Racial size question....

[Gryynch.6920]

Forgive me if this has been asked to death, but I am hesitant to play a race to max only to realize i cant stand the size.  Mainly my problem is between asura, human, and sylvari.  As far as the Asura go I am aware how tiny they are and I have played on e till about the mid twenties.  I enjoy their quirks.  My concern is that at max level and doing end game content he will get "lost" in all the taller characters or the armor models will look crappy on him.  Sort of the same issue with Sylvari, as I have heard bad things about their armor models on the male characters.  I am looking to run a Ranger - Druid, a Thief - Deadeye or Spectre, and eventually an engineer.  I am trying to avoid having multiples of the same race for whatever reason.   

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated, and I know everyone says play what you like, its just I am trying to avoid and issues down the road as there is no way to race change.  

 

Thank you, 

Gryynch

[Doctor Hide.6345]

     Well, I can answer some of those questions, but most of my experience is with female models since they look cuter.  I will start with the asura first. It depends on what you are wearing, but a lot of the older sets don't look good on them because they are kind of squished. But there are a few decent sets that makes them look good. For the Sylvari next, most sets look good on them. There are a few that don't work, but generally you are safe with them. 

     As for humans, there is a reason they call it the human meta in this game. They use human models as the base for all the other species, so almost all the armors look good on them because they were initially designed for them first. 

Edit: Forgot to mention the Asura question with the can't see anything. The way combat works is you will barely see your character as is because you all group up for the buffs. It doesn't matter what size you are because when there are 20 people all standing in the same spot you can't see a thing regardless. Also, you can't turn off all the particle effects from other players as well, so most likely you will be blinded to what is going on from boss and player particle effects as well.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Doctor Hide.6345

[mungozen.2379]

9 minutes ago, Gryynch.6920 said:

Forgive me if this has been asked to death, but I am hesitant to play a race to max only to realize i cant stand the size.  Mainly my problem is between asura, human, and sylvari.  As far as the Asura go I am aware how tiny they are and I have played on e till about the mid twenties.  I enjoy their quirks.  My concern is that at max level and doing end game content he will get "lost" in all the taller characters or the armor models will look crappy on him.  Sort of the same issue with Sylvari, as I have heard bad things about their armor models on the male characters.  I am looking to run a Ranger - Druid, a Thief - Deadeye or Spectre, and eventually an engineer.  I am trying to avoid having multiples of the same race for whatever reason.   

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated, and I know everyone says play what you like, its just I am trying to avoid and issues down the road as there is no way to race change.  

 

Thank you, 

Gryynch

I would recommend going to any World Boss Event (there is one in 4 of the starting areas) and see what group combat looks like.

What you will find is regardless of size, there are the same difficulties with seeing your character as there are a lot of visual effects going on and layers of players standing in one area.

However, might I draw your attention to this: Endless Embiggening Tonic

My friend uses it with her shortest sized Asuran and she stands as tall as my full height Sylvari.  It might help with making your smaller character easier to see.  You still have to deal with the visual noise but, it does help a bit.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Mungo Zen.9364

[anninke.7469]

Well, some medium armors look hideously ill-fit on sylvari guys -"everfarting" coats and torso deforming chest pieces (looking at you, Runic armor) being the worst for me. But I guess that would be the case for every other race as well (I can't really tell playing non-sylvari toons only as key runners) and there are still good or at least decent options. How about making the character you'd like to play, have a wardrobe party with him and if it doesn't work just do a key run and bye?

Edited January 12, 2023 by anninke.7469
typos, what else...

[lezbefriends.7516]

Only thing you can get lost in is Open World, which has dozens of players in a single area. Guess what? ALL of those characters will get lost in chairs and mounts. Just play the asura. Buy a chair to stand out, use the lower level armor that you do like, and/or sit on a mount to have your character visible on a higher level.

[The Boz.2038]

Asura have an advantage in jumping puzzles. Norn and Charr have disadvantage there, due to size/leaning.

All races have the same hitbox, speed, jump height, etc.

[Freya.9075]

I use the minimizing tonic on my asura a lot when I play. He is the smallest size possible too. It’s something about seeing my character being the size of a norns boot that amuses me. And the walk/run animation looks funny when his legs move like drumsticks.

