Sunday, August 29, 2010
Cataclysm Druid Armor Set Bonuses
The problem with tier bonuses, however, is that each new one must be bigger and better than the last. An inferior set bonus can easily turn a new raid set into a total dud. With Cataclysm on the horizon, Blizzard once again has the challenge of crafting a new set of mechanical goodies to accompany the expansion's first raid set.
Unfortunately, no word has yet been released on what Cataclysm's tier set bonuses will be. Nevertheless, what's to stop us from coming up with our own tier bonus ideas. Seeing as this is Druid Digest, I thought it might be fun to come up with some hypothetical Druid set bonuses for as of yet unreleased tier eleven. Check out my ideas after the bump and feel free to leave yours in the comments.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Dual Specialization Price Reduced in Cataclysm Beta
Personally, I really hope that the change is a legitimate re-evaluation of the feature's price. At level 40, 1,000 gold is a pretty heavy price, especially for characters which are not being supported by a level 80 sugar-daddy. I also firmly believe that the dual spec is a welcome convenience which greatly benefits the entire World of Warcraft community. More people being able to afford a second spec can be nothing but good in my opinion. Then again, as a chronic altoholic and hybrid class aficionado, my opinion may be slanted.
Guild Recruiting the Right Way
As the last breezes of summer stir a wildfire of raid fatigue, I am frequently finding myself short raiders for our guild 25 mans. As a result, my leadership team and I have sprung into recruiting mode. We have been at this long enough to learn there is a right way and a wrong way to go about building your raiding guild's roster. After the bump, I'll offer my lessons learned by providing tips on how to recruit for your guild the right way.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Pet Reward for BlizzCon 2010
Live feed subscribes will also gain access to both rewards so those who can't make it to the West Coast still enjoy both the fun and prizes. I for one just hope this new pet isn't too loud.
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Which World of Warcraft Twitter posters should we follow and re-tweet? Let me know in the comments.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Symbiosis in Warcraft: Building the Perfect Guild
Now you may be asking yourself what in the world all this has to do with guild management. Well, within the ecosystem that is World of Warcraft, a guild can easily be likened to a living organism. It moves, grows, and seeks to fill various needs. Similarly each guild member also exists as an independent organism. The relationship between a guild member and a guild can then logically be defined as symbiotic. After the bump, we'll walk through the different kinds of symbiosis and how, through a World of Warcraft lens, each type can help or harm your guild.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Hot Video: Dark Pheonix Mount
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Planning for Cataclysm
Monday, August 16, 2010
Druid Changes in the Current Cataclysm Beta Build
Most of the other significant changes are for Ferals. Looking at Feral tanks, two major cooldowns have seen a big shuffle. Frenzied Regeneration has now absorbed the effects of Survival Instincts and will not only convert rage into healing, but will also increase a bear's maximum health by up to 30%. As a result, Survival Instincts has been retooled to simply reduce all incoming damage by 60% for 12 seconds. This makes Survival Instincts an even more valuable ability for bears, so Blizzard has extended its cooldown from 3 minutes up to 5. Lastly, Enrage has been altered to increase damage received by a flat 10% rather than decreasing armor.
Moving next to Feral dps, Savage Roar has been changed to increase auto-attack damage by 50% rather than increasing all damage by 30%. The net result is that allowing this buff to fall off is slightly less detrimental to a cat. The bonuses for Master Shapeshifter have also been increased to 4% and Furor now allows for up to 100 Energy to be preserved and raises the chance of shifting into Bear Form granting rage to 100%.
The bear form changes are certainly worth getting excited about. Assuming that the Glyph of Frenzied Regeneration survives in Cataclysm, Feral tanks will be in possession of one of the most potent tanking cooldowns in all of Azeroth. The Survival Instincts change will also be a benefit, though I personally will miss seeing my health top out at over 100k when I pop it.
Which changes have you the most excited? Are you worried about the new Savage Roar mechanic? Let me know in the comments.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Best Balance Spec in Cataclysm
Over the past two days, I have laid out the ideal raid specs for Feral DPS and Bear Tanks in Catalysm. Today, I turn my attention to our feathery Moonkin friends. The Cataclysm Balance tree contains tons of interesting and entertaining talents, but in terms of maximizing your general raid performance there seems to be only one way to go. Check it out after the bump.
Friday, August 13, 2010
No New Raids Before Cataclysm
Odds are, this announcement will only exacerbate the feelings of burnout sweeping across Azeroth. With each passing day, more and more raiders are deciding to take a break from World of Warcraft until Cataclysm hifts. At this point, Blizzard can only hope that Cataclysm packs enough punch to bring everyone back.
