Alts - why make more than the main classes?

Kaitona · August 2015

If you have a Nightblade, Sorc, Templar and Dragonknight why would you continue to make other alts? My goal is to have one of each - I'll decide which alliance I enjoyed the most after I've played all 3 and play that one a final time. I don't get why anyone would need more than the 4? Is it so you can specialize in one area as a Sorc? With the amount of skill points you get, I'd imagine you can easily unlock the best skill points for each class. You can also respec if you don't like how you spent your points. More than 4 characters seems like a waste of time to me. What am I missing?

DerpyShadowz · August 2015

Different setups, Magicka/stamina builds, Swapping gear, CP, attributes and skills can be tiresome. Races matter a lot too in terms of build effectiveness.

sparafucilsarwb17_ESO · August 2015

Crafting alts? Or maybe mules?

ItsMeToo · August 2015

Because it's fun.

Shinra · August 2015

All 4 classes, with each stamina and magicka races, and for each alliance. That said, I want 4x2x3=24 character slots in total, not counting mules.

WolfgangArmadeus · August 2015

Once you reach that initial point of 4 characters you either play with the same characters/ quit the game/ or make more. It really comes down to how much repetition one can put up with in a single game...

If you really enjoy the game and dont mind re-playing it with the new alt then you could potentially make 4 dissimilar characters for each race/ swapping alliance adds more... There are 10 racial classes to choose from.?

It doesnt make sense creating a new nb to try out stamina rather than magic, as you can re-roll skills/stats... But certain racial passives might influence a new alt, as well as just the physical appearance/sex of the character.

Some are just mules/ crafting writ farmers. Some are low lvl to exploit non-vet pvp campaigns/ Some are alliance spies (sadly)... some are role-playing characters... There are many reasons to create more, most of which are completely understandable and depend completely on a persons tolerance/expectations of their gaming experience.

I only have 3, Sorc/NB/Templar...VR14 Sorc with max everything and the nb and templar havent made it past lvl 10 as I just dont have the tolerance to re-play the game yet... Maybe take a break for 6 months and come back to build one up.

Needless to say... "Personal Preference" ...

Farorin · August 2015

I want one of each class, stamina and magicka version of each of them, all in my one alliance of choice, that is 8 characters, then I would like 2 classes each in the other two alliances.

I like playing different strategies, and using different game plans, having multiple alts lets me switch it up a bit when I get bored of a certain formula or a certain gameplay type.

jircris11 · August 2015

Kaitona wrote: »

If you have a Nightblade, Sorc, Templar and Dragonknight why would you continue to make other alts? My goal is to have one of each - I'll decide which alliance I enjoyed the most after I've played all 3 and play that one a final time. I don't get why anyone would need more than the 4? Is it so you can specialize in one area as a Sorc? With the amount of skill points you get, I'd imagine you can easily unlock the best skill points for each class. You can also respec if you don't like how you spent your points. More than 4 characters seems like a waste of time to me. What am I missing?

change of pace, trying something new. and bordom.

Alucardo · August 2015

I have 2 sorcs. One is my crafter and 2h stam build, the other is magicka. I made 2 sorcs because I don't really like any of the other classes

NovaMarx · August 2015

There are four classes, but TEN races. If you want to try and play more than four races then of course you're going to make more than four characters, even if it means they have the same classes. But then you just give them a different build. I love making alts and trying the different combination of races and classes/builds.
Also, being able to make more alts is good for trying new things. I wanted to try being a vamp, but didn't want any of my existing characters to become infected. So I created a new character specifically for that purpose, and I completely love her so it was the right decision.

Alts are fun

TheShadowScout · August 2015

I always thought is the magica/stamine build diversity. Four classes, each in two build options, makes eight characters...

(though I myself made a second stamina nightblade instead of a magica dragonknight... but hey, that's just me...)

snackrat · August 2015

4 classes, two primary stats, three roles, three alliances.

Personally I have the three roles in my main faction, the other two unused classes are one for each other faction. So while I personally will never be running multiple accounts for the slots, it isn't too difficult an idea for me to grasp.

Keep_Door · August 2015

i want to be a sexy lizard lady one day and the next i want to be a sexy cat lady .....(mmmm cat chicks, i watch alot of anime leave me alone) sometimes i want to be a big sexy muscle guy and other times i want to be a normal not so sexy old lady but still have big boobs and sometimes have small boobs.......hmmm i think im playing the wrong game

ThisOnePosts · August 2015

For me it comes down to this:

I want 1 of each class in my primary alliance. Then alts in the other alliances. It's as simple as that. And that's exactly what I have.

What I'd really like are some new classes to choose from as well as additional character slots since there's no way I'm getting rid of mine anymore... I've already deleted some that had a lot of work into it just to make room for my "ideal" account as per my own preferences.

Volkodav · August 2015

I have a good variant of characters,but I wish there were more slots cos I get new ideas of how to run a new character.Different ways to use a certain one.Problem for me is I hate having to kill off one of the others.I always feel bad. XD

reften · August 2015

I honestly don't see the point of playing any alts. But that's just me. I love the end game pvp too much and PvE is just a rinse and repeat quest grind. was ok to fun the first time through, but can't imagine doing it again.

NewBlacksmurf · August 2015

Sometimes it's just fun to have diff race/class mixes to see what works best in given situations.
For those who have all VR's it makes sense before ends outing to Vr14.

