When I first watched the WoW Cataclysm cinematic, my first thought was "Okay, that's technically well done." My next thought was "Outside of the brief glimpse of Freewind Post and Grom'gol, I'd say that the Horde comes out of this better than the Alliance does."
The last thing I thought of probably dates me, but did anyone else notice that when Deathwing said "Pain! Agony!" he sounded remarkably like Bugs Bunny?
Monday, October 18, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
New Favorite thing to do (while bored)
Step 1 - Get shoe shine
Step 2 - go stand on statue out side of south bank and kill squirrel
Step 3 - Stand over squirrel's dead body
Step 4 - Watch how many people try to stop and loot the squirrel
Step 2 - go stand on statue out side of south bank and kill squirrel
Step 3 - Stand over squirrel's dead body
Step 4 - Watch how many people try to stop and loot the squirrel
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
OMG Warrior tanking...
... is pretty much the same as it was, with the addition of a few new abilities in the mix like victory rush and rend.
Like Q in the post below, I also got DTK as first dungeon I did. The first pull was a little shaky getting the mobs on me because I had some trouble generating rage right off the bat, but a quick shout fixed that. The second pull was a little hairy as well because the DPS in the group got all antsy in their pantys and starting dpsing stuff before I could even get a thunderclap + shockwave off. After that though, it was back to normal speed and we were done in there with no wipes or deaths in about 15 minutes. There was, however, one noticible difference - I did the most damage done. Muaahahahaha! Watching vengeance scale is amazingly fun. My attack power just goes up and up and up and up...
I'm definately noticing how aggro is going to be a little shaky. I look forward to the cries of the dead dps. They haven't quite learned how to assist the tank - but the current dungeons and design don't FORCE them too.... yet.
So much to learn and wrap my head around with all the changes.... so many new glyphs and a few new skills. The new all plate armor bonus is sweet, as well as the mastery bonuses. I'm up to 50k unbuffed HP, which makes me wonder if I should think about swapping out my one stam trinket for armor or avoidance.
I also noticed that dwaves get a +archaelogy bonus. Which is OK, I guess. It's still not enough to make me not want to race change to a worgen as soon as I can. I mean, come on... a warrior with charge, intercept, intervene, heroic leap, AND a racial sprint - as well as a resto shaman arena partner who can now cleanse mage polymorphs and ice novas!? Mmmmmmm..... dead mages.
All in all, wonderful changes and it's fun to learn your class again. And to all of the nay sayers out there... shut it. We don't have the right gear (+mastery points) yet to make your spec shine. It's all new and different and you don't like it. I get it. But shut up and give it a go and see if you like it.
Oh, and the new downloader is rather spiffy! I loaded up while it was still downloading with out much issue and off I went.
Oh, and one last thing... I purchased my 310% flying speed last night which lets me give up on Yogg +1.
And there's finally someting NEW in the game again!
*cue up Choir*
Like Q in the post below, I also got DTK as first dungeon I did. The first pull was a little shaky getting the mobs on me because I had some trouble generating rage right off the bat, but a quick shout fixed that. The second pull was a little hairy as well because the DPS in the group got all antsy in their pantys and starting dpsing stuff before I could even get a thunderclap + shockwave off. After that though, it was back to normal speed and we were done in there with no wipes or deaths in about 15 minutes. There was, however, one noticible difference - I did the most damage done. Muaahahahaha! Watching vengeance scale is amazingly fun. My attack power just goes up and up and up and up...
I'm definately noticing how aggro is going to be a little shaky. I look forward to the cries of the dead dps. They haven't quite learned how to assist the tank - but the current dungeons and design don't FORCE them too.... yet.
So much to learn and wrap my head around with all the changes.... so many new glyphs and a few new skills. The new all plate armor bonus is sweet, as well as the mastery bonuses. I'm up to 50k unbuffed HP, which makes me wonder if I should think about swapping out my one stam trinket for armor or avoidance.
I also noticed that dwaves get a +archaelogy bonus. Which is OK, I guess. It's still not enough to make me not want to race change to a worgen as soon as I can. I mean, come on... a warrior with charge, intercept, intervene, heroic leap, AND a racial sprint - as well as a resto shaman arena partner who can now cleanse mage polymorphs and ice novas!? Mmmmmmm..... dead mages.
All in all, wonderful changes and it's fun to learn your class again. And to all of the nay sayers out there... shut it. We don't have the right gear (+mastery points) yet to make your spec shine. It's all new and different and you don't like it. I get it. But shut up and give it a go and see if you like it.
Oh, and the new downloader is rather spiffy! I loaded up while it was still downloading with out much issue and off I went.
