According to the Metaboli Gamer Dictionary “an ALT is a secondary character that is less used by the player, as opposed to the principal character”. If you are a regular reader of my musing on LOTRO and other MMOs, then you’ll know that I tend to stick with just one character at a time. However at Easter I did break with this habit and rolled a new Hunter in LOTRO, primarily to play through the original content with fellow CMP podcast co-presenter Brian. Well Brian was plagued with connectivity issues so drifted away back to STO and more recently Guild Wars 2. I decided to stoically persevere with my alt, as I enjoyed the change in class. But like so many things related to gaming, it didn’t quite end up the way I thought it would.
Now the reason I have brought this matter up, is because I read an article this week by Justin Olivetti over at Massively, in which he expressed a lack of interest in rolling new alts at present. However he writes about what his game plan would be if he did start a fresh alt. Furthermore there are some very interesting comments on the post expressing different approaches or what the main problems are for some players to even consider starting again. I found a lot of the opinions expressed very relevant, because I found both great pleasure and extreme frustration in levelling my new Hunter, Wynton of Dale.
Levelling in itself is no longer that hard for the first thirty or so levels of LOTRO. The XP is so generous that you quickly out level regions and often abandon entire quest hubs as they offer no material gain. However, virtue traits and class deeds suffer as a result of this accelerated process. Then of course there is a duality of revisiting old content. The revamped areas such as Evendim are fun to experience, as they are quite different and improved. Yet there is also a lot of material that is tiresomely familiar and the odd quest that still seems disproportionately hard or exhibits an odd game mechanic that trips you up. However, the big crisis came when I reached level fifty and the new and improved Moria beckoned. At first it was enjoyable to play through the new streamlined environment. I must praise Turbine for the changes they have made. But at level 59 I had a rather depressing epiphany and for me it all changed.
I blame the Hall of Mirrors. It’s a dull and trying epic quest that has simply had the number of mobs reduced. The sequence of the mirrors is still the same. I got as far as the last level and simply had to break the last membrane and reach the boss, but I could not get the mirror sequence correct. My tolerance for such frustrations is low. I do not pay to be annoyed. A kin mate suggested that I consult a Wiki and that’s when it happened. I realised that I had a ton of further content ahead of me that would cause further irritation or that I simply wouldn’t enjoy. Sure there would be material that was fun, but it seemed out weighed by the bad. The idea of facing the Water Wheels instance in Moria or the whole of Mirkwood and the grind of Rise of Isengard was too much. I just did not want to invest my time into something that was not going to be more trying than enjoyable.
Deletions can be reversed but there are rules.
So I decided upon a radical solution to the problem. There was no suitable (by my yardstick) alternative path to level my Hunter, so rather than spend any more time on the alt, I simply removed all the valuables from the character and deleted it. It was an act of pure logical reasoning and not in any way an emotive act. In fact I’ll go so far as saying it felt damn good to do so.I can no longer be tempted to try again and reach a similar conclusion for a second time. It certainly was not a reflection on the Hunter class, which I really enjoyed playing. However, I wish that there was another means available to reach level cap, because I wanted this alt to achieve 75 and beyond. Yet there was no way for me to do so in a manner that was desirable to me. Again I return to my theory that it would be extremely beneficial for Turbine if they offered a paid levelling service.
As LOTRO adds another ten levels to the game I think it is time for a major rethink of the concept of alts. Playing different classes and having multiple characters is fun for the player and good for Turbine. It keeps the player engaged with the game. But forcing players to simply repeat that what they have done before seems a very blinkered approach. Surely Turbine can come up with some alternative means of allowing players to level. Some sort of new and inventive means other than grind familiar quests or skirmishes. If mounted combat proves to be as popular as everyone hopes, then it could be a major attraction for new LOTRO players. Yet at present there is no way for a new player to join a friend a level cap immediately. Simply put, Turbine are over looking a potential gap in the market and for business reasons this needs to be addressed. At a future date I would like to write an article about how easy it is to create a new alt and achieve what I want with it, rather than how I ended up deleting one.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
Email
YouTube
Roger may I ask why you deleted the alt as opposed to just leaving it and not playing it, in the event you may change your mind in the future?
As gamers we will often tire of an aspects of a particular game. However, over time we can often be persuaded to return due to expansions and other forms of marketing. Upon return we can sometimes find that the very issues that made us stop originally, are still present. By deleting the alt, this potential mistake cannot be made so easily. Consider it an act of insurance.
“I want to play the game, but it’s too boring and hard!”, it’s what I understood of this article. I’m sure you have heard this many times, but an MMO is NOT a race to level cap. How the hell are you going to be a decent (not even good) healer if you only have played DPS classes, if not by playing that class for 60 or so levels? You even pointed out the issue of deeds that require using a skill a number of times (like the “heal 1500 times” deed that minstrels have).
On another note, I agree that turbine should offer a auto level service though. After passing an area 3 or 4 times, it does become boring. Maybe not auto level to cap, but to 50 or something like that, when you have all the tools needed for your class, skill and trait wise.
It is immaterial whether I or really anyone else does or does not know how to “play their class” in LOTRO as the game is predominantly PVE.
My alleged incompetence at playing my class correctly (via a store bought capped alt) will impact upon no one unless you PUG with me.
I like your compromise idea about levelling. There could be all sorts of alternatives, if you think about it.
Skirmishes are an alternative method of leveling, although only a certain (small) number of deeds would be completed doing that. So it doesn’t seem to be a viable option for you personally.
