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by Dan O'Halloran 
Oct 19th 2008 at 12:30PM
That's when my guild brother (heya Taiglin!) made what I thought was a brilliant suggestion: since level 70 players will be able to roll a brand new level 55 Death Knight when Wrath launches, why not roll any class at level 55? I was going to explain to him why that wasn't a good idea, but honestly, I thought he had a point. I already know how to play a Druid (well, I'm relearning with the new talents from Patch 3.0.2 and my new found love of Balance specs), why can't I roll a level 55 Druid on a new server to have an alternative place to play? Or even just to join friends who rolled toons on other servers.
You may argue against players rolling a class they don't know how to play then bungling through pick up groups, but isn't that exactly what's going to happen with the flood of DKs about to hit every server? Blizzard is poised to open the door to this option with their new Hero class, why not every class?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Classes, Alts
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 7)
phisquare Oct 19th 2008 2:59PM
I love how your TL;DR version is as long and as pointless as the original version. Keep up the good work.
freak Oct 19th 2008 2:24PM
i can see both sides of this yes there will be less people in the old world to help the lower levels with stuff but there is also the fact of achievements that take you back to do the old world content. along with leaving the 1-55 class quest there so you have to go back and do the content. i myself hate leveling alts. i get burnt out on them at about 30-40ish and just leave them there or end up twinking them at a 9. i would love to play a tank or a caster/cc. right now i am a shaman yes i dps and heal so i know how that works. but would like to see what the mages point of veiw is and the tanks and being able to start at 55 means that i have time to learn how to play the class and there is still leveling to do. but not that hated grind on stuff that i have seen so many times its not funny. there should be perquisite(spelling?) of having hit 80 before this can be done and one per sever just like the DK.
NeuroMan42 Oct 19th 2008 2:28PM
Great idea... I would definitely come back if that happened.
Flint Oct 19th 2008 2:30PM
The first 30 levels are some of the most fun time in the game :(.
Ilnara Oct 19th 2008 2:42PM
As someone that has 10 alts, all under 40, I disagree.
The first few times through it was cool, and I still like Azuremyst and Bloodmyst most of all the starting zones, but after run 4 through them, it's simply meh.
Berend Oct 19th 2008 6:23PM
would be nice but there is a lot of problems with it and one that bliz cares about and that is money from xfers they loose that cause then some could just make a lvl 55, but some pplz will use xfering but not as much
Friday_Knight Oct 19th 2008 2:39PM
In the common modern parlance of the attendees of the official forums of the smash game "World of Warcraft" :
/signed
F. Somalia Oct 19th 2008 2:50PM
or...
Blizzard don't want we play many alts. Face, the only thing Blizzard did that improve existence of alts were the remotion of 60 min to send a mail with item (actually, not only for alts, but for any player).
Leveling is part of the game. I think paying for level, official or not, is the lamest idea for a game. Pay for improve your gameplay, actually, it's unfair and stupid. It shows that's there is something wrong with the game, since you have to pay to get a better experience.
Start with a specified level doesn'r scale well. And after WotLK? Should we start with a lvl 65? Outland's so old world... I'm buying the excuse that, for lore's sake, DK must start with lvl 55. But I think it's a terrible idea. Even some writers of wow Insider notice that there are some terrible DKs, tanks or dps, on beta right now.
You all should _love_ to level. It shows that you earn your char. That you are what class/race you play. The game is not only high tier/season equipments.
phisquare Oct 19th 2008 3:03PM
Engrish much? /facepalm
Noctalus Oct 19th 2008 11:40PM
Why not? We already did the grind and got 1 or more characters to 70. It will definitely be an incentive for people to explore different classes.
Mandydeth Oct 19th 2008 3:27PM
I actually think it makes perfect sense to be able to, at the very least, re-roll your OWN class at 55 on any server. i.e. a hunter at level 70 can create a hunter at level 55 on any other server.
If anything I think it would make more sense to have to start a DK at 1. Personally I can't just hop on a level 70 toon and play it well, I need to start at 1 and get used to each skill as I progress.
