Shared Topic: Weird Gaming Habits

This week's Blog Azeroth Shared Topic is Weird Gaming Habits, suggested by Akabeko. See other responses to this topic here.

Well, I guess there are two sides to this coin, the weird habits we have in game, and the weird habits we have outside of game as we are playing. 

In Game 

I think I've mentioned before that any toon that gets a Rabbit's Foot keeps it (or a stack of them) in their inventory at all times for good luck. Many of my toons are collectors of random objects for sentimental reasons.

If I get a bug in my butt about leveling a profession I sometimes get borderline obsessive about it, feeling obligated to take care of that profession in every spare moment. This makes me very quick and efficient about leveling professions, but sometimes at a detriment to everything else in game.

I am one of those people who has a hard time going off of the beaten path. I have a tendency to get lost or turned around if I just go gallivanting across the country-side, which is odd because I have a very good sense of direction IRL.

I am absolutely obsessive about looting bodies. It irritates me to no end if I don't get to loot all the sparkly bodies, and will even pick up trash that other people leave behind from their loot. Every copper counts. 

I am horrible at flying. There is something about 3 dimensions that just doesn't work in my head. I always end up either too close or too far away from things, flying too high or too low. For this reason, I almost always take flight paths to get places unless they are really close.

Outside of Game

I can't eat while I play. Not even finger food. It is too much of a distraction. I can handle drinking things, but I can't do more than idle while I'm eating.

Regardless of whether I am at work or at home playing, I have a habit of leg bouncing when I am sitting still and focusing. It is a habit that both me and my father have so I guess it might be genetic. It drives my co-workers crazy at work, but that's because we are on the upper floor and I sometimes bounce it so hard it shakes the floor a little.

I keep a notepad on my desk just in case blog inspiration strikes. I keep one at work as well, because sometimes I think about the game in spare moments. Many a blog post has begun in this way.

Ice Ice Baby (not so much of a baby anymore)

Despite this past week of silence, I have not disappeared. Neither has Icelica, even though I haven't written about her in months. I've been leveling her alongside Torq mainly by tanking random dungeons in moderation. It has been a slow process, but very successful, and I am proud to announce that she isn't a baby anymore.

That's right, Ice has reached level 80 and is beginning her adventures in the Cataclysm zones, and in doing so may have cemented herself as my "main" for the expansion. She has a long road ahead of her though, not least of all is the continuing story that I am waaaay behind on writing.

You can expect for there to be some changes to the site now that I have a "main" again, not least of all will be a page dedicated to my little adventures in fan-fic writing. Don't worry. The changes won't be too dramatic. And in no way does this mean I am abandoning my babillion alts.

More to come.

Funerals are for the Living

I've been oddly silent this week, primarily because I've had a close family friend pass away. Sometimes the creative juices just get sluiced away when reality strikes, and I apologize for my absence.

Attending the funeral made me realize that the old adage that funerals are for the living is quite true. I find that in these moments of loss I am quite selfish.

And as I sat in the funeral home weeping with my friends and family, my mind was racing, screaming at myself not to be so selfish, not to be so weak. There are others who were closer to the one we lost. Their loss is greater. Why should I cry? But the more I berate myself internally to quit crying, the more I cry, until whatever triggered the tears in the first place is long over and I'm the only one left with red eyes and sniffles.

While I am sad about this death, I know he lived a full and exciting life. I have many, many happy memories to make me smile. Still, I cry. The tears are not for the dead, because they are beyond this world now. We cannot touch them. No, the tears I cry are for myself, for my loss, and for the fear of future losses.

And somehow it grows more and more difficult with every loved one I bury. Every loss gets harder. Selfish as it sounds, I'm afraid to end up alone, all of my friends and family gone. It feels inevitable. We all will die. I am not afraid of my own death, but the death of others, now that is terrifying.

Another 20 Days (Day 7)

Saga at Spellbound has come up with her very own 20 Days of WoW Blogging challenge - this is Day 7.

The reason behind your blog’s name

When I started blogging I was so anxious to begin that I didn't take the time that I should have to come up with a name for my blog. I began blogging at Love and War in Azeroth. It was a spur of the moment decision, and I grew to regret it. The love part was something I could get behind, but the contrasting war was difficult for me to put into use in my blog. I never really was Love and War in Azeroth, it was just a label for a blog. That is part of the reason I ended up moving my blog here to Specced for Drama.

Around the time of the dramatic guild blow-up over 10 man raiding and the Amani War Bear (among other things) I started joking around with guildies and friends about making a guild called Specced for Drama. Eventually I did just that and my bank alt was the Drama Queen. It was just a bank guild, but I liked it. I liked it so much that it has become the name of my blog.

As much as I don't really like guild drama when I'm directly and emotionally involved in it, I do enjoy it from the voyeur's perspective. Drama is conducive to inspiration and creativity when it comes to writing (at least it is for me). I love lore, the dramatic story that unfolds as we level up questing through this changed Azeroth. I love the artistic and dramatic aspects of role-playing. These are the things that I am searching for in the game now. Every day I become more and more drama spec, and I love it.

