Confessions of an Altoholic…

geonsocal

hi my name is geo, and, i’m an altoholic…

i remember years ago reading the forum and thinking of all those poor souls trapped in an endless cycle of creating additional characters…ha – that’s not me…

i associate altoholics with people whom have characters on multiple accounts and multiple platforms numbering in the 20’s and 30’s…

it wasn’t until someone whom seems to know me better than myself ( @Curragraigue ) jokingly referred to me as an altoholic…i thought it was funny initially, then after a little introspection – i realized it might be true…

it started with my main, a “copied” character type from skyrim…only problem at the time was that a breton stamina based nightblade (without vigor at that time) really really sucked when I tried to take him through spindleglutch…my big move at the time was the werewolf transformation – werewolf not exactly being the best group asset in a dungeon, and, even worse in a dungeon filled with poisonous spiders…

i created a “tank” healing/tank character in a different alliance the very next day after that first group dungeon i tried…from there it seemed to only make sense to have a character in the third alliance…from there it went to might as well try a character from each class…then a character from each class in both stamina and magicka based focus…hello warden and my ninth and tenth characters…i’m a little apprehensive now about zos’ inclusion of a necromancer class…i don't think i would be able to resist...

fast forward a couple of years and now whenever i switch characters (pretty much daily) it normally takes about 20 minutes or so to remember exactly how to play that particular character – woe is me if i run into some early 1v1 action in cyrodiil before i’ve had a chance to “warm” up…generally things won’t end well for me in those situations…basically - i'm now very okay on all classes - but, not particularly great at any one class or character...

buffs/debuffs, heals, shields, melee attacks, ranged attacks, cc’s, etc…what buttons are they all on again???

i’m at the point now where just about each week I’m switching out builds and gear sets on at least 2 of my current 10 characters…i’ve watched my once fairly healthy bank coin dwindle away on new gear sets, spec changes and – more gear sets…

at times it feels more like a game of “dress up” than fantasy combat and adventuring…

well that’s my story folks – i’d love to hear yours...

SydneyGrey

For the first several months I played, I couldn't figure out why people would want to make so many characters that they'd have every character slot filled.

Now, as of a couple of weeks ago, I have every character slot filled and bought one extra slot. LOL. I totally understand, now.

*EDIT* And NONE of them are mules used for storage.

Enslaved

Hi, my name is Enslaved and I am an Altoholic. I have 3x DK/NB/Sorc/War and two templars I made just for mulling purposes (they keep my jewelry). 11 chars are at least AvA 13, max carry weight/mount speed, done all EP quests/Cyrodiil quests, all normal dungeons. I have different setups but all of them follow certain rules or my mind would go boom. I use naga chroma mouse, G110 logitech keyboard with 12 G buttons and excel to track various stuff I have done with my alts. Things that make me super sad:

• not grand overlord on all 14 chars I have
• I miss several books or more on each char
• I lack space for all stuff I "need", be that the armors, weapons, scrolls, potions, motifs...
• My trial sheet at excel is mostly empty
• I cant vMA on every class due to being scrublord

Also, I would love to take this unique chance and beg for more char slots. Please, Zos, I implore you, take my money and let me buy more char slots! @Wrobel I summon you! Grant me more alts, let me wallow in my wretchedness.
Alts are love, alts are life

ZOS_CoriJ

Hello, I am one of your moderators. Also an altoholic.
I keep my first three characters out of nostalgia, (the ones who I ran through each alliance with back in 2014), but I rarely use them on the field... suddenly I had made three more to replace them-- and then played with the character creator and couldn't delete one. Or was it two?... I... I meant to but now I had created character backgrounds for them and they were in charge of certain crafting tasks. And then I needed at least one warden and--

Takes-No-Prisoner

OP knows I'm the same way.

Already working on StamWarden and MagWarden @geonsocal So now I have 10 characters.

