Guild Wars 2

I’m not talking in the broad, philosophical sense, but specifically for you individually.

I’m of the belief that every decision we make is, in some way, a reflection of our self. Your choices of character in MMOs can really say a lot about you.. Even in the decisions that you don’t make.

I personally chose a Mesmer because I love psychology and learning how the mind works (and psychics/illusions were some of my favorite superpowers). I made a support build, as I do in most games, because I genuinely like helping people. I had always wanted to be a doctor of some sort, and the feeling of helping someone learn/grow/improve cant be put into words.

But some may say “Oh, well.. I just picked whatever class/build was easiest.” or “I always picked Warrior in other games, so I went with a Mage with this one”, or “My character is the total opposite of me!”
But even those choices indirectly say something about a person’s personality. I think the more expressive a person tends to be (like an artist, or any kind of creator) the more they consciously express themselves through their avatars., but everyone does in some degree.

TL:DR- Do you see any connections between your main, and yourself?

When I first started playing MMOs I started with a ranger because I had seen myself as a lone adventurer exploring the wilderness. Quickly I evolved myself to a paladin because I saw myself as the protector of the weak and defender of greater causes, willing to sacrifice my own safety for the safety of others.

In the real world I am very much a loyal to a fault, sacrifice my own gains for the sake of others type of person. I also believe very strongly in respecting others and having a calm and respectful response to others and differences.

I see the guardian as a sort of stoic figure who defends the weak because of a sense of duty. So yes I gravitate to the guardian because it fits my personality.

I picked warrior because I like to hit stuff.

I’m just foolin.

I picked warrior because I always like to be “that” guy.
You know the guy I mean, when you are right about to die he charges into battle kills whatever was about to kill you then struts his high level armor or whatever the current “prestige” is in your face.
Basically I like to show off and try to help people at the same time.

Some people create their characters based on their own personalities. Myself, I like to create evil characters so I can destroy everyone with my amazing powers. WoW was the only game I ever created a character that actually reflected my personality. I created a Paladin and helped everyone I came in contact with. But every game since then, evil, evil, evil. Being evil is fun. Oh, I also created an Elementalist so I could be like Darth Sidious and have lightning hands.

Ooh I’ve done that on many occasions myself. I’ve always tended to prefer to play as evil characters… but moreso to see how the story unfolds than anything. Heroes generally have the same “you win! Everyone’s happy! yay!” endings.

I come from a single-player RPG background where character custonisation and decisions you made have some impact in game. You can ‘roll-play’ whatever you want to see the impact of different decisions. How much or how little this reflects you own personality is up to you. The success of many titles is related the this aspect and the amount of ‘replay’ value.

I was shocked to discover GW2 has none of this. GW2 is all about meta-gaming, the builds, cosmetics, ranks, achievements, titles, etc. Nothing you bring to the game has any impact what so ever in the game.

You choose classes based on combat preferences. and/or some mechanic or utility. I ‘play’ my guardian the same way I play my ranger. I just use different tools and press 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in a different order. That is it. My guardian does not take on some added ‘goodness’ just as my ranger does not spare the rabbits on indiscriminate kill dailies.

Same goes for helping or rezing downed players. If I want to stop and help or rez, i will, if not, I carry on. This has nothing to do if I am playing my guardian or ranger.

So no, there is nothing in game that reflects my ‘personality’ because the game mechanics do not allow for it.

Interesting insight bri, and one I have forgotten about over time myself.

It would be interesting to have good and evil “karma” points for actions taken. Overall I have brought up the good and evil idea before and most people didn’t bite that bait.

We also have a very underutilized personality gauge that displays our: nobility, kindness, ferocity. If this could be applied even greater into our gameplay I think that would satisfy some of what you are asking for: character development.

Imagine if a violent character stomps allies instead of revives them, and gains a huge self bonus in combat. Pretty brutal, but adds a new dynamic to the game.

Noble characters could gain a bonus to loot and rewards?

Kind characters could have support skills greatly enhanced?

Those are all really wishy-washy ideas, but just stuff to throw out there for creativity. I kind of like the violent ally stomp idea though.

