Incoming 3.0

Well I finished downloading patch 3.0.2 this morning and installed it. I also updated my add-ons. In theory, I should be good to go when I get home in 2 hours time.

I also took the precautionary measure of parking myself in front of the Paladin Trainer in Stormwind to avoid the lagfest that will be Shattrath on Patch Day.

Tonight's agenda involves logging in, respeccing and setting up my new gearsets. After that, Smart Casual's going on an experimental raid in Karazhan to test out our new talents and spells.

I've altered my intended spec slightly. Given that it seems the +3% mitigation won't be added to Shield of the Templar until closer to WotLK's full release, then I'll leave it out of my spec in favor of maxing out One-Handed Weapon Specialization and Ardent Defender. All-in-all this will be Ulu's initial spec.

Talents and 3.0

Well because I happen to live in the cradle of civilisation as opposed to one of the god-forsaken colonies, I will have to wait until tomorrow evening to try out the myriad delights of Patch 3.0.2.

I suppose the only thing to do is list the probable talent spec for 3.0.

After some thought, I'm going to start with a 4/51/6 spread.

My original plan was a slightly more conventional 5/51/5 but recent news has led me to change my mind.

I switched one point from Seals of the Pure to Improved Judgement so I can better fit in the 6 and 9 second skill rotations. I also got Shield of the Templar since Ghostcrawler has said it will soon include a 3% damage reudction. Those points would have otherwise rounded out One-Handed Weapon Spec and Ardent Defender.

By level 80, I intend Ulu's tanking spec to be 5/56/10.

For Posterity.

Ulushnar's stats, unbuffed at the close of 2.4.

We'll see what the story is in 3.0 on Wednesday.

Dual Talent Specs & the cusp of 3.0

So it was Blizzcon over the weekend and they confirmed that they'd be be doing Dual Talent Specs at some point in Wrath of the Lich King:

The Dual-Talent spec feature will let you switch between your two specs without having to go back to town. You can perfectly do it between fights in a raid, however it won't be possible to switch specs in the middle of an Arena Match. Your keybinds and glyphs will be saved and automatically switched as you change your spec. An itemrack-like mod might also be added to the game to make switching even easier.

This is certainly more than I expected from the idea. I figured they'd put a massive cooldown on it, but they definately seem keen to let folks play with being hybrids. As someone who's focussing on 10-man raiding in Wrath, knowing that spare tanks/healers can switch to full DPS specs on fights where they aren't needed is massively welcome. I really cannot wait until this feature goes live.

In other news, I've slowly been vendoring/destroying unneeded junk/items in my bank in preparation for 3.0/Wrath of the Lich King. I've also altered my gear slightly, swapping Ulu's Illidari Runeshield for his Bulwark of the Amani Empire and his Wristguards of Determination for his Bracers of the Ancient Phalanx. I've also set up an altered outfit for after the patch on Wednesday which switches a few more items around. I'm actually considering using the Shard of Contempt in Ulu's tanking gear.

I really can't wait for this patch!

Update 07Oct08

Well as the witty title may give away, I'm at something of a loss about what to write. I haven't felt the need to play WoW in a while now, although I've been following the Beta changes from the sidelines. The lack of friends and the ever present latency at peak times (ie. the only times I can get on) keep me from actively participating in Beta much.

Since the reorganization of the Prot tree a few pushes ago, things have been looking relatively stable for Tankadins as we head towards the release of 3.0 (next week if the rumors are to be believed). Numbers have been tweaked, but there haven't been any massive changes.

We still don't have an 11-point talent as of this writing, and I imagine we won't see one this side of release. It's kinda sad, but I prefer it to them throwing in some half-assed placeholder to buff/nerf at a later date.

Early data by theorycrafters and raiders seems to indicate that we were sufferring in terms of health and mitigation compared to our eternal "nemeses": Warriors. This seems to have been mollified by the news that in a forthcoming Beta push, the Shield of the Templar talent will be modified to reduce incoming damage by 1/2/3%. This should bring us closer to parity with our fellow shield-bearers.

So sorry readers, nothing exciting to mention here.