PTR 4.0 Paladin levels 1-10

Hey Gang!
So, on Sunday Morning, I saw that the PTR was up for 4.0. I figured since I wasn't in the beta, this would give me a great opportunity to dig into some of the Protection Paladin changes that are soon to come.   I attempted to copy over Fuubaar but the wait time was 4 days o.0 I highly doubt that it will be quite that long but I knew that it wasn't going to be anytime soon. The only other option I had was to create a level 1 Female Human Paladin and off I went.

First thing that I noticed was the new resource bar underneath our mana bar. From the default UI, it looks like the bar is hanging under it by chains. Overall, I think it looks nice and isn't an eye sour which is good. The starting area is really informative to a new player. There are many windows that pop up letting you know what's going on and how to do some of the very basic things in game such as "This is a quest giver, he wants you to become his bitch. In exchange, he'll give you some useless gear & possibly give you another mindless task to go & kill the exact same thing again for another item." *Cough* I really enjoyed this feature when Aion first came out. I believe Blizzard took a few of these ideas & ran with it. Two thumbs up! :-)

Fresh Paladins start off with your basic white shirt, pants, and a two handed mace. You get one spell right off the bat & that is Crusader Strike. Crusader Strike is going to be a large part of your rotation and I'm going to guess that it will stay there even up to 85. The reason why Crusader Strike is so important is because it builds up your new Paladin Resource Holy Power. You only get three stacks of it so it doesn't seem to be too terribly hard to keep track of. It's also a pretty short cooldown so you will be able to use it on low level mobs 1-2 times before they die. At level 3 you get Seal of Righteousness & your Judgement. Now remember, all of our Judgements are rolled into one now. We no longer get three (mana, health, slow) so at this level, it just does damage to your foe. So from level 3-7, you have your Seal of Righteousness, judge when off cooldown, and Crusader Strike until dead. At level 5, you get Devotion Aura which gives you quite a bit of Armor (53 or something around there) for such a low level. Trade chat was discussing how the lower level gear actually has quite a bit of armor on it from what we remember. So the scaling is going to be quite a bit different from what we are used to in regards to health & survivability.

At level 8, you get your Hammer of Justice stun. Which is SO handy at this level. If you get linked adds, you can now learn to control them a lot better and are rewarded for it too. I'm glad that they kept this ability at such a low level.

Now, before level 9, your Holy Power is pretty worthless other than colors under your name. It's Disco Paladin. It's like all of Azeroth is Celebrating for me when I blow my enemies into tiny bits. LOOK AT THE BONES!

anyways....

This level was HUGE for my little paladin girl. Since she had no way to heal herself, she would die quickly if a pull went aerie. Word Of Glory is an extremely overpowered ability that converts your Holy Power into a manaless Heal.

A few notes:
1) There is no cooldown for it. So once you have at least 1 Holy Power, you can use it. It only takes 1 Crusader Strike to gain more Holy Power so the only thing that is holding you back from having a constant heal at this level is the Cooldown on Crusader Strike.
2) Healing Power of it. I didn't need all three stacks of Holy Power to heal myself to full. 1-2 should do it. It takes no time to get a Crusader Strike in and gain Holy Power to heal yourself up to full again. I hear the QQ seeping out of woodworks because of this already.

For those two reasons, this makes low level paladins completely unstoppable. I soloed Hogger at level 10 easily with this ability. I could also take on multiple mobs at once with out much fuss. I mean, don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to have this spell be this useful for all levels of Paladins, but I fear that it will become but a shell of what it is now & I'm not getting my hopes up. For right now though... it's sexy :-) Once I hit 10, I threw my talent point into the Prot Tree and already got Avengers Shield & a mana regen pro (Passive) I believe that comes from Judgements.

This is my look at Low Level Paladins this far. Overall, I'm nervous and excited for old & new paladins to explore all of the large changes instore for our class.

<3 Your Friendly Neighborhood Fuubaar

Where is Matt Foley When I Need Him?

Played a lot more SCII over the weekend.  I still suck at 1v1.  I swear, I've watched countless video strats, etc (Samodean, I'm looking at you, kid), and I'm doing all those things.  Doing them well actually.  At least in my opinion.  And I keep losing.  It's like the Bronze league I'm in is secretly the Diamond league.  I can't imagine what it's like up there.  I mean I'm macro'ing things, I'm scouting, I'm doing all those things you do to win... and I still lose.  What are your records/points for some of you folks in the higher leagues?  

