View Full Forums : HELLO from a total and complete NEWB!


Tsumaní
05-16-2008, 06:29 PM
First off, I just want to say that after thoroughly perusing this place, I love this forum. Unlike many other WoW forums (the main blizzard forum in particular), this one seems to be populated by mature, intelligent people who are more interested in helping each other, than in childish bickering and pissing contests

I'll warn you that I'm a very new player to WoW in general. Only been playing for about 6 weeks, and still have a LONG way to go before I truly feel like I know what I'm doing

I have a lvl 49 BE Hunter on Firetree, and have recently been feeling my interest in the class plateauing ... more and more I wonder if I may have picked the wrong class. (a terrifying thought once you've invested several weeks of time and effort in a character). I still enjoy him, but my new and fervent passion has turned to my brand spanking new druid alt. Only played him a few evenings now, and he's at a pathetic lvl 14, but I'll get there.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank all of you for the amazing wealth of information here, as well as the aforementioned maturity and generosity! Hope to see you around more, and I'll apologize in advance for any exceedingly stupid questions!!!!! :grin:

Dandrius
05-16-2008, 07:09 PM
I'll apologize in advance for any exceedingly stupid questions!!!!! :grin:

See my sig.

J/K! Don't worry, I have honestly been playing WoW (albeit with many a lengthy hiatus in between) since closed beta, and I have had a hard time finding a character that I truly enjoy. The problem is I get bored very easily, so when the leveling slows down, or I hit a wall, I tend to start a new char, so in the entire time I've been playing, I've only managed to get a single char (Troll Rogue) to lvl 70, and haven't gotten any others past lvl 40. I get bored, take a few months off, then get the itch again and start playing.

If there's one thing I learned the hard way is that certain classes have a much easier time getting groups in the end game unless they're part of a well-established pve/raiding guild. My friend stopped playing his 70 hunter because of it, and I've all but given up on my rogue because of it.

However, the one class I never really paid any attention to seems to be one of the best for finding a group: the Druid. While, like I said, I've never really played a druid, the sheer number of roles they can play in a group/raid should make it much easier for people who are new or don't have many in-game friends or a large guild.

They can main tank/off tank in bear, dps in kitty, backup heal in caster, battle rez the priest when the group is about to wipe, and buff people. With the ability to respec your talents whenever you want, you can basically have three very different characters without the need to level up alts. Although druids are arguably not as good in these roles as their dedicated class counterparts are, the ability to switch up as the need arises more than makes up for this.

I'm quite excited to be playing a druid, and I have high hopes that this will be the class that I am finally happy with. I hope you find the same. I'm not sure what server you're on, but if you happen to be alliance on Stormreaver, look me up!

Welcome to WoW!

Dandrius

Kheldar
05-18-2008, 02:16 PM
druids are soo much fun.

i've been playing one since Day 1 of Wow.

and he is still my only level 70 char !

i've always been feral but i know plenty of druids who swear resto is where its 'at' so take your pick, have some fun and go with the flow....


gernerally its seems to be accepted that levelling goes easier / quicker as feral than resto but see how you get on and GL with your druid :)

Tsumaní
05-27-2008, 12:55 PM
My hunter "main" is now most definitely my "alt", and he gives me sad forlorn looks as we briefly cross paths in the character selection screen. "why do you hate me" he says, and my once-treasured snow leopard pet just cries. hahaha, haven't touched him since posting my comments above

I'm glad that there aren't more of course, but as I progress with this asskickin catbeardude, I can't help but wonder why the playing field isn't filled up with 80% druids... this class is as versatile as they come.

Still have only barely scratched the surface - hit level 27 yesterday - can't wait for all the goodies to come

One question though - any general suggestions/strategies on handling multiple mobs at the same time? That's one area where I still seem to have a little trouble. One on one, the cat form PWNS, but even when I switch back to bear form to handle multiples (which I thought was the rule of thumb), I seem to be dieing quite often... (or at the very least, using the joyous and newly learned "dash" ability to run away like a scared kitten more than I'd like to) lol

tlbj6142
05-27-2008, 01:05 PM
I can't help but wonder why the playing field isn't filled up with 80% druids... this class is as versatile as they come.I, too, have a lvl 70 hunter collecting dust. A feral cat will never come close to what a hunter can offer in terms of DPS and CC. And a hunter is probably 50-100% easier to level than a Feral Druid. That said, I love my Druid. Maybe I'll give my hunter some love after I hit lvl 80 with my bear.:grin:

tlbj6142
05-27-2008, 01:10 PM
That's one area where I still seem to have a little trouble. One on one, the cat form PWNS, but even when I switch back to bear form to handle multiples (which I thought was the rule of thumb), I seem to be dieing quite often..While leveling, if you switch to bear, you will die. Bear just doesn't have the dps. The extra armor and health only helps so much. If I had to take on 3 mobs (named dude, plus 2 escorts), I'd HoT up. Prowl, pounce, shred, etc. the name dude (quest target), loot his eye-ball or head and Dash. Don't forget to pop any DPS trinkets you might have while taking out he named mob.

