How to get your girl to start playing WoW  

How to get your girl to start playing WoW

My wife never played a video game before in her life (except Super Mario Brothers, and that is about it). I am a lifelong gamer, and have been playing WoW since beta. My wife now plays WoW, she is not "in love with it" (at least not like I am) but she enjoys running raids and such - but the daily grind is a no-go. Never the less, here is how I got her this far:

1. I don't know what kind of woman/girl you are dealing with, but my first piece of advice to break the ice would be to offer to participate in something she loves, that you absolutely abhor (someone mentioned shoe shopping - this would be good). After you do this (with a sincere smile on your face), then ask her if she can spend some time with you doing something you enjoy - as you just spent time with her doing something she enjoyed. Lure her to the computer with chocolates and flowers.

2. Get a free 10 day trial so you can run with her in game. ROLL A NEW TOON!!! This way you can work together - this will be ALOT more fun than if you show up with your epic laden super toon and destroy all of Elwynn Forests mobs without effort. Make it a challenge. Work together on the same level. Also, this will show her that you care enough to be with her that you put your super toon main aside to be with her. Trust me, if she understands that, it will mean something to her. Also, roll a male toon - this will maintain the idea of you guys being a couple, which she will like. Also roll a toon of the same race as the toon she makes (this is to demonstrate compatibility between your characters - somehow gnomes and NEs just don't seem to be able to get jiggy wit it). It would also be a good idea to make your toon handsome if you can. No one loves a bald dorf with glowing red eyes and mascarra, except maybe his mom. It may also help to roll a Hybrid toon as they can do many things - heal, tank, DPS. Because your girl is new she may not be very effective at first. If you can do alot of what is needed, then it will help you be more successful - and failure is less fun - though it is sometimes necessary to show that winning is not guaranteed, and that she has to work to win. Work to augment her character - if she is DPS, then you be a tank to keep her safe - she will like that you are there to protect her. If she is a tank, be a healer, if she is a healer, be DPS, etc.

3. Start by showing her that she can make a character that she can change the hair, face, earrings, eyes, whatever on. Girls of all ages LOVE to play dress up. Once she makes a character, grab your main, send her a small amount of gold, then run her character to the nearest clothing vendor/AH so she can buy a few non-level specific dresses to try on (this is assuming that she rolls a female - but most women usually do - it is almost always the perverted guys that roll toons of the opposite sex - I have 3 female toons). =)

3. The small amount of gold that you sent her should go fast - once she is out, she will likely ask for more. Tell her that there is a way to earn it by running quests. At this point show her what she can do with her toon. BE PATIENT!!! She probably knows absolutely nothing about WoW, let alone MMORPG's altogether. Remember how you felt when you left a long played MMO and started a new one? The interface was unfamiliar and foreign? Imagine that a 1000 times worse and now you see where she is. Keep the interface simple, remove any extra buttons or addons you have so that it is a clean, uncluttered screen - she will have alot more fun if she is not as confused.

4. Run quests together and start to earn more money. Show her how combat works and praise every accomplishment. BE PATIENT!!! Also, don't push her to start a marathon run for 8 hours of play the first time. If you can get an hour out of her, then that is a major accomplishment, and make sure to thank her when you guys are done and tell her how much fun you had playing with her, then immediately begin to give her a foot rub. =) Jokes aside, the real hook comes after gameplay ends: she will think about the game when you guys aren't playing. She will be curious to see what is next. What skills do I get? When can I fight tougher monsters? What are instances? If you do all these things and DON'T PUSH HER TO PLAY you may find that she comes back asking questions about it and wanting to find out more. Though it is a good idea to occasionally ask her if she is interested in playing again for maybe 30 minutes or so, and that it would REALLY mean alot to you.

The above is the good clean way to get your girl involved. Here is a last trick which I am sure can help - but I don't personally endorse (this disclaimer is in case my wife reads this =P):

1. If your part of a guild and have vent, play the chat through your external speakers instead of a headset so that your wife/GF can hear any female guild members talking - this will do two things: It will show her that other girls do play WoW (and that more girls play WoW than any other MMO in history), and she will feel a twinge of jealousy and protectiveness in that you are in game with other girls - she will want to protect her property - or at least you hope she does.

In the end, you may or may not get your significant other involved. Either way, enjoy WoW, but enjoy RL as well - and don't let WoW ruin an important relationship. Even in the closest relationships it is a good thing to have hobbies or activities you can do apart from each other which are your own things. I am lucky in that my wife plays with me some, I don't push and am always grateful for what time she can give me in playing. But if she didn't play at all, I would still play, and I would still love her just as much.

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