Space Goat Live*

Merry Lootmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:24:00 +0000

I hope everyone got the epic loot that they asked for this holiday season. I'm personally very happy with The Dark Knight and Iron Man on DVD, which I got to watch on my parents new TV. It was very cool.

I don't have much to say in the way of WoW, although I wanted to bring up a topic that I'm sure I've mentioned in the past: DragonForce!

DragonForce is one of my favorite bands and I was really on a tear this morning walking through NYC on my way to work listening to their most recent album, Ultra Beatdown. I really can't recommend them enough. Their lyrics may not be the most insightful, and sometimes their songs sound similar, but their music is just so fast and metal that it doesn't matter. I recomend listening to their Grammy nominated single, Heroes of our Time.

Holiday Update

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:33:00 +0000

Sorry for the long gap between posts. Then again, sorry seems to be the first thing I type in most of my recent posts. I'm just having so much fun with WotLK that I'm neglecting my blog :(

Things have been shifting around for my main since I started that, "So You Want to be a Tankadin," series of posts. I decided that tanking, or at least Pally tanking, was too high stress for me, and decided to go back to Holy (against my better judgement). Some of you who talk to me on a regular basis via gchat or vent have heard my recent statements that I'd rather jab a burning hot spork into my eye than heal as a Holy Paladin again. If that didn't tip you off, I specced out of Holy and back to the spec that I leveled from 70 to 78 with: Ret.

I will say that Blizzard really did a great thing with Ret. They changed it from one of the most derided and ridiculed specs (justly or not) in the entire game to competitive dps and good utility. They even threw some CC into the pot to sweeten the deal, not than any class uses their CC anymore.

So my guild (more on that a little lower) and I have been moving into Naxx10 and have successfully taken down the Spider, Plague, and Military quarters, and are working on downing Grobbulus (who sucks). We've also downed OS10 and Archavon10, which, even compared to the relative ease of Naxx10, are ridiculously easy.

I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but my DPS has been strong (and it better be, considering the decent amount of gold I've spent on keeping my gear as good as I can get it). I usually move around in the top three dps in my guild, depending on the fight, along with my friend Tag, who is a Frostfire Mage, and a Marksman Hunter who does just silly amounts of damage. Even with the upcoming Hunter nerf he'll probably just end up in line with the rest of us lesser classes.

As for the guild issue I mentioned above, I, as well as a number of my friends, chose to leave our BC guild and set off on our own. The split was fairly amicable, we just had different priorities and goals and needed another guild to reflect these things. My friends and I formed Invalescimus, which is Latin for, "we grow stronger." We're focusing on 10 man raiding in order to avoid the drama and hassle that comes with 25 man raiding. In addition to this we're trying to be fairly selective in who joins our guild in order to keep out bad players. While being a nice person is great, if you can't play, and thus waste nine other peoples' time in raids, it's going to get to us eventually.

That being said, if you're looking for a 10 man raiding guild on the Alliance side, and you feel that you are both a competent player and also not a complete asshole (partial assholes are OK), you are welcome to apply to our guild. We don't have a formal application process, but it usually involves a run or two with an officer so we can see how you play and what kind of person you are. To find us, just look for Naelum or Naecorpus on the Staghelm server, Alliance side, or do a /who inva and ask anyone if you can talk to an officer.

The New Huntard is... Death Knight?

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:53:00 +0000

I was leveling my Death Knight in Hellfire earlier today and I realized something. DKs are really complicated to play. DKs have not one, but two resource systems to manage (Runes and Runic Power), as well as keeping diseases up, managing death rune generation, and knowing which of their tricks cost RP versus Runes, and how this will lock you out of certain dps abilities.

The only reason I had a semi-decent grasp on what I was doing as a DK was because I read a great elitist jerks forum post on DK dps. Most people don't read the EJ forums, however. So, what does this mean?

Think back to BC. I know it was a long time ago, but bare with me for a minute. In BC, Hunters were very easy to solo with, but very difficult to master. This was due to the necessity of weaving steady shot into auto shots, as well as the difficulty of trapping compared to other, simpler CC. This led to a lot of bad Hunters, which stigmatized the entire class. Hence the monkier: huntard.

The DK is also very easy to solo with, especially right out of the gate in Hellfire with those nice DK starting zone blues and the Outland leveling nerf. DKs, however, are very complicated and hard to master. This will lead to a lot of bad DKs, just like Hunters during BC. We can assume then that DKs, as a class, will gain a stigma, due to the number of bad DKs compared to good DKs.