With just 2 mobs, kill one ASAP. Once he is dead, if you are close to dieing, Barkskin (will auto-shift you out of cat), HoT or two, back to cat. Might even consider the Cat-->Potion-->Cat macro. I used it quite often once it became available.

If you ever get into trouble, dash. Druids are escape artist. They are built to live to fight again.

Tsumaní
05-27-2008, 01:32 PM
great info - thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess my main problem is simply that I'm still leveling, and in an awkward middle-school-wimp phase of growth. hahah

Aside from the pounce (lvl 36) and barkskin (lvl 44), neither of which are available to me yet - most of what you described is what I've already tried. Great tip on bear's weaknesses though - I've been trying for a couple days to use bear form as a multiple tank, but it's just not been working.

Last night had a threesome just like you described and after several attempts, the ONLY way I was able to pull it off was exactly your strategy - HoT>Prowl>Shred>Rip>Rake>DoT>Rip>Dude-Dies>Attempt-to-run-from-his-escorts>DIE>loot head from corpse of dude after rezzing. HAHAHA

Stay on target... stay on target... Must...level.... :vampire:

tlbj6142
05-27-2008, 01:43 PM
Yeah! As a general feral leveling rule, if you find yourself in bear, you did something wrong. Bear is for tanking, not questing.

Except maybe a couple of "group" quests (that you can solo) in which there is a single target elite. In that case, I'd start in cat, rip at 5 CP, barkskin, hot, bear the rest of the way.

tlbj6142
05-27-2008, 01:45 PM
HoT>Prowl>Shred>Rip>Rake>DoT>Rip>Dude-Dies>Attempt-to-run-from-his-escorts>DIE>loot head from corpse of dude after rezzing. Always run/dash toward the closest graveyard, so the corpse run isn't as long. :grin:

Tsumaní
05-28-2008, 11:44 AM
I've found that if you intend to kill/loot a quest-target and then run from the escorts, as described above, it helps a lot if you actually have an open bag slot.

I know what you're thinking, but I already tried
/y WHOA WHOA, TIME OUT, I need to drop something
but the mob escorts seem to ignore this ????

Just thought I should point that out

Magellan19
05-28-2008, 01:35 PM
I know you are feral, but don't be afraid to use your entangling roots every once in a while.

They gives you a good opportunity to heal yourself up when you are just too angry with the mob to use your dash. ;)

ryan4nayr
06-01-2008, 11:37 AM
One question though - any general suggestions/strategies on handling multiple mobs at the same time? That's one area where I still seem to have a little trouble. One on one, the cat form PWNS, but even when I switch back to bear form to handle multiples (which I thought was the rule of thumb), I seem to be dieing quite often... (or at the very least, using the joyous and newly learned "dash" ability to run away like a scared kitten more than I'd like to) lol
When you get Dire Bear Form, you'll enjoy multi-mob combat a bit more. You will see a significant boost to everything you were doing as Bear before... for example, if those pirates in Tanaris keeps running out near-death to aggro more, Dire Bear Form might just keep you alive through 3-5 bad guys (timely Frenzied Regeneration is key).

Currently, we're not seeing as many druids due to our good CCs being limited to outdoors only. The next expansion may see a boost to the Druid class, so it's an exciting time for everyone.

Tsumaní
06-30-2008, 12:59 PM
New question: Does Mangle's DoT stack?

I'm pluggin right along - lvl 52 at the moment, and settling in very nicely to the rhythm of the drood. Got mangle asap at 50... must say that it is indeed all its cracked up to be (even though my AP is only around 960). Wow the mobs are going down quick!

But I am curious about mangle's DoT - is it stacking or am I just wasting the additional mangles (if that makes sense). Either way, it's hard to justify going back to claw or rake etc... because regardless of what the DoT is doing the initial damage from the attack just hits so damn hard, compared to the other attacks available to you. Of course I do usually start off with pounce>shred>shred (shredding attacks is lovely) and do still pull off the occasional Rip or Ferocious Bite depending on the situation, but for the most part, once the fight is going, good ole mangle>mangle>mangle seems to bring em down just as quick if not quicker. (or is that just my imagination? hahah new toys sometimes seem better just cuz they're new)

Oh and yes, Dire Bear form and well-timed frenzied regen changed my whole world with multiple mob encounters... thanks for the advice folks!

tlbj6142
06-30-2008, 01:31 PM
New question: Does Mangle's DoT stack?Nope. Just resets the timer.

Annikk
07-01-2008, 05:22 AM
Hallo new druid :>

Or maybe not so new. I've been coming and going round these parts in the last while.

I'm glad to hear your Druid is coming along nicely, and that's great news that you have Mangle now :D

You are right by the way, Mangle is indeed better than Claw and Rake. In fact, Claw becomes totally useless once you get Mangle, as Mangle will do more damage than Claw for less energy in every situation.

