What to do When You Hit 80 – Gearing Up

One of the most common questions from players who recently reached level 80 is “what do I do now?”. Well, you can do whatever you want actually. The real question is “how do I start to do this and this and this”.

“Do Heroics” is an answer but “Do this certain Heroic because blah” is a more useful one. There will be multiple parts to this series (as the word implies) and will end up being a comprehensive guide. There will be something for every player. If you like Achievements, its covered. Want to be a Hardmode-Raider? That too. NOTE: This guide is aimed at Druids although other classes may still get use out of it.

1. How to Gear Up – Part 1
2. How to Get Into Raiding – Part  2 – Not Out Yet
3. How to Start Earning a Lot of Achievements- Part  3 – Not Out Yet
4. How to Start PvP’ing- Part  4 – Not Out Yet
5. How to Start Making Money (note that these aren’t get rich quick tips) – Part  5 – Not Out Yet
6. How to Start Questing (helpful add-ons, tips, etc) – Part  6 – Not Out Yet
7. If You Want to Make an Alt… – Part  7 – Not Out Yet

How to Gear Up

Since patch 3.3 gearing up at 80 has never been easier (although 3.2 was also easy). You will want to run Heroic-Dungeons to get Emblems of Triumph for Tier 9 gear. For the first Random-Heroic you run each day you get 2x Emblem of Frost if you complete the instance. After that first run you get 2x Emblem of Triumph for each complete dungeon. So if you run an instance with 3 bosses, and kill them all; you get 5 emblems!

Now, some Heroics are harder than others. Your not going to want to start with Halls of Reflection in quest blues/greens. One of the easiest Heroic dungeons is Utgarde Keep. It has 3 bosses and can be completed in under 30 minutes. Here is a list ordering the dungeons into difficulty:

Easy (For Players in Quest Greens/Blues)

• Utgarde Keep – 3 Bosses
• Violet Hold – 3 Bosses PER run. Different bosses on different runs
• The Nexus – 5 Bosses

Slightly Difficult (For Players in a Few Epics + Quest Blues)

• Halls of Lightning – 4 Bosses
• Halls of Stone – 4 Bosses
• The Oculus – 4 Bosses

Challenge (For Players Mostly in Epics)

• Trial of The Champion – 3 Bosses PER run
• Ahn’Haket: Old Kingdom – 5 Bosses – (NOTE: Some people don’t find this instance challenging but it requires skill more than gear)
• Forge of Souls – NORMAL – 2 Bosses

(NOTE: These are not all the dungeons available)

Each boss will drop an Emblem of Triumph. These can be spent on gear and a few other things. When gearing up, the first thing to spend it on is 5 pieces of Tier-9, iLevel 232 armor. The armor can be bought from Aspirant Naradiel (75.5, 72.1 in Icecrown). The gear is as follows:

Restoration

• Hands: Runetotem’s Handguards of Conquest – Cost: 30x Emblem of Triumph
• Head: Runetotem’s Headpiece of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Legs: Runetotem’s Leggings of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Chest: Runetotem’s Robe of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Shoulders: Runetotem’s Spaulders of Conquest – Cost: 30x Emblem of Triumph

Feral

• Hands: Runetotem’s Handgrips of Conquest – Cost: 30x Emblem of Triumph
• Head: Runetotem’s Headguard of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Legs: Runetotem’s Legguards of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Chest: Runetotem’s Raiments of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Shoulders: Runetotem’s Shoulderpads of Conquest – Cost: 30x Emblem of Triumph

Balance

• Hands: Runetotem’s Gloves of Conquest – Cost: 30x Emblem of Triumph
• Head: Runetotem’s Cover of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Legs: Runetotem’s Trousers of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Chest: Runetotem’s Vestments of Conquest – Cost: 50x Emblem of Triumph
• Shoulders: Runetotem’s Mantle of Conquest – Cost: 30x Emblem of Triumph

Each set totals a cost of 210x Emblem of Triumph. While obtaining these Emblems for the gear you should come across upgrade drops. Once you have the set you should start to buy iLevel 245 items in Dalaran.

Tips/Tricks

If you are so undergeared for any Heroic instance that everyone will kick you, run some Regular-instances. They don’t give Emblems (except for ToC and Icecrown Dungeons) but might have some upgrades for you. If you still get kicked, look for a casual level 80 guild that will help you through. If for some horrible reason you can’t get in a guild run, you may be unlucky but you can save up gold and buy gear off the Auction House.

