So I was logging in Tuesday after the weekly maintenance and like normal I pay little attention to what's on screen, but start getting comfortable in my chair in anticipation of playing.
But wait! Out of the corner of my eye I see two words pop up on screen "personal info"!! I've never seen this is the pop-up window before and my heart starts racing! What's going on?! I could swear I saw something to the effect of "transmitting personal info", but I can't be 100% sure.
As soon as I log in, I mention it in guild chat, but no one else seems to have seen the same thing. I immediately go back and change my password completely afraid that I've been hacked.
Now everything I've ever read seems to indicate that people who get hacked are those that answer questionable e-mails, buy gold online, or unfortunately were susceptible to that Flash player exploit, etc. I've never gotten a questionable e-mail claiming to be from Blizzard. I've never purchased gold or power-leveling services. And I recently bought a new computer that was already up-to-date on the flash player. I do however scan for other blogs all the time and visit sites like Wowjutsu, Be Imba!, and Wowhead.
So what happened? No idea. At first I thought, OK if I've been hacked, I've at least changed my password and that's all I can do. If it's more likely that I'm overreacting, then it probably had something to do with the recent Season 2 update. Still no one else saw it. Then on Wednesday a friend and fellow guildmate also saw the same thing as she logged in. I told her to immediately change her password, just in case.
Have you read my last post where I said I was lazy? I really should send a notice to Blizzard asking about it...
Continue reading 'Transmitting Personal Info: Account Security'
Friday, June 27, 2008
Just goes to show how lazy I am...
Finally decided on a name for my blog. Kyrilean of Arathor was very generic and I only did it last January because I couldn't come up with anything else at the time.
Well, OK I didn't finally decide on a name, that's where the lazy part comes in. "Flash of Light" was an obvious choice for several reasons and it appears no one else has taken that name. The Holy Light already exists, but I spam Flash of Light about 90% of the time so it fits more. Besides I'm a Monty Python fan and well "Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!"
The lazy part is creating a banner. Thank you, Pugnacious Priest! I guess the final lazy part is finishing up about 4 or 5 posts I'm currently working on, but getting nowhere with.
OK, maybe I'm not so lazy. Yes, I need to update my toon's pic (wow that's old!) But I have been spending a lot of time on Maedchen and finally got her to level 50 yesterday! Now I need to spend some time getting her herbology and alchemy maxed. I'm tired of buying elixirs for Kyrilean. I've also spent a lot of time posting items and info on our guild website and recruiting tanks and healers. I checked yesterday and we had 48 lvl 70 toons, some of which are alts. Our GM alone has five I think! But in reality I think we've got around 30+ actual different players for those 48. Why can't we get a 2nd Kara group running?! Well, we only have four tanks and if even one doesn't show... So I recruit.
On the plus side, we downed Nalorakk again last night and he dropped Formula: Enchant Weapon - Executioner so I can add another enchant to my list. It was decided that an officer would automatically get any recipe so long as they did not have it before the rest of the members would. This way we can minimize our risk of enchants leaving the guild. Continue reading 'Just goes to show how lazy I am...'
Well, OK I didn't finally decide on a name, that's where the lazy part comes in. "Flash of Light" was an obvious choice for several reasons and it appears no one else has taken that name. The Holy Light already exists, but I spam Flash of Light about 90% of the time so it fits more. Besides I'm a Monty Python fan and well "Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!"
The lazy part is creating a banner. Thank you, Pugnacious Priest! I guess the final lazy part is finishing up about 4 or 5 posts I'm currently working on, but getting nowhere with.
OK, maybe I'm not so lazy. Yes, I need to update my toon's pic (wow that's old!) But I have been spending a lot of time on Maedchen and finally got her to level 50 yesterday! Now I need to spend some time getting her herbology and alchemy maxed. I'm tired of buying elixirs for Kyrilean. I've also spent a lot of time posting items and info on our guild website and recruiting tanks and healers. I checked yesterday and we had 48 lvl 70 toons, some of which are alts. Our GM alone has five I think! But in reality I think we've got around 30+ actual different players for those 48. Why can't we get a 2nd Kara group running?! Well, we only have four tanks and if even one doesn't show... So I recruit.
