BlizzCon Reactions: New Races and Class Combinations

Worgen and Golbins... well, they're official. Also, we're getting new class/race combinations. Blizzard is definitely mixing things up a bit this time around. Some of them make sense, some.... not so much. At any rate, though, more variety is pretty nice, right? Right?

I'll start off with Worgen. We've seen them in game, primarily in Shadowfang Keep. Not much is known about them, short of they used to be human. So Worgen have a chance to really juice up the story of the cultures and civilizations of WoW, which I dig. They're also a race that we haven't seen that much of (SFK is about the extent of it). From a lore point of view, I was a little thrown off by why the Alliance would even bother with them. They're not humans anymore. The Alliance has generally not been accepting of imperfect races (Blood Elves, Forsaken). But it's primarily the Humans that are the racist bunch in the game. If you watch the Cataclysm trailer, you'll see it's the Night Elves (referred to as "Old Friends" iirc) that make the first move, possibly hinting that the Night Elves tried to assist the people of Gilneas when the affliction struck that area.

From a gameplay perspective, I'm pretty excited about Worgen. There are a lot of unique things about them. What first got me excited, though, was Karazhan, or more specifically, Torment of the Worgen. That item game me a chance to play as a Worgen for a brief few seconds, and I liked it. The animations were very animalistic, and I'd imagine they have been improved for Catacylsm. I can't wait to see their druid forms, either. Gilneas, too, is shaping up nicely. You can get a great view in the trailer. The town really gives off that "Don't go out past midnight" vibe. It's very stale and foggy. It doesn't posses the lavish color and flamboyance of Silvermoon City, or the modern (for the time) developments of Stormwind. It looks like it truly has spent the better part of a decade behind a massive wall, locked off from the rest of the world. All said, the Worgen should add a unique perspective to the Alliance, and I can't wait to give 'em a go.

Now, Goblins. Where do I begin with how much I don't want this to happen...

Goblins have been around for a long time, since back in the Warcraft II days (and possibly Warcraft, though I don't recall seeing them). They have always been traders, leading the different trade cartels around the world. They have also been a neutral faction the whole time (though in the past have shown preference for the Horde). From a lore view, it's a bit odd that the Horde would accept them into their ranks, but I'm told the starter quests (which are supposed to be as if not more epic than the Death Knight zone) explain the peril of this particular trade cartel and their need to join the horde for survival, so I won't complain too much until I get a chance to run through it. If nothing else, some little cannon fodder packing high explosives will help clear the way for the REAL Horde.

I don't see myself actually playing a Goblin for too long. Oh sure, I'll play one. I may even play two. But the chances I'll have one at max level are kind of slim. Who knows, though. This may be the first character animation that actually makes me WANT to level a mage (because for the life of me I just can't do it). It will be a tad odd seeing a Goblin main-tank a boss. The Alliance have had a similar view watching Gnome tanks in action, which really just seems bizarre to me. At any rate, the jury's still out on this one. At first I was terribly against it, though every time I get more on the story behind their perils, I get a little more intrigued. Time will tell.

Finally, I'd like to briefly discuss the new class/race combinations. If you want a list of them, they're floating around all over the place. Go look. Okay, first off, Tauren Priests and Paladins. Wow, I was against this when I heard it. I was legitimately MAD that this was happening. That is, until I reminded myself of a new quest and a conversation that takes place in Thunderbluff. In it, a wounded soldier and a Shaman or Druid, for the life of me I can't remember, nor can I be bothered to go look, are discussing the ways of Tauren Druidism, and how they may be leaving out half of the story by worshiping only An'she (the moon), and not including Mu'sha (sun). The sun is light, and Paladins/Priests are followers of the light, so this is a step forward in Tauren religion which, again, I like.

Troll druids; I wanted to hate this so much, but I couldn't help saying YES. There was that odd lore thing bugging me again. Yeah, I know that Trolls have been known to transform into animals, I ran Zul'Aman. Quite a lot, actually. But those were Amani trolls in ZA. I'm sure the Darkspear can do it to, but they've never really played up that angle. Once again, though, the trailer shines new light on this vague acquisition of power by the Trolls. In so many words, they have decided to embrace this power to help strengthen the Horde ranks with more diversity. They have willingly accepted the trials to becoming a druid. I'm okay with that, too. I'm so okay with this, actually, that I would transfer my Druid into a troll in a heartbeat if Blizzard were to give me that option (please? PLEASE?).

