Community Spotlight: RageDarling

By picc0 — Mar 13 2023 14:00 UTC

Today, we had the privilege of chatting with the energetic and creative RageDarling. RageDarling is an avid WoW content creator, streamer, roleplayer, cosplayer, and recently…Race to World First (RWF) caster for Method!

According to fellow Method caster, Grant:

“RageDarling is one of the most attentive, caring, hilarious, and talented streamers to ever grace the lands of Azeroth and beyond. She has an overwhelming drive to give everyone a memorable time in her presence and achieves it daily whilst also raising tens of thousands for charity.”

We couldn’t help but make RageDarling our Featured Streamer this week – especially in celebration of Women’s History Month!

Learn about RageDarling’s history in WoW, her passion for Cosplay, what it’s like to be a caster, and so much more!

Intro: Who is Rage Darling?
How Rage Got Started
Being a RWF Caster
Thoughts on Dragonflight
Hopes for DF and Future Xpacs
About Live TTRPG group
Transmog and Cosplay
Favorite Transmog Set
Ultimate Hype Music
The Story About Bees
Closing Thoughts

“I think it’s really important to learn what your passions are because, ultimately, skill can be developed along the way. Really focus on yourself and what you love doing.”

Q-1: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. First, we’d like to get to know you a little better. Can you tell us more about yourself and your background with WoW/gaming?

RageDarling: Hi! My name is Jess and I’m from Manchester, UK. I’ve been playing WoW since roughly 2006-8. My sister introduced me to WoW and she used to play Vanilla, BC, and WOTLK – although I would’ve been very small! My main character is called Amerage – she’s a Vengeance Demon Hunter because I like to tank. However, I’ve recently started to dabble in PVP and I absolutely adore it. I’m currently learning “Fistweaver” Monk and I play in 3s with my mates. WoW has always been a focal point in my life whether it be purely a hobby getting me through the high school years and being my safe place, or the pillar of my career as a content creator. WoW has given me the opportunity to explore what I love to do and build skills I couldn’t have done without it.

“I’m just the average gamer with a really loud mouth and a short temper. The beauty of WoW is that it’s not just a game. It doesn’t necessarily have one purpose…You truly can do anything, and that’s what I did. I used WoW as a foundation to create everything I wanted.”

Q-2: How did you get started with creating content for and about World of Warcraft? What about the game caught your attention the most and why?

RageDarling: I’ve been playing WoW for more than half my life now. As I started to progress with my career in content creation, it was kind of a no brainer that I’d fall into creating WoW content in some capacity. However, I wasn’t really clear about what I could offer people from an entertainment perspective. I’m not amazing at the game, I’m not incredibly funny, and I’m not knowledgeable in lore or mechanics or classes. I’m just the average gamer with a really loud mouth and a short temper. The beauty of WoW is that it’s not just a game. It doesn’t necessarily have one purpose; we have the ability to log on and do whatever we want, whenever we want - whether that be Mythic+ or Raiding or mount collecting or RP. It’s an online world that exists with a video game facade. You truly can do anything, and that’s what I did. I used WoW as a foundation to create everything I wanted.

Q-3: In the most recent RWF, you made an appearance in the mainstream of Method, casting the event and we loved your energy! How was your experience casting a race like that and what were the challenges?

RageDarling: I was TERRIFIED of casting the RWF because, if you know me, you know that I’m definitely not someone who should be put in the position of casting an unbelievably high level of gameplay. I’m a funny, goofy, and totally not serious person – so I was super apprehensive. What I wasn’t aware of though was the incredible skill that the producer used to pair us with insanely talented casters that had perfect synergy. I had the chance to work with some of WoW’s best casters and they made me feel like it was my own stream. Because of this, I flourished and I was my own dorky self encouraged by the producer, my co-caster, and chat. I got up to some stupid mischief that will go down in history as some of my favorite moments on Twitch.

“I’m absolutely loving Dragonflight so far. I think this is the first time I’ve fully fallen for an expansion since Legion. I feel like a kid again reading all the quests, watching all the cinematics, and snooping through the new transmogs.”

Q-4: On that note, how do you like Dragonflight so far? What are your favorite and/or least favorite aspects of the expansion so far?

RageDarling: I’m absolutely loving Dragonflight so far. I think this is the first time I’ve fully fallen for an expansion since Legion. I feel like a kid again reading all the quests, watching all the cinematics, and snooping through the new transmogs. I genuinely don’t have a bad thing to say about the expansion, truly. There’s nothing I particularly have a gripe with, which is weird because I love to moan about things! I love the Trading Post, despite its buggy issues (but that’s kinda funny and it always gets fixed), I love the Vault of the Incarnates raid, I love Dragonriding, and I love Solo Shuffle. I love a lot of things about the expansion, and dislike hardly anything.

Q-5: What are your hopes and dreams for Dragonflight or future WoW expansions?

