Guild Wars 2

While I do currently have a lowbie Sylvari alt and am considering a Norn simply for the animal-form racial, my two primary characters are human, which I tend to choose by default for two main reasons: a) from a roleplayer’s standpoint I find it easiest to portray, and b) there’s something strangely satisfying about taking a race that seems a little common or unremarkable compared to the others and going a long way with said race in gameplay.

I’ll admit it was mostly the immersive RP potential that drew me to GW2; I’ve gained a small reserve of largely human characters that I tend to draw from and adapt to different RP or game universes, and it would be awkward and require a pretty good deal of overhauling to play them as a radically different race. I’ve also learned through experience that frankly, I just have a better time RP’ing when I can directly relate to the character. I always struggle trying to accurately show (for an out-of-game example) the centuries-old, detached wisdom of high elves, the shining and superior attitudes of AION’s Elyos, or the war-and-honor mindset of orcs or Charr. Humans, on the other hand, have always felt like the more flexible factor—they’re diverse enough to allow for a wide patchwork of natures and philosophies, they’re automatically a familiar skin to slide into whatever the lore context, and (most importantly) there’s oftentimes less cultural pressure on humans to always be a shining paragon. I’ve always enjoyed taking an underdog or less than savory character and using those imperfections to spark engaging, believable storylines or interaction, and what’s great is that with humans it’s pretty much taken for granted that those types exist.

Besides: the Sylvari may be pretty and shiny and new to play with, but it’s ultimately human backsides that are easier on my eyes once I hit the thirty-hour gameplay mark. :P