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So every Thursday, our fearless raid leader and guestcat, Aeman, runs a 10 man Ulduar achievement run. We're going for Glory of the Ulduar Raider, to get the Rusted Proto-drake.
These aren't so much guides - rather, they're more recaps of how fun/hard/awesome/omfgdifficult each fight is, and also a little status update. Red means we haven't gotten it yet - green means we have.
Orbit-uary: This is tough. We've done three towers up no problem, but adding in the fourth really amps up the difficulty curve. Yesterday, however, we got it done! Unfortunately I wasn't there >.<
Iron Dwarf, Medium Rare: We haven't gotten this one yet, but we easily could. We'll go back to it eventually. We typically skip Razorscale and Ignis in order to move through the instance as fast as possible. We only get 3 hours a week to do this 10 man achievement run, so we want to make it count. No wasting time on fire breathing dragons!
Stokin' the Furnace: Easy-peasy. We got this really early on, on our very first try, I believe. You basically just need to nuke him down without worrying about the adds.
Heartbreaker: The very first time we tried this, we had trouble getting the heart down. We needed ever single CD we could give. Even I was shifting into elf form and throwing my measly wraths at the thing. I think I used a Wild Magic Pot, too. When we finally got it, we were like "Oh, my god, did we get it down? Did his health reset? Guys - we got it - we got it down -" and then he's like "NO NO NO NO NO NO" and my co-healer and I were like "AAAHHHHH!!!!" and we immediately wiped. Lolface. Since then, as we've all accumulated more and more 25 man Ulda gear, it's gotten pretty easy cake.
I Choose You, Steelbreaker: This one was stupid fun. Also, pretty tough. I don't know why, but the first night we tried it, I was so low on mana. I needed my Spark of Hope, my Idol of Awakening, a mana pot, and my innervate. And STILL I was strapped for mana. It was absolutely nuts. We would get to phase 3 where it's just Steely up, and the damage on the tanks and the raid was just so enormous. Then, I don't know what happened, but we went in the next week and like, two-shotted him or something. And my mana was fine. No, I was NOT in fact healing in feral gear. Not like I've ever done that before or anything. Nope.
Disarmed: To be honest, this isn't any different that doing it the regular way - for healing, that is. DPSers need to be hitting the right arm (er, the correct arm) and they have to both die within 10 seconds of each other. I just sit there and throw my barky arms around and heal stuff, and hope that the rubble doesn't come straight for me.
Crazy Cat Lady: Heeeere, kittykittykitty. This is a fun fight, as long as you can get the set up right. Lots of tank damage, lots of burning Auri down. If you've got the dps, it's done in a flash. Well, a few minutes. But a quick few minutes.
I Could Say That This Cache Was Rare: I love this fight. Unfortunately, I wasn't there the last time we got it, but our team got him down with 20 SECONDS TO SPARE. When we first did this, it was like, alright, 3 minutes is unfathomable. There's no WAY we can do this. But oh, we did it. It's all about utilizing the NPCs' buffs. NOTE: DBM's timer is crappy and sometimes will bug out for whatever reason. We had an attempt where we totally would have gotten it, but our timers had disappeared - so we weren't sure, and had to wipe it while he was 5% health. Then we had another attempt where we though we had it, went ahead and killed him, but didn't get it. Ugh. Frustrating.
Knock, Knock, Knock on Wood: ./groan. This one's a headache and a half. There's just so much damage going out. Oh, yeah, great, do a ground tremor right as all the lasher detonate. AWESOME. THANKS FREYA. It's difficult because 1. There is a ton of raid damage going out. 2. It's not a fight where you can rejuv/regrowth the tank and then turn your attention elsewhere. You need to have an eye on the tanks at all times, otherwise they'll splat. Freya hits a LOT harder. 3. We've found that switching to three healers isn't a good option, because you really need the dps. You only get 1 minute per wave, and if the wave isn't down yet, Freya ain't waitin. 4. There's just so much going on. Healing trees growing, adds running around, sunlight you need to avoid, things that need to die at the same time, ground tremors that do crazy raid damage, lashers that explode, etc etc. It's a very helpless feeling, being a healer and seeing the ground tremor warning, and knowing that half of your raid is already at 50% health. Oh shi- I have 2 seconds to heal them all up to full, otherwise we're wiping. Sigh. I don't think we've ever gotten to phase 2 on this fight. We've done all the phases cleanly at one point or another, it's just difficult to link 6 of them together without running into any snags. We're making progress though. We'll get it soon, I'm sure =D
Lose Your Illusion: Haven't tried this one, but I'm sure we'll rock it out soon.
Firefighter: Haven't tried it yet. But my god, how much do I want to hit the big red button that says "do not touch this" or whatever. Yeah - that's right. Really, really badly.
I Love the Smell of Saronite in the Morning: This one just sounds disgustingly hard. We haven't tried it yet.
One Light in the Darkness: I've seen Yogg literally once. And it wasn't even Yogg. It was his 209348029354 guardians that we spawned because we're awesome, and we stood in the yellow clouds. Our 25 man guild had 10 minutes left until the end of our raiding time, and we had just gotten GenVez down. "So, who wants to one shot Yogg-Saron?" Lol. Anyway, needless to say, we're not ready to rock this one just yet. =)
Has anyone else been working on achievements?
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Showing posts with label ulduar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ulduar. Show all posts
Friday, August 7, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Spirit: Obsolete much?
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After I put my gear list together, I got this comment from Aertimus:
"Okay now the only thing that isn't sitting right... Why isn't Guiding Star on your list as a weapon? Even though it lacks the spirit of Plasma Foil and Stormtip, it has (raw) 15mp5 and 63 spellpower which TOTALLY make up for the 40ish loss in spirit."
To which I responded:
"Taking a weapon with no spirit is a HUGE hit for resto druids. Personally I don't think it's worth it. You really, really need that spirit for regen and healing power in tree form." Amirite?!
To which SHE responded:
"If you factor in spellpower from spirit on Plasma Foil in ToL form (and we will even throw in Kings), Guiding Star has 54 MORE healing power in tree form. So we don't need the spirit for that. The mana regen from the spirit is nice. It gives me about 20mp5 from spi/int. But Guiding Star has 15mp5, so Plasma Foil only gives 5mp5 more.
5mp5 vs 54 healing power? I wouldn't have given that a second thought. If I'm missing something major, could you show me your math?"
Well, hot damn. Don't I feel dumb.
And with this, I'm thrown into a conundrum - what's the deal with spirit? So I think to myself, well, obviously there are going to be weapons that *don't* have spirit in 25 mans that are better than weapons *with* spirit in 10 mans (note that Plasma Foil and Stormtip are 10 man drops, and Guiding Star is from 25s) - but surely there are better 25 man one handers that are more itemized towards trees, i.e, have spirit! Right?
Wrong. There are NO one handers with spirit in 25 man Ulduar.
Is this on purpose, or an oversight? Does Blizzard want us to take one handers without spirit, or do they want us to exclusively go to two handers? Is this an issue that's isolated to one handed weaps, or is it more rampant? Even if there WERE 25 man one handers with spirit, would they be better than the ones without spirit?
And then more pressing question: How good is spirit for us now, really? It used to be the golden standard for resto druids. If it had spirit and no hit, it was all ours. If it didn't have spirit, well, it wasn't itemized for you, and if you rolled on it, you were 1. a noob, and 2. probably stealing loot from a paladin.
But, now, with the changes to Innervate going live soon, and our out-of-combat mana regen nerfed, I'm starting to question what gear is best for me.
Let's take this hypothetical situation:
Which imaginary weapon is better for resto druids?
Weapon 1
+120 stamina
+120 intellect
+120 spirit
+80 haste
+550 spell power
Weapon 2
+120 stamina
+120 intellect
+80 haste
+15 mp5
+575 spell power
Look over the stats reeeal carefully.
Obviously weapon 1, right? Look at all that spirit! It's gotta make up for the little loss in spell power! And mp5 is that weird stuff that shaman use!
Nope. Weapon 2 is better for us. Weapon 1 and weapon 2 are exactly the same except weapon 2 will give us 5 extra raw mp5 while casting, and 2 extra spell power. The 120 spirit on the first weapon will actually grant us 150 spirit, if you've got Blessing of Kings and Living Spirit. So that's an extra 23 spell power in tree form (15% of 150) and about 10+ mp5 while casting, assuming you have all the necessary talents. Granted, it'll give us around 20+ mp5 while not casting, whereas in weapon 2, it stays at a flat rate of 15 mp5 - but how often are we not casting in Ulduar? In Naxx, I'd be out of the five second rule quite often - I'd hot up the tank and wait, and wait. And wait some more. Then refresh a couple hots, and then wait again. In Ulduar, there's very little down time. So I wouldn't say that the out of combat regen benefit is really worth taking into account.
Now, if Innervate was staying spirit-based, I'd be inclined to say that the big chunk of spirit there IS worth it, despite all the above talk, because it'll boost your Innervate regen, and I use Innervate quite a lot in Ulduar. But soon that won't be the case.
Funny, ain't it, cause weapon 2 certainly doesn't LOOK like a resto druid weapon....
So, what's this mean for us?
Well, it means that I should go through my entire loot list and do some math on the 'higher-spell-power-no-spirit' loot that I didn't include and see if it's better...../weep. =P
It also means that we might find ourselves rolling on mp5 loot. This *really* makes me cranky, because I do NOT want to be stealing loot from other classes. Mp5 is for shammies, not druids! Right? >.> Sigh.
Now, this is probably a simple case of one handed weapons, rather than a full blown "AMIGOD ALL OUR GEAR IS MP5 NOW AMIGOD". I'll look into *all* of our gear options today - not just spirit ones - and update the loot list as needed.
What are your thoughts on spirit? Good? Not so good? Still necessary?
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After I put my gear list together, I got this comment from Aertimus:
"Okay now the only thing that isn't sitting right... Why isn't Guiding Star on your list as a weapon? Even though it lacks the spirit of Plasma Foil and Stormtip, it has (raw) 15mp5 and 63 spellpower which TOTALLY make up for the 40ish loss in spirit."
To which I responded:
"Taking a weapon with no spirit is a HUGE hit for resto druids. Personally I don't think it's worth it. You really, really need that spirit for regen and healing power in tree form." Amirite?!
