Ailis in Hunterland

Yes, yes, I’m a complete slacker.  3.3 has been out for weeks, the second wing of Icecrown is about to open and I just now got around to updating the gear posts.

Better late than never?

Anyway, all four posts have been updated/tweaked with the latest in Shammy goodness so peruse and use to your heart’s content.

PS – Found out today I’m having a girl…  Gamer girls rule!

3.3 has been out for two days now.  People are dealing with the usual patch week bugs, lags, disconnects and the “Additional Instances Cannot be Launched” boss.  I am always amused during patch week at the QQ from people who seem to completely forget every patch is wrought with issues and lag and so then proceed to act like this is something new and immediately fixable.

What these people seem to forget is that, on an average day you have X number of people playing on any given realm at any given time.  On patch day, and from that, patch week, you have X to the Nth power of people on every realm all the time because everyone wants to see the new content regardless of the time they normally play.

What did I do on Patch Day?  Downloaded my updated addons and did my dailies.

Anyway, enough of that minor rant.

My initial impressions of 3.3 so far?  Without having seen the new raid yet (Friday!), I really like it so far.  Here are my favorites:

The New Dungeon Finder

This is such a fantastic tool (when it works) for newbie 80’s.  My mage just hit 80 and I can use this to get into just about any heroic without having to worry about linking achievements, my gear score, or any such nonsense.  And even if someone in my group thinks I’m a total noob because I’m in blues and greens, it doesn’t matter – I will probably never see them again.  It’s a great way to farm emblems and gear up any toon very quickly.

Shaman T10 Look

I cannot express to anyone how much I love how the new Shaman armor looks.  I even love my stats and set bonuses (except the minor complaint I have at the lack of expertise on any of the items).  The color palette is great and muted and I really like how Blizzard is differentiating the levels by color.  Once again, we will be able to tell who has 10-man, who has H10-man/25-man, and who has H25-man sets by just a glance.  After the “meh” that was T9, I’m, once again, excited to collect a tier set.

The Quel’Delar Quest Line

I’m really happy this exists.  I’m not going after Shadowmourne because it’s not a weapon for me but here is a relatively easy, albeit long, quest line I can do for a 251 weapon with relatively decent stats.  The hilt to start the quest drops in the heroic modes of the new 5mans.  And it has a pretty decent drop rate – it dropped twice for my group in the Pit of Saron alone.  You go talk to a number of people around Icecrown and Dalaran (even sneaking into the opposing faction’s area in disguise!) and then go back into each of the new 5mans in order to reforge the blade.  A quick jaunt around Sunwell a few quests later and ta-da, new weapon.

So far, I’m really happy with this patch.  I’m sure I’ll have more impressions once I get into the new raid instance this weekend.

My question to everyone that I’ll leave you with is this: When do you think Cataclysm will drop?

Here’s why I ask.

We know a few things:

1. Icecrown is to be released in stages every few weeks or so, putting Arthas available sometime in February 2010 and, therefore, unlocking heroic mode.
2. Assume all the best guilds will have Heroic mode cleared by end of March with more guilds clearing both normal and heroic in April and May.
3. Blizzard stated at Blizzcon they plan to release two titles next year but didn’t specify which two.  Starcraft, Diablo and Cataclysm are in their pockets.
4. Blizzard can’t wait too terribly long between the release of Arthas and the release of Cataclysm without risking people getting too bored (which is an entirely different eye rolling rant unto itself).
5. This patch is most likely the last patch of WotLK.

So, knowing all of that, what do you think?  When with Deathwing rise up and sunder the world?

This is a truly awesome article on gear pollution and the problems inherent with Wrath’s current mode(s) of raiding progression.  Give it a read and lend your thoughts!

http://wowhats.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/gear-pollution/

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?
Ailisbraeden, Shaman, Enhancement

What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
10 Man Raids

What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?
Stormstrike.  It’s a 12 second debuff that increases all subsequent nature damage done on the target.  All of my shocks are nature damage.  Yum.

What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?
Flame Shock.  It’s more of an elemental spell since its damage is increased off of Lava Burst which is a 2 second casting spell.  As melee, casting times significantly decrease my DPS.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?
Raid buffs via totems.  I guess that would be said of all three shaman specs but the ability to switch out and drop a variety of totems that provide raid buffs and enemy debuffs and cleansing is really key to the appeal of my class.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?
Movement fights.  I excel when I can just stand there and wail on something.  I can keep a steady rotation up and really get some high damage rolling.  If I have to move around with a boss, however, the DPS tends to suffer a little.

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?
Single target killing or interrupts/purges.

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?
Definitely my shaman.  I’ve played a mage, a DK and a Druid and, by far, the Shaman was the most fun because of the variety of things I can do.

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?
My Death Knight.  I honestly can’t put my finger on it but I just don’t get a big thrill out of killing things with her.

What is your worst habit as a dps?
Trying to tank.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?
Assuming I’m a caster and buffing me with wisdom.  I actually had a paladin ask me once if I was caster or melee.  I just about kissed him.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?
For a hybrid, yes.  I’ll never do as high of DPS as the “pure” classes like Rogues or Death Knights but I’m fine with that since I can bring the added balance of spot-healing if necessary.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a dps’er?
Recount, my guildmates, my husband (plays an SV hunter) and constant research into the evolution of my class.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?
That we’re casters.  I actually had a conversation with someone who was surprised to learn I value attack power over spell power and I wear “hunter mail” as opposed to caster cloth.  It made me realize that being the melee sibling in a family of casters (ele and resto) creates some confusion.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?
Skill priority versus skill rotation.  I don’t have a set rotation – I have more of a priority depending on what debuffs are still active on my target and what skills have finished their CD.  I always recommend ShockandAwe for  new Enhance Shammies because it helps you get into the priority groove instead of having a set sequence of keys to push.

What dps class do you feel you understand least?
Rogues.  Energy and combo points baffles me.

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?
I have macros for my “use” trinkets and I use ShockandAwe for my skill priority.  Everything else is key bindings.

What stat to stack, and why?
After you are hit and expertise capped, go after Attack Power and Haste.  Our Mental Quickness talent will convert raw AP into SP which helps with shocks.  Haste makes everything go a lot faster.  Since you want to wield two slow weapons, the more haste you have, the higher damage you will do with high damage slow weapons hitting faster.  Plus, the damage from the Flametongue weapon imbue scales the slower the weapon is.  It all adds up to a lot of damage.

And my own question: what’s your offspec (if you have one) and why?
Resto.  Originally, it was to fill in as an extra healer if my old guild needed it.  Now, it’s to help in 5mans in my new little 10 man guild I help run.