The Problem with Leveling

See, in Cataclysm leveling is going to be so much better. I mean, for Shamans, Warriors, Hunters and Rogues specialization, and some general reworking will make everything so much better. Enhancement will make sense, rage mechanics will work, Focus instead of mana and a way for rogues to heal themselves.

Now, lets look at the list of classes I want to level- Enh Shammy, Warrior, Hunter and Rogue. Now you can see my problem.

If I start leveling them now, I'll get used to a very different style of play and that will confuse me when we get to Cataclysm. I also want my warrior and hunter to be Worgen and if I start now, I have to wait a long time and pay money to switch em over.

Some people might say that there is the same thing with raiding for the loot- it will all be worthless in Cataclysm, so why bother- but my gear on my paladin at least should hopefully last a significant while.

So, yeah, sorry about another laaaaate post.

Gettin all srs!

Strangely enough, I've been getting somewhat serious about WoW these days. With my 9-5, I usually don't have a chance to log on until around 7 (I have to eat sometime). I may do a daily heroic or something, and then my JC daily. And then I raid. Four days a week. Once the raid is over, I log and wait for the next day.

Its really weird being in this state. Normally I would be leveling alts, or playing on other toons.

But right now, I'm all about gearing them up, maxing them out. Its strange.

Especially since it will all be undone when Cataclysm hits.

Perhaps my subconscious recognizes this and wants to just get me ready for Cataclysm. I won't be able to do my dailies or raid on a regular basis for a month or two after Cata hits, we just won't have enough geared people that quickly. So I'll be left with leveling alts (which I desperately can't wait to do), but I if I don't level until then, leveling will be all the more exciting.

So- what is your subconscious making you do? Also, sorry for the late post.

Its all wrong!

The last few posts about DKs... well, its gonna be pretty much 100% wrong.

Blizzard has announced that they are redoing the way talent trees work in Cataclysm. Completely.

1. Talent trees are being reduced to 31 points in depth. I'm really aprehensive about this- they say they're going to keep core talents, but I feel that losing all that will feel like a bad thing.
2. Players will only get 41 talent points at 85. This is very interesting, because if you get the 31 point talent you only have 10 points to spend in other trees- which seems weird. But with higher density of good/cool talents, it may be worth more than the twenty we have today.
3. At level ten, a player will pick a specialization instead of just dropping points. They player will be locked into this spec until they put 31 points into it (or respec/dual-spec). This seems like a helpful thing for lowbies. It almost definitely is the death of hybrid specs, like frostfire.
4. When a player picks a spec, they will instantly get the passive bonuses for that spec. DPS specs will get a % DPS increase, tank specs will get their 'vengeance' effect, etc.... Originally Blizzard had intended for players to get more out of these the more points they put into their tree. Now, with a straight buff and being locked in you get the same effect you would get (at the end) at the beginning of your leveling. Yeah, this is nifty, nothing wrong here.
5. When a player picks a spec they will instantly get an active bonus for that spec. These abilities are usually considered to be signature abilties. They include Mutilate for assassination rogues, Divine Storm of retribution paladins, mortal strike, shield slam, earth shield, thunderstorm, pennance and more. Now this. This. This is full of epic and win. perhaps even some epic win. Seriously- you'll get a KEY ability that you would previously have to wait for 60 for at level ten. This is AWESOME.
6. Players will be able to spec into secondary trees at level 70. This is the time when you will get your 31 point talent.
7. Players will alternate levels between getting a talent point and getting an ability.

So, this looks awesome. It is indeed the total reboot they promised us. The trees will be 100% fresh, as they will have all lost about 10+ talents. But I'm very apprehensive. I don't know how this will turn out. But I trust Blizzard to make this amazing.

Pwitty!

So, you remember when I got Malkhelm to 80 and I had a bunch of screenshots?

Well, Ziyzik is getting that treatment now. Welcome to The Hinterlands.

Blinded by the light

Yeah. This is Ziyzik just a few days ago, when he was trying to get to Dustwallow Marsh to level.

On the fifth day...

He hit 60.

I really do have a problem. I really like the way this is going, I'm leveling quickly and smoothly and having quite a bit of fun.

I'm not sure why I'm doing this though. I mean, the rogue- while a fun class- isn't a very interesting class to play while soloing. Most of my work involves spamming Sinister Strike and then hitting Eviscerate. If I see too many mobs, I either Shadowmeld or Vanish. Or, if I think I can take em, I hit Blade Flurry, Adrenaline Rush and Lifeblood before going back to my normal rotation.

I don't get awesome procs, like Hot Streak, I don't get a pet, I don't get ridiculous crits, I can't even aoe for my life.

