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The last few articles I wrote were all about trying to maintain your mood, finding a balance in your WoW time and really how to keep an even keel. That was how I was spending my WoW-time for the last few months. I would fill-in raids, I would do a lot of dailies, I would beat the hell out of the LFD tool. But then I got the raiding bug again.

I was keeping up with the guild’s progress through ICC and watching the live streams and videos that they put out. I would listen to them discuss boss strats in vent and on our forums. I saw the pretty shiny purples (not that I’m all that gear-driven). But most of all, I saw that the raid team was really pulling together into a cohesive unit and that they were having a lot of fun.

I knew my chances of raiding consistently on my current level 80s weren’t that great since we have a 100 hunters and paladins and I still couldn’t stand to log into my boomkin. But, they were looking for a demo lock and I had just happened to transfer a level 71 lock to Staghelm because I wanted her professions in my personal economy.

Crash Course

So, I had decided I wanted to raid and I wanted to raid on my warlock. Unfortunately, I was intending on playing the most on the toon I had the least experience on in a spec that I had never played before. I became obsessed with learning everything I could as fast as I could. Elitist Jerks found a home in my bookmarks, I listened to Rawrcast’s warlock roundtable constantly, I tried to memorize the warlock guide published by the guild Exodus. And I badgered the only other player in the guild who had a demo lock constantly for tips and information and (thankfully he was willing) support for when I realized I really really sucked at demo. (I also made the mistake of asking for help in one of the only large warlock websites, but I won’t relate that sad experience…)

Every chance I had, I played that lock: LFD til I wanted to puke, VoA until I hated it with a passion and I begged to get into the 10-man ICC off nights for experience, loot and to run my own combat logs so that I could study them afterward.

Eventually, when I thought I wouldn’t make too much of an ass of myself and I wasn’t going to be that big of a hole in the raid team, I requested to be placed on the raid roster. Thank God Bound needed a demo lock’s buff because that’s all I contributed for a couple of weeks. But eventually I got better and better gear and L’d2Play, and now I feel comfortable raiding anything with the guild.

Take Big Bites

Yes, there will be a crash coming. But I’m having such a good time raiding that I’m willing to pay the price. It’s sort of like dating a very hot but very annoying woman: eventually you’re going to get sick of her, but until then get all the nooky you can (and maybe take a lot of pictures).

What’s strange is that I find myself enjoying life outside of the the game a lot more lately, too. I think it’s because I’m doing something that I really, really love. Sure, I’m more tired more often. Sure, all I talk about with people are the benefits of haste over spellpower on movement fights. Sure, I spent money changing the warlock from a female bloodelf to a male orc (partly because of the min/maxing but mostly because her name was Amywinehouse and I started answering to “Amy” at work).

Am I going to be able to keep this up? Probably not. But the point is, while I’m doing it I’m having the best time in WoW I’ve had in many, many months. And isn’t that the reason we really play?

Besides, the head is SO. SO. GOOD!