To which SHE responded:
"If you factor in spellpower from spirit on Plasma Foil in ToL form (and we will even throw in Kings), Guiding Star has 54 MORE healing power in tree form. So we don't need the spirit for that. The mana regen from the spirit is nice. It gives me about 20mp5 from spi/int. But Guiding Star has 15mp5, so Plasma Foil only gives 5mp5 more.
5mp5 vs 54 healing power? I wouldn't have given that a second thought. If I'm missing something major, could you show me your math?"
Well, hot damn. Don't I feel dumb.
And with this, I'm thrown into a conundrum - what's the deal with spirit? So I think to myself, well, obviously there are going to be weapons that *don't* have spirit in 25 mans that are better than weapons *with* spirit in 10 mans (note that Plasma Foil and Stormtip are 10 man drops, and Guiding Star is from 25s) - but surely there are better 25 man one handers that are more itemized towards trees, i.e, have spirit! Right?
Wrong. There are NO one handers with spirit in 25 man Ulduar.
Is this on purpose, or an oversight? Does Blizzard want us to take one handers without spirit, or do they want us to exclusively go to two handers? Is this an issue that's isolated to one handed weaps, or is it more rampant? Even if there WERE 25 man one handers with spirit, would they be better than the ones without spirit?
And then more pressing question: How good is spirit for us now, really? It used to be the golden standard for resto druids. If it had spirit and no hit, it was all ours. If it didn't have spirit, well, it wasn't itemized for you, and if you rolled on it, you were 1. a noob, and 2. probably stealing loot from a paladin.
But, now, with the changes to Innervate going live soon, and our out-of-combat mana regen nerfed, I'm starting to question what gear is best for me.
Let's take this hypothetical situation:
Which imaginary weapon is better for resto druids?
Weapon 1
+120 stamina
+120 intellect
+120 spirit
+80 haste
+550 spell power
Weapon 2
+120 stamina
+120 intellect
+80 haste
+15 mp5
+575 spell power
Look over the stats reeeal carefully.
Obviously weapon 1, right? Look at all that spirit! It's gotta make up for the little loss in spell power! And mp5 is that weird stuff that shaman use!
Nope. Weapon 2 is better for us. Weapon 1 and weapon 2 are exactly the same except weapon 2 will give us 5 extra raw mp5 while casting, and 2 extra spell power. The 120 spirit on the first weapon will actually grant us 150 spirit, if you've got Blessing of Kings and Living Spirit. So that's an extra 23 spell power in tree form (15% of 150) and about 10+ mp5 while casting, assuming you have all the necessary talents. Granted, it'll give us around 20+ mp5 while not casting, whereas in weapon 2, it stays at a flat rate of 15 mp5 - but how often are we not casting in Ulduar? In Naxx, I'd be out of the five second rule quite often - I'd hot up the tank and wait, and wait. And wait some more. Then refresh a couple hots, and then wait again. In Ulduar, there's very little down time. So I wouldn't say that the out of combat regen benefit is really worth taking into account.
Now, if Innervate was staying spirit-based, I'd be inclined to say that the big chunk of spirit there IS worth it, despite all the above talk, because it'll boost your Innervate regen, and I use Innervate quite a lot in Ulduar. But soon that won't be the case.
Funny, ain't it, cause weapon 2 certainly doesn't LOOK like a resto druid weapon....
So, what's this mean for us?
Well, it means that I should go through my entire loot list and do some math on the 'higher-spell-power-no-spirit' loot that I didn't include and see if it's better...../weep. =P
It also means that we might find ourselves rolling on mp5 loot. This *really* makes me cranky, because I do NOT want to be stealing loot from other classes. Mp5 is for shammies, not druids! Right? >.> Sigh.
Now, this is probably a simple case of one handed weapons, rather than a full blown "AMIGOD ALL OUR GEAR IS MP5 NOW AMIGOD". I'll look into *all* of our gear options today - not just spirit ones - and update the loot list as needed.
What are your thoughts on spirit? Good? Not so good? Still necessary?
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Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Ultimate Ulduar Loot List for Trees
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The Ultimate Ulduar Loot List for Trees has eluded me for some time now. Either I had other things to do in game or in life, or I had other blog posts to write, or (let's be honest here), it just seemed too daunting to put together *all* the loot available and analyze it.
But hey, if Pallymar is able to do it, I shouldn't have a problem, right? ;)
A few N.Bs:
1. This ain't just a "loot list". If you just want a random list of what might drop off a certain boss, check out Wowwiki or Wowhead. What this is, is an *ordered* list of items from best to worst. For example, number 3 on the list of boots is better than number 4, and I'll tell you why. If you ever wanted to know whether that two-hander is better than a combo mainhand + offhand, or if that hard mode 10 man drop is better than that 25 trash drop, well, this is the place to look.
2. I didn't include cloth drops. Let's not take loot away from our wonderful clothie friends! It's their only option! Might there be a time when you have an option to roll on cloth because no other cloth-wearer wants it? Sure. But it's unlikely, at least until you've got Ulduar on farm.
3. I DID include cloth BoE crafted loot.
4. For the most part, I put loot in order from best to worst. If there was a "tie", I tried to label it as such. I labeled loot that was obviously Best in Slot. I occasionally included loot from tier 7 content, if it was relevant.
5. I disregarded the tier-piece bonuses when putting them in order of best to worst, and just looked at stats. Obviously there is more to these tier pieces than just stats, so please see my paragraph at the end regarding this.
6. Asterisks after items indicate that it only drops on hard mode. I also denote whether something drops in 10 man or 25 man. So yes - I list both 10 and 25s, but I am writing this from the perspective of a heroic raider. Sometimes 10 man loot is better than 25, and I wanted to illustrate that, however, I'm not going to be comparing Hero's Dreamwalker gear with Ulduar 10 man gear.
7. Keep in mind that these orders are NOT hard and fast rules. You might take something that's "less good" than something else, because maybe you already *have* a ton of spirit, or crit, or whatever, and don't need/want any more, therefore, this other "lesser" weapon over here is better for you, or maybe you don't want to break your set bonus, or something like that. In other words, take your current stats, etc, into consideration. Be smart.
8. If items had the *same exact* stats for everything except differed in the haste/crit department, I typically put the haste item ahead of the crit item. Keep that in mind.
Let's begin!
Weapons and weapon+OH combos
1. (lol, BiS) Val'anyr + Ironmender (Quest reward) + (25 - Kologarn)
2. Staff of Endless Winter* (25 - Hodir)
3. Guiding Star + Ironmender (25 - Razorscale) + (25 - Kologarn)
4. Soulscribe + Ironmender (25 - Yogg-Saron) + (25 - Kologarn)
5. Icecore Staff* (10 - Hodir)
6. Rapture (25 - Iron Council)
7. The Lifebinder (25 - Freya)
8. Plasma Foil + Ironmender (10 - XT) + (25 - Kologarn)
9. Stormtip + Ironmender (10 - Iron Council) + (25 - Kologran)
10. Devotion (10 - Yogg-Saron)
11. Pillar of Fortitude (10 - trash drop)
(note also the offhand Igniter Rod (10 - Ignis) is a good, but lesser choice for your offhand).
I put these in order based on the sum of main hand + offhand vs. two handers, and I think I've got a pretty good order here. Note that I divided them up into groups- and the weapons in each group are quite similar to each other. Val'anyr paired with any offhand is going to be the obvious BiS winner because of the proc. Of course, only a small percentage of readers are actually going to get Val'anyr, so let's look beyond that. The clear winner here is the two hander, Staff of Endless Winter. It's a hard mode drop, and rightly so - it's hands down BiS behind Val'anyr. Amazing spell power, two blue sockets, AND a spell power socket bonus to boot.
Next are two maces that have NO spirit. *gasp!* Their sheer spell power bumps them up to this slot here. Soulscribe has no mp5, so I've got it right behind Guiding Star. If you're set on regen, go for the SS, but keep in mind you'll be rolling against Paladins on this. If you win it and they look at you funny, let 'em know our spirit has been nerfed. They'll get over it soon. =)
Icecore is next, due to its awesome spell power, sockets, and socket bonus. Closely behind it are Rapture and the Lifebinder, both neck and neck.
Next we've got some combos. You have two choices for each: two daggers and two offhands. Keep in mind that the Plasma Foil is better than the Stormtip, and the Ironmender is better than the Igniter Rod. In fact, after adding up the stats for all four combos, it turns out that Ironmender is *so* good, that pairing it with either weapon is going to be better than any combo with the Igniter Rod. So if you're going to roll on an offhand or a main hand, keep in mind that the Ironmender is hands down BiS for offhands, and that the Plasma Foil is BiS for main hands.
Devotion, followed by Pillar, are at the very bottom - no sockets, and only 487 spell power. A sad drop for those guilds who get all the way to Yoggy, only to find Devotion. You'd think we'd be rewarded with something slightly more awesome.
Bracers
1. (BiS) Bracers of the Broodmother (25 - Razorscale)
2. Shackles of the Odalisque (25 - Razorscale) (cloth)
3. Bindings of the Depths (10 - Gen Vez)
"But Averna, you said there'd be no cloth drops on this list!" Yeah, I know, but there were only TWO options for bracers, and I wanted to give you guys a third, JUST in case it drops and no one else wants it. The Broodmother bracers are best in slot by just a bit, followed closely by the Shackles. In turn, the Shackles beat out the Bindings in both spirit and spell power, so if you get the chance to snag them, it's a good upgrade. There are a few other cloth bracer drops, but all have hit on them, and therefore didn't make the list.
Boots
1. Savior's Slippers (crafted: tailoring) (cloth)
2. Boots of Wintry Endurance (crafted: leatherworking)
3. Spellslinger's Slippers (crafted: tailoring) (cloth)
4. Boots of Hasty Revival (25 - XT)
5. Boots of the Petrified Forest (10 - Iron Council)
Interestingly, the top three boots are all crafted. *All three* have 2 sockets (blue and red), 81 spell power, and a +7 spell power socket bonus - they're really quite similar. What puts Savior's over the top is the +57 spirit. Wintry Endurance boots are next, at +49, and Spellslinger's are last at +41. If you need haste though, the Spellslingers are the way to go - the first two will only grant you some crit.