I do know that they limited how the personality traits affected the game because they wanted to homogenize it as much as possible so as to not cause a disparity in gameplay and have players feel punished for picking the wrong options…but I think that is causing some of what we players are experiencing as blandness and everything feeling the same.

On a side note, you reminded me of old Everquest and rangers. There was a point where everything in the game had a faction of some sort that you could raise or lower. Some you had no way to raise, and would be penalized if you did the wrong thing over time.

One of those things is if you were a ranger. Many animals innately were non-aggressive to you. If you went out of your way to hunt them you could hurt your faction with the animals and they would become kill on sight after a while.

Also the goddess Tunare was non-agro to a lot of players, but for those that were loot hungry enough they would enter her plane and destroy their faction with Tunare and then eventually the whole peaceful nature plane would become KoS to them. Risk versus reward to some degree (no real point in keeping the faction, but it was tormenting for many to anger their god at first).

Those above examples made some players restrict their gameplay or not join in with the rest of the player base because they were afraid of being penalized for bad choices, and I see what ANet is trying to do, but I think they may have taken some of the “character” out of our characters to some degree.

…way longer response than I anticipated but you sparked a lot of ideas

Well I play an ugly psycho little midget that wields a large flamethrower in an attempt to compensate for his lack of size.

~cough~

Uhm…nope. Nothing like me. Not at all.

Move along, nothing more to read here….

- I picked engineer cause I love explosions, guns, and fire. Plus some of the ability’s are silly.
(4th of July and New Years I always HAVE to do huge fireworks. I’m also a little goofy/corny IRL.)

- I also find it fun to help others too so throwing elixirs, dropping supply crate, and setting up turrets is good support.
(I always offer a helping hand when I can naturally, “Treat others like you would want to be treated” as some would say & I live by.)

- Being a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ has always been something I favored, taking it as far as I can to try to be ready for anything and be flexible with others.
(Kind of goes with being helpful. If someone is used to a certain way, I’ll make adjustments on my end to accommodate to the situation.)

- My view of the game seems to me similar to an engineers thoughts as in “What can I learn about this to tweak it for the better”.

Dedlaw.9130:

Well I play an ugly psycho little midget that wields a large flamethrower in an attempt to compensate for his lack of size.

~cough~

Uhm…nope. Nothing like me. Not at all.

Move along, nothing more to read here….

From what I have heard, great things come in small packages.

Uhm, my first character was a Thief, but my main is a Mesmer. I still play the Thief sometimes of course (like my other characters), but my Mesmer is the only character I have that is at lvl 80. And I’m playing since october… so yeah. Well.

I’ve sticked to Mesmer because I like the gameplay, I like the concept of confusing my opponents, of making them regret that they messed with me… also, many of the skills are two-sided… good for me, bad for you. I like that concept. I may not look that strong, but once you attack me, you’ll not know anymore if you can still trust your mind.

Another thing I’d like to mention is, that I play females and males (irl I’m male), and I ALWAYS play a good person. I can’t be evil. I can’t. For example in Fable 1, I wanted to try playing an evil character (after playing some good ones)… yet, I did/could never chose the evil option during quests (for example I didn’t kill my friend in the arena), and I ended up “provoking” guards so they attacked me and I could slaughter tons of them (hey, THEY attacked ME) to get the evil looks. For some reason, I didn’t continue playing that char. So yeah… I can’t play evil. I’m not evil. I would only ever resort to something evil if it would be absolutely necessary for some reason. If I play a char that’s supposed to have an evil background or something, I try to play it in a way of “my powers are evil, but I use them for the good side”. Hmmmhm. I think that sounds silly to some of you. ^^

I also tend to spend quite some time with chosing a name for my characters. I want them to fit the personality and story I associate with this character.

Sure does.
My Engineer hangs at the back of the Zerg, throwing nades upon enemies and allies alike. I’ll throw a net here and a crate there but if my buns are about to be fried, you best believe I’m standing behind that Greatsword Guardian. When all else fails, block off my escape route and head for the nearest vantage point and/or meatshield.
I don’t get things done well, but I get it done.

Yes my thief reflects my personality

Usually in games I like playing support characters. In Gw2 this is hard so I just play elementalist so I can do a lot of damage while also supporting the team.

