Buffs overwriting buffs

Today Frostheim posted an analysis of whether or not a DK's Abomination's Might buff overwrote a MM hunter's Trueshot Aura in regards to the Glyph of Trueshot Aura (which requires TSA to be active.) The results, while good for hunters (the glyph still functions regardless of which buff icon actually is showing) prompted me to think about how ANNOYING overwriting buffs are in WoW right now.

Case in point - the other day I hopped into the pug queue as my 67 priest, got in and started buffing everyone. Sat down to drink, realized that no one had Divine Spirit (and Vuhdo was glaring at me in big ugly red letters PLAYERS WHO NEED SPIRIT: 5) so I shrugged and did it again. The buffs cast, my mana dropped, but...nothing! No buff icon, no Vuhdo confirmation! I could tell the tank was getting antsy and was going to pull soon so I hit Prayer of Spirit. STILL NOTHING. I burned through 3-4 more candles before giving up in bewilderment and despair.

The tank ran off to pull, and I desperately followed, a) very confused as to why my buff wasn't working, and b) at about 20% mana because I'd just cast the buff 10+ times. Fortunately a few shields let me sit back for a moment and examine the scene and try to figure out what was wrong. Only after inspecting each and every one of my buffs did I realize that the warlock had a Felhunter giving us Fel Intelligence. Thanks for the error message Blizz! I only wasted my entire mana bar, half a dozen candles and a small chunk of my sanity. Plus my group probably thought I was a drooling idiot. (Granted, I didn't help dissuade this opinion by later standing out in the open and blocking Talon King Ikiss's Arcane Explosion with my face. Damn, if only I had seen this boss mechanic before!)

But the worst, WORST offender is when my druid is casting Thorns on tanks. I don't know WHY this is, but trying to reapply thorns to a target who already has it is like solving the freaking Da Vinci code. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You can spam it on a target for a minute constantly and have it not work, only to cast it 10 seconds later and have it miraculously apply.

How To Cast Thorns:



Also, I'm not sure how this happens but seemingly in every raid I run, both tanks' thorns buffs always seem to be at about a minute left when we reach a boss. I'm then presented with the dilemma of trying (and most likely, failing) to refresh it, or trying to remember to recast it during the fight, wasting time/mana. (I don't ask tanks to dispel their thorns anymore. Most of the time when I ask they just ignore me, and one time someone dispelled a paladin buff instead, confusing everyone even more.)

So Blizz, while we're talking about changes, can you PLEASE fix up the buff mechanics? Your decision to make Blessing of Might and Blessing of Wisdom the same spell is a step in the right direction, now just tidy up the other ones! (Or at least Thorns, dammit.)

3 Responses Subscribe to comments

  1. gravatar
    Kae

    Hehe, the thorns thing is likely that a more powerful spell is active, based on your spellpower at the time of casting. Idol proc? Ring proc? Random buffs? Some other druid with talented thorns? All contribute :)

    April 14, 2010 at 2:39 PM

  2. gravatar
    Rades

    Ahh, you know what, it must be the spellpower proc thing! I'm usually the only druid casting thorns, which is what drove me insane (it's my own spell!! Why can't I replace it!) but that would make a lot of sense. I have the Idol that buffs SP when a Rejuv is ticking, so that is probably the spellpower variable I was unaware of. Good catch!

    April 14, 2010 at 2:49 PM

  3. gravatar
    Vidyala

    I know I used to have trouble overwriting it because I had the wrong rank on my bars, for months, and never knew.

    And the day that someone's RankWatch called me out for it was a day of shame...and that is why the "comedy low rank" in our guild is called "Rank V Thorns." True story! ;)

    April 15, 2010 at 7:35 AM