RageDarling: Player. Housing. PLEASE. I know that means they have to completely rebuild WoW from the ground up, but oh my god. I recently stepped back into my Garrison and started working on it a little more and it’s just not the same as other player housing that other MMORPGs offer. I genuinely have to dip back into The Sims just to curb that house-building craving. Going back to my previous point about WoW being more than a game and more so an online world to play in, this is something that I’d love to have incorporated into it because it’s a huge hobby of mine and it doesn’t exist in WoW yet.

“My Barbarian character is called Rage and she’s literally ALL of me just amplified. I find it difficult to play characters that aren’t a part of who I am as a person so I picked the naive, vulnerable, and adorable traits that I sometimes show and just elevated them as much as I could.”

Q-6: You are a person with many talents and interests. For example, you are part of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) episodic live TTRPG group Session Zero, where you cosplay your Barbarian character. How did that start and how much of Rage Darling is flowing into that role?

RageDarling: My Barbarian character is called Rage and she’s literally ALL of me just amplified. I find it difficult to play characters that aren’t a part of who I am as a person so I picked the naive, vulnerable, and adorable traits that I sometimes show and just elevated them as much as I could. Session Zero started as just a one-off thing. I was talking to the organizer of a gaming event in the UK and said that I’d love to do a show on stage and my friend, Josh Strife Hayes, wanted to do something D&D related. So we thought, “Why not just put on a D&D live improv show on stage?” Thus, we picked our party and it went from there. Session Zero has been so successful that now we’re headlining gaming events promos, working with Wizards of the Coast, and have our own tavern set studio.

Q-7: We’ve seen you do Transmog contests and Cosplay on your stream. What ignited the spark to dive into this creative part of gaming? How much work goes into the Cosplay passion? What is your favorite character to cosplay?

RageDarling: I have always been really into cosplay but more so watching people create cosplay and attend masquerades. Cosplay always seemed like a distant dream for me until, one day, my stream banded together to raise enough cash for me to buy my first outfit, which was Tracer from Overwatch. Over time, I started adding more and more to the outfit and really fell into the character. Since then, I’ve done a few other cosplays with my best one being the Barbarian I’m currently using for Session Zero.

Q-8: If you could wear any item or set from in-game in real life, which one would it be?

RageDarling: The Ironhide armour set for sure. It’s black with a red trim and looks really sick. I’d swap the shoulders for First Satyr's Spaulders though, they’re whack!

Q-9: Do you have any playlists or special songs that you would love to share with us? Are there any WoW songs that get you really hyped?

RageDarling: This is the playlist that reminds me of flying around Hellfire Peninsula when I was 6/7 years old.

Whenever I play this on stream, the chat just goes mental.

Q-10: We heard you’ve got quite the tale to tell about bees – would you mind having a little story time?

RageDarling: Alright so, I’m really into bee conversation right? Like, love bees, save the planet, and all that, right? Everyone loves bees. So I decided to, like, get a little house for them in my garden, set it up all nice and stuff for them and I went to a local beekeeper and I said, “Alright mate, um, can I get a dozen bees?” and he’s like, “Yeah sure no problem.”
So, he hands me a box of bees and I say cheers and walk away. Then I notice that there are more than a dozen bees in there right, and I’m not about stealing, gotta be honest. So I count… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 11, 12, 13… I’ve got THIRTEEN bees but I only paid for 12!

So I go back and I say, “Hey mate, you’ve given me 13 bees when I asked for 12.” and he goes “yeah it’s alright, I thought I’d give you a free bee.”

*bumdum tssh*

“I think it’s really important to learn what your passions are because, ultimately, skill can be developed along the way. Really focus on yourself and what you love doing…Finding that passion helps you to find a niche and allows you to sit yourself in a corner of the internet that’s yours to own.”

Q-11: Do you have any advice for especially women who want to step foot into the scene and start their path in content creation, streaming, and casting?

RageDarling: I think it’s really important to learn what your passions are because, ultimately, skill can be developed along the way. Really focus on yourself and what you love doing. For me, I love helping people and I love the community, so after some thought, it was a no-brainer to me that I should be creating guides and orchestrating community events, whether that be online or offline. Finding that passion helps you to find a niche and allows you to sit yourself in a corner of the internet that’s yours to own. Oh, and I don’t worry about copying someone else’s idea. There are no new ideas on the internet 😉

About the Author

Picco is an old-fashioned WoW gamer that started back in Vanilla and has played ever since. She is a healer by heart and is currently maining Restoration Druid. She loves Mythic+ and has a great passion for events like the MDI and TGP. Picco is part of the KeystoneMasters team and enjoys jiggling around with ideas for fun new formats of community tournaments. She is also a Mod for several streamers and guilds, particularly during the RWF. Outside of WoW, Picco is a Sprout in FF14, where she explores with her Lala Summoner.