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Thursday, May 01, 2008
Holiday in Karazhan
No disrespect to my fellow mages, but last night for the first time I raided Karazhan with my mage, and boy is that much easier than going there with my priest. I felt as if I was on a holiday! I'm not saying it takes no brains at all, one needs to follow the main assist's target and watch aggro on Omen. But compared to having to watch 10 health bars, chosing always the right healing spell for the situation, and shackling, playing a mage was downright relaxing. As a frost mage I'm used to having to shield myself, freezing mobs in place, and moving into the best position when soloing, but in a raid I don't need to do any of that. I can just click on CTRaidAssist's MA box for the right target and start spamming frostbolt, while keeping an eye on my threat meter. In some places I have to decurse, but I did that also with my priest. Sheeping doesn't come into play in Karazhan. So all in all the number of buttons to hit is rather limited.
Anyway, I wasn't planning on starting a raiding career with the mage, I just wanted to see Karazhan from a different angle. I even managed to pick up the T4 gloves from the Curator nobody wanted, although I passed on everything anyone else needed. So it was a pretty fun evening. Big thanks to my guild for taking me, knowing perfectly well that my dps wasn't great. But the raid went perfectly well from Attumen to Curator, and only Nightbane resisted us. Fun!
- posted by Tobold @ 7:27 AM Permanent Link
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That, in a nutshell, is the reason we have a shortage of tanks and healers in this game: DPS is fun, tanking and healing are not. It takes a certain, somewhat rare, personality type to enjoy playing whack a mole for four hours or fight your own team at the same time you're supposed to be fighting the boss.
# posted by 
: 1/5/08 09:32
: 1/5/08 09:32
oh i love healing. i'd much prefer to take my holy priest to an raid than my warlock :] my priest is my main, and has been for a long long time - even though i have a load of alts and a couple more 70's.
+10 for the Holiday In Cambodia reference :P
+10 for the Holiday In Cambodia reference :P
My main is a mage, and I've done kara loads and loads of times, and I can say I 100% agree with you on teh fact that kara, particularly the first half, and particularly as frost (literally 1 button, at least fire and arcane have a few buttons) is insanely easy
I will say though, that once you try to be a mage in a harder raid instance, one where you have to move around a lot, or where there is a lot of environmental damage, maging becomes more of a challenge, mostly from the point of view of staying alive !!
I really am a glass cannon.....Naj'entus in BT makes me think MUCH more about my pot/healthstone/bandage rotation than it does about my dps (and the dps still needs to be high ofc)
As a disclaimer though, I dont raid on a healer (yet, got one levelling, 61 and counting) so I dont really have a frame of reference
I will say though, that once you try to be a mage in a harder raid instance, one where you have to move around a lot, or where there is a lot of environmental damage, maging becomes more of a challenge, mostly from the point of view of staying alive !!
I really am a glass cannon.....Naj'entus in BT makes me think MUCH more about my pot/healthstone/bandage rotation than it does about my dps (and the dps still needs to be high ofc)
As a disclaimer though, I dont raid on a healer (yet, got one levelling, 61 and counting) so I dont really have a frame of reference
# posted by : 1/5/08 10:44
: 1/5/08 10:44
Most of my WoW career has been as a holy pally. I learnt Kara as a Pally.
I also recently moved over to a mage. Running Kara has been a breeze. No more presure and no one blaming you. It's great.
As the first poster mentioned, that's the exact reason why you can't find tanks or healers anymore. I haven't played my healer in 2 months because of it.
As I mentioned in another post. I think it's due to the glorification of the DPS meters. No one ever posts "total healing" and has the party praise them for it.
Now if you go into something like H-Mgt you will find that it's ALL on you being able to keep sheeps contained and counterspelling targets.
K.
I also recently moved over to a mage. Running Kara has been a breeze. No more presure and no one blaming you. It's great.
As the first poster mentioned, that's the exact reason why you can't find tanks or healers anymore. I haven't played my healer in 2 months because of it.
As I mentioned in another post. I think it's due to the glorification of the DPS meters. No one ever posts "total healing" and has the party praise them for it.
Now if you go into something like H-Mgt you will find that it's ALL on you being able to keep sheeps contained and counterspelling targets.
K.
# posted by : 1/5/08 15:44
: 1/5/08 15:44
It's OK, you can say it. Raiding with a mage is incredibly easy. Once you have a good spell rotation going well (which should be by the end of your first raid), all you have to do is sit back, move out of the occasional fire spot, and watch your threat.
It makes it easy, but it also explains why I was never into raiding with my mage. Anyway, as far as Kara is concerned, there really isn't much good mage loot there that is better than the crafted stuff. Just a trinket, wand, and cloak or so...
It makes it easy, but it also explains why I was never into raiding with my mage. Anyway, as far as Kara is concerned, there really isn't much good mage loot there that is better than the crafted stuff. Just a trinket, wand, and cloak or so...
# posted by : 1/5/08 16:20
: 1/5/08 16:20
I think the dps meter makes it worse. But I still say to get people to play support classes you are fighting human nature and history. In most stories the hero is the big badass with the uber weapon that lays waste to his enemies. Thats what most people want. DPS gives you that. Healers and tanks just plug away taking thier time and it really makes most feel average, not heroic
I'm one of those twisted people it makes me feel great when my healer pulls a near certain wipe out of the fire. But the numbers alone show I'm the unusual one.
