World of Lifecraft

WotLK!!

2008-09-16T11:20:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I know I have neglected you all. I thank everyone who has taken the time to read my blog. I hope I am informative and helpful. Thanks for reading!

Get ready for a wall of text!! This is my Evaluation of the Feral tree, specs, and a couple rotations.

Feral Tree

Ferocity-Not having 5 points in this is a crime. Enough said.

Feral Aggression- I've actually been investigating this. It is nice to have against melee bosses if you do not have a warrior present. The buff to ferocious bite is not half bad either. Though FB is not part of an effective rotation... well... I'll get back to that later.

Feral Instinct- Nice buff for us. AOE packs are increasing and we need more effective ways of handling them. Miss the extra threat in bear? No you won't. This is a very suitable replacement. With the changes to swipe (affects 4 targets) and the addition of a glyph (adds an extra target to your swipe cone) this is a must have!

Brutal Impact-Not a fan to be honest. Great for PVP, but I am a dedicated PVEr. I can see instances where it could be beneficial to have this for instancing (having a buffer to BR a healer) however with the tree already bloated this is a poor choice for PVE post WotLK.

Thick Hide-This is the bread and butter of our mitigation. If you are a bear this is a must. Note that this is even more important due to the fact that ALL bonus armor on gear has been removed (minus rings, neck, and trinket). Also note this is a scaling talent!

Feral Swiftness- This can be looked at several ways. As a PVE bear it is a must have (especially with the new agi to dodge ratio). We need to increase our avoidance as much as possible. Mitigation through armor looks iffy at the moment. We need to make sure that we can take the least hits as possible. From a PVE (raiding) cat perspective I would say you can skip this talent. It is nice if you need to tank in a pinch, but you may decide that you want to spend those two points somewhere better.

Faerie Fire-I like this talent. I wish it had more functionality. I am pushing for it to work as a taunt in bear form since we lack a ranged taunt or maybe add a 15% increase to the chance our taunt will hit. As it stands, I'd argue that you could skip it and pull with moonfire. However, shifting out is just not rage efficient. It is nice to pull with a full bar of rage. Also, it adds a bit of threat and helps you gain more threat by lowering the armor of the enemy. Overall I'd say nab it.

Sharpened Claws- Nice talent to have. Great for bears and cats. also is the mandatory talent to get a few nifty talents later. I don't see any reason to not get this talent. I wish it scaled... but alas, it doesn't.

Shredding Attacks-This talent is mandatory for anyone that plays a cat. Shred is the cat's meow. It is just okay for bears. I'll argue why a little bit later when I talk rotation.

Predatory Strikes- IN BC was a good talent. In WotLK an even better talent. With the extra attack power it provides it can give a nice boost to bear threat as well as some extra kitty damage. Also it is an opener to one of the fundamental feral talents.

Primal Fury- One of the strongest talents in our tree. Not only does it allow us extra rage on critical strikes in bear form, but also allows for the addition of an extra combo point on a cat crit. It helps get those rips faster. Must have. If you don't, you are a luser!

Primal Precision- This talent is pretty sexy first read. However, when you factor in all the hit and expertise we have on our gear or can gem for, this simply just adds to the feral bloat. If you are a dedicated cat though, I'd nab it. Bears, you have better options. I'd like to see something else added to this. Possibly something like "...as well as giving your swipe has a 15% increase to hit the target(s). When a miss occurs your taunt is refreshed." I know I want some OP stuff!

Savage Fury- Solid talent. Increases threat and damage in bear and is a decent boost in cat as well. Could you skip it as a raiding cat? Sure. Would I? No. We mangle every time the debuff is about to leave the mob. Unless you have a teddy tank for all bosses end-game, don't pass it up.

Feral Charge- For bears it has always been a must have for me. Bears will always need to play goalie (especially in pugs!). For cats, this is not really that amazing for PVE. It is really a joke. Cats work best starting from stealth and without the addition of a combo point this is lackluster. Bear yes, Cat no.

Nurturing instinct- Good for PVP. Okay for blasting a quick heal in PVE. The additional healing is okay. However, with every healer basically getting an AOE heal, it is pretty useless imo. Time shall tell us.

Natural Reaction- Bear specific only. Adds 6% extra dodge and restores 3 rage when you dodge. That should be nice for dodge junkies! Again, another talent that does not scale. Sadly, with the agi to dodge ration it is pretty much mandatory to grab this.

Heart of the Wild-Mandatory. Plain and simple. This is one of our major scaling talent. Stamina= great Extra AP= great

Survival of the Fittest-If you ever want to tank this is the staple talent. We need 0, I repeat 0 defense now. Nice that it scales. Adds a bit of AP/Stam/Crit to cats as well. Can't pass this one up.

Leader of the Pack-Nice to have. Currently a DPS warrior can also bring this ability. Simply put though, it is worth the point. 5% crit is good times.

Improved Leader of the Pack- This is bloat to a already bloated tree to me. While it is great for soloing and helping your healers a smidge, I feel that it can be skipped these days. Again, with all the AOE heals, healers will be spamming away! As for MTs.. yeah it can help. I'll re-evaluate this when we hit the end game. Also, perhaps one of us will feel compelled to spec it. That would make you my hero!

Primal Tenacity-Can't speak for this yet. I have not seen any compelling reason to grab this. It is nice for getting feared and helping the healer while a mob is on your butt. The reduction is nice, but tremor totem is as well! I give Blizz a 2/10 for this one. It reeks imo.

Protector of the Pack- Formerly known as Mother Bear, this talent affects your mitigation scaling in two ways: the first is how many is in your party(up to 12% I last checked); the second is how hard the boss smacks you! Do I like this talent? Yes. Do I like the group mechanic aspect to it? No. I don't think that mitigation should be based on how many are in your party. Even though I do not support the mechanic, it is a necessary bear talent! Could be the end of soloing elites though... /sad panda. Also this talent adds a bit more AP to bear. More AP= More threat. More threat = More not dead people in your group = good! Not great; Good.

Predatory Instincts- Solid talent. Great for cats. Good for bears. Also a nice little boost to AOE avoidance. Get this talent.

