You can't be sapped in ghost wolf.
Thank you.
(This short, simple, sweet advice brought to you by Mahndo, and it was brought to him by some very awesome warrior in a battleground)
Friday, December 28, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Heal Meters
Many people tend to be competitive about things. DPS meters are a good example of this, though they can cause some problems. But what about healing meters?
I have a love-hate relationship with healing meters. In Kara, I'm generally third out of three healers on it for amount healed. I run with two pallys or a pally and a priest generally. Most people would say "that makes sense."
No, no it doesn't.
I'm talking about healing meters where over-heal is factored in. We have very good healers in my guild, and they do their job. But I am a mitigation healer. They are reactive healers. My HoTs stop ticking when their target is health-capped. Reactive healing such as Flash of Light and Greater Heal will hit a target for their amount regardless of where the person's health is, and any extra is lost as "over heal."
Druids can overheal in four ways:
I have a love-hate relationship with healing meters. In Kara, I'm generally third out of three healers on it for amount healed. I run with two pallys or a pally and a priest generally. Most people would say "that makes sense."
No, no it doesn't.
I'm talking about healing meters where over-heal is factored in. We have very good healers in my guild, and they do their job. But I am a mitigation healer. They are reactive healers. My HoTs stop ticking when their target is health-capped. Reactive healing such as Flash of Light and Greater Heal will hit a target for their amount regardless of where the person's health is, and any extra is lost as "over heal."
Druids can overheal in four ways:
- The initial burst of Regrowth
- Swiftmend
- Healing Touch
- Lifebloom's bloom (self-only)
Of those four ways, the third is used least of all heals on a druid (save for perhaps Dreamstate spec). Regrowth is the least used HoT of the three, and Swiftmend is situational. And you shouldn't let Lifebloom bloom if you can help it, though Lifebloom's bloom only counts as your own personal heal when it blooms on yourself. A druid's heavy reliance on continuous stacks of Lifebloom and Rejuvenation means, more often than not, we don't overheal, or at least it isn't counted as overheal.
Instead, when using a heal meter, check to make sure the option that counts overheal is removed. Or do a heal per second chart. This should give a more accurate idea of what your healing actually is and how well you are doing. Don't forget to also post pure over-heal, as that should help you see if you need to be more careful when applying your skills with that potential.
As druids are generally employed as "off-healers" who keep HoTs on the tank(s) while spot-healing the raid, you should actually be healing for more, depending on your gear and your other healers.
Just be careful you don't get too competitive! Remember, first priorities are to work with your fellow healers to keep the raid alive. Competition comes second.
Monday, December 17, 2007
10 Druid WSG
I like to hang around the Druid forums once in a while. Mostly because, between all the trolls crying for nerf, there's generally a gem to be found. For instance, this beautiful idea of a ten-druid warsong gulch run. Fantastic. I love druid-centric things. This doesn't mean I don't love my other guildies, but druids hold a special place in my heart.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Now I'm wondering how well the rest of the battlegrounds would run populated by only druids...
I sincerely hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Now I'm wondering how well the rest of the battlegrounds would run populated by only druids...
Oh...hi
So, I went eight posts into this blog without introducing myself or explaining its purpose. That may be some kind of record. Doesn't everyone start out their blog with "So, I started this blog because..." or something? Anyway, on with the introducing.
I'm Bellwether. Or I play her. Sometimes I can't distinguish the difference, but it should suffice to say that Bellwether is a restoration druid. She's been through the wringer, that one. Started out with aspirations of Balance and moonkin dancing until realizing kitty form was being used more than wrath. A quick shift in the talent points and I was a pre-Burning Crusade rawr druid, who made a few mistakes along the way (like Improved MotW instead of Mangle...). I was all gung-ho into it, too. Very much loving the clawwing and the bleed and watching the people I slashed across the face die even after I was dead. I tasted a warlock's glory, for sure.
So, how did I turn from the carnage and satisfaction of a feral kitty to the...sedate...life of a tree? If you could call it sedate. I wouldn't really, due to our mobile healing.
