Cataclysm Druid Healing Tips

Druid Healing Tips

Here are some quick tips for getting through dungeons.Of course, if you end up in a group that is just plain dumb, then you're at a loss. :(

-Keep Lifebloom stacked on the tank. It will help mitigate damage and it's cheap. Also, the T11 4 set involves keeping Lifebloom at 3 stacks for a spirit increase, so start practicing now :)
-Topping off DPS is not a priority. As long as everyone is at least about 60-70%, there is no need to panic. As you go, you will learn which bosses do more then 50% of a persons health, and that way you know to keep them up, but honestly, there is nothing super emergent about healing beyond the tank. I like to drop Wild Growth and let it heal if the dps need some healing.
-That being said, keep the tank hotted up and cast Nourish to replenish his health. Before Cata and after 4.01, Nourish became obsolete. It is now your best tank heal.
-Be conscious of the cost of your spells and who has priority. Mana Conservation is now key to being an effective healer.
-Keep an eye out for when Clearcasting (Omen of Clarity) procs. This is a great free heal, especially an expensive Regrowth. It's good to also understand how long it lasts, so that you can make sure not to waste this free heal. If everyone is topped off, still throw a Regrowth on the tank, just for that extra HoT in case you need to heal with a Nourish (remember, more HoTs = greater heals from Nourish).
-Remember: intellect > spirit > haste > crit > mastery. Although you may feel like stacking spirit is the way to go, Intellect is still by far the best stat we can go for. Higher spellpower means better healing and less mana you will need to consume.

-Be patient. Most dungeons are long (Halls of Origination is 7 bosses long and the size of a mini Ulduar) and many people are going through learning experiences. Hopefully, by you showing patience and a calm attitude, others will follow suite. It is even now more crucial that everyone works together to defeat an instance and yelling at each other and griping the whole time won't help.

The new Cataclysm healing style definitely holds a learning curve. It requires many WotLK healers to break out of habits we've been playing with for a couple years now. But it's possible, and just requires patience. It's easy to get discouraged; God knows I have. 

Happy healing. :)

Cataclysm so far (Vash'jir, Deepholm, Instances)

I'm halfway into level 83 two days after launch. With finals looming, I'm attempting to make it to 85 before I have to go into study hibernation.

Leveling at the release of an expansion is on par with constantly wiping on a boss; you might as well bang your head against a keyboard to obtain that same headache.
It's bad enough there are tons of people to compete with for quest objectives, but because of this, respawn rates are up, and I find myself dead more than I should.

I started off in Vash'jir because I wanted to try out the underwater thing. It's actually a lot of fun, and Blizzard makes getting around fairly easy. Vash'jir is incredibly linear, despite the fact that it is in the Ocean. Each quest leads you exactly to the next task. It's probably for the best, considering that the open areas of Vash'jir make it feel like one could easily get lost.

Can I just say that Whale Sharks are the coolest thing ever created? Every time I see one, it reminds me of the expanse of the ocean (in real life too) and I'm left in awe.

It was fun to experience a Naga based storyline. Being a Naga was also a lot of fun.
On that note, Blizzard did a good job mixing up the quests. They also don't have painful amounts of items you need that may or may not drop from each mob. There is a point where you get a quest to go kill x amount of y, and you feel overwhelmed with deja vu, but it's never too many. Even though sometimes, high respawn rates end up biting you in the ass, you have to be thankful for this with the amount of people you're dealing with.

I spent a little time dappling in Mt. Hyjal, just because as a Druid nerd, I wanted to go see Malfurion in all his glory. Ysera's new model also looks really cool. Mt. Hyjal was incredibly crowded though, so after discovering the new dungeon, I promptly left for Deepholm.

Deepholm gives me the sense that I am in Vash'jir if it was a mountain. It's huge, and even with flying, it still feels overwhelming.  

Dungeon running has been an interesting experience. Because you have to discover the instances first, I haven't been able to run much with my guild. We did Blackrock Caverns and it wasn't too bad. I liked the way Blizzard made the boss fights more engaging.

Using the Dungeon finder by yourself is a different matter. I did Throne of Tides with a pug and it was interesting at best. The tank and I were good; he was smart enough to not pull too many, and I was able to adjust quickly to each scenario. The dps were another story. The rogue had never heard of the concept, get out of the black shit, and died at least 7 times. Between the rogue and the dk, no one felt that it was a good idea to interrupt, and one boss fight resulted in just me and the tank fighting for a good 3 minutes to finish, because the rest of the dps died.

The trash was actually difficult, but there was no surprise.

What I'm trying to understand is Blizzard's future vision for healers.

They say they don't want us standing around not healing, they want us to DPS. They also say that healing won't be about quick reflexes, but about survivability and managing our mana. But somehow, I'm still healing my butt of because the damage is overwhelming at times, and if someone isn't topped off, there is a good chance they are dead. Somehow, this vision isn't really working out.

Unless raid encounters are different, there's really no difference in healing styles, except that we go oom faster.

WTF Blizzard. Make your mind up!

That being said, Throne of the Tides was some of the most fun I've had in a dungeon. The fights were fun to experience, the healing was intense and engaging. The bosses were all unique. I mean fighting a wall? That was the best part...Attacking the wall!

Plans for Cataclysm

Been busy with college lately, but here's a quick update.

Cataclysm is rolling out tonight at Midnight. I'm pretty excited. The new content available in Patch 4.03a was just a taste of what Blizzard has in store for us, and honestly, I'm quite impressed.

-Leveling to 85 on Covington
There will be no rush to Server first here, but I will be trekking to 85 so that I can get myself prepared for raids.
-Leveling a Worgen
I need to find a new Alliance server, but I would like to dapple in Worgen leveling.
-Leveling a Goblin
I heard leveling a goblin is an experience not to be missed. So I'll roll a goblin on a server somewhere.
-Leveling to 85 on Fleur
My fury warrior is my choice melee, but she s still 77. I will probably take her to 85 next, mostly because I'll need her mining abilities as well.

Cheers you guys! Happy Cataclysm!

The Shattering of Treant Form: 4.03a Restoration Guide

The Shattering (of Treant Form) 4.03a Restoration Guide

Why Ulduar is Amazing/ Did Blizzard wimp out on us?

In the spirit of grabbing achievements for guildies before Cataclysm blows Azeroth up, we have been spending a lot of time back in Ulduar. After cruising through Icecrown Citadel, going back into Ulduar is almost like going back in time. I was raiding with <Taint> back then, and we were struggling through each boss and high fiving each other after killing Auriya. Yeah, those were the days.

