GW2 Role Playing Has Strength.

[Cuchulainn]

I've been reading around multiple forums, and I've come to notice that there are many persons who have large misconceptions about the RP community. Not everyone can enjoy the day off by escaping reality even for a short moment. Not everyone is interested in such things. However, I'll leave my personal views on the future of RP and LARP out of this post. I'm here to voice how GW2 will empower RP unlike any other MMO known in the genre. I'm also here to tell the unwitting what RP is not. Without further ado, here is my list of how GW2 will encourage RP.

• GW2 wont have RP servers. This is strengthening in many ways, for it will open the community up to multiple servers rather than isolate RPers to a few servers. RP servers in past MMOs have accomplished nothing other than establish naming and anti-greifing rules specific to the server; rules that every GM generally ignores. Thus there's no other reason for dedicated RP servers than for the developers to say "hey, this is where all the RP is at", which is another way of saying "hey, RPers go here. Stay off the PvP servers...n00b" (WoW specific, I know). Thank god for ANet in understanding this dilemma.
• The lore of GW2 is so grey it's almost overwhelming. The lack of "evil vs good" between playable races excites me, as I'm sure it does others. Every MMO tries to emulate WoW on so many levels that they forget one thing; the majorly retconned lore in WoW sucks ass. It used to be good, but ever since cata it's just going down hill. Blizzard isn't being good to their own lore, so why emulate it!? Thank your lucky stars that we have people like Jeff Grubb around (to remind you, he is a co-writer of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for D&D). Without great writers like him, we'd be stuck with black and white lore...which sucks ass on most occasions. Great story telling is the beginning of people getting to experience great RP. Jeff delivers such great lore.
• On the most basic levels, GW2 offers interaction with the game world that no other MMO in the genre has before. Things such as interactive objects, bar brawls (fuck you DDO), personal story, extremely in-depth armor and color customization, very canon character customization, and a clean, interactive world to work with.
• DEs, scaling, and dungeon paths will add flavor to RP! Gone are the days of setting up events to take down a dungeon boss only to use white hits on them because they're 20 levels below you. Gone are the days of not being able to improvise because everything is predictable (this pertains to DEs). Gone are the days of stale RP sessions because the world doesn't effect you the way it should. GW2 will provide a very unpredictable environment for every RPer. You might be lecturing your disciples about the paragon school of magic, and a moment later you and your disciples will be forced to defend the land from a terrible dragon! It's simply awesome!
• You'll never EVER have to worry about communication barriers. No factions here! Enjoy RP with everyone, and in any way you'd like.

With that said, I know many people will still question the credibility of RP itself. It can be a cruel and unforgiving community, but at the same time the RP community can be the most mature, enjoyable, and even strongest community in every MMO. Let me go over the things RP IS NOT.

