Pre-Raid Priest

*Sound of trumpets*

It is here! With the help of the amazing Arceopteryx (actually, they made the list and I just edited it a tiny bit with my own opinions...) I can proudly anounce that we have a List of Gear for Pre-Raid Priests. I won't keep you waiting much longer, but please read the note at the end of this post for more clarification.

*open heavy red velvet curtains*

Head: Velen's Cowl of Conquest (T9, 50 EoT, here)

Neck: Evoker's Charm (19 EoC, here) (!)

Shoulders: Velen's Shoulderpads of Conquest (T9, 30 EoT, here)

Cloak: Cloak of the Fallen Cardinal (Pit of Saron N, Scourgelord Tyrannus)

Chest: Merlin's Robe (Craftable) (*)

Wrists: Bejeweled Wizard's Bracers (Craftable) (*)

Hands: Velen's Gloves of Conquest (T9, 30 EoT, here)

Waist: Braid of Salt and Fire (Pit of Saron H, Ick)

Legs: Velen's Leggings of Conquest (T9, 50 EoT, here)

Feet: Prelate's Snowshoes (Pit of Saron H, Scourgelord Tyrannus)

Finger: Band of the Invoker (35 EoT, here)

Finger: Oath of Empress Zoe (Halls of Reflection H, The Captain's Chest)

Trinket: Talisman of Resurgence (50 EoT, here)

Trinket: Ephemeral Snowflake (Halls of Reflection H, Marwyn)

Main Hand: Surgeon's Needle (Pit of Saron H, Forgemaster Garfrost)

Off-Hand: Shriveled Heart (Halls of Reflection H, The Captain's Chest)

Wand: Brimstone Igniter (25 EoT, here)

(!) As you can see, this item requires Emblems of Conquest, not Emblems of Triumph. It will be a pain to convert, but some believe it's worth it.

(*) The patterns drop at the Trial of the Crusader Heroic 10. It might be a bit rough to find them, or a tailor that can make them. On a positive note: you'll be able to collect a lot of Crusader Orbs while you're looking for it~ The mats for these two can also be a little tricky or expensive to assemble. But they're definitely worth it. (The only argument against that I've heard of is that it needs replacing after a while, but then all gear does, certainly at this gear level. It's called "upgrading". /end snarky comments)

Also: Arceopteryx' list had these for wrists, which are a very nice alternative if you decide not to go for the craftable.

Note: One of the reasons why there are no fixed gear lists for priests is that it is a very versatile class. Everyone has a different play-style and so a different opinion. However, that makes it very difficult for new players to learn the class, and if your brain shuts down when math lurks around, like mine, it can be a little harsh to bite through all of the theory crafting. That is why I made this list. As such, it is by no means an exclusive 'look-at-me-I-have-the-best-gear' list. It is more of a guideline. Any remarks or comments are welcome, especially if you feel you found an item that is better than what is posted here.

I will make short posts on gems and enchants in the near future.

~Ari

Wanted: YOU!

*image of me pointing finger at you, in the American military poster style*

Don't worry, I don't want to start my army to take over the world... yet...

This is just a short little post asking for some feedback from those who read this blog. You see, I am trying to assemble a BiS list for pre-raiding priests, preferably holy spec. The reason for this is two-sided:

1) I can't find one on the net myself, and I'm sure others are looking for a list like that. So I would actually be making a usefull addition to the internets. (Amagad!)

2) I'm gearing up to do raids myself, and I'm curious what the general gear-requirements are.

So, if any of you have a favourite item that you absolutely can not raid without, like those blue prada... uhm! Fancy purples! Fancy purples we all love, yes. That. (Whew, close one...) *coughs* If you have any items like that, which you think are real must-haves, please post about them in a reply to this message.

Thanks!

~Ari

Strike a pose

Finally, I've completed my pirate RP set! I consider it one of those necessary things to own, as a self-respecting roleplayer, a pirate set that is not created by a flick of a wrist and a light dash with a magic wand. For this special occasion, I will show off Ariyuni with her new outfit, and her usual gear (for arpee, obviously... it's a little too squishy to pug with).

First things first:

Here she is, in a close-up, with the new piratey costume. It is designed for an occasion in which she is a bar wench in Booty Bay. It's not sure if the event will still take place, but I simply couldn't resist assembling the gear I chose anyway.

