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The latest patch 5.4 newsBreakfast Topic: How did you create your first character?
by Jason Christ 
Dec 8th 2011 at 8:00AM
When a buddy asked me to consider coming back to Warcraft after a failed attempt shortly after the original release, I reluctantly decided to create a new account. When he asked me what faction and class I wanted to play, I settled on an Alliance paladin after researching classes online. I wasn't entirely sure what exactly a tank, healer and DPS meant in practice, but the paladin could do all three, so that's what I'd be. Plus, they sounded like defenders of all that was right and true.
It turns out, that was the easy part of creating my character. Next, I spent time agonizing over the name. I'd look for ones I liked from the randomly generated suggestions. Then I'd try combining elements of one name with another. I tried using simple words from foreign languages. Finally, I found the perfect name that would define my character for life, a Greek word representing one of the core values of a paladin: Truth.
Having picked a class and name, it was finally time to tinker with the races that could be paladins and see which ones fit the new name. After probably about 100 permutations across classes, from random appearances to manually matching features, I settled on a human, and my journey began.
How did you create your first character? Did someone recommend a class for you? Did the flavor text on the creation screen influence you? Or have you always known what you'd be?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
Chetti Dec 8th 2011 10:20AM
Since wow was the first mmo that I played, and I never played pen and paper role playing games either, I wasn't sure what I was going to do once the installer finished on the trial software.
The only information I was given was that my friend (the one who bugged me about trying it) was a human mage, and that I needed to pick from the blue side if I wanted to be able to group with her. So, I read the little descriptions for each race on the blue side, and the descriptions of what they could be. I settled on a night elf druid. The name I chose was a nickname of mine, luckily it was available. The rest was just clicking through the options to find a look that I liked.
Now when I create a new character, I pick the race/class first (now that I know a little more about things), and then fix how it looks, and then worry about a name. Sometimes the randomizer gives me something I can work with, and sometimes I have an idea in mind and I mess with it till it works.
GabeTorres92 Dec 8th 2011 10:38AM
My first character was a Blood Elf warlock, named Noctrus, chosen because I liked the description for warlocks and I had the BC ten day trial, so I might as well try one of the BC races, and Draenei couldn't be locks. Of course, my main is now a Mage, so I guess I learned where I fall in that debate...
Chalcedony Dec 8th 2011 10:50AM
I started back in Vanilla. My first character was a rogue named "Plastique" named after the DC comics super villain. I was overwhelmed by the apparent freedom of what you could be. I was going to be an engineer that used bombs to destroy my enemies, but then I realized that the bombs had a cooldown and my dream quickly crumbled and I didn't play again for a few months. One of my friends had a raiding guild that needed healers so I thought I'd just level a priest "real quick". I think I finally hit 60 right before BC came out.
Caz Dec 8th 2011 10:59AM
My first character, main, and the only one I play with any dedication is my discipline priest. I knew I wanted to be one of "the good guys" so that meant Horde was not an option for me. Looking over the Alliance races.....Dwarf? Nope. Human? Boring. Gnome? HELL NO. Night Elf?maybe, but it seems cliche to play an elf in a fantasy game. That left the draenei, which I liked because they were unique to this particular game - and they were blue.
I knew I wanted to be a priest because I've always played healers since my days of D&D back in the early 90's (even better was GURPS).
Nemo F. Dec 8th 2011 11:15AM
had a tickle me elmo my freshman yr of college so alas killaelmo was born XD
edgarrinwow Dec 8th 2011 11:22AM
My main moves from game to game, always a human paladin, always the same name.
all of my alts' names reflect the class. priest = heals, life, etc.
But my main's name is norse for "His(God) Sacred Spear" and has a reference to my own RL name
Akueria Dec 8th 2011 11:48AM
I chose a hunter as my first real main toon. Having played Ragnarok Online before, I had loved the archer classes. I chose a blood elf because at the time I hadn't fallen in love with other character designs, and wanted to be Horde through and through.
As for the name, I went with Akueria. It was based off a Japanese song, and now mostly all the toons I make are song titles.
jdryner Dec 8th 2011 11:52AM
Thinking back, I have no idea how I came up with my first character's name. There was nothing like it on the web (at the time), nor was it in any book that I could remember, but "Rathwyn" was the name that came to me. Two of my others, Marshaal (aka Marshaal Waymac) was a human Priest from my D&D campaign), and Finneous (aka Finneous Bogg) was a human Paladin from the same D&D campaign - also named after Finneous Bogg from Around the World in 80 Days. As for Coldmeiser, well, let's just say it's from an old Christmas claymation. ;)
jdryner Dec 8th 2011 5:42PM
Yes, yes...I know....FOGG dammit! His name was Finneous FOGG! FOGG! FOGG!! Why can't I proofread my comments?
naughtyzoot Dec 8th 2011 11:59AM
Came from Diablo II, where all my characters had names from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. My fav in Diablo was my sorc, "BadNaughtyZoot", so I rolled a Human Warlock (seemed more interesting than Mages at the time). Since the naming didn't allow as many characters as DII, I shortened to just "Naughtyzoot". Randomized the look a few million times it seemed until I just manually changed it to the bits I liked.
