I spent some time tonight exploring World of Warcraft’s new Armory service, which allows you to look at other people’s characters and stats. Rather than post snarky comments about privacy or who did what first, I thought I’d take a more fun journey through the data, and see how many Meridian 59 fanbois I could find.
The names of the Meridian gods are the most famous names I’ve ever made. And they’re pretty original, which is mostly a testament to the fact I was still a young designer, and thought things like dual-vowels and improbable letter combinations were cool (hell, my own character’s name was Zjiria). So i figured it’d be pretty easy to see how many people were still pining for the Streets of Tos.
First up, Kraanan, God of War and General Smug Self-Righteousness.
Kraanan: 10 matches. All male. 5 Paladins, 2 Hunters, a Shaman, a Warrior and a Rogue.
3 Blood Elves, 2 Drainei, 2 Night Elves, an Orc, a Human, and a Dwarf. Max level 40.
Nice to see they’re all men, but whoever made Kraanan a rogue seriously missed the point.
Next up, Jala. Muse goddess. Allows bardy magic. Afflicted with tragic case of death.
Jala: 47 Results. 15 women, 32 men. 30 of them Night Elves.
The majority are hunters (12) and druids (11). 5 maxed out (level 70)
Unsurprising. The most generic of my names got a lot of hits. Given that Jala wasn’t very central to M59’s pantheon, probably one or two of these even know the name is shared.
Shalille, Goddess of Peace, Light, Healing and Other Assorted Hippy Crap
Shalille: 7 results. 5 women, 2 men. 5 priests, 2 druids. 6 night elves, 1 undead.
Highest level: 49.
Well, at least this time people got the point: Shalille is about fruity healing hippy stuff.
Let’s try Faren, God of Burning Your Opponent To A Crispy Husk.
Faren: 45 matches. 11 women, 34 men. Most common classes: druid (12), hunter (8).
17 minotaurs is the most populous race. One level 70.
Yep, another generic name, and this one is close to the word ‘Feral’, which explains all the animal lovin’ for the name.
Le’s do another more eccentric name: Riija, Trickster Goddess.
Riija: 11 matches. 6 women, 5 men. 2 belves, 6 nelves, 1 tauren, 1 dwarf, and 1 human.
4 druids, 3 priests, 3 rogues, and a wizard.
Now here’s a name that you’re pretty sure comes with some exposure to Meridian 59. I mean, double ‘i’s? Damn, I was a punk designer. That being said: Priests? Really? Are you kidding me? Rogues work (one of these is my rogue), and Druids do as well for the shapeshifting aspect. Also, we never stated the gender of Riija while I was there (on purpose), so the fact that the gender split is even amuses me.
Last god, Mr. Qor, God of Evil, Doom, and Pretentious Goth Clubs.
Qor: 32 matches. 8 female, 24 male. 11 Undead, with all other races pretty evenly split.
8 warlocks and 6 priests.
Nice to see the Undead represent. I sure hope those 6 priests are shadow priests.
Hmmm, let’s do some games that might be a tiny bit more popular.
Minsc: 60 profiles. All male. 14 Hunters, 11 Paladins, 20 Warriors.
20 Humans, 9 dwarves, 8 taurens.
Everyone’s Space Hamster toting NPC is reliably male, and solidly a Human Warrior. Amazing how consistent gender becomes when there’s an in-game representation. But really, a Paladin?
Arwyn: 61 profiles. 7 males. 14 Hunters, 11 Paladins, 20 Warriors.
20 Humans, 9 dwarves, 8 taurens.
Yeah, it’s misspelled (the real spelling of most of the LOTR characters are blocked). Still, if you see a male Arwyn on your server, punch him right in the throat.
Sephiroth: 615 results.
Yes, more than half of these are blood elves.
Drizzt: 713 results.
Strider: 235 results.
Raistlin: 399 results.
Seriously, folks, give it up already.
One more thing:
Zjiria: 2 matches. Both Male, Both Night Elf Druids
You bitches need to give me my alter ego back.
What interesting results have you found?
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