Help With Character Decision

[Freya Norgarde.4517]

I hope this is the right place for such a thread. Returning player to the game (been away since just shortly before Scarlett annihilated all the things) and have been trying to figure out a new character to start fresh with to refamiliarize myself with everything. There are two concepts which have been rattling around in my brain that I've been trying to decide between for a little bit now, and was hoping I could get some opinions on how interesting they sound to some fresh eyes.

I should mention that both of these concepts are sort of spun from the same general overarching concept; with the announcement of the next expansion (and the fact it appears to be a return to Cantha) I figured I'd make a 'samurai' or Asian-styled character. I'm pretty sure I want to roll guardian again (my previous main in the game was one with over 900 hours under her belt) because I've always digged the aesthetic, plus having some of the 'monk' stuff from GW1 boiled in is a plus. I also tend to enjoy roleplaying, or at the very least coming up with interesting backstories for the characters I make.

Character Concept #1: Human Female Guardian of Canthan descent (the somewhat obvious choice) who attempts to embody the better parts of her culture.Pros: Easy to get the aesthetic, human females are pretty, armors tend to work/look better on the human models, lots of GW1 lore to draw upon for cultural/personal history.Cons: Human Female Meta™, I already have several human females (granted, they're likely just sitting around for birthday presents at this point).

Character Concept #2: Sylvari Female Guardian trained by an outcast Tengu, from whom she learns the 'Way of the Warrior' (whatever GW's equivalent to bushido is, or some warrior code).Pros: It's not a human female for once, may provide an interesting perspective on those ideals and mindset, some of the tenets of Ventari's Tablet already sound very 'Book of Five Rings' (Act with wisdom, but act).Cons: Depending on color choices sylvari can be difficult to 'decorate' in armor (I.E. dyes in the armor clashing with natural skin tones, etc.), not as much cultural background given their newness to Tyria.

I also had thoughts on a norn female, but the idea for her was significantly less solid than these two (and the shouts on norn female for guardian are...yeah), but I'm always open to ideas I may not have considered.

I look forward to hearing people's thoughts, and thank you for taking the time to read and respond!

[Pacificterror.7805]

I personally prefer the Asura race, although lately have been intrigued by the Charr. That's because they both look the least human, though...I tend to shy away from humans (and, in games that have them, exos if there's a choice to not be one) in fantasy games - though I'm in the minority on that I think.

[Mungo Zen.9364]

Go for the Sylvari if only to try something totally new to you. You might find the stories and lore of the Sylvari to your interest and enjoyment.

I’d also suggest that the skin tones are less a concern for the fashion side. I have both banana and blackberry skin tones on my primary characters and a wide array of armor and dyes look great on them. I find bright reds to be the most challenging to build a look around but have also had success with greens, blues and other earth tones.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

I vote for the Sylvari. I have a female Sylvari Revenant myself, and I can tell you one thing: choosing skin tones and glow isn't much of a problem. The heavy armor professions are extremely well-covered. Most sets reveal, at most, the face.

[Batel.9206]

Hey, welcome back!

I vote for sylvari, as well. Sure, sylvari don't have as much cultural connection to Cantha as a human would, but they have a natural curiosity about the wide world and are eager to learn all they can. Maybe your sylvari saw a far-away land in her Dream, echoes of a stone forest or a sea made of jade, and later, after listening to her Tengu teacher, realized she had seen a glimpse of Cantha. Or maybe her teacher's ideals resonated with her due to the similarities with Ventari's Tablet....or she's just intensely curious because - [stereotypical wide-eyed sapling mode engaged] - MUST LEARN ALL THE THINGS. :mrgreen:

Plus the sylvari cultural heavy armor is gorgeous, and doesn't seem to be too affected by a sylvari's natural skin tone. My personal favorite is tier 2. :) Coincidentally, that happens to be some of the armor pieces the sylvari guardian PC is wearing at the start of character creation. Though heavy armor in general looks pretty good on female sylvari, I think.As far as colors go, Blood Red Arachnid's correct: most heavy armor covers up darn near everything. Still, there's a small amount of armor pieces that show off a bit of skin - or bark, in this case. Fortunately, sylvari have a lot of options for their appearance, so finding something that looks good with armor or with the guardian's skills (being primarily colored in shades of blue or white) won't be difficult.

[ahem] Soooo...yeah, sylvari gets my vote. [tapes "sylvari fangirl" sign on my back and skedaddles]

[Freya Norgarde.4517]

I really appreciate all of the feedback so far. Seems sylvari is the clear winner, so now I just have to fiddle around in the character creator for ages until I can get a color scheme I'm happy with... Remembers how many colors are available for the mixing and matching This...might take a while.

[Dawdler.8521]

@Freya Norgarde.4517 said:I really appreciate all of the feedback so far. Seems sylvari is the clear winner, so now I just have to fiddle around in the character creator for ages until I can get a color scheme I'm happy with... Remembers how many colors are available for the mixing and matching This...might take a while.Given how cheap it is to change the look you dont really need to get your character perfect the first time.

Asura is the master race though. Playing a walking cabbage, bleh. But then again it beats human I guess. Not everyone can be born with excellence.