Infected Wounds- I honestly have not spent much time on this talent. Great from a PVP standpoint. If the reduction of attack speed works on bosses, I'd say grab it. I assume it does. However, also note that thunderclap, judgement of the just, and icy touch also apply this. It can be skipped and most likely will not be missed if you are a PVEr. (May be nice for 5-10 mans though)

King of the Jungle-This did not stand out to me at first. After speccing it for cat, it is a must. We have no incentive to use it with enrage. Take away the reduction of armor when popping enrage and it would be nice for extra threat. Cat= yes Bear=maybe

Mangle-Not having this is like a warrior tanking in berserker stance without a shield. You just don't want to see that! This is the bread and butter, peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese talent for feral. It gave us a purpose in BC! If you don't spec this, you are one silly goose!

Improved Mangle- Reduced energy cost and reduced cooldown is good. You can live without it I suppose. Totally a must in my book though.

Rend and Tear-This talent just feels weak. Sure, it is nice for a noticeable boost to kitty DPS and a small boost to threat. Oh, it also increases the chance for FB to crit. I don't like that it is 5 points. Feels like too much. Simply put, it kinda feels like getting pancakes with no syrup.Sure it's okay, but it is bland. For a deep feral talent is is just feh.

Berserk-Now that it is a 3 min CD I like it much better. This is the druid's last stand/ some rogue talent I cannot think of atm. Anyways it is definitely worth the point. Can live w/o it, but it is a damn good button in a bind for bear and pretty damn nice to help get a 4-5 point savage roar/ rip up. Get it. It is nice. It is not spectacular like mangle was, but it is something that will help us be a better MT.

Restoration Tree

Furor- Huge yes for cats. It now retains up to 100 energy when you shift out to BR/ Innervate. For bears it is nice if you wish to spend points in the resto tree (which you most-likely will). Cat= yes Bear=maybe

Imp MotW-If you want to primarily play a bear, grab this and 3/5 furor imo. Cats can stay away from this. Bears can too. Personal preference in my opinion.

Naturalist- Get it. 10% damage is nothing to pass up. Bears get threat/DPS, cats get DPS.

Natural Shapeshifter- Debate-able. Get it if you want master shape shifter. Otherwise it can be spent elsewhere!

Intensity- I like it. I actually really like it. Gives us some regen for off healing and some extra rage when it matters most. Sadly it is just too hard to cram in with an already bloated tree. Skip it or you will regret it.

Omen of Clarity-Get it. With a supposed 6% proc rate it is pretty schweet. I'd pass if you were going strictly bear since rage starvation seems like it will be something of the past. Cats should get this. You will not regret that decision.

Master Shapeshifter- 4% extra crit in cat is to hard to pass up. Grab it. The 4% for bear can help that TPS and damage, but is not a necessity.

*Any farther in the tree and you may as well just spec resto. we simply don't have a way to cut corners anymore with all the bloat.

Balance Tree

Genesis- 5% extra periodic damage is great, but with all the bloat, I'd say no. I could change my mind in the future. But for now, it is a no.

New Feral Abilities

Swipe-Not new. However it is worth mentioning again that it now hits 4 targets (5 if you glyph).

Savage Roar-Slice and Dice type ability. Increases AP by 40% for a duration dependent on combo points. I absolutely love seeing the bigger numbers.

A few Notable Specs

The 55/16 Hybrid Spec- This spec gives you the best of both world without gimping cat or bear (too much at least). This will be the spec I choose at 80.

Feral Combat Talents - 55 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Shredding Attacks - rank 2/2
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Natural Reaction - rank 3/3
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Mother Bear - rank 3/3
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# King of the Jungle - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3
# Berserk - rank 1/1

Restoration Talents - 16 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5
# Naturalist - rank 5/5
# Natural Shapeshifter - rank 3/3
# Omen of Clarity - rank 1/1
# Master Shapeshifter - rank 2/2

65/5/1 Full out Bear- I am not a big fan of this spec. However, it provides the best mitigation/avoidance available to a bear tank. Some shared cat talents. However, don't think that you will be able to compete with rogues.

Druid Talents
Minimum Required Level: 79
Required Talent Points: 70

Feral Combat Talents - 65 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Aggression - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Primal Precision - rank 2/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Natural Reaction - rank 3/3
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Improved Leader of the Pack - rank 2/2
# Primal Tenacity - rank 3/3
# Mother Bear - rank 3/3
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# Infected Wounds - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3
# Berserk - rank 1/1

Restoration Talents - 5 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5

Level 70 Feral Specs

56/5 Feral Hybrid

Feral Combat Talents - 56 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Shredding Attacks - rank 2/2
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Primal Precision - rank 1/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Natural Reaction - rank 3/3
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Mother Bear - rank 3/3
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# King of the Jungle - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3
# Berserk - rank 1/1

Restoration Talents - 5 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5

All out kitty! 48/11/2 - Great for cat. No Berserk is a downfall, but the addition of Naturalist and OoC make this a well suited spec for ripping up your foes. Also you have 2 points left!

Feral Combat Talents - 48 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Shredding Attacks - rank 2/2
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Primal Precision - rank 2/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# King of the Jungle - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3

Restoration Talents - 11 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5
# Naturalist - rank 5/5
# Omen of Clarity - rank 1/1

Bear spec 56/5 - I like this spec for a dedicated bear tank. However, I'd like to be a bit more flexible and do some real DPS.

Feral Combat Talents - 56 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Natural Reaction - rank 3/3
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Primal Tenacity - rank 3/3
# Mother Bear - rank 3/3
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# King of the Jungle - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3
# Berserk - rank 1/1

Restoration Talents - 5 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5

Some Druid Math

Crit Per Agi
Level 70- 0.025
Level 80- 0.012

Agi required for 1% Crit
Level 70- 40
Level 80- 83.33333333

Toskk Calculator- Direct link. http://druid.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/WotLK_dps_calculator404.html

*MORE TO COME WHEN MORE INFO IS AVAILABLE*

Kitty Rotation

On trash- Pounce>> Savage roar (for the extra AP)>> Mangle >>Shred to dead or do a energy dump with FB (I'd only FB if it were a single mob and the last to die)

On Bosses- Pounce>> Mangle >>Shred to 4/5 >> Savage roar>> Mangle>> Shred to 4/5 >> Rip

or

Pounce>> Savage Roar>> Mangle>> Shred to 4/5>> Savage Roar>> Mangle>> Shred to 4/5>> Rip

***I have to do a bit more DPS testing before I can deem one far superior to the other***

More to come...

