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...

Is Just Theorycraftin'

Boy do I like teh chart above (source), as it bodes well for both Exelus and Ciribrus (who will likely go back to Doomchicken in Wrath). Ofc it's all speculation in the World of Mathcraft (BETA), but I sure do like them purty bars.

Moar. DPS. FTW.

Nerf bat inc.

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.

Who Sez Chickens Can't Fly?

Obsessive compulsive disorder hard work and focus got Ciribrus to level 68 yesterday, and with that came Flight Form - woot! The first thing I did was take a running leap off Aldor Rise, hitting shift-F (my flying mount hotkey) halfway down. Insta-cast FTW! I think I'll be enjoying this new virtual sport (Base Jumping), but also sure that at some point, I'll attempt it with the wrong character and go splat. Heh.

And having been spoiled by epic flight on Exelus, I now have another thing to obsess over work towards: Swift Flight Form. Boo that I can't work on that quest chain until 70!

In other news, Ciribrus also ran regular Mana Tombs as healer yesterday - overall I think it went fairly well... just one wipe on an overpull and then another during the escort quest. Oops. -_- Keeping the Pally tank up with HOTs was fairly easy to do, but the insta-cast Healing Touch w/Nature's Swiftness definitely came in handy once or twice. The DPS was a little wobbly though, under-geared and under-leveled - complete with an AFK rogue who readily admitted (proudly!?!) to alt-tabbing out during trash after I caught him standing still on multiple pulls. Ugh. Congrats on making my ignore list, jerky.

But, as my capable and patient guildy tank reminded me, "it's only Mana Tombs." :)

Shamantic Lull

Not too much has been going on in the world of Exelus... funding Ciribrus' leatherworking endeavors (need moar Thick Clefthoof Leather, plskthx) and the occasional heroic/Kara is about all he's up to. AV weekend came and went, and I totally flaked on grinding honor for that PvP fist, opting instead to practice battle medic'ing with Ciri and gaining 10k honor for him in the process.

Although yesterday while doing dailies, I did notice an Elemental Shaman running around two-shotting mobs on the Isle. Upon inspection I saw the expected purple haze of gear, but was pretty impressed nonetheless. Maybe Ex will try out Elemental on his way to 80? ...or not, as I just heard a rumor about a 2.9 speed green axe in the beta. 0.o WTB!

Speaking of which, have you seen the new weapon designs? Awesome.

Notes to Drood Self

When on healing duty, do not enter an instance without plenty of:

• water
• mana potions
• reagents

Do not:

• forget to Innervate self
• forget to battle rez when appropriate
• allow major pulls to start with Nature's Swiftness on cooldown

So much to remembers... >.<

Buuut, Ciribrus now has Lifebloom after dinging 64. Woot!

Dreamstate-ish

The Druid alt recently dinged 62 (shouldn't that technically be "dung?" lol), and made another spec tweak while visiting Moonglade. (That free port spell is oh-so-handy when you need to get to Darn/AH without blowing your hearth!)

After some research, it appears that the Dreamstate build is still viable for healing regular 5-man content - and conveniently, leaves enough points in Balance to do some damage as well. This build would seem very appropriate for what I'm trying to do at the moment: get to 70 via soloing/questing and instancing as healer or DPS.

Lolwut is Dreamstate?

The idea behind the Dreamstate build seems to be maximizing MP5, as Druidic healing is a constant affair: re-applying HOTs in a continuous cycle. Dreamstate is a Balance talent that grants 10% of your Intellect as MP5, and when combined with the early Resto talent Intensity (30% mana regen IFSR), would seem to keep a fair amount of mana coming back during combat.

So for the moment, Ciribrus is working a Dreamstate-lite build: with just enough points into Resto to get the insta-nuke-heal from Nature's Swiftness. In a few levels he'll be able to max-out the namesake talent, all while keeping Doomkin form.

