Shikura - Balance/Restoration Druid [Accepted]

[Zhasal]

REAL LIFE

Age: I'm ninteen years old.
Sex: I'm a male.
Nationality: Finnish
Location: I live in oulu, which is in Finland.

CHARACTER

PVE

Name: Shikura
Race: Night Elf
Gender: Female, as i never liked the way Male Night-Elfs cast.
Class: The character i'm applying as, is a Druid.
Level: I'm level 80.

Played Time( day/hour/min you see when you type "/played" in game): 65 days, 22 minutes. I had around 200 days on my Warrior though, so played the game quite alot i can say!
Talent Built(Armory link please): Allright, so this ain't a excuse or anything, but armory really happens to be down. So i'l give some information on my talents and gear here.
Talent Builds:
For my mainspec, balance i use the 56/0/15 spec.
So, if your'e a Moonkin, you know that there's around 65-70 basic talents you should always pick, so have i. But for my special talenting, iv'e decided to leave Dreamstate out, as i have no mana regen problems currently. And instead iv'e gone for 2/3 intensity and Omen of Clarity from Restoration tree. Iv'e also decided to leave my Tree's/Typhoon/Owlkin Frenzy out from my spec, as i do not see them as that big of a boost. And instead went for Gale Winds, Starfall - Which are to imrpove my AoE damage dramatically. And also, for improved Faerie Fire as there was no other Moonkins in our raids back in Bushido.
For my restoration build, i can tell that it's nothing like you normally see - and some mind find it even retarded. It is 11/0/60. Iv'e trye'd to pick all the neccesary talents, but iv'e mixed my gear/glyphing, for one target healing. Idea of how my healing works is - Keeping raid/tank hotted all the time, and then using Healing Touch spam, which is improved by my glyph. Ofcourse this leaves out cool saves like Nature Swiftness -> Healing touch, due to power of it being reduced. But now i'm cabable of throwing heals quite fast, with not much mana cost. Ofcourse, if you want your'e Druid healers to be pure raidhealing based, i'm willing on changing my offspec.
Gear: Allright, so for Balance, my gear is mainly from Ulduar 10/25man. Also some of my gear still come from Onyxia, Malygos, ToC and Naxxramas 25 last encounters. Gear is enchanted as best as i could, and gems are epic.
Moonkin Form stats:
Spell Power: 2490
Hit Rating: 266
Haste rating: 394
Critical strike chance: 26.45%
21000 Mana
18000 Health
These stats are cabable of giving me around +5k DPS 10man raid buffed, and fully raid buffed a little bit over 6k.
Now lets take a look at my offspec gear. Now, iv'e gathered quite a set for it aswell. Here for begining, i'd like to note that i do have 3 piece of conqueror gear for restoration, but i'm not using it due to my other item pieces have alot higher stats than they do, and set bonus just ain't worth it. My gear is mainly from the new content for this gear, which i consider to be Ulduar 10/25, ToC 10/25, Onyxia, Emblem of Triumphs. And there is some pieces from Malygos, Naxxramas 25 end content aswell.
I could say that, as a healer i am ready for atleast up to the ToC Heroic aswell, and it's very well gemmed/enchanted.

Set of glyphs used: For Balance, i'm using:
Glyph of Moonfire: In my opinion, Moonfire is alot more powerful as doing damage over time, so i decided to get that glyph.
Glyph of Starfire: Makes the rotation alot more easy, and simple. And you don't have to waste mana/time to re-do Moonfire that often.
Glyph of Insect Swarm: It also increases the damage done by my Insect Swarm, but it removes the hit debuff. So if you want me to change this glyph, just go ahead and ask !
Restoration: Glyph of Rejuvenation and Glyph of Regrowth are simply to increase my healing done by those two spells. Glyph of Healing touch is the third major glyph i use, now there's been lots of arguements in the past, if this glyph should be used by not. But my personal opinion is, that everyone heals the way they like as long as it is effective. And i can definetly promise you - it is.
Willing to respec (to another role)? Well, i'm applying to the guild as Moonkin. But I'm always willing to respec into healer for a raid, if you need healer more than a DPS:er in raid, no worries about that.
Professions and their level: I am maximized in First Aid, Leather Working and Skinning. I also have couple of rare recipes from Ulduar for the professional ;)

What are your primary roles during a raid? Well, as a Moonkin i'd say DPS. But it's never that simple ;) Combat Resurections, Innervates are also part of Druids jobs in raids, for the team.. Also popping into healing if an effecting amount of healers have died, pop tranquility and so on.
So primary role would be Moonkin.
Secondary would be Restoration.

