Spec Thoughts -- Steady or Oscillating?

I was talking with Cil the other day. He keeps trying to tell me how I should respec my mage to fire. (He's been telling me this forever now, but I keep ignoring him.) My reason? Mel has been frost forever. (She has dabbled into fire before (for Master of Elements, but found it not to her liking, and is now permanently frost.) I have found that with some characters, I don't mind respec'cing (such as Losse, of course. "Which spec are you this time?" is the best question to ask if one wanted to invite me to an instance, as I could be resto for one instance, then a few hours later, feral), while, with others (such as Mel and Cir), the idea of being anything but what they are is... strange.

Why?

I think with Losse, my openness to her being something else comes easily, just due to the fact that she is a druid, and, in my mind, in order to take the most advantage of being a druid, I must be open with how I play her and her spec-style. As a tree, I can be found DPSing (Moonfire! Rawr!). As feral (bear), I tend to pull out of bear form (both for more aggro, and for the simple fact that I like to patch people up right after a pull so my healers don't have to drink as much. And to get Furor benefits after that. Feral, in PvP, means that I heal (and so does tree, clearly, but...). I always carry my feral and resto sets around on Losse (bag room is a jerk), so that I can switch gear with ease to do whatever I find necessary at the time (and, when I respec, I don't need to keep running to the bank!). It's such a versatile class, and I try to take the make the best of it. Losse comes from a history that left her nearly constantly seeking solace within nature, and she has always felt indebted to them due to the amount of comfort and peace that the woods lended her. In return, she feels compelled to both defend the forest, and, at times, to even become one with the woodland.

Now with Mel, beside the fact that she has a fair bit more of +frost damage than anything else, I just can't see her with anything but her faithful water elemental and a water shield, her hands glowing blue as the power surges through her. I originally chose frost because of the survivability -- I tended to die. A lot. So I figured that I'd go frost -- why not? We're supposed to not be as good of a friend with death as the other two specs, and we're fairly mana efficient as well. Great! Well, now, at seventy, with quite a few played days, she's still squishy as all anything and still is mating with death, as well as eating through mana like none other. But, despite it all, I love it. So when people suggest for me to try a different spec, I find myself refusing. "She's a mana junkie! Just think how bad she will be as fire!" or "She does enough as it is -- why would I want to die more?" tend to be my most used excuses for her. In the roleplaying sense, it is the cooling power of frost that keeps her lightheaded and less flighty, and her water elemental, Aeros, always helps to strengthen her resolve in battle...

Now, for my hunter. While I don't play her enough to really fuss, she's had her kitty, Void, since they were both thirty-three (ish). It's one of those panthers from STV (yes, she did quest through there), and both she and I love our kitty. (A friend can attest to the fact that I talk at my screen, and at Void, while I'm playing. In fact, I talk to my screen so much that he couldn't figure out whether I was talking to my screen/myself, talking on Vent, or talking to him.) As well, her having a cat is crucial to her roleplay story, due to the fact that panthers are... their creatures, I suppose. They revere them so, and it was just fitting that Cirwen has one and pampers it. With that light touch of the roleplay history, she has to be beast mastery, for that is the spec that pays the most attention to the pet.

So I guess my reasons for either staying a spec or flipping around have a fair bit of lore swirled into it, along with practicality and play style. The different characters, in themselves, keep things interesting, but thinking and understanding why things happen on one character but not another adds a whole different level to the game.

What keeps you playing? Why do you spec the way you do? Is there a story to tell from the why's and how's, or have you never really put much thought into it? I like to think of myself a writer, and everything can have a tale behind it -- consider your characters from that view.

[[ Bah. Stress! If people have been following me on Twitter, they will have seen my spaz a few days ago. It's been rather crazy over here, me shipping myself off to college (parents are *so* supportive), figuring out classes, remembering that I share living quarters with people now, and I shouldn't leave by crap EVERYWHERE... And then remembering to go home and grab a cable so I can hop onto the internet (ew for no wireless)... No WoW for a while, but hopefully, after I send this pos of a laptop over to a friend of mine, he will make it run WoW smoothly. (At the moment, there are days when I dread to run even Firefox. Eep!)

This is the first time I've been able to visit the blog since all of that stuff started. So my apologies for the slight poof there! ]]

Letting Go...

