FOR THE.....HORDE!!

My guild leader took the announcement of the new expansion to make a major announcement of his own.

I know it's still early and the xpac will not be out for awhile but it's safe to assume that we will be switching to Horde for it. With this in mind I was curious as to how people felt about all aspects of this.

I don't expect people to know what class they will want to play right now but I figure some already know what role they would like ( DPS, Tank, healer ) and some might know the class they want.

As always, I try to accommodate people as I want them to be happy in what they play. Obviously though we can't end up having all tanks or all DPS .


So far it looks like lots of people interested in tanks and melee. Warriors, Druids, and Death Knights seem to be very popular choices. Not a lot of healers or Ranged DPS.

I responded that I just don't know what I want to do yet, largely because I don't.

I've always preferred Alliance to Horde, but once faction transfers are available, AoS Alliance will become even more of a ghost town than it already is.

I really like my current guild. It's a fantastic group of guys and gals. We get stuff done, bosses die, and we have fun doing it. Most of us are what I call O.T.A (over traditional age). We are mostly adults with lives, families and stuff in 'real life' going on outside of WoW.

This is a group of guys I'd jump ship to stay with, without a question. I’m continuing to level up my Tauren Druid to get a feel for the Hordeside and to learn my way around their flight points and cities.

But I’m really unsure as to what I’m going to do in Cataclysm.

The idea of being a Tauren Paladin is very appealing to me. The Tauren are my favorite Hordeside race. I'd keep all the achievements, pets, and reputation I've built up on Honorshammer. Having those beautiful shields and offset two handers scale up to the Tauren model would make them look all the more impressive. The Tauern health bonus is really cool and Warstomp is a bonus. It's a much better option than having to be a Blood Elf.

But there are times that I wonder if I want to stay in the tanking business. I will have been tanking for two full expansions when Cataclysm drops. The responsibility on a tank starts to weigh on you after a while. One mistake and you can wipe the entire raid. I’ve felt this especially on the Thorim fight. I was too slow in the hallway, but I always got people killed when I did Arena.

Maybe this time around, I'll be Retribution first with a Protection off spec. I could still tank in a pinch, or for a 5 man group, but I wouldn't have to tank in Raids. There are many nights that I’m the only Paladin in our little raid group, so we could keep the Blessings buff.

The problem is once you get off the tanking gig, it's hard to get back on it. Guilds tend to keep the same tanks for years. If I gave up tanking, it would also mean more nights where I sat out raids instead of getting an invite.

And seeing the Ret Paladin at Blizzcon basically get booed off the stage reminded me that Paladins, and especially Ret Paladins, are probably the most hated class in all of World of Warcraft. Ret seems to go through a buff-nerf-nerf-buff-nerf-nerf roller coaster every expansion. But I don’t know, maybe every class feels that way.

I've never liked the concept of a huge, plated Holy warrior standing in the back and healing. It's never made sense to me. Then you add in the fact that Paladin healing wasn't very fun or exciting (especially when I was a mainspec Holy Paladin in Vanilla WoW). I think you can see why Holy has never held much appeal to me.

Perhaps with WoW getting a reboot in Cataclysm, I need one as well. Honorshammer kills Arthas and rides off into the sunset. I would get a new name, a new race, a new role, a new class.

I've never changed mains in the 3 plus years I've been playing WoW. I'm not sure if I could pull the trigger and do it in Cataclysm.

What if that old tanking bug hits me again, I'd like the option to pursue it. I'd love the option to try out healing on something that isn't a Paladin, and to do some ranged DPS.

There's really only one class that pull that off, and that's a Druid. I know at least 2 of our team are thinking they will be Druids in the Xpac, one of which has been a Boomkin almost as long as I've been a Paladin. If I went Druid as well, it would mean we'd be pretty Druid heavy. Two Boomkins in a Raid? Probably not the best idea.