This is Ariyuni in full-length, with Shriyaro, my dear Pocket Tank, to her left.

And here is the same view, but from the side.

Now, for the normal RP gear:

I think this outfit suits her quite well... But then, I may be a little biased.

So there we are. I haven't added which items I used for these outfits, but you can get the list on request.

~Ari

A rose by any other name...

Having read the recent blue post on Mastery, I grow more and more impatient for Cataclysm. No doubt that is exactly what Blizzard aimed for, sneaky little buggers...

Part of me is screaming for all these changes to stop. I'm trying to learn about gear and how all that works *now*, and it is somewhat frustrating to see how all of that will be blown away once the expac arrives. Of course, as a good friend told me in comfort, the expansion is not to be released for a while, in all probability, but I still feel as if my current efforts are rendered completely useless. Still, I don't just want to leave my lovely priest hanging there while I twiddle my thumbs in exasperation.

I like the idea of mastery being applied to gear. I also like that, while all stats are being simplified a little, there will still be a sufficient amount of diversity for players to make their own decisions. At least that is what I expect will happen. I do understand that some players are concerned that the game is getting a little too 'dumbed down', and I must say I count myself as one of them on rare occasions. My sentiments are then more along the lines of "We had to do it as lowbies, we had to bite through the pain, they should too!", and not the preservation and protection tactics that I see elsewhere. After all, as the game expands the goal of endgame is removed further and further away from the starter levels, and it is in Blizzard's best interest to remain inviting for new players as well as experienced ones. It is a thin line to walk, however, but I suppose we'll just have to suck it up and see how it turns out.

In the end, they are tweaking some aspects of the game, but the core remains the same. While I am a little nervous about the changes, and anxious to try them, it is still the same game - but in a new coat. Especially when it comes to the talent changes. Ultimately, they just grouped the talents a little differently. None of the effects they had in-game will go away completely.

I suppose we will have to put Shakespeare's words to the test. Will our roses, by any other name, still smell as sweet?

Bonus Ambivalent

Yesterday, Miss Medecina made a post on the T10 changes Blizzard recently made for priests. More accurately, they changed the 4-piece bonus. I have to admit, the original bonus made my brain hurt when I first read it. I'm not the quickest thinker when it comes to numbers and maths... ugh. This is what it originally said:

Your Circle of Healing and Penance spells have a 20% chance to cause your next Flash Heal cast within 6 sec to reset the cooldown on your Circle of Healing and Penance spells.

I found this sentence to be grammatically ambiguous at best, but then that's just the little grammar nazi in me. It does take some time to take in what this means, though. Basically, what this means for Holy priests:

You hit CoH, and cast FH six seconds later. One chance in five, it will reset the cooldown on CoH.

Sounds reasonably nice, right? But it does only proc in specific types of situations, rendering this bonus useless for a majority of priest healers out there. Especially for disc priests. (I heard. I don't play my disc offspec that often... Still learning the ropes). Miss Medecina pointed out that it proved Blizzard was completely out of touch with what Discs are about. I see her point.

Now, Blizzard decided to make some changes about that. This is what the PTR states:

Priest Tier-10 4-Piece Healing Set Bonus: Redesigned. This bonus now increases the effectiveness of the caster's Power Word: Shield and Renew spells by 5%

*sigh*

I don't feel the love... On the one hand, it's nice to have an increase on Renew, and it is definitely a more general bonus than the other one. But, on the other hand, it really looks like the development team just slapped something on there. As if they just picked the two most basic spells for both specs and gave it a little 5% static increase. I am not particularly happy, but not particularly sad either. I do use Renew quite often. That may change, however, when I set my white hoof on raiding grounds. We shall see, I suppose.

On a completely unrelated note:

Tamarind is starting something new on Argent Dawn. The guild is called Single Abstract Noun, and will be all about the blogging community. I'm sorely tempted to roll (yet another) alt so I can take a peek there. It looks like a lot of fun.

Thanks to Tam, I actually posted something on my own guildforums to ask if they'd be ok with being mentioned in this blog before I write about them. Otherwise, I would probably have written myself straight into the snakepit Tam just managed to escape.

~Ari