About the Bloggers: Marcie Knox
Twice a week, our writers will tell you more about themselves, and let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more
What do you do for WoW Insider?
I write the weekly Raid Rx column every Tuesday and filled in on Ready Check for a bit. Occasionally you'll see me put up a post about something I've come across or make a guest appearance on another column, but between work and WoW, Raid Rx is plenty for me.
What's your main right now?
I play Valyre, Blood Elf Holy Paladin, queen of lewts and all things pink and purple. Currently I'm my guild's healing lead, webmaster, recruitment officer, and general avoider of MH. Someday our Priests and Locks will have spent enough of their DKP for me to get the T6 shoulders. Until then, I drool on those that have them.
For the Horde or Glory to the Alliance?
For. The. Horde. Srsly, I've tried Alliance (+60 hunter) and it's just not for me. I'll tell you a secret: the Horde have an inn at 99% of their flight path locations. That's why we win BG's - we're well rested. And that whole "high elf" npc thing is a cover. Those are long-eared Belfs, my friend. Don't be fooled!
Favorite thing to do in Azeroth?
Raiding is my main in-game purpose, and has been for neigh over 2 years. I hardly ever 5-man, I bailed on my 5v5, 3v3, and 2v2 (sorry guys), and only do enough dailies to afford raiding consumables. I hide when the call for ZA goes out. Wooden armor that smells of troll isn't enticing. Between raids I'm working on a couple of alts, Belf Hunter and Feral Druid.
What's the best instance in the game?
Sunken Temple. What? Did you think I was going to say BWL or something? ST is what I think an instance should be about: solving puzzles, killing dragons, killing undead trolls, and spawning more dragons so you can kill them. And it's all in a lovely underwater temple package.
What's the number one thing Blizzard could do better?
Stop nerfing Paladins because of Priests. Just make them better and leave us alone! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss the old T5 5-piece set bonus. In fact, part of me still won't accept that the change is really permanent.
I know you didn't ask, but in my number two slot is the art department, who needs to make an effort on the look of new gear. I call laziness on the whole Tier vs Season thing, and now they've started recoloring entire armor types for S4/T6, which a whole new low. Hire a couple of graphic arts grads and point them in the direction of your skinning software. It can't be worse than the ugliness that is ZA.
When I'm not playing WoW, I'm...
Well, by day I'm a chemical engineer for an engineering firm. I do things like help design equipment for factories. We also have 2 cats that can be attention hogs, especially if the water bowl is empty. One has made a couple of appearances on WI, the most notable being Kibler's Bits. Beyond that, my husband and I just picked up a Wii. My arms, they are sore... but I totally pwn at boxing. We've also finished off the DVD seasons of Weeds, Heroes, and are starting on Lost. BSG S3 is coming out on DVD soon, too, and we're looking forward to that.
What accomplishment in-game are you most proud of?
My guild was the first to down Illidan on our server and I helped! We've been the underdogs on the progression charts to a couple of Alliance guilds, so it was a come-from-behind victory. I think that just makes it all the sweeter. Everyone was super dedicated and focused on learning new bosses. It was amazing. I can't wait to get back into things for the Sunwell.
What made you want to be a healer?
Well, I started out as a Troll Rogue because it fit best with the group of rl friends I was playing with. They had Warrior, Resto Druid, and Warlock covered already. I had played a rogue in NWN, so I thought it would be fun. It wasn't. The turning point was one day when we were in MC. I was taking a dirt nap after Magmadar, watching the healers rez everyone up. They seemed really important with all of their buffs and stuff. What did I have to offer the raid? Nothing except my damage, and Rogues were a dime a dozen. When that guild dissolved, I took it as my chance to reroll as an Undead Priest. I played her well over a year before switching to Healadin. The thing I most enjoy in the game is helping people, and healers have that in spades.
Why did you start writing blogs, and what's the best/worst thing about it?
Well, I contacted WI because I felt like I had learned enough about raid healing that I could contribute to the WoW community at large. I've learned a lot of things the hard way, and if I could save other people from the same problems/mistakes, all the better. The best and worst things about writing Raid Rx are the comments. lol I'll get "great job" and "you suck" responses for the same post, and it's hard not to dwell on the negative views. Not every article will be awe inspiring, but I try to do plenty of research and cover meaningful topics.
What's your least favorite color?
I do not like yellow. Growing up, my grandma color-coded everything per grandkid and she picked yellow for me. My cups, toothbrush, comb, bed (frame and sheets), and even my medicine dropper thing were yellow. If we got gifts and yellow was an option, that's what I got. How I longed for my cousins' red or blue...
