It's been almost a month since I encountered the Twin Terrors Shix-Feathermoon and Carverll-Feathermoon in Warsong Gulch. The two of them kept half the alliance idiots at the graveyard while the Horde ran flags with rapidity. They were nothing short of amazing. Poor Martini had to endure being farmed for a rez or two while figuring this menace out.
Discipline is such a strong Arena/BG spec I had lost touch with Shadow. Namely, I didn't know Dispersion is so OP now. With the glyph, they get 1/3 of their mana back and reduce damage by 90% every minute. Then there's Psychic Horror, an instant CC from huge range with a nice after-effect for melee opponents. Top it all off with the newly huge ranged Mind Flay. Shadow is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
While that's probably surmountable in 2v2s, these two worked very well together, bringing suffering to my random group. Looking over their gear it was all readily accessible emblem armor and PvE weapons/trinkets. Their specs weren't the same so I'll have to look into the variations. Actually found a very tight (20/0/51) on Amyth-Darkspear that interests me. It seems really strange not to see Shadow Power in there but it sorta makes sense when the three evil DoTs are not enhanced by it. Mind Flay is channeled, Mind Blast has a cast time and a cooldown, and Shadow Word: Death has huge cooldown with conditional back-last—all bad things.
It all looks possible given my current means. Yet I've decided to level my bank/auctioneer Faerawr instead of good old Sloosh. Sloosh already has some gear and all, but I want Engineering. There's no way I'm dropping Sloosh's Tailoring or Enchanting. I'll also keep Sloosh healing in PvE, whereas Faerawr will be PvP Disc and PvP Shadow.
Funny. I remember being so disappointed when Blizzard took stun procs out of the Shadow tree. Doesn't seem to matter anymore though. Heh. See what happens!
Showing posts with label priest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label priest. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Still Moving Forward
Not a lot of excitement lately… the usual grind of XP and instancing. Finally happened… Sloosh's first green upgrade is the Mendicant's Charm, replacing Dark Iron Smoking Pipe; it's better to have the higher base damage and take the drop on the use boost. Also ended up putting away my beautiful Hammer of Judgement for an ugly yet fearsome Kalu'ak Rep Reward: Totemic Purification Rod.
Did a Nexus run last night with some of Klutz's crew, Zethos, Nitespirit, and Fowler. Since I was tanking with Aenara it was nice with Nitespirit there. Klutz can totally heal me but we went really crazy with the extra backup. After Nexus Nitespirit had to head out so we picked up Pobedog then ran Azjol-Nerub and Utgarde Keep.
Try to get dailies out of the way in the morning. Today's set is:
Did a Nexus run last night with some of Klutz's crew, Zethos, Nitespirit, and Fowler. Since I was tanking with Aenara it was nice with Nitespirit there. Klutz can totally heal me but we went really crazy with the extra backup. After Nexus Nitespirit had to head out so we picked up Pobedog then ran Azjol-Nerub and Utgarde Keep.
Try to get dailies out of the way in the morning. Today's set is:
Blackriver Skirmish: 20750xp, 5g60s, 10 Venture Coin, 137 Alliance VanguardSloosh (1298779/1653900) should be finishing up in Grizzly Hills tonight and I'm sure she'll hit 79.
Break the Blockade: 12050xp, 4g70s, 138 Alliance Vanguard
Defending Wyrmrest Temple: 20750xp, 5g60s, 275 The Wyrmrest Accord
Planning for the Future: 16250xp, 5g, 550 The Kalu'ak
Preparing for the Worst: 16250xp, 5g, 550 The Kalu'ak
Drake Hunt: 12050xp, 4g70s, 275 The Wyrmrest Accord
Infused Mushroom Meatloaf (Dalaran Cooking): 16200, 5g30s, 3 Northern Spices, 165 Kirin Tor
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Gaining Ground
I was pretty pleased with myself for soloing The Jig is Up with Sloosh. A Blood Elf rogue failed horribly after me as she didn't realize that Hozzer still had to be killed. "Mad" Jonah Sterling is fearable so he was very easy to beat down to 5000 Health. The bear wasn't fearable and also had over 20k health, so he was more of a challenge. What ended up making it easy for me was shortly after I sent my Shadowfiend in I was knocked up to the high ledge. As with most knock-backs, aggro on the bear was reset. So my fiend held Hozzer down lower for a few extra seconds while I finished him off before he could reach me. Turning around I also found The Frozen Heart of Isuldof conveniently waiting on the ground to be looted.
While my gear is still making things go well the mobs are starting to get harder to kill. My standard kill sequence is Vampiric Touch, Mind Blast, Power Word: Shield, and a Mind Flay. I used to be able to start on another mob while VT finishes yet now I find I'm casting a second Mind Flay to end it, which is just enough to start making my mana drop. After about five-seven kills I'm at half mana so I have to chill. Oh well… couldn't stay easy forever. I may have to start working in more Crit and Spirit gear.
Then again, maybe the new spells will help. 74 was a sweet spot for me since it included upgrades to Prayer of Mending, Smite, Mind Blast, and Mind Flay. Those last two are staples plus I picked up Silence. 75 will be even better for grouping with Shadow Word: Death, Shadow Word: Pain, Vampiric Touch, and the shiny new Mind Sear!
In Dalaran I did check out the Cold Weather Flying trainer and was relieved to see that I can pay the 1000g to train flying at 77 even though Sloosh only has cheap flying. Since she's not a gatherer I trained Decimate in Epic Flying first. Between all my characters I don't have over 3000g so I'll have to find some way of churning out some gold. For now, I'll keep doing the lower level quests for XP then save the higher quests for cash. Leveling the other characters will also generate gold… especially when it's five at once. *lol*
While my gear is still making things go well the mobs are starting to get harder to kill. My standard kill sequence is Vampiric Touch, Mind Blast, Power Word: Shield, and a Mind Flay. I used to be able to start on another mob while VT finishes yet now I find I'm casting a second Mind Flay to end it, which is just enough to start making my mana drop. After about five-seven kills I'm at half mana so I have to chill. Oh well… couldn't stay easy forever. I may have to start working in more Crit and Spirit gear.
Then again, maybe the new spells will help. 74 was a sweet spot for me since it included upgrades to Prayer of Mending, Smite, Mind Blast, and Mind Flay. Those last two are staples plus I picked up Silence. 75 will be even better for grouping with Shadow Word: Death, Shadow Word: Pain, Vampiric Touch, and the shiny new Mind Sear!
In Dalaran I did check out the Cold Weather Flying trainer and was relieved to see that I can pay the 1000g to train flying at 77 even though Sloosh only has cheap flying. Since she's not a gatherer I trained Decimate in Epic Flying first. Between all my characters I don't have over 3000g so I'll have to find some way of churning out some gold. For now, I'll keep doing the lower level quests for XP then save the higher quests for cash. Leveling the other characters will also generate gold… especially when it's five at once. *lol*
Questing into 74 and Dalaran
Thought not very challenging, Sloosh (1280497xp/1571800xp) went back to back the Howling Fjord to quest. Some of the quests were green yet the XP granted was still over 20k. Got the lines around Westgarde done then went South to Scalawag Point. Was really nice already having the Fort Wildervar FP so I picked up a few there.
People are still assholes and I'm happily one of them. Like when I was staking out Bjomolf's spawn for Brother Betrayers there was a Pally waiting to Consecrate. Naturally it spawns further away so I tag with Shadow Word: Death then Larac decided to invite me to a group. I almost decided not to Accept but I did. The drop rate for The Fragrance of Money sucked so I pulled three bears at once, easily DoT/Flaying them down. Another Shadow Priest, Darcspirit, came up and spit on me! *giggle* I let her watch in amazement/annoyance as I solo'd The Jig is Up. She got no invite on that one.
Most of the questing was pretty chill and relaxing. Scare the Guano Out of Them! was tedious so I shielded and feared to collect the shit. Leader of the Deranged was cake because people had cleared a path for me (Take North entry above the EE in Keep down then turn Right (West) to get to the cave) so I waited less than a minute for the spawn. There was a Warrior, Zakniel, running around ahead of me so Mission: Eternal Flame was easy to complete (and I gave him a Fortitude and Renew by way of thanks). The drop rate for The Yeti Next Door was sucky but I was doing Preying Upon the Weak at the same time. Was even rewarded by one of the spawned Prowling Worgs with my first BoE Blue drop: Mendicant's Robe of Mendacity.