Well, it started with a simple goal of mine. That goal? A ram mount.
I had created my ickle Night Elf before they'd streamlined the rep gains for city factions, and she was my first character on my WoW account. This meant I did not know what I was doing at all. But when I saw those gorgeous rams, I knew I had to have one. Ironforge rep...was a dream for a while, but that dissolved. When I saw the Black War Rams, however...I was hooked.
And so, at level 60, I pvped. And PvPed. And pVped. And I began to notice something...
Why was no one healing?
I mean, I was in feral form and we didn't have the nice popping-out of forms we received in 2.3. So me healing was out unless I wanted to give some wimpy ones and kill my dps. And I really, really wanted that ram. So, I bit my lip and respec'd tree.
It was tough at first, but I slowly realized I loved it. I loved keeping people alive so they could kick ass, I loved the fact that I was generally the last to be targetted. I liked learning new places to hide so the enemy couldn't see me and would be so utterly confused as to why they weren't killing my comrades.
I loved being needed in instances, getting the heal gear and just being so useful. It complimented my patience and my easy-going manner so that even the PvE grind to 70 wasn't hellish. I was slower than the guild ferals and balance boomers, but so what? I was having fun.
Now I'm 70 and the No I In Alliancedruid class officer. This blog was create to supply my ickle druids with information and because I like the neat WoWhead links (it's like a new toy). It's going to be mostly restoration focused, as that's what I know (and what a large part of our druids are) but I'm definitely going to add other spec information in here. I'll also add little fun randomness like my Care Bear post.
So, if you're here, enjoy. If you're not from No I In Alliance, thanks for stopping by. And if you're not and on Dark Iron (US) and want to join a guild that's casual and fun, we're recruiting! Especially priests, but everyone is great. But you know...priest shackle...Kara...
Well, enjoy the blog!
♥
I'm Bellwether. Or I play her. Sometimes I can't distinguish the difference, but it should suffice to say that Bellwether is a restoration druid. She's been through the wringer, that one. Started out with aspirations of Balance and moonkin dancing until realizing kitty form was being used more than wrath. A quick shift in the talent points and I was a pre-Burning Crusade rawr druid, who made a few mistakes along the way (like Improved MotW instead of Mangle...). I was all gung-ho into it, too. Very much loving the clawwing and the bleed and watching the people I slashed across the face die even after I was dead. I tasted a warlock's glory, for sure.
So, how did I turn from the carnage and satisfaction of a feral kitty to the...sedate...life of a tree? If you could call it sedate. I wouldn't really, due to our mobile healing.
Well, it started with a simple goal of mine. That goal? A ram mount.
I had created my ickle Night Elf before they'd streamlined the rep gains for city factions, and she was my first character on my WoW account. This meant I did not know what I was doing at all. But when I saw those gorgeous rams, I knew I had to have one. Ironforge rep...was a dream for a while, but that dissolved. When I saw the Black War Rams, however...I was hooked.
And so, at level 60, I pvped. And PvPed. And pVped. And I began to notice something...
Why was no one healing?
I mean, I was in feral form and we didn't have the nice popping-out of forms we received in 2.3. So me healing was out unless I wanted to give some wimpy ones and kill my dps. And I really, really wanted that ram. So, I bit my lip and respec'd tree.
It was tough at first, but I slowly realized I loved it. I loved keeping people alive so they could kick ass, I loved the fact that I was generally the last to be targetted. I liked learning new places to hide so the enemy couldn't see me and would be so utterly confused as to why they weren't killing my comrades.
I loved being needed in instances, getting the heal gear and just being so useful. It complimented my patience and my easy-going manner so that even the PvE grind to 70 wasn't hellish. I was slower than the guild ferals and balance boomers, but so what? I was having fun.
Now I'm 70 and the No I In Alliance
So, if you're here, enjoy. If you're not from No I In Alliance
Well, enjoy the blog!
♥
Thursday, December 13, 2007
What's So Wrong About World PvP?