Tarbh Oct 19th 2008 4:09PM
The concept of targeting your one main class might seem like a slight work-around to character transfers, while allowing all classes, while still being potentially detrimental to transfer income, will allow people do experience (and get caught up in) different aspects of the game. There is a possibility that the more they get us interested in different things, the less likely we are to get bored in the game.
Mid Oct 19th 2008 3:30PM
Yes and no.
Yes, hitting cap should give you the ability to roll a new, higher level toon. A choice, cause sometimes you might find yourself wanting to grind through those beginning levels with a friend or something. It's like new game plus.
No, it shouldn't be 55. It should be half of what the current level cap is. 55 or higher should be reserved for hero classes. Why should it just be half? Cause that, to me, seems like an already big boost. And, personally, I love rolling new alts, but once I hit 20, I usually get really burned out on pushing them through levels and go log into my mains.
Maybe a quest at 70 to unlock the ability on your account would really be a great thing?
Disturbed Oct 19th 2008 4:14PM
um. no.
just stop breaking the servers blizzard.
this idea would just make things worse. stay on your own server. if everyone migrated it would just cause more issues on the other servers. plus china would never have to level 1-55 ever again.
Cat Oct 19th 2008 4:26PM
Great idea.
1. Blizz is already doing this with DKs.
2. I disagree with the "lost subs time" argument. Surely a large number of people who stop playing simply get tired of their class and can't face levelling something else from 1. This would *increase* subs.
3. Recognise those who levelled from 1 with a title and/or an achievement. "Levelled a from 1" should be a Feat of Strength that could be checked before an instance run or group.
Cat Oct 19th 2008 4:31PM
Dang comments. That should have been "levelled a rogue (etc) 1-80". Make it class specific.
Bear_Paws Oct 19th 2008 4:42PM
It's obvious that having a new class to play (like Shamans for Alliance, Paladins for Horde) wasn't attractive enough, so even with a totally new class that doesn't exist either side, Blizzard further sweetened it with a free-ride token to L55. Couple it with the "you only get to play just one" policy, and you can bet your bottom gold piece everybody will be starting a DK on day one.
Blizzard already has flown in the face of conformity with quest experience gains being a way to zoom through levels and achieve full character maturity at warp speed relative to practically any other MMO on the market, and shown that to be a successful formula. It's about the endgame, idiot! Now we begin the next phase of the great experiment in legalized power leveling - starting characters well beyond 1. I have a suspicion with the requirements in place for DK this experiment will be a success and pave the way to starting alts at 55 on the same and/or new servers.
Who knows? Maybe a few years from now we'll be talking about the rights to roll characters in full Tier 5 gear.
schm0 Oct 19th 2008 4:53PM
First, Death Knights are the first Hero Class. They have their own starting zone, their own set of starting quests, and a "phased" area to begin leveling their characters. You can not start a Death Knight unless you have already leveled another character to level 55. No other class can claim this.
Second, an alt is still just that... an alternate character. If you want to spend the time and effort to level an alt to 70, it is a choice. Blizzard introduced the Hero Classes as a way of tying in a new class to the lore in the next expansion. The basis for the Death Knight came from Hero Unit from Warcraft III. It was not to make it easier to level your alt.
Third, for any late-comers to the game, the number of people to group with for questing or instances would be drastically diminished. Blizzard is aiming to keep their player base and expand the MMO aspect of the game, not diminish those qualities.
It is my humble opinion that leveling a character from 1 to 70 is a sort of "rite of passage". Yes, it's tedious. Yes, if you're leveling your fourth alt it can be downright monotonous ("Ugh, this quest again?") But, at the end of this long process you get your reward: a level X alt. If you don't want to go through it, then roll a Death Knight or the next Hero Class.
Telanis Oct 19th 2008 5:15PM
It's not so much the skipping a chunk of the game that Blizzard is likely worried about. I think it's more the lack of time to adapt to the class. Even the Death Knights are instanced till 58.
Chris A Oct 19th 2008 6:07PM
I like the argument that you need all those levels to learn your character lol. If that was true, then changing from a holy paladin to a tank paladin should require going through 70 levels again.
Sorry, but we should be able to start any character at level 55. I'd be playing more if that was the case.