Getting late in the evening and I had leveled off exploration experience… of Gjalerbron! Happened to be passing through Valgarde when I noticed a new quest giver on the top floor of the Inn. It was Archmage Hooper offering me a free port to Dalaran! I figured I would have to make the run from Windrunner's Overlook yet it was as simple as getting this quest and letting him port me. Once there there's a quest to show you how to port down to Crystalsong Forest. Wandered around and asked a guard where the City portals are, bound myself at the Alliance Inn, then headed down to the sewers to do my daily cooking quest (The Pot mentioned in the quest is placed in your inventory and is not found in the kitchen or sewers *sigh*) and pick up my Ghostly Skull.
Sloosh is at 100/130 quests in Howling Fjord so I plan to finish them off tomorrow then resume work in the Dragonblight.
[Image:SoloJig]
[Image:LevelByExplore!]
[Image:Skull!]
People are still assholes and I'm happily one of them. Like when I was staking out Bjomolf's spawn for Brother Betrayers there was a Pally waiting to Consecrate. Naturally it spawns further away so I tag with Shadow Word: Death then Larac decided to invite me to a group. I almost decided not to Accept but I did. The drop rate for The Fragrance of Money sucked so I pulled three bears at once, easily DoT/Flaying them down. Another Shadow Priest, Darcspirit, came up and spit on me! *giggle* I let her watch in amazement/annoyance as I solo'd The Jig is Up. She got no invite on that one.
Most of the questing was pretty chill and relaxing. Scare the Guano Out of Them! was tedious so I shielded and feared to collect the shit. Leader of the Deranged was cake because people had cleared a path for me (Take North entry above the EE in Keep down then turn Right (West) to get to the cave) so I waited less than a minute for the spawn. There was a Warrior, Zakniel, running around ahead of me so Mission: Eternal Flame was easy to complete (and I gave him a Fortitude and Renew by way of thanks). The drop rate for The Yeti Next Door was sucky but I was doing Preying Upon the Weak at the same time. Was even rewarded by one of the spawned Prowling Worgs with my first BoE Blue drop: Mendicant's Robe of Mendacity.
Getting late in the evening and I had leveled off exploration experience… of Gjalerbron! Happened to be passing through Valgarde when I noticed a new quest giver on the top floor of the Inn. It was Archmage Hooper offering me a free port to Dalaran! I figured I would have to make the run from Windrunner's Overlook yet it was as simple as getting this quest and letting him port me. Once there there's a quest to show you how to port down to Crystalsong Forest. Wandered around and asked a guard where the City portals are, bound myself at the Alliance Inn, then headed down to the sewers to do my daily cooking quest (The Pot mentioned in the quest is placed in your inventory and is not found in the kitchen or sewers *sigh*) and pick up my Ghostly Skull.
Sloosh is at 100/130 quests in Howling Fjord so I plan to finish them off tomorrow then resume work in the Dragonblight.
[Image:SoloJig]
[Image:LevelByExplore!]
[Image:Skull!]
Monday, November 17, 2008
Not Quite Ahead
Once Sloosh entered the Dragonblight from the West I put myself in LFG for an Azjol-Nerub group. A few of my guild mates had been in there and they said it was fast and fun. After an hour I had no invites but I had kept busy.
An “Exit Borean Tundra” quest The Lost Courier had taken me to Star’s Rest. There were one or two quests for the area but instead I followed the messenger line. It flapped me out to Wintergarde Keep. There’s was a lot of Scourging to deal with yet the first quest was very fun, Flight of the Wintergarde Defender. You get a whistle to summon a two-seater Gryphon to rescue people on. And when flying out of the approved area (or sometimes when you are still in the approved area), the bird drops you off with a handy parachute!
Tromping around the mine I saw Cellar looking to do the group “Wanted” quests so I sent a whisper. We picked up another two, Bobbyorr and Galathenar, then headed out. Kreug Oathbreaker ended up killing Cellar with relative ease since he didn’t even bother to put on a shield so the rest of us finished the kill. We actually wiped at Bloodpaw because each of us brought mobs from different camps on the way in. Thankfully Iustus went down without a problem.
Since I was pretty far North East in the zone I decided to head over to the Crystal Forest. Started to go through the Crystal Vice but there were too many elites for a clothy so I followed the North West border to the middle of the zone. There were a few elementals in the way but it was pretty easy getting to the incredibly high overlook. Being a Priest, I backed the horse up a few steps then took a running leap, casting Levitate at the last possible moment. *snicker* There was some aggro from Level 78 wolves but nothing I couldn’t outrun. Turned on achievement tracking so I could be sure to open up all the main areas. The only one I couldn’t easily get to was the one I was most concerned with, naturally. I finally got the Windrunner FP by following the East zoneline path.
Landing back at Wintergarde I got an invite from Cõõlbreeze for Azjol-Nerub. I headed over to help with summons once we found Whaam, Babyboi, and Aetius. Babyboi and I were the only ones who hadn’t been there so it went pretty smoothly. It was quick and I completed Death to the Traitor King and Don't Forget the Eggs!. That took me from 774,349xp to 920,509xp.
I left that group fully intending to get a few errands run then camping out for the night yet when I saw someone actually requesting a Shadow Priest for The Old Kingdom I sent a whisper; ended up being a good decision. Hooked up with four people from Spies Like Us: Littlehammer, Goocher, Crimsonmage, and Enhancment. They were all in their vent so I’m sure I was missing stuff but it’s always a pleasure to group with people that work well together. Littlehammer knew the instance well so our only wipes were from exhaustion.
After the first run I was good for more XP and Littlehammer really wanted the Plate Chest from Jedoga Shadowseeker. Goocher had to go so they had Sephestra join—lotsa totems! Herald Volazj’s Insanity ability was very fun. The whole party turns on each person individually; each image has the same abilities but only 4000 Health. With Fear and my PvP skills it was cake but still amusing. The two runs and completion of The Faceless Ones had me go from 922177xp to 1210919xp.
Really wanted 74 for the new Mind Blast and Mind Flay, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Oh well. There’s always tomorrow…
An “Exit Borean Tundra” quest The Lost Courier had taken me to Star’s Rest. There were one or two quests for the area but instead I followed the messenger line. It flapped me out to Wintergarde Keep. There’s was a lot of Scourging to deal with yet the first quest was very fun, Flight of the Wintergarde Defender. You get a whistle to summon a two-seater Gryphon to rescue people on. And when flying out of the approved area (or sometimes when you are still in the approved area), the bird drops you off with a handy parachute!
Tromping around the mine I saw Cellar looking to do the group “Wanted” quests so I sent a whisper. We picked up another two, Bobbyorr and Galathenar, then headed out. Kreug Oathbreaker ended up killing Cellar with relative ease since he didn’t even bother to put on a shield so the rest of us finished the kill. We actually wiped at Bloodpaw because each of us brought mobs from different camps on the way in. Thankfully Iustus went down without a problem.
Since I was pretty far North East in the zone I decided to head over to the Crystal Forest. Started to go through the Crystal Vice but there were too many elites for a clothy so I followed the North West border to the middle of the zone. There were a few elementals in the way but it was pretty easy getting to the incredibly high overlook. Being a Priest, I backed the horse up a few steps then took a running leap, casting Levitate at the last possible moment. *snicker* There was some aggro from Level 78 wolves but nothing I couldn’t outrun. Turned on achievement tracking so I could be sure to open up all the main areas. The only one I couldn’t easily get to was the one I was most concerned with, naturally. I finally got the Windrunner FP by following the East zoneline path.
Landing back at Wintergarde I got an invite from Cõõlbreeze for Azjol-Nerub. I headed over to help with summons once we found Whaam, Babyboi, and Aetius. Babyboi and I were the only ones who hadn’t been there so it went pretty smoothly. It was quick and I completed Death to the Traitor King and Don't Forget the Eggs!. That took me from 774,349xp to 920,509xp.
I left that group fully intending to get a few errands run then camping out for the night yet when I saw someone actually requesting a Shadow Priest for The Old Kingdom I sent a whisper; ended up being a good decision. Hooked up with four people from Spies Like Us: Littlehammer, Goocher, Crimsonmage, and Enhancment. They were all in their vent so I’m sure I was missing stuff but it’s always a pleasure to group with people that work well together. Littlehammer knew the instance well so our only wipes were from exhaustion.
After the first run I was good for more XP and Littlehammer really wanted the Plate Chest from Jedoga Shadowseeker. Goocher had to go so they had Sephestra join—lotsa totems! Herald Volazj’s Insanity ability was very fun. The whole party turns on each person individually; each image has the same abilities but only 4000 Health. With Fear and my PvP skills it was cake but still amusing. The two runs and completion of The Faceless Ones had me go from 922177xp to 1210919xp.
