Sticking with just one character
by Mike Schramm 
Jan 8th 2008 at 9:03PM
We've done a lot of talking about alts here at WoW Insider, and if I had to guess, I'd suspect that most of our readers tend to be what most of us writers are: alt-a-holics, with many, many classes and levels of alts, sometimes even spanning across servers. But not everybody is like us-- some people, like the Nameless One over on LJ, have only one character. And to tell the truth, I kind of envy her a bit.I've known a few people who have only played one character in the game ever, and in my experience, they've done great-- all the money they make goes directly to them, they never have to redo rep runs, all the keys they collect never have to be collected again. If you are an altaholic, think about all the gear you've gotten across the board and all the time you've sunk into other characters-- people with just one toon get to put all that time and effort into just one character, and get to reap the rewards.
There is a lesson here, however, even for us altaholics. I've often found that if I really want to level up one of my alts, the switching just can't happen-- I have to choose one character and stick to it. All the money I earn stays with that character, and my only goals while online are for that character alone. And when I focus, and put effort into just one, that's when things actually get done. I, like many players, get bored easily-- if I had only one class ever, I would have had to give up on this game a while ago. But when it comes to earning gear and leveling fast, the best strategy I've found is to sit down, focus in, and play like you have only one character.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Alts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Justom Jan 8th 2008 9:07PM
True.
Siggy Jan 8th 2008 9:13PM
Funny that this comes up-I am one of those people. Now that my main is 70, I can never get an alt past 25...There's always something I want to do on Sig, or I miss using this or that spell so I go back.
And, to tell the truth? I envy altaholics. As a Retadin without any healing or tank sets (Determined from day 1 that I'd stick with my chosen role and not try to do anything else), I refuse about 4-5 random instance tells a day. :/
SaintStryfe Jan 8th 2008 9:14PM
I'm like this - I've tried 4 or 5 times to start new alts, but I keep going back to my Shaman, beaten though she may be, because I can't imagine going back and doing Westfall, the Loch and Darkshire again to have some interesting content.
roguedubb Jan 8th 2008 9:18PM
I used to tell myself, "That's it, this is the last alt!"
Now it's, "This is the last server!"
epsilon343 Jan 8th 2008 9:27PM
I only have one other alt and it's on an RP server to sort of off set my Shaman that I'm leveling on a PvP server. Got a little burned out power-leveling the Shaman during my break so I needed a big change (Tauren Shaman, Human Mage).
I know I'll be leveling another character when my Shaman hits 70 as our guild is mainly a group of friends and we don't have enough in it yet to fill all of the roles all of the time. Definitely not an alt-a-holic though.
rofflemow Jan 8th 2008 9:34PM
I was just wondering when this topic was going to come up.
I have one, and only one toon. I've attempted to start many alts, but I end up deleting them and going back to my 70 druid. I always get bored of doing quests and have only gotten an alts up to 30. I guess I'll always just be one of Those people. :)
fian Jan 10th 2008 3:29PM
I have one toon, a 70 druid, and it is the first toon i ever rolled, on the day the game first hit the shops, almost exactly 3 years ago here in Europe.
I guess it is easier sticking to one toon as a druid, because i was a healer up until patch 1.8, then I went hybrid healer/feral and tanked in MC, now I am full feral spec and my heal set rots in the bank while I offtank/dps. I have never even really tried moonkin, just for a few days once wihtout gathering gear.
D. Tyler Jan 8th 2008 9:44PM
actually since i cant seem to keep myself from making (and falling in love) with a new alt after i get myself a 70 (my schedule fluctuates too much at the wrong times for me to raid if i wanted to) ive decided to make myself a goal of getting 1 70 of every class before wrath comes out...so far ive got a warrior, warlock, druid, and mage (on horde side) and a pally on alliance...working on the shammy now actually (level 61 so far) considering doing rogue and hunter next...and doing something different with the priest (something like....try it on a non-pvp server and see how far i can get before i die)
Sejarki Jan 9th 2008 1:53AM
I just picked up WoW a few days back for the first time. Being I recently got sick and as a result have to take time off from school for a semester, I needed something to fill the time.
Now the last major MMO I committed to before this was FFXI, where soloing was nigh impossible and achieving a max level was a humongous achievement. Making money was always an issue and some of the quests for the most basic things could be near impossible it seemed if you didn't have some high level friends with some free time.. (Which always made me wonder how the first set of players ever even managed).
Most importantly though there really weren't alts unless you wanted to play a job the race of your character really sucked at. Even then for the most part people stuck to a single character, and a single job because of all the time, effort, and money necessary to continue progressing through the levels.
To move from that mentality to WoW where alts seem so common is a big change, I mean I couldn't see myself wanting to commit time to more than one character when I could focus on one and work on one and get the most out of them as possible. It just seems inefficient, but maybe it's because of my MMO history.