Could you do that? Could I do that?

Now, I'm not actually talking about leaving WoW, but something else. For me, my characters are just that. Mine. Mine to play, and, pretty much, mine only. I am hardly ever compelled to let someone else hop on my characters, even if I'm there. Why? Well... I guess, it's just how things are.

First of all, I act a certain way. Vaguely decorous, if you want to ignore the fact that I have a fascination with the spacebar, and all of my characters tend to end up jumping as they move. [Unless I actually think about it. But, generally speaking, if any character is going a fair enough distance away, you'll see them jumping. Dunno why... Oh, I'll blame it on Sango. Yeah! Works for me!]

Two, /y doesn't exist for me. Ever. I have it turned off, and I have never used it, as I've always found it irritating when someone used it, for they tended to be using it in combination with the inability to find their caps lock key to turn it off, so it's giant, red, obnoxious, and has a lot of exclamation points after it and is gross.

Three. I know that I personally hate messaging someone with familiarity, and getting the whole "oh, it's not _____ at the moment, but ____". Kinda strange.

I guess, in general, I like to make positive impressions on people, even if I don't like them very much. Show up, do my job, if I like them, I offer my services in the future (most people don't take me up on it, but I tend to do it anyway) as well as thank them for the group, and then leave. If I don't, well. Depends on my mood. Foul mood, I get my stuff and leave. Okay mood, say thanks shortly, and leave. Good stuff for the grapevine, you see, just to avoid the whole, "Losse? Oh, she's a good/fair healer and all, but... you don't want to group with her."

God knows what someone else would do if they were on my characters... and didn't say it wasn't me... and the other person can't figure it out... or is completely in the dark about my ways.

Maybe it's just a Lin thing. I don't know.

The other night, I was staying over at a friend's. He had to go off to work, so I was left alone to entertain myself. Hopped in WoW, got pulled into a rather crappy SSC group, and was still in there when he came back three hours later.

(He was gone for four hours, but the first hour I spent in Heroic Sethekk Halls, healing a bear that had forgotten his bear gear in the bank and, due to my suggestion, had tanked the whole instance in kitty gear [RAWR! Go over geared druids. On both his part and mine, since many of his kitty pieces had lots of armor... but he wasn't uncrittable]. He didn't use his CC options (a sheep and a trap) very often, and we only had one wipe the whole instance. Good stuff.)

Anyway. Beside the tangent, though... He brought food back, so he ate while I listened through the pep and instructional talk right before Fathom-Lord Karathress, then suggested that he play my druid while I ate. Only stopped to consider it for a moment.

Food (for I was hungry) and letting go of my precious characters, even if I was to be kinda looking over his shoulder while he did so, or eat later and pray that we don't die on the boss too much.

Food, so food it was.

I got up, gave him a quick Druid Healing 101 lesson (I push, he clicks, by the way. He has a T6 paladin, and fairly decently geared shadow priest, so it wasn't a complete "oh, here! This is called WoW, and I'm playing a druid, and this is how this fight goes". If it had been, I would have chosen food.) As a paladin, he clicks his healy spell. Clicks it really, really, really fast... which makes me think he ought to have a really strong and worked out pointer finger.

I point out Lifebloom, and tell him that it stacks three times. And I like to have a Rejuvenation up on the guy I'm healing too. Those two HoTs, and, if he falls below seventy, hit Regrowth. Refresh Lifebloom when it's near the end of the timer, and that's druid healing. (More or less anyway!)

Fight starts, and I start eating...

And watch him do his Super-Clicky-Ness on Lifebloom. GCD defeats it... but he still tried. Had to reiterate on the fact druid healing is supposed to be "slow" and "steady". We're trees. Fast doesn't come in our vocabulary. Raid wipes.

Right before this (while he was eating), he realized that he knew many of the people of the raid... and didn't like them. The raid leader happened to be dead, and... well. Friend had something against the raid leader. Does kitty-humping mean anything to you?

Did to him.

So I watched helplessly as he went and ruined Losse's image for that raid. And made use of /y for the first time ever on my account. And said stuff in /g that I didn't quite see...

And people wonder why exactly why I tend not to let other people play my characters. I get the feeling my image in the raid's mind went from what little ground I may have accomplished to some negative number that would be really rather hard to escape from.

