Patch 5.2 interview with Dave Kosak
Inside an old alt's vault
The latest patch 5.2 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: An unrelated Q
by Alex Ziebart 
Feb 25th 2010 at 11:00AM
I'm in charge of the Queue train today, which means for the first time this week, this is a Star Trek free zone. Admittedly, I can't shake the obsession with the letter Q, so we're just taking things a different route today. Behold: Q.
Darasen asked...
"Perhaps this is better answered by the Priest community but thought I''d ask here. I have been leveling a healing priest through the dungeon finder and was curious about the proper use of "Power Word Shield". I use the spell constantly as it is very mana efficient. I have had some players tell me I should not use it though. A warrior told me he thought the shield kept him from gaining rage (he was unsure) and a Paladin told me that he couldn't get mana back when shielded. So should it be used regularly or not?"
If you're a holy priest, you shouldn't need to use Power Word: Shield much, and probably shouldn't. It's just not a very good use of your mana unless you absolutely need to put up some sort of buffer. As a discipline priest, you should bubble as much as you please... except for one situation, I find.
Warriors, druids and death knights should have no problem with Rage and Runic Power because of your bubbles, that issue has been dealt with over the course of Wrath of the Lich King, those classes will still gain their resources regardless of the absorption. However, protection paladins do still have significant mana issues when there are shields involved. A large portion of a paladin tank's mana regen comes from Spiritual Attunement. The paladin takes damage, that damage is then healed, and a percentage of the healing becomes mana for him/her. If they're absorbing damage instead of being healed, they're not regaining any mana through Spiritual Attunement. It sucks, and in a 5-man dungeon it can cripple mana.
If you need your sweet, sweet Power Word: Shields to heal a paladin through a random heroic, you can still use them. But the paladin will probably need to sit and drink more frequently.
Gurluas asked...
"Will Cataclysm come with a function to rename your guild?"
"I'm sure this has been asked and answered a million and one times, but what sense does it make to allow the Cataclysm races Worgen and Goblins to be DKs if their origin events are happening after the demise of Arthas as the Lich King? I don't understand the lore behind this."
It's like the return of Onyxia. No lore, but maximizing fun. There's nothing to understand except that Blizzard thinks it would be enjoyable.
Zalaron asked...
"When in BRD - Upper from dungeon finder, which boss do you have to kill, in what order and any other requirements, to get the Satchel? I have been in it several times and never gotten the satchel. Any advice would be helpful!"
I don't actually know the answer to this, but I thought I would bring attention to the question because hopefully someone reading this will. I believe this bit here is bugged, because killing the Emperor certainly does not count as the 'end' which is very strange. I don't know if the requirement is something else in BRD, or if there's a very specific order you need to do things, but my gut says it's just plain bugged.
Update: I am a baboon and forgot that the latest WoW Rookie already tackled this. You need to keep the Princess alive!
Update #2: Or, according to the comments, this may not actually be true. Who knows! Let's just say it's a bug.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW.com crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column! Leave your questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em!Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 8)
Niallus Feb 25th 2010 11:14AM
I have found that BRD problem as well - I have heard rumours it is related to the order in which you kill Moira and the Emperor, but I cannot remember where I read this.
Still, love that instance for the exp alone.
Mozzz Feb 25th 2010 11:17AM
So, a new Resto Totem Talk article showed up in my RSS feed this morning, but there doesn't seem to be an article up yet. Publishing slip-up I take it?
Cv Feb 25th 2010 11:15AM
"When in BRD - Upper from dungeon finder, which boss do you have to kill, in what order and any other requirements, to get the Satchel? I have been in it several times and never gotten the satchel. Any advice would be helpful!"
I also has this issue, and found the tip from another player once which works. Do NOT do dmg to the princess. Kill the emporer, and she will turn friendly (green) to all members in the group, and you will get your satchel. If she dies, you wont get the satchel.
vazhkatsi Feb 25th 2010 11:33PM
exceptions exist tho, but only if everyone has rescued her. i've only had this happen once tho.
tadedra Feb 25th 2010 11:18AM
When it comes to why worgens/goblins are deathknights? Why wouldn't they be. There's are worgens in Silverpine Forest now. There are Goblins from Bootybay, Ratchet Wintersprings. These may not be their locations of Birth. A worgen tired of the way Gilneas sneaks out on day and becomes one of the many in Silverpine or tries to live a hermit life with his curse only to be found during a Lich King Battle.
