The only game where I ever enjoyed playing alts (besides CoH, which is gone) is SWTOR. Every character has a story. Every character has an NPC companion, who also has a story. SWTOR is the only game I ever played where I reached max level on more than one character.
If you don't like to play alts, that's fine, but you probably wouldn't have a good read on what makes a game alt-friendly.
Perhaps you could address the merits of my recommendation instead of my credentials?
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Sorry, but how is that a nice thing? The topic is altoholism, shared <anything> is like an entry ticket, not some "nice" bonus
A good notion though, earlier I only talked about the numbers, but here's the altoholic details of CO (and LotRO on notes too)
Unlimited (in theory) and free character slots while you were subscriber, it is now capped at 100 characters per account (LotRO has a cap around 50 I think, but the slots are quite expensive. On the other hand there are 10 servers, so with 11 slots you can have 110 characters, which is already more than CO's cap)
Shared social options through the handle system, no matter which alt you play, the friend/ignore/mail settings and availability is shared. Actually it is shared among all the Cryptic games (STO and Neverwinter) as well. Account mail can be used to circulate items around the alts. (LotRO doesn't have this, each character has their own friend/ignore list and see only their own mailbox. Mail can be used for item sharing.)
Shared housing with full rights, and a shared vault inside the house to circulate items. (LotRO has the same.)
Shared bank option at the bank location for passing over items. (LotRO has the same.)
Shared cosmetics, any alts get an item, it will be unlocked for all the alts on the account at the tailors permanently. (LotRO has the same, but a bit more rigid, you have to use the wardrobe system to pass around the pieces. On the other hand, no tailor needed for changing dresses, you can do it anywhere.)
Shared wallet, to pass around money. Shared store currency, any alt can increase that amount by earning Zen from the game, and any alt can spend it after. (LotRO has the same, and even more, since in LotRO a couple barter items, tokens, etc. are account-shared too)
Shared gear, and even leveling gear which adapts its stats according the superstats of the current alt and increase the stats as the character levels up. (LotRO has it too, but more restricted, no level increase and stat change. Still can be good with similar classes, like passing down a gear piece after outlevelled from a minstrel alt onto a lore-master alt, since both classes are using will and fate)
In a bit wider range from the above, almost nothing is character bound in CO, most items are either account bound, or free to sell and becomes account bound after usage. (LotRO is more rigid, has a lot of account bound items, but the statted shared gear mentioned above is more the exception than the rule. Majority of the items are character bound in LotRO.)
In a tl;dr version, as it was said before a couple times, CO is built around the idea of fully open character building and that you experiment and play with dozens and dozens of different characters. Unfortunately the removal of the sub option took an arrow to the knee of that idea, but the game is still a great altoholic paradise - just the new arrivals will have to pay more for that.
It depends a lot on which combat system you like best, honestly.
Definitely FF14 if you want to do it all on one character. Slower-paced, old-school combat system. I haven't played this game since closer to launch, so I don't have an up-to-date view on it. This game has some of the best and most immersive environments and details. The linear, invisible-walled zones kind of drove me crazy though.
GW2 if you want lots of variety across multiple alts. Action/Tab hybrid. Lots of dodging around, often to the point of being annoying. Really good character diversity, though. Each class has many different playstyles/abilities. People either love or hate GW2, usually. Their last expansion really made the combat kind of ridiculous though. It's just non-stop aoe spam everywhere(red circles covering your screen) that you have to dodge endlessly.
And, of course, if you want something more ARPG-ish, there's PoE, etc.
I am currently hopping between the two...
I allways liked GW2, feels kind of like comming home, its my choice of heart but ff14 has so much to offer, its the choice of my mind..
we will see what wins..
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
I can't think of too many games that are not alt-friendly.