I'm one of those twisted people it makes me feel great when my healer pulls a near certain wipe out of the fire. But the numbers alone show I'm the unusual one.
Ranged DPS + raiding = fun.
You get to watch the enemies do stuff, see giant flashing crit numbers, and not feel the weight of the whole raid on your back. The first anonymous poster was dead-on.
Good thing you're frost, since it's a lot harder as fire. Gotta keep that 5x stack of fire vuln on there! Pushing scorch five times and then mixing it in with fireballs is serious business.
You get to watch the enemies do stuff, see giant flashing crit numbers, and not feel the weight of the whole raid on your back. The first anonymous poster was dead-on.
Good thing you're frost, since it's a lot harder as fire. Gotta keep that 5x stack of fire vuln on there! Pushing scorch five times and then mixing it in with fireballs is serious business.
# posted by : 1/5/08 17:23
: 1/5/08 17:23
Yep I got the tanking blues, been the tank for my whole wow career. I've been leveling a mage. OMG, it's simplicity in itself. I love it. But I know it's only a vacation from my tank. I drudgingly head back in TK to look at some Loot Reaver Crotch.
# posted by : 1/5/08 18:20
: 1/5/08 18:20
it hardly needs to be crowed as the comment crew has cordially confirmed, but my brothers have also informed me that the mage and rogue they play are generally a game of how fast can you mash the attack button followed occasionally by a few other buttons in a raid.
Healers and tanks just plug away taking their time and it really makes most feel average, not heroic
I don’t agree with that on several levels. Tanks smack around a mob and lead them around like well trained dog. Healers are the lifeblood of your campaign without which you will fail miserably. In both cases, the overwhelming feeling is RESPONSIBILTY. They don’t feel average. They feel the weight of a responsibility. The success (or lack of success) of the raid or group is measured first and foremost by the success of your healer and your tank.
They are thankless jobs that get too much blame. Mage can’t control aggro or keep adds sheeped? Tank’s fault. Healer can’t keep the Tank up because he is wasting heals on that Rogue? Healer’s fault. Fight lasts too long because you don’t have enough DPS? The Tank or Healer must be undergeared.
When you are under that much scrutiny I would hazard to say that’s impossible to feel just average. I had a good real life friend that simply quit playing his tank because he got sick and tired of being under the microscope.
as the comment crew has cordially confirmed
Oooh. How do I join?
I don’t agree with that on several levels. Tanks smack around a mob and lead them around like well trained dog. Healers are the lifeblood of your campaign without which you will fail miserably. In both cases, the overwhelming feeling is RESPONSIBILTY. They don’t feel average. They feel the weight of a responsibility. The success (or lack of success) of the raid or group is measured first and foremost by the success of your healer and your tank.
They are thankless jobs that get too much blame. Mage can’t control aggro or keep adds sheeped? Tank’s fault. Healer can’t keep the Tank up because he is wasting heals on that Rogue? Healer’s fault. Fight lasts too long because you don’t have enough DPS? The Tank or Healer must be undergeared.
When you are under that much scrutiny I would hazard to say that’s impossible to feel just average. I had a good real life friend that simply quit playing his tank because he got sick and tired of being under the microscope.
as the comment crew has cordially confirmed
Oooh. How do I join?
I've always played healers and I hear far more complaints from people trying to level them that they healers are boring , unable to do enough damage and they feel useless in pvp.
You can disagree with me but many years of playing a healer in raids and out of raids has confirmed that most people feel like they've been shoved to the back of the bus when they become the healer. The difference for tanks is they are up front and center but they really in wow only hold the mobs attention. They don't kill it. They are fancy crowd control.
Some people like this. I love playing a healer. But unfortunately most don't.
You can disagree with me but many years of playing a healer in raids and out of raids has confirmed that most people feel like they've been shoved to the back of the bus when they become the healer. The difference for tanks is they are up front and center but they really in wow only hold the mobs attention. They don't kill it. They are fancy crowd control.
Some people like this. I love playing a healer. But unfortunately most don't.
I have played a hunter for a long time and not much after I started playing heroics I just couldn't do it anymore. It was simply too boring. You don't have much pressure except to be high in the dps meter but it is simply boring.
Then I started levelling my Belf bloodknight and from the Maraudon on I changed to a protection spec and that was what got me back into WoW.
Tanking does make you feel like a hero. You are the one setting the pace, you are absolutely crucial to the success of just about anything.
You also always find a group and if you get into a fight with someone you can always threaten to leave and then seee the other one get kicked out.
I absoluutely love it so much more than doing dps. I couldn't play a healer though. I sometimes do when only one tank is needed and even these short bits I hate.
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Then I started levelling my Belf bloodknight and from the Maraudon on I changed to a protection spec and that was what got me back into WoW.
Tanking does make you feel like a hero. You are the one setting the pace, you are absolutely crucial to the success of just about anything.
You also always find a group and if you get into a fight with someone you can always threaten to leave and then seee the other one get kicked out.
I absoluutely love it so much more than doing dps. I couldn't play a healer though. I sometimes do when only one tank is needed and even these short bits I hate.
# posted by : 2/5/08 01:00
: 2/5/08 01:00<< Home