So this is what satisfaction feels like

The End of WotLK: The Journey

I've been playing WoW for almost 3 years now. I started during the time BC was ending its course; I only got into the game because my boyfriend at the time, and his brother and his GF, all wanted me to play. My EX wasn't playing at the time, but once I started, he joined me. It's interesting to note that my very first toon is not the one I play; in fact, it's the most least played toon I have. The leveling process in BC was utterly slow. And my ex's brother told me how to gear and play wrong, so I ended up taking much longer then I wanted to. I honestly never realized the huge community in this game, and how much information was at the tips of my fingers. But nonetheless, I continued with a huge NOOB sign on my forehead for my entire BC career. I was dragged through a Karazhan 10 one night, but literally that was my end game experience. For less then a month after I hit 70, WotLK came out.
When WotLK came out, everything changed. I started leveling in the right spec, looking for the right gear. But I also started recruit-a-friend with my current boyfriend. This was a huge step in my WotLK career. I started leveling a druid. My druid changed everything. I fell in love. I went balance after level 40 and enjoyed eclipsing my way through BC content and up to level 80. And because I was so enthralled with this, I even began end game content.
Because of my ex's brother, we ended up in a medium sized casual guild, with about 15 or so core people who raided. We only raided a couple times a week and we're progressing fairly decently through Naxxramas. We eventually were able to one-shot Kel'thazad, and try dappling in 25 mans before Ulduar came out.
The turning point for me was in Ulduar, where, after some problems with roles, I switched specs. I was asked to try out Restoration druid, and the rest...well was history.
Since then, I went from casual gamer to hardcore; I had multiple alts, all with the intention of trying out every healing spec in endgame raiding. Every aspect of healing I loved; it was so natural to me, that I couldn't get enough of it. Didn't matter what class I was playing, I felt most natural healing. Even when I needed a break and tried out dpsing, nothing came close to my effectiveness as a healer. And that is how I ended up here today. 
It's amazing how you develop within the game. I was relatively, and still am, unknown; I'm not notoriously known like Rejuvy or Darkleon. But I do have a basic reputation within the game. People within some basic raiding guilds know I'm a good healer who can pull my weight and not mess up. Even Rejuvy knows me as that Boomkin who has ridiculous critting. I've had him tell me to go Boomkin after not speaking to him for almost over a year, because he remembered my dps that one night...I went from being freaked out by even pugging with strangers alone, to being able to raid lead some weeklys. I no longer shrink away from talking on vent; the other night I was actually instructing some movements within a fight. I'm fairly confident, probably as much as I am at work, where I know my stuff.
Today, as I wait for Cataclysm to come out, I really wonder where I am headed. In a new guild, with new people, but with the only stable force by my side (even before we were dating, my boyfriend is the one person whose always been there). I'm pretty satisfied going into Cataclysm, despite the ridiculous amount of changes headed our way. It's a comforting feeling, even as we stare into the face of the unknown.

Micro Reviews: Due Date, The Walking Dead, Gossip Girl

Due Date
Saw this movie the other night. It stars Robert Downey Jr., and Zach Galifianikis and is about two men who take a road trip across country after both being placed on the No Flight List. After seeing this, I walked out and tried to justify liking the movie. I say this because the acting is good. Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianikis are very good actors and play their characters perfectly; the move through the banter and jokes without blinking and its entertaining. That being said, after thinking about it a little bit, I realized I hated the film. There's something absolutely dead about the plot; the basic storyline is there, but the small branches and back stories are all forced. And there's no real deeper meaning to the story, which is trying to develop characters for a story with deeper meaning. Some of the jokes weren't my style; they were just plain vulgar. I'm really not into anything like that (Jackass 2), but that is a personal taste. The only saving-grace of the film is Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianikis (I am getting good at typing that name without thinking twice). They have a sort of chemistry between them and it shows that they are both good actors; the only thing holding them back is the script.
Grade: C-

The Walking Dead
I haven't caught up to the second episode, but if you like Zombies and want a movie-quality show with an intriguing story, this is it. I have to admit, the best part of this show is being amazed with the production value. The zombies are all individually well made, and the blood and guts are impressive. The show gives off the normal eerie post-apocalyptic feel, with its opening scene of a young girl turned zombie getting shot. It's interesting that the zombie production is so great, but it becomes clear that it's about the living character's development. I'm interested to see the story of Rick's family play out, considering his wife is shacking up with his best friend after his supposed death. Also, the subplot of the boy and his father, facing their zombie mother made me a little sad. I'm excited to see where this show goes.
Grade: A

Gossip Girl: Juliet Doesn't Live Here Anymore
I really hate when two characters I believe should be together, aren't. I guess that's the point right. Because the triumphant feeling of when they seem to be finally heading down that road is exhilarating. The show seemed to be promoting a focus on Chuck and Blair having non-friends with benefits sex, but this was far from the case of the actual episode. Which is a good thing, because as much as we love Chair, being teased to death doesn't sound fun, especially this far into the show. As much as I dislike Vanessa, she has a point about Serena always having the upper hand, always being treated almost like a spoiled child. She does win, most of the time. And Dan, Chuck, Blair, and Nate always stand up for her. It's kinda sad. Especially with Dan. But I still think she's annoying, and since she's just stooping to their level, maybe she deserves it. I'm a little annoyed with how long this Dan/Serena/Nate thing too. It brings me back to my complaint that, hey don't these people talk to anyone else in New York. But it's a show. I personally am rooting for Dan, simply because he's brought out the best in Serena, where Nate was an underlying problem (between her and Blair). The ending was a surprise. I dislike Taylor Momsen. I think she's trashy, and don't like her stuck up "look at me, I'm so edgy" attitude. Plus her dressing choices put Miley Cyrus to shame. But I was kind of excited to see what Vanessa, Juliet and Jenny have in store for next episode. The best scene though, goes to Chuck and Blair at the end. It's just a reminder that they are meant to be together. How they work best together bringing people down and how they are an unstoppable force. Do the writer's of Gossip Girl read their own stuff?!? They write reasons why they should be together. Make me happy already XD.
Grade: A (Can't wait for next week.)   

The State of Patch 4.01: Confusion

Because Cataclysm is supposedly making everything different as far as the way we all play our roles, it makes sense that patch 4.01 would drastically change everything in hopes of preparing us for these inevitable changes. But either no one is getting the hint (cough dps cough) or we are being led to go one way, and read that Cataclysm will want us going the other way. There's a bit of confusion among my guildies and I as we explore the patch content within ICC.

"But if healer mana doesn't matter, our whole combat design collapses. Healers won't value cheap heals. Since mana won't constrain them, overhealing will be common, so they may start devaluing crit as well. DPS specs won't value talents that help them stay alive. And the only way to challenge raids will once again be to clobber tanks so hard that any missed heals will result in tank death. It doesn't have to be this way, and in fact it wasn't this way for much of the game."

Ok. So here's the problem with this blue post, as of 4.01 in WotLK. 

"But if healer mana doesn't matter, our whole combat design collapses."

As far as druid heals are concern after 4.01, mana is not an issue. I also know that priests and shamans are not having issues as well. Pallies were, but it got hotfixed, and they are doing okay now. So. In essence, mana doesn't matter. Many people I know are bypassing mana talents for other talents because, why waste talents for mana you're never going to spend. Blizzard missed the ball with this one.

"Healers won't value cheap heals."    

 Blizzard decided it was important we start working with the new healing style. Unfortunately, ICC boss fights and the proposed Cataclysm boss fights rely on completely different strategies. And these so called cheap heals are long and ineffective. And because, mana is NOT an issue, who uses them? Yes, Regrowth spamming does hurt you in the end, but Nourish is far more ineffective and a long cast time. For the types of heals we are expected to pull out in ICC (intense, reflexive heals), we don't have time to sit on our butts and wait for 2.5 second (with talents and 1k haste, its still almost 2 seconds). 

For shamans, Healing Surge is said to be a quick, but costly heal. This is very true. It is about as expensive, although slightly cheaper, then Greater Healing Wave. It's also about half the speed to cast. Shamans can now bypass using GHW in favor of Healing Surge.     

"Since mana won't constrain them, overhealing will be common, so they may start devaluing crit as well." 

This is untrue. In most guides, people do place value in crit. I'll be honest though. Relying on crit is a mistake, especially for a healer. A chance to hope for a 10k heal instead of a 5k is just plain stupid. I don't understand why they think we value or devalue crit neways. It's a risky it's completely based on chance.  As a healer, I have never ever placed a huge amount of value on Crit.

