Level 48 Head Armor: Difficult Choices

The Dreamweave Circlet is perhaps one of the best head armor for 40s. Intellect, Spirit, and Spell Power make it a prime choice for priests. If you are a tailor, like me, then perhaps you created one for yourself. The recipe calls for some difficult mats, but with careful farming and perhaps some raids in Maraudon, you can have this fabulous head item.

Now, if you have been doing a lot of Maraudon raids, then you may come across the Eye of Theradras. I went on a guild run, and was the only cloth wearer, so I naturally had dibs on it. I waited a level to wear it, but when it came time to change my head gear, I got to take a good look at the stats.

Unlike the Dreamweave Circlet, the Eye of Theradras gives stamina and more intellect. Certainly a tempting choice for any caster who depends on a nice mana pool and the ability to live longer. However, the Dreamweave Circlet provides more spirit (combined with the Holy and Discipline talent trees, make it a perfect choice for heals and dps). Changing them out, I did notice an 8% increase in health, 7% increase in mana, 2 more points of mana regen, and a 0.2% increase in spell criticals. However, I lose 21 points in bonus dmg and heals.

So here is the verdict: Dreamweave Circlet heals faster and kills faster, but you will last longer with the Eye of Theradras. I will probably use the Dreamweave Circlet for raids, and then level with the Eye of Theradras. The Eye also grants a little more armor, and the stamina will help greatly especially if I'm alone.

Barbershop: A New Look

One of my favorite features in WotLK is Barbershop. From private server, to retail, I kept my character the same. But with the new achievement system, I decided to get a new look (maybe earrings?) for some free points.
I ended up changing my color, hairstyle, and earrings! However, if you plan to get a new look, do it early in levels. The higher the level, the more it will cost to get a customization. Now, there is talk and speculation about Blizzard adding more looks to add further variety in future patches... One can hope!

The fun thing about getting a new hairstyle, is each style has a unique name... and it's somewhat helpful in choosing a style that best fits you.

Battleground Tips: Warsong Gulch

As a priest in the battlegrounds, you will be the focus of most attacks. Perceived as vulnerable, or perhaps too valuable, the opposite faction will try to take you out first. Be sure to have your Fear Ward up, as well as be fully buffed with your normal buffs (Fortitude, Inner Fire, Shadow Protection etc).

I have tried both offensive and defensive aspects of the Warsong Gulch Battleground. Trying to be offensive while healing, dispelling, and bubbling runners is frustrating, but not entirely impossible. Though in the grand scope of the battleground, it is a losing battle. Not only are we constantly having to defend ourselves (and sometimes cause other teammates to lose focus in order to protect you), but the runners are constantly moving, so our heals don't always go through in time. In essence, we are constantly having to sacrifice ourselves to get a few spells through. Before we know it, mana is gone, and we are left at the mercy of the opposing faction.

However, I find I am most effective defending the flag. I can DoT enemy runners with Shadow Word: Pain and Devouring Plague, after pulling off a Holy Fire. I can then dispel buffs or spells on teammates, heal them, or let my wand do the work. If things get out of hand, I bubble and use Psychic Scream.

Another benefit of staying stationed in one area is your teammates know where to find you. So rebuffing and heals are easy... and if I have a rogue, hunter, or mage with me to help dps, all the better. Just make sure not to go it alone when guarding the flag. Though you can often solo a single opponent, more often than not, runners bring company.

Furthermore, don't let the opposing faction separate you from your fellow guard. I have been in several situations where they will send someone to pull the guard, leaving the priest alone and vulnerable to guard the flag.

I will add more tips for priests and pvp in later entries. And yes, priests can be very formidable pvp opponents, if played right. The key is to know the vulnerability of classes. But, in the heat of battle, especially in battleground, we run on instinct. Main thing is to use your macros and have a comfortable key binding/action bar setup.

Raid for this: Robe of Arugal at Level 20

Running Shadowfang Keep is worth it, if only for the Robe of Arugal. I managed to get it the second run through!