Can you tell us about your previous raiding experiences?
Ahh, iv'e been in the game for 5 years, and iv'e raided since BRD/MC where only raids people did. So here's a list.

Pre-TBC:
Molten Core:
Clear: Warrior - Roronoa. Defias Brotherhood EU.
Roles iv'e done it as: Tank/DPS.
Onyxia's Lair: Clear: Warrior - Roronoa: Defias Brotherhood EU.
Roles: Tank/DPS.
Blackwing Lair: Up to Nefarion: Warrior - Roronoa: Defias Brotherhood EU.
Roles: DPS.
Ahn'Qiraj 20: Clear: Warrior - Roronoa: Defias Brotherhood EU.
Roles: Tank/DPS.
Zul'Gurub: Iv'e done Hakkar, but i never did the boss called Hexxer.
My first progression there was on my Warrior aswell, as a tanker.
Ahn'Qiraj 40: I only managed to do 3 bosses there on my Warrior, as i took a long break before The Burning Crusade arrived.

The Burning Crusade:
Tank:
Karazhan
Gruul's Lair
Maghtereidon
The Eye - 3 encounters.
Serpentshrine Cavern: 2 encounter.
Healer: Karazhan
Gruul's Lair
Maghtereidon
The Eye: 5 encounters.
Mount Hyjal: 2 encounters.
DPS:
Karazhan
Zul'Aman
Gruul's Lair

My raiding experience during The Burning Crusade was quite low, as i quite went casual after three months due to the expansion disapointing me.
Wrath of the Lichking:
For this expansion, i leveled my Druid to level 80 and made a Guild up on Sporeggar. We managed to clear Naxxramas 10/25, Malygos 10/25, Os 10/25 2 Drakes, and reached the top2 on the server. I had to go offline for a while just before Ulduar arrived, and returned back in game 2 months ago on Sporeggar. I got back to raiding with them, but it felt quite stupid - Running through the encounters, which you do not even understand due to tactics not being told. I did most of Ulduar 25/10, ToC 10/25 with them, bit it didn't feel right raiding with them anymore, when i had missed all the progress, so decided to catch a new start here.
Overall:
Naxxramas 10/25: Clear. Most of achievments done aswell.
Malygos 10/25: Clear. Iv'e also done 8 man achievment on this one.
Obsidian Sanctum 10/25: 2 Drakes done - Pre Ulduar.
Ulduar 10: 12/13 cleared. Had attempts on Yogg-Saron.
Ulduar 25: Downed everything, except for Vezax/Yogg-Saron, but i'm very familiar with both of the encounters.
Trial of Crusader 10: Clear
Trial of Crusader 25: 4/5
Onyxia 10/25: Clear.

Can you raid during our raid times? 19:00 to 23:00 on all days, except saturday. Yes, every other day i'm cabable of attending raids, except that i will not be logging in on some Friday's, if there is something up in real life. I can also stay way longer than 23.00, if needed.

How many raids a week are you willing to participate in and can you commit to those raids a couple of days upfront? I'd say 4-6 raids in a week, and yes i can. I usually know early, if there's a day that i will not be being online. I will always inform, if iv'e signed to raid and cannot make it. I'm not the kind of guy who just dumps people without telling ;)

What (difficult) achievements do you have that you consider relevant to the application? Why? There is no ¨One¨achievment i'm proud of, but overall my raiding achievments. I have a big amount of difficult, and less difficult achievments from Wrath of the Lichking raiding content.

What kind of computer hardware do you use? How many FPS are you getting in Dalaran and (raid) instances? I'm no computer expert, and cannot really tell about the details. In raid instances, my computer works really well, no FPS problems. But for some reason, in Dalaran i lag alot, and going to/out of Dalaran Loading screen is so long, that i avoid it. But I can assure you, than i can play fine in raids, and it does not have any effects there.

Do you ever have latency problems?
We own a company, so 08.00-15.00 Morning/Daytime, i get disconnects due to the amount of phones ringing in our apartment. But otherwise, it's fine, and i work/study at that time anyway, so doesn't effect my gameplay.

Please read our software requirements. Can you install and use the required AddOns on your computer? I allready have Omen Threatmeter and Deadly Bossmods, and downloading the third one will not be a problem either.

Are you using any other addons? For raiding, Recount, Squawk and Awe and pawn to help me make gear decisions.

RP

It's important for us to make sure that our members will not violate any RP server rules, also means you cannot speak OOC (out of character) in RP chat channels, which are /s /y /e. Will you adhere to server policy? Iv'e played on RP-PVP Servers since the day they came. Ofcourse first, i had problems understanding RP. But for last 3 years, iv'e been role playing quite alot and i enjoy it. So I am more than cabable of respecting the rules...!

