No, this post is not about demonic sacrifices of baby orcs...
... just about my reactions to self-mutilations by casters of the shadowy persuasion.
Lifetapping warlocks can scare the shit out of me with the self inflicted health deficits they use to regenerate mana. And the backlash from a shadowpriest critting Shadow Word: Death can be even worse.
The aggro indicators in Grid or other raid-frames just aren't fast or accurate enough to distinguish between such self-inflicted damage that can be healed at leisure and "zomg that noob pulled aggro again - spam heals and pray"!
For safety reasons I assume the person in question is a noob and about to be mashed into a bloody pulp. In 5-mans I might notice in time that the mobs are still firmly attached to the tank and just throw a single Renew for topping them up. But in the chaos of a raid everyone is 'guilty of overaggroing until proven innocent' and causes me to prepare for a full-blown healing spam while I mutter curses under my breath.
Not that it matters in most end game encounters where random attacks outside of the good old aggro table seem to be the norm instead of the exception. There everyone is 'considered dead unless immediately healed to full'. And my curses in such encounters often go way beyond the "under my breath" threshold. ;)
February 29, 2008
February 28, 2008
Kibbles 'n Bits (updated)
There are several special food items in the game that increase the stats of your pets. And not just hunter pets, but other pet types such as the warlock minions and mage's water elemental as well.
From the Sporeggar there is the Sporeling Snack created from Strange Spores that drop from sporebats and striders in Zangarmarsh. The snacks increase the Stamina and Spirit of your pet by 20 and last 30 minutes. Not too shabby.
And from the daily cooking quest you can get the recipe for Kibler's Bits. These are made from Buzzard Meat and increase the Strength and Spirit of your pet by 20 and also last for half an hour
These pet treats don't count as normal food that you can use with the "feed pet" skill of the hunter. They are "Use" items that will buff your current pet when right-clicked.
Apparently you can also use the food buff on Mind Controlled mobs, but doing so breaks the Mind Control since it counts as an action by you. I wonder if duelling someone to buff them with Strength would work. Something new to try out!
Update: Our guild's main tank complained about being abused in such a way and being treated like a pet, but sacrifices have to be made in the name of science. The result: He came out miffed at me, but strengthened by the experience!
From the Sporeggar there is the Sporeling Snack created from Strange Spores that drop from sporebats and striders in Zangarmarsh. The snacks increase the Stamina and Spirit of your pet by 20 and last 30 minutes. Not too shabby.
And from the daily cooking quest you can get the recipe for Kibler's Bits. These are made from Buzzard Meat and increase the Strength and Spirit of your pet by 20 and also last for half an hour
These pet treats don't count as normal food that you can use with the "feed pet" skill of the hunter. They are "Use" items that will buff your current pet when right-clicked.
Apparently you can also use the food buff on Mind Controlled mobs, but doing so breaks the Mind Control since it counts as an action by you. I wonder if duelling someone to buff them with Strength would work. Something new to try out!
Update: Our guild's main tank complained about being abused in such a way and being treated like a pet, but sacrifices have to be made in the name of science. The result: He came out miffed at me, but strengthened by the experience!
February 27, 2008
The quest to complete all quests
I am currently trying to complete all kinds of questlines that I skipped earlier. Two of them that I started to clean out this weekend were the Fallen Hero of the Horde questline in Blasted Lands and the Greatmother Geyah questline in Nagrand. Apart from being great questlines the later also gives loads of gold at level 70.
There are tons of earlier questlines that I finished already over the last few weeks. For example the low level quests in Ghostlands. They are perfect for the wait time before a Zul'Aman run. Many of them give reputation, either for Tranquillien or in many cases for Horde factions. And one of them leads to one of my favorite events - Lady Sylvanas' Lament of the Highborne - an incredibly haunting song ...
... Belore
There are tons of earlier questlines that I finished already over the last few weeks. For example the low level quests in Ghostlands. They are perfect for the wait time before a Zul'Aman run. Many of them give reputation, either for Tranquillien or in many cases for Horde factions. And one of them leads to one of my favorite events - Lady Sylvanas' Lament of the Highborne - an incredibly haunting song ...
... Belore
The "you can turn of the loading screen hints" hint
Why oh why is there a hint on the loading screen that tells you that you can turn off these hints?
