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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 2 of 2)
Abhinav Kumar Mar 2nd 2008 10:09PM
"I am very uncomfortable both with the idea of playing Cher and Cher being able to kill people with Moonfire spam."
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Allison Robert Mar 3rd 2008 2:06AM
Neither did I. It WAS kind of funny at the time (still is) and I can't believe I never picked up on the resemblance in the character creation screen, but the toon was a dead ringer for Cher. And the notion of Cher channeling potent arcane or natural magic to smite her enemies is - at least to me - deeply, deeply disturbing.
So. /delete.
jst8 Mar 3rd 2008 9:53AM
Cher suggests you neither laugh nor cry, but cower in abject terror instead.
Derick Mar 2nd 2008 11:20PM
There are a nice amount of people who play female undead.
and in my opinion, they are much more interesting looking than BE females.
Maybe I just really like my girls thin...:P
Allison Robert Mar 3rd 2008 2:09AM
Undead female warriors are another one; you very rarely see those, and I can only think of two I've known in all the time I've played. The first time that most of my guild saw their "special" melee attack was when one came to tank for us (it's really a spectacular bit of animation) and it was a surprise to say the least. NONE of us had ever seen it before.
Eternalpayn Mar 3rd 2008 7:35AM
I've got a female undead warrior. :)
Lanth Mar 2nd 2008 11:38PM
Orc female, single ponytail (pointing back, not braided and laying down), dual earrings at the top of the ears, traditional green skin. The only thing that changes is the face, and it's always one of the better looking ones.
Can't play with anything else.
Vestras Mar 3rd 2008 8:10PM
I've rerolled a few times. I once rolled a male Dranei hunter, but I just wasn't into it, mailed all his stuff to my bank and rerolled as a female dranei with the same name, and liked it a lot more. I've never been happy playing a tauren though, they make me feel so slow even though I know they are going the same speed as everything else.
Smudgeone Mar 4th 2008 1:41AM
WTB plains running!
FireStar Mar 3rd 2008 9:20AM
More power to you. Deleted a 36 troll mage (gross). Now I have a 30 Belf mage in my list of alt ranks. Love her.
blackwolf675 Mar 3rd 2008 10:04AM
I'm a sucker for troll girls - especially with their hair down and just the small ponytail on top (though the multi-braids is kinda neat too).
I'll sit and remake a character a dozen times until I'm really happy with it - but my main still has the wrong tusks. I can't wait until the 'salon' comes out, hopefully I can give her the full tusks she deserves.
I think the drenai female with pigtails is cute and their UA attack animation is cool looking (I just can't stand Alliance territory long enough to get one above lvl 25).
My rerolling extends beyond looks though - I've got 3 shaman on the same server, =P
harry.j.macdonald Mar 3rd 2008 10:27AM
Thats so dumb, just change the models.
Perderedeus Mar 3rd 2008 6:57PM
I have yet to reroll a character because of their looks... I guess I'm just lucky ;)
I have a friend who rerolled and redesigned their BE rogue because he originally resembled her ex-husband, though! After 20 levels she couldn't stand looking at him and his hair.
Ambril Mar 3rd 2008 11:46AM
I have a female undead warrior and I think she's pretty badass. Undead have never seemed the favored race for Horde tanks, probably because the tauren size and health racial is so appealing. Will of the Forsaken can come in handy for tanking too though.
I also understand the appeal of female tauren. They're just so… pleasant seeming. Definitely the most matronly model in the game.
Anyway, I too am guilty of re-using the exact same model on more than one character. I also do not feel that the inclusion of new hairstyles and whatnot will lead me to alter her appearance. We'll see.
Hoggersbud Mar 3rd 2008 1:34PM
I've spent hours picking the right combination of hair, skin tone, face, and extra bits on my characters. Heck, it's the reason I downloaded WOW model viewer, so I'd be sure to have a baseline on selection and the option to really zoom in and be sure I got what I want.
Especially since I have a thing about picking the same features on characters when I'm rolling an alt of the same race.
And of course, I've also deleted a lock because I didn't like the name of their pet. Gone as far as Succubus on that one. Luckily, Fel Hunters all have unpronounceable names so I don't have to worry about those.
I do wish WOW had a better way of picking features, even if it was selecting from a table, it'd make things easier for me since I could see what I was choosing, as opposed to finding the ones I can easily identify and count off from there. Or numbers in the selection box. Whatever, just some way to identify them in game.
arcady0 Mar 3rd 2008 3:35PM
Yeah... I love the look of the female tauren. If tauren could be every class I don't think I'd ever make anything else.
Black or grey with spots, and the two white lines on the muzzle, with no ponytails. That's my model, and I'm sticking to it.
Everything else just eventually gets dull for me and becomes a minor alt. But those tauren always have a way of creeping into main or secondary status. There's just nothing like a hot leather moo-cow momma. :)