But I really am enjoying leveling this toon. Perhaps it is the breakneck pace that I'm leveling him at. Perhaps it is the change of pace from doing a ridiculous number of instances on my other toons. I mean, my main is a tank, and the vast majority of what she does is instances, then my warlock is just to help out other people who need a dps for their instance, my DK was leveled as a tank in the RDF and continues to tank instances, without much questing involved.

My druid is currently being leveled as a feral tank and so he is tanking instances. Perhaps its the fact that I'm not tanking, or that I'm not in instances anymore. Perhaps its the fact that it is something new.


By that reasoning, I should love my new job. I've never had a 9-5 before. I've never had an office job before. I've never been an intern before. I've never worked in the publishing industry before. Thus, if I like new, this is going to be fantastic. Now. Sleep. Because you get to wake up early for 9-5s.

Good lord

I have a problem.

On the 23rd of June, 2010, my Rogue was 39 (maybe 38).

That same day he hit 40.

By the 26th of June, 2010, Ziyzik had hit level 50.

By the 27th, he had reached 55.

So, I have a problem. I'm leveling at what even I consider to be a ridiculous rate. I got Ziyzik up to 31 using a friend with Recruit-A-Friend. When you recruit somebody, for every two levels they gain (up to level 60) they can give one of your toons (who is a lower level) one level.

So, I have learned my class in the intervening 24 levels since then- I'm not a complete noob.

What is weird is how quickly I'm leveling. I very rarely have to stop and eat (high dodge/parry+Lifeblood).

It is not really shocking to get 1-10 on your first day of a toon- but those earliest levels are only minutes long. Even 1-20 isn't that difficult, it can easily be done in three days.

But 40-50 should take (imo) a day and a half /played. At the very least.

Anyways... I need to get back to leveling.

Leveling Guide: The Early Priest 1-20

This came out of nowhere. Also, I apologize for missing my posting time. But it is done. So it is good.

Anyways.

Priests have lotsa healing abilities. Therefore, you would think that they would do well at surviving. I don't agree. Anyways, when you start out, you have Smite and a Heal. By the time you get to 20, you should have a couple other attacks, including Shadow Word: Pain (a dot) and Holy Fire.

Additionally, as a priest you will have Heal, Greater Heal and Lesser Heal. You will have Inner Fire, an ability that grants you a small armor bonus. Power Word: Fortitude is an early catch and grants you extra stamina. Finally, Power Word: Shield gives you a nice absorbing bubble, making you (slightly) more resistant to death.

If you choose to go with Discipline, I would suggest that you start healing at 15. You primarily use your bubble to absorb damage people take, rather than actually healing. I would suggest starting with this spec and filling out Meditation so as to get the mana regen.

I would try to avoid holy to start, because it does not have access to such quality mana regen as Disc does early on. In any case I would suggest this spec.

Finally, if you want to go shadow, be prepared to kill stuff slowly and die alot (at least thats what I did). Also, I would suggest starting with these talents. That specs for a lot of regen and mana efficiency. Also, I'm not sure about the quality of Mind Flay, so you can choose to dump that.

Anywho, best of luck.

The Dungeon System

From the perspective of a Rogue.

I decided to start playing my rogue again, just for little bit, for entertainments sake.

I've tricked him out with a couple of heirlooms with Fiery Weapon on em, so he looks really cool.

Anyways, I do alright DPS, although I have a looooooooooong way to go before I get the combo point thing mastered. I feel like I'm always out of energy so I'm just meleeing the mob. And when I do have energy, I don't have enough to get combo points and use a finisher. But, I'm learning and having fun so thats good.

I can go around the mobs and pickpocket a bunch of them which is always good fun.

And then when the tank overpulls, I can Vanish and sneak off. If I get found I can sprint away and shadowmeld into stealth, and sneak off some more.

I have low repair bills.

Blacksmithing

I've been leveling Mal's blacksmithing at a breakneck pace, without buying off the AH. I started yesterday and bought a few stacks of mithril. Since then, I have gone through Thorium, Fel Iron and Adamantite. I have the Cobalt and I need only 399 more saronite to hit 445.

Anyways, its a difficult profession to get started in because of the immense amount of materials you need for some of the earlier recipes. Additionally, early recipes often involve 'foreign materials' like cloth, leather or gems, that your everyday BS can't get.

I've been using wow-professions guide to help me through it (thats how I know what I need). They give you the 'cheapest' route. That means, the least number of materials. They do not assume that you are leveling mining along side so they consider the AH prices. This is nice because with multiple profession at or near max, well, its just nice.