Who knows, maybe even over time I'll cave and make an alt. But for the moment my little Dwarven Hunter is my focus, and he'll remain that way for awhile I hope as I strive to catch up in a game that people have been playing for so much longer than myself.
michael.bussmann Jan 8th 2008 9:59PM
I have an alt on lvl42, but since tbc I never touched him again. I am a 'solo' played who has not a lot of instances since launch. I've been to Wailing Caverns a few times and seen some other 'old' instances, but since TBC I didn't touch them. The sole reason for this is time. I have a family and my gaming time is short. This has resulted in me fighting my way up to 70 by questing (no instances). Now I am lvl 70 since a 2 - 3 months and I'm doing the BG's. I love PvP and I love Blizz for rewarding this with the availabilty of obtainable Arena gear with honor-points.
My guess is that there are more people like me (not much, but they are there). We don't have a lot of playtime, but we are into the game (community) as much as any other gamer.
jtrain Jan 8th 2008 10:20PM
Right there with ya Michael. I don't have kids, but I'm married with a full time job and a lot of activities outside the game. I'm lucky to sneak in an hour or two here and there.
I'd love to see more instances, but the simple fact is that 10 or 15 minutes for a quest or some quick pvp in the battlegrounds is right up my alley. Limited time commitment, but still some reward.
...And I agree, I consider myself just as much a part of the community as any other. I only have one 70, but hey, I'm a fan too!!
Ironhide Jan 8th 2008 10:02PM
I hate getting to the char select screen and seeing empty spaces. I also love creating characters, so when I am playing a "main" on a server I go and fill up all the other character spots with level 1 toons so it is all full, all different classes but with a common naming convention.. lol.
I have about 10-12 "mains" across different servers and about 60-70 created toons all up. Right now I am concentrating on my Warrior and she is 69 and 3 bubbles. I will get her to 70 and get her geared before messing too much with others. my next highest is a 52 hunter and I have about 5 others in their 30's to 40's.
Calybos Jan 8th 2008 10:30PM
I'm the opposite of the "soloist," I guess. When I register at forums, they often ask me to identify my "main" vs. "alts," and I"m usually stumped. I don't HAVE a "main"! I play about five or six different characters in constant rotation, and I have a few others saved for special sessions with a few friends who've agreed to level up together.
I just like exploring all the options that the game has to offer. But different styles suit different players.
Azureblood Jan 8th 2008 10:32PM
lol i recently turned 70 and i dont want to lvl my twink or anything... it takes too much work.. so many bad memories of rogues popping out of the sky then vanishing only to gouge you from behind
jeckelbros Jan 9th 2008 8:53AM
WoW haxx, gouged from behind.
Seriously, my drood is 70, uncrittable, 20.5khp buffed, 45% dodge, and 32k ac.
I raid ssc/tk 3 nights a week, and do kara 1-2 nights with rl friends. They need a tank, and I need badges.
I actually though have recently debated leveling an alt. I have a dusty 70 shaman and 70 hunter on another server. I love my shaman, but the servers progression died. I may just level a shaman for a change of pace once raiding drops to three days a week.
Kaljin Jan 8th 2008 10:39PM
Same, I'm a die hard hunter here (70 Troll Hunter - Maelstrom) and don't really level alts that high.
Zhalseran Jan 8th 2008 11:40PM
I have alts mainly for something to do. I can't stand farming. Basically everything I do has to have a reason behind it or else I get really bored. I'm not the type that can just log on and go do random stuff and then log off, I have to have some sort of goal (X amount of honor for item Y, Z amount of Primals for item W, etc), and so alting is a way to entertain myself while my characters sit, essentially gear-capped for where I am in progression.
So after I got my first character in pretty much the best gear that was possibly within my reach, I started seriously playing a second character who got about half way there before I got bored of them and made a third. As things stand now my first character stands to gain almost nothing untill my guild progresses further, my second I never play, and I lead Karazhan runs twice a week on my third, who still has a couple things to get from there, on top of badge rewards. When I'm not raiding I spend my time leveling a fourth character. although I have 10 characters on my server, other than the aforementioned 4 characters only one is even above level 30, but at the current rate I'll probably have at least a 5th lvl 70 in respectable gear before WotlK kits
Pharmacy Jan 8th 2008 11:43PM
The problem with keeping only one char is that eventually the time you put into it isn't worth as much. There's only so many things you can do at 70.
For alot of people, I think it's justifiable to level a second or even a third 70 (I was working on my third before I quit) simply to get "more" out of their time. More professions, more gold (dailies) and less time wasted.
What do you guys think?
vernia Jan 8th 2008 11:54PM
It all comes down to this question:
Do you want to see Illidan or not?
None of your alts will see him, I can tell you that.
Draw the lines between the dots...
Only ONE.
Erbodie Jan 9th 2008 12:27AM
There is a fundamental difference between "I have only one character" and "I have one main and many lowbie alts". One needs to understand the dynamics of most classes to be able to play his/her main efficiently in an instance, and most definitely in a raid context.
I have one main, a 70 raiding hunter (guild in MH and BT now), and a few alts in the 15-25 range. I have committed myself to leveling my paly to 70 though - having too much fun with it. But I doubt that she'll go much beyond a few Kara runs.