However, Ulduarian crafted items are insanely expensive (~6 runed orbs for each, which go for about 1-3k on the auction house - EACH), so your next best options are the Hasty Revival boots. With only one blue socket, they're not as good as the others, but they'll still be an upgrade from T7 content. The Petrified Forest Boots are, at best, a sidegrade (compared to Boots of Septic Wounds, for instance, they're actually *slightly* worse).
Cloak
1. Drape of the Sullen Goddess* (25 - Freya)
2. Shawl of Haunted Memories (25 - Yogg-Saron)
2. Cape of the Unworthy Wizard (25 - Kel'Thuzad)
3. Asimov's Drape (25 - Mimiron)
Yup, that's right - I have two "2"'s. Honestly, Blizzard dropped the ball on giving us any good cloak upgrades in Ulduar. Our KT cloak is JUST AS GOOD as the Yogg-Saron cloak. o.O Also, the number one cloak there doesn't even have any spirit on it. That's how bad our cloak itemization is. Bah.
Regardless - if you have the Unworthy Wizard cape, I would keep it. The Haunted Memories shawl is very much a sidegrade - you gain 4 intellect and lose 8 crit rating. It's really a wash. If you feel you can lose the spirit and be alright, then go for the Sullen Goddess (but you can bet that a million other classes plus your mom will be vying for it - and will probably raise their eyebrows at you if you roll as a resto druid, lest you explain that there are NO OTHER GOOD CLOAKS FOR US).
Belt
1. Belt of Arctic Life (crafted: leatherworking)
2. Cord of the White Dawn (crafted: tailoring) (cloth)
3. Belt of the Crystal Tree (10 - Iron Council)
3. Flamewrought Cinch (25 - Ignis)
3. Belt of the Sleeper (25 - trash drop)
4. Unravelling Strands of Sanity (25 - Malygos)
5. Belt of the Living Thicket (28 Emblems of Conquest)
Again, the top two are crafted BoEs. Arctic Life and White Dawn both have two sockets (/drool - if you add an eternal belt buckle, you get THREE) and the same spell power - but Arctic Life will grant you haste as opposed to crit, and more importantly, more spirit, which pushes it up into BiS.
After the first two, I had a hell of a time ordering them. After a good hour of deliberation (yeah, I know, I'm insane. Just pick em, right?) I decided to put all three in one spot. The socket on the Crystal Tree could potentially push it over the top if you use a spell power gem, but the int and spirit on it are pretty low.
I like the Malygos belt a lot because you get a good helping of spirit AND a dash of mp5. To me, they go together like cinnamon and sugar. Mmmmm. You know you're getting solid mana regen with that baby. Keep in mind though that you're potentially giving up haste or crit. And finally, the badge belt, which to be honest, isn't worth its cost.
Gloves
1. (BiS) Gloves of the Frozen Glade* (25 - Hodir)
2. Grips of the Unbroken (25 - Gen Vez)
3. Handguards of Potent Cures (10 - Flame Leviathan)
4. Conqueror's Nightsong Handguards
5. Valorous Nightsong Handguards
Gloves of the Frozen Glade are solidly best in slot here, followed by The Unbroken gloves. Potent Cures are definitely better (stats wise) than the Conqueror's Handguards, which is interesting, because they're 10-man-first-boss loot - but not by much, so don't feel too bad swapping in number 4 for number 3 for a tier bonus.
Head
1. Conqueror's Nightsong Headpiece
2. Unwavering Stare (25 - Auriaya)
3. Valorous Nightsong Headpiece
4. Cover of the Keepers (10 - Auriaya)
This is a great progession from 1-4, very clear cut as to what's better than what (I love it when it's like that. Makes my job here easier =P) It's also obvious that if you're trying for a 2 piece or 4 piece bonus tier set, you should make the helm one of your chosen pieces.
Legs
1. Conqueror's Nightsong Leggings
2. Leggings of the Lifetender (25 - Freya)
3. Wildstrider Legguards (39 Emblems of Conquest)
4. Valorous Nightsong Leggings
Conqueror's Nightsong Leggings beat out the Lifetenders, but *just* barely. They've got a spell power socket bonus and a bit more intellect which juuust puts them over the top. I would recommend that if you put together a conqueror's tier bonus set, you add these legs in. The Leggings of the Lifetender trump the Wildstriders due to more spirit and a nice red socket for spell power itemization.
Shoulders
1. Shoulderpads of Dormant Energies* (25 - Flame Leviathan)
2. Conqueror's Nightsong Spaulders
2. Malleable Steelweave Mantle (25 - Mimiron)
3. Valorous Nightsong Spaulders
4. Valorous Dreamwalker Spaulders
5. Shoulderguards of Assimilation (10 - Mimiron)
Dormant Energies take the cake here with high stats, two sockets, and a spell power socket bonus. The next two are pretty much *exactly* the same - same socket/socket bonus, same haste, same spell power, and practically the same stats. As such, I'd recommend getting your hands on the tier piece (they're both listed as number two, but keep the tier bonus in mind) if you end up with a choice between the two.
The Assimilation shoulderguards are nothing to write home about. Even our current Valorous Dreamwalkers (tier 7.5) are better.
Chest
1. Vestments of the Blind Denizen* (25 - GenVez)
2. Conqueror's Nightsong Robe
3. Phaelia's Vestments of the Sprouting Seed (25 - Iron Council)
4. Valorous Nightsong Robe
4. Vest of the Glowing Crescent (10 - XT)
Holy sockets, Batman! Look at that BiS chest piece! Hands down, Blind Denizen is awesome. However, if you want to keep a tier bonus, or can't get to GenVez hard mode, the Tier chest is still pretty awesome. Phaelia's is third, and is only very marginally better than the Valorous Nightsong Robes and the Glowing Crescent due to its higher amount of spirit. If you've got number 4 making your set bonus, I'd think long and hard about ditching it for Phaelia's or the Crescent. It just might not be a good enough upgrade to be worth it.
As for the Glowing Crescent, it's got a great heaping pile of spell power - 124, plus a red socket, PLUS a spell power socket bonus. No matter what combo of gems you use in the Valorous Robes, you won't be able to match that spell power (it's a few points off, I believe). I'm wary though, because of the Crescent's measly amount of spirit. The Valorous robes will allow you more flexibility due to having two sockets, but it won't pack the spell power punch like Crescent will. After a lot of deliberation, I finally put these two at a tie.
Also note that ALL of these robes are itemized with crit, so you won't have to make a difficult haste-or-crit decision here. =)
Rings
1. (BiS) Glowing Ring of Reclamation (25 - Flame Leviathan)
2. Lady Maye's Sapphire Ring (10 - Iron Council)
These are pretty much your only options for rings unless the vendor starts to sell them. Reclamation for 25s, and Lady Maye's in 10s.
Necklaces
1. (BiS) Sapphire Amulet of Renewal* (25 - Hodir)
2. Watchful Eye* (10 - Iron Council)
3. Evoker's Charm (19 Emblems of Conquest)
4. Unblinking Eye (25 - Iron Council)
If you put a Seer's Forest Emerald in the Watchful Eye, it puts it on par with the other two necklaces, however, the flexibility you have with the socket elevates it slightly above them. All of these also trump the BiS neck from tier 7, which was the heroic Malygos quest line neck, the Life-Binder's Locket. Its lack of spirit wasn't too worrisome back in Naxx, but post 3.1 we need all the spirit we can get.
A note on Trinkets and Idols: There are so many different trinkets, it's really hard to order them in any which way, so unfortunately for you, readers, I'm not going to even try. It really depends on your other gear and what you're looking for. I will say though, that spell power trinkets are still king, but having a spirit one at your disposal is really great for those longer fights. Also, the only resto druid Idol in Ulduar is the Idol of Flourishing Life, which, if you use Nourish *at all*, you should try to pick up. If you're looking for a 'boost-my-healing' idol, it does way more throughput healing than the Idol of Lush Moss.
Oh, also, check out Lissanna's post about trinkets here - it gives a good rundown of what's available and what your best bets are.
A note on tier bonuses: Our two piece and four piece set bonuses are pretty hot. You can get the two piece with Emblems of Conquest (helm and chest can be purchased at the merchant in Dalaran), but if you want the four, you're going to have to rely on drops. Now, I'd say get the four in whatever way you can, with any combo of pieces, but if you DID have a choice, I would go with the legs, chest, helm, and shoulders - the gloves are probably the weakest link in the bunch, so if you're gonna ditch one, ditch those.
Personally, I'm going to get the 2 piece and see where it goes from there. I would love to get all four, but it's tough when 1. we only raid twice a week, 2. we might not even get to bosses that drop tier pieces, 3. even if we DO get to those bosses, they might not drop them, and 4. even if they DO drop them, I might not win the bid.
TL;DR: Do I think the four piece is worth it? Yes, I really do. It's an amazing buff to our rejuv. Should you pass on other gear in order to "save up" for the four piece which may or may not drop right away? Well, that's gotta be your call. You know your guilds' loot systems and how easy or difficult it will be to get the tier pieces.
Now, if you see something that looks funny or doesn't sit right with you, or if I linked something wrong somewhere, let me know! Comparing all of this gear made my brain kinda fuzzy, and it's very possible I overlooked something.
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The Ultimate Ulduar Loot List for Trees has eluded me for some time now. Either I had other things to do in game or in life, or I had other blog posts to write, or (let's be honest here), it just seemed too daunting to put together *all* the loot available and analyze it.
But hey, if Pallymar is able to do it, I shouldn't have a problem, right? ;)
A few N.Bs:
1. This ain't just a "loot list". If you just want a random list of what might drop off a certain boss, check out Wowwiki or Wowhead. What this is, is an *ordered* list of items from best to worst. For example, number 3 on the list of boots is better than number 4, and I'll tell you why. If you ever wanted to know whether that two-hander is better than a combo mainhand + offhand, or if that hard mode 10 man drop is better than that 25 trash drop, well, this is the place to look.
2. I didn't include cloth drops. Let's not take loot away from our wonderful clothie friends! It's their only option! Might there be a time when you have an option to roll on cloth because no other cloth-wearer wants it? Sure. But it's unlikely, at least until you've got Ulduar on farm.
3. I DID include cloth BoE crafted loot.
4. For the most part, I put loot in order from best to worst. If there was a "tie", I tried to label it as such. I labeled loot that was obviously Best in Slot. I occasionally included loot from tier 7 content, if it was relevant.