So You Want to be a Tankadin: Shields

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Gear is listed in descending order ranked by item level. In theory, the “best” items are at the bottom of this list. However, these items are also the hardest to obtain.

1. Bulwark of the Warchief or Shield of the Lion-hearted
Obtained – Revered with Warsong Offensive or Alliance Vanguard
Just like the first weapon listed on the previous post, this makes a great starting shield if nothing else is immediately available.

2. Riot Shield
Obtained – The Violet Hold

3. Saronite Bulwark
Obtained – Crafted by Blacksmiths
A great option for those of you with more gold than dungeon running time.

4. Leeka's Shield
Obtained – CoT:Strat

5. Bulwark of the Noble Protector
Obtained – Heroic Nexus

6. Crygil's Discarded Plate Panel
Obtained – 35 Emblem of Heroism (10 man Naxx and Heroics)

7. Royal Crest of Lordaeron
Obtained – Heroic CoT:Strat
On a personal note, this shield is beautiful. I highly suggest clicking the link and checking out the 3d model viewer or a screenshot.

8. The Skull of Ruin
Obtained – 10 man Naxx (Grobbulus)

9. Titansteel Shield Wall
Obtained – Crafted by Blacksmiths
Would you like some shield with your defense rating? Really, this shield has the most defense rating of any shield in the game (64 rating, worth 13 def!), so if you need some help hitting the defense cap and have enough gold laying around, it may be a worthy investment.

10. Barricade of Eternity
Obtained – 10 man Malygos

11. Hero's Surrender
Obtained – 25 man Patchwerk

12. Wall of Terror
Obtained – 25 man Kel’Thuzad
OK, so when they name this thing the “Wall” of Terror, they should have called it the “Great wall of China” of Terror. This thing is so big on a Tauren or space goat that you can see it from Outland!

So You Want to be a Tankadin: Weapons

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:58:00 +0000

So sorry for the long period of time between my posts. I’ve been super busy with the end of this semester and I haven’t had much free time…

OMG I’M LIEING! WotLK is soooooo good. I lovez it.

Ok, with all seriousness, I have been busy with school but also with WotLK. Naelum, my Paladin, is currently halfway through 76 and is leveling as Ret. However, I have plans for him to go Prot come 80. With this in mind, I present, for your and my benefit, this multi part series on the gear available at the 78-80ish range for Protection Paladins.

Note: The gear listed here, while intended as a list for Protection Paladins, is perfectly suitable for Protection Warriors as well, since the statistics needed are shared across both specs. Death Knights will also find this gear suitable for them (with the exception of gear that has block rating or block value on it or the weapons and shields listed).

Note #2: Gear is listed in descending order ranked by item level. In theory, the “best” items are at the bottom of this list. However, these items are also the hardest to obtain.

Weapons

1. Warsong Punisher or Hammer of the Alliance Vanguard
Obtained – Revered with Horde Expedition or Alliance Vanguard
Perfect for a starter weapon, most people should be revered with their respective factions by 78. Only problem with this weapon, a total lack of defense rating.

2. Blade of the Empty Void (As opposed to the Blade of the Full Void???)
Obtained – Quest in Icecrown
Harder to get than the above, but a definite upgrade.

3. Sword of Heartwrenching Slaughter/Hammer of Quiet Mourning/Crescent of Brooding Fury
Obtained - Wanted: Ragemane's Flipper in Zul’Drak
This quest offers a plethora of weapons for us to choose from and is not that high a level quest. Get some friends together and you’ll be well on your way to tanking.

4. Eternally Folded Blade
Obtained – Halls of Lightning

5. Infantry Assault Blade
Obtained – Heroic Utgard Keep
A tad slow, but the stats are certainly there.

6. Cloudstrider's Waraxe
Obtained – Heroic Oculus

7. Red Sword of Courage
Obtained – Heroic Utgard Pinnacle
This is by far the best tanking weapon you can get outside of raiding. It’s really well itemized as well, with a big ‘ol chunk of health and defense rating for those of you looking to start raiding. Tanks, get ready to run H-UP a ton to get this.

8. Slayer of the Lifeless
Obtained – 10 man Naxx (Gothik)
Comparable to the Red Sword of Courage, this weapon instead offers more dodge at the expense of defense. Good for those of you who have reached their defense cap, but keep the RSC just incase you dip under the cap later on when swapping gear.

9. Broken Promise
Obtained – 25 man Naxx (Four Horsemen)
I’m not sure what’s up with these slow tanking weapons, but they’re out there for those of you who want them.

