Achein of Dath’Remar:

Queued for ZF purely so that once assembled, he could run into the mobs, die, and get to a graveyard in Tanaris. And then left he the group.

That is – he queued as a tank for ZF purely to die and get a shortcut to Gadgetzan.


WOW. WOW WOW WOWOWOWOWOW.

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Today’s WoW developer chat on Twitter is now complete! The selected questions and answers are here.

They answered my question straight up – which is awesome, since last time I posted the same one but it got skipped over.

Q. Is the Valithria Dreamwalker encounter a deliberate move towards making WoW more “fun & interesting” for healers? Will we see more encounters like this?

A. We want to make healing more fun, yes. Part of that is letting healers use their whole repetoire instead of just their best spells. Part of it is trying to get healers to look at the battlefield a little more and unit frames a little less, that of course means a little more time in between spamming heals so you can do stuff like that.


I suppose it was mostly a rhetorical question. I kinda expected them to say “yeah, sure.. it was totally deliberate.” Although, they didn’t actually say that it was a deliberate move with healers in mind.

At any rate, I will be very interested to see how they can make things more interesting by having us heal less – because logic, to me, dictates that a fight that requires less healing will become a fight that people simply take fewer healers to, and that would be BAD.

That is, if we’re spamming less, and running around more, won’t people just lean towards taking fewer (but skilled) healers who can spam a little more than intended? And then stack the group with more DPS?

It’s an age-old problem though. Making encounters harder usually means we have to spam harder. If they want to make things more “fun” and have us look at the fight more, that (apparently) means spamming less. But will that make us feel bored? Will it make the fights easier? Will it just encourage raids to stack more DPS and fewer healers?

I dunno, I’m happy staring at my coloured boxes, for the most part. But I know there are lots of people out there who want to enjoy the encounter more, rather than just staring at frames. So how can the developers keep things challenging while satisfying the healers who want more immersion?

While I don’t particularly feel like campaigning for “more interesting” healing, I am VERY interested to see how they can make things challenging AND immersive for us. Because I have no idea how they are going to manage that.

(Please, WoW gods, don’t ever consider the horrible suggestion of “let’s heal people through their nameplates!” Because whack-a-mole + LOS + range + jostling nameplates is NOT my idea of super funtime raiding..)

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By popular demand, here are my Power Auras exports.

For information on how to set up Power Auras, and for druid-related PA inspiration, here is a great list of links:

Power Auras on WoWInterface
Power Auras Wiki
No Stock UI
Dreambound’s exports
Revive & Rejuvenate’s exports



---

First, this is what my PA looks like when I’m resting, and everything is off cooldown. Just so you can get an idea of how the auras fit together and whatnot. Note: They will only look nice and neat around my character like this if I am zoomed out a certain amount; if I have to zoom in or out, obviously the relative size will change.

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Barkskin
Barkskin ready (shield), or on cooldown (timer)

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.070588235294118; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.54117647058824; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Spell_Nature_StoneClawTotem; size:nu0.3299999833107; torsion:nu1; r:nu1; y:nu-8; x:nu-142; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu15; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu21; alpha:nu0.75; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:bofalse; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; spec2:botrue; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; InactiveDueToState:botrue; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu6; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stBarkskin; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu1; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:bofalse; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0; timer.a:nu1; timer.dual:bofalse; timer.HideRequest:botrue; timer.id:nu6; timer.cents:bofalse; timer.HideLeadingZeros:bofalse; timer.enabled:botrue; timer.Showing:bofalse; timer.y:nu-8; timer.h:nu1; timer.ShowOnAuraHide:botrue; timer.Transparent:bofalse; timer.UpdatePing:bofalse; timer.InvertAuraBelow:nu0; timer.x:nu-103; timer.Texture:stDefault

---

Missing buffs – Well Fed/Flask of the Frost Wyrm
Missing flask (left), missing food buff (right) – only visible when in a raid

Flask:
Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu1; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.43921568627451; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\INV_Alchemy_EndlessFlask_04; size:nu0.19999998807907; torsion:nu1; r:nu0.48627450980392; y:nu-106; x:nu-29; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu1; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu10; alpha:nu1; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:bofalse; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu0; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; InactiveDueToState:botrue; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu5; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stFlask of the Frost Wyrm; inRaid:botrue; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; spec2:botrue; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu2; inverse:botrue; ismounted:bofalse; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0

Food:
Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.2078431372549; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.4; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Spell_Misc_Food; size:nu0.19999998807907; torsion:nu1; r:nu0.5843137254902; y:nu-106; x:nu33; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu1; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu10; alpha:nu1; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:bofalse; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; InactiveDueToState:botrue; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu4; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stWell Fed; inRaid:botrue; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; spec2:botrue; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu2; inverse:botrue; ismounted:bofalse; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0

---

Innervate ready
With a telephone noise to remind me that it is ready to go.

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.44313725490196; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.30980392156863; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Spell_Nature_Lightning; size:nu0.62999999523163; torsion:nu1.3999999761581; r:nu0.4; y:nu-48; x:nu-4; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu15; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu1; alpha:nu0.25; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:nu0; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; spec2:botrue; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; InactiveDueToState:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu21; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu1; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stInnervate; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu1; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:nu0; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0

---

80% mana – use Innervate now
This pops up with a “bam” noise to tell me when I should consider using Innervate.