Of course, I had to make the complimentary Mage (albeit a Draenei), "Sisterdingo" ;)
My other toons? Draenei Paladin "Brvesirrobin", Human Death Knight "Bedevere" (was "Dablackknight" until I got reported infi times and had to change it or be banned), Dwarf Hunter bank toon "Sweetconcord", Worgen Hunter "Shrubberoger", and the twins, Human Rogue "Docpiglet" and Night Elf Druid "Docwinston" :D
Kolonus Dec 8th 2011 12:09PM
My first character, created the day the game was released, was a Night Elf Hunter. I revered the very little I knew of their culture as mystical and wise, and I thought they looked cool. I chose a Hunter because I thought the idea of always having a companion to run around with and watching my back was about as cool as it could get. In naming her, I felt like I should stick to the Nature and Wilds aspect of the class and began thinking of nearby mountain ranges and rivers, and fell upon probably the least plainly named river I could think of in my area for inspiration. Her name was Kwehanna.
That lasted a few weeks, then I became an Undead Rogue, and that's been my main ever since.
VioletArrows Dec 8th 2011 12:11PM
My previous mmo was Ragnarok Online (now *there* is a jump in graphics. :p) and my favorite classes were the Ranger and Crusader paths (oh thank god WoW doesn't do transcend/extend classes). After that it was just clicking. "Human, no, short human, no, even shorter human, no, lumpy purple human, ew, green stumpy fanged human, no, bigger fanged purple elf, no, cow, meh, dead human, god no."
So I play a cow.
Welldead Dec 8th 2011 12:17PM
Well, lets see. My Actual first toon was my druid i had created on my uncle's account. he was Nelf Druid cause i always wanted to play a shapeshifter ever since i saw x-men, when i saw mystique i was just amazed how she could change appearances and change into animals and i got fascinated with it. Since then, i created the name from a LOTRO gameplay i had a christmas and i made an elf hunter cause i liked range, and elfs were my favorite class. so when i started playing wow, i decided to make a Nelf druid :). but for now my main now is a dk named Oculusdeath. Named it after the dungeon the Oculus cause i thought it was the awesomest dungeon ever since you can ride drakes for the whole thing :).
Erebos Dec 8th 2011 12:37PM
I started after a friend convinced me, also. I'd researched classes online, knowing that I wanted to heal, and the druid sounded like an awesome healer to me. He also told me that I should name my character the same way he did: his last name backwards, so we'd have that in common or something... Anyway, I loved my druid and raided ICC with him (long after my friend had stopped playing, go figure). Sadly, he's been demoted to an alt since I leveled my priest, and been renamed after a server and faction transfer.
clundgren Dec 8th 2011 1:04PM
I created my first character to track down some students of mine.
I teach English at a private school. I had previous MMO experience from my college days, but having just started teaching, didn't feel I had the time to put into this new MMO, World of Warcraft, I was hearing about.
But soon I had a bunch of students who were getting behind on their work, and I heard from their parents that the students were spending all their time playing WoW. So I decided to meet them where they were at. They told me their server, and I agreed to meet them at an inn in Stormwind to review their homework. So my first character simply had my last name, and was never intended to really level or progress.
Years later, I'm the only one still playing.
Oh, and my current and long-time main simply has my wife's name. I tried to lure her into playing by making her a toon, a belf paladin that looked quite a bit like her. She just thought it was wierd, but I loved playing the character and so I kept it.
coostov Dec 8th 2011 1:26PM
I picked Camletoe because it's a funny word.
And i picked a troll mage because polymorph looked fun.
StClair Dec 8th 2011 1:36PM
My very first character - always intended as more of a 'scratch' or test character - was a human warrior with some random name. I ran him around Northwind Abbey a few times and took him down to see Stormwind while my real concept was percolating in my head. (He was deleted soon after.)
He was followed by the character I still consider my main - a paladin whose look was strongly inspired by General Beatrix, from the then-recently-played Final Fantasy IX.
StClair Dec 8th 2011 1:37PM
Northshire, not Northwind. It's been a long time, what can I say?
Davril Dec 8th 2011 2:01PM
First toon rolled in WoW was a NE Rogue called Davril named after my Elven Thief I played in AD&D many many years ago. Origins of name now lost in the mists of time lol.
bldavis59 Dec 8th 2011 2:32PM
I have always liked dwarves, and when i saw the WoW vanilla box in a store, opened the flap and saw a dwarf with a shoulder cannon shooting a dragon, i knew i had to play w/e that was
turned out to be a hunter, so dwarf hunter - DONE
crap what to name him....
*hits randomize name button*
Gleagh...ok that is interesting *goes to click random but finger brushes enter*
O.O
that was 3 yrs ago right before the release of WotLK
I am now proud to still call him my main, and i am known on almost every vent server i frequent as Glea ...... and i am proud of that now