Spider Starter Pet Now for Undead Hunters?

[Nick]

Spiders in-game don't bother me... It's the creepy-crawly ones outside it that do.
Arrgh. D|

[MaximumOverdrive]

eeep... all those poor people with anachnophobia (sp?) who wre planning on rolling a Forsaken hunter
Ten levels of "eeeek! it's following me, make it stop, make it stop! Why does it keep following me! aargh, the legs, no not the spindly legs!"

I thought it was smart of blizz not to start anyone out with a spider since it's such a known phobia, they must have changed their minds.

People with arachnophobie should stay the hell away from the forsaken starting zone either way, if a spider pet following you around bothers you, I don't think you'll be thrilled to clear out a mine full of even bigger (an much less friendly) spiders.

I find this somewhat funny...my mom had a BE hunter, and she has arachnophobia pretty badly, but she went and tamed the black spider from Bloodmyst, the one with a one of a kind skin (with my ally char tryin to help guide her lol) in order to help herself maybe get over it...named him Fireroasted I think, since he looked like he'd been cooked burnt lol. She still has him now...and liked him.

[Rhyela]

Spiders are friends!

Seriously, they eat a lot of other pesky insects, so they're great to have in your home (species depending of course). I always rescue spiders that I find in precarious positions around the house and yard.

My parents recently tore down their shed to replace it with a new one and in the demolition process we found that one of the beams was home to a spider nest and there were lots of babies along with the mother as well as some other adults. I picked up this beam structure and moved it rather carefully to the back of the yard where I hoped they'd migrate to a new shelter (I put them near some options). The mother wasn't happy about this intrusion and she kept moving for my hand so I was continually rotating the beam around as I carried it; she didn't look like the sort of spider I'd really want to bite me.

Spiders are a very beneficial species. So, um, back on topic, good for the Forsaken and their appreciation for Spider Power! >8<

I love spiders IRL, have eight tarantulas as pets, and enjoy seeing the huge "garden" spiders outside my home every day. They're beautiful and fascinating and completely misunderstood. The last thing they want is to bother people, they'd rather sit in their webs (or burrows, or what-have-you) all day and be left alone.

I have a couple egg sacs outside, I can't wait to see them hatch. One of them was left by a beautiful orb-weaver. She was always there, every night, in her web. She was so big she scared our pizza guys (she was hanging up by the outdoor light next to our door), I named her Scarlet after her coloration. But one day, I noticed her web was gone and she was no longer under the rim of the light where she sat during the day. Then I saw her legacy, a little clutch of eggs in the exact spot she always sat during the day. I haven't told my husband about them because I'm afraid he'll remove them in a not-nice-way. I miss seeing her, but it's also neat to see her future babies. :3

[Anyia]

I love spiders IRL, have eight tarantulas as pets, and enjoy seeing the huge "garden" spiders outside my home every day. They're beautiful and fascinating and completely misunderstood. The last thing they want is to bother people, they'd rather sit in their webs (or burrows, or what-have-you) all day and be left alone.

See the thing with arachnophobia, is that it isn't rational. I'm well aware of how helpful/useful spiders can be to have around the house, but that doesn't stop me from freezing up or teleporting across the room if I come across one unprepared. I don't even know why I've developed such a fear of spiders - I didn't used to have it when I was a kid, and I can't think of any traumatic encounters that might've triggered it.

Since I moved to Australia (where a good portion of the world's nastiest spiders live) I console myself with the fact that it's not quite as irrational as it used to be.

I doubt I'll be a frequent visitor to Stonetalon/Webwinder path in Cataclysm - I don't find the prospect of huge spiders falling from the trees onto you entirely enticing for some reason...

[Anansi]

I love spiders IRL, have eight tarantulas as pets, and enjoy seeing the huge "garden" spiders outside my home every day. They're beautiful and fascinating and completely misunderstood. The last thing they want is to bother people, they'd rather sit in their webs (or burrows, or what-have-you) all day and be left alone.