In other games with dedicated healers I like to be a healer because I can then choose if the jerks in the group live or die because nobody screws with the white mage.

I generally always make a human warrior type (usually male too) in any online game to learn the ropes at my own pace, haha. City of Heroes was probably the only one where I didn’t start with a warrior-type (tanker/scrapper), but a ranged character (blaster). After I returned to the game though, my interests went into my tank and tons and tons of scrappers.

So while melee is my general thing, I do like diversity, such as the mesmer, because it reminds me of my illusion controller in City of Heroes.

I’m an altaholic with 17 chars, so I guess I suffer from multiple personality disorder?

The only situation in which this has been true for me in games has been when there’s a “Bard” class available. As a musician irl, I like to play Bards.

But other than that, I’m not sure it’s a general truth – it can be the opposite, since it’s a roleplaying game people can play something that’s totally unconnected to their personality.

I’m a tinkerer/fixer/builder at heart, and my first inclination was to go Engineer. For whatever reason, when I actually sat down to play the game at head start instead of making the Charr Engineer I intended to make, I made a Norn Warrior. I vaguely remember it having to do with one of the initial explanations of the Warrior class or something I saw on the site.

That said, even though my Warrior is probably my most played character, my Charr Engineer (my 3rd Engineer and only one to make it to 80 with out getting the axe) is probably my favorite to play, and not for any of the reasons I was originally drawn to the class (turrets). Some men just wanna watch Tyria burn.

I think both my “mains” are extreme contradictions to my real self.

One’s a highly benevolent (2000 healing) & short (even by Asura standards) Guardian.
The other’s a nearly max height Norn Ranger with the Mohawk & aggression to match.

I think the only comparisons between us that have anything in common is the basic premise that I’m a Gemini and would need 2 mains to begin with.

Well, to elaborate what I mean.. I’ll use specific examples.

@bri: You made a Guardian and Ranger, why not Mesmer? Ele? Engineer, ect? Theres something within those playstyles that draw you over the other styles, which is a reflection of your likes and dislikes. You pay attention to details that other people tend to overlook (I didn’t even realize Rangers are slaughtering innocent animals around Tyria)

@mojowalker: Some people stick with one character for their ENTIRE gameplay experience, some stretch to two or three… Seventeen!? omfg! Are you a multi-tasker IRL? I’m sure it means something.

@ShinraGuardian: I’ve noticed that trend in healers. A lot of people are drawn to the sense of respect and control they demand.

@gurugeorge: Well that’s my point… We all have specific preferences. Some people like to play characters opposite of their personalities, but thats still an indirect reflection of them. Some people simply enjoy whatever will give them the easiest, smoothest ride.. that still reflects an aspect of their personality. What class did you make in this game and why?

Each of my characters is a facet of my personality, as such each creation can be meticulous and time consuming for me. It has to be ‘just right’ so to speak, in order to reflect the aspect thakittens supposed to. Since classes are a little different in GW2 from there predecessor classes in GW1, it’s taken a bit of thought and tweaking for the GW2 classes to fit quite the same way.

My ele is still the class I play when I feel powerful. When I’m just all around in a good mood. She’s the ‘fun’ me.

My necro is for when I feel dark, depressed, generally anti-social. (Although not needing people to die to create minions now….not quite so fulfilling)

My (old) mesmer was for when I felt playful, or felt like being annoying. She was my ‘pain in the kitten’ aspect. Not quite sure where the new one quite fits, GW2 mesmers aren’t really about control anymore.

I could keep going, but I think you get the point. If I really went into detail for each class you’d probably tell me I put way too much thought into the game, or that I’m freaking insane. Although, neither is necessarily wrong. XD

like mojowalker i play many characters and i never consider any to be my main… yet being a long time pen and paper roleplayer i do have an ‘attachment’ to each one of them and spend a lot of time giving them all a unique look and build that is fun. I have 3x level 80’s, I built my warrior at the moment with dungeon speed runs in mind, my ranger for WvW roaming, my mesmer for WvW zerg/siege assistance (and a bit of everything)
My others are all in process of leveling up (between 30 and 70 atm on other classes)
I regularly play all 3 of my 80’s and the others are played sporadically as i just feel like it or when i want to level a new one to 80 (currently on my necro atm)

Also i am trying to learn all classes in sPvP and still do not really have a main there either (although my ranger and mesmer i have used the most there)

Ainianu.5693:

like mojowalker i play many characters and i never consider any to be my main… yet being a long time pen and paper roleplayer i do have an ‘attachment’ to each one of them and spend a lot of time giving them all a unique look and build that is fun.