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu1; anim1:nu1; g:nu1; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\icons\Spell_fire_meteorstorm; size:nu0.75; torsion:nu1; r:nu1; y:nu-30; x:nu0; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu9; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu9; alpha:nu1; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:bofalse; duration:nu2; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu0; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; spec2:botrue; threshold:nu80; exact:bofalse; InactiveDueToState:botrue; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu22; wowtex:botrue; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu12; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:st???; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:botrue; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu1; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:bofalse; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu1

---

Nature’s Swiftness ready

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.39607843137255; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.53725490196078; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Spell_Nature_RavenForm; size:nu0.28000000119209; torsion:nu1; r:nu0.27843137254902; y:nu-46; x:nu-37; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu15; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu15; alpha:nu0.15000000596046; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:nu0; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; spec2:botrue; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; InactiveDueToState:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu3; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stNature’s Swiftness; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu2; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:nu0; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0

---

Rebirth ready

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.1921568627451; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.21176470588235; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Spell_Nature_Reincarnation; size:nu0.75; torsion:nu1.3999999761581; r:nu0.13333333333333; y:nu-48; x:nu0; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:nu0; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu15; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu16; alpha:nu0.40000000596046; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:nu0; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; spec2:botrue; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; InactiveDueToState:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu11; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stRebirth; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu1; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:nu0; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0

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Rebirth down – with timer

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.14117647058824; anim1:nu1; g:nu1; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Spell_Nature_Reincarnation; size:nu0.14000000059605; torsion:nu1; r:nu0.22745098039216; y:nu-107; x:nu-26; customname:st48477; groupany:botrue; isAlive:nu0; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu15; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu33; alpha:nu0.75; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:bofalse; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; spec2:botrue; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; InactiveDueToState:botrue; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu19; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stRebirth; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:botrue; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu1; inverse:botrue; ismounted:bofalse; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0; timer.a:nu1; timer.dual:bofalse; timer.HideRequest:botrue; timer.id:nu19; timer.cents:bofalse; timer.HideLeadingZeros:bofalse; timer.enabled:botrue; timer.Showing:bofalse; timer.y:nu-79; timer.h:nu1; timer.ShowOnAuraHide:bofalse; timer.Transparent:bofalse; timer.UpdatePing:bofalse; timer.InvertAuraBelow:nu0; timer.x:nu10; timer.Texture:stDefault

---

Swiftmend ready

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.77647058823529; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.54901960784314; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\INV_Relics_IdolofRejuvenation; size:nu0.22999998927116; torsion:nu1; r:nu0.62745098039216; y:nu-51; x:nu-55; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu15; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu25; alpha:nu0.30000001192093; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:nu0; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; spec2:botrue; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; InactiveDueToState:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:stsoft_chime_beep.wav; combat:nu0; id:nu2; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stSwiftmend; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu2; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:nu0; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0

---

Wild Growth ready

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.007843137254902; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.2; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Ability_Druid_Flourish; size:nu0.28000000119209; torsion:nu1; r:nu0.28627450980392; y:nu-46; x:nu52; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu15; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu23; alpha:nu1; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:nu0; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; spec2:botrue; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; InactiveDueToState:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:botrue; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu13; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; buffname:stWild Growth; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu1; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:nu0; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0

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I’ll break this one into my druid tips, and some placement tips.

Normally I don’t post strats because various other sites do a great job of them; but I spent the time creating the placement diagrams for my guild and though I would share them. It’s not a full strat, just some ideas for placement that might help you. You’ll need to check out a full strat to understand all of Sindragosa’s abilities and phases entirely.

As usual, this is mostly aimed towards 25man raids, but some tips will carry through to 10man raids also.


Quick tips

Talents

Use a raid healing spec for this fight, and make sure you’re at the haste soft cap – because other than when you have the Unchained Magic debuff, you’ll be casting something pretty much every GCD.

I highly recommend Imp Barkskin if you have room for it; it has saved me a couple of times when hit by Blistering Cold. If you think you might not make it out in time, hit Barkskin to be safe. I lagged once and didn’t quite get far enough away from the boss. I got hit for 27,000 with a 2k overkill; if I had used my Barkskin, I would have lived. If you’re playing with moderately high latency, Barkskin is your friend.

Even if you can’t fit Imp Barkskin into your spec, Barkskin should still save you – it might just be closer. If you have high latency, face yourself with your back to the dragon, so that when you get pulled in, you don’t have to turn – you can just run straight ahead and save a second or two.


Glyphs

I go with Wild Growth, Swiftmend, and Rapid Rejuvenation. WG is a must, mostly because melee will continue to DoT themselves throughout the course of the fight, and hitting 6 of them at a time is very handy.

If you run with another druid, go RR; if not, you may prefer greater raid coverage. If you don’t take RR, perhaps take Nourish (for helping to top up the tank/s in P3) or regular Rejuv, for anyone who can’t control their debuffs very well. We found that tank deaths were a major cause of our wipes in P3, not raid damage (if people learn to control their debuffs), so I value RR here for its ability to tick faster on the tanks.

Rotation

Generally a standard 5×1 (five Rejuvs, Wild Growth, repeat) rotation. In P3 the tank damage can be heavy, so try to keep HoTs on the tanks, especially during a transition, or when you know the tank healers are moving and not able to heal.


Special note: Unchained Magic

Unchained Magic is a debuff that Sindragosa places on random people. While the debuff is on you, anytime you cast any spell, it will add one stack of another debuff, called Instability. After 8 seconds of not casting anything, Instability will expire and do 2000 damage per stack. So if you cast 5 spells and then stopped, after 8 seconds, you would be hit for 10,000 damage. If you cast something again before the 8 seconds is up, the stack will go up by one, and the timer will start over from 8 seconds.

