23 images of the female pandaren customization
by Mathew McCurley 
Mar 22nd 2012 at 1:00PM
As goes the community, so too I go -- I was worried about the female pandaren model. The male pandaren looked so great at BlizzCon that I really didn't think Blizzard could surpass it. Personally, I think it works and fits well. Check out our gallery for lots of shots of the female pandaren.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!Filed under: Mists of Pandaria
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
Joakim Mar 22nd 2012 1:48PM
"I don't think this model is going to change that trend, but do I want female Pandaren to be skinny? No. But I also don't play them either. I'm going to play a male Pandaren."
And yet, Philster, you somehow thought you had a perogative to explain _why_ the female model is, well, not to your liking and thus will not be a success?
Man, that's like ... priviligied denial dude, all over :)
roseclown Mar 22nd 2012 1:49PM
@Philster;
Well, why is it they like the Blood Elves? The blood elves are currently the only new (and thus higher poly) race that is pretty in a human sense. Worgen ladies were a disaster, and Goblin gals (though I have two and adore them) are toxic green and not exactly gorgeous, though man do they think they are.
Saeadame Mar 22nd 2012 1:50PM
Lol I'm with roseclown, the female Pandarens are awesome, and I can't wait to roll one.
roseclown Mar 22nd 2012 1:51PM
Aaaand it ate most of my comment, for a reason.
Anyway my big point is that to assume that women only make a decision based on the weight of a character is highly inaccurate.
Philster043 Mar 22nd 2012 1:54PM
"And yet, Philster, you somehow thought you had a perogative to explain _why_ the female model is, well, not to your liking and thus will not be a success?
Man, that's like ... priviligied denial dude, all over"
I didn't say that the female model is not to my liking and thus won't be a success. I am just skeptical on female players wanting to play a body type like that. If they do, more power to them.
Realistic it may be, but most people don't play games for the reality. They play it for the fantasy.
evoxpisces Mar 22nd 2012 1:57PM
@OP: I wasn't expecting the female Pandaren to be sexy, were you? I personally like that they're on the thicker side, but their faces are ridiculously Disney-esque cute. As a 28 year old male, I'm going to feel like a sissy rolling one of these but I don't care... I love the way these models came out and I absolutely love red pandas so therefore I need to roll one!
Philster043 Mar 22nd 2012 2:16PM
Seems like my opinion is highly unpopular and I'm actually glad it is. I'm glad that you guys disagree with me. But I'm just going to say one more thing.
If we HAD the option to customize our bodies when creating our characters... would you expect to see this body type all over?
I don't think so. It's the same reason we don't see a lot of female dwarves running around. But I hope I'm wrong. And as I don't wish to upset anybody any further, I will stop commenting on this subject now.
icepyro Mar 22nd 2012 2:36PM
I seem to recall that one of the driving factors in desecrating the female worgen model into what it became is the fact that the original was too sexy and they didn't want them to become the "furry" race, if you know what I mean (and if you don't, spare yourself, you're lucky).
What I find interesting is that a lot of people are comparing them to female dwarves, yet the female dwarf population is relatively small. I guess culture is important in perception too, as if I was to roll Alliance female, I would roll Draenei or human.
As for me, I'm a guy and will likely roll a female panda because the face is cute and, well, I like that body type. I don't roll many females either. None are max level.
Lipstick Mar 22nd 2012 2:39PM
For me I think a lot of it has to do with the face and hair -- and less about the body.
Tauren's kind of have weird hair and somewhat limited options.
Troll Females have 2 facial options that don't look like they got beat with an ugly snarly stick. 1 which looks vaguely vacant and kinda a simpleton, the other which is more serious.
Female Goblins get tons of play on my server -- the additional facial customizations and decent racials no doubt playing a part, because despite being green they are still cute.
Orc Females have BALD heads. There, I said it. I know they are suppose to be these brave warriors that value strength instead of beauty but for me, I just can't get past a bald head, and a green 1 at that. The one and only hair option which is not bald -- is not to my liking. Then we get to their face. Oh god, the face. Only 1, non snarly face. One. And it's not exactly a great face either, though it does have a certain appeal almost all who role this race tend to have this face.
Then there is the blood elves. And yes they are skinny. But for me, my appeal to them is their faces. They have some which are sweet, some which look stern, and some which look crabby. I love the personality that this reflects. Plus they have a bunch of different hair styles -- many of which are nice looking -- with awesome earing combinations. And lastly, for me as a priest, arcane torrent is very over powered.
I could get into humans but I haven't really been alliance in a long time.
I personally like the female dwarf bodies and their hair. It's the facial options which tend to turn me off.
Female humans have only a few cute faces / hair options as their hair texture is really bad -- that aside, for me it's the boobs which turn me off. They move in a very unnatural way when running and are way too large for their frame. It's personally distracting to me.
