Article: You don’t like your character? Don’t delete him/her just yet!

We have all gone through the ugly thought of “god, I don’t like being a <insert Profession here>” and have considered deleting the character to make room for trying out a brand new character that we might actually like. Many of us yell this and then never give that profession a second thought. Well, don’t delete them unless you can honestly say “I’ve reached level 20 and I’ve tried changing my build multiple times, I just don’t like the feel of this profession!” Allow me to explain why:

1.) Some professions are difficult to grow accustom to until you hit level 20.Yes. You have read this right. One of the most frustrating characters to play as is a monk. When you’re a low levelled monk and being relied on is frustrating since it seems like your spells just aren’t powerful enough and it’s often true. So let yourself level to level 20.

2.) What is your build like?
This is often a problem many people find with spell casters. Is your build all over the place? What kind of build were you going for? Are you completely set on one kind of build? Many people find that the builds are the hardest things since you’re just given 8 empty slots and no hint as to what goes together. If this might be your problem, please, feel free to ask someone. I can guarantee that someone on this message board knows SOMETHING about the character that you’re having problems with. Let us suggest a build and see how it works for you then, when you get comfortable with it, deviate from that build that you once thought was so godly. Who knows, your most hated character may be your new primary character!

3.) Where are you in the game?
Are you in a hard part? A harder area of the game can make someone very annoyed with their character. Ring of Fire has many foes that don’t bleed so if you’re a ranger or a warrior, then your build that makes your foes bleed out is now next to worthless or you're normally a minion master and the rock golems are not letting you create minions. Sometimes having multiple builds can actually help you rather than hinder you. Then again, maybe you just need a little help getting through that area. You never know.

4.) Are there other factors making you not like your character?
Let’s be honest, those of us who have played through at least one campaign can say “yes, we have heard what people have said about that profession.” Monks are difficult because you have to watch the health bars of EVERYONE in the group as well as your own and sometimes additional characters and when someone dies, they get the “you let me die, you idiot” talk. Mesmers are difficult to play as since you have to be aware of your surroundings and know what all of the foes as well as your group is doing but because of this, they tend to die fast. Minion Masters (Necromancers) have to worry about their minions as well as themselves. So some times, they die because they didn’t pay attention to their health or they get yelled at for not having enough minion. Don’t listen to people if they say that you suck. Unless they have played as that profession, which most of the time they have not, then they don’t deserve to share their opinions!

If people are pressuring you into changing your build and you’re finding that you’re not doing well because you took their advice, change it back. As a monk, I favor Glimmer of Light. To me, Word of Healing is over rated. Your build is your build. It works for you, don’t let others tell you how to play YOUR character!

5.) Is your secondary bothering you?
Contrary to what you hear in the beginning on how “you will not be able to change your secondary profession” is totally not true. In Factions, after you get to Senji’s Corner or once you Ascend in Prophecies, or get past the quest “Building the Base: Prisoners of War” in Nightfall, you will be able to change your secondary. For 100 gold, you can go to a profession changer in Nightfall or Prophecies (Hint: it’s free in Prophecies when you complete the desert quests but it’s only the original six professions that are available) and get your secondary changed.

So before you type in your character’s name to permanently delete your character, think long and hard as to why you don’t like your character. You may come to find that it’s most likely one of the reasons listed above. Remember, every character is fixable and there’s no such thing as permanent (other than the primary profession and the way they look) in this game. Everything can be adjusted and everything can be changed to the way you like it.