A helpful tactic is to stay at the top of the stairs (where you first enter room) and heal from there. The tank will meet up with him on the other side. This way, you can easily pull off heals and have less chance of getting controlled.

Talents: Twin Discipline

They got rid of Wand Specialization and replaced it with Twin Discipline on the Discipline talent tree! Your first 5 talent points should go in here. No matter which spec you decide to go, your healing and dmg instant spells will get a 5% boost from this talent.

Now, 5% may not seem like much.. but imagine Devouring Plague, Shadow Word: Pain, Renew, etc... Very useful in all situations! Also, if you have the Power Word: Shield glyph inscribed, that will also give your target a little boost from heals from shield as well.

Enchanter/Tailor

My previous priests have had Engineering/Mining and Leatherworking/Skinning. Both are great professions, with their own various benefits. However, since I'm starting my first character on a totally new realm, I decided to go with the classic choice of Enchanter/Tailor.

When finding gear gets difficult, I can always craft my own pieces. I was also able to make a 6 slot Linen Bag to replace the 4 slot Magister's pouch I received on a quest. Certainly, I could have easily spent the money to purchase new bags and gear, but if your priest is your first character with no other caches of gold to draw from, this profession may be the one for you.

As an enchanter, it is tempting to disenchant every green you come across. However, I found it is more feasible to farm items needed to create greens in tailoring and disenchant those. The greens you come across can easily be sold at the Auction House!

Also, another great source of revenue is selling the wands you make with enchanting. These are better than most wands you find at same level (you get far better DPS), and sell very well at the AH.

As an added bonus for priests when they reach Master profession level, you can also use Tailoring to create threads to add spell enhancements to certain items. With enchanting, there are Bind on Pickup ring enchantments, one of which are meant for healers and spell dps! Best of all, tailoring allows you to create bags for general use, Warlock's soul bag, and certain profession uses (like herbalism and enchanting).

Whichever profession you choose, make it your own. And start early! Tailoring, like skinning, allows you to level up and gather materials for your profession at the same time, so starting early ensures that you don't have to waste time fighting mobs that don't give you experience.

The End of Burning WoW and new Beginnings

As private servers issued DMCA letters from Blizzard shut down, so too did Burning WoW. The last moments were spent not raiding, but sitting with friends, exchanging affections, and reminiscing. We all gathered in Shattrath and then later in Orgrimmar for our final few hours, until the server was finally shut down by Admin Jriske.

Many have gathered on the forums and reunited on other realms, but I have made the move to retail's Anatheron realm. So, I will blog about further insights on leveling and the changes from WotLK.

However, as a final tribute to my friends from Burning WoW's Bloodmyst and Netherstorm realms all my love to you!

<3 Legends of Mirth... Elviron (GM, and who is extra special in my heart.. My Teddy Bear! You're the only guy Duex allows /flirt and /kiss LOLZ.. I'll be seeing ya, hon!), Duex (My Love.. My Everything.. Who now joins me on Retail), Lkpriest (moi), Lono (my dad, who is the best farmer and seller around!), and Runeknight... We're a family beyond WoW! But I will miss the guild we built together, and all the great times. From EquilibruM, to Kahn Koubrat Horde, and finally to our small and exclusive guild! We shall always be friends and family...

<3 Raiderx and Silverstar - From our EquilibruM days at level 20, to our final end game high-level days... I wish so much that I could have seen you both just a few more times. Though I know Raiderx was taking a break to study for his exams, not a day went by that our guildies didnt think about ya! You were both such wonderful friends and fun raid companions. I shall miss you both so much and you will always and ever be in my thoughts and heart. I love you both!!!! OMG I MISS YOU! Silverstar, you are the sweetest girl and a wonderful friend. I hope to see you both.. so if you decide to go retail.. OMG come hang with me!