Anyways, it said I needed 441 saronite bars to get to 445. So I went out and gathered 459 ore (I grabbed some extra on my way to dal). Then I realized that I need 2 ore per bar. So, you know what I'm doing tonight. Gotta mine em all...

Nice people

Nice people? On the internet? HA!

Yeah, I had gotten the impression from many places that everybody in heroics is all about gearscore, speed and doing as much damage as they can.

However, I have yet to experience it. There are several reasons for it. First off, my main (Alenena) is geared enough to tank ICC-25, this satisfies the GS group. Then, because of this ridiculous amount of gear, I can run quickly through instances pulling up to three or four packs of mobs at once, so the people who desire speed are happy. Then, since my gear is ridiculous, I can hold threat off pretty much everybody I see, so they can go crazy.
Thus, I never hear any complaints on my paladin.

On my warlock, I generally only run with guildies, and as we are a social guild, we don't really care what happens so long as we get what we want- fun.
Thus, I never hear any complaints on my warlock.

My Death Knight is managed to get to the Defense cap quickly, and began running heroics. His gear is awful, he can't pull more than one pack at a time and people have to watch their DPS or pull off him.
However, I have yet to hear any complaints on my Death Knight.

In my last heroic (VH) I saw that one of the DPS (shaman) had ICC-10/25 gear and could probably pull 5-7k dps. This means that he would have pulled off me in under a second. However, when I mentioned I might have difficulty keeping up with him, he just settled into chain-casting Lightning Bolt, and ended up topping the charts with about 2.5k.

So, go figure, nice people on the webz.

Poing!

As an FYI, instead of the classic Ding/Grats(Gratz etc...) my guild uses Point/Nifty to indicate level ups.

So without further ado, my newest 80, Malkhelm.

Back in Dragonblight (76). The high contrast makes this a very nice shot.

Orgrimmar (77). After becoming a Veteran of the Wrathgate, I did some diplomatic work including taunting Thrall and sitting in his throne.

Dragonblight (78). Working on a cure for a crusader. I had already asked the druids and now I was working with the Red Dragonflight.

Utgarde Pinnacle (79). One of the many, many times I saw the Lich King in my last couple days of leveling.

Icecrown (79). I tracked down the Naaru in Shattrath and they gave the ailing crusader an appropriate farewell.

And finally, the screenshot. Yeah, doubters, you can stop doubting now. I have a screenshot.

First Toon

This is Arugal. He is a level four Nelf Warrior on Nazgrel. He was my second toon I ever made. I haven't logged on him in at least a year. One of my friends (whose name I no longer know) had convinced me to get WoW and roll a toon on his server- Nazgrel-A. So I did. I even gathered up the ridiculously expensive price (30c) to mail to his main, Palanar. Never heard from him again.

And this here is Crugar- Eitrigg-A. He was my first toon I ever made. My friend (mentioned above) told me to make my character on the Server Nazgrel. But at the time I was a noob and the game told me to pick a realm. I thought that that was different from a server. Yeah, I was a noob. So I made a Nelf Druid. As of now he is level 26 and I hadn't logged on on him since patch 3.1.

I had some friends on Eitrigg that I made through playing, but at the end of August, they all disappeared. One had been on a trial and two went on vacation. I tried solo play-totally disconnected from the world and it felt weird. So I rolled some more toons- Alliance and Horde on Eitrigg- but never got into them (I think the next highest was a level 7 Orc Hunter).

Anyways, I then managed to find Ursin, home of the Sluggy Freelance guild, and rolled a toon there:

And the rest is over 41 days /played on this toon. 27 /played at level eighty. 79 /played over all toons. Gawd.

Class Change Previews

I'll get to them. About a month or two after everyone else has had their three pence opinion.

I assure you, my opinion will be worth at least four pence!

Seriously though- I will get to them.

I'm sorry about the shortness of this post and the lack of effort I have put into it. It makes me sad. But I said that I would post daily and daily I shall post.

However, I am in the middle of writing my final papers- which of course, you may very well get to see because it saves me from actually thinking of what to write.

~Your Lovely Procrastinator

Crouching Cow, Hidden Meal

Need I say more?

200!

This is my 200th post. I would consider doing something special, but that may have to wait until I read the Paladin class changes list. Because of this landmark number of posts, I will be plugging this wherever I can and I will hope that I get many new readers.

If you ARE a new reader, first off, I apologize for the lack of sense many of my titles make (and some sentences).

Additionally, if you go to the directory, you should be able to find links to a couple sets of articles that you may or may not be interested in.

To be added to that collection in the near future are:

The 'WoW in Real Life' posts. A collection of posts looking at each class and naming some in game abilities that I would want in real life.

