The questions posted by Blog Azeroth’s shared question this week is what we would do if we started again from scratch with our characters. I find this a difficult question to answer because I’m kind of happy where I am, in game at least, and am not motivated or thinking of a character that might have been. The only situations that I could envisage having to start over completely would be some sort of utter humiliation or outrage with my current guild. I can see myself wishing to leave such a situation behind completely. Even down to mothballing my old character.

So, I would be extremely emotional. If I had to start out, from scratch, I would be switching from caster dps to a tanking character. My two favourite alts right at the moment are a little dwarf retribution paladin, and a gnomish arms warrior. I’ve tanked a couple of Scarlet Monestaries on my Paladin, but tanking in general is a completely new vista to me.

I have been a pvp-disc healer. I have been a pve-healer. I have been a hardcore shadow priest. I have levelled as an enhancement shaman. I have played Elemental both as pvp and pve (I do this without any pvp gear, so I get mixed results. It depends on whether the hordies realise I’m a glass cannon and start splatting me on sight. If they don’t I tend to come out with a lot of HKs and a lot of killing blows.) I’ve healed as a shaman also, in various settings.

I’ve spent a lot of time roleplaying.

But tanking? Well. Changes of scenery are always good for the soul. I can’t decide if it would be a paladin or a warrior, but it would be a dwarf female. I first started playing WoW when I was very low in self esteem. I picked humans first, and then switched to the Draenei when TBC came out. WoW was an escape, an illusion. An escape from my life and my body. I am not ashamed to admit that I am a fat female gamer, and I played Draenei because I didn’t want to be that person anymore.

And now? Now I am in a much better place. I like myself a lot more. And the dwarf woman is now an attractive avatar to me, because it is much more real to me, and in turn makes the game more immersive. Despite being 5’8″, I feel I could cosplay a female dwarf. Don’t ask why this is important to me, because it makes no sense (I’ve never cosplayed anything in my life, and I can’t afford to.)

A female, dwarf, tank. Armour plated femininity.

Huh.

Actually my first thought when I started writing this was that I would level my warrior gnome to be a tank, especially to piss of our much loved guild master. He hates gnome tanks as a raid leader because he can never see where they are. I get pictures of my little gnome gnawing on Deathwing’s ankles to keep his attention while the rest of the raid looks on in horror.