With their changes to intellect now giving spellpower and spell crit, i think players are forced to get some crit rating anyways. Thanks to all my intellect, I am sitting on 30% crit rating. I am not going to drop some intellect because I want to get rid of crit. So in essence, Blizzard is making me value crit anyways.

Overhealing happens because healers are in a race to top everyone off. I can hot people up, but a shaman will top them off before my hots have a chance. This has nothing to do with mana constraint.  

" DPS specs won't value talents that help them stay alive." 

Blizzard wants DPS to also watch their threat more. Unfortunately, Blizzard does not understand their players very well. Most dps who can pull numbers like that are going to be obsessed with doing those numbers (I want to say this isn't the case with everyone, but I've yet to meet a dps who isnt proud of their high numbers). They don't watch their threat now, and I truly don't believe they will watch it later. I've personally had DPS blame healers for their death. I've also had a lock tell me that because he pulled threat, nearly died, but survived, that it was okay that he pulled threat. This is just ridiculous. DPS don't value talents that keep them alive; they expect healers to save their asses, or say that tanks are bad because they can't hold their ridiculous threat.

I think the concept is good. DPS should have more responsibilities, and we've seen this happen with fights like Freya, where you don't just stand there and dps, or watch out for fire. But unfortunately, no one is really listening, and it's ruining the game for others.

Tanks are complaining because dps can't keep their fingers off their keyboard for a couple seconds. Healers are complaining because they are obligated to heal unnecessary damage. And while we could just all be dicks and let them die, when you're doing endgame hardmodes, every person counts. Including that 10k dps mage. So you have to keep them a live. I wish they saw value in us, the way we see value in them.  

"And the only way to challenge raids will once again be to clobber tanks so hard that any missed heals will result in tank death. It doesn't have to be this way, and in fact it wasn't this way for much of the game. "  

I don't think this is true. While yes, in ICC the tanks get smacked around in the face a lot, Blizzard has been successful at creating boss fights that aren't reliant on keeping the tanks alive. They are reliant on many factors that include cooperation with dps, healers, and tanks. I do not understand why they are claiming that the only way for raids to be challenging is to clobber the tanks. Have they done their raids before? A  lot of raid wipes have nothing to do with, oh the tank is dead." Can we start talking about Defile? How about DPS not taking care of oozes the correct way in Professor Putricide?  

I am definitely frustrated with Blizzard when it comes to them justifying the changes they are making in raiding. Some of their claims just seem really far stretched. I still don't understand (and yes, I know they've been doing this for expansions in the past) why they have to release patches early. I never raided in BC so the changes from BC to WotLK were not much of an issue for me. I don't know if this was the way it was beforehand.

But if Blizzard wants us to learn to raid with the new style BEFORE Cataclysm comes out, they're going to have to change WotLK content, or release Cataclysm content for us to play with. 

Healing is supposed to no longer be about topping a player off. It's just about keeping people alive. Blizzard claims that we'll survive fights with 50% of our health left. So they've tailored heals to be this way; less about urgency, more about efficiency and longevity. But we're not fighting in fights like this; we're still fighting in WotLK. So it's confusing that Blizzard wants us to learn a new style of raiding, but I guarantee you, everyone is tailoring a spec to ignore the things Blizzard wants from us for Cata, and make us useful in ICC. Healers don't have mana problems for some reason, thus they can use expensive heals and be successful healers. Is this Blizzard's way of making ICC doable for us?

If so, why bother releasing the patch anyways. I am currently sporting a spec based entirely off of Rejuvenation, yet a lot of the T11 bonuses and talents point towards druid's turning into tank healers. Am I preparing for this? No. Am I practicing for this? No. I am far more effective at raid healings.

hm...so we have

Healers with no mana problems

DPS who are still threat whores and can't control themselves

and Tanks who can't compete with it.

Bravo.

(Speaking about RNG deaths; tanks getting killed after 2-3 hits)
"This is also something we have set out to change. I understand that you personally don’t believe we will change it, and since your vision of what the world will be like is at odds with our vision, it is unsurprising that the changes we make to bring about our vision might not make sense to you."

I'll hold you to that then... 

Book Review: Battle Royale The Hunger Games Trilogy

For a young adult novel, I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed with The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I was also impossibly addicted to the novels, and read each book within a day, losing sleep and making me quite irritable.

The Hunger Games begins as a reminiscent of a novel I read many years ago, Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (1999). I have no choice, after reading both, but to question the creativity of the Hunger Games. I'm not entirely writing off the whole series; the books within themselves are creative and imaginative; clearly original. But the underlying story of what the Hunger Games are really needs to fess up to being influenced by Battle Royale. I can't understand how the author can claim that she was only influenced by the myth of the Minotaur. There are just too many similarities. Maybe it really is all a coincidence.

Battle Royale is a Japanese authored novel. It's popularity has spanned a manga series and two movies. It tells the story of a government facilitated "game," where each year, one class of high schoolers is transported to an island where they are forced into combat with each other. In Battle Royale, the class chosen has 50 students, who are each issued a small pack of supplies and a characteristic weapon. They are told to fight to the death, until only one winner is left standing. If they do not fight each other, devices attached around their necks will trigger and kill them instantly. These games are used by the government as a scare tactic, to keep the weakened world around them in check. They are publicly shown to insight terror into the public.   

Although not the entire plot of the Hunger Games trilogy, the Hunger Games themselves are when 2 children from each of the 12 districts are put into an arena, to fight to the death. This happens once a year, and they are highly publicized events used by the government to keep the 12 districts in check. Each of the district has a mentor, who helps them out and sends them periodic gifts if sponsorship allows. If not, the games start with a huge shell like building, centered in the middle with tons of weapons, supplies and tools available for the children to use, but only if they can survive the fight to get them. If the children to do not comply, or if action is slow, Gamemasters can tweak and add dangers within the arena to pick up the fights, kill off people, or drive them to each other.

Now the Minotaur myth is about an elusive creature within a labyrinth. Every year, a man and woman is chosen to be sacrificed to him where they are dropped into the labyrinth.

Coincidence or not, the similarities between Battle Royale and Hunger Games, in terms of the games itself, are astonishing. They definitely can't be ignored. And as much as the Hunger Games Trilogy is an amazing and original story, it bothers me that it is so similar to another one of my beloved book, and yet no one seems to notice. (I've googled it and yes, people do notice. But you don't read about the similarities in magazines or major book reviews. hello?) I can attribute this to Battle Royale being a Japanese book, but it has been out in the U.S. for years. In fact, there are two printed versions published that i know of. Maybe even more.

That being said, the Hunger Games Trilogy is a worthy read; it has a strong heroine put in impossible circumstances, with a beautiful and intriguing background to fill in the down time. I think that's the books appeal, the post apocalyptic world that is so far into the future, the idea that it has gone back in time is captivating.

Warning: I spoil the supposed love triangle down below. But honestly, there was nothing to spoil imo...!

Healing ICC Hardmodes: When to use Tree of Life.

Updated for only 10.5/12. We're getting there!
I've been healing Hardmodes for 3 weeks now, one before patch, two after. When we first started (pre-patch) it was a struggle. We definitely had to tweak strategies and ideas for certain bosses.Our first Marrowgar kill ended up with our raid composition of 1 tank and 3 healers. Since the patch has dropped, healing these fights has been easier.
For one, dps has increased, so fights just seem shorter in general. The second reason is that when life gets tough, the incredible power of Tree of Life form gives me that edge to keep us all up. So when's the right time to pop Tree of Life? With a three minute cd, you do have to plan out when to use it, since for some fights, there won't be a second opportunity, and for the long fights that there is a second opportunity, it means you have to pop Tree of Life right at the beginning.
From only two weeks of post-patch Hardmode healing, here is where I've decided to pop my cd.

