Maybe It Doesn't Need Saving

I just recently read the article entitled Ulduar can't save World of Warcraft's end-game at Examiner.com. Continuously, these types of articles irk me. Not out-right irritate, for honestly it's not worth the energy when I have so little to spare at the moment, but rather for the complete devotion to the writer's own opinion as signifying a trend.

"You’ve already done this hundreds of times before." The author seems to be complaining that WoW is still the same game. Literally, he says in the post that it doesn't matter what content was in the patch, because in the end, "it’s still the same game." I can't say for sure, but I'm certain if it added in a pinball machine and a guitar controller, the author would gripe it was trying to be something it's not.

A big point seems to be that end-game is flawed. Yet the only depth he goes into about these flaws is that it is a grind. Oh, and despite the four different ways to play Ulduar, mixing ten-man, 25-man, normal mode and hard mode, Ulduar is only for the HARDCORE. Funny, 'cause my Paladin in blues and a few purples managed to make a nice showing in a ten-man normal Ulduar last night.

My real problem with this post is that, besides taking his own opinion (one he says, however, that only three people hold while the rest of us are rabid wow fanboiz and gurlz ready to sacrifice our first born to the gods of Blizzard) as superior, he uses it to create "news," i.e. that Ulduar has somehow caused WoW to fail, and then doesn't talk about it. Eventually, the post seems to boil down to "this is so boring, why haven't you quit yet? Oh wait, you're addicted. Losers."

Still, he goes on to saying things like dual spec and no longer being dismounted in water are obvious leads into an eventual auto-pilot mode, where we won't have to play our characters anymore. This is the same guy who wrote briefly about the plight of healers and tanks being forced into positions they don't wish to be in in an earlier article.

I have no problem with his opinion, except that he waves it around like a club and talks about whatever it happens to smash into with some relevance. Posts like this are about on equivalent ground with those that highlight isolated cases of shut-ins who kill themselves power-levelling and use them to make broad generalizations about the WoW population in general. As well, the author's hostile approach to talking to his audience is just ridiculous.

I suppose the point of my own post is that I am really tired of seeing people write openly hostile posts about WoW and then invalidate rebuttal by saying those who disagree are of the "zombified population" a.k.a. "sheeple," making those who agree with him the privileged few. I can't disagree without being in a position that has already been compromised. It's actually almost sad that this sort of thing is put out by an author who is paid to write about video games. I suppose, though, "sensational" headlines (ZOMG ULDUAR KILLIN MAH WOW WUT) get more page views. I sent you there, didn't I?

Obligatory Noblegarden Post Here

The holiday is here, there's no denying it. And, well, since I completed it on Bellwether the first day, and have almost completed it on two other characters, I believe I know a little about it. If you haven't started or are just getting started, here are some tips for you.

First off, understand that no egg belongs to you. Whether you're spawn camping or circuit running, nothing has your name on it. Coming to terms with this will make the holiday less stressful overall. You still have a week, so there's no point in becoming completely freaked out the first few days.

A handy tip for people missing their female orc: If you know a female human with the Orb of Deception, putting bunny ears on them while they're in disguise counts. Seriously.

If you're going to Un'Goro and you're on a PvP server, take friends. I'm not telling you whether to gank or not, that's your personal preference, but having the muscle to take out any would-be gankers is always preferred.

When you're not being smiled upon by the RNG gods and are having a low drop of special items, collect enough chocolates to buy everything you need before you go purchase. This will help keep your blood pressure down, so there are less chances of buying something, then having it drop.

If you're hated by the goblins, but are going Desolace - Silithus - Tanaris - Thousand Needles - Badlands, remember that the flight path outside of Gadgetzan is controlled by a non-goblin, so as long as you kill the few guards around it, you are still able to fly out of there and up to Theramore to take the boat.

Remember to relax and have some fun with it. It lasts a week, there are no pure RNG achievements, and all it will take is a little time.

A Second-Chance Evaluation

On Tuesday, our talent points were refunded again. This meant I had two characters with dual specs to point up. Bellbell was easy; I'm still trying out healing on her, so she went Retribution and Holy. Bellwether, I talented her first spec PvE resto and then...

