An Egg-Hunt Wrap-UP

Today was the last day of the extraordinary blogging egg hunt! I was able to send in my list of found eggs just in the nick of time Angelya posted the winners: Congrats to Rades & Poneria. I would have loved to win but alas I got tripped up and failed to find 3 eggs: Stories of WoW, Light in the Nether, and Pugging Pally. Like I said, I enjoyed placing my egg up on the site but alas, it is gone now. In addition to removing the egg, I have revealed the new theme and settings that I have been working on. I am pretty content with the new layout and really enjoy the look. I hope my site-readers do too!

In light of failing at the egg hunt, let me share a positive note: I earned the achievement [Three Car Garage (10 Man)] and got my T10 chest piece today!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Noblegarden and if you’re a mage, I hope you come across the [Tome of Polymorph Rabbit]!

Noblegarden Egg Hunt

We here at A Healadin’s Tear…okay just me…are taking part in Angelya’s (over at Revive & Rejuvenate) Noblegarden Egg Hunt! Somewhere around this site you will find an egg. No, I won’t show you what it looks like, that gives you an advantage. I am not savvy with HTML, graphics, or anything of the like but I did have fun getting this ready! I will put it up at Midnight EST; at that point, it is officially Easter Noblegarden.

Be sure to check out: How to Hunt Eggs if you haven’t already and check back on Sunday!

Be sure to keep a check on her site for full list of over 40 blog sites that are participating and remember to have fun! You get awesome prizes if you win but in the end it is a fun and exciting way to check out new blogs!

A Farewell

This morning, I left for work with several entries in my reader to handle when I got home. But coming back at the end of the day, I found a sad new entry had been added to this list. Crankyhealer has posted her good-byes from the blogging world with an abrupt end. Attempting to find her on twitter revealed she is gone from there too.

So like Windsoar, I wanted to send a shout out to her! I loved her writing and really enjoyed getting to know her and play with her over at SAN. Should she ever come across this, remember:

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Good luck in all you do and thoughts to your guildmates! I will always be around Shadow Council

Tiny Tar & the Single Abstract Noun

The blogging universe has expanded its way to in-game content! Tamarind had the idea to start a guild <Single Abstract Noun> where bloggers and readers alike can get together in-game and play. This brings a lot of new bloggers to the forefront and introduces readers to new bloggers they may not know about. The US chapter of the guild can be found on the Alliance side of Argent Dawn (RP Server) thanks to Miss Medicina.

Today I joined the band wagon and started my SAN toon! You could say I wasn’t original but I am pretty sure I am creative…maybe. I rolled up Tarinae the Draeni! Oh yes, it rhymes in all of its glory! The name Tarinae is the only name I hvae ever duplicated and ever intend to duplicate. It also had a sound purpose of clearing up any confusion of who I was playing and who the blogger is. In this blog, Tarinae will always refer to my main. She is a (as if you didn’t know) Level 80 Blood Elf Healadin…Tiny Tar as I shall call my SAN baby is a Level 6 Draeni idontwanttohaveanotherhealadinrightnow.

Starting off the leveling process, I wanted to do something a little different. Something that would give me something to laugh about and chat about. As a draeni paladin doesn’t start with chest armor, I decided to quest shirtless. I know it isn’t extravagent but my shirtlessness was entertaining all the same and made for a grand entrance statement when Crankypally tossed me the invite. I even thought I would share my PG-rated exploits!

I am really excited to get her up and going. Of course I can’t and won’t put any other character to the side but after that fail-pug raid sometimes you need a break! Or even after these horrible pugs that seem to be plagueing the Dungeon Finder…a lowbie can the answer. The guild is already over 200 members and a lot of them are “Avid Readers” and I really hope to get to know them! Getting to know a reader base can strengthen your blog and that is something to look forward too. Yes, traffic is good too.

As a closing sentiment I thought I would share a picture that I enjoyed splicing together in all its simplicity. It is just awesome!

Elder Tarinae’s Tips

I’m not going to think of a witty intro. I have been sitting here for 2 hours looking at a blank screen and have tried for 3 days to have the inspiration of how to write this and what to write about. Currently in-game the Lunar Festival is going on in game and the holiday requires you to literally travel across Azeroth to honor Elders. Khi over at Tree Burglar had a great idea for the “Elder” players to create a post for those who are new to the game! I have thought long and hard about what to do. At some point I will do a leveling guild and/or tips for paladins but I don’t want that for this. I want this to be unique. I want this to help ANYONE who tries to read it; bits on paladin talents won’t help that warlock hunting mage that strolls through there. So I am going universal…multi-functional even!

