rom time to time, we CMs collect feedback about topics that we are interested in, and then present you the results in featured articles. In September last year, we turned this process around. We asked you first in a feedback form to suggest a question about what you would be interested in, then drew a question randomly, and posed this question to all Tibia players in a new feedback form.

The question that was chosen was If real life was just like Tibia, which vocation would you choose? Why? 1890 Tibia players took part in this feedback form, and gave various reasons for their vocation of choice. As we do with all feedback forms, we read through all comments, formed categories, and now have huge lists of traits for each of the four vocations.

General Results

If real life was just like Tibia, 37.14 % of Tibians would choose to be a druid, 29.31 % would decide for a knight, 19.15 % prefer the lifestyle of paladins, and 14.39 % would want to be sorcerers.
More or less surprisingly, these numbers do not resemble the vocation distribution among Tibians. Checking back in our latest Statistics featured article, we can see that about 28 % of Tibians are knights, 18 % are paladins, 17 % are sorcerers, and only 16 % are druids. (The remaining have not chosen their fate yet at the Oracle on Rookgaard.)
It seems that in real life, other traits become more important than ingame. So - now let us have a look at the reasons why people decided for the vocation they chose.

Druids

Being a less favoured vocation ingame according to the mere stats, the druid has many nice skills that people would just love to have in real life. All in all, 702 Tibia players chose this vocation, and we gathered 54 categories from their comments, that describe druids nicely.
The top skill, which was mentioned 320 times, is, of course, the ability to heal. It is amazing how many Tibians want to be doctors or nurses, and how many already have jobs in the health care sector.
People would use their abilities to heal family members and friends, to cure cancer, and they would help people who have no money to pay for any medical treatment.
The second most mentioned category is the strong connection of druids with nature. It was mentioned 117 times that people would use their skills to end pollution and to cure nature. They would grow trees in deserts, end deforestation, use ice spells to prevent a melting of the poles and end global warming.
The third top category was mentioned 102 times. We labelled it as "support mankind", and included statements like "assisting older people", "be there for others", and "offer something for the society and being a valuable community member" in it.
The fourth top category of things that druids would do in real life, was to end world hunger and world poverty, by creating food anyplace, anywhere and anytime.
The fifth top category sums up the first four pretty much. Druids would bring peace, happiness and harmony to the world, thus making it a better place. This was mentioned 37 times.
So, having druids in real life would be a nice thing, actually, even if not all things that druids could and would do are so serious. Here are a few examples of other interesting things druids could do:

Whenever I feel in need of company I'd just summon relaxed elves to kick back with. Paralysing would also be a killer, whenever I'd find myself in a situation surrounded by heaps of stressed out people, I'd just mass-paralyse and enjoy the chill atmosphere I created.

We even received a nice little poem about what a druid could do:

I would be able to disappear whenever I'm feeling down,
heal my wounds when I have a frown,
light my path so I can travel further down,
deeper in the cave where I'll find my crown.

And here is a more practical approach to being a druid:

My girlfriend's a knight and druids are knight's soul mates. If I cast find person too late and she goes berserk at me for finding me with other knight ladies I have to cure bleeding and need a lot of healing spells. Also, I'd use my food spell for self-made dinners until I convince her that she's the only knight whose name will be in my exura sio hotkey forever.

Or this druid would open up a complete new business with his skills:

Hangover after a long night out? Pay a visit to your neighborhood druid.

Knights

Knights were chosen by 554 participants. We collected 77 different categories from their statements, the top mentioned one being of course what knights are there for. 108 times it was mentioned that people would use their skills to protect children, the weak, friends, and family members.
The second top category describes knights very well, too. They are always in the frontline, can confront the enemies directly and look them straight in the eyes. This was mentioned 67 times.
The third category refers to the fighting skill of knights as well. 66 people said that they like fighting with their own hands. They prefer to be dependant on their own physical strength over using mana, spells or ammunition. Knights are keen on their physical shape and their muscles. They are always prepared and can join every fight at any time.
Also, they live longer and are pretty much invincible and invulnerable, if they are trained well. This forms the fourth category that was mentioned 64 times.
61 people emphasised that for knights, it really is important to workout, to be strong, mentally and physically, to have a healthy body and a healthy mind.

Now - what all this working out is good for becomes clear in the sixth category: Knights get all the girls, they are the knight in shining armor that so many girls dream of. 39 people explicitly stated that this is the reason why they would choose to be a knight.

This is not true for all knights, though. We picked a few quotes to show what they are really made of and what really matters:

I would be one of the strongest people around, and I would use that strength to protect those weaker than me. If I caught someone bullying a helpless person, I would challenge the bully with my exeta res spell. I would also help old ladies by carrying their groceries, or perhaps by tearing down a tree to help a kitty that got stuck in a branch.

This vocation requires to be strong and brave, to wear your armor and shield with honour, to use your blade with pride, but at the same time to be humble and lend your hand to the people who need it. Also, you're able to explore a lot of places on your own and face strong monsters - those are some of the reasons why I would always choose being a KNIGHT!

