Cataclysm

Cataclysm is rumored to be going into Alpha testing in the next few weeks.  This basically means that we'll be seeing the latest expansion toward the end of this year and the beginning of the next.

It also means there's an impending collapse of raiding guilds.  I'm not really sure why this happens every expansion.  The mind set that "Well the gear will be pointless soon anyway," was never really clear to me.  I understand what they're saying, but is gear really the only reason that we try to down bosses in these raids?  Isn't there some pride in the fact that you've downed them, that you've figured out a strategy and learned to execute it?

A new expansion is a mixed bag for me.  I get to see new stuff while I'm leveling.  I always enjoy seeing the new zones and much to the dismay of my wife I will make her come look at all this stuff that she couldn't care less about.

However, for the first time this expansion will make some significant changes to zones that I've known and loved these past 4 years.  I gotta say, I'm not sure I'm particularly happy about it.  Some of these changes feel needed.  Desolace for one was really boring looking and became super monotonous as you went through the quest lines.  No zone should be so gray in color.  The same goes for the Shimmering flats.

An then there's the Barrens.  While I'm played Alliance side most of my time in WoW, I still feel like the Barrens in one of the most well made zones in the game.  There's lots of quest, several flight points and 3 dungeons that will get you up to approximately level 25.  I'm envious of the zone as Alliance side there isn't anything even near comparable.

Another change coming in the expansion is the new races.  Goblins...finally!!  Enough said.  And then there's Worgens.  I think we drew the Worgens as the new alliance race because of the Dranaei.  Yeah...I'm not really a fan of the space goats.  I feel like they're pretty weak looking in general and I'm not really a fan of an of their casting animations.

All in all, I'm pretty excited about the new expansion and I'm anxiously awaiting all the news that's being released about it.

Damn Alts...

Maybe it's selfish of me but, now that I've started playing my paladin I don't really have a desire to play my shaman anymore.  However, geared as he is, it's not surprising that I get asked to bring him along to raids instead.

It's not that I don't like my shaman...it's just that taking 2 characters to raids feels like the next step to a relapse of addiction and I'd rather not put my wife through that again.

This morning I respec'd my shaman into an enhancement spec for the raid tonight.  We usually have an elemental shaman but no enhancement shaman so hopefully that will make me a little more useful.

It's also been a really long time since I've played as enhancement and I think it might be fun to have another go at it.  Hopefully I'm right.

Come on Healers!! Heal that boss....?

So for only the second time I got to experience the Valithria Dreamwalker encounter in Icecrown Citadel.  For the first time blizzard has given us something to do as healers in this fight.

If you haven't gotten the chance to get to this fight as a healer, you better hurry up.

The basic goal of this particular encounter is to heal the boss, the sleeping dragon, up to 100% from 50% all while you kill wave after endless wave of adds that are trying to stop you.

The thing that makes this fight really fun for a healer is the portals.

Periodically Valithria will spawn green portals that half of the raid's healers are supposed to enter.  Within the portal are some little smoke clouds floating around and basically you have to fly around and burst the clouds to get a stacking buff.  The higher the buff stacks the more mana regen and healing power you have.

And there in lies the awesome.  With just 20 stacks of this buff I was hitting almost 100k critical heals on the boss and my fellow raiders. 

The whole encounter has a very frantic feel to it.  Everything needs to be done as soon as someone calls it out and any delay will cost the healers.

Some of the adds aren't supposed to be melee'd because they'll start pulsing waves of fire damage.  Others will actually spawn more adds upon their own death and there's several others that do a variety of painfully annoying things.

All in all from a healer's point of view this is a really fun fight.  Even if you don't get to be a portal healer, you have a lot of healing to do and compared to a lot of the fights I've gone through in ICC so far this fight is really mana intensive.  Which makes it that much more interesting as far as I'm concerned.

I believe our guild now has Sindragosa, Professor Putricide, and Blood Queen left until we get to Mr Frostypants.  Progression on the Professor has been coming along...I think we've gotten him down to 7% on our best attempt thus far.  He'll be added to the list of dead bosses soon.

Happy raiding.

Respecing...for greater FPS!

For about 3 months last year I did basically nothing but play WoW and to be honest by the time that time came to an end I was really burnt out.

