Filed under: (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: The greatest Shadowfiend nerf (or maybe buff) of all time

by Fox Van Allen Sep 1st 2010 at 2:00PM

The race to represent the Spiritual Guidance column is turning into a nail-biter. Dawn Moore, writer of the Sunday version, took an early lead due to her natural dual constituencies, holy and disc. Recently, though, Fox Van Allen, the shadow-specced author of the Wednesday column, has taken a statistically insignificant 46-44 percent lead over his rival in the polls. Some credit Fox's well-written, intelligent columns. Others point to the recent discovery of yet five more Shadowfiend-bite-riddled corpses; Dawn supporters all. "Yes we can" is so 2008 -- "... or else" is the new catchphrase for a new decade!

Ladies and gentlemen of the shadow priesting jury, I am outraged. Or possibly thrilled. You see, just this past week, Blizzard has done something totally unconscionable. Or possibly ground-breakingly awesome.

Of all the tools at the disposal of the shadow priest, there's one I hold in higher regard than most the others: my Shadowfiend. You see, spells like Mind Flay and Vampiric Touch -- they're all just spells. My shadowfiend is more than that. He's a pet. A friend. When I was sick and alone this past week, it was my shadowfiend who brought me a box of tissues and a remote. It was my shadowfiend that brought me a bowl of gnome noodle soup. It was my shadowfiend who rode across yellow- and blue-colored waves of sound to fight the evil dust empire that exists under my coffee table when I look down there and cross my eyes a little so things get blurry.

Granted, most of that may have just been a fevered dream or cough-syrup-induced hallucination. The key point stands, however: You don't mess with my shadowfiend.

This week's problem: Blizzard's been messing with our shadowfiend. Maybe. I mean, it's possible that Blizzard's been buffing it. I am incensed. Or possibly elated. We'll try out some funky, back-of-an-envelope math after the break to try and sort through exactly what's happening with our beloved shadowfiend and figure out whether or not this is cause for alarm ... or the best thing to have happened to shadow priests in the history of ever.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance, Cataclysm

Spiritual Guidance: Priest PSA

by Dawn Moore Aug 29th 2010 at 10:00PM

On most Sundays, Spiritual Guidance by Dawn Moore is a semi-respectable guide for priests who want the latest news and thoughts on healing as a discipline or holy priest. However, due to decreased interest in priests, WoW.com has decided that starting next week Spiritual Guidance will be replaced by a new column, "One Less Lonely Elf," by Justin Bieber. The new column will cover role playing in Silvermoon City. Dawn has declined to comment.

PSA stands for public service announcement (e.g. Dawn smiled with satisfaction as she stepped back to admire one of the many flyers she had spent the afternoon hanging around her guild hall. The words "Don't drink and DPS" were spelled out cheerfully across a large piece of parchment. Below, a photograph of a staggeringly uneven damage meter was pictured, followed by some informative text and statistical data.)

It shouldn't be confused with PDA, which stands for public display of affection (e.g. Thanks to a heady blend of Kungaloosh and port, Fox unabashedly pushed his warlock lover against the mailbox at the south bank and moved in for a kiss. Before their lips could touch though, Fox abruptly exploded into a cloud of luminescent, purple dust. His companion glowed red with discomfort as several bystanders turned to stare. "Perhaps I shouldn't have had so much to drink," Fox considered.)

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: The four best things about Cataclysm for shadow priests

by Fox Van Allen Aug 28th 2010 at 10:00PM

Each and every Wednesday, Fox Van Allen assumes control of Spiritual Guidance in the name of shadow priests everywhere. Except for when Fox is virulently ill. In those cases, he dopes himself up on cough syrup, curls up on a couch with a box of tissues and spends Wednesday watching The Neverending Story. So, yeah, hey Saturday. What's up? Better late than never, right?

In between the fevered dreams, cough syrup benders and The Golden Girls marathons associated with my most recent cold this week, I resolved to pen the greatest Spiritual Guidance article of all time. After all, Hemingway's genius came from the bottom of a bottle. Perhaps then it would stand to reason that the true genius of Fox Van Allen would come from the bottom of a bottle of CVS Nighttime Cold and Flu.

Alas, that was not to be the case. In my hastily written Twitter screed, "The best things about Cata for spriets (sic)," I praised Blizzard for the way it made quests smell in Hyjal. The third best thing about Cataclysm was, "wait hold on no no no wait." Cold medication is serious business, kids. That's why they keep the good stuff behind the counter.

