Off Day Roundup

Ahhhh, maintenance day. It's just a good kind of day to round up all of Sol's recent activities the past week, and share some alt thoughts. According to Blizzard's loading screen tip about taking all things in moderation, including World of Warcraft, today can be that moderation day. Well, at least a fair part of it.


Having finally gained Therazanes' exaulted blessings, Sol spent most of the weekend as a worldly archaeologist. Traveling the globe searching for those wonderful rares finds, and being somewhat fanatical about getting the Uldum sites to open up. Tedious and often frustrating to say the least. With the rare count now at 8 (or 9?), and the elusive Sands recipe still not found, Sol is becoming obsessed with collecting all the rares. ALL of them! Once he saw that there were two pretty nice staffs on the list, that made all the tedious digging around slightly more bearable. Slightly. Along with the rares, which really are quite nice, there are the 80 something commons solved. Not counting the second or third solves. Sol thinks he just might have everything dug up, all the rares and achievements, before the sands recipe shows its' face. Oh well, he can always make himself slightly larger in form and turn to stone in mid-air jump. It does cause a bit of curiousity amoung the Stormwind crowd bounceing all over the place. :)

Before Cata's release, all the alts enjoyed some serious attention and time, for a change. Of coarse, since release, they've been snoozing away in the background. It's probably the same for many players these days. Resting, but not forgotton, there has been some thought concerning the kids. Which ones did I like playing the most? Which were more agreeable with playstyle? Can some of them suffer the d-e-l-e-t-e keys, so perhaps only a few others can be better off? These are some of the questions roaming about within the scattered fragments of mind. To experience many different classes has its' positive moments, but the urge to become good at playing them soon over-rides most everything else. And that is where Sol is at the moment.

During the Wrath times, Sol was geared the best he could be taking all things into consideration. His gear wound up being a mix of pve and pvp just to raise his gearscore, hoping the elitists on his server would finally let him try to raid in 10-mans. It never happened. His highest gs at the end was only 5100. This time around, I decided to quest to level cap and gear the best I could before even attempting the dungeon tool. Specifically watching for pve gear, avoiding the ease of battleground honor purchases. It has worked out fairly well, what with the new useable loot drops, quest rewards and rep items. A little auction house help along the way also. Right now, Sol sits at an average ilvl one point over minimum for entry into heriocs. I'm pretty happy with that. So, I'll most likely start with the norms this coming week. I've been reading about the long que times for dps, which will just have to be. And not being well known and such, it may take a while to reach some of my goals. Determination rules though.

Sol has even been spending some time at the training dummys trying to see how to get the most out of his spells and rotation. These are probably good for single target practice, but my concerns also lean towards knowing how to CC and possibly de-buff when I can. Then there is also the innervate thing to remember. Use on self, or on healer? Probably situational I would think. The dummys are going ok I think, at least for the gear I've got. In the neighborhood of 6k dps. From what I read and hear in game though, I need to be topping 10k. Hopefully, I'll get there, because I am really terribad at pvp! It's funny though, this time around Sol has been getting whispers asking if he's interested in joining some 2's or 3's pvp teams! Shock, just total shock.

Well, these are some of the things floating around in that nether space Sol thinks is his mind working. Now, where did he leave those lifegiving seeds? Time to go cause some more of those hyper nuts to stop and stare in bewilderment.
BTW: Tips appreciated! And yes, the blog is undergoing some facelift-ing of sorts.
Happy warcraft!

Blog Direction?

The other day I had the opportunity to exchange emails with a well-known and respected druid blogger. During this brief exchange, he asked what Moonkin Journeys was, if it was a blog. My reply was rather simple for obvious reasons. Along the lines of, yes, it is a druid blog, with no real direction. This is actually a rather accurate description...unfortunately. And so, the subject of todays' post.

Info Overload-Press Any Key...

*Dazed and Confused* wearing off, I found myself staring into the double barreled scatter gun. A rather unique weapon obviously meant for major life-changing damage. Even the item color was unlike any I've ever seen. They called it...."Cataclysm".


Attempting to tread water in that turbulant sea of information, the stark reality of those nay-sayers who claim the world is ending suddenly held some truth. Rumors of patch 4.0 going live, (perhaps as early as this week) and the expansion perhaps only about a month away from that, are being broadcast from the highest peaks. Nerf hammers, if you wish to call them that, are already falling on balance druids in the PTR and Beta. What started out looking pretty good, even awesome, has become just more questionable in nature. (*my personal thoughts) Either way, I've become tired of treading water. Call it information overload.