Left the second slot blank.

When 3.1 came out, I was all excited to try out feral tanking on Bellwether. I had a full, though somewhat shoddy, feral tanking set. However, having not played feral but three short times in two years, I wasn't feeling keen on pugging a group as a tank. I didn't feel confident, and, as odds would have it, the majority of my friends are tanks and dps. They never need me to be anything but a healer. And everyone else is always in Ulduar.

As well, I am now focusing a lot on Bellbell and trying to get her decent gear so she can pump out some decent DPS. She's hit capped, a somewhat easy feat for Draenei with a hit racial, but her crit, ap and expertise leave something to be desired. Getting groups as a DPS is very painful, and often times the experience is so awful I'm beginning to suspect that my successes pugging on Bellwether were largely due to my own knowledge of my class.

So now I have an empty talent slot and few ideas what to do with it. A possibility is Boomkin, as it is always fun to typhoon people off of things and have a tree mafia. However...I am always irked by weak heals when I am on my Druid. Completely bothered by it. So, if I do dual-spec Resto, there are a few options...

• Use my second spec as a different healing spec. One will be a raid focus, one will be a tank focus. Odds are there will be only variable output, but have slightly different styles and focuses. However, as I am not in a serious raiding guild, the likelihood that I need something so micro-managing is minimum to none.
• Dreamstate! Decent damage dealing, decent healing, impressive mana regeneration, and I'm still a healer! It would be nice to finally try out the (in)famous Dreamstate spec and see what it has to offer.
• Spec for PvP Restoration. Though I don't have an active arena team and PvP is a rather scary place of burst damage right now, I've been wanting to get back in. I've been considering an experimental double healer team ("considering" meaning it was proposed to me last night and sounds hilarious) and so PvP may be the way to go.

Now, I'm not giving up on the other aspects of Druiding. I still have the oft-neglected Feralicious who will continue being Feral forever. I have spec'd Moonkin for an achievement (Less-Rabi) and I do enjoy other aspects of being a Druid. But Resto is definitely my choice, always.

My Brute

Well, I'm on leave back in the states, having all sorts of fun with the fiance, but I thought I'd share what I do in my spare time at work (seeing as most sites are blocked from the Navys browsable internet content anyway):

My Brute

It's fun! And you clicking that link and making a brute serves a dual purpose by making my brute stronger....STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD! BWAHAHA!


....ahem.

-Sannhet

P.S. You should go to mine instead (Bellwether and Bellbellz). Sann only put this out because Bellwether's pupils kicked his brute's ass (but Sann still roflstomped Bells brute when she tried to stab him in the back).

P.P.S. Bell went so far as to REMOVE me from the blog for this transgression. FIGHT THE POWA!

Is Swiftmend Still Number One?

Today as I was finally finishing updating my Major Glyphs for Restoration Druids guide to include all the new glyphs from 3.1, I reread a few of their descriptions (checking for errors). I came finally to Glyph of Swiftmend, and this is what I had to say:

If you have Swiftmend, you should have this glyph. No arguments; it’s just that good. I’m not kidding. It gives you a heal that works just like Swiftmend, without the need to reapply a HoT. It saves you mana and increases your healing done. There is no reason not to get this glyph.

However...is that still the case?

With 3.1 we saw the mana regen nerf to innervate that almost necessitates it being glyphed to squeeze just a little more effectiveness out of it. Two new glyphs entered the scene: Nourish and Wild Growth. Though one is more a tank healer glyph and the other a raid healer glyph, both are extremely valuable. As well, Swiftmend has more and more become a situational spell, especially with its cooldown and the high amounts of haste in the game making Nourish an extremely quick cast. However, not having to refresh a HoT on the target you cast Swiftmend on may also be extremely valuable in this brave, new, less-mana-rific world.

