shadow-priest
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Beta Shadow concerns
A Dwarf Priest is one of my very favorite WoW blogs. The author writes about exactly one topic – Priests – and she does it very well. So when she says that Shadow Priests are "on the endangered list" in Wrath, I think there's probably some truth to that. The core argument is that Shadow Priests' utility is not at the point it was once at (group mana regen is not unique any more; Shadow is not as important for raid synergy), but their DPS has not (yet) been increased accordingly. One reason why Shadow's DPS is low has to do with spell coefficients. You know how items with +damage or +healing (or now spell power) always say "adds up to [however much] damage"? The coefficient on a spell is what determines exactly how much is applied. Generally it's based on cast times – Greater Heal gets 86% of +healing applied, while Flash Heal only gets 43% – but there are exceptions for spells with added effects, such as Mind Flay and its snare.
Ask a Lore Nerd: Skeletons, slavery, and the shadows
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, the column that answers your questions about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe. Click the Comments link below (or e-mail us!), ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer your question in a future installment! Be warned, ladies and gentlemen: There are a couple of minor spoilers for Wrath of the Lich King in this week's Ask a Lore Nerd. I don't think they're very substantial ones personally, but the choice is yours whether you want to continue reading or not.Soirgriffe asks...What tribe, if any, did the dire trolls come from and if not a tribe, where in general?Just how dire trolls come to be is largely an unknown, but they don't seem to be an independent race. They're just bigger, stronger versions of a troll. All of the tribes seem to have dire trolls.There are a couple of quests in Wrath of the Lich King that might suggest dire trolls are regular trolls who have been 'empowered' but to avoid spoiling too much, what goes on in those quests is pretty different from seeing Jin'rokh the Breaker hanging out with the Zandalari. So all that we really know is there is no racial distinction between Dire Trolls and Regular Trolls of the same tribe. One is just much, much bigger and stronger for some reason.
A Shadow Priest's take on the new Priest glyphs
My Priest buddy Matt Low is going to cover the new Holy and Discipline glyphs later today, and I'm going to look at what us Shadow Fiends get so far. Let's leap right into the Shadow stuff, eh?Glyph of Psychic Scream - Increases the duration of your Psychic Scream by 3 seconds.Not bad, not amazing. You can argue that those 3 seconds will never, ever come into play in PvP, and you would be mostly correct. PvE, I've never said "Oh man I wish my silly fear lasted THREE MORE SECONDS" but oh well. Not all glyphs need to be drool-worthy. A Psychic Scream glyph might be something I would use while leveling. Reducing the cooldown by another 1-3 seconds would be far superior, though.Glyph of Shadow Word: Death - Targets below 35% health take an additional 5% damage from your Shadow Word: Death spell. Kinda counter-intuitive to the new talent Pain and Suffering, but more damage is more damage. I don't see anything really very wrong with this glyph. Should be good for PvP, good for leveling. Works against Pain and Suffering for raiding, but like I said, yay damage. EDIT: What I mean by counter-intuitive is that Pain and Suffering reduces how much damage we take, but now we're buffing that damage back up. It isn't a huge deal, more damage is awesome, but I would rather see that damage placed on a different spell for a raiding setting. It's quality everywhere else.
Breakfast Topic: What glyphs would you like to see for your class?
We don't know a ton about the specifics of Inscription and the Glyphs it supplies since the Wrath beta doesn't have very many of them yet, but we at least know what they are. If you don't know what they are, glyphs are almost like enchantments, but for your spells instead of your armor and weapons. Their effects are usually a little more substantial, even if they don't change combat very much. You're allowed up to six glyphs, split amongst the varying strengths of glyphs in a configuration that may or may not be the same come retail.We got a litlte preview of glyphs via some Druid glyphs that were posted on MMO Champion a few days ago, and they do some pretty neat things. Things like "your Swipe ability now hits 1 additional target" and "changes the appearance of your bear and dire bear forms to that of a polar bear" are both pretty big effects! That's only really the beginning of them, too.Pulling a little inspiration from our friend Matticus, why don't we take a minute and make a few guesses at what types of glyphs our classes will get? Heck, even if it's unlikely we'll get it, what type of glyph would you like to get? Personally, I'm holding out for "Glyph of It's About Time - Increases the range on Mind Flay to 30 yards" for my Shadow Priest. A guy can hope, eh?