I understood that it was all in good fun, but for the rest of the raid? I don't know. Two of them knew that it wasn't actually me, but a friend of mine. Two, out of twenty-five...

I think I'm just too uptight... but still. My characters are mine, and I'm going to keep sticking to the fact that only I can play them.

[ RPJournal: Mel ] :: Grasping onto Sanity... Barely. Fancying is Bad!

[[ Hey, all. Due to a few events, I am going to try to write this post in roleplay terms. Bear with me! I need lots of practice, and I am going to try it out here and actually roleplay Mel for the first time. She's had a character, but never a real roleplay... so here goes! ]]

Oh my! Oh goodness! Tonight was... well. Harsh on me. Or, today, perhaps, would be better to say. Earlier this morning, someone asked me to join their expedition to the Slave Pens! Like the rest of Zangarmarsh, it's utterly infested with naga and their slaves.

-laughs-

Oh, we took care of them all right. Once again, I felt the power of ice and water course through my veins as I gathered the elements and molded them into something quite dangerous. I found that I like what I do -- perhaps a bit too much, to the point where, if I stopped to think about it, being a cyromancer and just having all that control is exciting. Very exciting.

Now, boys, don't go there... but, I suppose, you could, because it's almost as amazing as the ACT would be. Or so Losse says. She still won't tell me *who* she did it with though. She tends to be with the boys quite a bit... but then, thinking of it, I do too. The boys know better though, when it concerns me -- most of those who even give me the slightest look in the wrong manner will find themselves frozen to the core. I have enough trouble in my life without a man, thank you very much! I don't care what you lot say about me needing support, or that I earn too much money for a girl. I'm perfectly self sufficient.

I'm getting off track, aren't I? Now, where was I?

Oh, yes. Naga and their slaves. The Broken. I pity them, which is half of the reason why I always go to the Slave Pens. I just can't bare the thought of the lazy naga kidnapping The Broken and making them work for them -- after all, haven't they suffered enough? While some of them are learning to answer the call of the elements, others... they have no real livelihood in the larger world. Why take what little joy they have and force them to labor for Vashj? -shakes her head- It's late, clearly. Tangents just keep coming up, and I can't seem to remember the focus of it all. But I must, or things will never get done! If Cirwen can do it, I can too, yes? I know Losse likes to finish things up later, but for Cir and myself, we tend to try to finish things *now* so later, we can do other stuff. Continuing on!

I had to rest after we were done. While power is intoxicating, I find myself getting tired quite a bit faster than if I was sitting around and infusing cloth with arcane energies. Issue with the latter is that it gets boring, and I'm a little too... twitchy, so Cir calls it, to do it for too long.

Later in the evening, however, I heard the front door. I was in my resting clothing -- that being a light gown that hangs somewhat loosely. It's very flowy, but it flashes off my shoulders. I'm so pale! Even with the heat of the sun I must run under, I am ridiculously pale. Perhaps the frost energies can be put to blame for that one? I stepped out of the room I shared with Losse to see who it was.

It was Losse! She looked so worn out! I gave her a hug, and walked beside her as she made her way to the couch. I was terrified that she'd fall! While Losse is normally a graceful, strong being, she was moving so slowly I almost worried about hidden injuries under her gear. She sat down, and I helped her remove at least some of the battle armor she wore while she told me about her tiring experience in the Mechanar.

Losse is currently worried about healing anyone who is wounded. For a while, she sought to take up the forms of animals, but I think she has found another love for the time being. Repairing people. She already is brilliant as a psychologist, but now she not only aids with inner wounds, but outer wounds as well. Which was why I knew she wasn't wounded -- she takes care of herself well enough as far as wounds are concerned. I know that for a fact. I would get a splinter, or scorch myself on the pots as I am cooking, and she would sense it nearly straight-away, and set to work on healing me of even the smallest wound.

Apparently, the warrior that was supposed to be defending them thought that she was a paladin... and, therefore, both Losse and the whole group got defeated several times before they were able to outwit Pathaleon the Calculator, the mouthpiece for the head Blood Elf himself! It was quite the battle, and she had to be on her woody toes the whole time to keep up! She also had a note for me, which she remembered only after she recalled her tale. Bennik, a leader in the Guildwatch, needed my enchanting skills. He had brought the materials needed, and I directed all of the energies they gave me into providing his weapon more powerful.

