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Raid Rx: How to combine Spirit Link Totem and Power Word: Barrier
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast. I envy shaman. A latest look at the front page of World of Logs shows that the new shaman totem of awesomeness (Spirit Link Totem) has a rather intriguing property to it. We've had it for a while now, ever since patch 4.1, and this totem is the new shaman defensive mechanic. Anyone standing within 10 yards of it reduces incoming damage by 10%. Cool. What else? Every second, the health of all the players standing within it also gets redistributed. The interesting part is that the health can be increased to count as healing. However, that sword swings both ways. It'll also adjust health downward, which counts as damage. Even better? This damage can be both resisted and mitigated.
Choose My Adventure Live: Questing in Eastern Plaguelands
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator, or join in with It came from the Blog on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). This week, Roblinator and her fellow adventurers in It came from the Blog will be adventuring in Eastern Plaguelands. Join us in game or by watching the stream above and participating in the chat after the break. Update: The stream is now over. You can watch the video replay by clicking on the image above.
Choose My Adventure Live: LFM level 40 to 44 for PvP
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator or join in with It came from the Blog on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). This week, it's PvP. If you are in the level 40 to 44 range on Zangarmarsh, then please join me for some battleground fun. Or you could watch the stream above and participate in the chat after the break. Update: The stream is now over. You can watch the replay of a Warsong Gulch victory by clicking on the image above.
Raid Rx: Healing changes and Firelands thoughts
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast. Here's one of the larger healing changes coming up in patch 4.2. It'll affect all healers for sure, since it affects the critical strike of heals. We first learned Blizzard was contemplating this change several weeks ago in a Dev Watercooler post. All healing critical strikes now heal for 2 times a normal heal (+100%), up from 1.5 times a normal heal (+50%). source I'll go over my thoughts about the proposed healing changes for patch 4.2. I also had the opportunity to try out some of the new raid encounters on the PTR in Firelands. Think you're ready for the upcoming healing challenge?
Patch 4.2: Shaman and warlock tier 12 sets revealed
Building on their previews from last week, Blizzard has released sneak peeks at two more tier 12 sets: shaman and warlock. The warlock set is pretty clearly based on Firelands boss Beth'tilac, the gargantuan fire spider queen; the shaman set is a little more general but you can definitely see influences from old Ragnaros gear like the Crown of Destruction. Besides, we all know that the best shaman sets are ones where chains and exploding rocks are involved, so chalk this one up as a win for patch 4.2. Check out the warlock set after the cut, and be sure to check out our full tier 12 gallery below. %Gallery-122557%
Patch 4.2: Thrall's quest sound files reveal major spoilers
Major spoilers ahead, friends. On the other side of this jump is Thrall's dialogue from the epic quest coming in patch 4.2. What fate awaits the former warchief of the Horde? Is Thrall gone for good, or is there still a chance we can save him from his elemental fate? Click faster, time is of the essence! Major spoilers ahead. You have been warned.
Choose My Adventure Live: LFM early 40s dungeon
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator or join in with It came from the Blog on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). This week, I'm dungeonating on the Roblinator, goblin shamanator. If you are in your very late 30s or early 40s on Zangarmarsh, please join me. I will heal or DPS according to what is necessary. If we have to queue, I'll be questing in EPL while we wait. Or you could watch the stream above and participate in the chat after the break. Update: The stream is now over. You may watch the replay of our guild challenging run of Uldaman by clicking on the image above.
Raid Rx: Analyzing tier 12 healing set bonuses
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast. Good news, everyone! Patch 4.2 information is heating up! I've already fired up my PTR client, and I'll be eagerly testing any new encounters. Some of the new information that has been released includes the new tier bonuses, which I'm sure you're burning with desire to know more about. I'll see if I can help stoke the flames of your anticipation. I suspect we'll have some players returning to see if new content is going to rekindle their interest in the game. Too many fire puns? Okay, let's just blaze on through and look at healing tier bonuses.
Patch 4.2 preview: Thrall's fate revealed in epic quest [SPOILERS!]
Well, this is certainly big lore news. Blizzard has just released a preview of the patch 4.2 epic quest line that awaits players involving Thrall, former warchief of the Horde. After the events of Hyjal and the successful thwarting of Ragnaros' invasion, things were quiet for a short while. A meeting between the many heroes of Hyjal, the Earthen Ring, and the dragon aspects took place at Nordrassil, where Thrall's fate was severely changed. We'll talk about it more after the break, which has some spoilers for those who are concerned about such things.
Choose My Adventure Live: LFM mid-30s dungeon
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator or join in with It came from the Blog on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). Roblinator is 35 and is going to heal with her off spec. So I just need a tank and three more DPSers in the same dungeon level range. Join me in game or by watching the stream above and chatting in the room after the break. Update: The stream is now over. You can watch a full guild group run RFK by clicking the image above.
Choose My Adventure Live: Questing in Stranglethorn
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator or join in with It came from the Blog on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). This week, I get to stop and smell the Fadeleaf and quest some more in Stranglethorn, hanging out with Sassy and the gang. I'll be reading quests, skinning, and following your instructions. So join me by watching the stream above and chatting in the room after the break. Update: The stream is now over. You can watch the video replay by clicking on the image above.