The 'Early Leveling Guide: The First 20 levels' this will be coming out slower and I will only write on those that I have leveled appropriately.

I'm a healer now

Yesterday was the first time I ever healed an instance.

I mean, I've done healing before on my Paladin, but never Holy specced and very rarely in groups.

When I healed on my pally, it was a Art of War/Flash of Light kinda deal. Additionally, the heals would be during a speed run wherein I was at least 10 levels above content.

But yesterday I actually healed an on level instance with the intent of healing it.

I signed up for Ragefire Chasm as a healer/dps Shaman with a Prot warrior friend. Admittedly I was in heirlooms and he was a good tank, but I didn't have to hit my healing spell more than fifteen or twenty times throughout the instance. It is definitely a good thing that I can enjoy healing because with the new LFD system, it is very helpful if I can heal or tank.

With this event having occurred, you can trust to hear from me in the future regarding healing.

Leveling Guide: The Early Rogue 1-20

So. When I leveled my rogue I have to admit that I skipped from levels 3 to 30 by using the Recruit-A-Friend function.

Anyways, rogues have a unique playstyle, in that the use a quickly regenerating resource- energy.

As you level, you should plan on getting behind your target and stabbing them to death quickly and efficiently. Be sure to keep all your health potions and your foods as rogues can have survivability issues- perhaps moreso than any other class. All the other classes except warriors can either heal themselves or kite their enemy. Warriors, unlike rogues were built to withstand damage and can hold off more enemies.

To help survive, level cooking and first aid so you have a steady supply of health suppliers. Additionally, picking up herbalism for Lifeblood is a good move.

When picking your spec, figure out what you want to focus on. Both Assassination and Combat give strong damage output but Subtlety can allow you to avoid mobs you don't need to fight.

For all of them, having a slow main-hand can be very helpful because it has a higher upper damage limit which allows your abilities to hit harder.

Assassination is a crit-heavy spec so you want to gear for Agility (which lends to both AP and Crit) or crit itself. While AP is still useful- it is not nearly as useful as the others. If you want to go with Assassination, I would recommend starting with this spec.

Combat is based on two-weapon fighting and improving your chance to hit. Talents add to hit and expertise as well as focusing on specific weapons. In this and future guides I will not suggest which of those to take, because at you can spend those points elsewhere, depending upon your gear. i would begin assigning your points in this fashion.

Subtlety is focused entirely on avoiding unnecessary fights and being able to sap or blind targets that you don't want to fight, but are too close. With this spec, you will be able to dodge higher level mobs with a great deal more confidence.

Looking Back

Today seems like an excellent day to look back.

I did a couple retro-raids (MC and the last couple bosses of BWL) and I have just finished three months worth of this blog.

I completely forgot about doing this for February, so I'm going to cover both months.

In February I covered the two holidays, Love is in the Air and the Lunar Festival.

Later in the month I started the Greedy Gronko Grand Gold Gathering Guide series, which poured over into March. A compilation of the set can be found here.

Right on the tail of that I began the WoW in Real Life series which I'm still working on and then also began working on class guides for levels 1-20.

And every day, I gave you images for your perusal. If you have any topic ideas or any screenshots you wish to submit, email me at eldritchreign@gmail.com

Leveling Guide: The Early Shaman 1-20

Now, this is going to be an interesting article to write, seeing as I don't have any shamans above level 19. That does give me some experience, but I've mostly played for the experience as a resto-ele Twink.

When you start out, you have your lighting and you heal. Just cast lightning a couple times, and then melee them, or if you don't seem to be having any mana troubles, keep on the lightning.

You'll get a chance to quest for your first totem at level four. You don't need to drop your totems for every fight, but they can be very helpful. If you know that there will be trouble, be sure to drop your totems before the pull, because otherwise you will waste valuable time during combat.

As you level you will gain more totems, and at level twelve you can begin the quest for your fire totem. For both factions, it requires large amounts of running around, more so for the Horde than for the Alliance.

Another thing to note is that your 'Shock' spells have a shared cooldown, before level 20 you will only have Earth Shock and Flame Shock.

You will additionally get spells that enhance your weapons- you will want to keep those up at all times as well.

Finally, you will get Lightning Shield, a free spell that creates a magical presence around you (like Thorns or Retribution Aura) so that the next three melee attacks damage the attacker.

If you want to go Elemental, which is the Shaman's ranged caster spec, I would suggest starting with these talents.

If you pick Enhancement, the Shaman's melee spec, I would say that these are your best choices.

Finally, if you want to heal instances and level through the Random Dungeon finder system, I would say you should start by picking these talents.