World of Warcraft

[Inigima]

As you were.

[Lyanna Stark]

Priests got a buff in today's patch so yay for us:

-Blessed Resilience now increases healing received by 15/30%, up from 5/10%.

-Focused Will now reduces damage taken by 5/10% and 10/20%, up from 4/8% and 6/12%.

-Healing done by Glyph of Dispel Magic no longer improperly caps out at a certain health pool range.

-Holy Concentration's mana regeneration component has been increased from 10/20% to 20/40%.

-Player-controlled vehicles return an Invalid Target error when attempting to use Leap of Faith on them.

-Rapture's mana regeneration component has been increased from 1.5/2/2.5 to 2/4/6%.

Finally some recognition that priests are mana starved little beasties. :) Mostly PvP changes, but the dispell glyph is awesome as dispell cost is 2.6k mana (ouch). I think this will definitely help to make priest healing more on par with pala healing (although not quite as faceroll as palas).

Still no addressing Disc's weird mastery, especially as Grace only can stack on one target at a time, so cross healing more than one target is quite pointless as disc and in effect weirdly penalising, plus even with Inner Will, shielding more than one target is inefficient due to high mana cost. Tbh imp shield should be a higher tier and also lower mana cost somewhat. It's not for everyone to calculate the inner CD of rapture proc to 12 sec and shield accordingly to get multi rapture proc on AoE damage. It's just a really contrived way of playing.

I've now run all normals as Holy and it works quite well, altho every fight is basically the same. Renew tank, hit chakra, then heal, spam heal x5 then perhaps a Gheal or FH on SoL procs, then heal x5 and occasionally if daring: a prom. Pretty dull but also very very efficient. I keybound my heal to "E" now so I can pan around the instance while tank healing while spamming one button. Beautiful scenery!

[saint777]

Finally finished my first two Heroics.

Throne of the Tides: Overall not bad with everyone adjusting to what needs to be done. The big problem with randoms right now is when a wipe occurs we usually lose a tank or healer. What should have took an hour ballooned to three. Finally got Ozumat down. No hunter loot dropped on the 6 boss fights I've done in here.

Lost City: The first fight is a lot of fun with all the movement. The only real problem is getting jacked against the wall and thrown into a spike wave. Lockmaw has an exploit that makes him easy and the last two are not bad once you adjust to the added difficulty. Again not one hunter drop after 5 bosses downed in here.

Did the last two bosses of Deadmines and that was crazy and a lot of fun. I actually got a hunter drop in that one.

I'm realizing drops are very stingy now and it is going to be a major grind to get gear with rep, JP, dungeon drops, and VP(cap of 70 a day).

I would start raiding but we don't have 10 people in a guild of five hundred ready to raid yet or want to raid. I don't want to go to a raiding guild because I like my guildies. At least the ones who want to raid are staying now and we are getting more people who are available to raid.

[The Winged Shadow]

Is it just me or is the quest at Hyjal that makes you ride a Hippogryph (+ lance) horribly un-fun?

It felt like one of the worst quest I've done so far in this expansion. :stillsick:

[Angeleyes]

Welp, the priest is level 85. I love the new questing style, 3-4 at a time in the same area, then after 10 breadcrumbs to a new spot. Definitely helped to keep me focused through the content.

Saw all of Vashjir, About 1/2 of Hyjal, All of Deepholme, 1/2 of Highlands while I was leveling. While queueing for randoms I have been repping Therazane, and finishing up Hyjal so I can get my spell arcanum.

After that I may go to Uldum, or may level the old shaman or pally. I finally hit 329 gear score, so I can get into heroics, but my guildies have really scared me away. Anyone have pro tips for a brand new shadow priest in quest blues? I really wish I had more cc to offer. As it stands, I mostly just get to shackle the 4 undead mobs in HoO... Not exactly the most utility.

[Mack Kilimaro]

My first run through of most of the heroics took 2+ hours and involved a lot of wiping for some of them (especially Halls of Origination and Deadmines - yikes), but subsequent trips within the same circle of 7-8 people have not been too bad. Probably that's because my gear and theirs are improving somewhat, but also I think we're all just learning how to play again.

If you stumble in with a group who's new to it, then it'll be difficult. If people act like it's a Wrath heroic, that'll make it harder than it needs to be. Other than that though, it's just a matter of seeing stuff for yourself. Though if you're pugging you never know what you're going to get.