The rest of the new combos are less exciting/game breaking/paradigm shifting. More hunters, great. As if Forsaken didn't attract enough little kids, now they can be hunters. Gnomes get a healer. Enjoy. I may roll a Dwarf Shaman purely for the novelty (and I like shaman). More Mages get thrown around. Yawn. More options is (usually) not a bad thing, so maybe this will finally get players to roll alts who haven't already. I know I will be rolling at least 5 more toons when the expansion hits.

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BlizzCon Reactions

BlizzCon officially starts today, and I would love nothing more than to be there. But, like many of the population, I'm stuck away from Anaheim yet again this year. Thankfully there are plenty of sites with writers who are there, so the information will makes its rounds.

Over the next few days, I will be posting reactions to new information as it's released. I will be focusing primarily over lore, raiding, and classes that I actually play at 80, so hunters/warlocks/mages/rogues don't cry when I don't talk about you. I'm not guaranteeing there won't be ANY info for those classes, but if you'd like to see a post about your own class, why not write one and send it my way?

Okay, yeah, so shameless plug for more content contributors. But it's free advertising, so deal with it. Anyway, as always, feel free to open up discussions in the comments, and check back later as the news starts rolling in.

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The health benefits of PvP

Last night, my guild and I had our first run in with the newest boss of the Coliseum, the "Faction Champions", and I can say with absolute certainty I've never been facerolled so bad by a boss encounter. The reason this encounter is so difficult is because it's not a raid boss. No, this fight is a raid boss level arena team, and yes, they are Gladiators (except the mage, he's just a Duelist). If you don't know the fight, imagine Priestess Delrissa from Magisters' Terrace (and if you don't know THAT fight, go now, it's one of the most entertaining 5 man bosses in the game), except double the number, make them boss level, and give them every serious PvP ability that players have. Early reports from the PTR claimed this encounter to be a cakewalk. Blizzard must have taken that to heart, because it is quite difficult, or at least it is for the guild that doesn't PvP...

My guild does not have a noteworthy arena presence. We have no Gladiators, and the Furious gear we have was a gift from Emalon. Sure, we have some BattleGround enthusiasts, but BG's don't really give you that true Player versus Player experience. BG's tend to be more Players on Player. There is little to no communication, and what communication there is exists on a strategic, not tactical, level. The PvP that means something is the Arena game, because it takes some serious skill and coordination (or a Flavor of the Month team) to be successful.

Arenas should be a mandatory part of being a raider. If you want to raid end game, guilds should require that you participate in Arena matches. Yeah, I know not everyone likes to PvP and aren't totally in to that whole side of the game, but how many of you actually enjoy wiping on a boss during the "learning phase"? I'm not suggesting that one attain an arena title to raid, far from it. That takes some solid dedication (at times on the scale of raiding). What I'm suggesting is that PvP will teach a player more about their class, more about other classes, help them develop faster reflexes, train them to watch for cast bars and buff animations, and increase situational awareness.

To PvP in an Arena match is to survive. The name of the game is survival. Survivability can be increased in three ways. You can gear for it with stamina and resilience, you can use your own abilities and talents to increase it, and/or you can use your team members' abilities and talents. When you gear for PvP, you generally have to sacrifice other stats. Higher stam values plus added resilience take up more of the item budget, leaving less room for intellect, strength, hit, etc. So as you gear for PvP, you have to strike a balance between defensive and offensive oriented stats. This balancing act can apply directly back to PvE, and is the most direct connection raiders will have to PvP. The goal is to cram the best performance for what you need into the gear you have. If you are a warrior, for example, you may not be the first target on the opposing team's kill order, so you can sacrifice some defensive stats for more Crit or more Attack Power. On the other end, as a healer, you will likely be a focus target. You may need to stack on more stamina and resilience to increase your time alive. What you are doing in these situations is evaluating yourself in the situations you see most often. You are increasing your encounter analysis. Jump over to raiding now. Imagine you have a fight that is going to be long. Your goal will be to last the entire fight, and output per second is less important. As a healer, you will be able to recognize that for this encounter, gear with mana regeneration will benefit more than higher amounts of spellpower. If you look instead at a shorter fight or a fight with low time on target, you will know from your Arena matches how to best combine cooldowns and abilities to maximize burst damage, just like you would while finishing off an opponent with low hit points.

