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Do you make burn accounts to try out MMORPG?
Helleri
Member UncommonPosts: 930
For the sake of clarity for those who are unfamiliar with the term or may call it by another name. When I say 'Burn Account' what I mean is an account/character that is made specifically to feel out an unfamiliar game. With the intention to use it until a player has a good idea of what they want to do in the game. At which point the intent is to ditch the account and make their 'real account'.
I have done this before. I know a few people who have. I am wondering how common it is. Do you do this frequently? As a standard? Have done this in the past but not so much any more? If so why do you view it as useful or practical? If you do not why don't you? have you seen any problems arise that you attribute to this practice?
Comments
I often experiment with a variety of classes on an account before I settle on a "main" but rarely begin a new account. - Seems like an overly complex step unless "what you want to do" in the game involves some level of conduct you would not want associated with the original account??
I don't see this as all that practical unless as I mentioned there was some other motive behind it.
Seaspite
Playing ESO on my X-Box
While there are plenty of MMORPG that have one make and account and said account then hosts characters. And, while they may offer a character delete button. There are still plenty of reasons (not all of them necessarily good reasons but reasons none the less).
One reason could be that the person who is new to that game does not know the sign up process for that game and how it might differ from other games they have played. It's still possible for a game to attach an account to a single character (Runescape does it this way). And, for there to be no delete button on their character roster (albeit none to common these days). There is the possibility that one might want their account name to be their main characters name. And, some games might not allow this for security reasons. (I can't think of an example off hand with this in particular but I can vaguely recall having run into it a fews times before. sorry for that). There is also the possibility that a burn account may be accidental. Maybe they thought "well I probably won't play this for long but I will give it a go". So they make an account name they don't care about (like a strand of numbers or a ridiculously long word). Then they realize "Oh...I kind of like this. might stick with it longer, I had best make a real name for the account."
That is an interesting aspect to bring up. But maybe the deception is not so outrageous as say gold farming or scamming players. Maybe they don't want to pay a fee to switch to another server when they realize they don't like the one they are on. And, the justification could easily be having not paid in yet. But, going to pay in once they switch. Maybe it is to get back wasted oppurtunity as well?
I recall lotro had some side point currency for accomplishing certain tasks. And it was stuff you could earn over again on each new character allotted to your account. If you did all of it and saved every bit, you could actually by all the expansion content. Now, this currency could be spent on a few other things The game at the start encouraged you in learning about it to spend just enough to make it impossible to do that hardcore free play trick that was technically possible other wise. I even recall players in the starting suggesting to other players that they make an entirely new account if they passed that point but were not that far along yet.
Maybe it is to avoid a name change fee.
All bad reasons. But some people are so dedicated to never paying in that they will go that route and probably not think much of it.
Yeah, the seemed odd. Burn accounts? No. A throwaway first character? Yes, for almost two decades now.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Same, often the first character is the one where you make all the mistakes, and deleting that character and making a new one is probably very common, but to delete a whole account just to restart the game from scratch, sounds like a weird thing to do, the only reasons i can think of to do that usually would involve doing something that might breach the games EULA, or be in some fashion reprehensible, perhaps its because its something that gold sellers/spammers do a lot, and also of course, people who hack games, or run 3rd party software that is considered illegal under the games EULA.
Yep, agree with the above, it's odd and a bit weird concept... but I'm an altoholic and don't even delete characters, let alone accounts, so I probably don't count
If I try a new game (and I used to try most of them
) I just make an account and try it out. Simple as that. If it's good, I'll just continue with that account (sometimes I make a new one, but still keep the other as mule, what's the point of deleting it?). As for first characters mentioned by Phry and Loktofeit, I just love to keep them, those used to be my "fun" characters: roleplay, cosmetics, collectors, etc.
In LotRO for example, I wrote a few times here earlier that I left the game after the first attempt and got addicted only by the second try - that try was on the same account, with a second character, so I haven't deleted neither the character nor the account. And I still have that first character which failed to lure me into the game the first time, he's now my stable boy (the steed collector character) and the designated festival guy for the season events
"When I say 'Burn Account' what I mean is an account/character" Although, I probably should have included character in the tittle.Apologies for the lack of clarity. But, yes a throw away character, first character that is abandoned and such. These can be burn accounts. It is a term I started hearing and using years ago though. And, MMORPG have changed so it's probably a good idea to update this and just call it (somewhat more ambiguously but I think still clear enough) a burner.
The point was brought up that a first character is the one your likely to make all your mistakes on. Maybe sometimes it's also not about making outright mistakes but having an imperfect play through in retrospect based on what one learns over time. You look back maybe and think "Dang, knowing what I know now I could get half way to this point in a day or so of play. How did I waste so much time as a newb." And it may be tempting to prove that to yourself.
When I model I often trash the first version. I might completely redo a model 7-10 times. And, each time the stuff I did before becomes more automatic and my mind then focuses on refining the look, changing features... By the time I am like "Ok...done" it look radically different from a first draft. But the point is each time you repeat something. A bit of what you did last time becomes automatic. And, it lets you focus on being more efficient and more creative. So maybe for some it's the mastery factor.
While I haven't made a "burn account" I have made characters that were throw away characters to test classes. Then I summarily delete them and make a "real" character.
The only time I haven't done this is if I'm just sure of the class I want to play and then I try to get the look of the character "right". I've deleted characters after several levels as "in game" they don't seem to look like character creation.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Never really understood the point of deliberately creating things to delete them. I avoid things I know I won't enjoy in the first place, and when that isn't possible I simply abandon the character/account. Deleting it is a strange waste of whatever effort/value you've accumulated, and I only do it when the game forces it on me (limited character space.)
So I create everything allowing for the possibility of endless play, so I'm never stuck in a situation where I end up unexpectedly enjoying something and now I have the name "trashrogue99" and I'm sad that I have to start a new rogue.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
One of my pet peeves with character creation is seeing a pretty cool outfit while making it, then getting in-game and being in rags.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I understand your point, but the two MMOs I've enjoyed the most in my 40 years of life, I've gone into knowing absolutely nothing about the game. Maybe I'm just old school/prehistoric, but that's how I roll. On my walker. With tennis balls.
That's one of the many differences between east and west audiences. They want a character creation screen where they can see epic gear. It's off putting to the eest to see some dude in nothing but rags or a diaper. Western players seem to feel deceived when they see a character in awesomeness on the creation screen and then they start in their flimsy/worn newbie set.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I had fun once, it was terrible.
This ^
I self identify as a monkey.
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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My issue is that I immediately wonder if this is hard to attain "must raid over and over and over again" gear.
Which I never want to do.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
That's like a crazy mashup of Sword Art Online and Looper.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
and I'm trying to avoid having to go into one.