[General] Pimpage and shoutouts

I never do a good job of saying goodbye :)

First off - many folks asked for good resources out there on various things, so I figured I'd give my recommendations and try and encourage some bloggers to write more.

On cat stuff: Coldbear has done quite possibly the most exhaustive writeup of feral dps that exists or that could exist. The video is awesome (especially if you happen to be taking ritalin) but the thing I most commend him for is the literally amazing wowwiki feral dps entry. The sheer amount of work on this is insane. Some great tips I learned from him are some of the UI fun bits, using GotW right before the pull to get an OoC proc and using nature's gift to maybe get one while pooling energy. But really - he's got it all.

I linked him before when he did some work on Arpen mechanics and the tricky question of when to switch - but you should still go visit Vallen at Feral Aggression and bug him to post more. He writes with a great style in a very approachable way, and he has a lot of things to say. Go say hi, show him you're interested and ask him to explain more stuff.

On bear stuff: there's sadly just not that much out there. The one I can wholeheartedly recommend is Darksend's great I'm not Feral, I'm a bear. He does a good job posting over at Tankspot and putting up movies, but you should bug him to post more otherwise.

For a newer set of all-around info, Alaron and the Fluid Druid is great and I hope that he continues to post a lot. The basic starting point on bear tanking and cat DPS should be required reading for any bear wanting to do any raiding. He's a bit busy right this moment, but hopefully he'll get back into the swing of things.

I really encourage you guys to comment on their blogs, ask them questions and in general go say hi. There's nothing more encouraging or inspiring to a writer than readers, and I've written some of my best work simply because someone left a good comment. If you want more things written - ask :)

Other than that, the EJ forums, tankspot, and the dreaded wow forums are all good resources. And Rawr. Always Rawr.

Onto some shoutouts for peeps out there. I'm sure I will miss a ton of people, and that's my personal failing.

-Andrew/Karthis - you were my biggest inspiration for starting writing at a good clip, to the point where my blog looks and is formatted a lot like yours was. (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?) Your taking a break made me write more, and you leaving made me write even more, but no matter what I provided I could never fill that void. You were a great read and a good person to talk to. Thank you for giving so much back and doing it so well.

Flyv - it was awesome when you and Karthis and I were all bouncing ideas off of each other and getting more and more information. It really felt like a community and it was really synergistic. Sorry to see ya go.

Runycat - theory comes and goes, but your writing went way beyond that. You were seriously awesome and amazingly helpful, and damnit you were fun. The world needs more people like you. Some day it'd be great to bring the significant others and have a beer.

Copey - one of the best contributors to comments on this site. I'm really glad you spent the time to write.

John Patricelli - you gave me my first big break, and my success is almost entirely because of that. I'm sorry we didn't get along; that was entirely my failing.

Fasc - my partner in crime over at the wow forums. I didn't always agree with you, but I always respected what you were saying and why, and it was nice to have some sanity in the wilderness.

Astrylian - I don't think anyone has written something as profound as you have for this community. Thank you for doing such an amazing piece of work and for writing so well about it.

Communism - thank you for providing such clarity and quantitative analysis on the wow forums. It kept me from killing people with my bare hands. :)

Phae - congratulations again on the sprout. He's beautiful. :) You were the best of us, and you made me want to join the druid community.

Toskk - you were doing it before it was cool. Just astounding work that every feral owes a huge debt to.

Jacemora - write more, damnit!

Tigerfeet - sorry that you got burnt out. More sorry you're not writing more. You have a ton of style and wit, and I envy what you can do with graphics like no one else.

All my commenters: Thank you for the support and well-wishes and saying hi. I'll miss talking with you and helping out more than you'll know.

So long, guys. Kick some icecrown butt and may Blood Queen always drop Bloodfall. :)