Best Feral DPS Spec in Cataclysm
CHECK OUT THE NEW BEST FERAL SPEC FOR 4.0.1 AND CATACLYSM
Continuing my rundown of the ideal Feral Druid specs for Cataclysm, today I will be laying out what I believe to be the best Cat Form spec. As I mentioned in my post on the problems with the Feral Tree in Cataclysm, there are not very many talent options for Feral dps in the current 31 point talent setup. As a result, I believe that this spec is not only the best Cataclysm Feral DPS spec, but it may in fact be the only one that makes any sense at all. Check it out after the bump.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Best Feral Tanking Spec in Cataclysm
UPDATE: Be sure to check out our new Feral Tanking Guide for 4.0.1
THIS POST IS BASED ON EARLIER VERSIONS OF THE BETA, CHECK OUT THE NEW BEST FERAL SPEC GUIDE FOR 4.0.1 FOR THE LATEST TALENT INFORMATION
Yesterday, I made a post about the problems with the Feral talent tree in Cataclysm. Today, I will be addressing the less problematic of the two Feral specs by laying out the optimal Feral Druid tanking talent spec for Cataclysm. Check it out after the bump.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Problem with Cataclysm's Feral Tree
These changes were made with the intent of increasing player choice. Basically, by simplifying the trees and cutting out both fluff and mandatory talents, players should be more free to spread points amongst the remaining talents as they choose. This attempt at enhanced flexibility has been mixed in its effectiveness across different classes and specs. Unfortunately, it has failed miserably with respect to one particular talent tree: the Feral Druid tree. Find out why after the jump.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Heirlooms Will Work in Cataclysm
Obviously, this announcement is great news for players interested in leveling up a Worgen or Goblin when Cataclysm arrives as they will be able to do so up to 25% faster. I am curious to see how/if the new heirlooms will be superior to the old ones beyond the ability to provide experience all the way through level 85. How would you improve them? Let me know in the comments.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Unintended Consequences: Why Badges and Expansions Don't Mix
This time, however, something seems different. Rather than being limited to just a hand full of progression pushers, even middle tier raiders are feeling the need to spend some time without their spellbooks. Some have speculated that this migration is simply a sign that the level of Warcraft participation has reached the top of its bell curve. I, however, believe that certain design choices made in Wrath of the Lich King as well as changes planned for Cataclysm have contributed to the recent decline in player activity. Find out what they are after the jump.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Original Video: Mulgore Changes in the Cataclysm Beta
As always, feel free to leave suggestions or requests for future videos in the comments.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Original Video: Goblin Starter Area
If you would like to make suggestions for future videos, please leave a comment.
Can't Train Skills in the Cataclysm Beta
This poses a significant problem for copied characters, especially considering that some low level skills need to be relearned after coping. As an illustration, my initial foray into the Cataclysm Beta yesterday was limited to an overview of Cataclysm interface changes because after setting up my Druid's Feral Tanking Spec I came to realize my toon had forgotten how to shift into Bear Form and I was unable to retrain it. Bummer...
There is a workaround for those who can't wait for the bug to be fixed. If you delete one of your two professions, the trainers resume working properly. I will be waiting a little while to see if the problem gets ironed out as I don't want to preclude myself from testing out what Cataclysm has in store for both Herbalism and Alchemy. If you aren't that into testing professions, however, and want to jump right into your new skills, can a primary profession and be on your way.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Cataclysm Hunter Starting Pets List
Also, if you are wondering how you are supposed to control your pet at level one, check the Beast Mastery tab in your spellbook. For some reason Blizzard decided not to have the classic pet control bar visible by default so your pet appears to be autonomous until level ten. By clicking the control ability in the spellbook, however, your pets bar will magically appear. I would imagine Blizzard will fix this before release.
Cataclysm Interface Changes
I then made my way over to the talent window to go about reallocating my talent points. When you first enter the talent screen you choose your spec using the screen shown below. As explained in a number of Blizzard posts, you are then held to that specs tree until you have invested 31 points. I think the initial spec choice screen is a nice touch that will really help out newer players. I then went about building an ideal tank spec which I will walk you all through in a later post only to discover that my Bear Form had been untrained so, off to Thunder Bluff I went!
Once in Thunder Bluff I was disappointed to find that the Druid Trainers were broken so I would have to be without my precious Bear Form for a while. Nevertheless, I did manage to see my first "Holy Cow," Tauren Priest Trainer, Tahu Sagewind. I also flew around Thunder Bluff for a little bit, for those who are curious, no special training or anything was required. Perhaps later some gateway to flying in old Azeroth will be added, but for now you can fly free as a bird (pun intended).
With my lack of Bear Form cutting my Druid antics short for the moment, I turned my attention to the Horde's newest, shortest members: the Goblins. If you want to hear about how that went, check out my next post.
Also, if you would like any questions answered about the Beta or if there is anything you really want to see, let me know. Either leave a comment or send me an email to DruidPathis@gmail.com and I'll be happy to share the information you desire a future post.