Thelyne of Eonar (US) writes in with the following great question:

My name is Thelyne and I’m a blooming Resto druid from Eonar. I’d like to know how you got this lovely blog started as I’d like to start my own! Thanks!

What an exciting question to be asked! I’m always happy to see new blogs being created, especially by other Druids like myself, and I’m flattered that Thelyne chose to ask me for some advice. Because I think a blog reader is 10x more likely to create their own blog than a non-reader, I thought I’d share step-by-step, the process of creating a blog to show you just how easy and rewarding it can be.

Step 1: Decide on a Focus

This is really important. As enthusiastic as you might be to start writing immediately, it’s helpful if you can first refine what you want your blog to accomplish. There are limitless options to the type of blog you can create. Here are just a few and examples of each:

• Spec/Class Niche: Haelz, Unbearably HoT, Yet Another Warlock Nerf, Parry! Dodge! Spin!
• Guild Leadership/Officership education: Lume the Mad, Chick GM
• Role Niche: ThinkTank, Tank Hard!
• Roleplay: Too Many Annas (though not exclusively), Blogatelle, Need More Rage
• PvP (Mis)adventures: Out of Mana
• One or More of the Above: Big Bear Butt, BigRedKitty

Step 1a: Familiarize Yourself with the Other Players in your Niche

Learn about the other bloggers who write about the same topics you do. Pick out things you like and don’t like to help you refine the plans for your own blog. Take note of their blog titles to avoid stepping on any toes with too similar a name. Familiarizing yourself with your fellow bloggers will also help later on when you’re trying to gain exposure.

Step 1b: Pick a Title

Don’t get "Trapped" by your title later on!

Hand-in-hand with your blog’s focus, you will want to choose a title that reflects that focus. Be careful here; if you choose a focus and title that’s super-specific, you may find yourself feeling restricted later on. When I created Resto4Life, for instance, I recognized that — unless I wanted to switch focus to playing a Restoration Shaman — I was pretty much committed to Phaelia. Common inspiration for class or spec-specific blog titles include talents and spells, forum-based pop culture references, and in-game places associated with that class or spec. Don’t name your blog after your character unless you’re relatively certain you won’t be switching mains or renaming them (or are considering a server transfer).

Step 2: Choose a Platform

Focus defined and prospective blog title in hand, you’ll want to pick out a space for your new home. There are several different options for a blogging platform, and I’ll discuss the most common here:

1. Blogspot.com
   This is Google’s blogging platform. It’s extremely popular among new bloggers due to its ease of use and relative customizability. Many bloggers also already have a Google account, making creating a blog a relatively simple process. Theme selection is relatively limited, but you can customize available themes to your heart’s content. Image uploading can be cumbersome.
2. WordPress.com
   This is the company-hosted version of WordPress. Similarly easy to use. There are many different themes available, but once selected, your ability to make changes is extremely limited unless you wish to pay. Extremely limited customization.
3. WordPress.org
   This is a downloadable copy of the WordPress blogging platform for use with your own web host. Requires a bit of technical know-how to set up as well as paid web space and a custom domain name. Extremely customizable and flexible with practically unlimited available themes, but much more difficult to use than the previous two options.

It is not uncommon for a blogger to initially create a blog through Blogspot or WordPress.com only to move to a self-hosted option later on when he/she is more certain of her future commitment. Resto4Life actually started out at Blogspot.com before moving to a self-hosted option. (A detailed walkthrough of completing such a migration is available here.)

If you’re pretty certain that you’ll want to be self-hosted eventually but find yourself daunted at the idea of creating a database and completing a WordPress installation yourself, I recommend choosing a web host that includes an automatic install (and upgrades) of WordPress. Resto4Life is hosted with HostMonster.com, who is not only affordable but reliable and includes one-click installs for several packages, including WordPress. They’ll also throw in a free domain registration.