What to wear to melt faces in Karazhan, part two
Welcome back to my guide on pre-Karazhan Shadow Priest gear. If you missed part one, where I talked about general stat importance, some sets, and the first half of the item slots, go read it now. Back? Good. On with the show. In this part I will be covering the remaining slots (from gloves on down), and talking about what gems to use (the red ones), as well as some places to look for more information. Gloves Elementalist Gloves of Shadow Wrath. Yet another of Shadow Wrath green. Remember, I would advise against equipping too many of these, regardless of how good they are in-slot. Tempest's Touch (Caverns of Time quest). Gloves of the Deadwatcher (Shirrak, Heroic Auchenai Crypts ) Enchant Major Spellpower is, quite expensive, but other BC enchants are not worth bothering with. I'd say put it on any of the above. The old-world enchant Shadow Power is equivalent for you, if that's more convenient.
Brutal Gladiator's Raiment
The Brutal Gladiator's Raiment is the armor set for Shadow Priests. It is a satin, or cloth armor usable only by Priests and is usually matched with Guardian's Silk or Dreadweave 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 Satin 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 bonus is the same for both Priest-specific sets, reducing the cooldown to Psychic Scream. The gloves have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent): 306 Armor (+13)+55 Stamina (+7)+27 Intellect (+5) +25 Resilience (+0) +41 Spell Damage / Healing (+6)Reduces the cooldown of Psychic Scream by 3 secs.Classes: Priest WoW Insider says: These gloves are low-cost and have no rating requirements, making it the ideal purchase specially for starting Arena players. Shadow Priests, in particular, need the best gear possible in order to stay competitive in an Arena environment that tends to be harsh to their spec.Brutal Gladiator's Satin LeggingsThe leg armor possesses a personal rating requirement of 1550, which isn't too difficult to obtain, even for underrepresented Shadow Priests. 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):442 Armor (+18)+82 Stamina (+9)+39 Intellect (+7) +34 Resilience (+0) +66 Spell Damage / Healing (+9)Classes: PriestWoW Insider says: The lack of sockets mean that the only customization that can be done will be through Tailoring or Leatherworkingenchants. The Satin Leggings are loaded with Stamina and spell damage, which a Shadow Priest needs in abundance. The low barrier of entry makes it a perfect purchase for Season 4.Brutal Gladiator's Satin RobeWith three sockets, the chestpiece is the most customizable Arena armor piece, and is the next best purchase after the gloves. 1600 might be a more prohibitive target for beginning Shadow Priests, who have had a tough time in Arenas in the past. 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 robe has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):476 Armor (+22)+72 Stamina (+9)+34 Intellect (+7) +31 Resilience (+0)+49 Spell Damage / Healing (+7) Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience Rating Classes: PriestWoW Insider says: If only for the sockets, the Satin Robe is the best Brutal Gladiator armor purchase outside of the gloves. The 1600 personal rating isn't extremely difficult to attain, and gives a sense of achievement specially to Shadow Priests, who need to be more populous in Arenas. 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 Satin HoodThe 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. Starting Shadow Priests might find 1700 a more lofty target for the head piece, which costs the same Arena points 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 hood has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):426 Armor (+17)+79 Stamina (+6)+28 Intellect (+7) +32 Resilience (+0)+50 Spell Damage / Healing (+8)Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience RatingClasses: PriestWoW Insider says: Unfortunately, the Satin Hood is inferior in every way to the equivalent Warlock's Dreadweave Hood. Considering the same Arena point cost and personal Arena ratings, Shadow Priests get the short end of the stick for an equivalent item.Brutal Gladiator's Satin Mantle 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 will be much more rare to see it on a Shadow Priest. Although it is the cheapest item after the gloves, 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 mantle has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):339 Armor (+16)+56 Stamina (+7) +27 Intellect (+5)+23 Resilience (+0)+37 Spell Damage / Healing (+5)Socket Bonus: +3 Resilience RatingClasses: PriestWoW Insider says: Brutal Gladiator Shoulders are peacock gear. This holds true even for the Shadow Priest's shoulders which aren't a marked improvement over the previous season's shoulders. %Gallery-25440% Looking for more Season 4 info? We've rounded up everything you need to know about the Brutal Gladiator season right here.