Restoration Druid Guide Post-4.01

I wrote a restoration druid guide for my guild's forum. Thought I'd post it here.

Post 4.01: The Dpsing Healer (Discipline Priests)

Despite my contempt of forcing healers to dps more, (if I wanted to dps, I would roll a dps spec/class), I am very pleased with the Discipline Smite/Archangel mechanic. Unlike resto druids, where the only reason I dps is because I'm utterly bored, and unlike resto shamans, where I'm forced to dps to desperately control my mana, and yet find myself still oom, Discipline healing has not only incorporated the dps aspect effectively, but Blizzard has given priests the tools to dps properly.
Discipline priests are the correct way to introduce the "dpsing healer."
The Smite/Archangel build is focus on two talents, called Evangelism and Archangel. Evangelism (discipline version)  increases the damage done by Smite, Holy Fire and Penance, and also decreases the amount of mana it costs. This can be stacked 5 times. Once you stack as much as you want (you only need one to use), you can consume the stacks for Archangel. For Discipline priests, it restores 3% of you mana, and then increases the amount of healing by 3% for each stack. Archangel has a decently low CD (it's 18 seconds long, but the CD is only 30 seconds) and Evangelism has a decent timer on it, so you can take a break to drop a heal or two before going back to smiting.
This sounds great in theory, but trying to Smite in healing intensive fights seems like it might be risky. But there are several mechanics that Blizzard has given us to make Smite not only a slow, but decent dps spell, but a healing spell.
The talent Atonement (when maxed out) heals a target within 8 yards for 100% of the damage caused by smite. My smite does about 3k. It also crits quite a bit. So I'm dropping a soft heal on the tank (usually the tank gets it because they are taking the most damage) with every smite I cast. Smite is also effected by Borrowed Time, so I can drop a shield, Smite, drop a shield, Smite. This allows for a slightly quicker Smite, giving me breathing room while I can also shield people.
The best part about this whole Dpsing Healer thing for priests, is the one simple glyph that Blizzard gave us. The major glyph of Divine Accuracy gives us 18% hit to our Smite spell. Eighteen percent! Why didn't they do this for Lightning Bolt. With the importance of a dps spell within a healing build, it is important to give the healer hit so they aren't missing! The RND mechanic of WoW can make it so you never miss without any hit, but this is usually not the case. And when I'm desperately trying to gain mana back by casting Lightening Bolts as a shaman, but missing, I not only waste 2 seconds for a spell, but I wasted my mana casting a useless (completely useless) spell.
It seems like the mechanics of healing, as far as Cataclysm goes, is beginning to perhaps steer healers towards a rotation. I don't heal on a pally, but most people I have talked to who do, have said they are shocked that they have a rotation (instead of spamming one, two, three spells over and over.) While I can understand Blizzard wanting to overhaul the healer so they aren't spamming just a couple spells, (shamans and chain heal too) there are obvious right and wrong ways to do it.
I think Discipline priests are by far the most successful attempt at this. While a set rotation will never be the way of the healer, I think the Smite/Archangel build pushes priests to perhaps look at a rotation like healing style.
The resto shaman column writer for WoW Insider, has proposed a healing rotation for Shamans. However, with the way fights are these days, I was unable to dedicate myself to any sort of rotation. Everything as far as WotLK goes is still all about reflexive healing, even with the changes in terms of health. Damage for the most part, has remained the same. The only thing I have noticed about the Patch, in terms of WotLK is that, a.) things are dying faster (we have two mages in our group.) and b.) I'm healing dps more because they can't control their aggro and the tanks have a slower threat build now.
For Disc priests tho, Blizzard has given the Archangel build tools to make Smiting not only affordable, but effective. The extra heal, if although small, does help out in the long run. The glyph makes it so we never miss (which personally makes me feel good about dpsing.) and Borrowed Time can help us crank out faster smites if we don't need the heals.
For fights like Torovon, I can spot heal and build up Evangelism stacks, so that when Whiteout hits, I can pop Archangel and do some better healing.
This is the dpsing healer, done right.

Post-4.01: Closing Remarks (Assorted Cheers and Jeers)

Bravo!
-Glyphs: I love the new glyphs. I love the way they look. I love the way prime and majors are utilized. I like all the choices. I don't quite understand the use of Vanishing Powder as something an inscriptionist can make, but everyone can buy from the vendor anyways. Kinda dumb. I thought perhaps vanishing powder was a way for Blizzard to try and help Inscriptionist make gold after everyone has their glyphs, but that is apparently not the case. Anyways, I personally am not that concerned with Inscriptionist, I have one just to have one and to make some glyphs when I need them. The new glyph system is pretty nice and I don't have to carry stacks of three or four glyphs with me now, just vanishing powder.

-Talent and Leveling Overhaul: I love the way the new talent builds are. I like the simple design and I like the opening page where you select your spec. It just simplifies something that shouldn't need to be overly complicated. It's simple enough to jump into, but full of options and enough complexity to keep things fresh. Some of the talents are kinda silly at the moment, and a hint of things to come, but I'm sure this will all change when Cata hits. Getting certain key dps talents early on also makes leveling easier, and I can appreciate that considering its a long trek to 80 (85). I know a few people who lose steam after some time. I love having Mutilate at level 20. It's amazing. 

Die...
-DPS and Tanks: My biggest complaint as far as raids and groups go is the massive amounts of threat dps are now generating. And this isn't so much a problem with Blizzard. DPS should watch their threat. But no one does, and it's really annoying. It doesn't help that tanks now have a slower time generating threat. I have to be careful right at the beginning because even I can pull threat with heals. Luckily it's never been a problem. But when you're going into raid fights and dps are dragging bosses all around the room, its really f*ckn annoying. And some dps are just plain ignorant and expect to be healed through everything. While in guild raids, there's a level of discipline and eventually, the raid leaders will yell at them, but I have encountered this as a huge problem in PuGs. Torovan is a nightmare if you have a well geared caster. What makes me mad is that if they don't die (but barely get out with low health), they don't seem to care. We even asked this one lock to please watch his threat, and when he pulled (as predicted) but survived, he smuggly told us "Well I survived, so who cares?" Um. Sorry. Not good enough. It is not just this one person. Everywhere I go, if I see a dps that isn't a new 80, I know I'm in for healing 2 or 3 "tanks" this run. As a healer, I am sick of unnecessary healing caused by reckless dps.  Just because you want your numbers to be high isn't going to help us out in the long run if your wiping us. Having to have tanks run around a room because a dps pulls is frustrating. I'm getting to the point where I won't heal the dps if it's not boss damage.
It is a dps's responsibility to watch their threat. They can hold off 5 seconds to let the tank get some decent threat. We were running  H Festergut and we wiped a couple times because our highest dpsers got killed within the first couple of runs. This also messed up our Vile Gas.

-Tooltips: Does anyone else feel that a lot of the new tooltips are like "WoW for Dummies." Some of them, especially the dps abilities, have the normal attack base and etc. They even scale when you receive buffs. That's neat. The healing ones are kinda dumb. Not only do some of them not tell you how much healing they do, but they also tell you when to use it.
for example:
Healing Surge (Shaman): A fast yet inefficient heal. Use if you need to heal during combat, when there isn't enough time for Healing Wave.
Does anyone else feel that this is a tad...useless. While the tooltip does tell you the mana cost and when Blizzard thinks you should use it, you really don't listen to him. It's actually one of the most efficient heals Shamans have now. It is a tad expensive, but Healing Wave is long but not potent, and Greater Healing Wave is strong but long and about the same cost of Healing Surge. Blizzard needs to stop putting their goals into tooltips...

