Do You Ever Do A Fresh Start On An MMO You've Played For Years? | MMORPG.com

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Do You Ever Do A Fresh Start On An MMO You've Played For Years? | MMORPG.com

Bradford has been thinking about his MMO history, and one aspect of his time with MMOs that doesn't mirror his time with single player games came to mind this week: starting over from scratch. While RPGs themselves aren't persistent, the idea of an MMO is that things continue for years. Do you ever feel the urge to start fresh, and if so do you follow up that urge by doing so?

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2TonGamer

I did it with LOTRO a couple of times. Once while I was in the middle of my first few years I just up and left my server (Vilya) for Landroval which was known to be bigger and have a RP element. I did not want to partake in RP, but just wanted to get away from the server I was on and see what a fresh start would feel like. Landy became my home after that.

Then I quit playing LOTRO for a few years and when I went back when Mordor was announced, I started on Arkenstone to see what playing fresh would feel like since I had lost touch with all of my Landy characters. I still think of Landy as my home, even though I stopped playing a year and half ago after their server fiasco and terrible communicating not to mention their overpriced "expansion" model which for a game it's age has never been done well. Even with their giveaways of their older content the last couple of years I still feel like their pricing is not good for what you get so I have not returned. Will I return one day? Perhaps, maybe if they head south into new territory and also fix their severely laggy systems.

Scot

I think those who do this leave everything else behind, so if you are not going to do that I am not sure you will stay on the new server long.

olepi

I do this all the time. For me, the journey is more fun than the end-game in almost all the games. When CoH shut down, we lost everything. Now that it is back up (sort of), I re-created all of my characters from scratch, maxed them out, and then lost interest, again.

In LoTRO I've done it multiple times. I just started a new Captain on a new server, although I played a Captain back in closed beta. I'm amazed at how much more powerful my pet seems.

In ESO, my first character was a Nightblade, started in beta. I played him to max level, and then accidentally deleted him. Oooops. Instead of trying to get the GM's to restore him, I just started a new one over again.

I even tried it in Ryzom, but couldn't do it. I've spent a loooong time getting my forest digging to level 250, and the thought of spending literally years to get a new character to that is just too much.

toljar

I do this all the time in Asheron's Call. I try to make a no buff and self-sustained character, who ultimately I start buffing around the 20's lol.

This is one game where even after playing it since launch and even right now on the EMU, I have not obtained a 275 character. I never got into the UCM, so all my levels were earned, but I would always see some shiny weapon or something else that would make me roll a new toon.

Nebless

I've done it in the past in Age of Conan when they were running their Saga Servers and more recently with Dungeons & Dragons Online with their latest Hardcore server.

There's also a long time ago with Pirates of the Burning Seas and SWtoR.

PaulChatterton

With many games these days, it's simply not possible to start again from scratch unless you are prepared to get a new email address for a new account and buy a new copy of the game. Too many aspects of the game are account bound. In WoW there are account bound collections of mounts, pets, toys, etc.. In ESO, you can't undo your achievements and associated dyes, and once you start getting Champion Points, you can't undo them. In SWTOR, it's your Legacy that can't be reset, and in BDO you are stuck with your Knowledge and resource nodes.

Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. If you do decide to bite the bullet and start again on a new account, you find that the levelling experience has been dumbed down since first time around so that alts can catch up more quickly. Sometimes, in BDO and ESO for instance, you can't even start in the original starting area. Most of the time, you can never recapture the original game experience.

There have been many times that I would have liked to start a game over, usually because I never got far in the game in the first place and would like to try again. There is only one way, though, to truly start again and that is with Classic versions of games, and even then, half the time they are not really a true return to the original game.

I wish it were possible to start again in more games.

Sovrath

I've tried  with Lord of the Rings Online for their new "classic" servers, but not all the content is interesting enough to do again.

Especially Heitbolt! And sadly Helm's deep. Something that is supposed to be an exciting event turns into one of the most dull gaming experiences I've ever had.