<3 Dinosaurman, a great friend and storyteller.. I will miss hanging with you and having you guard me while I fish and level my alt.. at least we have MSN! You are so dear to me, my friend. I don't remember exactly how we first met... it was just natural to be your friend and chat with you. A wicked PvPer with a golden soul that I was lucky enough to see (though I'm sure there is a long list of allies who would disagree!). I'll miss our many adventures together on WoW.

<3 Jandon, a fantastic Tankadin with a huge heart and lots of bravery. Healing our 5-man with Doomwalker was an honor and a priviledge.. and I will even miss Mongoose grinding in Kara!

<3 War Machine was my favorite of all the guilds! Thank you for letting me in on all the War Machine raids.. I love you all! Many of you are on my list LOL

<3 My other favorite tanks: Leonaz (Bringing down Sup shall always be with us), Matiasvi, Toronus, and Doyllan (I shall miss your elite-ness!). Though I have healed and raided with many tanks, you are the ones that stand out.

<3 Another tank and friend I shall miss is Zifral. Thank you for the fantastic AQ raid through the bugged mob, as well as all the memories and conversation. Will never forget the way you tanked Archi and Illi, but most of all, you are always in my thoughts. No matter who you were, the many sides of you are great and special in each way. And though sometimes things turned out dark toward the end, you are still much like a brother. You are soooo lucky I'm a forgiving soul! Stay strong, and stop telling me to behave! LOL

<3 Speaking of tanks.. RYUUKIRA.. the ultimate Rogue Tank.. and one of the first non-guildie on my Bloodmyst Friends List. You were always there for help, good times, advice, and querky conversation. I remember you first helping me while I was leveling in 1K Needles, and you sent me a /t as Kix... because no one could answer my question but you. You were the pro-est of them all! I shall miss giving your alt, Cow, pets, treats, and bowls of milk. And some day, I hope to jump off that roof and land on the bank... but you will always be in my heart and thoughts. Aishitteiru!!!

<3 Vainkiss... easily one of the best shockadins I had the privilege to party with, I remember getting into a little argument with you that first day we met on my first Bloodmyst BT raid... over shoes. Thank you for taking me to the 2nd level of Mech.. I was never able to get up there before. I'll miss the good times, and just hanging with you doing nothing much but getting into trouble! You always managed to bring out the bad in me. BUT then again.. there's MSN.

<3 Sparc... one of the kindest souls out there. OMG I don't even remember how we met? But I knew that you were there cheering me on as I made my way up to 70! Whenever you'd join a raid, I'd light up! You're definitely one of my favorite ppl out there, so stay sweet.. I hope to some day raid with you again.

<3 Bloodydante... I'll miss sitting around with you at Scryers just chatting about stuff. Thanks for being such a fantastic friend and raid partner! I'll miss you much, and all the great times we had.

<3 Aethelfern... our ninja alarm.. you could certainly hold down a raid but never tried to force your way to get things. Always patient and understanding, I will miss our epic runs!

<3 Dudepare/Deathcloud... one of my favorite priests.. thank you for enchanting me up, but also for all the fantastic times we shared.

<3 Foss... my fellow priestess, and the best undead holy priest i know! I will miss flirting and kissing ya, just because I could! You were a privilege to stand beside and heal with. Though you couldn't speak english much, you always somehow understood me. Heal on, your hawtness.

<3 Toushirou... you naughty rogue! I've never met a more loyal flirt! Take care and stay out of trouble, my friend.

<3 Radors... one of my favorite paladins. I will never forget you helping out in Zangarmarsh. Your random act of kindness turned into such a great friendship!! I didnt get to comment on your youtube yet, but I will! You may have to link to me again o.O But thank you for the great chats and the good times. I missed seeing you those last couple weeks, and it always confused me when you'd jump on an alt just to chat and hang with us.

<3 Wolfeye.. you totally rock!!! Thank you for being a dear friend and for always making me feel welcome, even on my early raids. Stay strong, your awesomeness.

<3 Loki, a pro to the end, I'll certainly miss raiding with ya.. and I'll miss your razor-sharp wit and stories. You can hold your own on all aspects of raid.