Being what I guess to be an average player, I went from vanilla into TBC more or less blind. Just jumped in and began playing, exploring all the new quests, etc. The same was true for WotLK. No previous research, no lingering upon the words of master theorycrafters, just jump in with both feet and learn as I go. I thought, suppossedly with the wisdom of a now experienced player, that I would dive into that sea of information available pre-release Cataclysm. That I would go into the expansion a more knowledgeable, know your class and play it well Druid. I am beginning to question my thought processes now. As Netherones' little imp would say, "Is this really necessary?"

There is a constant ebb and flow nature swarming all around the changes which Cata will bring. One specific thing, be it a talent, spell or whatever, goes from being good- to being not so good- to having no synergy- to being just being there for ?? Ebb and Flow. Everyone going back and forth in their thoughts and opinions on the same item, so much so, that one may wish for it to just go away. (and I'M the *dazed and confused* one?)

Before everyone gets on their war mammoth and starts swinging their ban-hammers at me, let me state for the record that I am not attempting to deride or dismiss all the fine theorycrafters out there. They happen to be a fine bunch, quite knowledgeable and I'm sure useful for many players....including myself !

With that said, what can go so wrong for the average player who may just pop into their local retailer, grab up the shiney new expansion, and just play the game? Let's look at this for a moment.

You won't play as good as the hard-core and pros: So what? You share a boat with a few million other players just doing the same thing, playing the game.

It will take you longer to quest and level-cap: Duh! You just might enjoy more aspects of the game, taking the time to do more things other than rush to end-game raiding or whatever.

People will, with malice, call you "NooB" I promise you, at one time or another, they were just that as well. The only difference now is that their brains got swallowed up with their egos and in essence turned into the green goop you see on the dungeon floors. Just as in the dungeons where you avoid the "fires", you can easily avoid them.....it's called..../ignore. (Note-the more mature players will offer you a tip or two instead)

You might die...a lot! Simple process here, return to body-rez-live and learn. Anyone can do it, multiple times if necessary. And everyone has done it! Soon enough, you will learn how not to die as much.

Okay, you get the idea here. Nothing can go so wrong with going into the expansion blind and just play the game. Yes, it is really great that there are such proficient and knowledgeable players out there willing to dissect and share the anatomy of your race/class throughout the game. And double yes, I do advise finding yourself a small group to learn from. The wealth of information available though can be mind-boggeling, to say the least. Just don't let yourself slide into that state of "information overload" to such a point that you lose sight of playing the game for enjoyment. All the rest will come to you in time.

Weekly round-up: The Rogue Child

Oneshadow, a NE Rogue, is Sols' youngest child. Now, Sol has tried raiseing up rogues before, but they never seemed to quite bond with him. Several attempts actually, on both Ally and Horde factions. All met their demise by level ten. So, just what are the differences now where an intentional bank/ah alt child suddenly starts maturing with both vigor and relatively successful ease? I don't think that there is any single definitive answer, but if pressed for one I would have to say that starting to learn this class' playstyle and abilities has been nothing short of "fun".


I would also have to attribute Oneshadow's sudden claim to be noticed and reckoned with, as genetically influenced. With nearly three years of war (craft) play and more races and classes attempted than I can remember, perhaps the rogue childs' high level of independant nature just suddenly seemed to fill the mode and needs rather well. ( I have heard it said that rogues will hire out to just about anyone! )

As it stands at the moment, Oneshadow has in the past four days gained eight ages, currently sitting at level 18. He has traveled far and wide with various ups quests, (go talk to this or that person, deliver such and such), and quietly stealthed up on mobs 1-2 levels higher with ease (more successful than not). His latest flurry of excitement came from learning to sap, pick-pocket, then backstab. Followed quickly by gouge and another backstab. The extra loot from the pick-pocketing is small for now, but at the end of the day it turns out to be a nice tidy little sum of notice. Before this discovery, he used to stealth up and go straight for the backstab, which usually ended up as a miss. Perhaps due to the distance thing. So when he tried for the sap first instead and found he did'nt have to get quite as close, the backstab came off most every time. The inclusion of the pick-pocket followed quickly afterward. All this is "fun" stuff. Grab some extra loot and kill the target to boot for more loot.