On the plus side, we downed Nalorakk again last night and he dropped Formula: Enchant Weapon - Executioner so I can add another enchant to my list. It was decided that an officer would automatically get any recipe so long as they did not have it before the rest of the members would. This way we can minimize our risk of enchants leaving the guild. Continue reading 'Just goes to show how lazy I am...'
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
World of Wifecraft
It's fairly tame, but there is a little bit of language so if you're sensitive to that...
World of Wifecraft
.... Continue reading 'World of Wifecraft'
World of Wifecraft
.... Continue reading 'World of Wifecraft'
Thursday, June 19, 2008
$#@%: Patch 2.4.3
I've never been one to read the patch notes in the past. For the most part I'll admit I was dumb and stupid. I'm still learning a ton about the game's mechanics and was more worried about just gearing up before worrying about the little nuances. Fortunately, I have spent some time this past month trying to get more familiar with some of those nuances, specifically macros.
This past month I've finally gotten comfortable enough to understand how the mouseover macros work and have implemented it in my healing spells and Cleanse. In researching it I stumbled upon some notes about equipping Librams for each of the heals to increase the healing output. For the most part I'd been doing this manually and hadn't thought of trying it in a macro. There was some explanation about difficulties that I still don't understand, but I'm going to find out after what I found out about 2.4.3!!!
Whatever the difficulty is--has something to do with cooldowns I think--that the cast needed to be before equipping the appropriate libram. To be honest, I read through it twice and still didn't understand, but I was primarily only interested in knowing that it worked. I also unfortunately cannot give credit to the appropriate person as I cannot remember where I found this info, so thanks to whomever and sorry. But I was excited and set up my macros:
Equipping an item will now cancel any spell cast currently in progress.
$#@%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've tested it, it works great! Now it won't!!! Crap. /sigh
Well I need to figure out what the issue with equipping the libram before the cast actually is. I think it had to do with some sort of libram cooldown, but I didn't think those had any. Hopefully this is nothing and I can proceed, but my initial reaction is:
$#@%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Continue reading '$#@%: Patch 2.4.3'
This past month I've finally gotten comfortable enough to understand how the mouseover macros work and have implemented it in my healing spells and Cleanse. In researching it I stumbled upon some notes about equipping Librams for each of the heals to increase the healing output. For the most part I'd been doing this manually and hadn't thought of trying it in a macro. There was some explanation about difficulties that I still don't understand, but I'm going to find out after what I found out about 2.4.3!!!
Whatever the difficulty is--has something to do with cooldowns I think--that the cast needed to be before equipping the appropriate libram. To be honest, I read through it twice and still didn't understand, but I was primarily only interested in knowing that it worked. I also unfortunately cannot give credit to the appropriate person as I cannot remember where I found this info, so thanks to whomever and sorry. But I was excited and set up my macros:
#showtooltip Flash of LightI didn't even know Patch 2.4.3 was in development. I find out this morning and start reading through some of the cool things they've changed when I stumble upon this little number:
/stopcasting
/cast Flash of Light
/equip Blessed Book of Nagrand
#showtooltip Holy Light
/stopcasting
/cast Holy Light
/equip Libram of the Lightbringer
Equipping an item will now cancel any spell cast currently in progress.
$#@%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've tested it, it works great! Now it won't!!! Crap. /sigh
Well I need to figure out what the issue with equipping the libram before the cast actually is. I think it had to do with some sort of libram cooldown, but I didn't think those had any. Hopefully this is nothing and I can proceed, but my initial reaction is:
$#@%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Continue reading '$#@%: Patch 2.4.3'
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Preparing for Wrath of the Lich King
So Phaelia asked over at Blog Azeroth what people were doing to prepare for Wrath of the Lich King. There have already been a multitude of responses and since I’ve been somewhat at a loss for what to write about these days; here’s mine.