I'm thinking that the NS insta-heal is one of the more important tools that was missing from the healing arsenal during those early Hellfire runs... am looking forward to trying out this new build, especially armed with an emergency oh-noes-tank-be-dyin' button. :)

Healing Ramps

After dinging 60, Ciribrus the wonder chicken ported himself to Moonglade to learn some new skills and respec. Since there are so many great instances in Outland, and since healers are always in demand, I figured I'd try a Balance/Resto hybrid build. Specifically, I was gunning for the 15 points in Resto to pick up Subtlety, reducing threat by 20%. Seems like a pretty decent talent (if not required) for both healing and pew pew in groups. The remaining points went all back into Balance for now, can't quite give up the chicken for a tree just yet. :)

I tried out this build on a regular Hellfire Ramparts run, and was happy to find that it worked pretty well. The only times I drew aggro were on the accidental overpulls, but I think that's to be expected. For the majority of the run, though, it was fairly easy going. A little pre-HOT as the tank pulled, then just re-applying Rejuvination and Regrowth as needed. I don't think I had to cast a single Healing Touch, so mana efficiency was excellent.

Pretty fun, and I plan on going back to Ramps soon (as healer or chicken) before completing too many more Hellfire quests. (Ramps continues to give out HH rep until Honored, I believe.)

Is Outland Ready for This?!

Tonight was a big night for Ciribrus the Lazer Chicken alt. After dinging 58 in Eastern Plaguelands, he made a beeline for the Dark Portal and Honor Hold. Those early Hellfire quests are amazing: in less than an hour he gained a half level and got some neat early quest rewards, like the Staff of the Twin Worlds, which totally beat the crap outta my old level 50-ish of-the-Eagle staff.

His Skinning was already up to 300, so in the interest of not falling too far behind in Leatherworking I also spent some time powerleveling him up to 300. He chose Tribal Leatherworking, natch, as a caster. Someday perhaps, Windhawk Armor? :o

Also discovered the beauty of the Focus CC macro while grinding Turtle Scales. This ingenious bit of code will cast the CC of your choice (Roots or Hibernate in this case) and set the target as your focus. You can then move on to other targets (friendly or otherwise), and if the CC breaks/ends, simply hit the macro again and your original focus will be re-CC'ed:

/focus [target=focus, exists, nodead] focus; [btn:2][] target
/cast [target=focus] Entangling Roots

With that little gem, I was able to nuke down a turtle, root it around 25%, cast Insect Swarm and move on to the next mob while the turtle died a slow horrible death from DOTs.

Genius! :)

Laser Chicken

In the past few days, I've gone back to working on my original main, a (formerly Feral) Druid who has gone Balance since 47 or so. Thanks to a boatload of rested XP, he's now sitting at 54 after not too much effort. While leveling Balance has been noticeably slower than Feral, I decided to try it out as a caster playstyle experiment. Also, since our guild already has several excellent Feral Druids, going Balance with an eye on Resto seems like a natural fit.

The thing that draws me to hybrid classes of course is flexibility - being able to sling spells, cure stuff, throw a few HOTs around then going back to DPS is right up my alley.

Another reason for leveling said Druid is Leatherworking, which I'm envisioning could be useful in helping out my Enhancement Shaman... For example: I've been seeing a Cloak of Darkness float around the AH recently, which would be a fantastic DPS cloak for Exelus, but at 1500g, it's more than I'm willing to spend as a marginal upgrade from Aran's Drape of the Dark Reavers. Buuut, if Ciribrus can eventually make a few nice things for Exelus (esp during Wrath of the Lich King), then all the better, right?

Or, what I could do is get a 2nd account for the level grind from 70-80, transfer this Druid over and autofollow Exelus around and toss HOTs as needed. :O Hmm, this idea has merit...

Heh.

UPDATE: just read up a bit on Moonkin DPS, where a theorycrafter puts Starfire and Wrath spam up against a Mage's Fireball. Interesting! Also learned that Insect Swarm does roughly the same DPS as a Priest's Shadow Word Pain, at about half the mana cost.