Restoration Druid Warlords Pre-raid Gear

Hi everyone, long time no see!

I'm still around, playing my Tauren Druid in a super-casual way. I had pretty much a whole year off the game after my second Sproutling was born, but I got back into things at the launch of Warlords of Draenor.

It shows how little I've actually been able to play since then, by the fact that I've only just reached level 100. It only took me, what, three months?

In any case, I now find myself in the position of trying to gear up a bit so I can try to raid with my guild now and then. In previous expansions, I prepared lists of gear and where to find it, but this time I am truly taking the casual way out and pointing you all to other places to get that information.

As a fresh 100, after I used my Munificent Spaulders and other gear tokens, I'm at iLvL 600. Heroics are at 610. To get into Highmaul LFR you need 615 and Blackrock Foundry LFR is 635.

Stat priorities

As Resto Druids, our stat priorities have not changed that much from previous expansions. From Icy Veins and Restokin:

Intellect > Spirit > Haste = Mastery > Multistrike > Crit > Versatility

Interestingly, the Icy Veins article has Spirit at a much lower priority. Because Spirit directly affects mana regeneration, it seems we should be prioritising Spirit items until we are happy with our mana regen in long boss fights, then move it to a lower priority.

Gear list resources

There's a bewildering number of sources for gear in WoD, from quest items to Apexis Crystals and even items from your garrison followers. Thankfully there are some great guides out there to help make sense of it all.

• Wowhead: Easy Ways to Hit the ilvl 615 Gear Requirement for Highmaul LFR - An excellent summary of all the different gear sources, Doesn't actually mention gear from Heroic dungeons or garrison missions.
• Icy Veins: Restoration Druid Healing Gear and Best in Slot - An enormous list of all gear, right up to Highmaul gear.

Bonus resource: Vixsin over at Life in Group 5 has put together a comprehensive resource for Resto Shaman: Resto Cheat Sheet: WoD Leveling and Pre-Raid (T17) Gearing.

Yes, it's designed for Resto Shaman who have different stat priorities, but I found it a very comprehensive guide to gearing, even if it's not quite the right items for Druids. It's worth a read just to understand concepts like Apexis crystals and follower rewards, and for the info on crafted items.

So there you go. Did I miss any resources that you find invaluable? Please let me know!

I'm off gear collecting now. I'm just very happy to be back enjoying the game so much - I hope you are too!

The Innervate Wait

Hi. My name is Aoifen, and I have mana problems.

But that's a long story. First, let me give you a small update.

A new team

Remember a few weeks ago I said that I was looking to start raiding casually after patch 5.2? Well, after that post, I was contacted by a reader (Squee! You have no idea how happy that made me, Aceral!) and invited to go along to a farm raid with <Nessa and Friends> on Barthilas. 

I had been looking around at a few other options, but this invitation was welcome in several ways. Firstly, Aoifen is on Barthilas already, so no realm or faction transfers would be necessary. Secondly, Aoifen is my raid-ready toon - Leesah is waaay behind and would require some hard work to gear up. Lastly, Nessa and Friends are at a comfortable level of progression for me - they are working through Heart of Fear normal and only raid two nights a week, one of which is a farm night in Mogu'shan Vaults at the moment - perfect for my gear levels and current aspirations.

So, off I went! After a couple of raids with them I was convinced and bid a sad farewell to <Vitare> (who are kicking it in ToT heroics, by the way - go Vitare!) and joined <Nessa and Friends>. 

Big ugly bug

The mana problem

Raiding is everything I love about the game, and at the moment, even farm raids are progression to me so I'm loving it! There's just one problem - I have been constantly struggling for mana.

I use a Flask of Falling Leaves and reforge anything that doesn't have Spirit on it, but I still find myself, halfway through certain boss fights, with potions on cooldown and waiting desperately for the next Innervate to be available.

Why was I struggling so much? My gear level wasn't great, in the high 460s. I managed to replace a couple of items through LFR, but because I don't get a lot of time to play, the Valor Points come slowly so I haven't replaced as many items with VP gear as I'd like. 

I was fairly sure that gear wasn't the whole of the problem - there was something in my play style that was using up all my mana.

So, I did some digging. Here's some advice I collected that might help a newbie Tree with mana conservation:

Calm down. 

At first, I was having a bit of a panic in boss fights and healing anything that moved. My overhealing was probably massive! Don't forget that there is another healer or two there in a 10-man raid, so you can afford to consider who actually needs to be healed.

Know the fights, 

specifically when the high-damage phases are coming, so that you can conserve mana to spend then. If you are running low, at least try to keep enough mana for a Tranquility for when the raid leader screams it at you! I find using Tree of Life form a great way to regain a bit of mana while healing more, as you can sprinkle around Lifeblooms and make use of the Clearcasting procs for some instant Regrowths.

