Druid Digest

Blizzard Now Selling Gold for Cash... In Pet Form

2011-10-11T22:26:00.000-04:00

The good folks over at Blizzard announced yesterday morning that a new pet will be arriving in the World of Warcraft Pet Shop in the near feature. He seems to be a cuddly miniature version of the Winged Guardian mount already available for purchase. In reality, however, the new Guardian Cub pet is nothing more than a stack of gold that you can purchase straight from Blizzard itself. Check out a picture of the pet below and the insidious truth behind those big doe eyes after the bump.

The Guardian Cub, unlike all the other Pet Store fare, is a single Bind on Equip item rather than a bound item sent to the mailboxes of all your characters. For hardcore pet collectors, this is a bit of a bummer as the pet is not automatically purchased for all of your alts. If you have 15 alts you want the pet for, better be prepared to shell out some serious cash. However, that isn't the sinister part of the little winged one.

Being Bind on Equip, the Guardian Cub may be traded or sold to other players. That means you can give $10 to Blizzard for the pet and then post that baby directly on the Auction House. In essence you can now purchase a "Guardian Cub's Worth" of gold directly from Blizzard whenever you so choose. Blizzard is now in the gold selling business.

So what does this mean for you? In all probability, it means next to nothing. Blizzard has implied that this will somehow cut into the illegitimate gold selling market and therefore also cut down on the account theft that accompanies the gold trade. Frankly, I am skeptical.

Gold sellers will continue to compromise accounts which means that they should be able to undercut the going Guardian Cub Rate. This means there will still be a market for ill gotten gold. Sure there may be a small impact on gold sellers, but is it really worth looking the other way as Blizzard starts selling gold in its subscription based MMO.

Frankly, I would love to see World of Warcraft can the subscription fee and go freemium. Until that happens, however, Blizzard's thinly veiled sale of in game power is rather disrespectful to its players. The Guardian Cub is a clever way to sell gold without causing inflation, but it also leaves no doubt that Blizzard is happily sliding down a hill they peered over the edge of back around the time of the Activision merger. I plan to stick it out and see what happens, but we sail dangerous seas my friends.

Feral Druid Guide to Hit and Expertise in Cataclysm

2011-01-03T12:17:00.000-05:00

Hit Rating and Expertise are important stats for Feral Druids to keep tabs on. Unfortunately, they can also be rather confusing. To help take some of the mystery out of these stats, I have put together a brief guide laying out everything you need to know about these stats and your performance as a Feral DPS or Feral tank. Read on after the bump to find the answers you have been looking for.
What is the Cataclysm Hit Cap?

The term "hit cap" references the amount of hit rating needed never to miss with any of your attacks. To reach the cap, all melee classes must raise their chance to hit chance by 8%. Reaching that magic 8% requires just under 961 points of Hit rating. As a result, the Cataclysm hit cap for Feral Druids is 961.

Does a Feral Tank Need to be at the Hit Cap?

The short answer is no. Hit is helpful to a Feral tank because an attack that misses is an attack that generates no threat. It is also impossible to crit and therefore trigger Savage Defense when an attack misses. As a result, hit does help our survivability, albeit astoundingly incidentally. There are, however, other stats which generate more threat and survivability point per point than hit.

As for how much hit you need, the answer varies depending on what you intend to do. Should you plan to do progression raiding, you should probably aim to at least be close to the cap. Misses add unpredictability to your performance which might lead to problems in a high end raiding environment. If, however, you just plan to run Heroics, you will never miss so long as you have at least 721 Hit rating since your base chance to miss a Cataclysm Heroic boss is less than the base chance to miss a raid boss. Getting close to that number would then serve you well.

Generally, you want to make sure the number of times you miss your target is limited. So long as you have only a small chance to miss, it is generally a bad idea for a Feral Tank sacrifice other threat (like Crit) and survivability (like Dodge) stats simply to reach the hit cap.

Does a Feral DPS Need to be at the Hit Cap?

Misses deal no damage. A miss can also complicate the already challenging Cat Form rotation. As a result, Feral DPS players should aim to reach the hit cap. Obviously a Cat still can be functional with a small miss chance, but reaching full dps potential in raids will likely require the full 961 points. Keep in mind though, that for Heroics, the cap is only 721.

What is the Cataclysm Expertise Cap?

Expertise reduces the chance that an enemy will avoid your attacks by dodging or parrying them. A raid boss has a 6.5% chance to dodge your attacks and a 14% chance to parry them. These chances can be reduced and hypothetically eliminated with sufficient amounts of Expertise.

At just above 195 Expertise, you can completely remove the chance that a raid boss will dodge your abilities. At that point, a boss would still have a 7.5% chance to parry. To eliminate that remaining parry chance requires a total of just over 420 Expertise. The "soft cap" for Expertise is then 195 because that is the point at which further Expertise will no longer reduce both dodge and parry chance, but instead will reduce only parry chance. The "hard cap" for Expertise on the other hand is 420 as after that point additional Expertise will be entirely wasted.

How Much Expertise Does a Feral Tank Need?

Expertise plays a similar role to hit for Feral Tanks. More Expertise means fewer of your abilities not connecting, which means more threat and potential Savage Defense up time. Up until the "soft cap" of 195, Expertise actually provides more threat per point than Hit. Until that cap is reached, Expertise is then a fairly valuable stat for Feral Tanks. Gemming or reforging for it is generally discouraged, however, as those stat points would be better spent on Agility and Dodge.

As for the "hard cap" of 420 Expertise, hitting it is entirely unrealistic. As a result, just know that Expertise is a pretty useful threat stat for Feral Tanks until 195 and still conveys some appreciable benefit even thereafter.

How Much Expertise Does a Feral DPS Need?

Since a good Cat Form Druid will not be attacking a boss from the front, Feral DPS players do not need to worry about parries. Unlike a player, however, a boss can dodge attacks from behind. Since Dodged attacks do no damage and mess up a Cat's rotation, a Feral DPS should look to eliminate a boss's dodge chance by reaching the "soft" Expertise cap of 195. Generally speaking, any Expertise beyond that will be wasted.

Hopefully this guide takes some of the mystique out of these important stats. Did you find the guide helpful? Are you having trouble hitting your Hit and Expertise target numbers? Are there any other stats which you feel could use some additional explanation? Let me know in the comments.

Reforging for Feral Tanks in Cataclysm

2011-01-03T11:11:00.001-05:00

Cataclysm introduced a new form of item customization called Reforging. Through Reforging, a player can take a certain percentage of an items secondary stats, such as Mastery, Haste, or Crit, and trade them for another. The system is still new, however, so many players are left confused as to which stats should be Reforged out of and into. For Feral Tanks, read on after the bump to find out how you should Reforge your gear to get the most our of every piece of equipment.

Generally speaking, you will want to Reforge into Dodge rating. If your Hit rating is terribly low and misses are affecting your ability to tank, you could consider Reforging into some Hit. Generally speaking, however, additional Dodge will be the best use of your Reforges.

As for which stats to Reforge out of, it depends on the current state of your gear. If you are over the Hit cap, meaning you could lose some Hit rating and still never miss, you will definitely want to Reforge your excess Hit into Dodge. You should also be sure to Reforge out of any completely useless stats such as Parry or Block. Ideally, however, you should just try to replace those pieces as they will still not be great for a Feral Tank even after a Reforge.

Once you can no longer give up Hit while staying above the cap and you run out of useless stats, you should then start Reforging your Haste into Dodge. Haste's benefit to our threat generation is relatively minimal and its bonus to our survivability is almost negligible, so don't feel bad about trading in as much of it as possible. You could also consider swapping out some Expertise for Dodge, but never do so unless you are over the soft cap of 195 Expertise.

Have you taken the time to Reforge your gear? Are you a fan of this new system? Would you do things differently? Let me know in the comments.

Warcraft New Year's Resolutions

2010-12-31T08:36:00.001-05:00

It is a time honored tradition that at the beginning of a New Year, people make pledges to do or stop doing things so as to make the coming year better than the last. In keeping with that trend, I decided it might be entertaining to put together my list of World of Warcraft New Year's resolutions. Feel free to read them through and maybe even adopt them as your own after the bump.

I Resolve to Keep Digging

I really like Archeology, but it takes forever to level it up and even longer to reap some of its more impressive rewards. Nevertheless, in the coming year I plan to max out Archeology and obtain a couple of the professions fancier rewards along the way. I'll consider this resolution met once I have hit the skill cap, found the recipe for Vial of the Sands, found at least one Archeology mount, and completed an account bound epic. Hopefully my hands callous before they blister.

I Resolve to Experience New Azeroth

Once my main has reaped all the rewards he can this side of raiding, I will be turning my attention to a brand new alt. I am leaning towards creating a Goblin, though a Worgen is also on the table. As for classes, I am torn between a Hunter and a Shaman. Regardless of which way those winds blow, I am resolved to level said alt via questing all the way to level 85. I love the quest flows in the new Cataclysm zones and have heard tell that the revamped classic zones bear a similar allure. It will be nice to depart from my standard chained instance runs method of leveling and go back to something simpler and solo for the New Year.

I Resolve to Dump Outdated Gear

My name is Pathis and I am a World of Warcraft hoarder. I can't stand selling or, Algalon forbid, deleting my old gear and items. As a result, my bags, banks, and mailboxes are all overflowing with useless crap nobody would ever wear or want. Hopefully, next year, that will change as I pledge to start getting rid of things I have no realistic use for anymore. This one will likely be my toughest Warcraft resolution, but hey, if it something isn't tough, it probably isn't worth doing.

What are your World of Warcraft resolutions for next year? Do you plan to share any of my resolutions? Let me know in the comments.

Druid Digest Mailbag: Archeology Digging and Gearscore Rigging

2010-12-30T08:30:00.002-05:00

Happy holidays everyone! I get a lot of questions from readers via email and respond to every one. The other day, however, I was thinking that other readers might have the same questions and might just not have taken the time to ask. Towards that end, I have decided to start a new segment on the blog called the Druid Digest Mailbag.

Your questions will be the stars of these posts, so please submit any questions you might have to me at DruidPathis@gmail.com. Put "Druid Digest Mailbag" in the subject line and I will do my best to work your question into my next post. Check out our first group of reader submitted questions after the bump.

Archeology seems really slow to level. Is there any way to speed up leveling Archeology?

Unfortunately, no matter how you go about it, getting your Archeology all the way to 525 is going to take a long time. There are, however, a couple things you can do to make things slightly faster. First and foremost do not solve any items until your Archeology skill has reached 100. Up until 100, you can get skill ups from finding fragments. After that point, the only way to gain skill points is by solving artifacts. To be as efficient as possible, you will then want to save all of your solving until after you no longer get skill points from gathering. Your fragments roll over so they will not go to waste.

Additionally, be sure to use Keystones whenever you have them available. Each Keystone is worth 12 fragments and there is no real benefit to saving them considering extra fragments roll over to your next project. Also, consider setting your Survey ability to a hotkey. I use "F" because it is easy to hit. Lastly, Druids and Shaman can Survey in Travel Form and Ghost Wolf.

What is the easiest way to meet the Cataclysm heroic ilevel requirement?

The heroic ilevel requirements seem like much more of a barrier than they actually are. Crafted gear, auction house BoEs, and faction rewards are the real keys to hitting your ilevel target as quickly and painlessly as possible. You can also trick the requirement in a number of ways just like you can trick gear score. If you rely just on dungeon drops, it will take you a while to get into heroics, but a combination of the above tactics, quest rewards, and a few lucky drops should have you heroic "ready" within a couple days.

Which profession is the easiest to level from 1 to 525?

With the introduction of flying in Azeroth, Herbalism and Mining are both incredibly easy to cap. Depending on how much competition you encounter for nodes, you could reach either of these profession caps within a single afternoon. Skinning is also really easy, but adds the extra step of needing to kill and loot mobs.

Most of the crafting professions can also be relatively painless, but only if you are willing to shell out tons of gold to buy materials. Tailoring is probably the easiest and cheapest to push through, but it will still be expensive. Enchanting also isn't too bad, but tends to be a bit more expensive and you need to worry about getting new rods every so often. Even if you have the gold, if ease of leveling is important to you, you should probably stay away from Jewelcrafting. The profession's materials and recipes can be a bear to come by.

Which Cataclysm reputation should I grind first?

It depends a lot on your class, spec and current needs. For Feral and Balance Druids, I have put together a guide which you might find helpful. For everyone else, Therazane is always a safe bet. The faction offers a ring for any class and the shoulder enchants you get there will never go out of style. The Tol'Barad factions also have a number of interesting rewards that make it worth participating in battles.

After that, set your sights on whatever faction offers useful epic equipment. You can then chase blue upgrades based on which of your slots need the most love or push to your helm enchant.

Don't forget to email your questions to DruidPathis@gmail.com with "Druid Digest Mailbag" in the subject line to have them featured in a future post!

Cataclysm Heroics: Making Better Raiders?

2010-12-29T11:01:00.000-05:00

Let me say right off the bat that I do not believe that Cataclysm Heroics are overly difficult. I also, however, do not side with the camp that argues they are too easy. Can they be rolled by a well geared raiding guild? Of course they can. Do they pose a significant challenge to a randomly assembled crew fresh out of the normal dungeons? You better bet they do. With that in mind, are these five player instances serving their purpose? I think they are and find out why after the bump.

Serving Old Purposes

Since the advent of Heroic Dungeons, they have served two purposes. First, they provide endgame content for exceptionally casual instance runners and second, they provide gear to prepare players for raiding. For the sake of being confusing, let's look at the second purpose first. Cataclysm's Heroics provide entry level raid gear through drops, badges, and incidentally through the faction rewards earned by wearing reputation generating tabards. With a proper knowledge and execution of the mechanics of Cataclysm's first tier raids, players decked out in nothing but the gear available through Heroics can succeed. It is then easy to say that Cataclysm's Heroics serve their "gear farm" purpose.

Looking next to the endgame needs of the very casual, there are some legitimate concerns. An incredibly casual player with no knowledge of fight mechanics and little gear from normal mode dungeons will not advance through a Cataclysm Heroic on his or her own merits. They require too much coordination and the damage output is too high for such a player to succeed. As a result, many of these players are being exceptionally critical of the level of difficulty for Heroics. I would argue, however, that said criticism is misplaced.

For an exceptionally casual player, Heroic Dungeons are meant to serve as an endgame endeavor just as current tier raids are meant to serve as an endgame goal for more serious raiders. They are the end of the line in terms of not only gear available, but challenge presented as well. A player without decent normal dungeon gear or knowledge of encounter mechanics easily clearing a Heroic is the equivalent of a raider easily clearing Bastion of Twilight without any Heroic gear. If Heroics were already easily cleared without significant time spent in their normal counterparts, a link would be missing in the progression chain and casual players would find themselves "progression capped" less than a month after Cataclysm's release. As a result, I believe Cataclysm's Heroics serve their causal endgame purpose because they are challenging, not in spite of it.

Serving a New Purpose

Interesting, hard hitting mechanics in Heroics are not new features that were introduced in Cataclysm. What sets the Cataclysm Heroics apart from their predecessors is that the margin of error for said mechanics is much smaller. Whereas a failure of execution in a Wrath of the Lich King Heroic might result in a slightly longer fight or perhaps a single player's death, many mistakes in the Cataclysm Heroics will result in an irreversible if not instant wipe. Hence the increased challenge in Cataclysm's Heroics comes not from the complexity of the mechanics themselves, but instead from the precision with which those mechanics must be executed.

Warcraft has always expected a high level of individual awareness and execution from players when raiding. Even back in the days of Baron Geddon in Molten Core, a single player mishandling Living Bomb could wipe a forty man raid. Aside from the number of players involved, it has been fair to say that the major difference between raid content and dungeon content is how forgiving the encounters are.

By bringing some of the punishing, high awareness requirements of raid encounters to Cataclysm's Heroics, Blizzard has allowed them to serve a new purpose. Whereas before, Heroics were a gear factory for raids, they are now a training camp as well. Heroic dungeons require a level of knowledge and execution much more akin to that typically reserved for raids.

While many would complain this will drive non-raiders away, I would argue differently. Though it is unavoidable that some players will leave Azeroth in light of these new challenges, odds are most players will adapt to them. They will learn the mechanics and, through practice, develop the skills needed to execute them. As a result, the technical skill of the overall player base will not only increase, but also more and more players will develop a mental approach to clearing instances that translates easily into clearing raids.

Obviously, even with the conditioning of less forgiving Heroics, players without the time to raid will not raid. For those who do have the time, however, if they have geared themselves through Heroics, they should enter Cataclysm's raids as better prepared and more aware players. This will result in one of two things. Either greater success amongst average raids in clearing endgame content or an open door for Blizzard to design even more complex and challenging raid encounters. Either way, the difficulty level of Cataclysm's Heroics should improve the quality of Cataclysm's raid groups which is a good thing any way you slice it.

Is the Cataclysm Heroic Difficulty Just Right?

I am not sure if the difficulty of each Cataclysm Heroic encounter is just right, but I think the increased difficulty level is good overall. These instances still serve their traditional roles of supplying gear and providing an endgame goal for casual players while also challenging players to improve their quality of play. Sure, those players who do not want to set aside time to learn encounters or farm gear will be frustrated by Cataclysm's Heroics, but they still have the normal and outdated instances available for a relatively painless clear. Also, the Heroics will become more forgiving as average gear levels rise, so even the least competitive player should be able to roll through them well before the expansion has run its course.

Do you enjoy or appreciate the difficulty level of Cataclysm's Heroics? What long term impact do you think they will have on raiding in Cataclysm? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Cataclysm Faction Rewards for Balance Druids

2010-12-20T14:03:00.001-05:00

World of Warcraft Cataclysm introduced a number of new Factions that players can improve their standing with through questing and/or wearing special reputation tabards while running level 85 instances. The other day I presented a list of all the Cataclysm Faction Rewards for Feral Druids. Today I will be giving Balance Druids the same treatment. Find out what faction gear every Moonkin will want to get their hands on after the bump.
Hellscream's Reach/Baradin's Wardens (Tol Barad)

Stump of Time (Trinket)
Insidious Staff (Staff)
Shimmering Morningstar (1H Mace)
Baradin Grunt's Talisman/Baradin Footman's Tags (Trinket)
Tol Barad Searchlight (Vanity Item)
Rustberg Gull (Pet)
Spectral Wolf/Spectral Stead (Ground Mount)
Drake of the West Wind (Flying Mount)
Hellscream's Reach/ Baradin's Wardens Tabard (Tabard)
Consumables to Use in Tol Barad and a Battle Standard

The Earthen Ring
Cloak of Ancient Wisdom (Back)
Leggings of Clutching Roots (Legs)
Pendant of Elemental Balance (Neck)

Therazane
Lesser/Greater Inscription of Charged Lodestone (Shoulder Enchant)
Diamant's Ring of Temperance (Finger)

Guardians of Hyjal

Aessina-Blessed Gloves (Hands)
Cloak of the Dryads (Back)

Ramkahen
Ammunae's Blessing (Finger)
Brown/Tan Riding Camel (Mount)

Dragonmaw Clan/Wildhammer Clan
Yellow Smoke Pendant/Lightning Flash Pendant (Neck)
Withered Dream Belt/Belt of the Untamed (Waist)
Band of Lamentation/Band of Singing Grass (Finger)
Spaulders of Endless Plains/Mantel of Wild Feathers (Shoulders)

The Game Plan

A quick glance at the above list should give you a pretty good idea where to devote your attention. Tol Barad has some interesting vanity rewards as well as a couple trinkets and a weapon. There is no reason not to take advantage of these battles and daily quests when you can, especially if your faction is in control of the zone as it is pitifully easy to defend.

As for which other faction to focus your attention and tabard slot on, Dragonmaw/Wildhammer reputation will give you the most bang for your buck. Aside from the Tol Barad trinket, there are only two reputation based epic armor pieces available for Moonkins and both of them can be found in the care of the Dragonmaw and Wildhammer. Hit them early and hit them hard.

After you unlock your reputation epics, you can either work towards your shoulder enchant with Therszane or pick up a couple decent blues from the Earthen Ring. Really, it depends on what slots you need upgrades for. The same goes for finishing out with Ramkahen and Guardians of Hyjal.

In summary, as a starting point I would rank the Cataclysm Factions as follows for gearing up your Balance Druid:
1. Dragonmaw Clan/Wildhammer Clan
2. Hellscream's Reach/Baradin's Wardens (Tol Barad)
3. Therazane
4. The Earthen Ring
5. Ramkahen
6. Guardians of Hyjal

Do you like the fact that both Moonkin epics are to be found with one set of factions? Do you find it odd that the Guardians of Hyjal have so little to offer caster Druids? Which rewards will you be seeking first? Let me know in the comments. Also be sure to check out our guide for Feral Druids and keep your eyes open for our Restoration guide which will be coming soon.

Cataclysm Faction Rewards for Feral Druids

2010-12-16T16:30:00.001-05:00

World of Warcraft Cataclysm introduced a number of new Factions that players can improve their standing with through questing and/or wearing special reputation tabards while running level 85 instances. Each of these Factions offers a variety of powerful rewards, but it can be tough to sift through them to decide which Faction has the most to offer your particular class and spec. To make things easier for my Druid brothers and sisters, I have done all the leg work for you. Check out my list of Faction reputation gear for Feral Druids as well as my recommendations for advancing your factions after the bump.

Hellscream's Reach/Baradin's Wardens (Tol Barad)
Unsolvable Riddle (Trinket)
Mirror of Broken Images (Trinket - Tanking)
Spear of Trailing Shadows (Polearm)
Baradin Grunt's Talisman/Baradin Footman's Tags (Trinket)
Tol Barad Searchlight (Vanity Item)
Rustberg Gull (Pet)
Spectral Wolf/Spectral Stead (Ground Mount)
Drake of the West Wind (Flying Mount)
Hellscream's Reach/ Baradin's Wardens Tabard (Tabard)
Consumables to Use in Tol Barad and a Battle Standard

The Earthen Ring
Signet of the Elder Council (Ring)
Softwind Cape (Back)
Arcanum of the Earthen Ring (Head Enchant - Tanking)

Therazane
Terrath's Signet of Balance (Ring)
Lesser/Greater Inscription of Unbreakable Quarts (Shoulder Enchant - Tanking)
Lesser/Greater Inscription of the Shattered Crystal (Shoulder Enchant - DPS)

Guardians of Hyjal
Acorn of the Daughter Tree (Neck)
Nightrend Choker (Neck)
Sly Fox Jerkin (Chest)

Ramkahen
Brown/Tan Riding Camel (Mount)
Arcanum of Ramkahen (Head Enchant - DPS)
Quicksand Belt (Waist)

Dragonmaw Clan/Wildhammer Clan
Liar's Handwraps/Stormbolt Gloves (Hands)
Leggings of the Impenitent/Swiftflight Leggings (Legs)

The Game Plan

The Tol Barad Factions offer some nice rewards both in terms of actual gear and vanity items, so there is no reason not to work on them by completing daily quests and engaging in battles. There is no reputation tabard available for Hellscream's Reach or Baradin's Wardens, so you do not need to choose these factions over any others, simply work on them when the battles happen and when you have time to do the daily quests.

As for the other Factions, The Earthen Ring and the Dragonmaw/Wildhammer Clans each offer Epics which would fit nicely in any Feral Druid's gear set. If you are a Feral Tank, I would suggest hitting The Earthen Ring First as you would pick up not only a great set of gloves, but also unlock your ideal Arcanum.

As an alternative, you could also start out with Therazane. Gear-wise you will only pick up a blue ring, but you will be unlocking some really nice shoulder enchants. These enchants should be useful the entire expansion and, the gear you pick up while grinding out your Therazane reputation may help you make wiser choices on which order to work through the other Factions.

If you are a Feral DPS, Ramkahen would be a good next choice so that you can unlock your Arcanum. If you are a tank, however, you could choose Guardians of Hyjal instead depending on what gear slots you desperately need an upgrade for.

In summary, as a starting point I would rank the Cataclysm Factions as follows for gearing up your Feral Druid:
1. Hellscream's Reach/Baradin's Wardens (Tol Barad)
2. Therazane
3. The Earthen Ring
4. Dragonmaw Clan/Wildhammer Clan
5. Ramkahen (if DPS)
6. Guardians of Hyjal

Which faction rewards are you most excited about? How will you be tweaking your Faction progression order? Let me know in the comments. Also, stay tuned for similar guides for Balance and Restoration Druids!

Best Feral DPS Spec in 4.0.1 and Cataclysm

2010-12-01T13:56:00.000-05:00

In light of all the positive response to our post on the Best Feral Tanking Spec for 4.0.1, I decided to give our friends on the Feral DPS side of the coin the same treatment. As with Feral tanking, there is currently one clearly superior spec for cats in Cataclysm. There is, however, a little wiggle room especially in terms of which talents to pick up before reaching 85. Find out why I choose these talents and which you should pickup today after the bump:

Tier One Feral

Tier One is filled with great talents and ultimately any good cat will want to pick them all up. For starters, Predatory Strikes is outstanding and should be maxed out immediately. Feral Swiftness is also a must have. Positioning is exceptionally important for any melee dps, but is particularly critical for back attackers like Cat Form Druids. Faster movement means more time in position and maximized dps. Furor is a solid investment as well. It let's you shift out to aid your group with heals, a Rebirth, or some crowd control without severely gimping your damage.

Tier Two Feral

For Tier Two, I again recommend picking up everything. Fury Swipes and Primal Fury both translate into substantial dps gains and cannot be overlooked. Similarly, since cats will be using Ferocious Bite a lot more now especially during execute phases, Feral Aggression is a worthwhile use of your points.

I would also recommend putting two points into Infected Wounds. These points could be flexed to Brutal Impact however, particularly if you have another Feral Druid in your group capable of providing the debuff or if you find yourself frequently using Skull Bash. Really it is a matter of personal preference, I just find the utility of the movement and attack speed debuffs to outweigh the benefits of more frequent Skull Bashes.

Tier Three Feral

Mobility translates directly into extra dps, so there is no reason to live without Feral Charge, especially with the addition of Stampede. These three talent points not only make you incredibly mobile, but also allow you to Ravage from out of stealth and multiple times if you can manage to squeeze in more than one Charge during the course of an encounter. Thick Hide is for tanks and should be skipped.

King of the Jungle makes Tiger's Fury even more potent and is a wise use of your talent points. It also opens up the path to another valuable talent farther down the tree. Take this talent and be sure to wait until your Energy is low before you pop Tiger's Fury.

Tier Four Feral

Leader of the Pack is as great as it has always been both in terms of a benefit to your group mates and the incidental healing you receive. The mana refunds are also helpful should you find yourself frequently shifting out to help your group with spells. I avoided Brutal Impact, but you could choose to put points here instead of Infected Wounds depending on your play-style. Though Nurturing Instinct won't increase your personal dps, it is a huge boon to your soon to be mana strapped healers and should not be passed over. It also makes you capable of shifting and spreading out some decent heals should an emergency arise.

Tier Five Feral

Survival Instincts is an awesome defensive cooldown but not necessarily a great use of a point for a cat. I would skip it, though you could pick it up with an Infected Wounds or Brutal Impact point if you are committed to having and using it. Similarly, Natural Reaction is just for Feral tanking and does nothing to your cat form, so pass it over.