I have not yet changed the glyphs on Bellwether, largely due to not needing to (as I do not have a guild, I have not entered Ulduar and have not needed to max out my efficiency), and also largely due to this debate over what glyphs are appropriate anymore. While Swiftmend used to be king, I think it's actually been rendered level by the many other options available to us. Rather than being "number one," it's simply "another good choice."

Which, to me, is not a bad thing. Variety keeps things from being dull, and allows for a greater range of playstyle. Hopefully it will not paralyze people with choices, and simply allow for more exploration of their own playstyle (i.e. how often do I need/use Swiftmend).

Though I haven't set up my glyphs yet, I am curious - what is your set up? Why did you choose those glyphs?

Druid vs. Paladin Healing, A Noob's View

This post will include talk about Bellbell, but will not be in her voice. Sorry, fans!

So, this weekend, I tried healing on my Paladin for the first time. Her gear, though not the best, has been sufficient for normal 80 instances (all that she has been healing since she dinged; did I mention she's 80 now?). Obviously, I have two more years of experience on healing with a Druid than I do with a Paladin, as before this level, Bellbell only threw out emergency heals until her tiny mana pool ran out. So needless to say, this has been an entirely new experience.

The first thing I noticed was that I could no longer jump around while healing. I was intensely stationary. Any loss of mobility has never been a problem for a druid (barring Judgement of Justice), and to suddenly be glued to the ground caused me some irritation. Yet, it was not an overwhelming problem; I still had Holy Shock should I need a quick, small heal while I was in transit, or Lay on Hands in an emergency. Sacred Shield, though not really a heal, is also instant cast and can ease the burden of mobility issues.

The next difference was the cast timer. Rather than the bulk of my heals being instant, I had to deal with cast times. This, I will not lie, stressed me out. It didn't matter how short the cast was, I was completely tense while I waited for the cast to come off. Why? Well, with a Druid, while your cast-time spells are going off, generally there are HoTs ticking on your target. You're still healing while you're casting. On a Paladin, no such luck. And though I am attempting to pre-cast my heals, the lack of practice makes me only correct about a fourth of the time.

Finally...no AoE. This has been a major adjustment. Though Beacon of Light takes some of the pressure off of tank healing during those times when everyone is taking damage, the lack of an instant (or even cast-time) AoE heal just plain hurts. Due to my current gear situation, it obviously hurts a little more than others with better stats, but, still. Ouch.

Paladin healing is by no means bad, nor do I dislike it. It has simply been a major adjustment, especially as I raised Bellbell since level 10 to be Retribution (I was Ret before Ret was cool). She is slowly gaining gear, and being able to try out a different perspective in healing has been very informative. It may just be the two years of experience talking, but, I still love Druid healing most of all.

3.1 Glitch Fun

Some things funny, some things disturbing, and many frustrating, but they're there. And did we really expect anything different? With new content patches with so many tweaks, it's pretty much guaranteed our servers and characters will be in turmoil for quite some time. So what's happened for me in this brave, new world? Well, besides instance freezing and crashes, there have been...

• Lifebloom fun! Though hotfixed now, if you clicked off Lifebloom, you were able to gain the heal and the mana bonus, without dispell or the timer ticking down. This is no longer the case, but it was certainly interesting while it lasted.
• Bellwether, for a time, was able to spec 72 talent points. I am, obviously, the uber Resto at a hidden level 81.
• My innervate glyph no longer seems to be functioning, though that may be an isolated problem with my character.
• Two of Bellbell's quests refuse to give her credit for kills or drop their items. These are The Purging of Scourgeholme and The Scourgestone. Both were partially complete before the patch came out, and now I am not getting any credit. The GM's, swamped as they are, were so very (not) helpful by sending me an e-mail suggesting I could be in a raid group. Seeing as how Bellbell is not 80 and her last raid was Onyxia, pre-server reset, and after leaving those two quests I was able to complete others without trying to leave a non-existant group, I am a little irritated by this explanation.
• Unable to see any standing Consecration animation.
• Interesting visual glitches! Take a look at what is hanging over Moroes's head, and what color those prissy Blood Elves are trying to turn the lava on the way to Molten Core.
  

What have you noticed?