So what I usually do when I get UM (in P1) is to refresh Rejuv on the tank (when it runs out), and toss a WG through melee, to help with their Chilled to the Bone DoT (you should be at 2 stacks now). Refresh WG on cooldown and RJ on the tank. I try not to go past 5 or 6 stacks (10-12k damage); if I get that high, I wait 8 seconds for the stack to reset, then I go back to RJ on the tank, WG on the melee, to maintain a little healing.

Also, if your stacks got a bit high, hit Barkskin and wait your 8 seconds. This is also why I like having Imp Barkskin, because it gives you more wiggle room with those Instability stacks. You can also make Lifebloom your last cast on yourself, since it will bloom conveniently right after the 8 second stack expires; but you need to weigh up whether it’s worth doing that, or whether adding another stack of the debuff (by casting Lifebloom) might endanger you.

IMPORTANT: In P3, Unchained Magic will do more damage according to the number of Mystic Buffet stacks you have; so don’t go racking up as many stacks of Instability in this phase. You might get away with it in P1, but in P3 it could kill you. Keep HoTs on the tank, but don’t kill yourself!


Setting up Power Auras for Unchained Magic and Instability

The problem with Unchained Magic is that you can easily miss it if you’re busy watching health bars.

I set up Power Auras to put a big, fat, DANGER sign right across my character – but also to play a really annoying siren noise. This immediately tells me that I have the Unchained Magic debuff, and to be careful with the spells I cast for the next 30 seconds.

Plus, I set up Power Auras to show me the number of stacks of Instability, and the seconds left until that stack expires:




If you’d like to copy this PA setup, here’s the import code. Note: you’ll need to set up one code for the Unchained Magic debuff, and a separate one for Instability:

Unchained Magic

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0.16470588235294; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.027450980392157; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Spell_Arcane_FocusedPower; size:nu0.75; torsion:nu1; r:nu1; y:nu-139; x:nu-8; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu2; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu43; alpha:nu0.75; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:bofalse; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; buffname:stUnchained Magic; spec2:botrue; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; InactiveDueToState:bofalse; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:stburglar_alarm_going_off.wav; combat:nu0; id:nu16; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu1; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:bofalse; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0


Note: you’ll need to choose your own sound effect and change the file name. I recommend finding a really annoying danger/alarm/siren noise.

Honestly, I really can’t recommend more highly the use of hideously annoying siren noises for debuffs like this, because even if you are terrible for tunnel-visioning your raid frames, you can’t miss a debuff screaming “AWOOOOOGA AWOOOOOOGA DON’T CAST” at you.


Instability

Version:st3.0.0E; gcd:bofalse; b:nu0; anim1:nu1; g:nu0.34117647058824; optunitn:bofalse; ignoremaj:botrue; stacksLower:nu0; target:bofalse; icon:stInterface\Icons\Spell_Arcane_ArcaneTorrent; size:nu0.76999998092651; torsion:nu1; r:nu1; y:nu-139; x:nu-8; customname:st; groupany:botrue; isAlive:botrue; timerduration:nu0; unitn:st; bufftype:nu2; stacks:nu0; focus:bofalse; raid:bofalse; texture:nu43; alpha:nu0.75; aurastext:st; symetrie:nu0; owntex:bofalse; isResting:bofalse; duration:nu0; mine:bofalse; multiids:st; inVehicle:bofalse; speed:nu1; anim2:nu1; buffname:stInstability; spec2:botrue; stacksOperator:st>=; realaura:nu1; InactiveDueToState:bofalse; threshold:nu50; exact:bofalse; textaura:bofalse; sound:nu0; wowtex:bofalse; groupOrSelf:bofalse; customsound:st; combat:nu0; id:nu17; inParty:nu0; HideRequest:bofalse; Active:bofalse; aurastextfont:nu1; inRaid:nu0; tooltipCheck:st; customtex:bofalse; stance:nu10; isSecondary:bofalse; thresholdinvert:bofalse; spec1:botrue; Debug:bofalse; beginSpin:bofalse; Showing:bofalse; UseOldAnimations:bofalse; begin:nu0; off:bofalse; party:bofalse; texmode:nu1; inverse:bofalse; ismounted:bofalse; targetfriend:bofalse; randomcolor:bofalse; finish:nu0; timer.InvertAuraBelow:nu0; timer.dual:bofalse; timer.HideLeadingZeros:bofalse; timer.h:nu1.4500000476837; timer.ShowOnAuraHide:bofalse; timer.UpdatePing:bofalse; timer.Texture:stDefault; timer.enabled:botrue; timer.Showing:bofalse; timer.lastShownLarge:nu1; timer.HideRequest:botrue; timer.lastShownSmall:nu30; timer.y:nu-101; timer.x:nu-122; timer.CustomDuration:nu0; timer.Transparent:bofalse; timer.a:nu1; timer.DurationInfo:nu111933.698; timer.id:nu17; timer.cents:botrue; stacks.a:nu1; stacks.Showing:bofalse; stacks.HideLeadingZeros:bofalse; stacks.enabled:botrue; stacks.y:nu-103; stacks.h:nu2; stacks.id:nu17; stacks.Transparent:bofalse; stacks.UpdatePing:bofalse; stacks.lastShownValue:nu7; stacks.x:nu89; stacks.Texture:stDefault




---



Positioning tips

Here’s how we position Sindragosa. This isn’t a full strat – just some tips for how to position her and the raid. Click images to enlarge.

