Brief update - continuations and habits exposed.

So, my daughter decided to get on the PVP server with me. And lo and behold I shall still write of priestly things, for she is a Troll priest.

I dumped Zingiber, and restarted a druid. Level 8 - big deal, just mail what little I had to Primulaveris, and start anew, and get the stuff mailed from there. I will NOT do without bags when I have the chance. In fact, that’s probably my biggest frustration with new characters - bag space. money - eh, no big deal. Kill things, and use a gathering profession. Primulaveris, level 13, has almost 2 gold.

The new character is Pelatior. And I’m tired enough I have to explain.

See, all my characters are named for latin herbs. But for these two, well, my bad habits slipped out. Primula Veris and P(rimula) Elatior. Google them. You can hunt me down later - I’m on a PVP server.

For now, the shaman

So, I decided to run with Primulaveris, my Tauren Shaman.  Did a little reading, did a little pondering, and ran up to 11.  And encountered the reason I stopped playing last time.

Dear Goo, I hate that totem quest.  Especially since I decided to not use one of “guides” out there.  That may change if this happens again…

For those who haven’t had the pleasure, you CAN get this quest at level 10.  And in fact that’s what I did.  As a cow, I picked it up from the shaman trainer in bloodhoof.  And your first step is find the next being in Barrens.  Your hint, if you’re Tauren, is “a compound north of Crossroads.  if  you’re reached the night elves, you’ve gone too far.”  I missed the turn, and checked every single little house north of crossroads, all the way up to the barrier.  Welp, too far, let’s go back and explore some side territory.  If you’re level 10, level 16 beasties are worrisome.

Until i remember I’m not a priest.  Gah, that’s hard to remember.  If i do things right i can kill the level 16.  Remember to toss a totem.  Lightning shield up all the time, and a boost on my weapon.  Oh, did the “ghost howl” quest (nice little story, I’d forgotten about it) so have an ok weapon for my level anyway.  And as a herbalist/alchemist, the stuff sells for crap at this level, but as I said in another post about enchantments, you’re silly not to use it.  +50 to armor, +2 strength, elixirs.  Keep my minor healing - and later tonight my regeneration - potions ready to hand, and… He LIVES!

Still, running the length of barrens, only to come halfway back and find the place.  Then run to Durotar (south), climb the twisty tangly road up the mountain, back down and run to Razor Hill and start hunting for the cave… oh, dear lord.  I got lucky, eventually.  Another shaman saw me and asked if I was on the quest.  Yes, and he led me to the cave.  If he hadn’t, I’d have been another… I wouldn’t have found it tonight, and may have given up on the stupid character.  Anyway, then it’s another run back to barrens to get an easy drop, and back up the twisty windy road, and finally back to the farmer or whatever he is.

Five hours to get from level 9 to 11, most of which was doing this quest chain.  And all I got was a lousy fire totem.  Oh, I’d forgotten about that.  Attacks any enemy in range.  When you’re soloing this is a bad thing.

Sigh.  Anyway, as I said, I’ve been pondering.  I’m going to be experimenting based on things written and already discovered.  My first seven points are identified.  5 in… forgot the talent, but it increases my mana pool by 1% per step.  Then four (not the fifth, yet) in Thundering strikes.  And level 19 and 20 each get the improved ghost wolf.

huh?

Dagashai pointed it out, as it was pointed to him.  Zero cast time for the form.  At +40% speed that’s a nasty closing move.  Against other melee types that’s not quite such a big deal, but against the ranged and casters… lovely.  Load up rockbiter on the weapon (because it carries into the bite attack, unlike many other weapon spells), target with attack, change, close, drop form, drop totems, shock.  I will need to play with some macros and a bit with some of the buffs - I’ve discovered from reading that SOME won’t carry through the form.  But macros being macros and the drop form being pretty much no GCD… hmmm, I may put shock before totems.

Yep, lots of theory work to be doing.  whee.  (No, that’s not sarcasm.)

I’m young, I can change…

yep, I’m past burnout.  And trying hard to avoid running into the cycle again.  So I’d thought and thought about my decision - what to play.  After all, picking the right thing is, well, critical.  Thus, a Tauren druid.  Who is, at this instant, 9.

