Mend Pet

Ever since I got back this weekend I’ve been busy working at an assignment, so I’ve had barely a scintilla of play time let alone time to think about what to blog about.  So I leave you will some screenshots of my recent Alliance adventures!  Enjoy.

Alouette on her first flyer.

Ghugh on his new Warhorse... he wants a Ram.

Tegrin and Alouette chillin' in the inn.

"Tegin, I think I'm a box." "I know how you feel."

Sexy Pally Dance Party!

Disclaimer: This post was accurate as of patch 3.0.9.

So, there’s this addon called Power Auras.  I started using it when I briefly tested out Survival, but I’ve found that it’s extremely useful for just about every class.

What it lets you do is put up some sort of icon when certain conditions are met.  There is a wide range of options available, you can have an icon appear when a certain buff is missing from the target, or have it display when it is active on you, or any combination of many things.

I’m going to show you how I’ve got it set up, but I’m always looking for new uses for this mod.  Right now, I use it on my Hunter, Priest and Mage.

(In combat only)  This is the icon that displays when I don’t have Serpent Sting ticking on the target.  It’s green and looks kind of nature-y.

(In combat only)  This is the display when the target does not have Hunter’s Mark on it.  As long as someone has put Hunter’s Mark on the target (not necessarily me) this will go away.  The Hunter’s Mark and Serpent Sting filters can both be displayed at the same time without overlapping, so I can see both conditions.

This is the icon that displays when my mana dips below 10%, and basically tells me to go into Aspect of the Viper ASAP.  I’ve also got this one active on my other mana using characters, telling me to Evocate/drink if I can on my mage, or pop one of my mana regen abilities on my priest.

(In combat only) This notifies me that my mana is above 95% on my Hunter.  Basically, this is to help me learn to quash my habit of leaving Aspect of the Viper up when my mana is full.

This is the icon that displays when I have Aspect of the Viper active.  Pretty simple – blue for mana!

These are the 2 Mage-specific icons I’ve got.  The red glowy circle is to indicate when Hot Streak procs.  I also have Class Timers displayed directly below my character to keep me aware of the duration.

The white spot in the middle is to let me know that Clearcasting is active.  This will help me to plan my next spell, since it’s mana-less, I usually try to go for one of the expensive ones.  It’s extra nice to have both procs up at the same time (like in the screenshot) because that means my next Pyroblast is instant and costs no mana!

I also have the same white spot filter on my Priest, which indicates when Surge of Light is active so I can give a free insta-heal (or smite, if I’m soloing).

Do you use Power Auras? While this might not be a ‘meme’, I’d really like to see some other ways people have put this great addon to good use!

Instead of talking about the upcoming patch 3.1, I have decided to outline the weekend I had because I know that you all care much more about my alts than some silly patch!

I was hoping to level my priest a bit, but when I logged in and jumped in the LFG for The Nexus and Utgarde Keep, I was just flooded with “LF DPS for Nexus!” and “Need tank for UK then GTG!”

…

No one ever needs healers when I’m around!

So Ghugh finally made the jump to Dark Iron (PvP) this weekend!  But only after I had Gadgets help me transfer all the Alliance-only recipes I could get my little Dwarven hands on over to Brajana.  I stocked him up with some goodies and sent him on his marry way to join the rest of my Alliance crew.

He also has reached the respectable level of 32!  Which means… [Giddy Up!] and [Summon Warhorse]! I am still tempted to spend the extra gold and get him a Ram instead… man, I love those Rams!

And I’ve started following Jame’s Leveling Guide for the first time.  I’ve never used a guide before, and it’s been hard for me quash the urge to grab every single quest in a new zone… but I can not deny the effectiveness of the guide!

Ghugh even managed to get [An Honorable Kill]!  I was innocently killing turtles in Shimmering Flats when a sneaky undead rogue tried to stab me in the back.  But I showed him!  Okay, I did have to use Lay On Hands… and that’s kinda like cheating but… Meh!   I was still proud.

And even though Sunday is not one of our usual “alt nights”, Tegrin (Gadgets) and Alouette finally hit the big SEVEN-OH!  It was a painful last 15% experience… trying to do the stupid Tuber quest… but it was very exciting to finally get there.  And Alouette promptly spent all her gold on a [Snowy Gryphon].  The Alliance flying mounts are so pretty, especially compared to the Horde ones, it was difficult to choose.

I started a new alt this weekend, but I do not want to talk about her.  She’s a secret.

I also vacuumed my apartment.

It was a highly productive weekend.

Well, only Arrens really asked them to me.  By tagging me in one of these blog “me-me!” things.  But bloggers have been asking each other, generally.

Going to also follow Arrens by answering each question for 3 characters.  I now consider my mage Main #3!

What is your name and where did it come from?

Hunter: To be honest, not sure where Brajana came from… sounded Troll-ish, and I wanted to make sure I had something that could be shortened for an easy nickname (Braj),  although I didn’t realize it could also be shortened to Bra.  Also didn’t think people would pronounce the ‘j’ as an ‘h’.  Silly.

Priest: I wanted something that sounded humanesque, something that could be both a first or last name.  So I consulted my bookshelf and settled on Ferguson, named after Will & Ian Ferguson.

