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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.
Totem Talk: Cataclysm raiding as a restoration shaman, part 2
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. I know that right now the hot topic is patch 4.2, the upcoming Firelands raid and the datamined tier 12 set bonuses, but I won't be talking about the shaman set bonuses. Matt Low has already covered all the healer-centric set bonuses, and like him, I feel that the shaman bonuses are either placeholders or still in their infancy and will likely change well before release. This week, we are going to continue talking about raiding as a restoration shaman in Cataclysm. Just as in part 1 of our series, we will be following what is considered the order of easiest to hardest bosses. There will be emphasis on what you need to know as a raiding restoration shaman for these fights.
Totem Talk: Post-patch 4.1 restoration question
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. We talked a lot about Patch 4.1 while it was being put through its paces on the PTR and well before it ever reached live servers. Last week on Tuesday, the patch went live, and it brought with it many changes designed to further balance healing throughput, as well as give some more options to some healing classes. This week was going to be part 2 of our Cataclysm raiding series, which we started last week with part 1. While I'm eager to lay out the rest of the tier 11 raid content, this past week does bear some reviewing before we dive back into those boss battles. The changes have generated quite a few questions, and I thought it would be a good time to answer them.
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.
Totem Talk: A restoration shaman's Cataclysm checklist
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and host of the BDTU: Lore edition podcast By the time you read this, Cataclysm will be exactly one week away from release. Are you excited? I know I am! The number of people who return to the game after long breaks, especially at expansion time, can be staggering. Last week, we talked about what restoration shaman who are returning to the game for Cataclysm should expect when they load in, and we talked about ways for them to ease their transition back into the game. This week, I would like to talk about getting ready for that big day when our level caps are raised to 85, new zones open up for us to explore, new profession recipes become available, and new dungeons and encounters are available for us to experience. So are you ready for the expansion? Are you truly prepared?
Totem Talk: Ask a restoration shaman
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and host of the BDTU: Lore edition podcast. Last week, we discussed the idea of glyphs for vanity purposes, something like changing dwarf shaman totems into kegs or rune stones. There was a lot to say about that topic alone, everything from loving the idea to downright hating it. We also went over some of the changes that are in store for us as far as mana cost for our spells when Cataclysm is released. This raised some concerns about our spell choices and mana for some of you, and I can understand why. I also asked for your questions and concerns for this weeks restoration shaman Q&A. Readers submitted questions through comments on the site as well as through email. Today I would like to answer those questions and hopefully assuage some fears and concerns about our up coming cataclysmic debut. Let's get started, shall we?
Totem Talk: Restoration PvP in patch 4.0.1
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and host of the BDTU: Lore edition podcast. I think we can all agree that this has been a very busy few weeks, first with patch 4.0.1 going live and then the epic event that is BlizzCon 2010. I want to take a second and thank everyone who stopped by our WoW insider reader meetup. I got the opportunity to meet with quite a few of you, and it was a great experience. I'm hoping that next year even more of the shaman community can make it out to the convention -- who knows, maybe we can take over an area for all our shamanistic shenanigans! Last week I went though and detailed the changes that the restoration shaman faces in the recent patch. We talked about glyphs, spell changes and the healing mechanic changes we will encounter. This week, I thought we could talk about something that I've been finding a lot of enjoyment in since patch 4.0.1: restoration shaman in PvP.
New Tree of Life form in all its video glory
The new Tree of Life form went live on last night's beta build, and I've shot a short video to show you what it looks like in action. As mentioned previously, the Tree currently shares the male orc skeleton and animations, so you won't see anything too unfamiliar here, but the new form is just beautiful. If anything, it's kind of depressing that it's now a cooldown. The new forms are colored by race, and here's the breakdown: Night elves get the purple form. Tauren get the brown and green form. Worgen get the dark brown form. Trolls get the light brown form.
New Tree of Life model datamined
Boubouille at MMO-Champion has datamined the long-awaited new Tree of Life model from an upcoming beta build (click the image above for a high-res version), and commentary's already starting to fly on the forums. Some players are really enthusiastic, others are not (Cirocco of Rexxar's notable soundbite: "Hunchback of Notre Lame"), and others think it's a little too masculine-looking in comparison to the older treant model. If the posture looks a little familiar, it's because the Tree apparently shares the male orc's skeleton and animations (at least for the moment), although I'm having difficulty locating the YouTube video that a player claims to have seen of this. The new model isn't yet live on the beta, so unfortunately I can't yet get a video for myself. EDIT: Thanks to our readers, it's been located -- go here. I really like the new model, but I'm surprised that Blizzard thought it was a priority for an update given the Tree of Life's new status as a Metamorphosis-like cooldown. Bears and cats finally got their update in patch 3.2, so I'm hoping that Moonkin, Travel and Aquatic Form are next on the list. At any rate, it's a spot of good news (well, to me, anyway) in a patch where cat DPS has nose-dived, bears are going crazy trying to hold aggro in 5-mans, and trees are ... well, no longer trees. Past the cut you'll find a quick note on the WoW Insider team's take.
