A Look Back

One of my favorite writers over at WoW.com wrote today's Breakfast Topic: Back To Where You Once Belonged, where he talks about his journey over the last year. From tanking in The Burning Crusade, through the current Wrath expansion as DPS, to his recent return to tanking. At the end of the article he asks the readers, "where are we now?" Are we doing what we thought we'd be doing? Hmm... I'm a sucker for nostalgia, let's rewind...

The Burning Crusade

From level 10 through 70, Exelus was Enhancement through-and-through. We were plowing our way through Karazhan, and I spent a lot of time staring at Omen, riding the tank's threat wave and praying I didn't get a lucky string of Stormstrike/Windfury crits. It was an art, maximizing DPS while staying under threat. I still remember my first raid invite like it was yesterday: I was totally freaked out, but the exhilaration of it all sucked me in for good. I also remember doing ~600 DPS and marveling at our Warlock doing 1,000 DPS!

Back then, PvP was the shortcut to gearing-up ("welfare epics"), so I begrudgingly spent a lot of time in BGs L2PvP. Sadly, that intense grind turned me off to PvP, even to this day. I still get the heeby-geebies when I think about Eye of the Storm. /shudder

At some point, the guild wound up short on healers... and due to a horrifyingly bad Hellfire Ramparts experience trying to offspec heal with Ex's "resto" gear, I decided to raid-gear my tree rather than respec. Ciribrus became a Resto Druid, and a whole new world of gameplay opened up to me: standing in the back, keeping my party-mates alive. These were crazy times... remember the concept of "heal aggro?" When a single early heal could literally send an entire mob pack running right towards you, with no way to dump threat (this was before Shadowmeld worked in combat!). The Hypnotist's Watch and Sporeggar cloak became staples of my heroic healing kit.

Wrath and the Transition

We were finally clearing KZ with regularity, and taking our first pokes into Zul Aman when Wrath was released, and we all set off to level from 70 to 80. We marvelled at the new zones, and bemoaned our loss of level 70 epics. I swear I lost a little bit of my soul when I replaced the PvP epics I had previously worked so hard at. Lesson learned, gear is just a temporary tool, nothing to get attached to!

Then, as I was losing my epic Enhancement gear to quest greens, something strange happened. I started noticing (/gasp) caster gear. At some point, it dawned on me that if I collected caster gear, I could possibly be more effective in a dual role someday. So sometime in the 70s, I respec'ed Elemental for the first time, and started lolbolting.

It was weird. I stood in the back, and resisted the urge to run into the fray. It was, admittedly, easier. And more in-line with my aging reflexes, too. :P

Early Raiding in Wrath

As guildies started arriving at level 80, the new meta game of gearing up for raiding began, and I struggled to reach hit cap with blues and random low-level epics. Elemental was borked (couldn't get past 1,500 dps!), but I stuck with it and Blizzard eventually fixed us. :)

By the time we had enough critical mass to start Naxxramas, we found ourselves predictably short on healers, but this time I resolved to stick with Exelus, thus beginning his healing career. By now, Resto shaman tools had grown more sophisticated, too (more powerful Earth Shield, Riptide, supporting glyphs), and therefore more interesting to play.

These days, Exelus splits his time between DPS and healing heroics/Ulduar/Colosiem/etc., which suits both needs to blow stuff up and lend a hand when called upon. It's yin-yang thang, and it's a ton of fun.

The Recap

So a year ago, did I ever imagine Exelus would become a caster DPS with a healing offspec? Certainly not. Did I expect my Boomkin/Resto Druid would languish at 72 with no real incentive to level? Nope. (/sad) Leveling a Retribution Paladin all the way to 80 (toying with both Holy and Prot offspecs) ever cross my mind? Never!

But that's part of the fun of this game, it evolves, just like real life. :)

Viva la journey.

Tiered Gear, Set Bonuses, and Abandoning T7

With so much gear flying around these days, it can be rather confusing trying to interpret tier levels, what level of content they're intended for, and what they mean for your toon. Let's take a look at the current state of tiered gear (Patch 3.2):

Overview

• Tier 7: entry-level raiding sets (Naxxramas, Obsidian Sanctum, Eye of Eternity, Archavon). Comes in T7 (10-man) and T7.5 (25-man) versions. Purchasable with deprecated Emblems of Heroism. Since Patch 3.2, there's generally better gear to be had for Emblems of Conquest, so I wouldn't worry about farming this gear if you're a new 80.
  
