Confused about what gear is for resto and which is for balance after the changes to spellpower, spell hit, and spell crit? Guest author Graylo of Gray Matter graces our glen with a guide to gauge the gear guaranteed to gain glory and greatness! 
Well, I’m back after what feels like a month long vacation (or maybe that was just the 11 hour ride home from Los Angeles). We had a wonderful, wonderful time, and I can’t say enough great things about Carnival. Cruise vacations can be a tremendous value, especially if you don’t have your heart set on a room with a view. Following Bellwether’s recent examples, here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip:
I had originally intended on bringing research materials so I could work on a few articles for the site while I was away. Unfortunately, excessive indulgence in wine (21 bottles between the four of us) and Mexican tequila made this all but impossible. Nonetheless, I am working on a new series of articles related to the changes to mana regeneration coming in 2.4, something I’m very excited to share.
Because we were paying for Internet time by the minute and Valenna and I were sharing a little over 55 minutes, I didn’t have much time for surfing. What little time I did have was spent reading (but not responding to) e-mails and comments, doing some administrative stuff over at Blog Azeroth and watching my Google Reader unread item totals climb at an alarming rate. In fact, when I opened my reader this morning I was greeted by the following horrors:
I mostly skimmed subject lines, read the ones that sounded especially interesting (including all of your posts, of course), and guiltily clicked the "Mark all as Read" button. Ahhhh … much better! Restoration Druids have understandably been in a tizzy over the recently announced nerf to the Lifebloom coefficient, and Leafshine has put together a web log campaign for those interested in showing their support. For my part, I’ve been trying very hard to stay upbeat. It helps that I have mostly stopped PvPing and so am generally unaffected by most of the ridiculously overboard nerfs to the spec coming in 2.4. The Lifebloom nerf has been hard to swallow, though, especially in light of some of the improvements being given to other classes.
Anyway, while I loved our vacation, I’m relieved to be home and back at the Compose Draft screen. Please be a little patient as I catch up on comments and e-mails over the next few days!
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Aww Welcome back!
Cute photos and what a sight! Carnival is lovely; I’ve had wonderful experiences with them as well.
I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say: I can’t wait for the new posts! Take your time catching up
ciao~
welcome back! Glad to hear ya had such a good time
looking forward to your mindboggling posts again 
lol
Welcome back Phae! Quick question for you on Spirit/Intellect. I’m wearing what I think is really typical druid gear, with Int at 502 and Spi at 415. I had more raw spirit than this in my Karazhan gear–it looks like ZA/badge gear didn’t give enough Spirit. Should I be prioritizing Spirit for future “upgrades” only, or would it be worthwhile to, say, try to bid on the Ethereum Life-Staff from Solarian for its Spirit when I have the Staff of Dark Mending, which is usually considered an upgrade from Ethereum but lacks Spirit? In other words, are we going to be changing our definition of what an “upgrade” is?
I wonder if all that alcohol consumption will affect your posts. ^^
Little late on this (virus trouble =/) but welcome back Phae! ^_^
21 bottles… wow
@Everyone: TY for the warm welcomes!
@Sydera: Sorry I’ve been so long in responding to your question. I’m actually working on something now that should help you out. Unfortunately, it’s turning into a larger project than I was expecting. GREAT question, though!