The Egotistical Priest
An irreverent and opinionated discussion of the many classes
in the World of Warcraft gaming universe.
My Guilty Pleasure
by Vonya
I confess, I have a secret.
Sure, I enjoy raiding and I absolutely adore doing 5-man instances. I love the rush and excitement of healing a particularly difficult encounter. I live for the groove – pushing through difficult content with the ease of long familiarity with my friends.
But.
But that’s not all.
I also like…
…
…fishing.
There. I said it.
I like fishing.
I love flying out to random locations in the world and sitting down with my fishing pole. I love turning up the game sound and letting the trickle of the water and the gorgeous zone music fill my speakers. So often I have the sound turned down, or it’s punctuated by the groans of the dying or the comic-book like sounds of my abilities going off.
To just…sit…and fish, and do nothing, hear nothing but the pure game sound…it’s wonderful.
It’s boring. Sure. I mean, what’s more boring than staring at a bobber for an ever-increasing-ungodly-number-of-hours?
But still, it’s peaceful. Nobody dying around me, no panicked attempts to salvage a pull gone bad. Worst case scenario, I miss a fish. It’s nice to lower the stakes now and again.
It also gets me out and into the world. I visit zones I have long since emptied of quests. I take a moment to walk amid placid herds of shoveltusk, or laugh as the lion seals lift their heads and shake their manes. Or maybe I join a hippity-hoppity Gorloc patrol and wave to them as they dive into the river to clear out a local hydra population problem.
The world slows down when I’m fishing. And not just the gaming world – I relax in real life, too. It’s almost surreal, to do something so very simple. I can feel my shoulders relax and the stresses of the day just melt away.
It’s an incredibly…personal experience. I don’t group up to go fishing. I’m not getting gear, or learning how to play my character, or socializing. I’m just fishing.
Sure, I can say that I’ll cook the output, but that’s just an excuse. I don’t feel this way when I’m farming mammoth meat for cooking. Not even close.
It’s a selfish thing, a quiet, personal way for me to deepen my enjoyment of the game and slow things down a little.
What do y’all do when you’re not instancing or raiding or PVPing? When there’s nothing much going on? Maybe you chase achievements? Ride in circles through Dalaran and talk to your friends on Vent? Go herbing or mining?
February 12th, 2009
Everyone I know thinks I’m crazy because I like to fish. Fishing is very relaxing. I put my feet up and kick back and just click my little bobber and if I miss a fish…meh…there’s more to catch.
February 12th, 2009
Fishing isn’t my favorite thing to do in the world (mostly it’s just to stock up on food for me and my friends), but when I get into it I do enjoy the quiet. It’s especially nice over by the Cuttlefish pools – just me hanging out with the penguins on the ice.
As for your question: when we’re not instancing and I don’t need to farm, I go off and level more characters. I don’t really need more characters (three tanks on one server might be a bit overkill), but it’s fun to level alts. Expensive, but fun nonetheless.
February 12th, 2009
You my lady have discovered the attraction that fishing offers for both virtual fishing and real life fishing. I too enjoy the peacefulness of fishing off a random shore somewhere. I may watch TV or listen to the game content that maybe we don’t appreciate nearly as much as we should. Or sometimes I listen to the large amount of music on my computer that I don’t listen too either and remember songs I had almost forgotten (doing that as I write this comment). The food buffs are just a side bonus
When I’m not instancing, I farm herbs casually as I chat up my guildies, level my alts as I feel it, or pursue some of the more obscure acheivements for the fun of it. What can I say? I feel more epic than everyone else now that I’m “Loremaster Strayfe”
February 12th, 2009
I love fishing too. It’s nice to not have to worry about where I need to be, what I should be doing, just let everything go for a while. The only exception I have to that is when I’m trying to fish up that $*(# sewer rat. I’ll get it eventually though.
I also spend time working on achievements or leveling alts. Mostly leveling alts because my paladin is my ore gatherer, and I really want to get her to 77 so she can fly while doing so. That will relieve a lot of stress. Otherwise I just make a warlock somewhere and level ‘em to 10 so I can see what minion names I get.
February 12th, 2009
I went through a stint when fishing meant exactly the same thing to me that it did to you – in particular the relaxation part. I leveled two alts through their fishing, plus finished Anea’s fishing. It was lovely.