Really wanted 74 for the new Mind Blast and Mind Flay, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Oh well. There’s always tomorrow…
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Nexus and Surrounding
RL got in the way in the form of a full day at work—stupid deadlines. Got home a little after 6pm once my random pieces were done. Sloosh was 71 (437448/1539600) and it was time to be 72. Joined the LFG channel for the Nexus and before I could finish Gamel the Cruel some random hunter invited me. The Priest, Saintjergens (Holy lotion?! *lol*), was decent but the Pally Tank, Osgard, was horrible. He asked to be reminded to use Righteous Fury. *sigh* The Hunter did know the instance so we made it through and I had another instance achievement done.
With the free summon out to Coldarra I decided to start on those quest lines. Unfortunately it was Saturday evening and rather busy by then. Trying to do Keep the Secret Safe took three times as long since Arcane Serpents were in short supply. About the only thing keeping me sane was the chit chat on my Vent server. We were all in different areas but suffering together. Guinnessnow noted with amusement how everyone with Quest Helper or Carbonite flock to the first spawn option that presents itself. He turns track on and finds another set of mobs to complete his stuff with ease. Was a good point so I started wandering more myself from the clusterings.
Cosno was also visiting so we were giving him some encouragement as he was making his way through the last 60% of level 79. The guy was pretty hard core. He had maybe twelve hours of sleep since Wrath went live. Was pretty cool to see the world achievement announced. People in my guild grumbled things like “these people need to move out of their mother’s basement” so I shared all the comments with him.
Definitely liking the quests in the Borean Tundra over the ones in Howling Fjord. Gained a lot of ground in Borean today so I’ll probably get those finished up before moving on to Dragonblight.
[Image: Nexus]
[Image: Cosno]
With the free summon out to Coldarra I decided to start on those quest lines. Unfortunately it was Saturday evening and rather busy by then. Trying to do Keep the Secret Safe took three times as long since Arcane Serpents were in short supply. About the only thing keeping me sane was the chit chat on my Vent server. We were all in different areas but suffering together. Guinnessnow noted with amusement how everyone with Quest Helper or Carbonite flock to the first spawn option that presents itself. He turns track on and finds another set of mobs to complete his stuff with ease. Was a good point so I started wandering more myself from the clusterings.
Cosno was also visiting so we were giving him some encouragement as he was making his way through the last 60% of level 79. The guy was pretty hard core. He had maybe twelve hours of sleep since Wrath went live. Was pretty cool to see the world achievement announced. People in my guild grumbled things like “these people need to move out of their mother’s basement” so I shared all the comments with him.
Definitely liking the quests in the Borean Tundra over the ones in Howling Fjord. Gained a lot of ground in Borean today so I’ll probably get those finished up before moving on to Dragonblight.
[Image: Nexus]
[Image: Cosno]
Saturday, November 15, 2008
There's 71
Was up a bit late last night but Sloosh logged off about 400k into level 71. Tried two runs in Utgarde Keep. Got to Ingvar the Plunderer with the first one but our tank had less than 12k health and the Pally couldn't keep him alive. I tried helping heal after Ingvar's rez then the Pally let himself die. After the fourth attempt we disbanded. On the second boss we wiped on the four pull so I was out.
Though I started out getting a number of quests done in Borean Tundra, after getting summoned I picked up in Howling Fjord. I'll check my achievements for the highest quest count but I'd like to go back to the Borean Tundra to finish up. Would also like to see the Nexus.
It's a real joy questing with BT-level gear as a Shadow Priest. With a Vampric Touch, Mind Blast, and Power Word: Shield I can finish with wanding and have zero downtime. If I feel frisky I can Shadow Word: Pain three or four mobs, fear them, then tag a few with Mind Flay after tagging one with VT/MB. None of the quest reward gear has been an upgrade so I've been collecting enchanting materials. I wonder when the upgrades will start flowing…
Though I started out getting a number of quests done in Borean Tundra, after getting summoned I picked up in Howling Fjord. I'll check my achievements for the highest quest count but I'd like to go back to the Borean Tundra to finish up. Would also like to see the Nexus.
It's a real joy questing with BT-level gear as a Shadow Priest. With a Vampric Touch, Mind Blast, and Power Word: Shield I can finish with wanding and have zero downtime. If I feel frisky I can Shadow Word: Pain three or four mobs, fear them, then tag a few with Mind Flay after tagging one with VT/MB. None of the quest reward gear has been an upgrade so I've been collecting enchanting materials. I wonder when the upgrades will start flowing…
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Priest Review
The next time I'm forced to spec Sloosh healing I'm going to give this this 10/51/0 spec a shot. I hate not having Inner Focus and Meditation, but the new Surge of Light and Guardian Spirit sound pretty fun; haven't been that deep in the Holy Tree forever. Divine Providence seems focused on spells I wouldn't use as much, so I might trade it for Serendipity and two points in Test of Faith. Twin Disciplines is of dubious worth but it's better than the nerfed Unbreakable Will.
If I ever manage to get back to PvP I'm going to start with this 56/5/0 spec. It's a really big departure from the routine to skip on Mental Strength and Power Infusion. I don't like the PI change so I went for Improved Divine Spirit. The way it reads, I also liked Enlightenment over Rapture even though Disc is classically horrible at mana efficiency. Penance really didn't interest me but the last point I had wouldn't really fit anywhere else so I'll try it. Will have to watch some high rated priests for additional insight.
I'm currently raiding with a 5/0/56 spec. Having three points in Shadow Affinity is probably overkill with the built-in 30% threat reduction of shadow form, so I may be trying Psychic Horror or Improved Shadow form when I can. It's frustrating having a Raid Spec and PvP spec so close together because I would trying PvP Shadow. Yet if I have to respec anyway, might as well stay with Disc.
If I ever manage to get back to PvP I'm going to start with this 56/5/0 spec. It's a really big departure from the routine to skip on Mental Strength and Power Infusion. I don't like the PI change so I went for Improved Divine Spirit. The way it reads, I also liked Enlightenment over Rapture even though Disc is classically horrible at mana efficiency. Penance really didn't interest me but the last point I had wouldn't really fit anywhere else so I'll try it. Will have to watch some high rated priests for additional insight.
I'm currently raiding with a 5/0/56 spec. Having three points in Shadow Affinity is probably overkill with the built-in 30% threat reduction of shadow form, so I may be trying Psychic Horror or Improved Shadow form when I can. It's frustrating having a Raid Spec and PvP spec so close together because I would trying PvP Shadow. Yet if I have to respec anyway, might as well stay with Disc.
Friday, October 17, 2008
3.0.2, Joyous Woe Unto Me
Overall I haven't been thrilled with the patch's impact to my characters, but it brought along a ton of great improvements.
My biggest complaint is Spell Power. With a caster main it blured all my lines. Two days after the patch I still hadn't decided what pieces of my “healing” set are now DPS and what I could disenchant as redunant. Still feels weird wearing a Ring of Calming Waves for DPS and I'm annoyed that things like my Nethervoid Cloak went down to 43 Spell Power from 53 Shadow Damage. It's crazy that my Light's Justice is nearly as mean as my Hammer (with the Healing enchant being higher than the Spell Power enchant).
So I'm down to base 1209 Spell Power from over 1350 Shadow Damage. Was eager to hit BT last night to see how things would work. Unfortunately nearly 35 people showed up and I rolled the lowest sit-out roll since I joined the guild. *sigh* Instead of getting four or five bosses down, they cleared the whole thing without me. Was sorta pissed since I've been there pretty solid and was looking forward to seeing our first Illidan kill.
I got into a pug for the Shattered Halls Heroic Daily. My &ldqup;OMFG! Heroic PUG!” dread quickly vanished as we mowed through it without CC'ing. Seems like warriors are fixed as a little gnome half in blues only died once. *snicker* Without any consumables I was seeing raid-level crits, so I guess the patch notes about evquivlency were fair. I wonder if it's the same for the healers after the stated “all healing spells have been modified to receive more benefit from spellpower than they received from bonus healing, with a net effect of no change to the amount healed by their spells.”
My problem was running out of mana. Running the talent calculator a few weeks ago the Vampric Touch change is the nerf it appeared to be. While the Misery and Shadow Weaving nerfs were disappointing, the VT nerf has me concerned over Shadow Priest utility in raids. The days of stacking four SPs are definitely over. Yet it seems like DPS may step up to compensate. For instance, on the last boss in SH I was actually top on DPS… above a decently geared Warlock and Mage. Will be able to tell more in at the next raid where some of my addons are working again. There's a new cast sequence to establish and maybe Mind Flay crits will just rock.
The impact of Spellpower consolidation on gear deserves some more jawing. For the Priest it's going to free up a lot of space as there's little point in a Shadow or Disc set with regards to PvP gear. Though I haven't had to the addons to analyze things completely, I'm pretty sure my PvE DPS set will be damn close to my healing set. But extra bag space don't help with loot distribution. Merging damage and healing now places all those classes at odds with each other, meaning upgrades will take longer to acquire and creating potential loot whore bad blood.