Choose My Adventure Live: Level 30-34 PvP live, plus tell Roblinator where to go next
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator, or join in with It came from the Blog on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). You voted to keep PvP in the rotation, so join me if you are in your early 30s and want to party in the battlegrounds with me. Or you can watch the stream above and join in the chat after the break. Also, we have more polls this week. Please vote! Update: The stream is now over. You may click on the image above to watch the video replay.
The Anvil of Crom: Combat, casuals, and birthday cake
So I've got a week's worth of healing under my belt, or more accurately, a week's worth of playing a healer class. Suffice it to say that I'm in uncharted territory here, despite the fact that I rolled through the familiar environs of Tortage and the semi-familiar environs of the Wild Lands this past week. Along the way, I met with a handful of friendly Massively readers, took a bunch of purty screenshots, and generally had a swell time. In a little over 15 hours of play, I managed to get my Bear Shaman to 30 and came away with a fairly solid understanding of the class's utility in low-level PvE. I also got reacquainted with Age of Conan's melee combat system, which, depending on your perspective, either makes Funcom's MMO the best thing on the market or one to avoid at all costs.
Choose My Adventure Live: LFM late 20s dungeon, vote in our latest polls
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator or join in with <It came from the Blog> on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). LFM for a random dungeon. I'm level 27 DPS. If you have a mid- to late-20s Hordie on Zangarmarsh and can join me, please do! Otherwise, you can watch the stream above and chat after the break. Polls are after the break, too. Update: The stream is now over. You may watch the video replay of our trip through Gnomeregan by clicking on the image above.
Addon Spotlight: Never miss reputation with Auto Tabard
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week: Shackleford. It's Addon Spotlight time, ladies and gentlemen. As I sit here at death's door from the terrible PAX pox with which I have so unceremoniously been bestowed, I try to eek out words and phrases, maybe a quip or two, before death's cold embrace takes me. I feel as though my short time on this earth and in this existence was worth it, however, because I got to tell you about Auto Tabard.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Zero-sum game
Ever since I started following RIFT, I've been entranced by the wide-open -- but not limitless -- class system. After all, the virtual world and everything populating it is only half the game; the other half resides in the avatar that sticks with you while you explore it all. Many MMOs have interesting ways of letting you build and grow your character, but sooner or later they come to a point where there's little more to be done other than incrementally increasing your stats by gaining better gear. Not so with RIFT, as even a level 50 can drop a few coins to shape a completely new build from scratch. No longer are we bound to a rigidly defined creation; we are free to experiment, tinker, and try out these roles to our hearts' content. With RIFT's soul system, there are a few ground rules that everyone learns early in the game. You can have up to three souls in your archetype active at any one time; you can only spend as many points in a build as you have in levels (such as 10 points at level 10); and you'll end up with 66 points at level 50, which means that you'll at least dabble in a second soul tree with every build. And while you can certainly spread soul points across all three trees, today I wanted to look at the benefits of a zero-point soul, the "third wheel," if you will, of builds.
Choose My Adventure Live: Level 25-29 PvP, choose upcoming play
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator or join in with It came from the Blog on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). This week, Roblinator is in the 25-29 level range of battlegrounds. Join me in game or in the stream above and the chatroom after the break. Also after the break are polls for upcoming play sessions; please vote for what you would like to see on future streams. Update: The stream is now over. Click the image above to watch the video replay.
Choose My Adventure Live: Join Roblinator in a dungeon
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator or join in with <It came from the Blog> on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). This week, I'll be doing a random dungeon. Please join me if you are in your early level 20s. Alternatively, you can watch me in the stream above and participate in the chat room after the break. Update: The stream is now over. Please click on the image above for the video replay.
Raid Rx: What druid and shaman cooldowns would you like to see?
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand pooh-bah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. If you're looking for more healing advice, check out the Plus Heal community and the new healing, raiding, and guild management podcast, Matticast. No beating around the bush today. There were some upcoming healer changes that were announced earlier in the week. I can tell you as of right now, I'm worried about the Power Word: Shield change -- not because I think discipline priests will remain overpowered, but because holy might go the route. I'll explain that later on in the post. The main focus of today's post is defensive cooldowns for shaman and druids. I'm sure a number of players don't believe there's a need for the two classes to get defensive cooldowns, but in order to compete for utility, I think druids and shaman would benefit greatly from having those spells available. The argument here is that since the four healers are approximately the same across the board (from a throughput perspective), the edge might be given to paladins and priests because of the additional cooldowns they have to offer. Shaman and druids might end up being even more attractive in 10-player raids.
Choose My Adventure Live: PvP with Roblinator
Choose the adventures of Robin Torres as Roblinator the goblin shamanator or join in with <It came from the Blog> on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H). As promised last week, I'll be PvPing today with anyone who wants to join me. While in the queue, we will be questing in Azshara. If you can't join me in game, you can always watch above and chat after the break. Update: The stream is now over. You can watch the video replay by clicking on the image above.
