State of the Dwarf Address

Spent more time questing instead of running dungeons yesterday, ending up halfway to level 29. The pace of questing is nice and relaxing, compared to the frantic nature of a dungeon. I've managed to get Aeven's skinning skill up to Artisan level, and her mining high enough to smelt iron as well. It's tough to work on leveling random skills (like first aid and cooking) when you're busy making your way through a dungeon.

The more sedate pace of questing has also allowed me to pay more attention to managing my buffs and talents. While leveling other characters, buffs have been nice-to-have sort of things for me... oh, I've lost Inner Fire? When did that happen? Sheesh, I didn't even notice that Arcane Intellect had expired... better renew that in a bit. Right after this mob. Or the maybe the next. Buff food? Meh, why bother. These are just regular mobs. Maybe to clear out bag space if I have to.

With Aeven, I notice when her buffs dissipate. The difference between her, buffed and not, is the difference between a shivering, snarling, white hot ball of Dwarven terror and... well, a wet noodle. She typically runs around with a +4 spirit/+4 stam food buff for questing (courtesy of a stack of Boiled Clams), Blessing of Might in place (+55 attack power), and a combination of an Elixir of Lion's Strength (+4 str) and a Weak Troll's Blood Elixir (+2 health/5 seconds) along with a Lesser Wizard's Oil (+16 spell power) applied to her weapon. That's a lot of +whatevers to let expire, and when it does, hoo boy, it shows quickly.

Add in whatever buffs she may happen to pick up from passing druids, priests, mages, and the like, and she does well. Let those buffs fall off, though, and it's immediately noticeable. Same-level mobs that were going down in 3-4 swings are now taking twice as long to kill. Taking on groups of 3-4 mobs now requires popping a mana potion or a health potion, or even for her to Lay on Hands.

As a result, I'm becoming more aware of the need to manage my buffs. I'm also becoming more aware of the need to allocate talent points and train at the earliest opportunities (like, immediately!) That +3% to strength from adding a point into Divine Strength? Essential - give me that ASAP. A new rank of Flash of Light? Pile it on! Woohoo! Hey, where'd my food buff go? Stop and eat, and review and refresh any other buffs that are getting long in the tooth before she picks up and heads on to the next Dark Iron Dwarf or Dragonmaw Orc or whatever the current kill du jour is.

Long term, will this make me a better player? I don't know. A more efficient player, certainly. In the meantime, it's pretty obvious that the buffs Aeven has available to her are really helping her to compensate for her lack of +stat gear, at least in the leveling game.