Poll: Does anyone actually like being the "warrior"?

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I feel like I've noticed a trend among class options for games (although it's not exactly a new or hidden phenomenon): that although they're always front and center in the promotions or box art for video games, no one likes playing a warrior/soldier character. It seems a large majority of people, including myself, prefer magic, ranged, and stealth elements to pure brawn. This is apparent in every game from Dragon Age to Dues Ex to the Bethesda RPGs.

It's not hard to see why though. Magic gives people lots of variety and visual spectacle, not to mention the nerd appeal. Stealth makes people feel clever and makes things more suspenseful and intense. Warriors just kind of stand there attacking till someone falls over, and they're basically the "high school jocks" of gaming...

What do you guys think? Do you like playing as a warrior? Is this even a noticeable trend? What have and should designers do to make warriors more appealing?

 

[theheroofaction]

Well, there doesn't seem to be an option for this, so here goes

I generally like playing a hybrid, so in games wherein I can afford to not specialize I'm generally hitting things with an axe inbetween blowing them up.

Otherwise, not so much.

 

[Zantos]

I pretty much always play the warrior type. There's something satisfying about just wrecking stuff with a giant sword. Always bearded and ginger too, I have no idea why.

 

[Cpu46]

In Tabletop games and MMO's I like playing warriors. They have an abundance of hit points, do above average damage, and that suits my playstyle. I can take the hits for the party and my mistakes are less obvious.

For single player video games I always play as the thief/rogue since I like the difficulty that comes with it and my ability to play it well does not affect 3-5 other people who are looking for a good time.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Warrior yes, tank no.

Unless it's a game like Fallout 3 where melee combat is fooking stupid, I'll always strive to find the biggest nastiest weapon I can and introduce it to the faces of everything I come across.

 

[blaize2010]

rogue or ranger. i suppose ranger is something like... no not really.

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

A friend of mine always played the warrior in games. It was quite convenient, as I play mages whenever possible. In co-op games, she was my meat shield.

I always figured that the reason warriors are front and center on game marketing/promotions/box art are because, based on their visual design, warriors are the most reminiscent of general badassery. I mean... would a game be quite the same, or quite as good of an indicator of "look here, you're going to be awesome," if it had a dude in a dress (a.k.a. a mage) on the front cover, rather than a guy in badass armor lugging a badass sword? In a general sense, I feel like the answer would be no. Same with rogues. Yes, they've got a bit more visual appeal than someone in robes, but a good rogue should be in the shadows: and something subtle and blending-in-to-the-background is not what you want people to associate with your game, unless you're aiming for something in a stealth-type genre. RPGs especially. You usually are aiming for a "hero that saves the world" at the end of the game. That archetype is the armored warrior. Plain and simple.

Also, I used and abused the word "badass" in the above paragraph. I apologize.

 

[Silent Anima]

I generally like playing a hybrid, so in games wherein I can afford to not specialize I'm generally hitting things with an axe inbetween blowing them up.

Otherwise, not so much.

This. When it comes to games like TES I like a mix of... whatever I want at that moment. Otherwise I don't usually pick the warrior or soldier, it's modern equivalent. It's usually stealth for me, and then I choose magic or something afterwards.

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

My favourite is a warrior/mage mixed class.

 

[AugustFall]

Warriors just kind of stand there attacking till someone falls over, and they're basically the "high school jocks" of gaming...

I don't think this is very fair lol. Tanking is important so sneaky classes and mages don't get pwned. Also how is that really all that different from a mage spamming fireball?

I tend start as a warrior when I play an RPG for the first time so I can get all the cool weapons and armor and get to grips with the mechanics. I gravitate towards debuff or control magic after that.

 

[emeraldrafael]

From time to time. I use a D&D character based off a knight (though he's not a tank).

Im not much of a mage, so I usually pick the warrior. they also usually tend to be the most balanced.

 

[cryogeist]

i only use mages only in oblivion because of how OP they are.
and in everything else i love being the tank/warrior
either being able to kill someone in one hit. or just having their weapons bounce harmlessly off. from fire emblem to guild wars. and pretty much every Tactical/MMO/RPG game

 

[Slowpool]

It depends on the specialty of the warrior. I like skilled types- maybe one who uses a pair of weapons, or one who uses a two handed weapon with exceptional speed. My favorite straight warrior type was a D&D 3.5 desert fighter who used a glaive and used a kind of dance ability to wreck shit north and south.

My favorite warrior type, however, is the gish (arcane warrior) or warpriest (divine warrior) type. They aren't pure warriors, but they're a lot more fun to play.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Pretty much in every RPG game I get, I always start out as a warrior, in following playthroughs I go for magic/ranged/stealth but Its always, ALWAYS, warrior to begin with

 

[badgersprite]

No. Warriors are bad and they should feel bad.

The problem with warriors is that they're without fail the most boring class. Usually, if I hear someone say they didn't like [omitted name of RPG] and found it repetitive and boring, I always ask if they played a warrior. Hack and slash gameplay is a lot of dull grind. Rogues and mages (or whatever equivalent) always have a lot more interesting things to do, and having the smaller health bar usually means there's a lot more tactics involved in staying alive than just being able to endure damage.

 

[teebeeohh]

most warriors are done rather boring.
usually the warrior feels like it was designed after someone noticed that in between sneaky rogues, mages who can wipe out a battalion with a flick of the wrist and rangers that can shoot 5 arrows at the same time and around corners someone is needed to stand in front.
Which i don't get, melee combat is something that takes a lot of skill to be done well and i always wonder why we so rarely see warriors that are designed with a sword and shield as their weapons to be able to soak up damage and defend their companions but are also badass fighters and somewhat interesting to play as. BTW remember how mages in dragon age could combine spells for cool results? why is there never a system like that for warriors?
maybe warriors and healers in RPGs are kinda like forcing kids to play any position but striker in a football (soccer for you Americans) match, they know someone has to do it and accept their usefulness and position but they really don't want to do it themselves.

also whenever warriors show up in trailers they ALWAYS wield some oversized weapon or dual-wield. why are shields so unpopular? they are a really smart choice to strap to your arm when people are thrusting sharp and pointy metal objects your way.

edit: oh to answer the actual question: they are usually my third choice after whatever mage class and mage/warrior hybrid (which both share the top spot, depending on the game) is available, i just really don't like thief/ranger classes.

 

[BlackStar42]

No, I always, ALWAYS play the mage. Why hit stuff with a sword, when you can kill it with fire?

 

[Nightmonger]

I'm in the Hybrid boat myself I will generally when available I will employ archery to open combat then switch out to an appropriate close quarters weapon , said weapon being single handed with a shield unless a spear is available can't beat a good spear

Though when skyrim comes out I'm definitely seeing if I can use duel shields for a total defence set up

 

[Smooth Operator]

Swinging sticks and swords is for the monkeys, I got magix to take care of things.