• ERP (Erotic RP). You need to understand that whatever horror stories of Goldshire (a town in World of Warcraft) - or anywhere else - you've heard do not represent the majority of the populace. Indeed, I'd go so far as to say that about 90% of the RP population openly rejects public ERPers. Some people are okay with players ERPing in private channels, but even that's the subject of a lot of debate. (Also, I swear the next person who says "I put on my robe and wizard hat" gets a smack upside the head. Please don't contribute the misconception with that stupid reference.)
• Extreme melodrama and Sueism. Those people who run up and tell you their whole life story, which is usually depressing and overwrought? Those vampire half-dragon catgirls? Yeah... We try not to hang out with them either. That's... well that's really not how you do it. In fact, we tend to try to retrain (or make fun of, if that fails) those people. See the website "The Roleplayer's Lament" for the general attitude.
• People talking in Early Modern English ("Olde Englishe"). Well aside from the fact that it's not Old English at all (frankly, that would be cool, albeit unintelligible), nobody talks that way unless they are RPing a character who would have a logical reason for speaking archaically (an actor or playwright, a character thousands of years old, or somebody who learned to speak the language through really old books). Quite frankly, if somebody just randomly started theeing and thouing, we'd laugh at them.
• Losers trying to feel better about themselves. Yes, RP can be a form of escapism, and I've found that it can ease up a bout of depression. But we're not all in a bad place in our lives, and we certainly aren't making up for a lack of social skills or anything like that (seriously, why would one try to get over one's social ineptness by partaking in a highly social activity?). It's just a pastime.
• A 24/7 thing (necessarily). Yes, you can do hardcore RP if you want, but that doesn't mean everybody does. I did a lot of BGs and quite a bit of ordinary PvE on my main RP character in WoW (Modaeus Aurison. You can still armory him and I'm decked out in Heroic gear up to ZA. Woot! N00b status!). Most of my RPs featured RP in one channel and OOC chat with the other players in another. RP could be a seroious thing, but was often fun. And even hardcore players aren't 100% in character - they'll still be able to tell their RP buddies "hey, phone" if they need to. It's generally accepted that double parentheses means an OOC remark.
• Delusional people thinking they are their characters. Yeh-no. It's just pretend. We're not "trying to be" those characters, we're just getting into them for a little while, rather like an actor.
• Something to bug non-RPers. Most good RPers won't bug people if they've expressed they don't want RP. We may try to evangelize a little, since not everybody necessarily understands RP, but if it's bothering you, we'll leave you be.

Thank you for reading. I hope you feel much more comfortable about RPers being in GW2. I also hope you learned a little about how GW2 offers a superior RP experience.

[sethers656]

I PUT ON MY ROBE AND WIZARD HAT!!!


I'm just kidding. I dont RP myself too much, but I respect those that do... I even went and made a bit of backstory for my characters and enjoyed placing an actual story behind the character I will be playing. Maybe GW2 will lead me to RP even more in the future.

[Deleted]

i will just pvp and here and then a dungeon in GW2 so i dont care that much about RP

i never did RP in any game and i won't start now

[Treeskee]

You make a lot of good points. The one I'd have to agree with most is that the RP community is usually a lot better than the general community.

[ZerOKami]

I put on my plate and warrior helm!

I'm quite interested in RP and this was a very good read, maybe I'll give it a try sometime.

[Cuchulainn]

i will just pvp and here and then a dungeon in GW2 so i dont care that much about RP

i never did RP in any game and i won't start now

When I first started playing MMOs I never RPed. I actually despised the idea of RPing. To me RPing was something best left at the table when completing a D&D campaign. After a while, though, RP became a large appeal for me in the MMO scene. After you've "been there, done that" in PvP and PvE, then you yearn for more. You yearn for the opportunity to be more than a set of numbers in cyber-space; you eventually want to act out your character. This can come in the form of personal immersion (acting out your toon through your head), or full blown RP. I came to find RP being extremely interesting in MMOs and definitely extended my WoW life for a good few years. Without RP, I would've fallen out of WoW many years ago, rather than just last year.

I put on my plate and warrior helm!

I'm quite interested in RP and this was a very good read, maybe I'll give it a try sometime.

You should! Don't let misconceptions hold you back. Let your imagination go wild! GW2 practically allows you to make any kind of personality you want, no canon lore strings attached. The lore is set up in such a way that there is very little holding you back from making the character of your dreams. So go apeshit!

Within the lore limits...ofc.

[Squirrelbanes]

I always create backstories for my characters. It mostly just because I love writing though.
My close-nit friends aren't into RP..and frankly are a bit silly about the whole idea. I've RPed quite a few times and really enjoyed being swept along in the experience. I can really imagine how DEs are going to facilitate this and really am looking forward to RPing a bit on all my GW2 characters.

One thing you touch on that I've always been a little bit unsure on, is the the divide between RP and real life. Like the "brb phone". I always found it a bit hard knowing the "RP rules" of how it's ok to break the RP immersion...which I frequently have to do with a young child. That's always something I've felt has hindered my enjoyment of RPing...when real life intervenes lol.

