Things That Discourage Me From Making/Sticking to an Alt:

NotSo

Things That Discourage Me From Making/Sticking to an Alt:
- Champion System
Solely because I cannot earn Champion Points while leveling an alt. Instead I earn Enlightenment, which I am usually capped out on enlightenment anyways because I don't play this game as hard as ZOS might think. What I need are Champion Points. And if I'm going to waste a couple weeks to level an alt up to Veteran Rank 1, I might as well be gaining Champion Points. And at nearly the same rate as a Veteran character might, I understand we don't because it might be hard to balance but at this point, I think I'll just leave my new toon at level 10 (once my friend is in Cyrodiil).

- Alliance Rank
Alliance Rank has been the primary source of my not-willing-to-stick-to-an-alt-character syndrome. Alliance Rank shows the amount of time a particular character has spent in Cyrodiil, may also be relevant to how well a player might perform. It is also incredibly slow going. Alliance Rank does not carry over to other characters, so why would I ever put time into another one of my characters without capping out the Alliance War skill trees first. Even if I every cap that tree, why would I decide to play another character and start over when I've got all those amazing skills unlocked already. If a secondary character could rise in alliance rank at an increased rate up to where the main character is at, I would give it a go.

- Horse Stats aka Riding Skill
Before 1.6, it would take 50 days to max out 3 horse stats, now it takes 180 days. Hope you had fed up all your alt horses in advance. I had mistakenly assumed that "all horse stats are shared" meant that all my main characters horses would work on my alt characters as well, instead of solely for my main, so my alt characters are faaaaaaar behind. If you are just starting the game now, try to make 1 of each class and feed them horses every day. Try to do the same for researching (I am impartial on stat researching because your main can still handle all crafting).

- Achievements
Some of the achievements are super tedious and boring but the titles you can earn are awesome. None of my alts are ever going to be Monster Hunters or Master Anglers. nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. . .

EDIT 1:
- Difficulty
Normal PVE play from level 1 all the way to VR14 is just too easy, I feel like it's making me worse at video games (nevermind plugging away CPs onto your new alt toon). I know ZOS stated that your new alt feels super overpowered and somehow that's awesome, but it is totally un-awesome. The only thing beneficial that CPs give your alt is a slightly faster grind through content. I really need some stuff the just murders the crap out of me while I level up, instead of waiting to play in VR dungeons and trials.

I had power leveled a Templar to VR1 in preparation for 1.6 but I have not touched it since.
At this rate, I won't be focusing on an alt until my main has maxed all of these things.
Note: I am currently leveling an alt with my friend (we are level 8) but all listed above are killing me super hard. If only for that Alliance Rank, I'm sure I'll lose interest in my alt when my friend reaches the level cap, or VR1, depends on how much he enjoys Cyrodiil.

phermitgb

fair enough...now, as an intellectual exercise, if you're willing, I challenge you to list all the things that ENCOURAGE you to play an alt. Then, compare the two lists, and decide which has the features that are most important to you.

I'll help...

1 - experience with new class specific builds (ie templar classes vs nightblade, etc...)
2 - experience alternate faction storylines
3 - experience with different gear loadouts (bow build vs a sword+board build, etc...)
4 - continued experience with friends regardless of which particular character you're on
5 - focusing on a different crafting line without having to sacrifice all your skill points into one general crafter
6 - pvp for a different faction for a different experience

those are just a few of the ones that occur to me - I'm sure other people might have more suggestions...

NotSo

That sounds fair but I've quickly prepared a Counter!!!!!!!
1 - in the first couple months, I have played all classes, nearly capping each class tree
2 - my main vr14 has completed cadwell's silver and gold 100%
3 - constantly changing up my mains skills and equipment (my signature says spellblade because I haven't stuck to strictly magicka or strictly stamina)
4 - my guild kicks ass we hang out all the time
5 - my main sacrifices points to max all crafting lines, I have plenty skill points left over for 1 powerful build or 2 lesser specs
6 - my time in cyrodiil as aldmeri has brought a bad taste towards EP and none of my friends are on DC either. Aldmeri 4 life.

phairdon

Has alts. Sure I cannot earn champion points with non vet characters 'but' all champion points already unlocked, are available to all my alts.

vovus69

I am making new alt when I want to enjoy playstyle of new race+skillset. I don't care about 1-4 in OP I am just playing for fun

Thymos

The biggest reason I was hesitant on making alts was only having a shared bank, which was already full of crafting mats.

