So here we go: May I present my Wow Characters:
Rithendal
This fellow has the honour of being my very first character in WoW. Some might say that the very first character they made for WoW was more a series of spontaneous decision but this is not the case here – a number of factors did influence the genesis of this character:
- The choice of faction, in this case the Horde, was easy – merely a case of going where you know people.
- The race of Blood elf was too a choice without much thought: I like Elves. And if the Horde has some then so much so the better.
- The name came from an elf name generator that had been passed onto me. One fellow player jokingly suggested it sounded like Rivendell……
- The class I went with however has more of a story behind it: In approaching Wow, it was with a group of people who were making similar moves. Some complete newcomers, others returning from hiatus. A plan was formed to build our own guild and have our own crazy fun in it. At first I wanted to be a paladin but that role had already been claimed by someone else in the group. And then somehow I ended up a hunter. Can’t recall why I decided this but it’s a decision that’s certainly borne fruit.
- And I went with a male character – it may seem like an arbitrary decision but one that matters to me. This is my first time on a MMORPG so there does contain the thought that there will be many people out there who will interact with me and see what I do. On that principle, going as a female character seems deceptive. Sure I can be a female character in Mass Effect or Dragon Age but that’s in the comfort of my own home. This is different: This has more to do with interaction then the afore-mentioned titles and, as they say, first impressions last. So to be a guy playing a female character seems terribly dishonest on my part. Yeah we have all heard of that scenario of ‘foxy hot elven chick being played by fat ugly guy’ so the least I could do was be true to myself and the players around me so not to fall into that trap.
Other than that there’s not really much I can say about Rithendal. He was the first, he was my gateway to WoW and he’s whom I’ve gotten the most mileage out of. In his time, he’s befriended a bear (Steeljaw), a cat (Tigress) and a wolf (Morkai) – all of whom have been useful both in solo and shared quests. Sure I may have given him a bad profession – leatherworking which has revealed to be so tedious it isn’t funny – but I like this character and I’ll certainly be sticking with him for a while yet.
Grimcrag
So I’d been playing for WoW for a while and enjoyed it a lot. I was enjoying part of a guild and enjoying doing quests and making friends. However such was my enjoyment I was levelling up Rithendal too quickly – thus leaving my guild mates behind and subsequently being unable to share particular quests. Thinking a change of pace might do me a world of good, I decided to build a new character and head over to see how things transpired on the other side of the fence – namely the Alliance. Finally I had the opportunity to be a paladin and, having loved the Dwarves from Warcraft (how can you say no to the Scottish accents?!), I eventually created Grimcrag.
Let me say this up front: Going to the Alliance, having got into WoW via the Horde, is indeed a jarring experience. Whereas in the Horde I was going through quests with ease, having friends I can communicate with, and generally having a great time, in the Alliance however it was a completely different story. I was out on my own and I had no help, whether from a pet or another player. And, try as I might I could not really get into grips with a Dwarven paladin. He seemed hopeless in a fight, the abilities he had didn’t seem to do much and I lost count how many times he died. It is indeed annoying see fights last seconds and I’ll back in spirit mode AGAIN!!!
Simply put, I was not having fun at all. I tried hard to make this character work but doing so came across more like a chore. Matters weren’t helped with a cold indifference from the player. When I was with the Horde, I did get a few offers to join Guilds but here I got nothing. Zip. Zilch! I’d heard that the Horde players tend to be a nicer and friendlier than the Alliance and now I see some degree of truth in such a notion.
In the end I gave up. Thus in time since the above screen cap was taken I have since deleted this character and started again. Again with a dwarf named Grimcrag but this time as an Enhancement Shaman. And you know what? I’m having helps more fun. The combat’s great, the abilities are working a treat and I seem to be dying a lot less. I even managed to find a guild who seem to be friendly enough. So I’m not sure what happened to prompt such a turn-around but I’m glad it did!
Beldrath
As mentioned above, I came into WoW as part of a loosely formed group of players but was beaten at the post for dibs on the Paladin class. Ironically the person who beat me to it hasn’t made many appearances online – annoying to me perhaps but it doesn’t mean the paladin class is forever off limits.
So I have tried with working with a paladin. Prior to Grimcrag I did have a brief shot at being a human paladin but that was an awful experience and no fun at all. This eventually led to Grimcrag and, as established above, wasn’t much better. Finally I took the plunge and tried a Blood Elf – which then led to the creation of Beldrath (again the name came from that elf name generator).
Any success this time around? You bet!
As strange as it may seem, playing a human paladin and then a dwarven paladin was both slow, boring, difficult and no fun at all – whereas playing a blood elf paladin was heaps more enjoyable and led to a lot more progression into WoW (well at least past level 10). I’m not sure why this is so – I heard that Blizzard has favouritism towards the Horde so maybe that’s why? I don’t know.
But still the contrast is startling to say the least: The spells and abilities work better as a blood elf and the combat seems a lot less interminable as a blood elf. Whatever works I guess….
Not much more I can add except after a lot of trial and error, something finally worked.
Anyway that’s enough from me so I’ll shut up. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some trolls to kill….
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