For the most part, I’ve been working on getting through as much end-game content as possible. I’ve seen all of Kara and have personally been a part of downing every boss except Netherspite, which unfortunately I wasn’t around for, and the animal bosses which I probably will never do. I’ve seen Gruul, but not the High King. Night ended in wipes. I’ve downed Nalorakk and seen Halazzi, but that’s it. Never been to The Eye, Mag’s, BT, Hyjal, or Sunwell. Chances are I won’t see the last 3 before the expansion hits.
Actually I take that back. I suppose I have seen Hyjal. A friend of mine and her guild got really bored one day and decided to run in there to see it. There was only about 20 of us ranging in gear from Tier 6 to blues/greens. We actually survived the initial swarm, but the defenders didn’t. LOL!
In order to do this, I’m actively spending time recruiting and finding ways to motivate others to gear up in Kara. There’s only so much I can do. (Hmmm, there’s a post topic here.)
I’d love to get an Amani Bear Mount, if for no other reason to say I did it. I think we’re all aware that once Wrath hits, this drop will no longer be available and will be replaced with an appropriate epic drop.
I’m determined to get the Champion of the Naaru title, again for no other reason than to say I did it. I guess you will still be able to get it once Wrath hits as long as you don’t hit level 71. This would mean not installing Wrath I guess. I’ve already completed every heroic except Slabs to get it. Trying to gear people up in my guild to get ready for Mag’s and Gruul’s, but I need them to actually log on during raid times. /sigh
I’ve already maxed out all of my professions, including the secondary ones. One of these days I’ll remember to level up my 2H Axe and 2H Sword. They’re already around 365 anyway. I just always use a mace. I’m one point from Unarmed, but never seem to get around to maxing that one either.
I want to hit exalted with Lower City and Shat’ar. I’m revered with both. I also would like to hit exalted with Keepers of Time. Can’t remember what standing I have with them and too lazy to look it up.
I’m working frantically on leveling Maedchen to 70 before the expansion. I’d like to raid with her in Kara if possible too. After last night’s Kara run with a shaman healer, I think Erdkrieg is going to get some play time soon! Maybe I’ll spend two hours a week with him.
I’m not really trying to save money for the future, but its happening. I hit the dailies maybe twice a week. Otherwise I do 3-4 every day, so I’m not gaining money from that. I’m just so burned out from the dailies that I cannot motivate myself to do them. Besides I really don’t need the money. I’m not rich by any means, but I have sufficient to purchase what I need for raiding at the beginning of the week and not worry about repair costs at all.
I’m gaining a majority of my money from farming gems and having a friend cut them for me. I usually spend about 1-2 hours doing this every day. On any given good day I’ll average 5 gems/hour. On really poor days I’ll end up with 2 every hour. The Royal Nightseye is selling well for me. I post it for 75g and get 73g after the AH take. I always get undercut, but mine always sell; always seems to do better during the week especially on Tues/Wed after the Kara reset. The main thing to remember is to not flood the AH or it’ll kill the price and don’t undercut. I was undercut 6 or 7 times when I posted three of these gems the other day. This morning I logged in to find I had sold two and one was returned.
Once Wrath hits, I intend to level Ky to 80, along with Maedchen, and possibly Erdkrieg if I get that far. I want to continue raiding once Wrath hits and I’m really looking forward to the 10man raids. Although I know a lot of people that would call me hardcore, I’m still too casual to put up with egotistical pricks to join a “hardcore” raiding guild. I just want to have fun, and I actually mean it.
I will roll a Death Knight. Oh groan! Yes, I know. Either you’re on one side of the fence or the other about this. I think I’m somewhere in the middle. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be intrigued enough to actually do something with it, but I doubt it. I like healing too much. Besides I have no idea what the Death Knight really entails. I’m not really reading anything about any of it. I don’t understand how people can do the beta testing and then not get really bored doing it all over again. Where’s the fun in that?