Phase 1 (ground phase)

We tank her on the floor, with her head facing the stairs. Other strats have her in the middle of the room, but by doing that you have to run further for the air phase.

Phase 2 (air phase)

Sindragosa will emote, “Your incursion ends HERE…” and then she will fly up into the air. When she does there, there won’t be any damage going out except for debuffs ticking (ie, no tank healing), so you can safely move to your next position as soon as she takes off.

Gather at the bottom of the stairs, wait for marks.




When marks go out, they assemble; everyone else runs to the top to avoid extra iceblocks.

Make sure you have the mark debuff (Frost Beacon) on your raid frames, so that you can Rejuv the people who get marked up so they are healed while they are inside (2 people in 10 man, 5 people in 25man – you have time to Rejuv them).

We have a set position for our marks:




DPS the back ones down fast.




Then we DPS the front blocks from right to left, so everyone knows which ones will die first.




Remember you have to LOS the bombs, but LOS doesn’t just mean standing directly behind them. You have to look at where the bomb is going to land (look for the white swirly) and put the ice block between you and the bomb spot.




Throw a regrowth & rejuv on the tank as she lands and runs back over to him, so he gets heals while everyone is getting into position.


Phase 3 (combo phase)

These ones basically speak for themselves – we tank her out have two designated ice block spots. Our second tank will run and put green flares down in these spots at the start of P3 (since he’s not doing much else at that point!) and it really helps people to get the positioning down.




The important thing is that as a healer, you should still have LOS on your tank, even when you’re standing behind the ice blocks to drop your debuffs.

The people marked for ice blocks alternate between the left and right positions, and the raid stands behind them each time to drop their stacks.


Your strat may vary – but hopefully these tips help a little. I definitely recommend Power Auras with an annoying siren for Unchained Magic – it could save you from killing yourself. Good luck!

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Attention druids: The following statement is false:

“Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation is bad for raid healing.”


As you were.



---


Let me explain. In the last few days, I’ve seen a number of people state that the Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation (hereafter referred to as “RR”) is bad for 25man raid healing. I believe that this is a very short-sighted view of the glyph, and many people are stuck in what I call “Ulduar mode”, and immediately write the glyph off as being a Bad Idea(tm).

Not so, good druids, not so!

If you’ll allow me to elaborate…


The usefulness of this glyph depends, like a lot of things, on the usual list of variables. Your raid size, the raid composition, the number and class of healers, their assignments, whether you’re teamed up with another druid, your gear, your raid’s gear, your raid’s level of spatial and self awareness, and of course, your style of play. So as always, try to keep in mind that your mileage may vary.

There is no real right and wrong with this glyph, generally speaking, because there are so many things that will influence its usefulness, person to person. But the purpose of this article isn’t to tell you whether the glyph is good or bad. I’ve written it purely to explain why “RR is bad for raid healing”, as a blanket statement, is untrue.

Note: I will approach this from the point of view of a 25man raider, since Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation (RR) is generally considered to be quite good for 10 mans, due to the smaller size and our ability to still cover the whole raid with Rejuv.



---


Misconception: to be most effective, we must always cover 18 targets at once

Druids strive for a 1second GCD in order to cast as often as possible – and in many cases, when we are assigned to raid healing, this equates to being able to heal the maximum number of targets possible. In aura fights (fights where the entire raid takes predictable damage at once), it’s extremely important that we cover many people. In Ulduar, raids came to really value resto druids, as they provided a great buffer on fights with constant or predictable raid damage. Blanketing the raid with Rejuvs, or the “5×1 rotation” of casting five Rejuvs and a Wild Growth became our norm – because it was so efficient and effective.

So, it’s understandable that many people extend this thinking when considering the RR, and many decide that since it will mean you can’t cover as many people at once, it must automatically be a poor choice. Or, worse, it could even be extremely detrimental to your healing. Many simply write it off and say “this glyph is great for tank healing, but bad for raid healing.”

This is not necessarily the case.The encounters in ICC are different to those in Ulduar, and it’s important to consider individual fights (and the factors listed above) before you write this glyph off as bad.


First, it’s important to understand what the glyph does to your healing and HPS.

From a raid-wide perspective, your healing output and HPS won’t change if you equip this glyph.

For ease of calculations, lets say that your Rejuvs tick for 3000 and you have enough haste that RR makes them tick every 2 seconds exactly. Nice round numbers to work with. For the purpose of this example, you’re also working in a vacuum here, casting Rejuvs only, nobody ever needs a Swiftmend or Nourish, your latency is low, and you never have to deviate from your rotation. You’re a well-oiled, Rejuv-casting machine. You also don’t have 4pc T10, so ignore that for now.

Without RR, you can cover 18 people, ticking for 3000/3secs – or 1000hps (3000/3) on 18 people, for a total of 18000hps on the raid.

With RR, you can cover 12 people, ticking for 3000/2secs – or 1500hps (3000/2) on 12 people, for a total of 18000hps on the raid.


So, as you can see, your total healing is unchanged – you’re still doing the same amount of healing (assuming no overheal, good latency, etc) across the raid. So we can stamp out the idea that fewer targets must mean less healing. In a vacuum, remember.

The difference with RR though is that it gives you higher individual hps. Instead of 1000hps on 18 people, you’re doing 1500hps on 12 people.


But what does this mean to us?

Very simply:

With Rapid Rejuvenation, you can top people up faster, but the trade-off is that you heal fewer at a time.


