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How to decide who's getting Val'anyr
With Ulduar due to hit in the near future, Tales of a Priest addressed a pretty timely subject for 25-man raiders yesterday with a blog post on Val'anyr and how you're going to assign it. As it's a constructed Legendary like Atiesh rather than being a dropped item like the Warglaives and Thori'dal (sudden thought: why do the caster Legendaries have to be assembled, whereas the melee/ranged Legendaries just drop?), you're going to have to put some time and thought into which one of your healers is going to get this baby first. It's not exactly the world's most comfortable question for a guild leader, but I like how Derevka lays the issue out so matter-of-factly, and then goes on to address an interesting point concerning Val'anyr's proc. Your ideal candidate is a good healer with great attendance who plans on hanging around for a while, but then there's the question -- which class gets the most use out of the proc?
Shifting Perspectives: A 3.1 miscellany
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week, our author ferrets around her inbox for several unanswered questions concerning patch 3.1. Greetings, Druids. For a while now I've been adding to a list of questions I've had for the upcoming 3.1 patch. Some of these are questions I got from other players, some are questions that occurred to me while reading various versions of the 3.1 PTR patch notes, and others are mostly-illegible bits scribbled in the middle of testing Ulduar fights -- dasiewlerjewDIFEEIRKdfklsd? 3349FHDFHDIOJKfkdsfadioer. REIOWEL? Must've written that one on Kologarn. I believe it is a super-secret, devilishly clever guide to the fight that brilliantly exploits group positioning to produce a clean, one-shot kill on the first attempt, but alas, we will never know. Such are the dangers posed by bad handwriting, people. Study your Palmer Method! This evening, I will attempt to answer all of the following questions, or to point you in the direction of other bloggers who have. These deal with all three Druid specs, so let's get started!
WoW Patch 3.1 PTR Druid glyphs and undocumented changes
Personally the change I'm still plotzing over most in relation to 3.1 is the sheer locational chutzpah of the Argent Tournament. I'm not sure I understand why the northern portion of Icecrown is considered an appropriate spot. It's like seeing some Milwaukee strip-mall developer parachute into the middle of Mordor and exclaim over the retail and tourist opportunities within a 100-yard radius of Sauron's eye. What does the Scourge think about this tournament? Did they get a cut of the concession stand's profits as a means of buying their cooperation? Who else was bribed in order to make this happen? These are all questions to which I think we deserve answers.Anyway, I seem to be one of the unlucky souls doomed to disconnect every 10 minutes from the PTR (although I'm not anywhere near Dalaran), but I'm sure it'll get fixed. One minor suggestion for all those Druids porting to Moonglade in order to pick up dual-specs immediately; have 1,000g in hand before you do so. As we all know, getting into Moonglade is rather easy. Getting out of Moonglade tends to be rather more time-consuming unless you're willing to burn your hearth in a world newly free of ghetto-hearthing.Some of the undocumented changes we've actually already talked about, so if you don't see something here but missed our first article, you should find them here.
WoW Patch 3.1 PTR Druid changes
All right, Druids. I've been rolled out of bed to come look at the new PTR test notes, because apparently this is a big deal or something. As far as I'm concerned, all important business can wait until a reasonable hour in the morning, like 3 PM, but because this site is run by crazy people here I am.So let's go skim the patch notes quickly -- /flick flick flick -- and try to answer the most important question first:Is Tauren cat form still in the game?/flick flickYes.Man, %*#$ this patch.Leaving aside this EGREGIOUS OMISSION, we're going to take a look at the preliminary Druid changes in patch 3.1 past the cut here, and courtesy of Michael Sacco and some data-mining gnomes, we also have the Druid Tier 8 shoulder graphic, which is pretty cool and reminds me a lot of Tier 5. I'm also seeing some undocumented changes in the game files off MMO Champion, but I'll have to examine those later today. I haven't been able to get on the PTR yet, so I can't confirm whether these changes have actually gone live on the test realm.