Community Hug

I couldn't resist Vidalya's challenge to seek out newer or lesser known bloggers and send them some encouragement. Check these folks out.

Please Feed the Troll -  Mystic writes a little about everything. The recent interview with a GM was very enlightening.

The WOW Debutante - Chatmay is sharing a wealth of knowledge about making social guild events and putting together that perfect RP outfit.


Nairu's Journal - Another blog about Roleplaying. There just aren't enough of them!

She Can't DPS - While Aestiah has been around for a long time, I'm not so sure everyone knows about her. Another RP/story blog, and perhaps the best written and with the best art. <3

Newb Daze - Part Two

The continuing adventures of Newb Ama and her first toon, the warlock named Ashwynn.

I don't know exactly what happened after my adventures riding the tram, but I do remember that I ended up back in Stormwind to complete the quest required so that I could summon my newest minion, my Voidwalker.

I didn't quite understand what the big deal with the minions were. What I did know was that I found my imp, Biznip, annoying as hell, always complaining that I'm picking on the little guy and stuff isn't in his contract. I was so ready for something new.

The moment I met Kraknak I fell in love. He was big and beautiful and blue. His name was so much nicer than the imp's. His voice was dark and foreboding, unlike the shrill whine of Biznip's. I loved him, but I didn't really grasp what he was for.

I had grown weary of Biznip randomly pulling stray monsters to me with his fireballs, so I had put him on passive. And so, when I took Kraknak out, he was on passive as well. So, basically I had a giant blue decorative demon following me around. 

My friend (who introduced me to the game) caught up to me as I was questing through Westfall. He had the best geared Alliance Fire Mage on the realm at the time, and I was in awe. He took one look at how I was playing and laughed his ass off.

"You should be sending your Voidwalker in to attack a monster and then you start casting at it, that way he can hold the attention of the monster while you kill it," he told me. I tried it, and lo and behold, he was right. That blue blob sure could keep the attention of those gnolls in Westfall!

It made perfect sense, and although it was a late lesson to learn, I've never forgotten my very first taste of the holy trinity, Tank/DPS/Healer. From that day forward Kraknak was my guardian, and while he may not have liked being in Azeroth, I sure liked having him around.

Shared Topic: Favorite Race

This week's Blog Azeroth Shared Topic is Favorite Race, suggested by PVE Rogues. See other responses to this topic here.

These "What is your favorite ___?" questions are the hardest for me. Really? I have to choose just one? We all know I have a hard time doing that. Just look at my list of toons, and those are only the ones I write about. I have secret toons in my closet. Is that creepy?

So, this is my blog and I make the rules, so I get 2 favorite Alliance races and 1 favorite Horde race.

Alliance 

1. Dwarves - Lately dwarves have been my flavor of choice. I don't know if it is because I identify with them personally. I think there was a topic a while back about what race/class combination you would be irl, and I would definitely be a Dwarf. I'm short at 5'2" and rather... ahem... curvy, just like our lovely Dwarven ladies. I'm friendly, but no-nonsense, and stubborn as a mule.
   
   As far as racial traits go, many folks are enamored of the Stoneform ability, others choose Dwarves for the weapon proficiencies in Maces and Guns. Personally, my favorite racial trait is the newly created Explorer trait. Darn tootin' Dwarves are the original archaeologists, Harrison Jones be damned! And I ain't talkin' bout Herr Professor Ironpants or whatever he's callin' himself. I'm talkin' bout Brann Bronzebeard, folks, and dontcha forget it! 


2. Night Elves - My previous main and the toon I dedicated myself to for nearly 3 years was a Night Elf. This was the toon that truly made me love WoW. Prior to this I had kind of been just going through the motions on my Warlock. The Night Elf lore was the first true WoW lore that I became engrossed in.
   
   Night Elves will always have a special place in my heart, even though their best racial trait is now a thing of the past. You know what I'm talking about? I'm talking about Priest specific Starshards, people. The removal of Starshards was quickly followed by everyone getting faster movement speeds in their spirit form. At least we still turn into Wisps when we die. Someday I'd like to explore the new version of Night Elf immortality, life after death as a Wisp.

Horde

1. The Forsaken - Hands down, The Forsaken are the most bad-ass of the Horde races. No other race can survive underwater without breathing. No other race can feed off of the corpses of the people they've just slain. No other race, Horde or Alliance, has a more bad-ass leader than The Dark Lady. There is absolutely nothing more liberating than already being dead. What's the worst that can happen to you now?
   
   I don't know if The Forsaken are going to end up being the bad guys or not, but I like to think that what Sylvanas says is true, that they are just striving to create a future for their race. Only time will tell. Personally, I'm hopeful for a Windrunner reunion at some point in the near future, the result of which will be either to push Sylvanas back towards sanity or finally push her all the way over the edge into complete madness. One thing is for certain, The Forsaken story is far from over.