Multi-mob tanking

2008-06-16T02:08:00.003-04:00

So, I can't believe I have not made a post about this. Well lets start off by acknowledging a few things about multi-mob tanking:

Druids should try and tank a maximum of 3 targets if possible.
Don't just mash swipe.. well unless you are in T6 gear

So first we will start off with a scenario of 1 target. In this case you

Select target
Hit your maul button
Pull with Fairie Fire
Mash mangle as soon as it gets in range.

The rest is basically spamming lacerate if you are 70. If you are like my buddy Morydd and have not reached 70, just alternate mangle and mauls.

Next we have two targets. In this scenario, you should:

Repeat steps 1-4 on the single target scenario.
Tab to get your second target.
Hit your second target with a few lacerates (or a maul in the case of our buddy)
If no CC is around, you can swipe while staying on your main target and mash mangle every time it comes up.

Okay, now for three:

Steps 1-4 again
Swipe a few times. Tab-lacerate as well when mangle is on CD
Swipe while staying on your main target and mash mangle every time it comes up.

Now 4 or more:

Get a pally tank (jk!)

Okay, start off with a Barkskin/ Hurricane combo.
Pop into Bearform about halfway through
Hit demo roar
Mangle your main target and tab swipe/lacerate
Be ready to hit your taunt

Hope this helps. Best of luck to all you feral bears out there. Keep up the great work!

Make yourself one of these =)

2008-05-28T16:30:00.002-04:00

What is all this scribble-scrabble? Well... it is my upgrade list. What is that Fellesa; how do I make one? /durr

Okay. This is the best way for me to look at upgrades and gems/enchants. I look at geared druids, the druid dps calculator and druid blogs to figure out the best way to gear up my kitty.
There are a few basic rules when making your list:

Watch that you stay hit capped. Some poeple say forget the hit cap for druids. Tell that to the WWS
Check for socketing. Make sure that with sockets you can achieve better stats.
Look for upgrades that can fuel an even larger upgrade. For instance, look at perhaps a small downgrade that may get you hit capped. In return, you can get a nice big upgrade.
Weigh all slots evenly. Any upgrade is an upgrade.
Aim for the middle ground upgrades. Don't always strive to get the best upgrade if that means sacrificing on other upgrades.
Keep your 2p Malorne set bonus if you can. It's nice!
Lastly, make sure the gear looks super amazingly cool. Alwas take a cool looking green over some poopy ugly purple! =P

Healing as a feral

2008-05-26T14:31:00.003-04:00

This is a parse from a recent trip to BT. We were on Naj'entus for the first time. We carried 10 great healers. I placed number 5. How did I do this?

Here are some fantastic tips for healing as a feral (in your healing set):

Don't be afraid of potting: For the love of Pete... pot and pot often. Raiding costs gold. Get used to it.
Develop a good rotation. I usually have a stack of LB on the tank as well as a rejuv. During the timers, I usually throw a few LBs/rejuvs on the raid.
Be focused. Get to the heals first.
Work on your healing gear. Realize that you can be a valuable healer.
Read up on your class. Understand the mechanics
PVP! It helps develop quick reaction times.
Spec resto. Understand the mechanics of the spec. It will give you lots of insight to healing.
Lastly, don't be afraid to ask tips from the other healers. Take it with a grain of salt and apply it to the situation
Don't forget to have fun!

Healing the priest tank for FLK?

2008-05-26T14:04:00.002-04:00

So, ever been short that resto shammy? Are you expected to fill that healing spot? Let me share the secrets of healing the priest tank:

Healing the priest tank and surrounding members can be pretty tricky. Even though the tank does not take huge damage, everyone that surrounds the priest (including yourself) takes damage.

The single most effective way to heal the tank and the surrounding members is to pull those 4 people (again including yourself) out onto your screen. Lifebloom is your main source of heals. Keep a 3 stack and a rejuv on the tank, and heal those surrounding you with a lifebloom. Be prepared to spend lots of mana at times, and pot frequently. I also suggest mana oil to help that MP5. Do this, and you should last at least until we move on the priest. Once on the priest, be prepared for lots of hotting for the tank, and surrounding melee. It is a huge help if ferals/ prot pallies throw out a couple of heals at this time. Also an innervate on your friendly tree druid is much appreciated.

This is a post I made a few months ago on the druid forums for my guild. It takes some good concentration, but we can heal almost as well as that shammy... too bad we don't have spell interrupt though.. /sad durid

Best Cat DPS site EVAR!

2008-05-26T13:53:00.002-04:00

This may look intimidating at first, but let me explain. This is know as Toskk's Druid DPS calculator. This is your friend. It will help you top those charts!
You can go to the site by clicking: HERE

Okay, so basically you can see the area that you can input your stats. Get in your kitty gear and in kitty form and write those in. After that be sure you include the set pieces you have and the buffs you will have. Next, you can chose to ignore hit rating cap and see the best upgrades OR you can select the Socket method( I choose this). You can select matching or all agi gems. After you select this, you select a slot for gear from the drop down menu. Chose the piece you want to see upgrades for. It will put them in descending order of course with the best at the top.

How do I interpret this?

Well, it is simple. You look at the upgrades. You will notice it tells the drop locations and such. Just look at the instances you do and apply it to that. If you are just gearing up you can look at Kara gear and possibly badge gear. If you are all decked out, you may see a few pieces from Sunwell. Just apply it to your raiding situation. Someone in Kara should not be looking at Sunwell gear. Notice even the small upgrades you can make. It makes a big difference.

Hope you find this useful!

What spec are you?

2008-05-21T23:45:00.007-04:00

I finally thought it would be a great time to make a post about druid specs. I will discuss a few Feral and resto builds and what I like about them. Lets start off with Fellesa's resto build. This is the build I use for PVE as well as some light PVP. It incorporates what I believe to be the best resto talents and balance talents.