What to wear to melt faces in Karazhan, part one
Shadow priests, you are very desired in Karazhan. Between great DPS, mana returns for the group, and a Shackle, all KZ raids would probably benefit from having a face-melter along. This is a guide to gearing yourself up in order to get in those Karazhan raids and earn great epics, from Ritssyn's Lost Pendant to the Nathrezim Mindblade. Holy priests, this is not the post for you (unless you're trying to build a Shadow set as well) – look to the Holy Priest guide to gearing for Karazhan instead. Due to the unique mechanics of Shadow Priest combat, there is one stat that rises above the rest for you: +damage (either shadow or all schools). More +damage means more DPS, of course, but it also means more mana back from Vampiric Touch; this will be your primary form of mana regeneration, and you should have VT up at all times. Spell hit is also very important. Assuming you have 5/5 Shadow Focus (which you should, unless you're already hit-capped), you need 76 spell hit to reach the cap on level 73 mobs (raid bosses are considered level 73). Additional spell hit is relatively useless, although that once you reach 101 hit, you can take a point out of Shadow Focus and move it elsewhere; it's probably not worth gearing for this specifically though.
Spiritual Guidance: Diving in to the dark side
Every Sunday, Spiritual Guidance will offer practical insight for priests of the holy profession. Your host is now usually Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus, but this week he has midterms and you're left to suffer with a substitute. Elizabeth recently toyed with the darker side of the priest's profession, but for better or worse, is holy again this week.I rolled my first Priest for a very simple reason -- I wanted to play with my friends, and I got sick of always having to wait on a healer when we wanted to do something together. With every group stalled for need of healing, picking up a healing class myself seemed a pragmatic solution. (And three healers later, I'm still at it.) So a few weeks ago when we happened to have plenty of healing... but were short DPS... by the same logic I decided I could respec Shadow and lend a hand. And though the plan may seem simple enough, there are quite a few things DPS classes have to worry about that healers may not pay attention to at all. Ever think about joining the dark side? There are a few things to consider before-hand...
WoW Insider Show, Episode 41: Arenas, healers, and Blink for Hunters
This past week on the WoW Insider Show (a recording of which is now available over on WoW Radio), we were honored to welcome Matt "Matticus" Low to the show to talk about his career in WoW and his experience healing endgame raids. Amanda Dean was also in attendance with some Arena opinions, and Turpster and I rounded out the crew. We talked about: The fact that Turpster is now 69 on his Shadow Priest, and that next week, after the show, he's going to ding at a live event (stay tuned tomorrow for more details on how that's going down). How Blizzard changed the Death Knight descriptions, and whether that matters this early in the game Amanda's thought that Arena is broken, and how it might possibly be fixed again (as well as the various class representations in there and what's up with those) What we thought was interesting in the latest Blizzcast Plus, we answered reader email (including taking a little Blizzard-inspired quiz) and chatted with Matticus about how the popular Spiritual Guidance column is going. All in all, good show -- check it out on WoW Radio's website right now, or listen in (and feel free to give us a review, good or bad as long as it's honest) over on iTunes.And if you've got something you want us to talk about on the show, drop us an email at theshow@wow.com. We'll be back next week with Turpster's big ding event, and another show next Saturday afternoon at 3:30 Eastern.
