Thursday 10 January 2013

Blog Azeroth Shared Topic: No Favourites

Blog Azeroth proposes a new topic for bloggers to discuss every week. This week is courtesy of Mataoka of Sugar and Blood.



A few weeks ago, I noticed logging onto some characters seemed to be more irksome than others, it dawned on me that there were a few who never, ever seemed to be a chore to play. My question is, (and yes, you need to have more than one character over level 1) which of your characters do you always look forward to “seeing?” But the real question is why? Perhaps think of this from a role playing perspective, that this character has a personality, play style and demeanor that inevitably just works. I’d love to meet them!

 



Wow, this one was so difficult for me. Not because I can't pick a favourite. That part is easy - priest. Hands down. No contest. She's my highest level character, has the most hours played (hours is less embarrassing than days or weeks), the most raid progress, and before they became account wide the largest collection of mounts, pets and achievements on my account. It's safe to say that everything I do on WoW, I do first on my priest.

It's the second part of this topic that I find hard to put into words. Why? It's hard for me to explain the attachment I feel for this particular character, and where I don't roleplay at all I don't see her as a separate entity apart from myself but rather as a part of myself. Telling you why she is my favourite requires introspection, and it's hard to tell you why I feel such an affinity for this particular character. I'm sure that part of it, probably a big part actually, is class.

I can't remember if I've talked about this here yet, but I have not always been a priest. I spent at least my first year, probably closer to two years now that I think about it in Warcraft, as a rogue.


She's changed many times since I created her, but this is actually my original character currently masquerading as a worgen. I actively viewed myself as having a rogue main up until well into Burning Crusade. I had always been curious about a priest alt, but making the transition to healing from melee dps was a big step for me. It was a step I eventually made, and have never looked back, at least not for long.

Fundamentally, I feel like everyone in WoW has a class that resonates with them the most. If not a class, then at least a role. From playing her, I learned than I am a healer. More than that, I am a priest. While I have many alts, that I enjoy playing, I always come back to my priest. She has become for me something like a pair of well loved, perfectly broken in sneakers - I am most at home in Azeroth when I'm playing her.

While I'm sure that class has a great deal to do with why she is my favourite, I know that's not all there is to this. Part of it, I'm certain, is also in her name. I've gone to great lengths to preserve her original name and even when Cy moved servers I stayed behind. I cannot imagine her having any name other than Hemoglobin. It's irrational, I know but it's important to me.

In short, there is no one reason why this is the toon I idle in Stormwind on - I have characters on more active servers that would entertain me in trade much more than Staghelm does. In fact, I am logged in, idling while I write this. The words come more freely if I'm logged in idling while I write.

I'm not sure how to wrap this up... so here is an unrelated picture I drew in Marketing.

For those unfamilliar with Trogdor the Burninator you can check him out here through this link and if you like the doodle, check out my flikr, link on the right.

4 comments:

  1. Wow, we're pretty similar. My priest is my main, to the point of playing her nearly exclusively. I sit through all the changes and subsequent fixes they do to the class, enduring it all because I love being a priest, even if we are considered weak or underpowered or whatever. I don't understand how people just change toons for a short term benefit like that!

    Have you tried healing in other classes? If so, how did you find the experience compared to priesting? Did it only make you like your priest more? :P

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    1. I can definitely relate - I've always taken being underpowered as a challenge. WHen we're overpowered that's great but I've alway felt that it showcases player skill when you're playing a slightly underpowered class.

      I actually have a full stable of healer alts - an 87 resto/enh shaman, an 85 resto druid, an 80 holy paladin and a 40 mistweaver monk. I find that I apply much of the same thinking I use when healing with my priest to healing as a druid. Shaman healing and paladin healing both have different styles than I've had difficulty learning. I'm still not as effective or efficient as I'd like to be with the shaman. I haven't played the monk enough to comment properly on that front but it seems like a really enjoyable spec. I would say yes, playing other classes definitely strengthens the attachment I have to my priest and helps me to appreciate her specific tactics and toolkit.

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  2. See, I have only known you for the past few months and in that time I think of you as your priest! So it's interesting to that she is your favourite because she is the one that just seems to fit.
    And because I can't seem to find any better place to write this... OMG ty for writing on WoWInsider that you like my blog! <3

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    1. Comfort is a big deal to me. I get really anxious really easily - while playing my DK for example. Having a character than I just settle into easily is probably why I still play.

      No thanks necessary, but you're welcome all the same <3. Yours is one of the few blogs I check whenever there's a new post, even on weekends, while most blogs I read are just read during the time I set aside during lunch throughout the week.

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