5. I disregarded the tier-piece bonuses when putting them in order of best to worst, and just looked at stats. Obviously there is more to these tier pieces than just stats, so please see my paragraph at the end regarding this.
6. Asterisks after items indicate that it only drops on hard mode. I also denote whether something drops in 10 man or 25 man. So yes - I list both 10 and 25s, but I am writing this from the perspective of a heroic raider. Sometimes 10 man loot is better than 25, and I wanted to illustrate that, however, I'm not going to be comparing Hero's Dreamwalker gear with Ulduar 10 man gear.
7. Keep in mind that these orders are NOT hard and fast rules. You might take something that's "less good" than something else, because maybe you already *have* a ton of spirit, or crit, or whatever, and don't need/want any more, therefore, this other "lesser" weapon over here is better for you, or maybe you don't want to break your set bonus, or something like that. In other words, take your current stats, etc, into consideration. Be smart.
8. If items had the *same exact* stats for everything except differed in the haste/crit department, I typically put the haste item ahead of the crit item. Keep that in mind.
Let's begin!
Weapons and weapon+OH combos
1. (lol, BiS) Val'anyr + Ironmender (Quest reward) + (25 - Kologarn)
2. Staff of Endless Winter* (25 - Hodir)
3. Guiding Star + Ironmender (25 - Razorscale) + (25 - Kologarn)
4. Soulscribe + Ironmender (25 - Yogg-Saron) + (25 - Kologarn)
5. Icecore Staff* (10 - Hodir)
6. Rapture (25 - Iron Council)
7. The Lifebinder (25 - Freya)
8. Plasma Foil + Ironmender (10 - XT) + (25 - Kologarn)
9. Stormtip + Ironmender (10 - Iron Council) + (25 - Kologran)
10. Devotion (10 - Yogg-Saron)
11. Pillar of Fortitude (10 - trash drop)
(note also the offhand Igniter Rod (10 - Ignis) is a good, but lesser choice for your offhand).
I put these in order based on the sum of main hand + offhand vs. two handers, and I think I've got a pretty good order here. Note that I divided them up into groups- and the weapons in each group are quite similar to each other. Val'anyr paired with any offhand is going to be the obvious BiS winner because of the proc. Of course, only a small percentage of readers are actually going to get Val'anyr, so let's look beyond that. The clear winner here is the two hander, Staff of Endless Winter. It's a hard mode drop, and rightly so - it's hands down BiS behind Val'anyr. Amazing spell power, two blue sockets, AND a spell power socket bonus to boot.
Next are two maces that have NO spirit. *gasp!* Their sheer spell power bumps them up to this slot here. Soulscribe has no mp5, so I've got it right behind Guiding Star. If you're set on regen, go for the SS, but keep in mind you'll be rolling against Paladins on this. If you win it and they look at you funny, let 'em know our spirit has been nerfed. They'll get over it soon. =)
Icecore is next, due to its awesome spell power, sockets, and socket bonus. Closely behind it are Rapture and the Lifebinder, both neck and neck.
Next we've got some combos. You have two choices for each: two daggers and two offhands. Keep in mind that the Plasma Foil is better than the Stormtip, and the Ironmender is better than the Igniter Rod. In fact, after adding up the stats for all four combos, it turns out that Ironmender is *so* good, that pairing it with either weapon is going to be better than any combo with the Igniter Rod. So if you're going to roll on an offhand or a main hand, keep in mind that the Ironmender is hands down BiS for offhands, and that the Plasma Foil is BiS for main hands.
Devotion, followed by Pillar, are at the very bottom - no sockets, and only 487 spell power. A sad drop for those guilds who get all the way to Yoggy, only to find Devotion. You'd think we'd be rewarded with something slightly more awesome.
Bracers
1. (BiS) Bracers of the Broodmother (25 - Razorscale)
2. Shackles of the Odalisque (25 - Razorscale) (cloth)
3. Bindings of the Depths (10 - Gen Vez)
"But Averna, you said there'd be no cloth drops on this list!" Yeah, I know, but there were only TWO options for bracers, and I wanted to give you guys a third, JUST in case it drops and no one else wants it. The Broodmother bracers are best in slot by just a bit, followed closely by the Shackles. In turn, the Shackles beat out the Bindings in both spirit and spell power, so if you get the chance to snag them, it's a good upgrade. There are a few other cloth bracer drops, but all have hit on them, and therefore didn't make the list.
Boots
1. Savior's Slippers (crafted: tailoring) (cloth)
2. Boots of Wintry Endurance (crafted: leatherworking)
3. Spellslinger's Slippers (crafted: tailoring) (cloth)
4. Boots of Hasty Revival (25 - XT)
5. Boots of the Petrified Forest (10 - Iron Council)
Interestingly, the top three boots are all crafted. *All three* have 2 sockets (blue and red), 81 spell power, and a +7 spell power socket bonus - they're really quite similar. What puts Savior's over the top is the +57 spirit. Wintry Endurance boots are next, at +49, and Spellslinger's are last at +41. If you need haste though, the Spellslingers are the way to go - the first two will only grant you some crit.
However, Ulduarian crafted items are insanely expensive (~6 runed orbs for each, which go for about 1-3k on the auction house - EACH), so your next best options are the Hasty Revival boots. With only one blue socket, they're not as good as the others, but they'll still be an upgrade from T7 content. The Petrified Forest Boots are, at best, a sidegrade (compared to Boots of Septic Wounds, for instance, they're actually *slightly* worse).
Cloak
1. Drape of the Sullen Goddess* (25 - Freya)
2. Shawl of Haunted Memories (25 - Yogg-Saron)
2. Cape of the Unworthy Wizard (25 - Kel'Thuzad)
3. Asimov's Drape (25 - Mimiron)
Yup, that's right - I have two "2"'s. Honestly, Blizzard dropped the ball on giving us any good cloak upgrades in Ulduar. Our KT cloak is JUST AS GOOD as the Yogg-Saron cloak. o.O Also, the number one cloak there doesn't even have any spirit on it. That's how bad our cloak itemization is. Bah.
Regardless - if you have the Unworthy Wizard cape, I would keep it. The Haunted Memories shawl is very much a sidegrade - you gain 4 intellect and lose 8 crit rating. It's really a wash. If you feel you can lose the spirit and be alright, then go for the Sullen Goddess (but you can bet that a million other classes plus your mom will be vying for it - and will probably raise their eyebrows at you if you roll as a resto druid, lest you explain that there are NO OTHER GOOD CLOAKS FOR US).
Belt
1. Belt of Arctic Life (crafted: leatherworking)
2. Cord of the White Dawn (crafted: tailoring) (cloth)
3. Belt of the Crystal Tree (10 - Iron Council)
3. Flamewrought Cinch (25 - Ignis)
3. Belt of the Sleeper (25 - trash drop)
4. Unravelling Strands of Sanity (25 - Malygos)
5. Belt of the Living Thicket (28 Emblems of Conquest)
Again, the top two are crafted BoEs. Arctic Life and White Dawn both have two sockets (/drool - if you add an eternal belt buckle, you get THREE) and the same spell power - but Arctic Life will grant you haste as opposed to crit, and more importantly, more spirit, which pushes it up into BiS.
After the first two, I had a hell of a time ordering them. After a good hour of deliberation (yeah, I know, I'm insane. Just pick em, right?) I decided to put all three in one spot. The socket on the Crystal Tree could potentially push it over the top if you use a spell power gem, but the int and spirit on it are pretty low.
I like the Malygos belt a lot because you get a good helping of spirit AND a dash of mp5. To me, they go together like cinnamon and sugar. Mmmmm. You know you're getting solid mana regen with that baby. Keep in mind though that you're potentially giving up haste or crit. And finally, the badge belt, which to be honest, isn't worth its cost.
Gloves
1. (BiS) Gloves of the Frozen Glade* (25 - Hodir)
2. Grips of the Unbroken (25 - Gen Vez)
3. Handguards of Potent Cures (10 - Flame Leviathan)
4. Conqueror's Nightsong Handguards
5. Valorous Nightsong Handguards
Gloves of the Frozen Glade are solidly best in slot here, followed by The Unbroken gloves. Potent Cures are definitely better (stats wise) than the Conqueror's Handguards, which is interesting, because they're 10-man-first-boss loot - but not by much, so don't feel too bad swapping in number 4 for number 3 for a tier bonus.
Head
1. Conqueror's Nightsong Headpiece
2. Unwavering Stare (25 - Auriaya)
3. Valorous Nightsong Headpiece
4. Cover of the Keepers (10 - Auriaya)
This is a great progession from 1-4, very clear cut as to what's better than what (I love it when it's like that. Makes my job here easier =P) It's also obvious that if you're trying for a 2 piece or 4 piece bonus tier set, you should make the helm one of your chosen pieces.
Legs
1. Conqueror's Nightsong Leggings
2. Leggings of the Lifetender (25 - Freya)
3. Wildstrider Legguards (39 Emblems of Conquest)
4. Valorous Nightsong Leggings
Conqueror's Nightsong Leggings beat out the Lifetenders, but *just* barely. They've got a spell power socket bonus and a bit more intellect which juuust puts them over the top. I would recommend that if you put together a conqueror's tier bonus set, you add these legs in. The Leggings of the Lifetender trump the Wildstriders due to more spirit and a nice red socket for spell power itemization.
Shoulders
1. Shoulderpads of Dormant Energies* (25 - Flame Leviathan)
2. Conqueror's Nightsong Spaulders
2. Malleable Steelweave Mantle (25 - Mimiron)
3. Valorous Nightsong Spaulders
4. Valorous Dreamwalker Spaulders
5. Shoulderguards of Assimilation (10 - Mimiron)
Dormant Energies take the cake here with high stats, two sockets, and a spell power socket bonus. The next two are pretty much *exactly* the same - same socket/socket bonus, same haste, same spell power, and practically the same stats. As such, I'd recommend getting your hands on the tier piece (they're both listed as number two, but keep the tier bonus in mind) if you end up with a choice between the two.
The Assimilation shoulderguards are nothing to write home about. Even our current Valorous Dreamwalkers (tier 7.5) are better.