Endless Carnage is a great talent which goes a long way to smooth out your complicated rotation. It is a good place to park two points. I would also recommend Primal Madness as it makes your Tigers Fury and King of the Jungle combo even more potent. Just be sure to try to hit Tigers Fury when you are just under sixty Energy to get the talent's maximum effect.

Tier Six Feral

Blood in the Water (formerly Nom Nom Nom) is a must have talent which finally gives cats an execute phase. The ability to ignore Rip and use Ferocious Bite instead will really up your damage output during the last 25% of an enemy's health bar. Rend and Tear is also a damage superstar and cannot be skipped. The boost to our Shred damage and Ferocious Bite critical strike percentage is almost unbelievable. Pulverize, however, is a new bear tanking toy and you should avoid it.

Tier Seven Feral

I would hope I don't need to tell you to take Berserk!

Tier One Restoration

A 10% boost to your attack power from Heart of the Wild is well worth the price of admission. Eventually we will also want Natural Shapeshifter to get at Master Shapeshifter, but for now the mana cost reduction simply isn't a wise use of points. Once you hit max level however, then you will want to have Natural Shapeshifter and Master Shapeshifter. While we are stuck at level 80, just stick your points in Heart of the Wild and the Feral tree instead.

Are you excited about the new Feral DPS execute phase? What is your favorite cat talent? Are you prepared to shift in and out of cat form to help your groups come Cataclysm? Let me know in the comments.

New Moonkin Pet Now Available

2010-11-30T07:49:00.001-05:00

A couple of new additions have just arrived in the Blizzard Store, one of which will be of particular interest to all the Druids out there. Head on over to the Store now to check out the Moonkin Hatchling. You can even feel good about your purchase as 50% of the sale proceeds go to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation. Check out the little bundle of joy in the video below.

Along with the Moonkin Hatchling, holiday shoppers can also get their hands on Lil' Ragnaros. Following in the tradition of Lil' XT and Lil' Kel'Thuzad, this raid boss turned companion makes an adorable addition to any pet collector's stable. Unlike the Moonkin Hatchling, this pet's sales don't contribute to any cause besides Blizzard's coffers. Feel free to take the tiny Fire Lord home, but don't think your doing anyone else a favor. Check out Lil' Ragnaros' hammer tossing skills in the video below.

Would you ever spend your hard earned cash on an in game pet? Do you plan to pick up either of these offerings? Let me know in the comments.

Cataclysm is Coming

2010-11-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

We are now officially only one week away from Cataclysm's release, so it is time to nail down your plans for the opening days of the expansion. Some people may elect to race to level 85 as quickly as possible, either to simply get straight to the new endgame or to compete for prestigious Realm Firsts. Others might be planning to take their time, soaking in all the new content. Still others may still be unsure of what exactly they want to do come Cataclysm.

For my part, I have a couple goals for the expansions early days. At one point, I had toyed around with the idea of racing to level 85. My best estimate is that a competitive run from level 80 to 85 would take me about 36 hours of marathon play. I seriously considered it, but have decided against it for a couple reasons. First and foremost, I'm not as young as I used to be. At one time, a 36 hour gaming marathon would have been no big deal. I could have managed it without excessive fatigue or headaches and could have bounced back after just a few hours sleep. These days, however, I could see the process becoming agonizing. I would also probably render myself useless for the next week.

Another reason I have elected not to rush to 85 is that I really do not want to trivialize all the new content. I was in the beta and toyed around with it enough to know that there is a ton of fantastic content coming our way in Cataclysm. Blasting through to level 85 would make that content more of an obstacle than an experience. I remember racing to level 70 when Burning Crusade was released and, when I was done, being stripped of any desire to go back and actually experience that content. Further, I was so burnt out from the process of getting to level 70 that I was not all that into raiding for the month or so that followed. I plan to learn from that lesson in Cataclysm.

Now that I have gone over what I will not be doing in Cataclysm, I guess it is time to write a bit about what I actually will be doing. Just because I will not be racing to 85 doesn't mean I do not plan to do any racing. I hope to race to max out my Herbalism and maybe, depending on how things are going on December 7, to max out my Alchemy as well. That way I can land (or at least compete for) a "Realm First" Achievement without losing a whole day and my sanity.

After my profession blitz, I plan to approach Cataclysm the same way I approached Wrath of the Lich King. I will gradually quest and instance my way to 85. When WotLK came out, I pledged to read every piece of quest text as I pushed to 80. The result was one of the best leveling experiences I have ever had. For anyone who is interested in World of Warcraft's story, I would encourage you to make the same promise to yourself. You will be setting yourself up to really stretch the value of Cataclysm and also to have a rich and fulfilling leveling experience that will have you good to go when you reach endgame.

What are your plans for Cataclysms early days? What is the first thing you will do come release?

Deathy the Murlock Video

2010-11-02T09:05:00.000-04:00

Those who attended Blizzcon this year or who paid for the digital download were treated to yet another in game Murloc companion. This years pet is Deathy and he is clearly a fan of Deathwing, Cataclysm's main antagonist.

Currently on the live realms, Deathy shares animations with the Murloc Space-Marine, but Blizzard has promised unique animations are on the way. Thankfully, the good folks over at MMO Champion have put together a video showing us what to expect from this pint-sized world destroyer.

Is this one of the coolest pets ever? I think so, but be sure to tell me what you think in the comments.

Balance Druid Rotation in 4.0.1

2010-10-18T10:12:00.000-04:00

In World of Warcraft Patch 4.0.1 Balance Druids were given a new resource to manage in the form of an updated Eclipse mechanic. As a result, Moonkins find themselves quickly trying to smooth out a new rotation. Lucky for you, I have already done the heavy lifting. After the bump, you will find everything you need to know about the Balance Druid spell rotation in Patch 4.0.1.

Basic 4.0.1 Moonkin Spell Rotation

As with before the patch, your rotation primarily consists of keeping up your DoTs and alternating Wrath and Starfire as your primary nuke. Generally speaking, you will want to open up with Moonfire followed by Insect Swarm. Insect Swarm is the more powerful of our two DoTs and casting it after Moonfire allows it to more fully reap the benefits of Nature's Grace. Whenever Moonfire or Insect Swarm fall off, refresh them immediately. To maximize your dps, avoid clipping them (renewing them before their last tick goes off).

Aside from your DoTs, you will also need to pay attention to the new Balance ability Star Surge. Star Surge does a ton of damage and also helps you trigger an Eclipse sooner, so you will want to use it every time it's available. This means not only casting it whenever its cooldown timer is up, but also watching out for Shooting Stars procs and consuming them immediately.

Lastly, you will be alternating between casting Wrath and Starfire as your filler spell. As you spam Wrath as your filler, you will push your Eclipse bar towards a Lunar Eclipse. Once you hit the end of the bar, Lunar Eclipse will proc and it is time to start spamming Starfire instead. This will push the bar towards a Solar Eclipse which, once reached, will demand you go back to Wrath. Throughout a fight, you will simply seesaw back and forth between Starfire and Wrath switching immediately on Eclipse procs to maximize your dps.

Balance Cooldown Usage in 4.0.1

Now that we have the basics of the rotation down, it is time to consider cooldown usage. In terms of raw dps, there are only three cooldown abilities you need to worry about: Starfall, Force of Nature, and Thorns. Looking first at Starfall, you will want to cast it whenever it is off cooldown with the caveat that you should attempt to trigger it right at the beginning of a Lunar Eclipse whenever possible. Starfall benefits from Lunar Eclipse's Arcane damage boost. Using the spell at a beginning of a Lunar Eclipse then maximizes its damage for its full duration.

Force of Nature should also be used whenever available. Should a Shaman's Bloodlust/Heroism come into play, you will want to have your Treants out when the ability is activated as they benefit from the buff. You also of course want to be sure that you don't call out your three helpers during a time when they will be quickly killed by some boss attack or environmental hazard.

In terms of the dps you contribute to the group, casting Thorns every time it comes off cooldown is also a wise use of your global cooldowns. Unfortunately, however, the damage done by Thorns will not be attributed to you in the all powerful damage meters. As a result, using Thorns will appear to be a dps loss for you even though you are actually maximizing the damage you are generating. In short, if you want to be the best Moonkin you can be, use Thorns; if you just want to blow up the meters, don't.

4.0.1 Balance Druid Pro Tips

In terms of squeezing every last bit of performance out of your 4.0.1 Moonkin, there are a couple little tweaks you should keep in mind. Generally speaking, you will want to lead off with Wrath rather than Starfire. This is because a Lunar Eclipse is the best time to cast Starfall, so you will want to trigger a Lunar Eclipse as quickly as possible to get Starfall off cooldown early in an encounter.

Whenever you are moving, assuming your DoTs are refreshed and Shooting Stars hasn't triggered, you will want to spam Moonfire. Lunar Shower transforms Moonfire into our on the run filler. Obviously you won't be able to put up the same numbers spamming Moonfire that you would executing the rotation, but you can't settle into your rotation on the move. So when you are running, simply keep your DoTs up, watch out for Shooting Stars, and lay into Moonfire like there is no tomorrow.

If you decide to set your ego aside and use Thorns as available, I would recommend setting up a macro to cast the ability on your focus target. That way, whenever you are in a new raid or group all you need to do is select the main tank as your focus target and your Thorns will automatically land on the right person.

Lastly, should you have trinket or racial cooldowns to use, throw them out right at the beginning of the Lunar Eclipse where you are casting Starfall.

Was this guide helpful in making you a Moonkin superstar? Do you enjoy the new Moonkin spell rotation? Was enough changed to make things feel new? How would you like to see it improved? Let me know in the comments.

Best Feral Tanking Spec for 4.0.1

2010-10-15T13:58:00.000-04:00

Now that we have gone through how to Feral tank in patch 4.0.1, now it is time to make sure our talents are in the right place. At the moment, there appears to be one clearly superior spec for Feral tanking. Though there is some room to tweak the talent layout to suit your preferences and play-style, this spec will serve you well in terms of survivability and threat generation. Find out why I choose these talents after the bump:

Tier One Feral

Tier One is a no brainer as we have five points to spend and only five places to spend them. Predatory Strikes is just for cats.

Tier Two Feral

For Tier Two, I recommend picking up everything. In my opinion, Feral Aggression is the weak link of this Tier, but there is really nothing better to pick up for now. Ultimately, however, your going to want to reassign these points into Natural Shapeshifter in the Restoration tree so as to open up the second tier of that tree. For now though, it is impossible to reach Restoration Tier Two, so go ahead and pick this talent up.

Primal Fury is a must have talent for rage generation, especially considering the ridiculous critical strike percentages Feral Druids are seeing in 4.0.1. Infected Wounds is also necessary as the 20% attack speed debuff goes a long way towards reducing your incoming damage. Lastly, Fury Swipes increases your damage output which helps you hold agro. It is not as must have as the other two, but is a worthwhile use of your points.

Tier Three Feral

Obviously, a decent bear cannot live without Feral Charge, especially with the addition of Stampede. These three talent points not only make you an incredibly mobile tank, but also allow you to front end tons of threat with a 30% melee haste buff. Particularly skillful Druids can even find ways to Feral Charge multiple times during an encounter so as to get maximum mileage out of the Stampede buff. Thick Hide also cannot be missed and is necessary for any Druid who wants to tank.

I would encourage you to shy away from King of the Jungle. Doing 15% extra damage seems like a great use of points, but keep in mind that you will also be taking an additional 10% damage for the duration of Enrage. Do not give your healers a reason to hate you. Just skip this one.

Tier Four Feral

Leader of the Pack is as great as it has always been both in terms of a benefit to your group mates and the incidental healing you receive. Brutal Impact is also a decent place to put points as it dramatically decreases your Skull Bash cooldown while also providing a less striking boost to Bash. Even so, I would identify Brutal Impact as optional. Stay away from Nurturing Instinct.

Tier Five Feral

Survival Instincts is an awesome defensive cooldown and a wise use of a point. Similarly, Natural Reaction is a must have for Feral tanking. Endless Carnage is not a must have talent, but it does go a decent way to smooth out your tanking rotation. For now at least, it is a good place to park two points. Since I wouldn't recommend King of the Jungle, I can't recommend Primal Madness.

Tier Six Feral

Blood in the Water (formerly Nom Nom Nom) is clearly not for bears and should be skipped. Rend and Tear and Pulverize, however, are both staple bear talents. You cannot really afford to skip them over.

Tier Seven Feral

I would hope I don't need to tell you to take Berserk!

Tier One Restoration

Tanks like Stamina and the 10% boost from Heart of the Wild is well worth the price of admission. Eventually we will want Natural Shapeshifter to get at Perseverance and Master Shapeshifter, but for now the mana cost reduction simply isn't a wise use of points. Once you hit level 81, I would recommend you respec to pull the 2 points out of Feral Aggression and place them in Natural Shapeshifter so you can keep moving down the Restoration Tree.

Are you willing to miss out on two Feral Tree points for the next couple months to avoid a respec come Cataclysm? What is your favorite new bear tanking talent? Which talent do you miss the most? Let me know in the comments.

Blizzard Has Plans to Save Inscription in Cataclysm

2010-10-15T11:49:00.000-04:00

For those of you who were worried that the new glyph changes would drastically harm Inscription as a profitable enterprise in Cataclysm, it's time to worry slightly less. Blizzard has just announced that after level 80, swapping out a glyph will require a new reagent called Dust of Disappearance.

Though Dust of Disappearance will be sold by NPC Inscription vendors, it may also be made by scribes. Unlike with Vanishing Powder, however, Dust of Disappearance's 10 gold vendor price should still leave room for scribes to turn a profit by undercutting the greedy NPC's. Feel free to check out the official announcement on the forums.

It will be interesting to see how the dust settles for Inscription. Theoretically, the same number of Glyphs will continue to be produced as scribes level up their profession. Unfortunately, however, since the small market of players who swapped glyphs on a regular basis has been eliminated, demand will ultimately drop. This should tank prices. I am skeptical that Dust of Disappearance will make a huge impact on scribes' wallets, but Blizzard has frequently implied that they are none too concerned with the ability of the crafting professions to turn huge profits. Thankfully the current glyph boom should last well into the early months and diligent scribes may be able to make an expansion's worth of profit in the coming weeks alone.

Feral Tanking Guide for 4.0.1

2010-10-15T11:20:00.000-04:00

After a brief sabbatical, I have returned to Druid Digest just in time to help you sort through the confusion that is Patch 4.0.1 for World of Warcraft. As anyone who has logged onto the realms recently can tell you, World of Warcraft's mechanics have drastically changed. This is particularly true for everyone's favorite fur balls: Bear Tanks.

Don't panic though. Many have speculated that these changes may lead to the extinction of Feral Tanks, but I am here to help put those rumors to rest. Feral Tanks are every bit as viable as they were before the pre-Cataclysm patch. Are things more difficult? Absolutely, but using the tips I have outlined below, you will be back out there as a clawed threat machine before you know it. Read on after the bump.

What has Changed for Feral Tanks in 4.0?

In a nutshell, pretty much every Feral Tanking ability has changed in some way. Each of these changes introduces a little more complexity to a bear's rotation and the sum total is a dramatic increase in the amount of attention you need to pay to your spells and abilities.

You will also notice a significant loss of damage throughput, particularly on multiple targets. Do not worry, this is normal. Just be glad your survivability remains as potent as ever.

What is the 4.0.1 Feral Tank Single Target Rotation?

If your remember nothing else from this guide about single target tanking, remember that when Mangle is off cooldown use it. This means not only whenever your six seconds are up, but also when you Lacerate ticks proc the new Berserk effect. Mangle hits exceptionally hard now and generates tons of threat. Use it whenever you can.

Speaking of abilities to use whenever you can, do not forget about Maul. Maul is no longer activated on your next auto-attack, but it is still off the global cooldown. Unless you are rage starved (which you likely will not be until well into Cataclysm), hit Maul whenever it is off cooldown. If you do not want to worry about staying on top of Maul, feel free to macro the ability on the tail end of your other attacks. Just be cautious about draining too much rage.

The next thing you need to worry about are your Lacerate stacks and Pulverize. You will want to keep Lacerate at the maximum 3 stacks for as long as possible. You also want to assure that you have your Pulverize critical strike buff up 100% of the time always consuming a full three stacks. This means constantly building, rebuilding, and maintaining your Lacerate stacks and them dumping them with Pulverize right as you are about to lose your critical strike buff.

Feral Faerie Fire is a good place to dump free global cooldowns assuming you are meeting all of your targets above. This is especially true if there are no other sources of armor reduction in your group and you are not at a full 3 stacks. Regardless, the ability offers decent damage, solid threat, and serves as our only ranged attack.

Should you have the global cooldown and rage to spare, Swipe is a decent rage dump of last resort. Odds are you will be too busy juggling your other abilities to bother using Swipe on one target, but should you ever find yourself with nowhere else to direct your attention, it will fill a void.

As for your cooldowns, you can use them pretty much as you would have before. Berserk allows you to spam Mangle which is a relatively more powerful attack than before the patch. Use it whenever you need a heavy burst of threat. Though Survival Instincts, Frenzied Regeneration, and Barkskin have changed, all remain great defensive cooldowns which should be used as needed. Lastly, Enrage is a good way to get some extra rage, especially if you pick up the talent King of the Jungle and Primal Madness. Be wary of using it in combat, however, as it increases your damage received.

To pull a single target, be sure to Feral Charge to activate Stampede. As you are Charging, throw down a Feral Faerie Fire and once you are in melee range it's time to Mangle and Maul. Then settle in as per the instructions above.

How Do You Multi-Target Tank as Feral in 4.0.1?

Swipe spam is gone and it is not coming back. It is best to get your head around that as soon as possible so as to move on and start learning to deal with the tanking tools we have. I will readily admit that dealing with multiple adds is significantly tougher now, but it is still manageable if you adhere to some of the following tips and tricks.

First, even though Swipe now has a 6 second cooldown, it is still your best friend in terms of locking down and holding large packs of mobs. The cooldown simply means that you need to be more cautious when you first use it. When charging into a pack of mobs, try to position yourself carefully so that your very first Swipe hits every single target. You won't get another shot at it for six seconds, so you really need to hit as many targets as possible with that first Swipe. Even when pulling mobs back to you with Feral Faerie Fire, wait until they all reach you before taking a Swipe at them. After that first Swipe, use it every time the cooldown is up as soon as you can.

Maul is another ability you will want to be using as often as you can on large mob packs, particularly once you pick up Glyph of Maul. Tab through your targets and throw out a Maul every time its cooldown pops. You can track which targets you have hit recently by looking at Infected Wounds debuffs. Try to land each Maul on a target either without the debuff or with very little time left on the debuff. This will assure you are spreading your Mauls as evenly as possible through a mob pack.

Just as you are spreading your Mauls around, you will also want to be laying down Mangles on as many different mobs as you can. Here you will again be looking to apply the Infected Wounds debuff to all of your mobs. For particularly challenging AoE pulls, consider using Berserk. Randomly tabbing through targets and spamming Berserk enhanced Mangles is an easy way to hold packs of mobs, especially if you do not neglect Swipe when it is available.

With your spare global cooldowns, you can go in one of two directions. First, you can use them to spread Lacerates around your many targets. I would recommend, however, using those cooldowns to try and get a full Pulverize debuff up and running. I would rather have 9% extra crit for all of my Swipes, Mangles, and Mauls than a bunch of single stacked Lacerates slowly ticking away. The choice is up to you though as either approach contributes to your ability to hold the mobs.

As a last tip for multi-target tanking in 4.0.1, consider casting Thorns on yourself right before the pull. Thorns does a ton of damage now and you can use all the help you can get. Also, as always, do not neglect your defensive cooldowns.

Hopefully these tips will help you return Bear tanks to their former glory. What are the biggest challenges you have faced tanking since the patch? Let me know in the comments.

Cataclysm Druid Armor Set Bonuses

2010-08-29T08:45:00.112-04:00

I am a big fan of armor set bonuses. They present Blizzard with the opportunity to gift new and interesting class mechanics upon dedicated raiders. When we review the List of Druid Set Bonuses, we see that the developers have frequently taken advantage of the chance to flex their creative muscles. The transformation of Enrage into a defensive cooldown in tier ten, the instant cast Starfires in tier eight, and critical Rejuvenation ticks in tier nine; each succeeded in changing the way a particular spec played.

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.

The first tier bonus for most armor sets tends to be a slightly flat, percentage based boost to a class ability or mechanic. As for the four piece bonuses, they have historically provided stronger, more varied boosts to the mechanics of core class abilities. When designing my set bonuses, I tried to be as realistic as possible. This meant keeping the bonuses reasonably limited as well as targeting abilities being emphasized in Cataclysm.

Cataclysm Balance Tier Bonuses

2/5 Balance Tier 11 Set Bonus: Your Moonfire deals an extra 10% damage.

4/5 Balance Tier 11 Set Bonus: Whenever you generate Solar or Lunar Energy, you have a 15% chance to generate an additional 1 Solar Energy or 2 Lunar Energy.

I chose to give Moonfire some love for the two piece bonus because it is being reborn as a Moonkin's "run and gun" spell of choice come Cataclysm. Since the spell will be getting more use, it makes sense for it to be slightly more powerful. On the other hand, spamming the ability still remains somewhat situational, so this buff doesn't risk becoming too powerful.

For the four piece bonus, Blizzard has clearly put tons of work into the new Eclipse mechanic, so it only made sense that it would be a big target for a set bonus. I designed the bonus the way I did because a number of Balance Druids have complained that Cataclysm's Eclipse system is still too mechanical and predictable. Injecting some RNG into Solar and Lunar power generation would certainly help shake things up.

Cataclysm Feral Tier Bonuses

2/5 Feral Tier 11 Set Bonus: Your bleed effects also increase auto-attack damage you deal to the target by 15%.

4/5 Feral Tier 11 Set Bonus: Your Berserk ability now also grants you a 30% increased chance to resist spells and a 15% auto-attack speed increase for its duration.

A number of Cataclysm changes, including Fury Swipes and the redesign for Savage Roar, have made auto-attacks a more significant portion of Feral damage. My first tier 11 set bonus plays to that trend by allowing a Feral Druid's many bleed effects to also increase auto-attack damage. Though this bonus might seem less of a benefit for bears, I am of the school of though that threat generation is 50% of a tank's job.

For the 4 piece bonus, I decided to bump up Berserk's utility. Even today, I still get questions about whether or not Berserk is any good for bears (yes it is, in fact Glyph of Berserk isn't a terrible choice for bears). This set bonus should put all questions to rest by not only making the ability a potent defensive cooldown, but also appreciably buffing attack speed for its duration.

Cataclysm Restoration Tier Bonuses

2/5 Restoration Tier 11 Set Bonus: Your Swiftmend spell now hardens the skin of your target, reducing all damage taken by that target by 10% for 5 seconds.

4/5 Restoration Tier 11 Set Bonus: Increases the duration of Tree of Life by 15 seconds and reduces its cooldown by 1 minute.

Swiftmend is one of a Restoration Druid's few panic buttons, yet it is not particularly exciting or interesting to use. I liken it to Holy Shock, except there is a penalty for using without the glyph. Allowing the spell to not only provide burst healing, but also mitigate incoming damage for a short period of time would make things much more interesting. Do you pop it needlessly on the tank to slightly reduce the burden on the other healers or do you save it for emergencies, now with an even greater chance of keeping your heal target alive? In my opinion, those are more interesting choices than the current "I don't have any other way to save them" usage of the spell.

For the second tier 11 bonus, I knew I had to do something with Tree of Life. The Tree of Life revamp is really the only major change coming to Restoration Druids in Cataclysm. Rather than simply having Tree of Life be more powerful, I instead choose to have it be available more often. I do not think a potential 25% up time would be troublesome as the 4 minute cooldown is still just long enough to make it situational. Further, 45 seconds every 5 minutes just isn't enough for a core spec feature. Come on, even Metamorphosis is on a 3 minute timer!

What tier bonuses would you like to see in Cataclysm? Do you think my proposals are reasonable? Let me know in the comments. Also, if you happen to be a Blizzard employee, feel free to appropriate any or all of my set bonuses. Just name an item after me if you don't mind :)

Dual Specialization Price Reduced in Cataclysm Beta

2010-08-27T11:59:00.000-04:00

The price of learning a second class specialization has just dropped in the Cataclysm Beta. Where as the feature costs 1,000 gold on the live servers, the Beta price has been reduced to only 100 gold. It is unclear at this point whether the change went into place simply to facilitate more specialization testing within the Beta or whether it is ultimately intended to go live.

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

2010-08-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Recently, I have been posting a lot about guild management. This is because, as of late, fulfilling my Guild Master duties has been sucking up tons of my time. Holding a guild together during the transition between expansions is tough. Growing it is even tougher.

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.

Making Common Recruiting Mistakes

Let me start out by saying that when it comes to recruiting players for your guild, Trade Chat is not your friend. I am sure that you have seen the posts in /2 advertising for guilds. Highlighting bank slots, tabard designs, and occasionally raid progress, these macro driven advertisements seem like a great way to draw people into your guild and to be honest, they are a great way to pad your guild's numbers. Unfortunately, however, you will be stuffing your guild with the wrong players.

Think for a moment about the type of player who would hop into a guild based on a three sentence description posted in Trade Chat. Right off the bat, you know that they do not view joining a guild as a serious commitment. If they did, would they accept an invite based on a cursory and often silly advertisement? Also, it is clear that this player is not interested in doing any sort of research or learning on their own time. If they did not bother looking up their server's guilds and trying to find a good match, the odds of them watching that Heroic Festergut video are not so good. Trade chat advertisement responders may be an easy in, but I assure you they are just as easy of an out.

You should also be cautious of players seeking a guild in trade chat. Sometimes you will come across a great, hardworking player genuinely seeking offers from compatible guilds. Other times, you may very well be talking to a career guild bank looter who hops into guilds only long enough to snatch everything he can get his grubby little hands on. Most dedicated raiders know of the existence of guild websites, applications, and officers. A person advertising their availability in /2 may be above all that rigmarole, but more likely they simply think they are above it. It again goes to the use of Trade Chat as an indicator of laziness. Do you really want to fill your guild with players who didn't want to bother visiting your website or contacting an officer?

Being an Active Recruiter

While you don't want to spam trade chat, that doesn't mean you should just sit around waiting for powerful raiders to come knocking at your door. The best guild recruiters are those who are always on the lookout for talent. I always make a point of running both the weekly raid dungeon and VoA with random groups. This gives me a chance to spot top performers who, for some reason or another, do not run these raids with a guild.

I also keep careful track of the PuG raid members I occasionally bring into our guild runs. If they perform well, I put them on my radar as a potential guild member. Being an active recruiter and paying attention to the different players you encounter as you move through Azeroth means you do not need to go into the recruiting process with blinders on. You can actually see players perform without putting your guild's patience or progress on the line. After you identify potential guild applicants, the next step is starting a conversation.

Getting Applicants on the Hook

Let's assume you have just finished a random VoA where a well geared Rogue dominated the charts. He is from a guild you have never heard of (Fluffy Alligators), but performs like a top tier raider. Your guild happens to be low on melee dps and you think he would make a great applicant. What do you do next?

