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Shifting Perspectives: Dungeon leveling as balance
Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week we are going back in time once again to visit those pesky little dungeons. Do you have what it takes to make or break a group? Greetings and salutations once again my fine, feathered friends. No superfluous pomp or wayward attacks on ferals in the opening this week; instead, I want to jump right into the topic at hand. As I've mentioned for a couple of weeks now, I've recently transferred my balance druid to a new server, forsaking all of my alts along with the ride, and because of that, I am in the process of leveling a host of new toons. Although most of them are still back in Azeroth, I've got a few now that are into Outland and Northrend. You see, back in the pre-60 content, I very rarely expect much out of players. They might be new, having never played their class before, and thus still learning all the different ins and outs of how to play. Not to mention, a lot of classes don't always have the best of tools to perform the jobs that they wish to at earlier stages in the game -- just ask me how attempting to tank Ragefire Chasm using a paladin before getting Righteous Fury or Consecration went. Even still, once you hit The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King content, I gain a certain amount of expectation of what a player should know. Perhaps I am nothing more than an elitist prick, but it is no longer cute nor humorous having to teach a warrior that, yes, they need to be in Defensive Stance and use Thunder Clap in order to tank, or that using AoE spells against one or two targets is highly ineffective, not to mention inefficient, and you would really be better off just sticking to one target at a time in that situation. Don't get me wrong, I rarely tell these people anything -- well, except for the tank thing, because my mage is terrible at doing that -- instead I usually just sigh and get frustrated at my computer screen. The thing that gets me the most, however, is what I see balance druids doing.
Shifting Perspectives: Soloing as a balance druid
Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week we are showing that we are so much better than every other druid out there. Oh yeah! Brothers and sisters of the owl, I have a confession to make. I have stood before you to make claims many a time over about the superiority of balance in comparison to its lowly cousin feral combat. Today, I have to admit that there is one thing, just one thing, that these beasts are better than us at, that being taking hits in the face. Although I am unsure whether this unique ... gift is really a boon (after all, considering one's capacity to sustain several blows to the head seems an odd thing to me), yet it is this benefit of theirs that makes them slightly more apt at being able to solo older content. Let's face it, my friends, if you want to go farm Molten Core or BC heroics, you're pretty much far better off being a feral druid than you are as balance; even still, I caution against despair. Feral druids might be better at soloing certain content than balance druids are, but we are certainly far from helpless in the endeavor. Balance druids, too, can solo some of the more perilous quests, farm old content that was once classified as difficult, and get our hands on virtually any prize that we wish. To that end, I would like to present to you this guide to soloing various content throughout World of Warcraft in hope that one day all shall see that balance really is better than feral -- because, let's face it, in the choice between a slack-jawed, untamed beast and a highly intelligent, silly-looking, destructive force of nature, I think it is rather clear which one is the better option. Before I begin, I would just like to say one thing. This is actually going to be something of a work in progress. If you have any interest in soloing content at all or to hear how other druids are soloing content, then keep a watch on this article, because I'm going to be spending additional time going out into the world to test many a different theories on what works and what doesn't. I will be starting off with some of the bigger challenges out there, but there are also more to go and explore. If you have a tale you'd like added, or there's a particular encounter you'd like for me to attempt to solo, then drop me an email and it shall be done. And now ... on with the show!
Shifting Perspectives: Aesthetics of balance druids
Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week we are getteing ourselves distracted by all of the pretty colors that balance druids have to offer. I spend my days dealing with numbers; numbers, spells, talents, and gear. This is the aspect of the game that I enjoy the most, because it is constant; you can pinpoint the mathematical specifics of this game fairly accurately. That appeals to me. It allows for me to feel that I have control over the game to a certain degree; that I can make important choices for my character and succeed or fail because of those choices. WoW is not all numbers, however. The game is driven by numbers, it is constructed by numbers, but, ultimately, it is the player base that makes the game what it is. Players like many different things about each and every game that they play. As I said, I personally enjoy the math behind games, particularly WoW, but other people prefer the visual side of the game. For some, how their player looks, the animations, and just the overall graphics of a game are a large drawing point for why they play. To this end, it can actually be rather disappointing to play a balance druid; you have to miss out on a lot of things such as weapons, armor, hairstyles and certain emote animations. Despite, or perhaps in spite, these issues, there are still players that enjoy the visual outlook of playing as balance druid -- not just Moonkin Form, though it is a big part of it, but everything else as well. This week, I'd like to talk about the looks and styles of balance druids. It isn't particularly my cup of tea, but it is for many players out there and their viewpoints should be considered as well, so bear with me on this one if I'm a touch off my game on this one.
