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...!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Restoration Druid Guide Post-4.01
I wrote a restoration druid guide for my guild's forum. Thought I'd post it here.
Monday, October 18, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
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.
-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.
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.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
First. A moment of silence.
/pray
/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
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
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...
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...
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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...)
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...)
Monday, October 4, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
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