# World of Warcraft questions **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 18, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802 "2008-12-18T20:40:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 69
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1361 "2009-03-03T19:22:04Z")
As for the squishy priest, if you’re not lasting, you’re not using Power Word: Shield right. Cast it before you attack, then wait for a couple of seconds for the Weakened Soul to run out, then attack. You can recast when it fades then, and you shouldn’t need to recast it more than once unless you’re fighting elites by yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1362 "2009-03-03T19:40:56Z")
Oh, I have a weapon question too, for my shammy: I know one-handed maces, and I have a stylish shield. When should I learn new weapons? (I wish we could learn polearms-I’d love to have a trident). ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1363 "2009-03-03T19:48:40Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Oh, I have a weapon question too, for my shammy: I know one-handed maces, and I have a stylish shield. When should I learn new weapons? (I wish we could learn polearms-I’d love to have a trident). Whenever you want, really. Usually it’s when you come across a really nice drop that you _could_ use if you had the skill, so you go learn the skill and work it up. Alternately, you can just buy up all the available skills when you run into a Weapon Master, since they’re not expensive, and that way you’ll have it available when you get a good drop. More than once I’ve created a new character and immediately sent it off to Stormwind or Ironforge to learn a particular weaponskill and buy starter weapons (after stopping at a mailbox to pick up the seed money from my main, of course), then hit the hearthstone to pop back to the newbie starting area to begin the quests. Screw daggers and throwing daggers, my Rogue went into the world with a gun and sword. 🆒 Edit (I have a problem with remembering stuff immediately after hitting Submit, despite previewing obsessively): It’s also perfectly okay to not learn any new skills if you’re happy with your weapon. You just need to put a little extra work (not much, just a little) into finding upgrades. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1364 "2009-03-03T20:07:15Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > As for the squishy priest, if you’re not lasting, you’re not using Power Word: Shield right. Cast it before you attack, then wait for a couple of seconds for the Weakened Soul to run out, then attack. You can recast when it fades then, and you shouldn’t need to recast it more than once unless you’re fighting elites by yourself. Other tips - lead with Holy Fire (lvl 20+) so you use your longest-casting spell before they even see you, and it has a DoT to it so it’ll be ticking away with damage until that runs out. Then Smite, (mob should be right at you so…) Shadow Word: Pain, Mind Blast, Smite again. Recast Holy Fire when the DoT expires, Mind Blast when it recycles, and Power Word: Shield when it’s gone. At lvl 62+, finish the mob when it’s at a sliver of health with Shadow Word: Death. If you get multiples, hit Psychic Scream. If they bring back more friends when they’re done running around, PW: Shield and ruuuun! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1365 "2009-03-03T20:13:03Z")
Actually, if you’re a priest and you have to retreat for ANYTHING, always cast PW: Shield before you do. ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_Lurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_Lurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_Lurker)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1366 "2009-03-03T20:18:08Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > At lvl 62+, finish the mob when it’s at a sliver of health with Shadow Word: Death. I cry at the thought of leveling a priest as anything other than shadow. Even more so because I was a long time believer in the potential of the smite priest. I finally gave in and converted at level 64 and it was like removing 20.. no 30 pound weights from my ankles. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1367 "2009-03-03T20:22:01Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_Lurker](#): > > I cry at the thought of leveling a priest as anything other than shadow. Even more so because I was a long time believer in the potential of the smite priest. I finally gave in and converted at level 64 and it was like removing 20.. no 30 pound weights from my ankles. I cried when I went from Shadow to Holy at 60. And at 70. And now at 80. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1368 "2009-03-03T20:28:15Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I have two other toons in Burning Dog Legion, an orc warrior and a troll priest, which I should probably give more attention. But as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been frustrated with my apparent inability to comprehend the warrior “rage” system — as with the rogue’s “energy” system, I’m just having trouble with the idea that I can’t actually use my special abilities most of the time. With a warrior it feels like I’m not dishing out the damage I should until the very end of combat when I’ve finally built up enough rage to unleash a special attack. Been a while since I had a low-level warrior, so I don’t remember which exact abilities you have, but: 1 - You should almost always charge into a fight. 2 - You should use the life -\> rage ability (Blood rage?) early and often (usually only once a fight) 3 - You should only rarely use heroic strike or cleave, particularly if you’re only fighting one thing at a time, because they turn your regular attacks (white damage numbers) which generate rage into special attacks (yellow numbers) that don’t generate rage, so they cost way more than they look like they cost. Stick to thunderclap, overpower (whenever possible), rend, and other “extra” attacks, and basically only use cleave or heroic strike if your rage is close to maximum for some reason. Between those three, you should have a reasonable amount of rage to work with. That said, warriors really don’t like drawing crowds, and the lack of self-healing (until you’re 75th level) is a PITA. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1369 "2009-03-03T20:33:48Z")
