“Paging Dr. Gamer…”

You’ve just been in an accident; you are rushed to the hospital by ambulance. When you arrive, you are taken immediately into the emergency room where the doctor decides that you need surgery right away.

The nurses roll the gurney into the room to prepare you for surgery. You are nervous and not really sure what’s going on, but you are also confident in the doctors, knowing that they are skilled professionals that will make everything okay.

You are drugged and are slowly drifting off to sleep. The doctor lines up his first incision when under his breath you hear him say, “Oh yeah, I’m leet”. Of course, you are sure you are hearing things. The WoW player you are tends to think of gaming a lot anyways. You think nothing of it. It’s the drugs.

Hours have past and your surgery has just finished. You wake up to hear the nurse and surgeon talking about how they have managed to ‘complete the quest’. The quest to make an incision into your stomach and fix something; the quest that would decide whether you lived or died. Of course, you assume its just the drugs the nurse had given you have just gone to your head and once again your gaming mind was thinking of WoW. So you move on.

A couple of days later you are finally get out of bed. You head to the bathroom where you take a shower and for the first time see the surgical scar that was left on your stomach. The scar is in the shape of a question mark. You think back to the other night when the doctors were discussing the quest they had just completed… on YOU. A question mark, huh? Maybe it was a quest? Now, you aren’t so confident with the doctors who held your life in their hands, are you?

Honestly, I am really not sure how confident I would be with a surgeon who is an avid gamer. I know that what a person does during their private life shouldn’t really have an affect on how well they do their job, but for me I think it does. Being a WoW player, I know what it takes to play this game. I understand that you usually have to put in a lot of time and effort in order to play the game to it’s max potential. That’s why it kinda scares me.

Not every person who plays WoW plays it a lot. I know there are plenty of casual WoW players out there who only play when they have free time. I also know that there are some people out there who put WoW before a lot of things. Not that there is anything wrong with spending a lot of time on a game, especially a game that really never has an ending, but I think that I would want to have a surgeon who is very focused on doing surgery. I want a doctor who reads up about new medicine rather than arena strategy, you know?

Apparently, I am wrong.

Through the past few days I have been kinda struggling for things to blog about. The evil dwarf, Krystofar, directed my attention to a new study that has just been done. WoW Insider also wrote a little something about this too, but I thought I would talk about it today as well.

The American Psychological Association did a study of surgeons to try and determine how playing WoW and other video games affects the way they perform in the operating room. To my surprise, the doctors that did play video games had an overall better performance during the surgeries. This really got me thinking.

Now, do you think how wellthe surgeon plays WoW affects how well they can perform a surgery? I know some not-so-great WoW players out there and I KNOW I don’t want that kinda person performing a surgery on me. I mean, I don’t want the tank who rushes into the mob in Kara (no rushing into my surgery), the aggro-puller who isn’t paying attention to omen (needs to have full attention during my surgery), or the healer that’s never on time for the raid, operating on me (I want my surgery to be on schedule).

I guess I’ll have to take my chances with the next surgery I get, but I’ll be sure to check the Armory for them first…just to know how committed they actually are to the game, rather than to their sugery. In the end, I guess all that matters is that just before the operation the doctor doesn’t yell “Dr. LEEROY JENKIIIIIINS’.

/hug
Siarah

I hate…

Normally, I would be ready to sit down and tell all of you out there about how much I love arena …how I spend every second of my WoW time either doing rated matches and if not skirmishes, just because I love it.But, today I am not.

Last night, I was with my regular 2v2 partner Nya. As you’ve probably already read in previous posts, he is a very skilled lock who I’ve been playing on and off with for a while now. Anyway, we have been working towards a 1700 rating so I could get the Guardians boots, as well as the Brutal helm, but of course it will never happen.

Last night Nya and I started off playing with a 1684 rating, which plunged all the way down to 1600 /cry. We slowly worked our way back up to 1691, but clearly not getting to the 1700 we both wanted and needed to improve our game.

Today I thought I would share with you all the things I absolutely hate about arena; all the reasons why we can’t seem to get to the 1700.

- I hate the way blizzard finds your opponents. I am not even sure how this works, but all I know is that whoever I seem to be against, is never ever the same geare level as I am. I am always against a team that has already obviously reached 1700. I will never understand why I am not going against a team that is at the exact same rating, gear or experience as I do.