This … I have 2 lv 80s (necro, warrior) and a ranger almost to 80, with chars of all the other classes spread out from levels 14-40 something. But it was pretty much random as far as which one hit 80 first — just happened to be the chars I got into a groove with for that particular period of time.

And am I multi-tasker IRL? Perhaps that might be it, but I also think it has to do with me being a writer and my novels having an entire host of characters rather than just a single main character.

I’m quite sure that my Asura Engineer reflects my personality quite well.

I ended up choosing personal story events that reflect how I view the real world.

ie: I chose the college of synergetics based on its description and line in the story, “all things are connected.” It just so happens to be that I love learning about ecology.

Anyways, the Asura race appealed to me because they love the eternal alchemy and seem to be the intellectual type who understand how individuals are just a small part of it.

I love the engineer profession because they are the innovators that seem to try to make progress in Tyria. I chose it for my first character because of their innovative turrets and fascinating gameplay that is unlike any other. The class likes to create and use innovative tools, and I like doing that in rl, too.

I think mine pretty much does. The classes I’ve chosen in all games have either been support or tricksters. It’s how I played ADnD when I was in high school and college. My priests were always some combination of both. I even had what we’d call a monk at one point however this guy swore, got drunk all the time, and had thief like skills (hide in shadows, move silently) even tho he was a holy man in the Asian campaign.

I play an engineer, a thief and I would have played a mesmer if their spells weren’t so weird and loud. I like the spells they have later on just hate having a limited run speed boon and having to wait thru all of those levels to get to the good spells.

I would try to guardian but like that’s the second most played PVE class in the game I think behind warriors so. I prefer underdogs or things most people don’t like to play.

Kind of, but not really. I usually play a Paladin/Shadowknight type class. Some sort of tank hybrid. The Guardian is a bad replacement for a Knight class.

As for roles…well…classes don’t really have roles in this game. This game really doesn’t provide enough classes or differences between the classes for me, but I can completely understand this as it’s MUCH easier to balance

In the first 4 months of the game, I played a Norn Warrior. His name was, not surprisingly, Junkyard Wolf. Mostly Sword+Axe, though occasionally Rifle when stuff needed kiting to death that didn’t die nicely in melee. In those early months it was quite common to stumble upon someone needing saving, and I loved being the Big D-mn Hero. Nothin’ beats coming across a bad situation and Savage Leaping into the middle of the fight to save the day (God I love that skill). Good times.

After about a 4 month break, been playing a newly rolled Ranger. And once again, I find myself occasionally coming across someone in over their head, but now it’s send pet, lob traps from afar, group heal, kite everything to death, res the downed, and quietly slip away. The name? Enigmatic Stranger, wearing an old-west style trench coat. Howdy folks, I was never here.

Go ahead and psychoanalyze that to your heart’s content, but whatever the verdict, I’m havin’ fun. :)

I chose the Thief because I have always liked rogue-like characters, from characters like Taurus (from Conan’s Tower of the Elephant), the Grey Mouser (from Lankhmar), Bronn (Game of Thrones) to Bilbo Baggins. There’s just some weird fascination I have that draws me to the little guy that would rather avoid direct confrontation and settle the matter by wearing down an opponent and stabbing them when they are otherwise occupied.

warrior for fast pace face to face cool looking melee combat, which is not the case in gw2, so i regret my decision and i blame anet for that.

Lighter.5631:

warrior for fast pace face to face cool looking melee combat, which is not the case in gw2, so i regret my decision and i blame anet for that.

Having played a warrior to 80, I’m not really sure what to make of this.

Fast paced? I’d say the combat is as fast paced as a MMORPG could be. Melee in GW2 is all about moving around your target and trying to stay behind it, you’re constantly in motion. If you’re just planting your feet and pressing a key rotation while eating all incoming attacks, I dare say you’re doing it wrong.

