Alternate Characters aren’t content!

Long ago in an industry far away players would frequently pick a single character and stick primarily to it. In UO if you didn’t like how your character was coming out you’d change skills and work out another build. EverQuest was so difficult that you might play alternate characters that you could “twink” but I remember clearly when someone with two max level characters was “crazy.”

These days, however, the industry seems to be nudging us towards having two or even three maxed level characters! I don’t have an issue with this exactly but I do want to point out a few things I feel are important. Before that, however, we need to look at the “why” of alternate characters (alts).

I identify the following main reasons that alts are rolled:

1.    Over achiever players. These people are just crazy. One max level character isn’t enough for them. They need two or more to have options. I don’t feel they are a huge group but they are very real. We have a couple in Sodality.
2.    The player leveled that first character but didn’t really like it. I’m not the only one who will stick with a character we don’t like so we don’t get “left behind.” Once they’re maxed they try to find one they like and work it on the side.
3.    The original character was nerfed in some tangible way. It happens and players move on to the new flavor of the month or something that “doesn’t suck.”
4.    There is nothing to do at max level. People constantly talk about how “high end content” isn’t important but I will continue to respond with “yes it is.” If there is nothing to do people roll alternate characters to alleviate boredom. Also, remember that “high end” doesn’t have to mean “uber.”

When it comes to the over achievers there is no help and none needed. These people want variety or just like to level. I think they’re okay as they are because they’ll do it anyway. You also cannot please everyone which makes the second point a tragedy but nothing developers can fix. If I just don’ t like the feel of a class that is my issue. Who hasn’t thought something sounded good but it turned out not to be? That doesn’t mean it was bad it just wasn’t what we wanted. What I wanted to get at, however, was points three and four.

For some reason nerfs continue to plague every MMO. Before Warhammer was released Mythic actually said “we won’t nerf, we’ll bring up.” Unfortunately they followed the route of George Bush Sr. and did levy new taxes. They nerf just like everyone else and I’m not saying that doing so was “wrong” in this case, I’m just poking a little fun.

I generally get a laugh when developers talk about players taking the path of least resistance. Not because I disagree but because they use the word players. They should say “people” because they do as well. Let’s face it; nerfing is the path of least resistance. It is far easier to bring one class down than bring 10 or more up. I can’t say I disagree with the logic behind it. My problem is with the rabid over reactions that virtually every developer takes.

In my experience even good developers will take a class that needs to be toned back one step and take it six or more. They say “we can always bring them back up.” Frequently, however, the time between that nerf and “bringing them back up” is excessive or never occurs. I recommend trying something outrageous and revolutionary: a graduated approach. Whatever a first nerf instinct is, developers should do 1/10th of it and see what happens. I know they (rightly) believe players will whine at every nerf and that the band aid effect is best but I don’t agree. A tiny reduction of power over a medium period of time is better than a massive reduction suddenly followed by months of uncertainty and an eventual “token” effort. The graduated approach will also stop the flavor of the month effect. Its hard to know who suddenly is amazing and sucks when you make tiny changes week to week.

Beyond nerfs we also have my number one issue: there is nothing to do at max level. I want to state this clearly and loudly. I want everyone to hear, acknowledge and understand (HUA) it. Alternate characters are not content. Replaying the same levels, even if different areas with a different class, is not content. Don’t treat it like it is please. The experience is not that different. If you do count it, consider the second playing through roughly 1/25th the content of the first.

Finally, I want to throw out a caveat to my point. Players don’t enjoy having our alternate character level as slow as our main. The excuse that “you know what to do so it will be faster” is unacceptable. We, as a group, want twinking back. We recognize that it will never be EQ1 crazy again but please realize that every item in the diabloized loot system doesn’t need to have a super restrictive level. Every item doesn’t have to be no trade and come from a quest up until players start into the high end gear progression. If developers still don’t like twinking there are alternatives.

Developers could give us a bonus. SOE now gives a percentage gain increase for every maxed level character. DAoC allowed you to buff a character past the boring levels. Every MMO should have this. We don’t want to swim in the shallow end with an alt. We want to go directly to the deep end. For most games that means the first level you get a talent point. Start us there or make it easy to get to that point. It isn’t, in anyway, fun or exciting to slowly learn your way into a class when you already have a grasp on the game. I understand the need for that the first time. For any time after it, however, classes are rarely different enough for the average player to need such a slow learning curve.

I think with a little understanding we can get more mileage out of our MMOs and I know a large group of people who would be more inclined to roll that second or third character if it was easier or twinking came back. After all, most people like to feel powerful, even if it is just temporary and as we can all agree, we love the path of least resistance. Make a clear one and light it up so everyone can see it from space!