This is a tough one.
How does your character define themself? What part of their identity is most important to their personality and self-presentation?
In meatspace, we have so many affiliations, it’s anyone’s guess whether we consider ourselves a tuba player first, or a student, a Gators fan, a New Yorker, a mother, a nerd, a liberal. Our identities are comprised of so many different aspects of life that it’s hard to tell which parts different people will choose to define themselves.
In game, there are less game-related ways to identify.
You can identify as:your class – your spec
your race – a particular subgroup (Mag’har, Wildhammer)
your faction – a faction other than Horde/Alliance
I did not write anything on this topic straight away as I had real trouble trying to identify with it…no pun intented!
So I am sorry to say I left this one a few days and have read some other people’s posts first to get a feel for it. I am still really tied on how to even begin to explain the identification I have with my character.
My mage was the first character I created and has been the only character I have played in a raiding capacity – except for a very brief stint of about 1 month as a shammy healer. I modelled her after myself with long black hair, nose ring and open/friendly facial expression. Although I am not an RPer i do have a secret wish that I could have been and I take my maging very seriously….I enjoy being a mage and that is evident through my behaviour in game.
I have fond memories of being told off in MC and BWL for jumping around like a maniac when doing arcane explosions – the healers has trouble healing me apparently…..but she was just showing everyone the fun that can be had with your hands causing massive explostions of molten lava, icicles, arcaneness….ahhhh…it’s fun!
I recently was having a discussion with my husband that I have altered her look back to her original black haired form (and worgen) because she was captured and held by them for years – now she has returned….a werewolf and a much more aware toon. She is no longer concerned with the expectations others have put on her and she just wants to see evil beings killed, this complete lack of concern has given my character an increase in damage output because she is just doing her thing now and not over thinking everything for fear of doing the wrong thing.
A great example is that I always ask in dungeons if people need food summoned, this is my helpful personality being played out by my character who lso wants to ensure her allies are able to defend her from capture again 
Anyway I have rambled on a fair bit and I am not entirely sure I have even gotten cl0se the point of the topic….I guess my character identifies with her past and wants to improve Azeroth any way she can – offering ports, spending money, offering food, guilding, heroic running – they all improve the world she lives in and can aide in the defeat of the enemies she perceives around her (and inside her).
It seems like a lot of responses to this topic center around how the player infuses their own personality with their character’s. I also like that although most players who talk about “wanting to be helpful” often play healers, here you are playing a helpful DPS! I would like to meet you in a heroic someday
Yeah I think it is hard to play for such long hours and not let some of yourself shine through – even if only in small amounts….You are still having to interact with people and guilds etc and so I knwoI certainly would have a hard time actually portraying a snooty mage, as I am the complete opposite….it’s an interesting topic though
I like to just be helpful in general, but I am sad to say if i was any good as a healer I probably would have, but I don’t handle the stress of other people’s lives very well
So I offer them food, portals and frost novas instead 
ehhehe
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YAY!!! Back on the Twisted nether!! How I have missed this community!!