Am I the only one who feels this way?

[tactfullyArtisan]

Vashj'ir. We all know it; that big huge submerged mini-continent off of the coast of Eastern Kingdoms. It's a gorgeously-designed zone, albeit a little... damp.

It creeps me out.

I've had a long-standing fear of deep water (in pools I'm fine, but I don't do so well in the ocean), but I figured "It's just WoW. It's not gonna scare me." But I was dead wrong. I couldn't quest at all in Vashj'ir - not without feeling extremely creeped out and nervous the entire time. On my druid I had a better time because I had a good escape mechanism - instant cast water form that was as fast as the seahorses. But I only got to the seahorse quest on my hunter before giving up and heading off to Hyjal; I couldn't take the constant stress that the zone put me in. And don't even get me started on discovering Throne of the Tides - I sat in front of that gigantic whirlpool for ten minutes trying to calm myself down so I could enter. I swore the last time I would ever set foot in Vashj'ir would be to tame Ghostcrawler - but I know that I'll eventually have to go back to get my Loremaster, and I'm really not looking forward to that.

So, here's my question: Does Vashj'ir, or any other zone for that matter, creep you out so bad you can't function properly ingame while you're there?

[Vephriel]

You've described my own feelings of the zone perfectly.

I've long had a fear of deep water myself, especially when it comes to large things that might lurk below such as sharks, sea monsters, or hell...even just boulders or logs sitting at the bottom of a lake creep me out.

I haven't been able to quest in Vashj'ir at all really. I got my seahorse, and I do want to finish the zone to experience it, but I find I cannot bear to be down there for more than a quest or two before I have that suffocating trapped feeling and have to leave. I fully agree about the stress factor. It's unnerving to be down there and have that constant nervousness nagging at the edge of your thoughts. I hate it in Vashj'ir, and I know it'll kill me just to finish the loremaster for that zone. ><

[erwil]

I love Vash'jir, but Pre-cata Eastern and Western Plaguelands made me feel agitated. I'm not particulary afraid of the place, but I could not make myself quest in the zone. It was just displeasing and agonizing place for me. The quests were quite depressing as well. I like the place a whole lot better now that Argent Crusade is back in action. I enjoyed the caravan quest line a lot. And Icecrown was another one. Not fan of the zone (I like the clouds but that's it..), it's too dark and depressing for my taste. The music makes it even worse. Dun Dun dun dun DUUUUUUN. >.>

[Araela]

When I was 10-years-old, I almost drowned. Vash'jir was slightly creepy for me (and in general, I try not to go back there now that I have Ghostcrawler!) but I was okay with it once I remembered that I could still breathe. I looked at it as though it was a giant aquarium, though I admit there were times I got absorbed (excuse the pun) into the zone.

[Cialbi]

Now that you mention it, the aerial instances (Vortex Pinnacle & Throne of the Four Winds) are probably terrifying to players with vertigo. Granted, WoW probably didn't appeal to players with vertigo to begin with, what with flight paths, zeppelins, Tempest Keep, the Oculus, the Icecrown gunships... and I'm sure there's some others that I'm not thinking of.

I know that several guildmates avoided Vashj'ir entirely after progressing far enough to be able to reach the Abyssal Maw without drowning. However, the reason was that they found the underwater environment to be rather disorienting, especially with those high-speed seahorses. You need to have a keen sense of your 3D orientation when in Vashj'ir (knowing that you need to go 300 feet upward to reach a location as opposed to 30 feet or 3000 feet). Certainly didn't help that all the cave entrances looked the same (quest hubs in Vashj'ir are found in underwater caves that have air pockets). But, I've never considered that people may have a phobia when it comes to deep water; it certainly doesn't surprise me now that I think about it.

And don't even get me started on discovering Throne of the Tides - I sat in front of that gigantic whirlpool for ten minutes trying to calm myself down so I could enter.

I must say, well done on 'taking the plunge' there! In fact, to all of you who have overcome these 'Vashj'ir fears', bravo to you. Says a lot about you.
If you ever need to do something like that again, I have an idea. Position yourself over the destination while swimming on the surface (use the minimap to see where you are over the ocean floor), angle yourself so that you've facing straight down, toggle autorun and go have a glass of water or take a bio break.

I swore the last time I would ever set foot in Vashj'ir would be to tame Ghostcrawler - but I know that I'll eventually have to go back to get my Loremaster, and I'm really not looking forward to that.

Well, you of course wouldn't want to have a trusted friend do the Vashj'ir quests for you, since that's against the ToS... *whistles*

[Vephriel]

Since you mentioned vertigo Cialbi, I actually have a slight case of that as well, but interestingly enough I've never really had that fear occur in WoW. Perhaps because while on a flying mount or a taxi I feel as though my character is relatively 'safe'. I also have a parachute cloak, so even jumping off of high places doesn't bother me at all in game since I always have a way to save myself. I think if I were to inadvertently fall without a guarantee of surviving or being caught then I might get that little jolt of fear. It's actually very interesting that you brought that topic up, since I had never thought much on my vertigo while in game before and only now realize that it doesn't seem to affect me as strongly as deep water or sharks do in game.

