Forgive me if I’m underestimating you, Quasi, but you do know that you have to kill Torgos’s mate over at Carrion Hill and bring her carcass over to the big scarecrow at the birdman village to lure him down into range, right?
See, this is where I’d share a similar story about myself. Unfortunately, I am perfect in every conceivable way.
Spirit Healers are NPCs. They also don’t float around–they’re tied to graveyards. When you release, you’re sent to the “nearest” one. (Note that the distance is always as the crow flies–it’s possible to be sent to a GY that will actually give you a longer run back because of cliffs and such.)
My Tenacity pet is Deathclaw. I named him Zombear. 
Wooo! That’s a hefty chunka change, i’n’it? Kind of nice to know that you can save up that much, though–and I bet it’s giving you ideas about your next big-ticket item.
What, not even the gorillas? I mean, everything’s better with gorillas!
BTW, moron tank story: Tried healing my first Northrend instance, with a DK tank - admittedly I was a bit undergeared with just Northrend greens and Outland blues and only level 69 for a run through UK, but the tank was treating it like we were running a heroic with all Triumph gear - run run run run I shout MANA and try and keep him healed (he’s taking a lot of damage even from trash groups) then he starts running again - we have one wipe when I run out of mana, then we get to boss number one where I get frost tombed straight away and nobody breaks me out (so I guess that was DPS fail); the tank drops the group and we wait around for another tank - a pally this time.
This time, the boss fight goes fine - a couple of the dps pick up aggro for a second or two but nothing serious - and I ding 70 as the boss dies so I don’t even have to drink afterward.
The Pally tank is at zero mana and I’m wondering if she wants to stop and drink, but she goes ahead and runs ahead into the mines with the non-elite ghoul dudes. And proceeds to lose aggro on freaking EVERYTHING. I’m getting aggro. The dps are getting aggro. I die and soulstone; I’m having to heal two dps both of whom have aggro while the tank somehow doesn’t at all; one of the dps dies and I stop to res him; then he dies again when the tank continues to NOT HOLD AGGRO AT ALL FRIGGING HELL SHE ISN’T USING CONSECRATE AT ALL WTF?
And so we wipe. On non-elite trash. Because the tank doesn’t want to slow down to drink because she needs to be LEET and tank at 99 MPH.
Anyway, at this point the tank goes linkdead and I drop out of the group.
KK, I just didn’t know about them wimmens, and jayjay, don’t you ever
worry about underestimating me! I could NOT have gotten to 67 without y’all’s help, okay?
And I think I have that tracheotomy carcass in one of my bags, jay, so yes, I didn’t know all that stuff you told me!
DO NOT underestimate me, Wolkie or Silka!
We need all the help y’all can give us!
Thanks
And I know we need to go see Heather, Martu! It might interest you to know that not even those sexy Elves have turned his head. She’s just so precious and we need to do some skinning, so Wolkie will see her soon!
Quasi, Wolkie and Silka
Doh – now why did I think gorillas were Ferocity pets? Now I have something to aim for. I did pick up a turtle last night as I want to try and solo the group quest in Ghostlands, so far he’s doing a good job. Struggling to get attached to him though.
I have been saving up for it for two months and it was almost painful paying that much money in one go. Next it’s going to be mats for crafting epics to get my BS from 446 to 450 and the best enchants\gems for my Holy set. Always something new to get isn’t there?
Wait to you get to Northrend and you visit the Ebon Blade Quartermaster Duchess Mynx (OK she’s a Death Knight but if she doesn’t turn your head you’re a better man then me!)
Ok, I dinged 74 last night with my Ret Pally… (my only toon so far). The wait times for LFG are pretty bad as DPS getting to the high levels, so I am considering rolling another toon, also so I can learn more about either Tanking or Healing.
1stly…would I be better served going dual-spec with my existing Pally and learning to heal or tank on him, or should I roll a new toon and “work my way up” so to speak?
Secondly…if the latter, suggestions and recommendations on which is easier to learn - healing or tanking, and what class to choose for that…
Keep in mind I enjoyed the fact that I could do a lot of solo questing with my Ret Pally and didn’t have to worry much about the mobs I would run into running around. As long as I stay in zones that are close to level-appropriate, I never had to worry about being over my head. I would like to choose something for this heal/tank toon that wouldn’t be horribly dependent on others to survive…
Thanks guys!!!
Well, first of all, paladins make great tanks, so getting a secondary Prot spec is certainly an option. You’d also get into random groups very quickly. The downside is that you’d be learning how to tank in high-level dungeons, so your initial success may depend on the patience of your group. Paladins can also be good healers, but I don’t know if I’d recommend a pally if it’s your first healer – there are other classes that are easier to heal with. But if you want to go this route, either one is a possibility.
If you want to start a new tank or healer, you have lots of options. Paladins or Druids can do either one. Warriors are also good tanks but my impression is that they are a little more difficult to master (I’ve never had a warrior past level 16).
As for healers, besides paladin and druid, there are priests and shamans. My main is a priest but soloing as a priest specced for healing is difficult.