[Merendel]

Dispite there being no assigned RP servers I would not be surprised if one or more servers end up haveing dedicated RP communities on them. With the way you can visit other servers it would be very easy for folks to pop over and see what that kind of RP is all about without haveing to reroll. Even better RP groups could visit another server in mass to try to expose others to RP and get folks intrested that never even considered RP.

[Cuchulainn]

One thing you touch on that I've always been a little bit unsure on, is the the divide between RP and real life. Like the "brb phone". I always found it a bit hard knowing the "RP rules" of how it's ok to break the RP immersion...which I frequently have to do with a young child. That's always something I've felt has hindered my enjoyment of RPing...when real life intervenes lol.

That's why there's the incorperation of "((___))" when you need to say "brb phone". It prompts your fellow RPers that you'll be OOC for a bit, or otherwise AFK. I know that can break immersion for the most hardcore RPer, but you just have to accept that there are IRL needs too. People have to do what they have to do. At times like "brb phone" it's best to just take a little break. This is not to say people don't make time for their RP sessions, this is just to say that the unexpected can come about and hold up RP for a moment. It's the same way in a D&D session when someone cracks a joke and everyone adds to it for a while before everyone gets serious again and returns to their RP.

[Squirrelbanes]

That's why there's the incorperation of "((___))" when you need to say "brb phone". It prompts your fellow RPers that you'll be OOC for a bit, or otherwise AFK. I know that can break immersion for the most hardcore RPer, but you just have to accept that there are IRL needs too. People have to do what they have to do. At times like "brb phone" it's best to just take a little break. This is not to say people don't make time for their RP sessions, this is just to say that the unexpected can come about and hold up RP for a moment. It's the same way in a D&D session when someone cracks a joke and everyone adds to it for a while before everyone gets serious again and returns to their RP.

Yh...I just, in the few times I've seriously RPed, get conscious that I might be ruining someone else's RP experience lol. But I guess it's just an accepted aspect of it.

[Cuchulainn]

Yh...I just, in the few times I've seriously RPed, get conscious that I might be ruining someone else's RP experience lol. But I guess it's just an accepted aspect of it.

The only people who get the feeling that their "RP is ruined" are usually hardcores, guild leaders (sometimes they can be mary-sue/controlling ass holes), or immature kids who think they know a thing or two about how RP works.

Otherwise, you should have no guilt in dealing with immediate IRL things as they may arise.

[Deleted]

Yh...I just, in the few times I've seriously RPed, get conscious that I might be ruining someone else's RP experience lol. But I guess it's just an accepted aspect of it.

As long as you try your best, I can't think of any true RP'er that'd shun you for it. Even veteran RP'ers make mistakes that could "ruin" the experience of others (like spelling mistakes that makes a sentence say something entirely different, or hitting the enter key too early). The truth is, we're very forgiving, unless you intentionally go out of your way to ruin our experience. :P

I'll introduce you to my RP compadre if you'd like, she's an easy person to start roleplaying with.

[Cuchulainn]

I've never been worried about grammar. OFC I'm grammar conscious when I RP, but I never make a note to edit chat while I RP. If I did that, then I'd REALLY be holding up RP by editing my grammar. Most RPers don't fret over small things, even grammar.

Don't even worry about it. Anyone who's that anal retentive deserves a quick boot to the genitals.

[Squirrelbanes]

As long as you try your best, I can't think of any true RP'er that'd shun you for it. Even veteran RP'ers make mistakes that could "ruin" the experience of others (like spelling mistakes that makes a sentence say something entirely different, or hitting the enter key too early). The truth is, we're very forgiving, unless you intentionally go out of your way to ruin our experience. :P

I'll introduce you to my RP compadre if you'd like, she's an easy person to start roleplaying with.

That could be fun yh. I think I do need a bit of hand holding to learn properly how things work.
I have RPed quite a few times with people and it was a lot of fun. I just feel like a noob sometimes when doing it

---------- Post added 2012-04-17 at 08:00 AM ----------

Don't even worry about it. Anyone who's that anal retentive deserves a quick boot to the genitals.