- I hate the way a warlock can drain mana from me through a pillar. Honestly, it’s a PILLAR and I am standing behind it! I just don’t understand why a lock can suck all my mana away through a pillar, but I can’t cc him for 6 seconds through it. Without mana I am completely useless. I really should have a way to hide with mana drain, especially when I don’t have enough mana to turn bear to avoid it.

- I hate “fear”. I know that my partner is a warlock and that I should be appreciative towards all the CC that my team gets out of it, but no. If I am “feared” I can’t change forms and if I can’t change forms, I panic. In a fear, the opposing team can have free DPS on me, so if I am stuck in caster when they do that, I am a dead drood.

- I hate the warrior’s mace stun. I truly think this is one of the hardest things to handle in arena. I am so frustrated with the stun after stun with no diminishing returns. I am pretty much stuck in one spot, not able to move while I am being beat on by a warrior who hits like a truck.

- I hate Horde racials. I am sure that if you are a Horde you are saying the same thing about the Alliance. As I’m Alliance I think I have the right to complain about the Horde and how I think they are OP. I think the racial that bothers me most is the tauren ‘stomp’. It is just like an extra stun that can make a huge difference in a stressful situation.

- I hate rogues. I know that it probably isn’t right to say I hate an entire class, but I really think I do …even more than warriors, but for the same reason. It’s the stun and the stun and the more stun. I understand them being able to stun once or maybe twice, but I don’t like being stunned until I die.

All right… I think my rant is over and hopefully this will help me to get better, now that I’ve let it all out. I would like to know if I am the only one who has days that make me want to quit WoW. It doesn’t have to be arena related, but is there anything in the WoW that makes you crazy? Am I the only one that hates WoW sometimes?

 

/hug
Siarah

I love me the WSG!!

I’m sure everyone has a favourite battleground. So, today I thought that I would share with you my absolute favourite.

 

Warsong Gulch

 

As a druid I realise that WSG may be a little easier to play. We have travel form as well as the ability to change forms whether we need to charge or heal. I know that a druid with a flag can almost guarantee a cap but even if that wasn’t the case, I still think I would enjoy it.

 

I love the whole idea of the game; the capturing of the flag, the craziness of trying to get it back to your base and even trying to get our flag back. As a healer it’s easy to do your job when healing the FC and I find it a lot of fun trying to carry the flag as well.

 

Like I said, I usually play the BG’s with my guild, which probably plays a part in why I like it so much. When you’re in the premade you are almost guaranteed a win. Not to mention have a lot more fun with people you know.

 

All I know is that as far as BG’s and alliance go, they usually suck. I am just glad that I have one that I’m happy with and that I am willing to play to get the honor I need.

 

So what about you guys, which BG works for you and the way you like to play?

 

/hug

Siarah

This IS a PVP server, right?

I had just run a guildie through the stocks and my hearth was on CD. I wanted to go to IF, so I decided to take the tram. I made my way there through the smokey Dwarven District and took my seat as I waited for it to arrive, when it did I boarded. The tram ride was short and I was in IF in no time. When I arrived I quickly left the tram and walked towards the exit, when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a warlock. Yes, but it wasn’t an ordinary lock, it was a horde lock. That’s right a horde lock sitting on the bench in IF like it’s a daily routine.

I saw something wrong with this picture and attacked that lock (pvp servers! Yay!). After about 30 seconds of being covered in DoTs I realized that I was resto and I would not be able to kill this lock. I immediately called out for help in the local defence channel as well as the trade chat hoping someone would come, but no such luck.

I stopped attacking and when I did the lock did as well. He /thanked me and sat down right at my feet. I waited for about 10 minutes and no one showed up to help get rid of this horde. Finally, about 20 minutes after that, 2 ally came off the tram and noticed the 70 horde just sitting there. Luckily, they were also 70 and quickly demolished the poor lock intruder.

It was just after this time I realised that there were no guards attacking this horde? I mean, he was in the middle of IF, but no guards not even one tried to attack the him. If you are alliance you have probably tried to raid a horde city, whether it was Undercity, Orgrimar or even just Tarren Mill you have probably noticed the INSANE amount of guards. Not only are there a lot at the horde city, but they respawn VERY quickly.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me who thinks that Ally are being jipped when it comes to guards, but it’s not only that, no one came and helped kill the horde either. I am on a PvP server, people should want to kill the horde, right?