  
• Tier 8: Ulduar-level raiding sets (Ulduar, Emalon). Comes in T8 and T8.5 flavors. Helm and chest pieces are purchasable with Emblems of Conquest, which drop in heroics and most raids. New 80s will usually want to pick up these two tiered pieces first. There's also a plethora of non-set gear in this range that's quite good.
  
  
• Tier 9: Icecrown-level raiding sets (yet-to-be-seen Icecrown Citadel, Trial of the Crusader, Koralon). Comes in three levels (T9, T9.33 and T9.66):
  
  T9 pieces are purchasable with Emblems of Triumph (daily heroic dungeon quest, Trial of the Crusader, Koralon).
  
  T9.33 are purchasable with EoTs plus special tokens that drop from 25-man TotC.
  
  T9.66 tokens drop from heroic 25-man TotC (and presumably Icecrown when it's released).
  
  Most level 80 characters - newbies and hardcore raiders alike - will want to save their EoTs to buy a few T9 bits, if not the whole kit - although generally only top-end raiders will have access to T9.33 and T9.66. Also, there's some very good non-set gear available in this range: like the currently best-in-slot Totem of Electrifying Wind for Elemental (and some say Enhancement) Shaman.

Note that you can mix/match gear from the same tier level in order to gain the set bonus. For example, a T8.5 helm with T8 gloves will still activate the two-piece bonus.

Bub-Bye Tier 7

Until yesterday, I had been running around with four-piece Tier 7.5 because of the set bonus (10% bonus to Lava Burst's critical strike damage). So even though I had already bought the two Tier 8.5 pieces (helm and chest), I found a net loss of DPS when initially abandoning the 4p T7 bonus. The Elemental 2p T8 bonus just happens to be rather weak (periodic damage from Flame Shock can now become critical strikes). /yawn

However, with the purchase of the Tier 9 Elemental shoulders and some other recent random upgrades, the question became: will this new mash-up of T8+9 finally overtake the 4p T7 bonus? After some testing, the answer seems to be yes - due mostly to improved Haste (1.5 sec Lolbolts ftw!). I'm also expecting another slight DPS bump when I add the T9 gloves for the 2p bonus (increased duration of Flame Shock by 9 seconds, allowing us another Lava Burst cycle without having to refresh the FS DoT). /cheer

Now, it's important to note that not all classes/specs are equal when it comes to deciding whether or not to abandon your 4p bonus. For example, mages have an excellent 2p T8 bonus (chance for 350 spell power when casting nukes), so it may make sense for them to abandon 4p T7 earlier than I did. I suggest a combination of research (Elitist Jerks) and personal testing to get the right answer for your class/spec.

Shaman Lore Corner: Nobundo and Thrall

In case you're wondering who Nobundo is, here's his story. Although I admit I'd much rather be wearing Thrall's namesake gear (the Horde version of Shaman T9), since he was my favorite character from my Warcraft 2 and 3 days. :)

Get a job, Shaman!

A recent article on the lost art of crowd control got me thinking about all the cool tools a Shaman is equipped with, and the specialized jobs we can perform using these tools.

Sure, it's easy enough to faceroll Lightning Bolts or Chain Heals, but any player worth their salt not only performs their primary role well, but is always ready to bring something extra to an encounter.

Crowd Control

For years Shaman have bemoaned the lack of a crowd control ability, and the arrival of Hex at level 80 happened right as we entered the age of "AoE everything in sight." Still, there are definitely situations where we need to get our froggy-style on.

In heroic trash pulls, Hex can be used to temporarily incapacitate a mob as the tank rushes in to establish threat. Certainly the frog will break due to AoE, but the first few seconds of a pull are usually the most critical, where he/she can take a ton of damage all at once. Disabling even one mob for a second or two can mean the difference between a controlled pull and a wipe.

Still, not all trash is AoE fodder - in Ulduar, some pulls still benefit greatly from CC, and I would expect to see this trend continue as we start knocking on Arthas' door in Icecrown Citadel. While Hex cannot be chain-cast like Polymorph (boo cooldown), it can at least be used to tie-up a second-target while the first gets burned-down.

Kiting

This is where I channel Big Red Kitty, who frequently championed the skill of kiting: a job which involves aggro'ing a mob and having it purposely run towards you while you keep it at distance. Frost Shock with it's threat component and Earthbind Totem is a perfect combo for this job, something I've used many times in Naxx's Gluth encounter.