A lot of people complain about world PvP. The profanity filter fills chat with interesting @#!$%'s and ^&*!'s when someone’s come out on the losing end of an attack, and I hear the dreadful moans of people when new zones like Zul'Aman open up or events like the Headless Horseman take us deep into Horde territory. There we know they'll be lying in wait, ready to chain-fear-stun-MS-DoT-PoM-Pyro us into oblivion. The odds are heavily against us in such situations, and, yet...
I love it.
Perhaps it's just in my nature to enjoy this clash of uneven proportions. When you go into an instance, you have some idea of what you're facing. You look up the dungeon, you know in general you need a tank and a healer and some dps and cc. You're going to pull some trash, the boss is going to have tricks up his sleeve. Fun, but it can become routine. Everyone knows to interrupt Dalliah’s heals right after she spins; it’s like clockwork. PvP, however, is a surprise. Unless you've memorized every armor graphic in all its colors and uses you can't always tell what you're up against. Is that priest a soon-to-be splatter of holy sparkles or are they going to suddenly turn purple and melt your face? Is this paladin going to be largely ineffectual yet take an hour to burn down or are you going to be hurting from super-buffed holy shocks? ...Is that a rogue in the bushes?
It's not always fair. You can be the ganker or the ganked. You can be in the middle of an epic battle and be sniped from a distance, utterly mutilating your storybook ending. But amazing things can happen as well. You can come across a rare elite, gather some guildies, and find that some Horde are now trying to take it down. You take them out and proceed to go about procuring the elite's pretty blue drop. And then the horde come back and assault your healer in the middle of the battle, and, amazingly, you kill them, all while your tank keeps aggro on the elite and you down that sucker for some nice boots. It's that kind of event that makes you love PvP servers.
Skeletons strewn all over the floor of Scarlet Monastary, outside of Karazhan and piled high on the Arena Vendor give testament to the blood thirst. Uneasy truces outside of the Coilfang instances end when some Hunter looses a single bullet and then no one is summoning, not until one side shows its dominance (generally whichever side has an SSC raid going that day). You learn who to avoid when you’re out by yourself. These are the same people you desperately want to introduce to the dirt someday and also have that tentative Sun Tzu-style respect for at the same time. In a way, you get to know players of the faction much better. I’ve learned the names of several Horde who were content to let me level on my own, even helping me or allowing me to help them. At the same time, I know who not to be caught in the same zone with, and who will spit on my corpse and do a little dance.
It spices up gameplay. How often have you killed that same group of clefthoof bulls? Odds are, more times than you care to remember or that even the most diligent psychoanalyst could dredge up from that wall of mental repression. Now, how often have you killed them while looking over your shoulder for that level 70 feral druid who desperately wants both the bulls and you dead so that he can complete his clefthoof set? It paints a slightly more frantic picture in your mind of quest completion and dodging the reaper. It also prevents the situation in which you need to report the unflagged prancing elf for ganking your quest objects after you unwittingly pulled the mobs away for him time and time again. Upset? Want some retribution? Smack him in the face with your hammer and grab your quest item. Problem solved.
If you have some aversion to dying or "wasting time" I could see how PvP could be annoying. If you don't like the uncertainty of winning or losing, PvP can be a hassle. And yes, ganking generally sucks, as does the fact that Horde primarily control elemental plateau when all you want are the mats for +81 healing to your shiny new mace. But the thrill of the come-from-behind win, the killing blow on the rogue who thought it would be easy to stab you from behind, or making three Horde chase you for over a minute away from the front of Kara all the way past the Vice and almost to the bridge, travel-forming, healing and abolishing poisons the whole way so your guildies can rez and summon your raid to thoroughly slam your pursuers’ faces once they return completely, in my mind, makes up for any bad experience to be found at Nessingwary's.
I love it.
