Rolling the same toon
by Allison Robert 
Mar 2nd 2008 at 6:30PM
When I'm being completely honest with myself, I'm forced to admit that one of the things holding my alts back is that I get dissatisfied with their appearance. Whether it's the limited number of options you get at the character selection screen, or just an overwhelming and completely inexplicable preference for a single character model, I always find myself thinking at some point in an alt's 20's or 30's that I'd take them back to the drawing board if I could. I deleted a level 30 Night Elf Druid in no small part because she bore an uncanny resemblance to Cher, and I am very uncomfortable both with the idea of playing Cher and Cher being able to kill people with Moonfire spam. I'm pretty close to deleting a level 30 Draenei Mage for the same reason. Well, not because she looks like Cher, but something about her appearance just....bugs me.
My main is the only character for whom I've never had that impulse, and I don't know why. Female Tauren don't have particularly interesting animations, jokes, or special attacks. They're less plausible (how on earth do they run like that?), less dramatic, and less impressive-looking in endgame armor than their male counterparts. Maybe it's just their distinctively awkward gait -- you can tell it's them from a mile away -- or just that so few people play a Hordeside female who's not a Blood Elf, but I find them hopelessly endearing.
So I keep rolling moo-cows. Or, to be accurate, a particular model. Call me boring, but no toon from my growing herd will ever be mistaken for Cher.
Filed under: Night Elves, Tauren, Druid, Mage, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Draenei, Blood Elves, Alts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Snailking Mar 2nd 2008 6:44PM
I agree. I have a pre-bc 60 druid that I never take out because I hate his hair. I've also re-rolled probably 20 characters in their 20's mostly because something starts to bother me about their appearance, or sometimes even their name (sounds good at first, but slowly begins to dissatisfy me).
Guess I'm a little ocd about things like that. Oh well.
recrudesce Mar 2nd 2008 6:55PM
i hate my Nelf Druid because of his floppy feet, it just bugs the hell out of me when he runs.
i dont play my female human paladin because she looks like she's cross eyed :P
i dont play my male human mage cos he looks like a cross dresser.
so now i play my wonderful female belf priest who looks good in anything, and my male undead warlock cos he looks... well, awesome :D
VSpeck Mar 2nd 2008 10:20PM
Undead males have their problems too. The textures on their robes are stretched out horribly and collars like The Collar of Aldor look abysmal on them.
recrudesce Mar 3rd 2008 3:53AM
yeah, i dont like the fact their spine and ribs shows through their robe/cape :(
Todd Mar 2nd 2008 7:03PM
Seems to happen mostly with Ally characters.
Matdredalia Mar 2nd 2008 11:46PM
Only the NElfs, I tell ya'. Only the Nelfs.
Uncle Vinny Mar 2nd 2008 7:08PM
I totally agree. Female taurens are awesome, but I'm always pulling for the little guy. (My main is a female dwarf.)
Allison Robert Mar 3rd 2008 1:58AM
Female dwarves are another one you almost NEVER see. I know exactly one female dwarf (priest) and that's it.
Smudgeone Mar 4th 2008 1:37AM
You think female dwarves are rare? When was the last time you saw a female orc. They simply do not exist.
Dustin Mar 2nd 2008 7:08PM
Thats something I've never understood. People call horde characters ugly, but no matter how I've looked at it, all but trolls look better than any alliance race. I dunno, maybe its just me.
Allison Robert Mar 3rd 2008 1:55AM
Not just you. I find Horde aesthetics, particularly casting animations, to be a lot more appealing; for whatever reason, they just seem to be so much more into what they're doing than their Alliance counterparts.
John Doe May 20th 2008 3:40PM
Agreed.
Only allies I can stand are female gnomes, with pig tails [normal colored, not that stupid ass green/pink]
Mats Mar 2nd 2008 7:24PM
I always make sure to make my character look like something I can stand to watch for a long period of time.
So my undead warlock does not have a missing jaw or a bald head, my orc warrior has the most evil looking face I could make (to better to tank you with) and my Shadowpriest, well, that look never matters much, being in shadow form all the time.
Yoe Mar 2nd 2008 7:49PM
I find looks dont bother me as much as animations. E.g i rerolled undead mage from a gnome mage because undeads have the coolest casting stances.
Allison Robert Mar 3rd 2008 2:01AM
I have to agree. Animation-wise the undead male gets the best casting one in the game, although the male orc summon/cast animations are also pretty good. Female draenei animations are neat too, but the male draenei - not so much so.
kunukia Mar 2nd 2008 8:02PM
The female Taurens are my favorite Horde, I love their dance!
The female Dwarfs are my favorite Ally, and if it isn't a druid or a warlock, it is a Dwarf. Oh, wait, my Shammie is Dreanei.
mattarin Mar 2nd 2008 8:49PM
i cant seem to get my allie alts too look good except for my draenei shaman and paladin but my other 10 alts are horde because they look cool and intimidating. i think blood elf females are way hotter than human females. the human males look like they have down syndrome.
Scelerat Mar 2nd 2008 9:17PM
Every dwarf I have or will have is a female, and they all have the same character model....why? Whirling Pigtails of DOOOOM! Seein' those braids go crazy-go-nuts is just awesome beyond belief.
Aside from that, my characters are almost all draenei or trolls, with an odd undead here and there. And really, the trolls are my favorite.
csarcops Mar 2nd 2008 11:38PM
I second the whirly-braids! I have a dwarf priestess and I love watching them fly around when she's casting. I wish I'd put them on my main (dwarf hunter).
Saelorn Mar 2nd 2008 9:52PM
I always make sure to enter game and get a good zoomed close up on facial features whenever I make a new character. I hated having to drop a thirty-something paladin because she her skin wasn't quite what I thought it was when I chose it on a lower resolution.
The other problem is that I end up with many characters that look too similar. Sure, there are a lot of options in customizing appearance, but 95% of those aren't viable because they make a character ugly; the remaining 5% can only be combined in so many ways, so that my druid ends up looking exactly like my warrior and rogue, but with a slightly different haircut.