I’ve no qualms about my choice of race.  I’d done so much alliance over the past year or so that I’d forgotten much of the Horde stuff.  That, combined with the various patches, meant all the leveling would be fun - STORY!!!!.  Yes, it matters to the casual player like me.

Deciding on Tauren was a bit harder.  Undead was out - sorry, I just can’t have fun playing that race, even though it’s got a LOT of advantages.  Orc, Troll, Tauren, each had - HAS - its appeals.  Two things clinched the race for me.  First, and lesser, is that I decided I’d stick to my favorite two professions - herbalism and alchemy.  That +15 for herbalism locked the choice.  The second reason was the class I chose.

I was dithering between three things.  Warrior, Druid, and Shaman.  The warrior and druid were for the most simple of reasons - I really think I will make a good tank.  I’m naturally bossy, and detail oriented enough that it’d make the difference.  I’ve THOUGHT about marking, enough to know my preferences as a tank and party leader.  So warrior and druid.  Shaman, on the other hand, has always teased at my attention.  “Oh, this could be fun,” I think.  And then off to play a hunter or priest I go.  Well…

I decided I’d go tank.  I think at the VERY high end warriors are better tanks due to their ability to be (functionally) uncrushable.  Till then - and even for most of Kara - a Druid is as good in raw numbers.  And cheaper.  And it’s always got the fallback for Cat, or tree if I suddenly decide I really want to heal.  And as a final note, warriors are so blinking expensive to level - gear matters, period.

And then Dagashai goes and rattles my cage.  If I were even above 15 it’d be not so much a deal.  But ooooo, that sequence and tale make it soooo tempting to change.  Besides, the more I think of the fact I’ve named ANOTHER character the same, the more I think I should stop the opportunity for confusion before it’s too late.

Only level 9.  Only a handful of hours invested - a pittance, compared to what’ll be needed to reach 70.  I can change if I want…

Do I want to tank, or DPS, if/when I get to 70?   mutter, mutter….

Go have fun.  I’ll pick based on that, myself.

back, a little bit

OK, I think I’ve slipped the burn-out.  On the other hand, you won’t get so much inspired high-level math and discussion.

The way I’m going to beat the boredom is a complete break.  No, not a rogue - tried, can’t stand playing it, shrug.

Horde druid on a PVP server.  Named him Zingiber, again, which means I’ll have TWO characters with that name running around.  Hopefully it won’t confuse most folk, much.  Anyway…

Yesterday, when I started Zingiber, something really, really odd happened.  Two Alliance tried to raid Bloodhoof.  Yes, I said tried.  Level 16 mage and rogue.  For what it’s worth I was smart enough to not run my level 4 under the guns.  And the level 16s still got lots and lots of bodies strewn about as folk who didn’t realize the pain of level difference flagged in the hopes that quantity had a quality all its own.

The two alliance did fairly well, actually.  Most of the Bloodhoof guards are close enough in level to be, well, well within range of careful play.  The problem is some folk flying into Thunder Bluff decided to come see what the fuss was about.  Remember the quality/quantity of 4-9 vs 16?  Two 16s vs any number of 30+ is bad.  When a level 70 warrior drops in and decides to fight naked…

It was, I assure you, hilarious.  And I don’t feel bad about the 16s - they weren’t really being ganked given they set up the situation themselves.

Meanwhile, I ended the short playing period at level 6.

Da Bulls

So, I came out of retirement to run with the, sorry, Da bulls on Cenarion circle.

It was a blast, even if I was an idiot.  Yes, an idiot.  I ran the route, and a bunch of shortcuts, before the race.  And found out there was some ugliness in taking them.  but come the day of the run, I followed part of the crowd…

level one should not swim in the lake south of the Undead City, for there are frenzies.  And Murlocs.  And then there are bears and lions and spiders (oh my).  Add in that the graveyards are SOOO far away from each of those dying places…

Oh, congratulations to the winner  - who I regret I cannot recall, other than it started with … Sov..?  Compliments to Ratshag and BRK for a fun event.

