I can do anything I want? ... *sleeps*

After yet another long hiatus from writing here, I am back (again)!  My IRL stuffs have subsided momentarily, and all I want to do is game and sleep!

Lots of things have happened recently in WoW, and I have managed to keep up with things as best I can via mobile guild chat and my guild website.

First off, <Bloodforged> celebrated a birthday earlier this month.  We gave away a Mechano-Hog, some pets, and assorted other goodies and had a naked run through Karazahn!  It was great fun, and we downed the Prince half-naked.  How many guilds can say that?  ^.^

Nakey-time!
TOP: Fallenjack, Kayvaan, Ironbull  MIDDLE:  Kitain, Draedenne, Moonflow  BOTTOM:  Wildmoon, Sunsprite, Kita

Bloodforged is now a level 15 guild!  This is very exciting, and it just means that we are that much closer to being a level 25 guild eventually.  I have noticed, though, that people looking for another guild are usually looking for the higher level guilds, and it makes me wary that there are guild-hoppers out there that just take advantage of the guild perks without putting significant effort into the guild.  Kinda sad, because I have put lots of time and effort into my guild, and someone else can just waltz in, not give a shit, and get the same perks.  Makes me glad that we have an extensive application process!

Also, the new expansion, Mists of Pandaria, has been announced.  This is not a surprise to anyone who pays attention to MMO-Champ or any of the other WoW community sites out there.  I am a bit apprehensive about this expansion, as it seems really random.  I will have to delve into the lore behind this expansion, because as it stands right now, it really seems like someone at Blizzard just has a big panda fetish and paid off over half of their Board of Directors so that they could roll a panda.  Meh.  Don't get me wrong, it's very pretty and whatnot, but the more I look at it, the more I feel like I am playing Perfect World and not WoW.  I will reserve further judgement until I get more info, but right now, I am on the fence about MoP.

There are some big changes coming to our guild website, so stay tuned for that, and now I am off to take a nap before someone calls me and I have to do more work.  xD

Firelands Trash & Guild Stuffs!

Now that I have secured a spot on the guild raid roster and I am feeling confident about my abilities, I am feeling like I'm in a good place with my character.  On my own I have gotten into Firelands trash runs and been pretty successful at being in that environment.  Unfortunately, I have maxed the reputation that I can get from trash mobs in there, so now I need to be looking to kill Shannox and Beth'tilac.

In my perusal of the interwebs for information about these fights, I have come to the conclusion that I need to start using Aura Mastery more.  I wasn't keen on using it much because I had trouble making use of the silence and interrupt immunity ability, but I underestimated the other part of Aura Mastery, which is that they improve your auras by 100%.  In Firelands, that's a LOT of fire resistance, and can definitely be put to good use.  Another thing that I need to understand better is my use of Hand of Protection.  It has its benefits, but I feel like I am not using this to its full potential.

Other things are going quite well, and I'm excited that the guild has started to recruit more people.  Last night we did a run through Zul'Aman with Ironbull, and it looks like he will definitely need some help with his UI and basics if he's going to be continuing to run with us.  However, I have high hopes for him, and he's a fun guy to play with!  We will help him out and I'm sure he will be quite the good addition to Bloodforged if he makes it through his applicant period.  ^.^  Also, it looks like our resident hunter, Sylvanist, is getting close to the point where he will be taking the Crucible!  This is super-exciting, because I know how hard our guild tests to become part of the raid team are, and I know that he will do awesome.  And finally, Moontree, get yo ass to Thrall, seriously.  :P

Here's to a relaxing weekend of fun!

Fallenjack & I riding our Raven Lords!

Ready For Raiding!

So, some big changes have happened in the past few days.  First off, I got my 2 pieces of Tier 12 gear!

Secondly, I completed my Holy PvP set, and am quite the nuissance in battlegrounds now.  >:3

I gave Baradin Hold a shot today, and despite it being only a 25-man raid, it gave me a lot to think about.  Unfortunately, my over heals were quite high, I was far too close to the boss, and I still am using my higher-cost spells too much, but, on the plus side, I was tops on cleansing, and my mana management was excellent.  So, in order to work some of those problems out, I spent a good long while today reworking my spec.  My GM even helped me out as well and we tweaked a couple things that should help my over heals and my overwhelming desire to be within melee range (no, Kita, you are in Holy, not Ret!).  I'm quite excited about this and am anxious to get into Baradin Hold next week!

Sweet Spot

So, I think I am getting to the point where I am understanding more about my Holy spec, executing things the way they should be, and enjoying the role in general.  I still haven't gotten up the guts to go into Baradin Hold as a healer, but I will.  Soon.  Ish.  >.>

Healbot has proven to be quite the change from Grid.  For me, it is easier to use, and for people who aren't keen on writing their own mouse over macros for every skill they may need, it definitely is easier to use.  I have only had a couple of hiccups with it, one being a bizarre freakout in Stonecore in which it was showing a hunter that joined in the middle of a boss fight as switching back and forth between having almost no HP and full HP for about 5 seconds before he actually died.  That was not appreciated, Healbot!  Other than that, it's fairly easy to learn to use, and pretty customizable as well.  Can't say that it's really better or worse than Grid, just packaged differently, really.

I must find time to actually tweak a few little things in my UI again.  I want to finally make use of the things I can do with /focus, as well as make a macro for my Judgements to hit whatever my tank is attacking.  I also need to clean up a few overlapping bits here and there and tidy up the center of my screen.

But now... I need sleep.  I shall update more later on as things become more interesting.  ^.^

In the meantime, enjoy this pic of Nefarian's head after a quick 3-man run of Blackwing Lair.  Soon I shall have your head again, Nefarian...  And you will give me your epic gears.  :D

Healer Addons

If you are a healer, the chances are good that you have used at least one healer addon at one point in time, and if you have, the chances are even better that you have used Grid, Healbot, or VuhDo.  Me, I was raised using Grid, Clique, and a slew of mouseover macros.  I did pretty well with that, but now that I am trying to get my head into the raiding mindset, one of the major flaws in my previous set up was that my reaction time was slow, and specifically my cleansing was lacking (which was via Decursive).  So, I am currently trying out Healbot, and seeing how I fare with that.  Thus far, it seems to be pretty spiffy.  Though I am having some issues with it, but I'm not sure if they are true issues or just that I'm not quite used to it just yet.  More testing is needed, for sure.

And in the meantime, here, have another lol.

My thoughts just go too fast for my fingers!

LOL whut?

And I was at least the second healer this guy had gone through.  /facepalm