Then once I stopped, the fun stopped. And it’s back to the usual “this is what I do to make myself sleepy” status.
February 12th, 2009
Some quiet time fishing is excellent. Actually, I usually watch Revenge of the Nerds while I’m fishing alone, but that’s yet another guilty pleasure. Pan Down!
Recently, a guildie and I went on a virtual fishing trip, collecting up enough mats to make 100 Fish Feast in preparation for Ulduar’s release. Sure, its different than the solo-quiet time, but it was fun because we semi role played it as though it were a real fishing trip on a saturday morning.
February 12th, 2009
I R A Fisherperson. /srsnod
February 12th, 2009
I haven’t done a lot of fishing since getting to Northrend. Although I used to really enjoy flying from pool to pool in Terrokar, fishing up crawdads.
Now I tend to spend idle time talking in guild chat and flying loops. If you press page up or page down while auto-running with a flying mount, you end up looping around, which is rediculously amusing to me, especially on a flying carpet.
February 13th, 2009
I suppose everyone needs a hobby and main characters are no exception.
February 13th, 2009
I actually never tried fishing… But in the way you describe it… I want to!!!
February 13th, 2009
I’ve just decided to level fishing (from about 150) so I can get the Chef achievement. It’s made me go back to places like Desolace and the Swamp of Sorrows that I’d probably never have gone back to otherwise.
So I ride through these places looking at things I didn’t notice and when I arrive I turn the music up, open a book and read whilst clicking when the splash comes.
It’s very nice, although when I think about what I could be doing instead I feel a bit guilty
February 13th, 2009
I like to fish too, I find it relaxing.
It’s wonderful when you get to that point where you don’t even notice the skillups you get, you just flow with the fishing. Like some in-game meditation
February 13th, 2009
I like riding around to different places on different characters, sometimes on my Shaman, helping out with a heal as other people get themselves into trouble doing quests, or sneaking in with an Ambush when I’m on my Rogue. I have done some fishing, and like you, I find it relaxing. It is a great escape to lose yourself in the world of Azeroth or Outlands. I’m still working my way to 80, so I’m sure once I max out several of my toons, and work through various places getting better gear, I will revisit fishing. I think the fact that this game has such a vast range of fun things to do, is why it endures so well.
February 13th, 2009
I am not to fond of fishing. But in my off time I enjoy running through old instances and helping out the lowbies. I don’t know why I like that. But I just do, perhaps this is why I play a priest.
February 15th, 2009
i love fishing too! i started out this game by doing fishing for my husband’s toons before i have my own account.
February 16th, 2009
For many people, theylove cooking, but find fishing a nessesary evil. For me, it’s the other way around. I used to hate all 3 secondary professions. Mostly because around level 12, a well respected guildie told me that ‘no-one levels secondary professions,’ and ‘they’re useless.’
So eventually, I realised how wrong he was, and started the long trek to lvl up my professions. I will admit, I’m not done yet. Fishing and Cooking are sitting at 100 right now, and I haven’t even learnt First Aid yet. It’s not that I don’t like it by the way, I’m loving First Aid on my DK.
February 16th, 2009
I completely understand where you are coming from in regards to your appreciation of fishing.
I enjoy the calmness of fishing; it is theraputic.
February 17th, 2009
I enjoy tranquility and peace, and do love the water. But for me, I loathe and hate fish and fishing. I’ve hated fishing in the real world and I’ve naturally carried that belief into Azeroth as well. I don’t even eat in game fish meals. Maybe, someday I will raise that skill to a 2. For now I’ll avoid it.
For me, I often go exploring. Not the kind of exploring that gets your map to light up or earn achievements, but really exploring the nooks and crannies of all sorts of places. I’ve swam the bottom of every lake and most rivers. I’ve been stuck in more rocky fissures than I can recall. I’ve even managed to stumble into some of those places you are really not supposed to be, like the orc hut you fly over on one of the flight paths.
I also love to visit places like Ashenvale and Feralas. Its like comming home. The ancient statues built by someone, some time ago are an inspiration. I’ve often spent hours in Eldre’Thalas, rooting out the ogres and feeling frustration at the Cenarian Circle for allowing the beats to turn it into the Dire Maul.
For me, that is the therapy I need. My only love of fishing is when you run across the back of Ironforge and catch a hordie trying to fish in the big cave puddle. They always look so peaceful floating face down in the water.
February 17th, 2009
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