Thats Part 1 for you – Part 2 will talk about how to get into raiding.

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Tree Healing – Updated for 3.3

Guide updated for 3.3 on Druid healing.

1. Speccing And Glyphing
2. Tank Healing (10/25 Man Raids)
3. 5 Man Dungeon Healing
4. Raid Healing (10/25 Man Raids)
5. PvP Healing (Battleground/Arena)
6. Gems And Enchants
7. Consumables
8. Macros
9. FAQ

Speccing And Glyphing (1)

• http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0qG0u0hZZf0IubuxikVcsVo – Starter healing spec for new level 80’s.

This is a beginners healing spec with 3/3 points in Celestial Focus, increasing your Haste by quite a lot. For new 80’s, this spec is recommended.

• http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0VG0zZZf0IubuxiuVIsio – All Purpose “Cookie-Cutter”.

For all purpose, “cookie-cutter” healing, this one is recommended. It doesn’t have any points in Celestial Focus but has 2/2 points in Improved Barkskin. It also has 3/3 in Living Spirit (compared to 1/3 in the starter spec) .

Glyphs

Major – Glyph of Swiftmend

A must-have in my opinion. It stops your Swiftmend ability from consuming a HoT on the target. You no longer have to waste time and mana (and health) refreshing HoT’s after Swiftmending somebody!

Major – Glyph of Wild Growth

Also a must have. But only useful in raids. If your not raiding you can go without this. It increases the number of people affected by Wild Growth by 1.

Major – Glyph of Nourish

This one is great too! Increases the amount healed by Nourish by an additional 6% per HoT on the target.

Major – Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation

Introduced in 3.3, possibly the best current Major Resto Druid glyph. It increases the speed your Rejuvenation ticks happen. So it might reduce it from 3 to 2 seconds between each tick. It might be a slight problem in 25 mans where you need to be healing a lot of people. Ideal for 10 mans.

Minor – Glyph of Unburdened Rebirth

Probably the best Minor Glyph there is for Resto Druids. Your Rebirth spell no longer costs a reagent with this. I have hit Rebirth before on a tank who just died to find out I had no reagents.

Minor – Glyph of Dash

Not so obviously useful unless you need to move to somewhere else relatively quickly that takes more than 5 seconds.

Minor – Glyph of the Wild

Decreases the mana cost of MoTW and GoTW by 50%. Handy when you need to buff somebody who has been rezzed in the middle of a fight.

Tank Healing (10/25 Man Raids) (2)

• 2.1 – Tank Healing (10/25 Man Raids) Strategy 1 – Nourish ‘N HoTs

Keep up Rejuvenation, 1-3x Lifebloom, Regrowth and Wild Growth on the Tank. Use Nourish on top of these HoTs. Unless there is an emergency, only Nourish while the HoTs are up. If you do it when they aren’t on the Tank, your missing out on a lot of Healing. Let Lifebloom Bloom and right after it has, reapply 1-3 stacks.

• 2.2 -Tank Healing (10/25 Man Raids) Strategy 2 – Lifebloom Rolling

Keep up Rejuvenation, Wild Growth and 3 stacks of Lifebloom. At the last 1-2 seconds of Lifebloom, reapply it to keep up 3 stacks. Use Nourish in the meantime. This shouldn’t be attempted unless you outgear the instance by a fair amount. Lifebloom takes a lot of mana so you might find yourself going OOM (Out Of Mana) a lot while trying this strategy. (Not recommended)

• 2.3 – Tank Healing (10/25 Man Raids) Strategy 3 – Multiple Lifebloom Rolling

This isn’t really viable anymore but I’ll explain it nevertheless. The trick is to keep up 2-3 stacks of Lifebloom on different Tanks at the same time. Your timing must be exact because you will need to refresh Lifebloom at the correct time and cast Rejuvenation, Wild Growth and Nourish when your not doing it. Not used very often.

• 2.4 – Tank Healing (10/25 Man Raids) Strategy 4 – Slow Rolling

The idea here is to start with 1 Lifebloom on the target. Just before it blooms reapply it to 2 stacks. Just before it blooms put up one more for 3 stacks. This time let it bloom. Repeat.