Mage: First her name was Pixxel. Then it was Brajana.  Now it is Alouette, based on the song I grew up with, and had it in my head when I was trying to come up with a new name.  It means ‘Skylark’ in French.

How old are you and what is your birthday?

Hunter:  29. Born in the spring.

Priest: 23 at age of death.  Unsure about birthday.

Mage: 21, same age as me.

Are you in love and with whom?

Hunter: Brajana has a thing for Thrall, although she won’t admit to it.  She doesn’t really know what it is… love, admiration, idolization.  But it’s something.

Priest: Ferguson was happily married at a very young age.  He and his wife had 2 lovely children, aged 3 and 1 when the plague hit.  He still loves them dearly, although he tries not to think about them.

Mage: Well, there’s this dwarf…  *giggle*

What is your favourite mount and why?

Hunter: That’s a really tough one.  Probably between the Brewfest Ram and Talbuk.  Or the raptor.

Mage:  All she needs is her Swift White Mechanostrider!   As for a flying mount.. Gah, all the alliance ones are so pretty, how could I choose?

Do you prefer a certain type of Azerothian meal and where do you get it from?

Hunter: Still partial to Grilled Mudfish.  Tasty.  Also, any food that my pet will also eat is handy.

Priest:  Ferg’s a vegetarian.  He likes fruits and veggies  and stuff.

Mage: She’s only ever had one, but she does enjoy those Tasty Cupcakes!

You know those giant mushrooms in Zangarmarsh? What is your theory on how they came to be and why are they so huge?

Hrm, there must be something in that swampy marsh water.  Must investigate further; Super-tall gnome is a must.

If you saw the Lich King walking toward you, what would you do?

Hunter: Walking towards ME?  Ugh did I face pull again?

Priest: Confront him in vain.  He won’t hear, he won’t listen, but there are things that must be said.

Mage: [Polymorph: Penguin]!  Ha!

Hope you enjoyed the filler post.

Oh, and The Stoppable Force, Doogie, Neg/Neggles/Negathle, Aoirselvar… You’re turn!

It has always been my philosophy that you should spend talent points the way you’d like.  Don’t just use some cookie-cutter spec – and if you do, make sure you understand every point and why it’s most valuable there.

Well, I’ve decided to play around with my talents on my mage.  It’ll be her very first respec – at level 69.

While I’ve tried (with little effort or result) to look for some good posts on which talents are most valuable to for a mage who’s leveling, I’ve decided to just go with my gut and what works best for my play style.

What is my play style? Well, Alouette doesn’t really do instances, and she has a permanent leveling partner.  A protection warrior.  Leveling a mage on her own and leveling with your own personal tanking pet (tee hee, don’t tell Tegrin I called him that!) it’s quite a different ball game.

Currently, Alouette’s spec is like this:  0/60/0 (FIRE!). When I made my mage, all I knew was this:  I wanna set stuff on fire.  So what did I do for her first 69 levels?  dump my points in every talent I saw that said anything along the lines of “Increases damage” or “Increases crit”.

It’s hard not to build my mage that way… and it’s hard to see any reason on putting my talents in either of the other trees.  After all, the abilities buffed by the first tier of talents in Arcane and Frost are abilities I don’t even keep on my main bar.

But now I’ve got through the talents and changed them around to accommodate for my new leveling companion.  And this is what I’ve decided to go with: 10/50/0.

Let me explain the changes I’ve made.

Arcane Stability 5/5 (added): I want some stuff from the 2nd and 3rd tier, and need to put these points somewhere.  This made sense because it might come in handy in PvP (Dark Iron is a PvP server).

Arcane Concentration 5/5 (added): Free spells is quite nice to have.  Sure, I can drink my conjured water and use my evocation between fights, but the less downtime I have while working my way up, the better.

Flamethrowing (removed): When I’ve got a meat shield with me, it’s not really necessary for me to be miles from the mob.  I can shoot them just fine from right behind the big Night Elf.

Impact (removed): I loved this one when I was leveling solo, but it seems unnecessary when I have someone taking the hits anyway, and he’s got his own, talentless stuns.

Burning Soul (removed): I’m not taking hits much, so pushback resistance isn’t that useful.  The 10% threat decrease is nice, but I’ve already got Vigilence on me constantly and as long as I don’t open with a pyro, I generally don’t pull aggro.

Molten Fury (removed): With 2 people hitting them, mobs die pretty quickly once they are down to 35%, an extra 12% is just overkill!

Living Bomb (removed): I’m still debating this one.  I never use it… like, never.  Because rarely do mobs live 12 whole seconds, and we tend to take them on 1 at a time.  Sure there’s the DoT, but I can do the total DoT damage with one Fireball.  I will probably pick this one up as I get a little further into the 70s.

So, that’s the extent of my changes.  What’s next for Alouette?  Where will the rest of her points go?

Well, I’m looking at Spell Impact in the Arcane tree for my next 3 points.  Living Bomb after that.  And then, I might delve a bit deeper into the Arcane tree to pick up Arcane Meditation.

I know this spec I’ve designed is pretty specific to my personal situation, but that’s what specializations are about.

If anyone’s got any little mage advice they’d like to share… now would be the time!