Chest
1. Vestments of the Blind Denizen* (25 - GenVez)
2. Conqueror's Nightsong Robe
3. Phaelia's Vestments of the Sprouting Seed (25 - Iron Council)
4. Valorous Nightsong Robe
4. Vest of the Glowing Crescent (10 - XT)
Holy sockets, Batman! Look at that BiS chest piece! Hands down, Blind Denizen is awesome. However, if you want to keep a tier bonus, or can't get to GenVez hard mode, the Tier chest is still pretty awesome. Phaelia's is third, and is only very marginally better than the Valorous Nightsong Robes and the Glowing Crescent due to its higher amount of spirit. If you've got number 4 making your set bonus, I'd think long and hard about ditching it for Phaelia's or the Crescent. It just might not be a good enough upgrade to be worth it.
As for the Glowing Crescent, it's got a great heaping pile of spell power - 124, plus a red socket, PLUS a spell power socket bonus. No matter what combo of gems you use in the Valorous Robes, you won't be able to match that spell power (it's a few points off, I believe). I'm wary though, because of the Crescent's measly amount of spirit. The Valorous robes will allow you more flexibility due to having two sockets, but it won't pack the spell power punch like Crescent will. After a lot of deliberation, I finally put these two at a tie.
Also note that ALL of these robes are itemized with crit, so you won't have to make a difficult haste-or-crit decision here. =)
Rings
1. (BiS) Glowing Ring of Reclamation (25 - Flame Leviathan)
2. Lady Maye's Sapphire Ring (10 - Iron Council)
These are pretty much your only options for rings unless the vendor starts to sell them. Reclamation for 25s, and Lady Maye's in 10s.
Necklaces
1. (BiS) Sapphire Amulet of Renewal* (25 - Hodir)
2. Watchful Eye* (10 - Iron Council)
3. Evoker's Charm (19 Emblems of Conquest)
4. Unblinking Eye (25 - Iron Council)
If you put a Seer's Forest Emerald in the Watchful Eye, it puts it on par with the other two necklaces, however, the flexibility you have with the socket elevates it slightly above them. All of these also trump the BiS neck from tier 7, which was the heroic Malygos quest line neck, the Life-Binder's Locket. Its lack of spirit wasn't too worrisome back in Naxx, but post 3.1 we need all the spirit we can get.
A note on Trinkets and Idols: There are so many different trinkets, it's really hard to order them in any which way, so unfortunately for you, readers, I'm not going to even try. It really depends on your other gear and what you're looking for. I will say though, that spell power trinkets are still king, but having a spirit one at your disposal is really great for those longer fights. Also, the only resto druid Idol in Ulduar is the Idol of Flourishing Life, which, if you use Nourish *at all*, you should try to pick up. If you're looking for a 'boost-my-healing' idol, it does way more throughput healing than the Idol of Lush Moss.
Oh, also, check out Lissanna's post about trinkets here - it gives a good rundown of what's available and what your best bets are.
A note on tier bonuses: Our two piece and four piece set bonuses are pretty hot. You can get the two piece with Emblems of Conquest (helm and chest can be purchased at the merchant in Dalaran), but if you want the four, you're going to have to rely on drops. Now, I'd say get the four in whatever way you can, with any combo of pieces, but if you DID have a choice, I would go with the legs, chest, helm, and shoulders - the gloves are probably the weakest link in the bunch, so if you're gonna ditch one, ditch those.
Personally, I'm going to get the 2 piece and see where it goes from there. I would love to get all four, but it's tough when 1. we only raid twice a week, 2. we might not even get to bosses that drop tier pieces, 3. even if we DO get to those bosses, they might not drop them, and 4. even if they DO drop them, I might not win the bid.
TL;DR: Do I think the four piece is worth it? Yes, I really do. It's an amazing buff to our rejuv. Should you pass on other gear in order to "save up" for the four piece which may or may not drop right away? Well, that's gotta be your call. You know your guilds' loot systems and how easy or difficult it will be to get the tier pieces.
Now, if you see something that looks funny or doesn't sit right with you, or if I linked something wrong somewhere, let me know! Comparing all of this gear made my brain kinda fuzzy, and it's very possible I overlooked something.
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Monday, April 13, 2009
Ways to deal with the 3.1 mana regen nerf.
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So we all know by now about the mana regen nerfs in 3.1. Aside from the players who did extensive raiding on the PTR, we don't really know how intensive the Ulduar fights will be, or how scarce mana will be.
It's best to be prepared for every scenario going into Ulduar - you want various food buffs, flasks, trinkets, etc. so that you can switch things around if a certain flask of food buff isn't working out. There are a lot of different combinations of buffs you can use, and the trick is finding what's best for you. As always, spell power is pretty much king, but we may a couple more mana buffs here and there.
So what should you have in your bags?
Food buffs
Right now I use Tender Shoveltusk Steak. It's the best spell power food out there. There's also a fish version, Firecracker Salmon, but I don't make those because my fishing is abysmal, and plus, AoEing those shoveltusks is really, really satisfying. Barkskin, Hurricane, ???, profit. So good.
There are two other options you can use: Cuttlesteak, which is the best boost to spirit you'll get from a food buff (there's no meat equivalent for this, unfortunately). There's also Mighty Rhino Dogs and the fish equivalent, Spicy Fried Herring, which both boost your mp5. If you're going to use one of these, I'd skip the mp5 food and go with the spirit.
There's nothing yet in WotLK which will boost your spell power *and* your spirit. However, if you want the best of both worlds, you could go with the TBC food Golden Fish Sticks. However, don't disregard the loss of stamina if you take this buff - you might end up needing a little extra in Ulduar.
Flasks
You have two that you should be looking at: Flask of the Frost Wyrm, or Flask of Pure Mojo. If at ALL possible, you want to keep the Frost Wyrm flask. This is your biggest, baddest spell power buff: 125 spell power (162 spell power for alchemists). If you're going to give up some sort of spell power buff in favor of a mana regen buff, try not to give up this one! It's too good to replace.
Trinkets
There are a multitude of spell power and mana regen trinkets. Let's look at the spell power ones first.
There are also a good number of mana regen trinkets out there (I'll focus on the spirit ones):
Glyphs
You could technically get the Glyph of Innervate and use it on yourself to really boost your mana regen. You can check out how much mana you'd potentially get back here (I checked it out on the PTR).
Gems and Enchants
You may want to shift out some Runed Scarlet Rubies for Luminous Monarch Topaz or Purified Twilight Opal. This way you keep some of your spell power throughput, but buff your mana regen at the same time. As for enchants, make sure you have the +18 spirit to boots.
My point of this post is that there are many, many ways to make sure you don't run out of mana come 3.1. The trick is choosing buffs that will keep your mana regen in the green, while also maintaining your spell power and overall raw healing.
So what will I be doing? When we first step foot into Ulduar, I'm keeping all of my spell power buffs. Shoveltusk food buff, Flask of the Frost Wyrm, spell power gems. However, I'll have a Flask of Pure Mojo and a bunch of Cuttlesteak in my bags. If I find I'm running out of mana, I'll switch out to the Cuttlesteak food buff - and then if I'm STILL running out of mana, I'll take the Mojo flask.
After that first run, we should all have a better idea of where we're at in terms of our mana. I'm hoping that I'll be able to just regem a couple pieces of gear and use a spirit food buff to get my mana back in working condition. Changing out glyphs, trinkets, and flasks all devoted to straight spell power can really make your throughput plummet.
So what's your plan? Have any specific mana regen items you're planning on using? I'd love to hear ideas!
.
So we all know by now about the mana regen nerfs in 3.1. Aside from the players who did extensive raiding on the PTR, we don't really know how intensive the Ulduar fights will be, or how scarce mana will be.
It's best to be prepared for every scenario going into Ulduar - you want various food buffs, flasks, trinkets, etc. so that you can switch things around if a certain flask of food buff isn't working out. There are a lot of different combinations of buffs you can use, and the trick is finding what's best for you. As always, spell power is pretty much king, but we may a couple more mana buffs here and there.
So what should you have in your bags?
Food buffs
Right now I use Tender Shoveltusk Steak. It's the best spell power food out there. There's also a fish version, Firecracker Salmon, but I don't make those because my fishing is abysmal, and plus, AoEing those shoveltusks is really, really satisfying. Barkskin, Hurricane, ???, profit. So good.
There are two other options you can use: Cuttlesteak, which is the best boost to spirit you'll get from a food buff (there's no meat equivalent for this, unfortunately). There's also Mighty Rhino Dogs and the fish equivalent, Spicy Fried Herring, which both boost your mp5. If you're going to use one of these, I'd skip the mp5 food and go with the spirit.
There's nothing yet in WotLK which will boost your spell power *and* your spirit. However, if you want the best of both worlds, you could go with the TBC food Golden Fish Sticks. However, don't disregard the loss of stamina if you take this buff - you might end up needing a little extra in Ulduar.
Flasks
You have two that you should be looking at: Flask of the Frost Wyrm, or Flask of Pure Mojo. If at ALL possible, you want to keep the Frost Wyrm flask. This is your biggest, baddest spell power buff: 125 spell power (162 spell power for alchemists). If you're going to give up some sort of spell power buff in favor of a mana regen buff, try not to give up this one! It's too good to replace.
Trinkets
There are a multitude of spell power and mana regen trinkets. Let's look at the spell power ones first.
- The Egg of Mortal Essence: Purchasable with 40 emblems of heroism.
- Embrace of the Spider: Essentially the same exact trinket as the Egg. Drops from either Maexxna or Gluth in 10 man Naxx.
- Darkmoon Card: Illusion: Made from the Darkmoon Prisms deck.
- Forethought Talisman: Drops off of various bosses in 25 man Naxx. The HoT procs only from direct heals, so it may be better suited for a Paladin healer - however, if you can get your hands on this, it's a good chunk of spell power, and after 3.1 we'll be casting more direct heals anyway.
- Illustration of the Dragon Soul: The best spell power trinket out there. Essentially it gives you +200 spell power. Drops off of 25 man Sarth.
There are also a good number of mana regen trinkets out there (I'll focus on the spirit ones):
- Darkmoon Card: Greatness (the spirit one): Made from the Darkmoon Nobles deck.
- Majestic Dragon Figurine: Essentially a +180 spirit trinket. Drops from 10 man Sarth.
- Spirit-World Glass: drops from Gothik in 10 man Naxx. This trinket would be fantastic to macro with your Innervate.