10. Last Laugh
Obtained – 25 man Naxx (Kel’Thuzad)
This is currently the best tanking weapon in the game, but also the hardest to get, dropping only from Kel’Thuzad on Heroic.

Next up: Shields

Installation Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:04:00 +0000

I've got WotLK but I can't install the damned thing. I keep getting an error at 3%. I think the disk is missing a file, so I'm trying to get my hands on another disk. I can't download the installer because I can't log into account management for some reason.

Urg! I just want to play WoW!

Mini Post: Election Day

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:01:00 +0000

Yowzers! It's been a while since my last post. Of course, this isn't a full fledged post, but merely a reminder to my American readers to log off of WoW for a little bit today in order to go vote.

Of course, this year plays host not only to congressional elections and a host of senatorial, state, and local elections, but to the presidential election as well. Some members of my guild have managed to get me talking about politics and know my feelings regarding the two major parties (not happy feelings), and my political convictions (somewhere between rabid Libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism). That's why I'm announcing my endorsement of the Constitution Party candidate, Charles "Chuck" Baldwin (not that anyone really cares about my endorsement).

So remember to get out and vote and make your voice heard! Unless you're from Canada; I'm looking at you Themyth!

OMG Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:50:00 +0000

No posts for now folks. It's super busy time here at college for Naelum, so little time left for WoW, let alone writing about it.

I'll be back at the end of the week.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:38:00 +0000

If you're reading this article and have never played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (aka Kotor) and the sequel, The Sith Lords, go out and buy them right now and play them. I'll wait. I'm not going to finish this article until you're done.

OK. I'm going to guess that you didn't follow my directions but go ahead and finish this anyway. Bioware and LucasArts just announced a game that had been mentioned as in the works back at E3 this year, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Or, simply put, Kotor Online!

I've been hoping for a Kotor III for about three years now and I'm not sure if this is better or not than an exclusivly single player game, but I'm still damn excited for it. Of course it probably won't be out for a year or two at the minimum, but I'm so ready.

So You Want to Level a Paladin? Talents

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:58:00 +0000

In the last post we discussed what sorts of stats and armor the leveling Retribution Paladin should be looking for. Today we’ll be looking at what talents are the best for leveling as fast as possible. Keep in mind that this is a purely leveling spec and is not designed for PvP on the way up, nor for PvE. Also, feel free to tweak what talents on a tier are selected first. I have chosen this order because I believe it is the fastest way to level, but you may disagree.

Level 10-14: Benediction 5/5. Every spell in the Retribution arsenal is instant cast now, so these talents will help keep you going longer.

Level 15-17: Heart of the Crusader 3/3. Here comes the first of many increased crit chance talents in the Ret tree. Get ready to take them all eventually.

Level 18-19: Improved Judgements 2/2. Since your only non-auto-swing damage at the moment is from judgements, this will increase said dps by 20%.

Level 20: Seal of Command 1/1. Take it. Love it. Get a slow weapon if you haven’t yet.

Level 21-22: Pursuit of Justice 2/2. A 15% increase to both mounted and run speed is invaluable for leveling.

Level 23-27: Conviction 5/5

Level 28-29: Crusade 2/3

Level 30: Sanctified Retribution 1/1

Level 31-33: Two-Handed Weapon Specialization 3/3

Level 34: Crusade 3/3

Level 35-37: Vengeance 3/3

Level 38-39: Sanctified Seals 2/3

Level 40-42: Judgements of the Wise 3/3. Welcome to infinite mana town. Population: you.

Level 43: Repentance 1/1. Your only CC and very useful when you’ve got 3 mobs in front of you and you only feel like taking on 2 at a time.

Level 44: Sanctified Seals 3/3

Level 45-46: Sanctified Wrath 2/2. There are way too many Ret talents with the word sanctified in them.

Level 47-48: The Art of War 2/2. This talent isn’t that great at the moment for leveling, but Blizzard has mentioned that it will be changed into an on crit dot in the future.

Level 49: Improved Blessing of Might 1/2

Level 50: Crusader Strike 1/1. You now finally have a true instant attack. Have fun.

Level 51-53: Sheath of Light 3/3. Free spell power? Yes please.

Level 54-56: Swift Retribution 3/3

Level 57-59: Righteous Vengeance 3/5

Level 60: Divine Storm 1/1. Oooooooh. More instant attacks and free healing for you and your buddies. Have fun.

61-64: Divine Strength 5/5.

From here it’s really up to you how to fill out the tree. You have all the key talents and you’re ready to go. My only suggestion would be to get Fanaticism 5/5 if you are planning on doing dungeons on the way up, since you’ll need the threat reduction.

