Wrath of the Lich King made a number of fundamental changes to the game, many of which went through so many iterations that it can be difficult to get the facts. You can find a summary of these changes as related to the Restoration Druid in this extensive FAQ!
Taking a cue from Leafshine, I’d like to take this opportunity to take a look back at 2008 for Resto4Life.
Top 10 Posts as Measured by Page Views
As I would have expected, among the most popular articles to reference were guides, including 2.4 mana regeneration and how to pick from the plethora of trinkets available in TBC. Andrige is also directly responsible for more than 120,000 of my page hits in 2008 with his sharing of a female hairstyles preview (which continues to receive lots of inbound links) and his customized shapeshifting skins.
- Wrath of the Lich King Female Hairstyles
This post alone has brought in more than 100,000 visitors. I imagine the companion piece over at BBB has had similar results. - Calculator: Mana Regeneration (from 2.4)
This will eventually be updated for Wrath, but I’ve been reluctant to invest the time with all the blue talk about wanting to nerf mana regeneration (an action that could significantly change the formula used). - 2.4 Mana Regen: The Basics
Without a doubt, one of my most complex series of 2008. - Andrige’s Shapeshift Skins
Clearly, forms customization is high on the priority list for Druids! Hopefully 2009 will see some innovative and inspiring new forms for Druids of all shape. - Mailbag: WotLK Item List
This was my original “I filter WoWHead so you don’t have to” list. I’m going back and writing more detailed posts by groups of slots now. - Grid: Thinking within the Box(es)
Not surprisingly, many people had follow-up questions to my post on customizing this often overwhelmingly complex addon. - Talent Spec: Leveling Restoration/Balance
- The Belkin Nostromo N52 TE
- 2.4 Mana Regen: Regrowth as the New Raid Heal
As far back as 2.4, I totally called the awesomeness of Regrowth.
- Arrrghhh!!! Trinkets!!!
This is another post I intend to rewrite for Wrath at some point, though if ever stop posting, it’s a good guess that I didn’t make it through writing it!
Top 10 Posts as Measured by Comments
These are the posts that got visitors talking. I worked hard in 2008 to ensure that I responded to as many comments as I could, but these posts were the ones that gave me a definite run for my money!
- Direct Healing in Wrath (73 comments)
Interestingly, the original post on this subject written during the WotLK beta (since unpublished to avoid confusion) generated 27 comments of its own! - Ghostcrawler: Wild Growth May Receive 6-Second Cooldown (65 comments)
This is a very recent post that generated a lot of discussion about whether such a cooldown was necessary and how much it would affect us if so. - Grid: Thinking within the Box(es) (63 comments)
- The Belkin Nostromo N52 TE (63 comments)
I was very happy with the amount of interest this post generated. Still waiting for my free Belkin Nostromo N52 TE to give away as part of a site contest, though! /peers Belkin - Andrige’s Shapeshift Skins (61 comments)
- Blue: Mana Regen Complexity and Restoration Scaling (60 comments)
- Bornakk: Druids Not to be “Big Green Blobs” (59 comments)
I’m still waiting for the Druid- or multi-healer-oriented blog named “Big Green Blob.” - 9014 Nerfs and Ghostcrawler Responds to Resto Concerns (55 comments)
- Build 8962 Changes (51 comments)
- Ghostcrawler: Healers Not to be Interchangeable (51 comments)
Surprisingly, many of the top-commented post were related to blue posts or posts about upcoming changes to the class and spec. This would seem to indicate that a large number of visitors like to get their Druid-related (or at least Resto-related) news here and might even prefer discussing it here to discussing it on the forums.
Most Popular Shirt Designs
I love adding new designs to the shirt shop. Here were the top performers in 2008 (these results are obviously biased based on the time they were added):
- HoTs Girlfriend and HoTs Boyfriend
- Positive Carbon Footprint
- Restoration Cloud
- Resto4Life Logo
- Restoration Wreath
Other Stats of Interest for 2008
- There were 234 total posts.
- Visitors made a total of 3706 comments.
- I made a total of 650 comments.
- Resto4Life.com received a total of 665,410 visits and 1,355,119 page views.
- Visitors spent an average of 3 minutes on the site per visit.
- There were 29 Community Spotlight posts or an average of 2.4 a month.
- I received (and hopefully responded to) more than 450 e-mails, not including those related to Arbor Day or Turkey Day.
Thank You!
Thanks to everyone who visited and contributed and helped make 2008 an awesome year for Resto4Life! I am looking forward with excitement to 2009 and hope you are, too!
Related Posts
11 Comments
Trackbacks
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Phaelia:
Love your blog. Keep writing!! Roar, roar. Moar, moar.
Apis, Eitrigg
P.S. This post is a retrospective (a prospectus would focus on the future) (getting off soapbox of pedantry).
“This would seem to indicate that a large number of visitors like to get their Druid-related (or at least Resto-related) news here and might even prefer discussing it here to discussing it on the forums”:
This statement is true (for me at least). Firstly, you deliver the information succinctly and with your lovely style, secondly discussing stuff here is preferable to discussing it on the forums because it’s not the forums.
Anyway, keep up the good work in 09… please?
Darksentinels last blog post..New Year’s Resolutions
Keep up the great work Phae! @Darksentinel I can not stand the forums either, this is where I go.
Cheers.
-V
Viudass last blog post..Saturday Link Round-up
@Apis: Thank you very much for that correction! That’s a pretty significant abuse of vocabulary.
@Darksentinel: I am glad that you feel that way. Those are among my favorite comments to read, too, because readers often point out facets of a particular change I hadn’t thought of!
@Viudas: Well, okay! Since you asked so nicely.
This comments section needs more moonkin dancing.
/me launches a termite at the nearest volcano
Happy New Year, Phae!
You’re excellent, so continue to be
Bellwethers last blog post..Guest Post: Boomkin… er… Resto… er… Boomkin?… er… Resto? LFG
Ditto on this being much better than the forums. Far less trolls (not the race, mind you) and great succinct, helpful articles with a dose of general news and humor. Keep up the great work, and here’s to keeping this tree in bloom. Preferably 3 stacks of bloom. ;D
I loved that piece on Grid. It’s probably the most useful piece of information I’ve ever found on a blog. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Ever since I came back 1/2 year ago from a forced 2-year hiatus from WoW, I’ve been frequenting your blog. You’ve provided us with a wealth of great information and analysis. Thanks to you, my Grid actually gives me useful information beyond how much healing I need to pour into the box. Also, your comments on the Belkin Nostromo N52 TE got me interested enough to try one out for myself. So far, it has improved my healing response time and even saved my groups from a few wipes… assuming my fingers were in the right place. Keep up the good work. I look forward to reading your posts throughout 2009 and beyond.
/cheer
/salute
I wish someone would do this for the Warriors using the N52 keypad!
@Teranin: GAH!! TERMITES!! QUARANTINE HIM!
@Bellwether: Right back atcha, Bell.
@DJScythe: I know I enjoy reading the comments here than many of the posts on the healer forums. For one thing, people tend to think a little more before responding to others’ points and for another, we have a lot fewer Priests/Shamans/Paladins to contend with (and the ones we do have are pretty awesome).
@Thenisse: Wow, that’s a really high compliment. Thank you!
@Melchoir: That is completely kickass that you’re enjoying your Nostromo. I’m happy you’ve found that it improves your reaction time as it has mine.
@Tullok: Hey, me too. It would be nice if someone would do so for Warlocks, too!