Well, it looks like patch 4.0.1 will be playable some time around today, give or take a day for unforeseen additional maintenance.
As you already know, this patch, for me, marks the end of an era: the end of
Tree of Life as a permanent form. The comments section for that post tells me I'm not the only one mourning the loss of this beloved form, so I thought it would be appropriate to put together a photo-tribute to the tree. I do this not only to pay my respects, but because this may very well be the last time I see a tree outside of a group, for patch 4.0.1 may mark the end of my time as a druid healer. I'm with Tesh when he/she (sorry, Tesh, but I dont want to make any assumptions) said, "Shapeshifting is the point of Druids for me. I almost never spend time in caster form; if I wanted that, I'd have played a Shaman. " Well spoken, Tesh; well spoken.
So, without further ado, let's move on to the tribute.
A druid in his natural habitat: Moonglade.
A lucky screenshot of the tree's idle animation. You can't plan this one.
"Should I or shouldn't I?"
Did you know that Tree of Life has a swim animation? Neither did I. Most trees don't do so well in water, but apparently ours does.
I can't tell whether he's waving hello after making it across the lake, or goodbye. I'd like to believe it's the former...
Guess he just found out...
One last goodbye to the home zone of druids.
The tree enjoys one last dance...Before giving in to his fate.
R.I.P. Tree of Life form, December 5, 2006 to October 12, 2010. You will be sorely missed.
A druid in his natural habitat: Moonglade.
A lucky screenshot of the tree's idle animation. You can't plan this one.
"Should I or shouldn't I?"
Did you know that Tree of Life has a swim animation? Neither did I. Most trees don't do so well in water, but apparently ours does.
I can't tell whether he's waving hello after making it across the lake, or goodbye. I'd like to believe it's the former...
Guess he just found out...
One last goodbye to the home zone of druids.
The tree enjoys one last dance...
*chuckle*
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I'm a "he" if it comes up again. No worries, though; it's hard to discern the hardware under all that bear fat or kitty fur I'm usually sporting. ;)
Great photos! An appropriate note to end on, methinketh.
There will always be a tree of life shaped hole in my heart...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMVv8AtkjvE
Aww, this is sad. I took a bunch of screenies of my beloved resto druid main the night before the patch hit. I logged her out in the Bay of Storms in Azshara (my favorite area in the entire game), in tree form, staring out at the ocean.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. *sniffle*
aww
ReplyDeletenow im gunna cry
( been a tree since trees arrived and a healer for a year or so before hand )
we should still have the choice to stay in tree form if we want to.. its sad and the form they have replaced it as a temporary buff with is so ugly
sniffle
sob
waiiiiilllllllllllll
I shall also miss my tree form dearly...
ReplyDeleteFlesh is weak!
I dont wanna be rude, but just remember before Wotlk, when tree form were almost not used ANYTIME. That was rare to see a tree of life in that epoch. Druid used to heals in caster form and they did their role very well.
ReplyDeleteI really dont understand why the people are crying that much about the tree of life. You WILL have it, but just for a limited time. EVERYONE will need to RELEARN how to play Wow.. Thats good.. really good.
What annoys me is that cry-like speech: "for patch 4.0.1 may mark the end of my time as a druid healer".
Just relearn how to play.
@ William - Whether or not you wanted to be rude, you were. No need to be so judgmental.
ReplyDeleteSome of us enjoyed the visual aspect of the form; it wasn't just the numbers involved. If losing that visual aspect is enough to tip the balance from "I like being a druid healer" to "meh, what else can I play that I might enjoy more?" then that's just the way it is.
It's a game. If something comes along that makes one aspect of it less fun then you switch your focus to something else.
I only rolled a druid to be a tree. Loved seeing that thing running behind me in a dungeon when it first came out (I first rolled a warrior). Gonna miss running around as a tree now.
ReplyDeleteOh, this makes me sad. :( I, too, am mourning the loss of Tree Form. Windrunner (where Kane is from!) held a big impromptu sendoff of our trees, filled with marching and dancing and Tranquility and many tears. It was sad to see how many people had no idea this was coming - even Druids.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, haven't played my Druid as a healer since. I rolled her to be a tree, and that's what she is in my head. If she can't be a tree, I don't want to play her. :(
The Last March of the Trees, Windrunner-US: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52869523@N06/sets/72157625022237497/show/
@Kanekealikoa
ReplyDeleteSo you are saying that healing as a druid is just about the tree aspect?