Using your own abilities to stay alive in an Arena match teaches you more about your class, with the added benefit of encouraging proper key bindings. You have to be well aware of the utilities at your disposal and know exactly where they are in a pinch to save yourself in a match. Where are your interrupts? Are they bound to a key that you can hit easily? What about a backup ability if the interrupt fails? What forms of Crowd Control do you posess? In an Arena match, it is very important that you know what abilities you have and how to best use them. This requires a lot of attention to little things. For example, if you are prepared to interrupt a target, watch the cast bar not only for a cast, but for which ability is being cast. If a mage is winding up a fireball, it may be beneficial to not interrupt it, especially if the opposing team is running a CC train on your healer. Save your interrupt for the Polymorph that he has on standby as his next cast.

Have you noticed something big in that last example? A big IF, perhaps? If you are going to save an interrupt for a CC cast instead of a DPS cast, you have to have been watching and taking note of the degree to which the opposing team is utilizing CC. You have to pay attention to how they play, much the same way you have to pay attention to the tanking style of the tank in front of you. If the tank is using slower threat AoE abilities, you can't wind up to full power on the first target. Conversely, if the tank is using snap aggro and high threat abilities while tab-targetting through the mobs, you can't let loose a wile AoE ability. This player awareness is an extentsion of situational awareness, and Arena matches will keep you on your toes with tests of your situational awareness. If a player leaves your screen view, you need to keep tabs on where they are. You need to know where your team members are and what they are focusing on, be it putting pressure on the healer or kiting melee away from you. It follows suit in PvE encounters, too. You need to know where your offtank is, especially if you need to avoid a mob that cleaves or in case you pull aggro and need to run to your tank (btw, always ALWAYS run TO the tank). You need to be vigilant of the abilities that other classes/mobs have and know what to look for to avoid, which brings me neatly to my next point...

As a player, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to learn other classes. You need to know what your enemy has in store for you, and you need to know fast. You can't properly counter an enemy if you aren't sure what they will use against you, just like you can't defeat a raid boss unless you know where not to stand. Most abilities that can be countered will have some visual aid to clue you in to their presence. A Warrior's Bladestorm is quite obvious. A whirling ballerina of death, it's hard to miss, and just by looking at the talent tree you will know that this Warrior is Deep Arms. However you don't have to wait for Bladestorm to KNOW that this is an Arms Warrior. Assuming he's not a terribad, if you see a Warrior in a match, check out his weapon. If you see only one weapon, you are looking at an Arms Warrior (dual wielding two handed weapons screams Fury). Arms Warriors utilize a single two handed weapon to get their point across. Again you can check out talent trees to understand that Arms prefers one two handed weapon, or you could ask someone familiar with the class how you can easily identify them. If you are facing a team with fears, do you know if you healer can dispel magic? If not, you need to know that you will have to utilize your trinket to break that fear. In PvE, you have to know your fellow party members. How does your tank generate threat? If it's a Frost Death Knight, they may wait to spread a disease around before dropping a massive Howling Blast to make sure the mobs are glued to them.

It extends beyond just know WHAT a player/mob can do, though. It's important to understand WHY and HOW. Let's go back to the Arms Warrior. Okay, you can recognize Bladestorm, and you know it hurts. Do you know, however, that while Bladestorm is active, that Warrior is immune to CC? Yeah, the Mage NPC on the Hodir fight drops a nice fire that keeps you from having to jump around like an idiot, but do you know that spells cast while near the fire have a chance (and a damn good one) of hitting for additional damage and applying a stacking spell damage increase debuff on Hodir? Knowing the little things, the ins and outs of an ability, will keep you from wasting a GCD on a fear or popping your trinkets at the wrong time.

A lot of this may seem like common sense to the average player, but it's stuff that really isn't emphasized in a PvE setting. You stand, deliver, and stay out of the fire. The broad knowledge is certainly required in PvP. Proper bindings, situational awareness, class knowledge, quick reflexes; they mean the difference between a win and a loss, and not just in PvP. A good PvP player can react fast, either to a player spell or with a quick Battle Rez. They know where their enemy is, even if they aren't always looking. Browse through the top end guilds, check their arena team ratings. It's no coincidence that top raid guilds have top Arena players, and it's not because they spend too much time playing WoW (okay, not entirely because of that). No, it is because PvP and PvE are not too dissimilar. They both require solid play; active, quick thinking; and are both about the end goal of scoring that win, be it against 2/3/5 other players, or one giant, incredibly pissed off dragon.

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It's a raider's market

Heads up, this is a long one...