Cold steel is more reliable than any spell or projectile. It never leaves your hand and it relies on nothing more than your own skill to wield.

I would be able to be in touch with my friends, my kids, my wife, my uncle, my aunt, my cousins, my grandparents, my brother and my sister, my mom, my dad, my house, my dog and my parrot - all in my backpack. I might even be able to sort them into different pockets!

Others made it rather simple, not using many words:

I like knights.

Paladins

Paladins were described by 362 Tibia players, in 59 different categories. The obvious skill that defines the paladin is his distance fighting, so it is not surprising that the first two top categories refer to it. 60 times people said that distance fighting is a lot better than melee fighting, since you would not get hurt that much. For them, it is utmost important to avoid any damage to prevent own suffering.
43 times people explained that they like the thrill of killing without being noticed, they compared paladins to snipers in real life, or simply wished to be a good shooter who can land precise hits and has a perfect vision.
The top third category is made of people who really are archers at heart. They simply love bows and arrows. Many people who gave this as a reason actually own bows and arrows in real life, like this fellow, who stands for 41 other people:

...I love the bows and arrows! In fact, I have a collection of them in real life (relax everybody, I don't use it to kill animals or people, it's just to hit on a target in the wall) and I'm a good man, a good person, by the right side of the light, so... Bow and arrows with holy actions make a very good paladin, like me. Greetings to all!"

40 people mentioned that what they like most in paladins is that they are great allrounders. Paladins can fight in close range, in long range, they can use spells, runes, they can block, they can heal - they are a "jack of all trades", and can easily adapt to all situations.
36 people stated that they would prefer to be a paladin because they would be completely independent and capable of surviving all by themselves when they explore the world. The traits of paladins would prepare them much better for this task than those of all other vocations.
Other traits of paladins that are important to people who chose this vocation are that they are agile, fast, swift, focussed and accurate. 33 people saw themselves as assassins and ninjas.
The most named idols for paladins were Robin Hood and Legolas. Combined, there were 19 references to these fictional characters, however, Robin Hood beat Legolas fair and square. Legolas only got mentioned by 4 people.

Others took the abilities of paladins rather figuratively, though:

As a paladin in-game, I'd certainly choose to be one out of it. Not because of the adrenaline, the deadly assaults and what so ever. Being a paladin would help me to be a happier person. How? Imagine if you could strike all of your problems from a far and secure distance without hurting yourself and the feelings of those who you zeal for... A dream.

Sorcerers

Only 272 people chose to be sorcerers in real life. The dark nature of sorcerers came through in several of the 52 categories that people chose. The top one, with 50 references, could count towards that. Sorcerers are considered to be most powerful, and with their unlimited power, they are the rulers of the world. They are invincible and can do whatever they want.

I would choose a sorcerer for real life, because they are the true meaning of power. I could do everything, burn my enemies till death, heal myself from the worst injuries with just one single word. The whole world would fear my name and feel the fury of my power, while my lips pronounce these single words: "Exevo gran mas flam"...

The second top category is rather on the light side, though. 46 times it was said that people would simply have a blast with their abilities. They would play tricks on people by transforming into dragons and objects, and they would never be bored.

I really wish I could use magic and mess around with my friends, it would be funny to get invisible and play around with them. I would scare them and I would make some magic tricks of course.

Another quote from the light side of sorcerers:

To be a sorcerer would be to follow my idol. There is only one true all powerful wizard ever to touch this earth. To be like Mary Poppins has always been my dream. With powers such as conjuration, illusion, levitation and trans-dimensional teleportation, and being the product of all good, Poppins proves sorcery is the path of wisdom and strength.

That last quote is not only a vast contrast to the very first quote from a sorcerer, also the idol that was chosen as an example was unexpected. More common idols wannabe sorcerers mentioned were Gandalf, Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort and David Copperfield.
The top third category of why people would choose to be a sorcerer is rather neutral as well. 30 people stated that they would rather use wits over brute force, and that they would rather rely on their minds than their physical strength because knowledge is the greater power.
Also the fourth category shows positive traits of sorcerers. 28 people would choose sorcerers in order to defend people and to protect family and friends.
The fifth top category on the other hand brings the possible dark nature of sorcerers to light again. 20 people stated that they would be evil and sinister, they would choose the dark side of magic and show no mercy. Can you believe that there are even 10 people who stated that they would really like to go on a pk-tour?
To save the honour of sorcerers though, here are also some of the more practical things that people would do with their super powers:

I could save so much money!! Just imagine never paying for electricity again! All you need to do is invent a way of using your spells to power a circuit. And let's not forget about the heating bills you could save on! Imagine.. It's winter time and you get cold... BAM! Exevo gran mas flam! Free heating.. Although you might need a new house...

As it currently is winter here on the Northern Hemisphere, that actually sounds like an acceptable plan!

Thank you Tibians for your entertaining comments and for participating!
Now let us bring all these druids, knights, paladins and sorcerers back into Tibia. Hearing what some of you would come up with, Tibia is probably the better place for this kind of magic!

Happy 2014!
Your Community Managers