5 Man Dungeon Healing (3)

If you leveled up a Druid to 80 yourself you probably know how to do this at but I’ll add it in any way. Rejuvenation should be up on the Tank at all times. Use Wild Growth on the tank and Nourish for a quick boost of health. If you are going to get silenced and you know it, put up HoTs on everyone who can/will take damage (Preferably Rejuvenation) .

Raid Healing (10/25 Man Raids) (4)

Here is a look into spells you might be using when Raid-Healing –

• Rejuvenation: 15 Second HoT. This should be applied to as many people in your raid group when AoE damage is expected. Great HPM (Health Per Mana) ability.
• Wild Growth: 7 Second AoE HoT. This is one of your most useful spells. Use it every CD and preferably on the Tank.
• Regrowth: 24 Second HoT and burst heal. When used well, this is one of your most powerful abilities. It adds another HoT and HoT’s are hot! (I’m terribly fond of bad puns)
• Lifebloom: 7 Second HoT with end burst heal. This ability can stack up to 3 times on one target. While Raid-Healing, don’t stack it. It uses a lot of mana and will almost always overheal, meaning wasted mana. At the end of the 6 seconds it will “bloom” and instantly heal for a large amount.
• Nourish: Flash heal. This spell will heal for more when your HoTs are already on the target.
• Swiftmend: Instant burst health spell. Unless you have Glyph Of Swiftmend, this will consume a Rejuvenation or Regrowth HoT effect from the target. Note that even with the glyph, you must have a Rejuvenation or Regrowth on the target.

• Positioning While Raid Healing

Unless the boss has a gimmick that requires you to be in a certain spot at a certain time to avoid dying, you should try to position yourself so that a large amount of people in the raid are in range for you to heal them. The same rules apply like “stop standing in the fire”. Also make sure you can reach the MT(s) from where you are standing in case of emergency.

• Help The Tanks Stay Alive While Raid Healing

Even while RH (Raid-Healing) you should be trying to keep Lifebloom and Rejuvenation on the MT(s). Regrowth too if your not in a hurry to heal other players. Remember, tanks are part of the raid too.

• Summary

Keep Wild-Growth on CD and cast it on a Tank. If the fight has AoEs, keep up Rejuvenation on as many people as possible. When a large amount of damage hits everybody in the raid, Nourish them, regardless of HoTs. When things are more under control HoT them then Nourish. Make sure the MT has Rejuvenation at all times and at LEAST 1 stack of Lifebloom, preferably more. Save NS + HT for Tanks and Healers but use Swiftmend on players with almost no health.

PvP Healing (Battleground/Arena) (5)

This is a pretty large subject so I’m not going to be covering it in this guide. In the future, when I have a guide to it, I’ll replace this paragraph with a link to the post.

Gems And Enchants (6)s

• Blue Sockets – Purified Dreadstone – 12+ SP and 10+ Sprit gem.
• Red Sockets – Runed Cardinal Ruby – 23 Spell-Power
• Yellow Sockets – Luminous Ametrine. Go for this if your Haste is at cap. 12+ SP and 10+ Intellect gem. If you are below the Haste cap go for Quick King’s Amber for 20+ Haste-Rating.
• Meta-Gem Sockets – Insightful Earthsiege Diamond – 21+ Intellect and chance to restore mana on spellcast

Enchants

• Gloves – Exceptional Spell-Power
• Head – Arcanum of Blissful Mending
• Shoulders – Greater Inscription of the Crag – Requires Exalted status with the Sons Of Hodir to obtain.
• Legs – Brilliant Spellthread
• Cloak – Greater Speed. if you are already at the Haste-Cap go for Wisdom.
• Bracers – Superior Spell-Power
• Boots – Greater Spirit
• 1H – Mighty Spell-Power – Staves – Greater Spell-Power

Consumables (7)

Tender Shoveltusk Steak and Firecracker Salmon give the best food buffs currently. 46 Spell-Power and 40 Stamina. Fish Feasts also offers this.

Flasks

If you are looking for MP5 go for Flask of Pure Mojo. If you are looking for Spell-Power go for Flask of the Frost Wyrm. Druids will (usually) get more use out of the latter.

Runic Mana Potion is by far the best potion to have. In a mana-intensive fight every bit counts.

Macros (8)

Here is a macro to combine Natures Swiftness with Healing Touch for an instant big heal:

/cast Natures Swiftness

/cast Healing Touch (rank 15)

Yeah… thats it. If you know anymore please tell me in the comments. Not too many for a Resto Druid (at least that I know of).