Rake is also fairly useless now as the energy > damage conversion ratio is so poor. It can still be useful in some very selected situations though, for example if you want to put a bleed effect on a rogue to prevent him from restealthing. For general grinding it's best to stick to Mangle and Ferocious Bite, though.

You are coming quite close to being able to enter Outland. Once you are there, feral druid itemization gets a lot better and you will see your damage output go through the roof.

Also remember you can learn to shapeshift into a bird at level 68.. :> Lots of stuff to look forward to..


-Annikk

Tsumaní
07-01-2008, 02:11 PM
Annikk... must say, thanks so much for all your input on this lovely forum my man. A selection of your posts have become my bible (yes, even slightly more useful to a learning drood than the allmighty Alamo). Between you and TLBJ, who has a lovely pocket-protector-style knack for in-depth analytics, it's all you need.

Mmmmmmm flight form... The bastards at Blizzard really know how to bait a hook. It's firmly set in my cheek, and they reel me in a little more with each night and each passing level, somehow forcing me to sacrifice normal human amounts of sleep in order to run around and pretend to be an animal. ... Wow... when I put it like that... what the hell is wrong with me?!! ROFL

Can't go back to the hunter now. Just can't do it, even for a short while. He's just so damned one-dimensional. Like the push-here-dummy version of a druid. And what an easy target on a PvP server... Somewhere around level 30, I noticed that my drood already had twice as many honor points/PvP kills than my lvl 50 hunter, who just seemed to be a gank-magnet. ... no more

RAWR

tlbj6142
07-01-2008, 02:25 PM
Can't go back to the hunter now. Just can't do it, even for a short while. He's just so damned one-dimensional.My first lvl 70 was a hunter and I missed him so much until I reached lvl ~62 with my Druid. I didn't touch him for months. Just last week I logged in for the first time in weeks and ran a bit of PvP, 4 dailies and part of a 5-man (I had to leave early). It sucked! I'm now a Druid for life. And if the expansion does allow for dual talent specs, I'd have a healing and tank/dps spec. Why would you ever need anything else? Well maybe a kick-ass PvP spec, but I don't care about PvP. It is just something to pass the time.

Annikk
07-02-2008, 05:29 AM
You are most welcome, Tsumaní :>


-Annikk

Nellie
07-08-2008, 08:54 AM
I still enjoy my hunter but I'm anal enough that needing a spreadsheet to figure out if gear is any good and mashing one button over and over again in instances doesn't bother me too much.

I do love my tree though at the point it's ready to start running Kara there is a danger that it might become my main with the hunter relegated to grinding duty.

Sytaera
07-09-2008, 07:33 PM
Welcome to the boards. I only recently came back to WoW and am about to ding 70 on my druid (2.5 bars away). I'm quite excited finally as it's my first 70. I twinked out at 59s so I used all that stocked up honor to buy a bunch of S2 gear and I just hit my 5k gold so I'm looking forward to epic flight form. It's annoying that whenever my 70s come help me with stuff I'm stuck flapping away fruitlessly eating the dust of their epic flying mounts. But I still love flight form. It was such a rush to be able to fly for the first time.

By the way, am I the only druid who seems to love bear form while questing as much as cat form? If I accidentally aggro multiple mobs it's a life saver. Sure the DPS is down but I can just shift to caster, warstomp/barkskin/HoT up and switch to bear and I almost never die. As soon as I'm back down to 1/2 mobs, I'll just heal up and go back to kitty and down them.

I really do love feral though so I'm a bit dreading hitting 70 because I know there's a lot of pressure to go resto. But I'm standing firm and even plan to PvP despite my friends mockery. :D

tlbj6142
07-09-2008, 09:40 PM
By the way, am I the only druid who seems to love bear form while questing as much as cat form? You must have a Pally alt. :grin:

Tsumaní
08-07-2008, 06:14 PM
Is there a finishing move that's do-able in bear form? (or am I just blind, because I'm not seeing one?) At the moment, if I'm bear-ing and want to "cash in" my cp's, I shift to kitty for a rip or fb - but there's gotta be some way to spend those points in bear?

... And as a brief update ... You guys were not kidding when you said damage output would go through the roof with outland gear... jaysus!

I just got the Staff of Beasts a couple nights ago for my kitty dps (and have Braxxis' Staff of Slumber for tankin) - in almost all blues now - tearing through mobs and pvp'ers alike like an effing wrecking ball - and definitely don't feel like a "new druid" anymore!

Less than half a level from flight form. RAWR ... or should I say SQUAWK :grin:

(and yeah... my former-main hunter is now at a whopping level 50. can't remember what lvl he was when I started the druid... oh yeah, it was... 50. lol. last night he mailed me all his gold)

Annikk
08-08-2008, 05:13 AM
You can only use finishing moves in cat form I'm afraid druid. Grats on the staff :>


-Annikk