Copernic

Perhaps in the distant past Alts were just a way to kill time pre-raid, mules for gear, or fun ways to mess with people.

But WoW is different. Alts are a way of life. Everyone I know has at least two, usually more like three or four, LVL60 characters. And if you're like me, they become something of a family. Everyone fills different roles in Team Copernic. While I have my nominal 'main,' Copernic, I also have a Horde Mage for PVP, a Dwarf Priest for the guild's only Fear Ward and for when I don't want to sit around looking for a PuG, and soon I'll have a Warlock, Hunter, and a Tank. Between every Alt, I have my own self-supporting economy in terms of professions.

There's an opportunity for WoW to acknowledge the very common use of alt-families, and integrate it into gameplay.

Some ideas:
1. Please, please, add an Account-link to those LVL1 forum alts
2. Guild-tab links to show what alt is associated with what account.. half the time I have no idea whose LVL22 Hunter I'm talking to.
3. Shared/expanded bank space
4. Simplified item transfers -- for example, allowing players to turn on a feature that lets you view the other character's bank.
5. Integrating alts into the new LFG tool. I have no interest in sitting around on Copernic while LFG. I want to mess around with my Warlock. If the new LFG tool only lets me search using my current character.. boo.
6. Fun stuff, such as shared pets

There's a definite opportunity here to redefine gameplay beyond the Main/Alt dichotomy we've seen. Hopefully Blizz takes advantage of it.

 

Dotts

I have a bunch of alts myself. Herb mules, ore mules, traderbot, cloth mule I packrat everything. You can use the mail system like a free 30 slot bag if you like (or however many mails you can have in queue to open.) just hit the return button and it goes back to the sender instantly.

I agree there's more stuff that can be done to integrat them into the gameplay but here's a couple things we can do today.

2. We use the public note area in our alt guild to say who's alt is who.
4. I believe Bagnon addon has this (http://www.wowinterface.com/download...fo.php?id=4459 also requires bagnon forever)

 

◊ Kalman

My highest alt is level 46. I'm strange.

But to check your alt's bags/banks, yeah, Bagnon/Banknon will let you do that. Great feature.

 

Ghiest

Wow has needed some serious guild tools for along long time ... overhaul is needed imo.

 

◊ Bekah

Our officers put the name of the characters main in the player note- keeps it much easier to keep track of, especially when someone often levels an alt to 15 and abandons them for thier new toy.

 

Delc

We do pretty much the same thing, except with our forum handle instead of toon name. Most of us also run a mod that adds the guild note after the toon name in chat so you can see who someone is without opening the guild tab. You end up with something like:

[Channel] ToonName(ForumHandle): Blah blah blah.


Now if Blizzard would fix the 500 toon softcap so we didn't have to keep booting alts...

 

Nurru

Between classes that can't farm (hi rest druids) and alternate trade skills (mooncloth) alts are somewhat a necessity if you raid. We don't guild most of ours though, I think we generally only guild one alt and it's preferred if it's 60.

< Aislinana> Why would it be my job to sleep with vontre? Don't I have standards?

 

Masq

Same with us. One alt per person, although it doesnt matter if its 60. But I personally hate alts. However I understand people enjoy playing theirs.

http://www.aftermathlb.com

 

Lumi

I never understood the practice of not guilding an alt. I only see the advantage of knowing that a guildie is on an alt (provided you aren't guilding every bank alt/mule character) and available if you need them.

 

• frmorrison

CMs can see all the characters assigned to an account, so it could be added if the devs want to do it.

I think the bank space is enough, and with addons like Bagon you can see what your alts have on them.

DK - Ashbane Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.

 

Fres

EQ2 has a few shared bank slots that are accessible to all characters on an account (of the same faction). It's a real blessing.

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5391/loljs6.png

 

Trey

I'm just about ready to stab one guy in our guild and his alts. He has or has inherited three accounts and two computers, so when he's not raiding he's usually playing two characters. Now this is all fine and good except when he is talking to me in the warlock channel about stuff his alt is linking in guildchat. All the while he is having a conversation between his main and his alt and confusing the hell out of people in tells.