On the complete flip side, I'm on a 7 game hot streak in 2v2 with my brother.  Neither of us can win solo, but as a team we're pretty solid.  Especially after killing all the beer in the fridge.  Perhaps I should play my 1v1 matches drunk.  We usually go dual protoss and stagger our rushing, so our opponents always have something to deal with.  It could be that we're just both awful at multi-tasking, so 2v2 suits us better.  Maybe he's carrying me too, though I seem to deliver the killing blow more often than not. 

In any case, I'm going back to the drawing board and playing the AI.  I figure I might as well work on the achievements.  Still, it's not nearly as fun.  I pretty much destroy the AI easily on both Medium and Hard (I haven't gone higher yet because I'm really just tweaking strats and build orders). 

Maybe what I need is some good motivation.  You know, a hearty pre-game speech.  "You may kill our probes, but you'll never kill our mothership!"  Or something like that.  I googled for motivational posters (love those), here's what I found:

Who doesn't like a good mommaship joke?

Maybe this is the photo of my Bronze League?

Ah ha! It is my lack of FarmVille skills...

Trust A Father's Love

Abigora fidgeted at the wooden table in the center of the run down home. Her chair wobbled unevenly as she stared unbelieving at the man across from her.  She had come looking for proof, but had never dreamed she would find this.

"Um, Mr. Brightrune," Abigora began.  She trailed off under the unsettling gaze of the walking corpse across from her.  Even in life, the Captain had had that effect on her.

Captain Brightrune was the rightful owner of the house she'd come to search.  At least in life he was.  Obviously, he had seen better days.  Clothes hung in tatters from a body that was little more than partially decayed fleshing hanging on exposed white bone.  What had been a strong jaw and a proud face was now a bony protrusion with sunken, haunted eyes.  Despite the new existence, the man still carried with him an air of confidence and command.

"What are you doing here?" the Captain asked with a slight slur.  He reached a hand up and wiggled his jaw as if it to tighten it.

"Well, um, sir," Abigora muttered.  "It's, um.  I just.  You.  Bookcase."

"Stop muttering, girl!" he said forcefully without raising his voice.  "Why. Are. You. Here?"

"It's your daughter, sir," Abigora admitted.

A look of pain crossed his broken face.  "What about Faith?"

"Well, I think she's going to do something stupid in the name of vengeance," Abigora explained.

"Vengeance?"

"Yes, she blames Arthas for your... death?" She said uncertainly.

The Captain growled at the mention of Arthas.  "Yes, I could see that.  Get in line, I would say."

"Sir, she's out fighting him now."

"Well, there are plenty of scourge to fight, my dear," the Captain said, dismissing the concern.

Abigora shook her head, "No, I don't think you understand me.  She is fighting him right now.  With Tirion Fordring.  In the Citadel.  Before the Frozen Throne."

The Captain's eyes widened, "Fordring you say.  What's he doing mixing Faith up in all this?  She's such a nice girl."

"Well, she is quite a formidable Paladin now, sir," Abigora shrugged.

"A Paladin, huh?" A look of pride crossed the old man's face, then it drooped into a grotesque frown.  "Not the life I would have chosen for her, but there you have it."

Abigora frowned, "If I may ask, sir, where have you been?"

The Captain paused, surveying the room around him as if lost in a memory.  "Let's just say that I've been through hell and back.  One does not shake off the will of the Lich King so easily, even with others showing you the way."  He clenched and unclenched his fists on the table.  "There was time when I was just angry.  So angry.  I mean, the Light abandoned me to become... this."  He looked down at his hands.  "What daughter would want to see a father like this?"

"I think it would mean something to her anyways, sir," Abigora offerred.

The Captain reached up and stroked a decaying chin.  Small bits of flesh fell to the table.  He pulled the hand away and studied it for a moment before putting it back on the table.  His frown hardened.

Abigora felt that she wasn't making any headway.  She needed to get this man to come back with her.  Her best friend needed to know that her father still lived.  In a way, that is.  If she could accept a Death Knight for a sister, she could accept an Undead for a father.  There was no question in her mind what needed to be done.