Oh, and one last thing... I purchased my 310% flying speed last night which lets me give up on Yogg +1.
And there's finally someting NEW in the game again!
*cue up Choir*
Getting to Know You All Over Again
Well, I got Quintalan set up talentwise, reestablished my glyphs, checked my gear, and tried out Drak'Tharon with three other guildies. In a taste of lowbie runs, there were three Pallys --one of which was the guy not from our guild as the healer-- and two as Ret. We also had a Druid as tank, and a Lock rounding out the DPS.
What did we learn? Oh, joy.
We had an incredibly slow run through Drak, all of us critiquing our stuff.
"XXX Druid ability has a CD now. Do not like."
"WTH happened to Art of War?"
"Flash of Light and Holy Light flip-flopped. Have to rework our buttons."
"I feel completely naked; I have no idea how I'm doing."
"Oh oh. This tanking ability is broken."
"I'm just seeing 300, 400, 500, then 9000 damage at a time. This just feels wrong."
Nobody died, which was a bonus, but it wasn't, well, thrilling. Holy Power is definitely the key to making some decent damage, but it's very clumsy right now. The cooldowns are s-l-o-w, and I felt like I was a fresh 80 doing miniscule damage. Art of War seems to take forever to proc now, and when it finally does it always seems to be on the last hit of a mob. Big whoop.
I know what I'm going to be doing the next couple of days: reading.
What did we learn? Oh, joy.
We had an incredibly slow run through Drak, all of us critiquing our stuff.
"XXX Druid ability has a CD now. Do not like."
"WTH happened to Art of War?"
"Flash of Light and Holy Light flip-flopped. Have to rework our buttons."
"I feel completely naked; I have no idea how I'm doing."
"Oh oh. This tanking ability is broken."
"I'm just seeing 300, 400, 500, then 9000 damage at a time. This just feels wrong."
Nobody died, which was a bonus, but it wasn't, well, thrilling. Holy Power is definitely the key to making some decent damage, but it's very clumsy right now. The cooldowns are s-l-o-w, and I felt like I was a fresh 80 doing miniscule damage. Art of War seems to take forever to proc now, and when it finally does it always seems to be on the last hit of a mob. Big whoop.
I know what I'm going to be doing the next couple of days: reading.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Hmmmm.... About that patch
Note to self: The patch is big.
My background downloader had taken care of the 4+ GB over the past few weeks, but I was surprised that after that installation, another window started up for first a 50MB and then another 1.4 GB download. I've no idea if there's a fourth download behind this one, but hold onto your hats.
EtA: No, there wasn't another gig lurking behind that fifth one, so we're good to go. The "you can play now" sound pinged halfway through the last 1.4 GB download, but since the servers were down, it was a moot point.
All in all, lots of "Deathwing this" and "Deathwing that" files were unpacked along with the plethora of assorted other data.
My background downloader had taken care of the 4+ GB over the past few weeks, but I was surprised that after that installation, another window started up for first a 50MB and then another 1.4 GB download. I've no idea if there's a fourth download behind this one, but hold onto your hats.
EtA: No, there wasn't another gig lurking behind that fifth one, so we're good to go. The "you can play now" sound pinged halfway through the last 1.4 GB download, but since the servers were down, it was a moot point.
All in all, lots of "Deathwing this" and "Deathwing that" files were unpacked along with the plethora of assorted other data.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Hot, hot...muy caliente
Mages are going through some pretty significant changes, though some argue rotations aren't that much different. I say, "Ha!"
Although Fire mages, which is proving to be by far the most exciting tree in the class in Cataclysm, has a much more dynamtic approach to fighting than it has before. With such spells as Improved Scourch and Improved Flamestrike, mages will be burning everything in sight while on the move. Not many classes can boast cast-as-you-go flexibility, but Fire Mages not only get a full array of spells that allow movement, it does insane AoE DPS. Proof below:
Cataclysm Beta - Fire AoE Madness + Flame Orb!
I've read that the new Fire Orb isn't living up to expectations, but the other changes have demonstrated amazing results (see Elitist Jerk's spoiler at the bottom of the first post here for Spell Coefficients). However, there are issues to take into consideration especially when running with a group:
1) CC involved pulls break when AoEs are used.
2) Hot streak doesn't proc as often as it does now.
3) Mana efficiency is a major issue currently in the patch (which isn't expected to change much when it goes live).
4) Fire has too much emphasis on DoTs and AoE.