Thankfully, the cold has finally lifted (mostly). Thinking with a more sober mind, I've come to the realization that the idea of a "favorite things" list is a decent one (sup, Oprah?); it's just that my execution was a bit off earlier in the week. After the break: My real picks for the "best" changes to shadow priests (so far) in Cataclysm and a chance for you to chime in on your favorites as well.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance, Cataclysm

Spiritual Guidance: Back to the beta

by Dawn Moore Aug 22nd 2010 at 8:00PM

In 2015, while testing out the latest Keepers of Time expansion, Blizzard Executive Fox Van Allen accidentally ganks his past self, undoing his own existence by causing himself to reroll paladin. Now, stuck in the year 2008, Fox must find a way to undo his mistake or risk losing everything. To do this, he tracks down the only person he knows: Dawn Moore. Unfortunately, she's never heard of him, WoW.com or Spiritual Guidance, and would much rather PvP than heal.

I've come to think of the Cataclysm beta as a disease. Each week it spreads further among the general populace while simultaneously mutating into a newer, stronger version of its former self. As the resident healer, it's my duty to try to control and contain the situation by applying my latest analysis, but overall the beta is a very resistant infection and my normal approaches are continually being overtaken. Still, I stand vigilant and celebrate my small victories; I will not leave you ill-informed, my fellow priests!

The sound of crickets fill the silence.

Yes, well then ... Shall we get started?

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: In defense (or condemnation) of Dispersion

by Fox Van Allen Aug 18th 2010 at 4:00PM

This week your shadow priesting expert, Spiritual Guidance columnist and ace attorney Fox Van Allen, took on his hardest case yet: defending fellow columnist Dawn Moore against charges of murder! The trial was quick -- after presenting the same Rime-Covered Mace to the judge as evidence five consecutive times, Dawn was instantly declared guilty and hauled away. She was last heard muttering something about "the scent of fresh lemons ..."

I have this recurring vision of a grand council of shadow priests. We sit around a gigantic conference table in a dark, shadowy dungeon somewhere. We talk shop and strategy. We share recipes for roast gnome. We discuss our plans to conquer the world.

Then some joker mentions Dispersion, and the whole damn thing falls apart.

"It's a waste of a 31-point talent! We're being screwed!"

"Sit down, jerk, Dispersion is just fine!"

An epic fistfight breaks out. And the haters wind up using Dispersion to soak up the blows. Hypocrites!

Now that we know Dispersion is firmly set as our 31-point talent in Cataclysm, some old wounds are getting reopened. A lot of priests were never truly sold on Dispersion when it was first introduced, and while it's slowly gained acceptance (and more usefulness -- remember when it was garbage in Ulduar?), emotions still run high. A contingent of shadow priests loves the utility of the ability and the lore behind it. A contingent despises it for eating up the slot of some mythical perfect ability that's yet to be designed.

It's the shadow priest equivalent of Roe v. Wade. And we're going to jump right in the middle of it after the break.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: Let's talk about mana, baby

by Dawn Moore Aug 16th 2010 at 5:00PM

While Mr. Van Allen is getting his waistcoat pressed, Dawn Moore presents ~~her weekly book club~~ Spiritual Guidance, a healing guide for priests. Here you can expect some optimism, some cynicism and absolutely no Regency period clothing.

So, supposedly mana is going to be an issue for healers in Cataclysm. It's the word on the street, ya know? Everyone is talking about how we're not going to be able to spam this or that, and that we'll need to make better decisions with our spell selection. "Triage" is this year's vocabulary word. That old, busted spam style of healing is out, and the new "do damage, get mana" mechanic is supposed to be the new hotness. Of course, we priests are bound to be the superstars* of the next expansion; it's all pretty exciting, don't you think? Well, maybe not everyone feels that way, but that's why we have cake and counseling. Dawn motions to the door behind her.

So, in the short time I've written for WoW.com, I've noticed that the mana question is one that continually comes up. Is mana a problem? Is it not a problem? It seems like there isn't a single satisfactory answer I can give to everyone, but knowing mana might be a hurdle in the future for all of us, I figured now would be a good time to look back and ahead. So, let's talk about mana.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: Cataclysm and the shadow priest's day of reckoning

by Fox Van Allen Aug 11th 2010 at 9:00PM

Today's shadow-centric edition of Spiritual Guidance is brought to you by high priest of the shadows, Fox Van Allen. The holy-fearing Dawn Moore will be back to share more non-shadow wisdom ... eventually. For now, though, she's being detained by authorities in Stormwind. Apparently, they got this anonymous call about her turning traitor in Cataclysm ...