Though I'd heard about the removal of priest-specific talents I was still sad to see them really gone. Got used to using Feedback occasionally and Desperate Prayer was so godly in PvP, though Dwarf, Dranei, and Forsaken priests were certainly hit harder. It was pretty shitty how the patch notes made zero mention of this. As a Human I do like the new “Every Man for Himself” racial though the way it's worded makes it sound like it will blow my trinket. If it does, that may mean freeing up that trinket slot for something else.
The down-ranking nerf really annoyed me. From a threat or cast-time stand point I'll still have some lower spells on my bar with all my casters, but it's still a mean-spirited nerf. Why even have mana at all if all the spells are going to be gutted like that? PC spells should have a mana percentage with no ranks where the effect numbers will level-scale.
Got a little time in with the Shaman. Definitely missing the flat DPS increase of Rockbiter but I'm dealing okay with the switch to Flametongue for Lava Lash. It's nice to have another DPS instant to go along with Stormstrike since the shock cooldowns now go to threat reduction. Do miss the proc sounds of Shamanistic Focus but the mana reduction is cool. Definitely liking the change to the Strength of Earth totem and can hardly wait for the Wolf Pet talent. Seems like Elemental and Healing all got solid boosts, too. The only solid nerf I've heard about so far was the Heroism debuff.
As for the other classes I just haven't had time. Did put every single point into Frost on my Mage but only did some exploring and herbing so far. Fairly certain I'm going to keep the druid Feral but there sure are some fun things in Balance now. Going to finish leveling the Pally as Ret but I have no idea about the damn Warlock.
Having Macros stored on the server is really nice. There are a number of channeling, targetting, and focus macros that I was sometimes lazy about keeping in sync. Adding real support to the “hidden” focus system was long overdue. Hopefully the threat system revamp was done well. It's certainly nice to see support built into the default interface. The red portrait outline is handy but the little “Threat Changed to You!” Scrolling Combat Texts are awesome!
The Calendar feature is one of those Blizzard niceities. There was really no reason to put something like that in but they did. And they did it well. It's very handy to see what's coming up from the in-game world perspective. Being able to have events from the guild makes it invaluable. The Complete Trade Skill link is another similar bonus as it wasn't really needed but it's sure damn handy. After a while, these two features will be seen as integral.
While the Spellpower thing freed up a lot of bag space from redudant gear, it was nothing compared to the Vanity Pet and Mount interface. It's so fun to have all those stupid pets available whenever instead of picking three or four to take with me. Class-colored overhead panes is very convenient plus the combat log changes will make meters a lot more accurate.
PvP Flag Timer... about fucking time!! I got so tired of being on pins and needles while flagged in random places. Never fails but when I'm on a cloth class with a PvP flag up, I fucking attract rogues from miles away. It's like a fucking beacon shooting up into the sky that writes on the clouds, “ZOMG! COME GANK ME PLZ!” On the Priest it's usually okay with stealth detection. As soon as I hear the stealth sound, I fear, bubble, and DoT while running. The mage typically has Ice Block ready but the Warlock is usually toast.
While I spent significant time on Spellpower I close my diatribe with Achievements. Have to hand it to Blizzard… they really know their subscriber base. There are SO MANY THINGS in there to do. Then you can compare yourself to those sitting next to you. It's an ePeen extravaganza. *sigh* Stupid game. I can hardly wait until my Wrath Deluxe Edition gets shipped to me next-day air. *rolls eyes*
My biggest complaint is Spell Power. With a caster main it blured all my lines. Two days after the patch I still hadn't decided what pieces of my “healing” set are now DPS and what I could disenchant as redunant. Still feels weird wearing a Ring of Calming Waves for DPS and I'm annoyed that things like my Nethervoid Cloak went down to 43 Spell Power from 53 Shadow Damage. It's crazy that my Light's Justice is nearly as mean as my Hammer (with the Healing enchant being higher than the Spell Power enchant).
So I'm down to base 1209 Spell Power from over 1350 Shadow Damage. Was eager to hit BT last night to see how things would work. Unfortunately nearly 35 people showed up and I rolled the lowest sit-out roll since I joined the guild. *sigh* Instead of getting four or five bosses down, they cleared the whole thing without me. Was sorta pissed since I've been there pretty solid and was looking forward to seeing our first Illidan kill.
I got into a pug for the Shattered Halls Heroic Daily. My &ldqup;OMFG! Heroic PUG!” dread quickly vanished as we mowed through it without CC'ing. Seems like warriors are fixed as a little gnome half in blues only died once. *snicker* Without any consumables I was seeing raid-level crits, so I guess the patch notes about evquivlency were fair. I wonder if it's the same for the healers after the stated “all healing spells have been modified to receive more benefit from spellpower than they received from bonus healing, with a net effect of no change to the amount healed by their spells.”
My problem was running out of mana. Running the talent calculator a few weeks ago the Vampric Touch change is the nerf it appeared to be. While the Misery and Shadow Weaving nerfs were disappointing, the VT nerf has me concerned over Shadow Priest utility in raids. The days of stacking four SPs are definitely over. Yet it seems like DPS may step up to compensate. For instance, on the last boss in SH I was actually top on DPS… above a decently geared Warlock and Mage. Will be able to tell more in at the next raid where some of my addons are working again. There's a new cast sequence to establish and maybe Mind Flay crits will just rock.
The impact of Spellpower consolidation on gear deserves some more jawing. For the Priest it's going to free up a lot of space as there's little point in a Shadow or Disc set with regards to PvP gear. Though I haven't had to the addons to analyze things completely, I'm pretty sure my PvE DPS set will be damn close to my healing set. But extra bag space don't help with loot distribution. Merging damage and healing now places all those classes at odds with each other, meaning upgrades will take longer to acquire and creating potential loot whore bad blood.
Though I'd heard about the removal of priest-specific talents I was still sad to see them really gone. Got used to using Feedback occasionally and Desperate Prayer was so godly in PvP, though Dwarf, Dranei, and Forsaken priests were certainly hit harder. It was pretty shitty how the patch notes made zero mention of this. As a Human I do like the new “Every Man for Himself” racial though the way it's worded makes it sound like it will blow my trinket. If it does, that may mean freeing up that trinket slot for something else.
The down-ranking nerf really annoyed me. From a threat or cast-time stand point I'll still have some lower spells on my bar with all my casters, but it's still a mean-spirited nerf. Why even have mana at all if all the spells are going to be gutted like that? PC spells should have a mana percentage with no ranks where the effect numbers will level-scale.
Got a little time in with the Shaman. Definitely missing the flat DPS increase of Rockbiter but I'm dealing okay with the switch to Flametongue for Lava Lash. It's nice to have another DPS instant to go along with Stormstrike since the shock cooldowns now go to threat reduction. Do miss the proc sounds of Shamanistic Focus but the mana reduction is cool. Definitely liking the change to the Strength of Earth totem and can hardly wait for the Wolf Pet talent. Seems like Elemental and Healing all got solid boosts, too. The only solid nerf I've heard about so far was the Heroism debuff.
As for the other classes I just haven't had time. Did put every single point into Frost on my Mage but only did some exploring and herbing so far. Fairly certain I'm going to keep the druid Feral but there sure are some fun things in Balance now. Going to finish leveling the Pally as Ret but I have no idea about the damn Warlock.
Having Macros stored on the server is really nice. There are a number of channeling, targetting, and focus macros that I was sometimes lazy about keeping in sync. Adding real support to the “hidden” focus system was long overdue. Hopefully the threat system revamp was done well. It's certainly nice to see support built into the default interface. The red portrait outline is handy but the little “Threat Changed to You!” Scrolling Combat Texts are awesome!
The Calendar feature is one of those Blizzard niceities. There was really no reason to put something like that in but they did. And they did it well. It's very handy to see what's coming up from the in-game world perspective. Being able to have events from the guild makes it invaluable. The Complete Trade Skill link is another similar bonus as it wasn't really needed but it's sure damn handy. After a while, these two features will be seen as integral.
While the Spellpower thing freed up a lot of bag space from redudant gear, it was nothing compared to the Vanity Pet and Mount interface. It's so fun to have all those stupid pets available whenever instead of picking three or four to take with me. Class-colored overhead panes is very convenient plus the combat log changes will make meters a lot more accurate.
PvP Flag Timer... about fucking time!! I got so tired of being on pins and needles while flagged in random places. Never fails but when I'm on a cloth class with a PvP flag up, I fucking attract rogues from miles away. It's like a fucking beacon shooting up into the sky that writes on the clouds, “ZOMG! COME GANK ME PLZ!” On the Priest it's usually okay with stealth detection. As soon as I hear the stealth sound, I fear, bubble, and DoT while running. The mage typically has Ice Block ready but the Warlock is usually toast.