Shifting Perspectives: The dual-specced Druid
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week, in the interests of keeping our writer away from editors of the opposite faction on PvP servers, we examine dual specs. Between lollygagging here at WoW Insider Central and engaging in some extracurricular indolence, I've often wondered where I'd take the column after finishing the bear pre-raid post. I could write something on how to theorycraft the highest-HPM tree, I thought, or get around to testing whether weapon skill has an unintended effect on bear threat. Look at the potential return from Eclipse procs as a function of fight mobility? Argue whether it's worth it to take Feral Aggression in a hybrid feral build? Or compose an entire column as a mockument to T.S. Eliot's most famous poem:Q: Let us go then, you and I --A: No.All good ideas. But then we received the following missive from that enemy of all that is good and right in the publishing world, the editor:MEMO: To all WoW Insider class columnistsFROM: You know who.TEXT: Write something on how your class will deal with the upcoming dual-spec system in patch 3.1, or Dan "One-Eye" O'Halloran will "remember" where he left his whip."Well," I thought. "That sounds like a good idea too."
Analysis of Druid changes in 3.1
Earlier today, Eyonix released some details on some changes that we can expect in patch 3.1. They're not exactly earth-shattering like some classes' changes, but there is still some interesting stuff in there. Let's get down to analysis. Savage Defense – this is a new passive ability. When a druid in Dire Bear form deals a melee critical strike, the druid gains a damage shield equal to 25% of their attack power. The next hit completely removes the shield regardless of how much damage was done. Survival of the Fittest has had its bonus armor reduced to compensate for the above increase in damage mitigation. I'm going to take these two points together, because they're inseparable. Savage Defense is interesting, and you certainly can't call it a direct copy of some other class's ability (an issue that's plagued us in the past). Let's look at the numbers involved, since it's hard to make sense of the ability straight off the bat (at least for me). In Dire Bear form with my heroic and crafted blues and epics, self-buffed, I have right around 4,000 AP. So when I crit with a melee ability (I have a 27% crit chance), I get a shield that absorbs up to 1,000 damage from the next hit.
Shifting Perspectives: Patch 3.0.8 for Druids
Every Tuesday, or sometimes Friday when the writer's internet has gone AWOL between Sunday evening and Thursday afternoon, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week we take a look at the upcoming patch 3.0.8. while penning an angry letter to our ISP.Greetings, folks. Patch 3.0.8 is coming, bringing a few significant changes for the Druid class. Feral attack power is disappearing from the game entirely alongside bonus armor contribution from non-leather items. Restoration is receiving a nerf in the form of a 6-second cooldown to Wild Growth but is otherwise getting some buffs. Balance is also getting a few buffs, including one that will make a big difference to PvP combat versus Rogues and Hunters. But I think, dear readers, we are overlooking the most important part of patch 3.0.8:Fixed a bug with a Wild Mustard plant that was under the ground in Dalaran. Oh, thank God. That drove me nuts.(Really).(I'd also love to see them do something about the underground Tiger Lily spawn in Sholazar).(It's just south of River's Heart).(Really annoying).(Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?).
Shifting Perspectives: Gearing your Restoration Druid at 80
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week we take a look at how to gear a PvE Restoration Druid at level 80, in the hopes of preventing other trees from suffering our fate during our first 10-man Naxx run, which -- no, no, it's too painful even to think about. Pass the schnapps. EDIT: This guide has been updated for patch 3.3 and Icecrown content. Please click here for a guide on gearing a new restoration druid as of May 2010. Greetings readers, and welcome to Wrath Gear-A-Palooza 2009. We'll be running one of these for each Druid spec. I'm not going to "rank" gear numerically, because I think that's a fairly unhelpful means of organizing items when your access to all of them as a fresh 80 may be very limited. Generally you're going to have access to quest rewards and faction gear before you get access to badge pieces or oft-uncooperative heroic drops, so I've organized the list by where you can get particular drops. It's generally safe to assume that a heroic drop is better than a blue you're using from an Icecrown quest, but not always. If you're starting to move into higher levels of gear, I found the following links to be incredibly helpful, and I hope you do too: HoTsTree's gear list Resto4Life's post on Wowhead filters and pre-raid gear in the main slots Elitist Jerks post on Restoration Itemization and PvE Healing as a Druid Otherwise, assuming a proper spec, gems, and enchants, you can successfully heal any of the game's 5-man or raid content (10-man or 25-man) with a healing set derived from the following list. That's a promise. This list assumes that you do not have access to 10- or 25-man raids for the time being and are gearing up primarily through questing, 5-mans, and heroics.