So why roll a Death Knight? Well, right before Wrath comes out I’m going to be farming up a lot of mats and/or gold to level 2 professions with him. Sure I might not be able to max them out, assuming that the limit will raise above 375, but I’ll have someone that can do quite a bit and will no longer be required to turn to others. Actually that might motivate me to at least level him to whatever is required to max out the professions.
I don’t know that I’m actually preparing for Wrath so much as just trying to finish up as much as I can before everyone loses interest in Outland like they did with Azeroth. Continue reading 'Preparing for Wrath of the Lich King'
For the most part, I’ve been working on getting through as much end-game content as possible. I’ve seen all of Kara and have personally been a part of downing every boss except Netherspite, which unfortunately I wasn’t around for, and the animal bosses which I probably will never do. I’ve seen Gruul, but not the High King. Night ended in wipes. I’ve downed Nalorakk and seen Halazzi, but that’s it. Never been to The Eye, Mag’s, BT, Hyjal, or Sunwell. Chances are I won’t see the last 3 before the expansion hits.
Actually I take that back. I suppose I have seen Hyjal. A friend of mine and her guild got really bored one day and decided to run in there to see it. There was only about 20 of us ranging in gear from Tier 6 to blues/greens. We actually survived the initial swarm, but the defenders didn’t. LOL!
In order to do this, I’m actively spending time recruiting and finding ways to motivate others to gear up in Kara. There’s only so much I can do. (Hmmm, there’s a post topic here.)
I’d love to get an Amani Bear Mount, if for no other reason to say I did it. I think we’re all aware that once Wrath hits, this drop will no longer be available and will be replaced with an appropriate epic drop.
I’m determined to get the Champion of the Naaru title, again for no other reason than to say I did it. I guess you will still be able to get it once Wrath hits as long as you don’t hit level 71. This would mean not installing Wrath I guess. I’ve already completed every heroic except Slabs to get it. Trying to gear people up in my guild to get ready for Mag’s and Gruul’s, but I need them to actually log on during raid times. /sigh
I’ve already maxed out all of my professions, including the secondary ones. One of these days I’ll remember to level up my 2H Axe and 2H Sword. They’re already around 365 anyway. I just always use a mace. I’m one point from Unarmed, but never seem to get around to maxing that one either.
I want to hit exalted with Lower City and Shat’ar. I’m revered with both. I also would like to hit exalted with Keepers of Time. Can’t remember what standing I have with them and too lazy to look it up.
I’m working frantically on leveling Maedchen to 70 before the expansion. I’d like to raid with her in Kara if possible too. After last night’s Kara run with a shaman healer, I think Erdkrieg is going to get some play time soon! Maybe I’ll spend two hours a week with him.
I’m not really trying to save money for the future, but its happening. I hit the dailies maybe twice a week. Otherwise I do 3-4 every day, so I’m not gaining money from that. I’m just so burned out from the dailies that I cannot motivate myself to do them. Besides I really don’t need the money. I’m not rich by any means, but I have sufficient to purchase what I need for raiding at the beginning of the week and not worry about repair costs at all.
I’m gaining a majority of my money from farming gems and having a friend cut them for me. I usually spend about 1-2 hours doing this every day. On any given good day I’ll average 5 gems/hour. On really poor days I’ll end up with 2 every hour. The Royal Nightseye is selling well for me. I post it for 75g and get 73g after the AH take. I always get undercut, but mine always sell; always seems to do better during the week especially on Tues/Wed after the Kara reset. The main thing to remember is to not flood the AH or it’ll kill the price and don’t undercut. I was undercut 6 or 7 times when I posted three of these gems the other day. This morning I logged in to find I had sold two and one was returned.
Once Wrath hits, I intend to level Ky to 80, along with Maedchen, and possibly Erdkrieg if I get that far. I want to continue raiding once Wrath hits and I’m really looking forward to the 10man raids. Although I know a lot of people that would call me hardcore, I’m still too casual to put up with egotistical pricks to join a “hardcore” raiding guild. I just want to have fun, and I actually mean it.
