New Job Jitters

Dear Moo;

Ummm, I'm a long time reader, first time writer.

You don't know me, but I'm a level ?? dragon that's getting a lot of hype in World of Warcraft blogs, and updates and what not.

I even make a very brief but impressive appearance in an official wow video, er, I mean cinematic.

The day is approaching when I will wreck havoc across Azeroth and strike fear into the hearts of its denizens, and hopefully player characters! Well, its not me wrecking havoc, I've got a bunch of guys to do that...oh, and Sarah...sorry Sarah, didn't mean to leave you out.

Here's the problem Moo.

I'm terrified. I mean, what if I don't live up to everyone's expectations? I'm worried that the very first PuG that gets to me will one shot me and go bragging to all their friends and the entire world that they "1-shotted Deathwing!". I mean really, how would I live that down?

What if Blizz gets hate mail that I'm not viscous enough, hard enough, that I'm not a challenge at all!?

Seriously Moo I can't go back to working in a call center selling foot massagers to old people!! Do you know how humiliating it will be when I say, "Hello Ma'am, my name is Deathwing, and did you know that for today only you can get a special deal on the Relaxomatic vibrating foot massager?"

If that happens the wife will kill me and the kids will probably stop talking to me. I mean, now that all their school friends have heard that I'm going to be kicking ass in Azeroth they're cool again. If I get fired, they're probably going to get beat up.

So, Moo, what's your advice? If this is performance anxiety how do I deal with it? And if its not, do you know anyone whose hiring dragons?

Due to a Non-Disclosure Agreement I signed with Blizzard, I can't reveal my name, so just sign me as "Henry".

PS. I like my steak lean, so if you can shed a few pounds before 85, I'd really appreciate it!




Dear Henry

I'll admit that I'm a bit conflicted here. First off you ask for my help, then you make a snide comment about my weight.....are you maybe my first wife?

Anyway, lets get to your issues.

New job jitters are something that everyone goes through. Well everyone that's ever had a job. So don't worry, its natural.

The key to being your best at your new job is preparation. You're supposed to be a big bad raid boss, and there are ways you can ensure you are.

The first thing I would do in your place is go to Tankspot and start watching boss fight videos, learn from your predecessors mistakes.

Here are some tips...

First thing, you should always go for healers first. Ignore the ones that start the fight...they're called tanks and can be very very hard to kill. Healers are often wearing cloth armour and are very likely more chewy than crunchy...if you like that sort of thing.

Note to self: Respec Elemental

After the healers are dead the raid is pretty much screwed, so you can just take your time and eat whomever looks tastiest.

To assist with this I would click this
link and do some research on how to avoid being drawn to tanks.

The next thing...and this is very important....never do the same thing twice. Raids expect you to follow a script.
Use your imagination and try things like hiding in different parts of the instance and jumping out at the raid when they are afk for bio's and things like that. Note that if you come in behind the raid, that's usually where the healers are standing.
You could also try assembling a raid of your own. Gather up some of your friends and make the fight fair.

Now, hopefully you find this advice helpful, and can maybe help me out a bit. I'll email you a list of players I wouldn't mind seeing demolished over and over again!

Good Luck!
Moo

Hate Magnet....

Hi Moo;

I really need your help.

I need gear really bad, so I started putting together ICC raids to get it.

I am very particular with who I take. If you don't have good enough gear, I won't take you.

That's good right? I mean I don't want to fail, so I work to keep the best group possible.

Whenever I start advertising in /trade everyone starts making fun of me! People are upset that I turn them down because they haven't got gear off of the second wing, pointing out that I have Naxx gear on...but Moo...its Naxx 25!!

Besides, I'm not doing it so *they* can get gear, I'm doing it so I can get gear! I mean really....if they need gear let them put together their own raids!

So it's only gotten worse this past week! I begrudgingly accepted a DK tank who was just below my minimum gearscore (but she did point out that she was 800 points ahead of me). I'm a DK, so ya know, I thought there was a connection.

So you know, because we're DK's and sort of like bro's (except she's a girl), I figured she'd understand me replacing her with a pally tank that came on after we got Lady Deathwhisper down.

I don't get it. I did her a favour letting her do those 2 bosses with us...that's 4 frost badges.

She freaks out! She gets all religious on me ranting about how now she's saved...and Moo, I'm not a very religious guy, but I think people who've been saved don't use language like she was using.

It seems everytime I run a raid, it falls apart, and I just get more and more gnerdrage in trade channel.

