I am not an alt person.
There, I said it. I feel like I'm a bad MMO player, as most of my friends and guild members rock at least two or three alts at a time in any given game. This isn't to say I don't have alts, but I inevitably leave them by the wayside and make my way back to my main character, never to level the alt in a meaningful way ever again.
This is most keenly felt for me in The Lord of the Rings Online, the MMO I've played the most over the years. I have at least eight or nine characters, yet only one of them, my original Hunter I rolled when I first started playing in April 2007, is actually max level. The closest character beyond that is a Loremaster I rolled back when The Lord of the Rings: Mordor launched, and the only reason why is I used the level boosting Aria of the Valar to get me most of the way there.
The Elder Scrolls Online is the only MMO where I have abandoned my original main for an alt, leveling my Necromancer completely to level 50, leaving my Templar I rolled when ESO launched languishing in its 40s, or the Warden I made for my Morrowind review at IGN firmly in its 20s.
I just don't like alts. I'm very particular about the class and race choices I make when I start playing an MMO, agonizing over each decision as I know I'll be spending hundreds of hours in a playstyle that I, hopefully, will like. Final Fantasy XIV's job system is the ideal class/job system for me, as it allows me to basically try anything out without having to re-roll and start from scratch.
That's the other issue I find myself facing in alts: repeating content. I tend not to enjoy going through the same story multiple times, as evidenced by all the alts I've left abandoned in the Lone Lands all these years.
As to when I decide to roll one, oftentimes it's because I'm playing with a friend who just started up and we don't want to power level. Many times, it's simply because I feel like I need a break from my current playstyle, and an alt character provides that. Sometimes, it's for a review, like the Warden or Necromancer class characters made in ESO.
I am curious, though, for those who enjoy alts and rolling as many characters as they can - what is the reason, and when do you decide it's the right time to roll one? What about having multiple characters appeals to you, and are you someone who can level each to the max, only to move on to the next one? Let us know in the comments below.