Things Everyone Should Know

1. When trading down Emblems, Shift+Click to trade a mass quantity (I was given this direction in life after having done 60 individual trades from conquest to heroism.)
2. You should use gear for the stats it provides (i.e. Intellect/Spirit) and not the Damage of a weapon or the armor numbers. (For those priests who want 2 armor points and agi/stam over what they have with int/spirit).
3. No class can use every weapon. (Warriors come close but cannot use wands).
4. Class quests can be very important! (They tend to reward necessary spells like Paladin’s Redemption, or Berserker stance!)
5. You should choose one talent specialization and max it out instead of throwing your points around randomly. (Could you imagine a Holy Paladin without Beacon? I think not.)
6. There is a difference between PVE, PVP, and leveling talents. You do not need to reduce damage taken or increase output as an end-game healer.
7. PVE = Player-versus-Environment, PVP = Player-versus-Player, DPS = Damage Per Second, WTB = Want to Buy, WTS = Want to Sell, PST = Please send Tell
8. Melee Hit Rating is at 8% or 263. Spell Hit Rating is 17%. Hit percentages do not reflect talents or presences like the Draeni racial so you must add that manually.
9. If you are a retribution paladin or warrior, do not gem for Attack Power. You get more attack power from strength. Ret pallies receive 2.4 points of attack power/1 STR.
10. Where you quest, the spec you chose, the gear you wear, and the rotation you use are in the end up to you. You pay to play. There is no wrong way or right way to play but there are highly suggested ways to play if you want the most output/results.

I attempted to make this a list of life-lessons that I have learned throughout my experience. Some are trivial but as a new player I didn’t know acronyms, half the time I still don’t know what classes can you what weapons. I also wanted to include some end-game tips I have been sharing recently. It is my goal that this helps anyone and everyone that reads it. Being a veteran (Elder Tarinae) for going on three years, I am glad to have shared my wisdom with you and leave you with one parting tip:

Just because a socket is prismatic, does not mean the gem has to be; any color will match.

Loving Revelation

Anea, my dear…

For three days I have pined for you to look at me, for you to know my name but I just couldn’t tell you. But now, things are different. I’m not nervous anymore. I am so excited the whole world should know how much you mean to me! Anea, whether you like it or not, I’m calling you my Valentine! And that entitles you to cuddles and flowers and chocolate!

Happy Valentine’s Day my Sweet!

And so the end to a great blogging event has come. The great revelation to her, Anea, in which I was stalking admiring. I’ve recently started following her and many other participants in the project on twitter and have really gotten to know a lot a of great people. There are also lots of new additions to my blogroll that I really enjoy reading that I found during the event. I would like to thank Dristanel at The Physician’s Log for hosting the great event and The Elitest for my loving posts. Did I mention I had a blast? Oh and, thank you Anea for not hating my creepiness!

Good night and Happy Valentine’s Day!

As long as you love me…

Whether you know this holiday as Love is in the Air, Valentine’s Day, Singles Awareness, or anything else…they still have the same concept. It’s about admiration…it’s about love…and appreciation (the singles kind of hate that part). What better way to show admiration to your fellow bloggers than be a part of Dristanel’s Secret Admirer Blog Project over at The Physician’s Log.

Sadly, I can’t encourage you to join in this time (I barely made the deadline myself), but check out the post for links to all the participants and watch the stalking in all its creepy glory.

At this time, this fragile fragile state, my blog could use some TLC from some people so I welcome a stalker with open arms…just…don’t tell everyone that. And don’t knock on my window either! This attitude made me think of Backstreet Boys. And even though I couldn’t find a decent youtube video, I leave you with one thought….

“As long as you love me”…it is okay to stalk me.

Healing Blogring Attempt

So, during the downtime today I sat and contemplated make a post for a long time but instead made a formspring profile. But no one asks me much so I got lost in the blog-world. I ended up over at Miss Medicina‘s blog and found that she had posted a questionnaire for the healy types to fill out and share. So here I am, putting my best foot forward and filling it out!

