I thought I'd pass this quick little observation from the Beta Weekends, before everyone starts making their regular recurring characters:
Back in the Betas, I had wanted to make a Ranger who was more elf-like in appearance, so I scaled her down just a tiny bit (say 5%) in height, in the character creation screen.
Bad mistake. The difference between how people interacted with that character and with my other characters was like night and day.
I'm at a loss to explain it -- unless it's some kind of power thing (i.e. my character seemed less threatening) -- but men (and some males-playing-females) got to be like velcro. I ended up stopping any adventuring with parties and would occasionally have to vacate and avoid the cities. Ultimately, she became unplayable. Don't get me wrong, many were nice about it (I had some generously offering to give me things I had wanted to trade for, invite me into their guilds, etc.), but others were practically stalking. My partner laughed about it at first, but even he got preturbed about it later. I never would have thought that such a little thing would have made such a large difference. Especially in a game where they couldn't have known for sure if I was really female (I guess there was an assumption that only a woman would design her character in this way?).
So I just thought I'd forwarn the women of this forum, in case anyone has a similar idea.
A Word of Advice to the Ladies Re: Character Creation
SisterMercy
Synthos
I don't understand why you had this problem, there are tons of women who play Guild Wars (Including my GF) and unless your Gaile Gray you dont seem to be stalked by the masses 
Ive talked to my Cassy about it and she says she has no problem at all. What sort of behaviors are you seeing?
Im 22 but ive always like playing with girls, Not because i expect some godess on the other side of the screen but because of friendlyness and manners. And woman gamers leave less in missions heh.
Ive talked to my Cassy about it and she says she has no problem at all. What sort of behaviors are you seeing?Im 22 but ive always like playing with girls, Not because i expect some godess on the other side of the screen but because of friendlyness and manners. And woman gamers leave less in missions heh.
tastegw
i made all my female characters the smallest size it would let me.
i had no problems with it.
i had no problems with it.
The_Communist
size is no matter it is better to be small so it is easyer to hide.
Synthos
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Originally Posted by The_Communist
size is no matter it is better to be small so it is easyer to hide.
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Ooooh were talking about the game
Ander Deathblade
I think you were just being paranoid.
Xellos
Female frames are smaller then males even when both are put to the smallest. Gogo stealth killers!
Dalia
Sister Mercy, I believe you. It's one of the reasons I made my gal as large as I could make her.
Ander Deathblade, unless you, too, play a petite female, that comment is just.... I'll say "unenlightened" to be kind.
Dalia
Ander Deathblade, unless you, too, play a petite female, that comment is just.... I'll say "unenlightened" to be kind.
Dalia
Loviatar
i always use a female because the view is nicer.
having said that i always go for the smallest for the simple reason there are people who still judge someone by the size of their pixels
i have just the same power as the amazon so what difference does it make?
one other thing is that a smaller character blocks a little less of the beautiful scenery as well
nice things come in small packages
having said that i always go for the smallest for the simple reason there are people who still judge someone by the size of their pixels
i have just the same power as the amazon so what difference does it make?
one other thing is that a smaller character blocks a little less of the beautiful scenery as well
nice things come in small packages
Silmor
Just play a male character if it bothers you. There's plenty of sad cases out there waiting to be your loyal servant and best friend you never asked for, they'll leave you cold aside if your avatar is male.
Cirolle
Having the guys treat you different isnt always a bad thing.
In PvP you will have a (tiny) edge over them
"Hmm kill the little girl or that big guy laughing at me"
In PvP you will have a (tiny) edge over them
"Hmm kill the little girl or that big guy laughing at me"
HotSnack
Perhaps only 1 out of every 8 characters that I make are male, all of my female chars are below average height, and I never had this problem.
Maybe it's simply to do with the way you act(type?) in game, maybe you have an incredible knack in attracting those kind of people, perhaps it's a combination of both.
Maybe it's simply to do with the way you act(type?) in game, maybe you have an incredible knack in attracting those kind of people, perhaps it's a combination of both.
Dreamsmith
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Originally Posted by SisterMercy
I guess there was an assumption that only a woman would design her character in this way?
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tektonik
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Originally Posted by The_Communist
size is no matter it is better to be small so it is easyer to hide.
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Seriously if I ever saw something like this in game I would flame them to no end and call a body block dance a thon in tombs if I ever ran into them there with my guild.
Allmightybob
I've always made my characters that need to avoid hits the smallest size. While my rangers and warriors were always the largest.