Innervate early.

Innervate gives back 20% of your own mana, so use it as soon as you get below 80%. The sooner it comes off cooldown, the sooner you can use it again. If you find yourself in the enviable position of being close to the end of the fight with lots of mana, see if any of your fellow healers would benefit from it!

Use Rejuvenation and Swiftmend.

Hots are still a Druid's best friend. I hadn't been using Rejuvenation all that much, preferring to use Regrowth as a flash heal. This is most likely where all my mana was going! Rejuvenation has just had its mana cost reduced, and Swiftmend is a relatively cheap heal with a built-in AOE component. Training myself to not use Regrowth so much has helped a lot.

Make use of Clearcasting.

Clearcasting procs come from Lifebloom ticks, so make sure you keep it rolling on the tank. You might like to take advantage of a Clearcasting to get a free Regrowth or Healing Touch.

Don't forget to macro your trinkets,

especially if you have a spirit one such as [Heartwarmer Medallion]. There's a guide as to how to make macros in Clique on my Macros page.

Make use of Ironbark and Barkskin.

The less damage you take, the less healing you have to do. Don't forget that you can cast Ironbark on other people. I'm still trying to remember to cast it on the tank in high-damage phases.

There's a lot to remember, but all it takes is practice to get a hang of it all. My thanks to Icy-veins.com and Restokin's guide for teaching me what my spells do these days!

I'm still setting up Weak Auras to help me with this stuff, so I'll try to post up some codes soon.

Please, if any other raiding Resto Druids read this and can offer advice on any of the information in this post, let me know!

Happy healing!

Pandaria Raids Loot Cheat Sheet

Pre-patch 5.2, [Elder Charm of Good Fortune] allows you to take an extra roll for loot after killing a boss in Pandaria raids. This extra roll gives a chance for you to receive a useful item of loot from that boss' loot table, or an amount of gold, a gem or a flask. The same charms are used in all raid types - Raid finder, Normal and Heroic.

After patch 5.2, Elder Charms will be replaced by [Mogu Rune of Fate].

The loot that drops will only be something that is from that boss' loot table, so I wanted to create a list of the pieces from each boss, so that I could choose when to use my lucky charms. So, here's a list of caster leather gear (with Resto Druids in mind) for each boss in Mogu'shan Vaults, Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring. I've also added the available loot from the upcoming Throne of Thunder raid. Not all the loot information is available yet, but I'll add it after the patch drops and as soon as its available.

This list can also be used by Balance druids and casting Monks. I've included the dps trinkets but not spellpower items with hit. 

I hope it helps! Please let me know if I've missed any items or if there's any way I can improve the layout.

All item information comes from Wowhead.

The Stone Guard

• Cape of Three Lanterns 
• Stonebound Cinch

Feng the Accursed

• Fan of Fiery Winds
• Feng's Ring of Dreams
• Hood of Cursed Dreams

Gara'jal the Spiritbinder

• Circuit of the Frail Soul
• Spaulders of the Divided Mind

The Spirit Kings

• Bracers of Dark Thoughts
• Mindshard Drape
• Zian's Choker of Coalesced Shadow

Elegon

• Light of the Cosmos (DPS trinket)
• Phasewalker Striders

Will of the Emperor

• Magnetized Leggings
• Tihan, Scepter of the Sleeping Emperor
• Worldwaker Cachabon

Imperial Vizier Zor'lok

• Gauntlets of Undesired Gifts

Blade Lord Ta'yak

• Drape of Gathering Clouds
• Hood of Stilled Winds

Garalon

• Robes of Eighty Lights

Wind Lord Mel'jarak

• Clutches of Dying Hope
• Gauntlets of the Shadowy Vanquisher (Tier 14 token)
• Korven's Amber-Sealed Beetle

Amber-Shaper Un'sok

• Leggings of the Shadowy Vanquisher (Tier 14 token)
• Seal of the Profane
• Un'sok's Amber Scalpel

Grand Empress Shek'zeer

• Chest of the Shadowy Vanquisher (Tier 14 token)
• Kri'tak, Imperial Scepter of the Swarm

Protectors of the Endless

• Asani's Uncleansed Sandals
• Cloak of Overwhelming Corruption
• Regail's Crackling Dagger
• Watersoul Signet

Tsulong

• Fear-Blackened Leggings
• Spirits of the Sun
• Weaver's Cord of Eternal Autumn

Lei Shi

• Jin'ya, Orb of the Waterspeaker
• Shoulders of the Shadowy Vanquisher (Tier 14 token)
• Weaver's Cord of Eternal Autumn

