Guild Wars 2

When I first logged in after the patch I nearly went cross-eyed when I saw all the colors and stylized specialization bar. So much color and so many strange icons!

Everything is cool and all, but one thing that’s been bugging me is the Unicorn that symbolizes the inspiration line. Now, don’t get me wrong, Mesmer has always been a bit of a … Uh.. For lack of better word, flamboyant class. Purple butterflies and all but…

A unicorn though!

Its really biting at my ’Murican sensibilities. All Mesmer symbolism in the past have been open to interpretation, working decently for either a male or a female. Hell, I live in the ghetto and could still show off Mesmer to my less-open-minded friends without getting weird looks.

… But a unicorn!?

There are other images in the new specialization bars that are clearly more on the effeminate side, but that unicorn is blatantly screaming “Ladies would love this faaaaabulous rainbow horse!”

I know I’m gonna get flamed to death for this, but could we get some icons that are more gender-neutral? =/ I feel a smidge of insecurity every time I look at my traitlines.

(inb4: “suck it up, buttercup!”)

suck it up, buttercup. :p

I’d prefer a bird, but I don’t mind the unicorn.

It’s a pretty srs-bsns unicorn. Quite masculine if you choose to interpret it that way.

Also, I hate to tell you this, but like everything you do as a mesmer is pink-and-purple butterflies.

Personally I like it, but I agree that mesmer on the whole could be a bit more male friendly. The artwork on both Domination and Chaos features a female, and I think it would be cool to see one of each.

If I gift you a unicorn finisher will you use it?

You gather your friends together, you show them that Unicorn and you stare them out. The first one that says something, mess them up Unicorn style.

You are now in charge of the ghetto.

That scene with Yennifer in the Witcher 3 that took place on a Unicorn makes Unicorns alright with me.

Quite frankly, if you can’t handle the unicorn, you don’t deserve Inspiration. It’s not for you.

Tofu.1978:

If I gift you a unicorn finisher will you use it?

You can’t gift finishers.

I know because I tried to do exactly this thing to my guildmates.

Surprised they didn’t use this image to get some male mesmer action! http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/1/12/Mesmer_01_concept_art.jpg

A Unicorn can kill you with its head (i.e. its horn) … I don’t see the problem.

ASP.8093:

Tofu.1978:

If I gift you a unicorn finisher will you use it?

You can’t gift finishers.

I know because I tried to do exactly this thing to my guildmates.

No, by gift I meant meet him in pvp and use it on him.

Tofu.1978:

No, by gift I meant meet him in pvp and use it on him.

The gift that keeps on giving.

The Inspiration Unicorn approves.

It’s an Easter Egg. ANet is really giving us shortbow as a new weapon, totally themed for the Dreamer.

Ability one: Shoot your enemy and heal them for a small amount.
Ability two: Immobilize your entire team while granting them distortion because logic.
Ability three: Shoot two healing arrows that also take you back in time after you’ve been healed, back to when you needed healing.
Ability four: Drop your shortbow.
Ability five: Transform into a butterfly-winged unicorn granting every buff to your enemy and porting you to your home instance.

Here’s what you do, Chaos.

1. Read “Equoid” by Charles Stross.
2. Mentally revisit the Unicorn imagery afterwards.
3. Enjoy your bad-kittenness
4. Wreck Mes-haters
5. Profit

/bread

http://www.gamesprays.com/files/resource_media/preview/fabulous-on-tap-7236_preview.jpg

Jackums.3496:

Gender neutrality is possible the moment you choose to stop ascribing things to either sex according to society’s standards. The issue is you, not the unicorn.

#prounicorn

Exactly.
The unicorn is for everyone.

ASP.8093:

Jackums.3496:

Gender neutrality is possible the moment you choose to stop ascribing things to either sex according to society’s standards. The issue is you, not the unicorn.

#prounicorn

Exactly.
The unicorn is for everyone.

Agreed, but male mesmers could use some love in the In Game art department

The unicorn itself is typically male. He just likes to hang out with maidens. The whole cultural symbolism of young women and horses in Western society is probably outside the scope of this thread.

Also, we did get Lute Guy. Lute Guy is male.

You don’t think Unicorns are inspiring?