-Bugs: the amount of bugs is understandable. the fact blizzard is aware of them and hasn't fixed nething is unbelievable.
The worse bug for me is the rez bug, where you sometimes rez at the spirit healer with incredibly little health. I have died an excessive amount of times because of this, whether it's because I simply don't realize it and run off the ledge, or get dismounted under ICC and die from the falling damage. I heard people on PvP realms are being killed by asshole players, and I'm surprised this hasn't pissed people off. Isn't this called griefing?
We're having problems with the bug for buying Northrend Spices. It's unfortunate because Northrend Spice prices have skyrocketed too. We are all now forced into our cooking dailies and sending one guildie all our spices to keep him from buying them at ridiculous amounts. I guess it's not a bad bug, just a huge annoyance

-Addons: Not blizzard's fault, but addons are always one of the worst parts of new patches. DBM wasnt working and the first part of Festergut's pungent blight makes it near impossible to see the green of the Malleable goo on the ground. we were unable to finish it because of that. Healbot and Grid literally hid from me, so I had to learn the annoying and new raid UI. It's usable, but I don't like it.

In the end, these are all expected. It's not blizzard's responsibility to figure out addons. But some of the in game stuff is really annoying. They've had their hands full with Blizzcon and the Cata release, but I really wish they would fix some of these things.

Post 4.01: The Dpsing Healer (Shaman)

Shaman heals were the one thing I felt comfortable with when heading into the new patch. The changes weren't dramatic; the dpsing healer mechanic was pretty neat. And most importantly it made sense. Unlike Resto druids, dpsing as a resto shaman gives returns worth the extra time. Unfortunately, we don't have much time.

My current problem with my shaman is severe mana issues during healing intensive fights. (more specifically, Torovan, Vault)

I could contribute the struggles to my half decent gear, which isn't even close to my druid's. And I have yet to test out the heals on my better geared ally shaman. So this could be ill-informed at the moment.

But at the same time, I have to consider that:
-I have great reflexes as a healer. It's the reason I am a healer in WotLK. I can far exceed the limitations of my gear. I'm not trying to sound elitist; it's just true. 
-The WotLK style of raiding is far different from the proposed Cata raiding style. There isn't much time for dping in ICC. Except maybe Lootship, cuz that s a joke.There is constant damage auras to heal through and tanks, despite the (if u ask me, slight) health/stamina increase, can still easily be two-shotted.

But unfortunately, with this patch and my shaman:
-I am sometimes unable to overcome the limitations of my gear, namely due to mana pool/ mana regens.
-Blizzard has created an environment where they want us healing for the future, while still in the present.

And that is how I sum up the weaknesses of (my) shaman heals.

I will later point out in my Priest post, that there are ways to make the DPSing healer correct. Blizzard did a wonderful job when implementing this new healing style to the Discipline Smite/Archangel build.
They did not do this for the Resto Shaman.

For Telluric Currents, long lightning bolt cast times and no hit rating makes for poor dpsing and mana return.
-While dungeon fights may give us lots of free time, raids present us with fights where we are on the go and need to heal some sort of constant damage. I have not found time to cast a 2 second Lightning Bolt.
-I also seem to find myself missing quite a bit. Which makes casting the Lightning Bolt not only completely useless, but also a waste of my time.

Focused Insight is easy to pull off. My complaint is that it does miss sometimes, but for the most part it is decent and effective.

Finally, with everything switched to spirit, my mana regen took a weird hit. I did rely on Mana Tide Totem, which increases our spirit by 250%, to keep my mana up, but now, it is completely ineffective. I dropped it during a Torovan fight, stood there, didn't heal and barely saw my mana return. The change from return of mana pool, to increase spirit has completely made it a waste for me. Because a lot of shamans probably didn't focus on scrounging for MP5 the way druids and priests might have done for spirit, I find that my gear had very little spirit on it. And reforging crit or haste for spirit is out of the question, especially considering our crit took a hit (I lost 15% on both shamans), and our haste stayed the same.

In the end, I am very dissatisfied with Shaman heals, specifically longevity within raids. I can only hope that this is currently, my personal gearing issue, and will be fixed as I begin upgrading my gear on my troll Shaman. It will ultimately be something that will be fixed by Cataclysm, assuming Blizzard stays with their plan and produces more downtime for LB and Shock castings.

But only time will tell. For now, we fight in ICC.

If I'm gonna be wrong, I'm gonna assume the worst./ Post 4.01: Druid

I have to hand it to Blizzard. Tree heals (although it may be a mistake) as of now, are pretty freakin' sweet. This may come from the fact that now, some healing classes (particularly Pally and Druids) are completely OP. With my gear (about a 5.8 gs) and the mana talents (because at this moment, longevity is important to me first, since I know I can outheal my gear) I'm sitting at a comfortable 43k mana unbuffed. Even when faced with a need for massive heals, I still barely get close to the 40k mark. Honestly, this will change when I actually hop into ICC tonight, so I haven't changed around my spec yet.

Efflorescence is by far my favorite new thing for restoration druids. It's powerful; when coupled with Swiftmend Glyph, it's completely worth it, and it also takes advantage of our mastery (because there has to be a hot for Swiftmend to work). It's also incredibly pretty.

I have had a difficult time adjusting to relying solely on HOTs for raid and group heals. I also have a difficult time remembering to keep Lifebloom up on the tank (I miss Healbot btw. It's literally hiding from me...). Because, as far as my raid's composition goes, I'll never be a tank healer, using things like Nourish and Healing Touch are pretty much out of the question at the moment. Nourish sucks now. At least without 200 extra mastery points (my friend loves nourish on tanks with 200 mastery points <.<). It's a nearly 2+ second cast and does half the healing it used to. Because I don't plan on tank healing, it is a waste. I do like that Nourish renews Lifebloom, and this coupled with the new Replenishment, makes it worth it.

My stats for the most part, haven't really changed. I switched out a cloth piece for a leather piece that ended up exchanging haste for crit. I was thinking about maybe reforging it, but because of the HOT's ability to crit now, it's not entirely useless. My HOTS actually crit a lot. Because I haven't been using Parrot or MSBT, I got to see each individual HOT blow up on my screen with the normal Blizz battle text. Omg. Is that annoying, having green everywhere. But damn! My HOTS crit a lot. :O

For the most part, I'm not having any problems at all. The first run ( a guild run through H FoS) was a little shaky for me, simply because I kept wanting to toss Nourish out after a Rejuvenation. Just plain habbit. Also, having to rely on Clique with the Blizzard unit frames was no fun. I personally don't like Clique, but it was all that would work. I switched to VuhDo because both Healbot and Grid aren't working. VuhDo is pretty nice. A good combination of both Healbot and Grid, but I need to figure out if I can change the health bars to Class colors. It's driving me crazy that it's all green. (I rely heavily on Class colors to know who is possibly doing what, and also, it helps me AOE heal the melee.)

We'll see how tonight goes. I'm not sure if we'll delve into Heroics or just do a basic run to see how the new stuff goes. One of the Tanks/Raid leaders mentioned to me getting down 10/12 tonight, but that means we're not doing heroics...I think.