The bulls continued their stampede to ironforge, and perhaps points further.  I was being told, in real life, by my wife, “Feed me.  Now.”  So… it was fun.  I’ll watch for another chance to run.

This time I mean it

Yeah, said I was going away for a bit.  And I’ve still not played.  And yet this is the best place…

I was playing with the wii last night.  And I realized… I really, REALLY wanted to play WoW on the Wii.  Wand and nunchuck.  Button combination plus HOW YOU MOVE to cast a spell/technique.  Oh, you get the idea.

Now I admit, the reason is enhanced for me given I play on a projection screen.  There’s nothing like standing or sitting 10 feet from an 8 foot wide screen.  And I suspect I’d be not so enamored if I played on a large screen instead of a 10×13 laptop.  Still, the potentials…

Go have fun…

Indefinite Hiatus

As you may have noticed, I’ve not posted much.  The reason is, well, I”ve not much to say on the topic.

I got bored with WoW, and haven’t been able to stay involved when I’ve logged on.

Now, I know darn good and well part of that’s because I haven’t meshed with another guild yet.  The one I’ve joined is good, and the other people are fun, but I just haven’t clicked.

A big part of THAT, of course, is that I’ve not gotten on.  You don’t play with people, you don’t develop a relationship.  It’s that easy.

But I’m getting sorta tired of Kara again…  And I can’t really work up the enthusiasm for ZA.  And as for Sunwell plateau - I think if I’d not hit it while I was tired - on two consecutive evenings - I’d have found it a lot more interesting.  Now, however, I’ve gotten it into my head as “more of the same, just tweaked”.

I’m also quite certain I’m not going to put in any more 12-20 hour weeks on the game for a while.  Three or four hours, once a week, sure.  That’s what I’ve been doing.  And that brought me up hard against another fact.  Bluntly, once you’ve hit 70 there’s not much story for the casual player.  Sure, it’s supposed to be MMP - you’re SUPPOSED to interact with a bunch of other players.  That’s the basic reason for the huge raids.  But I work and cook and have a few other interests and, well, there’s a limit.

And all I do at level 70 for two hours is pursue another quest or two.  Which means I’m done for a while.

Now the good news is I’ve been here before on other things.  It’s quite possible I’ll become interested again in six months or so.  It’s not WoW, it’s me - I’ve burned out.  So I’m not saying goodbye, just… later.  Heck, there are some good folk I’ve met who’s blogs I’ll continue to read for the pleasure of maintaining contact.

I just won’t be writing about WoW for a while.

If it’s not fun, don’t do it.

See you later, friends.

An unexpected 2.4 benefit

Courtesy of Rav, who sent me a brief email, I point to another reason to consider Disc.  (Sheesh - all of a sudden it’s the Bees Knees?  No, it’s just that Disc was so secondary for so long that it’s worth noting when it gains.)

I present Enlightenment - in this case, 5/5.  Second highest option on the Disc tree, making it purely a Disc spec option.  So what’s the big deal?  Read it - +5% to stamina, int, and spirit.  Now, everyone knows that’s pretty good.  But as Rav pointed out - the new method of mana regen makes this a Big Deal.

Oh, yeah.  Mana Regen.  See, before the patch, 5% spirit and 5% int meant 5% faster mana regen and 5% more mana.  Now, you still get 5% more mana.  But you also get… it depends, but 7.5% more mp5 is attainable.

Which means a Disc priest who’s balanced stats decently and has both meditation and enlightenment maxed is potentially doing about 33% of mana regen in combat (before other toys, talents, and such come into effect).

Let’s put that into perspective.  If my regen from int and spirit is 400 mp5, my improved mp5 can be 430, which means my ‘natural’ meditation bonus goes from 120 to 129.  +9 mp5 at 100% combat.  More at my normal (70% IFSR) dance rate.  Folks, there is purple gear with worse regen rates.

It isn’t a huge thing, but if your “big deal” is mana, it’s another benefit to Disc choices.

Go have fun.