First and foremost, there are two things you should not do. Do not sit silently and let the opportunity pass by. Sure, by random chance that Rogue could contact you on his own later that day, but the odds of that happening are pushing zero. If you don't make the initial contact, odds are a connection will never be made. On the flip side of that coin, you also don't want to immediately fire off a "Wanna join my GUILD!?!?" tell as that makes you and your guild seem desperate. He will immediately be turned off and you will be facing an uphill battle getting him to join.

Instead, open the conversation more subtly, but with a mind towards the goal of recruitment. I tend to start out with a generic compliment. People love hearing good things about themselves and a well worded compliment will often put your target in a positive mindset. One of my favorite tricks is to follow up my compliment with a question about the player's guild.

"Hey, I have never heard of Fluffy Alligators. Do you guys raid?"

Hopefully, if you have never heard of the guild, the answer will be either no, or yes, but barely. That is when you swoop in with your pitch.

"Well, if you ever decide to switch over to a guild that does more raiding, let me know. We are always on the lookout for strong raiders."

At that point your seed is planted and it is time to watch to see if it grows. Sometimes you will get a quick followup question about your guild's raid times or progression. Jackpot, the player is interested. Occasionally, you will even get a request for an invite. Don't get too hasty though. There is still another important step in the recruiting process that you would be wise not to over look.

Screening: It's Not Just for Back Doors

Once you have gotten a player interested in your guild, it is time to be sure that you are interested in the player. This process is called applicant screening and all the best guilds do it rigorously. Before you extend the invite, screening is needed to make sure that both you and the applicant stand to gain from the relationship (otherwise it's a recipe for parasitic symbiosis).

To assure your guild will benefit from this potential new member, first take some time to gauge their potential performance. Use the Armory to appraise their gear and experience while chatting with them about their availability. A player who is unable to make any of your raid times will likely bring nothing to and take nothing from your guild. Similarly, a player with weak gear or little experience may simply be looking for a meal ticket. Bringing on a fresh eighty can be a large investment of guild resources. Be sure to do what you can to minimize the chances of that investment going to waste. You also want to get a sense of the player's attitude as nothing destroys a guild faster than culture clashes and unnecessary drama.

To figure out if the applicant will benefit from your guild, you will need to have a conversation about hopes and expectations. Does the applicant just want to raid more often? Is their a particular raid or encounter the applicant has their eye on? Why is the applicant dissatisfied with his or her current guild arrangement? If you know the answers to these questions, it will be much easier to figure out whether or not the applicant will be content in your guild. As one bad apple spoils the bunch, so can a single unhappy raider sew discontent throughout your guild. If an applicants expectations are beyond what your guild can provide, be honest about it. Even if you lose the prospective member, your guild will still be better off in the long run.

Welcoming to the Flock

Let's say your pitch was a success and the screening went brilliantly. This is a person you want in your guild and the magic moment for the invite has arrived. Don't just toss out the invite and log off. Take a moment to welcome the new player and encourage your other guild members to do the same. A couple days of cold shouldering, whether intentional or not, is easily enough to make a fresh member reconsider his decision to join.

Additionally, make some introductions. Is there a class officer who could impart some wisdom or guidance to the new recruit? It there a potential rival who may be battling your newest acquisition on the dps charts? Light the sparks of these potential relationships to help foster a sense of community in your guild and instantly generate an emotional connection that will lock in your recruits for the long haul. Also, be sure that your newest member knows all the administrative hoopla surrounding your guild. Share the guild bank rules, your vent information, website information and the like.

If you follow these basic guidelines every time you are looking to add a guild member, you will be amazed at the positive impact it has on your guild's atmosphere and performance.

Do you have any recruiting tips you would like to share? What's the worst guild advertisement you have ever seen in trade chat? Has a bad recruit taken your guild for a ride? Let me know in the comments.

Pet Reward for BlizzCon 2010

2010-08-26T13:02:00.000-04:00

World of Warcraft fans who attend BlizzCon this year will be awarded with a brand new in-game companion. His name is Deathy and he is a baby Murloc fashioned in the style of Cataclysm's antagonist Deathwing. For Starcraft II fans, a Murloc character portrait and logos will be gifted as well.

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.

Follow Druid Digest on Twitter

2010-08-26T08:00:00.011-04:00

I am pleased to announce that Druid Digest is now on Twitter.

Follow us through @DruidDigest to get regular updates on World of Warcraft, Cataclysm, and the website.

Which World of Warcraft Twitter posters should we follow and re-tweet? Let me know in the comments.

Symbiosis in Warcraft: Building the Perfect Guild

2010-08-24T12:56:00.001-04:00

Symbiosis is a biological term used to describe the interactions between different living organisms. Generally speaking, three different kinds of symbiotic relationships exist within the natural world: mutualistic, commensalistic, and parasitic.

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.

Seek Out Mutualism

Mutualistic symbiosis is characterized by a natural relationship from which both participants derive benefit. As a basic example of mutualism, think of the relationship between a flowering plant and a honey bee. As part of their relationship, the honey bee draws nectar from the flowering plant. Meanwhile, the plant's pollen attaches to the honey bee and is transported from flower to flower, ultimately allowing the plant to reproduce. Both the honey bee and the flowering plant benefit from their relationship.

Whenever possible, you want your guild to have a mutualistic relationship with its members. You want your guild members to bring their talent and attention to the guild's endeavors such that the guild is able to progress and meet its goals. Simultaneously, you want your guild members to derive a benefit from being a part of your guild as, without some member benefits, retention will become an issue.

To encourage mutualism in your guild, recruit members whose goals and interests are in line with those of the guild. This approach means that when a guild goal is accomplished, such as defeating a new raid boss, a member's personal goals are fulfilled as well. The dual benefit which results is symbiotic mutualism and will, over the long haul, create a stable guild which regularly accomplishes its goals.

Tolerate Commensalism

With commensalist symbiosis, only one member of a natural relationship receives a benefit while the other is neither appreciably harmed nor helped by the relationship. As an illustration, we can once again consider a flowering plant, but this time we will look at its relationship with spiders. Spiders are able to use flowering plants to build their webs upon. This benefits the spiders. The flowering plants, however, derive no appreciable benefit from the presence of the spiders, but are not harmed either.

For a guild, a commensalist relationship with a member can lean in one of two directions: either only the guild receives a benefit or the member receives a benefit. As an example of the former, think of a situation in which a strong raider assists in clearing an instance where there is no loot for him or her to find. The guild benefits from the equipment gained by other members, but the particular raider benefits only incidentally. As an example of the later, picture a raider drawing low level crafting materials from the guild bank. The materials aren't of any appreciable benefit to the guild, so their loss cannot be said to be a harm. The individual raider, however, benefits in leveling a profession or gaining crafted equipment for an alt.

Commensalist relationships which favor the player can be healthy for a guild. Having a stable and varied population is an asset to any guild. If players are able to derive benefits from your guild, they will join and stay. So long as the benefits they gain are not at the expense of the guild as a whole, an extra warm body is a positive outcome.

Commensalist relationships which favor the guild, however, can become dangerous. Players do not shed the need for self-gratification when they enter Azeroth. They play World of Warcraft because they derive some personal benefit from the experience. As the game is built upon ascending the virtual power curve, a player constantly engaged in activities which provide no cognizable benefit on his or her character will quickly become discontent. These players will not only leave your guild for one from which they derive more personal benefits, but they are likely to take resources with them as they go to "even the score."

Though commensalism, particularly which favors members, should be tolerated in your guild, every attempt should be made to shift the relationship towards mutualism. Often, this simply involves an adjustment in thinking rather than in practice. Take for example the earlier example of a player running an instance they entirely out-gear. Though the player may not come away from the run with equipment, the equipment and combat experience gained by other raid members should open up or smooth content the player does have a vested interest in tackling. Your guild's leadership should take the opportunity to highlight the mutualistic aspects of commensalist acts to create a greater sense of community and purpose in your guild.

Avoid Parasitism

As with commensalism, parasitic symbiosis involves a relationship within which only one member derives a benefit. Here, however, that benefit is gained at some cost or harm to the other organism. Returning again to the spider on the flowering plant, when the spider's web snares a honey bee, that bee cannot pollinate the plant. As a result, the spider's use of the plant to build its web upon has benefited the spider, but the plant has suffered as a result.

Parasitic relationships are toxic to a guild. A parasitic raider does not contribute to instance runs or the guild bank, but instead only draws loot from them. A parasitic guild on the other hand draws the benefit of its members skills and effort while selfishly misappropriating any material rewards which may result. A guild characterized by parasitic relationships lacks longevity as contributing guild members will quickly tire of the drain on their efforts and the parasites themselves will move on once there are no more resources to drain.

To avoid parasitism in your guild, careful screening of applicants is necessary. If an applicant's goals and attitude are not in line with those of your guild, it will be impossible to craft a relationship which benefits both parties. If there are already parasitic relationships within your guild, root them out. Though it may be possible to transform them into healthier forms of symbiosis, parasitic personalities are hard to change and you will always need to be on your guard.

Conclusion

In the end, the concept of symbiosis applies quite well to the guild-member relationship. Just as there are healthy and unhealthy symbiotic relationships in the natural world, so to are there in Azeroth. By encouraging healthy, sustainable symbiosis with your guild members, your guild can become a stronger organism.

Where do you see symbiosis in your guild? Are there parasites in your guild and what do you do about them? How do you turn commensalist experiences into mutualistic ones? Let me know via email or in the comments.

Hot Video: Dark Pheonix Mount

2010-08-19T11:53:00.000-04:00

The good people over at one of my favorite World of Warcraft websites, MMO Champion, have just posted a video of the model for the new Dark Pheonix Mount. This mount is set to be available as a reward through Cataclysm's new guild leveling system. Once a player's guild has leveled up enough, they will be able to purchase this mount provided they have the funds and guild reputation required. Check it out:

Planning for Cataclysm

2010-08-17T08:00:00.008-04:00

There are rumors that we may be playing Cataclysm as early as this November, so it is far from too early to start planning to get the most out of your fresh Goblin or Worgen. For those of you who are serious about making the push to level 85 with one of Cataclysm's new classes, a little preparation can make all the difference. After the bump you'll find my tips for getting your new character off to a great start when Cataclysm ships.
Build Your Bankroll

If you plan on questing your way up to level 85, gold for training skills and repairs should not be a problem. You may, however, fall short when it comes to major purchases such as flying mounts. Also, a couple pieces of gear from the Auction House can really make a big difference in how your character performs at lower levels. Lastly, who wants to bother with gold if you don't need to?

Making gold at level 80 is easy. Farm some materials to sell, run your dailies, or simply lay off the auction house for a couple weeks and you can build up a nice coin purse to help your Cataclysm toon live the good life. Wrath of the Lich King is almost over, don't buy those level 80 epics. Save up for Cataclysm instead.

Get Those Heirlooms

Heirloom items will still work in Cataclysm up to level 80. With a full stack of heirlooms, you can level up 25% faster than less fortunate players. For the first 20%, all you need is a pile of badges from Wrath of the Lich King's many heroic dungeons. That final 5% will be tougher though as you must win the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby which only takes place on Saturday afternoons. If you hope to be sporting a Dread Pirate Ring in Cataclysm, you really need to start working on it now.

Even though the experience boosts are the main draws for heirloom items, do not neglect your heirloom weapons and trinkets. Though weapons may be easy enough to find as you level, trinkets are harder to get your hands on. Also, the mana and health refunds provided by the heirloom trinkets help limit downtime for players who prefer to level up solo.

Build Up Bag Space

Blizzard learned back in Burning Crusade that it was a good idea to hand out bags as part of the leveling process. What they haven't learned, however, is that tiny little bags aren't going to be enough to hold the massive pile of loot you will ultimately gather. Do yourself a favor and pick up some large bags for your soon to be baby Worgen or Goblin. Now is the time to get them because once Cataclysm ships demand for bags will skyrocket and supply will dry up.

Get Yourself Some Gear

Remember how I mentioned before that you want to squirrel away some money for your Cataclysm rerolls. Well, if you plan to use that gold to buy gear, do yourself a favor and pick it up today.

As nice as it might be, you will not be one of the only players to hop on a Worgen or Goblin when Cataclysm drops. Thousands of other lowbies will not only be competing with you for quest mobs, but will also be bidding against you in the Auction House. This will drive prices for low level gear way up. Also, all the level 80s currently farming low level gear will likely be busy working on hitting level 85 instead of putting up gear for you to buy. This will push the prices up even farther. Strike now while the iron is hot!

Consider Professions

Though I would recommend forgoing your professions while you focus on leveling; if you are committed to seeing your new toon gainfully employed, start laying the groundwork now. Just as there will be enhanced competition for lowbie gear when Cataclysm ships, it will also be hard to get your hands on low level profession materials. Stock up on them today to save some serious cash. Even if you plan on taking a gathering profession in Cataclysm, you might be better served to buy the mats you need to level your crafting profession now and sell the materials you gather to players who did not prepare as well as you did.

What have you been doing to prepare for rolling a new Worgen or Goblin in Cataclysm? Let me know in the comments.

Druid Changes in the Current Cataclysm Beta Build

2010-08-16T10:09:00.000-04:00

A new build has just been launched for the Cataclysm Beta and with it a number of significant Druid changes have been unveiled. First and foremost, Druids now join Hunters and Rogues in being able to remove Enrage effects using a revamped version of Sooth Animal called simply Sooth. More raid utility is always a good thing.

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.

Best Balance Spec in Cataclysm

2010-08-14T07:30:00.163-04:00

UPDATE: A new Guide to Balance Druids for 4.0.1 has been posted

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.

Best Cataclysm Balance Spec

Balance Tier One
Nature's Grace (3/3): Moonkin crit fairly often and this talent helps turn your Moonkin into a 20 second Wrath machine gun.
Starlight Wrath (3/3): Shorter cast times means more casts and more casts equals more damage, so this talent is a must.
Nature's Majesty (2/2): Critical strikes are always a good thing and this talent hands out enough of them to justify the points.

Balance Tier Two
Genesis (3/3): Moonfire's DoT and Insect Swarm make up an appreciable portion of Balance dps, so take this talent.
Moonglow (3/3): A Moonkin without mana is a poor Moonkin indeed. Mana efficiency will help you stay in the game and should not be overlooked.
Balance of Power (2/2): This talent allows Balance Druids and Restoration Druids to share gear. You need your Moonkin to be hit capped and, unless you can somehow cap without this talent, pick it up.

Balance Tier Three
Lunar Guidance (3/3): The extra Solar/Lunar Energy is a nice bonus and the increased radius for Solar Beam is situationally useful. Primarily though, you need this talent to open up Euphoria.
Moonkin Form (1/1): I hope I don't need to tell you to take this one...
Typhoon (1/1): This ability is situationally useful in its own right and it is a prerequisite for Gale Winds. It is well worth a point.

Balance Tier Four
Owlkin Frenzy (0/3): A flat 10% extra damage is amazing, however, you should not be getting attacked while raiding often enough to consistently proc it. Avoid this talent unless you plan to PvP or do a ton of soloing.
Gale Winds (2/2): Though AoE oppertunities are fewer and farther between in Cataclysm, a 30% buff to Hurricane's damage is still nothing to scoff at.
Solar Beam (1/1): This is a fun new ability that gives Moonkins additional raid utility and is a worthwhile use of a talent point.

Balance Tier Five
Euphoria (2/2): Extra Solar/Lunar power is a great boost to Balance dps and this talent delivers tons of personal mana replenishment. It is an easy use of two points.
Force of Nature (1/1): Could you even call yourself a Boomkin without your three tree buddies? I think not!
Earth and Moon (1/1): Trading one point for 2% increased personal damage and 2% raid wide spell damage is a great deal.

Balance Tier Six
Fungal Growth (0/2): I love this talent, just not for my raiding build. It is tons of fun, but it's raiding uses are too limited to justify putting points here. Though it saddens me, I recommend you skip it.
Lunar Shower (3/3): This talent makes Moonfire spam a viable dps option for Moonkin on the move. Blizzard expects you to take this talent and so do I.

Balance Tier Seven
Starfall (1/1): Starfall is a great ability that no Moonkin should be without. Just please try not to break crowd control or pull extra adds with it.

Restoration Tier One
Blessing of the Grove (2/2): An extra 6% damage to Moonfire's initial blast isn't anything to write home about on the live realms. In Cataclysm, however, Lunar Shower transforms this into an amazing use of 2 talent points.
Natural Shapeshifter (3/3): Odds are you can easily afford to shapeshift at full cost, however, we need to spend 3 points here to get to Master Shapeshifter's 2% damage boost. If you would prefer to make things a bit more fun, you can always sack both Shapeshifter talents in exchange for Fungal Growth and Owlkin Frenzy, though numerically it is a less powerful choice.
Furor (3/3): The 6% Intellect you get with three points in this talent could also be picked up in the Feral Tree with Heart of the Wild. Heart's benefit is that your intellect bonus also applies in caster form, which is nice. I chose Furor, however, as it lets you shift into Bear or Cat Form and immediately stun or Skull Bash. Obviously this bonus is situational, but then again, so is 6% extra intellect in caster form.

Restoration Tier Two
Perseverance (0/3): Your job is doling out spell damage, not mitigating it.
Master Shapeshifter (1/1): 2% damage is a nice bonus that will always enhance your performance. As discussed for Natural Shapeshifter, however, you will need to flex this point out as a matter of personal preference if you choose not to take Natural Shapeshifter.
Improved Rejuvenation (0/3): Save the healing for the healers.

Feel free to check out the whole Balance spec on the MMO Champion Cataclysm Talent Calculator.

Unlike some of the Feral tweaks, Cataclysm's revamp of the Balance tree is 100% amazing. Nearly every talent point you spend has an appreciable effect on your character's capabilities and performance. There are also a number of fun talents that really make Moonkin a joy to play in Cataclysm.

Do you demand Owlkin Frenzy and/or Fungal Growth be in your Cataclysm build? Are you as in love with the new Balance tree as I am? Would you have spent your points differently? Let me know in the comments! Also, be sure to check in tomorrow when I tackle the Cataclysm Restoration talent tree.

No New Raids Before Cataclysm

2010-08-13T09:48:00.000-04:00

Blizzard poster Zarhym announced yesterday that Blizzard has no plans to release any new raid content before Cataclysm hits shelves. Though there will be a final major content patch before Wrath of the Lich King bites the dust, no raid will be included. Instead the patch will simply introduce some of Cataclysm's features to the live realms. Feel free to read Zarhym's post to confirm the details for yourself.

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

2010-08-13T08:30:00.080-04:00

THIS POST IS BASED ON EARLIER BETA BUILDS
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.

Best Cataclysm Feral DPS Spec

Feral Tier 1
Feral Swiftness (2/2): 30% extra movement speed will help you stick to a boss like glue by minimizing time devoted to troublesome encounter mechanics. Max out this talent.
Heart of the Wild (3/3): At three points for 10% Attack Power, you will want this one as well.
Predatory Strikes (2/2): This talent makes Ravage an excellent opener and allows you to shift and pop instant heals, battle resurrections, roots, or cyclones. You would be well served to spend two talent points here.

Feral Tier 2
Infected Wounds (2/2): For 2 points you can significantly reduce incoming tank damage while simultaneously crippling runners. Unless you spend 100% of your time with another Feral Druid who has this talent, pick it up yourself.
Fury Swipes (3/3): More attacks means more damage. Drop the full three points here.
Primal Fury (2/2): This is a staple Cat Form talent and one of the reasons Feral dps scales so well with gear. You cannot miss this talent.
Feral Aggression (2/2): 10% extra damage on every cat's favorite combo point dump is an easy sell.

Feral Tier 3
King of the Jungle (3/3): Cat's love Tiger's Fury, so why not spend 3 points to make it better. Just be sure not to pop the ability with a full energy bar without Primal Madness (which you should take anyway).
Feral Charge (1/1): Getting on that mob sooner leads to more dps. This ability is well worth a point.
Improved Feral Charge (2/2): Predatory strikes makes Ravage a strong opener and this talent lets you "open" with it several times even when you do not start combat in stealth. It deserves your points.
Thick Hide (0/3): This talent is for bears, cats can skip it.

Feral Tier 4
Leader of the Pack (1/1): For one talent point you and your 24 closest friends get 5% extra crit AND you get some delightful, passive self-healing as well. This talent is amazing!
Brutal Impact (2/2): Many people underestimate just how important mobility is to melee dps. Two points in this talent gives you a charge with a built in interrupt, all on a 10 second cooldown. Take this talent.
Nurturing Instinct (2/2): Helping your healers helps you stay alive and 2 points for an extra 20% healing received is a worthwhile investment. More selfish cats, however, are free to spend their points elsewhere.

Feral Tier 5
Primal Madness (2/2): When combined with King of the Jungle, this talent makes your Tiger's Fury a potent tool for opening burst damage. Sure, aside from making Tiger's Fury energy bar independent, this talent only really benefits you in your opening salvo, but it is enough of a benefit to earn 2 points.
Survival Instincts (0/1): You are a dps who already has Barkskin. You do not need this extra cooldown.
Endless Carnage (2/2): An extra 6 seconds of Rake makes one of the hardest rotations in Warcraft slightly easier. Do yourself a favor and spend 2 points here.
Natural Reaction: This is a great tanking talent, but you are not a tank. Move along.

Feral Tier 6
Nom Nom Nom (2/2): Cats get an execute phase in Cataclysm, but only if you take this talent; so please do!
Rend and Tear (3/3): 20% extra damage to your principal combo point builder and 25% extra damage for your combo point dump makes this talent a fabulous use of 3 points.
Pulverize (0/1): This is a Bear Form ability so go without it.

Feral Tier 7
Berserk (1/1): It will be the greatest 15 seconds of you life and you can't afford to miss out on this great ability.

Restoration Tier 1
Blessing of the Grove (2/2): 4% extra damage for your combo point builder is a respectable use of 2 points.
Natural Shapeshifter (0/3): Do you really need that much mana? I don't think so.
Furor (2/3): You should have an extra 2 points at this point so you may as well drop them here as it prevents you from being zeroed out on energy should you need to shift for some reason.

Restoration Tier 2
Perseverance (0/3): Magic damage reduction is a luxury you do not have the points to afford.
Master Shapeshifter (0/1): The extra crit from this talent is nice, but since Natural Shapeshifter is a prerequisite, reaching this talent's 2% crit will actually cost you 4 points. I decided it wasn't worth it, but you may disagree.
Improved Rejuvenation (0/3): If you see any need to take this talent, please re-spec immediately.

Feel free to check out my full Cataclysm Feral DPS Build on the MMO Champion Talent Calculator. Also, don't forget to take a look at my optimal Cataclysm Feral Tanking build to see the other side of Cataclysm's Feral tree.

Did I make the wrong choice for Master Shapeshifter? Would you have spent your points differently? Are you looking forward to Nom Nom Nomming your way to a boss kill? Let me know in the comments!

Best Feral Tanking Spec in Cataclysm

2010-08-12T08:00:00.140-04:00

UPDATE: There is a new Feral Tanking Spec Guide for 4.0.1
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.

Cataclysm Feral Tanking Spec

Feral Tier 1
Feral Swiftness (2/2): Two points for 4% Dodge, pick it up!
Heart of the Wild (3/3): Three points for 10% Stamina, you will want this one as well.
Predatory Strikes (0/2): This one is only for the cats, so move along.

Feral Tier 2
Infected Wounds (2/2): A 20% reduction in your target's melee speed will significantly reduce your incoming damage. Spend two points here.
Fury Swipes (3/3): More attacks means more damage which equals more threat. Drop the full three points here.
Primal Fury (2/2): Blizzard has indicated rage will be harder to come by in Cataclysm, so 2 points here is a solid investment.
Feral Aggression (2/2): In your Bear Form spec, one of three two point talents will likely end up only having one point. You may choose to leave Brutal Impact or Endless Carnage or this talent one point shy. I spent two points here because bears are nearly always in groups and I know that my fellow raid members will appreciate the full armor reduction of my Faerie Fire being up right off the bat. It buffs my damage and therefore threat slightly as well.

Feral Tier 3
King of the Jungle (0/3): Reducing your armor while tanking is bad, even if it increases your damage. Stay away from this talent.
Feral Charge (1/1): Any good tank values mobility, so spending a point here is an easy sell, especially with...
Improved Feral Charge (2/2): 30% haste for 8 seconds after every charge will really help you build your threat lead. Spend two points here.
Thick Hide (3/3): This talent not only increases armor, but also is the means by which bears become immune to critical strikes. If you want to be a Feral tank, you must spend three points in this talent.

Feral Tier 4
Leader of the Pack (1/1): For one talent point you give your entire raid 5% extra melee critical strike chance and heal yourself for 8% of your TOTAL health up to once every six seconds. This talent is amazing.
Brutal Impact (2/2): Though you can pass up a point in this talent talent, it is worth two points in my opinion. Being able to Bash more often and for slightly longer is nice, but the real gem here is cutting Skull Bash's cooldown from 1minute to 10 seconds as opposed to 35 seconds with one point. In essence, you are adding a second, lower-cooldown Charge to your repertoire and as I said before, mobility often separates the good tanks from the great ones.
Nurturing Instinct (0/2): Not for bears, skip it.

Feral Tier 5
Primal Madness (0/2): You skipped King of the Jungle, so this talent is off the table. Regardless, it is not worth your points.
Survival Instincts (1/1): Any serious tank needs some panic buttons and this is a great one. Pick it up.
Endless Carnage (1/2): I choose to leave only one point in this talent, but you could pull a point from Brutal Impact or Feral Aggression to place here. In my opinion, keeping Pulverize up even without the extra 3 seconds is doable, so this talent was not worth both points.
Natural Reaction (2/2): This is one of the best tanking talents in the game. Fill it with your points and be glad you have the opportunity.

Feral Tier 6
Nom Nom Nom (0/2): This is another cat talent you can skip over.
Rend and Tear (3/3): On the live realms, a 20% boost to Maul is a substantial damage and threat increase. In Cataclysm, where Mauls are fewer and farther between, it looses some utility. For now, however, I would recommend filling this talent with points.
Pulverize (1/1): This is a new staple Bear Form ability and there is no reason to go without it.

Feral Tier 7
Berserk (1/1): Being able to break fear is always helpful for a tank. Also, Berserk is a great snap aggro generator, especially when you are holding three targets. As rage becomes less plentiful, however, your ability to spam Mangle during Berserk's duration may be reduced. I would still recommend picking it up.

Restoration Tier 1
Blessing of the Grove (0/2): Bears are left out of this one. Skip it.
Natural Shapeshifter (3/3): You need three points here to get to Master Shapeshifter, so spend them.
Furor (2/3): You need another two points in the Restoration Tree to get to tier 2, so you may as well spend them here. There is no reason to spend more than that though.

Restoration Tier 2
Perseverance (3/3): Feral tanks finally get magic damage reduction! Do not pass it up.
Master Shape Shifter (1/1): Extra damage equals extra threat, so a 2% across the board damage boost is well worth a point.
Improved Rejuvenation (0/3): If you see any need to take this talent, please re-spec immediately.

Feel free to check out my full talent layout on MMO Champion's Cataclysm Beta Talent Calculator. Stay tuned tomorrow for the optimal Cataclysm Feral DPS build.

Where did you choose to leave your one flex point? Do you disagree with any of my decisions? Do you like the spec? Please let me know in the comments.