Some negatives:
I still miss Tree form a lot. I feel really bulky as a tauren. I miss that little waddle.
My Gm needs to suck it. I'm sick of him defending Blizzard's decision to craft classes in preparation for Cataclysm, but expect us to continue in ICC content. Healing is all about reflex. The health increase hasn't really deterred the damage people take, so we still have to heal to some extent with the old style. As a druid this hasn't been much of a problem. But...as a shaman. well that's for another post.
I also have no reason as a druid at the moment to DPS. Actually even if I took the Fury of Stormrage talent (wrath procs free starfire) to reach the extra Clearcasting proc talent, it doesn't proc because I use more Starfire. It's because I use Lifebloom. Really dumb...

um btw.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

First. A moment of silence.
/pray

 

So I stopped being stubborn and stopped complaining, sucked it up and did some research. And as expected, especially with anything Blizzard tends to produce, there are good things (glyphs!), bad things (bye tree form...) and the really shitty ugly crap (raid lockouts).  

A focus on tree restoration druid

Oh yeah, btw.

Can't help but feel sorry for Bolvar :(

I think they're messing with us. TV Rant.

I'm a hugely addicted TV show drama watcher. I used to watch soap operas back in the day. I had my couples who I rooted for and I felt deeply attached to these couples. It's because of these attachments that it begins to feel like everything these show writers do starts feeling personal.

Gossip Girl: Bluck (Blair and Chuck)
Gossip Girl is currently on Season 4. I have been and on-again, off-again follower for the past seasons simply because sometimes this show just pisses me off. But the one steady person I can always rely on for some witty plotting and good times is Blair Waldorf. I have to admit; the writers and Leighton Meester have made Blair Waldorf into more then just a bitchy Queen Bee. They've created her into a vulnerable, likable character despite all her faults. I love me some Blair Waldorf Scheming.
The hugest part of Blair Waldorf's story is her relationship with Chuck Bass. In the novels, Chuck is kind of a background douchebag. No one really takes him seriously. In the tv version, they've made him incredibly slick, cool, and damn he looks good with a cane. He's a schemer, and can pull of some of the craziest (and perhaps shockingly cruel) shenanigans (like selling his GF out to his uncle?!?) without even a pause.
Together, Blair and Chuck are dynamite. Like, literally. They tend to blow up a lot. It begins as a one night stand, but turns into a full out love affair. Instead of getting together, Blair and Chuck do a kinda dance around each other, where they sleep together or scheme together (for them, scheming is just like sex), declare their love to everyone else but each other. It kind of gets annoying (between Blair dating a Baron of some sort, and Chuck being...well Chuck) but it came to a nice culmination when Chuck's father died in Season 2. As Chuck spiraled downward, it was Blair who saved him. And while, in true Bluck fashion, they did a little dance around each other before finally coming together in the fantastic season finale, it was definitely the highlight of their relationship. Of course, nothing is at it seems.
Their relationship is not simple like we would want. It is true; in the end, Blair and Chuck know each other better than anything. But from playing a game of infidelity, to selling Blair off to his uncle for a hotel, Season 3 saw the fizzle of their relationship. The ending was the worse; as a fan of Bluck, watching Blair and Chuck do the dance again (I will meet you here if you love me; oh no she didn't show I'm leave; Whoops I was late but I showed.) is annoying, and then to have Chuck go off and sleep with Jenny (of all people; because apparently this show people can only sleep with the 6 of each other. Next thing you know, there will be a threesome with V, B, and S.)  was disgusting.
Season 4 begins with Blair plotting against Chuck's new girlfriend. She clearly still loves him, but can't forgive him, which is understandable. After sabotaging his relationship with foreign ex-prostitute Eva (which that was just a joke), Blair was then threatened by Chuck, who swore to destroy her.
Am I the only one getting kind of annoyed with these two?

Grey's Anatomy: Meredith and Derek
This reminds me of a similar back and forth between super couple Meredith and Derek in Grey's Anatomy. These two are my most beloved couple and the only reason I even half watch Grey's Anatomy any more.
Their relationship was also an annoying dance for over 4 seasons, before (and she'll never admit it) fan complaints finally forced Shonda Rhimes to give MerDer their happily ever after. And while I'll never be happy with the way she wrote the relationship (a Post-It note wedding is cute...but only for a an episode or two. I think fans deserve a wedding), at least they are together, and the MerDer chemistry can live on.
Grey's Anatomy has since declined from well written primetime drama to a complete melodramatic cluster f*ck. With a massive ensemble cast closing in fast on the numbers of Lost (hey, at least they killed off a few and made it cohesive and stuff) it's hard to feel anything for the new characters the way that you have grown attached to Mer, Cristina, Alex, Izzy and George.

I'm pretty sure relationships in TV shows are like chocolate. They taste great while you're eating it, but it eventually ends, and that is saddening. I understand the need to make everything have 20x's more drama then real life to bring in viewers. I mean the stuff Meredith goes through is ridiculous (hand on a bomb, almost drowns, her "husband" gets shot in a massacre in the hospital.) I don't think half of that stuff will happen to us. Is it possible for relationships to stop being so annoying? They've ended turning into on-again/off-again fairs that go in circles and are really annoying. There has to be a better way to serve drama.
    
On a side note:

Grey's Anatomy: Lexi and Mark are stupid.
This is by far the WORST relationship in the entire world. First off, how cliche is it that Lexi (Mer's sister) would end up with Mark, Derek's best friend. Oh wow. What a twist! I'm also shocked at how fast Mark went from manwhore/McSteamy to devoted boyfriend. And I like how Lexi is the one whose kinda hesitant about how seriuos this relationship gets. Talk about out of character. Mark was a lot more fun when he was McSteamy, not McNeedy. Please end the misery and just end the relationship. This and Callie with Arizona (and at first, Hahn) was also really annoying. And cliche. And inappropriate. Not because it is a homosexual relationship, but because I think it really insults homosexuals. Hahn and Callie together were everythings that's wrong with the portrayal of homosexuals. No wonder there was such a huge backlash. Yes, Callie and Arizona have some more class, but I never cared about them. It's possible that it is because I'm only attached to older relationships (MerDer, and Alex/Izzie) but I love Cristina and Owen and they are new. I think Grey's Anatomy needs to pull the plug before they go down like a forgotten flame.

General Hospital: Elizabeth is a whore.
I'm sorry. Elizabeth Spencer is a complete and utter whore. They have completely broken her character down from innocent and sweet, to self martyring and stuck up bitch. The men she "can't help loving" sure do range a lot, and she sure knows how to pick them. From sleeping with and then carrying a baby for a man in another serious relationship, to returning to her ex-husband (father of two of her children), then cheating on him again, and sleeping with her dead best friend's ex husband. Oh, and she gets pregnant by this guy too. Well, it's actually her ex-husband's, but her BF's ex husband's mom made it look like it was his so that she'll stay with him.
I watch her. I try to feel sorry for her. I try to take her feelings as genuine, but I'm beginning to think either a.) the writers are delusional, or b.) the writers hate her.

She's a whore. I'm sorry. She is. And she needs to stop acting so self righteous...

Reasons to Quit WoW NumeroTres: Wut Nao?

I should quit WoW because my guild killed the Lich King. What do I do now?

The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back (Maybe Not)

I've made it entirely very clear that I am upset with a lot of what is going down in Patch 4.01 and Cataclysm. Unlike major patches in the past which I have complained about (namely making gear incredibly easy to obtain by having all instances drop Conquest/Triumph badges and nerfing Lifebloom and "fixing" Rejuvenation), I think Blizzard has finally broken me.

And while yes, change is good, I was always completely satisfied with what I had. New content is exciting; I am so excited to make a Worgen and fight alongside Stormrage. I can't wait to fly around Azeroth and enter the depths of the ocean to chill with the Naga. I can't wait to get Guild achievements and rewards.