Rooting

Elemental Shaman also gain a very useful tool with a specially-talented Earthbind totem, which applies a Druid-style root to those within range. In the Eye of Eternity, it becomes very easy to root a Power Spark exactly where it needs to drop using this root (and has the benefit of being instant-cast, as opposed to a Druid's 1.5 second root).

In Ulduar on the way to the Crazy Cat Lady, there are pairs of big nasty mobs which also send sparks back and forth, which need to be destroyed before reaching the other. A rooting Earthbind is perfect for this job.

Interrupting

Wind Shear recently got a redesign, and it no longer shares a global cooldown with either Flame or Earth Shock. This was both a buff and a nerf, since we lost one of our two interrupts. Still, having Wind Shear on it's own cooldown means it's easier for a DPS shaman to maintain their rotation while still interrupting. This skill can and should be used almost everywhere: against healers in trash packs, whirlwinding Runeshapers, Kel'Thuzad's frost bolts, chain-lightning Dwarves in Ulduar, etc.

Other Jobs

Shaman also make great debuffers thanks to Purge, provide AoE Fear Wards with Tremor Totem, supply raid-wide steroids with Bloodlust/Heroism, can save the day with backup heals, and even provide an emergency tank while the Druid battle-rez's your tank.

We have a lot of great tricks up our sleeves, so don't be a faceroller, do your job! :)

Patch 3.2 Impressions

A week ago, patch 3.2 finally hit the live realms after much anticipation. This latest update brought a slew of class tweaks, emblem changes, a new dungeon/raid instance and new battleground. Here are my impressions, gathered during the past week.

Four totems at once

Aside from some very nice buffs to Resto Shaman (facerolling Chain Heal is back!), the largest change to the Shaman class was the addition of a totem bar in the default UI, along with an ability to drop a set of totems from a single spell. This is a fairly significant (and welcome) change, it's every bit as awesome as I had hoped.

Most raiding Shaman by now have used mods or /castsequence macro to drop a "default" set of totems, but until 3.2, dropping all four cost us essentially four global cooldowns. Hence, there were a lot of occassions where only certain totems were deployed... and while I used to do my best to keep all four down, there were definitely situations where it just wasn't practical. Now, there's no excuse to drop all totems, and it's been awesome for heroic speed runs and boss fights where repositioning becomes necessary.

Since we get three different spells to deploy a set of totems, I've built these three default sets:

• Call of the Elements - default set: Totem of Wrath (or Flametongue for Resto spec), Strength of Earth, Wrath of Air, and Healing Stream
• Call of the Ancestors - default set (as above) with Mana Spring instead
• Call of the Spirits - PvP set (Tremor, Cleanse, Grounding and Magma)

Interrupts FTW

Another seemingly small update was the redesign of Earth and Wind Shock, however I feel that it's a pretty huge buff - especially for Elemental Shaman on interrupt duty. Wind Shear replaces the former Shock, and no longer shares the same cooldown timer with other Shocks - meaning the Elemental rotation can now be kept relatively intact, without sacrificing a Flame Shock cooldown. This is huge. /cheer

Heroics are back, baby!

Another very welcome change was the consolidation of the Emblem system to Conquests (Tier 8 level) and Triumphs (Tier 9 level). As a result, heroic speed-farming and random guild runs are back with a vengeance. Once again, casual and hardcore players are getting to play together, and this is undeniably a good thing for guild dynamics.

Thus far I've been able to buy T8.5 helm and chest, although I was dissapointed to find an overall DPS loss with the two-piece bonus (extensive target dummy testing with raid-boss rotation), so for the moment I'm staying with four-piece Tier 7.5. Next up I'll be bolstering my Resto set, also with the T8.5 helm and likely the belt for hybrid use between both specs.

"ToC" rant

So we've got this new colosium up in northern Icecrown, containing a 5-man normal and heroic dungeon, a 10 man normal and heroic raid, and a 25 man normal and heroic raid. The only problem? They ALL have the same initials... so "LFG ToC" could mean any one of six group types! Hopefully some standard will settle out like "ToC5" or "Roic ToC10," but for now, be sure to ask questions before joining a "ToC" group. :)

Trial of the Champion

Despite having to joust in the beginning of this encounter, the new 5-man dungeon is actually quite fun, and yields nice Naxx-level rewards in normal mode (read: new 80s can farm this all day long!) and excellent Ulduar-level rewards in heroic mode. Thus far I've been lucky enough to upgrade my main hand and get this haste trinket, which put me closer to the "sweet spot" in the Elemental rotation (neatly allowing x5 Lightning Bolts in-between Lava Bursts).