Oneshadow is slightly going against the grain for now. Duel-wielding daggers along with speccing assassination. Yes, I have read that he really should be swinging about a pair of one-handed swords for greater dps. But since his dagger skills are already established, they remain his mainstay weapons of choice when questing against mobs his level and slightly higher. The dps issue/info did not go un-noticed though. When it came to my attention, Oneshadow quickly went and got weapons training in everything which was available to him, EVERYTHING! His bags now hold an assortment of weapons available for use. He could only find one fair 1H sword so far, but came up with an equally fair cross-bow and gun. (along with a better throwing knife). Still needs some maces and axes to round out his weapons training. All these need to be skilled up to level as yet, but he travels a lot so there are plenty of areas where he can take time to work on them. On this, his first day of becoming skilled in all weapons, he equipped the sword and used his gun to pull. Kind of like combo points, skill point for gun going off and several points for using the sword along side the off hand dagger. He'll start working in the crossbow as well, and eventually maces and axes as he comes into them. Hmmmm? A little something for whatever comes along weapon toolbox? Could (will) be interesting.

One other little surprise tactic he unexpectedly learned; when things get out of hand such as multiple mobs joining the fight in progress and death is staring him in the face, SHADOWMELD! He discovered that if he don't de-select his target, go shadowmeld, the extra mobs go their way while the original target maintains whatever combo points were on him at the time. It is a be patient move. Wait until health is up, go stealth again, and finish off the original target. Works like a charm! He just only needs to be mindful of not letting his health go to the point where the mobs kill him anyway. (alright, it took a couple of deaths to perfect this one!) Oh, and being able to stealth in to a quest target without wading through all the mobs first is another big happy advantage.

That's about it for this weekly round-up of goings on within Sol's family. Sol is still vacationing somewhere, even though the kids have found him quite helpful from his money bag for bringing their professions up to skill level. (spoiled brats!) Gotta love them though.

Out of curiousity, has anyone else tried skilling up all available weapons on their rogue? How did it work out for you? Did you find it advantagous while leveling to switch out weapons for different quests-bg's- or whatever? Don't be bashful! Let me know your experiences, or escapades!

Times are Slow...

Sol got lazy, or tired perhaps. Lately he's only been showing up long enough to do a gem transmute, and maybe the two local dailys. Beyond that, he heads back to his perch at the inn and turns the reins over to the kids.


So for the past week or so, the kids have been enjoying their romp through the Eastern Kingdoms. All three have leveled several times and with the exception of the shaman, have brung their professons up to par for their level. Bubblegumtwo (ele shaman), is in that awkward period of mid-forties. Bouncing between the Hinterlands and Dustwallow Marsh while trying to decide where the next best zone of opportunity lies for him. His jewel crafting has also kind of stalled out, so he needs to make some serious decisions rather soon.

Netherone (aff lock), is fairing better. Having gained three levels (now 33), with his blacksmithing maxed untill he can reach 35 to go further. He only needs a handful of smithing points to also gain weapon-smith specialization. If he got off his butt and tried out the RDF, he could probably knock out those 2 levels fairly quickly. He should also be stocking up some honor points with BG's, but like most kids, he seldom listens to the voice of reasonable knowledge.

Kaimara (frost mage), has been surprizeingly nimble in her leveling, gaining four levels rather quickly and somewhat efficiently. Her enchanting is a little slow, although not seriously lacking, and her tailoring is up to level. Her sudden adeptness at taking out mobs is rather interesting and fun at the moment. She also recently learned how to escape from those ?? ganker/corpse-campers, a lesson which will be quite useful in her world. Kaimara did attempt her first battleground several weeks ago and should really spend a bit more time there. Like her brothers though, she has effectively avoided the RDF thus far, behaviour which could stand some correction. Her two older brothers haven't exactly been the best of role models in those two areas.