Elfis
I always play the smallest character possible in every game. 90%+ of the time, that is a female, and I never have any such problems. Either I'm supremely lucky, you're supremely unlucky, or you're subconsciously seeking attention.
tektonik
...a small character has never hidden from me. I use tab or ctrl and that avoids any form of size.
Deagol
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Originally Posted by Loviatar
one other thing is that a smaller character blocks a little less of the beautiful scenery
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When you /sit, the camera do lower.
Loviatar
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Originally Posted by Deagol
But can you see all the beautiful scenary?
When you /sit, the camera do lower. |
Ander Deathblade
I think I know. It's one of those women who cries harassment when a lumpy male warrior starts to dance in her vicinity. LMAO, I love the warrior dance. Regularly do it when I'm in a town, or even in explorable areas. It was sad that they remove weapons and shields now though, preferred them with.
Anyway, most people find it funny and go along with it, some people I've encountered acted like total idiots, like a /dance emote in game is disrespectful or something. Most fun I had with it was me in Ascalon Armor and another bulky top-height warrior in ascalon armor going at it cheek to cheek.. hahaha, that was hilarious. YMCA all the way!
Anyway, most people find it funny and go along with it, some people I've encountered acted like total idiots, like a /dance emote in game is disrespectful or something. Most fun I had with it was me in Ascalon Armor and another bulky top-height warrior in ascalon armor going at it cheek to cheek.. hahaha, that was hilarious. YMCA all the way!
DarkWasp
Well, in my opinian, the smaller characters stand out more. And I think it is because the camera angles down rather then up.
So I think, if you want to hide better, go normal size.
Ive noticed alot of small characters, but hardly any tall ones. That may be your problem.
So I think, if you want to hide better, go normal size.
Ive noticed alot of small characters, but hardly any tall ones. That may be your problem.
Kha
Not to be mean, but you make it sound like everything that happened to you is based on whether you were normal sized or smaller. That's saying that even the nice people liked you because you were smaller. And this part just confuses me:
Maybe I'm missing something here, but it sounds like you aren't telling us the whole story.
My mesmer was a female and the smallest model possible, and sure I got perverts around me (like with all my female characters) but even my male characters get harrassed at times. It's going to happen when people don't know the difference between adult humor and sick behavior. Either go along with it and laugh a bit, or play a different character.
I do hope your gaming experience brightens up for you though if you are really disturbed by it.
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| Especially in a game where they couldn't have known for sure if I was really female (I guess there was an assumption that only a woman would design her character in this way?). |
My mesmer was a female and the smallest model possible, and sure I got perverts around me (like with all my female characters) but even my male characters get harrassed at times. It's going to happen when people don't know the difference between adult humor and sick behavior. Either go along with it and laugh a bit, or play a different character.
I do hope your gaming experience brightens up for you though if you are really disturbed by it.
Kaiwyn
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Originally Posted by Allmightybob
I've always made my characters that need to avoid hits the smallest size. While my rangers and warriors were always the largest.
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Loviatar
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Originally Posted by Kaiwyn
Does that work? Do they get hit less because they are small? That would be great.
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if it were harder to hit a smaller target all the top guilds would be midgets
SisterMercy
My thanks to those on the forums where I'd posted this, who've observed the same. Why it's affected some and not others I'm not sure. As far as names, I'd have thought that I'd have more troubles with "Sister Sin" than with "Sister Fate," instead of the other way around (I didn't). And as far as behavior, I'd like to think I'm fairly mature. Maybe a little twisted and goth, but that wasn't the type of person I seemed to be attracting. 
As I said, some were really nice about it, and that's not my complaint. I could have handled that easily enough. I actually also don't mind a little playfulness, although I don't think I invite it (and no, Ander, I don't cry harrassment at everything). And I guess I should also say that it wasn't 100% of the time I was playing that character, but it was like a roadblock I'd suddenly run into on occasions.
My concern was the clinginess that a few of them would exhibit. In a few cases, it wasn't enough to politely say "I've got to go," there'd always be an endless stream of "oh wait, you've got to see this," "you've got to come with me/us to Xxxxxxx," "when will you be back," "let me show you Yyyyyy...." Two were particularily bad, and if I spent too long at Ascalon as that character, they'd be back in my whisper.
I'd spent much more time as different female characters and had much fewer (almost no) troubles of this type. Scaling is the only thing I can really think of that was significantly different with that character. Maybe it's something else, I don't know, but this was simply my observation.
Either way, I just thought I'd offer the advice, in case someone would want to know beforehand.