DKs aren't an option for me. I just don't personally enjoy the class. If you do, that's great, more power to you. I don't.

The only other Tanking class is the Warrior. I've got a level 80 Warrior and he's fun. I've pretty much dropped him because I absolutely hate the Heroic Strike mechanic. We've got at least two people in my raid group wanting to do the Warrior thing next Xpac. A third just isn't practical.

My other Level 80 is a Hunter. Again he's a lot of fun, but I've experienced trying to get groups as DPS. It's a lot harder than as a Tank. Sometimes, as a Tank, I feel like the only girl at a nightclub at 1:30am.

"You got Deeps to the left, Deeps to the right, and you're the only tank online..." (Think Fins by Jimmy Buffet)

Groups seek me out and I like that. I hate having to try to put together my own group. Plus, Hunters are undergoing a huge rewrite moving from mana to focus. That probably means some big balancing changes throughout Cataclysm.

The other idea I've had bouncing around in my head is a true restart, a Goblin. I start a Level 1 Goblin Shaman and take him all the way to level cap where I join my friends. I'll be at least a month or two behind them, but I'll get to see all the new content that the redone zones have to offer. To my knowledge, no one in our group is planning to play a Shaman. They can do ranged DPS or heal, and I can bring the Heroism buff.

My biggest concern is that one of my friends just did a main switch from his Shaman to his Warrior. This guy is a lot like me, and I'm concerned that whatever turned him off to the shaman will turn me off as well.

So yeah, I responded that I have no clue what I want to do for Cataclysm. My guild leader thinks it'll be here around May 2010, around 9 months from now. I'm thinking closer to the Christmas 2010, which would be almost 16 months away. Either way it's plenty of time to figure out what I want to do.

Comments

Doogiehowser said…
Sounds like a bit of a pickle, but you'll figure it out.

I've made the switch from my pally to a druid and I've been loving it. Have you given any thought to going feral dps instead of a boomkin? It can give me a headache at times due to the "priority" but it makes me smile when I'm at the top of the dps list against much better geared people.

The tanking mechanics are much different as a druid but I've found it to be very enjoyable.
Adlib said…
Just curious as to why your GM said "it's safe to assume" you guys will be going to horde. What is it about horde on that server (or just the horde in general) that makes it better than alliance? I was shocked to read this post because I know how you love your dwarf paladin and everything he stands for, but at least you'll have more options as a pally besides a blood elf (blech!). A lot of people will switch roles, but I have to say I've been a mage for at least 2 years, maybe 3, I'm losing track. I can't separate myself from that identity even though I have a druid alt who is pretty cool. I just have an intuitive knowledge of which buttons to hit in those uh-oh situations.

After reading your blog for as long as I have, I figure you'll be a pally. :) I just can't see you being happy doing anything else.
Honors Code said…
We're outnumbered on AoS. It's either 3 to 1 or 5 to 1 depending on whose numbers you want to believe.

Our battlegroup (Nightfall) is also Horde dominated, such that winning a BG is rare.

I should screenshot the WG book sometime. Of course we would have actually had to win WG to do that which also doesn't happen very often.

I'm not sure I could give up my Paladin either.
Anonymous said…
Why not do a server transfer, then? Find a server that isn't so imbalanced. Costwise it would be the same. You seem more attached to your character than your server. Paladin healing is a lot more interesting now (if done correctly) by the way. And they are the one healer that you often find in the front line whacking away (for mana naturally :-)
Anonymous said…
If it really is as unbalanced as you say, did you ever consider that Blizz may not allow you to switch factions? I believe they will want to preserve at least some sort of balance, and such would not be the case if everyone in Alliance suddenly switched to Horde. It would make a bad situation for the Alliance intolerable at best, especially on a PvP server.
Anonymous said…
Horde rock!
Tauren rock!

Now if your worried about raid invites and want to try something different, try a resto shaman.