While I spent significant time on Spellpower I close my diatribe with Achievements. Have to hand it to Blizzard… they really know their subscriber base. There are SO MANY THINGS in there to do. Then you can compare yourself to those sitting next to you. It's an ePeen extravaganza. *sigh* Stupid game. I can hardly wait until my Wrath Deluxe Edition gets shipped to me next-day air. *rolls eyes*
Friday, August 1, 2008
The Shadow
Really enjoying the Priestly DPS. Got the official invite to Aequitas tonight which I'm excited about. They've just gotten to Mother and will be attempting the Council shortly. It's been very stressful to getting Shadow Resist farming done along with building a respectible DPS set. It's coming together though and should be contributing meaningfully within a month.
Really liking the look, too. I put together 100 badges on Tuesday and decided to go for the Robe since it was the biggest upgrade. Naturally Gorefiend dropped the Shadow Council tonight and none of the other casters were interested. *sigh* Technically not a strong upgrade since it just trades +hit for +crit, but I'm very hit capped at the moment. Ironically they have the exact same texture.
Oh well. I knew I should have picked up the Shoes instead. Even then, I'm probably not going to be able to avoid doing Shadoweave. The sockets on the Boots are too incredible, and the shoulders would be a significant boost. Once I do that though my healing gear is ravaged. Oh well. Tired of healing anyway.
Really liking the look, too. I put together 100 badges on Tuesday and decided to go for the Robe since it was the biggest upgrade. Naturally Gorefiend dropped the Shadow Council tonight and none of the other casters were interested. *sigh* Technically not a strong upgrade since it just trades +hit for +crit, but I'm very hit capped at the moment. Ironically they have the exact same texture.
Oh well. I knew I should have picked up the Shoes instead. Even then, I'm probably not going to be able to avoid doing Shadoweave. The sockets on the Boots are too incredible, and the shoulders would be a significant boost. Once I do that though my healing gear is ravaged. Oh well. Tired of healing anyway.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Priestly Talents Refresh
Kevanassa found my old Priest spec notes and got riled up, contesting a few of my assertions. And it's true. I've needed to revisit it for a while. For instance: Mindflay. The novely of being Disc with Mindflay has nearly worn off. Mainly Sloosh would use it while waiting for Fear's 30-second cooldown eon. If a melee was on a fleeing Hennesy she would slow them down. With Hamstring/Crippling/Wing Clip and/or resists, it's not terribly effective. In fact, lately she would resort to Mind Control as it's amusing and effective to break their momentum, throw them off the bridge or move them away from their team mate.
So yeah. It's time to retire my Mindflay Disc spec (48/2/11) so I reviewed some other specs. Started at WoWWiki.
How would I fix this build? Give up both DF and Inspiration along with Holy Nova in favor of five points in Mental Agility (Disc is so mana intensive, let's keep those Shields, Prayers of Mending, and Renew cheap!) and a full five points in Silent Resolve. The remaining three points are a tough call. Absolution is nice to make those dispels even cheaper along with lightening the heavy cost off Mass Dispel. The three points would also be useful in Spell Warding to trim off 6% of all spell damage. Personally I would put the final three points in Blackout. Getting a 3 second stun for spamming 23 mana rank 1 Shadow Word: Pain is godly.
The only lingering problem is Enlightenment. On the surface, simultaneously boosting Stamina, Intelligence, and Spirit sounds wondrous. Yet I've read commentary that's convinced me a 5% stat gain for five points is a nominal benefit at best, even with 2.4's changes to Spirit. It would be wise to take two of those points to max Blackout. As above, the remaining three points could go either into Absolution or Spell Warding. With the focus on Disc PvP healing, Absolution makes most sense.
I think the spec would make sense for main healing in a 5v5, yet I see it in 2v2. The 9th 2v2 rated team in my battle group and on my server is actually a Priest and a Warlock. The Priest uses a variant of the livelong build above. But they are Dwarf and Gnome while Hennesy and Sloosh are both Human. Perception doesn't compete with Stoneform and Escape Artist.
Another Priest a few slots down was pretty close to livelong yet he worked in Blessed Recovery and, of all things, Improved Inner Fire; at least he had the shields. Kevanassa mentioned playing with IIF and felt the same way I do—useless. Maybe in the buffed armor of full Vengeful (which he does have) I'd consider it, but I'm still dubious.
My Dwarf Priest is still 59 and it might be worthwhile getting him to 70 to let Sloosh retire from PVP. I would miss the lovely Spirit bonus, but it would be worth losing Feedback and Perception for Stoneform and Chastise while retaining Desperate Prayer. Alliances sucks in BGs so badly I'm not sure I'd have the patience to re-farm all the Vindicator gear. It might work if I kept him in the 59 bracket for a while though. It's less honor but there are a enough Alliance twinks for wins which would mean more tokens/honor in the long run.
Anyway. I'm going to ask Kev for some feedback around this Disc spec (51/5/5). Want to hold onto Blackout and the initial points in Holy. I like the shields and I'm going for Improved Spirit since it helps me and Hennesy (so long as it doesn't get dispelled, heh). In the interim, I have two green gems to replace and a few enchants to get done.
So yeah. It's time to retire my Mindflay Disc spec (48/2/11) so I reviewed some other specs. Started at WoWWiki.
Disc PvP Healer (47/14/0)Divine Fury makes no sense to me. In PvP Flash Heals are best for non-instant healing. 1.5 seconds of breathing room is hard to get as it is, but 2.5 seconds is way too long. Inspiration is also of dubious value since the significant boost on cloth is nearly as meaningless as it would be for plate. It might help Feral druids yet that's three points with a pretty narrow use. Those three points should have gone to Blessed Recovery.
A build with increased survivability. Strong buffs, including Pain Suppression and Power Infusion. Mana Burn is the strongest spell to use against opponents if you get caught in a 1v1 situation. A .5 second Mass Dispel, as well as Improved Power Word: Shield, Reflective Shield, and Healing Focus make this a very effective healing build in PvP.
How would I fix this build? Give up both DF and Inspiration along with Holy Nova in favor of five points in Mental Agility (Disc is so mana intensive, let's keep those Shields, Prayers of Mending, and Renew cheap!) and a full five points in Silent Resolve. The remaining three points are a tough call. Absolution is nice to make those dispels even cheaper along with lightening the heavy cost off Mass Dispel. The three points would also be useful in Spell Warding to trim off 6% of all spell damage. Personally I would put the final three points in Blackout. Getting a 3 second stun for spamming 23 mana rank 1 Shadow Word: Pain is godly.
The only lingering problem is Enlightenment. On the surface, simultaneously boosting Stamina, Intelligence, and Spirit sounds wondrous. Yet I've read commentary that's convinced me a 5% stat gain for five points is a nominal benefit at best, even with 2.4's changes to Spirit. It would be wise to take two of those points to max Blackout. As above, the remaining three points could go either into Absolution or Spell Warding. With the focus on Disc PvP healing, Absolution makes most sense.
PvP "Face Melter" (17/0/44)Beautiful. I hate losing Shadow Power's +15% crit, but this spec makes perfect sense to me. It's a pity Sloosh never seems to fill a DPS slot.
This build is a pure PvP build. The build is only slightly viable for raiding, but in the new arena system, as well as normal PvP, it will truly "melt faces."
Common Disc PvP Healer (livelong build) (41/20/0)Once again a slant towards the big heals with Divine Fury and Improved Healing. While it would be wonderful to have Blessed Recovery, this much Holy makes little sense to me in BGs and even less in Arenas. These points belong back over in Disc for Improved Power Word: Shield and Reflective Shields.
This build seems to be the best current build for PvP priest healers as it allows you to take plenty of hits while still doing your job. This build is also the most popular among the 25th and up top rated priests in 2v2 3v3 and 5v5!
I think the spec would make sense for main healing in a 5v5, yet I see it in 2v2. The 9th 2v2 rated team in my battle group and on my server is actually a Priest and a Warlock. The Priest uses a variant of the livelong build above. But they are Dwarf and Gnome while Hennesy and Sloosh are both Human. Perception doesn't compete with Stoneform and Escape Artist.
Another Priest a few slots down was pretty close to livelong yet he worked in Blessed Recovery and, of all things, Improved Inner Fire; at least he had the shields. Kevanassa mentioned playing with IIF and felt the same way I do—useless. Maybe in the buffed armor of full Vengeful (which he does have) I'd consider it, but I'm still dubious.