Face to face? Other than going into a first-person view, I’m not sure what you mean by this.

Cool looking? Definitely, especially compared to MMOs of yesteryear. Two-handed melee weapons in particular are stompy as hell, and much more gratifying than in previous MMOs.

Please feel free to point out where you think I’m wrong, I’d love to get a dialogue going on this subject. :)

bri.2359:

I come from a single-player RPG background where character custonisation and decisions you made have some impact in game. You can ‘roll-play’ whatever you want to see the impact of different decisions. How much or how little this reflects you own personality is up to you. The success of many titles is related the this aspect and the amount of ‘replay’ value.

I was shocked to discover GW2 has none of this. GW2 is all about meta-gaming, the builds, cosmetics, ranks, achievements, titles, etc. Nothing you bring to the game has any impact what so ever in the game.

You choose classes based on combat preferences. and/or some mechanic or utility. I ‘play’ my guardian the same way I play my ranger. I just use different tools and press 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in a different order. That is it. My guardian does not take on some added ‘goodness’ just as my ranger does not spare the rabbits on indiscriminate kill dailies.

Same goes for helping or rezing downed players. If I want to stop and help or rez, i will, if not, I carry on. This has nothing to do if I am playing my guardian or ranger.

So no, there is nothing in game that reflects my ‘personality’ because the game mechanics do not allow for it.

I respectfully disagree: you can RP all you want, it’s in your mind, and you play whichever role you want without anyone holding you back. That you are allowing the way others play affect the way you play doesn’t mean you can’t roleplay (there must be a few RP guilds as well, strict or flexible, I’d imagine, if this matters to you.) I always RP my characters in my head if not 100% in the game, and often impersonate my characters (male or female, and of different races) when speaking to guildies or a nice PUG group.

I love spellcasters/mages. In the past RPG’s i always play mage. They have always dealt massive damage. However, after making several stumbles in gw2 on bad classes I finally decided on a warrior main. Simply, Warriors are the best PvE class and even good in WvW. Why make yourself work harder for less dps/survivability? Call it “fun” but I dont see many other competitive sport’s going "Aww man we worked hard, lost, vs those superstars but it was fair and f un.

I.E. Movie Space Jam. – Was Bugs Bunny happy to compete vs the Goons?

I agree with your thoughts on character and class choices reflecting an inner part of ourselves, particularly when we’re not focused on making those choices consciously. However I played a Mesmer religiously in GW1 and so it was a given I’d do the same in GW2. Why I did so in GW1 was simple, there was no other game that had a profession/class like it and I was drawn. In fact, I bought GW with the sole purpose to play a Mesmer. I loved how the power behind the class wasn’t all about brute force and pure damage, but rather it was a subtle and gradual control and breakdown of your opponent. Oh and of course because of all their cool glowy pink/purple spell effects and stylish armor.

mojowalker.3798:

I’m an altaholic with 17 chars, so I guess I suffer from multiple personality disorder?

(I have 8 level 80s, one of each profession and I try to play them all equally)

Hello, I’m Astral Projections and I have multiple personality disorder.

HI ASTRAL!

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Well, to elaborate what I mean.. I’ll use specific examples.

@bri: You made a Guardian and Ranger, why not Mesmer? Ele? Engineer, ect? Theres something within those playstyles that draw you over the other styles, which is a reflection of your likes and dislikes. You pay attention to details that other people tend to overlook (I didn’t even realize Rangers are slaughtering innocent animals around Tyria)

I do have a Mesmer, I just didn’t use it in the example I gave. I do not play the other classes you mentioned because I do not like their class mechanics.

With all due respect, I think you are attempting to ‘psychoanalyise’ too much through my class choices. My GW2 class preferences are meta-game decisions and have nothing to do my personality. Taking your analysis to the extreme, the fact I play both a ranged class and a melee class does not mean I am schizophrenic …

Star Ace.5207:

I respectfully disagree: you can RP all you want, it’s in your mind, and you play whichever role you want without anyone holding you back.