Hybrid Theory: Shadow Priests and the Wrath Alpha
Welcome to Hybrid Theory, where we discuss all things hybrid in the World of Warcraft. Hybrid Theory is brought to you each week by columnist/blogger Alex Ziebart.I really thought my excitement over Wrath of the Lich King would fade after the initial onslaught of alpha information and just come back around launch time, but that hasn't really been the case. It's been a pretty consistent type of excitement, and I pretty much devour every piece of information I can find.We've talked about Druids already, but while I love Hybrids in general, my Shadow Priest is my main and my first love. Yes yes, I'm sure some of you still disagree with Priests being Hybrids, but I'm of the opinion that they are so I shall continue. If you want to disagree, do so in the Comments section below. I adore playing my Shadow Priest, but I think all Shadow Priest players agree with me when I say there are some definite issues with the class on some level or another. Why don't we take a seat and see what might be on the devs' minds, eh?
ShadowPriest.com gets a new look
The single most informative resource out there for Shadow Priests, shadowpriest.com, has recently undergone a makeover! They've launched a custom theme tailored to their logo's color scheme, and a few new features have come with it. In addition to the awesome new look, they've added a couple of (unobtrusive) RSS feeds to the sidebar. LightNatured (their sister site for healers) is one of them, and WoW Insider is another! That's always a good thing, eh?I'm sure I've said it a few times since I've joined the WoW Insider team, but if you're a Shadow Priest and don't stop in at ShadowPriest.com once in awhile, you're doing yourself a disservice. Even the bleedingest of bleeding edge players have room for improvement and can learn new things once in awhile. ShadowPriest.com goes well alongside Elitist Jerks for all of your gear, strategy and theorycrafting needs. Especially with all of the discussion that will inevitably crop up when the Wrath Beta rolls around, you definitely owe it to yourself to take a look.[ Thanks, Matt! ]
The Shadow Diaries: In which I take a shortcut
Back in November of last year, I wrote a post for the Spiritual Guidance column called "The shadow diaries." In it, I pledged that I would recount my experiences of leveling a brand-new shadow priest. However, as you may have noticed (or not), that never happened. There's always too many things to do in this crazy virtual world of ours (not to mention that other, brighter world outside), so poor Hieronymus ended up getting neglected.Why am I talking about a series of posts I didn't write? Well, I may not have had the fortitude to level another priest all the way to 70, on a strange server no less, but eventually two realizations came together. I already have a priest at level 70, and I'm doing a lot more soloing than grouping with her these days. I'd recently moved a few points in my long-held 23/38/0 spec over to the Holy damage talents, which sped up my dailies a bit. But then I thought, why not go all the way?
Outland reputation set- Priest (DPS): Satin Battlegear
This is the PvP set for DPS-Specced Priests. 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: Satin Battlegear Slot Rep Satin Gloves Hands Keepers of Time Satin Hood Head Thrallmar/Honor Hold Satin Leggings Legs Lower City Satin Robe Chest Thrallmar/Honor Hold Satin Mantle Shoulders The Sha'tar Satin Battlegear Armor Sta Int Resil Satin Gloves 97 33 15 14 Satin Hood 127 46 19 19 Satin Leggings 136 46 23 23 Satin Robe 156 46 15 15 Satin Mantle 117 33 17 17 Total 117 204 89 88 Satin Battlegear Dur Spell Gems Satin Gloves 30 25 Satin Hood 50 18 M, R Satin Leggings 65 36 Satin Robe 80 27 R, Y, Y Satin Mantle 50 15 R, Y Total 275 121 Set Bonus 2: 35 Resilience Set Bonus 4: Reduces the duration of the Weakened Soul effect caused by your Power Word: Shield by 2 seconds. Return to the complete Outland Battlegear list
"I rolled my class to PvP."
