Introduction

 

   Through the years women have not been allowed to participate actively in the military combat activities from the armies in most parts of the world. Very few women can be recognized as famous military figures such as Jeanne D’Arc. Until very recently women have acquired a more important role in the military institutions. No longer are women seen as just helpful for cleaning and cooking, which are just ancient stereotypes. Nowadays, women have gone to great lengths to prove that they can do whatever men can do, but can they beat us in the art of war?

In this article we will try to examine the role of women gamers in a MMORPG environment as commanders, military strategists, soldiers, and warriors.

 

War Simulation

 

If we consider online games to be a war simulation, we would have several elements we could compare to a real one:

Finite Resources

  Such as gold, mana, potions, elixirs, hp, etc.

Diverse Team Members with Different Skills

   Which represent the different classes we find in every game: mages, warriors, archers, hunters, etc.

Different Maps that require different strategies

   Low visibility maps, open planes, woods, water maps, etc.

Espionage

   In ugly wars, sometimes spies are sent to enter the enemy guild to become an informant for his original guild.

Language barriers

   Sometimes guilds will be composed of members that speak different languages but nevertheless powerful and in need to assemble to defend their territory.

Of course death can be a short 10 minute interruption for war, or maybe less in some games. If the game in question provides a wide array of skills and classes, then most likely the war will be longer and more complicated.

   All of this tools are available without gender restriction in games and their use depends on the players values. Are men  better at handling war online than women? Or  are women really showing men what they can do?

Fallen Soldiers

   According to some of my research, having men and women in the same squadron can have a negative impact on the mission. They say that in case of discovery men would protect women and abort the mission rather than take the risk and complete the mission at all cost. In the same way, soldiers that see women day in battle suffer a worse trauma than if they watched their fellow male soldiers die in action. By nature men develop more their brute force, and women are more delicate. But that is not exactly the case online where we have women warriors that can very well take on any beast face to face.

Girl has a Gun

   So brute force is not an obstacle anymore, what else could we expect? A hard lesson every guy that has played online learns is that looks can be deceiving. The attractive looking girl in the arena might be able to take you down with one blow, bare handed, unarmored, and unaware of your initial attack.Bah, she was 30 levels higher than you.

   But that is not all, an angry woman can be lethal in a Fist Person Shooter game. An angry woman can take down more than six good shooting guys if she is mad enough. Racing you say? Try your luck in any game, a fearless woman will most likely take you down and not even brag about it.

   According to the The Center for Military Readiness female soldiers who are, on average, shorter and smaller than men, with 45-50% less upper body strength and 25-30% less aerobic capacity, which is essential for endurance. Do notice that the previous statement talks only about physical attributes of women in average, it does not say that women are less intelligent than men or anything of the sort.In aviation, the female body is not as adept at handling the increased g-forces experienced by male combat pilots, however,  I can clearly see a point in time where military technology will use remote controlled combat units which are going to depend on highly trained and skillful pilots. Therefore, there might be the case when a girl might be by fair a better pilot than a guy using the new available technology.

Commander in She

    Women can do an amazing job when they are not criticizing each other and/or talking behind each others back. When they take matters into their own hands it is like they speak the same language even if they are from different continents.  They will communicate fast and effectively and even make up some last minute codewords to confuse the enemy.

   Unlike men they make friends with other women quicker because they may have more things in common. We as men tend to form groups because we need something rather that just socializing with other fellow men.

   I believe that many people think that a woman would be too weak to take a decision that will sacrifice a portion of the fighting force for the sake of the mission. But through my life I have met many women who wouldn't even blink an eye to make a big decision. The only weakness in the leadership of a woman is the same as a man's: The soldiers not believing and trusting in their leader.

Seduction FTW

   A perfect victory is  when your enemy has joined you and you did not fire a single bullet. I do not support the portrayal of women as sex objects or anything degrading, nevertheless I must admit they are far better at the art of seduction and convincing.

   Men negotiate between them, and women convince men to do as they say while making them think that it is what they want. In small or large doses we can see it happen everywhere, but the good or the bad effect of it depends on the intentions of women.

   I bet there are popular women in your server, their opinion is valued by the community and there is always a wise one to get a suggestion from.

     If men tend to say "I came,  I saw, I conquered" women might as well say "I came, I saw, and you were already mine"