I know people who collect swords (in game!), folks who are eternally searching for the perfect hat, guildies who change hairstyles on a daily basis. The fact is that WoW has a very visual component, and I think it’s fair to say that most frequent players develop an attachment to their main and want to see them look coordinated or pretty or badass. I am a big fan of min-maxing, theorycrafting, and using math voodoo to make Liore the best she can be at healing or DPS, but there is one area where my resolve weakens, and that area is staves.

I love staves. They are big and fantastical and often iconic. Think of priests running around with Benediction, or the corn staff from the green dragons. Ever since I first set eyes upon Will of Arlokk (can we get the Zul’Gurub armor designers to come back, please?), I was sold on Liore being a staff wearer. This wasn’t a very controversial decision in Classic WoW, particularly with Benediction around.

Maces plus an offhand gained some traction in TBC, although Solarian’s Ethereum Life-Staff and the Priest on a Stick were still pretty competitive weapon choices for their armor tiers.

So here we are in Northrend, and, sadly, maces really are the way to go. There are plenty of good weapon choices and lots of great offhands floating around, whether you’re healing or DPSing. And I had indeed remained true to my inner min-maxer and stuck with my mace. Oh sure, I managed to fairly obtain a Spire of Sunset and a Staff of Restraint, but although both are gorgeous they currently sit in my bank, two more exhibits in Liore’s Gallery of Staves. They just .. weren’t.. quite enough.. to make me switch.

Then, last night, Gluth fell and suddenly IT entered my life. My precious! You can keep your theorycrafting, jack, because I have DAMNATION. Oh, sweet Damnation. My new weapon math goes as such:

(awesome name + badass model + spinny bits) > dumb mace

I lost some spell power and am going to have to regem a couple of sockets for +hit, but la la la I do not care. Sometimes a girl just needs a big fancy stick.

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Random, WotLK gear, priest, silly

Occasionally I try and prompt my guildies into posting something here, and today it actually worked. Thae has been with the guild in various forms for about three years now. He is pretty infamous for being cranky and telling people to die in a fire, and we love him for it.

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Hello, my name is Thae, and if you look closely you’ll see a silent “Rockstar Shaman” in my name. I am currently a Resto Shaman (“Healy4Life” /gangsigns), healing face for Machiavellis Cat. I have been encouraged on numerous occasions to share something with the WoW community at large. A running joke in the guild is that I have a mythical list on which are the names of all the factions, items, instances that have double crossed poor Thae. And so I bring to you the following commentary:

Things I Hate, By Thae of Uldum

The Red Dragonflight is currently at number one. Why? Simple. Keristraza, a certain mace, a terrible voice, and thirteen runs through Nexus. I was lead to believe the mace would drop. Keristraza had other plans. And to add to that, Alexstraza is a bit of a flake. And Sartharion and his three underlings — what sort of male dragon simpers about protecting eggs? The Red Dragon flight is totally on my list.

Cooking vendors, all of them. They still will not hand over a recipe for a chocolate cake. How am I ever expected to become a proper Chef without it? I run their errands daily, I pick their horrid mushrooms, I push the Rhino population to the brink of extinction, and still, no cake.

Fish I believe everyone on Uldum, even those who have not done any fishing, have caught Old Ironjaw. I have not. This vexes me greatly. Therefore, fish are jerks, and jerks get added to The List.

Liore, the GM of Machiavellis Cat She runs a great guild that relies upon teamwork. I am not doted upon, given the first shot at loot, or considered the best healer ever. The guild was dumb before I arrived, and I am not thanked enough for bringing it forward to modern times.

The Oracles I’m up to my third egg now, and still no mount. The gall of these… things is incredible. I’ve appeased their Great Rain Stone. I’ve fought primordial elementals at their behest. I’ve slaughtered the Frenzyheart tribe enough times that Darfur looks down right peaceful. All I ask is a mount. It doesn’t seem like much.

(The End)

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There’s a post over at World of Matticus on A Healer’s Most Important Skill which is, apparently.. spam healing. Hmmm. Perhaps I’m missing something, but while there are times when pure raw output is important, I would have considered flexibility and  situational awareness as being much more important than standing there hitting one button over and over and over.

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World of Warcraft soft drinks, in Alliance and Horde flavors.

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Healing, Random rants, silly

I’m off to spend the weekend in Vegas with 14 other guildies.

Today’s guild leader tip: Get your guild together at least once a year for drinking and debauchery. Maybe it’ll prolong the life of your guild, but more importantly you’ll have a hell of a good time.

See you next week!

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Random silly

So I had this epiphany last night while talking to my DK friend about off-spec gear. Perhaps others have beat me to it, but this just clicked in my mind: to be of the most use to my team in the future, I’m going to have to be a really good healer (-buffs nails-) and adequate DPS. Dual specs, spell power, “bring the player not the class”, instance design in WotLK — it all adds up to having to be more flexible with your role. I actually wouldn’t doubt if future raid instances have bosses that need variable numbers of tanks and healers, which was kind of the bane of raid leaders in TBC.

My first reaction to this was indignation. I don’t want to be a hybrid! I want to heal! I’m one of those weird martyr players that LIKES being the uber healer who can be killed by a squirrel in 1-on-1 combat. However, I also like a good challenge, and I have to admit that my brain is already percolating with ideas of new gear and specs and DPS rotations.

But those folks who really do only enjoy one thing are going to be at a disadvantage, and what about those classes that CAN only do one thing? Dual-spec doesn’t mean a lot to rogues, mages, warlocks, and hunters for PvE. This is where the ‘player over class’ concept weakens. If all those classes can do is DPS, they really should be able to do more DPS “out of the box” to compensate for the fact that they can’t tank or heal in a pinch.

In any case, I have seen the future and it is full of hybrids. And… I think I’m okay with that.

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For people still just starting the Love is in the Air event, a few points that might not be obvious:
* Gifts of Adoration come from civilians, not guards.
* Pretty much anything that would make you say, “Where did you get that?” (picnic baskets, Love Fools, candy, dresses, etc.) comes from the hourly Gift of Adoration.
* Cards and Pledges are from guards, with the third item from civilians.
* If Ironforge civvies are being camped, go hang around the Keymaster in the Dwarven District of Stormwind. Same goes for Stormwind civilians and John Turner in IF.

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The Ice Stone has melted! (from the WoWInsider Twitter)

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Random Achievements, raiding, silly

I am sick as a dog today with a cold, and additionally spent all weekend hanging out with guildies in real life and not going anywhere near WoW. (I know, go fig!) The result is that I have very little to post today.

I will say this: before embarking on a coin collection run for the Lunar Festival, take a moment to plan your route ahead of time, or follow a guide like that found on Random Ravings. Otherwise you will end up like me, addled on cold meds and distracted by side quests (yay, Sprite Darter Hatchling!), and never get anything done.

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Random silly