/use Spirit-World Glass
I tested it out on the PTR and it works like a charm. An Innervate alone gave me 9.5k mana back (without casting anything). Hitting the SWG right before the Innervate gave me 14.5k mana. Sweet!
/use Innervate - Je'Tze's Bell: The best of both worlds. It's a random BoE, so look for it on the AH!
Glyphs
You could technically get the Glyph of Innervate and use it on yourself to really boost your mana regen. You can check out how much mana you'd potentially get back here (I checked it out on the PTR).
Gems and Enchants
You may want to shift out some Runed Scarlet Rubies for Luminous Monarch Topaz or Purified Twilight Opal. This way you keep some of your spell power throughput, but buff your mana regen at the same time. As for enchants, make sure you have the +18 spirit to boots.
My point of this post is that there are many, many ways to make sure you don't run out of mana come 3.1. The trick is choosing buffs that will keep your mana regen in the green, while also maintaining your spell power and overall raw healing.
So what will I be doing? When we first step foot into Ulduar, I'm keeping all of my spell power buffs. Shoveltusk food buff, Flask of the Frost Wyrm, spell power gems. However, I'll have a Flask of Pure Mojo and a bunch of Cuttlesteak in my bags. If I find I'm running out of mana, I'll switch out to the Cuttlesteak food buff - and then if I'm STILL running out of mana, I'll take the Mojo flask.
After that first run, we should all have a better idea of where we're at in terms of our mana. I'm hoping that I'll be able to just regem a couple pieces of gear and use a spirit food buff to get my mana back in working condition. Changing out glyphs, trinkets, and flasks all devoted to straight spell power can really make your throughput plummet.
So what's your plan? Have any specific mana regen items you're planning on using? I'd love to hear ideas!
.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Val'anyr: Legendary weapon from Ulduar
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There's been a lot of talk about Val'anyr, the legendary weapon that drops in Ulduar.
I say "drop", but, well, it's a little more complicated than that.
How do you get this weapon?
First of all, you have to gather up all these little shards before you can even consider equipping it. There are *40* pieces scattered around Ulduar. And by scattered around Ulduar, I mean, bosses are guarding them. With their lives. So you kill the bosses, loot the fragments, and put them together.
On the Wowhead PTR, it says 'unique (30)', although elsewhere it says you need 40 to complete the quest - I think this is a typo or bug on Blizz's part and will be officially changed to 40. Some people think it's set like this to stop people from completing this quest on the PTR (on the PTR you need 40 but it will only let you carry 30). Other people say that you'll only be able to carry 40 if you defeat some certain boss on hard mode. Personally I think the first two may be correct - I doubt the third is. Or maybe they'll just keep it at 30 rather than 40, who knows.
These fragments are BoP, will only drop off of 25 man bosses, and most likely only if you're rocking it on hard mode. There have been one or two reports of fragments dropping off normal 25 man bosses, but I think this is either a false report, or a bug. Valnoth stated in a blue post:
So you have all 40 fragments! Grats! Now, to put it together.
...BY TOSSING THE PIECES INSIDE YOGG-SARON'S MOUTH.
I'm totally not joking. You have to take all these pieces that you so carefully gathered, put blood, sweat, tears, hope, love, and strength into, and you just toss 'em all inside his mouth. (Note that this has to be done in a 25man hard mode encounter.) He just om noms them up. I don't get it. Does he forge a weapon... with his tongue? Is it like tying a cherry stem with your mouth? (I could never do that.) Does he swallow it? Does he spit it back up? Are there tiny gnome weapon-forgers just chilling in his mouth who go to work once it's in there? Hm. I mean, I suppose that you throw them in there, and then you defeat him, and then it's an item that drops on his loot table. It's just... odd.
(On the left: Tooltip for each fragment. On the right: Tooltip once you have all 40 fragments, which leads to accepting the quest to throw stuff in that dude's mouth.)
Who can use this weapon?
We don't have specific stats yet, but we do know that it's a one-handed mace, usable by priests, paladins, druids, and shaman. Because of this, it's almost certain that this will be a healing mace! (woohoo!) We don't know what the stats are, or if the stats will vary depending on class (more spirit for druids, say, or more intellect for paladins). However, it does have this bonus equip effect: "Your healing spells have a chance to cause Blessing of Ancient Kings for 15 seconds, allowing your heals to shield the target, absorbing damage equal to 15% of the amount healed."
Interesting: a legendary weapon with an equip effect that won't inflate healers' e-peens. This won't increase your numbers, it will just mitigate damage. It helps your entire fleet of healers (healers, ships, same difference) and the whole raid, not just you and your own personal output. I think this is pretty neat.
The TL;DR version:
Ta-da!
So, uh, I want it!
Yeah. So does every other healer in your guild, buddy.
So how do guilds decide who gets this item?
First off, all 40 fragments should go to one person. If you start looting fragments one by one, as they come, to each of your healers, no one will ever get a mace before the next content patch. It has to be one person. If that person isn't present on a raid where a fragment drops, then I would assign a secondary healer to pick up that piece. That secondary healer will be the one who gets the second mace - once the first person has all 40 fragments, the second person can start collecting.
Before you even step foot into Ulduar, the best thing to do is figure out *how* you'll decide who gets it (Officer decided? Highest lifetime DKP? A vote within your guild from non-healers? Whoever your best healer is? Random /rolls before your first foray into Ulduar?). The last thing you want is to get a great kill, have a fragment drop, have people get all hushed on vent, and then have to make a split second decision that may or may not be for the best.
When you do figure out how you're going to distribute the fragments, make sure you tell your guild. Let them know who will be getting the fragments and why. Let them know what procedures are in place: Who is the secondary person who will collect them if the primary person isn't there? Will these fragments cost DKP, and/or will the mace itself be priced?
Hopefully if you have a mature guild and a rational explanation as to why particular people will be getting this mace, there won't be any problems.
Does anyone else have any other information about Val'anyr that I missed? Let me know!
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There's been a lot of talk about Val'anyr, the legendary weapon that drops in Ulduar.
I say "drop", but, well, it's a little more complicated than that.
How do you get this weapon?
First of all, you have to gather up all these little shards before you can even consider equipping it. There are *40* pieces scattered around Ulduar. And by scattered around Ulduar, I mean, bosses are guarding them. With their lives. So you kill the bosses, loot the fragments, and put them together.
On the Wowhead PTR, it says 'unique (30)', although elsewhere it says you need 40 to complete the quest - I think this is a typo or bug on Blizz's part and will be officially changed to 40. Some people think it's set like this to stop people from completing this quest on the PTR (on the PTR you need 40 but it will only let you carry 30). Other people say that you'll only be able to carry 40 if you defeat some certain boss on hard mode. Personally I think the first two may be correct - I doubt the third is. Or maybe they'll just keep it at 30 rather than 40, who knows.
These fragments are BoP, will only drop off of 25 man bosses, and most likely only if you're rocking it on hard mode. There have been one or two reports of fragments dropping off normal 25 man bosses, but I think this is either a false report, or a bug. Valnoth stated in a blue post:
"Hard mode rewards will be the best in the game. With that said, I want to be sure that everyone understands: Hard mode is hard. Some hard modes are harder than others..."So hard mode is hard, and we should be rewarded with a totally sweet weapon after slogging through all of it. Sounds about right to me.
So you have all 40 fragments! Grats! Now, to put it together.
...BY TOSSING THE PIECES INSIDE YOGG-SARON'S MOUTH.
I'm totally not joking. You have to take all these pieces that you so carefully gathered, put blood, sweat, tears, hope, love, and strength into, and you just toss 'em all inside his mouth. (Note that this has to be done in a 25man hard mode encounter.) He just om noms them up. I don't get it. Does he forge a weapon... with his tongue? Is it like tying a cherry stem with your mouth? (I could never do that.) Does he swallow it? Does he spit it back up? Are there tiny gnome weapon-forgers just chilling in his mouth who go to work once it's in there? Hm. I mean, I suppose that you throw them in there, and then you defeat him, and then it's an item that drops on his loot table. It's just... odd.
(On the left: Tooltip for each fragment. On the right: Tooltip once you have all 40 fragments, which leads to accepting the quest to throw stuff in that dude's mouth.)Who can use this weapon?
We don't have specific stats yet, but we do know that it's a one-handed mace, usable by priests, paladins, druids, and shaman. Because of this, it's almost certain that this will be a healing mace! (woohoo!) We don't know what the stats are, or if the stats will vary depending on class (more spirit for druids, say, or more intellect for paladins). However, it does have this bonus equip effect: "Your healing spells have a chance to cause Blessing of Ancient Kings for 15 seconds, allowing your heals to shield the target, absorbing damage equal to 15% of the amount healed."
Interesting: a legendary weapon with an equip effect that won't inflate healers' e-peens. This won't increase your numbers, it will just mitigate damage. It helps your entire fleet of healers (healers, ships, same difference) and the whole raid, not just you and your own personal output. I think this is pretty neat.
The TL;DR version:
- It's a one-handed mace.
- Priests, paladins, druids, and shaman can use it.
- It's almost certainly a healing mace.
- You have to collect 40 BoP mace fragments.
- These fragments drops from bosses in 25 man content, probably only from hard mode.
- Once you have the fragments, you throw them in Yogg-Saron's mouth, defeat him on hard mode, and get the mace.
Ta-da!
So, uh, I want it!
Yeah. So does every other healer in your guild, buddy.
So how do guilds decide who gets this item?
First off, all 40 fragments should go to one person. If you start looting fragments one by one, as they come, to each of your healers, no one will ever get a mace before the next content patch. It has to be one person. If that person isn't present on a raid where a fragment drops, then I would assign a secondary healer to pick up that piece. That secondary healer will be the one who gets the second mace - once the first person has all 40 fragments, the second person can start collecting.
Before you even step foot into Ulduar, the best thing to do is figure out *how* you'll decide who gets it (Officer decided? Highest lifetime DKP? A vote within your guild from non-healers? Whoever your best healer is? Random /rolls before your first foray into Ulduar?). The last thing you want is to get a great kill, have a fragment drop, have people get all hushed on vent, and then have to make a split second decision that may or may not be for the best.
When you do figure out how you're going to distribute the fragments, make sure you tell your guild. Let them know who will be getting the fragments and why. Let them know what procedures are in place: Who is the secondary person who will collect them if the primary person isn't there? Will these fragments cost DKP, and/or will the mace itself be priced?