Shifting Perspectives: Faction gear for Druids, part I
Every Tuesday/Wednesday/some day that ends in -y, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week we take a look at faction rewards available to Druids in "Wrath of the Lich King" and wonder if that Mysterious Egg of ours -- the only faction reward we could truly be said to care about -- is ever going to hatch.Like most of you, I'm still running a lot of dungeons and getting acquainted with the array of drops available on both normal and heroic mode, and I'm not anywhere near as familiar with the Northrend 5-man drops as I am with Outland's after tanking them all eleventy-billion times. For the moment, my ability to compare all of the reputation gear available from Wrath factions with potential dungeon drops is fairly small and mostly confined to feral equipment, so I apologize. What I can say is that I've noticed a fairly clear trend favoring Balance if you're planning on getting a lot of your gear at 80 from faction reputations (although if you go that route there's a sizable pitfall in the form of a serious lack of +hit on most pieces). Feral is a little more hit-or-miss. Restoration seems to have the hardest time getting its best pre-raid or heroic pieces from rep grinds, and I'm not going to lie; get used to most of your best pieces being cloth.With what are essentially four different specs to cover for all the new factions available in Wrath, this got a bit long. So this week we'll discuss the rep grinds that become accessible a little earlier in the trek to 80 -- namely, the Tuskarr, the Alliance Vanguard/Horde Expedition, Wyrmrest Accord, Kirin Tor, and Oracles/Frenzyheart. Next week we'll cover the Knights of the Ebon Blade, the Argent Crusade, and Sons of Hodir, as you're not likely to see these guys as early as you'll see the others. Indeed, before a quest line that phases the lady into existence, you won't see the Knights of the Ebon Blade quartermaster at all.EDIT: Now that the faction guides are finished, here's a set of quick links in case you're looking for information on one faction in particular: Kalu'ak and Horde Expedition/Alliance Vanguard Guide Wyrmrest Accord and the Kirin Tor Guide The Frenzyhearts and the Oracles Guide The Argent Crusade Guide The Knights of the Ebon Blade and Sons of Hodir Guide
Wrath of the Lich King: Druid round-up
Welcome to Wrath of the Lich King, my fellow Druids -- and welcome, I hope, to another expansion full of great things for the class. In general I believe the future is very bright for each spec, and with dual specs coming to the game, it's going to be a lot easier to enjoy the Druid's versatility without having to finance your class trainer's boat payments.THE DRUID CLASS IN WRATH Balance: We took a thorough look at the balance spec's current state and likely future here. Our laserchicken contingent probably received the most substantive overhaul of all three specs heading into the expansion, and most of the news is very good indeed. Feral: Our assessment of the feral is here and includes a look at Blizzard's effort to split the tree into bear-centric and cat-centric talents. Bears on the outside seemed hardest hit with an average loss of 10K+ armor post-patch 3.0.2, but don't let it depress you; bear tanking is better than it's ever been. Cat DPS is poised to gain a massive boost at level 75 with Savage Roar, but until then it's same ol', same ol'. Restoration: Resto, covered here, has probably taken the biggest blow in terms of both PvE and PvP viability in the form of a Lifebloom nerf and the disappearance of now-classic PvP specs, but we still got a lot of big buffs. Tree of Life has been vastly improved and we've gained both a flash heal (at 80) and an AoE HoT. Unfortunately, Wild Growth may be facing a nerf in the form of a cooldown soon, but nothing's certain yet. I don't want to sound too down here. You will notice the Lifebloom nerf in the post-3.0.2 world, but resto's gained a tremendous amount of raw healing output coupled with its customary mana efficiency. Stay tuned; healing is likely to undergo some major changes soon.
Shifting Perspectives: Let my kitties go!
Every Tuesday/Wednesday/some sort of day occurring midweek, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week Allison Robert yanks John Patricelli's column again, hoping to make good on a threat previously made concerning her "dissatisfaction" with Tauren cat form. And by dissatisfaction she might mean something else.I'll level with you; we have a huge Druid post in the pipeline that's going to round up the changes to the class in Wrath, new talents, new skills, new everything, and frankly I'm sick to death about reading or writing anything having to do with the expansion. So, just to buck the overwhelming trend that threatens to drive us all to the nuthouse, I'm going to turn to a topic that's plagued Druids for a while.By this I mean the perennial form issue, something that my Druid colleagues on the blog have previously termed the Same Old Animal Posterior, or SOAP. But it's one that we've been given reason to believe will change in...Wrath. Well, that didn't last long. You'll note that David's article was written in October 2007, more than a year ago, but the same thing could have been posted in 2006 as well. Druid forms haven't changed since launch*, and while they were never really at the cutting edge of Blizzard's art direction as a result**, they look more and more shabby in relation to the higher-polygon models and landscapes. As everything around you gets better and better -- more evocative lighting, more intricate details, fantastic animation -- it's hard not to feel a strange sense of displacement as you shift into a 2004 form within a 2008 game.But at long last we may see Druid form customization, an overhaul to the default forms themselves, or possibly (hopefully?) both.