For the first time in a long time I felt no desire to login and play and honestly...it felt pretty good.

In the intervening time I joined the company softball team (from which I've lost about 20 pounds) and started playing a couple great PS3 games (Dragon Age: Origins and Borderlands).  And probably most importantly I got to spending more time with my wife.

The biggest reason that I played those 3 months was because I had to move away from my family and friends and I guess WoW was my familiar refuge.  It was comforting to talk to the same people that I talked to when I was at home and we all know the game is pretty engrossing.

Inevitably, there was drama in the guild that I was in and based on all this my performance in raids started to suffer.  At the time, I was really frustrated that I wasn't able to perform like I knew I was capable, but now that I'm looking back I can see that the game had become much more like a second job and not the convenient distraction that its always been for me.

No body wants a second job...it's no fun.  Especially when its supposed to be something you enjoy.

So basically I took a break...not cold turkey, but enough.  I started playing my paladin and running him through heroics.  I rediscovered the entertainment value that the game offers.  With less pressure and the anonymity that the new LFG tool offered, I was able to wind down and start enjoying the game again.

I also started looking to some of my lower level alts.  Marec my warlock had been sitting in Valance Keep for  months, completely untouched.  So I looked up the latest warlock spec and started doing some the Borean Tundra quests.

When did Demonology get to be so much fun?  It used to be the spec for idiots.  I mean the Felguard is nice for questing, but take him into a dungeon and you are a lock destined for mockery.  Now, not only does your Felguard kick ass, but so do you!!

Metamorphosis is awesome fun...I mean how can turning into a demon yourself not be awesome?  At this point my only complaint about warlocks is their lack of a cool looking shadow form.

Why do priests get to look all cool?  Warlocks by definition deal almost strictly in the dark arts...why can't we have a permanent shadow form?  Even if it was just an added effect to our current shield spells.  

That's actually kind of a fun idea...A different demon form based on whether you're using Demon Armor or Demon Skin.  Something to think about there Blizzard.

Anyway...I guess the point I'm trying to say is that too much of a good thing, makes it into a bad thing.  With moderation and an understanding spouse...I've managed to find the fun in my chosen hobby again. 

! = Quest

Now it may seem overly dramatic to think of this particular endeavor as a quest.

Quests entail an epic journey that leads to a struggling character's ultimate discovery of self worth...or they throw a ring into a volcano...whatever.

I, like 11 million+ others, enjoy the MMORPG World of Warcraft.  I've been playing approximately 4 years now and I've never felt nerdier.

I remember when they released Naxxramas...the first time.

I remember 40 man raids and the great fun of getting someone who had you on follow killed.

I think some of the best experiences I had while playing this game came while I was leveling and learning how to not suck.  I guess it's because of the mystery that the game still held for me.  I didn't know what kind of quests would be in the next zone or if I would die to yet another Undead Rogue on my way to the next flight point.

It was kind of exciting.  And so I've been hooked these last 4 years.

I'll probably end up writing about my day to day experiences in game and more then likely bitching and complaining about whatever it was that bothered me that day.  So I guess that I should fill you in on what I'm doing now.

I'm a paladin by the name of Palidyne.  I play as Holy (a healer for those of you who don't know) and I'm in a guild named Sedition (Maelstrom), lead by 3 friends of mine who are basically the reason I keep playing.  We've got about 8 bosses down out of 12 in Icecrown Citadel and I must say...these are some of the more entertaining bosses I've seen out of Blizzard.

I was once a shaman by the name of Bilam and as such most people still call me by that name.  In Burning Crusade I was a healer out of necessity, but I came to really enjoy it.

And way back in "Vanilla" WoW I was a hunter.  Bouremal, was the first character I ever got to the level cap and a damned fine experience it was too.  I can remember camping rare spawns so that I could either get that wicked looking pet or learn some new ability to teach a pet I already had.  I had a lot of fun with him and I still do.

I'm not really sure why I haven't gotten him to the newest level cap.  It's something I've been working on slowly.  I guess since I've done it twice recently, I'm not as motivated to see the same content again.  Oh well...I'm sure he'll be 80 before Cataclysm.