Shamantastic: Ouch, My Mana Hurts…

(EDIT: If you’re looking for a healing guide on Lord Geoffery Tulvan for the Crucible of Carnage event The Earl of Evisceration, check out this link!)

Remember that post I made where I was lamenting the fact that elemental and restoration shamans literally could not run out of mana? Well I was certainly wrong. Now that Cataclysm has actually come and I’ve seen the changes, I’ve eaten my words. However, as far as I’m concerned at this point in time, the fact that I actually have to care about my mana again is a good thing. What does this mean for shamans? Well today’s post is mostly about restoration (one of my first), which is the spec hit hardest by Cata content in terms of mana reduction. Here’s why!

On Raiding Guilds

http://www.duelinganalogs.com/comic/2007/09/30/leeroy-jenkins-a-legend-is-born/

An online gaming community is a fascinating construct to examine. Hundreds to sometimes millions of people are deposited into an online forum in which they can interact with hundreds of other plays from anywhere in the world, but under the convenient shroud of anonymity. The name you make for yourself is the name of your character, and it is by that nickname that you hold fame or infamy.

What’s even more interesting to me is the establishment of player run organizations, created for and by the players. These organizations hold the unique attribute of being completely pliable, flexible and diverse. The constraints are placed by those that are members of the organization and can mimic any real life political structure, real or philosophized, that fit the needs of the organization. Games like World of Warcraft don’t allow quite as much autonomy in this respect as some other games, but the medium is still there to construct a guild that has a specific purpose and is governed by a set of rules and standards.

I enjoy analyzing these player created institutions and watching how they progress, experiencing whatever influences they encounter, from within in the organization as well as from the outside. Take the jump for a look at raiding guilds and other games that are classified as “social simulations.”