Girls in Games

It has long fascinated me how the interaction between male and female players in WoW varies from guild to guild, and indeed from the parameters of social acceptance most of us use in real life. WoW is a haven for geeks who are probably rather lacking in the social skills department (don't worry, I'm not taking a soapbox, I'm one of them) and yet these people are thrown into a highly social situation and sometimes into the perils of leadership too.  This must be highly irregular - after all, how many non-gamers can claim that they spend Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights with 24 friends?

Leaving the other perils of social interaction for another day, let's take a look at the way the predominantly male culture of the game is completely turned upside down by throwing a few women into the mix. I have met a wide variety of female players during my time playing WoW and I believe you can fit them into these categories:

The Dog Whistle
I'm not afraid to say that this player is my pet hate. She goes around flirting with every man she can find, posting slutty webcam pics and often accepting free stuff and gold, and also pitting the men against each other for her own amusement. She probably sucks at playing her character, but usually gets picked for raids. She is called the Dog Whistle because the other girls in the guild can see through her two-faced act and despise her while the men are oblivious. Any attempt to say a bad word against her results in the men saying such things as "you're just jealous, she's a really nice person". I am happy to say there are no dog whistles in my current guild.

The Fireball
This girl is mostly fine but the slightest thing can cause her to explode in a huge ball of fiery rage and make you wish you never dared be born, let alone point out she is DPSing with a fishing rod. There is no way of predicting when fireballs will occur, and there is no acceptable apology if you are unlucky enough to trigger one.

The Mum
Aww, everyone loves the mum of the guild. She's the matriarchal figure who everyone likes but nobody fancies, so she is a steadfast and drama-free person to be around. She doesn't necessarily have to be old but you usually know you can go to her for help if you forgot to make your flasks or you didn't bring any food to the raid - after all cooking is what mums are for right?

The Nice Girl
The nice girl is just that - pleasant, keeps her head down, doesn't get involved in drama, but quietly sucks. You can't quite bring yourself to kick her because she's never caused any problems, yet she's always last on the meters. You kinda hope she leaves to have a baby or something so you can avoid having "the chat" about DPS.

The Woman Scorned
This girl is either dangerous or depressed, depending on which stage she is at. She had a 'thing' with one of your guild members and now it's over and she's out for revenge. If the cause of this was the Dog Whistle you have a big problem on your hands.

The GF
This girl's BF is in the guild and she can be very stable, depending on how the relationship is going at the time. She is probably accompanied by her rather forlorn looking BF, levelling night elves in the woods together. As soon as she logs off the BF will immediately search for something manly to do like PVP or a really tough raid.

The Lesbina
Not necessarily a lesbian, but for some reason she thinks that all men are out to get her and wants to prove she is just as good as a man - even though no one said she wasn't. If you criticise her play you will be accused of being a sexist pig who is picking on her just because she is a girl. She is probably quite a good player, but isn't very popular.

The Therapy Session
This girl wants to fix you. She knows you have a tough life and she wants to help you by chatting endlessly about your problems and offering advice. She mostly stands around in a city talking and then grumbles that she has no money or materials for anything. If you try to get away from her by joining an arena match/heroic/battleground she will get upset and blank you waiting for you to apologise. Sadly, you're a man so you won't notice.

The Strong Woman
This girl is a smart, strong woman who holds her own in the game but doesn't feel she is entitled to anything she hasn't earnt - she may even be the guild leader. People respect her because she knows her stuff, and she is usually a good 'people person'. She won't show it but she still doesn't like doing the tough stuff - kicking people and dishing out punishments make her feel bad.

I think it would be fair to say I'm a combination of the Fireball, the Lesbina, the Woman Scorned, the Therapy Session and the Strong Woman. Do you know any of these girls? Which one are you?

DK Battle res!

Don't have much time to write tonight but I just had to put this, stolen from MMO Champion...

Unholy

• Raise Ally has been revamped and is now a battle rez spell - Pours dark energy into a dead target, reuniting spirit and body to allow the target to reenter battle with 20% health and 20% mana. 30 yd range, 50 Runic Power, 10 min cooldown, Instant

Yeah!!