Guild Wars 2

Not sure why I stepped away from the " Play one character at a time " rule when I started playing Guild Wars 2 on the regular but I did and once again, came to the grim reality that making multiple characters just adds on to grind which results in never maxing a single character out and never getting to end game content.

I deleted all of my characters accept or except my main simply because….. I want to get to some end game play and get the higher level gear and cool items which I will never do switching between characters.

I feel for solo players we should definitely stick to one character and one character, at least until that character is maxed out.

Thanks to those that took the time to read this post, I feel so much better now.

I agree with this…to a point.

At this time I have 6 80s…but I only geared up one of them for “end game” content. Actually I have one character for dungeons, one for WvW, one for open world just running around, and a few I use more rarely.

The thing is, you don’t really have to have BIS gear to do end game content in Guild Wars 2 (except for really high level fractals, which I’m not ever likely to do anyway. I’m up to level 19 now).

I can run any dungeon in the game on any of my 80s, without ascended gear. Stuff like exotics is relatively easy to get with karma, or just dungeon runs.

Vayne.8563:

I agree with this…to a point.

At this time I have 6 80s…but I only geared up one of them for “end game” content. Actually I have one character for dungeons, one for WvW, one for open world just running around, and a few I use more rarely.

The thing is, you don’t really have to have BIS gear to do end game content in Guild Wars 2 (except for really high level fractals, which I’m not ever likely to do anyway. I’m up to level 19 now).

I can run any dungeon in the game on any of my 80s, without ascended gear. Stuff like exotics is relatively easy to get with karma, or just dungeon runs.

That’s good to know for future game play, but for me its best to stick with one guy at a time reason being, I like to put all my attention on one guy. I like to connect to the character and be the best I can be with that character.

I’ve learned, while playing mmo’s, that the grind is going to be very long and time consuming, which is the point. There always seems to be new gear and weapons to strive for which I love obtaining ( Just a personal preference ) which makes your character unique and when other players see this you feel as though you’re walking along the path of the Elite players.

I found myself experiencing this when leveling an alt. I would run across a Guardian ( Guardian being my main and now one and only ) looking immortal with high level exotic unique gear and weapons and I would think to myself, probably with a very silly expression on my face, " You know, I could have similar gear and weapons … IF I WOULD HAVE BEEN PLAYING MY DANG GONE GAURDIAN INSTEAD OF THIS ALT ! " lol.

Thanks for the reply.

5 level 80s, 3 lower levels. I like to create all of my characters and then I play with the one that I feel like playing with. First two level 80s I was leveling at the same time – my necro and my elementalist reached level 80 together essentially. Later I rotated around some of the lower levels a bit. Now I’m focusing on low level engineer.
It all depends on your play style. I can level several characters at once and not feel like grinding.

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

Thanks to those that took the time to read this post, I feel so much better now.

Wait until you get my bill…

(10 full slots, no main, two 80s, still having fun)

I am really only interested in playing my main. I can’t seem to get into any other classes so I guess it’s good in a way that I’m not distracted by a bunch of alts.

Though I sort of feel like I’ve done everything on my Mesmer.

Vayne.8563:

I agree with this…to a point.

At this time I have 6 80s…but I only geared up one of them for “end game” content. Actually I have one character for dungeons, one for WvW, one for open world just running around, and a few I use more rarely.

The thing is, you don’t really have to have BIS gear to do end game content in Guild Wars 2 (except for really high level fractals, which I’m not ever likely to do anyway. I’m up to level 19 now).

I can run any dungeon in the game on any of my 80s, without ascended gear. Stuff like exotics is relatively easy to get with karma, or just dungeon runs.

This.
You can mindlessly faceroll 90% of the game contents in yellow gear, ANet added ascendent crap only to makes content locusts happy and keep them in game, but seriously, do you need ascendant items for autoattacking a world boss while sitting in a corner?
So don’t worry OP, unless you plan to run high level fractals with all your characters, there’s no reason to BiS all of them.

If your goal is to “max a character out” (i.e. you’re interested in the destination), then playing multiple characters is only going to slow you down. Otherwise (i.e. you’re interested in the journey), playing multiple characters at once can be quite enjoyable.

Personally, I played one character of each race simultaneously, and each was built to play different than the rest. The difference in play style and the difference in locations meant I could continuously switch between them without burning out on leveling or world exploration.

NOOOOOOOO, MUST TO GETZ TO DEH MAX LEVEL AND GEAR FOR RAIDING!!!

