The Queue: Is something wrong with the Alliance?
by Adam Holisky 
Jan 26th 2012 at 11:00AM
So on Tuesday, I was talking about fire safety and how important it is. I even gave everyone a rap to listen to about it. Then as I was writing this Queue in my candlelit office, my cat decided to come sit down next to me ... and stick his tail right into the candle.
He's fine -- but the smell ... my god.
Just had to share. Fire safety is important, kids.
Sarah asked:
Do you think there has been a problem with the Alliance in Cataclysm?
I'll answer this two ways. First, in terms of story development and faction favoritism, I don't think there's a problem. A good story ebbs and flows; it has high points and low points, amazing action and serene times. The Alliance is sort of in a lull at the moment, I think, and that's a-OK. In the future, it's going to pick up.
Why?
Because Blizzard writes some damn good stories, and the guys over there know what they're doing.
The second way to answer is concerning the Alliance's actual actions in game. In this regard, I think the Alliance has lost its spark a bit. It seems to be willing to roll along happy that it's defeated Arthas and Deathwing, but it has no real purpose, no drive for the future.
But you know what? I have a feeling something is going to happen that'll kick the Alliance in the pants.
Ferani asked:
Will Blizz make Reputations account wide or will they continue to make certain rewards, like the Arcanum, account bound?
That's an interesting idea, but it's highly unlikely all reputations will become account-bound. I could see some particular reputations going account-bound -- perhaps some new MoP one that's insanely hard to grind and just huge -- but I wouldn't expect it. More so, like you said, we can expect to see more account bound items, enchants, etc. ... those have worked very well for Blizzard. They walk a fine line between having an overpowered alt because of a powered main and not having to grind silly things over and over again.
Then again, even running a dungeon once or twice a week, reputations level up pretty fast, so it's not a big deal overall.
Armenius asked (with a little modification):
What is your favorite and least favorite boss mechanic of [Cataclysm]?
My favorite is heroic Morchok. The concept of the normal mode fight is so simple -- many guilds cleared it on their first try. But if you do something as simple as double everything, it becomes difficult. I love the simple-to-learn, difficult-to-master approach to the normal/heroic versions, and I think it perfectly encapsulates what WoW is all about.
My least favorite mechanic has to be the spawns in Ragnaros. They're so reliant on burst damage to get down that as a warlock, I've shed a lot of tears over it. At the time, I'd pull 25k DPS on the boss but couldn't take down a spawn easily. Kinda nuts.
Another least favorite mechanic is the healing that the first boss in Shadowfang Keep does. People don't know how to interrupt, and it's too much for a boss to be able to heal to full when interrupting still isn't something that's ingrained to the playstyle of the game. If at level 1 eight years ago, players had learned they had to interrupt heals, things would be different -- but they're not, and that mechanic is on my list of least favorites because of it.
Nina asked:
Will we ever get more vehicle boss fights?
Unlikely. Blizzard said a while ago at one of the BlizzCons (either '10 or '11, I don't remember which) that vehicle fights didn't turn out like it wanted. I wouldn't be surprised if there's limited use of the mechanic in the future, like we see in heroic Deadmines, but I wouldn't expect mass use of it again.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider 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: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
Lone Jobber Jan 26th 2012 11:11AM
Hello, for as long as I've played I've been strictly DPS (hunter 85 main with a mage and enh shaman both around 70'ish) however I figured why the heck not try something different. So my Q4tQ is this, where could I go to find out the basics that is shaman healing having NEVER healed before. Don't need some big fancy end game raiding min-max theory crafting break down I figure. Just something to get me a little used to healing, say, a random normal instance or a bg. Maybe it won't be for me, but I'd like to try at the very least. What a nice cookie cutter talent spec would be better rather then randomly closing eyes and picking stuff, which heals are better suited for X and which for Y. Any addons that are needed. Thanks.
rhorle Jan 26th 2012 11:16AM
Official Class Forums. Most if not all have guides for each spec.
Arrowsmith Jan 26th 2012 11:17AM
Well WoW Insider DOES have a Resto Shaman Column...
I'm just saying is all.
Jason Jan 26th 2012 11:27AM
I would recommend the following:
1) Get a healing add-on - I started out using Healbot, but use VudHu now; I have guildies that swear by Clique
2) Setup the add-on with all your targeted heals and make a post-it note of which mouse button and keyboard combo does which spell
2b) Learn which spells are your panic buttons and when to use them; put them somewhere you can get to them quickly
3) Group with a guildie(s) and practice hitting them with spells to get a feel for using the add-on. Try someplace where there's no pressure (e.g., a Friendly capital city)
4) If you can, run a few dungeons with level appropriate guild members before diving into the Dungeon Finder or a BG with strangers
5) (optional) Setup a macro to yell at people (esp. Ranged DPS) for not standing in your Healing Rain
loli.gigis Jan 26th 2012 11:28AM
If you are going to do BGs (regardless of class or spec) get Healers Have to Die - if you put on enemy nameplates it will mark who the healers are for you. Also most people can't heal without heal bot but really just need some mouseover macros and you will be fine. Honestly just read the tooltips and you will figure out based on mana cost:damage being done you will need to cast. Make sure you are reading and understanding your cool downs as well it will help a lot. A lot of healing is trial and error so if you can recruit a few friends to go through some dungeons with you then you will be fine. Thats what I did when I wanted to learn to heal on my pally, I just started grinding dungeons with friends, then I did LFR with her and now I off heal in raids.