Yes, of course anyone can role play in their head and in-game all they want . However, the decision to role play in GW2 is a meta-game decision you make. The fact you need to find certain guilds on certain servers stresses the fact there are no in-game features that rely on role-play.

bri.2359:

So no, there is nothing in game that reflects my ‘personality’ because the game mechanics do not allow for it.

true the game designates the skills for you, but once you’ve done (or abandoned) the story, every choice after that is what reflects you:
- i’ll pick this armour because i feel my charactor looks better in it – thats my style
- I’ll use these skills because i want to beable to do A,B,C instead of D,E,F.
- I travel alone on the map and don’t like parties or i always look for a group because.
- i decided to take up a crafting instead of exploring the world or vice versa.
your personality isn’t just defined by your class, its by the choise you’ve made, whether that varies from day to day, thats tells us thats the kind of person you are.

Arc DLad.2194:

bri.2359:

So no, there is nothing in game that reflects my ‘personality’ because the game mechanics do not allow for it.

true the game designates the skills for you, but once you’ve done (or abandoned) the story, every choice after that is what reflects you:
- i’ll pick this armour because i feel my charactor looks better in it – thats my style
- I’ll use these skills because i want to beable to do A,B,C instead of D,E,F.
- I travel alone on the map and don’t like parties or i always look for a group because.
- i decided to take up a crafting instead of exploring the world or vice versa.
your personality isn’t just defined by your class, its by the choise you’ve made, whether that varies from day to day, thats tells us thats the kind of person you are.

Interesting … I thought the personal story was the one and only place in GW2 where an in-game decision you made actually had some impact, but brief one, at least within the personal story.

• i’ll pick this armour because i feel my charactor looks better in it – thats my style*

lol! I happen to find all the armour in this game terribly ugly. My choices are solely governed by what is least painful on my eyes. In fact all my armour is mix-and-match! The style of armour I think suitable for any of my toons does not exist in the game. Please, tell me what kind of person am I from this??

• I’ll use these skills because i want to be able to do A,B,C instead of D,E,F.*

I use skills A.B.C because of game mechanics and the meta-game decisions I made, and has nothing to do with the kind of person I am. You are really stretching things here ..

• I travel alone on the map and don’t like parties or i always look for a group because.*

A decision to solo or group is dependent on so many external factors, such as who else is on-line at the time, who else is doing he same things ,etc. Again, you cannot infer a players personality based on this. There might be players who would like to group but cannot because no one else is around or wants to. Does that make these players ‘loners’?? Does it make players who do not want to group anti-social??

• i decided to take up a crafting instead of exploring the world or vice versa.*

Well, I have done both so what kind of person does that make me??
See my previous post re schizophrenia …

Sure, you can assume all sorts of things about any player based on their meta-game decisions. Whether your assumptions are accurate or not is another issue.

The point I am trying to make, relative to the OP, is this is impossible to do based on in-game decisions a player makes, because there are no in-game mechanics that allows for player decision to impact the game. For example, there is no way you can know what decisions I made during the personal story. You cannot even tell what faction I joined.

…I sincerely hope not, as I have 8 character. Otherwise I’m one schizophrenic motherkittener.

But seriously, I take a different approach to it: I create characters. I start by creating characters with personalities. Characters that would fit the role I gave them. After I create their personality everything else falls in place. The choices I make through them become the choices I’d expect them to make.

For example, my Norn is a warrior. He’s a pragmatist that, while far from being an idiot, prefers bluntness over subterfuge. “The shortest path between two points is always a straight line”. As a strong fighter, living within Norn culture, that fit him like a glove, and growing up he’d have learned to fight his way out of most trouble. Sure, you CAN go find a key, or try to pick the lock of that bandit hideout… But it’s a lot faster to just smash the door in. And if the people inside notice? Then we’ll just have to smash them as well.

On the other hand my Necromancer is a human, a noble. Born of unknown parents, adopted by nobility, he grew up among the politics and social “plays” of the upper class. The manipulation, the “shadow plays”, the deals, the covert and overt… They excited and intrigued him. He learned the rules of the game, and how to play it like the best. He also found himself interested in the art of necromancy – after all, what is necromancy if not another form of manipulation, not only of life but of death as well! He found an old necromancer in the swamps, secretly become his student and learned from him. Though he always worked towards the good of all, he’s Machiavellian to the bone – a firm believer that the ends can very well justify the means, and while generally pleasant and amiable, he could become quite the sadistic should the need (or opportunity) arise.