Why? I don't get it. Whoever came up with the idea for this option and the corresponding hint must be really emo. It is a stupid and unnecessary option to have in the first place. But the existential angst in the loading screen hint? Way over the top.
Why? I don't get it. Whoever came up with the idea for this option and the corresponding hint must be really emo. It is a stupid and unnecessary option to have in the first place. But the existential angst in the loading screen hint? Way over the top.
Spirit Tap misconceptions
The priest talent Spirit Tap is one of the best talents for soloing. After you land a killing blow on a mob you get a buff for 15 seconds that doubles your spirit and allows 50% of your mana regeneration to continue while casting. The effect only procs if the killed mob or player would have given you experience or honor, but that usually is the case anyway.
A common recommendation among priests is to wand the mob for the last few seconds before the killing blow, so that you are out of the 5-second-rule for the full duration of the Spirit Tap buff. I used to blindly follow that advise to maximise the amount of mana that I regenerate, but luckily some priests pointed out that this is a misconception.
It sounds surprising at first, but being in or out of the 5-second rule (FSR) when Spirit Tap procs has no influence on the extra mana regenerated from it!
Without taking into account other talents Spirit Tap gives the following:
If you are out of the FSR while Spirit Tap is running then you get the full 100% mana regeneration rate at double your normal spirit. Instead of 100% regeneration you will get 200%. So Spirit Tap gives you extra mana equivalent to 15 seconds at 100% mana regeneration.
If you keep casting instead and stay inside the FSR for the proc then you get 50% mana regeneration at double your spirit. Instead of 0% regeneration you will have 100%. In this case Spirit Tap gives you extra mana equivalent to 15 seconds at 100% mana regeneration.
So being in or out of the FSR for Spirit Tap makes no difference for mana regeneration. Spirit tap adds a flat 100% extra on top of your usual mana regeneration. Please note that time spent out of the FSR is still a good thing. You just don't have to worry about Spirit Tap with regard to it. Take a regeneration break whenever you need and don't be a slave to Spirit Tap.
Taking into account talents like 'Improved Divine Spirit', 'Spiritual Guidance', and 'Meditation' makes casting while Spirit Tap is running actually better than wanding. Improved Divine Spirit and Spiritual Guidance benefit from the doubled spirit and give you extra +damage/healing. If you keep casting then you can use this benefit, but if you are wanding instead you are wasting the +damage. Meditation also benefits from the extra spirit, but only while you are *in* the FSR.
A common recommendation among priests is to wand the mob for the last few seconds before the killing blow, so that you are out of the 5-second-rule for the full duration of the Spirit Tap buff. I used to blindly follow that advise to maximise the amount of mana that I regenerate, but luckily some priests pointed out that this is a misconception.
It sounds surprising at first, but being in or out of the 5-second rule (FSR) when Spirit Tap procs has no influence on the extra mana regenerated from it!
Without taking into account other talents Spirit Tap gives the following:
If you are out of the FSR while Spirit Tap is running then you get the full 100% mana regeneration rate at double your normal spirit. Instead of 100% regeneration you will get 200%. So Spirit Tap gives you extra mana equivalent to 15 seconds at 100% mana regeneration.
If you keep casting instead and stay inside the FSR for the proc then you get 50% mana regeneration at double your spirit. Instead of 0% regeneration you will have 100%. In this case Spirit Tap gives you extra mana equivalent to 15 seconds at 100% mana regeneration.
So being in or out of the FSR for Spirit Tap makes no difference for mana regeneration. Spirit tap adds a flat 100% extra on top of your usual mana regeneration. Please note that time spent out of the FSR is still a good thing. You just don't have to worry about Spirit Tap with regard to it. Take a regeneration break whenever you need and don't be a slave to Spirit Tap.
Taking into account talents like 'Improved Divine Spirit', 'Spiritual Guidance', and 'Meditation' makes casting while Spirit Tap is running actually better than wanding. Improved Divine Spirit and Spiritual Guidance benefit from the doubled spirit and give you extra +damage/healing. If you keep casting then you can use this benefit, but if you are wanding instead you are wasting the +damage. Meditation also benefits from the extra spirit, but only while you are *in* the FSR.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)