I will roll a Death Knight. Oh groan! Yes, I know. Either you’re on one side of the fence or the other about this. I think I’m somewhere in the middle. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be intrigued enough to actually do something with it, but I doubt it. I like healing too much. Besides I have no idea what the Death Knight really entails. I’m not really reading anything about any of it. I don’t understand how people can do the beta testing and then not get really bored doing it all over again. Where’s the fun in that?
So why roll a Death Knight? Well, right before Wrath comes out I’m going to be farming up a lot of mats and/or gold to level 2 professions with him. Sure I might not be able to max them out, assuming that the limit will raise above 375, but I’ll have someone that can do quite a bit and will no longer be required to turn to others. Actually that might motivate me to at least level him to whatever is required to max out the professions.
I don’t know that I’m actually preparing for Wrath so much as just trying to finish up as much as I can before everyone loses interest in Outland like they did with Azeroth. Continue reading 'Preparing for Wrath of the Lich King'
Friday, June 13, 2008
Maedchen's Journal: DING dong the Witch is Dead
OK, so there's no witch. It's just something I had started saying to friends when leveling instead of the boring old "ding".
Finally got Maedchen up to level 40. As slow as the regular mount is, it's such a delight to be able to ride now. I had forgotten how painful it was to walk everywhere. Areas like Redridge Mountains and Stranglethorn Vale are horrible places to have to walk.
Still wondering if I will actually be able to get her to 70 and raid at least Kara before the next expansion comes out....hmmm. Continue reading 'Maedchen's Journal: DING dong the Witch is Dead'
Finally got Maedchen up to level 40. As slow as the regular mount is, it's such a delight to be able to ride now. I had forgotten how painful it was to walk everywhere. Areas like Redridge Mountains and Stranglethorn Vale are horrible places to have to walk.
Still wondering if I will actually be able to get her to 70 and raid at least Kara before the next expansion comes out....hmmm. Continue reading 'Maedchen's Journal: DING dong the Witch is Dead'
Return to ZA
I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't had time to post anything, not that I have had a lot to say lately. It's harder to get people to raid anymore with their real life commitments or burnout. However, last Saturday we attempted ZA once again with a better mix of DPS than we had when we were just looking around. It took a couple of attempts, but we got Nalorakk down! This was an exciting moment as we now know we can at least farm this boss twice a week if nothing else for gear. We still have a ways to go as a guild even in Kara, but we're making progress.
We made our way to the fourth boss afterwards and although we were able to survive, our DPS again wasn't enough to be able to take this boss down. We did manage to get him to under 30% at one point before he started healing himself. Continue reading 'Return to ZA'
We made our way to the fourth boss afterwards and although we were able to survive, our DPS again wasn't enough to be able to take this boss down. We did manage to get him to under 30% at one point before he started healing himself. Continue reading 'Return to ZA'
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Raiders of Lost ZA
Zul’Aman has always been somewhere I was never sure I’d get to see. It was a lost treasure always dreamed of, but never attained. That all changed Sunday night…
Our GM set up a guild run of ZA to do something new and as incentive for people to start really gearing up in Kara and Heroics. What transpired surprised me to no end! We actually did well for being totally unprepared! Only a couple of members had ever set foot in ZA and half of us aren’t geared for it. In fact, our druid healer isn’t quite geared for Kara yet, but is doing wonderful as he learns his raid heals.
It took some time to get to the first boss, and we wiped a couple of times I think. All in all the pulls weren’t that bad although they hit hard. By the time we got to the boss learning to heal that fight was a little difficult, but after the 2nd wipe we had it down. Once we figured out the tanks were switching as the boss changed forms and were able to hold the aggro accordingly, it became easy to focus on that one tank. Excitement coursed through my veins as I saw we were starting to get the hang of it and really beat down the boss!! Unfortunately, my mana was starting to get low and I had already used a pot 3 times, then I heard the other pally announce he was out of mana and the druid chimed in right behind him. I looked at the boss’ health at roughly 28% and thought, dang we almost made it!