/hug
Siarah

I’m a fast bird

Last night we made a guild run of heroic Sethekk Halls. I managed to complete the final quest in a huge chain to recieve my Swift flight form. It was a very smooth run with a couple of bad pulls, but no wipes. It was all good when I handed in that last quest when all of a sudden I’m a fast bird!

/cheer, very exciting!

/hug
Siarah

Crazy Pet Lady of Bleeding Hollow

I’m not sure when my pet collection started. I mean, I think my first pet was just a cat from the ‘crazy cat lady’ in elwynn forest, but from that day on I was hooked.

I started with just all the cats I could buy; from tabby to Siamese, I had them all. I slowly moved on to notice the pets on the AH which were mostly overpriced, but being the collector I was, I bought them anyway. Every time I saw a new pet, I had to have it. This included the ‘firefly’ which I grinded for. Several hours of my time, I spent killing bug after bug, hoping that the little glowing fly would drop for me, but no such luck. Luckily I did get it, but as a gift.

I have most of the seasonal pets as well as the occasional quest item pet, but last night I decided I wanted more. I had pet-greed. Online, I looked up all the non-combat pets in the game, just to see what I didn’t have. Unfortunatly, most of them required A LOT of rep grind or a trading card code. I’m not sure how much the cards are where you live, but here they’re $5.00 a pack!

I did notice one that I was eligible to get, so I headed to the Burning Steppes.

When I arrived there I rushed to pick up the quest that was soon to thank me with a brand new spider. I read the quest and I as I did, I became very appreciative I rolled a stealthing class. I was going to stealth through Black Rock Spire and get my brand new spider. It was extremely long, but the excitement leading up to my new pet was awesome.

I was getting a spider. I love spiders (not in real life. In real life I have to get the evil dwarf to kill them)

In the end, I left BRS with my quest item in hand, I was ready for my new pet. I approached the quest giver with a smile on my face as he thanked me with another creature to add to my collection.

I love my Smolderweb Hatchling.

/hug
Siarah

I did it!

I did it! I have managed to actually bring myself to level another toon. Anyone who knows me, knows it took me way to long to level to 70 with my first character, about a year. That’s a really long time seeing as I was playing all the time.  I liked to explore and I like to spend time just trying on clothes at the AH and shopping around. (I am a total girl) But, doing this seemed to have affected my levelling time.

No matter how long it takes me I do have another toon started. Her name is Charly and she is a priest. I have slowly but surely managed to get her to level 18, which I am very proud of seeing as, like raiding, I would rather poke my eyes out with a flaming stick than level another toon.

So, why am I doing it you might ask? Well, I want another toon to do arena, with a new perspective. On that note, I have been looking up Disc priest arena tactics just so I can be prepared when I do actually hit 70. Again, looking up about arena for 70 should actually happen when I am 70, but clearly I will do anything to postpone me from grinding out those levels.

Clearly I don’t like the way levelling works so if anyone has any ideas of how to pass the time or make levelling more fun please let me know.

/hug
Siarah

‘Hey Bob, tell her what she’s won!’

As you may know, I have been away from WoW for about 5 weeks. 5 WoW-less weeks that is, so I was pretty excited to get back into it. I missed everything about WoW, the people, the PvP and even the PvE sometimes but to my surprise I had more than just that to come back to.

I was told that when I came back there would be a surprise. I knew that my mother had been playing my toon a bit. She said she had done some BGs so I assumed I would have a bit more honor and maybe some more gold added to my already dismal pile. She had really never played my toon before so I just thought that whatever she tried to do would be very slow going and probably difficult for her. Apparently I was wrong.

When I got home I was greeted with a capped amount of honor points (75,000 honor). I mean, I can do anything I want with that, all I needed was the arena rating. All the Guardian pieces are at my finger tips and all I had to do was go on vacation. (/smile)

So, I was totally phyched about the entire honor point moment. I mean, how often are you lucky enough to come home after five weeks and not have to farm BGs again for a very long time. To my surprise, that was not all. No it wasn’t. I, being a collector of non-combat pets, was happily greeted by an adorable netherdrake. He really is cute and cuddly, hmm I really do love him. But again that’s not all!!