Druid changes in patch 3.0.3
Patch 3.0.3 is here, and it's almost certainly the last patch before Wrath is released next Thursday. Unlike the other eight classes, we've gotten all our talent points refunded, which makes this a good opportunity to switch up your spec if you want to, maybe to whatever you'll be leveling with in Wrath. This isn't really because we got huge changes so much as it is because two of our talents were reduced in the number of ranks [edited for correctness]: Earth and Moon is now 3 ranks for 4/9/13% increased spell damage taken, and increases your spell damage by 1/2/3% (old: 5 ranks for 3/5/8/10/13% increased damage taken from Arcane, Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow, and increases your spell damage by 1/2/3/4/5%) Moonfury is now 3 ranks for 3/6/10% benefit (was 5 ranks for 2/4/6/8/10%) Hard to make a change like that without refunding talent points. Further Balance changes: Eclipse's buff duration was raised to 15 seconds and its bonuses doubled, but the cooldown raised from 30 to 40 seconds. Overall a buff to what I still think is an inspired talent. (Although some of this seems to have already been live in 3.0.2? Boomkin, help me out.) Apparently Moonkin were getting way too much mana back from Hurricane, so Moonkin form now only gives mana back from single-target spells.
Patch 3.02 for Restoration Druids, part 1
The single biggest change for most restoration Druids with patch 3.02 will be the disappearance of at least four commonly-used PvE and PvP specs: 8/11/42 (the traditional resto PvP spec) 11/11/39 (Resto PvP with Insect Swarm) 13/11/37 (Resto PvP with Insect Swarm and Nature's Reach) 11/0/50 (PvE Tree of Life with Insect Swarm). The first three are kaputski because Feral Charge is now a 21-point talent in the feral tree, and the last three are bye-bye because Insect Swarm is now a 21-point talent in the balance tree. If you still want talents from the balance tree especially, you'll have a ton of stuff to play with (frankly I ran out of space here to discuss the new restokin specs but we'll cover it as soon as we can), but for the moment we're only going to concern ourselves with stuff squarely in the Restoration tree. Shifting Perspectives later today will have a full run-down on moonkin in patch 3.02 and Wrath. Otherwise, there's still a ton of new stuff for tree Druids in this patch, including a resurrected Tier 3 set bonus, a vastly-improved Tree of Life form, an out-of-combat rez, and an insane +haste buff to two of your most-used spells. If you also want a look at what early 5-man healing in the beta is like as a resto Druid, head here.Read on for a comprehensive look at the new healing and mana regeneration mechanics, Restoration abilities, talents, and glyphs!