We did get the boss down to 23% before all 3 healers were drained and the tanks started to fall. I couldn’t believe it though. We actually managed to take the first boss to 23% on our third attempt!!! And to top it off we didn’t even have our top DPSers in the raid that night!! Wow!!! The entire guild should be excited about this!
Seeing new content was a blast! Knowing that we’re actually making progress is a huge boost for me! The prospect of knowing we’re progressing is the motivation I needed to help with my burnout problems. I can’t wait for our next attempt!
Continue reading 'Raiders of Lost ZA'
Our GM set up a guild run of ZA to do something new and as incentive for people to start really gearing up in Kara and Heroics. What transpired surprised me to no end! We actually did well for being totally unprepared! Only a couple of members had ever set foot in ZA and half of us aren’t geared for it. In fact, our druid healer isn’t quite geared for Kara yet, but is doing wonderful as he learns his raid heals.
It took some time to get to the first boss, and we wiped a couple of times I think. All in all the pulls weren’t that bad although they hit hard. By the time we got to the boss learning to heal that fight was a little difficult, but after the 2nd wipe we had it down. Once we figured out the tanks were switching as the boss changed forms and were able to hold the aggro accordingly, it became easy to focus on that one tank. Excitement coursed through my veins as I saw we were starting to get the hang of it and really beat down the boss!! Unfortunately, my mana was starting to get low and I had already used a pot 3 times, then I heard the other pally announce he was out of mana and the druid chimed in right behind him. I looked at the boss’ health at roughly 28% and thought, dang we almost made it!
We did get the boss down to 23% before all 3 healers were drained and the tanks started to fall. I couldn’t believe it though. We actually managed to take the first boss to 23% on our third attempt!!! And to top it off we didn’t even have our top DPSers in the raid that night!! Wow!!! The entire guild should be excited about this!
Seeing new content was a blast! Knowing that we’re actually making progress is a huge boost for me! The prospect of knowing we’re progressing is the motivation I needed to help with my burnout problems. I can’t wait for our next attempt!
My User Interface
Well here's what my UI looks like. It's more than a little cluttered, but it works for me right now.
But what does all of this mean? Well, if I activate a couple of the add-ons I can show you what all of it is.
So what are my add-ons? I've got:
Bongos3 - my action bar add-on located at the bottom. I've got it full expanded to 120 buttons. Do I need all of them? No, but having the ability to put the items used for daily quests at the bottom has made doing dailys much easier. I use the same layout for each of my toons, but have character specific key bindings to make things easier. You'll notice I have my pet bar above my bag bar which is to the right above the main action bar. My menu bar is located in the center and my class bar which for my pally is my auras, is above and to the left. I've also got my stats bar to the bottom right. All of these bars are customizable in size and location. My action bar is one bar of 120 buttons. This can be broken up into multiple bars in whatever number of buttons you prefer and located all over your screen. It is highly customizable. You can also turn them off, but I keep the pet bar on for events like Chess in Kara or the Sunwell quest where you take over the ravagers.
Metahud - my range indicator. This is the add-on with the rounded bars to the left and right of me. The two green bars are my own health bar and the health bar of my target on the outside. The blue bar to the right is my mana bar. The mana bar of my target will appear on the right to the outside of my own. The options allow you to change the locations a little. The health/mana totals are also shown at the bottom of these bars including percentages. You'll note that I am casting Flash of Light with 0.7 seconds remaining shown above my mana bar. It's also shown just above my buttons, but that one is part of Bongos3.
VisualHeal - is located just below my menu bar and on top of my action bar. On my previous computer it was above the menu bar, just below my feet. I've forgotten how to move it. What does it do? The screenshot doesn't do it justice, but imagine my health being at 50%. When I begin casting a heal spell, it will show in a lighter green color the estimated health gain I will achieve from the spell. This works for any target.If you begin to overheal, the health bar will extend to the right past the bar length and show up red. Just a handy tool I like to use, but probably not necessary. It does not seem to take into account crits, because I've been at 20% and cast Holy Light on myself only to show it going up to around 50%, but then maxing my health out on a crit.