Kain Francois.4328:

You don’t think Unicorns are inspiring?

i think unicorns are pretty inspiring myself.

plus don’t unicorns have a history in mythology of healing powers? tied with their mysterious nature, the unicorn is actually a perfect symbol for the inspiration line.

ASP.8093:

Also, we did get Lute Guy. Lute Guy is male.

Whua, please don’t mention it.

I feel slightly trolled by having the Minstrel being the representative for Glamours.

Xaylin.1860:

ASP.8093:

Also, we did get Lute Guy. Lute Guy is male.

Whua, please don’t mention it.

I feel slightly trolled by having the Minstrel being the representative for Glamours.

Well, it’s not like they’d give us a pic of Anise’s stylish self to rep Glamours. Even though she is pretty darn glamourous …

I feel trolled that the minstrel is male. The unicorn is thought to be hugely inspiring it’s presense brings healing and generally good things. I thought that was a pretty good pick.

I know I’m gonna get flamed to death for this, but could we get some icons that are more gender-neutral. I feel a smidge of insecurity every time I look at my traitlines.
(inb4: “suck it up, buttercup!”)

I’d like to use other phrases to describe your post, but since I like you a lot, I will oblige to withhold the biting commentary in my head. Either you need to:

• Check the tinted/dirty lenses you look through to see the world you live in. Translation: have some self-awareness. OR
• Take the lenses off. Translation: change the way you think about the world you live in.

Everyone do yourself a favor and do some research (google is great!) on the mythology behind unicorns. You’ll maybe find that the unicorn is a perfect representation of the Inspiration line for Mesmers. Maybe we can all then be spared of offensive comments about unicorns relating to gender/sexuality.

Its actually kind of funny you mentioned that, Cho. The replies in this thread have:

• Offered me other perspectives on unicorns from people all over the world.
• Put me on to an extremely interesting new book.
• Taught me stuff I didn’t know about mythology.
• Made me just a bit more open-minded than before, scrubbing away some of my culturally-imposed ignorance.

So.. Totally worth it! Many thanks for such insightful (and some genuinely funny) replies.

Actually, the unicorn is not based in mythology. It is believed to be brought about by a terrible translation error.

the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament mentions an animal called a “reem.” When scholars tried to translate this word into Greek, they were flummoxed. They had no idea what this “reem” was. They knew it was big, and it had horns, and that it obviously wasn’t a goat. (Goats are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.) So they translated it as “monoceros,” meaning “one-horn.” Then, when the Greek Bible was translated into Latin, the word became “unicornus.” And that word, translated into English, is unicorn.

Many scholars believed that the “one horned” beast that was originally described was in fact a one horned animal that existed in southeast asia (rhino??) And since the translation was done in the “bible”, it was consider fact.

(Took my son to a mythological exhibit in the Denver Museum a couple of months ago.)

See, hasn’t this become quite the educational thread?

Sebrent.3625:

A Unicorn can kill you with its head (i.e. its horn) … I don’t see the problem.

how much damage does the unicorn do on a golem, tho?

Menaka.5092:

Sebrent.3625:

A Unicorn can kill you with its head (i.e. its horn) … I don’t see the problem.

how much damage does the unicorn do on a golem, tho?

3k base damage. Also causes 25 stacks of torment.

goldenwing.9654:

Surprised they didn’t use this image to get some male mesmer action! http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/1/12/Mesmer_01_concept_art.jpg

yes please. That looks incredible and would have been a most welcomed addition

I agree. It’s an outrage!

It should have been a pegasus, because…

Rainbow Dash is Best Pony™

Unicorns are fabulous. Inb4 mesmers new unicorn transform.

fluxit.8247:

Unicorns are fabulous. Inb4 mesmers new unicorn transform.

It’s already here:
1. Buy a unicorn finisher from the gemstore.
2. Find some scrubs to dunk on.
3. Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp.
4. Did I mention the unicorn has your guild logo on its butt?

MailMail.6534:

Menaka.5092:

Sebrent.3625:

A Unicorn can kill you with its head (i.e. its horn) … I don’t see the problem.

how much damage does the unicorn do on a golem, tho?

3k base damage. Also causes 25 stacks of torment.

Inspiration nerf incoming.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

When I first logged in after the patch I nearly went cross-eyed when I saw all the colors and stylized specialization bar. So much color and so many strange icons!