Fellesa's resto build: 8/0/53

So why do I like this spec?
I love this spec because I am a pure hotter. This is not for the Healing Touch spammer. It focuses purely on helping your hots. You notice I put 2 points in Empowered Touch. This is just for that extra boost in your Natures Swiftness>> Healing touch combo. Also note that this build is built specifically just for healing. You get no nifty points in Balance that increases your DPS. The points spent there is for PVP survivability.

Soraxen's Resto Build: 12/0/49

Notes about Soraxen's build: This is completely PVE. There is absolutely no PVP viability in this spec (imo). Unlike my build, Soraxen has some more points in the balance tree to help with DPS as well as healing touch based spells in the resto tree.

~Note that these are two completely different specs. Mine is for pure HOTs and some survivability. Soraxen's is focused more for some minor soloing and for both Hots and Healing Touch. What one is better? You decide.

OKAY NOW ON TO THE GOODIES!!

Feral Spec: Feral spec brings true druid-like talent to the table. Feral druids are effective tanks, dps, and even healers with the goods. We are truly the most versatile spec in the game. I am going to show you what I think are the top two versatile specs.

Fellesa's Feral Spec: 0/47/14

Why do I like my spec? One word, Functionality. Aside from PVP, this is in my opinion one of the best druid specs. I get most of the goodies in Feral tree with even a few in the resto tree to boot. There is however one feral talent I want to get once I see a few T5 pieces. The next spec covers that.

Acroyear's Spec: 0/47/14 (Sounds the same, eh?)

Note about Acro's spec: This spec is even a bit more versatile than my own. With the ability to swap out a weapon with tons of agi and blast a few heals on the raid, you have definitely proved your worth. You can see that Acro chose to improve his bash. You could also put a point in the nifty roots talent.

~ Which spec is for you? Well if you play a cat most of the time, Acro's spec is the way to go. He has all the goodies that will make you pwn with the addition of some healing. My spec on the other hand is more for bears. If you tank a bit, dps a bit, heal a bit, either will work. You just have to apply the spec to the dungeons you are in and your primary role.

Leave some comments, suggest some specs. I'm always excited to try something new. More posts soon! <3

Kitty damage rotation.

2008-05-10T11:10:00.002-04:00

Okay, so most of my blogs have really been about bear tanking. I decided finally I will accept the fact that I am a hybrid, and not just a teddy tank. Most of the work I do in a 25 man setting is actually DPS work. I thought I'd bring to attention what damage rotation I think works best, and what I prefer. If you would like to see FELLESA spec, you can click my name back there. Seriously! So slap on that cat gear, and lets get to shredding!

Keep these things in mind and you will be biting and clawing to the top of the meters:

Mangle is only used to keep up a debuff (unless soloing)
Shred is the primary button you should mash
Once you get to 4 combo points, hit rip. I know it is not 5 points, but if you crit on that last shred, you risk losing an extra combo point.
You can start off with a pounce, but I prefer not to waste the energy and start with a mangle.
If you have a few combo points at the last few percent of trash, hit ferocious bite
Socket for agility (Post about that soon)
Utilize power shifting (Post soon!)

Now that you have the basics, the rotation is really easy. I use:

Standard Rotation
Mangle>>Shred>>Shred>>Shred>>Rip>>Shred>>Mangle
*Now my crit is pretty high, so most times 3 shreds will give me between 4-5 points. If you crit is not as high, it may take another shred.

Rotation if the boss is at 5% or if the Trash is at 35%

Mangle>>Shred>>Shred>>Shred>>Ferocious Bite
* I am getting dirty looks from some of you , I know! Anyways, there are actually two ways you can do this. You can go ahead with the ferocious bite and hope for a nice fat crit OR you can continue to shred. I prefer FB, but that is just me. Also, you have to adjust for mobs with more HP. This is just a guide and no means standardizes at what percent you should use this rotation.

Work on this and you should see a nice increase in DPS. Now that most bosses are bleedable, you should see a nice spot on the damage meter.

More to come soon!

Back in Action!

2008-05-07T00:25:00.001-04:00

I'm back. Expect some new posts soon!

They include:
How to DPS as a feral druid
How to heal as a feral
How to heal as a resto
More tanking in BC
More LEET Grafics!!
Expertise and you
Getting hit capped on your feral
New gear and how to gem it
Building different feral sets (Max stam, Max mitigation, Max AC)
Useful addons
...and many, many more.

I'm happy to be back, and hope I see more people reading. Please feel free to drop me a line and suggest other topics.

Netherspite Goes back to Hell!

2007-12-10T01:37:00.001-05:00

FKT Finally took down Netherspite. We finally killed every boss in Kara.

A couple cool tips for Netherspite:
~ Tanks get in those beams ASAP! Especially the green one.
~ If you can spare it, give each blue beam blocker a buddy. This buddy can step in and take the beam when the ticks get too high. That means that you need 4 people for the blue beam.
~ When running back to the blue beam side, don't run through any beams. Run straight through Netherspite.
~ Lastly, focus most heals on the fellas in the bluebeam. They are the ones who get hit the hardest.

Night night Maggy!

2007-12-06T18:33:00.002-05:00

Mag is not a terribly difficult fight. In fact, I was present on Trivial's first kill. Here are some great tips:

~Your MT on the first target, 2 Druids on the next two, and 2 well geared warriors on the last two. Last Stand/ shield wall are very useful.

~ The position for the MT should be between the 1st and 2nd platform

~ Go clockwise in your kill order.

~ Clickers should be ranged only. Melee should only be clickers if one of your ranged go down. (This should not even be a worry. All our clickers managed to stay up)

~ Clickers should have their backs to the wall prior to running up and clicking. Never stand on the platform.

~ Clickers run up and right-click once. That is it. Don't make it harder than need be.

~ Have roughly 7 healers in your group ( Or 6 healers with one that can do a little backup healing). 4 healers ( Pref a Druid, Priest and 2 Pallies) heal the MT. The other three healers work on your last two tanks.