Or wait… why?

What raid?

Might as well enjoy all the characters that are fun, and exploring the world, doing all sorts of varied content.

Because the point of this game is what happens from level 1-80, not what happens after.

darkace.8925:

If your goal is to “max a character out” (i.e. you’re interested in the destination), then playing multiple characters is only going to slow you down. Otherwise (i.e. you’re interested in the journey), playing multiple characters at once can be quite enjoyable.

Personally, I played one character of each race simultaneously, and each was built to play different than the rest. The difference in play style and the difference in locations meant I could continuously switch between them without burning out on leveling or world exploration.

Exactly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everyone should play this way but for me when mmo playing its going to be maxing one character out at a time.

I need that full complete feeling with a character.

Kichwas.7152:

NOOOOOOOO, MUST TO GETZ TO DEH MAX LEVEL AND GEAR FOR RAIDING!!!

Or wait… why?

What raid?

Might as well enjoy all the characters that are fun, and exploring the world, doing all sorts of varied content.

Because the point of this game is what happens from level 1-80, not what happens after.

I disagree. I’m still interested in getting all the exotic level gear and weapons I can obtain. I still want all the dungeon gear and weapons I can obtain. I still want complete and total 100 % map completion. I’m sure I’m leaving out other things, but you get the point.

Once again, I’m not saying this type of gameplay is for everyone, it’s just the way I will play from now on.

Thanks for you reply.

I also need that complete feeling on a character I play, which is why I level pretty much 1 character at a time. I just focus on getting that character up, learning how the profession works, unlocking all the dungeon stories and visiting the meta boss locations, finishing the storymode. At level 80 I’ll look for a balanced set of exotic gear that can be used well for any activity I like (exploring, events, dungeons).

I actually don’t think there is much of a grind for gear in this game. Unless you’re wanting to kit all your characters out with all legendary weapons.

You can get a full set of exotic gear with maximum stats from the Temples in Orr for karma and if you’ve been saving karma it’s very easy to get. (When I got to level 80 I had more than enough saved up as jugs from the dailies, even without using karma buffs.) Ascended takes longer, but like other people have said unless you’re doing high level Fractals you don’t need that.

Having said that I think this is why most people with multiple characters pick a main one.

I have 5 permanent characters and a slot for a 6th to experiment with. But early on I designated my favourite as my main and that means she’s first priority for all gear and anything else useful. The others only get new gear if and when I don’t need it for my main.

So I always have that one character who is as far along as I can be, as if she was my only character. But I also get to play the other classes and the other races storyline. IMO that means I get the best of both situations.

It all depends on what you like. Some people like to specialize and some like to generalize. I’m working on my 8th level 80. Four are in full to mostly full exotics. The rest are in a mixture of rares and greens. I play whichever profession I feel like. With such a range of combat styles, it keeps it more interesting. My thief doesn’t fight like my ranger and my ranger doesn’t fight like my guardian.

If you are fine with exotics, this game is VERY alt friendly.

If you only want to have 1 or 2 characters will full ascended gear, this game is still pretty alt friendly.

If you MUST have 5+ characters with full ascended gear, good luck.

Me and my 11 level 80s are fine, though.

Milennin.4825:

I also need that complete feeling on a character I play, which is why I level pretty much 1 character at a time. I just focus on getting that character up, learning how the profession works, unlocking all the dungeon stories and visiting the meta boss locations, finishing the storymode. At level 80 I’ll look for a balanced set of exotic gear that can be used well for any activity I like (exploring, events, dungeons).

Agreed.

Snow White.9680:

I am really only interested in playing my main. I can’t seem to get into any other classes so I guess it’s good in a way that I’m not distracted by a bunch of alts.

Though I sort of feel like I’ve done everything on my Mesmer.

If you’ve done everything on your Mesmer then and only then would I consider making another character and repeating the process.

That’s just me though.

To the OP: Fair enough. I feel like I have some insight now into why people play a main. Personally, I was always baffled why there seemed to be this insistence on having a “main”. I would often see threads about people who had two characters they liked, but couldn’t choose just one of them; why couldn’t you play both characters at the same time and enjoy both?

For me, I have 5 characters, and all of them are my “mains”. Since the playstyle and aesthetics on each is so different, despite the fact that my progress through the game has been a lot slower than anybody else I know, I’m having a blast and don’t feel burned out in the slightest. I imagine you would find my playstyle completely mind-numbing though. XD

I also have multiple ‘mains’ and cannot figure out why all the stress of choosing just one. You have fun, use it. It is not fun, stop. The game can be played very effectively in green let alone rare/exotic, I have done so on most of my toons until I suited up to higher gear over time.