So – faster but fewer, or slower but more targets? You have to weigh things up for yourself, and decide what is more valuable on this particular encounter – is the damage coming in fast and heavy, making it more important to top half the raid up fast before they die? Or is the damage slow and steady, making it more valuable for you to provide a nice steady buffer on 18 people?

Does the raid need a slow-but-steady buffer to counter slow/light damage, or fast healing to counter fast/heavy damage?


Examples of when to use RR (and when not to use it)

Healing is a personal thing, and everyone has their own style, and what they consider works best. Rather than just saying “RR is good, you should always use it”, or “RR is bad for raid healing, don’t use it”, I think it’s probably best to give some examples and reasoning, so that you can make up your own mind. If nothing else, my goal here is to encourage you to keep an open mind when considering your glyphs, and not pigeonhole them as “good” or “bad”.

I’ll just cover TOC/ICC as current content. Again, this will vary depending on the usual variables.


Encounters to consider RR

Northrend Beasts – Gormokk: Brilliant on this fight. Generally speaking, the only people taking damage will be the tanks, the melee (when he stomps), and anyone standing in fire. The tanks obviously benefit from faster Rejuvs. People in fires need to be topped up FAST. Melee should be pre-hotted prior to the stomp, then hasted rejuv ticks plus a WG means they are topped up super fast. Here’s my strategy: Roll rejuvs through the tanks and melee, spot-heal fire victims with Rejuv/Swiftmend, then on the stomp timer, hit WG. Repeat. HOWEVER: If your raid group relies on you to do a chunk of the tank healing, then you may find it difficult to have spare GCDs while healing the melee too. Consider this when you choose.

Northrend Beasts – Acidmaw/Dreadscale: Fast ticking on tanks, and great spot-healing for anyone who takes incidental damage.

Jaraxxus: Fast ticking on tanks, on anyone who stands in fire, and again – roll through the melee (that’s all the blanketing necessary).

Faction Champs: Depends entirely on your style here, but I play part proactive and part reactive here. I never roll rejuvs on maximum people here, it’s usually more about spot healing ASAP while people are getting gang-ganked, so I think RR is excellent here.

Anub: Fast ticking on tanks, quick spot healing for Penetrating Cold (but probably not in heroic P3). No blanketing here, so there’s no need to cover maximum targets. P3 will depend heavily on your strat and who is usually assigned to raid healing (and how).

Marrowgar: Fast ticking on tanks being hit hard; fast top-up of people in bone spikes, and fast top-up of people in fire. Again, no blanketing here (if your raid is good enough at not standing in fire), so there’s no need for max targets.

Deathwhisper: This is another reactive fight, so fast ticking on tanks or people who need top-ups.

Gunship: lol. Seriously though – fast ticking on tanks (who do still take pretty high damage), and incidental top-ups.

Saurfang: No blanketing here. Fast ticking for tanks, but most importantly: fast ticking for MARK. Why do 1000hps on mark targets (who are taking heavy damage) when you can do 1500? RR is a clear winner here, hands-down. I would go with Swiftmend, RR, and Nourish OR Rejuv, depending on whether you tend to concentrate on one or two marks, or whether you spread yourself out and roll HoTs across all of them.

Rotface: No blanketing here. Fast ticking on tank, on the ooze kiter, and on the person as they get marked. No need for max Rejuv targets; faster ticks are more valuable.

Putricide: This was a tough one, but I’m putting it into the “good” section. Fast ticking rejuvs on the tanks is huge, especially in P3 where a tank death will mean a wipe. Fast ticks on people targetted by oozes, who get hit by bombs or goos, is also useful. Fast ticking on the raid in P3 is also good, because topping people up fast is very important. However – you won’t be able to cover as many people in P3, so you need to consider that. Also, I like to pre-hot people just before the green ooze blows up and knocks everyone away – and you won’t be able to cover as many people here, either. For me though, the pros are bigger than the cons, but use your judgment.

Blood Princes: Heavy tank damage makes RR valuable for this fight; raid damage is mostly reactive apart from empowered shock vortex damage, which people should be spreading for so they take limited damage. This is another one where I consider the benefits of RR to outweigh the limitations.

Queen Lanathel: This is another fight that I *DO* use RR on, but I believe many people don’t, because they want to cover more people. However, since her aura ticks every 2 seconds, the glyph allows our Rejuv ticks to line up perfectly with the damage and top people up fast. Again, it will depend on your other raid healers. Pros: Ticks match the damage ticks excellently; fast ticking on the tanks, plus spot healing on people with debuffs. Cons: Can’t cover as many people at once, and can’t pre-HoT as many going into the air phase. Remember though, you’ll need to heal fewer people as time goes on, as vampires will be healing themselves quite a lot – so it’s only in the first couple of phases that you’ll be straining to cover maximum targets. Weigh it up for yourself.

Dreamwalker: RR is mandatory for healing the dragon. Raid healing is quite reactive and spotty, no blanketing. Tanks can take heavy damage at times, so RR is good here.

Sindragosa: Another “use your judgment” boss, but one that I love RR on. I cycle rejuvs through the tank and melee, plus WG. In the first phase the damage on the raid is not very heavy, so unglyphed Rejuv would be good; but in the later phase, people need to be topped up fast, and I favour RR. Many people will want to ditch RR for this boss, but it does have its merits. Most of our wipes were due to tank deaths, not raid deaths, and a faster-ticking Rejuv is so valuable, particularly if your tank healers are on the move or out of LOS. Damage ranks up in P3 on the raid, also, so that’s where your 2 second ticks are going to start saving lives. It’s a close call – you’ll have to decide what works best for you.

