EngBags - Bag addon is completely necessary, and I've found EngBags to be my favorite of the others.
DoTimer - I like to play with my bars mostly hidden, so DoTimer lets me know which abilities are on CD, and it is highly configurable. Great implementation..
Dominos - Even though I like to hide my bars, they are easy to configure and keybinding is easy. Seriously, vanilla wow keybinding is killer. Get a bar addon if at least for that.
SUF - Loved XPerl but it was giving me issues, and have gotten used to SUF. I think I like it more now.
VuhDo - Vanilla raid frames can be cumbersome, but having a good raid addon (even for non-healers) can be very helpful. Most people prefer healbot or grid, but I think VuhDo is slightly better in terms of configuration. Also, when people are out of range, you can mouseover a nameplate and it gives you which direction they are from your current location. Awesome for PvP, or in a raid where you are scrambling to find that one guy that ran in the opposite direction.
I haven't healed at all in Cata, so I may be out of line here. But it seems to me like healers are the ones that are feeling the changes in Cata more directly than others, because at the end of the day (or instance), they are the ones held responsible if someone dies.
I know when I tanked in WotLK, I barely or rarely used my tanking cooldowns. I was always topped off, so I was very reckless, mostly worrying about keeping aoe aggro. However, in the new content, I tend to be much more focused as a tank. I used cooldowns much more frequently and try to mitigate damage as much as I can, especially when I see or know that big hits are incoming.
As a DK tank, the new blood shield mechanic allows me to recoup damage after taking a big hit (through death strike), as well as mitigate further damage by creating the shield, dependent on the amount healed and on mastery rating.
I think healers feel much more stress when grouping with tanks and dps that are not doing their part in mitigating damage. Hence, their mana pools will quickly be depleted and they'll have to drink more often.
I've been pugging instances up through 85 and have had generally very positive experiences in all my groups. I've just started heroics and these present a bigger challenge, but, at least to me, it is much more fun. I take responsibility to try and soak up the least amount of heals from my healers so that they are able to last the fight.
Yes, dps needs to learn how to CC and all, but tanks (as well as dps) needs to be wary of using defensive cooldowns instead of trying to top dps charts or something like that. If so, healers may have a more enjoyable (though still difficult) experience.
I like warlocks. I like hearing people whine about warlocks, and about fear, and pretty much anything else warlock related. It makes me want to play my warlock.
I think that fear is kind of a defense mechanic. Kind of like how rogues have sprint or vanish, mages blink, druids shapeshift, priests have insta-fear and shield to help em out a bit, etc... This is something that is vital to classes that can die quicker than most other classes. Locks really don't have a way to "get away" from damage. A 1.5 second cast time for fear (uniterrupted) is one of our only chances, or the instant howl (not an option for demo or destro locks), and the ever needed win coil, err, i mean, death coil.
Other than that, we're fish bait. A succubus can try to seduce a warrior that is barreling towards you, but if you've placed one dot on him, goodbye seduce. Plus, the succubus dies when someone breathes on her.
I've had my fair share of dying and owning, and even if locks get nerfed, I'll still love my warlock. But I'll miss the whining. Hopefully it never stops, though.
The Queue: Day Man
May 17th 2011 1:42PM (WoW)Addon Spotlight: My Top 5 addons
Jan 27th 2011 4:37PM (WoW)Addon Spotlight: My Top 5 addons
Jan 27th 2011 4:34PM (WoW)DoTimer - I like to play with my bars mostly hidden, so DoTimer lets me know which abilities are on CD, and it is highly configurable. Great implementation..
Dominos - Even though I like to hide my bars, they are easy to configure and keybinding is easy. Seriously, vanilla wow keybinding is killer. Get a bar addon if at least for that.
SUF - Loved XPerl but it was giving me issues, and have gotten used to SUF. I think I like it more now.
VuhDo - Vanilla raid frames can be cumbersome, but having a good raid addon (even for non-healers) can be very helpful. Most people prefer healbot or grid, but I think VuhDo is slightly better in terms of configuration. Also, when people are out of range, you can mouseover a nameplate and it gives you which direction they are from your current location. Awesome for PvP, or in a raid where you are scrambling to find that one guy that ran in the opposite direction.
The Daily Blues
Dec 16th 2010 12:14PM (WoW)I know when I tanked in WotLK, I barely or rarely used my tanking cooldowns. I was always topped off, so I was very reckless, mostly worrying about keeping aoe aggro. However, in the new content, I tend to be much more focused as a tank. I used cooldowns much more frequently and try to mitigate damage as much as I can, especially when I see or know that big hits are incoming.
As a DK tank, the new blood shield mechanic allows me to recoup damage after taking a big hit (through death strike), as well as mitigate further damage by creating the shield, dependent on the amount healed and on mastery rating.
I think healers feel much more stress when grouping with tanks and dps that are not doing their part in mitigating damage. Hence, their mana pools will quickly be depleted and they'll have to drink more often.
I've been pugging instances up through 85 and have had generally very positive experiences in all my groups. I've just started heroics and these present a bigger challenge, but, at least to me, it is much more fun. I take responsibility to try and soak up the least amount of heals from my healers so that they are able to last the fight.
Yes, dps needs to learn how to CC and all, but tanks (as well as dps) needs to be wary of using defensive cooldowns instead of trying to top dps charts or something like that. If so, healers may have a more enjoyable (though still difficult) experience.
Caption This!
Sep 26th 2008 11:00AM (WoW)Joyswag: Win a Cobalt Black DS with Advance Wars or Prof. Layton
Feb 14th 2008 5:53PM (Joystiq)Enter to win a Spectral Tiger Mount from WoW Insider!
Jul 26th 2007 2:09PM (WoW)Breakfast Topic: W... w.... warlocks?
Jul 13th 2007 5:09PM (WoW)I think that fear is kind of a defense mechanic. Kind of like how rogues have sprint or vanish, mages blink, druids shapeshift, priests have insta-fear and shield to help em out a bit, etc... This is something that is vital to classes that can die quicker than most other classes. Locks really don't have a way to "get away" from damage. A 1.5 second cast time for fear (uniterrupted) is one of our only chances, or the instant howl (not an option for demo or destro locks), and the ever needed win coil, err, i mean, death coil.
Other than that, we're fish bait. A succubus can try to seduce a warrior that is barreling towards you, but if you've placed one dot on him, goodbye seduce. Plus, the succubus dies when someone breathes on her.
I've had my fair share of dying and owning, and even if locks get nerfed, I'll still love my warlock. But I'll miss the whining. Hopefully it never stops, though.
BlizzCon ticket giveaway! [Updated]
Jun 27th 2007 3:48PM (WoW)BlizzCon ticket giveaway! [Updated]
Jun 25th 2007 2:56PM (WoW)