Brutal Gladiator's Refuge
The Brutal Gladiator's Refuge is the armor set for Restoration Druids. It is a kodohide, or leather armor usable only by Druids and is usually matched with Guardian's Kodohide armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall. Brutal Gladiator's Kodohide Gloves The Brutal Gladiator armor piece for the hands are the cheapest and easiest Season 4 Arena gear to obtain. With no personal rating requirements, most players will be able to purchase this piece and is the Arena gear likely to be most widespread as soon as the season begins. The PvP-oriented bonus of Cyclone cast time reduction is the same for the Brutal Gladiator's Wyrmhide Gloves. The gloves have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent): 354 Armor (+25)+49 Stamina (+6)+39 Intellect (+5) +21 Resilience (+0) +88 Healing / +30 Spell Damage (+9 / +3)10 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Reduces the cast time of Cyclone by .1 secs.Classes: Druid WoW Insider says: These gloves are low-cost and have no rating requirements, and the high Stamina and good +Healing make it making it one of the best Season 4 purchases, specially for starting Arena players. Brutal Gladiator's Kodohide LegguardsThe leg armor possesses a personal rating requirement of 1550, which isn't too difficult to obtain, particularly for Restoration Druids. While not as accessible as the gloves, the leg armor is highly visible on a character and is also likely to be a popular purchase, even at 1875 Arena points. The leggings have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):478 Armor (+35)+65 Stamina (+7)+50 Intellect (+6) +31 Resilience (+0) +114 Healing / +38 Spell Damage (+13 / +4)16 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Classes: DruidWoW Insider says: The lack of sockets mean that the only customization that can be done will be through Tailoring or Leatherworking enchants. The leggings are an excellent Brutal Gladiator piece, with over 100 +Healing and massive mp5 as an added bonus. Brutal Gladiator's Kodohide TunicWith three sockets, the chestpiece is the most customizable Arena armor piece, and is the next best purchase after the gloves. Furthermore, 1600 should be relatively easy for Restoration Druids, who do extremely well in 2v2 and 3v3. In PvE, the chest armor is traditionally a drop from the final boss in a series (Magtheridon drops Tier 4 chest token, Kael'thas drops Tier 5 chest token, Illidan drops Tier 6 chest token, etc.). Arenas are different in this regard, but the item level of the chest is identical to PvE chest pieces. Sunwell Plateau breaks from tradition in that the final boss, Kil'jaeden, does not drop chest tokens or armor. However, the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is equivalent to the drops from Entropius and is the best combination of cost and restriction among all the armor pieces. The tunic has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):541 Armor (+40)+69 Stamina (+14)+40 Intellect (+5) +27 Resilience (+0)+101 Healing / +34 Spell Damage (+13 / +4)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5) Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience Rating Classes: DruidWoW Insider says: With +Healing that actually breaks the 100 mark without the benefit of sockets, this chest piece is easily one of the best purchases for healing Druids in Season 4. The additional Red Sockets can be used to pump up that healing even further, not to mention that it's a whopping +14 Stamina over its predecessor. Because of its PvE equivalent, obtaining the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is almost like killing Entropius in Sunwell Plateau. Well, ok not really, but if you don't raid, that's about as close to a raid drop as you're going to get. Brutal Gladiator's Kodohide HelmThe helm is very likely the last Brutal Gladiator armor piece that many players will obtain. With the shoulders at an extremely prohibitive 2200, most players will only manage 4/5 of Season 4. Restoration Druids should conceivably have no trouble getting to 1700 for this helm, which costs the same as the chest and leg armor pieces. With a personal rating attached to it, the Brutal Gladiator helm might be one helm graphic that players would like to leave on. It is also identical in model to the pieces that drop off Kil'jaeden in Sunwell Plateau. The helm has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):447 Armor (+32)+65 Stamina (+7)+45 Intellect (+6) +29 Resilience (+0)+103 Healing / +35 Spell Damage (+13 / +5)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+3 / 5)Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience RatingClasses: DruidWoW Insider says: Over +100 Healing on a single armor piece is a great purchase for healers, no matter how you look at it. Coupled with 11mp5, this Kodohide Helm is works well for PvE if you don't raid the endgame. Brutal Gladiator's Kodohide Spaulders The 2200 personal ratings requirement for the shoulders are almost Gladiator-level for most Battlegroups, and will likely be a very rare sight in most realms. It is quite likely that more than a few Restoration Druids will be sporting these through the season, however. It is the cheapest item after the gloves, but it is also the most difficult to get. Blizzard's reasoning for this is that the shoulders are the most "visually impacting" armor piece, confirming Blizzard's opinion that PvP achievements should be on display. The spaulders have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):430 Armor (+30)+49 Stamina (+6) +29 Intellect (+5)+20 Resilience (+0)+66 Healing / +22 Spell Damage (+9 / +3)7 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Socket Bonus: +3 Resilience RatingClasses: DruidWoW Insider says: Brutal