Sha of Fear

• Essence of Terror (DPS)
• Helm of the Shadowy Vanquisher (Tier 14 token)

Throne of Thunder (available in patch 5.2)

Jin'rokh the Breaker

• Drape of Booming Nights
• Infinitely Conducting Bracers

Horridon

• Horridon's Last Gasp (healing)
• Horridon's Tush Fragment
• Petrified Eye of the Basilisk
• Roots of Rampaging Earth
• Spaulders of Dinomancy

Council of Elders

• Robes of Teacherous Ground
• Gauntlets of the Crackling Vanquisher (Tier 15 token)

Tortos

• Robes of Concussive Shocks
• Shimmershell Cape
• Vampire Bat-Hide Bracers

Maegara

• Breath of the Hydra (DPS)
• Hood of Smouldering Flesh
• Inscribed Bag of Hydra-Spawn (healing)

Ji-Kun

• Giorgio's Caduceus of Pure Moods
• Leggings of the Crackling Vanquisher (Tier 15 token)

Durumu the Forgotten

• Deadly Glare Cape
• Durumu's Captive Eyeball
• Forgotten Mantle of the Sun
• Jerthud, Graceful Hand of the Saviour
• Ritual Dagger of the Mind's Eye
• Sandals of the Starving Eye

Primordius

• Leggings of the Malformed Sapling
• Stolen Relic of Zuldazar (Healing)

Dark Animus

• Anima-Ringed Fingers
• Athame of the Sanguine Ritual
• Cha-Ye's Essence of Brilliance (DPS)
• Chest of the Crackling Vanquisher (Tier 15 token)
• Constantly Accelerating Cloak

Iron Qon

• Orb of Arcing Lightning
• Ro'shak's Rememberance
• Shoulders of the Crackling Vanquisher (Tier 15 token)

Twin Consorts

• Girdle of Night and Day
• Helm of the Crackling Vanquisher (Tier 15 token)
• Passionfire Choker
• Suen-Wo, Spire of the Falling Sun

Lei Shen

• Grips of Slicing Electricity
• Lei-Shen's Orb of Command
• Lightning-Imbued Chalice (Healing)
• Soul Prism of Lei-Shen
• Unerring Vision of Lei-Shen (DPS)
• Torall, Rod of the Shattered Throne

Siege of Orgrimmar

Immerseus

• Bolt-Burster Grips
• Bracers of Purified Spirit
• Salt Water Sandals
• Seal of Eternal Sorrow
• Purified Bindings of Immerseus (DPS?)

Fallen Protectors

• Shoulders on the Roiling Inferno
• Purehearted Cricket Cage

Norushen

• Boots of Broken Reliance
• Confident Grips

Sha of Pride

• Robes of the Shattered Vale (Tier 16)
• Necklace of Fading Light
• Self-Reflecting Mask
• Gaze of Arrogance
• Prismatic Prison of Pride

Galakras

• Dragonmaw Emergency Strap
• Drakebinder Greatstaff

Iron Juggernaut

• Castlebreaker Bracers
• Juggernaut's Power Core
• Laser-Slice Signet

Kor'kron Dark Shaman

• Darkfang Mask
• Kardris' Scepter

General Nazgrim

• Nazgrim's Burnished Insignia
• Robes of the Warrior's Fall
• Handwraps of the Shattered Vale (Tier 16)

Malkorok

• Black-Blooded Drape
• Boots of Perilous Infusion
• Bracers of Averted Fatality
• Seal of Sullen Fury

Spoils of Pandaria

• Klaxxi Grips of Rejuvenation
• Lost Necklace of the Mogu Empress
• Shado-Pan Reliquary Kilt

Thok the Bloodthirsty

• Helm of the Shattered Vale (Tier 16)
• Signet of the Dinomancers
• Thok's Acid-Grooved Tooth

A Raider Appears (sort of)!

Okay, so it's been a while. Sorry about that. R&R seems to be turning into a bit more of a "here's what happened to Ang recently" blog rather than anything useful. Apologies for the wall-of-text nature of this one, too!

The truth is, I went away from WoW for a little bit. My friends on the Horde side stopped playing again, and all I was doing Alliance-side with Aoifen was dailies and a bit of pet-battling. I didn't have the item level for LFR and I couldn't upgrade much without Valor points. The thought of logging on just to do dailies really turned me off.

Then, two things happened that made me take an evaluating look at my game.

The talk about patch 5.2 started - the Thunder King, the new raid, the new quest hub area. I realised that I was so far behind in reputations and daily grinds that I wasn't even close to Revered with Golden Lotus. I was going to be way behind in any new content.