Now to figure out their builds StamWarden, I could slap some proc sets on it and call it a day. But MagWarden looks attractive as a tank, yet the gear I need is behind a grind wall.

andreasranasen

ZOS_CoriJ wrote: »

Hello, I am one of your moderators. Also an altoholic.
I keep my first three characters out of nostalgia, (the ones who I ran through each alliance with back in 2014), but I rarely use them on the field... suddenly I had made three more to replace them-- and then played with the character creator and couldn't delete one. Or was it two?... I... I meant to but now I had created character backgrounds for them and they were in charge of certain crafting tasks. And then I needed at least one warden and--

I jumped on this thread because of the Title...
Thought i was gonna get some good entertainment since the Z icon was up...

geonsocal

we're just doing our part to bring more virtual life in to this virtual world

Megabear

I'm an altoholic. At first I thought OP was addicted to Altoids by the way.

I can't stop making alts. In the process innocent characters are... "relocated".

R.I.P. my two original characters. I can't remember their names. I'm trash. *sob*

leepalmer95

I thought i was done with my altoholicism.

Then zos added more character slots so here i am leveling a warden.. my 9th character..

geonsocal

andreasranasen wrote: »

I jumped on this thread because of the Title...
Thought i was gonna get some good entertainment since the Z icon was up...

hmmmmm, i wonder if you're real motivation wasn't to simply show up and flaunt all those gaudy forum stars you've been accumulating at an entirely unnatural pace

Takes-No-Prisoner

leepalmer95 wrote: »

I thought i was done with my altoholicism.

Then zos added more character slots so here i am leveling a warden.. my 9th character..

Yup, it gets you when you least expect it

Davor

Well I am not an Altholic, but I have a problem with restartitis sadly. Is that considered the same? Now that I am not worrying about "Playing properly" I am having the most fun with this current character.

But I do want to try the new Warden class and Nightblade class, so I guess I will become an Altholic?

Sevalaricgirl

I have a DK, 2 nb, templar, sorc, warden. That's all I need.

soll

I have 8 chars of max level, all are even in more or less accepted gear.

But mostly I play only one, my main magplar healer. And it could be not that bad, if I wouldn't get stick to pvp, where magplars are sad. I have stam sorc, stam NB, mag NB bomber, mag sorc, who ready to go to cyro/BG, but no, I want to play with my templar

Asardes

I've made 14 characters but I'm only playing the first 4 at the moment due to time and space constraints (lowbies double as extra bank) and the desire to get better at various play styles on a limited number of builds before progressing to similar builds on other characters. All are created with a specific purpose: at least one magicka and one stamina DD and one char which will specialize in group support, either magicka or stamina. The only class where the latter role is omitted is sorcerer since at least one of the two builds can optimally play at least one support role without really sacrificing anything. I don't consider any of the chars as disposables, spend some time in the character creation window polishing their looks and invest fully upgrading their inventory and training skills (225K per char).

My 4 main characters have trained and fully specced:
- racial passives
- the 3 class skills
- at least 2 weapon skills (4 for stamina builds, just some passives and skills in 2W and 1H+S for magicka)
- all 3 armor skills (2 fully specced, the 3rd just the passives that don't require 5p)
- mages and fighters guild (always banish the wicked and rearming trap, otherwise fully specced in the respective skill line depending if it's stamina or magicka)
- undaunted (all passives and some of the active skills as well depending on build)
- AvA skills (both ultimates, all passives, some of the active skills, always maneuver and purge)
- all 6 crafting skills leveled, with the main line specced and others as well
- ledgermain improved hiding passive
- soul magic only on magicka builds

At the moment I'm catching up on previously completed content on some of them as I intend to activate the hirelings and start research soon.

In terms of gear they have one or more gear setups for their main PvE role, one for PvP (still some work in progress there) and sometimes also a gear set for a secondary PvE role. I have been able to complete 4 man vet HM dungeons with some uncommon setups over at least 2 chars just to test them but they are not permanent. For example tanking VRoM HM on MagSorc is pretty challenging but doable.