WoW is an ever evolving game. Fundamentally, sure, the game is the same as it has been since launch, but compare day one to day X (X being today, I'm not going to count all of them, though), and you can see that very little remains of the original game as far as encounter complexity, talent trees, and even classes capable of tanking (from one to four). At its core, however, WoW is a social game, and with that social environment the need to be connected to a group of like minded players is essential. This is where the guild structure comes in.

The guild structure has existed for a long time, in one iteration or another. Topics on guild management are no different. A guild can function in several ways. It can run like a club, with one member presiding over the group to act as the final decision maker, and members are kept on equals grounds. Generally the "club" style system has a very relaxed atmosphere, and is popular with player who either raid a very loose schedule or like to spend most of their time in a relax setting. Guilds like this generally don't focus much effort on being the "Server First" type of players, instead seeking to build up the bonds between members and promote a social atmosphere.

On the opposite end of the scale, there are the more business-like guilds, where the primary goals are the quality of the product and the bottom line. Members of guilds like this are held to a professional level and expected to be prepared for all scheduled guild functions. Raids are set in advance on a regular schedule. Raiders perform to the requirements of their position and are rewarded for doing so, in this case through raid spots and gear.

Upon WoW's release, raiding was srs bizz. Raids were comprised of 40 players which, if you've never had to coordinate a raid, is a HUGE hassle to organize without proper discipline, and players knew this. Raid leaders couldn't afford to put up with poor attitudes, so there was a bit of an iron-fist mentality. During this time, players had a desire to perform well in raid settings because that was the only end-game that really meant anything. So to play WoW, you had to play well, or you didn't get to raid, plain and simple. Guild leadership set the plans and you followed them, because if you didn't, you didn't play for that night. There was little flexibility in this design. Guild leadership ruled, and everyone was fine with it.

Fast forward to today, and we see a paradigm shift in guild relations, particularly as they relate to raiding. Raids have been scaled down to 25, with the option of further reducing that to 10 players, both of which are on separate lockouts. Normal mode raids are less difficult, to the point of being facerollable with a competent group. There are also a lot more raiding guilds per server for this very reason. Anybody can raid now. What does this mean for guilds? Well, no longer do the leaders set the standards. It has become a raider's market. The raider decides what he/she wants out of their playtime, and if the guild won't provide it, there's another guild happy to do so. Raiding is easier, and with the wealth of raid spots available, raiders no longer need to put up with something they don't like. If the guild isn't progressing, there's is another guild that you can join that IS progressing (likely 3 or 4 others at any given progression level). There are more options.

I noticed this trend while serving as a leader during TBC, and it has gotten worse since. Raider turnaround was HUGE, especially after the great raid nerf of 3.0. No longer did you have to be in the top of the top guild to see the best content, you just needed a competent group. Min/Maxing went out the window (save for hard modes, but that's a bit outside the scope for now). There is a huge burden on the leadership to maintain an atmosphere that will not only retain members but also increase applications from new members. The problem was there in BC, but most raiders weren't aware of it. In WotLK, raiders know that they are a hot commodity, especially the good ones, and could easily leave and fit in somewhere else to get what they want from the game.

Guild leaders need to maintain progress to maintain members. Failing on encounters for weeks on end is no longer excusable because they just aren't that hard anymore. For a casual player who is just happy to raid, wiping or not, just being there is worth it. The players who are serious about raiding, however, those who dedicate time to perfecting their art, as it were, don't want to put up with that. A serious player in a serious guild doesn't have the problem of not being satisfied with progress (same for the casual player in the casual guild). Where you see these problems are the middle ground guilds. The guilds that don't raid 24/7, but also put focus on quality play.

These guilds have grown in popularity lately, which I attribute to the increase in other stuff to do (PvP, professions, heroics). Players want to get more out of there game, and are willing to spend less time in a raid to do that. The more casual schedule appeals to this type of player (I would put myself into this category). For me, I like to play my alts, to run heroics, PvP a little, and occasionally (VERY occasionally) have a real life. The distinction, however, between these players/me and the casual players is that we don't take our playtime lightly. When I raid, I do it right. I don't screw around, I play to the best of my ability all the time. This extends to my alts and heroic runs. I like to have fun when I play, but fun to me is perfect execution of a boss fight, or an amazing recover to some bad luck.