The second was this post by Ambermist of Tastes Like Battlechicken - World of Warcraft is My Game. Such a brilliant post, go have a read!

The facts about my game currently are thus:

• I love raiding with friends, and I haven't done any of it since Wrath, not counting a few LFR Dragon Souls. I miss it desperately.
• It's unlikely that I'll be able to raid with either of my two current guilds. My Horde guild has a few people still, but four or five people do not a raid make. My Alliance guild is full of lovely people, but they are heroic progression raiders and are unlikely to want a rusty noob in there with them, especially on progression content. Also, they start raiding before my Sproutling is in bed.
• Dailies suck, but I'm willing to do them to get the rep and points.
• I love to run old content for achievements and mog gear but I haven't any idea how to find a group to go with for the raids I can't solo.
• I am willing to put in some work and make changes to make sure I'm playing the game the way I love to.

 

New Goals

My first new goal was to gear Aoifen enough to run the current raids in the Raid Finder before the patch comes and they become "old". As a casual that's no small feat - I'm only getting two hours in the evening a few days a week do get this stuff done.

I did Shieldwall dailies almost every night for the last two weeks (I've barely seen poor Mr Ang) and I'm finally Revered! I also had enough VP to buy a trinket and get my item level over 260. 

Last night I went off to RF Mogu'shan Vaults for the first time. The first half was blindingly fast - even though I read the info about the bosses, I have no idea what happened on most of them! Thankfully as a healer you don't really have to know about target switching or anything, just stay out of fire and follow the ranged around when they move.

The second half was a little different - it seemed to be a slightly lower-DPS group as the bosses took a long time to go down and I had very little mana through most of the fights ("Come on, innervate, come on!"). But the fights looked really interesting - especially Elegon! Shiny stars ftw!

I even picked up a couple of pieces of loot, and I can't stay away from that shiny extra roll button, even though I only seemed to get gold from it. Is it worth using the coins, generally?

TL; DR

Long story short, all this whetted my appetite for more raiding so I'm on the hunt for a new home where I can do some. 

I'm looking for a guild who raids in the Oceanic GMT+10 timezone once or twice a week, preferably starting after 8 (8:30 would be even better), who needs a Resto Druid and occasional Moonkin. I'm planning on visiting a few different servers to see where I might fit in, so if anyone has space in their guild for a slightly rusty (but rapidly shining up) healer, please let me know! Horde or Alliance!

Wish me luck.

Happy Winter Veil 2012

Happy Winter Veil from R&R!

I hope you have a lovely Winter Veil, and I hope you get lots of time to put your feet up and do some gaming or relax with your family!

Thank you all for being here this year <3

Ps. You may be able to tell that the lovely cinder kitty in the pic above was from Karegina, thanks very much! 

Wow Secret Santa: Need Heals!

Do you remember how I posted a few weeks ago about Discopriest's Secret Santa? Well, after a long and rather hot day today, I got home to discover a parcel on the doorstep! Sproutling and I unpacked it and found all sorts of goodies from the awesome @noaidikins, thanks sooo much!

Firstly, there was a most delicious smell coming from the box - and in a shower of pretty leaves there was a snowman containing some bath bombs from Lush! I shall certainly be soaking my roots in those once I'm on holidays tomorrow!

Under all that was a box containing some gingerbread men in need of healing! Judging by the colours, there was an attack on a bunch of monks, warlocks and paladins.

Sproutling and I got stuck into those right away.

Thank you so much @noaidikins, and thanks to Liala for organising the whole event.

If you're interested to see what goodies I made for my Secret Santee, Cymre, check out her post about it at Bubbles of Mischief!

The Daily Grind: Rep Priorities

Dailies - love them or hate them, they're an integral part of the Wow end-game these days. What I'm finding in Pandaria as opposed to previous expansions and content patches is that the sheer number of daily quests available is really quite overwhelming, especially for a casual player.

**Updated for patch 5.2, March 5**

I dinged 90 on Aoifen the other night, so it was time to ask the rather bewildering question - what next?

Goal setting

My goal is to heal heroics and eventually LFR raids on Aoifen. To do that I need a plan to upgrade my gear a little.

The first thing I did after dinging 90 was go to the AH and drop some gold on a set of Contender's Wyrmhide PvP gear to (hopefully) make me slightly less squishy while being ganked doing dailies. The joys of PvP realms, eh?

I'd like a few more pieces of healing kit before I go into heroics - the PvP gear is better than my quest greens but it has no spirit or haste and isn't really meant for PvE healing.