You'll never have trouble getting a raid slot.
Honors Code said…
"You seem more attached to your character than your server."

I'm more attached to my guild than my character.
Kaziel said…
Well, whatever you do, I hope you enjoy it. 'twill be a loss to see you not posting about Paladins, but I can certainly understand the desire for something new.
Ardent Defender said…
Seems like your having a dilema making a choice. The new expansion seem a good time to start reborn withrhe whole game almost being a reset.

But it remain your choice what you "choose" to do in the end.

I've played my Paladin as well my entire life in WoW, that is a very long time to say the least. As much as I love my character he is not irreplacable. These days I try to always remember why I play the game and it's to have fun. I'll play whatever character as long as it's fun and can make progress with it and have fun as well.

Right now I really enjoy playing my Enhancement Shaman. Who knew I'd enjoy playing one as long as I've played my Paladin. But it's good to try other things once in a while as a option. I think your wording too much for things you can't control in deciding what to do.

It won't be the end of your game world in making a choice in whatever you choose to do. Your Paladin is still going to be there if you choose to pick up your shield if you put it down. Making choices are never easy, but at somepoint you will eventually have to make one.

Your character class may at one point change maybe, do remember the player who writes your blog remain the same no matter what class you eventually continue to play.
Anonymous said…
dont see how you could justify taking tauren over blood elf for tanking racials tbh for looks certainly

tauren has only slightly more base hp and a stun

whereas belves have 2% spell avoidance which is so unbelievable for progression fights, and a non-gcd interrupt in the form of torrent..
scott said…
I would recommend spending some time playing a Tuaren before you make a switch. They are a lot bigger, and seeing is a lot different than on a shorter race like a dwarf.
Anonymous said…
Yeah, know you love your guild, and liking raiding, the guild is more important than the character. I wondered if your guild had thought of a wholesale transfer to another realm/battleground. Always winning may have more in game rewards, but to me it's less personally rewarding - the losses become frustrating and the wins really mean nothing as they are expected. I just wonder why a server transfer is off the table (people can still start from scratch if they don't want to pay cash). Probably should book the name Honorabull just in case though :-)
Firespirit said…
On the comment about Ret pally's - one of the large reasons why the community at large pretty much hates us is because we do scream, and scream loudly, when we get changed.

Of all the specs, Retribution has had the most rollercoaster style of playing in this expansion. We may not have had the most buffs/nerfs, but those that did come through impacted our gameplay on a large scale. It may not have been a big thing for you when they removed SoB/SoM, but for us it was HUGE. Same thing for the recent changes to Exorcism.

I am disappointed that we did not get any facetime in the Class panel, because we got told in no uncertain terms from GC that we were looking at a completely redesigned combat system in this next x-pack. Not a hide nor hair about us at all.

Maybe we do upset the community when we scream, but I think just about every paladin blogger out there (including me) really sees a lack of direction (other than nerfing burst) in the design of ret paladins. Changes are inconsistent, sometimes they seem totally random, and for the last few patch cycles, the minute we get a minor buff, we get a bigger nerf, when they keep telling us "we want to buff you." Its the inconsistency that really irritates us the most.
Fish said…
For the horde!?!?!? WTF!?!?

I have a large contingent on a horde server, but I've always been partial to alliance so I understand. If the guild is more important to you, ever considered druid tanking?
Torquemada said…
The wife and I jumped from an RP server to a PVE server(Oceanic but still), and noticed an improvement in the balance towards pvp and the quality and number of people available to raid. I would suggest considering a server move as a guild before a faction change. Plus, you can move NOW, and if you decide you hate it, the turnaround to move back is now much, much shorter.
Sid said…
Dude, I have to agree with most of the comments here. Why don't you switch servers instead of factions?

It's easier and much more convenient.

I know what you feel. Though I feel it inversely.