My Dwarf Priest is still 59 and it might be worthwhile getting him to 70 to let Sloosh retire from PVP. I would miss the lovely Spirit bonus, but it would be worth losing Feedback and Perception for Stoneform and Chastise while retaining Desperate Prayer. Alliances sucks in BGs so badly I'm not sure I'd have the patience to re-farm all the Vindicator gear. It might work if I kept him in the 59 bracket for a while though. It's less honor but there are a enough Alliance twinks for wins which would mean more tokens/honor in the long run.
Anyway. I'm going to ask Kev for some feedback around this Disc spec (51/5/5). Want to hold onto Blackout and the initial points in Holy. I like the shields and I'm going for Improved Spirit since it helps me and Hennesy (so long as it doesn't get dispelled, heh). In the interim, I have two green gems to replace and a few enchants to get done.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Arena First
Sloosh and Hennesy are still struggling in the 1600s but it finally happened: Druid/Warrior team downed!
Hennesy noted that I was doing unnecessary pole dancing. A Warrior or Rogue pinning me down would follow me out of his LoS so he couldn't assist me. With Nightal on my ass, I parked against the corner of the Ruins of Lordaeron's center obstacle and focused on keeping myself alive while throwing occasional instant heals when Hennesy was in range. After Pain Supression's brief respite I didn't last long, but Erwynn died seconds later. Nightal was at 40% health yet Hennesy managed to finish with 7% health. I cheered rather loudly.
The most amusing fight was when we dipped down to 1596. We were pitted against a dual Frost mage team. I threw Power Infusion on Hennesy then went into full rabbit mode. Got their pets on me in the center of the field then chain dispelled my way to a corner. Pretty sure they didn't get a single Ice Lance crit on me though I was down to 20% health once behind the pillar. Hennesy had them dead seconds later.
Ended the day 5-5 with a 1649 rating. Going to start gearing up Aenara for PvP I guess. Druids are still too powerful with Swiftmended massive heals, Nature's Swiftness of anything, ultra CC, an AoE heal that isn't affected by LoS, a HoT that heals when dispelled, and immunity to polymorph/snare. For me the biggest losses will be Mana Burn and Dispel, but I'm sure I can adjust. I don't think Hennesy is happy about playing a Warrior but it might work out.
Hennesy noted that I was doing unnecessary pole dancing. A Warrior or Rogue pinning me down would follow me out of his LoS so he couldn't assist me. With Nightal on my ass, I parked against the corner of the Ruins of Lordaeron's center obstacle and focused on keeping myself alive while throwing occasional instant heals when Hennesy was in range. After Pain Supression's brief respite I didn't last long, but Erwynn died seconds later. Nightal was at 40% health yet Hennesy managed to finish with 7% health. I cheered rather loudly.
The most amusing fight was when we dipped down to 1596. We were pitted against a dual Frost mage team. I threw Power Infusion on Hennesy then went into full rabbit mode. Got their pets on me in the center of the field then chain dispelled my way to a corner. Pretty sure they didn't get a single Ice Lance crit on me though I was down to 20% health once behind the pillar. Hennesy had them dead seconds later.
Ended the day 5-5 with a 1649 rating. Going to start gearing up Aenara for PvP I guess. Druids are still too powerful with Swiftmended massive heals, Nature's Swiftness of anything, ultra CC, an AoE heal that isn't affected by LoS, a HoT that heals when dispelled, and immunity to polymorph/snare. For me the biggest losses will be Mana Burn and Dispel, but I'm sure I can adjust. I don't think Hennesy is happy about playing a Warrior but it might work out.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Sunday Morning Killings
6-4
1. Penny Arcade: ?, ?, ?; -15 (1585)
2. B U R N: Eronwe, Xade, Bloodscalp; +13 ()
3. Grilled Pringles N Chees: Silenttreble, Tume, Suramar; +16 ()
4. Tobacconist: Cymraeg, Cherek, Stormscale; -17 ()
5. HuDr: Coldhart, Torekrage, Bloodscalp; +14 ()
6. Quicken: Draknov, Sassar, Feathermoon; -15 ()
7. The Other Half is Killing; Andostre, Khiva, Crushridge; +11 ()
8. We Ebayd; Onslot, Zurii, Stormscale; -17 ()
9. Not so glissy; Fyrrkynn, Unsere, Daggerspine; +15 ()
10. Not so glissy; Fyrrkynn, Unsere, Daggerspine; +13 (1618)
1. Penny Arcade: ?, ?, ?; -15 (1585)
2. B U R N: Eronwe, Xade, Bloodscalp; +13 ()
3. Grilled Pringles N Chees: Silenttreble, Tume, Suramar; +16 ()
4. Tobacconist: Cymraeg, Cherek, Stormscale; -17 ()
5. HuDr: Coldhart, Torekrage, Bloodscalp; +14 ()
6. Quicken: Draknov, Sassar, Feathermoon; -15 ()
7. The Other Half is Killing; Andostre, Khiva, Crushridge; +11 ()
8. We Ebayd; Onslot, Zurii, Stormscale; -17 ()
9. Not so glissy; Fyrrkynn, Unsere, Daggerspine; +15 ()
10. Not so glissy; Fyrrkynn, Unsere, Daggerspine; +13 (1618)
Friday, February 8, 2008
Warrior Continues
Over the last few days Fearce's engineering went from 305 to 350, exhausting my entire supply of Fel Iron ore and nearly all my Adamantite ore. Being a pack rat does help lighten the financial blow of such training. Was really excited to get the Gnomish Poultryizer made now I have to get the Flying Machine Control done then find a way to get a primal nether so I can make Tankatronic Goggles.
Pretty sure Fearce can do Heroic Ramparts now. Went in with some randoms and it wasn't too bad. We didn't get far though because I didn't recall the pulls; Ramparts was always easy to storm through before. Plus we had a 68 shaman healing. Oh well. Have to beg Rool, Ladaron, and Hennesy for help and it shouldn't be too bad.
Was happy to get the Kara key fragment out of Steam Vaults. It was tempting to ditch the pug after downing the beast, but it there was a chance for the Devilshark Cape and completing The Warlord's Hideout for Myrmidon's Headdress. Took some time but we eventually got Warlord Kalithresh down. Naturally he dropped Ring of the Silver Hand and Moonglade Shoulders, so Fearce had to be content with faction and the quest helm.
On Wednesday Azjol-Nerub's PvP daily was Arathi Basin so Sloosh queued up on a whim. And won. Won a second game, too. Was kind of encouraging now that Alterac Valley is Horde-fucked. She really needs to get enough honor for the Medallion of the Alliance, but it's so depressing trying to farm the honor. Really need to spend time on Virulence to enjoy the PvP Goodlife Hordeside.
Pretty sure Fearce can do Heroic Ramparts now. Went in with some randoms and it wasn't too bad. We didn't get far though because I didn't recall the pulls; Ramparts was always easy to storm through before. Plus we had a 68 shaman healing. Oh well. Have to beg Rool, Ladaron, and Hennesy for help and it shouldn't be too bad.
Was happy to get the Kara key fragment out of Steam Vaults. It was tempting to ditch the pug after downing the beast, but it there was a chance for the Devilshark Cape and completing The Warlord's Hideout for Myrmidon's Headdress. Took some time but we eventually got Warlord Kalithresh down. Naturally he dropped Ring of the Silver Hand and Moonglade Shoulders, so Fearce had to be content with faction and the quest helm.
On Wednesday Azjol-Nerub's PvP daily was Arathi Basin so Sloosh queued up on a whim. And won. Won a second game, too. Was kind of encouraging now that Alterac Valley is Horde-fucked. She really needs to get enough honor for the Medallion of the Alliance, but it's so depressing trying to farm the honor. Really need to spend time on Virulence to enjoy the PvP Goodlife Hordeside.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Over the Weekend
Hennesy and Sloosh ravaged the Arena this weekend. Only lost one match to Taranor (NE Priest, 44/17/0) and Kithaya (HU Mage, 17/0/44) because Sloosh didn't LoS a series of Mana Burns from Taranor. We won one then they won one. Wish there was one more match to prove who was truly ownting. Started out with a 1499 and ended with a 1599 rating.
With a personal rating of 1623, Sloosh might get the season three shoulders and weapon before the season ends. She currently has 70 Badges saved up so they will probably be going towards a Battlemaster's Perseverance. Personally I'm not sure that trinket is worth it; I wish Kevanassa was around to discuss it. The only honor piece left to grind is a Medallion of the Alliance, which is such a relief. Remaining honor will be squirreled away for season four off-set pieces.
Gearing Fearce with the basics is pretty much complete. Rounded things out over the weekend by picking up the Breastplate of the Warbringer. Of the four recommended chest pieces, it's probably the weakest but it brought defense up to 488. The quest line to complete it was pretty easy to do with Sloosh on autofollow to help with the healing and wand DPS. Got going on the Kara key by doing the silly starter quests then having Ladaron and Rool help run through the Shadow Labyrinth for the first key.