The debate is pretty hot and heavy at Elitist Jerks, bringing up burning issues such as boss encounters in raids where single target DPS is lacking in Fire, the lack of Fire Streak procs, and issues with Combustion. Arcane may prove to be the winner for single target, but given its complex rotation we could see more go Frost on the duel spec. Indeed, Frost is taking an interesting turn boasting higher coefficients than fire on EJ's number-crunching charts. So it might be one of those things where a mage goes back and forth, which isn't much different now for heroic modes in ICC, but something to consider based on playstyle, group composition and boss strategies.
I can tell you this, I'll be at the dummies for a while to determine the best build and rotation until I determine the best of both to maximize my DPS. I'm certainly no min-maxer, but like any other girl I'm all about whats muy caliente.
Although Fire mages, which is proving to be by far the most exciting tree in the class in Cataclysm, has a much more dynamtic approach to fighting than it has before. With such spells as Improved Scourch and Improved Flamestrike, mages will be burning everything in sight while on the move. Not many classes can boast cast-as-you-go flexibility, but Fire Mages not only get a full array of spells that allow movement, it does insane AoE DPS. Proof below:
Cataclysm Beta - Fire AoE Madness + Flame Orb!
I've read that the new Fire Orb isn't living up to expectations, but the other changes have demonstrated amazing results (see Elitist Jerk's spoiler at the bottom of the first post here for Spell Coefficients). However, there are issues to take into consideration especially when running with a group:
1) CC involved pulls break when AoEs are used.
2) Hot streak doesn't proc as often as it does now.
3) Mana efficiency is a major issue currently in the patch (which isn't expected to change much when it goes live).
4) Fire has too much emphasis on DoTs and AoE.
The debate is pretty hot and heavy at Elitist Jerks, bringing up burning issues such as boss encounters in raids where single target DPS is lacking in Fire, the lack of Fire Streak procs, and issues with Combustion. Arcane may prove to be the winner for single target, but given its complex rotation we could see more go Frost on the duel spec. Indeed, Frost is taking an interesting turn boasting higher coefficients than fire on EJ's number-crunching charts. So it might be one of those things where a mage goes back and forth, which isn't much different now for heroic modes in ICC, but something to consider based on playstyle, group composition and boss strategies.
I can tell you this, I'll be at the dummies for a while to determine the best build and rotation until I determine the best of both to maximize my DPS. I'm certainly no min-maxer, but like any other girl I'm all about whats muy caliente.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Death from the Skies
I've been trying to split my time between Tomakan and Nevelanthana, slipping in some face time on Q and other toons. Tom, as another Paladin, is familiar ground, although the queues for DPS or healing are equally long enough right now that there's no real reason for me to keep healing with him for the time being. The only way for me to get to an instant queue is to start tanking, and that's just not me.
Now Neve, she's been a refreshing change of pace. What I discovered with Mages is that I really like being able to find a corner, just out of silence or knockdown range, and just go to town. As I described it to someone the other day, "it's a lot of fun to be raining frozen death from the skies." The upside is that you don't get impacted by debuffs that the melee DPS do, and you're able to use AOEs to maximum effect. The downside is that you're the one that gets the aggro if a mob comes up from behind the group, or worse, if the tank gets incapacitated.
Yes, I know about watching threat. Mixing it up as a Ret Spec Pally has taught me plenty about watching Ye Olde Threat Meter. Repeat after me: Omen is my friend. In fact, I probably watch that as much as I watch Healbot when Tomakan is on Holy Spec.
There's one little thing about being a squishy Mage that's a bit disconcerting, and that's when you get aggro unexpectedly.
The scene: Zul'Farak.
I'd had a really lousy work week, so I took a late lunch on Friday to get a run in on Neve. I ported in to Z'F, noted that we had only ranged DPS for a change --two mages and a lock-- we started up the first passage. This wasn't Neve's first run in Z'F, so I knew about zapping totems in between casting Blizzard. The first few pulls were shaky, with the Warrior tank needing a few extra seconds to get a good lock on the mob, so I paced my casting to match him. We made it through the first several mobs and two of the bosses --the zombie creator and the basilisk tender-- when things started to go bad.
The trash pull was pretty typical, and I was in the middle of casting Blizzard. Threat was under control --somewhere in the low 40s-- when all of a sudden I noticed the mob running at me.
"What the--"
Just as the first blows landed, the threat skyrocketed and only then did WoW announce that I had aggro.
Bubbling and using Frost Nova to keep the mob in place for the tank, I was cursing up a blue streak. "Are any of you also experiencing lag issues?" I asked.
"Nope." "Not me." "Our server was laggy an hour or two ago."
"I've got some," I replied. "The threat meter didn't show anything until they'd already started hitting me."