I have a couple egg sacs outside, I can't wait to see them hatch. One of them was left by a beautiful orb-weaver. She was always there, every night, in her web. She was so big she scared our pizza guys (she was hanging up by the outdoor light next to our door), I named her Scarlet after her coloration. But one day, I noticed her web was gone and she was no longer under the rim of the light where she sat during the day. Then I saw her legacy, a little clutch of eggs in the exact spot she always sat during the day. I haven't told my husband about them because I'm afraid he'll remove them in a not-nice-way. I miss seeing her, but it's also neat to see her future babies. :3

That's awesome! Though it's also a shame that mother spider has vanished, it'll be exciting to see her babies.

When my wife and I started going out she had a pet tarantula. Interesting pet if not terribly cuddly. Molting time was fascinating, the way she would literally pull herself out of the old exoskeleton was amazing and it was clearly a very arduous task. But when over, there's a duplicate spider though the new one is quite colourful and the new fangs were always fascinating.

And yes, the entire nature of a phobia is that they are not rational (except coulrophobia - the fear of clowns - this is perfectly rational as clowns are Pure Evil) and I get that but I feel I need to speak up for spiders when the chance arises! Some people are truly arachnophobic while others have just at one point decided to not like spiders. The latter may change their minds, who knows? >8<

[Vephriel]

>8< Spider pride! ^^

I always have this strong desire to help arachnophobic people see how awesome spiders are, but I realize that some phobias just can't be cured. It's alright, I'll love them twice as much to make up for you all.

I agree watching a tarantula molt is a truly amazing thing to see. Shelob just molted a few weeks back. The coolest part was examining the fangs in the molt, they're incredibly beautiful to see up close.

[Rhyela]

Poor things always seem so exhausted afterwards, I really feel for them. But they look so colorful, too! I agree that the fangs look really awesome, both in the molt itself and their new fangs after the molt - they're white before they harden and go black. It's really cool. I also like moistening up the molt between two damp pieces of paper towels and looking for the spermethecae (even if I already know they'll be there). It's so cool being able to determine their gender that way.

Spiders rock!!!

[Kryte]

Yay for spiders. They're a lot more charming and a lot less annoying than the bats, I think. WoW's bat model is just... awful.

I wish the game had a violently pink spider model. And I don't even like pink.

[Vephriel]

Yeah, the bat model makes me sad. I adore bats in real life, one of my favourite animals, but the in-game ones are so poorly implemented.

[Rhyela]

There's going to be a violently purple one (from Naxx), does that count?

Edit: I love bats IRL, too, the ones in-game look like deformed wyverns if you look at their basic model and such.

[Kryte]

There's going to be a violently purple one (from Naxx), does that count?

Edit: I love bats IRL, too, the ones in-game look like deformed wyverns if you look at their basic model and such.

Oh, yes, I'm excited about that one.

[VelkynKarma]

I love spiders IRL, have eight tarantulas as pets, and enjoy seeing the huge "garden" spiders outside my home every day. They're beautiful and fascinating and completely misunderstood. The last thing they want is to bother people, they'd rather sit in their webs (or burrows, or what-have-you) all day and be left alone.

See the thing with arachnophobia, is that it isn't rational. I'm well aware of how helpful/useful spiders can be to have around the house, but that doesn't stop me from freezing up or teleporting across the room if I come across one unprepared. I don't even know why I've developed such a fear of spiders - I didn't used to have it when I was a kid, and I can't think of any traumatic encounters that might've triggered it.

This is it in a nutshell for me, too. Rationally, I know that they are VERY useful to the environment, keep pests and other nasties down, and all that jazz. I know, logically, they have a niche and fit it well. I even enjoy listening to some of the semi-lectures Veph has given in Gchat before, explaining different things about her tarantula, because I am an information hog.