~ Don't panic when the cave in happens. The MT may have to move a bit, but it is not too big of a deal. Just watch out for falling stuffs.

~ A druid can tank Mag. When our tank went down in the beginning, I was able to pickup Mag and tank him. He definitely hits for less than Tidewalker (hate that guy!)

Last of all have fun a laugh it off when you wipe or MT goes down. Stuff happens. Don't let it get you down!

ALSO CHECKOUT THIS ADDON. IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIVES CAKE!
http://elitistjerks.com/344098-post77.html

Sorry guys, I have been slacking

2007-11-29T15:25:00.001-05:00

Life has caught up with me in the last few weeks. Planning for college, doing a little side work to nab some cash, reading a awesome book called A Better Place, AND listening to the baby blues (Not my blues, my cousin's). Well apart from all that, I have joined a new guild. A fantastic guild. I finally found a place that not only suits my raiding schedule but my play style. Trivial of Hyjal will be my home for a long long time.

Almost immediately after joining Trivial it was time to raid. I must admit, I was really nervous. Would they like me? How would I size up against their other members? Upon our first pull, my nervousness had waned. I was listening to our very informative raid leader shout out targets over vent, and that definitely put me at ease. He was so good at making everything crystal clear which is definitely a step up from my old raiding guild. On my first night, I got to see Hydross and even attempt him a few times. Though we did not down him, I went away with a lot of valuable experience. With our heads still held high, we finished with a 1-shot of Lurker.

Last night was my second raid with my new guild. I was very excited and ready to roll with the punches. We cleared trash and I even got to be a goalie for a bit. We made our way up to Hydross. Boy was I ready to bash his face in! So we did. We started the night with a one-shot of Hydross. A few minutes later, we were making our way to the Lurker. we got into position, pulled, and I witnessed one of the cleanest Lurker take downs. With our egos swollen we decided to clear more trash in the attempt to get to Tidewalker. After we viciously slaughtered many a murloc, we were finally there. We had a few attempts on him. Our last being our best. 43% on a new boss. Now that is what I call teamwork! I can't wait to raid again.

...More to come soon. LEET GRAFICS FTW!
(Oh, and I love Hunters, sorry for calling you huntards =/ )

Leet Grafic- HK this time folks!

2007-11-07T05:40:00.000-05:00

HK Graphic

YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!

Actually you are. You have hit your defense mark, you have around 1400 Attack power in bear, as well as 26K+ AR, 13.5K HP, and 30% chance dodge (unbuffed of course).

HK is really not hard, the pull is. In fact my old guild one shot him, and that says a lot. They still have not learned to get out of Lurkers spout. ANYWAY back to the topic at hand. As you can see, I did not include any of HKs minions but who cares. You're UBER now and can tank the big boys!

So, the first move for you is to eat all your food, and put on as much stam and avoidance gear as possible (without sacrificing your armor). Next comes your position. If you run down the hill, you will see a notch in the wall. It will be on an incline into a corner. That is the the spot you want to be in. Notice where your healers are, and if they are in LOS. After you get into position, put on your pink helm with all those pretty Barbie stickers on it; You are going to get your face kicked in!

Next in the process is a MD pull from a hunter to you (usually right when the mage is halfway through casting at Krosh). Immediately cast fariefire and Demo roar and begin your fight for aggro. I usually do a few maul/mangle combos and then start a lacerating/mangle frenzy. You will notice that he does a knockback which does not affect you because you are buried in a corner. While the rest of his minions are being downed, just keep up demo roar and FF and continue to whoop his ass. Once everyone gets to HK, he will start fearing every so often. You may fall victim to this, and when you do, just Feral charge and taunt. You will get it back easily. My rule is , unless it is on your healers, tank him where he lies. Thats it. Cake!

~Oh, btw if you ever have to tank OLM, follow the wall down thill you are at the halfway mark in the room. On the pull, get a maul/mangle combo off, and you should be able to keep charging in and doing that every time he fears ya. That is all for him. He is just annoying really~

Druids Tanking Prince

2007-10-28T08:43:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, my main tank dc'd shortly before Prince. While I had heard of druids tanking Prince I was really unsure of my ability to do so. I was wrong, we make excellent tanks.

First off, let me explain our positioning:

Okay, we use the door strat. I positon myself near the end of the wall right before the dip of death. The raid stands at the red circle, better known as the G-spot (Get out of the guttah!). Also notice the crevice that can be used as a safe spot for melee. Basically I get into position and get a MD.

Now onto tanking... Start of with a mangle/maul combo followed right by a demo roar and a FF. Keep FF and Demo roar up at all times while keeping up a stack of 5 lacerates and mangling your heart out. Do this until phase two. Phase two is the funnest phase. It is where you can get 6 shot in a matter of 4 seconds. This is the phase where you want to burn your pocket watch or badge. Don't burn both in case the end gets tricky. Other than that, have very proactive healers, and you should be okay. Phase 3 is cake... seriously.

Be aware that infernals love to block you in sometimes. If one threatens you, move closer to the door and have your group go to the door. If one threatens your group, move closer to the door with them as well. If you have one on each side of you and are boxed in try and stand where the hell fire is not hitting. IF they are both hitting you, move closer to the group so only one hits you. Healers can heal through that though it is very hard. As for melee... hope you got ammo!

Hope this helps

QQ Warriors

2007-10-28T08:30:00.000-04:00

Well if everyone has not yet seen the bonus to feral weapon attack power, you need to check out MMO-Champion.com

While I am as joyous as a fat kid in a bakery, I can already see the endless "NERF DRUIDS" threads littering our forums. While most of that rubbish comes from warriors that can't tell the difference between Shield wall and shield slam, some actually I do have some sympathy. but not much.

Let's face it; Druids generate threat extremely fast. Some guilds even prefer a Druid to tank Gruul and VR just because of our aggro generating capabilities. Take a step back though. Warriors, look at how we mitigate our damage: Stam, armor, agility. Now lets see how you mitigate: Stam,Block, Dodge, Parry, oh and wait... Shield block. So while we again reign supreme in generating aggro imo (no offense pallies) we also don't have oh shit buttons or options such as spamming shield block every few seconds.