Then there's Oneshadow (the rogue child). Truely a rogue in every way, he does'nt follow in the footsteps of any of his elder siblings. Mostly just hangs out, supplying extra bank space and running auction house errands. Lately though, his boots have begun itching. He now travels about doing his gathering of ore, herbs and cloth. It's has not proven to be all that beneficial for his siblings though since he is so much younger, and he is happy with just gathering without the added stress of a crafting profession. So he's hit the questing trail and actually managed to grow a level or two of late. Daddy might just have to spot him some cash for AH ore stock so he can up his smelting and be a bit more useful. Having been so lazy and reluctant, he finds himself able to smelt ore a bit higher than he is able to gather at the moment. At level 14, he does need to grow up a bit. Even his cousins over on Mediev are older and more advanced.

Such is the way and goings on for Sol. He's just kinda kicked back and enjoying the sights of his kids romping about, leaving trails of death and destruction in their wake. He has found it quite interesting to re-visit many of those old world quests through the eyes of his kids, while the sudden memories of just how irritating those level grinds really were in his time give him heartburn. Just as in life though, his kids have things so much easier. They have his experience and knowledge to work with (along with his gold!), so getting around the zones and able to manuver the in's and out's more efficiently has greatly improved their quality of life.

How about your kids? Are they also enjoying the benefits of your labours? Or are they just collecting dust until their whole world erupts with change?

Shattered Halls

During my usual nightly reading, I happened to wander over to the Armory to look through my achievements lists. I've been trying to solo many of the older dungeons and instances I didn't do way back when. There is an underlying method to this madness though. Only a small part involves just seeing game content I missed, the larger part has to do with beginning to learn my off-spec feral bear tank.


The over-all plan isn't really set in stone, since I am making efforts to learn as much as possible on my own, within my playstyle. Perhaps not the best approach since there really is a ton of information available across the nets on how to be a good/great tank. And yes, I have read much of it for it will have it's usefulness over time. But reading 'how to' and actually 'doing' whatever, remains two very different worlds.

My approach for now is to just let Sol jump into the instance with his main balance spec. After all, it is the stronger spec atm and he does handle it fairly well enough. Sol don't do any pre-fight research on these instances since he is level-capped and most likely able to just walk through them anyway. He takes his time in doing so though, making sure he does total clears, no missed trash or skipping about. Everything and every mob has it's value in knowledge gained. He always does multiple mob pulls and works the crowd for the experience. Getting to know who all comes along with the initial target pull and what is needed to keep the crowd in a decent AoE zone placement so he don't inadvertantly pull a bunch more. Which has happened a time or two :)

Then there's the learning part of how to bring the casters into the crowd so the AoE reaches them as well. This usually involves moving the crowd to them. Casters are so reluctant towards movement. ( I can't imagine why) Kind of a strange thing here...first he pulls the crowd towards him to seperate them from additional mobs. But then he may have to take the crowd back closer to the wayward casters. So additional care is needed in the decision of wheather or not to include all or part of the casters, maybe let one or two wait until the main crowd is down. Which means, he has to be able to take damage from them. Just something else to keep in mind when considering how his bear will deal with these situations.

I think my point here is, in having Sol boomkin the instance first, this is my way of researching the fight and developing some stratagies. He gets to know the layout of the instance and the trash progression towards each boss. He learns about zones which are safe to openly nuke in, and where he needs to be extra aware of possible adds. He gets a feel for each boss and their abilities. He also learns when his magic spells are about worthless. (thank Elune for shapeshift!)

All this brings Sol back to the post title, Shattered Halls. You may have been wondering how that fit in. Well, yesterday Sol did the quest line for the key to the Halls, and of coarse, jumped right in. What a mess that turned out to be! Very different from all the other instances he's solo'ed. Sol actually bit the dusty floor several times, ok, maybe 8 or 10 times, lost count. Stubborn though, kept at it until completed, and forked over the 50 gold for repairs. Sol did really enjoy the instance though. Lots of different trash abilities, mobs a bit closer knit to each other along with other surprise packages. Each death he endured brung about several minutes of comptemplation of how to proceed. It would seem to Sol that Shattered Halls required much more thought than any of the other instances he's done. This is all good. He will use this as a personal benchmark when he actually starts tanking for a group. It'll be a while yet, but as far as I can see, Outland isn't overly affected from the Cataclysm, rather stable. So when he's ready for groups, Shattered Halls will serve the purpose quite nicely.

The Thinking Druid...seriously!?!