Hopefully if you have a mature guild and a rational explanation as to why particular people will be getting this mace, there won't be any problems.
Does anyone else have any other information about Val'anyr that I missed? Let me know!
.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Resto druid raiding reqs for Ulduar: T8.5
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A couple weeks ago I posted the T7.5 raiding reqs that I put together for the resto druids in my guild. That post has a lot of good information about what the function of requirements are, and why they work. It also lays out the basic information about gems and enchants, consumables, talents, glyphs, etc. I would highly recommend checking it out here.
With Ulduar coming in the next month or so, my guild has been preparing to update these requirements for the next tier. I recently put the resto druid reqs together and thought I would share them with you guys. These stats are based on the assumption that you will have a decent amount of 25 man heroic gear from Naxx, Malygos, or Sarth. Having Ulduar 10 gear is NOT required to meet these reqs.
I've just copy-pasted them straight from my guild website. Enjoy! =)
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Resto Druid Reqs
Woohoo, Ulduar!
Changes from T7.5 are in green.
Stats:
Bonus Healing: 1900 in tree form
Health: 15000
Mana: 16000
Mp5 while casting: 290
If you have the [Majestic Dragon Figurine], you can essentially add +180 spirit to your stats, which is basically +32 mp5. So you can figure that in while figuring out whether you meet the 285 mp5 cut off. Also, 180 spirit gives you about +30 extra spell power (give or take a point) in ToL form because of your ToL spirit aura, so you can factor that in as well.
Essentially, if you have the trinket, you can still meet reqs by having 258 mp5 and 1870 SP (in tol). If you're just barely meeting reqs this way, it means that you MUST wear that trinket for raids.
Similarly, if you have the [Illustration of the Dragon Soul], you can subtract 200 spell power from reqs yet still meet them.
Glyphs:
[Glyph of Swiftmend] is the only glyph that is required.
[Glyph of Lifebloom] is not really recommended anymore***. If you're planning on using the Regrowth Glyph or the Nourish Glyph, you should look at having the 5/5 Nature's Bounty (previously called Improved Regrowth - they changed the name for 3.1) talent. Pre-3.1, the talent gave you an extra 50% to crit on Regrowth. Post 3.1, it gives you a 25% chance to crit on Regrowth, and a 25% chance to crit on Nourish.
[Glyph of Innervate] is also good if you're having mana issues.
Two new glyphs come 3.1, [Glyph of Wild Growth] and [Glyph of Nourish], can also be considered. Depending on your healing style, both of these can be very powerful glyphs.
***We'll probably be letting Lifeblooms bloom more often than not due to the change in lifebloom, so having a longer duration on LB isn't really advantageous. After you get your healing rotation down in 3.1, maybe you'll find that you can roll LBs even with the double mana cost, and that the glyph helps you - at that point you can assess your glyphs.
Please see the T7.5 Naxx25 reqs for information on consumables, enchants, talents, gems, etc. Those requirements are still in effect.
Thanks guys! Let me know if you have any questions/concerns.
.
A couple weeks ago I posted the T7.5 raiding reqs that I put together for the resto druids in my guild. That post has a lot of good information about what the function of requirements are, and why they work. It also lays out the basic information about gems and enchants, consumables, talents, glyphs, etc. I would highly recommend checking it out here.
With Ulduar coming in the next month or so, my guild has been preparing to update these requirements for the next tier. I recently put the resto druid reqs together and thought I would share them with you guys. These stats are based on the assumption that you will have a decent amount of 25 man heroic gear from Naxx, Malygos, or Sarth. Having Ulduar 10 gear is NOT required to meet these reqs.
I've just copy-pasted them straight from my guild website. Enjoy! =)
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Resto Druid Reqs
Woohoo, Ulduar!
Changes from T7.5 are in green.
Stats:
Bonus Healing: 1900 in tree form
Health: 15000
Mana: 16000
Mp5 while casting: 290
If you have the [Majestic Dragon Figurine], you can essentially add +180 spirit to your stats, which is basically +32 mp5. So you can figure that in while figuring out whether you meet the 285 mp5 cut off. Also, 180 spirit gives you about +30 extra spell power (give or take a point) in ToL form because of your ToL spirit aura, so you can factor that in as well.
Essentially, if you have the trinket, you can still meet reqs by having 258 mp5 and 1870 SP (in tol). If you're just barely meeting reqs this way, it means that you MUST wear that trinket for raids.
Similarly, if you have the [Illustration of the Dragon Soul], you can subtract 200 spell power from reqs yet still meet them.
Glyphs:
[Glyph of Swiftmend] is the only glyph that is required.
[Glyph of Lifebloom] is not really recommended anymore***. If you're planning on using the Regrowth Glyph or the Nourish Glyph, you should look at having the 5/5 Nature's Bounty (previously called Improved Regrowth - they changed the name for 3.1) talent. Pre-3.1, the talent gave you an extra 50% to crit on Regrowth. Post 3.1, it gives you a 25% chance to crit on Regrowth, and a 25% chance to crit on Nourish.
[Glyph of Innervate] is also good if you're having mana issues.
Two new glyphs come 3.1, [Glyph of Wild Growth] and [Glyph of Nourish], can also be considered. Depending on your healing style, both of these can be very powerful glyphs.
***We'll probably be letting Lifeblooms bloom more often than not due to the change in lifebloom, so having a longer duration on LB isn't really advantageous. After you get your healing rotation down in 3.1, maybe you'll find that you can roll LBs even with the double mana cost, and that the glyph helps you - at that point you can assess your glyphs.
Please see the T7.5 Naxx25 reqs for information on consumables, enchants, talents, gems, etc. Those requirements are still in effect.
Thanks guys! Let me know if you have any questions/concerns.
.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Socket bonuses and B stats on Ulduar gear
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I know lots of resto blogs have already looked at the tier gear for Ulduar, but I was glancing through it and thought I'd put in my 2 cents. Here's the gear in question: (now with tooltips - makes it easier to read):
Conqueror's Nightsong Handguards
Conqueror's Nightsong Headpiece
Conqueror's Nightsong Leggings
Conqueror's Nightsong Robe
Conqueror's Nightsong Spaulders
What strikes me are the socket bonuses. They're exclusively spell power and spirit. Compare and contrast:
Socket bonuses for tier gear:
Tier 7.5.............................Tier 8.5
Helm: +2 mp5..........................+8 spirit
Legs: +6 spirit..........................+7 spell power
Chest: +6 haste........................+7 spell power
Shoulders: +4 crit....................+4 spirit
Hands: +4 spirit.......................+5 spell power
Totals for tier 7.5: 10 spirit, no spell power, 6 haste, 4 crit, 2 mp5
Totals for tier 8.5: 12 spirit, 19 spell power, no haste, no crit, no mp5
So with the new socket bonuses, we're gaining a bit of spirit, a decent amount of spell power, and losing a minimal amount of haste, crit, and mp5.
Right now for my tier 7 pieces, I've taken to forgoing the socket bonus. Having a Runed Scarlet Ruby in both sockets is more beneficial than having gems with less spell power and getting a measly bonus of +4 haste rating for it. It's nice to see that with tier 8 gear, stacking spell power gems is not going to be *that* much better than putting other gems in to get the bonus, due to the +spell power socket bonuses.
I remember a while ago seeing a post (maybe a blue post?) about how the socket bonuses and B stats from Naxx were less than ideal, because they wanted to make Ulduar gear seem that much better. Well, they lived up to their word with the socket bonuses, but what about the B stats? Let's compare them:
B-stats for tier gear:
Tier 7.5.............................Tier 8.5
Helm: +16mp5.........................+59 haste
Legs: +42 crit...........................+59 crit
Chest: +42 haste......................+67 crit
Shoulders: +35 crit..................+48 haste
Hands: +35 haste.....................+48 crit
Totals for tier 7.5: 77 crit, 77 haste, 16 mp5
Totals for tier 8.5: 174 crit, 107 haste, no mp5
That's some heavy duty crit, and some decent haste as well. I checked out some other non-tier pieces Gloves of the Frozen Glade, Shoulderpads of Dormant Energies, and the Handguards of Potent Cures), and it seems that they're really pushing crit to complement the crit buff to Nourish, Nature's Bounty. I realize that some of that gear may be more Boomkin oriented, but overall, I'm seeing crit a-plenty. And hey, it will be nice to see Nourish critting more often. Plus, all this crit will also amp up Regrowth, and LB's final bloom.
I know I said earlier that haste is better than crit, but with all the mana-regen nerfage flying around, I'm starting to think that crit might be a better option come 3.1 than it was pre-3.1. Haste makes you cast faster, therefore running you out of mana sooner that you would without the haste. Crit, on the other hand, gives you bigger heals for the same amount of mana. If you're trying to conserve mana but still want to put out the same raw healing numbers, crit is hands down the way to go. Obviously there's overheal to consider, but it's just something to think about.
.
I know lots of resto blogs have already looked at the tier gear for Ulduar, but I was glancing through it and thought I'd put in my 2 cents. Here's the gear in question: (now with tooltips - makes it easier to read):
Conqueror's Nightsong Handguards
Conqueror's Nightsong Headpiece
Conqueror's Nightsong Leggings
Conqueror's Nightsong Robe
Conqueror's Nightsong Spaulders
What strikes me are the socket bonuses. They're exclusively spell power and spirit. Compare and contrast:
Socket bonuses for tier gear:
Tier 7.5.............................Tier 8.5
Helm: +2 mp5..........................+8 spirit
Legs: +6 spirit..........................+7 spell power
Chest: +6 haste........................+7 spell power
Shoulders: +4 crit....................+4 spirit
Hands: +4 spirit.......................+5 spell power
Totals for tier 7.5: 10 spirit, no spell power, 6 haste, 4 crit, 2 mp5
Totals for tier 8.5: 12 spirit, 19 spell power, no haste, no crit, no mp5
So with the new socket bonuses, we're gaining a bit of spirit, a decent amount of spell power, and losing a minimal amount of haste, crit, and mp5.
Right now for my tier 7 pieces, I've taken to forgoing the socket bonus. Having a Runed Scarlet Ruby in both sockets is more beneficial than having gems with less spell power and getting a measly bonus of +4 haste rating for it. It's nice to see that with tier 8 gear, stacking spell power gems is not going to be *that* much better than putting other gems in to get the bonus, due to the +spell power socket bonuses.