Niennee Jan 26th 2012 11:28AM
Lone Jobber: Check out this page: http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/12/24/totem-talk-leveling-a-shaman-in-the-cataclysm-era/ - good for a starter :)
Puntable Jan 26th 2012 11:37AM
Use keybinding. Don't be a button clicker. I like mouseover macros.
If you want practice with the mechanics, do some battlegrounds, because there, instead of eveyone expecting to be healed, they are happily surprized to be healed.
Noyou Jan 26th 2012 11:54AM
I use wowpopular.com for ideas on talent builds, glyphs and enchants. Ultimately, you have to try things out and find the "best spec for you". But this should help.
Hanak Jan 26th 2012 12:04PM
http://www.noxxic.com/pve/shaman/restoration/heal-rotation-and-cooldowns
The site is a bit so-and-so if you want explanations, but has builds, stat-priorities, and reminders once you've learnt some healing.
steve Jan 26th 2012 12:32PM
Go to elitist jerks resto shaman forum. Right at the top is the diamond compression level guide. Two paragraphs. A spec and what spells to cast. Go!
Kakume Jan 26th 2012 1:03PM
You're at the very same point I was at this stage in Wrath. :-) More power to you.
The advice above is good stuff; let me add one thing. Never having healed before, there's a certain amount that's just not going to come across in text. A friend, who encouraged me to try healing, said to me at one point "you can't heal like a DPS" but I had no frame of reference for what he meant.
The Cataclysm stated philosophy of choosing between cheap/fast/big healing spells may actually make it a bit easier to pick this up from book knowledge than it was before, but the biggie for me was this: even though I felt thoroughly underprepared, I learned a hell of a lot by just doing -- and *even though it didn't feel like I was learning in the moment!*
So read the above guides for sure, but don't think you need to memorise them. Copy a spec, learn the main five or so spells, and find a friendly well-geared tank to go with you in your first couple of instances.
And this is a great journey you're about to begin, it's a completely new and satisfying perspective on the game. Have awesome fun.
Ecmnesia Jan 26th 2012 11:14AM
Rag and Baron Ashbury are in Dragon Soul?
othragon Jan 26th 2012 11:19AM
"What is your favorite and least favorite boss mechanic of [Cataclysm]?"
razion Jan 26th 2012 11:25AM
The question was modified to reference all of Cataclysm bosses. In which I believe Shadowfang Keep and Firelands bosses apply.
Armenius Jan 26th 2012 11:26AM
To be fair, at the time this was posted the question wasn't modified. Yeah I spam refreshed to see if my question got answered : P
gymboy91 Jan 26th 2012 11:28AM
He modified it to all of [Cataclysm]
Shinae Jan 26th 2012 11:44AM
I wish I could simply change questions, like those on my tax forms, to make whatever I answer correct/applicable. ;)
Ilmyrn Jan 26th 2012 11:13AM
Too bad if Blizz just gives up on vehicle fights. I'd much rather they make vehicles better than pretend they don't exist.
In a raid that was full of awesome (Cat Lady excepted), the very first part of Ulduar, where you're slaughtering your way through an entire army, has to stand as one of the most fun things in WoW, and the Flame Leviathan fight is still an absolute blast.
The reason, I think, that the FL trash and fight work so well while other vehicle fights (Grand Champions, Occulus) don't, is that in Ulduar, using the vehicles allowed you to do something your character couldn't have otherwise, the vehicles scaled well, and it didn't overstay its welcome.
Culhag Jan 26th 2012 11:25AM
Flame Leviathan was awesome when you had an awesome raid, but some people just can't seem to understand vehicle fights.
Narayana Jan 26th 2012 11:41AM
Part of the issue with vehicle fights is that they are completely separate from your normal class mechanics. You could be the best damned paladin out there, but if you don't know how to manage a particular vehicle, then you are boned. This was particularly important on the Occulus and Malygos fights where not knowing the mechanics of your mount could wipe the group.
This actually occupies a similar space as the problem Adam had with Ashbury. If vehicle combat had been part of the game from level 1 and had been engrained in the play style, then there wouldn't be a problem. It wasn't. Instead, they tried shoe-horning it into a handful of quests and hoped that would be enough training. It wasn't. Even then, the issue of a lack of class distinction would still exist.