Can you briefly tell us about your characters personality?
Shikur, is a very calm Night Elf. She is not loyal either to Alliance or Horde, and usually prefers lonelyness.

GENERAL

When did you start playing WoW? Around 1-2 months after it was released.

What areas do you think you could improve in and why?
Knowledge in Druid Mechanics, i do know right rotations, i do know how to play a Druid. For example, stat knowledge is what i lack. Sometimes i have problems with choosing gear for example, due to not knowing which stats would be the best for me. Other would be my Feral Druid game play, i havn't bothered to practice it alot. I have a set for Feral PVE Tanking, ready for Ulduar/ToC 10 etc. But i never bothered to get the right rotations/skills set for it. Which i can try doing if it's nessecary.

PvE, PvP and RP? Which aspect(s) of the game you like better in which descending order and why?
1: PVE. That's been my main intrest in game for 4 years, always new challenges and have to play as a team.
2. Action roleplaying:. I do not enjoy so called 'Calm' roleplaying too much, like sitting in a bar eating/drinking or so. What iv'e always enjoyed, and which you actually see quite rarely is Role Playing, included with a storyline to follow. Might sound gay, but when you get into it it's quite intresting !
3. Battle Ground PVP. I also used to be a hardcore PVP:er Pre-TBC, had Marshal rank even. After they removed the PVP Ranking system, and made gear buyable with Honor, it took my motivation and gave up serious PVP. Nowadays, i still enjoy World-PVP, and do Battlegrounds for fun if I'm bored. But i wouldn't imagine myself doing serious PVP ever again.

How often (roughly) do you play WoW? (hours/day) I usually log in at around 17.00-18.00. And log out at around 24.00. So around 6 hours a day, 2 of those hours are probably spent preparing for raid and being semi AFK, maybe doing other stuff at the same time. And after the raid, i might just run around in Stormwind and chitchat with people. I can say, my playing pretty much involves only around Raiding, preparing for raids and chatting.

Do you share your account with anybody? No i do not.

What are your previous guilds on this server and reasons for leaving them? On this server, only been in Bushido which iv'e leaded. We can do 10man progress well, but we cannot see the guild progressing too far in 25mans for exxample, due to having too many unexperienced/casual raiders. I also asked the best core players from the Guild to apply here, so if you see an ex Bushido applying, feel free to ask me for comment on them, as i know them all quite well.


How do you find gnomes? a) cute, b) evil or c) tasty Definetly b) Gnomes should all die.

Are you aware that if accepted, your guild master will be a gnome? And no, the previous question has no relevance with this one!
Ahh for god sake, a gnome leading a Guild ¨Laughs¨ well, guess i'l have to take it;)

Why do you want to join the Echoes of Lordaeron? Well, i picked to apply into this raiding Guild, as i see it as a Guild, who has done great succes in the past and has extremely good reputation. Also i like the fact, that some Guild is actually cabable of being one of the best, and not ONLY revolving around PVE Raiding.

Why do you think we should choose you? I'm an extremely experienced player, polite and can say i know the raiding mechanics really well, i know how to play in raids, i know how to act in raids and i know how to be prepared. I'm also quite a calm guy, and i do have the disclipine which a raiding player requires. I also am aware of that you are not in a huge need for Balance Druids, but would appreciate the chance to prove myself to you.

Who can we contact for reference*? Ahh, this is quite embarassing but, iv'e been in the server for only 5-6 weeks now, and i do not really know people here. But iv'e been in touch with Mystikal couple of times, his been guiding me with the new Moonkin class mechanics, after the latest patches changed it.

Thank you for applying and good luck. Anything else you would like to add? I don't think so, i'm looking foward into seeing you ingame!

[Chillchaos]

From the point where once not a single applicant could do the bold right, we now only see pro appz!
Nicely written, big kudos for talking us through spec/glyphs just because Armory is down (again )

I don't know much 'bout Doomkins, nevertheless, good luck on your application!

[Liesje]

Very extensive application. I like it.
Also, we need more Chicken Feast. It's getting harder to catch Mystikal nowadays, I think he's been training, he runs so fast nowadays!

[Denize]

What they said..

Good luck

[Zhasal]

Thank you for the reply's ..!

[Zhasal]

I'd also like to note that, i can come do a raid instance with you guys, if you want to inspect on my gameplay before inviting.

[MystikalBoomkin]

Ok, with the Armoury being down, I'll have to go on what you've written so far.

First of all, well done on not taking Dreamstate. It's a useless talent that is completely outdone by Intensity. 2/3 Intensity is the cookie-cutter for regen, but if you're capable of doing our level of content and have the appropriate gear, you can probably get away with dropping one or both points from this.