Lich King: More massive tank damage. Hard to decide on the raid; there were times when I wanted to drop RR to cover more people for Infest. But working with other healers, I cover melee and my druid friend covers casters, so there’s no need for me to Rejuv 18 people, it would be a waste. For those who don’t know, Infest ticks harder the longer it is on the target, and is removed when the target is above 90% hp – so you just need to quickly top them off and your work is done – one tick should be enough. Both of us covering half the raid and ticking every 2 seconds is better than covering more people ticking every 3 seconds. Plus, remember that melee will be doing some self-healing with Light and LotP if you have it, and won’t need as much healing to reach 90%. So at first it may seem better to cover as many people as you can, but most of those people are going to be overwritten anyway – better to top up 12 people super fast than to HoT up 18 people and have most of them stomped on, especially if you have high latency (don’t I know it). Again, will depend on your healer makeup.


Situations where RR isn’t so great

Northrend Beasts – Icehowl: Fast ticking on tanks, but if you prefer to blanket as many people as possible before the charge, then obviously RR will cover fewer. But, on the other hand, it will top them up faster. Use your judgment here.

Twins: I love RR on this fight, but most people will probably disagree, so I’ll put it in the “not so great” category. Personally, I run with another druid – I opt to cover melee (I have Revitalize), he covers casters, and we overlap on the middle group, and we find it is an excellent way to raid heal. If you were running by yourself, it would probably be better to cover more targets.

Festergut: Like Twins, I believe most people prefer to blanket as many people as possible. Again, I run with another druid and we split the raid, but if I were to run it alone, I *might* prefer no RR. But then – as the tank healing gets heavier, RR is valuable for them. You’ll need to decide based on your other healers and what kind of raid healing coverage you have.


Summary

So, as you can see, elements of many fights make RR quite valuable. In my experience, it is valuable in most fights, which is contrary to what a lot of people may tell you.

Of course, there are still fights where it will be better not to use the glyph, particularly if you are a lone druid, or if you have fewer raid healers. On fights where the DPS of the raid damage is lower than the HPS of hasted Rejuv (ie, light damage across the raid), then you’re definitely better without RR, because most of your ticks will end up as overheal. There may also be parts of fights that benefit from RR, and other parts of the same fight that you don’t want hasted Rejuv for – in which case you’ll have to weigh up which way to go.

But, overall, in many fights, Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation can be an asset, and is not the hindrance that many people see it as.

There really is no “best set” of glyphs for most situations; I reglyph often. I recommend keeping stacks of glyphs with you, so that you can reglyph as you see fit. This is not terribly expensive if you can source herbs for around 15g per stack.


I’m certainly not going to tell you that you must use this glyph – there are other things to consider, of course – all of the factors listed above, the T10 bonus, Revitalize and what have you. You’re not ONLY going to be casting Rejuv, you need GCDs for other spells. It’s not cut-and-dried. As always, use your own judgment.


I just hope that I have opened your eyes a little, and shown you that saying “Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation is bad for raid healing” is untrue – that it is extremely valuable on many bosses – and you should never write it off as only good for tank healing.

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I don’t often write RL stuff in this blog. I’m a fairly private person.. but also I don’t want to clutter up the blog with stuff that most people probably don’t care about. But this one has pictures of baby animals!



Anyway – apparently, I have high blood pressure.

When I was told that, I immediately though (fondly) of my guild.

These days, I don’t get much time to do the stuff in WoW that helps me to relax. I’m a bit of a weirdo – I love doing daily quests, grinding for rep, flying in circles for hours and farming herbs or ore. Or just wetting a line, fishing up some food for the bank.

With two jobs, progression raiding, blogging (I’m trying hard to be more consistent this year!), looking after the guild forums and website, selling our BOEs and restocking the gbank, attending to messages and requests, trying to get my heroics done and whatnot.. I often just don’t get the time. I miss it, and I think it’s probably starting to take its toll on me. I don’t have much time to myself anymore.

So I’d like to introduce you to my de-stressing companions: my ratties.

I have 26 rats. Not really by choice; I bought 3 lovely girls from a very friendly but very ignorant pet store, who must have kept the girls housed with boys (before I bought them). A week later, I had 3 lovely girls plus a litter of 11; a week after that, 3 lovely girls plus a litter of 11 plus a litter of 12.

3 + 11 + 12 = quite a few.




Note: please, no comments about snakes, I will delete them. It’s not original and it’s not funny.


I’ve had rats since I was about 15. I had a break from them for about a year, but missed them too much (and so went to buy the three girls). They are just fantastic little pets – they each have their own personality, their own little quirks. No two are the same, and I love them. Whenever I feel stressed or sad, they are always there to cuddle. Or to distract me from my work or WoW stresses by destroying something. Bless them. Stress dissolves when I play with them, or when they curl up in my collar and sleep.


Meet Peg

Now, don’t tell the others I said this.. but I have a favourite. Her name is Peg.

When she was a few days old, her mother (being a new mum, and inexperienced), picked her up awkwardly and bit her hand by accident (or so I assume, because she’s not a mean rat). I didn’t notice this bite at first, and sadly it got infected. I did a daily head count to make sure they were all there and had full tummies.. and I found poor little Peg with a grey hand.