"She has a husband now, sir," Abigora said quietly.  "A Warlock.  They got married a year ago."

The Captain's eyes narrowed.  "A Warlock?  My baby girl?  Why didn't you say so before?  Fighting Arthas is one thing, marrying a Warlock, quite another."  He stood up.  "Let's go meet this... Warlock."

Abigora smiled.  Count on a Father's love... she thought.  "Sir, what about your wife?  What happened to her?"

The Captain grunted, "Oh yeah, her.  She's outside tendin' to those ugly bone ponies."  He waved a hand towards the front door.  "What I would give for a good charger again," he mused.

The Captain walked back to the door in the hallway, locking it resolutely behind him.  Then, he led Abigora out the front door.  Two skeletal horses stood off to one side, where a sweet-looking, small women patted their long snouts and murmured reassurances.

"Minerva!  We gotta go!  Faith married a Warlock!" Brightrune yelled.

"Eh?" his wife yelled back.  "The case was solved by Sherlock?  Of course it was, dear."

"No, Minnie.  A Warrrrlock," he said, enunciating.

"What about Spore Rock?  I don't care for the music." She sauntered over.  Minerva Brightrune hardly even looked dead.  Except for the bluish-green hue to her decaying skin, one could hardly tell.  She barely blinked as she took in Abigora.  "Ah, Abigora, dear child, what brings you to the Plaguelands?"

"Hi Minnie!" Abigora said fondly.  "It's Faith.  She's fighti- she got married to a Warlock."

Minnie's eyes widened, "A Warlock!  Melvin!  Why didn't you tell me?"  She slapped her husband on the back.  Hard.  "We need to go!  She'll need all kinds of holy relics... and curtains!"

The Captain rolled his eyes.  "That's what I said, honey."

Minnie smiled fondly at her husband, "Of course you did, dear."  The Undead housewife looked around the clearing.  "Abi, child, I'm afraid we only have two mounts.  You'll have to ride with me."

Abigora grinned and then whistled.  A large cat bounded out of the woods, skidding to a halt at her side.  She lithely hopped on it's back.

"Well lookie dere!" Minnie exclaimed.  "One of them Elven cat mounts.  Melvin?  Why don't we have one of those?"

"Because they don't like the decay," the Captain mumbled.

"Eh?" Minnie grunted questioningly.

"I said: we'll talk about it on the way!"

Don't Ladder On Drugs

I've been sick for about three weeks now.  It's that time of the year for me: fall.  I'm allergic to fall.  There's no other way to describe it better.  It has nothing to do with pollen count, easterlies, or hayfever.  It has everything to do with fall, the season my body hates. 

So, fall turned and I promptly got bronchitis with a side of sinus infection.  You know, pretty standard stuff.  Other than my fall allergies, I pretty much don't get sick.  It seems this fall is worse than others too.  I don't know why.  All I know is that I haven't been able to sleep due to fits of coughing, which enticed me to finally go see a doctor in order to "get the good stuff."

Yeah, drugs.  The good stuff.  Not the illegal kind.  The prescription kind.  The kind that knock normally clean me on my ass.  Or, at least, slow me down.

Which brings me to my pro-tip of the day: Don't play Starcraft ladder matches on drugs.  It may seem like a wonderful idea, but resist.  If you're at all like me, you'll screw up your strategy every time and just feel completely incompetent.  You'll watch as all your troops get killed by some backwards strategy that should never have worked.  Then, you'll realize, you're just slow.  Slow at everything.  Even moving your mouse feels like it's slow, because you're doing everything through the haze of drugs.  Prescription drugs.  Or not, if that's your thing.  I'm not judging here.

Or maybe I'm just completely terribad at the game.  I can't say I feel very good about the direction of my ranking.  I mean, I'm in the freaking Bronze league and I don't feel like I can gain any ground.  It makes me think, what the hell are they doing in the Gold league?  I mean, you can only build so fast, and when I'm not on drugs, I'd like to think I'm pretty solid.  I know the hot keys.  I'm a good multi-tasker.