Shifting Perspectives: What are optional talents?
Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week we are looking into the future, pondering what may be in store and learning a little bit about ourselves along the way. Talents are the in thing this week, so let's talk about 'em. Many of you know whom I am; I am Tyler Caraway, also known as Murmurs, and I am a balance druid. I deal mostly in theorycrafting about how things work for us -- spells, rotations, talents and the like. I'm not the only one who does this, though. There are others such as Hamlet who do great work as well; however, probably one of the most well known public figures is a guy who goes by the name Graylo. If you don't know about Graylo, then I have to ask if you live under a rock -- but you probably also know of his blog, Graymatter. It is no surprise to those who happen to follow both Graylo and myself that we often don't happen to see eye to eye on many topics. Graylo is a brilliant man -- bloody brilliant, I must say -- and one of his more recent blogs is something that I would really like to discuss. Apologies to Graylo if I am stealing any of your thunder in this, but this does happen to be a topic that I am highly touchy about. That topic, of course, is one of optional talents. With Cataclysm, Blizzard is hoping to shake up the cookie-cutter mold by composing talent trees primarily out of talents that are not direct DPS increases in the strictest sense of the word. Right now, it is fairly easy to argue that a talent such as Nature's Reach is excessively valuable within a talent build. Nothing about the talent actually increases the damage that you do, but the utility that it provides -- additional range and threat reduction -- hold an extremely large theoretical DPS gain. Having the capacity to not move as much to remain within range of a mob or the ability to output more damage before becoming threat-capped are essential parts of being a DPSer -- so essential, in fact, that every single caster class in the game has similar talents. It is these type of talents that Blizzard wishes for trees to be made of, but that means adding in a lot of additional utility to classes. How can we know what utility is actually useful, though? More importantly, does it even matter anymore?
Shifting Perspectives: Don't be a failkin
Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week we are finding our thickest layer of skin and honing our beaks as we take a stab at how to deal with one of the worst words a balance druid can read from the fingers of mutants. There are many names that balance druids go by these days: moonkin, boomkin, doomkin, spamkin and critchiken are just a few. Sadly, though, there is one more name which has been cast at many balance druids throughout their time in WoW: the highly stigmatized failkin. Being called a failkin isn't a pleasant experience; being called out negatively in any light is never a positive experience. People do not like to fail. They don't like messing up, and they like it even less when others make mention of it. There is little that can be done for the sometimes jerk-ish attitude that other players in the game may take toward what happen to be innocent mistakes, but there are a few things that you can be familiar with in order to better present yourself in a group setting. First and foremost, know that many of these principles apply across all level ranges and all forms of group content. Whether you are running a dungeon on your low-level alt, getting your daily heroic done or raiding with your guild, you should always keep proper group etiquette in mind. It's not only polite, but people will recognize the difference and it can make the playing experience better for not only yourself but others as well. For all of the features, content and other perks that are in this game, no one can deny that it is the players themselves that are the driving force behind what makes WoW so enjoyable. As a single-player game, WoW would have long been dead and forgotten. It's the interactivity of playing with other people that keeps players around far more than anything else. Even though a majority of players focus on their guildmates, other random players matter just as much. In all of my time playing alts or running instances on my main, I find that I am grouped with random players just as often as I am with my guildmates. Players like other players, but they also like winning at the game; in the case of WoW, this means completing the task at hand as smoothly and effectively as possible. Following are some basic guidelines that you, as a balance druid, can use in order to better assist in making all of your grouping experiences as enjoyable as possible for everyone involved.
