It’s been a long week. Very little sleep. Very little gaming. My druid was out of commission anyways, so I wasn’t feeling bad when I let the patch drop pass me by. Good news is I think, as of today, she’s back in working order with her levels, lewt, and holiday achievements in tact. Only my macros were lost. They always go for the macros. They must know how long it’ll take to retype all of them. It probably shouldn’t have taken so long, but Billing said to ask the GMs, the GMs said to ask Billing, and Billing sent an email to the GMs telling them that it really is their job in a buck-passing equivalent to a volleyball spike or a nailgun to the head. Which ever floats your boat and sinks your pink.
But I haven’t really bothered taking the time to remacro Calhi and get her back into action, because I’ve been on my shaman, PUGing until my eyes bleed. I missed my shaman from Moonrunner, and so far she’s been the only character I’ve taken the effort to recreate from scratch on Ner’zhul. I keep singing my praises of the new Dungeon Finder, but amidst my circle of friends, all 80 and guilded as they are, none are really all that excited. It isn’t perfect. The deserter-style debuff that keeps you from dropping in and out of groups has a few issues in concept. I also really wish that when a new character came in to replace one you lost, they didn’t start at the beginning of the instance. Half of the time, there are patrols or respawns about, and your only hope is to have the group come back for you, slowing down the whole process immensely.
Still, flaws aside, I’m in heaven. In two evenings, I’ve done 7 Gnomeregan runs, 3 Stockades, and something like a dozen Scarlet Monastery Graveyards (which was painful to heal at first due to all the small corners, but quickly became lightning fast runs I could’ve just as easily have phoned in.) I can’t stop filling green bars. There is a thrill to this beyond explanation. I have to remind you, I have never been at level cap. I’ve never had the luxury of PUGing the daily off Trade chat. 95% of my instance experience is being run through by someone who is level-capped. I’ve never been able to make a talent build and not ask the question, “yes, but can it solo?”
And like my attitude to PvP, it’s not even about accomplishment or progress or success (though I’m gaining levels and gear in buckets), but just that I’m doing it. Last night, I healed a Gnomeregan run tanked by a bear with only 900 HP. Not, like, 900 base. 900 while in bear form with a few buffs. I think the mage actually had more. And to make matters worse, she bark over the lack of heals when she would gather up half a room of enemies then repeatedly break line of sight in perfect unison with my caster bar. And I thought it was funny. And fun. I remember what it was like to have zero battlefield awareness. The tunnel vision. It’s still not my forté, as a few boneheaded stunts of my own proved. You ever been standing there, popping heals, when you notice your mana is a little low? Not OOM, just “I hope the fight doesn’t go too long” low. At which point your brain wets the bed and you remember only that your task is to fill bars, and you become so obsessed with the state of your blue bar that you forget entirely about the green ones and two people drop dead. Never happened to you? Er… um… me neither.
Anyham, late. Tired. You people rule. Come pug with me sometime.
