tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54024773354197066342024-03-07T19:21:07.146-08:00Swings Both Ways"The Light and How Not to Let it Swing You" -- A compendium of healing, dps and the trials and tribulations of being both in World of Warcraft. Covering dual spec hybrid classes and switching roles. Also covering specific topics on paladins, priests and shaman in WoW.ChaoticCalamityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07365071413951879577noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402477335419706634.post-85781346983852807602009-05-13T09:18:00.000-07:002009-05-13T13:07:35.499-07:00Swing that Light -- Retribution Paladin Made Easy PT 1<strong>So I hear you're leveling a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">ret</span> paladin...</strong><br />At the crux of a guild crisis time I was invited to run early <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Naxx</span> with friend's guild on my main at the time, a holy priest. I had recently been finishing the grind to 80 on my new favorite character, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Eidel</span> - my retribution paladin. The guild master knew I was looking for a new home and that I was disenchanted with priest healing. He opened his recruitment to me with a simple line "So I hear you're leveling a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">ret</span> paladin..." Thus began my foray into the world of melee and the "TOTALLY OP!" <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">ret</span> paladin.<br /><br /><strong>Stat stacking a la mode</strong><br />There isn't a lot that I can tell you that you cannot find through browsing Elitist Jerks, various blogs and forums. However for the new <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">ret</span> paladin, stat stacking can be a daunting task, something even I struggle with when considering gear. I will seek to simplify the prioritizing and explain my choices. The stats are in order of best to inferior.<br /><br /><em>Strength</em> is a girl's best friend. Due to a requisite talent in the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">prot</span> tree (Divine Strength) - paladins glean more than just your average two attack power from one strength. We gain an extra 15% when fully talented, which is nothing to sniff at. Next to your weapon's <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">dps</span>, the one thing that will reflect your <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">dps</span> best is your strength. A <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">ret</span> paladin should gem for strength almost exclusively and seek it out for upgrades first. (Exception being to gem for hit if you are under the cap.)<br /><br /><em>Hit Rating </em>is a must-have for every <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">dps</span> class. For the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">ret</span> paladin this is <em>8% hit</em> (two <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">hander</span> melee.) <em>263 hit rating</em> should accomplish this for you neatly. Gone will be the days of missing on your white hit (normally melee swings) and your special attacks. It should be noted that Exorcism and Consecration are considered spells, and thus the hit cap for them IS different. You do not need to reach spell hit cap. I rate this stat equal to strength UP UNTIL when you are hit capped. After you have achieved cap it is no longer useful, thus you cannot stack it infinitely.<br /><br /><em>Expertise</em> is no longer just for tanks! Expertise is like hit. It is a cap that helps remove dodges from the table against you (much like hit removes misses.) When used along side of hit to cap, your <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">dps</span> should significantly increase. Before I go into the cap, certain <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">racials</span> allow expertise to be capped more easily with certain weapons. I will only be covering the general cap, though I might go into <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">racials</span> and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">ret</span> paladins at a later time. <em>214 Expertise rating = 26 Expertise = 6.5%</em> which is the cap. Again- past the cap this stat loses almost all of it's value. You should be able to cap it from gear without <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">gemming</span>.<br /><br /><em><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">Crit</span> Strike Rating</em> makes you pew-pew harder. Bigger <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">crits</span> mean all of your hits are hitting that much harder. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ret</span> talents play largely into improving both our <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">crit</span> on certain spells/attacks (Hammer of Wrath anyone?) as well as improving our <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">crit</span> damage (how much extra damage we get on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-error">crits</span>.) I try to sit between <em>30%-35% self buffed</em> on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-error">crit</span>- raid buffed this jumps into the 40s. With my innate <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-error">crit</span> on certain spells/attacks I'm pulling a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-error">loooot</span> of critical hits. You realistically cannot stack this too high, most of it will come naturally through gear, and you should not bother <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27" class="blsp-spelling-error">gemming</span> for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_28" class="blsp-spelling-error">crit</span>. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_29" class="blsp-spelling-error">Crit</span> strike affects both our spells AND our melee abilities, making it superior to agility.<br /><br /><br />Now the next few stats will be on your gear potentially, so I feel I should address them. However the stats you REALLY want are the ones listed above.<br /><br /><em></em><br /><em>Agility </em>is rarely found on plate, and does not buff our spell <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_30" class="blsp-spelling-error">criticals</span>, making it no where near the oomph packer <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_31" class="blsp-spelling-error">crit</span> strike is. However, if it is on your gear, do not distress. This is not a bad stat, just not a /great/ stat.<br /><br /><em>Haste </em>showed up a lot on tier 7/7.5 gear. Come 8/8.5 this has been downplayed vastly, much to all paladins' glee. This stat was recently buffed for paladins in 3.1, as we now receive extra haste per rating. Do not bother stacking, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_32" class="blsp-spelling-error">gemming</span> or actively seeking out this stat. It will give you a little extra <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_33" class="blsp-spelling-error">dps</span> in white swings but does not affect our special attacks/spells at all (specifically doesn't affect the global <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_34" class="blsp-spelling-error">cooldown</span> on them, which is why we don't much bother.) Again, if you have it on your gear, don't sweat it.<br /><br /><em>Armor Penetration</em> also recently <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_35" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">received</span> a buff in 3.1- but not for paladins specifically. It only affects 40% of our damage, thus is not worth stacking at all. Much like haste/agility it is not something to avoid, but is generally acknowledged as semi-useless, especially when it edges out a better stat like <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_36" class="blsp-spelling-error">crit</span> strike.<br /><br /><em>Attack Power</em> much like agility is rarely seen on plate, but if you start dipping into leather and mail it will pop up more (don't scoff, some Best in slot pieces are currently leather. /sigh.) Strength, due to the buffs paladins get is much better than AP. Unless when all the math is said and done the piece has more pure attack power than strength + talents afford us, don't bother really.<br /><br />Thus concludes the stat-helper. I would like to continue my discourse on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_37" class="blsp-spelling-error">retadins</span> for dummies with the following topics:<br /><br />Rotations and rotation help<br /><br />Glyph choices and you<br /><br />Tips for the uninitiated<br /><br />-KassChaoticCalamityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07365071413951879577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402477335419706634.post-12181462965112413112009-05-11T14:22:00.000-07:002009-05-12T23:36:00.082-07:00The Light and How Not to Let it Swing You<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Less is more</span></strong><br />When I first was brainstorming this still very-much-in-progress blog, I wanted to name it "The Light and How Not to Let it Swing You" as a pun on my switch from holy priest to retribution paladin. A very wise woman in the wow ladies mirc convinced me that "Swings Both Ways" was both more succinct and intruiging. Here's to hoping that she is correct.<br /><br />The title of this blog seeks to address the now more important than ever issue of role switching in the wonderful World of Warcraft. I had decided that I wanted to discuss this issue before 3.1 was a twinkle in our eye. Dual spec is something I would like to explore on a number of levels, as well as people like myself who find solace in alts that become new mains.<br /><br />Assuredly other topics will emerge, such as class specific things, issues with women/gender as well as sexuality in WoW. Hopefully any reader base I manage to rez within this blog will bear with my meanders and probable hops in topic. If there is something interesting to you, I wouldn't mind hearing of it myself!<br /><br />As a closer I would be interested in how to allow this niche-esque topic line to exist without getting terribly boring and/or too specific. Many people are experiencing growing pains in WoW like they never have before. As players we can soothe and ice them together.<br /><br />-KassChaoticCalamityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07365071413951879577noreply@blogger.com3