Space Goats are pretty awesome if you can get past the weird back/butt sticking out thing -- they have pretty faces and lots of hair combinations.
What Gnomes might lose out in sexy/pretty they make up for in spades with cuteness. My only real complaint about them is that gear gets sqooshed on them in such a way that most robes lose a lot of detail which is a shame.
Night Elves have decent hair options, at least a few decent faces and were one of the original "pretty" faces, although these days they are starting to show their age.
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So you see, at least in my opinion most if not all of the seldom played races have little to do with the body and way more to do with the lack of facial options which are not snarling. Or hair texture/quality issues. {Seriously blizz if you are reading this get rid of the snarly faces! I don't like my character to look mean. } In addition many of the prettier races simply have better racials. I mean stoneform? Kinda lame. Escape artist? Okay? Much rather have every man for himself or the ability to fade into the shadows and drop combat...
Caylynn Mar 22nd 2012 2:42PM
I'm a woman. Out in the "real world" I'm a registered dietitian and I run marathons, so needless to say I eat healthy, I'm fit, and I'm in shape. I'm not skinny, but I'm certainly not overweight.
In WoW, I have several female dwarf characters (hunter, shaman, rogue), as well as two female worgen (priest and druid - not everyone hates them), and a female draenei (paladin). I plan on rolling a Pandaren monk (female).
Not all women want to play skinny minnies in a fantasy role-playing game, even if they are fit and healthy in real life. Beauty comes in all sizes and shapes, in the real world, and in fantasy worlds.
Not everyone who plays this game is so insecure that they need to have a fantasy character look like a stereotypical anorexic supermodel.
snarkygoldfish Mar 22nd 2012 3:18PM
"I don't think so. It's the same reason we don't see a lot of female dwarves running around. But I hope I'm wrong. And as I don't wish to upset anybody any further, I will stop commenting on this subject now. "
The underlying problem with the female dwarf model isn't the overall shape (I know a LOT of people that absolutely love them for that alone) -- it's the really stiff / weird animations, the extremely limited customization, and the weird manly face/neck shape.
Once they are updated I imagine we'll see more of them.
And hey...my main is a female draenei. I chose her initially because I wanted to run around as something that looked like one of Disney's Gargoyles. (this is before I fell in love with the lore and delved into RP)-- I lament pretty often at how skinny she is comparitively to how I picture her / generally draw her.
RetPallyJil Mar 22nd 2012 3:24PM
It's people like you who are making little girls starve themselves then committing suicide when they just can't manage to look like a freakin' Barbie doll.
You should be ashamed of yourself, you shallow piece of crap.
/btw, fairly trim and fit myself :P
Jyotai Mar 22nd 2012 4:02PM
"The underlying problem with the female dwarf model isn't the overall shape"
Its the hair.
For me at least.
I've tried making female dwarf toons many times. And I just end up deleting them after a while.
I have the same issue with female orcs.
I can't stand the hair options for either.
Each has a distinctive body and animation that has character and therefore appeal for me for capturing their style... but the hair for both just annoys me. For the dwarves, it looks like "Second Life System Hair" - blocky, stiff, and of an 'outdated 3D-graphics look. Like something I would have seen in a 1995 video game. For the Orcs, it just doesn't have visual appeal to me.
Possum Mar 22nd 2012 4:28PM
Um all the women at Wow ladies would beg to differ mate. Being skinny isn't everyones #1 priority, this isn't a runway.
Drakkenfyre Mar 22nd 2012 5:11PM
As much as I dislike the race becoming playable, supermodel Pandarans would be STUPID. The entire race is rountound and chunky. Hell, one of their RACIALS is named "Bouncy", and gives less falling damage. To have the males look like Pandarans always have, then the women looking like supermodels would be stupid.
Dementron Mar 22nd 2012 9:21PM
I'm female and my main is a tauren moonkin. Basically the fattest thing in the game. This doesn't bother me.
I have three other female tauren, a male tauren, male gnome, male undead, male worgen (I wanted a female but I can't stand their faces), male blood elf, female goblin.
I love tauren, obviously, but beyond that I mainly want my characters to look *interesting* and be fun to play.
evoxpisces Mar 22nd 2012 1:14PM
I am so super-pleased with the female Pandaren that I'm going to roll one the second MoP goes live! Can't wait!
roseclown Mar 22nd 2012 1:15PM
Wonderful!
And those worried about the lack of face differences (besides markings); in the character creation vids, there are two tabs that have yet to be filled. Which means we will probably get a features/jewelry tab like with the goblins or just jewelry like with most female toons, and a tab for the actual face.
But man, between this and her emotes... I already had two planned, I REALLY don't have room for a third/fourth/fifth! D:
Ellemir Mar 22nd 2012 1:33PM
oh I hope so, just one face shape would be so dull
Pyromelter Mar 22nd 2012 1:36PM
You know they are doing it right when the problem is you want to play them TOO much.