Plus I think the time lines are being misjudged. If you're only 55 the Lich King isn't dead for you yet is he? Otherwise how can more deathknights come to be. How can Northrend be in danger?
Omacron Feb 25th 2010 11:18AM
First of all, for the next Queue, I suggest you take a picture from the seminal Japanese sci-fi TV show, Ultra Q. Do it!
Second, in regard to Goblin and Worgen DKs, they're both easy to explain, goblins moreso than Worgen. Goblins have been acting as mercenaries for the Horde, Alliance and other factions since they were introduced. It's NOT hard at all to believe that a goblin was killed at one point by the LK and raised.
Now, as for Worgen... do remember who Arugal's "master" was. Go to Grizzly Hills, all the Worgen there are allied with the scourge. Blizz could probably pull some plot out of their rear ends that Arugal or Arthas was training a group of Worgen DKs in secret using individuals culled from the Grizzly Hills trappers.
Omner Feb 25th 2010 11:19AM
Since we're already talking about priest I have a question:
In 'The Daily Blues' yesterday there was a quote from GC talking about discipline priests, and I quote:
"Discipline priests specialize in single-target heals....... But any Disc priest who is trying to heal multiple people at once is probably doing it wrong. You can raid heal effectively by targeting one person at a time, and that's what Disc priests do."
Is binding heal more of a holy spell than a disc spell? Would it be wiser to just throw out 2 heals than 1 binding heal?
VSUReaper Feb 25th 2010 11:29AM
Binding heal is designed to heal you and the target at the same time. If you need to top yourself up, then go for it. But dont cast it if you are full health. Thats what pennance/flash heal/renew/grtr heal is for.
As for group healing as Disc, I found that a quick flash heal does wonders, but at the same time, if 2 or more people in one group need a heal, then its easier to target one of them, and cast prayer of healing. Prayer of mending also does wonders here, although its not reliable enough to bank on it healing everyone it needs to (mine have a tendancy to jump to me when I'm healing, and since I take little to no damage....)
Dharmabhum Feb 25th 2010 11:37AM
Binding Heal heals the target+you, and it costs twice as much as a flash heal (doing twice the healing, this makes sense). It has its place: If you're deficient on hp, then use it. All in all, the mana per healing is the same as flash heal, its just saving you a global cooldown with one binding heal rather than two separate flash heals. It's also useful if you want to keep Inspiration up on the tank, since binding heal doesn't put Inspiration up on your target such as a dps.
If the case is such that two dps need heals, try this out: Shield one, use the Borrowed Time-hastened flash heal to heal the second. From there, you can shield the second and BT-flash heal the first, or just put a straight flash heal on the first directly. By doing so, you safeguard the first with your shield while you address the needs of the second, then come back to heal the first up.
Gundehar Feb 25th 2010 11:48AM
"If the case is such that two dps need heals, try this out: Shield one, use the Borrowed Time-hastened flash heal to heal the second. From there, you can shield the second and BT-flash heal the first, or just put a straight flash heal on the first directly. By doing so, you safeguard the first with your shield while you address the needs of the second, then come back to heal the first up."
WOW! I had not thought about this idea at all and I am loving it. Playing ping-pong with heals. I play ping-pong with taunts on my hunter all the time. Kinda same thing in a different light. Thanks for this tip!
Foussa Feb 25th 2010 5:47PM
"If the case is such that two dps need heals, try this out: Shield one, use the Borrowed Time-hastened flash heal to heal the second. From there, you can shield the second and BT-flash heal the first, or just put a straight flash heal on the first directly. By doing so, you safeguard the first with your shield while you address the needs of the second, then come back to heal the first up."
