Ding #7 Monk done (or just started), what's next?

  I got my Troll Monk to 90 the other day, and started grinding random BG's for honor to get the ilevel needed to do LFR. It's kinda fun playing Brewmaster in PvP, but I have no idea what I'm doing, really. I'm just getting the points to get back to tanking. It's probably about to become my second alt, since I haven't been playing my Rogue or DK lately.

  Overall, I'm very satisfied with Brewmaster. I'm probably only going to do LFR for a while, but if I get geared well enough in 5.4, I might run some normal or flex modes. Monk tanking is kind of similar to Pally tanking in two main aspects, I think. First, there's all the utility. So many raid tools, only so many keybinds. I would almost accuse Brewmaster of button bloat, except that I couldn't tell you what ability I'd drop or make baseline. Second, we both cap Hit and hard cap Expertise in order to generate and spend as much Holy Power/Chi as possible. More points, less damage taken. At least when I'm on a Monk, people are less likely to accuse me of "Gearing for DPS."

  I have not played Windwalker since the very early levels, so I'm going to have to start from scratch there. Fortunately, gearing for tanking and DPS is fairly similar. I just have to drop some Expertise.

  I tried Mistweaver for a while wile leveling in BC dungeons, and it's a nice healing method, very different from the others. I'm looking forward to trying Mistweaver out in raids as well.

  Oddly enough, I have not put together a transmog look for my Monk. I have been thinking of just using the red or purple versions of Riverblade Armor. It could be called a lazy transmog, but these are beautifully detailed, sleek, and practical looking sets. I would even say that MoP armor easily rivals BC armor in beauty, not just for the better graphics, but the better design.

  Leveling a Monk, in retrospect, was kind of fast compared to others, but not that much faster. For me, the bonus XP buff Monks get, Enlightenment, was more like a constant Rested buff. I tend to level in bursts, so I go through rested XP fast. I would probably benefit more from Inner Peace, if I played a Pandaren.

  After my level 74 Dwarf Warrior, I'll have Druid, Warlock, and Mage left to level. I've got mostly Dwarves so far, and one each of Human, Tauren, and Troll at 90. I've recently started leveling My female Tauren Druid, after making peace with that stereotypical combination (yes, I will also be an Herbalist). I can't play a female Troll. I just can't embrace the ugly. That leaves me with the options of going across the server on Proudmoore to roll Dwarf Mage and Warlock, choosing from the Horde races, or for Mage, rolling a Pandaren of either faction.

  For me, the race, class, and gender of a character kind of have to click into place. When I deleted my Druid and Warlock when transferring my Pally and stuff over to Proudmoore, I kind of regretted it a bit, but I wasn't going to spend that much on transfers. My female Tauren Druid felt right just after getting Glyph of Stars. Though I'm playing around in battlegrounds on my new Druid as Feral right now (it's fun), I'll probably go back to healing/ranged DPS soon. My male Blood Elf Warlock felt right from the start. Normally I'm averse to playing elves in WoW, but just this one guy is my guilty pleasure. I expect to level him third, after finishing my Warrior and leveling my Druid.

  What hasn't clicked for me is Mage. So, what to pick? First off, my goal for gender balance is achieved so far, with 5 males (Hunter, DK, Pally, Monk, Lock) and 5 females (Priest, Shammy, Rogue, Warrior, Druid). My Mage can be either gender. As for server balance, I have 6 Ally and 4 Horde. 2 tank classes are Ally, 3 Horde. 2 Healing classes are Ally, 3 Horde. 2 pure DPS classes are Ally, 1 Horde. 3 ranged DPS are Ally, 1 Horde. Yes, I'm over-analyzing it. It's fun sometimes. Anyway, my general impression is that I should roll as Horde on Proudmoore, especially considering that's where all my heirlooms are now.

  I won't play a female Troll, but a second Male troll is possible. Their casting animations are great. FRAWST SHAAAAAWK!!!! (Although the racial ability does kinda suck.) I won't play a Forsaken. It's just not happening, they're evil. I leveled a female Pandaren for a bank alt, and to experience the Pandaren starter zone. It was fun, but I'm not likely to level a Pandaren. Goblins and Orcs don't really interest me either, though the scarcity of Orc Mages could get me to reconsider. I'm not really motivated to roll another Blood Elf, but female Blood Elves also have good casting animations.

  I guess I'll roll a male Troll and play it a bit, then go back to my female Blood Elf,  and compare the two. I have time to figure it out.