Leafshine: Lust for Flower

A New Slant on Old Content

Another night, another achievement. But this one was a little different. And it pointed the way to an interesting way that Blizzard could revitalise old content a little… 

(Spoiler Ahoy, so the rest is after the jump) 

New Wrath of the Lich King info - What About Druids?

New Wrath of the Lich King info is dropping like sweet, sweet expansion rain from heaven today. Apparently Blizz have held a press event and given a few journos a peek under the expansion's kimono. And what delights are to be found there…

You can find the broader details on Worldofwar.net, Gamespy and even Weird of Matticus. But I have more specific concerns.

What about the Druids?

Weather Forecast: Cyclone Nerfs Ahead, Spotty QQing

Amanda from WoWInsider seems to be working hard on being Druids' least favourite blogger, after her efforts in ignoring the Lifebloom nerf in favour of laughing at the warlock nerf on the podcast. Her latest post takes the slightly mouldy mana biscuit:

I'm pleasantly surprised at the minimal amount of crying that Druids are doing over the reduction of Cyclone's range to twenty yards. Sure there have been complaints, but as a whole, the Druid community seems to have been pretty mature about the nerf.

Oh, right, so the campaign against the Lifebloom nerf was immature was it? It wasn't a fact-and-numbers based campaign that proved our point and which, at this point, seems to have reversed the nerf? And even if that isn't what she was implying, the sheer fact that the discussion was conducted in an adult, reasoned way should have suggested that druids are quite capable of being "pretty mature". Indeed, when the nerf was shifted from the "tick" to the "bloom", we all went "ah, good" and shut up.

I'm probably being over-irritable about this, and it's possible here mindset was purely on Arenas when she wrote the post (just look at the tags), but really, if there's one thing the debates about both the Warlock and Druid nerfs in the upcoming patch have taught us, it's that you can't apply changes to one area without very carefully thinking about the other. And, equally, perhaps WI bloggers should give just a little more thought about how their readers might be feeling before putting finger to keyboard...

From PvE Nerf to PvE Buff?

Fantabulous news from the Patch Test Realm, as reported by Resto4Life.

It looks like the Lifebloom nerf has been switched from the tick part of the cast to the bloom part. That's… astounding. It's exactly what we've been asking for. It delivers a PvP nerf, while leaving a negligible effect on the PvE healing technique.

But there's more.

The current build has a buff to Regrowth. For those who aren't familiar with druid healing, Regrowth is the only spamable large heal available to us in Tree of Life form. Healing Touch is not castable without shifting out, and Swftmend (which turns a HoT into a large heal) is on a timer. Generally, Regrowth has been regarded as horribly mana inefficient, and the 20% reduction to its mana cost seen on the PTR would make a huge difference to its viability in Deep Resto PvE healing.

A word of caution: this is all provisional, as we're still in the testing phase. But should Blizz go ahead with this, I'll be providing a "Thank You for Listening" badge to replace the "Don't Nerf Trees" one. Fingers (and branches (and roots)) crossed…

Uses for Restos In Kara Post Lifebloom Nerf #2

Cupboard-top dust catcher

WoWInsider on the Lifebloom Nerf

Ladies, gentlemen and Warlocks, Mr Big Bear Butt Blogger has taken the Lifebloom nerf awareness campaign to the pallowed hortals of WoWInsider.

He's done a lovely little round-up of the discussion around the web about the possible reasons behind the nerf - could it be about trying to force Trees into using the bloom portion of the heal in PvE? - as well as the campaign to bring our unhappiness, and the thinking behind it, to Blizz's notice.

Here's hoping we finally get some form of feedback from the Blues as to this issue!

Uses for Restos In Kara Post Lifebloom Nerf #1

Attractive ornamental headrest

No to the Lifebloom Nerf!

Thanks, Nightravyn!