To cut a long story short, being too young for medication or surgery, all I could do was treat it with antiseptic, soak it a little, and see if she survived the infection. I wasn’t at all concerned about her having only 3 legs, because I’ve had rats with missing limbs (or tails) before, and they learn to adapt – especially if they are young. I was much more concerned that being only a few days old, such a nasty infection could easily kill her.

But she survived that night, and the next, and the next. She would womble around on her swollen leg just fine. Eventually the hand just kinda shrivelled up like a little peg leg (hence the name).




One day when she was a few weeks old, her peg leg wiggled like a loose tooth, and then dropped off, leaving a little rounded pink stump.




Now she’s 4 weeks old, and she’s a gorgeous little thing – but trouble. She plays the sympathy card all the time, looking up with those big wet eyes and you can tell she’s saying “…but I only have one hand! (sadface)” to try to sucker you in. Don’t be fooled.


So there you go – these are the guys who keep me sane when raiding is crazy and life is stressful.

If you see me getting around in-game with Whiskers or my giant sewer rat out, and maybe wearing my pirate outfit, it’s because I’m totally RPing RL – probably with a Peg on my shoulder.

<:3, ,)~


PS: Sindy tips coming soon - I just can't post them yet because our rival guilds are still trying to get her down, and I want to keep our head start on Arthas. Don't want to give them insider secrets!

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Sindragosa tips coming soon!

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Seems that during this week’s maintenance and tweaks, the “just go farm Ulduar derp derp” strategy (I use the term very loosely) has been nerfed and no longer works. You can no longer use vehicles in Ulduar, on bombing runs, or to trample Icecrown skeletons to get your charms.

In addition, healers are reporting that they are passively receiving Lovely Charms in instances, without doing any damage to the mobs. They are receiving charms for contributing to the group, but don’t have to deal any killing blows in order to be eligible. This is how it should have worked from the very start. No more Holy Nova spam for Mephitik.


Farming Ulduar wasn’t cheating – but it wasn’t right, either.

So now the healers are happy, and the Ulduar farmers are crying. Awww. It’s tragic when Big Bad Blizzard steps in and stops people from trivialising achievements. I shed a single glistening tear for all those people who can no longer “farm” charms in bulk.

(Not really.)

Cassandri over at HoTs and DoTs wrote a great article on exploits and how we define them. I don’t think the Ulduar trash farming was an exploit as such; I’m sure Blizzard would have jumped in much faster if it had been. But I do believe it went against the spirit of the event – mass farming charm bracelets in bulk and then listing them for 20g a pop on the AH.

Those bracelets are supposed to be special, people – not mass produced in some cheap dwarf sweatshop! Where’s the love?

I don’t think the developers intended people to jump into vehicles and blow up hundreds of mobs a minute to procure bagfuls of bracelets. The fact that it has been nerfed confirms this thinking – it wasn’t working as intended.

As an aside – what made me laugh was all the people whose counter to the healers was “onoez, you have to work for your achievements.. QQ”. Yet they were trivialising the achievement themselves by farming 50 bracelets in a siege engine, instead of working for them in the way it was intended….

It wasn’t against the rules. But it was a bit dirty. Call me a carebear or a goodie-two-shoes – I don’t like doing things that go against the spirit of the content, and yes, I do look down my nose at people who think it’s ok to do it. I believe that most reasonable people have an inkling that maybe something isn’t really the way it’s meant to be done. I just think that as grown-ups we can tell the difference between intended and unintended, and then make the choice not to take advantage of these temporary oversights by Blizzard. They didn’t intend us to be able to farm 500 charms in half an hour and then flood the auction house with them.

Was it cheating? No, of course not – the mechanic was there – kill high level mobs, get charms. People thought, “where can I kill as many mobs as I can, in as little time as possible?” It was pretty smart, in terms of efficiency.

It definitely wasn’t in the spirit of the event, though – and I wouldn’t participate in that, because it falls inside the boundaries of what I personally consider cheating.


Smug Keeva is oh so smug.

Obviously, some people aren’t too happy that Blizzard took away their ezmode bulk farming strat. Someone wrote in the WoW forum thread:

yeah you could have gotten 100x more charms from the ways you were told but atleast you ruined it for everyone else


Oh boy, I just couldn’t help myself… I HAD to respond:

In the spirit of the past 20 pages, there really is only one response to this.


Don’t worry, you can still get charms by grinding mobs or doing your dailies!

*smiles*


Oh man, if only they could have seen the enormous shit-eating grin that I had on my face when I posted it.


PS: The healers didn’t get the Ulduar strategy nerfed, and it’s pretty dumb to pin that on us. We were talking about a completely different issue – most didn’t even care that you could go into Ulduar. I don’t think I ever saw anyone asking for the Ulduar method to be shut down. We just wanted the imbalance in dungeons to be fixed. The healers said “we can’t get them in heroics, please change this” and the response was “go to Ulduar”. We weren’t the ones who brought it to Blizzard’s attention

Anyway – hooray for Blizzard listening to us and doing the right thing!

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I really have to say that I am unimpressed by yet another holiday achievement demonstrating a lack of foresight on the part of the developers.

I’m referring to “Charming” which requires you to acquire Lovely Charms and turn them into a Lovely Charm Bracelet (10 charms are then made into one bracelet). You can get the charms by killing any green+ mob. So you can collect them by grinding, doing quests, or doing dungeons – anything that will have you killing green+ mobs.

BUT – you need to land the killing blow to receive the charm.

This is obviously not an issue when you’re soloing, since you’ll be dealing all the killing blows*, but it means that healers either miss out while in groups, or they have to spam AOE to try to steal kills – because we don’t do the killing in dungeons.