Step 2a: Register a Domain Address (Optional)

This step is optional for those choosing to host their blog through Blogspot.com or WordPress.com, but at $10 or less per year, I recommend it. Having a custom domain name lends a feeling of permanency and can make you easier for readers to find and remember. Just be careful. If you are considering purchasing a domain name, do not search for that domain name unless you are ready to purchase it. There are unscrupulous types that monitor domain searches so they can buy them up and "squat" on them to resell them for higher prices and/or to advertise on them. Also be aware that there have been some cases where squatters will purchase domain names that match the titles of blogs on Blogger or WordPress.com on the possibility that the author will later want to purchase a custom domain.

Help registering a custom domain name is available here.

Note: Many web hosts will include a complimentary domain registration when you choose them as your web host. Be sure to check to see if this feature is included with purchased web space before registering a domain separately.

Step 3: Write, Write, Write!

The best way to improve your writing is through practice… or so I’ve read.

So you have your blog named, hosted, and created. Before you go shouting to the rooftops about your admirable accomplishment, you’ll want to shore up your concept with a few posts. Remember what you’ve learned from others sharing your blogging niche and start sharing your own thoughts. If you get stuck for ideas, you can always choose or pull inspiration from one of the Blog Azeroth Shared Topics to help get the words flowing!

Step 3a: Refine Your Style

This includes the style of your blog as well as the style of your posts. While you might have great things to say and share, if they aren’t in an easily digestible format, it will be difficult to attract and keep readers. There are a million-and-a-half recommendations on this topic, but here are a few of the easiest to implement:

1. Avoid critting your readers with a wall of text. Break up huge paragraphs which can be difficult to digest. Use special formatting like bold, italics, and subheadings to make things more readable and organize your thoughts. A couple of examples of blogs that make good use of formatting include Yet Another Warlock Nerf and Parry! Dodge! Spin!
2. Include pictures. Try to be consistent with the images you choose, be they in-game screenshots, pictures from the Model Viewer, or stock photography. For some great examples blogs that leverage images to best effect, check out /hug and Too Many Annas!
3. Use a spell checker. It’s easy. It’s free. If you use Google Bar, it is that button labeled "Check" at the top of your browser. Firefox users will find spell-check is built in to their browser, as well.
4. Categorize or tag your posts to make it easy for readers to find more information on those topics. For help learning about the difference between tags and categories, click here.
5. Give your blog a unique personality. Try to make your blog’s aesthetics and writing style speak to its focus so that you’re not only easily identifiable but memorable, too. In the words of Runycat:

   Choose a title that will make wayward porn searchers stumble upon your site.
   I cannot tell you how many keyword hits I get for " bare ass"

   Obviously, this is hyperbole (well, for most people anyway), but you get the idea. Find some way to make your blog stand out from the rest! Great examples of blogs with distinct personality that shines through in every post include Need More Rage, Big Bear Butt, and BigRedKitty.

6. Tip from Valenna: Work towards consistency in your posts, speech and tone. If you are in character 100% of the time and you switch out to talk about your real life, your readers are going to jolted.  The same applies to the way you write. If you post even-keeled, balanced posts that look at all sides of an issue and then post a rant, your readers will be surprised. Let your readers know what to expect when returning to your blog, and they’ll keep coming back.

Behemothdan of More Pew Pew, Less QQ shares a great resource for helping to improve your blog’s overall aesthetics here.

Step 3b: Grow Your Blog

Grow your blog … but hopefully not into a rust-colored fern like this one.

Once you’re happy with the content and appearance of your blog, start getting your name out there! Here are a few different ways you can do this:

• Offer to swap links with other blogs within your niche (and, of course, it’s helpful to add a link to the blog in question before asking if they’d be willing to link to you). Druid blogs can request to be added to the World Tree listing here at Resto4Life, a project designed to specifically help new and old blogs increase their exposure.
• If you write on a topic that’s similar to one written by another author, try to incorporate what they’ve already written by providing a brief quote or a link back to their original post. Many blog authors monitor incoming links, and this can be a great way to get some free link love in return.
• Join and participate in Blog Azeroth. Learn from others and share what you’ve experienced. Ask (and answer) questions. Meet other bloggers.