Guilds that run a more relaxed atmosphere NEED players like me to benchmark, to be a role model to players that don't have the ability to understand all the math behind theorycrafting, to provide someone to learn from. Players like me give the casual players a more dedicated raider base to play with. Think about a pickup basketball game. You have a lot more fun when the players on your team are good, even when you aren't. You even play a little better because you want to carry your weight. You may also recognize your own limitations and work around them. Maybe you cant make a 3-point shot, so instead of trying to do so, you'll either pass the ball to someone who can or move in closer to where you will help out more. The same effect can happen in a raid. Maybe during Mimiron you get tunnel vision a lot, and forget to move from Shockblast or Rockets. If you have the serious players raiding with you, you might focus more during those phases, trying harder not to make a mistake. It's an important dynamic that helps a more casual guild keep up progression.

The trouble for the leaders is to keep the casual players in the mindset of WANTING to play better so that progression stays fast enough to retain the serious players. It's not an easy task, but it needs to be emphasized in an open environment. Both sides of the raid force need to know that they are appreciated for what they contribute while also working to improve in some regards, specifically that the casual players should strive to step up a little bit each raid (remember the pickup game, play to your team) and the serious players should strive to set a good example and provide assistance to the rest of the raid (note to casual players: don't shrug off when a more experienced player tries to help; it's in everybody's best interest).

I'd like to end with a note from a serious player. I don't think I'm God's gift to casual guilds. Not by any means, actually. I enjoy the atmosphere of a casual guild because I get a chance to play my alts and my skills are respected. I like to help people. I don't have a god complex, I just like to pass along knowledge that I have. Your guild's serious raiders are there just as much for themselves, which, oddly enough, involves them being there for you. Take the time to learn from what they have to teach, ask questions. They will be happy to help, they have the knowledge that you want, and you have something they want. You have the personality they like in a casual guild, and you have the potential to contribute your fair share to the raid. So ask for their help, because by doing so, you are helping them more than they are helping you.

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Army of the Dead, oh how I hate you

What I'd like to talk about today comes from experiences I've had with a little Death Knight ability called Army of the Dead. See, this ability is one of the most frustrating things you can use while you are NOT the tank, and it got me thinking about some of the things that people do while I'm tanking that really set me off. Stick to these tips, and you will have a happy tank. A happy tank that just might actually get his main character to run that next heroic because he likes you so much, he wants you to have fast, effortless badges.

Army of the Dead: I'm gonna start with this one because it's what got me thinking in the first place. I'd like to explain something beforehand, though. I think this is a really cool ability, and it's very defining of the class. In fact, it's what got me most excited about Death Knights from the pre-release videos. The problem lies with execution. See, it's not, from what I can tell, meant to be used during a boss encounter. Why do I think that? Well, if you read the tooltip of the spell, it states "Summons an entire legion of Ghouls to fight for the Death Knight. The Ghouls will swarm the area, taunting and fighting anything they can. While channelling Army of the Dead, the Death Knight takes less damage equal to Dodge plus Parry chance.". Re-read that second sentence. They taunt. They TAUNT. Now, tanks often get frustrated when a hunter accidentally leaves Growl turned on for their pet, and that's only one attacker. This is a Legion of ghouls. As a tank, I am trained to watch my Target of Target window for any change, along with several alerts when I lose aggro. When I see something amiss, my first reaction is taunt it back, find the answer later. But in this case, all that will happen is the boss will be taunting back off me by one of your stupid ghouls. And these ghouls are not meant to tank. In fact, they will systematically be one-shot until they are gone, and in the mean time, I'm not getting attacked, so you have nerfed my threat. Although there have been changes to improve tank threat when not being targeted, I still rely on some incoming attacks to maximize threat. So you waste a long cool-down, you nerf the tank's threat, and you generally just piss me off. Do some reading on which bosses can and can't be taunted by this ability, and save it for then.

Overanxious DPS: Hey, Mr. Rogue. Guess what? I have 30,000 more hit points than you do, as well as talents that flat reduce the damage I take. That boss won't even bother to chew when he gets a hold of you. Why do you insist on engaging the encounter for me? I am perfectly capable of grabbing that patrol, or starting this fight. I don't need you to do it for me. Sure, you might get lucky and my tank reflexes will kick in, sending me running for my snap aggro button, but why risk it? What profit you to begin DPS'ing before anyone if you lay flat on the ground by the end? And while we're at it, don't go straight into your DPS rotation, blowing all your cool-downs at the start of the fight. Walk up, get in position, and give me a three count on a boss. It's going to be a long fight, and if you die in the first seven seconds, it'll be that much longer, except you won't be a part of it. You're playing this game for fun, or at least I assume that is the case. Why would you jeopardize that fun by attacking early? Just chill a second longer, and slowly ramp up into your rotation, because next time I may just suppress that tank reflex.