The Problem with Cataclysm's Feral Tree

2010-08-11T08:45:00.004-04:00

Several weeks ago, Blizzard announced they would be reducing the size of talent trees in Cataclysm. Rather than capping at 51 points, the depth of the trees would be reduced to 31 points. Since at least a 31 point investment investment in a single tree will become mandatory, players have a maximum of 10 points to distribute outside of their primary 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.

Once Blood becomes the dedicated Death Knight tanking tree, Feral will return to being the only talent tree in World of Warcraft which contains two entirely different raid roles, tanking and melee dps. As a result of its dual purpose, the Feral tree has historically contained a number of multi-purpose talents which benefit both Bear Form and Cat Form in distinct ways alongside a few talents which apply only to one form and role.

Looking at the numbers, there currently are 69 Feral talent point slots and 21 Restoration talent slots which could reasonably be said to benefit a Bear tank. On the flip side of the coin, there are 67 Feral points and 21 Restoration points which could benefit a Cat Form Druid. Obviously some of these talents confer a much more significant benefit than others. On the other hand, these numbers do not reflect talents which may confer only an incidental effect on a particular form, such as Cats gaining more armor through Thick Hide. With 71 points to play with and between 88 and 90 places to spend them, there is certainly some wiggle room Feral Druids on the live realms.

With Cataclysm's shift to 31 point talent trees, the total number of Feral talents point slots available has been reduced from 78 to 44 and the number of Restoration point slots which benefit Feral Druids has been cut from 21 to 12. The number of talent point available at the level cap has also been reduced from 71 to 41. The end result is just over a 50% reduction in the "size" of Feral Druid talents and points.

Since the available point slots and the points allocated were decreased by the same percentage, one would imagine that the level of flexibility in the trees has also remained constant. Unfortunately, that is not the case as the percentage of talents specifically designated to one form or another will dramatically increase in Cataclysm.

Looking at the current Cataclysm Beta build, there are 37 Feral talent point slots which confer a benefit on Cat Form and 38 which befit Bear Form. Looking to the Restoration tree, 10 talent point slots benefit bears and 9 benefit cats. Checking Cat Form first, when we add the 37 possible Feral point slots to the 9 Restoration point slots, we get a total of 46 places for a Feral dps to put their points. Since there are 41 points to use, it seems as though Feral dps will have 5 points of flexibility. Keep in mind, however, that 6 of the points available to cats come from Natural Shapeshifter and Furor, neither of which are exceptionally valuable. Also, 1 point Master Shape Shifter requires a full investment in Natural Shapeshifter to reach. Realistically then, Feral dps's only real choice is which mediocre Restoration talent to plop their last two points into.

When we apply the same math to Bear Form Druids, we end up with 48 talent point slots which looks much better. Unfortunately, 5 of those 46 simply cause the Enrage effect to increase damage done and generate instant rage. Considering Enrage substantially reduces armor, no self-respecting Bear tank should be using it in combat. Sure, it might be okay to do so now with the tier 10 set bonuses canceling out the armor reduction, but something tells me those will be phased out a couple weeks into Cataclysm. As a result, although those 5 points benefit Bear Form, they do not benefit bear tanks. That leaves bear tanks, with only 43 places to spend the 41 talent points they are allotted and one of those places is unnecessarily topping off Furor. The end result is only a single flex point for Bear form Druids.

Though there have always been cookie-cutter Feral talent specs, the Druid talents currently live on the Cataclysm Beta bring things to a whole new level. The way things are laid out, there is not just an optimum spec for a Cat Form, there is only one substantive spec that makes sense. For bears, things are only slightly better. Hopefully Blizzard realizes this problem and either allocates more point slots to the Feral tree or blends additional bear and cat centric talents together. Otherwise, Feral Druids will be an unintended casualty of Cataclysm's new "streamlined" talents.

Heirlooms Will Work in Cataclysm

2010-08-10T09:03:00.000-04:00

Blue Poster Lylirra announced yesterday that the current heirloom items will continue to function in World of Warcraft Cataclysm. However, the equipment will provide extra experience only up to level 80. At that point, you will need to get your hand on Cataclysms new heirlooms which will likely be available through both the guild perks system and another system similar to what is in place now.

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.

Unintended Consequences: Why Badges and Expansions Don't Mix

2010-08-09T10:31:00.002-04:00

Many World of Warcraft players these days, especially those on the higher end of the raiding spectrum, have been taking vacations from Azeroth. Claiming everything from burnout to boredom, there is a certain dissatisfaction amongst the harder-core adventurers that has lead large numbers of raiders to hang up their epic boots until Cataclysm. This sort of migration is not at all uncommon in the summer, where real life events and trips hinder raid scheduling. Further, a certain sense of player fatigue near the end of an expansion's shelf-life is to be expected.

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.

Accessibility of End Game Content

Anyone who knows anything about my World of Warcraft philosophy knows that I am a huge fan of making content accessible. The good folks at Blizzard spend a ton of time making amazing instances full of entertaining boss encounters and why shouldn't as many people experience them as possible. Unfortunately, the gates to these instances have traditionally been barred by pretty heavy gear requirements, generally expecting gear equivalent to that available in the prior raid for smooth, consistent clears.

Back in Vanilla and Burning Crusade, the only reasonable way to get the gear needed to move to new levels of raiding was through repeatedly running the prior tier. If you hoped to attempt Ahn'Qiraj, you would need to spend time clearing Molten Core and then use the gear you found there to clear Blackwing Lair. Similarly, Sunwell Plateau was not a viable option for your raid if you did not at least possess gear from most of the prior Burning Crusade raids. This meant that even as the Burning Crusade drew to a close, many guilds were still running the expansion's starter instance, Karazhan, for progression and loot. The result was that many raiders still had several levels of content to work through even as the expansion came to a close.

In Wrath of the Lich King, the tiered system of raiding remained. Generally it was still expected that a raider have gear equivalent to the prior level of raiding loot to make strong attempts at the latest content. The "equivalent" qualifier is necessary because, with Blizzard's revamp of the badge system, it became possible to use heroic dungeons to skip entire tiers of raid content.

When Ulduar was introduced, there was no need for guilds to continue running Naxxramas. Ulduar ready gear could be gained just as easily by farming badges in heroics. Sure, some guilds continued to run Naxxramas, but it was no longer a necessary step to moving on to bigger and better raiding. With Trial of the Crusader, the need for guilds to run prior raiding tiers diminished even further. Not only would heroic badges land you gear strong enough for the new raid, but the Trial of the Champion five man instance would do so as well. At this point hardly anyone seriously engaged Naxxramas or the other introductory raids and only those who were exceptionally hard-core or who had extra time on their hands bothered with Ulduar.

With the Fall of the Lich King patch came Icecrown Citadel as well as three new five man instances. As with the prior patches, the badges from heroics were upgraded to allow for the acquisition of prior raid tier level gear. Making things even easier, each of the three new five mans were also filled with raid equivalent drops which were more than sufficient for players to begin working towards the Frozen Throne. Players could even start getting Icecrown level gear by slowly gathering Frost Badges through daily random heroic runs and rolling over lower tier bosses. With very few exceptions, Ulduar gear had become completely obsolete and even drops from the prior raid tier were mostly side-grades to the gear available from badges and the new heroics. The need for a player to run any instance besides Icecrown was eliminated and replaced with a need to run heroics.

As a result of increased accessibility, there are really only one large raid instances that any level 80 should bother running for anything other than novelty or a select upgrade: ICC. All of Warcraft's standard issue 80s are then either working through ICC or running heroics so as to work through ICC. Since the level 80 ladder now only has two rungs, it is much easier for individual players and guilds to reach its top. Until Blizzard patches in a new top rung, a full raid instance tier above Icecrown Citadel, each passing day sees more and more raiders with nowhere left to climb. It is then no surprise that an increased number of players have decided to bench themselves for a while.

In my opinion, accessibility is great when new substantial raid tiers are constantly on the horizon. At the end of this expansion's life, however, accessibility has left too little content for players to meander through as the developers shift their full focus to Cataclysm. I guess there are always heroic modes, but...

Heroic Modes are No Replacement for New Instances

It is fair to say that no raider can truly claim to have run out of raid progression opportunities until they have killed the Lich King and Hallion

In my opinion, there is a big difference between a progression opportunity and content. Sure, heroic modes are clearly another step in the progression path for players to take. I would argue, however, that at least as far as your average Warcraft player is concerned, heroic modes are not content. At the very least, the effort reward equation for heroic modes is askew.

In the old days, you would invest hours of raiding and loot gathering and your reward would be the ability to enter and clear entirely new raid instances and seek out new, more powerful loot. Today, you can spend hours of raiding and loot gathering in Icecrown Citadel to eventually be able to enter and clear nothing more than a harder version of Icecrown Citadel. Even more disappointing, the material reward for continuing to struggle through the same content you have already beaten is nothing more than the word "Heroic" next to your loot's stats and an extra 13 item levels. When faced with the proposition of easily obtained replacement gear in Cataclysm, raiders cannot be blamed for deeming heroic modes not worth the effort.

I guess if level 80 content is drying up, you can always add a couple alts to your character roster...

The Promise of Improved Leveling in Cataclysm Kills the Alt Time Sink

When a brand new level 1-60 experience is just on the horizon, why would you bother leveling an alt now? Aside from trying to get one last run through what will become outdated and inferior content, there is little reason to invest time in any alt this side of Outland. Cataclysm promises more streamlined and varied questing along with additional design tweaks to make the process of bringing your toon through Azeroth all the more enjoyable. These new changes will be great for those of us who have been altoholics since Vanilla, but they certainly drain all desire to invest anything further into alts before Cataclysm hits shelves.

Conclusion

I am a big fan of Blizzard's shift to making content more accessible. Unfortunately, an unintended consequence of accessibility is that it takes relatively little time for a dedicated player to make the transition from fresh 80 to King Slayer. During the times in Wrath of the Lich King where a new top-tier raid was always right around the corner, the period of time between the average player hitting the current tier's cap and the release of new content was relatively short. The build up to Cataclysm, however, has and will continue to take months. As a result, more and more people are finding realistic endgame goals hard to come by and apathy has settled in.

Similarly, heroic modes are a poor stopgap for extending the progression path beyond the instances themselves. They feel more like artificial progress than genuine achievement and their rewards simply are not enough to justify their effort. This combination leaves the average raider disinclined to pursue them after having cleared the content the first time.

Lastly, the prospect of easier, better leveling in Cataclysm has tainted one of the strongest raider time sinks for the remainder of this expansion. There is a strong argument to be made that time spent with alts during the remainder of Wrath of the Lich King's shelf-life is time wasted. At the very least, every alt level gained now is one less level to be gained in the new content.

This, of course, begs the question: What can Blizzard do to avoid this end of expansion apathy when Cataclysm is preparing to close its doors? I would suggest not much. New leveling areas and enhancements are a great way to reinvigorate World of Wacraft and add tons of play time without the need for adding onto endgame. Also, accessibility keeps players from being left out and allows Blizzard's creativity to impact as many subscribers as possible. Lastly, Heroic modes do fill a niche roll amongst the hardcore and give them something to shoot for even with the game's enhanced accessibility.

Perhaps Blizzard simply needs more major content patches up it sleeve as an expansion rolls to a close. Even then, however, many would likely forgo putting full effort into a new raid where there is a loot reset on the horizon. In the end, Blizzard may in fact be pursuing the best course. Sure, interest in Azeroth is waning, but Blizzard is simultaneously putting together an expansion with enough punch, meat and variety to bring everyone back.

Do you think I missed the mark? Do you have any suggestions for Blizzard on how to keep players invested in an expansion on life support? Do you have a tale of your own "vacation from Azeroth" you would like to share? Let me know in the comments.

Original Video: Mulgore Changes in the Cataclysm Beta

2010-08-03T13:26:00.002-04:00

I have been bitten by the video creation bug and have produced another Cataclysm Beta video. This one showcases some of the changes coming to Mulgore complete with narration.

As always, feel free to leave suggestions or requests for future videos in the comments.

Original Video: Goblin Starter Area

2010-08-02T20:08:00.003-04:00

Rather than just writting about the Goblin starter area, I figured I would take a hand at putting together Druid Digest's first ever original video! The video is just a series of fun clips from the Goblin starter area and is spoiler free. Enjoy!

If you would like to make suggestions for future videos, please leave a comment.

Can't Train Skills in the Cataclysm Beta

2010-08-02T12:17:00.005-04:00

Sadly, there is a major bug in the current build of the Cataclysm Beta that is preventing a number of characters from training any skills. Apparently any character with two primary professions is unable to learn any new skills. Specifically, the "Train" button in the interface accessed at a skill trainer will be permanently grayed out so long as the user has two major professions (such as Alchemy and Herbalism or Inscription and Enchanting).

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.

Cataclysm Hunter Starting Pets List

2010-08-01T18:30:00.004-04:00

Before creating a Goblin I took some time to toy with the Cataclysm Beta Character Creation Screen. While doing so, I put together a list of the new Hunter starting pets. In case you didn't know, in Cataclysm, each new Hunter starts out with a pet right at level one. To find out which pet each race starts with, check out the list below.

Orc: Black Boar

Tauren: Plainstrider

Troll: Red Raptor

Blood Elf: Dragonhawk

Goblin: Crab

Worgen: Mastiff

Draenei: Moth

Night Elf: Nightsaber

Dwarf: Black Bear

Human: Wolf

Undead: Bat

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

2010-08-01T16:29:00.008-04:00

After hours of downloading and installing I was finally able to make my way into the Cataclysm Beta. The first thing I did was hop on my Druid to check out some of the changes to the interface. You may be surprised to hear that my Druid was right where I left him, sitting by the bank in Dalaran. I suppose that only those who log out in old world Azeroth will see themselves relocated by the Cataclysm.

Aside from a strikingly empty Dalaran, the first thing I took a look at was the character panel. As you can see from the screenshot below, it has been updated and improved in a number of ways. First, the detailed information has been moved from two windows below the character portrait to a vertical frame on the portrait's right. Each individual subsection can be minimized so you only need to see what you want to see. Second, a shadowy race specific mural now sits behind the character portrait. It is a nice touch in my opinion.

Next, I took a look at the Cataclysm Spellbook. Blizzard has made a number of great changes here. First, as you'll notice below, you can now see not only your trained spells, but also your trainable spells. The spells surrounded by gold are those currently available at your trainer while the greyed out spells are only available at higher levels. This is a handy feature in that you no longer need to consult a trainer or internet guide to know when the spells you crave will become available. Second, there are no more spell ranks; your spells now simply improve on their own as you level.

If you were wondering about the little Professions tab at the bottom of the Spellbook, it leads you to the new Professions Window pictured below. I wouldn't say a new Professions Window is really something World of Warcraft fans have been clamoring for in Cataclysm, but it is still a welcome addition.

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.

Cataclysm Beta Invite!

2010-08-01T11:12:00.010-04:00

I appologize for the break in my posts, but I have been on an extended vacation. It was lovely, thanks for asking. Upon returning to the comfort of my email inbox, I was delighted to find that Blizzard had left me a welcome back gift: a World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta Test Invite!

Needless to say, I was more than a little suspicious. I have, in fact received a number of "invites" since Cataclysm was announced. Often they contained broken english, ridiculous claims, or links to websites that were poor imitations of legitimate Blizzard fare. This one, however, caught my eye both because of how it was constructed and the fact that it was sent to my official Battle.net email.

To avoid becoming a victim, I did not click any of the links in the email and immediately hopped over to the official Battle.net website. I logged in, clicked my account and grinned from ear to ear as I saw the Cataclysm Beta as one of my available Battle.net games. It was real; Cataclyam Beta here I come!

The first thing I did was move to the character copy section to get a couple of my toons in the que to be duplicated on the Beta servers. There are a limited number of copies allowed per account during the life of the Cataclysm Beta, so I started conservatively by only moving two toons. My super beefy Druid and a well equiped and funded Warlock alt. The character copy page advertised an hour wait for copy requests to go through, so it was time to download the Beta client.

The initial client download, which can be done through Battle.net, took a while, but the real bear so far has been the patches. All in all, I would say it has taken around twelve hours to get the Cataclysm Beta up and running. Now I am fully patched and ready to log in, but I had to pause to update my loyal readers. Stay tuned over the next several weeks as I plan to keep you updated on each step I take through the Beta. Here we go...

News Coverage of Blizzard Real ID Disaster

2010-07-07T15:33:00.002-04:00

Blizzard is currently deleting each and every forum post attempting to express how bad of an idea the planned mandatory use of players real names on the World of Warcraft official forums is. At the moment, a thread mentioning Real ID is unlikely to survive more than thirty seconds and the mods' ban hammers are being wielded liberally. Some of those fallen posts contained links to news coverage of Blizzard's poor decision and I was quick enough on my feet to reproduce them here. Enjoy!

BBC News - World of Warcraft maker to end anonymous forum logins

USA Today - 'WoW' studio Blizzard to require real names on forums

ABC News - Bye-Bye Trolls? Blizzard Forums to Use Real Names

CVG - Fans rage over Blizzard forum plans

PCGamer (UK) - Why Blizzard’s new forum plan is an epic fail

The Register - Blizzard exposes real names on WoW forums

About.com - WoW Real ID: A Really Bad Idea

Ars Technica - Blizzard: post about StarCraft 2? Use your real name

Gamespy - Blizzard to Require Real Names on Official Forums

Kotaku - Blizzard Forums Will Soon Display Your Real Name

Kotaku - Blizzard's Real Name Forum Policy Has Fans In An Uproar

Joystiq - Your real name to appear on Blizzard's official forums

Inc Gamers - Blizzard Going Too Far With Real ID?

MTV Multiplayer - Blizzard Cracks Down On Anonymity In Official Forums

TechEYE.net - Blizzard forces users to show real names: Internet security they have heard of it

Product Reviews News - WoW Real ID System: Security Flaw Found

ITWorld - Blizzard to share your name with angry video game nerds

Voodoo Extreme - Is Blizzard's Real ID Safe, Or A Playground For Sexual Deviants?

Voodoo Extreme - Blizzard Forums To Require Use Of Real Name, Rage Ensues

Examiner National - World of Warcraft Players WoWed by Blizzard's REALID announcement

EuroGamer - Blizzard forums to require real names

GameFocus - Blizzard To Kill Anonymity On Forums

Strategy Informer - Battle.net removes "veil of anonymity" on forums, real names used

HuskyStarcraft - Blizzard Forums: First and Last Names [VIDEO]

AusGamers - Blizzard Switching Forums to Real ID System

Australian Gamer - Blizzard decide to give out subscribers' real names

It doesn't exactly make for happy reading, but at least Blizzard now knows that not only the "small but vocal" population that uses the official forums thinks this is a bad idea.

Fight Back Against Real ID on Warcraft Forums

2010-07-07T09:38:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning, a bomb went off on the official World of Warcraft forums in the form of an announcement that the use of players real first and last names would become mandatory on the forums. Though a handful of players agreed with the change, a massive tide of hate has been flowing towards Blizzard since the reveal. Feel free to check out the official announcement and the well over one 21,000 posts which have followed it to see the outrage for yourself.

Many speclate that this is a first step towards making the use of real life first and last names, or Real ID, mandatory in game. As a parallel, Battle.net started out as "optional" for World of Warcraft players, but now it is a prerequisite for play.

As players' frustration about the looming change grows many people are stuck as to what to do about it. Thankfully, there are a number of steps you can take to express your displeasure at Blizzard's decision about how to govern the use your personal information. First, consider lodging a complaint with the ESRB. All of Blizzard and Activision's major game related websites are Privacy Certified by the ESRB. If you feel the changes coming to the World of Warcraft forums run afoul of that certification, file a complaint using the ESRB's Online Complaint Form.

Second, voice your concerns on the official World of Warcraft forums. The change to using real first and last names has not happened yet and old posts will not be modified when the change occurs, so your personal information is not yet at risk should you post. The posts expressing outrage at Blizzard's proposal have likely already exceeded one hundred thousand, but each customer who posts makes it harder for Blizzard to argue that they listen to their subscribers and address their concerns.

Lastly, if you are incredibly passionate about the issue, you may need to vote with your wallet. I do not plan on canceling my subscription, I will simply forever forgo posting on the official forums. Should, however, Blizzard decide that my real first and last name ought to become a part of my actual game play, I will immediately walk away. I also will be forced to leave should my inability to post on the support forums prevent a technical issue from being timely resolved. You may feel more strongly than I do, however, and decide that either the decision itself or the direction it indicates Blizzard is taking is contrary to your preferences. I know a couple of my in game and online friends decided enough was enough and are in the process of cancelling their subscriptions. As a heads up, many of them have reported that the cancelation system is backlogged because of the announcement.

In light of the overwhelming criticism this decision has been buried with, it will be amusing to see if Blizzard cares enough about its forum community and player base to back pedal. I do not suspect they will. At this point, I can only hope that the mandatory use of players' real first and last names on the official forums will be the only terrible decision Blizzard makes in the near future.

Cataclysm Feral Tank Spec

2010-07-06T11:42:00.006-04:00

This post is based on the old talent lay out, hop over to my updated Best Feral Tank Spec in Cataclysm for a current one!

Some people might call me crazy, but in my opinion it is never to early to start planning out your Cataclysm specs. Towards that end, I have decided to start laying out what I believe will be the "cookie-cutter" Druid specs when Cataclysm comes out. To start things out, here is my ideal Feral Tanking Spec for Cataclysm. (00/55/21)

In my design of the spec, I was looking both to maximize bear form survivability and threat generation. First, let's look at the Feral tree. In tier one Ferocity, goes a long way towards reducing rage consumption allowing a bear tank to utilize more abilities without running low on delicious rage juice. Well worth the full five points. Sharpened Claws is also a great pickup as it increases the damage done by two primary bear abilities, Maul and Mangle, by an astounding 20% for just two points. We can pass on Feral Aggression as your rotation will likely be busy enough that you don't need extra Faerie Fires available, though the talent could have a niche use on fights where a bear needs to rapidly pick up solo adds.

Moving to tier two, I would suggest taking everything. Thick Hide is a potent mitigation talent that no bear should miss. Feral Instincts is also a solid recommendation because although AoE tanking will be limited in Cataclysm, whenever it does come up you will be loving the 30% extra Swipe damage. Additionally, it is possible (though unlikely) that Swipe will still have a place in the bear form rotation as a rage dump in Cataclysm. Lastly in tier two, Shredding Attacks will reduce your Lacerate rage cost which should be handy considering you will need to constantly rebuild stacks after Pulverize.

Tier three is a solid place to plant five points. First, two points in Feral Swiftness nets you a solid 4% dodge. Next, you will want to pick up Feral Charge to stay mobile. Lastly, Improved Feral Charge gives you a whopping 30% melee haste for eight seconds every single time you charge. Talk about a threat lead gold mine! Stay away from Predatory Instincts as, despite what the initial tool-tip says, it currently only applies to Cat Form.

Tier four should also eat five of your talent points. Fury Swipes is an interesting new talent that seems to function like Warriors' Sword Specialization. Free auto-attacks can do nothing but help your threat. Primal Fury is also a strong selection as it turns your critical strikes into delicious rage. Avoid Nurturing Instinct as you shouldn't be in Cat Form or healing while tanking.

In tier five, we pick up our first talented ability: Survival Instincts. It is a great panic button that any good bear uses liberally. You will also want to place five points in Heart of the Wild both to open Leader of the Pack and to net a respectable 10% stamina boost. Brutal Impact has some PvE utility, but is primarily a PvP talent and can be glossed over. Should you find yourself using Bash liberally, feel free to swap some points to it. Predatory Strikes is exclusively for Cats and should be skipped.

Tier six let's us boost our dodge by another 6% and even grants us rage on every dodge. Not a bad use of three talent points. Survival of the Fittest is also a mandatory tanking talent. Without Survival of the Fittest, bear tanks can fall victim to critical hits. That can't happen. The extra armor is just icing on the cake that is this truly necessary talent. Endless Carnage is a take it or leave it talent. I personally would leave it alone, but it might be worth subbing the two points I placed in Improved Mangle here or to Brutal Impact depending on your preference and play-style.

For tier seven, I recommend picking up Leader of the Pack and Improved Leader of the Pack. Tanks are designed to be in groups so passing up on such a solid group buff is almost criminal. Considering how huge a Bear Form Druid's health can get, the 8% heal every six seconds from Improved Leader of the Pack is also well worth the investment. Primal Tenacity is a Feral PvP talent; skip it. You can skip King of the Jungle too as you really should not be using Enrage while in combat once you lose your tier ten bonus because of the armor penalty.

Fill out tier eight. Primal Tenacity is a direct boost to both your threat and mitigation while Infected Wounds helps significantly reduce incoming damage and keeps mobs more easily under your control. Take them both.

At tier nine we finally pick up Mangle and have the option of reducing its cooldown with Improved Mangle. Obviously, you need to take Mangle, but whether or not your take Improved Mangle is really a matter of personal preference, though I would only spend two points here simply because the third point can be better spent elsewhere. See how your rotation works with and without it and don't be afraid to move those two points around. Primal Madness isn't a bad talent, but it isn't worth the five points in King of the Jungle to get to it.

In tier ten, Nom Nom Nom is an awesome talent, but only for Feral dps, so skip it. Do, however, pick up Rend and Tear as it will substantially increase your threat generation. Also, be sure to get the new ability Pulverize which will dramatically change how bears tank and will forever alter how you look at Lacerate stacks.

Lastly, top off the Feral tree by picking up Berserk. Not only is it a great snap threat generation cool-down (especially when holding three targets), but it is also our only reasonable way of breaking nasty fears. Take it and use it often.

Having buried a whopping fifty five points in the Feral Tree, we have another twenty one to carry elsewhere. Since Balance has absolutely nothing to offer a Feral tank, to the Restoration Tree we go!

First, plop five points in Furor. Do you really need five points there? No, but you need to get to the lower tiers and there is really nowhere else productive to spend your initial five. Then it is time to scoop up five points of Perseverance. Bear tanks have always had a bit of a weakness to magical damage. This new talent says no more! Also, place three points in Natural Shapeshifter if just to open up Master Shapeshifter below it.

Moving to tier three of the Restoration Tree, spend all of your remaining talent points here. Naturalist will increase your Bear Form Damage by 10% while Master Shapeshifter adds another 4%. Lastly, Omen of Clarity will land you some delightfully rage free attacks.

In summary, I believe this spec will get you the most bang for your buck in terms of feral tanking. If you want points to play with, the two in Improved Mangle are ripe for the picking. You could also can Omen of Clarity is you so desire, though I personally enjoy the talent. Obviously, the Cataclysm talents are still subject to change, but at the time being I think this is the best any feral tank can hope to do.

Would you do things differently? Let me know in the comments.

This post is based on the old talent lay out, hop over to my updated Best Feral Tank Spec in Cataclysm for a current one!

The Seven Wonders of Azeroth

2010-06-29T14:11:00.000-04:00

With Cataclysm on its way, the face of World of Warcraft's Azeroth is soon to be changed forever. While we still can, I figured it would be entertaining to try an identify the seven most impressive locations in all of Azeroth: the Seven Wonders of Azeroth if you will. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion of the most epic places in World of Warcraft. Feel free to share your ideas in the comments.

Stormwind City

The seat of power for the kingdom of Stormwind and the largest Human city in all of Azeroth, Stormwind is stuffed from wall to wall with architectural wonders. Rebuilt after being razed by Orcs by the able hands of the masons now known as the Defias, Stormwind's scale and design is breath taking.