Next up:
Glyphs

So You Want to Level a Paladin?

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:09:00 +0000

So patch 3.0.2 came out and you heard that Paladins are overpowered. Since there's a month to go before WotLK comes out you decided to test your skill at leveling the cockroaches of the WoW universe. Here's a brief primer to get you started down the road of the holy warrior.

Note: The following guide assumes that a leveling Paladin is Retribution spec. This is the fastest spec for leveling, although Protection can become viable at around level 40. For those of you planning on leveling as Holy, please reconsider.

Armor to look for:
Starting at level 1, Paladins can wear mail armor. Later, at level 40, they can train the ability to use plate armor. Because we are only considering an item's utility for leveling and not PvP or raid PvE, heavy armor can be very useful by reducing the amount of damage taken and, thus, downtime needed to heal/eat.

This is not to say that leather, or later on mail, armor is useless. The player must weigh the value to leveling speed of armor versus the potentially greater dps stats on a piece of leather armor. A prime example of this trade-off would be comparing the Blackened Defias Armor and the Phantom Armor. Both are of a similar iLevel and have similar stats. The main difference would be the 109 armor gained by wearing the mail armor versus the 1 strength and 3 agility gained from the leather armor.

Weapons to look for:
Due to the nature of Seal of Command's proc per minute system, and later on the nature of Crusader Strike, a slow two handed weapon, such as the Corpsemaker, is ideal for the leveling Paladin. The slower the better.

Stats to look for:
The stats needed for leveling are very simple, compounded by the fact that newer stats such as haste or armor penetration are rare until the BC raid scene. Even stats such as hit and crit rating are hard to come by until you enter BC leveling content. Thus, you only have to be on the lookout for a few, select stats.

Stamina - As a leveling stat, Stamina is useful for Paladins just as it is useful for all classes in that it will help you live if you pull to many mobs. However, because of the incredible resilience of Paladins and their propensity for surviving sticky situations via their bubble, stun, and healing, Stamina becomes useful, but not overly so.

Strength/Attack Power - The bread and butter stat of Paladin leveling. Take as much of this as you can get. Strength vs. attack power can be calculated as 1 strength = 2 attack power (assuming you do not have Divine Strength).

Agility/Crit - Because crit rating is rare until the BC leveling areas, agility will be a far more common statistic found that can be used to increase your chance to score a critical strike. While critical strikes can be very powerful, Strength/Attack Power remains a better stat if you need to choose between them.

Hit - Like crit rating, hit is rare until the BC leveling areas. Hit, however, is useful only up to 5% when fighting equal level mobs, so don't go out of your way to stack this.

Expertise - Also rare, but still findable on some items in the old world. Expertise is an excellent leveling statistic due to the fact that it reduces both dodges and parries, instead of just dodges in PvE raiding.

Next up:
Talents distribution for leveling.

The Worst Item of BC

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:04:00 +0000

OK, so I lied. I'm doing a post now instead of studying for my midterms on Wednesday.

I was playing around with Wowhead filters and stumbled across an item I have seen a number of times during my WoW playing career. Ever time I see this item I have to stop and shake my head at its utter lack of use. Even the Lightning Crown, which can serve only one spec, has more use than this item.

It is thus, with a heavy heart and great solemnity, I declare the Choker of Repentance the winner of the Epic Raspberry; the worst equipable item of The Burning Crusade. There is not one class/spec combination that could possible use this with any effectiveness. This item is so useless, in fact, that most level 70 random enchant greens surpass it in either solo play, PvE, or PvP.

Midterms

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:32:00 +0000

I'm super busy this week with midterms and projects due so there will probably be no posting until later in the week.

On the bright side, it is now officially one month till the Wrath of the Lich King launch!

Blizzcon 2008 Costume Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:49:00 +0000

I'm on my fall break at the moment so no WoW for the past few days. I have been looking at Blizzcon however and I'm proud to announce that the winner of the Blizzcon 2008 Costume Contest was a female Draenei Shaman riding the turtle mount.

Space goat pride!

So You Want to be a Space Goat

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:00:00 +0000

The fellers (and gals) over at WoW Insider put out a great post last week that I'd like to point everyone to. The All the World's a Stag e column, written by David Bowers, put out an addition to their So you want to be an X series covering Draenei.

While I'm not into any heavy RP, I am a lore junkie and this article has some great stuff in it. Enjoy!

End of BC Healing Roundup: The Paladin

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:15:00 +0000

Or: FoL is Great, Holy Shock Sucks

So here I come to the end of the healing roundup. I’ve saved the best class for last. OK, so I just went in order of armor class, but I still think that Paladins are the best just by virtue of having healed my way through the entirety of BC on my Holy Paladin Naelum. (Note to self, never lvl from 62-70 as Holy again).

More than any other healing spec, the Holy Paladin generates a lot of controversy. As an example, let’s look at each healing tree’s 41 point talent.
Priest: Circle of Healing – Completely invaluable and potentially spec defining spell.
Druid: Tree of Life – Once again, very valuable and spec defining.
Shaman: Earth Shield – While not spec defining, it is certainly a great spell.
Paladin: Divine Illumination – BORING!

Sadly, boring is perhaps the most apt description of Paladin healing. I personally have a choice of three spells: Flash of Light, max rank Holy Light (which I avoid because it destroys my mana pool), and a downranked Holy Light (usually rank 7 or 8).

It is the complete lack of variety and options that defines Paladin healing. And, although we kick butt at single target healing, there are a number of weaknesses that we must constantly strive to overcome.

Arsenal of Healing/Utility Spells:
Flash of Light
Holy Light
Cleanse
Holy Shock
Divine Favor
Divine Illumination
Devotion Aura
Concentration Aura
Various resist auras
Lay on Hands
Blessing of Freedom
Blessing of Sacrifice
Blessing of Protection
Divine Shield

Strengths:
Single target healing: So let’s just say what everyone is thinking. Paladin’s are excellent single target healers. Because Flash of Light is so efficient and has a very short cast time it can be spammed near indefinitely to keep a tank up.
Hard to kill: Just like BRK says, Paladins are the cockroaches of the Warcraft world. We are damn near impossible to kill between our Plate armor, Improved Righteous Fury talent, and a damn invincibility shield.
Buffs: Paladins have a number of very useful Blessings to choose from that will help any class deal more damage, heal for longer, or not die when being beat in the face by a boss.

Weaknesses:
Multi-target/AOE healing: Paladins lack any type of AOE heal, multi-target heal, or even a hot that we can drop on a dps and go back to focusing on the tank. If you want proof of how much Paladins can’t AOE heal, head into MgT and try Kael’Thas with a Holy Paladin. Check his or her blood pressure before and after the fight. It is not fun.
Mobility: Paladins are not mobile healers. Only one of our heals is an instant cast, Holy Shock, and that’s on a 15 second cooldown, has a 20 yard range, and is incredibly inefficient.
Holy Shock: I made this a weakness all by itself because I feel that must emphasize. HOLY SHOCK SUCKS! Holy Shock is a terrible heal that should be smote from this Earth. Its 20 yard range alone makes it near useless since every other heal in the game is 40 yards and we usually try to stay far away from the boss. In addition, it has a 15 second cooldown, which, when you have to be running around and can’t stop to cast Flash of Light or Holy Light, is a near crippling length of time. Finally, it heals for a pathetic amount, usually about 1700 in my gear, and costs a crazy amount of mana.
Longevity: Believe it or not, the class that used to be known for its longevity back in the early days of BC is now the healing class that goes oom the easiest. Even beyond the Illumination nerf, Paladins have no FSR to use/abuse and no Water Shield to provide an excellent source of Mp5. Thus, Paladins are completely dependent on passive Mp5 and our mana return from Spell Crit.
HoTs: We don’t have them. Even Shamans get Earth Shield. Paladins get nothing.
Oh shit buttons: Paladin’s do have Divine Favor, which can be used to throw a bit ol’ max rank Holy Light crit out, but that’s about it. Oh, and Lay on Hands drains 100% of our mana, so it usually hurts more than it helps.

What’s Coming?
Holy Paladins have received perhaps more changes than any other healing class/spec in the WotLK beta. With Blessing of Kings moved to Tier One of the Prot tree we Holy Paladins can now dip into the improved Ret tree for 5%-8% more spell crit, cheaper instant cast spells, and raid buffing.

The Holy tree has gotten some nifty additions as well. Enlightened Judgements and Judgements of the Pure give Holy Paladins the option of Judging from 30 yards for spell haste, while Beacon of Light is a way of letting Holy Paladin’s throw a heal out to the raid without having to freak out because we took our eyes of the tank for 1.5 seconds. However, while I don’t want to be a negative Nancy, since I really do like the current incarnation of Beacon of Light, I still feel that the Paladin’s AOE healing will be lacking.

Oh, and as a final comment, HOLY SHOCK DOESN’T COMPLETELY SUCK ANYMORE! That’s right boys and girls, the spell that we’ve all learned to hate because of its complete lack of usefulness is getting a huge buff via an increased range, shorter cooldown, and buffed healing/efficiency. Thank you Blizzard!
Oh, and Lay on Hands is getting buffed to not suck as well.

Part 1: The Priest
Part 2: The Druid
Part 3: The Shaman

A New Shield

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:33:00 +0000

While I usually don't post a lot about my personal experiences in the game, preferring to take more of a meta (I hate that word) approach, I will say this. The Crystal Pulse Shield was the best investment I have ever made. I picked it up back at level 69 (early Dec 2007) for about 40g, when I was just starting to heal 5 mans. I moved into Kara with the Crystal Pulse Shield, and of course had my eye on the lovely Triptych Shield of the Ancients from the Chess event.

To this day the Triptych Shield has never dropped for me. Ever. One or two Holy Paladins or Resto Shamans in my guild have it, but I've neven had the chance to roll on it.

Of course there is the Light-Bearer's Faith Shield, obtainable for 33 badges. But, to be honest, it's not that great of a shield and not even a clear up Crystal Pulse Shield.

This of course means that I've had my Crystal Pulse Shield for a very long time. Ten months to be exact. I've healed every heroic in the game with it. I've done Kara, ZA, Hyjal, and even some BT with the damn thing. And as much as I hate it for being one of my last remaining blues, I've grown rather fond of it's presense on my back.

It is thus, with great sadness, I announce the retirement of my Crystal Pulse Shield. It was replaced earlier today, October 2, 2008, in ZA, by the Enamelled Disc of Mojo, which dropped from the Dragonhawk boss. For all of its hard work, however, it has earned itself an honored place within my bank. It will be joined, once the expansion hits and I recieve upgrades, by my Justicebringer 2000 Specs and the Hammer of the Naaru, which I view as the most appropriate weapon for a Draenei Paladin.

What items will you never vendor or shard? My Horde Warlock, if I ever end up playing him again, will never get rid of his Mag'hari Ritualist's Horns, a symbol of his long quest to reunite Thrall with his grandmother and to learn about the true history of his people. I know that Honor keeps his Verigan's Fist within his bank as well as certain tiered items.

In other news, I will be finishing my end of BC healing roundup this weekend.

Off Topic: The Financial Situation

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:05:00 +0000

Believe it or not, this is a comedy.
And people criticize my generation from getting their news from comedy shows when they're the only news on TV with any amount of brains.

End of BC Healing Roundup: The Shaman

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Or: Chain Heal Ad Nauseam

Conduits of the ancient forces of nature. Able to hurl bolts of lightning. Even Captain Kirk is among our ranks.
But this is a post about healing, and last I checked, my Shaman doesn’t heal via bolts of lightning, but via Chain Heal. And also Chain Heal. And we can also cast… Chain Heal. Ooooo, we also have Earth Shield. But we don’t cast that as much as Chain Heal… sigh.

I don’t want to knock Chain Heal. It’s great. Half the reason I rolled my Shaman, besides being able to hurl bolts of lightning, was because my Holy Paladin main was jealous of Chain Heal. But let’s be honest, Chain Heal is so great that we Shamans can forget about Healing Wave and Lesser Healing Wave.

Arsenal of Healing/Utility Spells:
Chain Heal
Earth Shield
Healing Wave
Lesser Healing Wave
Healing Stream Totem
Mana Tide Totem
Mana Stream Totem
Water Shield
Cure Poison
Poison Cleansing Totem
Cure Disease
Disease Cleansing Totem
Nature’s Swiftness
Reincarnation

Strengths:
Multi-target healing: The true power of any Resto Shaman is his or her Chain Heal, and there’s simply no way around this fact. Whenever your raid is taking lots of damage, it comes down to the Shamans’ Chain Heal and the Holy Priests’ Circle of Healing to save the day.
Reactive heals: Earth Shield is a one of a kind heal, in that it activates when its recipient takes damage, but, unlike Prayer of Mending, it will stick to whomever it is cast on.
Survivability: Shamans, with their mail armor and shields, are a fairly hardy bunch. If a mob gets loose and aggros to the healers, you can expect a Resto Shaman to last a few seconds before being smashed into the ground, while a Priest or Druid would most likely be one-shot.
Totems: Like all Shamans, the Resto tree has access to a myriad of buffing totems. While the Enhancement Shaman, erm, enhances the melee friendly totems, and the Elemental Shaman does didily squat besides getting Totem of Wrath, the Resto Shaman brings improved Healing Stream and Mana Stream totems.

Weaknesses:
Single target healing: While a Shaman’s Chain Heal is very powerful, Lesser Healing Wave and Healing Wave are rather inefficient single target direct heals compared to the Priests’ or Paladins’.
Mobility: With Earth Shield being the Shaman’s only instant cast heal, moving and healing at the same time is an issue for the Shaman.
HoTs: While Earth Shield achieves the same end as a HoT, keeping a tank’s health up while direct heals are incoming, Shamans lack a true HoT ala Renew.

What’s coming?
At the moment, Shamans are in flux more than almost any other class. Each Shaman spec, Resto included, is still receiving constant changes and thus a great deal is still up in the air as to what Wrath of the Lich King will bring for the mail wearing healers.

A number of talents, however, such as Ancestral Awakening and Tidal Waves, are encouraging the use of Healing Wave and Lesser Healing Wave mixed in with Chain Heal. Ancestral Awakening, along with Improved Water Shield, are encouraging the use of Crit on the Shaman’s gear for both mana regen and healing. And finally, Earthliving Weapon is giving Shamans their own, unique HoT.

Part 1: The Priest
Part 2: The Druid
Part 4: The Paladin

End of BC Healing Roundup: The Druid

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:59:00 +0000

Or: You Want HoTs? I’ve Got Your HoTs Right Here Buddy!

Oh Resto Druids. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
You have lots of HoTs. You have Tree of Life aura. OK, that’s really it I guess. But don’t let me sell you short. The raw number of HoTs that you can place on the tank is more than all the other class’s HoTs combined, including Gift of the Naaru. Which is good, because your HoTs are very useful in smoothing out the tank’s health between the bigger, direct heals of the Priests, Shamans, and Paladins.

Arsenal of healing/utility spells:
Lifebloom
Regrowth
Rejuvenation
Swiftmend
Tranquility
Healing Touch – Not castable in Tree of Life form
Nature’s Swiftness
Innervate

Strengths:
Mobility: Most of your healing spells are instant cast. In fact, only one healing spell usable in Tree of Life form has a cast time, Regrowth. This lets you heal on the move very easily.
Buffs: Between Mark of the Wild, Innervate, and the powerful Tree of Life aura, Resto Druids bring some decent buffs to the table.
Longevity: Like Priests, you can use (abuse?) the FSR and heal for a very long time.
HoTs: You have a lot of HoTs, which are important in keeping the Tank’s health steady while direct heals are incoming.
Oh shit buttons: A Nature’s Swiftness Healing Touch or a Tranquility are a great way to get that tank back up to full when he really needs it or fill the raid up when they’re getting low.

Weaknesses:
Mobility: While you can easily heal and move at the same time, you don’t move very fast in Tree of Life form. Some fights may penalize you for that.
Direct healing: Healing Touch cannot be cast in Tree of Life form (for now), making Swiftmend, with its 15 second cooldown, your only easily usable direct heal.
AOE healing: Like Paladins, you lack a viable AOE heal. While Tranquility is great, it is on a ten minute cooldown.

What’s coming?
While the Beta is in a constant state of flux, there are a few trends that seem to be appearing regarding Resto Druids. Healing Touch will become castable in Tree of Life form, helping to alleviate the problems Druids have with direct healing. AOE healing may even be addressed by the new 51 point talent Wild Growth, though some Druids are not thrilled with the current strength of the spell.

Part 1: The Priest
Part 3: The Shaman
Part 4: The Paladin

End of BC Healing Roundup: The Priest

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:24:00 +0000

I decided to do my end of The Burning Crusade healing roundup in order of armor class, so my first post is thus about Priests.
While I do not play a Priest myself (I usually want to gouge my eyes out with a spork at around level 10) I do try to keep up with all the classes, so I hope this is informative. If you see any errors, please let me know in the comments. Also, keep in mind that this is written with purely PvE in mind. So now, without further ado…

End of The Burning Crusade Healing Roundup: The Priest,
Or: Jack of all Trades, Master of Circle of Healing

The term, jack of all trades, master of none, is often thrown about when discussing Priests, and there is a good deal of validity to it. Priests have about a bazillion varieties of healing spells, and a each Priest can drawn on his or her arsenal of big slow heals, small fast heals, efficient heals, inefficient heals, hots, AoE heals, heals that bounce around, or even spells that will get you laughed out of the raid (I’m looking at you Lightwell).

Are Priests really masters of nothing, however? Sure, they don’t have as many hots as a Resto Druid; maybe their on reactive heal Prayer of Mending doesn’t stick to the tank like Earth Shield; and Priests may not have the single target healing or longevity of a Holy Paladin (debatable).

Priests, however, do have Circle of Healing. CoH is a powerful multitarget heal that can be invaluable in fights with a large amount of raid damage. I know that I, as a Paladin, am certainly jealous of a Priest’s ability to heal up to five targets in one cast while I’m stuck Flash of Lighting everyone up to full health for five to ten seconds.

Arsenal of healing/utility spells:
Greater Heal
Circle of Healing - Deep Holy only
Flash Heal
Renew
Inner Focus
Power Word: Shield
Dispel Magic
Abolish Disease
Fear Ward
Holy Nova
Prayer of Healing
Lightwell
Binding Heal
Shadowfiend
Power Infusion - Deep Discipline only
Pain Suppression - Deep Discipline only

Strengths:
Versatile: Priests are versatile and can bring a huge arsenal of heals that fit almost any situation.
Mobility: Priests have a number of instant cast heals that can be cast on the go.
Buffs: Priests bring a great Stamina buff and an OK Spirit buff to the raid.
AOE healing: Priests are the only class with an AOE heal besides a Druid's Tranquility (ten minute cooldown), which is very valuable in certain fights.
Longevity: With enough Spirit and good use of the FSR, a Priest can go on healing for a very long time.

Weaknesses:
Squishy: Priests, in their cloth armor and low health, are vulnerable to physical damage.

That’s really the only weakness I can see with Priests at the moment. In fact, it is their lack of weaknesses and their ability to be slotted into any healing assignment that may be their greatest strength. Circle of Healing, though, will always shine brightly due to its power in fights with lots of raid damage.

What’s coming?
While I don’t want to go into too much detail regarding Wrath of the Lich King spells and talents because they are all subject to constant changes and adjustments, there appears to be a split coming in the way Priests will be healing. While every healing Priest will have access to a very similar assortment of heals, it appears that the Holy tree will remain similar to what Priest healing is now, capped off with Circle of Healing, while the Discipline tree seems to be shaping up around Power Word: Shield, single target healing via Grace, and longevity via Rapture.

Edit: Thank's HolyWarrior, I forgot about Tranquility, the Druid AoE spell. However, this spell has a ten minute cooldown, making it more of an "oh shit" button than a regular heal.

Part 2: The Druid
Part 3: The Shaman
Part 4: The Paladin

I'm Workin' on it

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:26:00 +0000

Sorry for the lack of posts. I was away for the weekend at a funeral and now it's Wednesday, when I have class straight through from 11:30 AM till 9:00 PM with breaks only for meals.

Posts coming soon. My Thursday and Fridays are not that busy.

Off Topic: Banned Books Week

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:48:00 +0000

A challenge was put forth over at Priestly Endeavors. In honor of Banned Book Week, which is coming up September 27 - October 4, he listed the top 100 most challenged books (or book series) in the US. The books on the list that I've read are as follows:

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
2. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
3. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
4. The Giver by Lois Lowry
5. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
6. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
8. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
9. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
10. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
11. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
12. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
13. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
14. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford

I would argue, that even more important than reading a book on the list of 100 is to read a book with ideas. These books were banned because people opposed something in them that went against their morals or political stances. Read something like Atlas Shrugged, or The Revolution (I know, I'm a crazy libertarian) or even Kapital. Take a stand for liberty and freedom and against ignorance and legislating morality.

Genisis: Build 8970

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:21:00 +0000

And MMO-Champion went up into the hills for many days, and came back with the word of Blizzard. And it said that totems would last for five minutes now, instead of two, and there was much rejoicing amongst the Shamans, who didn't like stopping their dps or healing to drop totems so often.

Figure Print

noreply@blogger.com (Nilum) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:46:00 +0000

Ok, I'm done with this talking like a pirate. It's too hard to do for long periods of time.

Anyway, about a week ago I was selected in a Figure Print drawing. I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons and I could use the help of my faithful readers.

Pro: Immortalize my Holy Paladin Naelum in the gear I know him best in. This would represent the pinnacle of my BC gear.

Con: It cost $130. While I have the money and I'm not exactly starving, it is a decent chunk of change, especially for a college student.
None of the stances are really that great. I'd like to have one of him casting a heal, but it looks kind of dumb in the model viewer. I'd probably just have one of him standing.

In addition, I'm not exactly what you'd call sentimental. I usually shrug stuff off fairly easily and I have a feeling that I'd catch a bad case of buyer's remorse the moment I order it (I'm already regretting the $50 on Spore)

Does anyone know of a cheaper way of immortalizing my character in his end of BC gear for less? I could just do a screen shot and print it, but I'd like it to be more than that.