"I'll make sure to keep you bubbled," the Priest said.
The next trash pull had the same result, and at least I got a good workout doing the "run to the tank, squishy mage!" routine.
Okay, I thought, I'll just wait until about 10 seconds into the fight so that I'm certain the tank has a good lock on the threat.
I was standing in the back, the AOE highlighted on the ground and waiting to drop, when it happened for the third time. Dammit, I didn't even DO anything!
This time, the tank had gotten Hexed.
Then the healer also became a cute little frog, hopping around the desert sand.
The other mage and the lock were more than happy to let me keep aggro as they both scattered, leaving me to bubble and then Ice Block for ten agonizing seconds.
Well, I thought, I survived that. What's next?
As I've said before: don't tempt the WoW gods. (You'd think I would have learned that by now.)
Once the tank reacquired threat, another trash mob came wandering into range and aggroed on the lock. The tank tried to peel their threat away, but he was Hexed again. This time, the blow was fatal. We all had a good laugh about it on the run back, and I really really dialed it down for the rest of the run. You've seen the Mage using Frostbolts + a wand in substantial portions of a 5-man? That was me in Z'F that afternoon.
Moral of the story:
Squishy + Lots of AoE + Too much trash + Aggro (whether by hook or crook) = Baaad News
And that is something that the melee DPS Pally doesn't have to worry about.
Now Neve, she's been a refreshing change of pace. What I discovered with Mages is that I really like being able to find a corner, just out of silence or knockdown range, and just go to town. As I described it to someone the other day, "it's a lot of fun to be raining frozen death from the skies." The upside is that you don't get impacted by debuffs that the melee DPS do, and you're able to use AOEs to maximum effect. The downside is that you're the one that gets the aggro if a mob comes up from behind the group, or worse, if the tank gets incapacitated.
Yes, I know about watching threat. Mixing it up as a Ret Spec Pally has taught me plenty about watching Ye Olde Threat Meter. Repeat after me: Omen is my friend. In fact, I probably watch that as much as I watch Healbot when Tomakan is on Holy Spec.
There's one little thing about being a squishy Mage that's a bit disconcerting, and that's when you get aggro unexpectedly.
The scene: Zul'Farak.
I'd had a really lousy work week, so I took a late lunch on Friday to get a run in on Neve. I ported in to Z'F, noted that we had only ranged DPS for a change --two mages and a lock-- we started up the first passage. This wasn't Neve's first run in Z'F, so I knew about zapping totems in between casting Blizzard. The first few pulls were shaky, with the Warrior tank needing a few extra seconds to get a good lock on the mob, so I paced my casting to match him. We made it through the first several mobs and two of the bosses --the zombie creator and the basilisk tender-- when things started to go bad.
The trash pull was pretty typical, and I was in the middle of casting Blizzard. Threat was under control --somewhere in the low 40s-- when all of a sudden I noticed the mob running at me.
"What the--"
Just as the first blows landed, the threat skyrocketed and only then did WoW announce that I had aggro.
Bubbling and using Frost Nova to keep the mob in place for the tank, I was cursing up a blue streak. "Are any of you also experiencing lag issues?" I asked.
"Nope." "Not me." "Our server was laggy an hour or two ago."
"I've got some," I replied. "The threat meter didn't show anything until they'd already started hitting me."
"I'll make sure to keep you bubbled," the Priest said.
The next trash pull had the same result, and at least I got a good workout doing the "run to the tank, squishy mage!" routine.
Okay, I thought, I'll just wait until about 10 seconds into the fight so that I'm certain the tank has a good lock on the threat.
I was standing in the back, the AOE highlighted on the ground and waiting to drop, when it happened for the third time. Dammit, I didn't even DO anything!
This time, the tank had gotten Hexed.
Then the healer also became a cute little frog, hopping around the desert sand.
The other mage and the lock were more than happy to let me keep aggro as they both scattered, leaving me to bubble and then Ice Block for ten agonizing seconds.
Well, I thought, I survived that. What's next?
As I've said before: don't tempt the WoW gods. (You'd think I would have learned that by now.)
Once the tank reacquired threat, another trash mob came wandering into range and aggroed on the lock. The tank tried to peel their threat away, but he was Hexed again. This time, the blow was fatal. We all had a good laugh about it on the run back, and I really really dialed it down for the rest of the run. You've seen the Mage using Frostbolts + a wand in substantial portions of a 5-man? That was me in Z'F that afternoon.
Moral of the story:
Squishy + Lots of AoE + Too much trash + Aggro (whether by hook or crook) = Baaad News
And that is something that the melee DPS Pally doesn't have to worry about.
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