Totem Talk: Restoration stats and spells at level 85
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement, and restoration shamans. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and host of the BDTU: Lore edition podcast. So last week, we went over a series of common questions players were asking about restoration shaman changes in both the Cataclysm beta and patch 4.0.1., and the week prior, we talked about healing in heroics and normal dungeons. With everything going through massive amounts of changes and still two months to go before the release of the Cataclysm, some things are starting to feel like they are becoming settled and stable. Luckily for us, restoration shaman seem to be pretty settled, with maybe a little minor tweaking necessary before the full release. Today I'd like to talk about some of the numbers you can expect to see when you hit level 85. I'm talking about the base mana costs, stat values you will need to know and to start talking a little bit about the coefficient of healing spells you can expect come Cataclysm.
Totem Talk: Cataclysm and patch 4.0.1 restoration questions answered
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and host of the BDTU: Lore edition podcast. Even with an official release date finally announced for Cataclysm, we still have a beta going on in full swing and changes still happening, as is evident in the release of beta build 13117. There is still plenty to talk about and, most likely, still quite a bit that will change between now and when Deathwing breaks through The Maelstrom. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about how our healing will change when the pre-Cataclysm patch 4.0.1 goes live, and last week, I talked to you about my first impressions about healing in heroics and dungeons in Cataclysm. Those posts generated quite a few questions. So as I like to do every so often, I'd like to take a minute or two to answer some of the more common questions I've been asked through email, comments and various other sources.
Totem Talk: Restoration glyphs
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast . Last week, we went over some blue posts about healing and restoration shaman, as well as a small discussion of the difference in Healing Waves. We also had news of a new beta build last week, and with that build came the news of brand new glyphs for many or the classes like rogues and shaman, as well as the new glyph system. Some of the glyphs we use regularly have been updated, as well as some people may not have really given much thought to using. There has even been a return of some that were scrapped in the Wrath of the Lich King beta phases prior to its release. Some of these may offer game-changing, play-altering effects to our mechanics, while others just add a fun flavor to our classes. So what can we look forward to with restoration shaman glyphs in Cataclysm? That is exactly what I would like to talk about this week.
Totem Talk: Questions, blue quotes and healing waves
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast . Last week, we talked about the new shaman healing spell Healing Rain, a great new spell that is offering us a new option in our healing arsenal. While the visuals may be lackluster when not turned all the way up, the general response has been favorable to our new rain dance. This week, I thought we would discuss some new information handed down by Ghostcrawler (Blizzard's lead system designer) about restoration shaman. I felt it would also be appropriate to talk about the other "new" heals we are getting in Cataclysm and how they affect our current toolbox. I am talking about Greater Healing Wave and Healing Wave. Cataclysm promises healers choice in the spells they cast, with appropriate consequences if they pick the wrong spell for the encounter. Understanding how these new spells function in relation to the other tools in our healing kit can make a big difference on the choices we make when deciding what heal to use.
Totem Talk: Healing Rain
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast Last week, we went over some of the shaman updates on the latest beta build as well as a bucket list. Some readers chimed in with their thoughts on what they had for goals to accomplish before Wrath comes to a close. This week, we are going to talk about Healing Rain, a new spell obtained when a restoration shaman reaches level 83. When we first received word of the new spells and abilities during the Cataclysm class preview, there were quite a number of people who didn't know how they felt about this new spell. Would it be good? Would it be useless? Was it really necessary? When the beta was released and the level cap moved to 83, we started to get a small idea of what the spell could do. I've been spending the better part of the last couple weeks testing it out in various situations, seeing how it complements the other tools in our healing arsenal.
Totem Talk: Cataclysm update and resto mail bag
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast Last week we talked a little bit about the mastery stat and how it is being implemented and what it will affect, as well as talking a little bit about how the developers are are looking at totems -- the highlight, of course, being comments from Ghostcrawler (Blizzard's lead systems designer) himself. This last week though there was a new beta build released. Cataclysm build 12694 has hit, and with it, there have been quite a few changes that will affect restoration shaman. Various talents and spells have been moved, trimmed or otherwise adjusted. I'm certain you are wondering what new and exciting things were waiting for us. This week I would like to take a look a these changes and give you my own impressions of them, after having tested them quite a bit. I also thought that this week we would take a look at some of the common questions I've been receiving in regards to playing a restoration shaman in the Cataclysm beta.