Whether taking in a cool breeze at Stormwind Harbor, marveling at the statues in the Valley of Heroes, reflecting in the Cathedral of the Light, or visiting Stormwind Keep, the city presents wonder after wonder and is therefore more than deserving of a spot on this list.

Stonewrought Dam

Built by the Dwarves of Ironforge to grow Loch Modan and drain the Wetlands, the Stonewrought Dam is one of Azeroth's most striking and impressive constructs. Adorned with massive stone heads spewing the Loch's water, the Dam is at the pinnacle of Dwarven engineering. The technical achievement of the Dam as well as its role in transforming the ecology of the Eastern Kingdoms make it one of Azeroth's greatest wonders.

Blackrock Mountain

This gargantuan volcano was created when Ragnaros the Firelord was accidentally summoned by Dwarven Emperor Thaurissan during the War of the Three Hammers. As striking as the volcano itself may be, it is nothing compared to the massive Dwarven City constructed throughout its entire structure.

From the corridors of Blackrock Spire and Blackwing Lair carved out of the volcano's upper regions, to Blackrock Depths near the mountain's molten core, Blackrock Mountain is a marvel in every sense of the word and is perhaps one of the most significant structures in all of Azeroth's history.

The Temple of Atal'Hakkar

Created by the Atal'ai Trolls over a thousand years ago as a shrine to the blood god Hakkar, the Temple of Atal'Hakkar is a massive example of Troll architecture. Unfortunately, the Temple's nefarious purpose drew the ire of the green dragon Ysera and nearly the entire structure was sunk beneath the waters of the Swamp of Sorrows. Today, the Temple is more generally known as simply the "Sunken Temple."

Though the Troll cities of Jintha' alor in the Hinterlands and Zul'Aman in the Ghostlands are similarly awe inspiring Troll creations, the mystery, history and danger surrounding the Temple of Atal'Hakkar set it apart as one of Azeroth's principal wonders.

Dalaran

As a tribute to the mortal use of magic, only the Blood Elves' Silvermoon can come close to rivaling Dalaran. Now magically suspended in the chill air above Northrend, the Kirin Tor's city of magic has become untouchable in more ways then one.

Adorned with towering spires and a sprawling sewer system, Dalaran is as mysterious as it is majestic. To be fair though, what do you expect from a city built and maintained by Azeroth's most powerful mortal magic users?

Wyrmrest Temple

Believed to be the location where the five Dragon Aspects received their powers, Wyrmrest Temple not only dominates the Dragonblight's landscape, but also its history. Constructed by the Titans long ago, the Temple has survived the onslaught of both Northrend's arctic winds and a present day incursion by Malygos' forces.

Wyrmrest Temple is one of Azeroth's principal wonders not only because the towering structure is awe inspiring, but also because the Temple serves as a central base of operations and monument to some of the most powerful beings to ever roam the land.

The Sunwell

The Sun Well is likely the most potent sources of magical energy in all of Azeroth. Shaped by the High Elves atop the intersection of powerful magical ley lines using water from the Well of Eternity, the Sunwells history has been repeatedly tainted by tragedy. The misfortune which has surrounded the Well, however, has not diminished its significance or the awe it inspires.

Did one of your favorites not make the list? Think one of my choices missed the mark? Feel free to share in the comments.

Battle of the AoE Tanking Abilities

2010-06-23T07:55:00.000-04:00

Though AoE tanking is apparently at least somewhat on its way out in Cataclysm, for the remainder of Wrath of the Lich King it is alive and well. For today's post I decided to take a quick look at the different staple AoE tanking tools available to the various classes. Which are strong? Which are weak? Which will cause a killing streak? Find out my thoughts below and feel free to share yours in the comments!

Druids

Swipe: It is always easy to identify Feral Tanks in real life because they are the ones with the rippling muscles on their left index finger. Why are their digits so pumped up? Why from mindlessly hammering the Swipe key thousands upon thousands of times of course.

Swipe is really a Bear's only true AoE damage dealer and, as a result, it is only ability we absolutely need to hit when holding a pack of mobs. It is a great spell because it costs little rage (which we have a near endless supply of anyway), does solid damage to large packs, and has no cooldown. It is simultaneously terrible because it needs to be pushed ad nausea to be effective and provides no benefit other than a small burst of damage.

Where Druids Shine: The real strength of Swipe is that it can theoretically be used infinitely with little to no restrictions. A Bear Druid loaded with mobs will have near endless rage and can therefor pound Swipe as fast as a finger allows. For fights where wave after wave of mobs are rolling into your raid, a Druid will always be ready to Swipe and has no reason to worry about much of anything else. Additionally, Swipe is a physical attack, leaving the Druid free from the fear of an ill timed silence.

Paladins

Consecration: The ability that single-handedly defined Paladins as "the AoE" tank is still alive and well. Consecration is great because it is the ultimate set it and forget it spell. You lay it on the ground and, until it expires, mobs are stuck to you like glue.

Back in the day, Consecration occasionally caused mana issues for the overzealous tank, but no more. Now, so long as the modest cool-down has run its course, keeping consecrate up on a pack of mobs shouldn't come close to depleting a Paladin tank's mana pool.

Where Paladins Shine: Where a tank needs to hold both a single high priority target and several smaller adds, the Paladin is feeling good. A Consecration every eight second will get the AoE job done and you are free to focus on your priority target. Sustained AoE aggro with little effort or attention is the Paladin's true strength. Also, if the mobs happen to be undead, other tanks can forget about it as the addition of Holy Nova to the mix makes Paladins all-stars. If a silence enters the mix, however, you may very well end up with some dead healers.

Warriors

Thunder Clap: Just as Consecration defined Paladins as the AoE tanks, the existence of Thunder Clap and ONLY Thunder Clap has long relegated Warriors to the AoE tanking bargain bin.

In recent times, Thunder Clap has started to hit harder and generate more delicious aggro, but it still feels lacking. Perhaps the cooldown is just too long, or maybe the supplemental slow just isn't enough to get a plate wearer out of bed in the morning. Whatever it is, Thunder Clap is far from a Warcraft media darling.

Where Warriors Shine: In terms of snap AoE aggro, it really is tough to beat a Warrior. Thunder Clap hits hard and generates tons of threat. After that, however, it's time to wait out the cool down. Grabbing AoE mobs is in a Warriors wheelhouse, holding them is often the problem.

Death Knights

Death and Decay: You mean to tell me that Death Knights can lay down a Consecration equivalent at range?!? Why yes they can.

With great power, however, comes slightly greater cost. While a Paladin using Consecration only loses a bit of constantly replenishing mana and can move on with his or her life, a Death Knight must fork over one of each and every rune in his arsenal to generate a bed of AoE hurt. Not only does the Death Knight need to consider Death and Decay's own huge cool-down, but also the fact that using the ability actually can put his other skills on cool-down as well.

Blood Boil: Though Death and Decay gets all the Death Knight AoE press, Blood Boil is the behind the scenes workhorse of the class's AoE skills.

For the cost of a single Blood Rune, a Death Knight can instantly ding all nearby targets for decent magical damage. Add diseases to the mix and that damage goes up appreciably. Limited only by the speed rune generation, the ability is available pretty often and offers decent bang for its buck.

Where Death Knights Shine: Death and Decay makes Death Knights both exceptionally flexible and inflexible AoE tanks. They can snap a group of mobs anywhere and hold them with a set and forget AoE, but only once every thirty seconds and only if they want to sack half their runic resources for a little while. With time to prepare, a Death Knight can AoE tank like nobody else, but when caught without cool-downs, Blood Boil can be a bit too little too late.

Lich King 10 Man Strategy

2010-06-21T13:08:00.007-04:00

As World of Warcraft Patch 3.3.5 slides into place and the Ruby Sanctum looms, it is time to clean up all those loose ends you may have left back in Icecrown Citadel. Namely, it is time to bring Arthas down and finally claim that ever elusive "King Slayer" title. The challenge may seem daunting, but it is surmountable with the right plan, practice, and a bit of luck.

Below is my quick and easy guide to defeating the Lich King in ICC 10 normal mode. This strategy is designed for those guilds and groups looking to get their first kill. It is not the maximum dps strategy and is designed to make some concessions for insufficient gear and mechanical prowess. This approach should give your raid members the maximum possible chances of surviving the encounter to the end. Considering how forgiving Arthas' enrage timer is, staying alive really is the name of the game.

You may also notice that I identify what other guides consider transitional phases (1.5, 2.5, etc.) as their own independent phases. I believe this makes things clearer and hope you agree.

Raid Set Up

For the ten man Lich King encounter, you will need two tanks. The fight is interesting in that there is not necessarily a consistent "main tank" throughout the encounter. Rather, the two tanks will each have a chance to stare down Arthas and must both therefore be geared enough to handle him. Each class of tank brings unique advantages and disadvantages to the encounter, so try not two have two of the same.

In terms of healers, you will want to bring three. Some of the best healers might be able to hold down the fort as a duo, but do not even consider it until you have the Lich King on farm. As with most of Ice Crown Citadel, a healthy combination of raid and tank heals will be necessary. As for which healer classes to bring, every single one has a chance to shine here, so just try to get a healthy mix.

For your dps, ranged is preferred and you will generally want to have at least two. If possible, try to find a hunter as they can make the first phase smoother. Warlocks also have a couple tricks up their sleeve which can turn the tides of battle in your favor, so get them in when you can. If you are melee heavy, the encounter is still doable, it just requires a bit more awareness and luck to see things through to the end.

Phase One

After speaking with Tirion and sitting through about a minute of role playing, the encounter will begin. One of your tanks will want to pick up Arthas and tank him directly to the frozen Tirion's left, facing the stairs. The melee will stack up right behind the Lich King while the healers and ranged will stack up about fifteen yards behind the melee. Your other tank should wait next to the frozen pillar to Arthas' left, standing on its Southern side.

During Phase One, the Lich King will summon two different kinds of adds at different intervals. The first are Drudge Ghouls, which he will create three at a time. The tank by the pillar will want to pick up as many of these as he can, while the tank holding Arthas gathers any stragglers. These adds are incredibly weak and will die to incidental damage. Aside from being held onto by the tanks, they can be ignored.

The other adds, Shambling Horrors, cannot be ignored. These adds will be summoned one at a time about 5 to 15 yards directly in front of Arthas. The tank by the pillar needs to immediately pick these adds up and hold them next to the pillar facing away from the center of the platform. A Hunter's Misdirect or Death Knight's Death Grip can be exceptionally helpful here.

The Shambling Horrors do a nasty frontal cone attack and periodically enrage. When enraged, the cone attack becomes a serious threat to an under-geared tank and two enraged Horrors launching cone attacks can kill even a well geared tank. A Hunter's Tranquilizing Shot and/or the tanks use of stuns can help keep the Horror's damage in check. Depending on how heavy your dps is on the Lich King, you will likely only see two or three of these during Phase One. As explained below, dps should not attack the Shambling Horrors.

Aside from the summons, the Lich King also casts an ability called Necrotic Plague. Necrotic Plague is a DoT that ticks for huge damage every five seconds. A single tick from the DoT can easily kill a player, so it needs to be dispelled within the first five seconds. What makes things challenging is that when the Plague is dispelled, not only does it hop to a new target, but it also buffs the Lich King with increased damage. Thankfully, Necrotic Plague not only jumps to other raid members, but the Lich King's summoned adds as well. The key is then to have a raid member infected with the plague immediately run to right behind the Shambling Horrors, get dispelled, and then return to position. This not only saves them from the DoT, but also infects the Horrors removing the need to dps them. The Horror tank wants to gather Drudge Ghouls as well as the Plague can "jump" from Ghoul to Ghoul, increasing in power and ultimately killing the Horrors faster. If the tank gets the Plague, simply cleans it.

The last ability the Lich King uses in Phase One is Infest. Infest applies a rather heavy DoT effect to every single raid member which can only be removed by bringing the target's health above 90%. A Druid's HoTs can be extremely helpful here as the healing ticks can immediately bring an infested raid members health back above 90% after only a single hit from the DoT.

At 70%, the Lich King will run to the center of the room and it is time to transition into Phase 2.

The Transition to Phase Two

As soon as the Lich King begins running to the center of the platform, your entire raid needs to run to the edge of the platform. This is because the Lich King will start casting Remorseless Winter at the platforms center. At the edge, your ranged should separate into two groups slightly to the South. Then you will want your Lich King tank and melee. On the edge nearest to the stairs will be your pillar tank, holding any remaining Horrors and pointing them away from the raid.

Phase Two

At the beginning of Phase Two, your pillar tank will simply hold any remaining Shambling Horrors until they die of Necrotic Plague. The tank will then need to be cleansed of the Plague far enough away from the rest of the raid so as to prevent a jump.

During Phase Two, Ice Spheres will appear in the center of the platform and slowly make their way towards the raid. Should they touch a raid member, they will explode knock everyone in range off the platform, so you need to assign a dps (preferably your Hunter) to kill them as they approach. The Spheres have very very little health, so this is a relatively easy task.

The central mechanic of Phase Two are Raging Spirits. Three of these adds will spawn over the course of the Phase and they need to be picked up and tanked by your Lich King tank. The Spirits do a devastating cone attack which both silences and packs enough punch to kill a cloth wearer, so they need to be tanked facing away from the raid. Gathering the Raging Spirits can be difficult as they each spawn on top of a random raid member and your tank may be silenced when the second and third ones appear. Once the Horrors are down, your other tank can and should help gather the Spirits. The Raging Spirits need to be killed as quickly as possible during Phase Two as you do not want to bring more than one of them with you into Phase Three.

Shortly after the third Raging Spirit spawns, it is time to transition into Phase Three.

The Transition to Phase Three

In the transition to Phase Three, the Lich King will shatter the outer edge of the platform, so your raid needs to run to the middle as quickly as possible. Your Raging Spirit tank needs to bring any remaining Spirits (hopefully only one) to the middle as well, being careful to keep them pointed away from other raid members to avoid deaths and/or silences. Your tank who is not handling the Raging Spirits will want to grab the Lich King and park him right in the center. He does not cleave, so the tank does not need to worry about his facing.

Phase Three

At the very beginning of Phase Three, your entire raid (except Warlocks as explained below) will want to stack right in the very center of the platform while your dps quickly burns down any remaining Raging Spirits. During this Phase, the Lich King will continue to cast Infest, but the real challenges here come from Defile and Val'kyr Shadowguards.

Right at the beginning of Phase Three and every so often after that, the Lich King will summon a Val'kyr which will swoop down and pick up a random raid member where they stand. The Val'kyr will then carry that raider towards the edge and, if given the opportunity, drop them to their death. To prevent this from happening, your raid needs to stun and snare the Val'kyr while blowing it up with instant heavy, focused dps.

There are a couple tricks to dealing with the Val'kyr which will make your life easier. First, although the Val'kyr can be stunned, stuns used against them are also subject to diminishing returns. This means that although the first stun will last its full duration, the second's length will be cut in half, the third's will be cut to a fourth, and so on. As a result, it is best to use your longest stuns (likely Hammer of Righteousness) first. Also, be sure to call out and stagger your stuns so as not to waste cool-downs which would be better saved for subsequent Val'kyr.

Another trick involves Warlocks' Summoning Circles. A Warlock can use their Circle Teleport to avoid plummeting off the edge. Since a Val'kyr will always head directly towards the platform's edge, a Warlock can drop a Summoning Circle right on the edge, move a bit towards the center, and wait to be picked up. Since the Warlock can teleport to safety once dropped, a Val'kyr which picks up a Warlock can be ignored by the dps entirely allowing for tons of extra dps on the Lich King and a shorter Phase 3.

Defile is another dangerous raid killer in Phase Three. Defile will target one random raid member and place a small patch black smoke at their feet. Anyone who stands in the patch takes heavy damage every second and each time the patch does damage it grows in size. If people stand in Defile even for a couple seconds it can quickly fill the entire platform and kill your raid. Additionally, if Defile appears in the center of the platform, your raid will be unable to stack there for Val'kyr summons and your fellow raiders will likely be carried to their deaths. It is therefore important that each defile is placed near the edge of the platform and moved out of immediately.

To accommodate this, you will want your entire raid to spread out towards the edges of the platform just before Defile is cast. Most strategies simply direct the person infected with Defile to "run out," but the window of time they have to do so is less than two seconds. Spreading out just in advance of Defile removes some of the twitch factor from the encounter and reduces your chances of Defile related wipes. Once Defile lands, return as close to the center as possible.

Though both Defile and the Val'kyr are deadly in their own right, it is the interplay between them that makes Phase Three the most difficult part of the Lich King encounter. Sometimes, they will happen nearly simultaneously meaning ideally you would need to be both spread out and collapsed in the center at the same time. Do not panic. Generally speaking, a Val'kyr pickup near the edge is more deadly to your raid than a Defile towards the middle of the platform (assuming nobody stands in it that is). Be adaptive when these situations occur and focus on the bigger picture goals: keep the raid away from the edges and out of Defile.

The last ability of concern during Phase Three is Soul Reaper. This is a debuff the Lich King places on his target which, after five seconds, deals a massive amount of damage and temporarily buffs the Lich King's attack speed. A well geared tank can likely soak the Soul Reaper damage, but they will be left sitting at little health in danger of being killed by the Lich King's subsequent sped up melee attacks. To prevent this either your Lich King tank must use cool-downs to mitigate Soul Reaper damage or your other tank needs to taunt the Lich King off in the five second window between when Soul Reaper is applied and when it goes off. Taunting allows your healers time to repair the Soul Reaper target's health without the additional burden of the Lich King's melee attacks. Druids with the four piece tier ten bonus are especially adept at simply soaking Soul Reaper.

To track all the abilities in Phase Three, install an add on like Deadly Boss Mods. This will allow you to know whether the next ability case will be a Val'kyr Summon or Defile and you can have your raid preemptively spread out or condense accordingly.

At 40%, the Lich King again returns to the center of the platform and it is time to transition into Phase Four.

The Transition to Phase Four

At the very beginning of Phase Four, the outer portion of the platform will reappear and your raid will want to run out there immediately to avoid taking damage from Remorseless Winter. Phase Four is identical to Phase Two except that there are no left over Shambling Horrors and four Raging Spirits will appear instead of three. As a result, you will want your positioning to be the same with two ranged/healer groups and one melee group.

Phase Four

As with Phase Two, Ice Spheres will spawn and your designated ranged dps will need to resume destroying them. Ranging Spirits will also spawn one at a time just as during Phase Two. This time, however, since there are no Shambling Horrors, both tanks will be available to help gather them from the start. You will, however, want only one tank to ultimately hold all of them as the other tank will need to be free for the Lich King in Phase Five.

In terms of raw dps required, Phase Four is one of the most demanding parts of the encounter. This is because your raid needs to do as much damage as possible to the Raging Spirits to avoid carrying too many of them into Phase Five. As a result, it is best to use dps cool-downs and Heroism/Bloodlust during this Phase.

Shortly after the fourth Raging Spirit appears, it will be time to transition to Phase Five.

The Transition to Phase Five

At the start of Phase Five, the Lich King will once again destroy the outer ring of the platform, so your raid will need to get off it as soon as possible. Rather than going to the middle, however, your raid will want to stay relatively near the platforms new edge.

Have your tank with the Raging Spirits keep them pointed away from the raid while your other tank picks up the Lich King and brings him over to the edge. Your ranged and healers can spread out however they like, but they should avoid standing near the middle of the platform.

Phase Five

Phase Five is all about survival and does not require the precision of Phase Three to clear. At the beginning of the Phase, your dps needs to burn down any remaining Raging Spirits as soon as possible. In fact, this should be the only task for your melee dps until they have been eliminated.

Defile and Soul Reaper both return in Phase Five, now joined with Harvest Soul and Vile Spirits. Your raid should deal with Defile the same as in Phase Three making sure to leave the middle of the platform Defile free whenever possible. This is easier now because, without the Val'kyr to worry about, your raid is free to stay spread out and linger towards the edges of the platform. Your tanks should also handle Soul Reaper the same as in Phase Three. If one of your tanks could soak it before, they should now. If not, they will need to taunt as before and switch roles accordingly.

For Harvest Soul, the Lich King will target a random raid member and start damaging them with a rather hard hitting channeled attack. Healers will need to heal through the effect to prevent the target from being killed which causes Arthas to empower and likely kill the tank. Once the channel is finished, the target will be teleported to a small room containing a hostile NPC and a friendly NPC. The goal here is to see the hostile NPC destroyed while the friendly NPC survives. For dps, this is simply a matter of blowing up the hostile NPC as quickly as possible, throwing in the occasional stun or silence to mitigate the damage the friendly NPC takes. For healers, the goal is to keep yourself and the friendly NPC alive while it kills the hostile one. Should you be able to throw a bit of dps on the hostile one as well, all the better. Once the hostile NPC dies, you return to the platform with your other raid members.

Vile Spirits is really the central mechanic of Phase Five. Every so often, the Lich King will hold up Frost Mourn and summon ten Vile Spirits. While he is summoning, your tank and melee dps will want to make their way to the far side of the room. Your ranged will want to destroy as many Spirits as they can, before joining the rest of the raid and the Lich King on the opposite side of the platform.

After hovering in the air a few seconds, the Vile Spirits will pick random raid members and start moving towards them. Upon making contact with any player, a Vile Spirit will explode doing heavy, though likely non-fatal, damage. More than one of them, however, can easily take out a non-tank and one exploding in a group of players can cause massive raid damage. Since your entire raid has moved to the opposite side of the platform, the remaining Vile Spirits will be forced to make their way across the middle to reach their targets. Waiting for them in the middle will be your second tank who can hop around and pop the Vile Spirits before they reach more squishy raid members. Should one get away, it shouldn't be lethal, but the tank in the middle still has the option of taunting it.

The Vile Spirit mechanic is why you want to avoid putting Defile in the middle during Phase Five. A Defile in the middle of the platform not only makes it more difficult to move your raid and the Lich King from one side to the other, but it also leaves no room for your second tank to intercept the surviving Vile Spirits. Should a Defile appear near where the Lich King is being tanked, simply rotate slightly around the platform and continue executing the strategy. All that matters with the kiting is that you take the Lich King and the raid as far from the freshly spawned Vile Spirits as possible to give your tank every possible opportunity to blow them up.

This portion of the fight is a long, survival oriented slog. You will have been at the fight for quite some time at this point, so keeping your concentration up will be your biggest challenge. Stay alive and put dps on the Lich King whenever you can safely do so. At 10%, the Lich King transitions into a final role-playing stage (do not release) and the kill is yours!

Conclusion

The Lich King encounter is not an easy battle and Blizzard was correct in saying that it will thoroughly test many of the skills you have learned throughout the expansion. Even with the ICC buffs and gear from ICC 25, getting that first kill will likely take many wipes as people adapt to the level of concentration the encounter requires. Once you start to consistently clear Phase Three, the finish line is near.

It is a great encounter, however, and try to enjoy the ride. The battle with Arthas is World of Warcraft at its best. It is meaningful, exciting, and challenging. It requires teamwork and coordination while simultaneously asking each individual raider to step up an be a hero when the situation calls for it. Wrap up the expansion in style and put the Lich King in his place, I assure you it is well worth the effort.

If you have any questions about the guide or if you would like to provide any feedback, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. Also, I would love to hear about if/how this guide helped you bring Arthas down!

Guide to Gear Score

2010-06-16T14:47:00.006-04:00

Love it or hate it, the concept of Gear Score has become a persistent part of life in Azeroth. It often plays a roll in determining what groups you can get into, what guilds you can apply to, and generally how other players perceive you and your character. Despite these facts, many players do not understand exactly what a "Gear Score" is, let alone how it works. Thankfully, I intend to clear that all up below.

What is Gear Score?

Generally speaking, a Gear Score is a numerical value assigned to a character based on the quality of the gear that player has equipped. There are many different programs and websites which can tell you your "Gear Score," but the number scale and value associated with each piece of gear can vary greatly from one source to the next. When referred to in game, however, players are generally referring to the number generated by the GearScore addon available on Curse Gaming and if someone in game asks you what your Gear Score is, they likely want to know what number the add on assigns to you.

What is My Gear Score?

There are two ways to find out your Gear Score. The first is to simply ask someone with the GearScore add on to tell you what it is in game. Generally a "Can someone whisper me my Gear Score" posted in Trade Chat will generate some quick responses. Keep in mind that the Gear Score you get from other players might be out of date as your number is only updated for other players when they actually encounter you in game.

The other, better way to learn your Gear Score is by installing the add on yourself. You can download the GearScore addon from Curse.com. You can then follow the install instructions listed under the "Install" tab to activate the add on. The next time you log into World of Warcraft, GearScore will be running and your Gear Score will be posted on your character page. Additionally, over time, you will start seeing the Gear Scores of other players whenever you mouse over them. Welcome to the future!

How is Gear Score Calculated?

GearScore looks at each and every item a player has equipped and assigns it a numerical value. The number is affected by both the items quality (Blue, Epic, etc.) and the stats on the item. Generally speaking, items with a higher Blizzard assigned "ilevel" will also have a higher Gear Score. The add on then adds the numbers for all a player's items together and viola: Gear Score.

How Can I Raise My Gear Score?

The simple answer is get better gear, but there are some tricks you can use to quickly or artificially inflate your Gear Score. First, go all Epics as soon as you can. Gearscore severely penalizes items that are not purple so even a single holdout blue item can drop your Gear Score by hundreds of points.

Second, get some PvP gear. One of GearScore's biggest weaknesses is that it does not differentiate between PvP and PvE gear. That means that even though your ilevel 232 PvE boots may be better for your performance, ilevel 252 PvP boots will net you a significantly higher Gear Score. Cashing in a handful of Honor Tokens is a fast easy way to boost your Gear Score, especially if you only have those pesky blue quest boots holding you back from full Epics.

Third, you can plan your upgrades around your Gear Score. The GearScore add on will not only show you players' composite Gear Scores, but will also show the Gear Score point value associated with each piece of armor in the game. Once you install the add on, you will be able to tell which pieces of equipment are holding your Gear Score back. By replacing these items first, your can push up your Gear Score as quickly as you can.

Lastly, as you can use PvP items to inflate your Gear Score, you can also use powerful items that are not particularly helpful for your character. Whether it is a high ilevel off-spec item or a random greed roll purple you picked up in a heroic, GearScore does not care if you need or want an item. GearScore only cares how powerful an item itself is. A melee swapping out his green Attack Power Trinket for an Epic Spellpower one can easily fool GearScore and get you in groups your "real" trinket might bar you from.

Isn't Gear Score Unfair?

Some would say it is, others would say it isn't. Really, the add on itself is just a tool that players can use in fair ways and unfair ways. Aside from the tricks above, GearScore is relatively successful at giving a raid leader a snapshot of the quality of a player's gear. However, as any good World of Warcraft player knows, gear is only part of the equation. There are plenty of heroes wandering Azeroth that have amazing gear, but little skill. Likewise, there are tons of green laden alts and noobs out there who know every raid encounter and their class like the back of their hands.

With some discretion, a reasonable Gear Score requirement for a particular raid or guild is not a bad thing in and of itself. It is when the requirements become unreasonable or all discretion goes out the window that the GearScore add on starts to get a bad rap. Fair or unfair though, Gear Score is something that will affect how you play World of Warcraft, so it is best to understand it.

