Progress Report

• Exelus to 75: check.
• Culling of Stratholme: check (kinda, barely hit anything).
• Collecting caster gear for Resto dual-spec: check.
  
• Haelus to 72: check.
• Broke after the Flying Carpet: check.
• Codus to 64: check.
• Mining to 300+ on the DK: check.
• Doing my part to "stimulate the economy" by ordering an early holiday present: check.
  
• Another lame excuse for a post: checkity-check.
  

Shamantic Briefs

• Ambassador Exelus to 72: check.
• Haelus to 71: check.
• Utgarde Keep: check x6.
• Azjol Nerub: check.
• Ahn Kahet: check.
• The Nexus: check.
• Healer shortage still in effect: check.
• Too busy in-RL and in-game to write a real post: check.
• Too many checks: check.
  

Weekend of the Lich King

With a cleared schedule, I took a wowcation and played an unhealthy amount a great deal of WoW over the weekend. :) A brief breakdown and first impressions:

Death Knight
Wanting to get the blue rested XP ticking right away, the first thing I did was roll a Death Knight. Of course everyone else had the same idea, but thanks to the new "phased" instance-like starting zone, the mob/quest ganking was kept to a minimum. I managed to plow through all the starting quests until arriving in Stormwind at level 58 (ready for Outland!).

Later in the weekend, I took him into Hellfire and started on quests, and even managed a four-DK run of Ramparts with some guildies. I think I left him around level 60. So far he feels rather overpowered for the content, but I expect that to even-out closer to 80. The jury is still out on whether or not he will become my tank, however. He's currently Unholy spec but that may change (Blood/Frost maybe?) - I don't really like the Ghoul pet. Kinda creepy.

Starting Zones
Figuring I should see what this "Northrend" business was all about, I took Exelus north into the Borean Tundra and encountered all sorts of lag, mob/quest ganking, and a fairly meh first impression of the zone. It wasn't until I took Haelus into Howling Fjord that I had that feeling of, "oooh aahh."

The quest quality seems fairly similar between the two, but the atmosphere is distinctly different. The Fjord is like landing in Scandinavia, whereas the Tundra is more reminiscent of... Siberia?

Ding 71 (twice!)
I got Exelus to 71.5 via questing and a single run though Utgarde Keep, but have already run UK with Haelus five times or so (LF1M healz pls!) and have reached one bubble into 71. So the plan of leveling one via questing and another via instancing seems to be working out fairly well. However, with the promise of dual-spec'ing on the horizon, I'm a bit torn: Ex would be able to DPS or heal as needed... maybe I should just work on him exclusively for the time being?

Ciribrus the druid is, for the moment, semi-retired in Shattrath. He was closest to 70 when the guild needed another healer so it was natural for him to go Resto, but am not sure what role he will fill (if any?) going forward. Maybe tank if the DK doesn't feel right?

Utgarde Keep
The "first" instance in Lich King is awesome, and tons of fun. It seems to be tuned just right: a healthy challenge for new-ish 70s yet still not a complete cakewalk for Kara-geared 70s. The boss encounters are reminiscint of Kara too: the first boss is a caster that likes to freeze people (a la Illhoof's Demon Chains) and the second is a Romeo/Juliet-like encounter where both need to be burned down at the same time. The final boss is a tank/spank with the exception of some nasty tricks: resurrects with a big AoE, a melee smash effect (tank and melee should run 10 yards), and a spell school lockout if you happen to be casting during his roar (instants seem to be fine though?). All in all really fun, look forward to coming back in heroic mode!

Goals for the coming days: get Exelus to 73 or so, take peek into Nexus... sell over-inflated Frostweave and Cobalt ore for profit!

Haelus 3.0

Many moons ago (1.5 years), on a far-away land (PvP server), Haelus was born to the world (of Warcraft) as Exemel (yes, pronounced XML). This is what I will refer to as Haelus 1.0, who was conceived to be a healer in a triumvirate (avoiding the word: threesome) of intrepid adventurers (RL buddies). Over time, the fellowship scattered and Hael pondered his next move (WTB server transfer?) and settled into a period of deep meditation (several months of rested XP).

During this time of deep self-reflection (working on a Shaman main), Haelus' thoughts slowly drifted towards the darker side (emo dwarf), drawn by promises of unlimited power (face melting!). So when he finally arose from his sabbitcal (server transfer), he fully embraced the Shadow (respec), found a new band of adventurers (Chivalry) and temporarily took on the name Ordus (paid name change). This was to be the era of Haelus 2.0, a period filled with death and destruction (moar dots) as he rampaged across Azeroth, sealing the fate of those (mobs) who would seek to impede his progress and exploration (questing).