Up till now support roles - tank and healer - have been given higher priority but next DDs will be prioritized as well. The next objective is improving PvP setup and gameplay on characters and readiness for Midyear Mayhem event. Immediately after that Morrowind completion and possibly vMA clear. I've repeatedly rescheduled the latter for various reasons without attempting it since I considered it low priority. Within a few months I will progress to vMoL and vHoF.

BlackSparrow

My name is Sparrow and I'm an altoholic.

I love creating characters with backgrounds and personalities, and then running them through the game. It's a form of emergent storytelling, for me. The problem is, sometimes I'm in the mood to play a sneaky assassin, sometimes a holy knight, sometimes a lone (were)wolf hunter, sometimes a disarmingly sweet-looking master thief...

I have 11 characters right now, each with their own personality, story, and playstyle. I can only hope that I run out of character ideas before the Crown Store runs out of slots.

PS4_ZeColmeia

Are you an altoholic if you made alts to get more mails from hirelings? Cause I just did that but I only play one character.

Publius_Scipio

I don't have this debilitating addiction. I have one character since I first set foot in Tamriel.

Publius_Scipio

PS4_ZeColmeia wrote: »

Are you an altoholic if you made alts to get more mails from hirelings? Cause I just did that but I only play one character.

Denial is part of the problem. You have the addiction.

geonsocal

Asardes wrote: »

I've made 14 characters but I'm only playing the first 4 at the moment due to time and space constraints (lowbies double as extra bank) and the desire to get better at various play styles on a limited number of builds before progressing to similar builds on other characters. All are created with a specific purpose: at least one magicka and one stamina DD and one char which will specialize in group support, either magicka or stamina. The only class where the latter role is omitted is sorcerer since at least one of the two builds can optimally play at least one support role without really sacrificing anything. I don't consider any of the chars as disposables, spend some time in the character creation window polishing their looks and invest fully upgrading their inventory and training skills (225K per char).

My 4 main characters have trained and fully specced:
- racial passives
- the 3 class skills
- at least 2 weapon skills (4 for stamina builds, just some passives and skills in 2W and 1H+S for magicka)
- all 3 armor skills (2 fully specced, the 3rd just the passives that don't require 5p)
- mages and fighters guild (always banish the wicked and rearming trap, otherwise fully specced in the respective skill line depending if it's stamina or magicka)
- undaunted (all passives and some of the active skills as well depending on build)
- AvA skills (both ultimates, all passives, some of the active skills, always maneuver and purge)
- all 6 crafting skills leveled, with the main line specced and others as well
- ledgermain improved hiding passive
- soul magic only on magicka builds

At the moment I'm catching up on previously completed content on some of them as I intend to activate the hirelings and start research soon.

In terms of gear they have one or more gear setups for their main PvE role, one for PvP (still some work in progress there) and sometimes also a gear set for a secondary PvE role. I have been able to complete 4 man vet HM dungeons with some uncommon setups over at least 2 chars just to test them but they are not permanent. For example tanking VRoM HM on MagSorc is pretty challenging but doable.

Up till now support roles - tank and healer - have been given higher priority but next DDs will be prioritized as well. The next objective is improving PvP setup and gameplay on characters and readiness for Midyear Mayhem event. Immediately after that Morrowind completion and possibly vMA clear. I've repeatedly rescheduled the latter for various reasons without attempting it since I considered it low priority. Within a few months I will progress to vMoL and vHoF.

you got a plan, man...you got a plan...

hmmmm, spend much time thinking about this stuff @Asardes ...

ugh, every week I have a different idea about switching playstyle or gear on some character...i just can't stop...the amount of focus and mental energy I put it to it is definitely a little excessive...

always good to share a mildly odd afliction with others

Hallothiel

2 nb, 3 mages, 2 DKs, 3 templars and now 2 wardens.

