This week I decided to create a new character. I was intending to wait with that until Cataclysm, but I’m an impatient girl and the release is still a long way away.
The reason for yet another alt is I discovered some old friends had transferred their characters from the alliance to the horde side and had created a new guild there. They wanted a fresh start, and due to some unpleasant business with some people on alliance side, they did the whole faction-transfer/name-change deal.
For me there are 2 options:
1. Faction-change Mandorellan to the Horde.
2. Create a new alt.
Both have their pro’s and cons.
For option 1 the pro is that I can keep doing what I like to do, tank heroics, and in the very near future start tanking ICC10. The con is that…Mandorellan is a cool looking big strong blue Draenai hunk…and a faction change would mean changing him into something …ugly. Yes, I admit it, I’m an alliance fan girl. i think the Draenai are the coolest looking race in the game, and the Worgen will get a solid second place in my opinion. The other alliance races are just as cool, I like the Night Elves, the Gnomes are cute, the only races I don’t like are the humans and the dwarves. Faction changing Mandorellan would mean changing him from gorgeous blue space goat into an ugly green monstrosity, a cow, or a haughty, selfish looking nasty piece of Blood Elf scum.
Option 2 is left then.
The pro is that Mandorellan remains a gorgeous space goat. Another pro is that I get to experience the Horde areas and quests for the first time. And I get a new class to boot, something I’ve never played before…a druid. Pro’s about the druid: I never really have to see that it’s an ugly cow. I’m either a bear, or a cat, or a moonkin, or a tree.
The con is that it’s gonna take some time until I can play together with my friends doing heroics and raids.
My new baby cow druid has been baptized Multiplex, on the EU-Kul Tiras Horde side. His destiny is to be an awesome bear tank, and I fully intend to level him as feral tanky as possible through as many dungeons along the way as possible.
Thanks to the ability to mail heirloom items cross faction he is already equipped with some [shoulders] and [chest] for the +20% experience gain. And yes, I know that resilience is useless for pve, but I ran out of badges and I did still have a ton of stonekeeper shards to spend. I will need to save up a few more stonekeeper shards to reward him with the [staff] as well, and a few more badges to get him the [trinket].
I’ve been playing him for a little more then 6 hours now, and he just dinged level 13. In 2 more levels I can experience first hand what it’s like using the LFD at the lower levels in Ragefire Chasm. It’s going to be interesting to see how his tanking will be, since my abilities at the moment are a bit limited.
As a baby druid, I know have the following spells:
In normal form:
Wrath – a ranged channeled damage spell
Moonfire – a ranged instant damage and dot
Entangling Roots – an instant CC that applies a dot, but can (and often does) break on damage
Healing Touch – a channeled healing spell
Rejuvenation – an instant hot
Regrowth – a channeled healing spell + hot
Revive – a ressurrection spell, which I obviously can’t use on myself
Mark of the Wild – a buff to increase stats
Thorns – a buff that damages attackers that strike you
In bear form:
Growl – a taunt
Maul – an “on next swing” extra damage ability
Demoralizing Roar – a debuff
Enrage – a rage increasing buff for a short duration
Both forms:
Nature’s Grasp – a buff that lasts 45 seconds that has a chance of applying entangling roots on an attacker
At level 14 I think I will get Bash as well for bear form, which will give me a stun.
Very limited abilities…At this level there are also no threat increasing talents yet, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how a bear tank can handle himself in a low level instance.
Has anyone got some hands-on experience tanking a low level instance like Ragefire Chasm, Deadmines or Wailing Caverns?
Technically speaking, your warrior could not be turned into a “haughty, selfish looking nasty piece of Blood Elf scum” until after the launch of Cataclysm – blood elves cannot be warriors yet.
Subjectively speaking, that should have read, “hotty, self-assured looking magnificent piece of Blood Elf scrumptiousness.”
To try and answer your question about the low-level instances, I don’t have much tanking experience there but I do have healing experience. The biggest mistake I see tanks make is to break line of sight of the healer.
And just like you won’t have a lot of tools for threat generation, your healers won’t have a lot for threat reduction. Be prepared for them to get their faces chewed on trying to keep you alive.
Try to mark mobs to cut on down on the stupid factor of your DPS. Not everyone can assist off the tank but just about everyone gets what skull means.
Wooot! My very first comment! And from none other then Clearcasting’s Arioch! I feel honoured *blush*
Well, so far so good. My little baby cow has had some identity issues trying to determine what the best color would be for his leet furry butt, but at the moment he is a happy black bear *rawr* just dinged 30. So far i’ve had several experiences “tanking” Ragefire Chasm (can’t really call it tanking there), Deadmines, Wailing Caverns, Stockades and Razorfen Kraul. I’ve been picky with my instances trying to avoid Blackfathom Deeps and Gnomeregan at all costs ๐ In the last 2 weeks I’ve become a lot more comfortable with bear-tanking, but it’s still a long way off from the tools i have as a warrior tank.
I just got my first aoe taunt, which helps with aggro happy dpsers (yes, they exist at low levels as well), cause i’ve already seen my share of “gogogogo” and pulling for the tank, etc. I’m proud to say that i have managed to keep my healers faces non-chewed as well *grin*.
I’ve stopped marking mobs though, because at the moment i didnt seem to need it. I generate enough threat to keep all the mobs on me, and when i did mark some mobs the stupid seemed to think that skull = bad = don’t touch, go attack the unmarked ones…..
I’ve recently also started a haughty bloodelf paladin to compare tanking at the early levels with him. So far i got him to lvl 15, but I haven’t really seen any tanking abilities yet, so i’m gonna wait till 16 before i dive into RFC. That’s gonna be a story for a new post though.
Come make a Male BE Paladin on SAN-EU and you can practise while I watch and heal your sexy ass ๐ The great thing about playing with SAN is that people understand and share and are willing to learn while having fun. most do srs bzns raiding elsewhere and leave that behind them in SAN.
Welcome to the bloggy world – hope you enjoy your stay.
But but…my awesome warrior of uber-uberness Mooricah dinged 16 last night together with you, zaeni and wolf in RFC. Don’t you prefer healing my sexy Tauren ass over a sexy Blood Elf ass? ๐