As some of you might know, I borrowed money from an evil dwarf named Krystofar for my epic flying mount. (link to post) I borrowed a lot of gold from him and I, being resto found it very difficult to farm the money to pay him back. Therefore, it was taking a long time. But, my problems were all solved when my lovely mother decided to level my herbalism to 375 to not only pay off what I owed, but left enough herbs to FILL up my bank. It really was great.

I feel like I just won the showcase showdown on the Price is Right. I’m not really doing anything for what I’m getting, but really appreciating it anyways. It’s nice to be back, especially with all these bonuses. (/hug Justamom)

P.S I got a new video card as well, /cheer 75 FPS

/hug
Siarah

Topping Tips

As alliance, I lose battlegrounds a lot, but I like to know that I’m pulling weight and it defeinately shows when you top the meter. I thought I would share how I often top the healing meter and the little tricks that help.

First of all, I think that finding the well geared people around you is important. The better geared the DPS, the easier it is to heal them. They might not take as much damage as someone “squishy” but it will help make your heals more consistent. (Please note that “well-geared” is PVP gear) It also helps to know a bit about the group you are in, by knowing their gear you will know what kinds of heals you will need to throw and how to manage your mana. 
 
Once you know your group, the next thing I have to say is please listen to the instructions. There is always someone in a battleground whose plan is to “just win”, I mean that is some positive thinking, but it’s not a plan. If no one makes a plan, state one yourself. Hopefully, the healers will be split up which will allow you to have,  a group to yourself. Of course, it also depends on the battleground.

Now that you know where you are going, let the healing begin. Again, I think the best-geared are (generally) the top DPS around me so that whatever situation you get into, you know who will be doing most of the killing. As a druid, I may have a bit of an unfair advantage with my HoTs (heal over time), but it will work out with all kinds of heals. You just have to be sure to keep everyone around you up, including yourself.

A lot of the time, when the opposing team realizes there is a healer, they want to kill them immediately. If you can keep yourself up long enough for your DPS to kill the others, you are not only staying alive, you are topping the healing meter as well (and perhaps assisting in a win for that BG)

Individual BG Healing Tips:

Alterac Valley:
Make sure to heal main tank in both Galv and Drek’s room. If no tank steps up, make sure you heal a hunter pet that might attack first. 

Arathi Basin:
Try to get in a group heading towards busier bases such as BS

Warsong Gutch:
Try to be the main healer for the flag carrier

Eye of the Storm:
Try to be in the group taking over the 3rd tower (ie BE or FR) 

I hope I have helped the other meter obsessed out there. Hopefully, this will not only help you top the healing meter, but maybe help with a WIN!!!

/hug
Siarah

Meter Obsessed

Siarah is still out of town. Her mother and I miss her very much. This is the latest post she dictated to her mom last night — Krystofar

I am not usually a big fan of battlegrounds. Since I’m Alliance, I usually lose most of the BGs I do play, but the better geared I’ve become the more I’ve learned to like it. 

Being resto, the “killing blows” and “damage done” headings don’t usually mean anything to me seeing as how I can’t do either. But, it’s the healing tab that keeps me motivated to do better. I DO love seeing my name at the top of the healing list.

The better geared I am, the more healing I SHOULD be doing, but that is not always the case. When I am in Arathi Basin, I sometimes defend one of the first captured bases. A dull job, but if nobody else does it, I will. Of course this can sometimes lead to a lack of needed heals. Also, getting stuck on defense in AV can hurt me too. Drek and Galv each have a “place-of-big-heals” and if I’m not there someone else is healing the tank as well as topping the meters. 

Being a Flag Carrier in WSG can also take away from my healing. I love being able to bear/cheetah away from things. In this particular BG, I look at it as a new job; not to heal, but to flag carry for the win.  There is also usually a healer who is helping me and with that comes topping the healing meter.

Clearly I am a tad obsessed. If I’m not going to win the BG, I may as well be the top healer there. But, you know its probably not a good thing to be this competitive, because there will always be someone better geared or more experienced than me. Maybe I’m a little compulsive about where I am on the healing meter, but in the end hopefully this desire will help me be a better healer.

So, do you take a peek at the healing meter???

/hug
Sarah