There’s been a lot of awesome posting about all kinds of subjects since Cataclysm released, and I haven’t been doing a lot of linking, or even really staying in the mainstream discussions. However, I thought I’d dig out the guides and conversations that I enjoyed over the last week (even if I did a total fail on participation… no gold star for Wind!)
I’ve tried to keep things semi-grouped by topic so that you can just skip on down to the kind of discussions that interest you. My apologies to anyone who actually checks out my recent reading feed — these have all been shared already!
Levelings (Alts)
From Druid Main: Leveling Benchmarks, i.e. when to run back to town to train that tradeskill and other useful stuff.
Gear
While Vixsin at Life in Group 5 is really looking for resto shamans, I thought it was a darn good example of how to evaluate trinkets for casters in general.
Class Guides
Want to know anything, and I do mean anything about trees? Keeva has set-up RestoDruid.info, a massive compilation of everything pertaining to healing as a restoration druid: from leveling to PvE to PvP.
Rapid Fire walks you through the basics of Markmanship.
Wondering how to make your bear enchanting? Look no further than Saniel’s 4.0.3 Feral Enchant Guide. You should also check out the bear “rotation” post if you’re just getting started!
Samuel’s ready to break in all those new baby rogues with his L1 – 10 guide.
Psynister has a number of beginning leveling guides updated for the expansion, so I’ll just link you straight to his front page. If it’s not up yet, it will be soon!
Ever wonder exactly how much that profession change will cost you? Check out Azeroth on 20 Silver a Day to find out the answer — in silver and gold!
Heroics
Deana of Healer Aggro put out a great quick and dirty guide to 5-man Heroics.
This is filed here, despite it’s tongue in cheek approach, because if you’re a tank starting heroics, A Shortage of Dwarves has some ‘xplanations for you.
You know that Skada/Recount will tell you all kinds of fun information — but how do you use that to evaluate your healing team? While not the best tool in creation, Zel walks us through getting the best use out of our in-game healing meters — one bar at a time.
A picture guide to making Grim Batol suck less over at I Like Bubbles. Go memorize those circles!
Raiding Guides
The Stealther’s Guide to Omotron Defense System by Squelchy!
While I haven’t seen one in the past week, I thought Sword and Board deserved a special mention for some concise raid instructions that are great for raid leaders!
Musings About….
Vidyala has an open letter to Blizzard about the state of fishing.
In epic Bearwall style, BBB discusses the Unholy Trinity. I also enjoyed We Fly Spitfires’ take on the same issue: adding a 6th party member! And for a slightly different perspective, you can always check out Adam at the Noisy Rogue who explores why there’s a healer / tank “shortage.”
Ever get tired of all the negative hype about games breaking relationships? Beruthiel shares a very personal story (so if you’re not into that kinda thing, don’t click) about how the game facilitated a great relationship.
Red Cow Rise has some great reviews of all the new zones — instead of linking them all, I’m going to send you over on this Mt. Hyjal review, but root around and read the series!
Naithin at Fun in Games also has a good series on building a UI. I’m linking the third part of the three-part series.
Archeology: love it, hate it, strudel? Naora has a good look at the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the newest profession.
What makes Warcraft different from the 101 other MMO’s that have risen and fallen during Warcraft’s long reign? That’s exactly what Gazimoff explores and he’s got some interesting insights into the success of the game we all know and (sometimes) love.
Ah, Lady RNG has reared her ugly head again, and this time she’s plaguing Syl at the Raging Monkeys. A great read for all of us who are forced to admit defeat at the hands of the capricious bit… ah, lady.
Thanks everyone for the great reading!
I usually don’t have the patience for this kind of post — I spent more time tracking down these interesting posts that I enjoyed than I did reading them the first time around. That being said, while I don’t plan to do this type of thing very often, if you haven’t been introduced to some of these fabulous bloggers it’s about time! It’s also a good time for me to thank everyone who has made my first couple months in the WoW blogosphere so enjoyable and successful thus far. I hope you enjoy your travels, and I’ll see everyone back here on Friday!
Jaded Alt 