[Shryke]

Is it just me or is the quest at Hyjal that makes you ride a Hippogryph (+ lance) horribly un-fun?

It felt like one of the worst quest I've done so far in this expansion. :stillsick:

Someone obviously never played Joust.

[saint777]

Did 2 more heroics.

Shadowfang Keep: My favorite classic dungeon remade as an 85 heroic. I was a bit disappointed. After getting my ass destroyed on the other heroics SKF was more like a souped up LK heroic.

Vortex Pinnacle: I think this is broken. I didn't notice any spike in difficulty except the hit points and getting hit harder. With CC this instance is cake.

I also did parts of the Deadmines. The last two bosses are psychotic. No other word for it. Actually the whole instance is bat shit crazy. Love it. Still need to down Ripsnarl for full run.

Finally the last two bosses in BRC. Beauty was a bitch. I had to kite and trap Lucky the entire fight. The last fight was just a blur of damage and traps and running around. We did it without wiping though.

The first boss in SC is rough too. I know the fight but I was busy killing and kiting the crystals so the boss didn't get dpsed down enough before healer ran out of mana and caused us to wipe.

Overall I love the new dungeons. I also finally got a good bow.

[Lyanna Stark]

After that I may go to Uldum, or may level the old shaman or pally. I finally hit 329 gear score, so I can get into heroics, but my guildies have really scared me away. Anyone have pro tips for a brand new shadow priest in quest blues? I really wish I had more cc to offer. As it stands, I mostly just get to shackle the 4 undead mobs in HoO... Not exactly the most utility.

Dude, you have the BEST cc of ALL! :D

It is spelt MIND CONTROL. Use it, love it, cherish it. Only place it can be dicey is Grim Batol cos some mobs are immune. My priest is Holy/Shadow so I've seen stuff as both DPS and healery type. Read below to see why MC is the BEST cc and blows sheep, banish and what not out of the water completely.

Examples of where MC is a must and really really helps:

1. HoOr: the four mob pack which is a huge strain on the healer on heroic, MC one of the caster mobs and DPS down the main mob with it. Spec into either silence or psychic horror, and glyph psychic scream. Glyhped psychic scream means mobs won't run, they just cower in fear. MC, when it breaks, mob runs for you, psychic horror or psychic scream him, recast MC, DPS main mob with your MCed one. Once he gets out again, he should be really really low on HP and you can nuke him easy as pie.

2. HoOr again: The nymph mobs before the Aspect of Life. If you can MC them before they heal, or hit their heal on CD, you can heal your party members for 40k per tick. Do I need to point out how MASSIVELY this helps? :) plus you also mitigate a truck loads of damage for the healer. On HC, if this mob is not MCed, I blow all CDs and go oom, but with this mob MCed, I am on 100% mana. The diffrence is enormous.

3. The packs in Throne of the Tides where you have several naga casters and two melee naga mobs. We did this with two spriests. Two mcs on two casters. Made it totally doable instead of impossible.

4. Stonecore HC. Did this with THREE spriests, druid tank and pala healer. Easy as pie with three MCs. We'd pull with either MC or roots. Always MC those earthcasters or whatever their name is and kill them last. Stonecore is also a really, really good instance to off-heal in. We did this with three Spriests, meaning on the worm/crystal mob when people get low, we had three Divine Hymns to help out our healer, and three Hymn of Hope for him to regen mana. Spriests have a massive amount of utility. Lose some damage talents for utility and you will be loved like a hero. :)

Inner Will makes kiting those crystals easier as well. If you feel pro, try twising inner fire/inner will as well here. (I am not pro enough :P )

5. Anything in Tol'Vir. We MC on every pack cos we run with a minimum of one spriest in every run. Sometimes two. When we run with two spriests our tank goes for coffee and we can keep pulling with MC. :P

6. Vortex Pinnacle: The cat people mob, once they are out of the static field thingy, MC one (one of the casters) and help heal the group for lots.

7. Anything humanoid and caster-like, specifically healer mobs. MC them. Use the heal on your group, blow long CDs for the mob before MC runs out. Once the mob is lose it will do a fraction of its original damage/healing.