Totem Talk: Mastery and totems and crabs, oh my!
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast Last week we talked a little bit about the leveling experience in Cataclysm so far as a restoration shaman from 80 on up. I was pleased to find out that it wasn't much slower than pure DPS and afforded a leveling, healing shaman quite a bit of survivability to get through the quests and to take on opponents much larger than we are. I was also pleased to see epic quests that seemed to have healers in mind, like the Ragnaros quest event. Before that, we talked about how fast gear is being replaced come Cataclysm and what type of upgrades have been spotted so far. This past week has not been filled with as much excitement as others before it. There hasn't been too much in the way of earth-shattering news, but even so, some new information has been popping up regarding some more changes coming in Cataclysm, complete with an appearance by our main underwater dweller himself, Ghostcrawler (Blizzard's lead systems designer). Take a look after the break to see what is new.
Totem Talk: Leveling as a restoration shaman in Cataclysm
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast The Cataclysm beta has been offering us many things. From talent trees being changed to revealing new voices for bosses and audio for events, there really has been something new discovered almost every day. This is not too surprising considering the world is going through a massive series of changes as well as the game mechanics themselves. One of the things that is being watched very carefully are the changes to healing and the mechanics not only of healing output but also mana regeneration. Sadly, though, there is still a lot missing from the client, making it hard to get an idea of exactly how it will all wind up being balanced. That said, there are still a lot of changes in place for healers in the way we quest and level. New talents and spells make it a different experience than before. On top of that, there are also a plethora of quests that seem to be tailored at least somewhat with a healer specifically in mind. If you really do not want to know anything about Cataclysm until it is released, there will be some Cataclysm spoilers after the break. If you don't mind having a few things spoiled for you, please continue to read on.
Totem Talk: Cataclysm beta impressions
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast The excitement from this past week and the Real ID fiasco seems to be finally calming down, so I think it is safe to talk about other things. On July 13, Rich Maloy , Matt Sampson and myself will be appearing in a pre-recorded episode of RaidWarning's podcast. They put together a shaman roundtable by the name of Totem Recall. It was a ton of fun to record, and there were a lot of people from around the WoW community who joined us. For the restoration section, I joined Jhaman of Castaclysm, fellow Zul'jin dweller Borsk from Borsked, Vixsin from Life in Group 5, Pewter from The 'Mental Shaman and even the shaman crew from Elitist Jerks. We had a lot of fun not only answering reader questions, but just getting to sit down and talk to each other while sharing ideas and comparing notes. If you get the chance, make sure to download it when it becomes available and give it a listen; should be a good time! The Cataclysm beta has been going pretty strong now, with news trickling in from various sources. If you haven't heard, a new round of invites for the beta will be going out soon. While you keep checking your email and Battle.net pages, I thought I would share some of what I have seen healing the first few instances and doing a little questing.
15 tips for brand new healers
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. So you're ready to venture into the thankless realm of healing? It's not for the faint of heart. You will be begged to heal an instance you hate and blamed for deaths that aren't your fault, only to lose gear upgrades to DPS -- all in the same run! On the other hand, healing can be a nice diversion from faceroll macro-mashing, and it's definitely nice to have instant dungeon queues. Whether you're changing specs at level 80 to help your guild progression, stepping into The Deadmines as a level 18 healer or twinking out a battleground medic -- here are some helpful hints as you prepare to make those health bars greener.
Totem Talk: Prelude to restoration's new talents
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast. Back at the beginning of April, we were treated to the Cataclysm preview for all of the classes. Many people were excited, some were disappointed, but everyone had news to digest. This past week has seen the Cataclysm friends and family alpha start and since then, we have seen a plethora of leaks: everything from images of the changes to old zones and new instances up to some data-mined information about female worgen. Needless to say, it has been a pretty busy week. This last week has also seen a lot of discussion about the leaked talent trees as they are in the alpha now. I thought now would be a good time to take a break from boss talks to talk about what we know so far about the shaman talent trees and maybe find out your opinions on them as well. The information in the link above is leaked and is in no way official. If you are waiting for an official release or don't want to see any potential spoilers, don't click the link. Otherwise let us take a look at some of the potential changes.