Been doing some Alterac Valley and Eye of the Storm with Fearce for honor and tokens. Finally have enough to pick up a Gladiator's Cleaver only to decide against it once in the Champion's Hall. Need to review the rest of the gear available as that axe will not help tanking whereas something else might. Maybe. Noticing that caster equipment has variety (Druids and Shaman have three sets, for instance) while Warriors have only one. Sucks.
With a personal rating of 1623, Sloosh might get the season three shoulders and weapon before the season ends. She currently has 70 Badges saved up so they will probably be going towards a Battlemaster's Perseverance. Personally I'm not sure that trinket is worth it; I wish Kevanassa was around to discuss it. The only honor piece left to grind is a Medallion of the Alliance, which is such a relief. Remaining honor will be squirreled away for season four off-set pieces.
Gearing Fearce with the basics is pretty much complete. Rounded things out over the weekend by picking up the Breastplate of the Warbringer. Of the four recommended chest pieces, it's probably the weakest but it brought defense up to 488. The quest line to complete it was pretty easy to do with Sloosh on autofollow to help with the healing and wand DPS. Got going on the Kara key by doing the silly starter quests then having Ladaron and Rool help run through the Shadow Labyrinth for the first key.
Been doing some Alterac Valley and Eye of the Storm with Fearce for honor and tokens. Finally have enough to pick up a Gladiator's Cleaver only to decide against it once in the Champion's Hall. Need to review the rest of the gear available as that axe will not help tanking whereas something else might. Maybe. Noticing that caster equipment has variety (Druids and Shaman have three sets, for instance) while Warriors have only one. Sucks.
Friday, February 1, 2008
The Dreaded Priest Re-spec
Kevanassa gave me a great Holy/Disc spec (18/43/0) that let Sloosh raid and PvP without spending 100g to switch every week. Healing was fully buffed allowing me to spam low rank flash heals for impressive numbers. Yet I had incredible survivability in BGs and the Arena. Kev even snuck in Holy Nova which is wonderful for catching stealthers or preventing flag/banner caps. Yet as Sloosh gained more Arena and Vindicator gear I've lamented the steady decline in +healing. It made me realize that the switch from Holy was inevitable.
Kev also provided me with a PvP Disc spec (46/11/0) that is slightly different from the “standard (41/20/0)” seen so often on Arena disc priests, even on the Priest builds at WoWWiki. He skips Silent Resolve, Absolution, Mental Agility, Improved Healing, Improved Renew, Divine Fury and Focused Will to pick up Enlightenment, Reflective Shield, and Improved Power Word: Shield. I won't try Kev's because I don't see PW:S as viable in PvP—especially without Silent Resolve. I also like to have renews extended when they're so efficient with Mental Agility.
I wasn't interested in the standard either because I don't fully trust the Improved Healing/Divine Fury combo. Kev is a firm believer in flash heals and I heartily agree. I also wanted to pick up Enlightenment for the stat boost. Was looking over Kev's current spec (18/43/0) and it makes no sense to me. Light on the Disc and really scattered around the Holy tree. Looked around Samarahh's spec (50/11/0) which had potential except that he fell into the same PW:S trap.
Came across a “Unorthodox Disc Priest Arena Build (43/5/13) on WoWWikki. It also has the damn PW:S combo without Silent Resolve. Got to thinking. Normally in the middle of stun lock I only get SW:P and SW:D off while trying to get instant health stuff off. Which means I'm just staying alive without really hurting my attacker, hoping for someone else to come by and save me. Having my shield damage as well would be handy. But the +healing is going down so the shield won't reflect that much. Reading some feedback in the forums does make me want to try it despite my misgivings.
The idea of working in some shadow was very compelling. Mind Flay's range is limited but the effect is handy. Blackout is also a wonderful wild card to have in the arsenal. They put too many points in Shadow Focus considering that it is not a Shadow spec. So I came up with this spec (45/5/11). Getting Divine Spirit back, trying out the reflective shield, bit of renew, and the dash of Shadow all on the heavy Disc base. See how it goes…
Kev also provided me with a PvP Disc spec (46/11/0) that is slightly different from the “standard (41/20/0)” seen so often on Arena disc priests, even on the Priest builds at WoWWiki. He skips Silent Resolve, Absolution, Mental Agility, Improved Healing, Improved Renew, Divine Fury and Focused Will to pick up Enlightenment, Reflective Shield, and Improved Power Word: Shield. I won't try Kev's because I don't see PW:S as viable in PvP—especially without Silent Resolve. I also like to have renews extended when they're so efficient with Mental Agility.
I wasn't interested in the standard either because I don't fully trust the Improved Healing/Divine Fury combo. Kev is a firm believer in flash heals and I heartily agree. I also wanted to pick up Enlightenment for the stat boost. Was looking over Kev's current spec (18/43/0) and it makes no sense to me. Light on the Disc and really scattered around the Holy tree. Looked around Samarahh's spec (50/11/0) which had potential except that he fell into the same PW:S trap.
Came across a “Unorthodox Disc Priest Arena Build (43/5/13) on WoWWikki. It also has the damn PW:S combo without Silent Resolve. Got to thinking. Normally in the middle of stun lock I only get SW:P and SW:D off while trying to get instant health stuff off. Which means I'm just staying alive without really hurting my attacker, hoping for someone else to come by and save me. Having my shield damage as well would be handy. But the +healing is going down so the shield won't reflect that much. Reading some feedback in the forums does make me want to try it despite my misgivings.
The idea of working in some shadow was very compelling. Mind Flay's range is limited but the effect is handy. Blackout is also a wonderful wild card to have in the arsenal. They put too many points in Shadow Focus considering that it is not a Shadow spec. So I came up with this spec (45/5/11). Getting Divine Spirit back, trying out the reflective shield, bit of renew, and the dash of Shadow all on the heavy Disc base. See how it goes…
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Ogres Get Some Priest and Warrior Action
Sloosh is looking pretty silly with season three gloves and hood while the rest is season one, but that's okay. She's sitting at 367 resilience and I haven't socketed the new hood yet. I was hoping to hit 400 for the weekend but I couldn't muster the willpower to overcome the boredom of PvPing. See what I can get down over the weekend.
Instead of being focused on Sloosh, Fearce has gotten the attention this week. In my current circle of friends we're lacking a tank so I've been motivated. Made some real progress. Got a run through The Mechanar done on Tuesday where I picked up a Thoriumweave Cloak and the key fragment for How to Break Into the Arcatraz. Last night I suggested to Ladaron and Rool we get our Ogri'la quests done. I brought both Sloosh and Fearce along then we picked up a random Paladin, Apeec, who was begging for a group by the quest-giver ogre. Turns out we need five people for one of the summons so it worked out well.
Once we were crowned and checking out Ogri'La, Ladaron and Rool had to take off so I decided to see what the drop rate on apexis crystals was—not so great. It took probably twenty-five kills to get the ten I needed for the initial quest. I suppose that ratio isn't bad, but with Fearce being Protection and Sloosh a robot, it's slow going. I did get a Depleted Staff to drop in my little farming session. With fifty crystals it becomes a tradeable Flaming Quartz Staff which seems a waste of crystals at the moment.
After turning in the crystals I hearthed back to Shattrath and decided to join a Bot pug with Fearce. I was a little dubious with two hunters, a DPS warrior, and a tree Druid but we managed to do quite well. I've gotten quite familiar with The Botanica over the last week so I got them to push to the end. Was very fortunate to pick up the Aegis of the Sunbird that I've wanted for a while now plus the Revenger that I probably won't use. The defensive stats on the Crystalline Kopesh are still too compelling. Managed to down Warp Splinter so I got the Arcatraz key made plus picked up the Sha'tari Vindicator's Waistguard. Going to enchant the cloak with armor though I'm not sure on the shield. Extra block might be the way to go but more health is always a good thing.
The Warrior gear checklist is looking pretty good. Once Fearce picks up a breastplate, another ring, and some trinkets she'll be ready to tank some ass. *snicker* Kind of wish I'd tracked her progress over the last week as it would really illustrate what little life I have outside of Azeroth.
Instead of being focused on Sloosh, Fearce has gotten the attention this week. In my current circle of friends we're lacking a tank so I've been motivated. Made some real progress. Got a run through The Mechanar done on Tuesday where I picked up a Thoriumweave Cloak and the key fragment for How to Break Into the Arcatraz. Last night I suggested to Ladaron and Rool we get our Ogri'la quests done. I brought both Sloosh and Fearce along then we picked up a random Paladin, Apeec, who was begging for a group by the quest-giver ogre. Turns out we need five people for one of the summons so it worked out well.