But as soon as I see one IRL--or hell, even a picture of one--it's like something primal takes over and I'm on the other side of the room before I even realize what I'm doing. It's not spider hate for me, it's all out spider terror.

It's not logical and never has been, and has even caused me to do some REALLY stupid unsafe things to try and get away from them. Like almost capsizing a canoe with four other people in it besides myself, because there was a huge-ass spider in the tunnel we were about to go through and I jumped backward on instinct. Or somehow crouching on the floor of our car with my seatbelt still on because I was informed there was a spider on the back of my seat.

I know that's just personal experience and I'm not saying that anyone with a fear of spiders will necessarily be able to get used to having one as a pet, but it can't hurt to offer consolation, right? That you wouldn't want your spider to die is the first step in accepting him/her, even as a temporary buddy, for 10 levels. Can always attach a personality to them, like this spider was with you when you were awakened, so this is your first companion in your new life as an undead....not too far off from the reality of it, but it's a question of characterization.

This, I'll have to try. As an arachnophobe, I'd want the little bastard as far away from me as possible. As a pet lover, I feel it'd be wrong to get my pet killed. So I'm trapped in a very uncomfy middle for that I've already tamed a few spiders in my day (back when you had to tame pets for ranks, or as I've mentioned before, for the NE pet quests), and even though I honest to goodness tried to give the things a shot I've always had to ditch them as soon as I got my ability. And I REALLY REALLY hate when a spider sneaks up on me in WoW for an accidental aggro, especially from behind, which is where my spider would be a lot when I run. But maybe if I could find some way to get attached to it I can at least...put up with it...until I hit 10.

(Not so amusing related note: in the middle of writing this post, the phone rang. As I'm the only one home at the present moment, I run downstairs to answer it. Somebody thought it'd be amusing to put a live-sized very realistic looking fake tarantula at the foot of the stairs. Needless to say, I froze in place, missed picking up the phone, and stared at it for about thirty seconds before determining it wasn't moving. I managed to grab it long enough to chuck it onto the table but UGH).

~VelkynKarma

[zedxrgal]

Yeah, the bat model makes me sad. I adore bats in real life, one of my favourite animals, but the in-game ones are so poorly implemented.

This.


Bat IRL are so cute and amazing.

I love spiders IRL to.

To me, a spider makes more sense for an undead hunter then a bat does. I can't help but think of the books I've read of undead with spider crawling on them or you see the skeletons with a spider web in the eye socket or something. Not a bat.

[Rhyela]

And I REALLY REALLY hate when a spider sneaks up on me in WoW for an accidental aggro, especially from behind, which is where my spider would be a lot when I run.

I love spiders and all, but even I was startled the other day on beta while I was in Silverpine. There's a cavern up there with the bone spiders and such. I came out of the cave after taking some screenshots of the broodmother, and just looking around. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw something move just at the edge of my screen. I turn around to see the hugest black widow-model spider coming right up behind me. I'm not afraid of spiders, mind you, but its size and the fact that I didn't even see it til it was right behind me caught me really off-guard. It was a rare, something-Shadowspinner.

[Vephriel]

Krethis! I love that guy. Haha, yeah I could see the startle in that though. xD

[Anyia]

But as soon as I see one IRL--or hell, even a picture of one--it's like something primal takes over and I'm on the other side of the room before I even realize what I'm doing. It's not spider hate for me, it's all out spider terror.

/agree
I certainly don't hate spiders, and wherever possible I try to arrange a relocation rather than a beating, since, well, just because I have a problem with spiders doesn't mean I should make it their problem!

Out of curiosity, do you know when/why/how you acquired your arachnophobia? I'm still drawing a blank for mine, which is quite the annoyance to me whenever I ponder it. My only guess is that it might be overall stress related, since on days when I'm really relaxed I can bring myself to handle known-to-be-harmless smaller spiders. Those days aren't common though, and since I moved down here further reduced by it being hard to tell small "creeping necrosis"* and red-backs apart from less vicious varieties (especially since I don't particularly like studying the appearance of spiders)...