In all, thanks Blizz for finally giving us a nice buff for a change. I have seen the nerf bat too many times, and sadly I only have one snaggle tooth left for it to bash out =*(

Druids and Achieving Crit Immunity

2007-10-28T08:13:00.000-04:00

Crit Immunity! Such an annoying topic. Remember that time when you finally replaced that piece of gear only to find out that it may not have been such an upgrade? No. Then I guess I must be the only Durr Durrid here. Anyways, I was looking at all the goodies from the vendor in the 2.3 Patch (MMo-Champion.com has it all) and realized that there was no defense rating on any of the gear. So, what is a feral druid to do. I mean c'mon I really want to replace those Clefthoof pieces. I still feel all nooby wearing them. Anyways, I began to ponder on how I can replace those pieces (and others) and make up for the loss of defense(which needs to be 415 or 2.6% chance to not be hit/crit w/ Primal Tenacity). I finally just went to bed with buring questions in my head.

So I woke up about 2 weeks ago (yeah I am a slacker poster) and remembered defense's red-headed stepchild... RESILIENCE!! That was it the solution to my problem and so many other druids. So, even though there was probably some really fancy spreadsheet out there with all the data, I decided to use my sub-par algebra skills to do some problem solving. So I determined that Resil scales much faster than def.

Resil= .025% per point to decrease crit
Def= .0167% per point to decrease hit/crit

Now stop, don't go replacing all that defense with resilience. Instead, look at the pieces that you like and determine how much Def/resil you need to hit immunity. Consider some of the Arean Pieces and the PVP bracers. They will help you hit that cap really fast. Oh, and don't forget about +15 resilience to chest. +6 Stats is excellent, but it ain't hitting the cap for me.

Hope someone can make sense of this and that it helps you!

Unguilded.

2007-10-24T21:52:00.001-04:00

Ah to be free again and not held back my the restraints of raiding. It feels good.

The guild was up in arms again about a strategy to help our lower level and excluded members have some inclusion in the guild. Well it just happens that the guild has turned for the worst, only caring about their sub par progression. I offered several ways to help get those people involved, including a FFA Gruuls signup. Sadly, that was shot down. So after feeling bummed and ignored, I decided that the guild was not for me.

I am not sure if any guild is for me. I really just want to freelance, and enjoy the brand new feeling of freedom. One thing that is annoying is getting 20 tells a day saying "hey u want to joni my new guild is is called we r leet and you have gud gear so plz join we have a tabard". It gets old. But seriously, IT GETS OLD! =/

Anyways, I pondered on the way that Blizz is designing this game. It seems like the 10 man instance is getting a lot of attention. Also, I play a feral druid. Set pieces are great, but instance gear is pretty slim for bears. The new heroic badge items helps alot there. But anyways, I am guildless and not exactly looking.

A dreary night!

2007-10-24T21:29:00.000-04:00

So I logged on yesterday.....

and got an in game mail from one of my Kara buddies. It turned out that he was expecting his brother for dinner and that he could not make it. No prob! I completely understand. After all, his brother is flying in from Japan. Okay, so I am one person down for Karazhan. No biggie! We can fill that spot!

Hrm!? Phone call? Who could be calling me? What nuber is this!?!?! So of course I just let the caller go right to my voice mail (because I am a coward). So a minute later I get that annoying bleep!! sound when you have a new message. I play it, and immediately realize it is one of my teammates. He tells me that he has just moved into his new house and everything is well. I felt relieved until the but. WHY THE HELL MUST THERE ALWAYS BE A BUT!!! So I listen on. He says that he does not have internet. Okay I am two down. I can still manage. Kara will go on!

So one of my favorite hunters log on. She is the queen of niceness and politely tells me that her husband (our second tank, and a damn awesome warrior) can't make it. Granted this was perfectly okay. He has been sacrificing a lot to stay part of the team. Right now he is stationed in Germany 9 hours ahead of our Kara start time so I completely understood that he did not feel well and needed his rest.

Oh, I forgot to mention that our awesome pally happens to be on a tour of Europe. I have been finding good candidates for replacing our beloved noobadin, but last night was not the case.

So here is how Tuesday went down:

3 hunters
4 druids
1 lock
1 priest
1 rogue

Horrible group makeup to say the least.

So we start out with 9 (I could not find a healbot) and down Attunemen no problems. After that I readdressed the need for a healer. Sadly, the best we could do is a feral druid. Then we move on to Moroes (with two wipes up to him). We get ready, and pull him. WIPE! Okay, We come back and get him the second time. Next is Maiden. We clear up to her, pretty messy. We get into position, and have my offtank tank because my healing gear is very good. Well, to say the least, I thought I could keep him up. Sadly he went down faster than panties on prom night. We came back and I put on my tanking gear. We managed to take her down.

Now frustrated and 11:45 we continue to pull. We get to the big nasties on the way to Opera and wipe. That was it, I was done. I was totally emotionally spend and has only pessimistic views of what we were going to be up against.

I learned many things last night:

A) If you have 3 members that cannot make it, call the raid.
B) Don't have feral druids heal if you can help it.
C) Hunters confuse one another and it is very funny to watch.
D) When things get bad just call it. Not like it is the end of the world.

Happy Hallows Eve!

2007-10-19T02:20:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone! I am looking for a few awesome Hallow's End pics. If anyone takes a cool snapshot of themselves in the crazy World of Warcraft, I will post it. Just make sure you are in your best Halloween attire!

Images can be sent to Trmilkduds@aol.com

So... ugh.. I am a NOOB!

2007-10-09T14:51:00.001-04:00

So I finally got my 5000G for my Epic mount (Thanks to a few buddies), and I went to my druid trainer to get my Epic quest. Well I remember skipping a couple talents back at 70... wrath being one of those. Cause I mean I am feral, why should I be casting. Then I proceed to scroll down, and see two more learn able talents. I had to do a double-take. I failed to learn Shred and Cower!! O.M.G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My DPS has been respectable granted, but wow. How could I forget such important abilities! My good sirs, my name is Fellesa, and I am a noob!

Shade of who?

