New Project ctd. - Picking a Main for Cataclysm

After a long hiatus, I've decided to start the blog back up.

For the past couple months, my play time has been even less than before. I'm getting married in August so wedding planning is taking up most of my weekends and during the week I've been logging in basically just to post some auctions and log back off. Quietly, I'm trying to reach the gold cap but since Ive only been posting auctions 5-6 times per week it's a slow process - I think I'm at around 50k gold currently.

I've also found a new focus for this blog. In preparation for Cataclysm, I've begun a mini adventure - choosing a main for Cataclysm. As of this post, I'm considering all my characters higher than level 40 to be in the running. But I'll quickly eliminate some of them right now.

The contenders:
Jasari, level 80 Blood Elf Paladin.
Profs: 450 Mining, 450 JC, 450 Fishing, 450 Cooking
Epeen Perks: Tutle Mount, 1 Thunderfury Binding
She was my main during my WotLK raiding career. This included raid leading through Naxx, Malygos, Sarth + Drakes, and Ulduar (with some hardmodes). The release of ToC coincided with the disbandment of my guild and the end of my raiding career for this expansion. Since then I've pugged raids here and there but never really gotten back into anything remotely serious. I haven't really played her much since my guild disbanded and for whatever reason don't find myself very interested in dusting her off more more than a JC vending machine.

Tuwei, level 80 Troll Priest
Profs: 450 Tailoring, 450 Herbalism, ~425 Fishing, ~425 Cooking
Epeen Perks: ZA Bear Mount, "Hand of A'dal title"
He was my original main. I raided with him through BC, including Kara, SSC, TK, Hyjal, and BT before I quit the game while I finished college and my honors thesis. My greatest WoW memories are with him. Downing Vashj and Kael for the first time (pre 2.3). Getting a beautiful Zul'Aman Bear mount. Sporting the epeen boosting "Hand of A'dal" title. From a purely, "this character makes me feel cool" perspective, Tuwei is tough to beat. And while I love raiding as a shadow priest, I can't stand running 5mans if I'm not a tank. Additionally, the main reason I enjoy DPSing in raids is that it's easier to find pugs that way and I tend to not get as annoyed with retards because I can find some satisfaction in topping the meters - even if the raid is ultimately a failure. Tanking is more rewarding when you're in a good group or a good guild, but it's infuriating when you're in a pug with a bunch of idiots. Tuwei's definitely a contender but his lack of tanking ability may cost him the title.

Tooee (soon to be Mahalo), level 80 Tauren Druid
Profs: 450 Alchemy, 450 Enchanting
Epeen Perks: None
He was originally created a casual alt long ago. Even his name is meant to sound like "Tuwei". I never dreamt he'd actually become my main, but when 3.3 introduced the new LFG tool this druid inspired the creation of this blog through his pug tanking antics as I leveled him up. I absolutely love the versatility of druids. A druid in the right hands can do so much for a raid. Battle rez, and innervate continue to be overpowered raid buffs brought exclusively by druids, and a feral druid can DPS or tank decently regardless of whether they're spec'd more toward kitty or bear. The fact that I'll be able to change is race (and name) to Troll (and Mahalo) in Cataclysm is a huge bonus as well. Tooee (Mahalo) is probably the front runner right now, the one drawback I see is that I'm probably going to have to find a guild in need of a tank, which is usually more difficult than finding a guild in need of a DPSer.

Ventulus, level 80 Undead Warlock
Profs: 450 Engineering, 450 Inscriptions
Epeen Perks: None
Originally name Tuwie, this was my level 39 twink through most of BC. I leveled him to 70 right before WotLK released and then leveled him to 80 when I wasn't raiding on Jasari. I changed his name when I transferred him to another server to play with a friend of mine. I do enjoy playing him and I like what I've seen for Warlocks in Cataclysm. But if I'm going to be choosing a DPS class, Tuwei is still the current favorite.

Ritzenhein, level 79 Troll Shaman
Profs: None
Epeen Perks: None
While I was leveling Ritz, I was sure he would take the spot of my main for Cataclysm. I liked the idea of DPSing through BC, Tanking for WotLK, and Healing for Cataclysm. The problem? As soon as I hit 79 I suddenly lost interest. He's seriously been sitting at level 79 for months, I just don't have any desire to play him anymore and I'm not sure why. I leave him on the list because should I have a sudden change of heart, I do have a high level shaman who would be easy to switch to. The fact that he doesn't have any professions yet, does hurt his chances though.

Rono, level 56 Orc Rogue
Profs: ~150 Enchanting
Epeen Perks: None
Toward the end of BC I was leveling him with the intent to raid on him in WotLK. But ended up finding a guild that needed a tank so Jasari took center stage instead. Since then I never really god around to leveling him. I think as a melee class, Orcs look awesome which does give Rono some cool points. But honestly, now I see his as a druid that's permanently stuck in cat form (no offense to rogues out there).

Ventulus, level 49 Orc Warrior
Profs: None
Epeen Perks: None
I just started leveling this guy on a server with some college friends. Warriors have always appealed to me because their mobility is awesome. They're also OP at low level tanking. It's painfully obvious that they were originally the only class that was meant to tank. Even at level 49, I have most of the skills I need to tank anything effectively. With BoA gear, I'm doing close to 60% of the total damage of the group and that's not exaggerating at all. This is probably the most OP I've ever felt in the game. At 80 I know everything else catches up but I do enjoy the warrior's play style. If I do choose a tank for Cataclysm I think it'll probably be Ventulus (the warrior not the warlock), or Tooee (Mahalo). Right now it's a tossup. I love the versatility of the Druid but I love the charging, thunder-clapping brutality of the Warrior.

Current Rankings:

Front Runners: Druid, Warrior, Priest
Contenders: Paladin
Back of the pack: Warlock, Shaman, Rogue
Out of the Running: None.