There are two things I think that are killing me.  First, I don't play nearly enough to climb.  Since ranking is based on point accumulation, there are people far above me that have lost probably 2/3rds of their games.  I mean, I'm pretty much a .500 player here.  I win as many as I lose.  It sucks to be stuck behind the people that take the shotgun approach to ladder rankings.  That is to say, they apparently just play as many games as possible and win some by sheer luck.  Or something.  Again, trying not to judge here.  Games are about fun, and if that floats your boat... I'm not going to berate you as a newb, I'm just going to expect myself to win against you. 

The second thing I think we're seeing is that people get ranked based on five initial matches, then they start to learn what the popular strategies are, so some people vastly improve out of the gate.  I'm not sure at this point in the life of the game that the rankings actually mean anything.  I guess I just don't think there is enough of a spread.  I'm not sure when/how they're going to work themselves out either, but it just seems like now being "favored" or not has absolutely no bearing over whether I should win or not.  I've played people who are "clearly favored" who seem to be pretty poor players (though maybe they were on drugs), and I've been roflstomped by players that I'm supposed to be favored over (though maybe I was on drugs). 

So I guess my consternation lies in the seeming randomness of the ladder rankings.  What do they even mean?  So intense...

Anyone else experiencing this in SCII?  What's your ranking?  How's it working for you?  Do you have to play ten matches a day to get anywhere?

About Blogrolls

There were some rumblings about blogrolls and stuff.  The short summary is that there are all kinds of different ideas about what should go into a blogroll, who should be on it, things of that nature.  Is good to put friends on?  Should you have quality control?  You know, fundamental questions of life here.

Well, I wanted to take the opportunity to touch briefly on my philosophy of  both blogroll and community.

First, my blogroll is pretty lax.  Not that the writers therein aren't quality, just that I'm more of the "this is what I read" blogroll than the "this passes some random writing litmus test" or "these are my pals".  I guess that's somewhat between two extremes, right?  After all, I'm not qualified to be a writing critic, and what I enjoy may ultimately be crap or gold.  I'm confident you guys can decide for yourself. 

It is also lax because I rarely update it.  I do most of my reading in my google reader.  Combine that with the fact that I can't view my blog proper (only the background sites that allow me to post) from work, and you have something I just don't see a whole lot.  Out of sight, out of mind... as they say. 

I knew early on that I would have a lax blogroll, so one of the things I do that I guess is unique (maybe?) is have it only display the most recent 5 for the "warlock" section and 10 for the "misc" section.  They are sorted by when the last post was made.  Thus, inactive blogs will naturally fall off the list, and it gives the illusion of an active index.  I don't think I'm really fooling anyone (since the same folks tend to stay on top, as they're also active posters), but it does mean that if someone mysteriously makes a "come back", they'll probably pop up over there before I even realize it.  In that way, I don't really have to do the "cleaning" that some other folks do.  Then again, I don't have a huge roll to begin with.  (Also, the size is malleable, but I just don't have time to read as much as most, so 15 is a good size for a "best of today" for me).

Which brings me to the whole bit about the "community" and involvement.  I guess I sort of view the community as this giant ballroom party.  There's a huge buffet in one corner, a cozy bar in another, a dance floor front and center, and a DJ spinning both classics and pop hits.  Naturally, the disco ball spins above our heads and some of us periodically get up for a twirl on the hardwood, while others of us frequent the food and drink. 

I'm the dude at the table near the bar.  I'm probably drunk, I don't make it to the dance floor too often, but I'm having a good time.  It's not that I think dancing is uncool or un-fun, it's just that... I'm right next to the bar.  Being so close to the bar keeps me supplied with beverage, and I've got good people at my table to talk to.  Sometimes other folks stop by and we have a nice chat.  Sometimes (more rarely), I motivate myself to get up and take a walk around the room, maybe poking into a conversation here or there.  Mostly, I keep to my table and ride out the night. 

This is to say, I appreciate the community.  Sometimes I wish I were more involved.  Mostly, though, I accept where my lot falls and enjoy this little corner I've carved out.  I'm not a social butterfly.  I don't have the time or energy to be one of the "Jones's".  I'm a people watcher, a snarky commenter, and a sharp dresser.  Also, the bartender loves me because I tip well and am generally in good humor.

In any case, do not despair if I've not blogrolled you.  Chances are I'm just drunk.  Also, I really appreciate the folks who stop by to say hello.  It makes it more of a party when that happens.