Better yet, if you can afford it, glyph for PW:S. The added heal is almost as strong as a FH when you have enough spell power (since PW:S scales better than FH), and the shield is here to stay and protect the dps the next time she takes damage.
Docp Feb 25th 2010 11:21AM
oh, you made me sad by remembering how much I used to love the Q sections of the James Bond films. His final scene in The world is not enough always seems a little sad as he slowly descends through the floor.
Artificial Feb 26th 2010 5:26AM
"Always have an escape plan."
Tes Feb 25th 2010 11:22AM
As a fellow holy priest (offspeced Discp):
Use your shield when you like. It IS pretty mana efficient, especially if you have Improved Power Word shield from early in the Discipline tree. If you have decided to Glyph it, it's even better.
It ISN'T as strong as a full Discipline priest's shield, however.
It is still very good to use when you like.
Best cases are to mitigate incoming damage for a moment to let you throw a solid heal.
Throw one on a dps that took abit of damage and follow up with a renew.
You don't want to bother shielding every time it's available, though.
Holy priests are about healing damage taken, not so much in mitigating it. Leave that for a discipline build.
Finally, as stated, if you can help it do NOT shield a paladin tank. Healing them will regen their mana. Most paladin tanks*, in my experience, don't even watch their mana as they expect it to be regened through healing. It's best not to surprise them by keeping them bubbled.
*Good paladin tanks will be using a combination of abilities to pop their mana back up if they get low but not all of them will
VSUReaper Feb 25th 2010 11:23AM
About the shield question on pallies: With the glyph of PW:Shield (small heal when shielded) and when you are able to start putting points into the talent Rapture (45+) then it wont matter. The pally will get a small heal from the glyph, and then the shield will break on the next attack (against a boss mob or multiple hits from trash mobs) and the paladin will receive mana for it breaking.
The shield at lower levels will not last that long as the strength of the shield scales on spell power (I think). The shield tooltip at lvl 45 says to absorb around 400-600 damage, so the shield will disappear fast.
A pally should have Blessing of Sanctuary which will also return a fair amount of mana, especially on trash.
The other reason it shouldn't matter, especially after lvl 71 is that a prot pally can keep Divine Plea up constantly, not by taking damage, but by attacking (via the talent Guarded by the Light). I have seen some pallies ask DPS/healers not to kill the bugs/rats/other critters in the instance b/c they use it to keep plea active in-between pulls.
TLDR: Feel free to use the spell as much as you can, especially as Disc - its the staple of your spec. As holy its there to buy time to wind up a big spell (grtr heal with no haste). Paladins have many, many ways to regain mana, and while at lower levels its not as easy, at higher levels it should not prove to be an issue. If they are having issues, politely ask them to review their talents and abilities on how to get mana back, and refer them to stickies or to here.
Kylenne Feb 25th 2010 12:32PM
My Disco alt is fully decked out in heirlooms, and glyphed bubble + renew was all I needed to heal vanilla pugs unless the group was spectacularly awful, or I got a retadin tank that would pull trash groups like s/he was a def capped 80 protadin in a heroic. And that was even prior to getting Borrowed Time.
Kylenne Feb 25th 2010 12:38PM
I should hasten to add that none of this presented a problem for any paladin tanks in lowbie dungeons, simply because they don't even get the associated talents for a while. Lowbie tankadins tend to have mana problems regardless of what a priest does for that reason, they just don't have most of their toolkit yet. OTOH, a paladin who complains in heroics about bubbles needs to l2p, or if vastly overgearing the instance (the only legit reason a protadin should be having mana problems), take off hir pants.
Aspen Feb 28th 2010 11:56AM
Yes, I was very annoyed after spending 2+ hours in a pug, getting all the way to the emporer in BRD (and yes, the princess was saved we didnt kill her), and not getting the bonus satchel and extra exp.
DeathPaladin Feb 25th 2010 11:27AM
Man, for the past week WoW.com has just been one Q Queue after another.
Bryan Dare Feb 25th 2010 11:33AM
Excuse me sir, but are you trying to suggest that perhaps WoW.com needs more pew pew? If so, then I give you a
http://www.instantrimshot.com/