X-perl - is my Unit Frames add-on. If you're a healer and aren't using some kind of a unit frames add-on you are doing yourself and your raid a large injustice. I'm told that Pitbull is also an excellent add-on, but it is so highly customizable that I can't figure it out. You'll notice that my character frame has my mana/health with percentages, my buffs underneath me, and a casting bar. The target is next to me also with a lot of information. I also have target's target enabled, which I've moved to the right of the target. All of these can be moved to any location of the screen you prefer. One of the best advantages I've got enabled is the ability to see debuffs I can dispell. The party/raid member's bar will light up a light blue to show me they've been hit with something I can Cleanse. Sure helps being able to get that debuff off the tank who's about to take massive amounts of poison damage I can avert by dispelling it.
The party bars are underneath mine and I've located the raid bars around myself in the center of the screen. Does it get difficult to see sometimes? Yes, but I have to have them there in order to quickly see the health bars and also be able to see what is going on around me. A healer standing still and not noticing that rocks are falling, the blizzard is coming, etc. will die fast! The shaded roll area is where the items to be rolled for will appear. You'll also notice a cross right above my head. That's the Aggro alert. I always move it to the top of the screen, but it always seems to reset there. If you pull aggro a bright red Aggro alert will flash in it's location. Once you lose aggro it will turn green.
Recount - the damage meter. Mine is currently located to the right and turned to the Healing Done page. If you haven't used Recount it's much more than a damage meter. Besides showing heals, it'll show rezzes, dispells, etc. DO NOT KEEP THIS TURNED ON DURING A RAID!!! I only turn this on at periodic times of the raid like after boss fights or at the end. It gives great information and can show the last 5 fights or the entire total since joining the raid. I like to see who I'm healing the most and what spells I'm using on them. It'll give a breakdown and I can see how I'm progressing. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN COMPARING YOURSELF AGAINST OTHERS!!! A little competition to motivate you to get better is one thing, competition to make sure you stay ahead of the others for the sake of being "the best" can get the raid killed! The ultimate goal is to keep the raid alive. Nothing else matters! If you do that, you could be "the worst" healer in the entire raid, but you did your job and can be proud of that!
Omen2 - the threat meter located under Recount. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A THREAT METER, QUIT NOW!!! No, seriously make sure you have a threat meter. If you're not sure how to use it, because it can be just a little confusing trying to figure it out in the heat of battle, make sure you talk to someone or do some research. They're really easy to understand once you actually know what you're looking at. I've recently acquired the Gavel of Naaru Blessings and noticed that my threat from heals has jumped up quite a bit, or at least I'm pulling a lot more aggro than I used to. More on that on a later post I'm working on.
I've got more add-ons that you can see, but primarily they are things like Gatherer, Atlasloot, Deadly Boss Mods (which is another that's required by my guild for raiding), Auctioneer, etc.
For healers I recommend HealPoints and RatingBuster. RatingBuster isn't healer specific, but it helps you know what you're getting from that +15 Intellect and +20 Stamina.
Continue reading 'My User Interface'
But what does all of this mean? Well, if I activate a couple of the add-ons I can show you what all of it is.
So what are my add-ons? I've got:
Bongos3 - my action bar add-on located at the bottom. I've got it full expanded to 120 buttons. Do I need all of them? No, but having the ability to put the items used for daily quests at the bottom has made doing dailys much easier. I use the same layout for each of my toons, but have character specific key bindings to make things easier. You'll notice I have my pet bar above my bag bar which is to the right above the main action bar. My menu bar is located in the center and my class bar which for my pally is my auras, is above and to the left. I've also got my stats bar to the bottom right. All of these bars are customizable in size and location. My action bar is one bar of 120 buttons. This can be broken up into multiple bars in whatever number of buttons you prefer and located all over your screen. It is highly customizable. You can also turn them off, but I keep the pet bar on for events like Chess in Kara or the Sunwell quest where you take over the ravagers.