Gladiator Shoulders are peacock gear. While it has the rare mp5 for shoulders, it is stat-wise a very modest upgrade from the previous season's shoulder piece which is a full 250 ratings easier to obtain. Fortunately, more than a few skilled Resto Druids will be able to obtain these. Guardian's Kodohide Belt Because it is a visual match for the Brutal Gladiator's Refuge, and because it comes with no personal ratings requirement, the belt is most likely to be the most widely distributed Season 4 gear. It is purchasable with Honor points, so even players who do not participate in Arena PvP can obtain it. The belt has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):322 Armor (+22)+49 Stamina (+6)+35 Intellect (+5) +26 Resilience (+0) +84 Healing / +28 Spell Damage (+9 / +3)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Classes: Rogue, DruidWoW Insider says: The belt has a low Honor cost and is ratings-free. It's not even a question. Even outside of PvP, this belt trumps most PvE healing belts outside of Sunwell Plateau, comparable to the Belt of Primal Majesty from Gurtogg Bloodboil in the Black Temple where haste takes the place of this belt's mp5. It's the best belt that casual players can get for this spec.Guardian's Kodohide BracersThe only other Guardian piece with a socket is the amulet, which doesn't have a personal rating requirement. Coupled with the fact that bracers are visually insignificant, being hidden under gloves or robes, most players feel that there's little urgency to get them. A 1575 personal ratings requirement also requires decent performance in Arenas. The bracers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):253 (+17)+43 Stamina (+14)+25 Intellect (+3)+18 Resilience (+0) +46 Healing / +16 Spell Damage (+6 / +2)8 Mana / 5 Secs (+1 / 5)Socket Bonus: +2 Resilience RatingClasses: Rogue, DruidWoW Insider says: The mediocre +Healing makes this piece less viable for PvE than other pieces, but possesses a Red Socket as opposed to the typical Yellow Socket for bracers. It also has a massive +14 Stamina upgrade from the Vindicator version. Definitely worth the purchase if only for the Red Socket and mp5. Guardian's Kodohide BootsThe most visually important match of all Guardian items -- although it won't be seen on Tauren feet, the boots are a big jump from a 1575 personal ratings requirement and is as demanding to get as the head piece at 1700 personal ratings. It is also as expensive to purchase as the belt, which has no ratings requirement. The slippers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):385 Armor (+28)+49 Stamina (+6)+35 Intellect (+5) +26 Resilience (+0) +84 Healing / +28 Spell Damage (+9 / +3)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Classes: Rogue, DruidWoW Insider says: Although 1700 is the highest personal ratings requirement outside of the weapons and shoulders, the boots are among the best healing boots before Sunwell Plateau gear. It is comparable to the Enchanted Leather Sandals from Kaz'rogal in Hyjal Summit and is a good option for those unable to raid the endgame. %Gallery-25440% Looking for more Season 4 info? We've rounded up everything you need to know about the Brutal Gladiator season right here.
Shifting Perspectives: Gearing your Resto Druid for Kara Part 2
Every week, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week John Patricelli, the Big Bear Butt Blogger, presents the second part to the Resto Druid gear guide to help you prepare for Karazhan, with the haelp of the lovely and talented 4 Haelz. Welcome to the second and final part of our guide to gearing up your Resto Druid in preparation for entering the fabled black gate of Karazhan. Today we pick right back up where we left off last week, by jumping into gear lists, starting with Belts and carrying on through until we're done. Whether you are a hopeful raider looking for ways to improve your gear, or a seasoned raider about to take a nostalgic trip through the past items you've now grown out of, I hope there will be something of use for you in the lists still to come. So let's head on in and take a look!
Shifting Perspectives: Gearing up your Resto Druid for Kara Part 1
Every week, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week John Patricelli, the Big Bear Butt Blogger, tries to bring some Resto Druid gear info with the haelp of 4 Haelz. Andrew: "Right. Right. Gotcha." [pause] "I bet even covert operatives eat curly fries. They're really good."Spike: "Not as good as those onion blossom things." Andrew: "Ooh, I love those." Spike: "Yeah, me, too." Andrew: "It's an onion... and it's a flower. I don't understand how such a thing is possible."Spike: "See, the genius of it is you soak it in ice water for an hour so it holds its shape. Then you deep-fry it root-side up for about 5 minutes." Andrew: "Masterful." Spike: "Yeah." [pause] "Tell anyone we had this conversation, I'll bite you." - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Now you know exactly what I'm thinking when someone says "Lifebloom" around me. So, you really sure you want me to write for the Resto set? Plus, that'll teach Allie to quote Veronica Mars at me the other week. I'll see your modern day Nancy Drew and raise you a Spike. Dare to escalate? This week, I present you with the first part of a list of gear that the aspiring Resto Druid should be looking for to prepare for Karazhan. Since if left to my own devices I'd just get you into all kinds of trouble, I enlisted the services of Bellwether at 4 Haelz to bring together the research. 4 Haelz is a blog by an end-game raiding healy Druid kinda person. She's smart and funny and neat and stuff, so go check her out. Her blog, check her blog out. Follow along after the break and we'll get into the specifics!