And, like my favorite she-male 'lock Flora, you're not going to find me announcing things about my blogroll any time soon.  It's just not how I curse.

The Scene of The Crime

Abigora picked through the burned out husk that was once a home.  The Plaguelands had all but swallowed the residence that she knew well from her childhood.  She could remember late nights spent with her foreign friend. She could remember when the trees around here weren't yellowed and sickly.  That was before the scourge had taken hold.  That was before Arthas had betrayed them.

The Priest nudged open the half rotted wooden door that hung at an odd angle across the entryway.  She wasn't exactly sure she was going to find what she was looking for, but she had a hunch.  A thick layer of grime covered everything.  Orange, evening light glinted off the broken windows and cast a jaundiced glow around the room.  The furniture was overturned, rotted, or broken.  The place had the look of one that had been ransacked and still found wanting.  Cobwebs dominated the high corners, and dust mites swam through the air. 

There was nothing particularly special about this house.  It was one of many evidences of loss that could be found throughout the Plaguelands.  Yet Abigora remembered who had lived here, the family that made the abode into something more than just a collection of assembled timber.  The family that had taken her in when she was so far from home.

As was habit for the priestly scholar, Abigora immediately headed for the bookcase.  Miraculously, it was still mostly in tact, though the wood had seen better days.  It stood against the wall beside a chair that had become little more than a mass of mold.  Her big eyes scanned the shelves.  Any books that had been there had long since been looted and sold, but there were a few places where Abigora remembered photographs had been displayed.  Curiously, there was no sign of these.

She examined the shelf more closely.  It was hard to tell in the fading light, but she thought the dust looked thinner where the pictures would have been, as if someone had returned years later to retrieve them.  She stepped back and headed for one of the back rooms, kicking up dust along the way and causing the wood to creak mournfully.

Opening the door to what she remembered as the elder's room, she found it in my the same state of decay as the rest of the house.  There was a broken bed, a shattered mirror, and a rotten dresser.  Hardly a surprise.  The wall, however, evidenced discoloring where things had once been hung.  Abigora couldn't imagine a looter being interested in family photos.

She shut the door quietly and cross the hall to her childhood friend's room.  Of all the doors in the house, this one seemed to be of best repair.  It was also shut and locked.  Abigora muttered a spell and a faint light shone from the cracks between the door.  The mechanism clicked open.

The Light can open many doors, Abigora, she recalled the line from one of her teachers at the academy.  Most priests didn't learn the spell she'd just used on the lock, but Abigora had found this one buried deep in an ancient tome.  When asked, her teacher hadn't disproved of her intent to learn the spell.  Then again, the rumor had been that said teacher was bedding a Rogue.  Abigora had never seen the draw, herself.  Rogues were so... creepy.

She was surprised when the door opened quietly with none of the expected creaking from aging hinges.  Even more surprising was the interior of the room.  Unlike the rest of the house, it seemed that decay had not found purchase here yet.  The bed, the dresser, even the drapes were just as Abigora recalled from many a sleepover.  How could this be?

Abigora spun in wonder, drinking in the room.  For a moment, she forgot she was standing in a ruined house, and thought she could almost hear her friend's bubbly laughter as they told scary stories before bed.  It seemed that the Light had kept this room.

Her spin stopped abruptly when she noticed the silhouette in the doorway.  She froze, hand reflexively going for her knife.  The large figure was backlit by the slanting rays of the sun.  What was more, some of the light seemed to filter through... holes... in the otherwise solid shadow.  Tattered rags hung from from the frame of the individual, shifting menacingly in the mostly still air.

"Who are you?" a voice rasped.

Abigora took a hesitant step forward.  There was something familiar about that voice, distorted though it was.

"Stay way you are," the shadow ordered.  "Come no closer.  What are you doing in here?"

Abigora held one of her hands up to try and shield light, hoping to get a better view.  It didn't help much.  Her mind skittered away, so she uttered the first that that popped in, an answer to his question.  "The bookcase..." she trailed off, pointing back toward the living area.  It wasn't a good answer.

The figure shifted uncertainly for a moment, then took a step into the room.  "Abigora?" he tried.

Abigora gasped.  It was exactly who she thought it was, but how could that be?

"Mr. Brightrune?" she asked.