2007-09-17T12:21:00.000-04:00

Shade of Aran finally went down on us last night after we coaxed him to come out of the closet. Sadly, when it was his turn with me, he died tragically from a heart attack. Grats to FKT on another fun night!

Hrm... how can I top that awesome opener? Well anyways, this fight is one of the most fun in the instance. Most whine about how hard he is and how they get pwnd. Okay guys there are only a few things that need to be done. Don't move when there is fire, CS his Fireballs and frostbolts, get the ellies under control, and have fun! After my rank about all these things, we nuked him down on our first attempt of the night. THanks to everyone there, and enjoy the loot.

Karma!

2007-09-14T04:12:00.001-04:00

Wow! I recently found out that Karma is not always a bitch. Sometimes she is sweet, and reminds me that I am a good person.

Okay, so check this out. A good friend of mine wanted to kill some dragons in Ogri'la. He needed those blue crystals off of the dragons. He asked over vent if we would help, and I agreed. I knew that by helping him, not only would I be of healing assitance, but I would get a chance at a super rare drop, The Badge of Tenacity. Needless to say, it did not drop. Oh and btw Hyjal the dragons are bugged. No blue crystals. Nonetheless, we decided that we would kill the dragons and craft the random cloak from their scales. I got a crappy caster one that magically turned into a blue crystal. That was it. No Badge yet again.

Later last evening I was browsing my guild forums and found that a rogue had gotten the drop. He posted on the forums that he was going to see if my class leader wanted it first. Luckily for me, my CL is really determined to get his mount. So, I get a tell from said rogue, offering that what should be epic trinket to me for 700G. Of course I am pretty poor, as I have been gearing out 3 sets. I had about 500 gold on me, and got a loan from Stan. I am now the happy owner of the badge. The endless farming is over. Now I just need Moroes Pocket watch to drop...

Requirements for end-game raiding

2007-09-11T06:48:00.000-04:00

Gruul's, SSC
Here are the stats druids should have for roles in Gruul's Lair and Serpentshrine Cavern. All figures are unbuffed. Since the raid team will soon be more formal, these should be considered "requirements."

Healing: 9,000 mana, 1,400 +healing, 100mp/5 (while casting) 8,000 health.
Tanking: 1,500 AP, 13,000 health, 27,000 armor, 30% dodge, 415 defense (or resilience)
Melee DPS: 2,400 AP, 30% crit, 8,000 health
Casting DPS: 800 +spell damage, 8,000 health, 6,000 armor (MK form)

Damn! And I thought I was set to go to Gruuls and SSC. These are really high standards. I was actually very disappointed yesterday when I saw that all three of my sets were not acceptable for end-game. Luckily for cat form, I just had to do some re-gemming. But for bear, my most valued form, I fall short of the needed 1500 attack power. This is where it gets tricky. I need 115 attack power. I HAVE to get the gloves from Curator, the belt out of Heroic Ramparts. The bracers out of Heroic Shattered Halls, and I am also concerned with my chest and legs. So in all, I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Good news!

2007-09-10T12:44:00.001-04:00

"HERT raid schedule.
Friday: 6-8:30
Saturday: 5-9
(times are subject to change a little bit)

The O-corp has decided to resurrect HERT(High End Raiding Team)."

That totally just made my day. This post made by my guild means that I can still raid Kara and ZM (when released) with my team. We can even have the same nights. I just hope that this raiding schedule won't burn me out!

Finally!

2007-09-10T00:43:00.001-04:00

I finally got my first piece of T4! Prince 2 shotted again! And we finally found a Warlock! This week could not get any better. More to come soon =P

So I think this is the spec I am sticking with

2007-09-09T07:09:00.001-04:00

Druid Talents
Minimum Required Level: 70
Required Talent Points: 61

Feral Combat Talents - 47 point(s)
Ferocity - rank 5/5
Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
Thick Hide - rank 3/3
Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
Feral Charge - rank 1/1
Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
Shredding Attacks - rank 2/2
Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
Primal Fury - rank 2/2
Savage Fury - rank 2/2
Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
Primal Tenacity - rank 3/3
Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
Improved Leader of the Pack - rank 2/2
Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
Mangle - rank 1/1
Restoration Talents - 14 point(s)
Furor - rank 5/5
Naturalist - rank 5/5
Intensity - rank 3/3
Omen of Clarity - rank 1/1

Leveling again

2007-09-09T06:41:00.000-04:00

Leveling? What is that?

Being capped out at 70 for quite a few months now has made me oblivious to the joys of leveling. With me and my friends needing something to bring back the fun in the game, and keep that spark alive; we decided to start out fresh and level some new toons. This by far was one of the best ideas we have ever come up with. It is nice again to feel the awkwardness of playing a new character that you know nothing about, and finding yourself immersed in the world as something different that what you started. It really opened my eyes to a much different play style.

Did I think I was going to play a priest as my next new class? Honestly, no. What I did think is that I was going to get around to leveling a shaman. Fortunately my friend created Manahole (translation: Man Hole) on my account. While we both laughed at what he had done, I suddenly found myself logging on to this character. It occurred to me about 2 hours later and level six that this was something new and fun. I really think the new content helped as well as something new to look at from the backside. But anyways, I thought that I would just level enough to see the content, then I would delete him like a former priest Cyden. What I did not expect, is that I would soon be playing him as much as my main.

Now level 30, Manahole has really developed into an exceptional priest. It is really a new experience playing a full time healer (and yes, I am going to spec him holy/disc all along the way). I feel very accomplished when we are able to finish a run with little or no casualties, and minimal downtime for drinking. It also feels great that I am needed. Healers can be pretty rare these days. Luckily there is no shortage of heals from this little guy.

I really suggest that you find a small clique, and try this out. You will find yourself having loads of fun, and easy leveling. I must say, the experience you gained from grinding to 70 really does help, and make it a very smooth transition from a noob to leetness.

I would actually like to thank all my friends that level with me. This includes: Stan, Dark, Sky, Shadow, and many others I meet along the way. I love you guys and really cherish the fun times we have together. I hope to reach level 70 with all of you at my side.

Karazhan. A terrible mistake?