TwistedSister77

Heck no!  I have too many other games to play.  

A typical MMORPG is 400-2000 hours for me, I weep if I have to restart that progress    

To those who do... let me send you $5 so you can get a new game off Steam  

Voidfarer

I keep going back to Age of Conan! I still love it!

Kyleran

Restarting on a new platform?  Inconceivable.  First I'd actually have to  play on a new platform, PC Master Race forever.

That said, like some others I enjoy the leveling journey more than endgame, so I've "thrown it all away" by restarting on new servers or new providers (i.e. free shards) on multiple occasions.

Switched from PVE to PVP servers, and back to different PVE servers in the same game.   

Switched to different factions, actually given away my WOW accounts to my son and his friends, only to start fresh again back when Cataclysm released. (Mistake that, not the fresh start, just coming back to WOW.)

One time after a short break from EVE I wanted to see what the "new player experience" (3rd or 4th take) was like, so I set up a new account, bought and sold a PLEX and played for 3 months or so on it without transferring any assets from or to my other accounts.

Actually caught the attention of a dev, CCP Falcon who corresponded with me for a bit on my experience.

Backfired though, I told the Corp I had been trying to join with just the new  character (they did not do any sort of API check beforehand, nor ask for one) when they offered me to become a full member, their recruiters suddenly ghosted me, probably shouldn't have mentioned the CCP dev conversations.

Would be tougher to do in ESO, though I've thought of playing on the EU server as one of my guild mates does, but probably not, better to just try a new game this year.

ultimateduck

I've only done this on games that have made a lot of changes between play times and my old characters are basically waiting to be re-specced or have points reallocated.

As far as I can remember, I've only run into this issue with Eve Online and SWTOR.

mercster

Damn, BDO to LOTRO? Winning move!

SenbonFan

Tried it on EQ2 and it actually made me realize just how "outdated" a new player, let alone a returner, is at level cap without swiping the credit card. I will concede that for people who just want to solo or craft it's not a big issue, but I prefer to actually contribute when running dungeons. It takes so much effort to qualify for Heroics nowadays, never mind Challenge or Heroic II.

Leveling process has some fun spots but it's one of the few games I don't do a lot of side activities on and it just leaves me feeling irritated.

cheyane

I think it is the best part of the game. Starting over from scratch. You get to experience all the feelings and thoughts you had each time. Sure it is not as nice as the first time but it's quite good nevertheless.

I think that even if the absolute awe and happiness you feel when you walk into the world cannot be exactly duplicated but if it is a very good world and quite immersive then yes I would say it is quite euphoric. The time just passes so fast as you plan and play and you just enjoy the game even if you have done it all before. Who is to say that you need to only experience something just once. It is quite difficult to find good games that I truly enjoy these days so I while my time on the old ones playing them from beginning.

Recently I had that experience with Everquest 2 and quite recently with WoW.

DigDuggy

If I haven't played a game in a long time, I do a fresh restart.  I find it more enjoyable than starting back up at high level.  I'm the same way with Roleplaying games.  I don't like to start high level.  I prefer to grow into my character.

Kickaxe

I feel like I've deleted more characters in true fresh starts than the average player has created characters across all MMOs they've ever played.

How I could account for the hours on hours I've sacrificed to this genre, I could not even begin.

klash2def

IDK I kind of like the idea of my characters being actual people in a world so if I decide to not play them for a while, its me considering them "retired". Until I return to the game.

I think of them as people that have had their own experiences and grown as I played the game.

A true fresh start for me is usually out the question because I invest so much time into 1 or 2 characters max per MMO usually.

Also I don't believe you can relive magic ever. Things are only really magical one time and that's the beauty of magic. Its amazing the first time you experience it. If you keep doing that experience over and over again, its no longer magical because you used up all the mana.