As I said, some were really nice about it, and that's not my complaint. I could have handled that easily enough. I actually also don't mind a little playfulness, although I don't think I invite it (and no, Ander, I don't cry harrassment at everything). And I guess I should also say that it wasn't 100% of the time I was playing that character, but it was like a roadblock I'd suddenly run into on occasions.
My concern was the clinginess that a few of them would exhibit. In a few cases, it wasn't enough to politely say "I've got to go," there'd always be an endless stream of "oh wait, you've got to see this," "you've got to come with me/us to Xxxxxxx," "when will you be back," "let me show you Yyyyyy...." Two were particularily bad, and if I spent too long at Ascalon as that character, they'd be back in my whisper.
I'd spent much more time as different female characters and had much fewer (almost no) troubles of this type. Scaling is the only thing I can really think of that was significantly different with that character. Maybe it's something else, I don't know, but this was simply my observation.
Either way, I just thought I'd offer the advice, in case someone would want to know beforehand.
HotSnack
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Originally Posted by SisterMercy
My concern was the clinginess that a few of them would exhibit. In a few cases, it wasn't enough to politely say "I've got to go," there'd always be an endless stream of "oh wait, you've got to see this," "you've got to come with me/us to Xxxxxxx," "when will you be back," "let me show you Yyyyyy...." Two were particularily bad, and if I spent too long at Ascalon as that character, they'd be back in my whisper.
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If you don't want this to happen, then just give everyone the cold shoulder. If you consider that too cruel, than congratulations you're a kind player, and that's why they're being so 'clingy'. I have helped some 'clingy' players before, some of them (surprise, surprise) were actually female gamers as well. If it becomes a problem, then just politely tell them to stop, as they won't take the hint if you keep making excuses.
Ander Deathblade
there is the option to "ignore", you know.
Laz
lol i don't see why u would complain if u had seen gaile grey's followers u wouldn't say a word, she musta had a hundred ppl following her at the end of last beta in district one of LA. maybe they thought u were flirting the way those females dress, toss their hair, and rub their weapons maybe u turned them on or maybe u were just paranoid. The latter is more likly because i had ppl following me for no reason i think sometimes ppl do it just for fun or to see what u will do. I have done it in other games just to watch the reaction. Like in css just follow someone. It gets perty funny 
Diamondspider
If you don't want clinginess, then the best way is to:
1) don't tell then you are a female,
2) don't talk about personal stuff and just play the game,
3) give your avatar a name that is gender neutral.
If you go into a game loaded with teenaged males and expect to be able to tell them you are a female and not get "bugged" then you are on the wrong planet
Having gone through all of this stuff myself, I don't reveal anything about my real self to anyone unless I come to trust them over a long period of time. After all, I play these games to PLAY them and have fun, not as a social event.
Another sure-fire solution that one of my lady-friends uses is to play a male avatar. That works 100% even if you tell them you are a girl
If I were you, I'd look less at the sex and height of my avatar and more at my behaviors in game.
1) don't tell then you are a female,
2) don't talk about personal stuff and just play the game,
3) give your avatar a name that is gender neutral.
If you go into a game loaded with teenaged males and expect to be able to tell them you are a female and not get "bugged" then you are on the wrong planet
Having gone through all of this stuff myself, I don't reveal anything about my real self to anyone unless I come to trust them over a long period of time. After all, I play these games to PLAY them and have fun, not as a social event.
Another sure-fire solution that one of my lady-friends uses is to play a male avatar. That works 100% even if you tell them you are a girl
If I were you, I'd look less at the sex and height of my avatar and more at my behaviors in game.
Greentongue
There is also the possibility that they are new to the Online gaming aspect or "hit on" all female characters. You may have been the only one that reacted. Getting a reaction seems to have quite an effect. Look how many "Trolls" frequent forums.
Manderlock
As bad as this may seen I tend to want to atack the small scale female chars.
Now before you bite my head off let me explain. The smaller female chars *look* like an easy kill (in no way am i saying that they acually are). For example if you scale down a male warrior he gets stocky as hell, but if you scale down a female warrior she just *looks* weak.
Now ive had my ass handed back to me on a platter by one of those *weak* looking female chars.
This isnt a sexist post, just something that Ive noticed.
Now before you bite my head off let me explain. The smaller female chars *look* like an easy kill (in no way am i saying that they acually are). For example if you scale down a male warrior he gets stocky as hell, but if you scale down a female warrior she just *looks* weak.
Now ive had my ass handed back to me on a platter by one of those *weak* looking female chars.
This isnt a sexist post, just something that Ive noticed.
