This isn't me bragging: I fully expected to die. Usually when I do this kind of thing... in fact, in 99% of the times I've charged into a pack of Alliance or Horde when PvPing, I do die. It's usually a last ditch attempt to prevent a flag capture. I don't expect to live through it. But today, through some weird combination of skill, luck, and some poor choices and gear on the part of the alliance, I came out of it alive and they all died. (That rogue who showed up at the end helped, I admit it.)

I know it won't ever happen again, but for just that moment (long enough for a mage to ride up and fireball me down, since I had like 200 health left) I honestly felt like I'd learned something new, made a shift in how I PvP in World of Warcraft, and even surprised myself with how good I could actually be at a part of the game I've never really felt that I excelled at. Now, I still expect that the next time I try this I will die, but I won't go in thinking death is certain, and that changes the way the whole thing feels.

Almost certain death, slim chance of success, what are we waiting for? That dwarf knew what he was talking about.

Now, I have had this experience before... taking my Resto shammy into Black Morass for the first time I was surprised to learn that yes, I could main heal an instance run, for instance... and so I find myself wondering how common it is. Are there new hunters out there saying "Oh, that's how I keep a mob chain trapped" after a hard Shadow Labs run? Paladins used to tanking trying out Ret for the first time and saying "My gods, the damage, I had no idea I could do this!" or mages used to PvPing who are stepping into raiding and figuring out for themselves a whole new way to play? Well, yes, of course there are. It was silly of me to have posed the question. But it's not silly of me to want to hear about it from you guys.

Have you been coasting along, secure in your knowledge of the game and how you play it, and then suddenly had the whole thing change? Discovered a new trick, figured out how to use an ability you didn't see much call for (and man, if you have a good use for Sentry Totem, now's the time to share!) or did something you never thought you'd be able to? Whether it's tanking your first real instance after having been resto, winning an arena match that came down to the wire, or even just managing to drop an elite mob you were sure was about to make paste out of your innards, let's hear it.

Tags: DPS, Healing, Howd I do that, HowdIDoThat, Tanking

Filed under: Warrior, Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Battlegrounds