A little while ago, Drysc said in a post that "a prot warrior or shadow priest or what have you should though be able to jump into a battleground or arena and be able to do something with some small amount of success." This hasn't gone over well with many shadow priests. Even with Drysc trying to correct himself in multiple threads and insist that he doesn't mean that the class will never get more viable, a lot of shadow priests are up in arms. It's probably pretty understandable. After all, before Burning Crusade, a Shadow Priest was pretty much universally feared upon the field of battle. They seemed to take almost no damage in Shadowform, and their DoTs tore through you with ease. Even in the early days of the Arenas, you saw quite a few Warlock/Shadow Priest teams tearing up the charts. These days, Shadowform doesn't really absorb damage like it used to, Psychic Scream doesn't really cut it as CC, and resilience makes sure that their DoTs are blunted quite handily. So what DO you do when you chose a class and spec to PvP, only to have that spec suddenly become lackluster in PvP? This isn't like Protection Warriors, who have known from the start they'd be good as tanks, and tanks alone. We all generally have a good idea these days of what we roll a class and choose a spec to do. A Protection Paladin expects to tank. A Mage expects to DPS. But it's the divide between which specs are good at PvE and which at PvP that seems to be getting a little thorny lately. Should a player be able to count on their spec always being viable at the same aspects of the game? If so, should Shadow Priests expect PvP buffs sooner rather than later? Or should they accept that their age of PvP dominance was in the Battlegrounds and the pre-70 era, and resign themselves to speccing Discipline if they want to succeed in Arenas?
Priest DPS flowchart
Any DPS guide that has flowcharts is a winner. So it is with this Priest DPS guide from DwarfPriest.com -- not only does it include some good insight on the spells both Shadow and Holy Priests have available to them for laying down the damage, but it also includes this great flowchart, which will tell you exactly how to min-max your DPS lickety-split.The basic outline is keep VT up and pour on the shadow damage, but with all the cooldowns in Shadow Priests' spells, it becomes more of a "casting priority" thing, hence the flowchart. There are also some interesting notes about DoTs (which are integral to both facemelters and 'locks) -- the last tick of a DoT falls right on the end of it, so it's always better to wait for a DoT to time out before reapplying, otherwise you lose some of the damage you paid good mana for. Excellent and in-depth guide (and the Holy Priest DPS section inspired a few laughs, too).Thanks, ErsatzPotato!
Around Azeroth: The shadow of death
Ubarjabula, a Troll Shadow Priest on the Uther server took advantage of his Merciless Gladiator's Satin Hood, Shadowform's effects on a mount and the shaft of light courtesy of Shattrath's Naru. Together they make for quite a chilling effect. Death from above never looked so imminent.Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, no more sunsets. No, really. Ok, only if it's a sunrise in new Patch 2.4 lands. We'll take those anytime. Oh, and no more shots of Omen killed in Ogrimmar. It's cool, we get it. A lot of it.%Gallery-1816%
Fear Ward and Spell Haste for facemelters
Yesterday's announcements brought two big notes that will be affecting Shadow Priests. The Fear Ward change and the fact that Spell Haste will affect the global cooldown.The Fear Ward change, like I mentioned in my last post, is primarily a convenience change for PvE. Reupping Fear Ward every 3 minutes when you need to keep putting Shadowform back on afterwards is annoying, and a large mana drain over long encounters. However, it wasn't crippling, so not a very big deal. What this will help the most is PvP, especially arenas. Having an arena match last longer than three minutes isn't unlikely, so you will probably want to put Fear Ward back up at some point throughout the match. Being required to drop Shadowform to do it is sort of a pain, considering both the loss of damage and the mitigation Shadowform supplies you with, arguably one of the Shadow Priest's strongest defenses. The Spell Haste change is what has me a little excited. I'll admit right away, I haven't crunched any numbers. I'm notoriously bad at breaking down raw stats, I usually just eyeball my gear and take a guess. I'm right or pretty close more often than not but don't hate me too much if my guesses here are completely wrong. If you want to see some raw numbers, you can probably check them out over at the ShadowPriest.com forum.
