Wow, Softi. Long list of things to do, and so many of your characters are in the higher-level range! Good luck with the farming; it can be quite a pain (I am taking a loooooooooooooooong break from farming anything, especially with Losse being resto, and farming on the mage has never been something I’ve been fond of doing — too squishy, and down-time is terrible). So, rather than slowly making the Spellstrike Hood, Mel’s not doing anything…

( Honestly, I don’t think my own WoW ADHD is much better, but I’m ignoring it, shhhh! )

Lin [EG]’s last blog post..Bears: Four Things That We Wish To Share

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Windscale Hood
271 Armor
+16 Stamina
+18 Intellect
Durability: 70 / 70
Requires Level 70
Equip: Improves spell critical strike rating by 37
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 44.
Equip: Restores 10 mana per 5 sec.
and Glyph of Power +14 spellhit / +22 spelldmg
_
TOTALS
Spelldamage 70.5
Spellhit 14
Spellcrit 37 (not adjusted for Intellect)
Intellect 18
Mp5 11.8

VERSUS

Binds when equipped
Head Cloth
145 Armor
+16 Stamina
+12 Intellect
Dazzling Talasite +4 intellect / 2 mp5
Veiled Noble Topaz +4 spellhit / +5 spelldmg
Veiled Noble Topaz +4 spellhit / +5 spelldmg
Socket Bonus: +6 Stamina
Durability 60 / 60
Requires Level 70
Equip: Improves spell hit rating by 16.
Equip: Improves spell critical strike rating by 24.
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 46
and Glyph of Power +14 spellhit / +22 spelldmg
_
TOTALS
Spelldamage 82
Spellhit 38
Spellcrit 16 (not adjusted for Intellect)
Intellect 16
Mp5 3.6

********
I could make this an argument to persuade Softi to farm for even MORE Primal Mights and Spellcloth to make Spellstrike Hood, but that’s boring. What I really want to talk about is the passion we have for our characters. I too am a LW, and for a time, farmed my ass off for the materials to make the full Windhawk set(Well not the wrists, as the White Stag bracers was my guild’s first Kara drop.). I believed that Blizzard knew what it was doing with how itemization in TBC worked, and that the minor reduction in offensive stats would prove neglible to the mechanics of proper druid-as-caster play. After research and practice, I realized the powers that be are just as human as the rest of us, and have a lot to learn about their game, and we’re their best source for informative feedback.

The caster stats on the Spellstrike Hood are clearly superior to the comparable crafted leather head armor. I know the tailored sets were overpowered in design, and remains a silly crutch that leaves t4 sets largely ignored. I imagine that the item designer of the Windscale Hood saw the mechanics for Nature’s Grace (cast-time reduction on spellcrit) and was lead to believe that moonkins would value that statistic over others. Investigation proves that shorter cast times increase our massive dps output on a target, but the result is always a matching massive increase in threat. With no safe aggro drop available to the class, and elites being able to slice through moonkin’s armor multiplier as easily as cloth, Nature’s Grace becomes the enemy… Raiding moonkin realize the true nature of their chosen specialization: we have to very delicately Balance our spell casting with the threat available to us.

So we’re left with leather itemization that doesn’t maximize our potential, but instead ironically teases us about it. So do we choose cloth? I did, grudgingly. Several Balance specced druids run around in tailored sets, or cloth epics. Others throw in the towel and go the Welfare route, solving the problem of comparable spelldamage and stamina, but having little longevity. Would it have killed them to make the stats on Windscale Hood the SAME as Spellstrike, but leather? Would it have killed them to have made the Spellstrike Hood a required component to its comparable leather version? Alas, I raided for badges and skipped the nonsence of what came before —to be dressed in appropriately itemized grass, skulls, and bonework. Finally gear made sense, but fast on the heels of spec-specific gear came a very ominous caveat: Blizzard plans on consolidating gear stats, so guilds don’t have to farm raid content for months to get obscure classes(like us) the gear they need to help their team progress. Does this mean Blizzard intends all damage caster gear to be cloth, as that’s the majority? Ignoring the plight of elemental shatners, do they expect the moonkin armor multiplier to be our only defense? Do we run around Dalaran as Night Elf and Tauren mages?

Warcraft is a game driven by a collective of artists. The vision they have of druids manifesting hurricanes and summoning treants and spamming moonfire isn’t dressed in the opulent garb of mages and warlocks and shadow priests, but robes appropriate to arch-druids. I know I might be a minority, but I have faith that I’m not. I have no doubt there will be damage leather in the game, but how we get it may be a struggle.

I for one wouldn’t be opposed to allowing for FULL sets of Moonkin and Elemental Shaman gear comparable to teir sets being made available as patterns to Leatherworkers. I enjoy the crafting aspect of the game. I have passion for making my character the best he can be, and if farming for required materials is the way to get there, I wouldn’t regret it. Make them difficult to obtain materials, make them a process to create. Reuse old gear models, make other epics a required reagent to trade in. It’s part of the adventure, and I’ll work for it. Just, for the love of Cenarius, give me SMART CLOTHES.

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