Kha
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Originally Posted by Manderlock
As bad as this may seen I tend to want to atack the small scale female chars.
Now before you bite my head off let me explain. The smaller female chars *look* like an easy kill (in no way am i saying that they acually are). For example if you scale down a male warrior he gets stocky as hell, but if you scale down a female warrior she just *looks* weak. Now ive had my ass handed back to me on a platter by one of those *weak* looking female chars. This isnt a sexist post, just something that Ive noticed. |
Marksmann
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Originally Posted by SisterMercy
My concern was the clinginess that a few of them would exhibit. In a few cases, it wasn't enough to politely say "I've got to go," there'd always be an endless stream of "oh wait, you've got to see this," "you've got to come with me/us to Xxxxxxx," "when will you be back," "let me show you Yyyyyy...." Two were particularily bad, and if I spent too long at Ascalon as that character, they'd be back in my whisper.
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nigs
I play a small female char, and I have NEVER had any problem about anything.
thegriffgeeks
I am a female and I play all my characters as females & at max side. I experienced no "interesting behavior" and I certainly don't want to discount what you have said happened nor psycho-analyze you or your behavior. I do hope it doesn't happen again and that you stay in the game.
I've not noticed that size makes a difference in viewing. It did seem that everyone was the same height that I was.
I've not noticed that size makes a difference in viewing. It did seem that everyone was the same height that I was.
Adaria
Ok, skimming over this I see its more about PvP sort of ... discrimination? I guess? Due to size and gender?
Well I've noticed something odd with the NPC enemies while playing with my boyfriend all weekend.
I am an Elementalist Monk, He is a Warrior Elementalist.
Now... the odd thing we noticed was that all of the enemies would MOST of the time run past him and crowd and attack me instead though he was closer.
The bears in Wizard's Folly did this and so did the Grawl and Charr along with those stupid little and annoying Devourers in all of the areas they were in.
Is this some sort of freaky NPC programmed discrimination or hint to go for the supposed weaker of the two characters or what?
I never could figure it out, perhaps they figured I was weaker due to my build, or maybe because I'm a girl. I had all sorts of things after me while they just passed him up.
Can ANYONE shed any light on this or tell me if they noticed anything odd like this as well?
Well I've noticed something odd with the NPC enemies while playing with my boyfriend all weekend.
I am an Elementalist Monk, He is a Warrior Elementalist.
Now... the odd thing we noticed was that all of the enemies would MOST of the time run past him and crowd and attack me instead though he was closer.
The bears in Wizard's Folly did this and so did the Grawl and Charr along with those stupid little and annoying Devourers in all of the areas they were in.
Is this some sort of freaky NPC programmed discrimination or hint to go for the supposed weaker of the two characters or what?
I never could figure it out, perhaps they figured I was weaker due to my build, or maybe because I'm a girl. I had all sorts of things after me while they just passed him up.
Can ANYONE shed any light on this or tell me if they noticed anything odd like this as well?
Marksmann
The game usually targets spell casters first, since they can help maintain the tanks in battle. Once the support troops are wiped, the front line can be eliminated more easily.
Diamondspider
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Originally Posted by Adaria
...
Is this some sort of freaky NPC programmed discrimination or hint to go for the supposed weaker of the two characters or what? |
So, an elementalist who is doing a lot of damage and is easy to kill is going to get attacked a lot. If you were the monsters would't you do the same?
P.S. another factor seems to be range, so stay back!
Redfang
I am male but I frequently play female characters. I think there is a Pygmalion strain in me.
It takes a bit of getting used to. The first thing you notice is how ridiculous men act around female characters. I often cringe and am embarassed for my gender. The second thing you notice is how needlessly protective men are of women. Even if you are a warrior and they are a monk they try to shelter you from the bad guys.
When a male player acts inappropriately towards your character, do what real women do. Just ignore them.
It takes a bit of getting used to. The first thing you notice is how ridiculous men act around female characters. I often cringe and am embarassed for my gender. The second thing you notice is how needlessly protective men are of women. Even if you are a warrior and they are a monk they try to shelter you from the bad guys.
When a male player acts inappropriately towards your character, do what real women do. Just ignore them.
Ander Deathblade
good thing that caster targeting is part of the game, otherwise it would not be very challenging. I'd expect this kind of game to feature at least some feasible AI. Of course they will attack spellcasters first, warriors have far better defense but are far less dangerous. If I am in battle, I always go for the monk, then the elementalist and the mesmer, cause they hurt your team most in the long run, and have little armor.