Perhaps it's just in my nature to enjoy this clash of uneven proportions. When you go into an instance, you have some idea of what you're facing. You look up the dungeon, you know in general you need a tank and a healer and some dps and cc. You're going to pull some trash, the boss is going to have tricks up his sleeve. Fun, but it can become routine. Everyone knows to interrupt Dalliah’s heals right after she spins; it’s like clockwork. PvP, however, is a surprise. Unless you've memorized every armor graphic in all its colors and uses you can't always tell what you're up against. Is that priest a soon-to-be splatter of holy sparkles or are they going to suddenly turn purple and melt your face? Is this paladin going to be largely ineffectual yet take an hour to burn down or are you going to be hurting from super-buffed holy shocks? ...Is that a rogue in the bushes?
It's not always fair. You can be the ganker or the ganked. You can be in the middle of an epic battle and be sniped from a distance, utterly mutilating your storybook ending. But amazing things can happen as well. You can come across a rare elite, gather some guildies, and find that some Horde are now trying to take it down. You take them out and proceed to go about procuring the elite's pretty blue drop. And then the horde come back and assault your healer in the middle of the battle, and, amazingly, you kill them, all while your tank keeps aggro on the elite and you down that sucker for some nice boots. It's that kind of event that makes you love PvP servers.
Skeletons strewn all over the floor of Scarlet Monastary, outside of Karazhan and piled high on the Arena Vendor give testament to the blood thirst. Uneasy truces outside of the Coilfang instances end when some Hunter looses a single bullet and then no one is summoning, not until one side shows its dominance (generally whichever side has an SSC raid going that day). You learn who to avoid when you’re out by yourself. These are the same people you desperately want to introduce to the dirt someday and also have that tentative Sun Tzu-style respect for at the same time. In a way, you get to know players of the faction much better. I’ve learned the names of several Horde who were content to let me level on my own, even helping me or allowing me to help them. At the same time, I know who not to be caught in the same zone with, and who will spit on my corpse and do a little dance.
It spices up gameplay. How often have you killed that same group of clefthoof bulls? Odds are, more times than you care to remember or that even the most diligent psychoanalyst could dredge up from that wall of mental repression. Now, how often have you killed them while looking over your shoulder for that level 70 feral druid who desperately wants both the bulls and you dead so that he can complete his clefthoof set? It paints a slightly more frantic picture in your mind of quest completion and dodging the reaper. It also prevents the situation in which you need to report the unflagged prancing elf for ganking your quest objects after you unwittingly pulled the mobs away for him time and time again. Upset? Want some retribution? Smack him in the face with your hammer and grab your quest item. Problem solved.
If you have some aversion to dying or "wasting time" I could see how PvP could be annoying. If you don't like the uncertainty of winning or losing, PvP can be a hassle. And yes, ganking generally sucks, as does the fact that Horde primarily control elemental plateau when all you want are the mats for +81 healing to your shiny new mace. But the thrill of the come-from-behind win, the killing blow on the rogue who thought it would be easy to stab you from behind, or making three Horde chase you for over a minute away from the front of Kara all the way past the Vice and almost to the bridge, travel-forming, healing and abolishing poisons the whole way so your guildies can rez and summon your raid to thoroughly slam your pursuers’ faces once they return completely, in my mind, makes up for any bad experience to be found at Nessingwary's.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Restoration Level 70 Loot List (part 2)
Please note: previously listed instances drop their same loot in heroics with a few exceptions. To see what they drop, please check part one. I will mark them with an * so it is easy to tell which ones these are.
