almost 80: a bunch of random questions

[zenga]

closing in on 80 and got a collection of questions:

Macro stuff
i have a *pre* macro that i include in every other macro
paladin tank

#showtooltip
/cast [nocombat] divine plea
/startattack
/use 13
/use 14
/cast Arcane Torrent

elemental shaman

#showtooltip
/startattack
/use 13
/use 14
/cast Elemental Mastery
/cast blood fury

a/ it looks to me like only 1 trinket is used at the time when both have the same ability (for my paladin thats 280 & 304 attack power for 20s) i.e they do not stack, correct?
b/ i want to use a macro on my 4 elementals that use thunderstorm (obviously 1 line per toon)

/castsequence  Thunderstorm,,,
/castsequence  ,Thunderstorm,,
/castsequence  ,,Thunderstorm,
/castsequence  ,,,Thunderstorm

when i include the *pre* macro from above, the thunderstorm does not go off, no big deal though, just curious why

c/ when i practice against a dummy in ogrimmar, the thunderstorm goes off each button press on a different toon, however in combat it only goes off once on the first toon, then it stops and can't cast it on toon 2-3 or 4. I want to use this to push back enemies when they come too close while i spam my dps macro., so i basically just hit another button.
my dps click macro looks like this (4 click includes)

# include pre (from above)
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=combat Flame Shock,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=combat Lava Burst,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=combat Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt, Chain lightning, lightning boLT
/cast Lightning Bolt

any clue why it's not going off, or what i'm doing wrong?

Stacking

a/ is spell power the same as spell damage?
b/ do flametongue totem & flametongue weapon stack?
c/ does that stack with the spell power effect from my trincket?
d/ does that stack again with totem of wrath?

Gearing up

I'm pretty fine gold wise (should be able to get cold weather flying and epic flying on each toon once 77). Besides that i have some left to spend on gear. For example i see the icebane chestguard for 100 gold on the AH. That's item level 213 and should be tier 7 gear if i'm informed correct. Now my question, is it a good idea to buy stuff like that to have an easier time in instances? It's pretty cheap and way better than quest green/blue as far as i can see. Or are the cheap epics really outdated and can they be obtained much easier now?

AV

a/ So far I haven't really experienced the use of a tank in AV. On that account i also have 1 shaman sitting at 60. Do i miss something or would you rather have 5 shamans in AV instead of 4+tank? The only way I see use of a tank is to kill the bosses, but i find it hard to see whats going on. Plenty of people around galv jumping & dancing and that's too much for my 30ish year old eyes. I rather stand near the wall with a cold beer and dps him out.

So yeah i see the use of a tank vs a pvp mob, but not vs a pvp player. I've been thinking to use a combination of Righteous defense with Divine shield, but I took a wipe anyway when i encountered that much allies. With a 5th shaman i could've killed more i guess (extra magma + chain lightening + shock). Do i see this correct?

b/ In pve i use the flame shock / lava burst combo to get the crit. Should i stick to that in pvp or should i rather go for a shock / chain lightening combo? Because there tend to be more players around anyways. Technically a chain lightening makes the work for my fellow team mates easier finishing players.

Or is it in general a good idea to have several combinations of dps macro's depending on the situation?

well a bit of a mix, but figured it would be easier in 1 thread than 4 threads
thanks
z

[Shodokan]

You could always gear your pally as a healer and healbot your slaves during AV to piss people off.

[Ualaa]

Spell Power = Spell Damage
You will get the best totem for spell power; Totem of Wrath only (if it is down), Flametongue Totem if ToW is not down. These two will not stack with themselves or each other.
Flametongue Weapon is a weapon buff, so will stack with either.
Spell Power on a trinket, either passively or on a "click effect" will stack with everything.


The older raid gearing is a personal decision.
You will be able to do heroics, with a Tank + 4x DPS (who can heal) or Tank + 3x DPS + Healer, even if everyone is in quest blues.
The tank will need to be crit immune (defense capped), and might benefit a bit from some gearing.

Once you can do heroics, you will be getting badge gear.
Which will purchase everyone on your team iLV 245 gear, in many slots.
213 = Naxx 25, 219 = Ulduar 10, 226 = Ulduar 25, 232 = ToC 10, 245 = ToC 25.
Pretty much all the Ulduar and older gear will be upgraded if there is a badge option.
Atlas Loot will show you what you can buy with badges.

I might consider gearing the tank up, with AH epics... at least some of them.
The other toons, it really depends on your gold reserves and your goals.




5x Shaman will do better then 4x Shaman + 1x Tank in AV.
You'll blow things up easier, but the tank can benefit from some of the honor gear too.

They can all use honor to buy pvp gems, for resale.

A lot of people will target the lead character (closest to them).
And a prot tank is much more survivable then a shaman.
Also, you could dual spec (or respec) to a Holy/Prot hybrid, and heal from the tank if you want.

You're generally much better off killing targets with burst, then you are damaging large groups but not killing them.
Use your Fire Elementals and the new Flame Nova spell liberally in pvp.
Outside of arena, I'd stick to the click castsequence (PvE Macro).
If you arena, you'll probably go 4x Shaman, with 1x Healer (not played by you), and manually cast everything.

Check out Asonimie's thread in the PvP section, for things like weaving Wind Shear into dps macros etc.

[Shodokan]

Spell Power = Spell Damage
You will get the best totem for spell power; Totem of Wrath only (if it is down), Flametongue Totem if ToW is not down. These two will not stack with themselves or each other.
Flametongue Weapon is a weapon buff, so will stack with either.
Spell Power on a trinket, either passively or on a "click effect" will stack with everything.


The older raid gearing is a personal decision.
You will be able to do heroics, with a Tank + 4x DPS (who can heal) or Tank + 3x DPS + Healer, even if everyone is in quest blues.
The tank will need to be crit immune (defense capped), and might benefit a bit from some gearing.

Once you can do heroics, you will be getting badge gear.
Which will purchase everyone on your team iLV 245 gear, in many slots.
213 = Naxx 25, 219 = Ulduar 10, 226 = Ulduar 25, 232 = ToC 10, 245 = ToC 25.
Pretty much all the Ulduar and older gear will be upgraded if there is a badge option.
Atlas Loot will show you what you can buy with badges.

I might consider gearing the tank up, with AH epics... at least some of them.
The other toons, it really depends on your gold reserves and your goals.




5x Shaman will do better then 4x Shaman + 1x Tank in AV.
You'll blow things up easier, but the tank can benefit from some of the honor gear too.

They can all use honor to buy pvp gems, for resale.

A lot of people will target the lead character (closest to them).
And a prot tank is much more survivable then a shaman.
Also, you could dual spec (or respec) to a Holy/Prot hybrid, and heal from the tank if you want.

You're generally much better off killing targets with burst, then you are damaging large groups but not killing them.
Use your Fire Elementals and the new Flame Nova spell liberally in pvp.
Outside of arena, I'd stick to the click castsequence (PvE Macro).
If you arena, you'll probably go 4x Shaman, with 1x Healer (not played by you), and manually cast everything.

Check out Asonimie's thread in the PvP section, for things like weaving Wind Shear into dps macros etc.

You are always so helpful to people... very good info.

[zenga]

Thanks ualaa, thats awesome & useful stuff (again). When the wow server is back up i'll go dual spec my pally, as it's a great idea.

cheers
z