But there's definitely a limit to how much gameplay change I can take. I haven't played any beta or anything, and we're not sure how all these changes are all going to play out. There's also still plenty of time for Blizzard to change their minds.

First we're being told to dps more. They're putting dps talents in the restoration/holy trees. Then we're also being told that healing isn't about topping off anymore, but keeping people "alive". We need to be more conscious of who gets our heals, when and how much, specifically because of spell's mana costs (now by percentage). We re apparently getting a shit ton of intellect, but that will greatly effect our mana (or lack of) output. Spirit is mana regen. (I do like this simpler approach to stats. Honestly.) And we're getting tons of mana regen Cds and Meditation-like moves.

I feel like I'm getting mixed signals.  

The idea of healing rotation (due to dps-type talents that affect mana regen and healing) is something not entirely out of the ordinary. It'll remind me of my Resto Shaman strategy for Valithrea. But that is a pure heal-the-crap out of one target. I wonder how this will play out in raids. Clearly, I will have to test out healing rotations.
According to Raid RX (WoW Insider), Joe, the shaman columnist is using a rotation in the beta that takes advantage of the new dps talents in the resto tree. And what he proposes (2 heals, Dps, 2 heals, Dps) does make sense, and it will allow for some excellent mana regen. I wonder what kind of damage we will be facing in fights, and whether heals will be easy to keep a basic strategy, or if they require some quick reflexes, like WotLK raiding has taught us.

The fact that increase in health pools will assure us that tanks won't get two shotted is comforting. It also changes healing roles (or perhaps more clearly defines them and makes them what they always were supposed to be). It allows for healers to keep everyone at 50% then move on (to perhaps dps. cuz Ghostcrawler says so...). It does also make me think that druids can toss out hots and top them off. I always feel like my druid's hots are kinda pointless, especially in big raids. People are so reflexive and want to top health off that even when I time hots to say, fend off the aoe damage in an incredibly short amount of time, it either becomes overhealing or causes the other healers to overhealing. I suppose this is why people do healing assignments, but I have yet to do a PuG or run with actual healing assignments. Maybe healing instructions, but not really assignments.

Perhaps this is what Blizzard always wanted from healers. But I admit that the thing I love most about healing is the reflexiveness of it. It looks like Cataclysm will kinda milk that a little bit. Looks like meters aren't going to be reliable any more (they really never are, but people still live and die by them)

I feel like my healing days are numbered. I'm already throwing in the towel for my Tree. I don't care how cool the Tree cd is.That's a blow I'll never come back from. Efflorescence (bed of flowers under target crit by Regrowth) is the only mechanic that I think is cool in theory.

I've definitely grown into loving Shaman heals as of late. And the changes for resto shamans are definitely exciting to look forward to. Healing Rain just sounds cool. The idea of it is cool, but again I won't be able to make my decision until Cata comes. The changes to Healing Wave and adding of Healing Surge is something I can easily adjust to.

I haven't read up on Priest or Pally heals. To be honest, I have focused on druid and shaman for a reason. When Cataclysm hits, I don't plan to rush to 85. I plan to enjoy the new content. I find that I lose my flare with WoW when I raid too much. Life isn't always about getting gear. I plan to level a Worgen (not sure what kind though), maybe a horde warlock, although I'm not sure which race I will choose.

Cataclysm is releasing on December 7th, with Patch 4.01 due any week now. Change will always be imminent as long as Blizzard keeps earning money from WoW. I just don't know when I'll finally snap.

(Can I just say that the new move for Balance Druids, the Wild Mushroom, is the DUMBEST thing I have ever heard of. What a load of useless bullshit...)

Reasons to Quit WoW Numero Dos: In Sand It Tea

I should quit WoW because I am going to lose my mind over patch 4.01.

WoW. Hello! ...You're already here...Oh Shift!

Puns intended.

Patch 4.01 either Tuesday or next Tuesday. Crap.

So now what? I still don't have Lich King. I still don't have Undying.

DOES THIS MEAN I NEED TO RAID MOAR??? (FML)

Tonight, I ran with my guild's group 2 on an alt, and we were all ready to kill LK. It made me upset. Cuz I still don't have LK on my main and this group (25% alts) was all gung-ho about taking him down. :(
Can't I get KS on my main first. D:

I know my GM wishes to get KS for everyone, but I can't help but feel a tad jipped, since my group ends up with an alt in an important role (a healer or a tank.), whose either slightly undergeared or unfamiliar with the role. Or we get the dps who likes to stand in defile, or run the entirely longest way possible out of the stupid goo. Or who has a 5.9 gs, but can't do 5k dps for the life of him. Or both. Usually all three.

I get the sense that the group they took first was the most qualified. And while my GM may argue otherwise (i mean, I've argued with him before over this), there is clearly something not working for us. Our raid composition is always a little shakey. We either have one aoe healer with two pallies, one really good one, one decent one, so that when I get pulled into Frostmourne (which I usually do cuz I'm special) I return from it to a massive raid wipe and get to jump off the ledge for funsies. Or we have one, maybe two people capable of slowing, so that when that person (because this is what usually happens) gets picked up, we're screwed.

Then, there is the problem of our luck. When we have good raid composition, one of our highest dps tends to lag out. And not in a safe spot (well this is LK. there is no safe spot) He tends to lag out right in the middle of defile.

Then we always get the Valkyrie carry off the person with the best stuns (Warrior/Rogue), and then our second stunner gets defile and can't stun the Valkyrie. There are other slows, but if I remember correctly, the Warrior and the Rogue (we usually have a tank warrior and a rogue) are the best we tend to have. We don't have any DKs, or priests. I take that back. Good raid composition. hahahaha.

We're really good at pushing into 1.5 when LK starts to summon more ghouls.

Frostmourne really likes me, and leaves our two pallies alone.

Our tanks try and eat the Vile Spirits. Grab will drop a frost trap in the middle and then get defile at the same time, thus rendering his trap, and the "eating" completely useless.

I get out of Frostmourne, and dumped into a defile.

I could go on. I think every possible thing that could go wrong has happened to us in the past 4 days we have attempted this piece of crap fight. It is so exhausting. And you might not believe me, but I swear to you, our guild is a group of very good players; we may not be decked out in 277 gear because we are not a hardcore raiding guild, but this is kinda stupid.

Anyways (hello, 5 paragraph off topic rant), 4.01 is closer then I want it to be. And while some changes are kind of cool ( I guess the Tree Form Cd is epic), I'm still not ready to have to stare at the back of my stupid tauren. I want to get KS, so I can truly be rid of being a healer. I'm not ready to say goodbye. I loved being a tree. Blizzard took this from me.

With the stupid reason of , please shift more.

Fine. I'll shift into a shaman and say goodbye to my tree.

Reasons to Quit WoW Numero Uno: eye run eee

I should quit WoW so that I can play more video games.

A Cry for Help (Teen Mom)

I have to really get this off my chest.
I'm incredibly disappointed in MTV right now. They need to really drop Amber from their Teen Mom show. And even report her to Child Services...

Today's episode (2.10, Hello and Goodbye) was just a second show of Amber's domestic abuse against her baby daddy Gary. And I'm not just talking about the punch she threw at him on today's episode, which is the second time she was physically abusive towards him. Nor am I talking about the shocking first time she was in episde 1.03, Fallout, where she threw him against a wall, choked him and then hit him. I'm talking about her constant yelling, her abusive language, and her horribly bad, but horribly obvious anger management problem.

