So I finally hit 85 yesterday evening after a 4-hour character bug which was solved by suicide (GM’s suggestion). What happened was, I was not loading anything that could be interfaced in anyway. NPCs, players, mailboxes, etc. so I couldn’t get any quests or anything for a while. This happened in the last 7 bars of 84…very angry Niq.
Anyway, things have been going well with my new guild. I am, now, Alliance side on the server Arygos in a guild called <We Know Girls>. I know, it sounds silly, but these guys are fun and know their stuff. 10-mans Start on Sunday for raiders, but I’m still an initiate so I might not be going unless they need more healers. Who knows?
The process of 80-85 was really challenging. I tried to do it all as resto at first, but could not kill fast enough. Then when I went boom, things would hit me really hard so I had to heal a lot. This died down as I got new gear and gained levels. I decided to start in Hyjal, but so did 3/4 of the server. I moved over to Vashj’ir, which was really fun after I got my seahorse since Aquatic form goes as fast (maybe faster when glyphed) as a 450% speed water mount AND insta-cast. Booyah!
My area flow went like this:
- 80-82 Vashj’ir
- 82-83.5 Deepholme
- 83.5-84.75 Uldum (Favorite zone btw)
- 84.75-85 Twilight Highlands.
I recently got geared enough to queue for heroics (average item level of 329) and have been running them with my guild mostly. I’ve got to say, it’s been a humbling experience. Healing is no longer at all easy.
It kind of feels like this is what happened to healers from 80-85:
- Mana pool about doubled.
- Mana costs quadrupled.
- Amount healed inched up a bit.
It’s really quite challenging trying to get your group healed and not run out of mana. I’m getting better at it, but I’m not quite there yet. Doing more heroics and getting better gear will certainly help with “Mana-gement” later on.
It’s been a long road and the journey isn’t even close to over. The guild is starting 10-mans soon for the raiders and, I’m sure, will soon lead to 25-mans. Right now, I’m still at initiate rank so I might not be raiding for another week or two, depends on the needs for Sunday night. I’ll be using the time, however, to get more gear and get more experience healing. Watching videos and reading strategies will probably consume a nice chunk of time next week. Eventually the epics will start rolling in and progress will be made.
Anyway, it’s been an exciting and sleepless last few days, but I wanted to get a quick post in before I crashed for the night. By crash I mean, eat a late dinner and catch up on my shows before it gets too late.
How has your Cataclysm experience been? Are the changes in mechanics challenging? Why or why not? What is your favorite new zone/quest? Share your thoughts, I’d love to hear them!
Hello, just checking you’re still alive
How’s Cata going?