After leveling my paladin to level 82 with my girlfriend's mage, we decided to queue for some random dungeons. We managed to get Vortex Pinnacle four times, in a row, but it definitely gave me an idea of what to expect for healing in cataclysm in this expansion.
First off, just about every tank had 80 thousand health points or more, and everyone else has about 45k health points. So right away the health pools are much larger. With those larger health pools comes larger amounts of damage to be dealt. I was constantly casting something, and often times I was choosing between the cheap heal and the big heal. If someone was below half I would cast the big heal, and if not I went with the cheap heal.
Overall my overhealing was almost non existent, and I did find running out of mana an issue at all. I am looking forward to trying out more of the dungeons, and eventually the 85 dungeons and heroics. It seems like healing in this expansion will be more about making the right decisions, where WotLK was more about having one choice and casting it as fast as possible.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
How I use the Healing Meter
For a while now I have been using Recount as my damage/healing meter addon thingy. When I used to raid, I would use the healing meter to tell me how much healing I did and compared that to the other healers in our raid. When we began working on and finally killing the Lich King, I used it to also see how much overhealing I was doing compared to the other healers. And since then I have stuck with Recount to show my how much overhealing I do in the heroic 5 mans that I run.
Now you might ask why would I care about overhealing, those heroics are easy. You're right, they are very easy, and that is exactly why I am looking at what percentage of my spells are overhealing. I know that the amount of overhealing I do does't really matter because the instances are easy and I am no where near running out of mana. But the reason that I am doing this is to try to hone my skills. I need something to keep the trivial instances from feeling trivial.
Now how do I do this? Well, I start by just healing. I don't avoid overheals, and I won't not heal someone just because I think it will overheal. I try to make good decisions when choosing my heals. At the end of an instance if I made good enough decisions throughout then my overhealing should be relatively low. For me I measure relatively low as being around 20 and 30% overheal.
With that said, there is a big difference between my priest having 30% overheal and my paladin having 30% overheal, and to tell what the difference is Recount comes in handy. On my paladin, for example, I have three main heals that are going to overheal almost all the time. Protector of the Innocent, Beacon of Light, and Enlightened Judgment. All of these are mana free heals (I have the glyph of Beacon of Light so it is free), and Enlightened Judgments is actually giving me mana because I Judge with Seal of Insight and gain about 400 net mana. Knowing that these three abilities account for more than 60% of my total overhealing lets me know that when the meter says that I did 50% overhealing, I actually only had about 20% overhealing (just throwing numbers out there). Which tells me that I made good decisions the majority of the time.
As far as my priest is concerned, he does not have as many free heals that are going to overheal. My mastery often overheals, and my Althor's Abacus are really the only two sources of free and often overhealing spells. so when the meter says that I did 50% overhealing, I know that I was not making good decisions picking spells.
Now I know that in a five man I do not have to worry about other healers. Making decisions is very easy because I do not have to account for incoming heals, but I figure that if I am able to get more used to making good decisions when choosing the right heal in a five man once I am able to factor in other healers I'll be in pretty good shape.
I have essentially gone from never worrying about overhealing, to using it as a gauge of my awesomeness :)
Now you might ask why would I care about overhealing, those heroics are easy. You're right, they are very easy, and that is exactly why I am looking at what percentage of my spells are overhealing. I know that the amount of overhealing I do does't really matter because the instances are easy and I am no where near running out of mana. But the reason that I am doing this is to try to hone my skills. I need something to keep the trivial instances from feeling trivial.
Now how do I do this? Well, I start by just healing. I don't avoid overheals, and I won't not heal someone just because I think it will overheal. I try to make good decisions when choosing my heals. At the end of an instance if I made good enough decisions throughout then my overhealing should be relatively low. For me I measure relatively low as being around 20 and 30% overheal.
With that said, there is a big difference between my priest having 30% overheal and my paladin having 30% overheal, and to tell what the difference is Recount comes in handy. On my paladin, for example, I have three main heals that are going to overheal almost all the time. Protector of the Innocent, Beacon of Light, and Enlightened Judgment. All of these are mana free heals (I have the glyph of Beacon of Light so it is free), and Enlightened Judgments is actually giving me mana because I Judge with Seal of Insight and gain about 400 net mana. Knowing that these three abilities account for more than 60% of my total overhealing lets me know that when the meter says that I did 50% overhealing, I actually only had about 20% overhealing (just throwing numbers out there). Which tells me that I made good decisions the majority of the time.
As far as my priest is concerned, he does not have as many free heals that are going to overheal. My mastery often overheals, and my Althor's Abacus are really the only two sources of free and often overhealing spells. so when the meter says that I did 50% overhealing, I know that I was not making good decisions picking spells.
Now I know that in a five man I do not have to worry about other healers. Making decisions is very easy because I do not have to account for incoming heals, but I figure that if I am able to get more used to making good decisions when choosing the right heal in a five man once I am able to factor in other healers I'll be in pretty good shape.
I have essentially gone from never worrying about overhealing, to using it as a gauge of my awesomeness :)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Chakra feels awkward...
There has been a lot of discussion about Chakra, and not all of it has been positive. I personally thought that it was a cool idea, and I was really looking forward to seeing it be the reason that Holy is fun to play. By my use of past tense you can tell that I am disappointed in the current state of Chakra.
In case you don't know, Chakra is a spell on a one minute cooldown, where after you click it the next heal (and by heal I mean Heal, Prayer of Healing, Renew, and Smite) that you use will put you in a specific Chakra state for 30 seconds. Each Chakra state improves the spell that you used, and (provided that you spent the necessary talent points) casting that spell will extend the time that you are in the Chakra state. Sounds great right?
It's not as great as you might think. First of all it is a lot to keep track of. When I tried to describe it to my girlfriend she threw her hands up and said "that is too complicated." While I don't disagree with her, I think that main problem is that Chakra itself has a cooldown (of one minute), and it has the feeling of locking you in to a certain spell.
This problem of locking you in, can cause a lot of opportunities to make a mistake. If you use Heal, for example, after hitting Chakra, but you are transitioning into a phase of the fight when you need Prayer of Healing or Renew, you can't change Chakra states until that phase is (most likely) over.
On the surface Chakra looks like it adds some nice potency, but in practice it has only added constraints and has mostly been useless. For instance, if I am in Vault of Archavon, and one of the bosses does their AoE, I might go into Chakra State: Prayer of Healing. Allowing me to raid heal effectively and all is well. But, that period of AoE only comes in bursts, I'm not spamming Prayer of Healing and Chakra goes away until I can use it again. It's good for one or two casts (in this case).
I am sure that there are a lot of situations where this spell comes in handy, and instances in Cataclysm might prove to make it's one minute cooldown more understandable. Currently, thought, it lacks fluidity, and there doesn't seem to be a seamless transition between Chakra states. My suggestion would be to make the spell not have a cooldown, or become some sort of passive ability. This definitely could make Holy overpowered, but given the current state of Holy's viability making Chakra more powerful might turn out to balance things out nicely.
In case you don't know, Chakra is a spell on a one minute cooldown, where after you click it the next heal (and by heal I mean Heal, Prayer of Healing, Renew, and Smite) that you use will put you in a specific Chakra state for 30 seconds. Each Chakra state improves the spell that you used, and (provided that you spent the necessary talent points) casting that spell will extend the time that you are in the Chakra state. Sounds great right?
It's not as great as you might think. First of all it is a lot to keep track of. When I tried to describe it to my girlfriend she threw her hands up and said "that is too complicated." While I don't disagree with her, I think that main problem is that Chakra itself has a cooldown (of one minute), and it has the feeling of locking you in to a certain spell.
This problem of locking you in, can cause a lot of opportunities to make a mistake. If you use Heal, for example, after hitting Chakra, but you are transitioning into a phase of the fight when you need Prayer of Healing or Renew, you can't change Chakra states until that phase is (most likely) over.
On the surface Chakra looks like it adds some nice potency, but in practice it has only added constraints and has mostly been useless. For instance, if I am in Vault of Archavon, and one of the bosses does their AoE, I might go into Chakra State: Prayer of Healing. Allowing me to raid heal effectively and all is well. But, that period of AoE only comes in bursts, I'm not spamming Prayer of Healing and Chakra goes away until I can use it again. It's good for one or two casts (in this case).
I am sure that there are a lot of situations where this spell comes in handy, and instances in Cataclysm might prove to make it's one minute cooldown more understandable. Currently, thought, it lacks fluidity, and there doesn't seem to be a seamless transition between Chakra states. My suggestion would be to make the spell not have a cooldown, or become some sort of passive ability. This definitely could make Holy overpowered, but given the current state of Holy's viability making Chakra more powerful might turn out to balance things out nicely.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The New Raid Frames
With patch 4.0 new default raid frames were introduced. As someone who does not use any addons, except for Recount, Decursive, and Deadly Boss Mods. So, these new raid frames were a nice addition for someone like me.