One day (last week-ish?), Haelus (2nd paid name change) stumbled upon the Dark Portal and discovered a new world of wonder beyond (Outland). As he began to explore this new land (ugh, Hellfire gives me vertigo), a change began to take hold in Haelus, as he realized that the powers of Light had grown within him (patch 3.02) and that his gifts (spells and talents) could be used to not only smite (Holy Fire and uh... Smite) down his opponents in battle, but also to (gasp) heal! In fact, these abilities were so sought after that those all across the land (trade chat) began to send word (/whisper) that his powers of salvation ("u healz rite?") and prayer ("buff fort!") were desprately needed ("plz!").

So began the era of Haelus 3.0 (Disc/Holy respec), where even his physical appearance began to morph as he gravitated towards the Light (Shave and a Haircut). To his suprise, he found that even in personal combat, mixing the powers of Light and Shadow (DPS rotation: Holy Fire, Devouring Plague, SW:P, Smite x2, wand) was highly effective (lol pwn u) and his enemies (mobs) fell rapidly, maybe more rapidly than before (woot insta-Smites) with great efficiency (can't let go of Spirit Tap). And when confronted with large groups of enemies, he could blast the powers of Light to simultaneously heal friends and harm foe (Holy Nova FTW).

His story continues to be written, as rumors of trouble in northern Azeroth (zomg expansion) begin to fill the minds of adventurers (must hit 70 before Nov 13th!).

To be continued...

3.02 First Impressions: Druid & Priest

The last post focused on my main, an Enhancement Shaman. This time, some initial impressions of Patch 3.02 from my alts points of view: a Resto Druid and Shadow Priest.

Resto Druid
After a bit of agony that Insect Swarm is no longer reachable for Trees at level 70, I still took 11 points in Balance to get Nature's Splendor. As the tool tip states, it increases the duration of some over-time spells, most notably Lifebloom. (More on this later.) The rest went into Restoration, skipping the Healing Touch talents (which I may go back for later, since HT is now castable in Tree and I got a handy glyph that converts it to a nice Flash Heal-type spell).

I had a chance to test out the new build during an Onyxia run last night, which we easily 7-manned for fun and profit (and achievement). Our Paladin tank is rather uber, so he wasn't taking a ton of damage anyway, but I was able to keep him at full health rolling Lifebloom and Rejuvination exclusively.

Now getting back to Nature's Splendor: the 2 second increase combined with a few points in Gift of the Earthmother made it noticeably easier to roll HoTs on the tank and spot-heal the raid. (Before, it always seemed like I was under-the-gun, barely able to squeeze raid heals just before LB was about to bloom.) Of course, the real test will come later if I get to run Kara or ZA with this build, so TBD.

On the DPS front (sum treez are 4 fite?), my former DPS gear set is now looking like vendor fodder. Unbuffed, I'm just below 1k spell power, not too shabby. I'll have to run a daily or two on the isle to see what kind of numbers come back, but I have a feeling Resto DPS is not as awful as it used to be.

So the big news (besides finally getting a real rez zomg!), is the Night Elf racial Shadowmeld - which acts as a temporary aggro dump as long as you don't move and wait long enough for someone else (hopefully the tank) to grab your newfound friend's attention. Let me repeat teh awesomeness of this: NE Resto Druids now get a free racial Fade! Woot! No more Barkskin + pray or relying on a weaksauce trinket + "/y halpmeh!" macro.

I know some have complained about the normalization of tanking and healing specs, but I say phooey. Normalization just means more inclusion when determining party/raid line-ups. We should all be seeing more instances while playing the class/specs that we like, and this is absolutely a good thing. GG Blizz.

Shadow Priest
While the overall fate of my Spriest is still in question, as I admitted in guild chat last night, I may be only leveling him for the flying carpet. Heh. (Dinged 325 tailoring last night, and he's only 57.) Anyway, first impressions:

Mana efficiency is up, which is great. I used to end up with half mana after a mob fight (even though it recovered quickly with Spirit Tap) - and now, if I'm around 75% mana after a single mob pull. Not bad. This is probably partially due to the fact that...

Mind Flay has a new graphic! ...no wait, I meant to say: Mind Flay can now crit!

The previous yawn that was Mind Flay spam is now more like playing slots: "c'mon crit baby, crit!" Haelus is my third ranking toon, so I don't spend a lot of time trolling Elitist Jerk's Shadow Priest forums, but it'll be interesting to see if crit becomes more of a thing for us to aspire to. Methinks yes.

Also Mind Flay now refreshing Shadow Word: Pain is awesome. I only have 2/3 talent points in Pain and Suffering so far, but 66% high enough to keep the DoT ticking, as it "rolls" on each Mind Flay tick.

I have yet to try out any Holy stuff... maybe in a few levels when he reaches Outland. :) I wonder if Holy DPS has been improved? Hmm...

Dual Spec Hybrids: The End of Raiding Alts?

It's rather obvious that I favor hybrid classes - there's a utility to them (even when performing offspec roles) that makes them very compelling for me to play... and I think most who play Shaman/Druids/Paladins/etc. would agree that flexibility is a key to what makes these classes fun.

