Does My Totem Measure Up?

There's only one way to get better at Raid Healing. Heal Raids.

I've been taking Elutem the Resto Shaman into the LFR lately for some practice, and boy does the Shaman shine in 25 man mode.

Between having Healing Rain hitting 15+ people at once, and Chain Heal having lots of targets to choose from, topping the meters is easier than ever, but is that all a totem-toter can bring to the table?

Of course there is, and here's my list of things I'm practicing:

Earth Shield must never go off of the main tank. Ever. I'm using Healbot to notify me if the buff is gone, and keeping the main tank as my focus. With that setup, this macro works well:

#showtooltip
/cast [@focus,noharm] Earth Shield

Keep the Riptide dance going. It's easy to get a rhythm in your head for the cooldown if you think <Riptide - Healing Wave (or GHW) - Healing Wave>. There is a slight pause after the second filler before Riptide is ready again, so you can either throw in an Unleash Elements, or just wait a half-second. Either way, it's like counting "One, two, three... One, two, three". Once the dance is learned it's pretty easy.

Cast Chain Heal on a target with Riptide whenever possible.

We're getting ready to make the push to Madness this week, so hopefully I'll have a title to show off soon.

BOOZE FOR LAST WEEK:

I had a 12 pack of Ranger IPA from New Belgium just waiting to be destroyed, so I had some hoppy goodness all week.

I love Ranger because it's not an "angry" IPA, it's got lots of hops, but good citrusy balance, which makes for a decent session beer, in spite of its higher alcohol content.

I'll have to remember to bring some more home the next time I go up to Nashville to visit the Lady's family.

Called up to the big leagues...

Sometimes a paladin has to choose between the safety of his cozy spot in the Auction House, and the glory that awaits a hero not afraid to spill a few pints of his own blood (I mean, what is blood good for if not to spill?).

 

So there I was, hovering over Orgrimmar when the raid leader for Group 1 (OMG, heroic modez!) sent me a tell.

"Are you available to tank for my raid tonight?"

**SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

"Ahem, I mean, sure, I'd be honored."

And that's how I ended up with Heroic - Hand of Morchock.

Thanks to Team Kaels for letting me come along for the ride. It was a blast, and we almost got Heroic Ultraxion as well.

BOOZE OF THE NIGHT: Nicolis Amarone, 2004

 

I love Amarone, and it sort of looks like blood, so I figured it would be a great choice for a night of tanking things way above my head. Rich and smokey, but not so overpowering that I couldn't have a 2nd (or 4th) glass. The smooth, sexy berry flavors that the Corvina grape offers made for a great pairing with the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger I munched on pre-raid ;)

Bears and Shamans (Shamen?) and Beers (Oh why?)

I love to tank, but I've been tanking for a long time, and there's only so much joy to be had from staring at a giant monster's crotch for three hours and bleeding all over the floor, so my raid leader graciously allowed me to bring my Shaman, Elutem on our Dragon Soul run last night.

Ladies and Gents, it was outstanding. I actually got to smash buttons and kill things! AND see the beautiful environment inside the raid. Special thanks to our main paladin Flint who solo tanked the first half.

We slammed through 4/8, and I grabbed three pieces of loot (WOOHOO!), then we came to Ultraxion, who actually requires two tanks.

*SHAMAN OUT!*

*BEAR IN!*

With our full compliment of tanks, we saved the world from the Hour of Twilight and moved on to what had previously been our sticking point, Warmaster Blackhorn.

Stupid dragons, stupid adds, stupid purple swirlies....

So many deaths have we died to this stupid, stupid, stupid cow.

But this time...

*BOOM HEADSHOT*

One single attempt, and he dropped like a rock.

No small thanks to our fearless Mage whose dps went through the roof from previous attempts!

What a great night of raiding!

BOOZE OF THE NIGHT:

Sam Adams "The Vixen" Chocolate Chili Bock

This was a quite tasty treat, with just a hint of spicy acidity in the middle of a rich, frothy, malt-bomb.

I really enjoyed it, and am wishing that I had purchased a 2nd bottle :)

3.5/5 Stars

A beginning... and an end.

So, I moved servers.


It wasn't easy, but my old server was dying, and my old guild, while filled with some wonderful people, just wasn't able to get the whole raiding thing down. 


It started with Elu, my paladin main from way back, the one character that I can't leave behind. He's got all my achievements, all my history, and dammit if he's not a pretty sturdy tank. Then I met some new friends... and it started to cost more money...


Next my Hunter came over, Elurog, then my bear, Elue, and finally my shaman Elutem. 

That's where it has stopped for now, but only because I can't justify bringing over my DK Eluhan, mage Eluminate, and my warrior Eluren, only to not play them.


Noticing a trend in names? Yeah, I'm not particularly creative.


This blog is the adventures of Elu on US-Garrosh-Horde...