Setting Pen to Paper.

One of the things hovering at the top of my to-do list is to go through my network-attached-storage drive and sort and file all the documents there.  It won’t be an easy task.  When it comes to little chunks of information, I can be quite the pat-rack.  Last time I looked at it, I had snippets of code and text files with cryptic numbers and such dating back into the nineties.

My archives for my RP backstory notes are even worse.  Poor Glithander has little snippets written about him in Word, in OpenOffice – there are a few text files – there are geneology notes and outlines in an old ActionOutline (back when ActionOutline was free…).  And that’s just in one folder.  Now multiply that.

Why is this popping up near the top of the flotsam and jetsam that make up my mind now?  Probably because I’ve been really into roleplaying the last couple of days.  I haven’t really done any yet, mind you – but I’ve been stretching out those muscles – remembering where I left the characters (IC’ly) and what they’ve been up to since then.

Thus far, it’s been a pretty productive (and creative) couple of days.  In the, what, year… year and half… since I last RP’d on Glithander, I figure that he’s been busy sitting in a Theramore jail for piracy.  I was looking at taking the story there anyway, so why not.  Why was he in jail?  Well, figuring that out is part of the fun, right?

Kely has always been a problem child for me.  She’s young – but really, when your race is immortal – what does that mean?  Age is kinda useless, right?  I mean, seriously – she has an older brother, and using real-life as an example, he would have been born about 6000 BC.  That’s prior to any of the modern civilizations (Egypt, Babylon, China, you name it.)  That’s a heck of a difference in age.  But, probably not uncommon when you start talking about taking millenia to grow up.

Still, as a human, it can be hard to force your mind around that kind of concept.   Personally, I figure they don’t even keep track.  You’re either a kid, a young adult (until you prove otherwise) then just an adult.  Who cares how long it takes?

Amerya hasn’t gotten that much attention, to be honest.  But there, there wasn’t that much outstanding from her story.  She had pretty much settled down in Darnassus and was happy there.  She had her family, and had come to grips with that drama… we were definitely in the ‘waiting for the next crisis’ mode with her.

So yes, I’d like to try to get a coherent document written about them.  Get all the bits and pieces sorted out and in one place.  I think that they deserve it – especially Glithander.  There is a lot about what he’s already been through (ICly) that I really need to get down before it is completely lost.

Which leads me to a question, dear reader – I’ve set up ‘About…’ sections for each of them, with what I’m using as their current RSP description in-game.  I’d like to write up a backstory/biography – but how much information should I include there?  There are some things about Glithander, for example, that not even he knows (ICly) yet, although I’ve had to plot them out in my head.  Would it be right to give it away here – or should I follow the RSP guidelines and keep it to ‘publicly’ available information?

Truly Random Bits…

Looking Back on Healing…

I was just doing some reading, and found an old post I made right after the first instance that Kely healed on (Culling of Stratholme, in case you are curious).  In it, I state…

So, what did I learn on my first run out?

Lesson One: While I have to watch the entire party – I really, really need to pay attention to the Tank and to myself.  I did a good job on watching the tank – did a bad job watching myself.  Kat won’t be there next time to keep me topped off – and if I die, then the tank dies.

Lesson Two: If you’re going to spam something, then spam Lifebloom and Rejuv; not Regrowth.  I started the run with lots and lots of Regrowth and Nurture… that really didn’t work out too well, and I ended up having to play catch up far too often.  There is a time and a place for regrowth, but not as the primary heal spell.  Once I started to get the hang of the spells I started using Lifebloom and Healing Touch a lot more, with Regrowth thrown in just to HoT up the Tank if he started to take some serious damage.

Lesson Three: With a party, Wild Growth is my friend.  Seriously.  Once we were past the second boss I started to keep the tank targeted, and between Lifeblooms and Rejuv, I’d hit the party with a Wild Growth.  Kept everyone topped off, and I didn’t have to CTRL-TAB through targets to do so.

Lesson Four: Don’t blow ‘Nature’s Swiftness’ on Trash.  Not unless you’ve got at least three minutes until the next boss.

Lesson Five: Druids are not Mages.  Druids do not have Evocate or Mana Biscuits.  I need to purchase some good Mana food before runs, and I need a really good stack of Runic Mana pots.  That said, I only actually ran out of Mana once during the run, and I was able to Pot and keep healing.

So, looking back after months of raid healing, what do I have to add or change?

Lesson One: Well, Duh.

Lesson Two: Lifebloom is nice, but if you’re going to spam anything then Rejuv and Nurture.  Between the Rejuv trinkets, and Idols, and Glyphs – it only makes sense to make that one of your primary spells.  During heavy damage fights, Nurture is your friend.  Otherwise, sure – I’ll still stand by that.

Lesson Three: Yes! Yes! Yes!  I LOVE ‘Wild Growth’.  Once I hit Rejuv, I’m usually following up with ‘Wild Growth’ and just ignoring the ‘That Spell Is Not Ready Yet’ message.  I usually cast it on the tank and it’ll pick up the Melee DPS for you.  After Rejuv, easily my favorite healing spell.

Lesson Four: It doesn’t matter.  Blow ‘Nature’s Swiftness’ every time it is up, if you like.  Honestly, I don’t use it much because I’m not a Healing Touch healer.  In my opinion, while it is a big heal, it is just too mana intensive to be effective.  But, if I were a Healing Touch druid, I’d still blow it every time it was up.  The spell simply doesn’t do you any good just sitting there, and if you wait until you’re backed into a corner to use it then it is probably already too late.