NotSo

@Thymos, I probably would have added that to the list as well but I trust my guild very much and we throw literally everything into the gbank.

phermitgb

NotSo wrote: »

That sounds fair but I've quickly prepared a Counter!!!!!!!
1 - in the first couple months, I have played all classes, nearly capping each class tree
2 - my main vr14 has completed cadwell's silver and gold 100%
3 - constantly changing up my mains skills and equipment (my signature says spellblade because I haven't stuck to strictly magicka or strictly stamina)
4 - my guild kicks ass we hang out all the time
5 - my main sacrifices points to max all crafting lines, I have plenty skill points left over for 1 powerful build or 2 lesser specs
6 - my time in cyrodiil as aldmeri has brought a bad taste towards EP and none of my friends are on DC either. Aldmeri 4 life.

see, while I appreciate your enthusiasm for argumentation, I think you missed the point - the point was for YOU to come up with reasons YOU enjoy alting, not more reasons why you DON'T want to alt.

I was only offering some suggestions - it's entirely possible NONE of the reasons I mentioned have any bearing on your experience...which is why it would be best for YOU to provide the reasons you might be encouraged to create an alt.

Now, if the point you're trying to make is that you cannot find ANY reason to create an alt...then...well, I got nuthin' for you - enjoy your main to the best of your ability, continue campaigning for new content to enjoy with your main, or move on to another game...

I, for one, still have plenty of reasons left over to enjoy an alt, so I'm afraid I can't quite jump on this bandwagon with you yet.

Soulshine

phermitgb wrote: »

fair enough...now, as an intellectual exercise, if you're willing, I challenge you to list all the things that ENCOURAGE you to play an alt. Then, compare the two lists, and decide which has the features that are most important to you.

I'll help...

1 - experience with new class specific builds (ie templar classes vs nightblade, etc...)
2 - experience alternate faction storylines
3 - experience with different gear loadouts (bow build vs a sword+board build, etc...)
4 - continued experience with friends regardless of which particular character you're on
5 - focusing on a different crafting line without having to sacrifice all your skill points into one general crafter
6 - pvp for a different faction for a different experience

those are just a few of the ones that occur to me - I'm sure other people might have more suggestions...

AT number two... this totally falls apart.

If you have completed all of Caldwell's Silver and Gold you have already experienced every bit of "alternate faction storyline" there is in the game - which is the single biggest reason to be totally turned off by the idea of re-rolling anything - at least for me. Which is why most my alts, save for my Sorc, will stay exactly where they are.

starkerealm

NotSo wrote: »

None of my alts are ever going to be Monster Hunters or Master Anglers. nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. . .

Monster Hunter isn't actually that hard. It's a little tedious, but it's nothing difficult.

Dekkameron

Just grind the alt VR1+ and they will be contributing to your champion points

NotSo

@phermitgb Sorry, I didn't mean to just attack your post.
I just meant that there's not much more to this game that I can experience, the only thing really holding my interest is endgame pvp and dungeons. Which I can already take part in with just my main character. Yes I would like to play through these things with alts but when leveling from 1-50 is holding back my progressing in the Champion System and is just irrelevant in terms of Alliance Rank, I find little else to level up alts. I am leveling another character at the moment, but whether I can keep interest is completely up in the air.
Mostly this post was for ZOS, in hopes that they would make some changes to what is character specific and what is account wide as well as make a change the Champion System.

starkerealm

@NotSo I honestly hope this doesn't sound like snark, but, the first reward for playing a game needs to be, well, the experience of playing it. If that's not rewarding, then incentivizing stuff beyond that just isn't going to help.

I do agree, it would be nice if we could work towards CP on our non-vet alts. The thing that got me logging in... well, before 1.6, the thing that kept me logging in was the enjoyment of playing. (Since 1.6 I've had some hideous desync issues, and have resorted to playing Skyrim for my Elder Scrolls fix. )

There's this weird perception with MMOs that your endgame content needs to be better than the leveling content, and in this case, I don't think that's the case.

