Life’s all aboot strivin’ fer things - whether it’s fer a few shiny sword or just tae be the best person y’can be.  Doin’ things ye shouldnae supposted tae be doin’ is somethin’ ah like to strive fer.  Ah ken ah’m no amazin’ at it but ah like tae push mah own limits!  Seems a little o’ that attitudhas been rubbin’ off on the wee druid ah took under mah wing and now she’s doin’ allsorts!

It’s true - I like trying stuff to see if I can get away with it.  One of my favourite ways to do this is to go and play with elite mobs - on Mharai, when I was levelling,  I found it hard to get groups.  Low population server + fast leveller = scarce people.  So, I had to do it for myself! Being a druid I had a number of tools at my disposal, tank, melee dps and healer all wrapped into one.  It took a while for me to get my methodology down but conquering elites by myself really gave me  taste for that sort of thing.

On Jhai, as I’ve levelled, I’ve tried more of these sorts of things than I did on Mharai.  The confidence I’d gained by Netherstorm on one druid bolstered me to try much earlier with my younger druid.  So, with this in mind, I decided to plod around Nagrand and try my hand at the Nessingwary quests solo at level 67.

Banthar: No real issues here.  He has a lot of health but doesn’t hit too hard - tanking gear on, throw a few hots and charge in.  It came close and I had to shift and heal a few times (so much harder when you don’t have Warstomp!) but I made it through without too much fuss! I ended up having about 1/5 health at the end of this fight.

Jhai: 1 Nagrand: 0

Bach’lor: This fiesty talbuk was a whole different kettle of fish - he hasn’t got much health but he hits like a truck.  It came very close two times, got hm to 1% then… dead.  Ouch.  But wait, he died too?! W00t! One of my bleeds had killed him just as I died.   Obviously, I finished this fight with no health.

Jhai: 2 Nagrand: 1

Gutripper: The easiest of the three, I’d say.  Hits moderately hard and does moderate damage - the biggest problem was avoiding the tonne of mobs around him. I finished this fight at around 1/3 health.

Jhai: 3 Nagrand: 1

So far, so easy - they’re all 67 elites and not the special super-amazing-imba type world elites.

So, next up was the momma of all elephants -  Tusker.  She’s a formidable level 58 elite, hit’s like a bag of bricks and does a nasty bleed effect.  She also does a throwback and has a tonne of health.  Hmm.  Charging in with hots did no good and after a couple of tries I was getting a bit frustrated.

Jhai: 3 Nagrand: 2

I went back to levelling since I was close to 68 and, not long after dinging, remembered an old technique I’d used to use.  I can’t beleive I didn’t remember and it’s mentally prodded me into realising my druid skills are terribly rusty.

Pounce > mangle (4) > rip > bear > bash > run > heal > charge > etc.

Jhai: 4 Nagrand: 2

I had completely forgotten how useful pouncing and then taking a deep chunk of hp out was when trying to kill high hp mobs.  Bear is eventually a necessity as are heals but that little thing makes all the difference.  I killed Tusker so comfortably easily I reckon I could have done it prior to hitting 68 if only I’d remembered that one thing .  Ah well, live and learn!

Soloing

As a soloing class I’ve always felt druids beat most others - HoT’s, easily obtainable high stamina / armor and pretty good dps mean a class which doesn’t rely on having to kite mobs into oblivion (though this is also totally doable for a druid).  Of course, I think half the battle is knowing or at least being very comfortable with the class you’re playing.  I have a hunter - I’m terrible at huntering and don’t much like it so I find I don’t have the concentration or inclination to learn all the ‘tricks’ it requires to pull off the more spectacular stunts - my rogue and druid, on the other hand, I am much more comfortable about maneuvering becaus I like both classes and enjoy picking at their abilites.

I’m sure a while back someone mentioned posting on the subject of soloing things but I cannot for the life of me remember who - if someone could furnish me with a link I’d give much huggage!