Tips for Being a Better Raid Leader

2010-05-12T20:48:00.002-04:00

Some might argue that a raid is only as strong as its weakest link. I must admit, that has not always been my experience. In fact, many times, I have seen raids plow through ICC's end-wing bosses with more than a couple weak links in tow. On the flip side, I have seen a raid of decked out hardcore raiders crumble after Saurfang or wipe on Rotface. The difference, some raids have a solid raid leader at their helm, while others do not. In my opinion, a raid is only as good as its leader.

A raid leader is the glue that holds a raid together. If a raid group is a finely tuned automobile, the raid leader is equal parts engine, brakes, and occasionally air bags. Without competent leadership, a raid can quickly devolve into a herd of cats throwing themselves harmlessly at content. With solid leadership an under-geared and green group of raiders can easily find themselves staring down the Lich King at breakneck speed. Below are my top five tips for being a better raid leader in World of Warcraft.

1. Set Your Raid Up For Success

As a raid leader, you have the ultimate say in who comes to the show and who is left on the sidelines. While you might be tempted to use anything that breaths and has a keyboard to fill out your roster, a little extra time spent finding the right raiders can make all the difference. A successful raid setup should have three things: reasonable class balance, good players, and clear expectations.

As for class balance, it is okay to have a couple classes missing from your raid setup, especially in ten man. As anyone who has ever run a raid with all Paladin healers can tell you however, a complete disregard for class balance can tank your raid before it gets started. Not only could you end up missing valuable buffs and abilities like Mark of the Wild or Bloodlust/Heroism, but you are also creating loot nightmares should you somehow manage to down a boss. If you have more than two of a particular class in your ten man or four in your twenty-five (except maybe Paladins and Druids) you might want to make some replacements.

Finding "good players" can and should mean many different things. Generally, you will want to find raiders with their combination of skill, gear, and experience to clear the content you have set your eyes on. Keep in mind that a deficiency in one area can often be made up for in strength in another. For example, you will often be better served by an under-geared Shaman who has defeated Putricide five times than by a Frost Badge gear laden Shaman who has never seen past Marrowgar. If a raider seems shaky, unless you are able and interested in carrying them, don't risk it. There truly are other fish in the raiding sea. Spend the extra time to find one that doesn't smell funny.

The last and potentially most critical part of setting your raid up for success is establishing expectations for your raiders. You want to make it clear not only what you expect from the people in your raid, but also what they can expect from you. First, you want raiders that will be in it for the long haul, so let everyone know exactly how long the raid will last and make sure everyone is available for that amount of time. Nothing wears out a raid like the dreaded search for replacements. Second, set benchmarks for your team. A simple dps or heals per second target can often be all it takes to turn a raiding zero into an Icecrown hero. For that extra bit of motivation, tie it to a tangible reward like loot. Lastly, set break times and stick to them. People need to leave their keyboards from time to time. Setting aside specific periods for these diversions can fend off the dreaded pre-boss ready check fail.

2. Know and Explain the Encounters

In an ideal world, all your raiders will know all of the encounters you will be tackling like the backs of their virtual hands. Unfortunately, the world is not ideal and, at best, you will likely have a couple raiders accustomed to ineffective or outdated strategies. At worst, you may have a couple rookies in your mix.

Taking a pre-boss break to have people watch strategy videos is always a safe bet, but it can be draining on your raiders who do know the fights and severely draws out your raid. Instead, you be the video. If you plan on leading a raid, you should know every aspect of a given encounter and how it will affect your tanks, dps and healers. You should also be able to condense that information into easily digestible nuggets of strategy which you can spoon feed to those raiders who need it.

What separates an effective explanation from an ineffective one is often brevity. Let's say you are about to fight Blood Queen and you have two green dps. They don't need to know about the tanks being linked. They don't need to know the details of your full bite order or even the reasons for it, they only need to know who they should bite, when, and how. They just need to know to run to the middle if they start to flash pink, to run out if they get the purple shadow debuff, and to spread out during the air phase. Don't overwhelm your raid with information. They won't retain any of it. Tell each individual what they truly need to know and then rock and roll. Better to have a "you have to see it to learn it" wipe after a two minute explanation than after a ten minute one.

Also, continue to lead while you are engaging the encounter. Call out dangerous mechanics and remind people of how to avoid them when they are activated. If you have a new player or two, watch their debuffs and call them out by name when they need to do something. Do not micromanage to the point of tanking your own performance, but a little coaching is often all it takes to avoid a soul crushing uber wipe.

3. Keep Things Moving

As many a frustrated raider will quickly admit, a slow moving raid can be a painful experience. Dead time encourages people to go afk and can preclude you even making attempts at later bosses before you are flooded with "I gtg" tells. Chain together trash pulls as quickly as your healers can manage. Once you reach a boss, lay down a feast and get the buffs going immediately. The second the buffs are up and you have confirmed that everyone knows the fight, it is time to ready check and pull. If a wipe happens, have everyone immediately run back and start buffing.

One source of delay you should try to mitigate is loot distribution. Try having a dps in charge of the loot so that your tanks and healers can move on to trash while shiny epics are being handed out. To make things even faster, just pick up the loot and hand it out on the run. Blizzard lets you trade raid loot for a reason. Grab it all and hand it out as you go. There is no reason to just kneel next to the boss's corpse for three minutes while your Retribution Paladin tries to figure out whether that plate helm really is a main spec upgrade. You have trash to kill, no reason you can't do it with loot in tow.

4. Make the Tough Choices

As a raid leader, you have the play experience of several raiders resting in your hands. That is a lot of responsibility and should not be taken lightly. Assuming your goal is clearing content quickly and efficiently, it is sometimes necessary to put the needs of the raid as a whole before the interests of individual members. For example, let's say you find yourself hitting Festergut's enrage timer. Perhaps it is time to stop carrying that 3k dps Warlock. Will he be pissed that you drop him? Hopefully not if you politely explain why he needs to go, but regardless if you keep him around you have doomed your raid. Someone needs to pull the trigger and that little crown next to your character portrait means it must be you.

Similarly, you might have a fantastic performer who continually goes afk or is otherwise disruptive to the flow of the raid. All the healing throughput in the world won't help you reach the Lich King if your entire raid must sit through fifteen minutes of failed ready checks before each boss pull. You can be a nice guy and a good raid leader, but eventually you will be faced with a situation where you can elect to either do what needs to be done or let your raid continue to struggle. A good raid leader does the former. A great raid leader does it kindly without alienating anyone.

5. Be Consistent

If your raiders know what to expect from you and like the way you operate, they will come back again and again. If they don't like the way you run things, you likely don't want them in your raid anyway. If you give the appearance of being wishy-washy, deceptive, or unfair, your raiders will resent you, won't perform their best, and may not even show up at all. On the flip side, if you prove yourself to be a conduit to consistently downing endgame bosses quickly and efficiently, you will have solid players banging down your door to come along.

Have clear expectations for those around you and stick to them. Do not make excuses for your raiders or yourself. A little predictability makes for a smooth run and happy raiders.

Feel free to share your storys about successful and not so successful raid leaders you have had in the comments. What about a raid leader makes or breaks your raids?

Cataclysm Alpha Leak Leak Video: Character Creation Screen

2010-05-06T16:51:00.002-04:00

Here is another great leaked video from the Cataclysm Alpha. This one shows the Cataclysm Character Creation Screen which has been updated with Female Worgen and Goblin models as well as spell effects for various classes.

I think it is a big improvement and am excited to see the finished Worgen Female textures. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

Also, don't forget to Follow the blog using the column on the right to stay up to date with the hottest Cataclysm leaks and updates.

Cataclysm Alpha Leak Leak Video: Abyssal Maw

2010-05-06T16:43:00.002-04:00

Check out this leaked video from the World of Warcraft Friends and Family Alpha showing the fantastic, though unfinished Abyssal Maw instance. Be sure to check the main page by clicking the banner above for other great Cataclysm Alpha footage. As always, there are more videos to come!

Cataclysm Alpha Leak Leak Video: Ogrimmar

2010-05-06T16:35:00.002-04:00

Managed to lay my hands on another great video from the Cataclysm Alpha. This one features the new Orgrimmar and is a higher quality video than the one of Stormwind. Enjoy!

Cataclysm Alpha Leak Leak Video: Stormwind

2010-05-06T16:31:00.001-04:00

Been looking all week for decent Cataclysm Alpha videos and finally managed to find one that appears to be legitimate. The quality is not perfect, but it is still pretty awesome. I present to you, the new Stormwind:

Cataclysm Restoration Druid Talent Changes

2010-05-06T15:29:00.005-04:00

Now that the Cataclysm Friends and Family Alpha is live, Blizzard has more than a few leaks on its hands. One of those leaks disclosed an early build of the new Druid talent trees for Cataclysm. Below, I will highlight all the changes coming to the Restoration Tree. For links to information about the Cataclysm Feral and Balance Talent tree changes, check out the links at the bottom of the post.

As these talent trees will likely be updated many times prior to the release of Cataclysm, I will try my best to keep this post updated as well. Last Updated: 05/06/10

Cataclysm Restoration Talents:

New Talents

Blessing of the Grove: Two rank talent which increases Rejuvenation's healing by 2%, Moonfire's direct damage by 3%, and Claw/Mangle's damage by 2% per rank

Perseverance: Reduces all spell damage taken by 2% per rank with up to five ranks

Fury of Stormrage: Two rank talent which gives Nourish a 2% to cause Wrath to become instant cast and cost no mana, also can trigger instant Starfire casts when the Druid hits a target under 25% health with Moonfire

Efflorescence: Regrowth crits now spawn a fifteen yard bed of flowers which heals friendly targets who stand in it for a percentage of the Regrowth's heal over seven seconds

Changed Talents

Improved Rejuvenation: Now also increases Swiftmend healing by 5%

Improved Tranquility: No longer reduces Tranquility's cooldown, but now reduces damage taken while channeling the spell by 25% per rank

Nature's Bounty: Completely redone, now increases crit chance of Regrowth on targets under 25% health by 10% per rank and also decreases the cooldown of Swiftmend by .5 seconds whenever the Druid crits with Nourish or Healing Touch

Empowered Touch: Completely redone, now increases healing done by Healing Touch by 5% per rank on targets below 25% health and causes Nourish to refresh the duration of Lifebloom

Swiftmend: Mana cost slightly reduced

Natural Perfection: No longer increases spell crit chance

Empowered Rejuvenation: Now also improves Swiftmend

Revitalize: Completely redone, now grants the caster 1% base mana per rank whenever Regrowth or Lifebloom's periodic ticks crit

Tree of Life: Now lasts forty-five seconds with a five minute cooldown, increases HoT healing by 15%, increases Armor by 200%, reduces movement speed by 30% and temporatily empowers some of your spells, it no longer buffs raid members and does not restrict the Druid's spell use

Improved Tree of Life: Completely redone, three ranks, now reduces Tree of Life's cooldown thirty seconds and increases damage done while in Tree of Life by 5%

Improved Barkskin: No longer provides dispel resistance

Gift of the Earthmother: Completely redone, now increases Tranquility's healing by 4% on targets below 25% health, increases Lifebloom's bloom by 2%, and adds an immediate, upfront tick to Rejuvenation

Wild Growth: Mana cost substantially increased

Removed Talents

Improved Mark of the Wild

Intensity

Living Spirit

Gift of Nature

Moved Talents

Naturalist: Moved to tier three

Living Seed: Moved to tier six

Empowered Touch: Moved to tier seven

Natural Perfection: Moved to tier eight

It seems as if Blizzard is really trying to push players to use Regrowth, Healing Touch, and Swiftmend with greater frequency. To be honest, Efflorescence is such a cool talent, expect me to be casting Regrowth whenever reasonable. It is also becoming apparent that the days of spamming Wild Growth are rapidly coming to a close. Enjoy it while it lasts.

I would be curious to hear what everyone has to say about the Tree of Life changes. Please post your thoughts in the comments.

Cataclysm Balance Druid Talent Changes
Cataclysm Feral Druid Talent Changes

Cataclysm Feral Druid Talent Changes

2010-05-06T15:12:00.005-04:00

Now that leaks from the Cataclysm Friends and Family Alpha are just pouring out into the internet, I have been able to get my hands on a copy of the test build's talent trees. Below, I will break down all the talent changes coming to Feral Druids in Cataclysm. For links to reviews of Balance and Restoration changes, check out the links at the bottom of the post.

I will keep these lists updated as new changes become available. Last Updated: 05/06/10

Cataclysm Feral Talents:

New Talents

None

Changed Talents

Primal Precision: No longer refunds energy when finishers fail to hit

Brutal Impact: Now only reduces the cooldown of Bash by five seconds per rank

Survival of the Fittest: No longer increases attributes

King of the Jungle: No longer reduces the mana cost of feral forms

Removed Talents

None

Moved Talents

None

Unlike the Balance Druid tree, the Feral Tree has not gotten much loving thus far in the Cataclysm Alpha. Do not worry though, I would imagine Blizzard just hasn't gotten around to working the Feral changes into the Alpha yet. I am certain there are plenty of changes to come, so stay tuned for updates.

Cataclysm Balance Druid Talent Changes
Cataclysm Restoration Druid Talent Changes

Druid Cataclysm Balance Talent Changes

2010-05-06T13:59:00.012-04:00

UPDATE: A new Guide to Balance Druids in 4.0.1 has been posted!

MMO Champion has just dumped a ton of Cataclysm Alpha information onto their website including screen shots, profession updates, and talent calculators. Obviously, all the information remains subject to change, but that doesn't make it any less exciting to peruse.

As this is Druid Digest, I have decided to take a closer look at the changes made thus far to the Druid Talent trees. First, I will break down the Balance tree. Check it out below and feel free to post your thoughts and concerns in the comments.

For my previews of the other Cataclysm talent trees, check the links at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Cataclysm Balance Talents:

New Talents

Solar Beam: Instant cast on a one minute cooldown which calls down a solar beam on a target enemy which disorients all targets it hits for three seconds, the beam lasts ten seconds and silences anyone inside of it

Lunar Justice: Whenever the Druid kills a target that yields experience or honor, a moonbeam is generated which lasts ten seconds and restores 2% base mana to the first ally who stands beneath it

Starsurge: Two second cast with a fifteen second cooldown which blasts a target for heavy damage and knocks them down.

Fungal Growth: When a Treant dies or a Wild Mushroom is triggered, it spawns an eight yard fungal growth on the ground which slows enemies who cross it for ten seconds.

Changed Talents

Genesis: Changed to also increase Swiftmend healing

Improved Moonfire: Now only improves the direct damage portion of the spell by 5%, effect on crit removed

Nature's Grace: No longer requires Nature's Majesty as a prerequisite

Nature's Splendor: Now has three ranks

Celestial Focus: No longer grants haste

Balance of Power: Now grants 50% of the Druids Spirit as additional Hit rather than the 3% spell damage taken reduction

Lunar Guidance: No longer affects spell power, instead increases the radius of Solar Beam by two yards and causes Starsurge to generate five Lunar or Solar energy

Moonkin Form: No longer reduces damage taken when stunned, no longer regenerates mana on spell crits, no longer buffs party or raid member spell crit

Improved Moonkin Form: Grants 2% crit per rank to raid members, no more additional spell damage or haste

Owlkin Frenzy: No longer restores mana

Wrath of Cenarius: No longer affects Wrath or Starfire, the Druid now gains a 3 second buff whenever moving which increases Moonfires damage by 5% and decreases its mana cost by 10%, the buff stacks up to three times and is refreshed as long as the Druid moves

Eclipse: Old mechanic removed, now increases Solar/Lunar Energy generated by Wrath and Starfire by 12% per rank and causes the Druid to generate Energy when crit

Typhoon: Mana cost increased

Earth and Moon: Spell damage debuff cut from 4% to 2% per application per rank

Removed Talents

Insect Swarm

Improved Insect Swarm

Improved Faerie Fire

Moved Talents

Brambles: Moved to tier five

Nature's Splendor: Moved to tier four

Celestial Focus: Moved to tier three

Vengeance: Moved to tier five

Lunar Guidance: Moved to tier six

Which changes are you the most excited about and which have you concerned? I think Fungal Growth and Lunar Justice sound like pretty interesting mechanics. I also am not freaking out about Insect Swarm, because it is simply becoming trainable.

Cataclysm Feral Druid Talent Changes
Cataclysm Restoration Druid Talent Changes

Blizzard to Pair with Facebook for New Battlenet

2010-05-05T14:05:00.002-04:00

Blizzard has just announced that the new Battle.Net service they are currently developing will integrate with popular social networking site Facebook. Feel free to read the official press release, but don't expect any information beyond what I have shared except that testing is on the horizon.

What exactly this integration will mean for World of Warcraft players remains to be seen. Perhaps my many alts will finally be able to pitch in and work on my Farmville farm, or maybe I can poke that pesky Death Knight who is always hiding under the stairs in Wintersgrasp. I hate that guy....

In all seriousness though, those of you who like to keep your gaming quite may want to start getting prepared. The Warcraft cat may very well be out of the bag come the new Battle.net.

Cataclysm Screen Shot of Deathwing Leaked?

2010-05-04T08:58:00.005-04:00

EDIT: Check out the blogs Main Page for brand new Cataclysm Alpha Videos!

Now that the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Alpha is out, it is only a matter of time before delicious leaks start flooding the WoW web. Those participating in the Alpha are subject to an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), so expect some of the earliest leaks to be vague or well hidden. I am not in the Alpha and therefore not subject to the NDA, so I will gather and post what I can here. So let's get to it!

The folks over at MMO Champion have been freaking out all morning about a supposed leaked screen-shot of the Cataclysm character model for Deathwing. The head of the website has squeezed the image out off their servers and is blasting it out of the forums whenever it rears its head. Thankfully, I managed to lay my hands on a copy of the image which you can view below.

Now, I cannot comment on the legitimacy of the image. It is not my image and I have posted it only for reporting purposes. It could very well be a fake. If so, however, it is a well done fake. Also, if it were a fake, I would assume there would be less panic over at MMO Champion. Supposedly, the head of that website got his hands on a Cataclysm Friends and Family Alpha key and is terrified that this image will jeopardize his participation in the Cataclysm Alpha. Those are all rumors though and I'll leave it to you what you decide to believe. Regardless, enjoy the image.

I would love to hear what you readers think. Is this a legit Cataclysm leak, or just another well perpetrated Warcraft Expansion Alpha hoax?

Restoration Druid Keybinds

2010-04-22T15:53:00.003-04:00

Below are the keybinds I use when healing as a Restoration Druid. For general information on how to set up your keybinds see How to Set Up Keybinds in Warcraft's Default UI. Also, check out the bottom of the post to review keybinds for other Druid specs.

Keep in mind when reviewing these binds that I have them set up both on my Tree of Life action bar and my caster form action bar when I am in Restoration spec. This is so that if I need to drop into caster form for some reason, I can continue to spam heals until the opportunity presents itself to become a Tree again.

F = Nourish: Nourish is your go to top off spell and also your bread and butter when tank healing. Depending on your role, spec, and style, however, you may want to consider swapping it for Rejuvenation (for dedicated raid healing) or Healing Touch (if you are spec'd for it and spamming it such as for Dreamwalker). Long story short, assign whatever spell you cast the most to the F key.

C = Rejuvenation: You will be tossing around this lovable HoT quite a bit, so it is important to keep it in a comfortable spot on your keyboard. C is a nice fit for me.

X = Lifebloom: Odds are you will not be using Lifebloom all that much unless you are tank healing, so the slightly out of the way X key is a fine place for it. I also like the consistency of always having my "stacking spells" (Lifebloom and Lacerate) associated with the same key.

G = Regrowth: To keep a healthy supply of mana, you want to avoid casting this spell too often. The G key is just far enough out of the way to keep you from spamming it out of panic, but close enough that you can still cast it when needed.

E = Wild Growth: For most Restoration Druids, Wild Growth is a go to spell every single time its brief cooldown is up. Hence the accessible E key is dedicated to this beast of a healing spell.

Q = Swiftmend: Swiftmend is a solid emergency heal, so having it easily accessible, but set off slightly from your other spells makes perfect sense. Q fits that bill perfectly.

Here are the specific keybinds I recommend for other Druid specs:

Feral Tanking Keybinds
Feral DPS Keybinds (coming soon)
Balance Druid Keybinds (coming soon)

Feral Tanking Keybinds

2010-04-22T15:34:00.003-04:00

Below are the keybinds I use when tanking in Bear form. For general information on how to set up your keybinds see How to Set Up Keybinds in Warcraft's Default UI. Also, check out the bottom of the post to review keybinds for other Druid specs.

When reviewing these keybinds, keep in mind that I have a macro which adds Maul to every single one of my other abilities so I have no need to cast it separately. I also choose to click cast my defensive cooldowns, Berserk, and Enrage. If you want to add additional abilities to my set, you can use the Z, V, and R keys though you will need to assign other keys to auto-reply and sheath weapon. You can also use 1, 2, 3, and 4 if you don't mind moving up from AWSD. If you are going to add additional abilities I would recommend Barkskin be the first.

F = Swipe: Generally speaking, you should put whatever ability you use the most often in the F slot. It is simply the easiest key to reach when your hand is resting at AWSD. For Bear Tanks, that ability will be Swipe.

G = Demoralizing Roar: G is actually one of the more difficult keys to reach within my keybinds, so I assign a less crucial, infrequent use ability to its slot. You may want to replace this ability with Barkskin should you find yourself rarely using Demoralizing Roar.

E = Feral Faerie Fire: Just behind F and tied with C, E is an easy key to tap, so a high volume attack like Feral FF fits well here. I also like having a ranged attack on a key above the middle of the keyboard just from a conceptual standpoint.

Q = Feral Charge: Relatively easy to reach, but set off from your other keybinds, Q is the perfect choice for Feral Charge placement. This ability is situational and serves a unique purpose, so setting it off a bit makes Q a nice fit.

C = Mangle: The same logic for Feral Faerie Fire at E applies to Mangle at C. It is a high volume ability and therefore deserves a prime spot on your keyboard.

X = Lacerate: This ability is not spammed except to build up stacks and therefore makes a perfect fit for the comfortable, but not too comfortable X key. Putting it next to Mangle also keeps your single target melee abilities together for conceptual consistency.

Here are the specific keybinds I recommend for other Druid specs:

Feral DPS Keybinds (coming soon)
Restoration Druid Keybinds
Balance Druid Keybinds (coming soon)

How to Set Up Keybinds in Warcraft's Default UI

2010-04-22T15:09:00.008-04:00

Most World of Warcraft players will tell you that click casting is an inefficient method of accessing your characters spells and abilities. The preferred method of moving away from the old mouse are keybinds. Below I will briefly explain how to set up some basic keybinds in the default World of Warcraft UI. For all those Druids out there, check out the links at the bottom to see my preferred keybinds for the various Druid specs using the setup described below.

There are several third party programs out there for assigning and managing keybinds, but the default World of Warcraft UI does a fine job of handling them on its own. To set up your keybinds, go to the World of Warcraft Options Menu and go to Keybindings. A long scroll menu will then open up listing all the functions which can be keybound alongside their currently assigned key or keys.

To start adding bindings, scroll down to the part of the menu which governs your Action Bar buttons. You will see that they all have their numerical keys listed in Key One column of the menu. You will want to click the Key Two column where it should say "Not Bound" and assign the following keys to whichever action bar buttons you like: Q, E, F, G, X, and C. Now those keys will activate the abilities you place in the corresponding action bar slots. Now it is just a matter of putting the abilities you want in the rights slots and presto, you are using keybinds!

This method of setting up your binds is great because you can convert it use by multiple characters and specs simply by shifting around the buttons on your action bar to put your high use abilities into your bound slots.

Here are the specific keybinds I recommend for Druids:

Feral Tanking Keybinds
Feral DPS Keybinds (coming soon)
Restoration Druid Keybinds
Balance Druid Keybinds (coming soon)

Next Lil' Pet for the Blizzard Pet Store

2010-04-16T11:59:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I shared my thoughts on Blizzard's loving embrace of micro-transactions and let's just say it wasn't pretty. Nevertheless, after blistering Celestial Mount sales yesterday (conservative estimates are claiming between $4 and $5 million) it is clear that Blizzard's new business model will be here to stay. As a result, the Pet Store will continue to grow. That means more "Lil'" versions of famous World of Warcraft denizens will inevitably find their way into the store alongside Lil' KT and Lil XT. Here are my top five picks for the next Lil' pets:

5. Lil' Marrowgar

With three comically large skull heads atop a disproportionately small winged body, a baby Marrowgar would certainly be a crowd pleaser. For extra flare, he could Bone Spike critters and even cry out "Bone Storm" in a baby voice at random intervals. Could it get annoying? Sure, but that didn't stop the Pandaran Monk...

4. Lil' Anub

This little bug would be certain to unleash a pestilence of preciousness upon all our souls. He could burrow and unleash microscopic swarms much to the delight of pet lovers everywhere.

3. Lil' Ragnaros

It will never be "TOO SOON" to get our hands on this fiery little scamp. Not only would he make a cute companion, but you could cook on him as well: delightful and delicious!

2. Lil' Sindragosa

She has been plaguing your sign in screen since Wrath of the Lich King's release, so why not drag an adorable version of her around with you! She could even do a miniature version of her roar. Chilling, yet endearing!

1. Lil' Hogger

The bane of lowbies existence since World of Warcraft's release, Hogger certainly deserves a place in the Pet Store. Would he have any cool abilities? Probably not, but come on, he's Hogger!

What Warcraft creature would you like to see turned into a Lil' pet?

Celestial Steed Mount Now Available.. For a Price

2010-04-15T15:47:00.003-04:00

Blizzard has just announced the location of the Celestial Steed, a rather cool looking mount which was found hidden away within World of Warcraft's game files. Some had speculated the mount would be available from some reincarnation of Ulduar's Algalon the Observer. Unfortunately, however, the reality is more terrifying than the possibility of another Code Omega. The Celestial Steed will only be available through the Blizzard Store for the hefty price of $25.00.

Along with Lil' XT, this new "Pet Store" offering continues World of Warcrafts slippery slide into the world of micro-transactions. What is a micro-transaction? It is an in game item or feature which is available only at extra real world cost. For a full primer on the subject, check out any of the many games offered by Zynga or Nexon. Those games are built around the concept of micro-transactions.

Zynga and Nexon games are also, however, free to download and play. World of Warcraft at $15 per month on top of the cost of actually purchasing the game, is distinctly not. Hence my growing gripe with the Pet Store. I can understand, to a certain extent, the need to charge for services like faction changes and server transfers. The cost does serve after all as a deterrent for over use. For pets and mounts, however, there is no real need for deterrence.

Lil' XT could drop of XT. The Celestial Steed Mount could drop off Algalon. World of Warcraft's many denizens pay a monthly fee so that Blizzard can grow and maintain the virtual world in which they live. They do not pay so that the company can R & D some virtual goods to sell back to them. Now that the veil of charity is lifted, it is hard to see the Pet Store as anything but a greedy, player-unfriendly enterprise. Sure, Blizzard is a company out to make money, but when does the risk of alienating their player base outweigh the short term cash boost of micro-transactions?

For me, if I wanted to play Farmville, I would, but I would rather play World of Warcraft. I hope that Blizzard keeps that in mind.