Shifting Perspectives: PvP as a moving target
Every week, John Patricelli of Big Bear Butt presents a well-researched, educational, and entertaining look at the state of the Druid class in WoW today. This week we said, "Screw that," and got someone off the street. Veronica: Look at you, all helpful.Logan: Your peskiness being unleashed on Connor brings me joy. Annoy, tiny blonde one! Annoy like the wind!-- Veronica Mars, "An Echolls Family Christmas" With apologies to Diane Ruggiero, the writer of the episode quoted above, but I find Logan's snarky comment (did he even have another kind?) to be a perfect, albeit general, means of describing successful Druid PvP.Let us be frank; I am not, nor am ever likely to be, a hardcore PvPer, and to a great extent this post is directed mostly at people like myself. If you're one of those Druids carrying a 2K+ rating in full Vengeful, then I invite (nay, implore) you to leave comments and corrections based on your own experience, but the article's mostly for regular folks like me, who may not even particularly like PvP but recognize that it is desirable or perhaps necessary, given our ingame goals. As such, most of this applies to battlegrounds, and on a later date we're going to get into arena. Today, we are simply going to talk about how to avoid letting your PvP experience turn you into a miserably unhappy player who would rather undergo an appendectomy via Roto-Rooter than set foot in another EOTS.
Scare Beast Change: Does it make Hunters the new anti-Druid?
In what could be the biggest change in 2.4.2, Hunters are getting a pretty generous buff to the spell Scare Beast. Not only is the range ballooning from 10 yards to 30 yards, but it will have an instant cast time as well. Well it does have limited application in PvE, this will be huge in PvP, for one simple reason: It will work on Druids in forms.
Outland reputation set - Druid (Resto): Kodohide Battlegear
This is the introductory PvP set for Restoration Druid. The Battlegear sets are of a superior quality and are equal to the Level 70 High Warlord gear that can be purchased with honor points. The pieces can be purchased by becoming honored with Cenarion Expedition, Honor Hold/Thrallmar, Keepers of Time, Lower City, and the Sha'tar. Complete sets require honored with all five factions as listed below: Kodohide Battlegear Slot Rep Kodohide Gloves Hands Lower City Kodohide Helm Head The Sha'tar Kodohide Legguards Legs Keepers of Time Kodohide Robe Chest Cenarion Expedition Kodohide Spaulders Shoulders Thrallmar/Honor Hold Kodohide Battlegear Armor Sta Int Resil Kodohide Gloves 213 22 22 14 Kodohide Helm 267 30 18 19 Kodohide Legguards 306 33 28 20 Kodohide Robe 322 33 17 18 Kodohide Spaulders 249 33 16 17 Total 1357 151 101 88 Set Bonus 2: 35 Resilience Set Bonus 4: The casting time of your Regrowth spell is reduced by 0.2 seconds. Kodohide Battlegear Dur Mp5 Heal Spell Gems Kodohide Gloves 35 4 51 17 Kodohide Helm 60 6 64 42 M, Y Kodohide Legguards 75 8 64 22 Kodohide Robe 100 5 42 14 R, R, Y Kodohide Spaulders 60 2 26 9 R, Y Total 330 25 247 104 Return to the complete Outland Battlegear list
Sum jokz iz 4ever
Alamo set the gold standard for class guides with his classic and oft-quoted "Alamo teechs u 2 play DURID!" and it's sequel " ALAMO teeches u 2 Burnin Croosaid!" His style became so popular he even recently updated a mod that announces Druid shifting in /gchat using his memorable phrasing.Now, it's Rouges, uh, Rogues that are getting the Alamo treatment with "Zarhon teeches you to play rogz!" Take in shining gems of lewt class knowledge such as: "We haf many cool skillz! Like pickpockets to get more muniz!", "LoLstep to pwn those kiters!" and "We can pop cloakz of darkstuffs and pwn baby locks!"And while I'm pointing out Alamo homages, you should check out Smoosh's well done comic explaining how to play as a Tree Druid. Entertaining and informative. It doesn't get better than that.