Shackling the undead mobs in HoOr is no point really. Even on HC they hit like little girls.

Caveat for Grim Batol as we found a lot of mobs in there immune to MC, this can be checked before on wowhead to make sure you won't try and MC something that can't be MCd. Also, if you MC a warlock in Stonecore, don't summon an imp while MCing: it will attack you and be hostile.

The thing is, with MC you might not top the meters, but you will be really helpful to the group. You will save the healer's mana, help nuke the main mob and often the one you have MCed will have its HP reduced while you are using it. Sometimes you can heal your group. No sheep, shackle, sap or banish can DPS heal as well as taking one mob out of the equation. This is why priest CC is the best! :D

Haven't done SFK or DM heroic yet, but think we've done just about every other one and MC is always useful.

[Arataniello]

Is it just me or is the quest at Hyjal that makes you ride a Hippogryph (+ lance) horribly un-fun?

It felt like one of the worst quest I've done so far in this expansion. :stillsick:

Totally agree. If I want to play some 80s arcade game again, I would find it on the internet and download it. Mount Hyjal in general up to that point seems particularly lame - rescuing bunnies and squirrels? Escorting fawns to safety? Meanwhile in Vashjir, you are riding sharks to eat naga. I know which was more enjoyable.

Admittedly after doing the bouncing bear cubs quest (retch, how twee), Hyjal gets much better. The last quest in the zone almost made up for the gag-inducing stuff I had to wade through to get there.

[Arataniello]

Do you have to discover Deadmines and SFK all over again to access their heroic modes?

Worked quite a bit on levelling professions this past few days, and am rather frustrated at the seemingly deliberate choke-point that Blizz has created with lack of Zephyrite. Prospect 5 stacks of elememtium - 1 or 2 at most, but plenty of the other colored gems. The raw mats needed for things like Fire Prism (JC) and Transmute Shadowspirit Diamond (alchy) also seem too high.

[saint777]

Do you have to discover Deadmines and SFK all over again to access their heroic modes?

Worked quite a bit on levelling professions this past few days, and am rather frustrated at the seemingly deliberate choke-point that Blizz has created with lack of Zephyrite. Prospect 5 stacks of elememtium - 1 or 2 at most, but plenty of the other colored gems. The raw mats needed for things like Fire Prism (JC) and Transmute Shadowspirit Diamond (alchy) also seem too high.

No. If you have already discovered the instances on your toon you should be set.

Finished Stonecore on Heroic. First boss is easy if you have two dps on the crystals. The third boss is nuts. He only has two attacks but they hit for 50k and 150k. The last boss was just getting between the blue swirls and the army of mobs constantly spawning.

[RaceBannon42]

I loved the Joust quest! maybe cause i'm old.

We've got a total of like 7 bosses down so far between the 3 raid instances. Did the council of winds last night. I had way to much fun leaping between the platforms.

Still only friendly with the guild. I've been GM for like 3 years now. I'm a bit insulted that my name plate calls me < Recruit of Fire and Blood >

[jurble]

On interesting story developments: They've added Fel Orcs to the Horde side of the Dark Portal in Blasted Lands. Hellfire Peninsula, and all of TBC, still take place like 3+ years ago in-world-time, but the fact that Fel Orcs have apparently joined the Horde means some interesting shit has gone on in those years on the otherside. Though, I imagine many of the Fel Orcs were out of work with the defeat of Outland's badguys, I can't imagine Thrall hiring them, though. It must be Garrosh. Moreover, seems as though a lot of Fel Orcs must now be moving into Azeroth, since they were also in charge of the Dragonmaw.

Also, the Horde seems to be actively trying to bring the Ogres back into the Horde in the Burning Steppes and Blasted Lands.

I wouldn't mind if in 4.2 or so, Garrosh decides to annex the Blackrock clan, and finally bring all the Orcish clans back under one rule. All those Forest Troll clans need to rejoin the Horde too. Wtb more colors for my Troll characters. Would that really be so hard to add?

[Lyanna Stark]

Totally agree. If I want to play some 80s arcade game again, I would find it on the internet and download it. Mount Hyjal in general up to that point seems particularly lame - rescuing bunnies and squirrels? Escorting fawns to safety? Meanwhile in Vashjir, you are riding sharks to eat naga. I know which was more enjoyable.

