I like to play a Paladin so probably Dwarf or Human but leaning toward Dwarf atm unless I play Enchanter then haven't decided yet. Oh and one thing I hope they change from EQ is that a Paladin can kick hated when a snake was kicking me and it had no damn feet to kick..lol just sayin
I generally factor the class i want to play and then select mainly on cosmetics. Than again it has been a long time where races actually made a big impact in starting stats / skills. If i would go the EQ1 route with the knowledge i have now, i probably would take the race with the better starting stat / ability for the class i want to play. (aka not make a halfling warrior)
Kilsin said:What is the deciding factor in how you choose a race for your main character? #MMORPG #communitymatters
First and foremost I have to look at what race(s) match with the class I want to play. Then I look for races that could be difficult to play where faction is a major concern. Typically the 'good' races have little to no concerns when traveling when those travels take them through/near other racial cities. Not to mention use of city services elsewhere in the world. The 'evil' races have a much harder time and it is that challenge that attracts me.
In EQ1 there was little sense of accomplishment if you were a Gnome that wanted to go to Qeynos. Every city along the route was friendly to you (many not to a Gnome Necro, but generally Gnomes were liked by a lot of races). But a Troll traveling from Grobb that wanted to XP in Estate of Unrest? You were KOS in Freeport where you had to go through 2 zones to reach the docks then had to avoid all the dwarf guards throughout Butcherblock and then had the issue of having to bind somewhere safe in Greater Faydark. You had no access to any city services either. Much more of a challenge and much more interesting gameplay.
I am leaning towards Gnome because of the unique background they have in the game. I also like the way they look so far. However I do agree with the people who are interested in racial abilities and it can be a big factor in what race I choose. As long as I feel I am not making my gaming experience worse by picking x race ( gnome in this case ), then I go with what I like according to game lore and their appearance.
Size. I will *not* play a huge race it blocks too much of the screen and is inconvenient.
Size - I avoid tiny races in most MMOs the camera angles often hurt my neck. I am not sure how logical this is but since my *neck* agrees I will go along.
Back of the head aesthetics - while I can see the appeal of races that I do not consider visually appealing I presonally prefer races that look attractive. Since I almost never see the front of the character outside of the character screen all I really care about is how the hairdo looks like from the back. Ideally fairly long hair on a female.
Racial perks whether passive or active. There is a large streak of min-maxer in me - I used to roll characters for hours until I got one with really good statistics. In the early computer games where rolling a character actually did mean random generation of attributes.
But if I shudder when I look at my character's backside I will delete it no matter how good the perks are.
For both CRPG's and tabletop I always choose a class first. That choice depends on what sort of role I want to play in a/the group and how I'll be able to interact with the environment.
Then comes the race, which is narrowed down by what options I have for my chosen class or what makes sense to me within the setting. If a certain race has lore associated with it that's a great match for the character concept I have in my head, that's usually going to be my first choice.
Stat bonuses and racial abilities do play a part in the choice as well, particularly if those bonuses are a good match for the group role I'm aiming for.
Well for me it will start on the class I decide to play at launch ( tank or healer most likely). From there which race has the most appealing lore to me. So if I play healer probaly a Dark Myr. If I play a tank I leaning towards Archai but still considering the Orge. In the past I have always played a human or a dwarf....I want to change it up this time do something a little different.
Like most folks, I typically start with what role I want to fill within a group and move from there. The most obvious initial choice is class, which then often dictates what races are available to choose from. From there, I start building my character's story and how I want to play them in the future.
I think the most unique example I can recall is from my time playing Dark Ages of Camelot. In the land of Midgard, there was a caster class (Runemaster) that could go two variations of a very heavy damage path, or a third route with lower damage output but massive damage mitigation through a bladeturn buff. For those that didn't play DAoC (or other games with a bladeturn component), bladeturn was essentially a rune that would absorb the full damage of the single next physical attack, and as the skill leveled up it went from a single target castable ability, to a group castable ability, to finally a group-wide recurring chant (bard song) that would pulse every several seconds.
Thats enough on mechanics, BUT I knew I wanted to explore the path of bladeturns and snares which directly impacted my race choice. There were the ideal races (small and weak, high magic damage and fast casting speed) that most folks chose, there was a human type race with typical human-esque qualities and then there were the dwarves. I was actually shocked when I realized a dwarf could even play as the runemaster (but thinking about it now, dwarves and runes align in my head) bc they were always priestly or stout and strong in my brain. Fortunately that played so perfectly into my concept for the Bulwark of Odin - shielding my allies from incoming damage like a magical tank. Plus, it had the added benefit of being a rare race/class combo (always fun) and not targetted first in PvP - "dwarfs arent casters!"
Another example of how I got to choosing a race was from my time playing classic EQ. I wanted to play a wizard, and by this point in my time playig the game I knew they could port and often times the only class who could port to certain zones. This guided my backstory of a typical wandering wizard, travelling the various planes (be they Air or the Plains of Karana) and doing solo quests, which obviously needed a deity to match. Fortunately, there was Quellious and only a few races could follow them. This narrowed my choices significantly and I eventually went with an Erudite due to their racial passive being a slightly higher resistance to magical effects - I just thought it more fitting for a wizard who understood the arcane so intricately to not be as vulnerable to it. The nail in the coffin though was that they were the only race who's robes ALWAYS had a hood component; some people hated this aesthetic but I found it quite unique and charming.
TLDR: I primarily choose my race after my class and one that aligns with my backstory / intended playstyle. Secondary influences are racial abilites and aesthetic/flair.
I always choose the race which is the biggest, so i will go for Ogres, another race I have my eyes on are the dwarfes, but iam pretty sure i roll Ogre.
How they look. So far Iksar (original model, not the revamp dinosaur looking models) were the coolest MMO race I've seen/played to date, and they had some of the coolest lore too. I've generally had a soft spot for reptile and amphibian races ever since.
Otherwise I usually go for the more "odd" races, so in Pantheon that likely will be Skarr or Gnome (depending on their final models).
I usually pick a race first. Usually based on how they look and their fluff. Then pick a class. Generally i choose half elf first but since no half elves will go dwarf or human. Dwarves and Humans have always been my staple if no half elves in game or the half elves look bad.