get the job done, but MT healing will not be my primary job.
I do feel that Empowered Touch coupled with Tranquil Spirit and a handful of other talents will cause some tough choices to be made with tank healers, and Revitalize seems the best way to cut points in order to make the most of that role.
Wednesday, July 8
Is it time to clean my bank?
Hi, I'm Kir and I have an addiction.
I open my bank every day and stare at the bags full of stuff. Often, I have no clue if it's worth keeping. "Oh it has agility! Oh it has crit!" It's leather and kinda feral looking but I have no idea if I should wear it. I keep picking up more gear and dumping into the bank.
I don't have a clue because I stopped being feral about a year ago but I can't let go. My second spec is Boomkin. I carry it in my inventory. But I can't seem to shake this feeling like I would need my subpar feral set at any moment. Problem is I haven't looked into feral in ages. The new Lich King feral druid baffles me. No defense? Is straight AP better than going for stats?
I marvel at the prospect of so much space if only I got rid of the feral gear. I know it blows. Some pieces are good but frankly they came from instances. It's not like I can't just get them back again. The rest are hold overs from BC.
We don't need ferals, hell we don't need melee dps period. When I switch to boomkin on some fights, folks cheer at my crit and spell damage modifiers.
So, with a heavy heart, I went through most of my gear and sold it to the vendor. I kept the various pvp gear I picked up from VoA and some cherished items. Badge of Tenacity, oh you beautiful thing :)
Some of the stuff I did keep had some memories attached to them. That Badge? I got it for 40 gold off a guildy before he was booted from the guild. He was a dick. I enjoyed getting for discount. It took me through some rough times in BC as well.
I kept my Pocket Watch. Weeks and weeks in Kara tanking my ass off to finally get that. Along the way I bonded with some new and old friends back then who are with me in my current guild today.
Berserker's Call Again, a reminder of the hard work our little group put in to finally clear ZA.
/cry
Kitty pew pew and Bear RAWWWR... I will miss you.
The 200g will be put into a donation in your name. The Upgraded Kirin Tor Ring Instead of Feral Gear Foundation.
(Maybe in a few months I will tackle my trinket problem)
I open my bank every day and stare at the bags full of stuff. Often, I have no clue if it's worth keeping. "Oh it has agility! Oh it has crit!" It's leather and kinda feral looking but I have no idea if I should wear it. I keep picking up more gear and dumping into the bank.
I don't have a clue because I stopped being feral about a year ago but I can't let go. My second spec is Boomkin. I carry it in my inventory. But I can't seem to shake this feeling like I would need my subpar feral set at any moment. Problem is I haven't looked into feral in ages. The new Lich King feral druid baffles me. No defense? Is straight AP better than going for stats?
I marvel at the prospect of so much space if only I got rid of the feral gear. I know it blows. Some pieces are good but frankly they came from instances. It's not like I can't just get them back again. The rest are hold overs from BC.
We don't need ferals, hell we don't need melee dps period. When I switch to boomkin on some fights, folks cheer at my crit and spell damage modifiers.
So, with a heavy heart, I went through most of my gear and sold it to the vendor. I kept the various pvp gear I picked up from VoA and some cherished items. Badge of Tenacity, oh you beautiful thing :)
Some of the stuff I did keep had some memories attached to them. That Badge? I got it for 40 gold off a guildy before he was booted from the guild. He was a dick. I enjoyed getting for discount. It took me through some rough times in BC as well.
I kept my Pocket Watch. Weeks and weeks in Kara tanking my ass off to finally get that. Along the way I bonded with some new and old friends back then who are with me in my current guild today.
Berserker's Call Again, a reminder of the hard work our little group put in to finally clear ZA.
/cry
Kitty pew pew and Bear RAWWWR... I will miss you.
The 200g will be put into a donation in your name. The Upgraded Kirin Tor Ring Instead of Feral Gear Foundation.
(Maybe in a few months I will tackle my trinket problem)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)