Tokken

I like to start new characters on different servers just for the hell of it.  I'm a alt-a-holic. It's fun to adventure with others and meet new people.  I've found good guilds and more active servers in starting fresh. For example in Lotro and New World.

Ungood

DDO has a Hardcore League.

New Server, No Iconic, No Fast Leveling, No Transfers to the HC server, Fresh Start, and exactly 1 Life per character, to stay alive as long as you can.

I play it every season.

I suck at it, but I still give it a go.

Theocritus

I have done that many times...but....I never get as far the second time as  I did the first time....I usually remember why I quit playing in the first place and the joy jsut isn't there long term.

ConstantineMerus

Kyleran said:

Restarting on a new platform?  Inconceivable.  First I'd actually have to  play on a new platform, PC Master Race forever.

That said, like some others I enjoy the leveling journey more than endgame, so I've "thrown it all away" by restarting on new servers or new providers (i.e. free shards) on multiple occasions.

Switched from PVE to PVP servers, and back to different PVE servers in the same game.   

Switched to different factions, actually given away my WOW accounts to my son and his friends, only to start fresh again back when Cataclysm released. (Mistake that, not the fresh start, just coming back to WOW.)

One time after a short break from EVE I wanted to see what the "new player experience" (3rd or 4th take) was like, so I set up a new account, bought and sold a PLEX and played for 3 months or so on it without transferring any assets from or to my other accounts.

Actually caught the attention of a dev, CCP Falcon who corresponded with me for a bit on my experience.

Backfired though, I told the Corp I had been trying to join with just the new  character (they did not do any sort of API check beforehand, nor ask for one) when they offered me to become a full member, their recruiters suddenly ghosted me, probably shouldn't have mentioned the CCP dev conversations.

Would be tougher to do in ESO, though I've thought of playing on the EU server as one of my guild mates does, but probably not, better to just try a new game this year.

Florida man burned down a warehouse filled with consoles saying they weren't real gaming devices.

Restarts on a new platform is fun though and can completely change a game for you. I had that experience with Diablo 3 and ESO. Although I thought both were OK games upon launch but never got into them when playing on PC. But the console port somehow had a lot of appeal and longevity. 

I think you should get a PS5, eventually. It is so much better to take off your prejudice and join the party. There are a few things that Sony has done extremely well. The heptic feedback on controllers and the 3D headphone. PSVR 2 is rather amazing too. And to be fair, all of which are much affordable and green.

I am really done with these stupid hardware prices. Doesn't matter if I can afford it, it's the principle. Yes you would lose options, especially when it comes down to MMORPGs, but you have been playing FO76 and ESO for the past few years ago, and there isn't that much going on in the MMO without console ports anyways. 

Now let's hear from @scot as he's always been a fierce advocate for consoles. 

Scot

I am still keeping to my news years resolution, I will note that compared to some of the items that gamers are expected to want like earplugs, consoles seem a good deal.

Iselin

Not a new server unless there's some compelling reason to do that, but whenever I've been away from an MMO for a year or more I ALWAYS start a new character (or several) just to get a feel for the game (and its changes) again before I play my higher level characters.

Scorchien

Iselin said:

Not a new server unless there's some compelling reason to do that, but whenever I've been away from an MMO for a year or more I ALWAYS start a new character (or several) just to get a feel for the game (and its changes) again before I play my higher level characters.

I do the same exact thing , and what I also will do in a game for ex. EQ2 after I brush up on the UI and systems with a new toon , I will log on my main and do a quest purge , delete near every quest , it cleans out alt of inventory stuff that you don't know where it came from as a bonus and gives you a Tabula Rasa to star questing anew from .. 

LynxJSA

Iselin said:

... whenever I've been away from an MMO for a year or more I ALWAYS start a new character (or several) just to get a feel for the game (and its changes) again before I play my higher level characters.

Same here. Not only does it allow me to get a feel for the character again (plus any new/rebalanced mechanics), it also helps me answer that question of what all this crap in my bag and bank is/was for.