Expertise for Feral Tanks

2010-03-29T12:47:00.003-04:00

Recently, I have begun to wonder if Blizzard forgot entirely about Bear Tank itemization when crafting the gear made available in Patch 3.3. Sure, there is tons of Stamina and Agility to be had, but the striking absence of two pivotal Druid tanking stats on a vast majority of our class specific gear is incredibly disheartening. Those stats are Hit and Expertise. To answer your Feral Hit Rating Questions, check out our Guide to Feral Hit Rating Gear and our Bear Form and Hit Rating guide. Below I will explore the Expertise side of the Bear threat equation and explain why Blizzard has created a problem for Bear tanks tackling ICC.

What is the Bear Form Expertise Cap?

The soft cap for Bear Form Expertise is 26 Expertise or 132 Expertise Rating (the stat which appears on your gear). This level of Expertise will completely eliminate dodges from your enemies' defense tables. To eliminate parry from your enemies table you would need 443 Expertise, but I don't need to tell you how impractical and unnecessary that would be. Just shoot for 132 Expertise Rating and consider anything over that a less significant bonus.

Why is Expertise Important for Bears?

There is a common misconception amongst all tanks that Hit and Expertise are exclusively dps stats. The truth is, they are also vital threat stats because an attack which misses or is avoided generates zero threat. A lack of Hit or Expertise leaves your dps one unlucky string of failed attacks away from getting splattered by the target you were supposed to hold and all the Stamina and Avoidance in the world won't save you from their anger at the coming wipe.

Aside from the short term consequences of occasionally generating zero aggro, a lack of expertise severely harms your threat generated per second. Point for point, until you reach 132 Expertise Rating, Expertise gives you more threat per point than any other stat. You heard right, ANY OTHER STAT. That includes our precious Agility, Crit, Attack Power, Haste, and even Hit. Until you reach the hard cap of 132, Expertise nets nearly double the threat, point for point, of any other ability. If I have not convinced you by now that the stat is important, I do not think I will be able to.

Where Can Bears Find Expertise?

There are currently only three gear slots where Bears can find endgame leather with Expertise on it. Those slots are chest, feet, and legs. To reach your 132 target, you will need to equip an Expertise item in at least two out of the three. Unfortunately, you only have one random drop possibility (and it is BoE), so to get the Expertise you need you will need to part with either a significant number of badges or a significant amount of gold. Here are your options:

Chest:
Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder (BoE drop off Gunship in ICC 25)
Shadow Seeker's Tunic (95 Emblems of Frost)

Legs:
Lasherweave Legguards (95 Emblems of Frost)

Feet:
Footpads of Impending Death (Crafted BoE)

There are also a handful of rings and necks which provide Expertise, but they do not pair that Expertise with any other tanking oriented stats. Lastly, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a Battered Hilt, the Lightborn Spire could help solve your Expertise woes.

Good luck in your hunt for this ever elusive stat. Hopefully, Blizzard will make things easier for us in the future.

Guide to Feral Druid Hit Rating Gear

2010-03-03T14:26:00.003-05:00

On the heals of my comprehensive hit rating analysis and advice in Bear Form and Hit Rating it is now time to review some of the gear that is available to pull you out of your Feral hit rating slump. Below is a slot by slot breakdown of some of the best Feral hit rating gear currently available. For information on the Feral Hit cap and ways to work around it, check out Bear Form and Hit Rating.

Head

Mask of Lethal Intent/Hood of Lethal Intent - 75 Emblems of Triumph
Geistlord's Punishment Sack - Blood Princes (ICC 25)

Shoulders

Spaulders of Black Betrayal - Falric (H Halls of Reflection)
Shoulderpads of the Intruder - Assembly of Iron (Ulduar 25)

Back

Tank:
Platinum Mesh Cloak - 25 Emblems of Valor
Cloak of the Makers - Auriaya (Ulduar 25)
Titanskin Cloak - Mimiron (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Royal Crimson Cloak - Blood Princes (ICC 25)

DPS:
Drape of the Lithe - Iron Council (Ulduar 25)
Accursed Crawling Cape - Devourer of Souls (H Forge of Souls)
Shawl of Nerubian Silk - Lord Marrowgar (ICC 10)
Might/Strength of the Nerub - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)
Drape of Icy Intent - Hordir (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)

Chest

Choking Hauberk - Marwyn (H Halls of Reflection)
Knightbane Carapace - Crafted Leatherworking
Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder (BoE) - Gunship Battle (ICC 25) and in Sack of Frosty Treasures

Wrists

Chewed Leather Wristguards - Ick (H Pit of Saron)
Bracers/Armbands of Dark Determination - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)

Hands

Malfurion's/Runetotem's Handguards of Triumph - 25 Emblems of Triumph

Legs

Malfurion's/Runetotem's Legguards of Triumph - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Legwraps/Leggings of the Broken Beast - Northrend Beasts (ToC 25)
Gangrenous Leggings - Festergut (ICC 25)

Boots

Acidmaw Boots/Treads - Northrend Beasts (ToC 10)
Treads of the Icewalker/Icewalker Treads - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)

Rings

Tank:
Abomination's Bloody Ring - Gunship Battle (ICC 10)
Ashen Band of Courage - Ashen Verdict Friendly Reputation Reward
Harbringer's Bone Band (BoE) - ICC Random Drop

DPS:
Planestalker Band/Planestalker Signet - Lord Jaraxxus (ToC 10)
Ashen Band of Vengeance - Ashen Verdict Friendly Reputation Reward
Band of the Bone Colossus - Lord Marrowgar (ICC 25)

Trinkets

Mark of Supremecy - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Battlemaster's Precision - 34,100 Honor Points
Tiny Abomination in a Jar - Professor Putricide (ICC 25)

Weapons

Orca-Hunter's Harpoon - Marwyn (H Halls of Reflection)
Tortured Earth - General Vezax (Ulduar 10 Hard Mode)
Twisted Visage - XT-002 Deconstructor (Ulduar 25)
Dark Edge of Depravity - Yogg-Saron (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Hersir's Greatspear - Blood Princes (ICC 10)
Shaft of Glacial Ice - Rotface (ICC 10)
Cryptmaker - Blood Princes (ICC 25)

Bear Form and Hit Rating

2010-02-26T13:13:00.005-05:00

For all but World of Warcraft's healers, Hit Rating is a necessary evil. Bear Form tanking Druids are no exception. Below I will attempt to answer some of the common questions about Bear Form and Hit Rating as well as provide tips on how Druid tanks should deal with the stat.

What is the Bear Form Hit Cap?

For all classes, the "hit cap" is the amount of hit rating a particular character needs to never have an attack miss an endgame raid boss. This number is important to know not only because it gives you a target to reach to avoid losing threat because of misses, but also because picking up any hit rating beyond the cap is a complete waste.

For a Bear Form Druid, the Hit Cap is 263. Once you have reached 263 you should no longer see "Miss" pop up when you are attacking your enemies. To maximize your threat, you should try to clear this number. Also, keep in mind that if your hit rating is well above 263, you are not seeing an appreciable return on that stat and should see if you can change your gear around to bring your rating down to as close to 263 as possible.

What about Growl's Chance to Hit?

Growl is the exception to the Bear Form 263 Hit Cap. Currently, World of Warcraft characterizes Growl as a Spell rather than a physical ability like all of the other Bear Form powers. Where a physical attack only has an 8% chance to miss a raid boss, a spell has a 17% chance to miss. To remove the chance for a spell to miss requires a hit rating of 446. Removing Growl's chance to miss through hit rating would then require you to build an extra 183 hit into your gear. I am sure that I don't even need to tell you how impractical that is.

Spell hit rating is also calculated slightly differently than physical hit rating. I will not bore you with the numbers, but it works out to where 263 hit rating will leave your Growl with a 7% chance of missing. With regard to Growl, a Bear Form tank then has two options. First, they can simply tolerate the fact that Growl will miss 7% of the time (or slightly less if you are over the hit cap). Second, there is Glyph of Growl which, if you are at the 263 cap, will more than eliminate the chances that Growl will miss.

Does a Druid Bear Form Tank Need to Be Hit Capped?

The short answer is no. A Bear Form Druid can still be a capable tank while below the hit cap. However, a Druid tank needs to keep in mind that every miss generates zero threat and, depending on how far under the hit cap you are, misses can severely compromise your ability to maintain aggro.

Most Druid tanks make an effort to reach the hit cap. It increases your dps, helps your threat generation, and generally improves the quality of your tanking. So although you do not need to have 263 hit rating, you should if at all possible.

What if I have a Draenei in My Party?

The Draenei racial ability Heroic Presence generates a party wide buff that increases physical and spell hit chance by 1%. For Bear tanking purposes, this buff equates to 32.79 static hit rating. If you can always count on having a Draenei in your party, a bear tank would then theoretically need only 231 hit rating to be capped rather than 263. Keep in mind, however, the Draenei must be in your particular party, not just in the same raid.

What if I am Under the Hit Cap?

Obviously, the first line of defense for avoiding hit rating issues involves gear selection. Unfortunately, however, sometimes your ideal armor configuration will leave you a bit light on hit rating. Thankfully, there are several options for upping your hit chance beyond getting new gear.

The first option is through buff food. You can pick up 40 hit and 40 stamina by eating Worg Tartar or Snapper Extreme. If you take this route, keep in mind that you will be sacrificing the 40 agility you could have gotten from Blackened Dragonfin.

Your second option is to use an elixir, namely Elixir of Accuracy. This will give you 45 hit rating and you can pair it with either an Elixir of Mighty Defense or an Elixir of Mighty Fortitude to get full bang for your consumable buck. The sacrifice here is either the 1300 health you would otherwise get from a Flask of Stone Blood, or the 45 Agility from an Elixir of Mighty Agility should you usually choose to go the elixir route.

Your third option is to gem for hit. Rigid King's Amber grants 20 hit rating. If you choose this path, you would be missing out on the 30 stamina from a Solid Majestic Zircon or the 20 agility from a Delicate Cardinal Ruby. Again, the sacrifice is a point for point loss of agility. However, if you gem for hit, you might be able to counter some of that agility loss by picking up otherwise ignored gem color bonuses. Unfortunately, there is also the added cost of swapping in and out these expensive gems as your gear based hit rating fluctuates over time.

There are also a couple of item enhancements which can boost your hit. Enchant Gloves - Precision will boost your hit rating by 20, but you will miss out on the 20 agility from Enchant Gloves - Major Agility. You could also go with Enchant Boots - Icewalker for 12 hit rating and 12 crit, but at the cost of 16 agility from Enchant Boots - Superior Agility.

When considering these options, keep in mind that you do not need to push things too far. Obviously, clearing 263 should be your goal, but do not sacrifice your health, avoidance, or mitigation too much to get there. It is a delicate balancing act and you will need to figure out how far you want to push your hit.

What Bear Gear is there with Hit On It?

Unfortunately, you are going to have to wait for the answer to this one! Check back for my Guide to Feral Druid Hit Rating Gear which is coming soon.

Hot Video: Warcraft Boom De Yada

2010-02-16T14:09:00.002-05:00

World of Warcraft has gotten the Discovery Channel treatment with the latest video from Irdeen Productions. This parody of the popular "I Love the Whole World" song from a recent line of Discovery Channel commercials features several recognizable faces from around the Warcraft universe singing about what they love (and hate). This one is worth more than one watch through:

Taking Down Anzu

2010-02-14T07:12:00.001-05:00

So, I am only about 10 kills deep in my quest for Reins of the Raven Lord and the daily trips out to tackle Anzu are already getting tiresome. I fly down to Sethekk Halls and prowl my way through the instance, being sure to give Darkweaver Syth a wide berth (he sees through stealth you know). Once I reach Anzu's chamber, regrettably at nearly the end of the level, it is time to clear the trash. Thankfully, you can ignore the back left group, but the others need to be dealt with. I always kill the Prophets first to avoid getting feared. Then it is finally time for Anzu.

The big bird is actually more trivial than the add packs that precede him. Occasionally he will stun you for six seconds using Paralyzing Screech and at 66% and 33% he will banish himself and call down a flock of ravens called "Brood of Anzu." Thankfully, the damage from the fight is not enough to make up for my Improved Leader of the Pack Aura and death is never really a threat. Even if my gear were weaker or I did not have a Feral Spec, he would still be doable because there is a brief "heal break" every time he summons his adds.

So far I have seen two greens and one epic gem. In case you were wondering, I leave the Spirit Shards behind. Here is hoping you will all see a picture of me atop my new Raven Lord mount sooner rather than later.

Is Glyph of Berserk Good for Bears?

2010-02-13T08:03:00.000-05:00

Yes, yes it is. In fact, Glyph of Berserk is even better for Tanking Druids than it is for Feral dps. In Cat Form, your energy will be more than empty by the time your Berserk runs its normal duration. The benefit you gain from extending your Berserk effect by five seconds is then more than marginalized. In Bear Form, however, it is a different story.

Assuming you are taking heavy enough damage, you should be able to spam Mangle throughout the entire duration of your Berserk without worrying about rage. Glyph of Berserk would then give you an extra five seconds of spamming Mangle while it continues to hit three targets. The benefit from this varies according to your spec and situation, but is appreciable either way.

Berserk itself activates a 1.5 second global cooldown, so assuming no haste, you first Mangle drops at the 13.5 second mark. This allows for a total of 10 casts before Berserk expires without Glyph of Berserk and 13 with it. At least one of those casts will need to be used to refresh Lacerate, so you can spam out 9 and 12 Mangles respectively.

If you do not have any talent points in Improved Mangle, the spell will be on a six second cooldown and you would not be able to fit in another spell cast during the five extra seconds which would have benefited from Glyph of Berserk. If you did take the talent, you would be able to squeeze in one.

Assuming a single target, Glyph of Berserk then lets you squeeze in 3 extra Mangles every 3 minutes if you do not have Improved Mangle and 2 extra Mangles if you do. A nice boost, but nothing to write home about.

Now, however, let's assume multiple targets. When dealing with at least three targets, each Mangle during Berserk is functionally three Mangles. That means that the return from Glyph of Berserk becomes 9 additional Mangles without Improved Mangle and 6 with it when you use Berserk. Clearly, that is an appreciable boost to both your threat and damage per second.

Glyph of Berserk is then a great tool for increasing a Druid tank's damage and, by proxy, threat generation. It also carries the incidental benefit of 5 extra seconds of fear immunity. If you can afford to sack Glyph of Survival Instincts or Glyph of Growl for it, you might want to give this Glyph a second look.

A Tribute to My Strand Crawler

2010-02-12T05:31:00.001-05:00

For this Friday's post, I figured I would do a tribute to one of my favorite pets: the Strand Crawler. For those of you who do not know, the Strand Crawler is a tiny fiddler crab pet that can rarely be found the Bag of Fishing Treasures you get from completing the level 80 Fishing Dailies.

I like him for a couple reasons. First, he is small. I find the exceptionally large pets to be a bit on the distracting side. Second, as he moves around he makes a soft clicking sound. You can definitely hear it, but it is just subtle enough to make everyone around you think: What is that noise? Lastly, he blows bubbles and yes it is as adorable as it sounds!

My only problem, I have not thought of a decent name for him yet. Obviously, "Strand Crawler" just isn't going to cut it. So far I have thought of Chett, Lefty, and Captain Markaloney, but I am not quite sold on any of them yet. Wanting for inspiration, I turn to you my readers for guidance! What should I name this little crustacean? Post your ideas in the comments below. The selected name wins the satisfaction of a job well done!

Who am I?

Warcraft Farming Subsidy Please

2010-02-11T08:01:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, in The Joys of Farming, I talked about all the different kinds of farming which have been occupying my World of Warcraft play time as of late. Today, I would like to take a different approach and write about that farming which has fallen by the wayside. Be they ineffective, unnecessary, or just plain not fun you won't find me engaged in these repetitive tasks anytime soon.

Gold Farming

You do not need to seek out gold to build wealth in World of Warcraft. It is much more effective to simply make wise decisions with the gold and resources you will naturally accumulate through everyday play. Don't by crafted items. Instead buy raw materials and pay someone to craft it for you. Don't vendor everything. Selling certain items on the Auction House can increase your income more than 100 fold. Sell that you do not need. Many items in Azeroth decline in value over time and if you are hording without a purpose you are missing out on profit. Gold farming can be a boring chore. I choose to avoid it by incorporating smart, gold saving choices into my everyday play.

Reputation Farming

Aside from the Ashen Verdict Rings/Recipes, many WotLK reputation rewards have become extremely obsolete. As for other, older reputations, sure there is some novelty associated with their rewards and related titles, but the time investment to reach your reputation goals can be huge. I got my fill of achievement grinding working on Accomplished Angler. Aside from working up Sons of Hordir and the occasional Tabard swap, I am happy to simply take reputation as it comes.

Rare Material Farming

Sure, I have use for Frost Lotus and Arctic Fur. Who doesn't? Unfortunately, they are genuinely random, rare drops. As a result, farming them is not really practical. In farming the other materials you need for your crafting, you should come across these items. If you don't and you really need them, you would probably be better served to farm gold and then buy them. Except on rare occasions, the appearance of these materials cannot be predicted and any attempt to "farm" them will either result in you getting lucky or frustrated. I'll pass.

Obviously I do make exceptions and occasionally my in game needs/interests shift so I will revisit some of these farming targets. What farming do you decided to pass on?

The Joys of Farming

2010-02-10T09:15:00.000-05:00

I was thinking the other day that I need to buy some overalls and a tractor because I spend a vast amount of my Warcraft time farming. No, I am not grinding on Furblogs, searching for Frost Lotus, or running Dire Maul over and over, but I am am still farming. In fact, when you break it down, it is amazing all the different kinds of farming that occupy my day.

Rare Mount Farming

So, I have finally decided to start taking shots at Reins of the Raven Lord. I am only a couple weeks of Heroic Sethekk Halls runs deep and am already starting to tire a bit. Sure, between traveling, sneaking back to Anzu's room, clearing the trash, and downing the bird I have only blown about 15 minutes. It does, however become tiresome quickly. Perhaps I will scale back my trips to Outland to once every couple days. At that rate, I should be atop a killer mount within a year... sigh...

Frost Badge Farming

Rain, sleet, snow, or hail, nothing stops me from running my Daily Random Heroic. For some reason, missing out on those two Frost Badges strikes me as sacrilege. Again, if all goes well, I am less than twenty minutes deep in time invested. When things do not go well though, it is beyond frustrating. Thank goodness my tank spec lets me skip to the head of the que. I can't imagine a twenty minute lead in wait for this daily chore.

Holiday Reward Farming

Love is in the air, and so is the smell of fresh holiday loot. Sure, I know my chances at a Big Love Rocket are close to nil, but that won't stop me from killing the Apothecary Trio every single day during the holiday. That way, when I do miss out there will be no one to blame but the random number generator gods. To be honest, I would gladly settle for a Toxic Wasteling. Hear that drop gods?

Random Dungeon Farming

"You already said you do your daily Random Heroic!?!" Yes, but that is not the only LFD chore that occupies my time. Once my main du jour is finished with his daily tasks it is time to hop to one of my many alts and start farming random dungeons for experience. Though I will occasionally suffer the ques and work on a dedicated dps, my heal/tank capable alts see a lot more play as of late.

Jewelcrafting Materials Farming

I have a skill capped Miner, Alchemist, Herbalist, and Engineer all available on my primary server. I also have a close friend capable of covering all my Leatherworking and Enchanting needs. I know a Jewelcrafter who will work for free, but he is rarely on and I cannot really complain because... he works for free. So if you want a job done right, do it yourself. Towards that end I have been hoarding the mats needed to bring one of my many alts from 0 to 450 Jewelcrafting in one pass. Some mats I farm, others I buy, and all I have a hard time storing. Here is hoping it pays off in the long run. Honor farming: coming soon to an alt of mine!

Thankfully, I enjoy all the farming I choose to do; otherwise, I wouldn't do it anymore. Be sure to check back tomorrow when I will make a post about the farming I am not doing anymore. What sort of farming has been soaking up your playtime these days?

How to Defeat Blood Princes on 10 Man

2010-02-09T08:47:00.004-05:00

The Blood Prince Council in Icecrown Citadel is not one the instance's most challenging encounters. It is not trivial, however, and many groups are falling victim to one of the many bad strategies floating around the Internet. Fortunately, Druid Digest has the cure for what ails you. Below is my quick and easy guide to defeating the Blood Prince Council in ICC 10 Man. Be prepared to be blown away by just how easy this encounter can be!

The biggest mistake 90% of raid make in this encounter is thinking that they need more than two tanks. Many websites will tell you to have a ranged tank/third tank take care of Keleseth. Do not do it! Even when properly handled, an Empowered Keleseth can do a ton of damage to his aggro target. Absent a dedicated healer or a switch heals with superhuman reflexes, a range tank would be quickly obliterated. Even having a third tank will spread your heals too thin as they must deal both with three targets taking consistent damage and an appreciable amount of ranged damage. Additionally, a ranged tank is going to have a hard time holding Keleseth's aggro when the dps switch to him, even with the benefit of a misdirect.

"Only two tanks...but there are three Princes?!?!"

Here is the breakthrough that will save your raid: One tank picks up Keleseth, the other picks up BOTH Valanar and Taldaram. The damage from the paired up Princes is more than manageable for a tank geared for the instance. Keleseth will also be trivialized as, so long as his tank gathers Dark Nuclei, the damage will be more than manageable, the tank can have a dedicated healer, and Keleseth will be on aggro lock-down for the target switch. Any tank other than a Warrior should have minimal difficulty gathering the Dark Nuclei needed to stay alive.

That is it. Two tank healers (or a geared Paladin with Beacon up) and one raid healer should be enough to keep everyone alive. Spread out during Empowered Shock Vortex, assign a dps to keep the Kinetic Bombs in the air, and collect your loot. It really can be that easy. Good luck!

Grand Black War Mammoth Sighting

2010-02-03T14:43:00.003-05:00

With the arrival of Toravon the Ice Watcher yesterday, I finally found myself with a reason to return to the Vault of Archavon. After joining a successful group for the 25 man version, I decided to form my own group to tackle Toravon in 10 man mode.

Mechanically speaking, Toravon is a relatively straight forward encounter. Tanks need to swap to shed a stacking DoT and ranged dps need to quickly burn the Frozen Orbs which spawn to avoid the raid taking too much AoE damage. That is pretty much it. He is, however, a bit of a gear check as he has a dps demanding soft enrage (an AoE delivered stacking debuff which increases frost damage taken) and dishes out a hearty amount of raid damage.

After a two wipes and a handful of personnel changes, my 10 man proved to be a success and Toravon was tasting the Vault floor. Unfortunately, the loot was a bit of a bummer as only a PvP caster cloak was of any meaningful use to anyone. Oh well, at least we got some experience to carry into next week.

After Toravon's loot was disposed of, we lost a healer and a dps, but I decided to make a run at Koralon anyway. I find the encounter enjoyable and it seemed as though there might be upgrades available for a raid member or two. Our eight man proved rather easy and Koralon was down for the count. As with Toravon, Koralon's loot was as useless as can be, with only one notable exception. Much to my amazement, there between three pieces of Elemental Shaman gear were the Reins of the Grand Black War Mammoth!

I just sat and stared for a second. Thoughts of excitement, logistics, and potential drama all floated through my head. I announced the find to the raid resulting in a flood of all caps exclamations. "It goes to the raid leader, right?" I joked, giving rise to a chorus of "haha" and "NO."

I must admit, I briefly thought of taking it for myself. There would be outrage, sure, but I would only be offending seven people in a server of thousands. Assuming a handful of them could be bought off or talked down, my little stint as a ninja would likely only cost me the temporary ire of less than a single instance group's worth of raiders. My reputation on the server was sterling, so I was confident that even if a storm resulted, I could weather it and it would be brief.

In the end, however, I thought about how I expected to be treated as a raider and new I had to do the right thing. I typed out a very specific call for open rolls and the winning roll turned out to be the first one out of the gate: a perfect 100 within a second of my call. I waited for the other rolls to assure there wasn't a tie, passed the winner his loot, and offered my congratulations.

Sure, I would have loved to claim this rare prize for myself, but the excitement of just seeing it drop and knowing it was handled respectfully provides its own kind of joy. The only way to counteract all the stories of PuG ninjas is to create positive PuG experiences whenever you have the opportunity. Also, who knows, maybe the WoW karma gods will finally see fit to give me those Reins of the Raven Lord I have been farming...

Icecrown Citadel Raid Boss Difficulty Ranks

2010-01-27T20:01:00.004-05:00

People often make the mistake of assuming that a raid instance follows a linear increase in encounter difficulty. It is also easy to get lost in your particular role and view an encounter's difficulty as gauged solely by your raid function. For example, a melee dps might consider Festergut a cakewalk while the healer is consulting his doctor about carpel tunnel syndrome. Below are my general difficulty rankings for the encounters available thus far in ICC, followed by role specific lists. Reasonable minds might differ and I would love to hear how your list would differ from mine.

From Hardest to Easiest:

General Difficulty:

1.) Professor Putricide

2.) Rotface

3.) Blood Queen Lana'thel

4.) Blood Prince Council

5.) Festergut

6.) Deathbringer Saurfang

7.) Lady Deathwhisper

8.) Airship Battle

9.) Lord Marrowgar

Tanking Difficulty:

1.) Professor Putricide

2.) Lady Deathwhisper

3.) Rotface

4.) Airship Battle

5.) Festergut

6.) Lord Marrowgar

7.) Blood Queen Lana'thel

8.) Blood Prince Council

9.) Deathbringer Suarfang

Healing Difficulty:

1.) Festergut

2.) Blood Queen Lana'thel

3.) Professor Putricide

4.) Rotface

5.) Lady Deathwhisper

6.) Deathbringer Saurfang

7.) Blood Prince Council

8.) Lord Marrowgar

9.) Airship Battle

DPS Difficulty:

1.) Professor Putricide

2.) Rotface

3.) Deathbringer Saurfang

4.) Blood Queen Lana'thel

5.) Lady Deathwhisper

6.) Blood Prince Council

7.) Festergut

8.) Lord Marrowgar

9.) Airship Battle

Things that Make You Go OOM

2010-01-14T12:15:00.004-05:00

For Restoration Druids, mana management is rarely an issue. The combination of efficient spells and unparalleled mana regeneration means a Druid's blue bar is rarely an adversary. Occasionally, however, a Druid finds them self frequently running low on sweet, sweet heal juice and cannot figure out why. If that is you, below are some quick tips which should help get you back on the right track.

1. Talent for Regeneration

A lot of the Restoration Druid specs you can pull off the internet are designed for endgame raiding and assume top of the line gear. In cutting edge content and hard modes, making heals as large as possible tends to be priority one, so mana regeneration talents are often set aside for bigger heals. Many Druids make the mistake of forgoing the regeneration talents before they have the gear to back it up.

If you find yourself short on mana, make sure your spec has enough of these talents: Moonglow (Balance), Intensity, Omen of Clarity, Tranquil Spirit, Living Spirit, and Revitalize. Just remember, the biggest heals in the world will not do you any good if you do not have the mana to cast them.