Everyone of my characters was designed with such a story first and foremost. This way they become more than classes. They become actual characters.

Yeah my character/class reflects my passions but not me directly i think, you can see what i base my character on in the video in my description, just look at the picture that covers the chatbox.(its made by me)

Close and personal type of characters, barbarians with little to go on manner but not stupid :P I would prefer a quick melee heavy hitter that is barbaric, but there is no such class in Gw2, warrior is the best choice after that.

My character here has been made considering everything of myself.
I don’t like to create characters just to play, I want them to reflect me as much as they can: of course by still being in the limits of what you can or cannot do in the game.
By the way, I’ve found myself overall satisfied with the possibilities here, otherwise it would have been a psychological study rather than a game. I like to make perfect characters but I don’t want to spend too much time on their creation.

This said, let’s get started:
Race: I’ve chosen Charrs because they are a lot like me: spartan tastes, attitude and love for fight, they are born-leaders but also trustfull comrades when it comes to honor and such, but they also have this side who wants freedom and merits all for themselves. They can be very aggressive at the times, almost all of them are stubborn, and have hierarchies based on power and strenght. On the other hand, they are also capable of great kindness and gentleness. Also, most of my friends say I look like a lion, and indeed I like lions a lot, and since Charrs are feline-like…

Profession: Guardian. I had no doubt about it. If I were a living person in GW2 I would be definitely a Guardian. Why?
First of all Shouts; in real life I always help people as much as I can whenever they ask me or need, especially friends. I inspire them to get the best out of them on any field: may it be friends from the gym which I aid by motivating them with words and help and advices, or closer friends which may need somebody to talk to. Hence the act of speaking, or yelling, for them, therefor Shouts.
Second, Virtues: I decided that in my life I want to be a virtuous and morally intact man, and I confirmed this after studying chinese philosophy and the confucian aspect of the Virtue (Dè). Since Confucius said that Virtue is also something that inspires people automatically if the virtuous man is honest and pure, I can’t think of any other profession out there more suited.
Third, Weapons: Guardian has the weapon choise I like, especially the greatsword, the shield and the staff. Since it is a magical and a physical character all in one, plus a paladin that has great defense, It is the best I could think of. I am a person who has a good range of talents, and likes to be versatile in every subject, so being a complete character is a must.
Fourth, Elements: Instead of the more natural fire that Elementalists can cast, Guardians are indeed spiritual and willpowered creatures that use their soul, inner spirit or essence to cast powerful spells. And this spells are based on the inner fire (the blue fire). So basically the stronger and resolute you are, the more powerful your spells can be. Elementalists give me this traditional spellcaster feeling that says they can perform spells only by rituals or formulas; Guardians instead summon them by within themselves. I like to study and such, but I prefer to develop my own skills and talents instead of relying on another method. Even if I use it as a starter point, I’ll always end up in doing things my way, adapting them to me. Guardians give me this attitude, they can understand magic and such, but they use their own kind of magic wich his personal for each one. I love fire, and it is the element that I feel my own the most, along with earth.
Fifth, Role: Guardians are supposed to be the leaders, the mind that directs the fight strategically without lacking strenght. A living banner. They also defend their comrades and protect them against any attack, by attracting aggro. They can heal, defend and attack with great efficiency, which is a must for a main presence on the field. I pretty much do the same amongst my friends and in general with people.

Skills: The Guardian and Charrs skills together fit my playstyle. Greatsword skills are the best for me, because are both good to attack and control. Staff instead is made to defend and control, so yeah, I basically use greatsword and staff as weapons.
I like especially the Leap of Faith, the Inspiration that channels might and heals others, the line that can’t be crossed by enemies. In my utilities i love shouts, especially the Battle Roar, very offensive, typical Charrish, and the wall of reflection, the nicest skill we have. I also like the Sanctuary and the shield of absorption skill. And then, the Tome of Wrath

I would say that all my characters have something of me in them. I like leveling different toons and classes and I make sure that they all fit my play style in some way. I have several toons at 80 and I enjoyed playing them all and when I created them they all had something that I see in myself.

