is it just me or is this site slowing down?

[Jetsu]

^same for me. Cata just wasn't the same

I actually loved the healing in Cataclysm. I leveled up my priest and went into my first heroic and got a lot of "good heals" until I won a drop, equipped it, and got the achievement for having all blues of at least the item level from WotLK. At that point I got "HOLY CRAP" responses instead.

It was no longer entirely a gear game where you pound your strongest, fastest heal and hope it's strong enough. It made room for players who were able to understand resource management and all their abilities stand out. I loved it as a holy priest especially, because they had so many different heals I had a tool for almost everything.

However, after playing for a few months I feel back into the same grind I did since classic. Do the same dungeons, do the few max level dungeons, do them all again but they hit harder (forever). Finally get the gear to raid. Do the same couple bosses over and over...

Eventually you realize you're only playing for the promise of fun, while almost all your actual play time is consumed by doing things you couldn't care less to do. I finally got sick of MMOs like that and I'm loving the story and gearing design of this game. Sure, I won't spend as much time grinding this one out (tend to play less in a week) but the time I do spend in game I'm actually playing instead of just "putting in the time".

[SoulBender]

I hear ya. Same thing with the gear grind. Ugh. I do wish I could turn on some additional xp gain. I really only want to experience the other class stories. Running BT on my baby operative is painful. Running the same quests is painful. Even rolling a republic toon feels the same, quest grinding I mean.

[Jetsu]

I hear ya. Same thing with the gear grind. Ugh. I do wish I could turn on some additional xp gain. I really only want to experience the other class stories. Running BT on my baby operative is painful. Running the same quests is painful. Even rolling a republic toon feels the same, quest grinding I mean.

Have you tried leveling with warzones? That's what I've been doing on my trooper and I love it. Same warzones, but completely different experiences based on how the teams react to one another as well as team makeup.

[Wuxtry]

I made a Chiss trooper and he's fun in WZs. I am now leveling an assassin just to make a Sith smuggler. It's counter productive I know. I just like those skins compared to the republic side.

[SoulBender]

No a fan of PVP, but I have said I need to try.

[Scripts]

PvP breaks up the leveling monotony. I PvP Leveled a BH Merc Healer. I'm kind of, sort of, leveling a Smuggler Scoundrel Healer the same way. I also find that the valor rank (and commendations, etc.) are really helpful for when you hit fifty.

Don't get me wrong, the free recruit gear is sweet and all, but its so much nicer to be able to rock the BM/War Hero gear.

My leveling style has been as follows: 3 PvE, 1 PvP. My 5th (almost 50) toon has been mostly PvE. The other ones will be much more evenly mixed (IE: PvE for particular planets, and PvP for other planets) based on what planets I either haven't done in a while, or because of the stories I enjoy.

I still haven't been playing much. RL has been kicking in pretty hard, and I haven't had the time/desire to play.