Last week I talked about mid-level content and as expected, many of you expressed an opinion. One comment in particular from autumnbear got me thinking. Autumnbear writes:

"How about updating the overall lore for the game, and allowing more class choices for the current playable races. Still waiting for the Night Elves to teach my Human how to be a Druid, especially since he's Exalted with both Darnassus AND the Cenarion Circle."

Now that's something I can chew on. What about quests that will allow you to make race/class combinations that are not otherwise available in the game? I think this is a tremendous idea if the process is sufficiently difficult to prevent everybody and their uncle's cat from doing it. The original Everquest had epic quests that took some players months to complete. Everquest 2 had the betrayal quests which allowed you to change factions which took a really long time to complete.

Why shouldn't a human, in Autumnbear's case, who has earned significant faction with Darnassus not be able to learn the finer points of being a druid? Gnomes have no healing classes. Why not create a very difficult quest line for those gnomes who are exalted with Stormwind that would allow them to become a paladin or priest?

I know I'm going to get a billion comments about game balance. Admittedly this would likely not count as "mid-level" either, but I think that if it was properly implemented it could be a valid source of that new content that everybody is craving.

Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.

I know, I know. Last week I presented you with Part 1 of my examination of guild alliances, and my readers are probably wondering what the heck happened to Part 2. It's coming next week, I promise! (In fact, it's already written.) But since we were unexpectedly flooded with so much great information about 2.3, I thought I'd make this column a bit more timely and put Dark pacts, Part 2 on hold. The next major content patch has some interesting additions and changes that will affect many aspects of the game, but there are a few that officers should be thinking about now. Let's take a look.

Reader Medros of Argent Dawn sends us this shot of, well, a flying paladin. This begs the question -- are two pairs of wings better than one? Does Avenging Wrath also buff one's flight speed? Inquiring minds want to know!

Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.

With DPS, this question is simple. You can take a glance at your damage meter of choice and see how much damage they've done, perhaps combined with how much damage they've taken (hitting the top of the damage meters may be impressive -- but if the only way to do that involves being a major drain on your healers' mana, it might be better for your group as a whole if you cut back), and can have a pretty good idea of how they're performing. On the other hand, measuring a healer's performance is a bit more ethereal, as discussed in depth today on Priestly Endeavors. Of course, you can watch the healing meters, but they don't tell the entire story of a good healer. What about mana management? The 5-second rule? Heal timing? (Heal too soon and you're overhealing and wasting mana -- but heal too late and you may not have anyone to heal at all.) Kirk on Priestly Endeavors breaks it down into the data you'd want to see to completely determine healer effectiveness:

• The health of every party member over time.
  
• Information on every heal that was cast and when it was cast (including things like Power Word: Shield which usually aren't counted).
• The healer's mana over time.

But while having a spreadsheet showing off all of this information for the duration of an instance run would certainly tell us exactly how our healers are doing, this much data would be heavy information overload. (Fascinating to sort through when you have specific questions, but I certainly wouldn't want to do it every day.) But seeing as we don't currently have access to such detailed information, I'm throwing the question out to you -- how do you measure the performance of a healer? What extra information would you like to have in measuring the performance of a healer?

I love fan fiction, I always have. There is a point where an author or artist ends the story and those that have been enthralled with it pick it up and continue the journey. With WoW the opportunities for fan fiction are numerous, since it's a persistent world we roam, and we make what we will of the characters we play. I guess you could say our role play today is the fan fiction of tomorrow.

Thus it was with relish that I began reading the tale of Spooner, a paladin struggling in a world of frustration until he finally encounters his ultimate form. I won't spoil it for you, and I'm sure there is considerable debate that could arise from this author's viewpoint, but remember, it's how he sees the progression in the game, and to some extent so do I. Anyway when you have a moment pop on over to the European forums where this story was posted and add a little art to your day.

[thanks Dego!]

By popular demand, here is the all-Paladin edition of our ongoing series "Patch 2.3 and you." Some of these changes were in our previous Palockter Omnibus, which seems to have angered my pally brethren; and some of them are new (thanks to Aurondil for the tips). On with the show:

• We're pretty much focused on Retribution with 2.3, but some more general changes are being made like lowering the mana cost for Exorcism, Holy Wrath, and Hammer of Wrath.
• Another Ret change (just to keep the momentum going) will be an increase to the duration of Vengeance to 30 seconds. (Drysc)
• You're amazing, that's absolutely correct [referring to Crusader Strike cooldown being lowered to 6 seconds] (Drysc)
• Well along with a few other Ret changes we're putting the benefits of Improved Seal of the Crusader right into the base spell, and the talent will instead give the benefit of Sanctified Crusader. That of course means Sanctified Crusader needs something else, and it's being renamed Sanctified Seals, which will increase your change to critically hit will all spells and melee by 1/2/3% and reduces the chance your Seals can be dispelled by 33/66/100% (Drysc)
• Pursuit of Justice (Retribution) is now 3 ranks and increases movement speed by 5/10/15% and also reduces the chance you'll be hit by spells by 1/2/3%.
• Vindication (Retribution) frequency and duration increased and now reduces all attributes by 5/10/15%, not just Strength and Agility. (Salthem)

And there you have it. Your very own Paladin edition of P2.3AY. And you're right, there were certainly enough changes to merit it. Well, Retnoobs (I kid), are you satisfied with these changes, or do you think you'll still be underpowered and unloved?