Any advice

Signed
/trade channel hate magnet



Dear Magnet;

People now a days, eh?

I mean really, you have to go by gearscore now a days as skill isn't so important as to who might be rolling against you on gear. So, your gs is 4.8, don't take anyone below 5.4, because they might compete with you for gear.

That is completely reasonable.

And the DK you raid kicked because someone better came along. Completely understandable. I think it was awful selfish of her to spout of at you because you decided that a pally tank might not roll against you for gear...er, ummm, was better. She should've been thinking of you and the 8 other strangers in the raid and just left quietly.

I kid of course (so put your angry anti-Moo posters away).

I kind of feel sorry for you. All your life you've been carried and now you expect people in game do it for you.
You're like the guy they hand the clipboard to, give you a spot to stand and a special hat to wear. They make you feel important, your name is on the team roster and picture when they win....but you didn't do a damn thing to get them there.

Of course your motivation behind all this is clear. You don't don't give a damn about running ICC. This is about revenge.

You got turned down from so many raids because of your Naxx gear that something in your brain broke. You've gone mad from rejection and have found a way to get your revenge...

So you start your own ICC groups and play grand marshal saying yay or nay. Accepting, shifting and removing people at whim.....without actually ever going to ICC.

This way you get to power trip, ruin people's night by making sure they don't get into a raid that's actually going to ICC, then being so fussy that after a couple of hours you have to say, "Sorry, it looks like this isn't happening".

Of course you seem to forget that people have memories in game, and will start mocking you whenever you pop on trade.

This is a good case of what goes around, comes around. You screw over enough people, they're going to call you out.

My advice...change names, change servers, change games. But whatever you do remember that people don't play this game for you, they play for themselves, but many of them...unlike you, aren't so selfish to play games like this.

Love,
Moo

Real ID

You know, I have to wade in on this.

Its not too hard to figure out who I am. I have a Facebook fan group...and I started it.

That being said, very few of you know that my alt is DK tank extraordinaire Reginamorte. Oh wait, did I type that out loud?

I don't worry about stalkers. I'm a shape shifting ninja...I can pretty much handle anything that comes at me. I should point out that the reason I'm in a hurry to log off after raids is so I can go and fight crime, not surf porn! (I am a *good* shape-shifting ninja...not like my twin brother Hashiro, who is evil (I wear red, he wears black...we're easy to tell apart).

Anyway...

The Real ID thing is more than about privacy. It is about Blizzard losing touch with their users. There is a definitive move towards making Battlenet like Facebook.

The blue post announcing this speaks of how Blizzard employees are 'enthusiastic' users of social networking services. They speak of how they noticed how real life friendships were forged at Blizzcon.

That's nice.

I know tons of WoW players who despise social networking. The wouldn't go to Blizzcon if Blizz paid all their expenses and offered free dancing girls. (I'd go for the dancing girls!). They do not play to "forge real-life" friendships.

They play WoW to play a game. Yes, they've made some friends along the way. But that doesn't mean they want to be their friend outside of the game, or even know who they really are.

For Blizzard to think that because they are enthusiastic users of social networking, that that means everyone must be is well...naive.

When I started playing, I was a woman. It wasn't deliberate. I was playing on an RP server. I rolled a Night Elf because I thought she looked hot. I got my friend to play. He rolled a female human for the same reason. We joined a guild, we got to know people. I didn't discuss my non-game life *at all*.

My friend however, discussed my "real life" at length with my guildies. He talked about how I was 40, professional, despised men, had a string of broken relationships...and oh yes, I was a woman.

That didn't last too long, we eventually fessed up and we all had a good laugh.

My point in telling this story?

World of Warcraft is a game. For many (myself included) this is an escape. Here I am not a frazzled, overworked, stressed computer programmer. I am "Moo", laid back, funny, and oft distracted healer. I like being "Moo".

When I played on the RP server, I played a character, fully. It was my choice. I was active in the forums, active in game, and I had a good time with it.

I see a time coming when Blizz will casually announce that RealID will be mandatory to chat in game....and you have the option of Opting out, by merely not chatting.

If RealID goes past the forums, and into the game itself (outside of its current incarnation, which I have turned off), I will leave World of Warcraft.

It will make me sad to do it...as I said, I like being Moo. But there are other games and new adventures.

Thanks for listening. I needed to babble.

A real Ask Moo will be along in a day or two...I'm out of ideas right now.