I’ve played mostly a guardian since launch, but I never specced her as a dedicated support. To this day, in WvW/PvE I sport a grand total of 320 healing power and 10% boon duration. I love being though and always being a frontliner, while at the same time dealing considerable damage.

I also love engineers and recently started a necromancer, but I use them for SPvP only.

OP, what does this tell of me?

Astral Projections.7320:

mojowalker.3798:

I’m an altaholic with 17 chars, so I guess I suffer from multiple personality disorder?

(I have 8 level 80s, one of each profession and I try to play them all equally)

Hello, I’m Astral Projections and I have multiple personality disorder.

HI ASTRAL!

I am pleased to meet you!
And so am I!

I’m a software developer. My main is an Engineer. I imagine there is some similarity between us.

Astral Projections.7320:

mojowalker.3798:

I’m an altaholic with 17 chars, so I guess I suffer from multiple personality disorder?

(I have 8 level 80s, one of each profession and I try to play them all equally)

Hello, I’m Astral Projections and I have multiple personality disorder.

HI ASTRAL!

Hi Astrals! Hi Mojowalker! nice to meet you.

I’m Onis, I have five lvl 80 characters, and 4 other slots with lowbies… I got all classes + races, half are female and half are male. Lately I have been tempted yet to buy another slot, even though I can’t afford to clothe my current ones. :’(

@bri: Its not over-analyzing..

You find all the gear ugly, so you choose what gear is the least ugly in your opinion. You make your skill choices based on the “meta,” not everyone does this… And yes some people PREFER to play solo while others PREFER to play in groups. All these things show differences in personality. Your opinions are a reflection of yourself. The game doesn’t have to give you specific rewards/punishments for things for your character, colors, ect to have a reflection of your likes and dislikes.

Wolfheart.1938:

I’ve played mostly a guardian since launch, but I never specced her as a dedicated support. To this day, in WvW/PvE I sport a grand total of 320 healing power and 10% boon duration. I love being though and always being a frontliner, while at the same time dealing considerable damage.

I also love engineers and recently started a necromancer, but I use them for SPvP only.

OP, what does this tell of me?

Ha, well the reason I started the thread was because these things tend to be ultimately personal. I do agree that you can’t just look at another or draw a meaningful conclusion from superficial actions.
If I had to draw a conclusion though, it looks like you perceived that guardians were meant to be for support, but instead of going that route you made the class what YOU wanted to be (I mean, if you just wanted raw damage, wouldn’t you roll a Warrior?) thats a sign of independence. You could’ve picked a ranged class but you enjoy clashing on the font lines and hitting hard.. and despite your main you dabble(which, I personally have a hard time doing, for some reason I’m magnetically clung to my Mesmer), which could signal a whole bunch of different things. Why necro and engineer over say.. Thief? What do you like about them?

I read this thread with some interest since I played pen and paper RPG for many years- just recently I moved house and found my folder with all my favourite characters from 20 years ago

I am not sure how they tie to me as a person if at all since in my RP days I loved playing really evil characters.

I never really think of RP in pc game terms because of my background but I do like to put thought into my characters.

My main is a Mesmer, human female.
She is shy and rather bookish with a fascination of theatre and subterfuge.
She joined the Whispers after her undercover experiences in the circus and working with Logan.
She has a fairly conservative outlook and early on this was reflected in her demeanor and the way she dressed.
Later as she had to take on a more public role she made an effort to be more confident- she is now an accomplished and poised agent.

My second Main is a human female Engi.
She is very outgoing, has a raucous sense of humour and tends to rush into situations because she is a bit hot headed.
She is flamboyant and charming and she will always come to the aid of the underdog.
She takes great pride in her accomplishments but will be the first to laugh if she falls flat on her face.
Oh and no-one actually knows what she looks like since she never takes her goggles off :P

So there you have it

My main is an Ele that used to have a large healing role only because I like playing those kinds of classes, but recently I changed her for more power – in all MMOs I always go for the magic classes first but all of my characters I make sure are pretty, glam & girly!
I’ve always imagined mesmers/Eles somewhat prissy & prideful so I guess that tells you…
c: