The Cranky Old Gnome

Well I have mentioned my old roommate, Wizzbang, in a number of posts already.  He’s the one who got me into WoW and he’s like an encyclopedia when it comes to Lore.  He knows everything there is to know about Lore in this game.  If you need to know something lore related, especially if you are having trouble with a quest because you can’t find something, you just ask him and he knows it.  He also spends a lot of time pondering the implications and interactions of the developments in the story, like the upcoming Icecrown patch and of course Cataclysm.  Because he always seems to have interesting things to say, I have asked him to become a contributor to the Cranky Old Gnome.  So without further adieu, I will turn over this post to Wizzbang.

_____

My name is Wizzbang.
I’m a Gnome Mage whose preferred spec is Frost.
I like Engineering, Mining, sunsets, killing loving bunnies, and long walks on the beach.
I have a summer home in Grizzly Peaks and a winter home on a tiny floating island in Nagrand.
I spend weekends polishing my roflcopter and chopper, feeding my extensive menagerie of pets, and aggroing mobs off even the mightiest tank.
I’ve been playing the WarCraft series since the early 90s, and WoW since November 23rd, 2004. Fizz has asked me to be a writer here because I have a terrifyingly extensive knowledge of WoW lore, tied (I’m sure) to the fact that I’m actually an academic, and to the fact that I would read/contribute to WoW Wiki articles in between assignments at work. As such I will generally be contributing posts about lore, quest-lines, common sense approaches to game-play, the history of WoW as a game, and the broader scope of things (insofar as it relates to WoW anyway).
I adore playing a DPS class, and a caster in particular, so I will also be contributing posts dealing with the squishy DPS perspective on things. Like how frustrating it is when the tank and healer won’t get out of the way while I’m AoE-ing the Black Knight’s second-stage EXPLODING ghouls which I’ve risked life and limb to Frost Nova in place in a small cluster so the tank can kite the boss away…AND WHAT IS THE HEALER DOING STANDING NEXT TO THE TANK ANYWAY?!? STUPID NIGHT ELF DRUIDS — BURN THEM ALL, THAT’S WHAT I SAY!!!!

*ahem*

Yes, well…
My favorite races are: Tauren, Dwarves, Gnomes, Blood Elves, Forsaken.
And oh, yes — I truly HATE Night Elves.

I haven’t been tanking much lately.  Like at all.  Well, I’ve been running the Headless Horseman every day to get that damn pet and helmet (just got it! yay!) to drop, but that doesn’t really count.  No, the last run I actually remember going on was Heroic Trial of the Champion, sometime in the beginning of September (just after my trouble with Arthas).  So it’s been a bit.  Here’s what happened (hmmm, suddenly I feel a little like Monk):

I have always been very self conscious about tanking.  Well, in PuGs anyway.  I know I’m a good tank, probably better than most simply based on my awareness of the rest of the group (hmm, you seem to be out of mana…maybe I’ll stop for a sec).  And when I run with guildies or friends I’m always confident and sure of myself.  But many times when I get into a PuG I just freeze up a little and become much more susceptible to criticism.  This is especially true when I get with groups where I know people have run Ulduar.  Whether they say anything or not, I tend to project my own assumptions that since they have run Ulduar they are running with better tanks, more experienced tanks, [insert I’m not good enough statement] tanks.  Most of the time people are pleasant about things and just want to get the run done.  But if anything goes wrong, if they don’t immediately blame the healer, they blame the tank.  Having played both, there is a distinct difference in the criticism.  When I am healing and screw up, if the blame is placed on me typically all that is said is, “Nice heals” (said snarky), or “Next time, heal me”, or “Dude, why the #%!@ did you let me die?”, etc.  And it usually ends there.  But when I get criticized as a tank the comments are much more…thorough. “Dude pay attention.” “Keep them off me.” “I don’t think your gear is good enough for this.” “Are you even def capped?” “Do you even know the proper rotations?” “You don’t know these fights do you?” “What, did you just turn level 80?”

Well anyway, I was in a PuG for heroic ToC.  I had run regular ToC over and over and over again.  Not only that, I had run it almost every day since the patch came out.  I say this as a preface to establish that I had run it before, on heroic, and had been successful many times.  But on this particular day the run was not going well.  We were having trouble with the champions.  We had a warrior, rogue, shaman combo (which in my opinion is the hardest combo).  The rest of the group greatly outgeared me, so I was having trouble holding threat against their high dps.  We wiped once.  I told them the issue, and said, “if you just slow down a little with the dps, we’ll get past this.”  They scoffed a little.  We went again.  They didn’t slow down.  We wiped.  The first thing the healer said to me was, “You aren’t geared enough for this.”  And not in whisper, in party chat.  Apparently that left it open for the rest of the group to rail into me.  It was crazy.  It was as if they had decided to let out every nasty thing they had ever held back but had wanted to tell their tank.  I won’t repeat what they said, as most of it isn’t appropriate for PG audiences.  Or even PG-13 audiences.  At first I let it go, cause I’ve had people rail against me in the past.  But after each person got in a good shot and then they started in for another round, I started to defend myself.  That seemed to just draw out their venom even worse.

And then they booted me.

It really shook me up.  Normally I can shake these off after a few days.  But with my string of unsuccessful events tanking during that time just made it impossible to get past.  And combine that with the great success that I was having on my shaman–why should I bother to put up with tanking where everything is negative, unsuccessful, and unappreciated when I can go heal where I am valued, appreciated, and dare I say, needed?

I don’t know as if I’m really going anywhere with this.  I guess I just felt like getting this off my chest.  I’m not posting this to give some dramatic announcement that I’m retiring from tanking forever, or that I’m making my triumphant return to daily tanking.  Mostly I just feel like venting.

And you know, I feel much better now.  Thanks Internet, for listening.

“[Insert clever sign off phrase here]”

~Fizz

So, leveling up my mage in Howling Fjord I came across something I had no idea was there.  While doing the quest, “The Echo of Ymiron” I discovered, while in the spirit world via the incense’s influence, the Lich King, standing there in front of Utgarde Keep.  Since my mouse icon changed to a sword when I moused over him, I figured I’d see what happened if I attacked him.  Well, he snatched me over, stunned me, went into some diatribe about me bowing to his power, but I wasn’t yet worthy or powerful enough or some nonsense.  And then he killed me.  Killed me dead.

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that I had completely missed this when leveling Thistlefizz through the Fjord oh so many months ago.  There’s been a few things I’ve noticed recently that I hadn’t before.  Like the mage in Dalaran that randomly sheeps people.  And the other (I assume mage) who goes around lighting the lamps in the town at night, and then sells a wand you can use to light the lamps he missed.  Makes me wonder how many other things I just totally walked by without giving a second notice.

“[Insert clever sign off phrase here]”

~Fizz

So I have another post coming up that talks more about my alts, but one of my them is a Warlock.  And he has a Voidwalker named Kragmoth.  Kragmoth is an idiot.  That may be one of the reasons I hate being a warlock so much.  There are a number of reasons I feel like he’s an idiot.  First, sometimes I will send him in after an enemy and they will just keep running further away.  Typically this happens if he and the mob are running at each other.  I’m guessing the reason they keep moving away from me is because they are fighting with each others hit box and are just trying to get in front of one another but end up behind each other.  Secondly, he’s incapable of jumping off even the smallest of ledges to follow after me.  Instead, he has to take the longest route down as possible, and aggro as many extra mobs as he can.  Third, he has a bad habit of getting stuck on bushes.  And twigs.  And small pebbles.  And grass.  And finally, if I leave it on auto cast, he will blow his taunt right off the bat, instead of waiting until my aggro surpasses his.

Anyway, just thought I’d share that.

“[Insert clever sign off phrase here]”

~Fizz

The astute CoG reader has probably noticed that the image on my header is a picture of my character, Thistlefizz, standing in Dun Morogh.  I thought it appropriate to have a picture of the cranky ol’ boy.  But I also included my non-combat pet <Snowshoe Rabbit> in the shot.  You might ask, “What does a small, non-threatening looking bunny have to do with being a gnome, being old, or even being cranky?”  Well, on the surface, nothing really.  Having that bunny out doesn’t make me crankier, older, or gnome…ier.  I included the bunny in the shot because that little rabbit is as every bit an endemic element of Thistlefizz as his sword, shield, and roflcopter.

I was already partial to rabbits, as I have two of them in real life.  A black and white dutch, and a white and gray dwarf that bears a striking resemblance to the <Snowshoe Rabbit>.  So I thought it was awesome that I could have a bunny follow me around on my adventures.  And we’ve been on lots of adventures together.

That little bunny has been with me since my very first day of World of Warcraft.  My roommate, Wizzbang*, was kind enough to purchase one and run it over to me while I was still traipsing about Coldridge Valley.  Me and and that little lagamorph have been through quite a lot of adventures together.  From the highest peaks of Blackrock Spire to the lowest depths of Azjol Nerub.  Sure, I’ve strayed and pulled out other pets.  I have a lot of them, and enjoy variety now and again.  Occasionally I’ll pull out Egbert, the Worg Pup, the mechanical squirrel, or even the brown rabbit.  But my one true love is little old snowshoe.  I love watching him hop along behind me, his little frame flopping along.  He’s always their, faithfully charging into even the most challenging of battles.  He doesn’t give up when I mount, he’s not afraid of following me off cliffs, and he doesn’t hesitate when I lead the charge against the biggest baddies in Azeroth.  I can’t even say that about my most trusted guildmates.

I’m curious if anyone else feels this way about any of their non-combat pets.  Do you feel incomplete if you don’t have a specific pet following you around?

“[Insert clever sign off phrase here]”

~Fizz

*By the way, I have some important news regarding him soon