I don’t feel lost in the crowd when I play. I can still see everything happening. No matter your race, you’ll not be able to see yourself since there will be so many players and clutter around you. Big or small doesn’t really matter in this case. 

[PhantomKitty.6520]

As far as armor aesthetics goes, Asura and Charr are far worse off than Sylvari by far, in my opinion.  A lot of armor and outfits that you put on these characters, no matter gender or size of these two races almost always comes off looking lack-luster and basically generic in the long run, unless they are pieces specifically targeted for these 2 races.  And no amount of dye jobs will pretty them up really.  Sylvari, at least, with having an elongated humanoid shape does have a better shot looking decent in their armor, though, I do hate most of their "hair styles."

That being said though, between the races, Asura, Human and Sylvari are actually far better at doing certain things than their bigger counterparts, like Jumping puzzles, like someone else mentioned.  With Asura being FAR superior at JP's by far, as long as the puzzle in question isn't overcrowded at the time.  Being on the smaller side of things, gives it a bit more room for error.  And if JP's are your jam, make an Asura Mesmer for this type of play and you are basically set!  

I also have a thief that I tinker with as well.  I used a Sylvari for this, just because I liked the night-time glow feature of it and I figured it sort of looked cool to have a blue Sylvari with a bit of reddish/pinkish glow to it.  And after some tinkering with a Make-over Kit, I finally got it looking the way I want it.  So, there is that.  Looks great now!  Then again, my Sylvari thief is female as are all my characters, I don't think I've ever tried to make a male character in my history of gaming ever.  It's crossed my mind a time or two, but never really had too much desire to really do so.

[mercury ranique.2170]

Each race has it's ups and downs. I would advice to have more then one toon around.

It really doesn't take too much time to level multiple characters. I currently main a norn/silvari (actually was shifting from norn to silvari, but not sure where I'll end up). This is for the more straight forward content. But I have an asura for jumping puzzles and stuff simular to that.
 

[LSD.4673]

12 hours ago, Gryynch.6920 said:

My concern is that at max level and doing end game content he will get "lost" in all the taller characters

Never mind the other characters, you'll be lost in the visual diarrhoea that comes with 2 or more players fighting together. 

The real issue with Asura is the armour. You can't see it. But oh well, since you can't see anything in raids/strikes/metas anyway,

[DeanBB.4268]

I like the asura animations, character (voice lines, attitude, etc), but every time I start one I end up disappointed in how little I can see their fashion. "Why did I bother getting that Legendary for them?"

I don't have that permanent enlarging potion, maybe I'll get it and try again.

[Dawdler.8521]

14 hours ago, Mungo Zen.9364 said:

However, might I draw your attention to this: Endless Embiggening Tonic

I knew the tiny potion existed but not one that made you larger. 

God kitten it now I have to get that on my largest fattest Charr just to annoy people.

[Naxos.2503]

28 minutes ago, Dawdler.8521 said:

God kitten it now I have to get that on my largest fattest Charr just to annoy people.

I do recommend doing that on a puzzle jump, not quite to annoy people, but because it's quite challenging, since it also messes with your perception of speed. Great fun on already max sized Charr, speaking from experience 😄

 

On topic, I find that even if you're very small, so long as you remain in motion, it's not too hard to find where you are and where you're going. Gw2 players are notoriously like cats that you try to herd, none of them will go in the same direction at the same time, so you should be fine there. I've not had problems with sylvari and humans, even on the armor side, though on asura some of the armors Can look goofy due to being deformed. Like charrs, Asuras do Really well with specific armors, and look a bit off with some. That trend tend to wear off with the newer armor sets at least, as they're more detailed, so the textures arent as spread as they are on the older sets.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Naxos.2503

[Obfuscate.6430]

Something no one has mentioned is that you can adjust your camera to be character height, then adjust your field of view so you can be zoomed in or out. If you really enjoy playing Asura you can adjust your camera to see it more clearly no matter what you are doing outside of a crowd. I've never had a problem appreciating the details in their armor. I main asura and my favorite thing to do is come up with cool armor combinations. 
I'd show you but I don't know how to post pictures here anymore.