FAQ (9)

There can’t be a FAQ without questions now can there? Once again, ask anything you would like to know in the comments and I may put the answer in the FAQ. That “may” is about 99%.

Ok, thats my guide. Feel free to ask in the comments anything or tell me what I missed out/got incorrect.

8 Reasons To Play A Druid

This post is for new players & re-rollers who want to know the pro’s and con’s of a Druid. I really enjoy playing Druid but there some faults to consider. Not many, but a few.

The Good Things

• If you ever get bored of one roll, just re-spec! We can do all of the 4 rolls: Melee DPS, Ranged DPS, Tanking and Healing. You will almost never get bored.
• An ability for every situation.
• At level 20 you can learn Prowl which is essentially a druid version of stealth.
• Epic Flight Form!
• Jaw-dropping DPS potential (Feral Cats were doing over 8k DPS on Patchwork before Ulduar!)
• A Teleport to Moonglade spell.
• A lot more than on this list (that is a good thing.)
• 2 Words; Moonkin Dance.

The Bad Things

• If you have more than one spec you will have to carry around a lot of extra gear in your bags.
• A lot of nice-looking armor will rarely get seen as your in a form most of the time.
• Certain achievements (such as But I’m On Your Side) are much more difficult for a Druid.

A Further Look Into The Good Things

• ‘If you ever get bored of one roll, just re-spec! We can do all of the 4 rolls: Melee DPS, Ranged DPS, Tanking and Healing. You will almost never get bored.’

This is ONE of the main reasons people choose Druids. You get into groups fast, you can solo great with healing + bear form and, like I said before, you almost NEVER get bored.

• ‘An ability for every situation.’

I thought of this while playing in a WSG Battleground. I was in Moonkin-Form in the opposing teams flag room. There were 2 other people in there, both alliance (I’m Horde), I Rooted one of them and cycloned the other. I then switched to Cat-Form and used dash to sprint out of the room. When dash wore off I went into Travel-Form to continue for 40% + speed. Another Druid Rooted me. I just quickly pressed travel form twice to escape the snare and sped to our room to hand in the flag!

• ‘At level 20 you can learn Prowl which is essentially a druid version of stealth.’

If you’re not familiar with Stealth, this is how it works – You enter a state where you are Invisible to enemies unless you come close to them/they come close to you. This works with opposing faction players too. You can sneak your way into lots of places other classes would spend hours doing. You do it in a matter of minutes.

• ‘Epic Flight Form!’

If you ask a Druid to name their 3 favorite things about playing a Druid. This almost certainly will make the list. It’s like a 280% mount (or 310%) but it’s instant cast and you don’t dismount while trying to pick things up (thats why so many Druids are Herbalists.) If you happen to randomly wander off a really high mountain, just hit Flight Form/Epic Flight Form and you will be saved.

• ‘Jaw-dropping DPS potential (Feral Cats were doing over 8k DPS on Patchwork before Ulduar!)’

I’m not so sure about Moonkins (only played one for a bit) but I know this is true for Feral “Kittehs”. I must warn you, great power comes with great responsibility… Or, in this case, lots of timers to pay attention to.

• ‘A Teleport to Moonglade spell.’

This functions the same as a Death Knights Death Gate spell. Moonglade is a home to Druids with trainers, quest givers and easy access to Felwood and Winterspring. If you are still leveling up, you’re seconds away from training your new ability’s whenever you “DING!”

• ‘A lot more than on this list (that is a good thing.)’

This is true. Because Druids are such a versatile class, there are so many aspects to them. Most of the aspects make Druids fun to play.

• ‘2 Words; Moonkin Dance.’

Only this video can show you what I mean.

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A Further Look Into The Bad Things

• ‘If you have more than one spec you will have to carry around a lot of extra gear in your bags.’

This isn’t too much of a problem but if you decide to put them into your bank you won’t have instant access. Of course if you only have one spec this doesn’t matter (as long as that spec isn’t Feral tank/DPS)

• ‘A lot of nice-looking armor will rarely get seen as your in a form most of the time.’

One of the most complained-about things from Druids. If you don’t care for aesthetics, this also isn’t a problem.

• ‘Certain achievements (such as But I’m On Your Side) are much more difficult for a Druid.’

This is a bit of a problem, but once again, if you don’t care for achievements it doesn’t matter.

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Thats my second article out. Hope you enjoyed it and remember, tell your friends and guild members if you did 🙂