Then there is the PvE builds vs PvP builds with race/class combinations

wafcatb14_ESO · August 2015

Bank storage and crafting hirelings, if they had followed SWTOR example, which is heavy story driven as is ESO, they should have made the main story quest different for each faction and class.

In SWTOR rerolling an alt even the same faction but a different class and arch type gives you a whole new main story to complete. Choosing to roll the opposite faction gives you an entirely new main story from the other factions perspective.

Sadly in ESO nothing changes, it is the same Main story regardless of class, or faction, even mage and fighters guild quests are the same which seems lazy and doesn`t add replay value.

AlnilamE · August 2015

ItsMeToo wrote: »

Because it's fun.

This.

Though, of course, YMMV.

I have one of each class in my main alliance and then alts in the other alliances. I still have an 8th slot that I haven't filled because I don't know what to choose for that toon.

AudioVortex · August 2015

I make mine for different builds and adds a little variety when grinding the vet and fancy a change for a bit! Then back to the grind

Tessie · August 2015

Reasons for having more than 4 (or 8 or 16 or 32) character slots

Role playing
Genders
Races
Magicka vs Stamina builds
Preference for getting XP (and additional CP) via solo PvE questing
Leveling alts with friends locks that alt to them, so you often need at least 1 alt per friend you're leveling with because schedules don't always align. Especially true of Rings of Mara.

Often this type of topic tries to answer the above by suggesting multiple accounts, deleting characters, or respec. So here's my reasons against those.

Reasons against other accounts:

Champion points aren't shared across accounts and our efforts become diluted
ESO+ benefits aren't shared across accounts
Inconvenient email, friend management, guild, inventory, bank

Reasons against deleting characters:

We become invested emotionally in our characters
We become invested materially in our characters (crown store upgrades, gold unlocks for inventory)
We become invested time wise due to time gated horse unlocks
We want to continue to be able to use them as crafters
I need to find room for all 170 of a character's inventory items before I can delete them, and then only gain back 60 slots once the new character is created

Reasons against respec

Race matters. Going from stamina to magicka but not having the racial bonuses appropriate
Appearance (I'll admit this one is petty, but I do it) I want my tanks to be big hulking characters and my casters to be diminutive.
Role play Also for those that role play, the gender and other design choices might not be aligned with their vision for the new character
You won't have unlocked all of the abilities you may otherwise have had if you'd of leveled the class that way
You miss the experience of learning the nuances of that build during the leveling process (think stamina vs magicka)
Your vampire or werewolf choices may not apply to the new playstyle

mrskinskull · August 2015

Kaitona wrote: »

If you have a Nightblade, Sorc, Templar and Dragonknight why would you continue to make other alts? My goal is to have one of each - I'll decide which alliance I enjoyed the most after I've played all 3 and play that one a final time. I don't get why anyone would need more than the 4? Is it so you can specialize in one area as a Sorc? With the amount of skill points you get, I'd imagine you can easily unlock the best skill points for each class. You can also respec if you don't like how you spent your points. More than 4 characters seems like a waste of time to me. What am I missing?

Storage purposes.
Plus a kitty cat ninja night blade just feels different from a bosmer one.

leepalmer95 · August 2015

Pve characters, pvp characters.

UrQuan · August 2015

Hmm, I was going to write up a long post in answer to this question, but @Tessie already said everything I was going to say (and then some - I hadn't thought of touching on the "why not delete characters" part of the equation).

Flameheart · August 2015

I know a guy who has 8 V14 chars, 2 of each class. Makes perfectly sense, two of every class to cover stamina and magicka builds and to min/max racewise.

There might be even more options if you count in the role you wanne play and if a certain race can do it better.

SturgeHammer · August 2015

Blackwater Blade PvP!!!

Kaitona · August 2015

Thanks for the replies - I wasn't aware players were making stamina / magicka builds nor did I think they'd play through the entire game again with a different race / gender. I'll stick with the 4 classes as I think that style of gameplay interests me. I doubt I could play the game more than 4 times as I complete every quest on each one.

nine9six · August 2015

Shinra wrote: »

All 4 classes, with each stamina and magicka races, and for each alliance. That said, I want 4x2x3=24 character slots in total, not counting mules.

And you can, with 3 accounts. Enjoy.

FelixTheCatt · August 2015

No alts for me. One toon is enough. No way i'd level another , don't have the patience. Games fun but not that fun.

Egonieser · August 2015

I have all 4 classes now, 3 VR14 and templar in the make. It just gets boring way too quickly playing the same rotation over and over again. Once I've gotten used to and mastered all class skills in both pvp and pve, what is there left to do? Make a new class.
Better question is... Why do people make several alts OF THE SAME CLASS? That seems to be more mindboggling to me.

Once i have all classes mastered, then i can truly say i finished the game, enjoy playing how i want and when i want and switch according to my mood and preference at the time, or switch to a char which is required in said group or raid.
We lack healers? Np i log my max templar and off we go.. Need a tank? No problem 1min to relog and we have one.
Lacking DPS? My NB and Sorc are happy to help... That is my reason of having multiple chars, and a very valid one at that.

danno8 · August 2015

If there was a way to save and quickly switch out every single CP, skill morph, gear, attribute etc...with a click of a button, and it did not cost thousands to do so, there would probably be fewer alts for many people in the game.

As it stands it costs a lot to do that, it's a PIA and you need lots of bag space for the extra gear. Having alts in many ways allows for a cleaner, more streamlined playing experience in that sense.