You can't imagine doing other thing than being a Pally. My only character is a Paladin (besides my bank alt), and I hated it since lvl 35 or so... Then why did I stick around with it for 1 and a half years? Because I wanted to see the endgame. Now that Blizz changed it's focus towards altaholics, I may give a try to all other clases and choose which one suits my playstyle better.

You're alliance at heart. Me too (I think) but my friends play horde, so I stay Horde.

Whatever you choose, I hope you enjoy it.

And consider switching servers instead of factions.
Ellevis said…
The change to Horde has been a long time coming and is not soley based on wanting to leave alliance on AoS. Most of us have only ever been alliance and some of us would have preferred to roll Horde for WoTLK. In fact it was talked about but the group as a whole decided to stay alliance with an eye towards Horde in the future.

It's not so much about the Horde being " better" as it is wanting to experience the other side. Alot of us love the quests/ lore and have never seen them from the Horde side.

Leaving a server or changing factions isn't an easy decision. Like most decisions I / we make for the guild , the majority must be on board or it doesn't happen. In the case of switching to Horde almost everyone is.
Taxiderm said…
A small shout out to the above anonymous poster: Honorabull may be the best name ever.
Kierbuu said…
Sounds like you are in the same place I was near the end of "Burning Crusade". I had been a druid tank since original WoW (back when we weren't tanks)and had been a fairly loyal member of the Horde. The guild I was in did decent progression wise and had a reasonably mature group of players in charge. After "WotLK" was announced our leaders decided to take the guild to a new server and re-roll Alliance for the expansion.

With so many players excited about playing a non-Belf paladin or a new death knight I knew tanking roles were going to be hard to come by so I took the leap and went shaman. Honestly, I haven't been this happy since "BC" launched. I didn't even realize how much of a drain tanking had been on me. I leveled melee, but I've been bringing the caster dps of late and it has been a blast. I miss my tanking every once in a great while, but the healing and dps roles are tons of fun as well.

My advice, go role a troll or orc shaman and see how you like it. Play to around level 20 or so to get the feel of totems and most of the basic spells. If you like, then delete it and prepare your self for a goblin shaman come x-pac. If you really like it, level your druid up and start earning champion's seals for sending heirlooms to your goblin from day one. Really, you could leave the druid at 80 so a potential tank was never more than 5 levels away from cap while you raised a healer/dps type.

My one warning would be to your guild leaders. The big change was tough on my guild and we collapsed under it. Some people leveled fast with others trailing far behind. The people that got to 80 first were looking to raid and while most were LFG Slave Pens. I hope you fair better than us. Me, I got tired of the drama and left the guild and server.

Still having fun though. Fresh starts are good sometimes.
Anonymous said…
hi Honors, how I made this decision recently was (a) what do I LOVE the most (b) how do I achieve that?

I love tanking, I love the DK class, and love raiding. But I'm moving back to Australia from the UK, so timezone suddenly kills raiding. I had to choose between all the various options I had to keep raiding as a DK tank.

In the end, I'm re-rolling a Tauren DK on Dath'remar (Aussie server), so I can tank again. I'm using the looming gear-reset of Cataclysm as a way of being sure I will again be in the right gear, whilst until then I might only get to do pug raids and heroics.

Long-term though it'd mean I keep my favourite things of DK tank raiding.

My burnout backup plan is a resto druid I had on the shelf on the Aussie realms from Classic.

Long answer, but simple point: maybe sift through your preferences to work out what you love, and what your backup plan could be if that doesn't work out.
Adlib said…
To add to the "server switch" suggestions, my server is a good one. I'm on Kul Tiras, and it's a medium population server, and alliance almost always controls WG except late at night when we all go to bed, I guess. The other BGs seem to be a good balance of wins and losses too.
Anonymous said…
Don't you have to stay the same class if you choose horde? i thought all they were doing was changing you to horde/alliance and you had to pick a race that still had your class in it? so in that case, your whole guild is going to roll new toons to play different class/specs now?

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