Admittedly after doing the bouncing bear cubs quest (retch, how twee), Hyjal gets much better. The last quest in the zone almost made up for the gag-inducing stuff I had to wade through to get there.

I found it over the top on purpose and it made me laugh, since "All the wee animals" has somehing like "sparkly happy ring" or something as reward. The bear cub quest was the most fun of any quest ever. Lobbing bear babies randomly off trees hoping that they hit the bouncy thing? Once I got over the initial WTF of what to do, it was utter genius. :)

The jousting quest made me really annoyed. Especially as when I did it around 45 other people were also there, making it nigh on impossible to hit any eggs.

We had a really annoying Vortex Pinnacle HC run where every thing was smooth as hell with minimal CC but once we got the Altarius we just had people chain punted off the platform. I got 4 x chain punted once before I even manage to run all the way in due to trying to cast LOLwell and during the cast time, I got a cyclone in my face. In itself, no probs, but I got chain punted by 4 other cyclones off the platform. I just hate that boss. A lot of it is just random RNG if you miss ONE cyclone. We even had the tank miss one cyclone on attempt 3 or 4 and also got chain punted. Ridiculous. Just make some more walls around the dumb dragon who is annoying as he is. Urgh.

[Shryke]

Agreed Lyanna. I swear some people never read the quests and miss tons of hilarity in this game.

Hell, when you collect the animals, the item says: "Expressing gratitude by trying to claw and bite you."

And the description from the Bear Chucking quest is classic:

Flying creatures frighten them, so you'll have to climb the trees yourself. Look for footholds at the trunks. Climb the trees, grab the bear cubs, and toss them - GENTLY! - onto the target here.

Nothing can go wrong with this plan.

[Kouran]

So far in Cata I must say I am impressed. I love the new dificulty and need to actually pay attention and do things like pay attention to healer mana, CC and boss abilities. Raiding the last two weeks has been more fun than at any time in WotLK. Magmaw was easy, Omnitron was interesting and chaotic, Bastion of Twilight was fun the two dragons especially, the council of the 4 winds was good tank swaps being the hardest part. I dont like how some classes/specs have only 1 upgrade, as a hunter the only upgrade over a blue heroic bracer is one off of Chimeron, limiting me to hoping that the one bracer upgrade in the game drops some day, bleh.

I dont like Tol Barad and how horde get to dictate when alliance gets to have access to the dailies and raid zone, limiting the battle to 1:1 and needing to take all 3 towers is fucking retarded. I am on a server with about 7:1 alliance to horde so all the rtards in the world on alliance side queue and only the most progressed raiding horde guild queues, so its alliance scrubs vs horde elites. If the population is that imbalanced alliance should have it 7 times as often as horde not the other way around.

I dont like what they have done with justice points, as a hunter once you buy all the gear you need wtf do you do with your spare justice points? I have been capped after buying all the JP gear I needed for 8 days. They need to add something meaningful to buy with JP, rep tokens, gems, chaos orbs, etc. Valor gear is nice, should be buying my chest this week, but the weekly limit is dumb. The way the weekly valor limit is setup you will hit the cap every week if you raid and do daily randoms. Putting a limit on how much I can meaningfully play is not a good mechanic.

Overall I give Cata a good B+ with the downsides being silly badge mechanics, artifical limits and lack of gear for some classes/specs.

[Greywolf2375]

I dont like what they have done with justice points, as a hunter once you buy all the gear you need wtf do you do with your spare justice points? I have been capped after buying all the JP gear I needed for 8 days. They need to add something meaningful to buy with JP, rep tokens, gems, chaos orbs, etc. Valor gear is nice, should be buying my chest this week, but the weekly limit is dumb. The way the weekly valor limit is setup you will hit the cap every week if you raid and do daily randoms. Putting a limit on how much I can meaningfully play is not a good mechanic.

Agreed, with one further step. Don't like how the chaos orbs work - they really are a profession specific material rather than something anyone that wins can use. I'm JC/Ench and have no use for them, yet there's nothing stopping me from either intentionally or unintentionally screwing over someone in a random by rolling and winning it.

[Inigima]

Maybe since there's a cap people will go outside sometimes

[RaceBannon42]

Maybe since there's a cap people will go outside sometimes

F that! its cold and snowy out there.