Lesson Five: Druids still are not mages.  We don’t run out of mana nearly as quickly.  Mana Regen for druids, as Shanaria told me some time ago, is highly dependent on your gear.  If you have good gear, you won’t run out of mana – it’s that simple.  And if you do, there is always Innervate.

Hunters are OP

Ok.  Low Level hunters, with a new kitty, are OP.  My little horde hunter just hit 10, and went and tamed one of the Lynx near Silvermoon.  Oh my god.  I do NOT remember being a low level hunter being this easy.  I never pull aggro from my cat, and – if I’m lucky – I’m getting like three shots off before the mob is dead.

Seriously.  It’s that easy now.  So far, at level 12, she has died once – and that was because I made a wrong turn and end up pull like four groups at once.

On Role Playing

I’ve updated Ame, Kely and Glith’s descriptions here (over on the ‘About Me’ section).  I’ll be adding more on their backgrounds later.  I’ve also got a good background written up for my horde hunter – I may wait until Cataclysm to roll another Alliance RP toon – and when I do it’ll be a Nelf Mage.

Yes, I love Elves.  Even my lone human – Amerya – can (IC’ly) speak Darnassan**, studied Kaldorei lore, moved to Darnassus and fell hard for a Night Elf.  No, she didn’t have an easy time of it – Mages really aren’t trusted at all in Darnassus – but she didn’t care.

Anyway, I’ll post when I have more up to read.

** I really wish Blizz would let you purchase into speaking other languages in your faction (or heck, out of your faction – it’d be nice to shout back at the damn horde that keep yelling in Dalaran).  They could do it as a ‘Language’ Trainer.  In game I end up having to use Lore to fake it, or having whomever is playing an elf whisper me what they just said in [Darnassan] so I can make sure she reacts properly.  Frustrating.

…The Year in Review (Warcraft Style)

This has been a very busy year on Azeroth for me.  There was some good, some bad, and some that just was…

I) Discovering Healing.

Kelynaria was never supposed to be my main.  Ever.  Glithander was my main, and he was supposed to be it.  Amerya surprised me, but I could deal with that – she’s been around for almost as long as Glithander has.  But Kely?  She was just supposed to be a ‘supporting character’.  Glithander’s sister.  Someone to use for RP only.  Well, yeah.  Surprise!

Even once I started healing on Kely, I thought that I’d keep her as an alt.  Problem was that once I started healing, that’s all I wanted to do in raids.  When I’d sign up on Ame, I’d be secretly wishing that I could get in on Kely instead.  In the end, it only made sense to make the main-change official.

I’ve never regretted it – even if it does still surprise me sometimes.

II) Role Playing is dead!

Sure, Thorium Brotherhood still has the (RP) after its name on the Realm Lists, and there may be a higher density of users running FlagRSP than there would be on a normal server – but really?  RP is long gone from this server – especially on Alliance side.  There are still some horde RP guilds on Tho Bro – but even those are hard to find, and are really just a fraction of what they once were.

And That makes me sad.  I remember the olds days, and the old events – and while I may not have been in the middle of it all, Glithander (or Amerya) was still there.

III) Long Live Role Playing!

After a long debate about it, I finally did roll a couple of RP toons over on Moon Guard.  I haven’t done anything on Alliance side yet – but I have found what seems to be a nice RP guild over on Horde-side.  I don’t get there much, but it is a nice break from the PvE focus that I have on Tho Bro.  For the record, she’s a Belf Hunter.  Don’t ask me why.

I don’t think she’s related to any of my other characters.  Well, not really.  I mean, how ‘related’ could a Quel’dorie be to a Kal’dorie?   I mean, maybe, if you could trace the Quel’dorie family tree back to the sundering… there might be a common ancestor there (that would, possibly, still be alive on the Kal’dorie side…) but, that’d be pretty rare.

Not that I’ve put any thought into it, or anything.

IV) Living on the Bleeeding Edge.

When Burning Crusade came out, Order of Tirisfal was still struggling through Molten Core.  We never got to BWL or Naxx.

When Wrath of the Lich King came out, Impossibilium was still struggling through Tempest Keep.  We hadn’t really done anything in Black Temple or Sunwell at all.

When ToC was release, we were just still struggling in Ulduar.

But now – we’re actually ahead of the curve.  We’ve cleared 10-man Ulduar.  We’ve cleared 10 and 25-man ToC – and we did so the day after that Icecrown was released, before any of us set foot in the actual ICC raid.

Finally, for the moment, we’ve caught up with progression.  Now, the challenge is to stay there.

V) Missing Friends.

This was also the year that a good number of my in-game friends moved on and I don’t really talk to them anymore.  Some I’ve had a falling out with, for various reasons.  Some are still bouncing around Tho Bro, but I just don’t see them much any more.  Some have just moved onto bigger and better things.  I’d list them here, but I’d probably forget someone and that’d be embarrassing.  Instead, I’ll just hoist a pint of ale in your honor next time at hanging out at an inn.

VI) And Moving On…

A few of my close in-game friends have left Warcraft, but have kept in touch on the phone and via the ‘net.  They’ve moved onto bigger and better things – getting married, school, Aion, writing, life, etc – and some of that I’ve done with them, and for some of that I simply cheered them on.  It’s good to find that friendships can make the shift out of the game and survive.

And in the end, when that happens, it makes it all worthwhile.

Here’s hoping for an epic 2010!