Phat Loot Phriday: Anetheron's Noose
As far as I can remember, we've never done a cloth belt (although, believe it or not, we have done a plate belt). So here you go.Name: Anetheron's Noose (Wowhead, Thottbot, Curse)Type: Epic Cloth BeltArmor: 133 ArmorAbilities: Yellow and blue gem sockets (Socket bonus: +4 spell damage) Improves spell critical strike rating by 24, increases damage and healing done by spells and magical effects up to 55 So the biggest thing about this belt isn't necessarily what it does have (it does have the highest +spell damage you can find on a cloth belt), but what it doesn't have-- spell hit rating. Unlike other high level epic caster belts, this belt trades off spell hit rating for a little extra spell damage. And so if you've already capped off spell hit rating, then this belt is your best bet. Shadow priests are lucky in this regard-- they get a talent that makes their spells much easier to hit, so they don't need as much spell hit rating. For an endgame shadow priest, your other gear will likely already cap your hit rating, so this is definitely the best belt for you. How to Get It: It is called Anaetheron's Noose, so it drops from Kael'thas. No, I'm only kidding-- it drops from Anetheron in Mount Hyjal. I thought maybe that Anetheron was hanged before he was somehow turned into a dreadlord (you think you can match the might of one?), but I couldn't find anything like that in the lore, and I don't even think dreadlords are made-- they're probably fashioned from pure evil or something sinister like that.So odds are the people doing the hangings here are you players. Sure, kill the dreadlord, string up his body, and take the noose from his broken neck to wear around your waist. That's real classy.Getting Rid of It: As requested, I will not say something like "are you crazy?" or "why would you want to do that?" Instead, I will assume that you are reading this a few years from now, Wrath is out and we are all level 80, and you found this in your bank and Googled it to find out why you still had it. In that case, a vendor will give you 2g 71s and 88c for it, or it will disenchant into a Void Crystal.
Who am I this time?
When I first started writing for WoW Insider I began my posting foray with a discussion about my little lock and her leveling in Hellfire Peninsula at level 55. She and her trusty Felguard have finally reached the end of their journey, recently hitting 70. Having two level 70 characters now, I face a tricky question: who holds my attention more? My mage is my main, the character that has quested with me for long before I even played World of Warcraft, and I have all sorts of time invested in her and her gear. On the other hand, the warlock is horribly fun to play now that I have come to terms with who she is. So what now?I am also leveling my third character, in between the odd foray into raiding with my mage and working on my lock. I have thought long and hard about who of the three represents me more, and despite the fact that mages seem to be less and less desirable in PvE groups and raids, I have spent so much time with her. I love the overall versatility of a mage, what they bring to a group beyond the glass cannon (the sustenance, the crowd control, the transportation.) I have been grouping recently with my lock to get her gear, but whenever a tight spot arises where we need the extra DPS, out comes the mage to power through the encounter. She's the heavy hitter I know I will always have waiting in the wings. The question still hangs in the air on my character selection screen, who do I enjoy playing more? It's no secret that DPS classes are a blast (no pun intended) to play, but because there are so many of them out there, the need for them is significantly less. Perhaps that is why my third highest character is a priest. She's leveling shadow, so I could for all intents and purposes say it's just another DPS class, but my intent is to have a more useful character for grouping with guild members. I'd also love to have a character I know would have a solid and constant spot in a raid, and it's been my experience, at least on my server, that the mages and warlocks are a vast army of pew pew to compete with.It's a dilemma I really didn't expect to face. Sure I play ten characters (at least on my home server), but I really didn't think that I would ever consider switching my main character. Now as I look toward the end of this expansion and into the next, the words of Kurt Vonnegut pop into my head, "Who am I this time?" Do you too have this debate with yourself? Or are you the type to stick to one type of character and stay loyal to them?
Breakfast Topic: Noncombat companions
What noncombat pet do you use on your characters?Each of my characters has their own noncombat pets, something that I decided early on fit them. My Human Shadow Priest has a cute black cat, my Undead Rogue brings a Snowshoe Rabbit along with him to the BGs (just because I love stealthing and thinking of a little rabbit hopping around on its own), and while my Orc Shaman used to rock a snake, he recently got One-Eyed Willy (no comment) from Children's Week, and every chance I get I pull it out (still no comment), and wait for Willy to do his eyebeam thing. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it happen yet.Of all the noncombat pets in the game, do you call just one your own or do you have a bunch that you rotate around? Which one do you use most often?