Once we were crowned and checking out Ogri'La, Ladaron and Rool had to take off so I decided to see what the drop rate on apexis crystals was—not so great. It took probably twenty-five kills to get the ten I needed for the initial quest. I suppose that ratio isn't bad, but with Fearce being Protection and Sloosh a robot, it's slow going. I did get a Depleted Staff to drop in my little farming session. With fifty crystals it becomes a tradeable Flaming Quartz Staff which seems a waste of crystals at the moment.
After turning in the crystals I hearthed back to Shattrath and decided to join a Bot pug with Fearce. I was a little dubious with two hunters, a DPS warrior, and a tree Druid but we managed to do quite well. I've gotten quite familiar with The Botanica over the last week so I got them to push to the end. Was very fortunate to pick up the Aegis of the Sunbird that I've wanted for a while now plus the Revenger that I probably won't use. The defensive stats on the Crystalline Kopesh are still too compelling. Managed to down Warp Splinter so I got the Arcatraz key made plus picked up the Sha'tari Vindicator's Waistguard. Going to enchant the cloak with armor though I'm not sure on the shield. Extra block might be the way to go but more health is always a good thing.
The Warrior gear checklist is looking pretty good. Once Fearce picks up a breastplate, another ring, and some trinkets she'll be ready to tank some ass. *snicker* Kind of wish I'd tracked her progress over the last week as it would really illustrate what little life I have outside of Azeroth.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Last Few Days
Friday was pretty uneventful. Rool, Samarahh, and Ladaron all needed some Eye of the Storm marks so we grouped up to suffer together for a while. We actually did win three games of the ten we played so it wasn't as bad as usual. I plan on replacing Sloosh's Light's Justice last so these tokens will chill in the bank for a while.
Saturday I was up early so I worked in some Alterac Valley honor for Sloosh until Emogoblin pulled me away for a run through Uldaman. I used Aenara for the bulk of it then brought in Glitter to get past the two summoning stones.
Had some real life get in the way so I wasn't able to get back on until the evening. There weren't enough people around for Karazhan so jumped right into the arena with Sloosh, Hennesy, and Kidknux. We are coming together a lot better plus we're all over 300 resilience now but there's still work to be done. Played thirteen games, winning six and ending with a 1475 rating. Then won two games with Sloosh and Hennesy putting us at 1499.
Then there were suddenly enough people online for 5v5s so we switched over. Started with the primary team of Sloosh, Hennesy, Rannixx, Artemiis, and Flavie. Initially we were in the low 1400s and stomped into the 1500s, where we were smacked back down. Flavie is still very poorly geared so he didn't add so much. Sloosh is still heavy Holy and Hennesy is deep into Affliction so we also realized that we need to respec over the next week. Still… was a good dynamic and very fun. Won six, lost four, and ended with 1487.
Our “alternate” 5v5 has me on Decimate with Contagent, Rool, Ladaron, and Samarahh. Contagent and I are the best geared for that team, which isn't saying much, so winning two and losing eight wasn't a big surprise. Ended with a 1378.
Sunday morning did more of the usual honor grind. Azjol-Nerub's PvP daily was kindly Alterac Valley so I try to switch through all of my 60+ characters. In fact, it got me into a new strategy for the games where I basically AFK out if we're still dicking around after ten minutes. I let that character's deserter buff decay while I queue up with another. This is very easy to do with seven characters to play, though I did feel some pangs of guilt over leaving the next player who got sucked into a no-honor game. Blizzard really needs to fix that. After a certain reinforcements threshold (like <50), new players should not be zoning in.
After doing some real life stuff I got back on with Fearce. Picked up all three pieces of the Felsteel tanking set from the AH. Also went through my bank cleaning out the accumulated crap only to find I already had the Sha'tari Wrought Armguards and Sha'tari Wrought Greaves I had on my “To Do” list. Got +8sta armor kits on all three items that could accept them then had Glitter make up green gems for all the sockets after Sloosh enchanted the bracers with +7sta. This is all stuff that needs to be upgraded so I'm not commiting quality enchants.
Decided to try pugging The Steamvault and The Botanica via the LFG tool. Got an invite for a Bot group after a while then we waited another thirty minutes for a healer. Finally get going when the Hunter disconnects. Then the Shaman had to leave for Kara. Then the Pally leaves when he realizes it's not Heroic. Finally asked Rool and Ladaron if they'd come help so the switch off of their alts but the Moonkin decide to head. I was getting depressed at this point so I gave it five minutes before calling the whole thing and working on Ogri'la. But we found a mage then managed to clear the whole place. Still no shield but I did pick up the Warhelm of the Bold.
Finished out the night with two more rousing losses in Arathi Basin, which Rool and Ladaron were kind enough to join me for, to get the last tokens I needed for Sloosh's Vindicator's Mooncloth Belt. Once they logged off I went back to AV to get the last ~3.5k honor I needed. Woke up this morning to find I had gotten exactly 4000 honor so Sloosh's resilience went from 303 to 334—very nice! With this weekend's Arena points I will be getting Vengeful Gladiator's Mooncloth Hood tomorrow which means 371 resilience!! Can survive three mêlée pounding on me now so can hardly wait to hit 400. *evil lol*
Saturday I was up early so I worked in some Alterac Valley honor for Sloosh until Emogoblin pulled me away for a run through Uldaman. I used Aenara for the bulk of it then brought in Glitter to get past the two summoning stones.
Had some real life get in the way so I wasn't able to get back on until the evening. There weren't enough people around for Karazhan so jumped right into the arena with Sloosh, Hennesy, and Kidknux. We are coming together a lot better plus we're all over 300 resilience now but there's still work to be done. Played thirteen games, winning six and ending with a 1475 rating. Then won two games with Sloosh and Hennesy putting us at 1499.
Then there were suddenly enough people online for 5v5s so we switched over. Started with the primary team of Sloosh, Hennesy, Rannixx, Artemiis, and Flavie. Initially we were in the low 1400s and stomped into the 1500s, where we were smacked back down. Flavie is still very poorly geared so he didn't add so much. Sloosh is still heavy Holy and Hennesy is deep into Affliction so we also realized that we need to respec over the next week. Still… was a good dynamic and very fun. Won six, lost four, and ended with 1487.
Our “alternate” 5v5 has me on Decimate with Contagent, Rool, Ladaron, and Samarahh. Contagent and I are the best geared for that team, which isn't saying much, so winning two and losing eight wasn't a big surprise. Ended with a 1378.
Sunday morning did more of the usual honor grind. Azjol-Nerub's PvP daily was kindly Alterac Valley so I try to switch through all of my 60+ characters. In fact, it got me into a new strategy for the games where I basically AFK out if we're still dicking around after ten minutes. I let that character's deserter buff decay while I queue up with another. This is very easy to do with seven characters to play, though I did feel some pangs of guilt over leaving the next player who got sucked into a no-honor game. Blizzard really needs to fix that. After a certain reinforcements threshold (like <50), new players should not be zoning in.
After doing some real life stuff I got back on with Fearce. Picked up all three pieces of the Felsteel tanking set from the AH. Also went through my bank cleaning out the accumulated crap only to find I already had the Sha'tari Wrought Armguards and Sha'tari Wrought Greaves I had on my “To Do” list. Got +8sta armor kits on all three items that could accept them then had Glitter make up green gems for all the sockets after Sloosh enchanted the bracers with +7sta. This is all stuff that needs to be upgraded so I'm not commiting quality enchants.
Decided to try pugging The Steamvault and The Botanica via the LFG tool. Got an invite for a Bot group after a while then we waited another thirty minutes for a healer. Finally get going when the Hunter disconnects. Then the Shaman had to leave for Kara. Then the Pally leaves when he realizes it's not Heroic. Finally asked Rool and Ladaron if they'd come help so the switch off of their alts but the Moonkin decide to head. I was getting depressed at this point so I gave it five minutes before calling the whole thing and working on Ogri'la. But we found a mage then managed to clear the whole place. Still no shield but I did pick up the Warhelm of the Bold.
Finished out the night with two more rousing losses in Arathi Basin, which Rool and Ladaron were kind enough to join me for, to get the last tokens I needed for Sloosh's Vindicator's Mooncloth Belt. Once they logged off I went back to AV to get the last ~3.5k honor I needed. Woke up this morning to find I had gotten exactly 4000 honor so Sloosh's resilience went from 303 to 334—very nice! With this weekend's Arena points I will be getting Vengeful Gladiator's Mooncloth Hood tomorrow which means 371 resilience!! Can survive three mêlée pounding on me now so can hardly wait to hit 400. *evil lol*
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