The effective role of healer is only a "bonus" to the character?
That's what you make me understand from your comment.
And sorry about me being rude. I just cant get the point of the importance of a sprite being bigger than the role you do in a game where your role is part of the team.
@William - I think that this is where the disconnect comes from between those who really lament the loss of tree form and those (like the developers, apparently) who just don't understand the "QQ" (and who often put us down for it).
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be thinking of druid healing in a linear "do your job well" fashion. I think of it in a "play the game to have fun" fashion. Both points of view are perfectly fine for those who hold them, but just because my point of view is the latter one doesn't mean that the actual job of healing is secondary. I believe that I did "do my job well", but I also enjoyed it and the loss of tree form diminishes that enjoyment. So, that toon is now a cat. I'll still "contribute to the team", but just in a different way.
I get that you "cant get the point of the importance of a sprite being bigger than the role you do", and that's fine, but just because you (and the developers) don't get it doesn't make that point any less important to me.
@Kanekealikoa
ReplyDeleteNow I got your point of view. Although you have explained me that its because of your personal enjoy in the aspect, theres plenty of druids crying just for crying.
I understand you and personally i would be very disappointed if for example, blizz take off my shadow sprite while in shadowform and let it just as a buff. Or if they replace my ghost wolf form with a "run faster" buff.
I hope you recover your pleasure to play as another toon or aspect.
Good luck. See ya.
@William: Kanekealikoa did a good job of explaining what I would have said had I gotten here earlier. Had you read the post I linked to in the introductory paragraph, that would have told you exactly why I am so sad about Tree of Life going away. Also, it's a purely aesthetic issue, and thus it has nothing to do with relearning how to play WoW, as you seemed to say you thought in your first comment.
ReplyDeletethat resolution between Kanekealikoa and William warmed my heart :)
ReplyDeleteawww
and i never played a druid but i loved seeing the trees around because i thought they looked so cool, and was really looking forward to playing one some day so i understand your pain. Also feel the same way about the loss of fun from my class, I hope we all can find it back soon!
i should add that there's lots of things about the patch that I love, to make my post more positive.
ReplyDeleteI do miss tree form, but not THAT much. I play for the pvp aspect and to be honest I wasn't in tree form most of the time for arenas and such, only for super extra healage, and that's what its become now, so I'm good.
ReplyDeleteBut I will miss the silly dance and just sitting around in tree form and such. I wuved it :(
And the NEW tree model they're speculating on? Ugh that's just... awful. I hate it.
Thank you for the pictures though, and the memorial. I forgot to take pictures of my own druid.... Ah well, I'm sure I have some somewhere.
The only reason I rolled a druid was to become a tree. I thought Blizzard would eventually add a little more customization like being able to choose different colors of leaves and flowers. Instead they removed the tree form. I like healing a lot so I know that I'll be back on my resto druid some day, but not till I'm done with mourning for the loss of beloved, cuddly and cute tree form.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the more subtle and embedded "flavor" elements are being removed from the game. That's a really sad design choice overall. I never played a tree, cat/bear here, but the form identity is a major part of selecting a druid to play. When they changed the bear to a badger I was not a happy bear. I know more than a few very disappointed druids and think Bliz just really misses the mark, a lot, in this expansion across the board.
ReplyDeleteAnd William ... a lot of every class cry just for crying
For me, tree form isn't about the mechanics of healing, it's what my toon looks like and identified as.
ReplyDeleteSomeone asks: What do you play?
I answered: I'm a tree.
Now I'm a 30secTree. I still heal as a druid, but I'm not a tree anymore. Tree form is now equivalent to an on-use trinket. I will always miss tree form because it was part of my identity in the game!
Thanks for the good luck wishes, William, and I'm glad that I was able to get my point across to you. It's usually hard to do so, and in the end I'll just say something like "After a miserable, mind-numbing day at work I could log in to my tree, watch him for a little bit, and I'd always end up smiling. Now I can't do that any more."
ReplyDeleteAnd HeatherRae, my screenshots of the Windrunner Farewell to the Trees parade (and a few other leafy scenes):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46574684@N08/sets/72157625074802117/with/5096903535/
lol omg i did the same thing as the last pictures only i drew a tomb stone saying rip tree of life form
ReplyDelete2004-10/12/10
''you will be missed
Hey, i dont know if this has been said yet, but i remember reading a blue post a couple days ago about the visual change and i'm pretty sure it said they were making a minor glyph that would make it so you change into the old tree model
ReplyDelete