Shifting Perspectives: Moonkin form in Cataclysm
Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week we are taking a look into that strange, dancing, awkward manbearpig thing we've all come to love and hate and adore. Once again, I find my mind wrapped around thoughts of Cataclysm. Perhaps it is the soon-to-be-coming beta release that has me all atwitter with the notion, or perhaps it is merely that the theoretical aspects of an ever-changing, ever-improving game excite me. Last week, I spoke a bit about the topic of mana regeneration and how it may need to be changed for Cataclysm; this week, I wish to somewhat continue upon that discussion and talk about what changes may be in store for one of the most prominent talents within the balance tree. Moonkin Form is, at least from my perspective, a highly controversial talent for balance druids and has been for a very long time. Allow me to be frank for just a moment; Moonkin Form has always been a talent without a true purpose. When the talent was first introduced back in vanilla as a replacement for Hurricane, it seemed as if it was nothing more than a placeholder rather than a true talent. Perhaps it is merely my personal opinion, but when I think of shapeshifting, I think back to my days of playing Dungeons and Dragons, Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights. In all of these systems, shapeshifting is a meaningful thing. When you shapeshift, you would gain access to new abilities totally unique to that form. When WoW was first released, druids followed that system too. Cat Form and Bear Form have meaning; they do something, and they drastically change the druid's playstyle. Moonkin Form, on the other hand, does none of these things.
Shifting Perspectives: Mana in Cataclysm
Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week we are taking a look into the concept of mana and the changes that it will undergo in the next expansion. Time for fun! Last week I made a pretty stern comment that I did not want to discuss leaked alpha content. I am still holding true to that principle; however, that does not mean that I am against speaking about things which have already been released, which is why I wish to talk about mana regeneration this week. As with all of my Cataclysm articles at this point, everything contained herein is pure speculation existing in a void of what-if. I do not work for Blizzard, I do not know Blizzard's design goals; I only know what the rest of you know that post of the forums know. Mana is a very important resource mechanic. I want to bring attention to this thread that is currently running in the damage-dealing forums that has so far held a lot of very good discussion on the topic of mana. Mayeli makes a number of very good points, but most important of all is that this view is very consistent with Blizzard's views on how mana regeneration is going to work in Cataclysm. I am sure most of you remember this following post by my favorite dragonling two months ago, right? Eyonix Spirit - Come Cataclysm, this stat should only be found on healing gear. Non-healing casters will have other systems in place to regenerate mana, and we are designing special solutions for Elemental shaman and Balance druids who often share gear with healers (more on this below). Raid buffs that currently boost Spirit (such as Blessing of Kings) will only boost the primary stats of Stamina, Strength, Agility, and Intellect. We are also likely changing the five-second rule and other quirks of the current regen system. source
Shifting Perspectives: How to provide professional feedback in Cataclysm
Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week, we are looking at how to start up a conversation with random internet strangers. Also, I am in need of some screenshots of pro balance druids doing whatever it is that balance druids actually do. Please send them to tyler@wow.com; put something akin to "Balance screenshot" or "Moonkin screenshot" in the subject line, and don't forget to list the name you would like to have credited for the shot. Yesterday was a very good day. Why was yesterday a very good day? A very simple reason, really: Yesterday was my birthday. That's right, get excited. I'm so excited that I got all of you guys a gift. It's the best gift that my egotistical, driven self could think of: my wall! What is my wall and why should you care? Well, you probably shouldn't care, but I like my wall. It's where I collect all of my thoughts. I use the white board and the cork for storing the random things that pop into my head so I don't forget them. It's highly useful. If you don't have something like it, I'd seriously suggest getting one. Rambling about myself aside, I do want to talk about something that is very important in this week's column; I want to discuss a more "proper" method for giving feedback on Cataclysm. Really, this is probably something that could be said to all classes out there, considering that, you know, everything is going to be changing and Blizzard will want feedback on it. However, I don't like the other classes. Magi and warlocks just creep me out with their little personal war thing that they've got going on, plus I'm pissed at how all the hunters wanted to touch us in bad places. This information is also useful to all the feral and restoration druids out there who accidentally read Shifting Perspectives every Friday thinking that just maybe this week I'm going to be talking about them. I won't be (like, ever), but you can keep dreaming, 'cause I love you guys. Sure, I may call you ferlawl and restolol, but it's all about the love, guys.