For non WordPress.com bloggers, I recommend Statcounter or — for the more technically savvy — Google Analytics to help you monitor your blog’s growth (WordPress.com includes built-in stats). Try not to get discouraged by slow growth, though. Building a blog takes both time and commitment.

Conclusion

I hope that I’ve been able to show you how easy it is to create your own web presence. I know that it can be daunting when faced with some of the more well-established blogs out there, but we all started somewhere. In fact, I’d like to share a small snippet of a chat conversation I had with Valenna back in March of 2007:

[11:26:07 AM] Phaelia: I would like to blog about being a Resto druid
[11:26:31 AM] Valenna: Make a new blog and call it Resto For Life?
[11:27:00 AM] Phaelia: good idea
[11:28:36 AM] Phaelia: I like that idea a lot.
[11:31:09 AM] Phaelia: resto4life.blogspot.com

Just remember: you’ll never get there without taking the first few steps!

Additional Resources

The number of resources available to bloggers is practically endless. For World of Warcraft bloggers, the Blog Azeroth forum is a great repository of knowledge and friendly faces willing to help you with just about anything. Additional recommended resources include:

• Lorelle @ WordPress
  Don’t let the title discourage you if you happen to choose Blogger. Lorelle’s has tons of information for bloggers of all types.
• WoWModelViewer.org
  The model viewer is a fantastic program that will let you model and take pictures of your character, creatures, and items from within the game. This can be an invaluable resource for creating a consistent style.
• Twisted Nether
  A brand new "blogcast" each week featuring interviews with other bloggers. Can be a great way to learn more about the world of blogging!
• News Sources
  MMO Champion and WoWInsider are great resources for newly-released information. Just don’t fall into the trap of simply reposting news, though. Include your own commentary and personal take on the info.

Related Posts

• Welcome to the New Resto4Life!
• Starting Over
• Druids vs. Priests

Anonymous reader submits:

i have 3 questions. which is better a resto or balance?
Which is more fun?
and what are the abilities of each like what is a balance druid and what is a resto druid.

To answer this contact request, I’ve written a haiku (because everything is better when expressed in haiku):

I’m Resto 4 Life!
Which do you think I prefer?
WoWWiki could help.

Thanks, anonymous reader dude!

Related Posts

• Still Out of Town
• Matticus Interviews Resto4Life
• LFD = Looking for Designer

Reader Tangible of Hyjal (US) writes in with the following bug report for the live environment:

I thought I’d let you know about an odd Druid bug I found today. I’d never bothered to level up my mace skill, even though I’ve used one for ages.

During the Sunfury Attack Plans daily quest, I decided I’d spend some time just auto-attacking the geologists, occasionally throwing in a Lifebloom to keep me going. However, I noticed the bloom was actually only getting me for 600. I’m currently at around 1850 +healing, but even with 200 +Healing, the final tick should be scaling past its starting value. So I killed the mob, and tried a three stack on myself. Bloom scaled without issue. That’s when it clicked in that it’s auto-attack doing so. I grabbed another mob and tried again while auto-attacking to verify.

In summary: throwing an LB on yourself while auto-attacking results in the bloom portion not scaling with your +Healing. How’s that for obscure!

I’ve heard odder things before, but I was skeptical so I flew up to the ogre area above Shattrath and tried something similar. I was unable to reproduce this issue myself, even after several attempts. I told Tangible this, asking if maybe he might have an addon that was displaying combat text incorrectly, and he was kind enough to do some more testing and provide some concrete evidence that he is experiencing this.

To ensure I’m not completely insane, I went off and did some more testing, this time with some screenshots. My character has 1887 +Healing in these tests, with a regular Lifebloom bloom hitting me for around 1500. The first two screenshots below are of me meleeing a mob, one time with the LB blooming properly, one time with it only blooming for 600. The interesting part of this is that when I was testing this originally, I never saw a proper full bloom at all. This time, I could get it to bloom properly around 20% of the time. It might have to do with the timing of the auto-attack swing.

Lifebloom Blooming at Expected Value

Lifebloom Blooming as though without +Healing

The second two screenshots are of me testing what you asked below — i.e., whether it was just showing 600 in my combat log, but actually healing me for the proper amount. I flew up high in Zangarmarsh, then dropped down, and auto-attacked a mob. I tried to get the timing as exact as possible for the before/after final bloom, but was still off, due to my larger resolution and the time it takes to take a screenshot. That said, you can still easily see the numbers add up to a 600 bloom, not a 1500-ish one.

Before	After

In the "before" screenshot, my HP is shown before the 227 tick you see has been applied (it kind of looks otherwise, with the value on my character icon fading, but it’s just fading into view — you can see it at the bottom of the scrolling combat text over my char, which moves upwards). You can look at the combat log for "after" and add the numbers up from there:

3617 HP (start) 
+227 LB
- 123 Hit
+228 LB
+228 LB
+600 LB Bloom
= 4777 HP

4777 is the value seen as my HP in the "after" shot. It’s definitely not healing me for what it should be.

Here’s my armory profile:
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Hyjal&n=Tangible

Those are the items used during the testing. You’ll see in my Zangarmarsh test I gained Light’s Salvation during the attempt, this isn’t a factor (both because I can get the 600 LB to occur without any procs, and because it procced after the LB was already applied).

If you’ve any other questions, or want the full screenshots or such, just let me know. Hopefully you can manage to reproduce this issue.

I spent about 10 minutes in Zangarmarsh last night trying to reproduce this issue. Even after 20 Lifebloom blooms, I never saw a value less than 1236 (I was wearing PvP gear). I’m posting this in curiosity to see if anyone else has experienced — or can reproduce — this phenomenon themselves. After all, as Tangible points out, how often are we going to have the need to Lifebloom while meleeing something to death?

Related Posts

• Mailbag: “Tree Tactics 101″ from Bigtoy of Cho’gall
• Instance: Heroic Magister’s Terrace
• Mailbag: Idol of the Raven Goddess

As frightening as it may seem, I work for a school. I’m even getting ready to start an MAED. Currently, I hold a BSIT and do computer support for said school. It pays all right and I get to be a part of making things better for people. Oh sure, I have to put up with individuals proud of their utter tech-incompetence and hearing business-speak applied to education is disheartening to say the least, but when I really consider it I love that I do my part to make the world smarter. Heaven knows we need it.

I’m glad to see that our readers are still as intelligent as ever. Warscreamer of Moonglade (EU) sent in this damning examination of Ferocious Bite and I have to say… WTF, over? Tell us this isn’t right, that we missed something. Warscreamer would be thrilled to be wrong.  He’s given us permission to disclose the contents of the message he sent us.  Check it out and be sure to leave a comment.

Do you remember when I was soooooooo happy that Ferocious Bite would be scaling with current AP? Okay, so check this out:

Ferocious Bite Rank 8 35 Energy 5 yd range Instant Requires Cat Form Finishing move that causes damage per combo point and converts each extra point of energy into [9.4 + AP / 630] additional damage. Damage is increased by your attack power.   1 point: 410-550 damage   2 points: 700-840 damage   3 points: 990-1130 damage   4 points: 1280-1420 damage   5 points: 1570-1710 damage

Now do the math. Currently, I have more than 4000 AP. I can’t check it from work, but let’s assume that it’s 4000.

9.4 + 4000/630 = 9.4 + 6.3 = 15.7 AP per energy

In the BEST scenario, when you use Ferocious Bite at full energy (LOL), you will receive:

(100 – 35) * 15.7 = 1020 AP

Let’s compare this change to what’s live right now. Assuming you are level 70 and using Ferocious Bite (Rank 6), let’s say that you use it after one tick of energy (so you have something like 50 energy).

Current tooltip, Rank 6: Finishing move that causes damage per combo point and converts each extra point of energy into 4.1 additional damage. Damage is increased by your attack power.

While this tooltip doesn’t describe how the damage is affected by Attack Power, readers at Druid Wikispaces have determined the formula to be:

Total Damage = (AP * 0.15) + (Energy Spent * 4.1) + CP Bonus Damage

At a maximum of 5 combo points, the average bonus damage will be 951.5. If we assume that 15 energy is left after the 35 energy cost is expended and use the average bonus damage from a 5-point FB, our formula will look like this:

(0.15 * 4000) + (15 * 4.1) + 951.5 = 1613 damage

Now let’s look at Rank 6 of the WotLK version of Ferocious Bite:

WotLK tooltip, Rank 6: Finishing move that causes damage per combo point and converts each extra point of energy into [3.4 + AP / 630] additional damage.

Note that this tooltip explicitly states how AP is factored into the total damage output; it appears that Ferocious Bite is being changed so that AP modifies the rate at which energy converts to damage rather than the base damage. If we assume that the formula is straightforward as it sounds, it looks like this:

Total Damage = (AP/630 + 3.4) * Energy Spent + CP Bonus Damage

Applying this revised formula with the same assumptions as above, we get:

(4000/630 + 3.4) * 15 + 951.5 = 1098 damage

Even if we assume Ferocious Bite is activated at 100 Energy (65 Energy consumed), the total damage drops from 1819 to 1586.

Please… correct my math. Because now I’m crying.

While I don’t have any experience with the Alpha-version of the ability myself, if we were to assume that the previous factor of AP * 0.15 is still factored into the total damage, this would actually be a buff since it would cause the ability to scale with AP in two ways. The formula would then look like this:

Total Damage = (AP * 0.15) + (AP/630 + 3.4) * Energy Spent + CP Bonus Damage

The total damage for the revised version of Ferocious Bite (Rank 6) would then be 1698 which is not only slightly higher than what we see now but also means the ability will scale better than it once did.

Ferocious Bite is getting a nice boost to crit (talented and only against a bleeder), and coupled with what could be much higher AP totals at 80 we may be an increase in the use of this ability. Is this right? Let us know, and I’ll be back soonish with another installment of "Why does it smell like wet bear over here?" Okay, I actually intend to take a gander at Dire Cat Form, but with my usual level of superb insight and amazing deductive skill… or something. Oh hell, I think we all know that if it doesn’t look like a ball of string or a river full of salmon, I’m lost.

See you then!

Related Posts

• Living Seed, Replenish, and Gift of the Earthmother
• Spell Power, +Healing, and Coefficients
• Omen of Clarity

I received this letter by way of Stormcrow a few days ago and thought the public service message worth sharing:

I am a fellow Restoration Druid and despite Arbor Day’s passing being oh so long ago, while wandering across the wilds of Elwynn Forest I found quite a disturbing sight. A Tree was set aflame with many cheerful party-goers dancing and jesting about it! This horrified me in ways I cannot describe and prompted me to make a public service message advising anyone who happens to see a Tree to please spare him or her the flame – this goes double for those pesky Mages!

This image may be shocking to young saplings and those of us who believe Trees should be treated kindly and equally, but I believe there is no other way to teach people the horrors of such actions. It is my hope that people will see the errors of their ways and learn to treat us with as much respect as everybody else.

Thanks, Gelaende! It’s always nice to see a little intra-spec love between Feral and Restoration.

Related Posts

• Festival … That’s What!
• Welcome Auryann’s Lifebloom and You
• Phaelia’s (Completely Made Up) WotLK Preview