I'd quite like to discover the reason for this nonsense, just not badly enough to see someone professional about it. Oh, and I seem to have a tactile memory of having a tarantula sit on my left palm, but I can't find any visual memory or even plausible time when that could have occurred, so I'm leaning towards that being a fabricated memory. People with tarantula pets, do feel free to pm me with actual descriptions of what holding one feels like (I'm not about to try it myself! ). I'll be most miffed if I eventually work out that I have arachnophobia thanks to a dream though... *mutter*

I now return this thread to its original scheduled programming! (sorry)

*) Yes, I am aware more recent research suggests the white-tail isn't responsible for it, but I'd rather not test that theory!

[Takana]

I personally think a bat is more fitting for an undead hunter, but I agree a flying pet might be a little off putting for newbie players. That said, bloodelves start with a dragonhawk so I don't see why undead can't have bats

[VelkynKarma]

I personally think a bat is more fitting for an undead hunter, but I agree a flying pet might be a little off putting for newbie players. That said, bloodelves start with a dragonhawk so I don't see why undead can't have bats

Good point, there are other flighted starter pets...

Out of curiosity, do you know when/why/how you acquired your arachnophobia? I'm still drawing a blank for mine, which is quite the annoyance to me whenever I ponder it. My only guess is that it might be overall stress related, since on days when I'm really relaxed I can bring myself to handle known-to-be-harmless smaller spiders. Those days aren't common though, and since I moved down here further reduced by it being hard to tell small "creeping necrosis"* and red-backs apart from less vicious varieties (especially since I don't particularly like studying the appearance of spiders)...

I have no idea. For me, I've been scared of spiders for as long as I can remember, but I'm only 22 so that's not a terribly long time. My mother says she tried to teach me not to be afraid of creepy crawlies when I was younger, too. Which explains why I don't have a problem with most other bugs (at best, I might be startled if one comes outta nowhere really fast, but that's not fear so much as 'woah! New critter!' ) But spiders....me and spiders, we don't get along. At all. Period. And I've never figured out exactly what it is about them, ether, that really terrifies me. I know I get especially terrified when I see them move, especially the legs, and I get the jitters if I see one 'floating' in midair from a thread. If they're staying still, sometimes I'm okay with really SMALL spiders, as long as they are not near me and have no way to get near me. I have even held a few dust-speck sized ones, or haven't been afraid to squish them with a thumb or finger if they're crawling on me.

But the bigger, leggier, and hairy-er they get, the more frightening being near one is. I remember standing in an isle at a petstore once looking at lizards. I looked down and there was a tarantula on the shelf below the lizards at about knee-height. It wasn't moving, just sitting there, but oh God it was RIGHT THERE and I bolted before I even had time to think about if I should run or not. And then I tried to tell myself I should go back and just LOOK at it because it wasn't moving and it was totally safe and I could not, for the life of me, work up the courage to do it. Hell, looking at that one photo of Veph's tarantula in the pet thread took like ALL of my willpower and that was an unmoving picture.

I'd quite like to discover the reason for this nonsense, just not badly enough to see someone professional about it.

Agreed. I'd like to get rid of this spider fear because it can be quite annoying (and potentially dangerous, based on my track record >>; ) but...I know how they get rid of phobias, and I am really, really, really not interested in going through all that anxiety and panic over it. X_X

~VelkynKarma

[Impulse]

eeep... all those poor people with anachnophobia (sp?) who wre planning on rolling a Forsaken hunter
Ten levels of "eeeek! it's following me, make it stop, make it stop! Why does it keep following me! aargh, the legs, no not the spindly legs!"

I thought it was smart of blizz not to start anyone out with a spider since it's such a known phobia, they must have changed their minds.

I am not scared of spiders but I am scared of spider crickets (or camel crickets?)... maybe because they tend to jump at you?