<3 Morphmutant.. easily my favorite druid!!! I could always trust you to help heal me even when I forget to heal myself! You're such a fun guy, and I'll never forget our epic snowball fight in Shatt. Stealthing to sneak up on me with a snowball.. such a bad boy! But definitely a worthy snowball opponent. I will miss you, my friend.

<3 Defect... I keep forgetting you're also Sephira and a bunch of others! LOL!! Thank you for being such a dear friend, and I'll miss raiding with ya. You were one of the few rogues who had the power to DPS like no tomorrow, but were pro enuff to pull back and not take aggro. You are always in my thoughts.

<3 Sanzon... one of my dear friends from my pre-70 days. I still remember meeting you in Nagrand as I was grinding clefthoofs. You were with Xeroz (who I will also miss!!!) and asked if I spoke Spanish.. in spanish. LOL! I couldn't speak much spanish, but lucky you knew enough english to chat with me and hang out. Thank you for helping to enchant me up, and I'll miss you're kind and gentle spirit. You are a dear friend to me.

<3 Shooterzz.. silent but deadly.. you are the best PvP hunter I ever had the privilege to party with. Thank you for standing by and watching me while we raided SW, but also for just being a great guy and friend.

<3 Exotica.. though we haven't raided a whole lot or knew each other very long.. I thought you were fantastic from the start! Thanks for cutting my meta for me. I shall ever and always wear it!

<3 BloodyW.. you're so badass. I'll miss ya, hon! Sorry I never got to ride your broomstick, but it wasn't from lack of trying on your part! LOLZ!!! Ah.. you're just plain awesome, and you know it!

<3 Skystalker.. ah.. the KoT rep runs and all the raids. You were always there and I will miss standing beside you and being able to count on you to buff my properly. I could always count on you. Seriously.. you're like.. a Jedi! I, like The FORCE, shall be with you.

<3 Princbiber and Iadybiber... I remember meeting you in Terokkar while we were lvling, and an ally ganked ya, which created a big flame in /general. But, you two were quite a pair, and I'll miss you both. I wish I got to see you more often, and had the honor of doing end-game raids.. but alas.. maybe another time.

<3 Necroo.. I remember meeting you in Silithus as we were leveling. Such a terrific guy! One of my pre-70 friends, you're just such a great rogue.. and fellow LW! Take care, stay sweet, and never cease being awesome. Duex and I will certainly miss you! I'll miss healing you in raids, and just having a great time partying on our various adventures together.. GOOD TIMES.. Yay CHEST! HAHA!!

<3 Cripx.. Thanks for grinding with us to honored on KoT! Also, I will miss your totems.. thank you for the steady stream of mana!!!

<3 My Tot Dealers.. who never fail to feed my tot addiction *LOLZ*: Predanorde (I loved being in your group!), Hempshaman, and Babago. Thank you for helping to heal both me and the group with your chain heals! I know I'm missing a few shamans here... but you know who you are!

<3 Cozmo.. my warlock friend.. always nice to have you raiding with me. I think you missed getting my email that last day because of the shutdown, but drop me a comment if you see this? i'll try get in touch.

<3 Ibliis.. you lil demon.. I had fun hanging with ya, throwing stuff and killing stuff! You keeping cutting down mobs and allies, my friend. You will be sorely missed!

<3 Steeffan.. the nekkid priest.. I remember seeing you healing naked while doing trash in BT back in my early days. HILARIOUS!! You shall always be the nekkid priest to me ^^

<3 Byrca.. you will always be a special friend to me. Despite all the confusion and the various dramas... you will definitely be missed by me. Take care!

<3 My Warrior Friends: Gossin (such a cool guy!), Ironhoof, Dziegan (man, you can tank the hell outta a raid!), Crapalau (when I first saw your name I was like "WTF?!?!" LOLZ), Condimentus (my little 30ish friend whom I have had the pleasure of helping out as he kept trying to lvl, I remember you wore a cloth handkerchief head when I first met you.. and I had that "Gotta rescue the puppy" emotion going! You were so adorably clueless), and last though certainly not least.. Kindread!