For TBC, I ended up with two raid-capable toons: an Enhancement Shaman (melee DPS) and Restoration Druid (healz). With LK incoming, I've been working on a Priest to take over healing duty at the next endgame.

However... it just occured to me that this third toon may be totally unnecessary? It largely depends on how dual-spec'ing will be implemented, but news from Blizzcon is that players will be able to swap specs even during the middle of a raid... lolwut?!

Pure DPS'ers (Rogues, Mages, Locks, Hunters) would of course still need alts if they wanted to tank/heal - but for hybrid players like me, Tanking/DPS/Healing may largely become an issue of gearing and L2play over having distinct characters to individually level-up to fill specific roles. (Also unified spell power makes things somewhat easier in the gear dept. too, at least for casual raiders.)

Hmm. I suppose if you want a PvP/Arena spec and a PvE spec you'd still need alts to fill other roles, but personally I tend to lean PvE anyway - so I'm more likely to use dual specs to fill two distinct PvE roles (DPS or heals for example). This provides more flexibility for what the guild needs on any given run...

Anyone want a level 57 Priest? :) Haz 298 Tailoring!

Lookin' Ahead: Toons

With Wrath and the 3.x patch looming on the horizon, I've been doing some pre-planning for my characters:

Exelus
will stay Enhancement for leveling in Wrath. For some possibly RP-related reason, I just can't see him as anything other than a two-fisted bringer of teh pain. Since's he's melee DPS with limited CC, he'll likely be solo'ing his way to 80. I'd like to get him raid-ready ASAP (to be followed by Ciribrus) so that I have both melee and ranged DPS available to the guild.

Ciribrus
has been collecting DPS caster gear in anticipation of specc'ing back to Doomchicken for leveling. Beta testers are saying that healing 5-mans with a caster offspec is still viable, so am looking forward to LFG'ing either as DPS or heals.

Haelus
is working his way to 60-ish, hopefully to catch the wave of leveling Death Knights and other alts working their way through Outland. A respec to Holy/Disc is likely at that point, but have another 10 levels or so to go yet. While I don't anticipate focusing on him initially, I'm trying to maneuver him into a position to be able to raid heal if the guild ends up light on healers.

Unnamed
the Death Knight has yet to be "born," but am hoping to roll one as my tank alt (along with everyone else and their brother!). While I have a 40's Paladin and an even younger Warrior in the wings, starting at level 55 has it's obvious advantages. As with Haelus, Unnamed will likely not be my main focus until some sort of raiding routine has been established, but we'll see.


So whether or not I stick to this general plan, am mostly just posting this for posterity - might be fun to look back on this 6 months from now to see how things panned out. :)

Ofc, I might be playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure instead, y'never know...

Pre-Wrath Update

Well shiver me timbers, if it ain't National Talk Like A Pirate Day! First, my favorite knock knock joke of all time:

knock knock
who's there
impatient pirate
impa...
aaarrrrrr!!!

Thank you, I'll be here all week. :P

So with the announcement of an official release date for Wrath of the Lich King, I've made my pre-order of the collector's edition and will likely be taking a Wowcation for a day or two after the release. Funny, I remember doing the same when WC3 The Frozen Throne came out.

Being that Exelus is as geared as I'm willing to invest in currently, I've been working mostly on the Druid lately, practicing the art of healing as much as possible. He's been to Kara a few times now, and has made it past Curator to Illhoof and Aran. This weekend's followup will likely bring the challenges of Netherspite and Prince. Oh, and ezmode Chess. :)

Stats-wise, Ciribrus was heading over 1700 +heal but was feeling light in raw stats dept, so I made a few adjustments to gems, keeping the +heal over 1600 but inflating survivability and longevity (stam and int, respectively). His MP5 is around 140-ish, which seems reasonable given the efficiency of Tree healing.

Also found the rare Ace of Beasts on the auction house for the bargain price of 299g, which was the final card needed for Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon. Woot! This level 60 trinket has a proc that returns 100% of your regular mana regen for 15 seconds... so unless they change this item, its one of the few (only?) cards that will scale all the way to 80! Perfect for both grinding and healing during long fights, methinks. :) It's like a mini-innervate!

Now, the dilemma I have is my level 48-ish Priest, who recently took on the name Haelus from my deceased Resto Shaman project toon. The general plan is to level him Shadow till 60, then park him in Outland and level him by healing instances packed with Death Knights. In a way, this frees up Ciribrus from healing duty, as I may be transitioning him back to Laser Chicken for Wrath. Being able to root indoors, plus all the new Balance goodness means that Moonkin should be able to compete with Mages for ranged DPS spots in 5-mans more easily.

So anyway, do I save the Darkmoon card for Haelus instead? Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and I just heard the mammoth mount is going to cost 16,000 gold? Ouch.