Patch Titbits

Well Patch 3.3 is on the PTR and there are titbits for  balance druids so in no particular order

Druid tier 10.

I don’t like the graphics at all. From the  two pieces of  briarthorn attached to the headpiece  past the carnivorous plant life on the shoulders (cousins to Seymour from Shop of Horrors) to the oversize girdle  that’s claiming to be a belt.   I like my T9 corset look I don’t want a  girdle.

Back to the helm and its faceplate, what is that even meant to be? A bug with thorns or another of Seymours cousins with the faceplate representing dripping green goo from its mouth?

And those gloves we’re meant to be in ICE crown you’d think there of all places we’d want proper gloves not  fingerless ones, or maybe they think we get enough protection from the cold with all the fur from our forms.

I know we’re druid our  sets are meant to be nature themed (though  not always) I’d hoped for something a bit more thematically tuned to Icecrown or generally winter themed.  Dress us in Yeti skins, I’d much rather that set of horns than a couple of briarthorns on my head.

Well on to the set bonuses.  The ones discovered initially were well  placeholders. They changed them within about 24 hours of them being released so now we have:

• 2 Pieces (Balance): When you gain Clearcasting from your Omen of Clarity talent, you deal 15% additional Nature and Arcane damage for 6 seconds.

Why do I need to spend 13 points in the resto tree to gain a balance set bonus?  Why can’t it  proc of Nature’s Grace, (tweaked for the fact NG procs a lot more than OoC) I have zero control over OoC procs. The number crunchers reckon it procs on average twice every 60 secs so  that means I get 12 secs of this proc every minute. So assuming a tank n spank with no fire to move out of etc this will apparently convert into a 3% dps increase. Compare that to T9 (moonfire dots criting) which is (again according to the number crunchers) a 4%dps that you don’t need to be standing still to benefit from it.

• 4 Pieces (Balance): Your critical strikes from Starfire and Wrath cause the target languish for an additional 5% of your spell’s damage over 4 seconds.

“Cause the target languish”  erm okay not sure what  version of English is being used there.  The common consensus on this appears to be that some sort of  dot will be applied that  adds 5% of the crits damage over  4 seconds though there are questions about how it works.

Right more design advice to Blizz here,  make life easy for yourself, stop  coming up with new set bonus’es for each tier. Reuse the ones you know the players like,  the stats on the gear plus a familar  set bonus will still make sets preferred over the non set gear of the same ilevel. Change it with each expansion to reflect new spells, talents but within that expansion find some good ones and leave them be.

New Idol

• The periodic damage from your Insect Swarm and Moonfire spells grants 44 critical strike rating for 15 sec. Stacks up to 5 times.

Given the Idol of Lunar Fury does  much the same thing using just moonfire and has pretty much a 100% uptime I won’t be rushing out to spend  emblems on this one.

It is better, five stacks will create 220 critical strike rating and  the 15 secs give you a sliglhty bigger buffer zone before it wears off  but  one moonfire dot gets me 200 for 12 secs I need 5  moonfire/insect swarm dots to get the 220, so about nine seconds at a beginning of a fight to kick in  assuming a 100% proc rate.

Kudos to Blizz though for creating idols that actually do more than buff one spell. I’ll be more than happy if this  type of idol (our dots providing a crit/ haste/ dmg buff for everything we cast) becomes the standard and we  no longer see ones that buff a single spell.

Rebirth

• Rebirth: The cooldown on this spell has been lowered from 20 minutes down to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Nice, especially as  mine is glyphed so no reagent cost, we run with between three and five druids in 25 mans so its not a major buff for me but definitely useful for 10 mans or the odd raid where we have only one  druid.

Battle.Net

YesI got the memo, I’ve made the change over but I don’t like it.  It’s not that they want us  logging on using a more ‘modern’ system. it’s that they’re planning on:

Our vision is for the new Battle.net to become the ultimate Blizzard Entertainment social network, in addition to its matchmaking foundation. Simply logging in to Battle.net will make it easy to find and chat with your friends across World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and future Blizzard Entertainment titles, including Diablo III. Keep track of all your buddies in your friends list, view their online status and presence information, voice chat, send out party invites, and broadcast messages to your friends. Detailed character profiles let players keep up to date on friends’ progress and achievements.

I don’t want random people keeping track of me not even my friends sometimes. If I’m not on a toon you know about it’s because I want to be left alone and from what I can see with this system its your log on identity they intend to use not your character. I just hope there’s an opt out option for this.

What I did on my Holydays

Highlord Tirion Fordring: “Combatants of the Alliance and Horde! You are welcome under the banner of the Argent Crusade. To the south lies our goal
We will march to the Citadel and cut out the heart of the Scourge where it dwells.
But this is no task to be taken lightly. A massive attack with every able-bodied man would end in needless slaughter. Every soldier lost would rise as the enemy.
Azeroth would be left defenceless against the undead threat. Instead, we require a small, concentrated strike force for the attack to succeed.
For that reason, we have created the Argent Tournament. Within these walls, you will be tested. Your skill in combat will be matched against the fiercest dangers Northrend has to offer under the watchful eyes of your leaders.”

Arian:
A strike force of the best? I can try for that, I’ve killed Gods and Titans and Aspects already, and laid more undead to a final rest than I can count.