Ben and I have been acquaintances for a fair bit, and nothing more. Generally, we see each other when we are out saving our towns and settlements from the vengeful actions of the Horde, and it surprised me that he sought my abilities out. Perhaps it was due to our light familiarity... as soon as I got close enough, I knew he had been drinking, for there was definitely that waft that ale leaves. What is it with dwarves and alcohol anyway?

Afterwards, despite me having (oddly) fallen into an unpleasant mood, I had to keep my arrangement with Shae and go to Medivh's tower, where I fought hard and long with the army he collected... I won't speak too much of that trip, other than it went well enough. It is what happened after that made this day wonderful.

Losse and I have had the pleasure to meet an old acquaintance of ours, Thia (I'm sure I'm butchering his name every time I say it, which is why I try not to when in hearing distance of him! He's rather picky on that, and I completely understand why. However, for the life of me I can never remember just how to say it! So Thia it is, to make it simple). We got to know each other a bit more yesterday, for I helped him kill a few Voidshriekers while I was in the area (and they imparted their knowledge of how to fortify a cloak to withstand shadow magic to me), and I discovered I highly enjoy his presence...

Well, today, he took me to two beautiful spots... Goodness. I know I said that I don't need a man, but the sights were so pretty that the girly side of me had to come out and... well. Be girly. He's a good man. Educated and an intellectual! I don't suppose it's too surprising, as he is, after all, shadow, and prefers to manipulate other people's minds and torment them... he certainly made a good impression on me!

Now if I can only manage not to swoon over him the next time I see him, I'll be good.

I did manage during the times I was with him though! We traveled over Azeroth, and I had a rather good opportunity to take note of his looks... And tinge myself with ice every time I caught myself doing it. It hurt, but it served as a sharp reminder as to the fact that I am not interested in having a man in my life.

Really.

Can Mages be Evil? And A Light Update.

Look at her Spell Damage and Healing. -grins- Oh, and ignore the crit. -hides it- I'm working on that part. One bit at a time. Working on crit and making her less squishy at the moment... had lots of interest in hit a bit earlier, but now that it's vaguely acceptable...

[ Author note: Oh, I know. Two pictures in a row? Lin's slacking! She really is. She has the outline and some of the details of a post on the way, but, until the tenth, she's going to be rather busy, and, therefore, will have little time to fine-tune that other post.

Now she is going to go to bed -- she's been up for thirty hours. Hasn't slept, and wasn't supposed to drive until she got her new contacts. This she was told on Wednesday. Thursday, she drove about an hour. On Friday, she drove the family to the airport, and got lost on the way back, so the round trip ended up being nearly two and a half hours. Today, she drove a bit more than an hour... on no sleep and a severely impaired vision.

She's alive through pure dumb luck. Or just really safe driving. Your choice. ]

Oh, and, not only did she not sleep, she got her mage her Merciless Gladiator's Silk Raiment [ew, 30 ABs! What's worse is that I want Guardian's Silk Belt, which is 40 more ABs... -groan-], and took her druid to Gruul's and Mags, where she got her Leggaurds of Malorne as well as her Shoulderguards of Malorne. Oh, and Pattern: Boots of Natural Grace and made it last night too. Trash mobs in SSC -- the raid tried it. Started right after Hydross, and went straight for Leo. Leo... they wiped at 3%, which isn't bad considering that some of them have never been there before, and many of them never with that raid (it isn't Losse's new raid that she's been with). At least she got something out of it!

As a result, she had quite a bit to enchant/gem/put thread/armorkit on. She's still working on the Golden Spellthread for her healy pants, but... well. She did get a Nethercleft Leg Armor on her [vaguely] newly acquired [that, being, the token has been sitting her her bags for a near two weeks] Greaves of Malorne.

Geeze. That's a lot of gear. I'm not a loot hog, I promise! Just... no one else wanted them. And T4 is better than Kara gear, so... -grins- Pain in the rear to get it to it's full prettiness though!

... I really must be exhausted. I'm switching between first and third person. Good... er... evening! -crashes into bed-