Metahud - my range indicator. This is the add-on with the rounded bars to the left and right of me. The two green bars are my own health bar and the health bar of my target on the outside. The blue bar to the right is my mana bar. The mana bar of my target will appear on the right to the outside of my own. The options allow you to change the locations a little. The health/mana totals are also shown at the bottom of these bars including percentages. You'll note that I am casting Flash of Light with 0.7 seconds remaining shown above my mana bar. It's also shown just above my buttons, but that one is part of Bongos3.
VisualHeal - is located just below my menu bar and on top of my action bar. On my previous computer it was above the menu bar, just below my feet. I've forgotten how to move it. What does it do? The screenshot doesn't do it justice, but imagine my health being at 50%. When I begin casting a heal spell, it will show in a lighter green color the estimated health gain I will achieve from the spell. This works for any target.If you begin to overheal, the health bar will extend to the right past the bar length and show up red. Just a handy tool I like to use, but probably not necessary. It does not seem to take into account crits, because I've been at 20% and cast Holy Light on myself only to show it going up to around 50%, but then maxing my health out on a crit.
X-perl - is my Unit Frames add-on. If you're a healer and aren't using some kind of a unit frames add-on you are doing yourself and your raid a large injustice. I'm told that Pitbull is also an excellent add-on, but it is so highly customizable that I can't figure it out. You'll notice that my character frame has my mana/health with percentages, my buffs underneath me, and a casting bar. The target is next to me also with a lot of information. I also have target's target enabled, which I've moved to the right of the target. All of these can be moved to any location of the screen you prefer. One of the best advantages I've got enabled is the ability to see debuffs I can dispell. The party/raid member's bar will light up a light blue to show me they've been hit with something I can Cleanse. Sure helps being able to get that debuff off the tank who's about to take massive amounts of poison damage I can avert by dispelling it.
The party bars are underneath mine and I've located the raid bars around myself in the center of the screen. Does it get difficult to see sometimes? Yes, but I have to have them there in order to quickly see the health bars and also be able to see what is going on around me. A healer standing still and not noticing that rocks are falling, the blizzard is coming, etc. will die fast! The shaded roll area is where the items to be rolled for will appear. You'll also notice a cross right above my head. That's the Aggro alert. I always move it to the top of the screen, but it always seems to reset there. If you pull aggro a bright red Aggro alert will flash in it's location. Once you lose aggro it will turn green.
Recount - the damage meter. Mine is currently located to the right and turned to the Healing Done page. If you haven't used Recount it's much more than a damage meter. Besides showing heals, it'll show rezzes, dispells, etc. DO NOT KEEP THIS TURNED ON DURING A RAID!!! I only turn this on at periodic times of the raid like after boss fights or at the end. It gives great information and can show the last 5 fights or the entire total since joining the raid. I like to see who I'm healing the most and what spells I'm using on them. It'll give a breakdown and I can see how I'm progressing. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN COMPARING YOURSELF AGAINST OTHERS!!! A little competition to motivate you to get better is one thing, competition to make sure you stay ahead of the others for the sake of being "the best" can get the raid killed! The ultimate goal is to keep the raid alive. Nothing else matters! If you do that, you could be "the worst" healer in the entire raid, but you did your job and can be proud of that!
Omen2 - the threat meter located under Recount. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A THREAT METER, QUIT NOW!!! No, seriously make sure you have a threat meter. If you're not sure how to use it, because it can be just a little confusing trying to figure it out in the heat of battle, make sure you talk to someone or do some research. They're really easy to understand once you actually know what you're looking at. I've recently acquired the Gavel of Naaru Blessings and noticed that my threat from heals has jumped up quite a bit, or at least I'm pulling a lot more aggro than I used to. More on that on a later post I'm working on.
I've got more add-ons that you can see, but primarily they are things like Gatherer, Atlasloot, Deadly Boss Mods (which is another that's required by my guild for raiding), Auctioneer, etc.
For healers I recommend HealPoints and RatingBuster. RatingBuster isn't healer specific, but it helps you know what you're getting from that +15 Intellect and +20 Stamina.
Continue reading 'My User Interface'
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