Stand BEHIND the tank: In a perfect world, this wouldn't be an issue. Sure, I can understand jumping the gun on DPS during a fight. I've been guilty of it myself. But this one really gets me. Imagine this: you're in a heroic. See that patrol coming? Well, so do I. And as a tank, I have learned that patrol's path. I know how close they will get. I am standing in a place that will either give me the best chance of snap aggro, or will allow me to avoid pulling them or double pulling two packs. So do the world a favor, and get behind me. Unless I tell you otherwise, always ALWAYS stand behind where I am standing. I'm there for a reason, I want you there too. Think of the tank as your shield. You wouldn't run at an opponent with your shield behind you, would you? No, that would be stupid. So don't do it. Grant me, at the very least, that little luxury.

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Questions I am often asked

There has been a lot of WoW news hitting in the past few days, namely leaked information about the (still unconfirmed) upcoming expansion Cataclysm. I will do some write-ups about that stuff over the next few days, but rather than let the site sit idle until then, I thought I'd keep it rolling with some more (though admittedly less exciting) on my play style and my characters by answering some questions that I frequently get asked by other players. Join me, won't you?

How do you have the time to play so many alts?

The first part of this question is fairly simple. I just spent the last 4 years as a college student. As a college student, I had a lot of down time during the day, especially in between classes, which, to avoid taking a nap and sleeping through a later classes, allowed me to stay awake by knocking out a few quests. In addition, because I took the time to learn the class well and how to maximize output while minimizing downtime, I was able to avoid wasted time. That's the most important thing while leveling is to maximize XP per hour. So really, I didn't spend every waking hour of my life leveling, I just did it right, and used my time well.

Why do you play so many alts?

As a frame of reference, my Icecrown character list is full with one of every class. I have played each class to at least 40. My lowest level character is a 32 Warlock, who I rerolled when my previous lock hit 40. Why do I play every class? This goes back to wanting to learn any and all classes in the game. Fellow guild mates have always looked to me for advice on classes they don't play much or how to best utilize certain abilities/talents, so my playing alts is an extension of this. If I'm going to help someone, I need to know the class I'm helping them with. What better way to help someone with Priest mana issues than playing a priest in a Naxx raid? It also helps tremendously when leading a raid to know what you can reasonably expect from your players at their gear/skill level.

Why so many tanks?

I get this quite often (it happens when you play a Druid, Warrior, Paladin, and Death knight, all tanks, all level 80). Why so many tanks goes back to the previous question, but instead it's for my own assistance. I have always identified myself primarily as a tank (at least for raiding). I want to be the best tank that I can be, so to do that, I have to know what I can do to separate my Druid from the rest of the tanks. What do they have that I don't, and what do I have that they don't? I also feel like I have a responsibility to provide for the raid the highest threat producing, most damage mitigating, easiest to heal tank, so I keep up with the gear/skill of all my tanks, always watching for the day when it will be of best service to my guild to discontinue raiding on my Druid. Luckily, thanks to changes in feral tanking, staying on top of gearing, and the massive damage I can put out as a cat, I haven't yet had the need to retire my druid.

Which toon is your favorite/most fun?

I'll start of by talking about my tanks first. Each tank has a unique play style to it. The Paladin is very defensive, parking in one spot and keeping the mobs there. The Warrior, on the other hand, is a very offensive based tank, with a variety of melee attacks and capable of some pretty solid damage. The Death Knight fits somewhere in the middle, but is a very active tank, especially with Death Grip (you'll know a good DK tank when you see this used effectively). The Druid, however, doesn't really fit into these labels. It's a lot harder to spot a great Druid tank instead of a good one. Most people won't know the difference until they have had a truly great Druid tank in their group. The Druid doesn't really come alive until larger raid content, where the shifting aspect can really come into play. So to answer the first part of the question, my favorite tank is my Druid. It takes planning to be able to pop an Innervate or Battle Rez on someone while still main tanking a boss, or to squeeze out some extra DPS in cat form at the right moment.

As for most fun tank, I'm gonna have to go with my Warrior. Warriors are great fun to play. I actually enjoy running heroics as a Warrior tank. Warriors don't fall into the rotation tanking of the other three tank classes. They play more like a DPS class. You have a priority system, but you also watch for Revenge or Sword and Board procs. A warrior tank is like a Swiss Army knife where one of the attachments is another Swiss Army knife. There are so many abilities to utilize and they all have a purpose (and you will, more than likely, use ALL of them on a given pull). Warrior tanking really is a challenge, and a rewarding one at that.