GET RID OF GALE WINDS! It's a completely situational talent that does nothing for your dps on a boss - and without Typhoon, it's worth even less. The Treants, on the other hand, can make up as much as 5-6% of your dps on a boss. Now that they have avoidance and better-scaling health, they can generally survive the full 30s and you can often pop them twice per boss battle.

I'd need to check gear and gems in-game before making any more recommendations. You are very slightly undercapped for haste, but it would be easily fixable by working in a [Reckless Ametrine] into one of your yellow gem slots.

In the mean time, please can you answer the following:

* Spell rotation you use?
* Enchants used?
* Which gems you use in red, blue and yellow sockets? This is pretty clear-cut for Moonkins, there are only 4 (5 in special cases) gems we ever use.

I'll be online later this evening, please whisper me so I can inspect you in-game.

Also, be aware that we have another Moonkin on trial presently, which brings our guild Moonkins to three in total. That's not to say that there isn't room for you, but we do have to factor that into our decision making.

[Zhasal]

Yes, i do understand that, no problem.

[Vieane]

So I know I only play casual like, but heres a few things I would say about resto spec/glyphs:

-Rejuv glyph is weak at best until it gets the haste buff. I would say seriously consider using [Glyph of Wild Growth] as it will increase your output significantly.
-Regrowth shouldn't really need a glyph as it is really only used as being kept on tank/s; it doesn't really warrant a glyph slot IMO but personal preferance I suppose.
-[Glyph of Swiftmend] is also one you may want to consider as it is pretty damn useful when raid healing.
-I did try the 'healing touch spec' with the HT glyph and I felt it pretty much was useless. It will never compare to the rejuv/WG/nourish healing combo. It's just gimping yourself.

You should also consider taking Master Shapeshifter as thats an extra 4% healing you're missing out.

I know you're applying as mainspec moonkin but here it is very useful to have a viable offspec

[Arlenya]

Hai!
Application looks nice i wont make many comments until i can see your Armory page but from what i can see Mysti has Covered anything worth covering from your application and you really would do yourself a favor by making the changes he has suggested

one thing i will pipe up with is : You say Owlkin frenzy isn't a major boost and to me it looks like you dont fully understand the Talent and what blizzard counts as an "attack", It literally procs from every attack on you from damage to a simple silence and with the amount of raid damage in encounters like An00b with leeching swarm and Valkyr, Even Faction champs and Jaraxxus, It literally procs off of EVERYTHING and is pretty much up 60-70% of nearly every fight and is a pretty big DPS boost :D

[Zhasal]

About Swiftmend glyph, you are right. I should use it.
Though, iv'e healed alot as both Hot Healer / Healing Touch, and i have noticed that using that glyph, is a improvement even if you don't only spam healing touch. That glyph is on me mainly for the reason, that i do put hots on everybody, but if i want to heal someone up quickly, healing touch spam for 2-3 seconds and it's done. Iv'e found it effective, and i could actually show it in a raid aswell. What comes to Master Shapeshifter, it is a damn good talent yes, but for the spec i planned it was only one to be able to cut out. It's still quite on test, but what iv'e always enjoyed is creating my specs myself, trying out what is the best - instead of just reading internet...! But when i go on a raid, i always come with a spec which is proved to be effective.


Ohh, and to Owlkin Frenzy, it has probably been changed since last June? As that was when i last checked it, and if i remember correctly it procs from AOE. Well, if we got to that - Which one of my current talents would you take off yourself for the change? I see most of them as quite a must.

[MystikalBoomkin]

[Vieane]

Well I think that Nourish does the job just as well, even without glyphing for Nourish. That's just me though

[MystikalBoomkin]

The problem with glyphing HT is that you rob yourself of a major glyph slot that could be better used.

With glyphed Nourish, a single HoT on the target followed by Nourish spam vastly overpowers HT. Not to mention that Nature's Swiftness becomes essentially useless if HT is glyphed - the whole point of the 'HT bomb' is to get an insta-heal that heals for as much as possible.

Trust Vieane and myself - glyph Nourish, pick up the Nourish idol and watch the numbers. Even without HoTs, Nourish >> HT, glyphed or not.

[Zhasal]

Allright, about the owlkin frenzy you definetly are right, as i run out of mana extremely rare as it is. And my mana should be able to handle quite well aswell in 10man raid instances, if i was able to cast Innervate on myself instead of a healer. Though that always depends on a encounter.
But yeah, i'll definetly fix this. As i do trust your'e knowledge on Druid class than the one i posses, due to me spending more time playing Warrior, and also big amount of my game play on Rogue, Paladin and a Hunter.

Thank you for the criticicm!