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Roleplaying, the changing of one's
behaviour to assume a role. While roleplaying may seem a little
strange for those who stumble upon it without having experienced it
before, the reality is that it is just another way for players to
enjoy the game. Unfortunately, in World of Warcraft, roleplaying is
usually scorned by those who don't take part in it themselves.
However, by clearing up a few misconceptions perhaps much of this
scorn can be washed away.

Below you will find the top 5 WoW
roleplaying misconceptions and the actualities behind them. Enjoy!

Top 5 WoW Roleplaying Misconceptions

Girls? What Girls?

We've all heard the line about there
being no real girls on the internet, especially when it comes to playing
games. Of course we know that this is simply not true. There
are plenty of the female gender on the internet and more than a few
of them are part of the gaming world. However, for some reason this
same stigma of no real girls gets applied to roleplaying in WoW as
well. People are often convinced that any female roleplayers are guys
acting.

The reality is yes, some female
characters may be guys playing the part. That is part of roleplaying.
However, there are just as many actual females out there roleplaying
as male characters. Why? Because they can. Roleplaying is all about
being creative, creating a really cool character and making them come
alive. For some this character may not be the same gender as they
are. There are no ulterior motives here, roleplayers are just looking
to tell a good story.

Roleplaying is an exercise in creative
thinking and both males and females take part in and enjoy it
equally. Check the forums and ask questions of roleplayers you
stumble across and you will be surprised to find how many roleplayers
are of the female persuasion. SO the next time you stumble across
that group of roleplayers and assume they are all male, you may want
to think again.

Rated X

If you have been playing World of
Warcraft for any extended period of time you have probably had that
one awkward moment where you have stumbled across roleplayers taking
part in some x-rated action. If you haven't experienced it yourself,
you've probably heard stories. While this type of roleplaying does
take place, the mistake most people make is to assume that this is
what roleplaying is all about.

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This is simply not the case. Sure there
are roleplayers who do take part in this kind of thing, however,
there are many more who don't. I'll say it many times during this
article, roleplaying is all about creating a character and telling a
story. Some players feel that being intimate in their roleplaying is
essential to this, but others don't. Roleplayers are a diverse group
of people, just like everybody else and lumping them all into one
category is just bad juju. You never know what someone is actually
doing behind that keyboard and making assumptions is a dangerous
business.

No Other Skills

Another common misconception about
roleplayers is that they have no idea how to do anything besides
roleplay. They can't raid, they can't PvP, and they certainlly don't
know anything about their class. This is so far from the truth that
it is not even funny. While those that roleplay may not place as
heavy a focus on these things, they likely still enjoy doing them.
Just like you may prefer raiding, but still do a bit of PvP in your
spare time, roleplayers just enjoy another aspect of the game. Just
because someone roleplays does not mean they have given up every
other aspect of the game.

Elitist Jerks

One of the most unusual misconceptions
about roleplaying and those that take part in it is the idea that it
is a small circle that cannot be infiltrated. Somehow the idea has
blossomed that roleplayers are the snobs of World of Warcraft
admitting none but a small few. This, like the other misconceptions
listed here, is simply not true. While roleplayers may have their
preferred groups of friends, much like you may have your preferred
raid group or PvP group, anyone is really welcome. Log onto the
forums and jump right in or apply for a roleplaying based guild, you
will be pleasantly surprised to find most people very welcoming.
While there are of course a few bad apples in every bunch,
roleplayers are usually pretty pleased to take new people into the
fold. Each new person is just one step closer to being more widely
accepted in the WoW community.

Roleplaying Servers = Roleplaying Only

Roleplaying servers. Only good for one
thing....roleplaying. I mean, no one does anything else on themexcept
engage in hour after hour of roleplaying right? Wrong! After
so many years of World of Warcraft I am surprised this stigma isstill
alive and kicking, but it is. While roleplaying servers are a
great place for roleplaying and often don't tend to have as hardcoreof a
PvP or raiding community, these things still take place.

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The communities on these servers are
just as excited about wiping out new bosses, experiencing newcontent, and
winning that PvP title as anyone else. How do I know
this? I play on a roleplaying server with many of my main toons and Idon't
roleplay. I am part of a raiding guild and also partake in some
mild PvP from time to time.

Also keep in mind, that roleplaying is
not just restricted to roleplaying servers. There are likely groupsof
roleplayers on just about every server out there. A roleplaying
realm just means that you are more likely to see it taking place outin the
open.

That wraps up our list of top 5 WoW
roleplaying misconceptions. There are many more assumptions players
make about roleplayers, most of which simply aren't true. In the end,
roleplaying is just about players enjoying the game, the same as
everyone else and that is ultimatly what WoW is all about. How do you
feel about roleplaying? Do you roleplay? What are some other common
misconceptions other players tend to have about roleplaying in World
of Warcraft? Share your thoughts with us using the comment section
below!