If you like the base game - chances are you'll like playing lots of alts as well, so find a game you like first and then it's all gravy,
Well, thats my problem, i want a game where a single character has so much diversity taht i don’t want/need any alts anymore...
i made a list of things that trigger me... but where can i find all of that in a single game/character(probably nowehere) so what game gets closest.. i am done with jumping from game to game... having somewhat limited gametime, i can’t keep with my old style of gaming.. and want to dedicate my precious gametime in one game on one character (about 15 hours a week on average)
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
I can't think of too many games that are not alt-friendly.
If you like the base game - chances are you'll like playing lots of alts as well, so find a game you like first and then it's all gravy,
Well, thats my problem, i want a game where a single character has so much diversity taht i don’t want/need any alts anymore...
i made a list of things that trigger me... but where can i find all of that in a single game/character(probably nowehere) so what game gets closest.. i am done with jumping from game to game... having somewhat limited gametime, i can’t keep with my old style of gaming.. and want to dedicate my precious gametime in one game on one character (about 15 hours a week on average)
That sounds like Skyforge, one character that can switch to different classes. Or perhaps Rift, you can have one character with different souls to switch to.
If I enjoy a game, it pays to have one of every class so that if a class gets nerfed it's easy to main another. It's a must for Devs who do rotating buffs and nerfs through the classes. Or even to use a class for certain types of content.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
If you want to do everything that you find interesting on one character, you could try Uncharted Waters Online. Expect to switch your class often, but the meaning of your class there is wildly different from in every other MMORPG ever. The game is also very open-ended, and about as far from linear gameplay as you can get.
I wouldn't call it alt-friendly, as leveling is so slow that you probably don't want to also level an alt or twelve. But it does let you do whatever you want on your one character rather than being locked into a particular class forever.
Dofus. although subscription based, the monthly fee is low enough to warrant multiple accounts to play with several alts at once. while i havent played for a long time, it is easily one of the best games ive come across. it has housing, breeding dungeon, pvp etc. a very overlooked game.
At one time i was running 15 alts on three different accounts
Except.....that name, just a total non starter for me.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
The only game where I ever enjoyed playing alts (besides CoH, which is gone) is SWTOR. Every character has a story. Every character has an NPC companion, who also has a story. SWTOR is the only game I ever played where I reached max level on more than one character.
If you don't like to play alts, that's fine, but you probably wouldn't have a good read on what makes a game alt-friendly.
Neither does the OP if you carefully read both it and the follow up replies he made.
His examples indicate he really prefers to play a variety of different builds on one character and really only alt hops when he has no other choice.
I suspect that is why Amathe made this suggestion.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
A bump just to chalk up a few more points at CO's alt-friendly design: with the ongoing anniversary you get action figures (collectibles, cosmetic pets) as login rewards, and after the first character's login every alt gets the pet automatically, compared to other games' log-with-each-character attitude. There's also an event mission (saving cats), you play it 3 times and you get an another pet - again, play it on one character and every alt gets it as well. There's an another mission (scavenger hunt), which rewards emotes - like above, finish it on one character, every alt gets the emotes.
His examples indicate he really prefers to play a variety of different builds on one character and really only alt hops when he has no other choice.
If that's the case, then I also misunderstood Bachus' original intent...
That is a valid approach as well, and its champion was hands down TSW (until Funcom killed it off). All the skills in the game were available all the time, at will. Switch roles with a simple click (not just the basic trinity, but buffer and CC were also there, and in some extent debuff and pets too), without a cooldown or a respec/retrain cost like in most games. It was an amazing setup.
Comments
12 classes per faction....can play both factions.
Great free to play game, pvp is fun, helpful community, decent population ….and scratched my altoholic itch very well.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Could be an option? Got to subscribe though if taking the game seriously.
A good notion though, earlier I only talked about the numbers, but here's the altoholic details of CO (and LotRO on notes too)
Unlimited (in theory) and free character slots while you were subscriber, it is now capped at 100 characters per account
(LotRO has a cap around 50 I think, but the slots are quite expensive. On the other hand there are 10 servers, so with 11 slots you can have 110 characters, which is already more than CO's cap)
Shared social options through the handle system, no matter which alt you play, the friend/ignore/mail settings and availability is shared. Actually it is shared among all the Cryptic games (STO and Neverwinter) as well. Account mail can be used to circulate items around the alts.