If you haven't noticed the new feature, or you don't care because you use Grid or Xperl or whatever, I find these new raid frames to be a pretty nice addition, and they have some nice features that could allow you to not use on of your addons (saving up some needed memory).
After using this for the past couple of weeks doing heroics, there are some very nice features. Starting with the least important, I like that I can see class color. Adds some pazazz! Next thing I like is that I can move the raid frames a lot easier now than I used to. This goes along with another feature that I like, which is that my bar is included in the raid frames. That allows me to not have to look at my own health bar, and instead I can see it included with all of the other health bars, very handy. I like that I can see the buffs and debuffs that people have on them with more detail than before, but sometimes they take up too much of the bars. And lastly the most important feature with the new Raid Frames, that I have found to be really super totally awesome, is show incoming heal and show health lost.
Now I know that these features come with most UI addons, but since I don't have these, I find this to be especially awesome. Being able to see exactly how much health a person has lost, allows me to more accurately choose the right heal for the job (reducing overhealing), and being able to see how much my Renew and Mastery heals will heal for lets me know if I really need to cast a Heal, or if those HoTs will do the job for me.
These two features will be very useful in a raid becuase I'll be able to tell whether I need to heal someone or not. Overall this will help healers become more efficient, and accurate when keeping a raid alive.
Forgive me if you use an addon that already allows you to use these features, but to those who don't I hope that you think that they are as awesome as I do.
If you haven't noticed the new feature, or you don't care because you use Grid or Xperl or whatever, I find these new raid frames to be a pretty nice addition, and they have some nice features that could allow you to not use on of your addons (saving up some needed memory).
After using this for the past couple of weeks doing heroics, there are some very nice features. Starting with the least important, I like that I can see class color. Adds some pazazz! Next thing I like is that I can move the raid frames a lot easier now than I used to. This goes along with another feature that I like, which is that my bar is included in the raid frames. That allows me to not have to look at my own health bar, and instead I can see it included with all of the other health bars, very handy. I like that I can see the buffs and debuffs that people have on them with more detail than before, but sometimes they take up too much of the bars. And lastly the most important feature with the new Raid Frames, that I have found to be really super totally awesome, is show incoming heal and show health lost.
Now I know that these features come with most UI addons, but since I don't have these, I find this to be especially awesome. Being able to see exactly how much health a person has lost, allows me to more accurately choose the right heal for the job (reducing overhealing), and being able to see how much my Renew and Mastery heals will heal for lets me know if I really need to cast a Heal, or if those HoTs will do the job for me.
These two features will be very useful in a raid becuase I'll be able to tell whether I need to heal someone or not. Overall this will help healers become more efficient, and accurate when keeping a raid alive.
Forgive me if you use an addon that already allows you to use these features, but to those who don't I hope that you think that they are as awesome as I do.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Why do I like healing?
Recently me and my girlfriend have been leveling some new toons while we wait for the expansion to hit. It has been a blast, and I am really enjoying the new class changes and the leveling experience overall. But after spending a couple of weeks leveling as a frost mage, I found myself wanting to hop on my pally and priest and just heal something.
I don't exactly what it is, but it was like I was craving healing again. I enjoy dpsing and tanking (at times), but there is just something about being a healer that I find to be much more fun. I think that it has to do with the difference in gameplay, and general role.
As a tank, I am making sure that I am the one being hit, and that I am able to take those hits. As a dps, I am making sure I am killing things when I need to, and that I am not getting hit unnecessarily. But as a healer, I am directly responsible for keeping people alive. I need to use heals that will keep green bars from going black, and I need to use them in a way that keeps my blue bar blue until the fight is over. There is something really cool to me about that role. I know that a groups success is dependent of everyone doing their job and doing it well, but if the healers aren't doing their job no one else can do their respective jobs. Everything rests on the healers shoulders.
While some people might find that to be too much responsibility, I find it to be pretty cool. The desicion making involved, when choosing the right heal, combined with knowing that my failure means death to everyone else makes me find healing to be interactive and really cool feeling.
I don't exactly what it is, but it was like I was craving healing again. I enjoy dpsing and tanking (at times), but there is just something about being a healer that I find to be much more fun. I think that it has to do with the difference in gameplay, and general role.
As a tank, I am making sure that I am the one being hit, and that I am able to take those hits. As a dps, I am making sure I am killing things when I need to, and that I am not getting hit unnecessarily. But as a healer, I am directly responsible for keeping people alive. I need to use heals that will keep green bars from going black, and I need to use them in a way that keeps my blue bar blue until the fight is over. There is something really cool to me about that role. I know that a groups success is dependent of everyone doing their job and doing it well, but if the healers aren't doing their job no one else can do their respective jobs. Everything rests on the healers shoulders.
While some people might find that to be too much responsibility, I find it to be pretty cool. The desicion making involved, when choosing the right heal, combined with knowing that my failure means death to everyone else makes me find healing to be interactive and really cool feeling.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
About Surge of Light
I have seen some points that have been brought up about Surge of Light. Currently this talent gives you a 6% (if you spend two points in it) for your Smite and Heal casts to allow you to cast Flash Heal instantly, without mana cost, and without a chance to critical.
Before 4.0.1 this talent gave you the ability to instantly cast a mana and crit free Flash Heal 50% of the time after you get a critical with any of your spells. This allowed for instant Flash Heals to proc very often. Which in turn allowed you to obtain 3 stacks of Serendipity very easily, which also made casting a faster Prayer of Healing (or Greater Heal) easier.
Now the proc chance is very low. And by very low I mean that if I were to cast 100 Heals in a row, Surge of Light would only pop up 6 times. In a night of raiding (in WotLK content) spells like Renew, Prayer of Mending, and Circle of Healing are the major spells that are used. So out of the total amount of heals you cast the chance to pop a Surge of Light is even lower. Making a lot of raiding holy priests (a lot better than me) find this talent to be very useless.
I personnaly specced into Surge of Light. I have been running a lot of heroics, since I stopped raiding, which means I have been using Heal more often, so it is more useful to me than the alternative (Tome of Light: reduces the cooldown of Holy Word spells). Having said that, I definitely think that the proc chance is too low. I like having talents that cause spells to pop up, but I like them because those procs actually happen. With Surge of Light, it rarely pops up. If they want to keep it from being OP, I would either let it take the form of the older version with a 25% instead of 50% chance, or allow it proc off of all spell casts at the same 6% as it is now.
Something to make it cool and useful. Right now it feels like one of those old Darkmoon trinkets, or one of those Vanilla legendaries with a cool put rare proc.
Before 4.0.1 this talent gave you the ability to instantly cast a mana and crit free Flash Heal 50% of the time after you get a critical with any of your spells. This allowed for instant Flash Heals to proc very often. Which in turn allowed you to obtain 3 stacks of Serendipity very easily, which also made casting a faster Prayer of Healing (or Greater Heal) easier.
Now the proc chance is very low. And by very low I mean that if I were to cast 100 Heals in a row, Surge of Light would only pop up 6 times. In a night of raiding (in WotLK content) spells like Renew, Prayer of Mending, and Circle of Healing are the major spells that are used. So out of the total amount of heals you cast the chance to pop a Surge of Light is even lower. Making a lot of raiding holy priests (a lot better than me) find this talent to be very useless.
I personnaly specced into Surge of Light. I have been running a lot of heroics, since I stopped raiding, which means I have been using Heal more often, so it is more useful to me than the alternative (Tome of Light: reduces the cooldown of Holy Word spells). Having said that, I definitely think that the proc chance is too low. I like having talents that cause spells to pop up, but I like them because those procs actually happen. With Surge of Light, it rarely pops up. If they want to keep it from being OP, I would either let it take the form of the older version with a 25% instead of 50% chance, or allow it proc off of all spell casts at the same 6% as it is now.
Something to make it cool and useful. Right now it feels like one of those old Darkmoon trinkets, or one of those Vanilla legendaries with a cool put rare proc.
I think that BlizzCon is really cool
While I did not go, me and my girlfriend did order the live internet stream, and watched the panels and most of the events. This event is so cool to me because I always like the opportunity to meet people who play WoW, and BlizzCon brings so many members of the community come together like nothing else.
I can't wait to get the chance to go, and I am very glad that I have been able to watch it online over the last two years.
I can't wait to get the chance to go, and I am very glad that I have been able to watch it online over the last two years.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The new healing model
I will start by saying that I have really enjoyed healing on my priest and paladin. Now here is why.