As a Founding player in LOTRO with 3 level cap characters 3 more at 65 and some 50 and below I feel the same about the grind. I have found that there is a chance to level in different areas that can help. Then you do hit a horrible wall at 50 and beyond. So even if I get the three at 65 to the 75 cap I only have one choice to get to 85 Rohan. I haven’t been in the beta enough to see if there is enough content to keep me from doing the same exact thing for all my characters. However I would not be keen on a new player being able to auto level to 75 to experience the new content either even though I could possibly benefit from the same thing with some of the other alts. I do agree about the deeds and such being able to level quickly hurts other areas. If your going to streamline leveling you need to streamline all aspects of of your character’s growth.
Perhaps a good alternative would be to have experience shared across characters? With maybe a small decrease in exp gain per kill/quest but overall a huge advantage in total gain. This would sufficiently keep people from out pacing quest hubs as often, while also eliminating the horrible feeling of doing the same content twice. If they capped the share at level cap – 10, then by the time anyone was doing endgame content they would feel more than comfortable with their class.
Agreed, leveling alts can be tedious. I didn’t have as much a problem with leveling them in earlier regions where there are more choices in regions, and alts can pick up quests you didn’t do earlier. But I hit the same brick wall with Moria: I didn’t want to repeat it again, and there is no way around it. I suppose you can skip most of Moria by leveling higher in Eregion and leaving Moria early, but Eregion can get tedious and I’m sick of it, so that is not a good option.
At least now there is the option of doing Mirkwood or Enedwaith for levels 61-65, so I split that content between two characters. But repeating Dunland is not appealing. They may re-level Great River soon so you may be able to bypass most or all of Dunland on an alt, but I’ve already done Great River with my main…
Yeah I thought the same thing about Turbine offering levels for TP, as well as trait and virtue packs for cheap. Turbine is hyping mounted combat a lot, but new players have no way to experience that feature without slogging through 75 earlier levels. Even after Turbine raises the XP from quests to make leveling even faster, it is still a long process. Many of those new players will quit before they even get close to level 75, considering how repetitive the quests are in this game.
Another good thoughtful post Brian, I really enjoy your insights in LOTRO and the gaming world.
The auto leveling of a chatcer to max level in-game isn’t a new thing. I remember when I played Age of Conan for a bit, Once you got your first character to 85 if you were VIP you got to unlock a character of your choice that would auto level to max level, it was a simple click of the button and wham your toon went from level 3 to level 80. Therefore it is possible for it to be implemented into the game and let us not forget Isen & Guard tavern, which I know Brian has already mention in one of his pod cast. I wouldn’t be opposed if they offered this option in the store.
About two months ago I created my 4th character. I was kinda tired of running Foundry and OT two times a week on my mains so I thought revisitng all the old areas would be a refreshing break until Rohan. Like yourself I really enjoyed the revamp Everdim, but had the similar problems you encountered.
Firstly, out leveling areas too quickily. I wanted to do as many quests as possible in each zone as it has been 4 years since I last visited these areas, so by the time I finished Everdim I was 43. Going to Trollshaws most quests were now grey, which is a real shame as I would of liked to experience them on level. However I have heard that Turbine is offering a XP ‘turn off’ clicky in the store come Rohan, which will hopefully benefit those who are there for the journey not the race to 75
The main discouraging thing for me as others have mention is when I start thinking ahead to all the things I will have to do to get this character on par as my main toons. Virtues deeds to 16 (Yes I already have my 3 characters with all the virtues maxed out to 16 already in prep for Rohan) Getting the epic quest lines completed, legandary weapons, class deeds etc.
Now if they could somehow transfer deeds across characters so I dont have to slayer another 360 crawlers in the Trollshaws for the 4th time I would be very happy. Surely if I have already killed 1080 crawlers already in the trollshaws from doing it on 3 toons I dont need to prove I can do it again
If this option was available I would still level through each area and really enjoy it and not have to concern myself with how many slayer deeds I still need to complete. You could implement this with quests also. If your already completed an epic quest on one character than it gives you an unlock option on any character following, kinda like the introduction areas when you roll a new character you can skip the intro instance.
It’s Roger not Brian :p
I have the same struggles with alts, especially with slower classes like guardian and captain. I like the fact that I can choose three areas to level to level 20 and that I can choose to do either North-Downs or Lone Lands to progress to level 30. Even after that there are choices. I can do Trollshaws and Evendim and after level 40 you have the option between Angmar, Forochel and even Eregion to move to 50. After that there’s only one option left: Moria until 60 and than doing either Mirkwood or Enedwaith to 65.
I never bother repeating the epics on alts, so I won’t get thrown off by those blasted mirror halls or other tedious epics. But after hitting 60 you run out of options avoiding duplicate content.
I don’t envy Turbine at this point. There’s the challenge to make the game interesting even for alts and at the other hand people always want a new expansion, a new level cap, new raids etc. the day after something gets released.
There are people who run beta content to figure out end-game content, so they can be the first to defeat Draigoch ten days after the raid goes live. And then start complaining they want a new raid.
What’s a good middle road, I don’t know.
Gah! Hall of Mirrors and water wheels instances in Moria are soul-crushing and AWFUL. I just picture anyone facing them looking like Sir Ian McKellan’s Gandalf when he first says “Balrog”. You could have easily replaced the line with a thoroughly dejected “FML”.
What about an unlockable Eyes and Guard after completing level cap and/or Epic? This would be a slightly more time consuming (though tunable) version of the AoC mechanic Sangfugol references. At least the code is already in the game.
Thanks for the article and the podcast Roger. You and the rest of the team at CMP always get me thinking, and frequently piss me off