Although it does not appear to be so, Sol does have his moments of serious thought about the conditions of his world. For several months now, the impending cataclysmic events have found Sol drowning in a sea of information, while cussing the reality that he forgot to pack his water breathing potions for the trip. Should have even taken along a few water walking elixiers as well.


Even with the literal e-reams of information pages available, the waters about Sol are rather murky and visibility is limited. What's this again? Int being swapped for spell power? Hit on gear going bye-bye? Mana becoming an issue again? My rotation is going to be flashed in the action bars for me? How long before I proc eclipse...how many wraths you say?

You get the general idea here. A whole bunch of changes to soak up. And the ebb and flow of that sea of information just keeps doing just that...flowing back and forth with needing to do this or that just to maintain a portion of our nuke abilities and remain a viable unique asset within a group. To sum up one general thought swirling about in that sea...Sol will get a couple new toys to play with, and just have to deal with the balance of the mess.

For certain, the theory-crafters will come up with a viable, working rotation in spite of what comes out in the wash. Thank Elune for that. Also for certain, there'll be a wave of gear-gemming-enchanting info eventually available. These will become the life preservers tossed out to the massively average pool of players trying to become better in a world of war (craft).

As near as Sol can figure out, the balanced druid seems to be getting more nerfs and probmatic areas than anything else. Hopefully, the waters will clear and calm themselves before the tide comes in. Sol is going to miss those days of Wrath when he could nuke down just about anything, whenever he chose to with whatever spell he chose to use. Eclipse? What was that? When Sol pulled a target, it would be dead long before an eclipse would proc, well before it could even reach him. About the only time he saw eclipse was when he would pull multiple mobs (5+) and toss in a couple of AoE's to take the whole mess down at the same time. Let's get real here for a moment...the average balance druid leveling and questing will probably never proc an eclipse, no matter how fancy Blizz has made it out to be. And those new toys druids get, well they pretty much don't appear that quickly. Sol remembers reading about them somewhere around levels 82 and 85. Perhaps some of this has changed, hopefully. Sol has been a little slack in his reading of late due to the dazed and confused state of his world under Deathwings' assualt.

Is there hope out there, somewhere? Will Sol's delicate balance between arcane and nature be his survivable asset after all? One can but tread water, wait and see. And hope that those invaluable theory-crafters continue to keep those life-preservers coming.

OMG! 4.0 already?

Note: For an in-depth posting about this patch, visit Ice over at Druid Main.

So, I open up google reader this night and Ice's post jumps out of the page at me. I feel so not ready for this. It seems like I've only barely gotten a grip on how to best play Sol, and now this. Don't get me quite wrong though, I am excited. But with having to learn how to do so many new things with playstyle, rotation and such, I am sure I'll be quite lost for several days. :)

Anyway, Ice did post some rather useful advice, well worth reading. Now then, just where did I put all my notes about those new talent trees???

Sol's recent pics

(click pics to...you know)

I really enjoy going solo (or attempting to) on quest kill targets that are a significant challenge. You know the ones. The elites or bosses, or simply those who happen to have 5 times the HP (health) you are running around with. Take this little wicked lady for instance, Sirana Iceshirek. It actually took me several attempts on two different days to bring her down. Three attempts/deaths came the first day when Sol decided to back off and re-think his stratagy. Several days later Sol found himself in the area and went for her again. The first attempt did'nt last long before she stomped him. On the second go around though, Sol finally got his act together and she went down quick. What a difference it makes when you take time to plan a rotation/attack, making sure you utilize all or at least most of your available assets.

And as much as I generally don't care for battlegrounds, I do enjoy some time away in Wintergrasp. I was away from there for a bit of time when I no longer needed the honor points, but started back up again with the intention of putting together my off-spec tanking gear set. I've found that the usual 'crowd' has changed quite a bit, many new players whose names I don't recognise. I've also found that Wintergrasp is no longer owned by the Horde 95% of the time. I think this may be down to about 80%, and during those Alliance wins, there is also a smattering of wins for defending the fortress, maintaining control in the follow-up battle. All this makes battle deaths that much sweeter, and Sol does get his share of deaths :) Allies still remain out-numbered, though not quite as outrageous as before. Perhaps due to many players just waiting around for the next expansion to go live. Besides, no matter what the numbers or deaths endured, Sol always leaves behind a trail of damage done, even if he spent time on a tower cannon.