<3 Other fellow priests of note: Cioku (the War Machine priest), Targytay (I know you didn't ninja that Fel drop, but GZ for winning 3 out of 4, including T6.. grrr), Symunaste (we have done a lotta raids together! Thanx for healing beside me!), Alsa (certainly a privilege to raid with), and Aid (the Alliance Priest.. whom I love to /flirt and /kiss.. much to the consternation of Toushirou!!), Tomb, and Undeadpriest. Hey, we priests gotta stick together!

OK, I know I'm forgetting a bunch of people here.. and I'm sorry if I listed a few people's alts separately or missed someone... I'm so bad at keeping track, I had to make notes on my buggy friend list (many of you didn't show up on my list, but I did see you come online!). But here are more of you who I will miss and I thank you for being there: Bloodthrust (really cool dude), Egeria (thanks for being my shield! /flirt), Manash (OMG, you are da bomb!), Marria (LOLZ.. heal KJ.. naughty girl), Khine, Zeelar, Raidden (BM FTW!!!), Biggus (Rep Runs and RAWR), Zlazh, Angelicari ("Someone told me this place was pretty!" OMG! LOL!! U ROCK!), Numenor.. I know I'm missing people here.. and I apologize.

LASTLY: My Netherstorm Alliance Friends.. Though I haven't played there in a while, there are a few that still stand out in my mind:

<3 SUNSHINES - My Skull Hunters GM, and the best damn tank! You taught Brac (aka Duex) everything he knew, and you were always down for a raid. I remember meeting you while we were killing allies in BB, and after that, you just took us under your wing. I shall miss just hanging out in front of the fire at our hideout in Darkshire. Ah, those were the days.. You and Venom are awesome, and I'm have missed you. You were the stamina addict who took HP to the extreme!

<3 Shandwo - You will be missed, my friend.. Though I moved realms and changed factions, I still remember how awesome you were! We had some good times raiding and hanging and helping each other out.

<3 Cascades - I remember watching you grow and become 70... I'll never forget all the scrapes we got into.. raiding Org with just 3 people!! OH.. you gave the Netherstorm Horde such a headache.. but you were notorious and so good! You are ever in my thoughts.

<3 Vern - My friend! DUDE, you are such an impressive hunter, and boy could you tear it up out there! You also gave me my first Clefthoof Armor Kit, and became the inspiration that made me become a leatherworker. You're just a cool guy, and I hope you can read this to know it.

<3 Rotoos/Kalohe - OK, though ur my dad's alts, Rotoos is still the reason why I can't bring myself to kill Dwarf ally warriors.. And you deserve to be commemorated here! I LOVE YOU!!!!

A special thanks goes out to the Burning WoW staff both past and present who have helped me in the past: Kandyman (thank you for keeping BWoW going and for doing the best.. and trying to help me out with the guild thing, I know you had so much on your plate, but you created greatness), Jriske (ding! lvl 80 baby.. yeah!! Thanks for being the best darned admin.. i don't care what the flames say, you rock!!!), Hograth (one of my favorite GMs, thanks for helping me out there as Lkrogue.. and going out of your way for everything!), Trissey (efficient and good at what you do, you don't take any BS and you always take such good care of us! I always knew I could count on you.. thanks!), Wolfwolf (thank you for everything), Ersi (yay Santa Hat! Thanks for going down with the ship and showing SW what an Undead Rogue can really do), Breeeze (NS GM.. You always created the best events and made the server so much fun! I really missed you, even when I went to BM.. Find the rabbit! LOLZ!!!), Odin (I remember you popped up in IF to help me, and I was drunk and naked... and you were like "WTF?!?!" then I tried to hit you LOL)

In Loving Memory of Burning WoW.. You shall all be a part of my thoughts... We had a great time! Thank you for the memories.