In terms of whether or not the human race would go extinct, 1983 was a nail-biter.

On Sunday, Sept. 26, 1983, a fluffy cloud set off the Soviet Early Warning Missile System. The system misread some data and reported that the United States had initiated nuclear war. Thankfully, a Russian technician was able to do some on-the-fly logical reasoning (the U.S. wouldn't just launch just one missile, right?) and decided to ignore that warning. And the four other erroneous warnings to follow.

It was pretty much a real-life version of 99 Luftballons. Some stupid little computer error almost leveled the civilized world. Of course, the Cold War being what it was, you didn't hear about it on the nightly news. The world didn't end. Knight Rider still aired that night, right on schedule.

There were an awful lot of changes to the Cataclysm shadow priest build over the past week. A few were good, a few were "OK," and one nearly led to the shadow priest world's being reduced to a pile of smoking rubble. Follow us after the break for more Cataclysm shadow priesting information. And for those of you who feel ignorance is bliss and don't want to be spoiled ... we now return you to Knight Rider, already in progress.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance, Cataclysm

Spiritual Guidance: Cataclysm leveling so far

by Matt Low Aug 8th 2010 at 10:00PM

Each Sunday, Dawn Moore combines a bitterness for canned meat, the occasional groovy beat, and massacred references to classic literature into Spiritual Guidance, a healing guide for priests. Except she's not here this week! You get to deal with Matticus, the guy who writes Raid Rx, instead.

Oh it feels good to write a priest only column again, even if it is only temporarily. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed when looking at everything healer related or thinking "big picture". But when it the focus is just about priests, I can really go into some of the gritty stuff.

Anyway, I got a little treat this week. I've been spending a bit of time in Cataclysm. You don't need me to tell you this place looks awesome. In case you were wondering about leveling, check out the video I've attached. It's me destroying a bunch of mobs both as discipline and as holy. To the untrained eye, they wouldn't really know what to look for because leveling as discipline and holy looks practically the same!

If you haven't seen what Power Word: Barrier looks like yet, don't worry as it's all in here as well. Read more about my thoughts on the two non-shadow specs for leveling, Chakra, and what end game could feel like. I healed some Blackrock Caverns as holy, and I have to say, I do like the way the default healing UI is coming.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: First impressions of shadow priesting in Cataclysm

by Fox Van Allen Aug 4th 2010 at 4:00PM

Since watching Inception, your not-so-humble Spiritual Guidance counselors have been experimenting with dream states in an effort to better facilitate your uptake of priesting information. Since Dawn has yet to awaken from her Blunt Brainwasher-induced sleep, shadow priest Fox Van Allen will be taking over the Wednesday edition.

Rumor has it that my Light-respecting partner, Dawn Moore, spent a solid two weeks at Blizzard's headquarters pleading for a Cataclysm beta key. To get in their good graces, she plastered Renews on everyone who moved, cast a Greater Heal on a turkey sandwich and sang a Divine Hymn. She even tried buying them lunch at Jack in the Box. Nothing worked.

A few hours after Dawn left, your boy Fox Van Allen walked in, cast Mind Control and walked away with a beta key in about 16 seconds. I also stole the leftovers from the Jack in the Box lunch. Curly fries. Jumbo Jack. Diet Coke. That's just how I roll.

So, what's going on with shadow priests in the beta? What's going on with Cataclysm in general? To find out, I copied my shadow priest to the test server, created a new goblin priest and braced myself for shadow priesting 4.0. I came. I saw. I blew up bomb-throwing monkeys with Nitro-Potassium Bananas. Follow me after the break if you dare -- spoilers may be present, of course.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance, Cataclysm

Spiritual Guidance: Latest beta talent builds for priests

by Dawn Moore Aug 1st 2010 at 6:00PM

Each Sunday, Dawn Moore combines a bitterness for canned meat, the occasional groovy beat, and massacred references to classic literature into Spiritual Guidance, a healing guide for priests.

These days everybody is in the beta. Let me just tell you who. My mother is in the beta. My father is in the beta. My auntie is in the beta. My best friend is in the beta. My cat is in the beta. My goldfish is in the beta. My neighbor is in the beta. My postman is in the beta. I just wanna be -- Oh! Hi. Dawn turns down her music and folds her hands in her lap, Alistair Cooke style.