[Cialbi]

Vephriel, if you for some reason find yourself in the Oculus in the future, do not look down! I had one of those weird disconnects once where the game doesn't realize that it completely lost touch with the server, and I was in an Oculus group. I eventually tried falling to my death; the problem was that I didn't die, and wound up watching a tiny spec of a dwarf run around in Coldarra from afar (the ground is the same as if you were in the real Coldarra, except there's invisible walls). Let me tell you, it's a loong way down.

[tactfullyArtisan]

Now that you mention it, the aerial instances (Vortex Pinnacle & Throne of the Four Winds) are probably terrifying to players with vertigo. Granted, WoW probably didn't appeal to players with vertigo to begin with, what with flight paths, zeppelins, Tempest Keep, the Oculus, the Icecrown gunships... and I'm sure there's some others that I'm not thinking of.

Yeah, I used to have a bit of a phobia of heights (I broke it a few years ago during a ropes course, now that was an experience) but it's never bothered me much in WoW. But there was one thing - the gunship in Deepholm really set me off balance for a moment when I first landed on it. Maybe it's the speed and angle it's at, but it was almost motion-sickness-inducing.

Well, you of course wouldn't want to have a trusted friend do the Vashj'ir quests for you, since that's against the ToS... *whistles*

This was an idea I had at one point, but there are two reasons why I would be against it. One, I wouldn't want a friend to have to spend that much time on my account, even if I did repay them in some way. And two, when I start my toons I always vow to myself that any achievements, tames, or other large accomplishments will all be done when I am logged on and in control of my account - having someone else get something for me, even if it is just a bit of questing, doesn't feel like I truly earned it. Even if it means I have to brave the depths of Vashj'ir one more time.

And it bothers me that I can't enjoy it, too. It's a very wonderfully-designed zone. I just get extremely anxious whenever I'm there. And not even flying overhead to get to the spot I need to go works - I remember tabbing out as I was flying over from Dun Morogh (I hadn't gotten the portal yet and had done the first quest to get there) and tabbing back in to see these huge glowy spots that looked just like huge, luminous eyes staring at me from the depths. I had to quickly get down into the water to see what it was as I was having a mini-heart attack, only to discover that it was just Nespirah's shell. As bad as being down in the water is, it's worse being above it and seeing just the vague shape of objects underwater.

[Cialbi]

Now that you mention it, the aerial instances (Vortex Pinnacle & Throne of the Four Winds) are probably terrifying to players with vertigo. Granted, WoW probably didn't appeal to players with vertigo to begin with, what with flight paths, zeppelins, Tempest Keep, the Oculus, the Icecrown gunships... and I'm sure there's some others that I'm not thinking of.

Yeah, I used to have a bit of a phobia of heights (I broke it a few years ago during a ropes course, now that was an experience) but it's never bothered me much in WoW. But there was one thing - the gunship in Deepholm really set me off balance for a moment when I first landed on it. Maybe it's the speed and angle it's at, but it was almost motion-sickness-inducing.

(Weird... I knew someone who a few years ago got over her fear of heights when training for rope rescue; her first descent nearly resulted in an emotional meltdown. Who knew she would become a regular monkey around those ropes in such a short time?)

The Deepholm gunship is actually bucking and swaying, so as to give the impression of being barely under control. Not saying more, due to spoilers for those who have yet to quest in Deepholm.

[Moore]

Ugh I watched Jaws as a little kid have an uber fear of sharks and I just plain think fish are gross. Me and my friend were both 80 so we decided I'd go to Hyjal and he'd go to Vash'jir so that I could know the story-line on that side

[Vephriel]

Ugh I watched Jaws as a little kid have an uber fear of sharks and I just plain think fish are gross.

Haha, that's actually the exact same origination of my fear as well. x)

I was very young, just a toddler, and I begged my mother to watch a Jaws movie. She tried telling me that it would be too scary, but I insisted so eventually she gave up and put it on.

Not only have I been scared of sharks since then, but I also developed a fear of dead bodies and deep water.

[Azunara]

Speaking of heights!

My fear of heights is weird. I hate, hate, hate them...But I don't mind flying on airplanes. Totally fine with heights on a plan.

Likewise, WoW heights don't bother me. In fact, I would fly my bird as high as possible and spiral down in Shatt. Or on Azu, a trick of mine is to fly up, drop bird form, cast Rejuv, then bird form again. Always fun.

