Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Wildshard Ponders the Proving Grounds



Wildshard Ponders the Proving Grounds

Wild can’t help but scratch that raiding itch. Today he finally put away his Moonkin spec and activated Restoration/Healing. Wild is and always will be a healer in groups. Healing is what he loves to do. He was a bit worried that he would have to relearn druid healing from scratch, given how long it had been since Wild had entered a dungeon or raid. There must be a lot of changes. Well, on his first look, Wild was pleasantly surprised that nearly all of the basic healing spells were still there, a comfortable set of spells that Wild knew very well. Rejuvenation, Nature’s Swiftness, Lifebloom, Regrowth, Wild Growth, Swiftmend, Tranquility, and Wild Mushrooms. If they didn’t all fit exactly like a glove, Wild came close to it. Wild mushrooms was only a novelty to Wild, but its simple mechanic – set it and forget it – was easy enough to remember. There were some changes in how some other spells worked, but nothing dramatic.

More challenging will be to integrate a number of new and changed talents that Wild will also need  practice with. He has to get his mind around managing his mana again, protecting the tank and keeping the rest of his group alive. It wasn’t just Wild now. Wild got so excited he grabbed his Mission Specialist, Warmaster Zog, and told him he wanted a chance in the Proving Grounds.

WHAM! Just like that, Wild was there. Trial Master Rotun welcomed Wild into the round chamber of the White Tiger Temple dungeon. Before Wild had time to even think about what he was about to do, the Scenario began. Wild’s group ran in and the first wave of foes attacked.

The first wave was a baby wave of hostiles, but it got Wild’s combat juices flowing and he began casting heals. Pretty easy at first, but as new waves came things got hotter and hotter. I’d forgotten to see who the tank was, but once the poor tank started taking heavy damage, Wild caught on and laid the healing on him.

The fourth wave brought on the real heavy DPS which struck all players at the same time. Wild was up to it, though, casting Wild Growth and maintaining his Lifebloom on the tank – well, most of the time. The fifth wave doubled down and Wild forgot about how rusty he was and simply did his best not to let anyone die.

To Wild’s great surprise, Wild and his group defeated the White Tiger dungeon. I hadn’t provided Wild any prior testing, he had no addons to aid him, and I hadn’t set up any of the many talent spells that could have been used. It was back to basics healing.

Wild earned the Proving Yourself: Bronze Healer rank.

Wild’s guild noticed, too. Wild got a Gratz! in guild chat from Grrbaby, who I believe is the man working on Meitha’s plans for raiding. Coincidentally, the guild just announced that they are planning a Highmaul raid next week. It would be the guild’s first WoD raid, I believe.

Wild is going to work on getting the rest of his healing preparations completed. Could Wild meet the challenge of the more difficult Silver Rank? Stay tuned.

Update: Wild was so excited with his early success he made an unauthorized withdrawal from Happy’s bank to improve on his gear. Just to see what’s available, Wild told himself. Wild needed to reach gear level i615 for the LFR. I’m not sure what minimum is needed for a guild Normal run, but I think that there isn’t a minimum anymore and so it would up to the raid leader. Maybe Almond can fill Wild in on those details.

Wild also learned that the very nice i640 crafted gear was limited. Only three pieces of crafted gear can be equipped. That required a little bit of shuffling, but the end result is that Wild purchased a new cloak, a necklace, a pair of gloves, and a ring. Believe it or not, Wild managed to spend less than half of the gold he stole – uh, borrowed – to get the gear, including enchants. Happy hasn’t noticed the missing gold, yet, but Wild is holed up in his Garrison now, where Happy can’t get at him. By the way, Wild started the day with an i602 gear score. Now it’s i619.



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