Another beta build is upon us, my friends. With it comes my obligatory recount and reflection for priests, paired with my even more obligatory, jading references to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance, Cataclysm

Spiritual Guidance: The top ten shadow priest glyphs

by Fox Van Allen Jul 28th 2010 at 7:00PM

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Spiritual Guidance, hosted by Fox Van Allen, consort to the shadows. Don't mind any distracting grunting you hear coming from under the floor boards. Dawn Moore isn't buried alive underneath there, I promise. She just needed to take today off. You know. For ... um ... I dunno, I think she's one of the Hollywood Squares this week. Who cares, whatever, she's gone.

Oh, hello shadow priests. Please come in. Shut the door behind you.

Have a seat. We need to talk.

I've been hearing rumors on wowpopular.com about your top major glyph choices, and frankly, I'm concerned. It's telling me that the Glyph of Shadow Word: Pain is the most popular for shadow priests. Madness! And my god, are you really casting Flash Heal that often that you want to glyph for it?

Look, look, it's okay. It's not your fault. You're the victim here. You chose what you thought was a good glyph, and it's been letting you down. I can help.

After the break, we're going to run down the list of the top ten most popular shadow priest glyphs and pick them apart, one by one. Hopefully, in the process, we can get rid of your cookie cutter build and find you a great new set of glyphs that matches your play style.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: So you wanna play a priest, part 4, levels 41-70

by Dawn Moore Jul 25th 2010 at 8:00PM

Two class specs, both alike in dignity,
in fair Azeroth, where we lay our scene,
from ancient expansion to ICC,
here circles, bubbles, mischief all convene.
Spiritual Guidance updates each Sunday with all the essentials on healing as a priest.

You would think that a priest could dispel bleeds. We can restore people from death and protect them from incoming attacks, yet we can't plug up one gushing wound? Seems a bit strange, doesn't it? Are we not masters of healing?

Anyway, today's column actually has nothing to do with dispelling or bleed effects (other than the author writing today's column while under the effects of a non-dispellable bleed debuff). It has to do with leveling a priest from levels 40 to 70. Hit the jump and we'll get to it.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: Of lore, the forsaken and shadow priests

by Fox Van Allen Jul 21st 2010 at 9:00PM

In addition to being the author of Wednesday's shadow priest edition of Spiritual Guidance, Fox Van Allen is an accomplished songwriter. After Dawn Moore refused to use Power Infusion on him during a lengthy raid encounter, Fox wrote the song In the Air Tonight. He mailed Dawn front-row tickets to his first concert performance, and as he reached the chorus, a bright spotlight engulfed Dawn. She cried in shame. It was awesome.

Regular readers of Spiritual Guidance know that over the last month, I've been putting together a leveling guide for aspiring shadow priests. In the last installment, I made a seemingly innocuous comment about shadow priests' being able to take the talent Shadowform at level 40:

We're able to make that fateful decision to forsake the light in exchange for causing more destruction more effectively.

I was literally describing the game mechanics; staying in Shadowform requires you to give up the spells in the holy tab. One of our commenters, aramis, used the line as a launching pad for an interesting comment that addressed a very basic question for us shadow priests: What the heck are shadow priests supposed to be, anyway?

I won't reprint the entire comment here, but it's definitely worth reading. The gist of it can be understood by reading just the first few sentences:

Mr. V-A, we don't FORSAKE the light as Shadow Priests. On the contrary, we embrace it ... We accept the light as the balance of ourselves. Life is about balance: pleasure and pain; good and evil; life and death; light and shadow.

Is aramis right? Follow me past the break as we explore a little bit of shadow priest lore, dip our toes into the cold waters of shadow priest roleplay, and try to solve an identity crisis that most of you probably don't even realize exists.

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: So you wanna play a priest, part 3, levels 1-40

by Dawn Moore Jul 18th 2010 at 10:00PM

Spiritual Guidance is a fickle being that simply cannot be won over with chocolates and a reservation to the fanciest restaurant in town. Though Fox Van Allen might sport a silk (snap-on) tie and offer a second glass of corky but rather impressive claret, it is Dawn Moore's singing compulsion that makes the column coo its priestly secrets.

With all the preliminary work laid out, this week we'll be finally be getting started on the actual leveling aspect of my multi-part leveling guide. This week we'll be covering abilities, rotations, talent builds, and gear upgrades for the first 40 levels of the priest class. So if you dream of smiting your enemies with divine fire, and giving yourself a small tan in the process, hit the jump!

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: Levels 1-40, page 2

by Dawn Moore Jul 18th 2010 at 10:00PM

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

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