Trial of the Crusader

The new raid instance was something many of our raiders were interested in trying out, so we gave it our best effort a few days ago, and managed to best the encounter with only three wipes. :) /cheer

There wasn't a lot of information out there yet, but thankfully Tankspot came through with an excellent video so we could get some research in beforehand. Here are some notes on the Northrend Beasts encounter:

Gormok the Impaler (Magnataur)

Since we had an abundance of ranged DPS, we chose to keep the melee on the boss the whole time, with all ranged assigned to take down the Snowbolds as they appeared on player's backs. Seemed to be fairly healing-intensive with DoTs stacking on the tanks, but we have some very skilled healers who were able to handle the load. :) Also having dual Pally tanks with Hand of Protection to clear the DoTs was a huge help. Other than that, stay out of the fire and have ranged stay at max range FTW.

Acidmaw & Dreadscale (Jormungar Worms)

This was undeniably the trickiest of the three beast sets. There are two worms, one applying a slowing/paralyzing poison, and the other an AoE fire debuff which removes the other worm's paralyzing poison. At first we tried to have people calling out in Vent so folks could run to each other, but due to the significant movement (poison clouds ala Grobbulus) and the confusion it brings, we found it easier to designate the center circle as a rendevous point. Whenever someone got slowed, they made their way to the center ring and the fire-debuffed person would just meet them there. We chose to burn-down Acidmaw first and heal through Dreadmaw's enrage, but after a few more tries, the simultaneous kill achievement should definitely be do-able.

Icehowl (Yeti)

After we got the two worms strategy down, the Yeti proved to be relatively easy. Simply note who the boss is targeting for his charge, and run out of the way (and be sure not to cross his path even if you're not targeted). Use Bloodlust/Heroism while he's stunned against a wall, keep your healers spread out so they don't all get frozen at the same time, and it's a fairly simple tank/spank.

It's worth noting the quality of the gear drops here, even in normal mode - item level 232! This alone makes it a worthwile destination for even the most casual guilds.

So tonight we venture back into Ulduar, somewhat better geared and with a raid lockout extension option - hopefully we'll be poking sharp objects at Yogg-Saron before too long. :)

Intro to Tanking

I realize it's rather presumptuous for a Shaman to be writing an article on tanking, but it's my blog and I can write what I want to I've learned a few things in the past few months with my frosty Death Knight tank, and hopefully some of this info will help those taking a look at the noble art of meat-shielding.

Basic Stats
So you've dinged level-cap with your new tank and are ready to tackle some heroics and perhaps even dive into raiding. Congrats! Now there are lots of talent-selection and gear-list websites out there on the interwebs, so I'll avoid going into specifics there - but let's take a look at the basic tank stats: your defense, health, and offense.

Defense rating is what keeps you from getting critically hit, which is hugely important for survivability. At level 80, you need 535 minimum for heroics and 540 for raids. There is benefit to stacking defense beyond 540 as it affects other damage mitigation stats like dodge, etc., but generally after 540 you'll also want to look at your overall health:

Stamina translates to your health pool of course, and the rule of thumb here is the more, the better. Each class has a varying number of health needed (for example, Bears need more than Prot Warriors since they have fur rather than shields), but as a rule of thumb, somewhere in the mid-20k's is a decent number to start running heroic dungeons at level 80. I believe my DK started heroics around 23k (unbuffed) and after seeing all of Naxx, is just shy of 30k.

Threat - they say "the best defense is a strong offense," and tanks are no exception here, as being able to output a healthy amount of damage helps to ensure the bad guys are focused on you, and not your party-mates. Offensive stats like Strength, Hit and Expertise are important in this regard - but again, YMMV according to class so be aware of which stats are needed to generate the most threat.

Don't be shy to enchant your blue (or even green) quality gear - both Enchanting and Jewelcrafting offer "budget" versions of endgame buffs that can help push your stats to a better place. My rule of thumb: everything enchanted and gemmed, always. There's really no excuse to slack here, as everyone in your party/raid are depending on your survivability.

So now you're all geared-up and ready to go. Let's take a look at a few classic encounters and how your tanking abilities come into play:

Marking
In this day and age of "burning everything in sight" with AoE, painstakingly marking each and every mob for kill order and CC assignments may not be as necessary as it once was, but it's still a good idea to at least mark the first and second targets so everyone starts off on the same page. Skull and X are most typically used, and I recommend making keybindings for all the marks - I use the function keys, so I can hit F1, F2, then pull.