2. More Spirit Please

The biggest gear mistake new Restoration Druids make is neglecting Spirit. Many casters favor Intellect over Spirit and with good reason. A well though out Restoration spec will convert your Spirit into both spell power and an almost unbelievable amount of mana regeneration. Though it is likely not necessary to seek out huge Spirit numbers, the stat should be present on nearly all your major gear pieces. If it is not, odds are you are using gear that is not itemized for healing and are wasting delicious item points.

3. Tweak Your Spell Choice

When a Restoration Druid runs out of mana, it is generally because they are not leaning on their heal over time spells hard enough. Rejuvenation is your bread and butter heal. It is also an exceptionally efficient spell when you can avoid losing ticks to over-healing. Do not Nourish or Swiftmend that dps when simply waiting for a handful of Rejuvenation ticks will do the job just as well.

There are also certain spells in your arsenal which will quickly drain your mana if overused. Regrowth is a great spell to keep up on your group's main tank. Its long HoT is a great "set it and forget it" healing option and the spells efficiency is not terrible if the entirety of the healing lands. You do not, however, want to be spamming Regrowth on your raid. The spell is simply too expensive for that. Use Rejuvenation and the occasional Nourish instead.

Lifebloom is another spell which has a place in tank healing, but should generally be limited to that. Lifebloom has lost a great deal of its efficiency since the days of Burning Crusade. Unfortunately, it is now simply too pricey a spell to splash around your raid. Pairing it up with an Omen of Clarity proc, however, can net you some free mana if you are really in the mood to micromanage. Even with tank healing, be sure you let the spell "bloom" and fall off after three stacks to avoid tons of wasted mana.

Lastly, do not forget to Innervate. Blizzard gave you the spell for a reason and unless you have no mana issues, you should not be using it to top off a nearby Hunter's mana supply. Use the spell the second your mana is low enough to benefit from its full effect and hopefully it will be back off cooldown before your bar empties a second time.

4. Check Your Glyphs

Glyph of Innervate is often overlooked, but can appreciably help your mana management. Not only does the glyph provide mana when you cast Innervate on others, but it also boosts the mana received when you cast it on yourself. Though this glyph will not entirely fix your mana issues, it will certainly help.

Also, if you are having mana issues, stay away from the Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation. The glyph makes your Rejuvenations tick faster due to haste and therefore do more healing in a shorter amount of time. However, this means you will need to cast Rejuvenation more frequently to keep it up on your targets. When you get to the point of trying to maximize your healing power, you can revisit this glyph, but while mana is an issue, you would be well advised to stay away.

Icecrown Citadel Lower Spire Quick Tips

2010-01-05T11:16:00.005-05:00

Back by popular demand, it is time for another Quick Tips guide. This time we will cover the bare bones information you need to stay alive in Icecrown Citadel's first four boss encounters. As with our Onyxia Guide and our Trial of the Crusader Guide, this guide does not cover everything the encounters will throw at you, but they should give you enough of a heads up so that you do not embarrass yourself in front of your raid mates.

Lord Marrowgar:

Tanks: Stack on top of each other. Point Marrowgar away from the raid. Taunt after Bonestorm whirlwind to regain aggro. Don't stand in fire.

DPS: Quickly burn bone spikes which impale other players. Stay behind the boss. Run out of Bonestorm whirlwind and fire.

Healers: Heavy heals on tank if unstacked. Heavy heals on impaled players. If healer is impaled, others need to step up healing. Run out of Bonestorm whirlwind and fire.

Lady Deathwhisper:

Phase One:

Tanks: Pickup the adds that spawn. Boss has no aggro. Kite Deformed Fanatics. Warriors and Druids take casters, DKs and Paladins take melee. Don't stand in Death and Decay.

DPS: Don't stand in Death and Decay. Skeleton casters are immune to magic and skeleton melee are immune to physical damage. Burn adds as they spawn, dps boss whenever you can. Crowd control Dominate Mind targets (25 player only).

Healers: Don't stand in Death and Decay. Boss will Shadowbolt random targets.

Phase Two:

Tanks: Swap at three stacks of Touch of Insignificance. Don't stand in Death and Decay. Interrupt Frostbolt casts.

DPS: Do not stand in Death and Decay. Watch aggro carefully. Interrupt Frostbolt casts. Run from summoned ghosts. Crowd control Dominate Mind targets (25 player only).

Healers: Do not stand in Death and Decay. Run from summoned ghosts.

Gunship Battle:

Team One:

Tanks: Grab adds that spawn from portals. Do not stand in red circles.

DPS: Burn adds that spawn from portals. Do not stand in red circles.

Healers: Do not stand in red circles.

Team Two:

Tanks: Jetpack to other ship and grab faction leader. Point leader away from raid. Jump back to own ship when opposing mage is killed.

DPS: Man turrets and alternate different attacks or help Team One. Jetpack to other ship and burn mage fast when turrets are frozen. Hop back immediately when mage is killed.

Healers: Heal Team One until turrets are frozen. Heal Tank when he hops to enemy ship. Heavy heals on Rending Throw debuff target.

Deathbringer Surfang:

Tanks: Stack on top of each other facing Deathbringer towards the door. Taunt off the tank with Rune of Blood immediately.

DPS: Stun and burn Blood Beasts immediately with single target attacks. Stay spread out.

Healers: Stack on melee dps. Heavy heals on the target with Mark of the Fallen Champion. Shield targets with Boiling Blood if possible.

For a more detailed breakdown of the Deathbringer encounter, check out the How to Beat Deathbringer in ICC 10 guide. Good luck!

Druid Digest Service Outage

2009-12-29T09:27:00.002-05:00

A belated Merry Christmas to everyone and a slightly premature Happy New Year!

You may have noticed over the last several weeks that Druid Digest was offline. Unfortunately, the website was accidentally flagged by one of Blogger's blog crawling robots as spam and immediately yanked from the web. Apparently, this is a rather common occurrence. At the moment, it appears as if that problem has been resolved and, hopefully, we will not encounter any similar snags moving forward.

I wanted to provide this information both to explain the website's temporary absence and to provide advice and information to other Blogger users who find themselves similarly situated.

The process for getting a robot tagged website back online is only slightly cumbersome. First, if the Blog is still on your dashboard, follow the Restore link. Second, follow the steps on the Blogger Help Forum as outlined in my help request. The sooner you complete those steps, the sooner your Blog will be reviewed and back online, so doing all of them at once is highly recommended.

As for how long these little snafus will put your Blog out of commission, it is hard for me to say. Druid Digest had the unfortunate distinction of ticking off the robots right before Christmas, so the two weeks it was down might be slightly exaggerated. Blogger says it will process review requests within two business days, but that does not appear to be the case 100% of the time.

The best piece of advice I can give you if you find yourself in this position is stay calm. For at least twenty days, your Blog still exists even if you or anyone else is unable to access it. It is not gone forever. Follow the protocol, make polite, informative posts in the Help Forum and wait it out. You will be back online before you know it.

How to Beat Deathbringer Saurfang in ICC 10

2009-12-14T11:26:00.007-05:00

In World of Warcraft patch 3.3, Blizzard unveiled the first section of Icecrown Citadel's raid instance, the Lower Spire. The Lower Spire consists of four boss encounters including Lord Marrowgar, Lady Deathwhisper, the Icecrown Gunship Battle, and lastly, Deathbringer Saurfang.

Though each of the Lower Spire encounters is challenging in its own way, odds are, Deathbringer Saurfang will present the gravest threat to your raid. This is because, though the fight appears rather simple, unless each role is executed flawlessly, the combination of Saurfang's heal mechanics and Mark of the Fallen Champion will leave your raid dead and disappointed.

Below is a quick guide to defeating the Deathbringer in ICC 10 man. Some of the advice will also apply to 25 man and feel free to modify the strategy to fit your raids particular strengths. This is not the only way to defeat Saurfang, but it certainly appears to be one of the easiest.

1. Raid Stacking

The first key to defeating Deathbringer is having the right combination of classes and roles on board. To efficiently take down Deathbringer, you will want the following in your raid:

2 x Tank
2 x Healers
6 x DPS

Many people hit a wall with Deathbringer because they bring too many healers. Though it may not appear so because of relatively slow damage output, the Saurfang encounter is one long burn phase that requires huge amounts of dps. Replacing your third healer with a dps works because burning Saurfang quicker greatly reduces the healing needed at the end of the fight. I would recommend bringing a healer with a geared dps offspec whenever you go to ICC 10, so that they can make the switch for this encounter. Keep in mind, two healing this encounter is challenging, so you will need very solid healers to pull it off.

2. Positioning

Deathbringer should be tanked right where he spawns facing directly back towards the door he came out of. It is important that he be facing right at the door, because that will make managing the Blood Beast spawns infinity easier. Melee dps will obviously want to stand directly behind Saurfang. Healers will stack on top of melee dps.

Ranged the ranged dps will form a large arc around Deathbringer, being sure to stay at least 15 yards apart from each other so as to prevent Blood Nova damage from becoming an issue and giving Saurfang extra Blood Power. At the point of the semi-circle preferably put a Mage or Elemental Shaman. To either side of that point your ranged dps will fan out in semi-circle.

All raid members should spend as much time as possible in these positions so as to limit the effectiveness of Blood Nova and to make the Blood Beast burning as quick and efficient as possible.

3. Managing Blood Power

The central mechanic of the Deathbringer Saurfang encounter is Blood Power. Most of Saurfang's abilities, as well as the attacks of his summoned minions, cause him to generate points of Blood Power. These points increase his damage done, but even with full Blood Power, his output is more than manageable. Blood Power is a problem because every time Deathbringer reaches 100 Blood Power, he resets his counter to zero and casts Mark of the Fallen Champion on a random raid member. Mark of the Fallen Champion not only does very large amounts of damage, but also generates Blood Power every time it procs. As a result, Saurfang's Blood Power generation rate increases exponentially every time a Mark is applied.

To prevent your healers being overwhelmed by Mark of the Fallen Champion damage, it is then important to minimize Deathbringer's Blood Power generation whenever possible. Staying spread out is step one as Blood Nova AoE damage gives the boss points of Blood Power. The second step is properly dealing with the Blood Beasts.

4. Blood Beasts

One of the most important elements of this fight are the Blood Beasts Saurfang summons every 30 seconds. In Icecrown Citadel 10 man, Deathbringer will summon two Blood Beasts at a time, one directly on his left and one directly on the right. The Blood Beasts do relatively little damage and have no remarkable special abilities other than a resistance to AoE damage, but every time they do damage, Saurfang gains a point of Blood Power. As a result, one of the keys to this encounter is killing the Blood Beasts quickly and preventing them from attacking anyone.

To minimize the Blood Beasts attacks, they must be stunned as much as possible and burned immediately. Have your raid focus fire on the right Blood Beast, then the left. While the right blood beast is blown up by your dps, have a Rogue or other class with a decent disable mechanic incapacitate the one on the left. If necessary set up stun rotations to maximize Blood Beast down time. Do not forget your tank's stuns either as they will easily be able to turn and hit the Blood Beast where it stands.

The Beasts are also susceptible to snares and stuns, so Frost Traps and Concussive Shots are a must. This makes kiting the Blood Beasts directly back another viable strategy if your raid is low on stuns. The Blood Beasts have relatively little health and if your dps is tuned to the encounter, you should be able to burn them well before they threaten your kiter. If you are having trouble, make sure all dps is switching as soon as possible and is doing single target dps to the focus target.

5. Rune of Blood

Fairly frequently, Saurfang will cast Rune of Blood on the tank. This causes the Deathbringer to heal himself for 10% of the damage he does to that target. Back when 3.3 was released, it was 5% so many raids went with only a single tank. Now, however, tank swapping is necessary and the tanks will need to taunt back and forth to take Deathbringer's attention off of whoever has the Rune.

If a taunt fails or a tank is down, one can still mitigate some of the effects of Rune of Blood by using damage reduction cooldowns when the Rune is active. Since the healing received is tied to the damage done, less damage converts to less healing. Saurfang's overall damage on the tank is low and steady enough that you should be able to save some of your damage reduction effects for limiting his Rune of Blood heals.

6. Mark of the Fallen Champion

Once Saurfang reaches 100 Blood Power, the first Mark of the Fallen Champion will hit one of your raid members. If you have been minimizing Blood Power gains and your dps is geared enough for the encounter, Saurfang should be at around 50-60% health before this happens. At this point, your raid needs to make an important choice: keep them alive or let them die.

If one of your miscellaneous dps gets the Mark and dies immediately, Saurfang loses the benefit of the Blood Power he would otherwise get from the Mark. This means your raid will have significantly more time before a subsequent mark drops, but you will be sacrificing a dps for that luxury. Base this decision off the strength of your heals and dps. Also, when someone with Mark of the Fallen Champion dies, Saurfang regains 5% of his total health, so keep that in mind as well.

Regardless, Saurfang will reach 100 Blood Power again and a second Mark of the Fallen Champion will hit someone. The same choice presents itself again, but it will be exceptionally challenging to counteract Saurfang's heals with two dps out of commission. Usually after the third Mark, but almost certainly at the fourth, the healing required becomes too much and your raid will wipe. It is therefore critical that you prolong the time between Marks by limiting Blood Power gains and burn the boss hard.

Before you even try it, keep in mind that the Mark cannot be erased. Even if a player dies and is resurrected, they will still come back complete with the debuff. There is, unfortunately, no way around it.

7. Frenzy

At 30% health, Saurfang goes into a Frenzy, increasing his attack speed by 30%. This increases the Tank's incoming damage as well as the damage done to raid members with Mark of the Fallen Champion as the debuff ticks are tied to his melee attacks. Additionally, he will be gaining Blood Power from his melee attacks and the Marks 30% faster. If that is not enough to deal with, he will also be procing his Rune of Blood heals 30% quicker meaning the hill your dps has been climbing the whole battle will become slightly steeper.

During the Frenzy, the Tank's incoming damage should still be manageable, but the Marked raid members will need noticeably more healing. If Blood Lust or Heroism is available, using it during the Frenzy is advised.

8. Boiling Blood

Boiling Blood is a damage over time effect Saurfang will occasionally apply to random raid members. Its ticks grant Blood Power to Deathbringer, so shedding it however possible is advised. A priest's shield will also absorb the ticks and prevent Blood Power gains, so having a Discipline Priest makes this encounter much easier. Otherwise, the target raid member will simply need some attention from the healers.

9. Concluding Tips

The combination of Frenzy and the exponential increase in Blood Power gains caused by Mark of the Fallen Champion means that your attempts will generally not fall apart until the closing seconds of the encounter. It is not uncommon for Deathbringer to take a group that is doing "well" and quickly blow them up when he is at less than 5%. Do not get discouraged and just remember that this fight is all about the details. Even one or two unnecessary Blood Power points can make all the difference. With a little practice, precision, and encounter appropriate gear, however, you will down this Deathbringer in no time.

World of Warcraft Patch 3.3 Trailer

2009-12-08T18:27:00.004-05:00

Since all the official World of Warcraft website have become barely accessible, I figured I would embed the 3.3 Trailer here for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Here is hoping that the servers come back online sooner rather than later. I know I am eager to see what Icecrown Citadel has to offer.

Great World of Warcraft Websites You Have Not Visited

2009-12-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

Every World of Warcraft player worth his salt knows about major World of Warcraft online resources like WoWHead, Wowwiki, or MMO Champions. Did you know, however, that there is a whole other world out there of fringe Warcraft websites that slides by unseen by most of Azeroth's population. Below are links to some of these hidden gems. Prepare to be in the know...

WOW Jackass

Ever been the victim of a ninja looter? Ever wanted to reach through your monitor and slap that jerk in trade chat? Are you tired of Azeroth being a world without consequence or personal responsibility? If so, WowJackass.com is the website for you!

Using a slightly clunky interface WOW Jackass allows you to call out a player who has wronged you for all to see. You can also review and respond to others comments or check to see if a given player has ever been reported on the website. Unfortunately, the website is not yet well known, so there are relatively few reports. The concept, however, is great and if the website can generate additional traffic it could be a dream for PuG organizers and guild leaders everywhere.

World of Warcraft Unofficial Papercrafts

Yes, you read that correctly. There is an entire blog devoted only to making World of Warcraft items out of paper. Now, before you dismiss the concept completely, let me assure that what these paper wizards manage to whip up is at the apex of nerd cool. If you give the website a look, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. To add a cherry on top of this delightfully geeky sunday, there are free patterns a plenty to be had should you want to attempt making your own paper masterpieces.

Some of my favorite loose-leaf Warcraft toys are the Paper Kael'thas and the Paper Moonkin. Again, did I mention how cool this website is?

WoW Drama

Admit it, we have all laughed at others' World of Warcraft misfortunes at one time or another. So long as it is not coming from us, QQ can often be quite entertaining. The good folks over at WoW Drama have taken that concept and run with it by devoting an entire website to celebrating all brands of World of Warcraft drama.

Whether it is screen shots of egregious acts of ninja looting, a video of a classic Warcraft meltdown, or a Ventrilo recording of a seriously burnt out raid leader, you will find it all at WoW Drama. The website is relatively well designed and good for more than a few laughs. You should definitely check it out.

WoW Item Creator

This website is less an overlooked gem than a forgotten World of Warcraft classic. The website lets you generate the flavor text and stats for any item or ability you can imagine and then makes it look like a real World of Warcraft item. There is fun to be had both in creating realistic items in an attempt to outdo the developers and in creating crazy items to try and get a laugh out of yourself or your friends.

If you are not a creative type, there is an option to peruse, comment on and rate the creations of others. There are plenty of gems to be found here. I would offer the Crotch Seeking Missile Launcher and Gnome Buster as examples. Sure it is nothing more than World of Warcraft Build-A-Bear, but who doesn't enjoy Build-A-Bear?

Onyxia Quick Tips

2009-12-02T10:49:00.004-05:00

After getting some positive responses from our Trial of the Crusader Quick Tips guide, I have decided to follow it up by giving Onyxia's Lair the same treatment. As with that guide, the tips below do not cover every intricacy of the Onyxia encounter, but they should give you the knowledge you need to prove a valuable member of any Onyxia raid.

Onyxia's Lair Trash Tips:

Tanks: The Onyxian Warders have a large aggro radius and long paths so pull carefully. Off-tank should pick up a second Warder if it patrols into the group. Point the Warders away from melee dps.

DPS: Stay behind the Warder's because they cleave.

Healers: AoE heal the melee dps through Fire Nova. Tank will be taking relatively heavy damage.

Onyxia Phase One Tips:

Tanks: Main tank should run right down the middle, straight through Onyxia and back into the back wall. Use mitigation cooldowns on the pull and right before Flame Breath casts. Off-tanks watch your aggro and pick up whelps if needed.

DPS: Wait until the tank has turned Onyxia before getting close to avoid a Tail Sweep. Stand on her left side between where she cleaves and her tail swipe.

Healers: All heals on the tank. Big heals after Flame Breath.

Onyxia Phase Two Tips:

Tanks: Grab whelps from openings in the cavern's sides and draw them to the center for AoE. One tank grabs Onyxian Guardians who spawn at entrance and tanks them near where they enter. Other tank(s) help dps Guardians and pick up later whelp spawns. Move yourself and your aggro target to the side of the cavern when Onyxia "takes a deep breath."

DPS: Ranged and Melee AoE the first whelp spawn. Ranged burn down Onyxia stopping only to AoE whelp spawns. Melee burn down the Onyxian Guardians as quickly as possible and help with whelps when idle. Move to the side of the cavern when Onyxia "takes a deep breath."

Healers: Assign a healer to each tank. Be prepared for heavy tank damage especially from Guardians. Stand in the center as much as possible to help whelp gathering. Move to the side of the cavern when Onyxia "takes a deep breath."

Onyxia Phase Three Tips:

Tanks: Main tank needs to be ready for Onyxia to land at 40% health. Bring her back so she is cleanly facing the back wall. Use fear avoidance/breaking abilities before Bellowing Roar. Off tanks should pick up any remaining whelps or guardians and tank them away from Onyxia. Off tanks should watch aggro on Onyxia.

DPS: Stay out of Onyxia's way as she is being positioned to avoid being hit by Cleve or Flame Breath. Kill any remaining whelps and Guardians before targeting Onyxia. Stand at Onyxia's side to dps. Use fear negating abilities on the tank.

Healers: Stay out of Onyxia's way as she is being positioned to avoid being hit by Cleve or Flame Breath. Heal your target tank until adds are dead and then focus heals on main tank. Stand on Onyxia's side. Use fear negating abilities on the tank. Cast protective spells and HoT effects on the tank right before Bellowing Roars.

Tips for Creating a Successful Guild

2009-12-01T16:02:00.005-05:00

Running a successful World of Warcraft guild takes a great deal of time and effort. With proper planning, the right attitude and a hearty helping of patience, however, anyone can sit atop the guild of their dreams. Below are some tips to help you make your World of Warcraft guild leader dreams a reality.

1. Decide What Type of Guild You Want and Plan Accordingly

What makes a guild "successful" is inherently defined by the drive of its members. If a guild exists only as a social space for friends, the bar for success might be as low as having a couple bank tabs and keeping everyone happy. On the other hand, a progression guild might only be successful if it is capable of clearing the latest raid content or if it can master challenging achievements. Lastly, a leveling guild might solely be judged by the size of its membership.

If you have low expectations for your guild, your initial effort and ongoing administrative burden will similarly be low. If, however, you plan to compete with the top guilds on your server, you better be prepared to do your homework and put serious time into keeping your guild rolling. Make sure to not bite off more than you can chew while similarly not falling short of your own reasonable expectations.

Contemplating the kind of guild you want is also important in that you must be able to clearly express your expectations for the guild to potential members. If you do not have a clear idea of what goals you have for the guild, it is going to be impossible for other players to know if joining your guild will help them further their own personal goals.

2. Choose a Reasonable Name

John Locke once said that there is much in a name and that holds true for guilds as well. Though you and your friends may find the name "ZomgPawners" hilarious, odds are you will have a harder time recruiting your server's top players into a guild where the first impression your name creates is "these guys are ridiculous."

If you do not care about your guild's "status" or the size of its membership, the name you pick is largely irrelevant so long as it is not obscene or a violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Service. If, however, you want to grow your guild, try to pick a name that will appeal to a broad audience. Lacking inspiration, try paging through a dictionary to get your creative juices flowing.

3. Form, Then Fill

Every guild, no matter its type, starts with 10 signatures on a Guild Charter. Many players make the mistake of trying to track down the entirety of their guild's membership BEFORE the Guild even exists.

If you are truly committed to forming your own guild, do not get too hung up on who signs your charter. Obviously, if you have friends or acquaintances who are on board and available, may as well have them be founding members. Otherwise, any warm body will do. Targeting new players and or offering a gold or two per signature can quickly fill your charter and have your Guild ready for business.

4. Offer Guild Benefits to Draw and Keep Members

Though there is a great deal to be said for the sense of community and organizational benefits a guild provides, that is not enough for most players. If you want to draw quality players into your guild, you are going to need to offer perks.

The perks start with a guild bank. A well stocked, multi-tab guild bank with reasonable use restrictions is a must for any respectable guild. Be certain to protect the bank from ninjas by restricting access to new members, but also do not preclude its use entirely. Give your members the trust they deserve, but nothing more. A guild tabbard is also a nice touch even though most high level characters will neglect it entirely. For a leveling or PvP guild, however, it is nearly a must.

If you are serious about your guild competing with the big boys, you will need to offer meta game benefits as well. For any serious raiding guild, a Ventrilo server is a necessity. You can purchase these servers for only a couple bucks a month from companies like Dark Star Communications. A website will also go a long way towards boosting guild communication and organization. There are many free guild website hosting providers available. I generally recommend Guildtag.com as they offer lots of customization options at a truly free price point.

5. Screen Applicants Carefully

Never forget, your guild can never be more successful than its members. If you are only looking to create a large guild, go ahead and invite whoever you can. If, however, you are trying to form a raid guild of any kind, quality is always superior to quantity. It is better to have a strong core group of players and have to PuG a couple slots for raids than to have bad attitudes and lazy players poisoning your guild. Eventually, the quality players you meet in those PuGs can be brought into the fold. It will take a while for your guild to be independently raid ready, but the results will be well worth the extra time and effort.

6. Be Flexible

As your guild grows and changes, it is important that your leadership grow and change with it. Allow trusted members to take on certain guild administration responsibilities. Modify schedules, raid targets, and policies as needed. It is your guild afterall, but unless you are flexible and adaptive, it will ultimately be a guild of one, sitting in Dalaran and wondering what might have been.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:30:00.002-05:00

To celebrate Thanksgiving, along with scarfing down my body weight in turkey, I decided to put together a short list of some of the World of Warcraft related things we all have had to be thankful for this past year. Enjoy the list and have a wonderful holiday!

New Onyxia

To celebrate World of Warcraft's fifth anniversary, Blizzard treated Azeroth's inhabitants with the re-release of an epic classic encounter: Onyxia's Lair. Not only was the encounter tweaked for level 80 play, but the designers went the extra mile and retooled the Brood Mother's loot table with updated versions of her classic drops. Dripping with nostalgia for long time players and presenting a living piece of Warcraft's history for new recruits, the new Onyxia's Lair is definitely something to be thankful for.

Ulduar

In patch 3.1, Blizzard opened up the whole of the Titan facility Ulduar for exploration. Azeroth's adventurers were treated to a massive raid dungeon with fourteen entirely distinct boss encounters. When one considers the 10, 25, and heroic versions of many of these battles the amount of content crammed into the instance is staggering.

It is not just the size of Ulduar, however, that makes it one of the past years highlights. The innovation demonstrated within the instance's walls is also cause for celebration. Each of the boss encounters is challenging and unique, presenting interesting hurdles to even the most hardy of adventurers. Further, tweaks such as teleporters and progressive heroic modes changed the face of World of Warcraft raiding forever. Ulduar is certainly worth our thanks.

The Argent Tournament

Aside from a new five player dungeon, a new raid, tons of quests, and unique, enjoyable rewards, the Argent Tournament has gone a long way to relight the fires of animosity between the factions while simultaneously bringing the factions in close proximity to one another. Though players are constantly representing their faction, it has rarely been so clear or grand as within the context of the Argent Tournament. Whether you like or hate jousting, there is still much to be thankful for resting atop (and beneath) the Argent Tournament Grounds.

Isle of Conquest

With an expansive map, complex resource system, and tons of explosions, the Isle of Conquest Battle Ground is clearly a spiritual successor to Alterac Valley. It is hard not to smile as you parachute from a massive airship, drop a bomb at your enemy's gate, or charge into the opposing faction's keep. Isle of Conquest increased the scope of what is possible in a World of Warcraft Battleground and I am certainly thankful for that.

Dual Specs

Rarely has a new feature added as much to the average player's quality of experience as the addition of Dual Specs. Even if you have not dumped the thousand gold to unlock your second talent tree, if you have ever grouped with someone who is running as their "off spec," you owe this feature some gratitude. Obviously, talent point allocation should be a commitment and I would argue that it still is. With Dual Specs, however, a player can PvP and PvE or fill two different group rolls without the incredible hassle and minor expense of relearning talents. I love this feature.

Updated Druid Forms

It was a long time coming, but during the past year Druid's finally got updated Feral Form models. Not only do the new models look great, but they are also tied to your characters appearance giving a sense of personality to your Druid even when in Feral Forms. Here is hoping next year we can be thankful for new Moonkin and Tree Form models.

Happy Thanksgiving!