On average, I'm getting roughly 8 hours play time a week. Last night it took me two hours to complete my farming (on all toons), Tillers dailies and Golden Lotus dailies, and I only did the ones at the Golden Gate. So, what to do? The only thing I can do, as always for those with limited playtime, is to prioritise.

Let's take a look at the Pandarian factions to evaluate their reputation-based gear and other rewards.

If you'd like to know more about Resto gear or Balance gear, my full lists may help.

Justice Point Gear

Justice point gear no longer requires an honored reputation. Almost everything except the new Operation: Shieldwall and Dominance Offensive trinkets can be purchased from Quartermasters in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and from Commander Lo Ping at Niuzao Temple:

• Pendant of Endless Inquisition - 1250 - Jaluu outside the front of Mogu'shan Palace
• Pressed Flower Cloak - 1250 - August Celestials Quartermasters in Shrine of Two Moons or Shrine of Seven Stars
• Vestment of the Ascendant Tribe - 2250 - August Celestials Quartermasters in Shrine of Two Moons or Shrine of Seven Stars
• Sudden Insight Bracers - 1250 - Klaxxi Quartermaster Ambersmith Zikk, Dread Wastes
• Wandering Friar's Gloves - 1750 - Jaluu outside the front of Mogu'shan Palace
• Brambleguard Leggings - 2250 - Rushi the Fox at Shado-Pan Garrison, Townlong Steppes
• Sorceror-King's Seal - 1250 - Rushi the Fox at Shado-Pan Garrison, Townlong Steppes
• Arcane Badge of the Shieldwall (A)/Dominator's Arcane Badge (H) - 1750 - from Operation: Shieldwall (Alliance) / Dominance Offensive (Horde)

Faction gear and other rewards

Golden Lotus
Need to get to Revered to unlock August Celestials and Shado-Pan dailies.
Honored: Leven's Circle of Hope
Revered: Whitepetal Shouldergarb, Mistfall Robes
Exalted: Riding Crane mounts

Klaxxi
Honored: Links of the Lucid
Revered: Klaxxi Lash of the Harbinger, Wind-Reaver Greaves
Exalted: Amber Spine of Klaxxi'vess, Reins of the Amber Scorpion (mount)

Shado-Pan
Honored: Sagewhisper's Wrap
Revered: Snowdrift Helm, Scroll of Revered Ancestors
Exalted: Shado-pan Riding Tiger mounts

August Celestials
Honored: Clever Ashyo's Wristbands
Revered: Boots of the High Adept, Ogo's Elder Gloves
Exalted: Reins of the Thundering August Cloud Serpent (mount)

Operation: Shieldwall (Alliance) / Dominance Offensive (Horde)
(new factions added in patch 5.1)
Honored: Band of the Shieldwall (Alliance)/Dominator's Band (Horde) or
Loop of the Shieldwall (Alliance)/Dominator's Loop (Horde)
Revered: Statue Summoner's Treads (Alliance)/Treads of Rejuvenating Mists (Horde)
Soothing Straps (Alliance)/Bambrick's Striking Strap (Horde)
Shock-Charger Medallion (Alliance)/Static-Caster's Medallion (Horde)
Heartwarmer Medallion (Alliance)/Cutstitcher Medallion (Horde)
Exalted: Grand Armored Gryphon/Grand Armored Wyvern mounts

Shado-Pan Assault **New in 5.2**
Neutral: Mender's Battletags
Friendly: Hearthfire Armwraps, Soothing Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault, Ring of the Shado-Pan Assault  or Signet of the Shado-Pan Assault
Honored: Dreamweaver Drape, Gloves of Enduring Renewal, Trousers of Waning Shadow
Revered: Raiment of Silent Stars , Martiean's Splitleaf Girdle
Exalted: Heartroot Shoulderguards

Tillers
Revered: The ability to grow consumables of all sorts on the farm, eg. Motes of Harmony, herbs, ore etc.
Exalted: Black Riding Goat mounts

Order of the Cloud Serpent
Exalted: Cloud Serpent mounts

Lorewalkers
Exalted: Flying Cloud mount

 

Priorities

So, what to work on first? Aoifen is already Honored with the Klaxxi and almost Honored with the Shado Pan through quest lines in Townlong and Dread Wastes. I don't think it's worth finishing the quest lines just for the rep, since I wouldn't be getting Valor Points at the same time. I may finish them for story purposes in any case!

I think it will be important to get Golden Lotus to Revered first, then see what needs upgrading from that point on. I'll probably only work on one set of dailies a session to keep my sanity a little. It's going to take me a while, but I'll get there.

Did you have a plan in mind for attacking dailies? Do you have any advice for a new 90?