Typically, you'll want to mark healers and casters as first targets, but if you're not sure who's who, look for clues in their names like "Spiritualist" or "Cleric." Mana bars are also a good clue.

Line of Sight
Doorways and Hallways are a tank's second best friend. (First are our healers, of course!) For tricky pulls involving ranged or caster mobs, instruct your group to stand behind the corner so you can make an attack then retreat to where they are. If done right, you can reliably pull an entire group, casters and all, right to you. Have an AoE threat ability ready-to-go when they all reach you.

The Big Picture
So you've executed the pull and the angry mobs are all happily beating on you - great job! But wait, half a second later one of the baddies makes a beeline for your healer! What to do?!

First, let's back up a second and understand that it's important for the tank to be aware of The Big Picture at all times. This means putting your toon, camera zoom and angle in a position such that you can actually see what's going on around you at all times. Pro tip: type this into your chat window to increase the zoom-out distance: /script SetCVar("cameraDistanceMax",50)

Taunt
So now back to our pull and the loose mob... which by now has started wailing on your healer - it's time to use one of your most important tank tools: the taunt. Each class has a few ways to do this (some single-target, some are multi-target), so be familiar with each method, and when to use which. You'll also want them hotkeyed for quick action! /cast [Insert Your Taunt Here] and phew, that loose mob is back on you.

Cooldowns
After burning through a few packs of trash, you've finally arrived at the boss. This big intimidating creature is really nothing but a loot piñata, so it's time to go collect your lootz. Let's assume that we're in Nexus, and we're staring up at the dragon Keristrasza. /gulp

This particular dragon has a very common ability known as a "soft enrage," where at low health the boss actually gets tougher. (Life's not fair, even in WoW!) Your healer's doing their best, pumping out heals, keeping the party alive and whatnot, but yikes the boss just turned red and hitting faster/harder now. To make things worse, your healer gets knocked out of range and is scrambling to get back to you. Oh noes!

Luckily, you don't just have to stand there and take it ("thank you sir may I have another?!"), you have defensive cooldowns! Every tank class has 'em: some way to mitigate damage for a short period of time. Shield Wall, Icebound Fortitude, Bubble, etc. As a tank you'll also likely have trinkets with handy on-use abilities, like increased dodge or whatnot - so keep all these emergency buttons close, and be prepared to use them often (albeit judiciously). These abilities can and will save your life, so use them!

Practice Makes Perfect
Putting all this stuff together really takes some practice, so don't get discouraged - everyone has a messy pull every now and again. :) Also realize that tanking is highly reliant on the other roles in your group doing the right things, so group with guildies/friends before diving into the highly unpredicatble world of PUGs. Try running dungeons in normal mode first to get a sense of the encounters and pulls before going in heroic mode.

Further Research
I can't recommend Tankspot enough for their highly informative forums and videos on YouTube. As usual, Elitist Jerks have a wealth of information surrounding gear, specs, etc. While learning boss encounters, Wowwiki and Wowhead are great tools.

Happy tanking!

Gnome Appreciation Day

For those unaware, today is officially Gnome Appreciation Day. Wasn't sure if I was going to post anything about it until I saw the photo at right. :P

So to my Gnomish homies Pyxia, Mazek, Ereigelu, Gnomesrus, anyone else whom I've forgotten, and to my own little alt Gnomagus, /salute - for your impact is far greater than your height.

/cheers

New Wings

My first foray into World of Warcraft was way back in 2005, when a co-worker convinced me to pickup a copy and join the guild they had formed in the office.

Naturally, I rolled a Night Elf Hunter (so predictable...), bumbled my way through Teldrassil, got tricked by that Satyr on the way to Dolanaar, found my way through the impossibly-large Darnassus, and finally out to Rutheran Village, where Araes took an incredible flight to Darkshore.

I remember that first flight quite well: being amazed by the speed, altitude and distance! Equally amazing was the winged steed I was precariously perched on, with it's motion-sickness-inducing bob and zany color scheme. I loved it, and took lots of rides back and forth just to marvel at the beast.

About a month later I decided to put WoW on a shelf (not to revisit the game until 2007), and Araes' magical Hippogryph ride faded from memory...

Fast-forward to last night, and the picture says it all:

Cenarion War Hippogryph