Everything is cool and all, but one thing that’s been bugging me is the Unicorn that symbolizes the inspiration line. Now, don’t get me wrong, Mesmer has always been a bit of a … Uh.. For lack of better word, flamboyant class. Purple butterflies and all but…

A unicorn though!

Its really biting at my ’Murican sensibilities. All Mesmer symbolism in the past have been open to interpretation, working decently for either a male or a female. Hell, I live in the ghetto and could still show off Mesmer to my less-open-minded friends without getting weird looks.

… But a unicorn!?

There are other images in the new specialization bars that are clearly more on the effeminate side, but that unicorn is blatantly screaming “Ladies would love this faaaaabulous rainbow horse!”

I know I’m gonna get flamed to death for this, but could we get some icons that are more gender-neutral? =/ I feel a smidge of insecurity every time I look at my traitlines.

(inb4: “suck it up, buttercup!”)

I don’t understand what the issue here is, are you really whining about an icon now?
The last thread you were complaining about how everyone plays Ci now when you were the one who tried to propagate lockdown for a while… I think you need to go outside more.

Uh I’m a very heterosexual dude and I love that unicorn. In fact I’d say that unicorn is bad kitten . People see that unicorn and are all like “wtf, what is that unicorn doing the…” right before they get downed and I’m like “kitten about my unicorn kitten!”

Maybe they should have used a kitten instead of a unicorn.

I prefer the unicorn to the creepy guy on the glamours page.

i didn’t spend my first year of gameplay very slowly making bifrost while wasting my gold on makeover kits not to have a unicorn as my symbol

You do realize that the unicorn is all about “The D” when it comes to symbols, right? Forget all the rainbow nonsense and think about this: The unicorn is a horse (phrase “hung like a horse”) with a horn (a phallic symbol that’s always hard and primed for impaling). So if anyone should be offended by the unicorn it should be a non-heterosexual female…just sayin’

Unicorns are the manliest thing ever. End of story.

Anet pls nerf unicorns

Between this and The Dreamer, the unicorn is going to become the anet mascot.

Next elite specialisation after Chrono we need Shortbow.

Then we can run The Dreamer + Inspiration + Unicorn Finisher for good times.

^^^Bifrost+The Dreamer=RAINBOWS AND UNICORNS….SO.MUCH.WIN.

“You only had to see a unicorn lay open the side of a centaur once, the ribcage flashing white when the ripped skin flopped down, to swear a mighty oath never to f*** with or even look at another unicorn again. I’m putting down the hearts and fluffy clouds and backing away slowly. Don’t want any trouble here. You can have all the rainbows.”
— Lev Grossman, The Magician’s Land

I’ll just leave this here.

p.s. Unicorns are ferocious beasts that can gore you and eat your face off. They’re just shiny it’s how they attract prey.

Riding into battle!

Sorry but, MESMER is known for beauty, grace and class. Specially for a Human Mesmer. Chaos, why even let that bother you. People aren’t harping on masculine art for warriors etc. let Memser be what they are, a class of beauty and illusion. The Unicorn art is my FAVORITE out of all the other trait line arts.

As a flamboyant gay male, The Mesmer class spoke to me in ways more than any other class out of any other MMO. Mesmers are known for their deep love for the latest fashion in Guild Wars lore. So if you are a Macho man who feels bothered by the subtle feminine things in life, stay away from Mesmer please. Or expect to see such beautiful flamboyant art for this amazing glamorous, FABULOUSssss class.

Sorry but, MESMERS are known for beauty, grace and classiness. Specially for a Human Mesmers according to the lore of GW. Chaos, why even let that bother you. People aren’t harping on masculine art for warriors etc. let Memser be what they are, a class of beauty and illusion. The Unicorn art is my FAVORITE out of all the other trait line arts.

As a feminine male, The Mesmer class spoke to me in ways more than any other class out of any other MMO. Mesmers are known for their deep love for the latest fashion in Guild Wars lore. So if you are a Macho man who feels bothered by the subtle feminine things in life, stay away from Mesmer please. Or expect to see such beautiful flamboyant art for this amazing glamorous, FABULOUSssss class.

What’s the big deal about feminity? I’m sorry but I hope most people do not see femininity as a weakness or less than to masculinity. Fem and Masc have their own strengths. One is not better than the other. Get out of that old world mind set and embrace things in a new light. Embrace the feminity. There’s nothing wrong with that.