The introduction of Heal and Holy Light as the medium efficient heal. This change has really changed how I have appraoched healing. I have a choice to make. If a tank is near half health do I use Heal because it's cheap, or do I use Greater Heal because they might die if I don't top them off soon enough? If a dps just took a huge chunk of damage do I use Greater Heal to get them to full health, or do I use Flash Heal because the sufficient heal won't get there in time?These options are a welcome change from the previous model of healing. (these apply to paladin just insert Holy Light, Flash of Light, and Divine Light respectively)
The new mechanics for priests and palains. For my paladin I really like how Holy Shock is the go to spell because it will buff the other heals. With the four peice set bonus on my teir 10 a Holy Shock critical makes Holy Light cast ridiculously fast, which is very cool. And I really like the options I have once I get 3 charges of Holy Power. Do I use Word of Glory now, or save that instant for when I won't have time to cast something?
For my priest I have enjoyed how Chakra has been working. Certain cases are better for corresponding Chakra states, and there is a decision to be made there as well. Surge of Light procs are a nice way to save some mana (I just wish it had a higher chance to proc), and like my paladin I really like the healing mastery bonus.
Mastery has turned out to be a very nice change. For my paladin I add some extra mitigation (which explains why Sacred Sheild went away), and for my priest the added heal over time helps me heal someone and not have to use a wastful heal to "top" someone off. Balancing how much mastery I go with, and making sure I still have enough Haste, Spell Power, Mana, Spirit, and Crit is a nice added bit of depth to stat choices.
So all in all I am very pleased with all of these changes. I know that a lot of people are not very pleased with these changes. To those people I say "QQ Moar!" The game is changing, and healing is changing with it. Hop on and enjoy the ride, or role a dps.
The introduction of Heal and Holy Light as the medium efficient heal. This change has really changed how I have appraoched healing. I have a choice to make. If a tank is near half health do I use Heal because it's cheap, or do I use Greater Heal because they might die if I don't top them off soon enough? If a dps just took a huge chunk of damage do I use Greater Heal to get them to full health, or do I use Flash Heal because the sufficient heal won't get there in time?These options are a welcome change from the previous model of healing. (these apply to paladin just insert Holy Light, Flash of Light, and Divine Light respectively)
The new mechanics for priests and palains. For my paladin I really like how Holy Shock is the go to spell because it will buff the other heals. With the four peice set bonus on my teir 10 a Holy Shock critical makes Holy Light cast ridiculously fast, which is very cool. And I really like the options I have once I get 3 charges of Holy Power. Do I use Word of Glory now, or save that instant for when I won't have time to cast something?
For my priest I have enjoyed how Chakra has been working. Certain cases are better for corresponding Chakra states, and there is a decision to be made there as well. Surge of Light procs are a nice way to save some mana (I just wish it had a higher chance to proc), and like my paladin I really like the healing mastery bonus.
Mastery has turned out to be a very nice change. For my paladin I add some extra mitigation (which explains why Sacred Sheild went away), and for my priest the added heal over time helps me heal someone and not have to use a wastful heal to "top" someone off. Balancing how much mastery I go with, and making sure I still have enough Haste, Spell Power, Mana, Spirit, and Crit is a nice added bit of depth to stat choices.
So all in all I am very pleased with all of these changes. I know that a lot of people are not very pleased with these changes. To those people I say "QQ Moar!" The game is changing, and healing is changing with it. Hop on and enjoy the ride, or role a dps.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Healing at the speed of Heal
With the addition of Heal (Holy Light if you wear plate) the healing game seems to have slowed down a bit. I still find myself trying to fit in as many heals as the global cooldown will allow, but what I mean is that healing doesn't feel as jumpy. At least, it doesn't seem like it.
Currently damage goes out at the speed of Flash of Light, and at any moment a raid/party member could be on their death bed awaiting the speedy embrace of your fastest heal. And that worked before because the faster heals were alright to spam. But things have changed now spamming fast heals means the decrease of mana at the speed of Flash of Light. So what do we do? We spam the new cheap heal. But this heal is soooo slowwwwww! And people are dying! UGH!
But is it really that slow. I mean, I wouldn't consider 2 seconds to be slow, by any means. Maybe if we'll be able to play in a world where damage didn't kill people every 2 seconds, where we will have 2 seconds to heal a wounded ally. A world torn asunder, with men who become wolves, and giant molten dragons who destroy entire cities. If only such a world was out there ready to be played, preforably before X-mas time. *sigh* If only...
Currently damage goes out at the speed of Flash of Light, and at any moment a raid/party member could be on their death bed awaiting the speedy embrace of your fastest heal. And that worked before because the faster heals were alright to spam. But things have changed now spamming fast heals means the decrease of mana at the speed of Flash of Light. So what do we do? We spam the new cheap heal. But this heal is soooo slowwwwww! And people are dying! UGH!
But is it really that slow. I mean, I wouldn't consider 2 seconds to be slow, by any means. Maybe if we'll be able to play in a world where damage didn't kill people every 2 seconds, where we will have 2 seconds to heal a wounded ally. A world torn asunder, with men who become wolves, and giant molten dragons who destroy entire cities. If only such a world was out there ready to be played, preforably before X-mas time. *sigh* If only...
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Reforging...
With the new patch hitting the servers today a new way to customize gear comes with it. Reforging, is a new tool that will let players pick a stat (ie. haste, crit, etc) on their gear and turn 40% of that stat into a more preferred stat. On both of my healers, this looks very appealing.
For my paladin I can turn some extra spirit into haste or crit, or I can make some of that extra crit into mastery or haste. I am not entirely sure how I am going to tackle this for my paladin, but I am thinking that crit is going to be more attractive for me.
For my priest, I've decided that haste is going to be very attractive. Not only will it help spells like Renew, and my mastery heal over time, it will help make the (very) slow Heal a little less slow. More Heals, will increase my chance for Surge of Light procs, and of course a smaller global cooldown. So haste is looking like a good first choice. So what I've decided with regards to Reforging I am planning on taking items that have crit and adding haste to those.
For my second choice, I am really liking mastery over crit right now. Crit is always unreliable, and only provides more overhealing. I won't need to rely on it for procs (like I did before 4.0), like I will be on my paladin (Holy Shock procs are nice). Which makes me think that mastery is going to be a nice stat to go with.
The Holy mastery will allow my direct healing spells to add a heal over time onto the target. You might not think that this is that great, but this is what I am thinking. Say I heal someone who just took a 6.5k hit. I heal for 6k, and apply the heal over time on top of that. This way the HoT will heal the remaining health preventing me from feeling a need to cast another heal that would then overheal. So if I can make this heal over time stronger, I'll be able to add a nice health cushion to targets, which I think will help out a lot.
So with regards to Reforging, I'm going to take items with Haste, and turn the Spirit on them into Mastery. I will warn you, though, Reforging can be very expensive if you decide to reforge all of you items at once.
For my paladin I can turn some extra spirit into haste or crit, or I can make some of that extra crit into mastery or haste. I am not entirely sure how I am going to tackle this for my paladin, but I am thinking that crit is going to be more attractive for me.
For my priest, I've decided that haste is going to be very attractive. Not only will it help spells like Renew, and my mastery heal over time, it will help make the (very) slow Heal a little less slow. More Heals, will increase my chance for Surge of Light procs, and of course a smaller global cooldown. So haste is looking like a good first choice. So what I've decided with regards to Reforging I am planning on taking items that have crit and adding haste to those.
For my second choice, I am really liking mastery over crit right now. Crit is always unreliable, and only provides more overhealing. I won't need to rely on it for procs (like I did before 4.0), like I will be on my paladin (Holy Shock procs are nice). Which makes me think that mastery is going to be a nice stat to go with.
The Holy mastery will allow my direct healing spells to add a heal over time onto the target. You might not think that this is that great, but this is what I am thinking. Say I heal someone who just took a 6.5k hit. I heal for 6k, and apply the heal over time on top of that. This way the HoT will heal the remaining health preventing me from feeling a need to cast another heal that would then overheal. So if I can make this heal over time stronger, I'll be able to add a nice health cushion to targets, which I think will help out a lot.
So with regards to Reforging, I'm going to take items with Haste, and turn the Spirit on them into Mastery. I will warn you, though, Reforging can be very expensive if you decide to reforge all of you items at once.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Overhealing, and my Healing Approach
Since I started healing on my paladin through BC heroics, I used the approach of "big hit, use Holy Light, small hit, use Flash of Light." It worked pretty well, and during that time I began to get pretty good at keeping the green bars full.
Then Wrath came, and with it brought the "OMG everyone is taking big hits!" approach. As I began raiding in Naxx, and OS 25 man, it seemed as though everyone in the raid was taking a lot of damage. Combine that with my position as the tank healer, I began using the "use Holy Light" approach. No matter how big or small the hit was this was my heal of choice. This caused a lot of overhealing to be done. But it worked, all the way into ICC.
And then I started playing my priest. As I progressed through ICC 10, I found that about half of the fight were perfect for me. Whether there was constant pulsing AoE, or splash AoE damage, I used Renew, CoH, and PoH accordingly. I noticed though, that I was contributing to a lot of overhealing. Especially once my former guild began to work on the Lich King. So I wanted to start smart healing. Rather than throwing my array of heals at situations blindly, I stopped to think "Do I really need to cast that now, or can it wait?"
This shift in my approach, helped me become very efficient (notably on the Lich King fight itself). I would still use Prayer of Mending on cool down, and keep Renew on the tanks, but I became a little bit more selective on when I would use my other heals. Making sure they would not overheal, so that I would not waste my mana on heals that weren't needed.
Since I stopped raiding, I've kept this approach into my daily random heroics. Trying to fine tune my strategy and seeing a long I can wait to fill the green bars.
Now that I've begun testing my new spells and talents on my paladin and priest, I have tried to keep up with smart healing. And it has been going pretty well. with the change to Heal and Holy Light, I have that cheap small heal for when little damage is going out. I have the fast larger heal for when people get low, and I have the slow big heal for when people need to be brought up.
I have been working on utilizing these three heals when they are needed, while still using the rest of my arsenal when needed. While every fight, and group set up may shift my strategy, I still try to avoid overhealing as much as I can. This mini game that I am playing to keep people alive, while reducing wasted heals is why I like healing so much. The balance between mana efficiency and still preventing deaths is why I am especially looking forward to Cataclysm because overhealing will matter.
Then Wrath came, and with it brought the "OMG everyone is taking big hits!" approach. As I began raiding in Naxx, and OS 25 man, it seemed as though everyone in the raid was taking a lot of damage. Combine that with my position as the tank healer, I began using the "use Holy Light" approach. No matter how big or small the hit was this was my heal of choice. This caused a lot of overhealing to be done. But it worked, all the way into ICC.
And then I started playing my priest. As I progressed through ICC 10, I found that about half of the fight were perfect for me. Whether there was constant pulsing AoE, or splash AoE damage, I used Renew, CoH, and PoH accordingly. I noticed though, that I was contributing to a lot of overhealing. Especially once my former guild began to work on the Lich King. So I wanted to start smart healing. Rather than throwing my array of heals at situations blindly, I stopped to think "Do I really need to cast that now, or can it wait?"
This shift in my approach, helped me become very efficient (notably on the Lich King fight itself). I would still use Prayer of Mending on cool down, and keep Renew on the tanks, but I became a little bit more selective on when I would use my other heals. Making sure they would not overheal, so that I would not waste my mana on heals that weren't needed.
Since I stopped raiding, I've kept this approach into my daily random heroics. Trying to fine tune my strategy and seeing a long I can wait to fill the green bars.
Now that I've begun testing my new spells and talents on my paladin and priest, I have tried to keep up with smart healing. And it has been going pretty well. with the change to Heal and Holy Light, I have that cheap small heal for when little damage is going out. I have the fast larger heal for when people get low, and I have the slow big heal for when people need to be brought up.
I have been working on utilizing these three heals when they are needed, while still using the rest of my arsenal when needed. While every fight, and group set up may shift my strategy, I still try to avoid overhealing as much as I can. This mini game that I am playing to keep people alive, while reducing wasted heals is why I like healing so much. The balance between mana efficiency and still preventing deaths is why I am especially looking forward to Cataclysm because overhealing will matter.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
OMG I MOVED MY SPELLS!!!
After a good conversation with my friend about our keybindings and where we put our spells, I have come to a conclusion. My system didn't really make that much sense.
To start, the way that I set up my bars on my two main healers is as follows: I would put the three spells that I use most often at 5,6, and 7 with the rest going around those three. I wanted the main spells to be centrally located so that I could still reach the plethora of other spells in my arsenal if I needed to. This caused me to realize that a lot of the spells at the far reaches of my bar aren't really being used that much, and if they are they are being click. If they are going to be clicked that means they don't need to be on the bar.
So I reelvaluated. Now I have my three main spells at 3, 4, and 5 (GASP!!!!!). Big difference right, I know. But it has made a difference. My action bars seem more streamlined now, they feel effecient, and I feel like all is right with the world of action bars (a great idea for the next big MMO btw). I have healing and mana cooldowns above my bar and to the right, I have my dispells and "OH $*it" buttons above the bar and to the left, and my buffs to the far right. I move the AoE heals and the single target heals around depending on the content (raid AoE is closer to the big three, pvp single targets closer you get the idea).
After trying this out over the past week I am happy that I changed things up. From leveling to raiding my bars didn't really change. I would find a place for new spells, until just about every spot was taken. Now I've realized that I don't need Mana Burn on my bar all the time. I can keep those barely used spells where they belong, in the spell book until I need them.
To start, the way that I set up my bars on my two main healers is as follows: I would put the three spells that I use most often at 5,6, and 7 with the rest going around those three. I wanted the main spells to be centrally located so that I could still reach the plethora of other spells in my arsenal if I needed to. This caused me to realize that a lot of the spells at the far reaches of my bar aren't really being used that much, and if they are they are being click. If they are going to be clicked that means they don't need to be on the bar.
So I reelvaluated. Now I have my three main spells at 3, 4, and 5 (GASP!!!!!). Big difference right, I know. But it has made a difference. My action bars seem more streamlined now, they feel effecient, and I feel like all is right with the world of action bars (a great idea for the next big MMO btw). I have healing and mana cooldowns above my bar and to the right, I have my dispells and "OH $*it" buttons above the bar and to the left, and my buffs to the far right. I move the AoE heals and the single target heals around depending on the content (raid AoE is closer to the big three, pvp single targets closer you get the idea).
After trying this out over the past week I am happy that I changed things up. From leveling to raiding my bars didn't really change. I would find a place for new spells, until just about every spot was taken. Now I've realized that I don't need Mana Burn on my bar all the time. I can keep those barely used spells where they belong, in the spell book until I need them.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Thoughts on 4.0
After doing some more testing on the PTR I have come to a couple of conclusions regarding the paladin and priest healing changes.
I found the paladin playstyle to be very fun. Holy Shock, Word of Glory, and Holy Light work really well together. The combination of chosing the right heal and managing holy power is much better than throwing the same heal at every situation. I also like how many choices there are for spending talent points once I spend 31 in the holy tree. The ret and prot trees have nice healing options, and there are a ton of nice soloing and utility points left in the holy tree. All of these changes make me very interested in playing my paladin.
As far as my priest goes, I am content with the changes. I haven't been able to get the most out of Chakra, but it is still a nice ability. What I have enjoyed is the desicion process when chosing the right heal. I've managed to figure out that I want to use Heal when the target is above 50% (give or take), and Flash Heal when they get below, and a Serendipitous Greater Heal if they are near death. I really like the dynamic that is going on here. Before Flash Heal was the only filler between Prayer of Mending, or Renews, or a needed Circle of Healing or Prayer of Healing. Now I've got some options. I also like how Surge of Light has found its way back into the spec. The instant free procs from Heal go very nicely with Serendipity. I have realized that Archangel isn't as terrific as I thought for healing as holy, but it is still nice for pvp or soloing, and I am going to want a ton of haste to make Heal as fast as it can be.
All in all, I am excited to heal on my pally again, and I am just as happy to heal on my priest. A win win for sure.
I found the paladin playstyle to be very fun. Holy Shock, Word of Glory, and Holy Light work really well together. The combination of chosing the right heal and managing holy power is much better than throwing the same heal at every situation. I also like how many choices there are for spending talent points once I spend 31 in the holy tree. The ret and prot trees have nice healing options, and there are a ton of nice soloing and utility points left in the holy tree. All of these changes make me very interested in playing my paladin.
As far as my priest goes, I am content with the changes. I haven't been able to get the most out of Chakra, but it is still a nice ability. What I have enjoyed is the desicion process when chosing the right heal. I've managed to figure out that I want to use Heal when the target is above 50% (give or take), and Flash Heal when they get below, and a Serendipitous Greater Heal if they are near death. I really like the dynamic that is going on here. Before Flash Heal was the only filler between Prayer of Mending, or Renews, or a needed Circle of Healing or Prayer of Healing. Now I've got some options. I also like how Surge of Light has found its way back into the spec. The instant free procs from Heal go very nicely with Serendipity. I have realized that Archangel isn't as terrific as I thought for healing as holy, but it is still nice for pvp or soloing, and I am going to want a ton of haste to make Heal as fast as it can be.
All in all, I am excited to heal on my pally again, and I am just as happy to heal on my priest. A win win for sure.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
the PTR is Wonderful!
With all of the class changes coming out with patch 4.0, I decided to test out the new talents before they went live.
I was like a kid in a candy store. So many changes, it is like relearning how to play. I'll start with some of the broad changes, and get to the priest and pally stuff more. The new glyph interface is very nice. I am really looking forward to this change. Being able to get all of the glyphs that I want, and swap them in an out as I please is going to be a lot less of a hassle than the current system. The new Power Auras addition to the interface is very handy. Not only do shiny things appear around my character, but the button that you get to hit lights up too! This is a very nice change from constantly looking to the upper right of my screen for spells that poped up. And lastly, I am looking forward to Reforging. This looks like ti will add some much needed flexibility when prioritizing gear.
Now to the goods. I started first on my priest. I specced holy using this spec (minus Evangelism and Archangel because you're only lvl 80 on the ptr). To start, Chakra is a nice talent, and I love how it can stay up for as long as you want, and provide a nice boos to the heal that you need. Holy Word: Chastise, is pretty cool. I think that the cooldown is a bit long, but I like how it changes depending on the Chakra state I'm in. Also I am glad that Surge of Light is in the tree and easy to get. I get free Flash Heals, which give me Serendipity buffs which makes the use of the big heals much easier. I like how those talents work with eachother.
Also in case you were wondering I did try out discipline, so that I could get Archangel. It looks awesome (gives you wings), and it makes casting smite boost healing. I decided that I won't pick it up (too many better options, but if you want more about it you can see Miss Medicina's post about the numbers behind it's awesomeness here.
Next I went to my Paladin. The spec that I used here is different from the one that I linked in my previous post. I wanted to test out the healing, later on I'll test out the kind of damage I can dish out as holy, but for now I want to get used to healing. So here is the spec. There are some things off the bat that take some getting used to. Holy power is one of those things. In the spec that i linked, you will gain Holy Power by using Holy Shock and by healing the target of Beacon of Light with your casted heals. You can only have 3 charges of Holy Power, and once you have any number of charges you can use Word of Glory. While Word of Glory doesn't heal for much unless you have 3 charges, it is free and instant so you would only be wasting a global cooldown if you use it with less than 3 charges. Another thing that took me sometime to get used to was all of the buffs the pop up. Casting Holy Shock gives you haste when casting, and if you crit it makes Holy Light even faster. At the same time, casting has a chance to allow you to use Holy Shock without it triggering a cooldown (2 in a row). These buffs are really nice, and they make the playstyle a lot more interactive and fun. Managing the buffs to the casted spells, managing the buffs to Holy Shock, and using Holy Power effectively is a lot more dynamic than spamming the most efficient heal all the time.
The last thing I want to say about Holy paladins is Light of Dawn!!!! It looks really amazing.
All in all, holy priests will still be a lot of fun, and holy paladins will have a much more dynamic playstyle. I am looking forward to playing both when 4.0 goes live.
I was like a kid in a candy store. So many changes, it is like relearning how to play. I'll start with some of the broad changes, and get to the priest and pally stuff more. The new glyph interface is very nice. I am really looking forward to this change. Being able to get all of the glyphs that I want, and swap them in an out as I please is going to be a lot less of a hassle than the current system. The new Power Auras addition to the interface is very handy. Not only do shiny things appear around my character, but the button that you get to hit lights up too! This is a very nice change from constantly looking to the upper right of my screen for spells that poped up. And lastly, I am looking forward to Reforging. This looks like ti will add some much needed flexibility when prioritizing gear.
Now to the goods. I started first on my priest. I specced holy using this spec (minus Evangelism and Archangel because you're only lvl 80 on the ptr). To start, Chakra is a nice talent, and I love how it can stay up for as long as you want, and provide a nice boos to the heal that you need. Holy Word: Chastise, is pretty cool. I think that the cooldown is a bit long, but I like how it changes depending on the Chakra state I'm in. Also I am glad that Surge of Light is in the tree and easy to get. I get free Flash Heals, which give me Serendipity buffs which makes the use of the big heals much easier. I like how those talents work with eachother.
Also in case you were wondering I did try out discipline, so that I could get Archangel. It looks awesome (gives you wings), and it makes casting smite boost healing. I decided that I won't pick it up (too many better options, but if you want more about it you can see Miss Medicina's post about the numbers behind it's awesomeness here.
Next I went to my Paladin. The spec that I used here is different from the one that I linked in my previous post. I wanted to test out the healing, later on I'll test out the kind of damage I can dish out as holy, but for now I want to get used to healing. So here is the spec. There are some things off the bat that take some getting used to. Holy power is one of those things. In the spec that i linked, you will gain Holy Power by using Holy Shock and by healing the target of Beacon of Light with your casted heals. You can only have 3 charges of Holy Power, and once you have any number of charges you can use Word of Glory. While Word of Glory doesn't heal for much unless you have 3 charges, it is free and instant so you would only be wasting a global cooldown if you use it with less than 3 charges. Another thing that took me sometime to get used to was all of the buffs the pop up. Casting Holy Shock gives you haste when casting, and if you crit it makes Holy Light even faster. At the same time, casting has a chance to allow you to use Holy Shock without it triggering a cooldown (2 in a row). These buffs are really nice, and they make the playstyle a lot more interactive and fun. Managing the buffs to the casted spells, managing the buffs to Holy Shock, and using Holy Power effectively is a lot more dynamic than spamming the most efficient heal all the time.
The last thing I want to say about Holy paladins is Light of Dawn!!!! It looks really amazing.
All in all, holy priests will still be a lot of fun, and holy paladins will have a much more dynamic playstyle. I am looking forward to playing both when 4.0 goes live.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Excited about the latest beta build
A new Beta Build is availale at wowhead.com, and it has me excited.
I've already decided that, when 4.0 hits the live realms, I'm going to spend my talent points with an emphasis on leveling. For my priest that meant picking up Evangelism and Archangel from the Disc tree, and for my paly that meant getting the talents that boosted Exocism and Holy Shocks damage.
I was expecting this focus on leveling to cause me to sacrafice some points away from the healing bonuses, but it turns out that I won't be missing out on as much as I thought (for my priest at least).
Here is a look at my priest' healing and leveling spec. With the addition of Trinity and Surge of Light, Evangelism and Archangel will be a lot more useful for Holy. Even better is that these talents are almost required for moving further down the tree, and Surge of Light gives Heal a chance for an instant Flash Heal. I am liking this a lot. The way it is now, spending to improve Smite and making it functional is not so good for healing. Now, though, Smite won't be such a non useful option, and the points spent to do that also help with healing!
Here is a look at my pally's healing and leveling spec. Can you say Shockadin? I am looking forward to seeing how this works while leveling. Exorcism and Holy shock look like they will combine to make holy a lot of fun while leveling. The new Spiritual Focus talents, looks like a great addition too. No more missing Judgments. All in all, this spec will allow me to kill things faster while only losing a couple of healing talents.
While I am sure that Ret and Shadow will be the best leveling specs for killing things fast, but I don't care. I like Holy in both cases better, and I'm going to be leveling with my girlfriend's mage and warrior which means we can two man most of those pesky group quests while we move up to 85.
I've already decided that, when 4.0 hits the live realms, I'm going to spend my talent points with an emphasis on leveling. For my priest that meant picking up Evangelism and Archangel from the Disc tree, and for my paly that meant getting the talents that boosted Exocism and Holy Shocks damage.
I was expecting this focus on leveling to cause me to sacrafice some points away from the healing bonuses, but it turns out that I won't be missing out on as much as I thought (for my priest at least).
Here is a look at my priest' healing and leveling spec. With the addition of Trinity and Surge of Light, Evangelism and Archangel will be a lot more useful for Holy. Even better is that these talents are almost required for moving further down the tree, and Surge of Light gives Heal a chance for an instant Flash Heal. I am liking this a lot. The way it is now, spending to improve Smite and making it functional is not so good for healing. Now, though, Smite won't be such a non useful option, and the points spent to do that also help with healing!
Here is a look at my pally's healing and leveling spec. Can you say Shockadin? I am looking forward to seeing how this works while leveling. Exorcism and Holy shock look like they will combine to make holy a lot of fun while leveling. The new Spiritual Focus talents, looks like a great addition too. No more missing Judgments. All in all, this spec will allow me to kill things faster while only losing a couple of healing talents.
While I am sure that Ret and Shadow will be the best leveling specs for killing things fast, but I don't care. I like Holy in both cases better, and I'm going to be leveling with my girlfriend's mage and warrior which means we can two man most of those pesky group quests while we move up to 85.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Results after PVPing as a Holy Priest
Previously I posted about pvping as a holy priest. (you can find it here). It's been a couple of week and numerous battlegrounds later, and I think I've come to a decesion. It's really fun!
I'll start by emphasizing that Discipline is still very good, but all in all I've found few draw backs while doing battlegrounds.
Guardian Spirit is great. Lightwell, has been more useful than I thought. Prayer of Mending is much more powerful, and therefore awesome. Renew is very nice. Blessed Resilience and Blessed recovery are great for staying alive. And Body and Soul is full of win.
The only major draw back that I've noticed is my heals are much slower. With the pvp gear, my haste is cut in half, which makes Borrowed Time an awesome reason to be disc.
But all in all I have had a lot of fun, and I've noticed that I am pretty tough to kill, and can keep people alive pretty well. Holy may not be as good as disc as far as single target healing, but there are a lot of cool talents in the tree that are very fun.
I'll start by emphasizing that Discipline is still very good, but all in all I've found few draw backs while doing battlegrounds.
Guardian Spirit is great. Lightwell, has been more useful than I thought. Prayer of Mending is much more powerful, and therefore awesome. Renew is very nice. Blessed Resilience and Blessed recovery are great for staying alive. And Body and Soul is full of win.
The only major draw back that I've noticed is my heals are much slower. With the pvp gear, my haste is cut in half, which makes Borrowed Time an awesome reason to be disc.
But all in all I have had a lot of fun, and I've noticed that I am pretty tough to kill, and can keep people alive pretty well. Holy may not be as good as disc as far as single target healing, but there are a lot of cool talents in the tree that are very fun.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Well... that was easy.
I posted earlier about my quest for the priest staff Benediction.. Well, after a couple of nights of two manning Molten Core and an awesome quest chain, I have the staff. *weeee*
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Holy Priest Healing in Cataclysm
Earlier I talked about my excitement for the upcoming paladin changes coming in cataclysm. Now it is the priests turn.
Currently healing as a holy priest offers a variety of different playstyles. With the prevalence of periodic damage in Icecrown Citadel, and consitent raid wide damage two playstyles began to take shape for priests. Most priests would spec to make Renew more powerful, while others would focus more on direct heals like Prayer of Healing. There wasn't a huge different between these specs, but the main staple was that single target healing took a back seat to AoE heals.
In Cataclysm, it looks like things are going to shift slightly. Holy priests have always been very well rounded. We can help with tank healing, raid heal, and offer support to other healers. With the current talent build the range of spots to place talent points allowed a holy priest to either boost spells like Flash Heal and Greater Heal, or spells like Circle of Healing and Prayer of Healing (of course there is some overlap here). With the new talent trees, however, it looks like we won't have to choose one or the other. If you decide to be a holy priest you will be able to fill any healing role. Which means that putting points into boosting Greater Heal won't seem like a mistake because there really isn't anywhere else to put them, (and Greater Heal will be more useful).
While one could argue that this could limit our options, I would say it enhances our veratility. Tanks about to take incoming damage, let me swap to Chakra(Heal). The Boss is shooting fire at everyone, let me switch to Chakra(Prayer of Healing). There is a constant stream of damage being dealt to the raid, let me switch to Chakra(Renew). We can tank heal, raid heal, and HoT with the best of them.
We still keep the cool talents like; Spirit of Redemption, Body and Soul (yay for Lifegrip), Guardian Spirit, and Lightwell (yay for the fixes to it), and we gain an awesome spell like Chakra. This is going to be really fun. If you're a holy priest in Cataclysm, you will be fully holy. There won't be a specialization within the spec. You'll be able to be good at everything in cata, and that is going to be awesome.
Currently healing as a holy priest offers a variety of different playstyles. With the prevalence of periodic damage in Icecrown Citadel, and consitent raid wide damage two playstyles began to take shape for priests. Most priests would spec to make Renew more powerful, while others would focus more on direct heals like Prayer of Healing. There wasn't a huge different between these specs, but the main staple was that single target healing took a back seat to AoE heals.
In Cataclysm, it looks like things are going to shift slightly. Holy priests have always been very well rounded. We can help with tank healing, raid heal, and offer support to other healers. With the current talent build the range of spots to place talent points allowed a holy priest to either boost spells like Flash Heal and Greater Heal, or spells like Circle of Healing and Prayer of Healing (of course there is some overlap here). With the new talent trees, however, it looks like we won't have to choose one or the other. If you decide to be a holy priest you will be able to fill any healing role. Which means that putting points into boosting Greater Heal won't seem like a mistake because there really isn't anywhere else to put them, (and Greater Heal will be more useful).
While one could argue that this could limit our options, I would say it enhances our veratility. Tanks about to take incoming damage, let me swap to Chakra(Heal). The Boss is shooting fire at everyone, let me switch to Chakra(Prayer of Healing). There is a constant stream of damage being dealt to the raid, let me switch to Chakra(Renew). We can tank heal, raid heal, and HoT with the best of them.
We still keep the cool talents like; Spirit of Redemption, Body and Soul (yay for Lifegrip), Guardian Spirit, and Lightwell (yay for the fixes to it), and we gain an awesome spell like Chakra. This is going to be really fun. If you're a holy priest in Cataclysm, you will be fully holy. There won't be a specialization within the spec. You'll be able to be good at everything in cata, and that is going to be awesome.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Why I like bad tanks.
I love it when I see a tank with less than 30k health. I love seeing a tank who is clearly not defense capped. And I love it when that tank is horrible at holding agro. "But CrusaderSev that's crazy, a bad tank couldn't bring any good." Wrong! A bad tank means that I get to heal. And I mean really heal!
My priest is a Kingslayer and has everything from Icecrown (cept a stupid wand). My paladin has his 4 peices of teir 10 (though most everything else is from ToC 10). By no means are my healers in super amazing gear but they vastly out gear the content present in heroics. If I am unlucky enough to get into a group with a tank who is as geared or better than me, then that means a boring run. He takes little damages, the dps take little damage, and I am playing the "you don't need to be topped off" game.
In the past I would resort to wearing level 60 gear sets. Not only did I look awesome (Banana Shoulders FTW!), but my spell power and mana were lowered enough to make me feel like I did when I first started. I had to use my heals more because one was no longer enough. That got to be pretty fun, but I found that most people didn't really like that very much. Because on the off chance that things did go wrong, things got a little bit scary for them. So I have stayed in my normal gear sets hoping for the group that has a poorly geared tank.
I was very disapointed last night. The tank we started with had less than 30k, and couldn't keep agro off my girlfriend's mage, and I was happy. Then my girlfriend and a warlock get one shotted from pulling agro, and our feral druid swaps to bear and tanks the rest. My disapointment arose when said druid had 60k health :(
Now I know that if I want a challenge I can go and play with the LK some more. But I don't really have the time to play with Arthas now that classes have started. So I'm just going to have to wait for that bad tank/group that makes a boring heroic a little less boring. Another reason to look forward to Cataclysm.
My priest is a Kingslayer and has everything from Icecrown (cept a stupid wand). My paladin has his 4 peices of teir 10 (though most everything else is from ToC 10). By no means are my healers in super amazing gear but they vastly out gear the content present in heroics. If I am unlucky enough to get into a group with a tank who is as geared or better than me, then that means a boring run. He takes little damages, the dps take little damage, and I am playing the "you don't need to be topped off" game.
In the past I would resort to wearing level 60 gear sets. Not only did I look awesome (Banana Shoulders FTW!), but my spell power and mana were lowered enough to make me feel like I did when I first started. I had to use my heals more because one was no longer enough. That got to be pretty fun, but I found that most people didn't really like that very much. Because on the off chance that things did go wrong, things got a little bit scary for them. So I have stayed in my normal gear sets hoping for the group that has a poorly geared tank.
I was very disapointed last night. The tank we started with had less than 30k, and couldn't keep agro off my girlfriend's mage, and I was happy. Then my girlfriend and a warlock get one shotted from pulling agro, and our feral druid swaps to bear and tanks the rest. My disapointment arose when said druid had 60k health :(
Now I know that if I want a challenge I can go and play with the LK some more. But I don't really have the time to play with Arthas now that classes have started. So I'm just going to have to wait for that bad tank/group that makes a boring heroic a little less boring. Another reason to look forward to Cataclysm.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Lightwell has some use (at least that I've noticed)
Recently I posted about pvping as a Holy Priest. The spec that I linked includes Lightwell. Why Lightwell you ask? Well I didn't really know at the time, but now that I have done more battlegrounds I have an answer.
When you are stunned, you can still click Lightwell. Meaning, it will heal you when you can't heal yourself. An example I'll site comes from Arathi Basin. Let's say that I am protecting a flag in the Basin. I will put Lightwell near the Flag (i.e. near where I'll be standing). Now some horde players come to attack me and my comrades. I use my spells to keep myself and my group alive, and BAM, I'm stuned. Can't do a thing for a few seconds. Previously I would just sit there (providing that Every Man for Himself was on cooldown), but no more. I can click the Lightwell, and it will give me a nice heal over time (glyphed it heals for about 4k every 2 seconds).
Pretty sweet if you ask me. While someone is just whacking away at me, I can use the Lightwell, and it (combined with my Blessed Recovery and Blessed Resillience talents) can help me stay alive while I'm stunned, spell locked, and feared (I think).
And if that wasn't good enough, here's another tid bit for yah. People will attack your Lightwell. Not that earth shattering? Well think about this, if they are attacking the Lightwell, that means that they aren't attacking you or your friends. Allowing for an added opportunity to turn the tables.
It's funny, the more that I use Lightwell in battlegrounds, the more I am seeing how useful it can be. Hopefully Cataclysm will change it enough to make it more user friendly, and players will accept it like they do their health stones and healing potions.
When you are stunned, you can still click Lightwell. Meaning, it will heal you when you can't heal yourself. An example I'll site comes from Arathi Basin. Let's say that I am protecting a flag in the Basin. I will put Lightwell near the Flag (i.e. near where I'll be standing). Now some horde players come to attack me and my comrades. I use my spells to keep myself and my group alive, and BAM, I'm stuned. Can't do a thing for a few seconds. Previously I would just sit there (providing that Every Man for Himself was on cooldown), but no more. I can click the Lightwell, and it will give me a nice heal over time (glyphed it heals for about 4k every 2 seconds).
Pretty sweet if you ask me. While someone is just whacking away at me, I can use the Lightwell, and it (combined with my Blessed Recovery and Blessed Resillience talents) can help me stay alive while I'm stunned, spell locked, and feared (I think).
And if that wasn't good enough, here's another tid bit for yah. People will attack your Lightwell. Not that earth shattering? Well think about this, if they are attacking the Lightwell, that means that they aren't attacking you or your friends. Allowing for an added opportunity to turn the tables.
It's funny, the more that I use Lightwell in battlegrounds, the more I am seeing how useful it can be. Hopefully Cataclysm will change it enough to make it more user friendly, and players will accept it like they do their health stones and healing potions.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Paldin Healing in Cataclysm
Currently paladin healing is pretty easy. By that I mean that there are few desicions that need to be made when it comes to which heal to use. There is a camp that primarily use Holy Light, and they stack the intellect. There are others (myself at the moment) who primarily use Flash of Light, and they stack spell power.
From what I've gathered from the Cataclysm posts, all healers will have more options about which spell to use. For paladins this means the (possible) end to the "one or the other" playstyle of healing. With the introduction of Holy Power (looking forward to this), an altered Beacon of Light, the new Word of Glory, the Holy Radiance* spell and the 31st talent spell Light of Dawn paladins will have a lot to choose from. Finally!
This has me excited. Not only will the mechanics of Flash of Light and Holy be changed with Divine Light being added, but we are getting another single target instant heal in Word of Glory, and two AoE healing abilities. Combine that with the staple Judgments, Holy Shock, Hand ofs, and our other awesome spells, playing a paladin in Cataclysm should get to be very exciting.
Fights with movement won't be too bad with the boosts to Holy Shock, and Word of Glory being instant casts, and there will be more flexibilty available when it comes to healing more than just the tanks. Depending on how the beta finishes, and how the talents look when 4.0 goes live, this could cause me to enjoy healing on my paladin more than my priest. Which is saying a lot considering the introduction of Chakra.
From what I've gathered from the Cataclysm posts, all healers will have more options about which spell to use. For paladins this means the (possible) end to the "one or the other" playstyle of healing. With the introduction of Holy Power (looking forward to this), an altered Beacon of Light, the new Word of Glory, the Holy Radiance* spell and the 31st talent spell Light of Dawn paladins will have a lot to choose from. Finally!
This has me excited. Not only will the mechanics of Flash of Light and Holy be changed with Divine Light being added, but we are getting another single target instant heal in Word of Glory, and two AoE healing abilities. Combine that with the staple Judgments, Holy Shock, Hand ofs, and our other awesome spells, playing a paladin in Cataclysm should get to be very exciting.
Fights with movement won't be too bad with the boosts to Holy Shock, and Word of Glory being instant casts, and there will be more flexibilty available when it comes to healing more than just the tanks. Depending on how the beta finishes, and how the talents look when 4.0 goes live, this could cause me to enjoy healing on my paladin more than my priest. Which is saying a lot considering the introduction of Chakra.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
PVPing as a holy priest
With a lack of desire to do any raiding, heroics, or leveling of toons, I have turned to battlegrounds. I have always enjoyed pvping, both at 80 on my pally and priest and at the lower levels on my rogue, and other pally. It adds a much needed change of pace, and it's always fun to turn the tides of a battle with needed heals and face melting powah.
Most of my pvp has come on my priest lately. As shadow it is a ton of fun being able to go toe to toe with most anyone. As discipline, the single target healing and PW:S is just awesome. Both specs are a ton of fun for pvp. But I was thinking, "I like raiding as holy, why not doing battlegrounds as holy?"
So I did. I picked up Blessed Recovery, Blessed Resilience, Body and Soul, and even Lightwell (still wondering why myself). The spec still allows me to heal in a raid or heroic easily. I made sure to pick up all of those tools without too much trouble. So, I gave it a try last night. and I've got to say that I think I am liking it a little better than disc so far.
Here is a link to the specthat I use.
My Prayer of Mending is stronger, my Power Word: Sheil gives a speed boost, my Renew is more useful, I've got Gaurdian spirit, and with Spirit of Redemption, even if you kill me I can still heal for another 15 sec. While Prayer of Healing and Circle of Healing don't find as much use, those added tools don't really hurt me at all. I am still not sure how wise it was to spec (and glyph) for Lightwell. I guess the reasoning there was to get people used to using it for when it (hopefully) becomes useful in Cata. Plus having an added ability never hurt.
All in all, I am enjoying pvping as holy. While I am sure that Disc is the better healing spec for it, holy is the spec that I like the most, and I am glad that it is proving to be pretty fun.
Most of my pvp has come on my priest lately. As shadow it is a ton of fun being able to go toe to toe with most anyone. As discipline, the single target healing and PW:S is just awesome. Both specs are a ton of fun for pvp. But I was thinking, "I like raiding as holy, why not doing battlegrounds as holy?"
So I did. I picked up Blessed Recovery, Blessed Resilience, Body and Soul, and even Lightwell (still wondering why myself). The spec still allows me to heal in a raid or heroic easily. I made sure to pick up all of those tools without too much trouble. So, I gave it a try last night. and I've got to say that I think I am liking it a little better than disc so far.
Here is a link to the specthat I use.
My Prayer of Mending is stronger, my Power Word: Sheil gives a speed boost, my Renew is more useful, I've got Gaurdian spirit, and with Spirit of Redemption, even if you kill me I can still heal for another 15 sec. While Prayer of Healing and Circle of Healing don't find as much use, those added tools don't really hurt me at all. I am still not sure how wise it was to spec (and glyph) for Lightwell. I guess the reasoning there was to get people used to using it for when it (hopefully) becomes useful in Cata. Plus having an added ability never hurt.
All in all, I am enjoying pvping as holy. While I am sure that Disc is the better healing spec for it, holy is the spec that I like the most, and I am glad that it is proving to be pretty fun.
Monday, August 30, 2010
What does World of Warcraft mean to me?
I was thinking about this on the way home today. After talking with some friends of mine, I realized that I had ended up spending a majority of time talking to them about WoW. They play too (not as much as I do) so it was a mutual thing, but we could've easily talked about work or school or anything else. Why WoW?
World of Warcraft has become a hobby that I talk about, endulge in, and think about more than most every other eneavor (with notable exceptions) that I partake in. I have chalked this up to be a normal endulgence, which is no different than someone who plays on the X-Box, or Farmville. But is it?
I know plenty of people who play video games avidly, they spend most of their free time playing. But they don't seem to talk about it much, and they certainly don't start a blog to talk about it. Am I so different, or is the nature of the games?
I am going to say that it is a little bit of both. I know that I am one to border on obsession with a lot of my interests. For example, I recently listened to a few Queen songs, and now they are the only band that I care to listen to. I have searched youtube to find as many videos with their songs, and I absolutely love them. Now, I am assuming that most people would listen to some of their songs, like them (how can't you), but they would still have a bunch of other bands that they like. While I like all types of music, I have found that I compare everything I hear, and how that singer isn't as good as Freddie and how that guitarist isn't Brian. So I know that I take my interests close to the extreme. But there has to be more to it than my obsessions. What is it about WoW that makes it so compelling (to me at least)?
I think that it has to do with two main factors. One; I am paying for this game every month. If I am paying to play this game, I am going to get the most out of it that I can. This goes beyond the in game, but into looking up information about my class, quests, raids, and everything I can find to know more about how to play and what goes into playing well. Second; I am playing as a character that I created. Every time I log in I am playing as my characters. I control their actions, I make get them gear to make them better, and I determine how they interact with the world (...of warcraft) that they "live" in.
I never really gave this much thought before, but this has caused me to become attached (in a strange way) to my characters. I care about which ones I play more, which ones get certain achivements, and I care about how cool (or stupid) they look.
My paladin is my achievment guy (excluding ICC). My preist is my main healing guy (love the playstyle). And my other paladin (yes there are two) is the cool lvl 60 grand marshal with the big ass sword guy. I have a bunch of other characters, but those three are the ones that I really put the thought into. I care about playing them well, how they look, and them having cool stuff.