2007-09-07T23:46:00.000-04:00

http://afkgamer.com/archives/2007/08/30/the-karazhan-mistake/

This post was a topic of controversy in my guild forums. While some believe that Kara was a mistake, I oppose that. I believe that 10 man raid instances were the best idea that Blizz has come up with. Here is my post in regarding this on my forums:

"If they plan on still having 25 man raids in the next expansion, then make the first one the entry level one."

That is well said. If you are going to implement a new system, make one that works. Make end-game either all 10 man or all 25 man. I personally think the 10 man system works. I would say screw 25 mans, and just have focus on 10 man raids. This way guilds could still progress (With their most dedicated raiders) but this also means that everyone can raid at their own pace. Another thing we have to consider is that we have much more than 25 people willing to raid. The problem is that people cannot dedicate 4 raiding nights a week. That just promotes burnout. I know people want to stop doing Karazhan, but I am not finished. I enjoy the relationships I have built with my team. We have come to many hurdles and overcome them. I can only hope that we can continue in our progress and do ZM together when it gets released. I know some people may be shocked by that statement. It is not that I do not want to help the guild progress, it is just that I enjoy 10 man raids much more. Anyways that is my 2 cents.

<3 Leg

I already know this is going to spark a huge debate, and probably even result in me leaving. This is not supported by my guild. In fact, they want Kara to be put on the back burner for "bigger better things". That is their opinion, and I must say, I do respect it. That is the kind of raider they are. I am the kind of raider that likes to know everyone by name. You develop very personal relationships with these people, and it feels much more rewarding to me when we can achieve something. I think it is easier to reach raiding harmony with a 10 man, and personally I think that makes for a much more intimate setting. I can only hope they will follow through and make 10mans top priority in the expansion.

So I play a feral Druid

2007-09-06T07:56:00.001-04:00

Druid. Was is a druid? Are we just the bastard stepchildren of the priest, mage , warrior , and rogue; or are we more?

I have been playing a feral druid for a good year and a half now, and I must say that we are invaluable. I know to all you purists out there, you are cringing right now. I'll admit, the "pure" class may be better, but how effective are they? Can they honestly tank, dps, and heal? The answer to that is no, no they can't. I've already anticipated your next question... but... but.. your feral! How can you say that you can heal? Le me put this as simply as I can: Feral Druids CAN heal. I have been tinkering around with healing gear for a while, and for the most part I have developed a good set. I push myself to the limits. I want to do everything, and I want to do it well. I will continue to build upon 3 sets of gear to become the best I can. This is your duty as a feral.

To tank or not to tank?

Well, that is the question. Feral tanks have a great deal of good to bring to a party or raid. We can easily build threat, and even mitigate direct damage better than warriors. We truly make an excellent addition to any team. But, with all good things comes a price. Magical mitigation is non existent for Druids. To have an adequate amount of magical damage mitigation, we have to suffer severely. We mitigate through armor and dodge. With that gear getting replaced by mediocre blues and epics, we really get the crappy end of the staff. Another thing that healers like about warriors is that their damage taken is more consistent. Consistent is good. That is while I share my MTing with my good warrior buddy. We know what encounters we are better suited for, and switch out for em.

Hire a cat or Mr. Mcstabystab over there?

Well, I hate to tell you, but cats are awesome. I think we contribute much more flexibility than a rogue can. A cat in good gear can easily pump out some comparable damage. Pounce>mangle>rake>mangle>rip >shred... dead. Simple as that. Also, with druid itemization it is now very easy to get your attack power over 2500. Not too shabby if I say so myself.
PS>> We can pop out and heal ourselves. Durid ftw!

So here is a synopsis of my gear:
Bear

13,004 HP
26,972 AC
31.07% dodge
26.04% crit
1335 attack power
422 Defense
21 resillence

Cat

2361 Attack Power
37.76 % Crit
73 hit rating
8,064 HP

Healing

6544 HP
9,950 Mana
1323 Healing
82/5 (while casting)
8.4% chance to crit

In all, yes we can do three things, and three things well. You just need to develop strategies for all three jobs. Being a very informed and focused player can greatly help in that.

okay nuff ranting

Warcraft and my thoughts

2007-09-06T07:33:00.000-04:00

Okay, I am an avid player of World of Warcraft. This means that instead of doing something constructive with my time, I choose to play with digital friends, play with digital money, get digital things to drop from digital dragons in a digital world. You get the point. Well I don't! While outsiders may be aprehensive about World of Warcraft saying it is a horrible, terrible addiction; I have opposing views.

Lets admit, we are not all going out and telling our co-workers that we play World of Warcraft. It is not because we don't want them to play. It is merely because we don't want them intruding in on our special time in our pixelated world. We play World of Warcraft to escape our everyday lives, with all our everyday shit. Hell, who wants to come home and think about flipping burgers the next day. Hell I don't! I'll tell ya one thing though... if it involves pwning noobs, or doing leet instances I am all for it. Not everyday you get to waste a mana bar nuking a boss with 1.2mil health spitting fire on you while you are sitting in your comfy computer chair sippin your lemonade.

But seriously, WOW is a MMORPG. You actually meet real people in this game. That priest next to you that is getting his ass whopped by Maiden because he generated too much heal aggro is an actual person. Yeah, thats right... other people play this game. Also, I have developed many personal relationships in the game. So if you say that playing WOW is secluding yourself, you are sadly mistaken. I raid at least twice a week with nine other friends. We group up and conquer Karazhan. It takes great communication and leadership to clear that place. While some hardcore players may disagree, we find it to be quite a fun challenge as a casual raiding team. Oh wait, did I just mention leadership skills. Like OMG such as... I lead Karazhan which means that I develop most of the strategies that take place. Gosh I actually have to think while playing this game. I am not just some mindless person behind a screen!? The answer is no, I am a living breathing person who is just trying to lead my team to success and glory.

Reconsider your thoughts about WOW. Also acknowledge that there are different levels of "addicts". While one person may play a couple times a week, some will use it as a scapegoat to hide their problems. But in all, the best way to look at this game is as a hobby. I would much rather play with other friends than watch a bad re-run of Will and Grace.