I don't consider this a problem- I just like to have options in what/how I play.

king408

Ive always been an altoholic but now since rejoining again im addicted to my 1hs magicka nightblade, hes an imperial vampire , but once hes done its back to altoholism.

ArchMikem

I've managed some restraint. One character per class, however I did make a second Templar cause people said Argonians were best Healers. It's actually funny cause I don't have the desire to even play that one, I just default to my original Templar.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

My first toon was an imperial stamblade that I raised to vet 10 (cap at the time) through a combo of questing or grinding. Other than some craglorn grinds, I never really did anything resembling group content or PVP. I treated this like any other ES game. I then made a Sorc and DK in the other 2 alliances. I dabbled with each, but didnt really play the other 2 alliances much. I almost left the game because I was getting bored of being solo.

Then I made the magic DK that I called my main for a long time. I got him up to V16 without any grinding. I wanted to get the hero of tamriel title before I put ESO on the shelf. I did every quest in the game available to me. Then I discovered that I actually wasnt to bad a dishing out the DPS, so started running 4 man stuff.

2.5 years later, I have 4 DKs, 3 Sorcs, 2 NBs, 2 Templars, and 2 Wardens. That amounts to a magic and stam of each class in my alliance plus a full blown tank, as well as one toon in AD and DC. Not quite sure how that happened? haha

I will say this. The biggest downside to being an Altoholic is the fact that achievement points are character bound. I really wish they would keep this how it is, but add a separate account wide achievement tab. I really wish I could see how much of the game I have completed with my account.

andreasranasen

geonsocal wrote: »

andreasranasen wrote: »

I jumped on this thread because of the Title...
Thought i was gonna get some good entertainment since the Z icon was up...

hmmmmm, i wonder if you're real motivation wasn't to simply show up and flaunt all those gaudy forum stars you've been accumulating at an entirely unnatural pace

I've worked (trolled) really hard for these stars!

disintegr8

The OP stole my life story, my first character also being a Breton Stamblade. By the time I realized he was not viable, at level 49. it was too late to replace him as he knew too much, so he was parked as my crafter for my Alts. Fortunately he has morphed into a decent magblade, so has a second life.

My first tank completed Cadwells silver and gold - as a true sword and board tank - such is my dedication to her. She is also a Hero of Tamriel, having achieved hero in every alliance. 4 others are also hero of their alliance.

Out of 11 characters, 6 of them are nearly finished research on 8 traits for crafting, to go with my first who is 9 trait and my second who is already 8 trait.

8 of them already have all 180 rider training points, all done 1 day at a time, none bought from the crown store.

This is all on my main ESO account only.

geonsocal

disintegr8 wrote: »

Fortunately he has morphed into a decent magblade, so has a second life.

once i finally figured out how to play the game - i did the same

LukosCreyden

Let's see... 14 characters, 10 fully levelled and geared. I have a crafter, a healer, a tank, a pvp'er and then a magicka and stamina variant of every class geared up for DPS. I play each one of them regularly, mostly soloing pledges on the DPS, gulld stuff on the healer and tank and of course pvp.

Currently, I'm levelling the magicka warden, then it'll be on to the DPS magplar, who may replace my current pvp character.

stewhead2ub17_ESO

smh...I also suffer from this nefarious affliction. Currently actively playing 13 different char's. I...just...can't...stop.
When I go to bed at night instead of counting sheep, I contemplate my next possible toon. True story.

TazESO

I prefer to think of it as experimentation.

geonsocal

thank you very much for kicking in every one - i don't feel so alone anymore

some of you have also answered a question that's been in my mind for quite a while - do other altoholics focus on one character for a substantial (weeks, months) period of time - or, are they cursed with continuously playing different characters all the time...

i will say though - without have a wide stable of choices of characters to play each day, not sure i would have been able to stay as engaged in eso as i currently am...