Heroics
Ramparts
Watchkeeper Gargolmar
Cloak of the Everliving
Omor the Unscarred
Faol's Signet of Cleansing
Reinforced Fel Iron Chest
Raiments of Nature's Breath
Jewels
Iridescent Fire Opal
Blood Furnace
Broggok
Signet of Repose
Kel'idan the Breaker
Robe of Effervescent Light
Shattered Halls*
Jewels
Luminous Fire Opal
Slave Pens
Quagmirran
Earthsoul Britches
Swamplight Lantern
Jewels
Royal Tanzanite
Underbog
Swamplord Musel'ek
Crown of the Forest Lord
Swampstone Necklace
The Black Stalker
Ring of Fabled Hope
Steam Vaults*
Warlord Kalithresh
Pontifex Kilt
Mana Tombs
Yor
Band of the Crystalline Void
Nexus-Prince Shaffar
Lucid Dream Bracers
Warp Scarab Brooch
Auchenai Crypts
Shirrak the Dead Watcher
Scintillating Headdress of Second Sight
Exarch Maladaar
Light-Touched Stole of Altruism
Sethekk Halls*
Talong King Ikiss
Bands of the Benevolent
Jewels
Blessed Tanzanite
Shadow Labs*
Murmur
Shockwave Truncheon
Mechanar*
Panthaleon the Calculator
Boots of the Pious
Botanica*
Jewels
Imperial Tanzanite
Arcatraz*
Jewels
Durable Fire Opal
Durnholde Keep
Lieutenant Drake
Lordaeron Medical Guide
Captain Skarloc
Dathrohan's Ceremonial Hammer
Pontiff's Pantaloons of Prophecy
Epoch Hunter
Cord of Sanctification
Necklace of Resplendent Hope
Dark Portal/Black Morass*
Nothing new (aka: not worth doing on heroic just for your own gear)
Heroics
Ramparts
Watchkeeper Gargolmar
Cloak of the Everliving
Omor the Unscarred
Faol's Signet of Cleansing
Reinforced Fel Iron Chest
Raiments of Nature's Breath
Jewels
Iridescent Fire Opal
Blood Furnace
Broggok
Signet of Repose
Kel'idan the Breaker
Robe of Effervescent Light
Shattered Halls*
Jewels
Luminous Fire Opal
Slave Pens
Quagmirran
Earthsoul Britches
Swamplight Lantern
Jewels
Royal Tanzanite
Underbog
Swamplord Musel'ek
Crown of the Forest Lord
Swampstone Necklace
The Black Stalker
Ring of Fabled Hope
Steam Vaults*
Warlord Kalithresh
Pontifex Kilt
Mana Tombs
Yor
Band of the Crystalline Void
Nexus-Prince Shaffar
Lucid Dream Bracers
Warp Scarab Brooch
Auchenai Crypts
Shirrak the Dead Watcher
Scintillating Headdress of Second Sight
Exarch Maladaar
Light-Touched Stole of Altruism
Sethekk Halls*
Talong King Ikiss
Bands of the Benevolent
Jewels
Blessed Tanzanite
Shadow Labs*
Murmur
Shockwave Truncheon
Mechanar*
Panthaleon the Calculator
Boots of the Pious
Botanica*
Jewels
Imperial Tanzanite
Arcatraz*
Jewels
Durable Fire Opal
Durnholde Keep
Lieutenant Drake
Lordaeron Medical Guide
Captain Skarloc
Dathrohan's Ceremonial Hammer
Pontiff's Pantaloons of Prophecy
Epoch Hunter
Cord of Sanctification
Necklace of Resplendent Hope
Dark Portal/Black Morass*
Nothing new (aka: not worth doing on heroic just for your own gear)
Sunday, December 9, 2007
For the Heal Chest
To get the Lifewarden's Breastplate, there is a series of quests you need to complete, ending in an elite who you will need a small group to complete.
The chain:
The Archmage's Staff is a quest in Netherstorm which you receive from Ravandwyr in Area 52. You will have to complete this quest, the next step (Rebuilding the Staff) and then the third step (Curse of the Violet Tower) to gain access to the actual chain which ends in the breastplate.
This quest is called Malevolent Remnants, is from the npc Custodian Dieworth, and is six steps long. The last quest is called Destroy Naberius and, after you kill him, you are rewarded with your leather healing chestpiece. Congratulations!
The chain:
The Archmage's Staff is a quest in Netherstorm which you receive from Ravandwyr in Area 52. You will have to complete this quest, the next step (Rebuilding the Staff) and then the third step (Curse of the Violet Tower) to gain access to the actual chain which ends in the breastplate.
This quest is called Malevolent Remnants, is from the npc Custodian Dieworth, and is six steps long. The last quest is called Destroy Naberius and, after you kill him, you are rewarded with your leather healing chestpiece. Congratulations!
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