You’ll have to do whatever you’re drawn to, but you might want to look seriously at a Druid – you can switch back and forth between healing and tanking and decide which one you prefer. Plus, dancing bears are funny.
The Doper guild Burning Dog Legion had our weekly alt dungeon run last night – it’s hard to believe these alts are in our mid-60’s now. I remember when they were babies. sniff
Anyway, we ran Auchenai Crypts. Wiped on the first pull. D’oh! I had a little trouble keeping aggro. But we regrouped and did three things differently: I was reminded to use Holy Wrath (since the mobs were undead); I marked the first target to focus dps; and dps held back for a second or two to let me gain aggro. From that point on we didn’t have any real problems. Those are big pulls in Crypts! 5-6 mobs was typical. It’s a quick instance though, with only two bosses.
Afterward the dps all had to go, but the healer and I went into the random queue and ended up in Mana-Tombs. It went fine, although it was hard to keep threat off the mage who was putting out enormous damage. It wasn’t nearly as fun as the guild run, though – I don’t think anyone said a word the entire time (except me to give boss strategies).
Heh, heh, heh…
Honestly, I’d suggest learning both on your paladin, since you already have a level 74 one, and it’s a class that can both heal and tank effectively. Are you in a decent guild with people who are willing to help out, i.e. group up with you as you learn, or help you get gear for one or both roles? Really, the first part is getting some decent gear to be able to practice with so that you can get a feel for the very different roles that you’d be playing.
Healing with a paladin primarily revolves around utilizing Beacon of Light in an effective way (most put Beacon on the tank, which allows for party heals to also heal the tank). You only have 3 healing spells (Flash of Light, Holy Light and Holy Shock), so the rest of your role is really determined by how well you can stay aware, dispel, and use your Hand spells effectively.
Tanking with a paladin is a blast, IMO. It’s all about maintaining your 969 rotation (which I outlined earlier in this thread) and keeping a decent amount of mana (which is important, as Tom Scud’s post illustrates). I’d recommend getting a good nameplates add-on (I use TidyPlates) so that you can tell from a glance what is/isn’t targeting you.
The main reason why I suggest going with your current toon is that healing/tanking isn’t for everyone, and I think it’s hard to get a clear picture of how much you enjoy either as you’re leveling (granted, I haven’t leveled in a long time). You fortunately chose a class that can tank, DPS, and heal, so it makes sense (to me) that you explore your options there and see whether or not you enjoy either role.
Personally, I find paladin healing to be extremely dull due to their limited spell selection and being locked into casts 95% of the time. It’s a role where you’re forced to spam quite a bit (until you overgear the content), and I just have never enjoyed it. But, then, I have an OP resto druid, so that probably tinges my vision a bit.
Regardless, try out both, see whether you like either, and if you do pursue it. Then maybe roll another class that can do the same role, but differently. I’ve rolled several tank and healing classes, but this was after I tried both on my druid (which I was fortunate enough to pick at the beginning) and found out that I really enjoyed both roles (as well as DPSing). Let us know what you end up doing; I know I’m interested.
On an unrelated note: WE KILLED THE LICH KING ON 25-MAN! WOOT!
Sorry, but I had to get it out. Last night was an amazing night of raiding for my guild and I. We spent a couple hours bashing our head against the wall that is Arthas, but due to promising early attempts, we kept going. Eventually, we re-grouped, took a short break, and came back with guns blazing. We were consistently getting him to <20% (10% is a kill) and then finally, we switched up the positioning for Phase 3 (which I and the other healers demanded) and finally got him down on the last attempt of the evening (isn’t that always the way?)!
Afterward, my 10-man group went into Heroic ICC and cleared the Crimson Halls wing! We were able to 1-shot BQL (same fight, just everything hits harder), but Blood Princes was much different and forced extremely precise execution and so was a very fun fight to learn (we got them down after 3 attempts). This is our first week in Heroic 10-man ICC, and so killing 7 bosses thus far is pretty awesome for us. Plus, I got a sweet polearm for my feral kitty spec, which is awesome.
Anyway, I had to share with you all. Sorry for the crit wall of text, but hope it was worth reading!
I’d say go for dual-spec on your pally, but tank **normal **dungeons, not **heroic **dungeons. People doing normal dungeons are levelling up themselves and tend to be a lot more patient and forgiving. Plus, with dual-specs these days, it’s not at all uncommon for people to start playing a new spec they’ve not levelled, so I wouldn’t be worried about that. You might like to research some pally-specific blogs for tips on starting out as a pally tank. Have fun!
Starting from a low level is the best way to learn how to tank or heal, but it’s also the most time-consuming. Since your current character is already in its mid-70s, you’re actually at a not-bad point to start; for example, you’ll only be running regular versions of Northrend dungeons.