And from Blizzard's official community site, we have seen the pics of the new Worgen bear/cat forms. Finally, something that actually looks a bit sinister and mean! I really did like these for a change. There are also some pics of the trolls bear/cat forms at the site.

One last pic for today. I fell in love with the staff Murmer left behind after his sudden demise. Talk about huge! I just had to have a SS of it for memory sake.

See everyone later, and have fun making war!

~Sol~

Cataclysm-and why I don't...

Eons have passed since I last crunched numbers. Although I was quite good at it back then, I discovered that I really did not enjoy doing it. (and I do mean 'way back then') This is perhaps one of the main reasons why you won't ever see me posting about the new dynamics for moonkins and the effects all the changes are having on our rotations and dps. (Oh, and that eons back thing, well I had changed my major into the arts)


Now, there are plenty of theorycrafters out there in cyber-space who are quite good and can offer you all the current information you might be seeking about Cataclysm and the changes to your class. Even I have come to rely upon several whom I think are quite knowledgeable, and reliable. I'll even provide a short listing at the end of this post for you.

Like it or not, Cataclysm is still in beta form and will most likely remain that way for at least another two months. Of everything I've read thus far, the expectations for release are about mid-November. That leaves a lot of game time for the majority of players to enjoy, perhaps doing many of the things which may cease to exist come the expansion. And that is what I've been doing for about the past month now. Sorta-kinda-like your average Druid just running around experianceing old content he missed along the way. Sure, Sol could be working on some better gear and perhaps a new staff, he could be working on improving his pvp abilities (which I'm sure are a disgrace to fellow boomkins), but with all the new changes coming why not just sit back and enjoy the game? No matter what, the inevitable will come.

Sol is not alone in this journey, so to speak. I've read a pretty fair number of blogs where players are doing very simular things with their mains and alts. More often now, I am coming across new 'bucket lists' of things to do before Cata arrives. Sol don't really have a list of things to do, he just sorta falls into anything that happens to pop up during his travels. This is a quite enjoyable method for Sol, usually filled with some unknown surprise here and there. In the back of his mind, he remembers along the way to consider his kids (alts), picking up some heirlooms/BoA gear here and there, stockpiling some mats for their professions (to a point), and trying to fill up his rather small money bag. The gear and pvp experience will come in time, but there is much of the old world which will cease to exist and Sol would really like to know some of it before then. Besides, he still has to work on a tanking set of gear as well, so there are plenty of things to do.

I do tend to ramble on sometimes, it just sort of happens. The point here though is that Sol is not experiencing any of those summertime blues or lack of interest in playing. He is not so elite or pompous to claim 'having done everything', just because of some kingslayer title. Eventually Sol will get to that point I guess, hopefully remaining as humble about things as he is now. So I guess Sol's thinking about Cataclysm falls somewhere in the 'wait and see' neighborhood. The rest of the game is here now, is live, and quite enjoyable to play.

Here's the list I mentioned earlier, just some of the regulars I rely on:

Lissanna      Relevart     Graylo     TMR
 
Enjoy the game now!

Sol's Kids

Perhaps no different than any other player, I have several alts which I call my 'kids'. The last couple of months though their journey into coming of age has been sporadic at best. And just like many others, I've been mostly getting Sol ready for Cata.


Sol has cared for his kids all along, (which cost quite a bit of gold), and at one time there were nine of them. With the coming of Cata though, several were released into the nether-world with only three making the cut, plus a spare bank/AH alt kid. Over the whole of time Sol has attemped to raise at least one of every alliance class and I think the survivals were mostly a choice of agreeable playstyle. Ranged spellcasters, with minor exception for the enhancement shaman who mixes ranged and melee, (that duo-weilding in your face attitude of his). The other reason for letting some of the kids go of coarse, is to welcome the incoming Worgens. I'll have to adopt both a male and female for sure, and no doubt they'll also grow into the realm of ranged casters.

Now then, Sol did adopt by round-about way on another server, a blood-elf. This was quite some time back coinciding with thoughts of learning the horde side of play style. Perhaps it was just too early of a time to attempt this, it suffered and failed completely. Sol was still into major growth splurts and the house was really full of kids. With the on-slaught of the goblins though, and the house being fairly stable, Sol will most likely look into a good server and adopt one.