Amber is a constant hot mess. She is always yelling at her child, always yelling at Gary, then sits around wallowing in self pity when she doesn't get her way. And while Gary isn't daddy-of-the-year, he has a lot more patience (although possibly because of lack of balls) when dealing with Amber. She really doesn't show remorse for her actions.

She throws Gary out of her apartment (screaming the entire time) and then tells her daughter that her daddy abandoned her...that just makes me sick.

Then we have the season 1 reunion episode with Dr Drew, where he confronted Amber about her attack on Gary, and she just laughed about it. Laughed. And then acted like it was no big deal. Only when Dr. Drew pointed out that this was domestic abuse did she give a half-assed apology to Gary.  

I hate when Amber cries (granted...I'm laughing at her when she cries because she looks so fuckn hilarious).
I think she enjoys the attention that Teen Mom gives her. She really needs to go.
No matter how many pathetic little "domestic abuse" mini PSAs they add during the commercial breaks after Amber's tyrants, it's wrong to allow her to continue this way. How can MTV not do something about this, beyond just some stupid little infomercial at the end?

I hate that I wasted this time writing this about a person who doesn't deserve our attention. But that poor child certainly does.

You can show someone whose shitty (like Farrah), hate her, but then feel better as you watch her grow and start taking responsibility. Then you have someone like Amber, whose antics may seem great for Jersey Shore, but not for a show called Teen Mom. That child deserves better.

Video (courtesy of Youtube) showing Amber choke and hit Gary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_HvDNlhiWE

I don't care if she s a girl and his a big huge man. This is completely and utterly wrong. (and domestic abuse...)

You're kidding me, right?

I think because we're all rolling around in Icecrown Citadel, we've kinda forgotten how bad Blizzard nerfing has become. Or maybe buffing would be the right term. Because they technically didn't nerf ICC. They just buffed us.
How many times did they up the ICC buff damage increase/healing absorption? I think it was 3 times. It now sits at a very comfortable 30%.

Thirty percent actually is a big difference. It what's makes all those dpsers do no lower than about 6k+, makes tanks have health we didn't expect to see until Cataclysm, and makes it so Shamans don't get one shotted with our pathetic health pool.

As far as evening the playing field between casual and hardcore raider, I'd say this buff does the job. And it's a fair thing to want to do. Blizzard earns more moolah for making us all happy.

Blizzard does make multiple levels of difficulties available. Hardmodes. Love them, hate them, they are what makes the game worthwhile for the hardcore gamer. The buff can also be disabled to make you truly understand what your gearscore really means.

But honestly, I think ICC really made me rethink what a raid is these days. The other day my guild ventured into 10man Ulduar for some hardmodes. We did Freya (with all three elders) and Mimiron (Firefight).
Doing those, and also remembering what raids used to be pre-ICC was quite the wake up call.

Granted we were doing hardmodes, so more fire, more big scary things to look out for. But the basic mechanic of the fight was there, and unless my guild really really did suck back in the day, I was remembering some very interesting, difficult, but even fun raiding strategies.

As a healer, if I told you Mimiron was my favorite fight, I'm sure most of you would be like, "You're kidding me, right?"
Its a tough fight, and its healing intensive.
But I loved it. I liked feeling like I was working for something.
That is what ICC is missing for me.

Granted, the Lich King is actually a difficult fight. Defile can suck it. But the rest of ICC is a joke. When the ICC buff was only 5%, or even 15% (maybe? I'm not completely sure) ICC was still a challenge. A Mark of Blood would still go out in Saurfang. Festergut was still a DPS race.

Now its a PuG's walk in the park. Being able to down more then 7/12 in a PuG is just plain...amazing. It was unheard of in Ulduar. At first I thought it was changing realms; Argent Dawn is vastly superior to Undermine. But then after running Ulduar the other night, it became apparent that it was more than just that.

It's Blizzard, upping the buff while easing up on the raid itself. And while there's nothing wrong with making raids more accessible to casual gamers, and they do gain some kudos back by making the difficulties levels adjustable, there's definitely a sense of loss; at least for those of us who notice and don't care.

I think it places some players in a sense of security. Woohoo, my 5k gs can pull off 7k dps against Saurfang. In reality, that's probably not what you can really do. Same for both healers and tanks.
It definitely allows for a larger margin of error.

Now, you might ask, Who cares? I guess, in reality, none of this really matters.
The only reason I care stemmed from running hardmode Mimiron. Firefight is definitely no walk in the park. I remember back when my guild downed a boss in Ulduar or even Naxx, and it was a big deal. Now, its just something handed to us by Blizzard.

Preparing for Cataclysm. (bye bye Undermine)

The reality is this.
Im really upset about the Tree of Life changes.
Namely. Not being in Tree of Life whenever the f**kn hell i feel like it and forever.
Im one of those idiots who will purposely transform into Tree of Life, run around dalaran, do craftings, just cuz i like that little root waddle.
I could also give the reasons losing tree of life is fuckn retarded, but this person does it a lot better than I.

http://treebarkjacket.com/2010/06/15/cataclysm-hobbl-fail/

I miss my time with you, Eric! (True Blood Non-Review)

I won't be posting reviews about True Blood for a while D:

My recent move has placed me in a great place close to campus, but also in a place with no HBO. I've been looking online, trying to find a place I can watch episodes, but I'm not certain which website is legit and which one isn't. Hopefully, I can find a solution before the season finale (way too soon!) or looks like I will be deprived before the dvds come out.

Any suggestions? Please let me know. :)

MicroReview: Every Thing is Broken (True Blood)

Review: Night on the Sun (True Blood)

Spoilers...

Off to Northrend I go...again

I have 6 80s on Undermine (Horde) so Northrend (and Outlands) on the Horde side is boring for me.
But I am super excited to experience Northrend from the Ally point of view.

So far its been interesting. Spent some time discussing with Yereva where to go since ships are how you get to Northrend, not airships. Figuring out all the ships routes was confusing for just Azeroth ( what is Theramore...another capital?!?) It makes me feel like such a little Horde-ling...

I am always amazed at how big camps and towns are for the Alliance. Sure they re the same structure and model, maybe sometimes backwards just to be special, but they are incredibly large. Valiance Keep in Borean Tundra is pretty cool. I like the added effect of a ship in the middle of the harbor that doesn't really go anywhere. I wonder if all the "keeps" will be like this one, just like how Honor Hold is the basic structure for like, well...everything in Azeroth and Outlands. It doesn't help that your running up 7 flights of steps and miss where you wanna go either. I sometimes found myself missing the Horde's huts...or even the large Troll tree house like structures.

I also am excited because I can run into Star's Rest and not get attacked...woo can't wait for Dragonblight just so I can experience that one refreshing personal achievement.

I wonder what The Battle for Undercity will be like...

Instead of getting a new bookcase ... Beginning of the Search

I love to read. I have three bookcases and four boxes in the garage full of books to prove it. As I start packing for my big move Monday, I realized that all these books are such a hassle. Plus, carrying books around in your backpack can be heavy and annoying.

Thus, my solution is to purchase an eReader.

Here is what I am hoping to find in an eReader
-Good amount of memory for books
-Ability to highlight passages and enter in notes
-Expandable memory
-Formats: pdf, doc/rtf (optional but a plus)
-Decent battery life (at least a couple weeks.)
-ability to check out books from the library
- and of course, affordable

The contenders so far are
-The Kindle 2 by Amazon
-Nook by Barnes and Noble
-Aluratek Libre eBook Reader Pro
-Sony eReader Touch PRS 600
-Sony eReader PRS 300 (a smaller version)
-Kodo by Borders (I think)