Now, if I extend this to all of my toons, I have been having a lot of fun lately playing my Shaman. Enhance shaman are incredibly fun. Finally, with WotLK, WoW has a "Battle Mage". If you haven't seen them in action, a high end raiding enhance shaman will deal a large portion of their damage through spell attacks. It's really quite fun. Toss on the massive burst damage potential and you can really impress some people on a boss fight.

So that about wraps up this little Q/A session. If anyone has any questions about tank classes, tanking in general, or raiding, toss them in the comments and I'll be sure to answer them.

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Progressions raids on... old content?

So, in case you haven't heard the news (and if you haven't, SHAME ON YOU for not keeping up with the WoW community, but hey, that's what I'm here for), Blizzard is re-tooling a beloved old raid encounter for patch 3.2.2. Which raid encounter, you ask? Well, it just so happens that Azeroth's own Onyxia raid encounter will be joining the ranks of level 80 raid content.

Yes, Blizzard, after oft saying that old content is old, and yet bringing us Naxxramas in Northrend (in all fairness, not many people actually did get the chance to raid Naxxramas), is at it again. This time the iconic WoW dragon Onyxia (they say they have made updates to the encounter, like maybe she deep breaths more!). And like Naxxramas, Onyxia will drop loot based on the level 60 loot table, she will be available as a 10 or 25 player raid encounter, and yes, much like Naxx, will no longer be a level 60 dungeon. This has me a bit torn...

Disclaimer: I have never fought Onyxia with a full level 60 raid group. I have also never ventured into the level 60 version of Naxxramas. I had seen Onyxia raids happen, had watched the videos, and read about the fight. It was something I looked forward to while leveling to 60, but never got a chance to run appropriately. Sure, like everyone, I ventured back when they removed the key requirement, but it's not the same as running the actual encounter the way it was meant to be. So this change should be for the better, right? I'll get to see the encounter in all its majesty. Maybe...

WoW players tend to have a romanticized view of the past. The game was great back then. The game still is great, but there have been many changes for the better, especially when it comes to encounter design. Heck, even Blizzard doesn't put much value on old raid boss mechanics being sacred (Thaddius and Mechano-Lord Capacitus, for example). In fact, many old raid boss mechanics have been reused in 5 man dungeons, though obviously not to the scale of a raid. Fact is, though, we have new raid mechanics. The old stuff just seems, well... old. I noticed this quite a bit in the level 80 version of Naxxramas. It was cool to see for the first time, but every time after, something just kept bugging me. The instance was stale and uninspired. Sure, it was massive, and it was different that other raids at the level 60 time (it was blue and green instead of red and black). Overall, though, I just got the feeling of "Yawn, been here before".

Onyxia is just one fight, though, and the mechanics are unique to most dragon encounters (of which there aren't many), so I'm hopeful that it won't feel stale. I used to want to see old content re-tooled for max level, because I didn't get to see much of it at the time. But after seeing Naxx updated, I'd be fine with just fresh NEW content. Yeah, yeah, if I haven't seen it, it's new to me, but if I've seen a minor tweak version with a fresher coat of paint then, well, yeah, I HAVE seen it. One thing that does redeem this a bit for me is Blizzards oh so subtle hint about Quel'Serrar: "The tier 2 helms aren't the only models we wanted to reuse, that's all I'm saying.-Bornakk". Yeah, that's about as subtle as the proverbial Elephant in the corner. Tier 2 helms? Yeah, who cares, you already DID reuse them (BC heroics, look it up). But at least I can gear up two of my tanks with the oh so sexy tank sword of old, so that's gotta be worth some points. And oh yeah, Ony's a mount!

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Meet My Toons: Khanus (Feral Druid)

Here is part one of the series Meet My Toons. First up in the series, you get to meet my main character, the one who bears my namesake (or rather, whose name I choose to go by). Khanus is currently a level 80 Elite Tauren Chie...., errr, level 80 Tauren Feral Druid. Khanus is the first toon I created on live realms. I went with a druid because my brief exposure to WoW during the beta saw me playing as a druid (also named Khanus, but at that time as a Night Elf). I was instantly drawn to the druid class because I hadn't seen anything like it in any of the other games I have played, and I was sold on the idea when I first saw a level 10 Druid on the beta realms. If you haven't played a druid, or aren't familiar with the class (you're missing out), level 10 is the level when a young druid first begins his/her path of the claw by capturing within them the essence of the wild bear (layman's terms: i m a bear, lololz). I just thought "Wow, that's too cool for words. I want to be a bear!" I had no idea what a druid was capable of (hint: not much, at least at that time), just that I wanted to be a bear...

