[WoW] New Forum Heading? (Beginner)?

I am thoroughly enjoying the ease of the instant setup for WOW. I told lax it is really the only reason I stepped into this world of in-depth technical nerdiness. For over a year I was content with running a couple characters on either multiple comps or a two accts on one system. I had dabbled in looking through the multiboxer websites, but continued to be a little overwhelmed by the terms and the intricate (to me) setup.

I have my 3 mages up to level 28 now and last night I realized that it was time to take the next step with this technology. However, I really didn't know where to begin. I realized that my basic setup with the initial bar of "1 through =" wasn't enough. So I searched through the forums to see if there was something I could decipher to help me out. I knew it had to do with keymapping (after some intense brain function.) Once explaining in chat what I was looking for Ualaa gave me a basic step-by-step to make it happen. It wasn't exactly precise, but it gave me just enough to figure it out.

After I finished my session last night I began to wonder what else I didn't know that I needed to know to help me get the most out of this technology.

We have a great video to help us set up and get going...at least for the first 20 levels or so.

But then what is the next step?

For me it was to set up additional keys that would work for all (3 in my case) accounts. But what's next? I know that I'd like the two (slave?) characters to fan out and not just sit right on top of each other when I'm getting ready to cast something or go into a fight.

I played a group of paladins to level 10 and had to do a kind of run and jump twist action (I use the mouse to move so its faster to turn around...those days of PVP server taught me well) to get my master toon to be in position and the other ones to be close enough and facing the mob for them to be hitting it.

I use this as an example of the need to maybe create a beginner section to help those of us who may not understand the technical terms as well and/or even realize that the technology can do something to help us do it that much better...in simple terms.

A walkthrough...maybe even class specific or at least melee vs. caster vs. healer.

One thing I know I'm going to want to know eventually is if there is a way for the slaves that are healers to heal the master instead of targeting themselves. But also, if they need to be healed...how do I do that without having to change the screen, if at all possible.

I'd be willing to help with this, because I can really come at it from a noob perspective.

As I said before the only reason I decided to go with this is because of the simplicity of setting up WOW to try it out. It was worth a $10 chance if it really worked, and it did.

With Cataclysm right around the corner...how great will it be to level 2-5 toons with at the same time...we'll be in the upper group as they level to 85!

Ok, I think you get the general idea of where my head went last night.

What are some of your thoughts regarding this idea.

Todd.

[lax]

One thing I know I'm going to want to know eventually is if there is a way for the slaves that are healers to heal the master instead of targeting themselves. But also, if they need to be healed...how do I do that without having to change the screen, if at all possible.

This can mean lots of different things, but in the end it boils down to either (or both of) a WoW addon or WoW macros, alongside either or both of a Repeater Region (an area of the window in which Mouse Repeat is automatically enabled and can pass the mouse to a specific character, like a Healer, or many specific characters) or Mapped Keys (Hotkey).

I happen to generally play a team of 5 Paladins, 1 holy 1 prot 3 ret. All of them are technically healers. I am almost always playing the tank, and most of the time I heal only with my Healer. Other times I press a key that sacrifices some of the ret paladins' DPS for extra healing either on themselves, or on the tank, depending on the situation.

Healing with the healer is easier to configure than healing with the ret paladins (the way I have it anyway). It basically consists of configuring a WoW unit frames addon with click to cast functionality (I use Vuhdo, some people prefer Grid+Clique, there are others) in the same location on all of your windows, and then putting a Repeater Region on top of it (this part takes 10 seconds). There are several guides on how to do this:
* Video: Healing 101 by Zanthor
* Video: Tovya's Repeater Regions tutorial
* Written: Using Grid, Clique and Repeater Regions for healing by Ualaa
(These 3 are in the Videos and Guides sections on isboxer.com)

That is the "beginner" method of healing. It's dead simple to set up after the addon is configured, and it is also the best method of healing (assuming you have a healer). This is how raid healing is done!

As far as "how do I make all my guys heal x person" you set up a WoW macro like this, for example:

Code:

/cast [target=thenameofmytank] Flash of Light

or to heal themselves:

Code:

/cast [target=player] Flash of Light

.. and then have a Mapped Key that does it. I'm not going to go into detail of how exactly to create a Mapped Key that casts a spell since this is also demonstrated in numerous guides, such as:
* Video: ISBoxer Overview videos (bottom one demonstrates some Mapped Keys)
* Written: Ualaa's Guide to ISBoxer
* Written: Zanthor's Zero to Hero in 30 minutes
(These are also in the Videos and Guides sections )

As far as making a new forum section or a tag to point out Beginner topics... I think it would be a waste of time because anyone with a question they don't know the answer to is going to ask in the beginner section. Rather, the best help for beginners would probably be a meta guide -- a guide to guides. A list of topics covered by various videos and written guides (including random forum posts), and where to find it in the video or written guide.

Thanks for the detailed info regarding my general Q's...LOL.

So then since you did get the gist of my ramble...Here's to the META GUIDE!!!!

Where do I sign up?

Todd.