The problem of course is, once you've consumed the leveling content, there isn't much else to do, even with as much of it as ESO offers.

driosketch

All of your points are valid. None of them have stopped me from playing my alts.

Thymos

NotSo wrote: »

@Thymos, I probably would have added that to the list as well but I trust my guild very much and we throw literally everything into the gbank.

It's an access thing. I like having all my mats in my bank, because when I go to craft, it will use them there as well as my inventory. Can't do that with guild banks.

Zheg

The biggest problem to working on alts right now is leveling them through v1-v14. Achieving a veteran level takes significantly more time than it did in the early stages in the game, and there's no longer the options to grind out boss mobs in craglorn for a few days and skip the awful veteran leveling process. I'm working on pvp and leveling lowbies to V1 in the hopes that they finally get rid of/fix the xp through the veteran leveling process.

Lord_Kreegan

I have eight alts. I was playing them all simultaneously, keeping them at the same level, up until the champion system was announced. I then leveled three up to VR ranks (another in progress).

I would like to say something positive about this.

I'm POSITIVE that repeating the same quests on multiple characters within only three factions, even with different buiilds on the characters, is POSITIVELY boring as hell.

PvP is affected, too. Ever try being in eight different campaigns? You can't have different alts of opposing factions in the same campaign. So, I've had to join campaigns where my faction is so hopelessly outnumbered that nobody bothers playing (in all three factions; one faction has the whole map and nobody is trying to change that).

I'm POSITIVE this is one of the reasons that PvP is such a desolate activity.

TheShadowScout

I as an incorrigable altaholic wouldn't let any of those (admittedly valid) points stop me from playing my alts. I guess in the end, it depends on each persons taste.

Yes, repeating all the quests again on every alt is boring. Very. But... champion points! And its less boring then grinding... and every so often, I find something I missed when I did that map the first time...

Yes, PvP is a entirely different can of worms, and so far only one character of mine does grab those alliance points. Though I am curious how the others would do...
But the main problem with Cyrodil is how some alliances sit on their "buff campaigns" and the others often don't even bother to try fight at an 12-to-40 disadvantage. Which is an entirely different story I suppose...

Yes, horses take more time now, for more effect, and on every character... I doubt I'll max out any of mine in their riding anytime soon. So what? Not like i really care all that much if the horse is great or meh...

Yes, archievements can be a pain sometimes. But who needs them? My main, for the dyes, but that's it... so, concentrate on one character for those, and maybe sone alts for some (vamp, WW), and don't bother counting them for my alts.

Still, all minor issues as far as my alting enjoyment is concerned. But each as they see it for themselves!

Seraphyel

Alliance Rank should be something that is an account wide thing, same goes for the "horses" and the Champion System.

And maybe Veteran Ranks, the most repelling part of making an alt.

Stranglehands

I probably play too much PvE but I just get burnt out on playing one character more than a few days running because it gets monotonous to be constantly using the same combat strategy. Especially a long range sorc caster, that's got to be the dullest way to play eso. I don't know how I managed to get all the way up to VR6 on that build just pointing a lightning staff at things over and over

RDMyers65b14_ESO

I have the opposite problem than the OP. As a RPer, I am an altaholic.

It really is about what you want from the game. If endgame is what you care about, then I can see why you would not want to work on an alt. There is no 'endgame' when you are an RPer as the story is what matters most. To some, it is a race for numbers. To RPers, it is the living breathing world of Tamriel. The only reason to bother with trials is the dye achievement. (Had to get the white) The only reason to PvP is story driven. I have as much fun with my little level 4 as I do with my V14.

olsborg

Personally, if alliance rank (the skill lines) and achievments was account wide, id be a much happier eso player with a few alts, now I only have one char that I actively play.

McDoogs

I'm going through cadwell's silver for the 4th time. It's incredibly brutal and tedious to do the same quests again.

eliisra

My headache is the Alliance War skills line and the stupid mount levelling. These things are also intertwined, I cant even go to Cyrodiil on a new alt and have fun because the mount moves in slow motion. Maxing out Alliance also takes like 4-6 months for me, as a causal PvP'er.

