Succeeding at not getting motion sickness

It is commonly accepted that normal computer use will not physically harm humans. While flashing images for epilepsy sufferers is a well-known exception, another can be found in the Hans'gar and Franzok encounter in the Blackrock Foundry.

This encounter is characteristic in that most of the floor area is moveable conveyor belts, filling much of the screen (and, by extension, the field of view) with apparent motion, even though none is felt sitting at the keyboard. In the more queasy of players, this can result in motion sickness, producing dizziness, nausea and maybe even vomiting. Given how crippling this is to raid performance, how are you supposed to handle it?

The Lightwell method

Look deep into my eyes... if you can find them.

Since nausea can arise when you see movement but do not feel it, the most obvious solution is to look at something on the screen that is not moving. The user interface (UI) elements, such as actionbars and nameplates, are options, although they might be too far into the peripheral field to focus on. Some environmental alternatives include:

• Hans'gar and Franzok themselves. This is a good option for damage dealers, as the boss is their main focus during any encounter. Do be aware that the tanks themselves will need to move around to avoid plates and stamping presses.
• The gaps between the conveyor belts. These fill up more of the screen, so might be easier to glance at without looking around too much. Anyone with decent raid awareness, checking the ground for fire and whatnot, may find it easier to focus on these elements.
• The wall beyond the bosses. As damage dealers may be looking their way already, this can be convenient for them. Angling the camera so low, though, will make spotting nasty stuff on the ground harder.
• Objects placed on the ground by players. Lightwells are very good candidates as they are very bright against the dimly-lit factory floor and thus easy to locate. Others include warlock Soulwells, raid ground markers and ground areas-of-effect (AoEs) such as Holy Word: Sanctuary and Healing Rain. Even if they are placed on conveyor belts, as they are affixed to the ground beneath, they will not move when the conveyor does.

Filling the environment with many of these stationary objects will only help further.

Real-world measures
Of course, you are not limited to looking at the screen. To reassure your brain that you are not hallucinating, you can glance over at such real objects as:

• A spot on the monitor screen. Stick a removable sticker near the centre of the screen, or drape a string over it, where it will not block raid messages, and that can serve as your non-moving point of reference. Be careful with the anti-glare coating, though.
• Beyond the monitor. If you can afford to look away from the screen for fractions of seconds, or even just sit further back, take in your definitely-not-moving surroundings. If you are on moving transport, though, that might be your problem.

Substance use

Ask if the first one's free.

If you cannot find anything suitable to re-orient you with, there are pharmaceuticals you can take that help with motion sickness. You might want to ask your pharmacist about:

• Medicines containing dimenhydrinate, such as Dramamine, Gravol or Travacalm Original. Be careful, though, as this drug is known to cause drowsiness; it may make you unfit to operate the computer.
• Ginger tablets, such as Travacalm Natural. A natural remedy, it will not make you drowsy, and will help you keep your lunch down, although it may not have much effect on nausea. Sucking on fresh ginger root or chewing candied ginger helps too, if you can stand the characteristic taste.

If you will be taking anything, be sure to do it well before the encounter, as bringing it all back up will not help.


Doing this, you may be able to spare your keyboard from spilled liquids!