Make-Over Project: Zeptepi

 (Messing around with filming-just a clip of Zep chasing after Brother Benjamin, who appears to be confused by her as much as she is by herself.)

Total time played: 16 days +

One of my gifts this year was the promise of some help with my Holy Priest healer character, Zeptepi. But, not being helpless, I did some research, too. Sat myself down with a hot cup of coffee, reviewed spells, talent tree configurations, add-ons, etc. But then I gave up and in a pique decided to change her to a Night Elf female. Instantly regretting it, though, and I miss my Draenei, so when I can grow back my horns in a few days, I will probably change her back. It's the Mage I should have changed to a Night Elf. Pink hair with her red dress would be hot.

Now this post is going to take a detour: originally, the thesis was, "How to be a Holy Priest Healer in 4.3 and Why It Matters," but I cannot support this claim with any real evidence. I am not sure why it matters. Both my tank and healer characters have experienced smacks on tails by exasperated, (some justifiably), and jerk players, and again, my real life job parallels strong leadership, quick-thinking and mental reflexes that few can imagine. But--then I remind myself how damn pretty it is to heal, and how much fun it is to whack on a group of monsters, pulverizing the pixels to mana cookie crumbs.

So-the detour: spending real-life gold, be it changing races, names, appearances, or factions. Guarf recently made the comment about the way I occasionally will change something about a character, and how nice it must be to have that kind of money. He's right, you know. I shouldn't spend any money on those frivolous things. But then in my woman-way rationalized it: this is a hobby, and it's part of the fun of that hobby for me. I don't spend money on shoes (I own a few good pairs of Danskos and they last for years), or purses, or expensive meals out. (The occasional Starbucks is my own personal mana-replenishing indulgence, so back the frick off.) He did share with me he knows of a few ladies who enjoy buying luxury items like shoes and purses, and I told him the reason is because shoes and purses always fit. Seriously, gentlemen, I will reveal as best I can the inner machinations of the female mind to you. But be warned: it can be terrifying.

Anyway, must be a woman thing. When all else fails, get a new hair cut.

From MMOMelting Pot: this will help a lot. See the comment on the two points? Now, I'm sitting there thinking to myself, gee, Veiled Shadows would be cool.  My Shadowfiend will hang out a bit longer, and since I seem to hit the mana-wasting spells like overflowing toilet in a public bathroom, that might be kind of useful. But then, I remembered the "kind of player I am" (read: bad) and decided Desperate Prayer would come in much more useful. The plunger to my toilet, as it were.

It leaves you with 2 points to spend where you will – a few good choices are:

• Veiled Shadows
 at the top of the Shadow tree is a nice utility talent. It reduces your Fade cooldown – nice – but the key element is a reduction in your Shadowfiend cooldown, meaning more mana regen. Particularly useful early on with less mana available.

• Darkness
, also at the top of the Shadow tree, grants up to 3% Haste. Haste is probably the most valuable secondary stat for a Holy priest unless mana is a problem – once you aren’t running out of mana, highly recommended.

• Rapid Renewal
, in the third tier of the Holy tree, should be taken if you find yourself using HoTs a lot – another close-to-mandatory talent.

• Surge of Light
, in the second tier of Holy, is a good talent if you’re having mana problems.

• Desperate Prayer
 is a great “Oh, S—t!” button, particularly if you tend to find yourself standing in the Bad a lot.

If in doubt, Darkness and Rapid Renewal are good choices. If you find you’re having mana problems, swap to Veiled Shadows and Surge of Light.Stats, Reforging and GemsUnlike DPS classes, there is no set best way to gear and reforge – instead, there are a few options, depending on what you most feel you need as a healer.You care most about two stats: Intellect, which boosts your overall healing power, and Spirit, which controls your mana pool and mana regeneration. You should gem and enchant for these two stats.Beyond this, you want enough Haste to get 12.5% haste, as shown on your character sheet, and Mastery is your next most useful stat, above Crit, which is close to useless for Holy priests.Reforging: reforge everything to Spirit until you no longer worry about running out of mana in dungeons. Then, reforge to Haste until you have 12.5%, and after that, reforge to either Mastery for better mana efficiency through a lingering Heal Over Time or Haste to speed up your spells, as you prefer.

Some further helpful research:
http://murlocparliament.com/priest-guides/holy-priest-guide/

So-onward. Real life is blaring, vacation is almost over, and soon it will be time to destroy waking metaphorical monsters instead of pixelized ones. And, get a new hair cut.