Fuubaar's UI

Hey Gang!
I've been meaning to make a UI post for a while now. Funny enough, it's so late that most of us aren't even fussing with our UIs because Cataclysm is going to do to our UIs as Deathwing did to the Barrens.

This screen shot of my UI was taken pretty early on in our Ice Crown raid. This might actually have been the first time that we saw Gunship. So perhaps May? Meh, what ever. My UI hasn't changed much at all other than the guild tag in the top left hand corner and the gold amount in the top right :-)

Without Further ado:

I figured if you didn't care about the UI, at least you can stare at a dancing rocket bear.

The first thing that you will notice is that there are things EVERYWHERE! But overall, the center is free of junk and unneeded clutter. Now, Deadly Boss Mods does pop up crucial notifications over the top of Fuubaar's head.

Major Addons:
- Pallypower~ THE most important addon for every paladin! Even if you don't raid, this is still highly suggested. It allows for you (the paladin) or a Raid leader who isn't a paladin to assign Paladin Blessings for each class in a very easy to use grid. You can see it along the right hand side. Your assigned Aura is on the top, if your Righteous Fury is on, what time the next buff will expire (also if you click on it, it will rebuff that lowest time left person which in this case is our Priest with only 2 minutes and 31 seconds remaining), and each class and when their buff will expire. There are SO many other neat things that this baby can do. Again, I highly suggest this addon for all paladins and raid leaders.
- Grid~ A Raid UI replacement located on the bottom left hand side
- Tao UI~ A Total UI organizer. Can download different skin types with both girlie and masculine types.
- Fuubaars *cough* I mean Fubars~ Great organizer of all the Fu- Addons (Gold-Fu, Guild-Fu, Location-Fu, etc) Plus, it's named after me :-) (not really but I named Fuubaar before I knew what a Fubar addon was) Can be found all the way to the top
- Sexy Map~ Map replacement with more Sexy. Tao UI's work really nicely with this addon and blend seamlessly. Mainly gives you more customization for your Map.
- ElkBuffBars~ It creates a nice list of all buffs that are currently on your Toon at the time and Timers for each. Great for raids when you have MANY BUFFS! ElkBuffBars HANDLES IT! :-)
- Bartender4~ A perfect and easy to use Bar replacement. It allows for you to customize the size, location, transparency, and number of buttons that the row has. I highly recommend this to someone looking for a bar replacement but has a hard time understanding how to customize & use addons. My bars are scattered everywhere for different purposes.
- Deadly Boss Mods~ I have the timers up on the middle right hand side and boss abilities that are on me chime on top of my toon.
- Omen~ For keeping an eye on Threat from those pesky DPS who wants to steal the precious from us. THEY NO CAN HAZ PRECIOUS! (that was my lolcat rendition of Gollum and The 1 Ring)
- Recount~ Damage Meter that actually shows a bit more than just damage but what ever. I rarely use this on my tank because who gives two Kudos what my DPS or Damage Done is. Even IF you are topping the DPS charts in the Lich King fight ;-)
- Button Timers~ This places a large number over top of you button letting you know when it will be up again. Pretty self explanatory.

Other addons that I find hard to live without that are not found on my UI are:
- Auctioneer~ An Auction House assistant to make your gold making life much easier. It adds a lot of customization for searching and viewing all things Auction House.
- Postal~ Auto-Opens everything in your Mailbox and throws it into your bag be it items from the Auction House, Items from other locations (other alts or friends mailing you huge piles of mats for 10 days worth of raiding flasks), or Gold from successful actions or Friends just sending you gold because they love you dearly ;-) Saves TONS of time.
- Overachiever~ Great addon for those of you who love achievements. For example the: "All the Creatures that I've ever loved", Achievement where you have to /love critters all over the world. If you happen to hover your mouse over top of a critter, it will tell you if you've loved it or if you need to love it. Does this for multiple achievements.
- Chatter~ This addon alerts you when someone says your name. It pops up on your screen with the sentence that contained your name. Great for people who have blazing guild chats or just have far too many friends to be able to track who wants to contact you.

So that's pretty much it as far as addons go. If you have any questions or suggestions to help me improve my UI, PLEASE comment on this post because I would love to hear 'em!

<3 Your Friendly Neighboorhood Fuubaar