Arian walks off to present herself to Justicaar Mariel Trueheart Mariel:

Mariel: We have invited you here to test your skill and valor against others who have bravely opposed the Scourge. Many have been our divisions, but the time has come for heroes fighting under all banners to test their blades against one another in preparation for facing our mutual enemy.

Arian: I can bring down the fires of the stars and the moon on their head, or have the stars fall from the very skies themselves if its needed

Mariel: No we want you to take this lance and joust against other possible champions to see who is the best in combat.

Arian: I can call the trees themselves to do my bidding. I can command the winds to blow them off his feet, the roots under the earth to cage their mount, I have at my fingertips natures wrath and you want me to poke someone with a big stick?

Mariel: Yes this is how we’ll test your combat skills

Arian: Let me get this straight those who are best at poking people with a big stick are the ones you’ll choose for this strike force? You don’t care what experience we have or what combat skills we have you’d pick your strike force based on a completely non-lethal game of whack a mole?

Mariel nods

Arian: Aviana give me strength!

***

So as you may have guessed I’m not overly impressed by the whole jousting thing that came with 3.1, it certainly didn’t draw me back into the game.  Uldar has to a certain extent but like so many guilds this time of year we’ve been plagued with Real Life taking priority and struggling to put together  balanced 25 mans.

Not to say I haven’t been busy. You may remember a human mage I rolled way back last September, even with help from friends her squishiness was driving me mental so I rerolled her as a Paladin at the beginning of May. My little Pally leveled all the way to 78 by the end of May, which is when she too reached the Argent Tournament and came to a screehing halt.

Thats the fastest I’ve ever leveled anything in realtime (about 7 days played time I think) certainly the heirloom shoulders helped and a more experienced  paladin friend cheering me on from the sidelines for the first 30 levels.

Seems I was so busy charging ahead I forgot to stop for screenshots. Going from the boots that was taken around the 40 mark.

If I’m honest some of the screeching halt is because I’m feeling guilty about Dax, my hunter, who is still stuck at 72 in the Tundra. It seems right and proper that she should ding 80 before this whippersnapper, but I can’t get back into hunter gameplay at the moment.

I have a plans for a new druid though, one thats going to grow up pure feral, at the moment she’s level 6 and sitting in Dolanaar waiting for Ari to collect enough stoneshards for the heirloom stormshroud shoulders. They’re the same model as the Animist shoulders from Zul’Gurub Ari loved so much at 60.  So I know I can look at them for 74 levels, I may not do anything much with her till 3.2 comes out and leveling is even easier than it was in 3.1. I guess my rogue can borrow the shoulders till then. Or they can both wait, mounts at 20 oh how easy they have it.

Sssh don’t tell

I have a dirty little secret. I hate shamans. They should never ever ever be wanted over a druid. There I’ve said it.

I really didn’t care in Vanilla WoW they were something Horde had that I could ignore (as long as I stayed out of BG’s) even if my only party buff was being a walking crit totem.

Then the space squid crash landed on Azeroth, and don’t think I haven’t noticed they kill white stags and side with the Furbolg against Moonkins in their starter area. They can’t even hold on to their hatred of Blood Elves, teaming up with them, and have you seen the monument to the fallen in Sunwell Plateau

Completely ignores the Dwarves, Forsaken, Gnomes, Humans, Orcs, Night Elves, Taurens, & Trolls, who fell reclaiming Sun’s Reach. At least the humans touch you up for funds to support their orphans not to build some naff statue to their ‘greatness’. Okay maybe the Blood Elf & Draenai arrogance is a different subject. Back to why I hate shamans.

I just do.

I have no need to be rational about it.

I suppose you want arguments, well lets face it Shamans are nothing but proto druids, messing around trying to master the elements that are part of the very Nature druids are one with.

When TBC came out and they buffed Moonkin damage and our Aura to 5% crit I was a happy little moonkin till I saw what they gave elemental shamans, no need for a walking crit totem when you got a real one with 3% crit & hit. Heard way too many players tell me 5%crit to party & 3% hit to melee & ranged isn’t as good as 3% hit/crit to party. What can I say apart from learn to maths.

Now along comes WOTLK and we get Improved Moonkin Aura:

Your Moonkin Aura also causes affected targets to have a 100% chance to gain 20% spell haste when they critically hit with spells for 8 sec. This effect has a 30 second cooldown.

Something we’ve asked for an improved aura, and haste was a good way to go, but they went and nerfed it between alpha (10 secs no cd ) & beta, its still good but that 30 sec cd is a pain.

Or course we can’t rejoice for long because look what they did to Wrath of Air

Summons a Wrath of Air Totem with 5 health at the feet of the caster. Party members within 20 yards of the totem have their spell damage and healing increased by up to 101. Lasts 2 min.

to

Summons a Wrath of Air Totem with 5 health at the feet of the caster. The totem provides 10% spell haste to all party members within 20 yards. Lasts 2 min.

Wheres the bloody cd on that?

Machica was an attempt to go the ‘if you can’t beat em join em route’ but I don’t like Shamans I want my Boomkin to be better in what I specialise in than some untalented level 64 totem.

Meh I know life’s not fair but I can already hear the players comparing group/party buffs and deciding we lose against totems again. Even though the silly buggers never did catch on to the simple fact they stack!