While you may not be getting quite so many changes as some other classes out there, your changes beat theirs in...sheer unexpectedness? I dunno. Here's what's slated for patch 2.3 for light-swingers, gunslingers, and masters of the dark:

• [Hunter] We are planning to change Wyvern Sting so that it will be instant cast. (Drysc)
• [Hunter] Arcane Shot (ranks 6+) will dispel 1 magic effect in addition to the normal damage. (Drysc)
• [Warlock] There is a change for Ritual of Souls which will significantly reduce the time to cast and complete it. (Nethaera)
• [Paladin] We're pretty much focused on Retribution with 2.3, but some more general changes are being made like lowering the mana cost for Exorcism, Holy Wrath, and Hammer of Wrath.
• Another Ret change (just to keep the momentum going) will be an increase to the duration of Vengeance to 30 seconds. (Drysc)
• [Paladin] You're amazing, that's absolutely correct [referring to Crusader Strike cooldown being lowered to 6 seconds] (Drysc)
  

That's a lot to digest. That Arcane Shot is pretty crazy, huh? Kalgan says it'll work like "an offensive dispel", similar to Purge. I suppose that should get some more people using it again, at least in PvP. Will the rest of us have any buffs left, or will a fight with a hunter suddenly be like Garr? Either way, change is good. Bring it on.

Update: Since posting this, Drysc has announced another pleasant change:

• How about 20 and 24 slot ammo pouches and quivers?

Far too many months ago, I set out to create a paladin to help my guild out in end-game. After a brief flirtation with Ret, I decided to level as a prot paladin, and have as such picked up two sets of very serviceable prot AOE grinding and actual instance tanking gear. But as I draw closer and closer to 70, I'm finding a lot of people asking me to heal their instances, which I would dearly love to do -- except that I don't have the gear for it. I don't want to go to the AH and stock up on "of healing" plate, and I shudder to think of the mockery if I wore cloth or mail, so it's time to go to the Wowhead database and look up all the quests, dungeons and crafters that can get me some sweet healing gear.

So as a service to all the ret, prot, and shockadin pallies who are now approaching 70 and searching for healing gear, I present a nice list of pre-raid healing options. PLATE healing options, as I'm under the assumption that someone else will probably want that mail/leather/cloth gear that drops. If I'm mistaken, feel free to grab it! I've also left out the Grand Marshal/High Warlord PVP options, as they would merely lead me to repeat myself over and over and over again. If you'd like those, it's pretty simple to figure out how to get them. (Hint: PVP.) I've also ranked them in what I perceive as the order of their quality.

Jason over at Wife Aggro sends word about a good piece he posted on a subject I don't remember ever covering: how to switch over to a new main. It's an interesting thing to cover, and a situation that I bet happens more often than people think. But as Jason says, especially since the Burning Crusade was released, switching an alt up to your main is quite a task. In vanilla WoW, things weren't too bad-- you had to run BRD once or twice, run UBRS once, and you were pretty much set for endgame. But in Burning Crusade, there are lots and lots of keys and factions and questlines and decisions to deal with, so switching is a much tougher thing to do.

Not to mention how your guild takes it-- dealing with grinding faction rep again is one thing, but "giving up" a character that your guild has helped equip (sometimes with epic gear) causes all kinds of drama by itself. And while it's probably easier if you're switching to benefit the guild, Jason is actually doing the opposite-- he's leaving his Holy Paladin for a raiding Rogue.

Of course, this is still just a game, and you should play what you want to play. If that Warrior you've got just isn't doing it for you lately, you have every right to make that Druid you've really been enjoying your main. But you've also got to remember that this isn't a solo game-- especially in guild situations, switching from an alt to a main can have a huge effect. But if you handle it as Jason seems to be doing, by carefully considering all the consequences of such a switch, both you and your guild will be better off in the end.

I was just joking when I said "video or it didn't happen" to a guild's announcement of a Paladin-tanked Prince kill last week, but they weren't messing around: they actually got me video. You guys didn't have to go to all that trouble! But since you did, I'll say this: Ok, some Paladins, in some situations, with the right group makeups, may possibly, at times, be able to tank.

Happy now? I still won't sing the praises of Paladin tanks until I can see one for myself, but I guess I'll allow that yes, sometimes, Paladins might have the ability to tank. This week's Guildwatch, your weekly dose of drama, Paladin-enabled downing, and recruitment, starts right after you click the link below. Tips may be sent, please (by Paladins or anyone else), to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Thanks!

So recently, I decided to respec ret and give the most-vilified spec in WoW a swing while I leveled. I used the popular Seal/Judge Crusader, Seal of Command, Judge Command, Crusader Strike combo. But I kept forgetting to instantly re-seal Command after Judging, and as a result, I was pretty slow to kill things. I decided it was time to make a macro.

Now, I've used macros before on my rogue (usually involving pickpocketing when cheapshotting), but I had yet to make any for my pally. So I did a Google search and lo and behold, there were a ton of good paladin macro sites! These will be old hat for any experienced macroers, but for noobs like me, I figured a list would come in handy.

We've profiled movies of a Paladin soloing Blackrock Depths. We've even seen one solo Blood Furnace. Now, ten of them have banded together to tackle Karazhan. And they manage to clear it all the way until the last two bosses, Nightbane and Netherspite. Not bad for a class that constantly beats up on itself for being gimped.

The video is 26 minutes long, but enjoyable. The first part is RP related to the quest and the fights are at double speed. The music choice is very good IMHO and the humorous moments really help move it along. The shot of all 10 Blood Elf paladins dancing naked on the table was definitely a highlight. These are 10 players definitely enjoying themselves. Check it out.

Previously, on Moviewatch...