(LotRO doesn't have this, each character has their own friend/ignore list and see only their own mailbox. Mail can be used for item sharing.)
Shared housing with full rights, and a shared vault inside the house to circulate items.
(LotRO has the same.)
Shared bank option at the bank location for passing over items.
(LotRO has the same.)
Shared cosmetics, any alts get an item, it will be unlocked for all the alts on the account at the tailors permanently.
(LotRO has the same, but a bit more rigid, you have to use the wardrobe system to pass around the pieces. On the other hand, no tailor needed for changing dresses, you can do it anywhere.)
Shared wallet, to pass around money. Shared store currency, any alt can increase that amount by earning Zen from the game, and any alt can spend it after.
(LotRO has the same, and even more, since in LotRO a couple barter items, tokens, etc. are account-shared too)
Shared gear, and even leveling gear which adapts its stats according the superstats of the current alt and increase the stats as the character levels up.
(LotRO has it too, but more restricted, no level increase and stat change. Still can be good with similar classes, like passing down a gear piece after outlevelled from a minstrel alt onto a lore-master alt, since both classes are using will and fate)
In a bit wider range from the above, almost nothing is character bound in CO, most items are either account bound, or free to sell and becomes account bound after usage.
(LotRO is more rigid, has a lot of account bound items, but the statted shared gear mentioned above is more the exception than the rule. Majority of the items are character bound in LotRO.)
In a tl;dr version, as it was said before a couple times, CO is built around the idea of fully open character building and that you experiment and play with dozens and dozens of different characters. Unfortunately the removal of the sub option took an arrow to the knee of that idea, but the game is still a great altoholic paradise - just the new arrivals will have to pay more for that.
I allways liked GW2, feels kind of like comming home, its my choice of heart
but ff14 has so much to offer, its the choice of my mind..
we will see what wins..
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
i made a list of things that trigger me...
but where can i find all of that in a single game/character(probably nowehere)
so what game gets closest..
i am done with jumping from game to game...
having somewhat limited gametime, i can’t keep with my old style of gaming..
and want to dedicate my precious gametime in one game on one character (about 15 hours a week on average)
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
Raquelis in various games
Played: Everything
Playing: Nioh 2, Civ6
Wants: The World
Anticipating: Everquest Next Crowfall, Pantheon, Elden Ring
If I enjoy a game, it pays to have one of every class so that if a class gets nerfed it's easy to main another. It's a must for Devs who do rotating buffs and nerfs through the classes. Or even to use a class for certain types of content.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
I wouldn't call it alt-friendly, as leveling is so slow that you probably don't want to also level an alt or twelve. But it does let you do whatever you want on your one character rather than being locked into a particular class forever.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
His examples indicate he really prefers to play a variety of different builds on one character and really only alt hops when he has no other choice.
I suspect that is why Amathe made this suggestion.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
with the ongoing anniversary you get action figures (collectibles, cosmetic pets) as login rewards, and after the first character's login every alt gets the pet automatically, compared to other games' log-with-each-character attitude.
There's also an event mission (saving cats), you play it 3 times and you get an another pet - again, play it on one character and every alt gets it as well.
There's an another mission (scavenger hunt), which rewards emotes - like above, finish it on one character, every alt gets the emotes.
If that's the case, then I also misunderstood Bachus' original intent...
That is a valid approach as well, and its champion was hands down TSW (until Funcom killed it off).
All the skills in the game were available all the time, at will. Switch roles with a simple click (not just the basic trinity, but buffer and CC were also there, and in some extent debuff and pets too), without a cooldown or a respec/retrain cost like in most games. It was an amazing setup.