19 alts, from 80 to 2 (made another one last night). That’s how I play. I’m zenleto and I’m an altaholic! I jump from one to another depending on what I feel like doing or where I feel like adventuring. I don’t even use them as mules. They nearly all do some crafting and gather. I get a little bored sticking to just a single character.

I haven’t felt the need to get all exotics for my 80s and they haven’t even done all the content yet, especially dungeons. I’m not too concerned about ascended, until I need them. I surprised myself when my 80 ranger picked up a rare in Orr to find that what I was wearing in that slot was a level 58 blue piece!

That’s how I play and that my attitude to gear. I’m pretty slack

Edit: I suppose that makes me the complete opposite to you OP. I wrote this while cooking so didn’t even realise.

Zaxares.5419:

To the OP: Fair enough. I feel like I have some insight now into why people play a main. Personally, I was always baffled why there seemed to be this insistence on having a “main”. I would often see threads about people who had two characters they liked, but couldn’t choose just one of them; why couldn’t you play both characters at the same time and enjoy both?

For me, I have 5 characters, and all of them are my “mains”. Since the playstyle and aesthetics on each is so different, despite the fact that my progress through the game has been a lot slower than anybody else I know, I’m having a blast and don’t feel burned out in the slightest. I imagine you would find my playstyle completely mind-numbing though. XD

Yes, very mind-numbing lol. All of my remaining slots ( Which are now all empty but one ) will remain empty until the current character is maxed out.

At this point I doubt I will ever need additional character slots.

I have 6 80’s in full exo’s. My biggest dilemma is which one to play. It is really annoying.

Whatever works for you man. I have 7 character slots and 2 have made it to 80 with 2 more closing in quick. Both of my 80s have pretty decent gear but you don’t NEED it to play GW2. I love playing alts as I like to change up play styles. shrug Play however you like; what works for one doesn’t not necessarily work for all.

Anet should make it so a single max level character can share EXP gain to a selected alt character so its more fun to level them up while playing your favorite character.

This is the only way I play. Level one character to 80, get all exotics and the skins I want for that character, and then I level the next. I only have ascended gear on my main character, though, or ells it would take way too long.

Ruprect.7260:

I have 6 80’s in full exo’s. My biggest dilemma is which one to play. It is really annoying.

The key to make sure you play all your characters, is to have each one of them fill a role. So one character might be full bunker, another might be bunker+support, a third might be focused around sharing boons, a fourth might be precision focused dps, a fifth condition damage focused dps, and so on.

I have 3 80s, only my Mesmer is fully geared (except for 5/6 accessories), my Necro is zerker geared for Dungeons/FotM. Eventually I will gear my Warr to try Hammer-spec. I then have 1 Lv2 Thief and a Lv1 Ele.

I created 1 of each race, will eventually create more if more races become available with other classes.

Kasama.8941:

This is the only way I play. Level one character to 80, get all exotics and the skins I want for that character, and then I level the next. I only have ascended gear on my main character, though, or ells it would take way too long.

Ruprect.7260:

I have 6 80’s in full exo’s. My biggest dilemma is which one to play. It is really annoying.

The key is to make sure you play all your characters, is to have each one of them fill a role. So one character might be full bunker, another might be bunker+support, a third might be focused around sharing boons, a fourth might be precision focused dps, a fifth condition damage focused dps, and so on.

I do this, but I still find that I only play 2 or 3 professions and 1 I main for WvW. The biggest problem is I will play one for an hour then change to another and so on lol.

I am going to try to only play 2 of them for a while and see how long that lasts.

To the extent that you need gear at all, you only need it for WvW and high level fractals. However, I agree. This is my first MMO, unfortunately, I spend a lot of time getting 6 level 80’s. Time that would have been better spent kitting out one character and just hoarding gold.

I am now trying to decide between my thief (3 ascended pieces), my mesmer (0 ascended pieces), and my guardian (1 ascended piece)

However, instead of deleting them, the remaining characters are going to camp an ori node.

I play mostly on alts. But now burnt out trying to get them to 30 for elites.
Back to main. But dont like the gear grind. I just want better models to wear.

I would like it if I can pass on exp and rewards to alt when play my main (which I have the most fun on)