Lol...noted

[Deleted]

That could be fun yh. I think I do need a bit of hand holding to learn properly how things work.
I have RPed quite a few times with people and it was a lot of fun. I just feel like a noob sometimes when doing it

I'll introduce you when we get to actually play the game then.

Not sure if she's interested in joining our guild, as it seems the guild chat may contain some... "immature" content. But she'll be around as much time as her child will allow, I'm sure. :P

I'd like to think I'm easy to RP with as well, but I'm more of a storyteller - whenever I'm involved in RP, there's typically something happening, for better or for worse. Heh, I still remember this one time my character subjected my friend's character to psychic torture. She both loved me and hated me for it. Good times, good times.

[Squirrelbanes]

I'll introduce you when we get to actually play the game then.

Not sure if she's interested in joining our guild, as it seems the guild chat may contain some... "immature" content. But she'll be around as much time as her child will allow, I'm sure. :P

I'd like to think I'm easy to RP with as well, but I'm more of a storyteller - whenever I'm involved in RP, there's typically something happening, for better or for worse. Heh, I still remember this one time my character subjected my friend's character to psychic torture. She both loved me and hated me for it. Good times, good times.

We shall make like a gaggle of ganders and RP!
Well, however such is done. I'm actually looking forward to RPing most with a thief or mesmer...I like RPing slightly roguish characters.
(i'll try to keep the immaturity to a bare minimum)

[Mkalafut]

I'm not one who usually RPs, but it will be interesting seeing a mix of people in GW2 since there aren't servers splitting one community from the other one. I just hope too many people don't bash on the RPers. I know WoW had a pretty hateful community of anti-RP people. Let's hope that shit doesn't migrate here.

[Deleted]

I'm definitely looking forward to doing some RP. Emily is, and always has been a roleplay character, even in a semi-meta sense.

For me, it's all about the escapism. And, thankfully, after many years I've learnt not to Sue everything up. I admit, there are several people I see in various places who havent learnt that. It's a little painful to watch someone walk into a tavern with a total lone-wolf description, be cold and aloof, then wonders why nobody approaches them.

I would disagree with only one thing you've said, about the social ineptness. I, as Emily's Player, actually have avoidant personality disorder. I'm working on it, and the internet and roleplaying really helps. There's a lot less stress online, and if things go wrong, you can just leave. It's a much "safer" environment than say, going to a pub or club, or even just meeting a few new people. I'm getting better.

Maybe I'm odd, but I never imagine I'm Emily. Similar to when I write a story, I tend to feel like I'm just watching events unfold. As cliche as it sounds, there've been twists in the novel I'm writing that were never planned. They just happened, seemingly without much intervention from me. That's what I enjoy when roleplaying, sitting back and watching a story. I involve Emily, but it's "her" that makes the decisions.

And now I sound like a psycho.

[Deleted]

And now I sound like a psycho.

No, you sound like an author. Similar things, admittedly, but there's a slight difference.

[Deleted]

That's why there's the incorperation of "((___))" when you need to say "brb phone". It prompts your fellow RPers that you'll be OOC for a bit, or otherwise AFK. I know that can break immersion for the most hardcore RPer, but you just have to accept that there are IRL needs too. People have to do what they have to do. At times like "brb phone" it's best to just take a little break. This is not to say people don't make time for their RP sessions, this is just to say that the unexpected can come about and hold up RP for a moment. It's the same way in a D&D session when someone cracks a joke and everyone adds to it for a while before everyone gets serious again and returns to their RP.

Of course a player needs to go OOC from time to time, like when the phone rings, but take that OOC in /whisper. I absolutely hate brackets in a channel dedicated to RP, like /say. It makes my blood boil! *nerdrage*

I really hope for a strong RP community in GW2. Something that has been really bugging me for the last couple of games I have played and tried to RP in, but could do so properly and lost interest in the game, is the lack of basic conversation animations! Like /say, /yell etc. Why can't it be added! SWTOR is a prime example of this.