I’ve been having a pretty good gaming weekend. A few days ago I got some much needed help from a higher level player to get the magicked skull I needed in order to complete the subjob quest. I had obtained the other items such as the damsel fly worm and the crab apron on my own with other parties. Well actually, it would be more accurate to say that he got the skull for me while I waited near the entrance of the Gusgen Mines. Later he provided a much needed guide and escort on the way to Jueno where I completed the Chocobo license quest having farmed the gausebit grass I needed myself weeks earlier in Dangruf Wadi.
I really enjoyed the company and appreciated the help. But I wonder if he may have been a little swayed by the cute blonde avatar I use in the game. I guess you could say I’m one of those guys tarting up online world to paraphrase the recent CNet article concerning female impersonation in online games. The guy helping me out seemed to be one of those genuinely helpful people who likes helping other players. When he asked me if I was a real female or a manthra, he said it was cool if I didn’t want to answer that question. So I didn’t. Generally, my policy is to come clean when asked, but my experience has been that other players prefer to maintain the illusion. This is all part of the fun of playing a game in the first place. So I told him that for purposes of the game, I’m a girl. Also, since I wouldn’t last 5 minutes in the areas we were traveling through, I really didn’t want to be abandoned. Why do I play that way? Not to get free stuff. I play that way because I like the look of the female character models and a female persona suits my relatively nonaggressive playstyle. I make no attempts to play in any kind of stereotypical fashion beyond the occasional /blush where appropriate.
So this weekend has been a lot of fun! I got my chocobo license and rode back to Bastok (remember to change chocobos at Crag Dem). Once back I began leveling white mage (WHM) to eventually sub with warrior (WAR). WAR/WHM should be a good solo combo and attractive to parties when there aren’t any WHM around. Final Fantasy XI is a game that is pretty easy to solo at the first 10 levels, but after that you need to get help for every other major advancement. I’m not the most social person on Earth, so if a cute blonde avatar helps me out a little bit there, I guess I can’t complain.