[ummeiko]

I don't particular have a water phobia, but there was one spot that I just couldn't take it. Southwest of the Abandoned reef is like, a giant skeleton and shiny bubble/sphere (my boyfriend says it's probably a reference to the movie Sphere). Well, he wanted me to go there. The thing is, it's not considered part of vashjir, it's in the veiled sea, and you just straight up die before you get there (even a druid in swim form - you can't seahorse mount because it's not Vashjir - will just suddenly die long before fatigue kills him). Well, I got halfway between the reef and there and for whatever reason chickened out. I swam back to the "abandoned reef" zone and just said "meh, I'll swim to the surface and fly and go back to archaeology".

Yeah well, the area is all grey and foggy and after a minute or so of swimming straight up, you can't see anything. Just grey fog. Up, down, left, right, every direction is just grey fog. That's when it hit me how DEEP the abyssal reef is. You don't realize it as you're going through the natural progression of Vashj'ir - when you enter the Kelp-thar forrest you're fairly close to the surface. When you're doing the battlemaiden stuff you're still decently close... plus you can, ya know, actually see things.

I had to hearth. I've never ever felt that way about anything in a video game, but I just could not stand being there. I couldn't swim back down to the seafloor because I couldn't SEE the seafloor. I couldn't swim up any more because I couldn't SEE the surface. It was, in my opinion, worse than being in pitch black. My boyfriend still teases me.

However, I do think it says A LOT for the game that it can evoke such feelings.

[Lupis]

For some reason, even though deep water terrifies me (oh gods, the kelp!), Vashj'ir doesn't bother me at all. I guess it's because the water is so clear that you can see things coming from a mile away.
Now, the borders of Vashj'ir where the water is really murky and there are a ton of whale sharks? That place is creepy. But at the same time, I love it.

The only thing that has really gotten me bugged out was when I used the rocket boots to launch myself to water's surface in Vashj'ir... while I was at the surface. If anyone hasn't tried it, you go FLYING way, way, way high, and then fall down. I literally felt a bit sick watching my character plummet that distance.

So there's the only WoW thing that bugs me - falling long distances.

Other than that... nothing. Even torture quests don't bug me.

[Cialbi]

LupisDarkmoon, you can use those rocket boots on the ocean floor, and you still overshoot the surface by a mile. Come to think of it, I'm lucky that my friend, who was questing with me at the time, isn't one of those people who would mischievously cast Water Walking on me before I land.

[Lisaara]

Vash'jir freaked me out just a little cause of all the tentacles and crap deep down under the ocean. The Ocean kinda makes me uneasy too.

[Teigan]

I'm fine with Vashjir...but, I had a really hard time with the plaguelands and Icecrown *shudder*

[Pawtrack]

IRL I'm kinda freaked out of deep water, afraid of sea monsters or sharks or something creepy underwater, though I love swimming. In WoW dark water or just deep water freak me out, though Vash'jir isn't too creepy for me, just very confusing because it's 3D, with mobs on the seafloor, above you and to the sides.

[tactfullyArtisan]

My fear of heights is weird. I hate, hate, hate them...But I don't mind flying on airplanes. Totally fine with heights on a plan.

I used to be the exact same way with heights. If I was on or near a sheer cliff or something similar, my palms would start to sweat and I wouldn't be able to get anywhere near it. Same with most things where I wasn't buckled in and it was up high - but airplanes were fine. I think it's just because you're inside something, so it doesn't seem like you're really that high up when people are just going about their normal business while on it, and it feels more secure.

Ugh I watched Jaws as a little kid have an uber fear of sharks and I just plain think fish are gross.

Haha, that's actually the exact same origination of my fear as well. x)

I watched Jaws as a little kid and loved it, so maybe I'm just weird xD But it's the same premise - being scared of things coming out of nowhere to come nip at your feet and then promptly devour you whole. Like that whale shark - dear lord, my guildies pulled me out to Vashj'ir insisting that I should kite it so they could get their achievement. The moment I hit it and it turned to face me with that big gaping mouth I actually shrieked irl and jumped out of my computer chair. I then promptly died, got rezzed by one of my friends, and then before they could say anything else I hearthed. Screw achievements, I just wanted to get out of there alive.

[Felidire]

I had really bad aquaphobia, (probably from living next to a lake as a little kid and getting it drummed into my head that water = bad and that it would suck me in and drown me if I got close to it..) So I never learned to swim until I was about 15..

I admit that I don't particularly like the zone all that much, I think it's much too bright/vibrant.. but I was comfortable enough to do most of the quest there on 4 different characters.

(Hyjal and Uldum were definitely my two favourites in this xpac.)

In WoW dark water or just deep water freak me out, though Vash'jir isn't too creepy for me, just very confusing because it's 3D, with mobs on the seafloor, above you and to the sides.

That's funny, I feel pretty comfortable swimming in the dark fatigue zones but out of place swimming around vashj'ir