(*Note: since it goes off killing blows and NOT who tagged the mob, if you are grinding mobs out in the world, someone else can steal your charms by finishing off your kill before you get a chance to. This is a double blow for healers who don’t have a DPS spec, since we can’t burst mobs down like a DPSer can, leaving us vulnerable to having our kill stolen. I had people steal several of my kills yesterday.)

Of course, when someone points out the inequality here, the typical responses are things like:



• “Just go to Ulduar and use the seige engines for 1000 charms a minute!”

• “QQ, just go do some daily quests, stop whining.”
• “It’s always going to be harder for a non-DPS class to DPS mobs, durr” (wow..)
• “You have an AOE spell, try using it.”
• “Don’t you have a dual spec? Go DPS and quit crying.”
• “onoez, you have to do some WORK to get an achievement? Boohoo” (whoooooooosh, there goes the issue at hand, sailing right over the top of your head…)


Yes – there are ways for you to go out there and use vehicles for 5 billion charms a minute – that’s so awesome! I’m so happy you enjoy doing it that way! But it doesn’t change the fact that during everyday, normal play, a DPS class will receive more charms than a healing class – without even trying. Charms will simply drop into their bags while they do anything – BGs, dungeons, raids, daily quests, grinding. But the healers don’t get any from BGs, dungeons or raids (unless they are DPSing at the same time).

The imbalance is obvious.

Quoting poster Proxima from the forums, who hit the issue right on the nose:

This argument is so stupid it’s mind boggling.

DPS: Do what you always do, get lots of holiday items.

Tank: Do what you always do, get some holiday items.

Healer: Do what you always do, get jack squat. Instead find some way to game the system and listen to idiots on the forums claim this is somehow logical and balanced, not to mention “Working as intended”.

Christ, it’s not like the imbalance isn’t ludicrously obvious.

(my emphasis)

And Carmelita:

If i were a DPS by the end of the two weeks I would have all i needed by doing what I normally do, but being a healer means I have to go out of my way to do dailies that are boring to me and grind mobs that take twice as long for me to kill as compared to a DPS. It truly is the principle of the matter for me.

Spot on.

It’s not that we can’t get charms. It’s that other people will get all the charms they need (and more) without deviating a single tiny bit from their normal daily routine – while healers have to go out and farm for them, either by grinding mobs, doing dailies in overpopulated areas, or by going into Ulduar and killing Flame Leviathan trash. DPSers can do this achievement passively, but healers (and to a lesser extent, tanks) will have to go out and spend extra time farming for the items for the achievement.

Is it a big deal? Not in the grand scheme of things. Does it cripple my ability to get an achievement? No (in fact I already had the achievement, retroactively). But even if I already had the achievement, that doesn’t stop me from feeling annoyed that Blizzard can’t seem to see achievements that are skewed. I don’t like it when things are unfair.

It’s a matter of principle.

YES, I could go quest. Or grind. Or zoom around in Ulduar vehicles, blowing up dwarves for great justice. I’m not unable to get charms. I’m not unable to do this achievement through my own means.

But DPS classes are getting charms fall into their bags as they go about their daily business (dungeons). When I do the same, I get nothing – UNLESS I spend the run doing whatever I can do AOE down mobs OR I go and do vehicle quests or lolfarm the Flame Leviathan trash.

If it’s still not clear that it is unfair – then here’s another example. Your guild does their usual clear of ICC. Trash galore. Charms drop, but ONLY go to the DPS classes – none of the healers get any. How is this fair?

A DPS friend runs a heroic with me. For running the heroic, he is rewarded with 2 Emblems of Frost and 13 Lovely Charms. I did the same heroic, but only get 2 Emblems of Frost. Fair?

Let’s go even further and put it into monetary terms. Bracelets (=10 charms) are selling for about 20g. So for every 10 charms you collect, you make a 19g profit. For running that heroic, my DPS friend received 2 Emblems of Frost and (the equivalent of) ~25g. I get 2 Emblems of Frost.

See?


Once again – yes, I could go do dailies, or grind, or farm Ulduar for my charms. But that is not the issue. The issue is that DPS classes will have the charms fall in their bags during normal, everyday instances that they would have done anyway – while healers have to go out of their way to go get them. The ease of acquiring them is NOT the issue – it’s not hard to go “farm” them – the issue is that it is blatantly unfair that some people are awarded these items almost passively, while others don’t – despite having contributed equally to the kill.

I really truly do not understand how Blizzard can’t see that this is unfair and unbalanced. This is not a “wah wah, life is so unfair, why do you hate healers so much” post. It’s just a simple statement of fact – this achievement is skewed, and it is unfair to healers.

Attaching a quest item to a killing blow shows incredible lack of foresight on Blizzard’s part. And when it’s brought to their attention, frustratingly, they tell us it’s working as intended.


Big deal? No. Disappointing? Very.

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Via mmo-champion:

Some of the weapons from the Lich King are not as good as we had hoped. To encourage you to want these new weapons, we have decided to change some of the old combat ratings over to better ones. We have obtained a preview of these changes, for your perusal, on behalf of the Beijing development team.

Royal Scepter of Terenas II: MP5 replaced with haste
Archus, Greatstaff of Antonidas: critical strike replaced with haste


This is a welcome change; suiting up with 4pc T10 creates a bit of a haste deficit, and I know that many people were concerned over our lack of decent weapon choices. It’s nice to see the gear guys are apparently paying attention to what we need.

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