I guess that about covers it. After thinking about this, I am pretty sure I will be the best dad in the world because a baby is something that I create (with help of course), and it is definitely something that I will spend money on.
World of Warcraft has become a hobby that I talk about, endulge in, and think about more than most every other eneavor (with notable exceptions) that I partake in. I have chalked this up to be a normal endulgence, which is no different than someone who plays on the X-Box, or Farmville. But is it?
I know plenty of people who play video games avidly, they spend most of their free time playing. But they don't seem to talk about it much, and they certainly don't start a blog to talk about it. Am I so different, or is the nature of the games?
I am going to say that it is a little bit of both. I know that I am one to border on obsession with a lot of my interests. For example, I recently listened to a few Queen songs, and now they are the only band that I care to listen to. I have searched youtube to find as many videos with their songs, and I absolutely love them. Now, I am assuming that most people would listen to some of their songs, like them (how can't you), but they would still have a bunch of other bands that they like. While I like all types of music, I have found that I compare everything I hear, and how that singer isn't as good as Freddie and how that guitarist isn't Brian. So I know that I take my interests close to the extreme. But there has to be more to it than my obsessions. What is it about WoW that makes it so compelling (to me at least)?
I think that it has to do with two main factors. One; I am paying for this game every month. If I am paying to play this game, I am going to get the most out of it that I can. This goes beyond the in game, but into looking up information about my class, quests, raids, and everything I can find to know more about how to play and what goes into playing well. Second; I am playing as a character that I created. Every time I log in I am playing as my characters. I control their actions, I make get them gear to make them better, and I determine how they interact with the world (...of warcraft) that they "live" in.
I never really gave this much thought before, but this has caused me to become attached (in a strange way) to my characters. I care about which ones I play more, which ones get certain achivements, and I care about how cool (or stupid) they look.
My paladin is my achievment guy (excluding ICC). My preist is my main healing guy (love the playstyle). And my other paladin (yes there are two) is the cool lvl 60 grand marshal with the big ass sword guy. I have a bunch of other characters, but those three are the ones that I really put the thought into. I care about playing them well, how they look, and them having cool stuff.
I guess that about covers it. After thinking about this, I am pretty sure I will be the best dad in the world because a baby is something that I create (with help of course), and it is definitely something that I will spend money on.
Friday, August 27, 2010
What annoys you the most?
Running a random on Cell, and there is a DK in frost presence (not tanking). He's hardly pressing any buttons, and just have a good ole time cruising through the instance.
Our tank, who was over geared and pulling with vigor, was loosing his patience with the our DK. Not only because he was in frost presence, but also from the lack of activity and awareness of his class and how to play it. Our tanks comments to the DK gave me the impression that the DKs actions were really getting on his nerves. This made me wonder, what really gets on my nerves? Was our tank justified in being so annoyed?
I can understand being a tank and having someone who is taunting off of you, using righteous fury, frost pressence or defensive stance, and so on.This can get pretty frustrating for some folks. After all it is the tanks role to hold agro on all of the mobs, and when someone uses those abilities they are hindering the tanks ability to fill that role adequately. But this DK was no where near getting threat off of the Tank. Sure it can be annoying that he's in Frost Presence, but is it worth throwing a fit over?
I tend to take the stance that if it's not having an adverse affect on my (or my girlfriend's) gameplay, then what do I care. Sure that person has no idea how to play their class, and sure they have no idea of what they are supposed to do on most fights, if it doesn't hurt me I tend not to let it bother me. I've noticed, though, that this philosophy stops being true when I'm in a raid. For whatever reason (probably the long waits between wipes), I get especially annoyed when people enter a raid instance absolutely clueless. And it's not just that they are clueless, it's that they are clueless and trying to hide it. Time and time again, I'll be in a pug and when the raid leader asks, "has anyone not done this fight before?" noone says a word. The raid fails (miserably) and becomes clear there are many people who havn't done the fight before.
I absolutely hate it when people do this. When someone woul rather fake it and cause 9 or 24 other people to run back from the graveyard, instead of saying "umm yeah, I have no idea what is going on, can someone explain it to me?" that's when I get annoyed. I know that there is a lot of anxiety when you're the only one out of the loop, but think about this. If you're in a pug, chances are good (depending on how it was put together) that you are not the only one who has no idea. I would rather someone tell me they don't have a clue, than pretend they do and fail because by you asking that question the other clueless people don't have to.
This, combined with the fact that it is a pain to get my priest his teir 5 smexy set, is probably my biggest pet peeve. If you have a question, ask someone. If that person is a douche, keep asking until you find someone willing to be nice and patient enough to help you. Also the WoW forums, wowhead, tankspot, and a whole slew of guides are your friends. Learn how to use them, and you will be on your way to improve your gameplay.
Our tank, who was over geared and pulling with vigor, was loosing his patience with the our DK. Not only because he was in frost presence, but also from the lack of activity and awareness of his class and how to play it. Our tanks comments to the DK gave me the impression that the DKs actions were really getting on his nerves. This made me wonder, what really gets on my nerves? Was our tank justified in being so annoyed?
I can understand being a tank and having someone who is taunting off of you, using righteous fury, frost pressence or defensive stance, and so on.This can get pretty frustrating for some folks. After all it is the tanks role to hold agro on all of the mobs, and when someone uses those abilities they are hindering the tanks ability to fill that role adequately. But this DK was no where near getting threat off of the Tank. Sure it can be annoying that he's in Frost Presence, but is it worth throwing a fit over?
I tend to take the stance that if it's not having an adverse affect on my (or my girlfriend's) gameplay, then what do I care. Sure that person has no idea how to play their class, and sure they have no idea of what they are supposed to do on most fights, if it doesn't hurt me I tend not to let it bother me. I've noticed, though, that this philosophy stops being true when I'm in a raid. For whatever reason (probably the long waits between wipes), I get especially annoyed when people enter a raid instance absolutely clueless. And it's not just that they are clueless, it's that they are clueless and trying to hide it. Time and time again, I'll be in a pug and when the raid leader asks, "has anyone not done this fight before?" noone says a word. The raid fails (miserably) and becomes clear there are many people who havn't done the fight before.
I absolutely hate it when people do this. When someone woul rather fake it and cause 9 or 24 other people to run back from the graveyard, instead of saying "umm yeah, I have no idea what is going on, can someone explain it to me?" that's when I get annoyed. I know that there is a lot of anxiety when you're the only one out of the loop, but think about this. If you're in a pug, chances are good (depending on how it was put together) that you are not the only one who has no idea. I would rather someone tell me they don't have a clue, than pretend they do and fail because by you asking that question the other clueless people don't have to.
This, combined with the fact that it is a pain to get my priest his teir 5 smexy set, is probably my biggest pet peeve. If you have a question, ask someone. If that person is a douche, keep asking until you find someone willing to be nice and patient enough to help you. Also the WoW forums, wowhead, tankspot, and a whole slew of guides are your friends. Learn how to use them, and you will be on your way to improve your gameplay.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
It's my first time!
In an effort to catch up on the happenings in the WoW community while being unproductive at my job, I've discovered WoW blogs. Over the last couple of weeks I've been reading some very interesting articles about a variety of topics surrounding the the gaming community.
From Cataclysm news, to raiding blues there is always something new and interesting being brought to the forefront. And so, I've been inspired to join in. I've been playing WoW for almost 4 years now, and I'd like to think that I've learned a little about the game and how to play it.
My main characters are a holy priest and holy paladin. The paladin is the first class I played, and that character was my first 80, and some most of my coolest achivements. The priest is a character that I've had for a long time, but never really played until my guild realized the healing ICC with 3 holy paladins might not be so good. I leveled him and he is my Kingslayer.
Both classes are my favorite, and both are (in my opinion) the coolest when it comes to look and playstyle. Most of what I talk about will be from the perspective of these two characters, Sev (the pally), and Cell (the priest). I have spent time leveling most every class at the low levels, but these two have occupied my point of view the most.
I hope you enjoy reading, as I offer my view on things WoW related.
From Cataclysm news, to raiding blues there is always something new and interesting being brought to the forefront. And so, I've been inspired to join in. I've been playing WoW for almost 4 years now, and I'd like to think that I've learned a little about the game and how to play it.
My main characters are a holy priest and holy paladin. The paladin is the first class I played, and that character was my first 80, and some most of my coolest achivements. The priest is a character that I've had for a long time, but never really played until my guild realized the healing ICC with 3 holy paladins might not be so good. I leveled him and he is my Kingslayer.
Both classes are my favorite, and both are (in my opinion) the coolest when it comes to look and playstyle. Most of what I talk about will be from the perspective of these two characters, Sev (the pally), and Cell (the priest). I have spent time leveling most every class at the low levels, but these two have occupied my point of view the most.
I hope you enjoy reading, as I offer my view on things WoW related.
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