That is, until I got cat form...

Cat Form opened up a second whole new world for me as a leveling druid. I could now actually put out some damage, and without having played the other classes, or for that matter grouping with them much, the paltry DPS I was putting out seemed like a lot. Leveling was a breeze with the increased run speed, and Leader of the Pack heals removed all down time. It was around the middle of my leveling that I learned the fate of all druids: Healing. I was sorely disappointed, but, knowing that I wanted to raid, I gave it a go, and at level 46 I respecced to Restoration, and healed my first instance.

And I didn't hate it. I actually enjoyed it. Sure I wasn't shredding faces, but I had a much larger impact on the group's success. A lot more responsibility lay on me now. Furthermore, I was damn good at healing. I didn't manage to raid much when I did end up hitting 60, though, as The Burning Crusade expansion was just a few weeks away. When it hit, I kept my resto spec. In fact, I enjoyed it more now that I had some actual spellpower gear. But at the same time, I couldn't help but collect some feral gear. I always tried to grab feral gear when I could, and collected myself a nice set. Then one day, while questing through Zangarmarsh, at level 64, something clicked and I got really REALLY tired of the painfully slow leveling speed of restoration.

Sure, it was nice to heal an instance every now and then, but what good was that if I wouldn't hit max level... ever? So I put my feral gear to good use, respecced, gave the new talents a whirl, and LOVED it. WOW! This was a new type of feral. I had some solid damage, and what's more, I could TANK stuff now. I tanked my first instance ever that day (Underbog), and I found out that not only did I think I was a capable tank, so did the rest of the group. I had fun tanking, but having people thank me for it? That was icing. Delicious icing. And what's more, I had control over the group. I was the leader. The other players followed ME. I was their guardian. I had found my place in the World of Warcraft. I would be a tank, but not just any tank, I would be a feral druid, and I would put every aspect of my character, and later characters, to work in a fight. I learned to maximize my survivability, to balance my gear for threat generation when needed, and optimize my DPS gear for those fights that I wasn't needed to tank. I would be an asset, not a liability. But most importantly, I would forever be a tank.

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Who, What, and Why

As per the norm with most new sites, I find it fitting to offer an introduction about myself, the site, and a brief welcome to the site. Normally I don't go out of my way for pageantry of this nature (I'm more of a simple "Here it is" type), however this site serves several purposes. The first of which is that I like to talk, at length, whether or not anyone is actually listening. The second purpose ties closely to the first, and that is that I play World of Warcraft... a lot. Some would argue too much. The third is that I'm trying to build myself a portfolio of writing samples just in case I come across a professional blog writing or online content gig. The last reason that I'm going out of my way to produce well researched, professional articles is that, well, I'm just bored lately.

So let's start with an introduction of myself. This site isn't about my personal life; it's not about me as a person (primarily, though I do pride myself on extending several tangents beyond the original scope of a conversation, then somehow finding a way to tie them all back to the original point), so you're not going to get life stories. Therefore, you can call me Khanus, though I answer to several other character names. Khanus is a Feral Druid and primary tank for Epilogue(H) of Icecrown-US, a guild I have been with for some two years or so. I have been playing WoW since about half a year prior to the release of The Burning Crusade. Since day one, I have worked to be the best player I can, because, well, what's the point of playing if you're not striving to play better than you did yesterday? Because of this, I play a lot of alts. To me, if you really want to learn your class well, learn the other classes. You will better understand the mechanics of your own class as well as understanding the capabilities of your fellow players. To date, I have 6 80's, all on Icecrown, but I will introduce my characters in a later post (or posts, as will likely be the case).

So what can you expect from this blog? Well, my dear reader, you can expect commentary on tanking, not just from a feral druid perspective, but from that of every tank class (yes, 4 of my 6 80's are tanks). Expect also to hear about frustrating raids, my dislike for failing, and some general commentary on WoW itself and upcoming changes/development.

So if you're not bored enough already by an unnecessarily long intro post, please bookmark the site, check back often, and open up discussions in the comments. Help me care about this site.

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