I remember a while ago seeing a post (maybe a blue post?) about how the socket bonuses and B stats from Naxx were less than ideal, because they wanted to make Ulduar gear seem that much better. Well, they lived up to their word with the socket bonuses, but what about the B stats? Let's compare them:
B-stats for tier gear:
Tier 7.5.............................Tier 8.5
Helm: +16mp5.........................+59 haste
Legs: +42 crit...........................+59 crit
Chest: +42 haste......................+67 crit
Shoulders: +35 crit..................+48 haste
Hands: +35 haste.....................+48 crit
Totals for tier 7.5: 77 crit, 77 haste, 16 mp5
Totals for tier 8.5: 174 crit, 107 haste, no mp5
That's some heavy duty crit, and some decent haste as well. I checked out some other non-tier pieces Gloves of the Frozen Glade, Shoulderpads of Dormant Energies, and the Handguards of Potent Cures), and it seems that they're really pushing crit to complement the crit buff to Nourish, Nature's Bounty. I realize that some of that gear may be more Boomkin oriented, but overall, I'm seeing crit a-plenty. And hey, it will be nice to see Nourish critting more often. Plus, all this crit will also amp up Regrowth, and LB's final bloom.
I know I said earlier that haste is better than crit, but with all the mana-regen nerfage flying around, I'm starting to think that crit might be a better option come 3.1 than it was pre-3.1. Haste makes you cast faster, therefore running you out of mana sooner that you would without the haste. Crit, on the other hand, gives you bigger heals for the same amount of mana. If you're trying to conserve mana but still want to put out the same raw healing numbers, crit is hands down the way to go. Obviously there's overheal to consider, but it's just something to think about.
.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
New trinkets from Ulduar!
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MMO-Champion has reported on three new trinkets from Ulduar for us to drool over:
Energy Siphon (10 man)
Equip: Restores 43 mana per 5 sec.
Use: Increases spell power by 408 for 20 sec. (2 Min cooldown)
Pandora's Plea (25 man)
+108 Intellect
Equip: Your spells have a chance to increase your spell power by 850 for 10 sec.
Spark of Hope (25 man)
+100 Spirit
Equip: Reduces the mana cost of your spells by 42.
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The Energy Siphon trinket is nice, but dps casters and other healers will be vying for it more seriously than we will. The trinket's use is great - of course it depends on what you're casting during the 20 seconds it's up and how long the fight is, but if you use it *every* 2 minutes, it essentially increases your spell power, on average, by 68. A +68 spell power/+46 mp5 trinket? Formidable.
Pandora's Plea has a disgusting amount of intellect. It'll increase your mana pool by 1620, and your crit chance by about 0.7 %. I also wonder how often that equip mechanic procs. Every minute? Every two minutes? If you put one lifebloom on someone while under the +spell power effect, it will essentially increase each tick of that one lifebloom by 97, give or take a little bit. /om nom nom
And last but not least, the Spark of Hope. If it turns out that druids are having mana issues come 3.1 (I'm still hoping that our mana regen won't be terribad, but that's wishful thinking), Spark of Hope will be fantastic.
MATH: A rejuvenation costs 629 mana (18% of base mana). Subtract 42 from this - now it only costs 587.
Let's put it in different terms. If you have this trinket, you can cast 15 rejuvenations, and the 16th will be "free". 16 rejuvs will cost the same about of mana (give or take some decimals) as 15 would without the trinket. So it's not something that will be immediately noticable as you cast, but it definitely will help.
Besides, +100 spirit?? /swoon
My only hesitation with all of these trinkets is in their lack of straight up spell power. I realize that spell power isn't *everything*, but I really, really love my Egg of Mortal Essence and Forethought Talisman. I'd take the Spark trinket over my Egg trinket in a heartbeat, though. A bit begrudgingly, but in a heartbeat nonetheless.
I'm sure there will be some +spell power trinkets that pop up eventually, simply because they cater to so many different classes and specs. Any of you guys seen any yet?
.
MMO-Champion has reported on three new trinkets from Ulduar for us to drool over:
Energy Siphon (10 man)
Equip: Restores 43 mana per 5 sec.
Use: Increases spell power by 408 for 20 sec. (2 Min cooldown)
Pandora's Plea (25 man)
+108 Intellect
Equip: Your spells have a chance to increase your spell power by 850 for 10 sec.
Spark of Hope (25 man)
+100 Spirit
Equip: Reduces the mana cost of your spells by 42.
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
The Energy Siphon trinket is nice, but dps casters and other healers will be vying for it more seriously than we will. The trinket's use is great - of course it depends on what you're casting during the 20 seconds it's up and how long the fight is, but if you use it *every* 2 minutes, it essentially increases your spell power, on average, by 68. A +68 spell power/+46 mp5 trinket? Formidable.
Pandora's Plea has a disgusting amount of intellect. It'll increase your mana pool by 1620, and your crit chance by about 0.7 %. I also wonder how often that equip mechanic procs. Every minute? Every two minutes? If you put one lifebloom on someone while under the +spell power effect, it will essentially increase each tick of that one lifebloom by 97, give or take a little bit. /om nom nom
And last but not least, the Spark of Hope. If it turns out that druids are having mana issues come 3.1 (I'm still hoping that our mana regen won't be terribad, but that's wishful thinking), Spark of Hope will be fantastic.
MATH: A rejuvenation costs 629 mana (18% of base mana). Subtract 42 from this - now it only costs 587.
Let's put it in different terms. If you have this trinket, you can cast 15 rejuvenations, and the 16th will be "free". 16 rejuvs will cost the same about of mana (give or take some decimals) as 15 would without the trinket. So it's not something that will be immediately noticable as you cast, but it definitely will help.
Besides, +100 spirit?? /swoon
My only hesitation with all of these trinkets is in their lack of straight up spell power. I realize that spell power isn't *everything*, but I really, really love my Egg of Mortal Essence and Forethought Talisman. I'd take the Spark trinket over my Egg trinket in a heartbeat, though. A bit begrudgingly, but in a heartbeat nonetheless.
I'm sure there will be some +spell power trinkets that pop up eventually, simply because they cater to so many different classes and specs. Any of you guys seen any yet?
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Friday, March 20, 2009
T8 Ulduar Druid Relics
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I stumbled across this while perusing The Daily Druid:
"Druid T8 Restoration Relic — Increases the spell power of your Nourish by 187"
How much will this actually increase our Nourish's healing? To figure it out, we need to look at the spell power coefficient for the particular spell, which is 66.1% (source)
According to the tooltip, Nourish hits for 1883 - 2187 (with no spellpower). Let's say you have 2400 spellpower in a buffed raid. 66.1% of that spellpower is 1586.4. So your Nourish will *actually* hit for 3469 - 3773.
If you have this relic, it'll increase the bonus healing of your Nourish by 187 - meaning that for this one particular spell, your spell power is NOT 2400 - it's 2587.
66.1% of this new number, 2587, is 1710.
So instead of your Nourish landing for 3469 - 3773, it'll land for 3593 - 3897.
Meh.
The only nice thing about this is that Nourish is getting a crit buff through our talents, if you take Nature's Bounty. So you might actually notice a decent increase in spellpower with the relic if you have those talent points. The 20% extra with a HoT helps as well.
Overall, it just seems kind of mediocre to me. It seems like they're really pushing Nourish here, when all we really wanna rock is HoTs.
What are some other relic mechanics they could have used? This is what I've come up with - and why they would work, or not work.
1. Decrease the cast time of Regrowth by .1 seconds.
This would be nice, but would help turn Regrowth into a heal that's comparable to Nourish, only *much* more powerful. Especially for those people who have a lot of haste - they would get this relic and only use Regrowth rather than Nourish.
2. Increase the spellpower of the Lifebloom tick by some smallish number.
This is exactly what Blizzard is trying to lean away from - making LB a overpowered per second heal. I don't see this happening any time soon.
3. Reduce the mana cost of Nourish by some number.
I actually like this one. I personally would like our relic to have some kind of mana conservation aspect to it, especially with all the mana regen nerfs going on. Lowering the cost of Nourish would essentially make it similar to what the T8 relic is now (in terms of the 'mana cost/amount the heal hits for' ratio), but for some reason I like this one better.
Any suggestions from you guys?
.
I stumbled across this while perusing The Daily Druid:
"Druid T8 Restoration Relic — Increases the spell power of your Nourish by 187"
How much will this actually increase our Nourish's healing? To figure it out, we need to look at the spell power coefficient for the particular spell, which is 66.1% (source)
According to the tooltip, Nourish hits for 1883 - 2187 (with no spellpower). Let's say you have 2400 spellpower in a buffed raid. 66.1% of that spellpower is 1586.4. So your Nourish will *actually* hit for 3469 - 3773.
If you have this relic, it'll increase the bonus healing of your Nourish by 187 - meaning that for this one particular spell, your spell power is NOT 2400 - it's 2587.
66.1% of this new number, 2587, is 1710.
So instead of your Nourish landing for 3469 - 3773, it'll land for 3593 - 3897.
Meh.
The only nice thing about this is that Nourish is getting a crit buff through our talents, if you take Nature's Bounty. So you might actually notice a decent increase in spellpower with the relic if you have those talent points. The 20% extra with a HoT helps as well.
Overall, it just seems kind of mediocre to me. It seems like they're really pushing Nourish here, when all we really wanna rock is HoTs.
What are some other relic mechanics they could have used? This is what I've come up with - and why they would work, or not work.
1. Decrease the cast time of Regrowth by .1 seconds.
This would be nice, but would help turn Regrowth into a heal that's comparable to Nourish, only *much* more powerful. Especially for those people who have a lot of haste - they would get this relic and only use Regrowth rather than Nourish.
2. Increase the spellpower of the Lifebloom tick by some smallish number.
This is exactly what Blizzard is trying to lean away from - making LB a overpowered per second heal. I don't see this happening any time soon.
3. Reduce the mana cost of Nourish by some number.
I actually like this one. I personally would like our relic to have some kind of mana conservation aspect to it, especially with all the mana regen nerfs going on. Lowering the cost of Nourish would essentially make it similar to what the T8 relic is now (in terms of the 'mana cost/amount the heal hits for' ratio), but for some reason I like this one better.
Any suggestions from you guys?
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