For now, I’d suggest making your second spec on that Paladin either Prot or Holy. If you wanted, you could even try one, then respec to the other. The biggest pain in the ass is going to be gear; since you’re in your 70s, you really can’t run into a dungeon in Ret gear, even with the right spec, and expect to effectively tank or heal. You’re going to have to start picking up either tanking or healing pieces from quests and as off-spec rolls in dungeons. Ret gear will carry over slightly better to Prot than it will to Holy–while melee DPS stat aren’t optimal for tanks, they’re at least useful for threat generation, while they’d be completely useless for a healer.
IMO, tanking is harder than healing, and they’re both harder than DPSing. A big part of the distinction, as I see it, is that tanks are the ones responsible for knowing boss abilities, positioning, etc. However, Paladins are pretty easy to tank with these days, especially when compared to the other tanking classes for the current “grab everything and AOE” mentality. Even the devs think that Paladin AOE tanking is too easy at the moment, which should tell you something.
Oh god, I don’t even want to *think *about how much money I’ve spent on WoW since I started playing. As a monthly average, it’s not much, but as a total…
Awesome! Congrats!
Looks like her Paladin isn’t 80 yet, so this won’t be a concern for a few levels (I’m guessing that a lot of post-TBC characters don’t even have the Heroic keys for Outland dungeons–and even if she did, she’s at least four levels over what they were designed for). But it’s definitely good advice to keep in mind for a starting tank or healer.
Grats!
Levelling as a tankadin is easier than levelling as Ret in my opinion. Sure you don’t kill anything as quickly but you can tackle many mobs at a time without being close to dying. At 74 you also have Divine Plea which negates mana issues which some prot pallys have (get the glyph too).
Tanking in dungeons is harder than healing you really have to work at it to be good at it. You’re also highly responsible for the success of the run – sure not 100% but if the tank is bad you’d better have very good DPS and Heals. I levelled as Prot from 60 (Ret up to then) and soloing was easy. After a few fails at tanking in WOTLK dungeons I decided to try Healing and I’m enjoying it a lot more. I still, however, solo as Prot and have tanked a few times on guild runs.
Whatever you do try it out now before you hit 80 – with the dungeon finder you can queue for Nexus and Utgarde Keep a few times and you can try it out now while being slightly above level. If you’re going to try and tank get yourself the Cobalt set as made by Blacksmiths, great gear for early tanking.
I’d suggest try tanking first because if you like it you’ll be set up for PuGs for the rest of your wow career and the learning curve is steeper. Learning Healing at 80 is easier in my opinion, still tricky mind you.
Grats!
Wow, you think so? I guess “different strokes” applies here–I was leveling from 60 to about 70 as Prot, and I hated it. Slow, ran out of mana constantly, and it was like “Fight something…drink…fight something else…drink…” Ugh. I’m used to mages and OP DKs who can rip through things with very little downtime, so it was frustrating for me.
I understand it gets better once you get Divine Plea, but I switched to Ret around 70, got the spouse (whose main is a raiding Ret) to show me the playstyle, and I haven’t looked back. Being able to kill things while getting mana back, along with frequent insta-heals, is just so nice. I plan to swap this guy to tank when he hits 80 and I can get him some decent gear, but his offspec is going to stay Ret. I’m having way too much fun with it. And he can still kill multiple things at once as long as he doesn’t get too ambitious. 
Seal Of Wisdom and Blessing of Sanctuary gave me all the mana I ever needed and standing in the middle of 6-8 mobs while hammering away was a blast. No such thing as too ambitious for prot as long as you can hit it 
I did my first PUG with a friend last night–Sethekk Halls. This was on my Alliance warlock level 65 (now 66!) main on Eitrigg, so not something I could’ve done with BDL. Plus I’m, like, way too shy for that.
It wasn’t half-bad! The first one, my friend said the tank sucked. We wiped three times, and he needed on a sword that he didn’t need (it was a green that came from a mob) that would’ve been an upgrade for me (because, hey! It was “of the Sorceror!” And one-handed! And I have crappy weapons), but not for him. And then, after lamenting about it, he sorta tried to trade it to me. He opened a trade window, didn’t put anything in it, closed it, and then said something like “man, I can’t even trade right tonight.” Plus he didn’t pull far enough or something, and we kept on getting wiped.
Second group had a good tank, but one of the other DPS was a hunter who’d come in without a pet, hoping to tame one of the birds. She was a good five-six levels above me (65 is barely enough for that instance), and I was beating her in DPS. She and the mediocre healer who I kept soulstoned to no avail quit after a wipe. We then got two new players, and they kicked ass, and clearing the rest of the instance was cake.
I lagged a bit in DPS–I’m a little undergeared because I haven’t really done instances, and I was the lowest level by far–but I did pretty decently. No one bitched, at least. Plus I kept the healer soulstoned. By the end, I’d figured out how to up my DPS to keep up, so I was rather pleased.
You don’t even have to be prot for that. My level 31 holy paladin (in mostly dps gear but with a shield) recently took on 9 green mobs without breaking much of a sweat. It’s probably even slower than prot, though, because you basically just keep healing yourself until they’re all dead.
That’s awesome Angel! It’s too bad you’re not in BDL, because that’s exactly the content we’re tackling with our alt group right now, and there’s absolutely no pressure in our runs.