• What is the name, class, and spec of your primary healer? Tarinae Androlene of Shadow Council-H (Holy Paladin)
• What is your primary group healing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans) I’m the main healer (and guildmaster) for my guild when raiding 10 mans but find myself often in 5-mans. I also have intentions soon to join a 4v4 as a PVP healer.
• What is your favorite healing spell for your class and why? Holy Light…the bigger the number the better I feel. It also grants [Light's Grace] which is a small but nice buff.
• What healing spell do you use least for your class and why? Hand of Protection — it is only an immunity to physical damage which doesn’t do much when it is spell/magical.
• What do you feel is the biggest strength of your healing class and why? The bomb heals is strong enough to keep the tank alive and Beacon of Light can allow you to spot heal throughout (or keep yourself alive) should the need arise.
• What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your healing class and why? Not being able to use heal-over-time’s. We have to burst heal someone with FoL or Holy Shock to cover a few hundred points. The only HoT we have requires Sacred Shield and that is only on one target at a time.
• In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best healing assignment for you? Most definitely tank healing. I have improved my skills and talent for it. Without HoT’s raid healing (and I have done it) is difficult and effects my performance negatively.
• What healing class do you enjoy healing with most and why? 100% holy paladin. The only other one I have experience with is Disc Priest and I suck at it. But I love tank healing and think I do a good job at it.
• What healing class do you enjoy healing with least and why? From what I can tell, (having not played much else) I dislike priest healing in general. There are too many different spells to chose from, different buttons to remove magic and disease (you can’t even do poisons!). I find priest healing makes me frantic and I spent an hour trying to Disc heal Ingvar at lvl 71.
• What is your worst habit as a healer? Putting my Beacon and Shield on the tank right after he aggros. Granted, if they would wait for my healing buffs it wouldn’t be a problem but I always find myself with initial aggro.
• What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while healing? When a raid wipe occurs, people automatically assume and ask “What happened healers?” If DPS would do what they are supposed to half the time, or watch their range or watch their DPS, our job wouldn’t be so hard. Someone somewhere once said, “After downing a boss, no one ever says ‘Good job healers’…its a thankless job”
• Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other healers for PvE healing? I think so; where others may excel at keeping the entire group alive, I shine in keeping the one person who takes the most damage alive. It is all about class utilization. If you put a druid on tank heals with me, the balance shifts against them.
• What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a healer? When tank healing, I check my effective healing done to a target in comparison to other assigned healers. I attempt not to let the performance of raid healers bring me down based on numbers. I also try to keep over-healing down but that can be difficult when you are healing the main tank and everyone has their eyes on them.
• What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your healing class? That paladin healing is spamming Holy Light. Our mana is not infinite though we stack intellect.
• What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new healers of your class to learn? Beacon use. They may try a variety of targets as their Beacon of Light before settling on a style that is appropriate for them. I think this is evident in the sheer variety of Beacon styles used with seasoned healers. I also think they have to learn to know numbers and negative health to cast the appropriate heal. (Grid helped me significantly with this).
• If someone were to try to evaluate your performance as a healer via recount, what sort of patterns would they see (i.e. lots of overhealing, low healing output, etc)? I would say there is lots of overhealing (I dont concentrate on that – if it is overhealing, still means they are topped off) but very high HPS is another pattern. Having broke 8700, I avg around 4k.
• Haste or Crit and why? I have moved onto haste essentially as my crit is close to a whopping 40%!
• What healing class do you feel you understand least? Druids. Having not played one, it seems all their spells do the same thing at the same cast time /shrug.
• What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in healing? I use Grid for Unit Frames (No I dont use Clique) and I love it. I also use NeedtoKnow for Beacon and Sacred Shield focus target watches. I have decided that they are my lifelines.
• Do you strive primarily for balance between your healing stats, or do you stack some much higher than others, and why? I love balance, but I have been learning slowly that stacking intellect (as a healadin) balances everything but your haste and I work with that accordingly.

Maybe this is an effective look into my healing pyshce I had a blast filling it out. At this point I am supposed to link to other healers and encourage them to fill them out. As I am new to the blogosphere, I will link the only ones I know!

Ophelie at The Bossy Pally and the Giant Spoon

Lissanna at Restokin

Derevka at Tales of a Priest