Pain suppression, briefly

I’ve not been on much over the past few weeks, which is why so little writing.  Still, I did a bit the other day, and thought I’d bring a few things to attention.

Everyone will tell you that the discipline priest is a PVP spec, not a PVE spec.  While I think Disc is better PVP than holy, I’m less and less in agreement with the “not a PVE” spec.  I have to be smarter and faster, but so far I’ve kept up in everything I’ve run since respec.  That said, I’ve seen almost universal agreement that “pain suppression” has no use in PVE.  In a word - bah.

OK, let’s start with why the near universal agreement.  It’s the tank, stupid.  That is, everyone is examining this in light of the healer concentrating on the tank.  And if I stick to that focus alone, “they” have a point.  I mean, if everyone is pushing their dps and other aggro to the limit, a sudden plunge of 5% in the tank’s aggro is a bad thing for everyone else.  (Number two becomes George.  On the other hand, if you’re looking for a payback to that hunter’s habit of feigning death at inopportune times, here’s your chance.  Just watch the threat meter for the right time - say, slightly before FD has cooled down.  But I digress.)

Pain Suppression does three things.  5% reduction in aggro.  40% increase in damage reduction.  65% resistance to dispel mechanics.  All for eight seconds.

Everyone looks at the damage reduction.  And that’s nice.  But in PVE, it’s my secondary purpose.  The biggest use of this?

ANTI-George.  Fade for everyone else.  Especially for those who don’t have a aggro shedder, or who’ve burned theirs already.

Secondarily, it’s my assist for the end-of-battle go-nuts period.  The target can boost DPS by at least 5% with no repercussions - though if the boss is still up after 8 seconds we have a little problem.  Still, I love slapping a warlock or mage with Power Infusion, wait about 5 seconds, then slap this — about the time the boss hits that nasty, frustrating last 5%.  You all know that point.  The heartbreak zone, where all of a sudden the boss seems to get that extra defense and boosted damage, and we all wipe at 1 or 2 %.  Yeah.  Well, meet the counter.

If I’m 100% tank healer, it’s worthless.  But in a party of five, or if I’m NOT tank-heals in the raid, this is a really useful spell.  As usual, it works better if you communicate - let the warlock know, for example, that you’re going to PI-PS her at 5%, so feel free to, you know, get carried away…  (I’ve heard warlocks giggle over chat when this happens.  If they weren’t on my side, I’d worry.)

Go have fun.

When am I ready…?

I got asked the following, which I’ve sort of answered before, but want to hit again as I’ve learned more.

I’m newly Kara keyed and wanted to
know, in your opinion, what is the minimum plus healing I should have
to run Kara?

My answer is that the numbers don’t really matter. Oh, yes, I can get into the nitty gritty. But the more I play, the more I realize I’m … not really the master of knowledge. Instead of numbers, I’ll give you a simple test.

Are you - in your opinion - a competent sole healer for at least two, preferably four or more heroic instances? Note that this doesn’t mean you tag along with four SSC-Geared partners, who run Heroic ManaTombs pantsless just for amusement. I’m talking four other players who are at best still poking their way through Kara themselves. Can you do your part of the job fairly consistently? If the answer is yes, then you are ready REGARDLESS of the actual numbers.

Now let me be honest, here. If you’re in mostly greens, I’m going to hesitate to take you. If your +heal is under 200, I’m going to hesitate - and will hesitate even if it’s up around 400. But if you’re COMPETENT at the entry tasks, then provided everyone else is willing, I’m going to try. once. Because if you’re wearing nothing but greens and still getting a party of nominally equal gear through Heroic Mana Tombs (for example) without wipes, you’ve got the skill - screw the numbers.

Same goes for on up the line, of course. If you’re comfortably doing the job at the prerequisite level, then you’re ready to start on the next one. The only trick will be convincing the group that you’re ready. And if I may recommend, just ask them to play along with a prereq run and try you. Yes, they’ll play stupid - do idiotic things just to see you dance. But if you’re ready, that’s fine. Even if you wipe, they’ll know where the break point is - and if they took you way past what they needed or not.

Go have fun.