Everything else I can deal with. Weapon- and armour types are easier to level now with the improves traits. The guilds level themselves for me doing quests and daily stuff, including Undaunted.

Doing all the VR quests again isn't a blast lol. But still more fun and effective than grinding monsters for 130-170 exp each on a VR14 character (that's out of quest), doing that makes me want to un-install the game

CP is thankfully account bound. But not sure if it's a good idea to let low level alts put those point in? My level 20 Imperial with 93 CP is basically immortal, 2 shots quest bosses and moves around like a monster truck. It's a bit unbalanced and also trivialized low level content, that's already to easy. But in terms of leveling speed, sure helps being a demi-god.

Tandor

The question to ask the OP is - if there are so many reasons for not making alts, why has he already done so? If he meant that he sees no point in playing alts then that is a very different argument to the one embodied in the title of the topic which relates to making alts, which is clearly something he's already done.

There's no more compulsion to running more than one character than there is to play the game in the first place. The only real reason to have alts because you enjoy it. If it ceases to be fun then don't play them any more and stick to a main as long as that's giving you fun.

Personally I find the best reason to play alts in any MMO is because it keeps the game fresh. In those games where I only play a single character I find it becomes almost like work to log in and pursue the same character session after session.

c0rp

ALLIANCE RANK and VR are what make me grimace every time I log onto an alt. This game would be SO MUCH MORE FUN with VR GONE and alliance rank acct SHARED.

newtinmpls

phermitgb wrote: »

fair enough...now, as an intellectual exercise, if you're willing, I challenge you to list all the things that ENCOURAGE you to play an alt. Then, compare the two lists, and decide which has the features that are most important to you.

I'll help...

1 - experience with new class specific builds (ie templar classes vs nightblade, etc...)
2 - experience alternate faction storylines

3 - experience with different gear loadouts (bow build vs a sword+board build, etc...)
4 - continued experience with friends regardless of which particular character you're on
5 - focusing on a different crafting line without having to sacrifice all your skill points into one general crafter
6 - pvp for a different faction for a different experience

those are just a few of the ones that occur to me - I'm sure other people might have more suggestions...[/quote]

Soulshine wrote: »

AT number two... this totally falls apart.

If you have completed all of Caldwell's Silver and Gold you have already experienced every bit of "alternate faction storyline" there is in the game

Well, as of yet it's not falling apart for me. YMMV.

Speaking second hand, as it's my spouse and not myself playing a veteran through the "other factions", it's not the same. Yes it is similar, but there are enough differences to make it still enjoyable.

On the other hand, I enjoy most of the storylines (especially watching the ruler of the AD grow into the crown), such that I don't mind having gone through them more than once.

For me, each of my characters has a different perspective/personality and through playing them, the experience of any given thing (even if I have "done it before") is a little different, a little fresh. My straight-laced traditional Altmer noble is loosening up, partly due to a clandestine romance with a Maomer. My orc siblings (both battlemages) are very different in temperament and outlook. She is full of spit and vinegar, he is still deeply troubled by the loss of his partner of many years, who declined the chance/opportunity to be "rescued" from Cold Harbor.

And I could go on - I have two accounts which tells you how insane I am about knowing too much about too many characters.

martinhpb16_ESO

Agree, I dont have time to run a non-vet alt now that it doesn't give champ points. The time invested in such a character is, for me, now detrimental to my main.

Champ point xp gain should be extended to non-vet alts in my opinion.

GreySix

I enjoy alts. Gives me other characters to play, when not cooperatively playing with my wife.

It's also a large reason I've no characters to yet reach Level 50 yet, even though we've both been casually playing since beta.

Of course, we average only around three to five hours a week.

Stuff like work, other hobbies, and the rest of life in general limit our playing time.

Folkb

I like alts but as OP said you feel as if you're wasting your time somewhat since you don't gain champ points and you have to start over on your alliance skill line. Which by the way is stupid, even GW2 made their Alliance war ranks account wide.

Get with the F'N program ZOS.

technohic

I do it for fun but I know that it is probably the lease productive thing I can do in game. All it does is put you further behind in a game that wants to have constant progression at end game; thus there not really being an endgame.