Also, for warrior, pick up training in Thrown weapons. Charge is nice, but if you’re trying to pull carefully and you’re soloing, thrown weapons are better since they won’t draw aggro in as wide a radius as your body does. I prefer thrown to bows or guns since you don’t have to sacrifice bag space for ammo. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1370 "2009-03-03T20:41:57Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I prefer thrown to bows or guns since you don’t have to sacrifice bag space for ammo. Also, later on, thrown items generally give you better warrior stats. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1371 "2009-03-03T22:32:59Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I prefer thrown to bows or guns since you don’t have to sacrifice bag space for ammo. At least in patch 3.1.0 (the one in the public test realm now), ammo will stack to 1,000, so if you carry a couple of thousand ammo like I do, it’ll only take two bag slots. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1372 "2009-03-03T22:47:20Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > At least in patch 3.1.0 (the one in the public test realm now), ammo will stack to 1,000, so if you carry a couple of thousand ammo like I do, it’ll only take two bag slots. Which might have been the most wonderful thing I read all day when the patch notes came out. Now I just need to get a guildie to make me a big ol’ bag to replace my quiver (us hunters don’t need quivers anymore, right?) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1373 "2009-03-03T22:51:27Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Which might have been the most wonderful thing I read all day when the patch notes came out. Now I just need to get a guildie to make me a big ol’ bag to replace my quiver (us hunters don’t need quivers anymore, right?) Well, quivers DO add to your attack speed. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1374 "2009-03-03T22:53:50Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Well, quivers DO add to your attack speed. Yes and in the new patch they’re just going to give the haste bonus to hunters automatically. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1375 "2009-03-03T22:54:59Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Well, quivers DO add to your attack speed. Not any more. Along with the new stacking rule, Hunters get an automatic 15% haste to their auto-shot, which pretty much negates the only other need for a quiver/ammo bag. So we lose two regular bag slots and gain 16. I can live with that. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1376 "2009-03-03T23:08:11Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Not any more. Along with the new stacking rule, Hunters get an automatic 15% haste to their auto-shot, which pretty much negates the only other need for a quiver/ammo bag. So we lose two regular bag slots and gain 16. I can live with that. Wow. I wasn’t paying attention to hunter changes in the PTR patch notes. That’s cool for you guys! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1377 "2009-03-03T23:34:41Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Chimtahna, my tauren hunter. Sigh. You Burning Dog Legion members may have noticed I haven’t been on with Chim much lately. I’m just not sure what to do with him. I’ve already mentioned my frustration with the way his size makes navigating tight quarters a royal pain in the ass. (Let me tell you how many times he’s landed in the water in Booty Bay simply because I can’t see where he’s going …) He’s constantly getting hung up in doorways in any place that isn’t tauren-built. But also … I think I’m just bored with the “ranged attack” thing. I just prefer melee classes, and _hybrid_ melee classes at that. So I’ve ended up playing my human paladin a whole bunch lately. May I interest you in the Shaman class? It’s the hybrid class–you can fight up close and personal, at range with magic, or heal. Dual-wielding is possible with the Enhancement spec. You can choose from Orc, Troll, or Tauren. My typical fight (see [Omencaller](http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Cairne&n=Omencaller)) is pull a target with a long-cast-time ranged spell, then zap with an instant ranged spell, then hacking the beastie to bit with my two melee weapons while zapping with instant spells as they become available. Then heal up if needed and go to the next mob. Mana is not usually an issue. If you do start a Shaman, I’m always happy to give advice. With dual specs coming up, I’ll even know about the healing side of the class. ---
**Author:** ![Mogle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mogle/32/12021_2.png) [@Mogle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1378 "2009-03-03T23:43:16Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > With my rogue, I’ve been trying to master “Backstab”, but that’s been difficult due to a “special ability” that mobs have: when they’re walking their little routes, they can do an instant 180° flip (whereas a player character has to actually rotate all the way around to face the opposite direction, NPCs just walk one direction and then _blink_, they’re walking the other direction). So half the time I stealth and start sneaking up behind a mob, and just as I’m ready to Backstab it instantly flips around so I’m no longer behind it. Arg! You get an ability called Distract at level 22 which allow you to force mobs to look in a direction of your choice for 10 seconds. But really, leveling with daggers is kind of painful, the easiest way to level a rogue is to use swords or maces and spec combat, at least until level 50 when you can get Mutilate, aka facestab. 🙂 I would also like to add that players are perfectly capable of doing 180° flips, most people just don’t do it randomly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1379 "2009-03-04T00:08:40Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > My typical fight (see [Omencaller](http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Cairne&n=Omencaller)) is pull a target with a long-cast-time ranged spell, then zap with an instant ranged spell, then hacking the beastie to bit with my two melee weapons while zapping with instant spells as they become available. Then heal up if needed and go to the next mob. Mana is not usually an issue. > > If you do start a Shaman, I’m always happy to give advice. With dual specs coming up, I’ll even know about the healing side of the class. Heh, I’m glad to see that my favored mob strategy as a baby enhancement shaman is a valid one. I also discovered FloTotemBar for totems, and you will pry it from my fingers when you find me a better addon. 😉 I’d also love to hear any other tips that you have for shamans, since mine’s only 24 so far. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802/1380 "2009-03-04T00:20:02Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > May I interest you in the Shaman class? It’s the hybrid class–you can fight up close and personal, at range with magic, or heal. Dual-wielding is possible with the Enhancement spec. You can choose from Orc, Troll, or Tauren. _coughdraeneicough_ 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802.md?page=68) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-of-warcraft-questions/477802.md?page=70)