What you're suggesting requires a overhaul on more than an alt level. First we need better guild tools and -A- LFG tool before it can be tweaked for alts and stuff. I'd like to see something like this implemented because getting twilight sets off my alt in IF to farm in Sili is annoying as hell.

 

• heckyeah

Blizzard can't even get a basic message board running. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for useful functionality to be added.

 

Nixphoe

Adding to guild mechanics; I remember someone talking about an actual a physical place that your guild hall would be located; you could setup a guild store and even have an actual place for your guild bank. I always thought that would be an interesting thing to add.

With the addition to PVP Arena, you could also add a trophy case, maybe something colorful like a photo book or a guild register where you would look up everyone and their alts for people outside the guild.

 

diospadre

Delete all alts.

 

Nurru

I would be willing to pay an extra dollar a month for this. I'm completely serious, with 6 mules and pots / etc that need transferred before raids I get sick of asking people to help me transfer items.

< Aislinana> Why would it be my job to sleep with vontre? Don't I have standards?

 

malthrin

Likewise - what is the purpose of restricting guilded alts? Discouragement from playing them?

The two notable positives to alts:
1. Variety is fun for some people; fun prevents burnout.
2. Playing an alternate role leads to increased understanding of that role.

Unless you're having issues over loot for alts - mostly a seperate issue, in my opinion - there doesn't seem to be a downside to alts. Got to have someone to collect those Rend/Ony/ZG buffs, too!

Travian - Resto Druid
Malthrin - Priest

 

• Navaash

only if your 60 hunter goes first

This mod would be pretty funny in EJ. You would get stuff like:

Stion(better at kiting than tamuf): i hate you tamuf
Tamuf(imma hustla): wut

 

rabbit

Not to derail the thread to mods, but I really wish Blizzard had an inventory system more like Sanity. There's no way I could keep track of the guild bank spread across 5 characters without it.

Also, there's no limit on the amount of mail you can have in your mail box (that I've found at least over 100-150), but you can only see the most recent 50.

 

Mist

My highest alt is 23.

 

diospadre

Deal

 

• Greybone

He disenchanted all the epics and stuff on his alt for money :kaubel:

I love mine. It's probably because there's absolutely nothing left progressionwise outside of raids on my main, but it's fun to play other characters for a change.

My warrior is faster than my raid-specced warlock when it comes to grinding, so I get more money from him. He also has herbalism which keeps me stacked on pots (not that I use them), and enchanting, which is another way to get a lot of money from DE'ing stuff.

My priest is a lot of fun for groups, and gives me a completely different perspective on things, which I enjoy immensly.

Lastly, doing quests on alts is extremely profitable, you get about 3-9 gold per quest turning once you hit 60.

 

Grayson Carlyle

I think I win this one; I have 2 mules at level 5, one Alliance, one Horde so that I can make free disenchanting cash. Those are my highest.

Death to alts. They slow raids down and mean people don't put the kind of dedication into one character that they could be to make it the best possible.

Though, resto druids and shaman are free to make a class that can actually farm up cash, but they still shouldn't raid!

 

Zagzil

My highest alt is level 11, though I do have a lot of level 1 dragon checking alts.

Alt-itis is a disease.

 

◊ Nfariessence

If you have an alt, or a string of alts, Possessions is the mod for you. It's better than Bagnon (I have both Bag and Banknon, but Possessions does it better), because it has a nice listing of items by name or rarity of EVERYTHING you have on all your alts on that server/account.

Lets say you're not sure how much Dreamfoil you have on your bank/alts. Type /possessions and check off name and scroll down to Dreamfoil. Voila! you now know that you have 82 Dreamfoil. 8 in your current Character's inventory, 20 in your mains Bank, 20 in your alt's Mail Box because you bought it off the AH when someone had it incorrectly listed as a 5g buyout instead of 15g, and 34 on your alchemist mule.

All in one handy list when I hover over the 82 Dreamfoil icon.