The only real questionable part of all this though, is the Cata tree changes Blizz has in store for Sol. I know it's early in the beta yet, but so far Sol has several concerns and the whole mess does not look real promising. Hopefully, Blizz will get it together by release time. Needless to say, the shaman is all hyper-excited, so far. The warlock and mage are still young enough to adapt.

So, meet the kids! They're a hodge-podge group of rebellious characters, although like any other parent I take my pride in them.

The oldest, at 43, is the Draenei Shaman: Bubblegumtwo.

Then came the middle child, Netherone, age 32-Human Warlock.

                                     

 Last but not least, Kaimara at the tender age of 27 she chose to study as a Mage.

And yes, both the lock and mage are wearing the same heirloom robes, while Bubblegumtwo faired a bit better with heirloom chest and shoulders. After all, he is the first-born!

DPS'ing in raids...and healer thoughts

Dps'ers happen to come in a couple of flavors. There is the melee dps'er, the 'get up in your face and beat on you' flavor. Then there is the ranged dps'er ( ME! ). Melee is pretty straight forward in tactics and does require its' specific set-up in so far as gear, stam, str and ability/playing knowledge from the human at the keyboard. All things being equal (which they usually aren't), I also think it takes a certain bit of self-confidence to play a role where you are smack in the middle of the mobs and on top of the bosses.


I should also mention here that I think there is a middle-of-the-road type of dps'er not usually spoken of in various guides and forums. Some, but not much. What brings this to my mind is an alt enhancement shaman of mine. This little duel-wielding, totum packing dreanai can easily get in your face or smack you from a distance. In most situations, he is using both melee and range quite effectively. He is in his 40's now and starting to show off his abilities. Still a bit of a mana hog, but becoming quite powerful.

Ranged DPS...my favorite. (no surprise there) We stand quietly on the outskirts of the fight and nuke the targets for all we're worth. Even in the 2-3k dps range, we do a bundle of damage which is usually at or very near the top of the meters. I love this play style, I can mostly see the whole fight, the big picture, and can often avoid taking any significant damage in the process. Add to this the extra moonkin armor, spell buffs and procs from shapeshifting, well, we can take a few hits and just brush them off like little annoying insect bites. Stop right here, and don't think it!

Let's talk a little bit about the Healer(s) in the group. They usually collect a lot of flack for not doing enough or the raid wiping. There are many times I think this is not called for. Sometimes the tanks, as egotistical as they are, do make bad pulls. And sometimes, too many dps'ers depend upon the healer way too much and blantently stand in the fire. The later in my mind really puts an un-necessary strain on the healer. Most dps'ers can usually handle/aoe a few extra mobs on a bad pull, but the healer(s) become overly taxed with dependant dps'ers. Here, is where I seperate myself from the dps crowd and why I am most likely somewhere on the out-skirts of the fight.


About the only flack I ever receive from a healer is the rare whisper that they are chain-healing and I am not in their line of sight. Not that I particulary need the heals, but I will try to re-position myself for their concerns and peace of mind. After all, they are doing their raid role the best they can as well. As a ranged dps'er, I stay out of fires as much as possible, even though I can handle some damage taken. Also, I don't depend upon the healer, they have enough to worry about with the tank and melee dps (imo). I come prepared, buff foods (well fed) always. Extra flasks and potions for health, mana and spell power. And in a tight spot, I am fortunate enough to be able to self-heal a bit. From soloing so many levels, I've learned to take care of myself. This 'coming prepared', and not being dependant upon the healer, I believe is one of the better contributions (outside of dps) I bring to the group, especially for the healer. AND, this is the contribution I believe all DPS'ers should bring. Don't be so dependant upon the healer. Get out of the fires. The healer(s) are not gods and/or goddesses, they can become over-taxed and die. And if you're going to blantly stand in fire and/or pull aggro away from the tank, well, I hope the healer let's you die. We all make mistakes from time to time, but that is no excuse for plain stupidity. I remember reading a sig quote some time back which is quite appropriate here:

"I can heal tanks.

I can heal dps.

I can even heal healers.

But I can't heal stupid"

To all the healers I've had the distinct pleasure of raiding with, "Thank You!" Your abilities and efforts are most appreciated.

The Tree of Life form image was borrowed from one of my reading sites, here's the article it was attached to:
wow.com shifting perspectives:the forest and the trees