Painfull Altism
By
GavinRuneblade,
Posted on: 2010-12-17 15:28 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion
I have pursued an alternative strategy: I've stopped worrying about it, mostly. I'm having fun when I play, so I don't see a reason to worry about it.
I do not suffer from altoholism, I enjoy it very much...
I've been playing since release. I have two 50s, a Hero and a Villain. I have... well, let's see at last count about 45-60 characters over level 15. All I can say is that if there is something important to you, like achieving 50, set yourself a schedule for it, and don't give up. Don't overwork yourself, though, find time to play other characters in between the one you are concentrating on.
Finding a good SG or just a global channel with lots of good teammates can be a big help too.
Well, find the characters you enjoy playing most (not just "it's cool" or "I like the name,") and concentrate on them. (I've got two accounts, 200+ characters, 20 50s though. And yea, did recently go on a creation binge.)
It does help to have:
1. A character you *really* like playing,
2. A set team (meet Wed and Sat at 6 to run these guys for 1-2 hours, do a tf, whatever,)
3. A good SG (always somethign going on,) or
4. Get on your global channels.
Something to keep you focused on that character.
Quote:
I will add that a good "hook", like some chat binds that make witty comments when you throw out a taunt, can make playing a character a bit more fun even when you're soloing. Even a good costume, or a gimmick like a Dominator using a second costume for when he activates Domination. Or a robot that always uses Self Destruction when Unstoppable is about to crash. (That's one I came up with recently and really love doing |
Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
Something to keep you focused on that character.
|
)
Quote:
I keep hoping that one of my characters will get hit by the burn self-damage bug, but it's never happened. I wanted to have a character that doesn't know how to use his powers properly. Also, it would let me use rise of the pheonix to reset my endurance. But alas, the game actually works. Much sadness.|
Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon
Or a robot that always uses Self Destruction when Unstoppable is about to crash. (That's one I came up with recently and really love doing
) |
Cool idea on the self destructing robot.
"Hmm, I guess I'm not as omniscient as I thought" -Gavin Runeblade.
I can be found, outside of paragon city here.
Thank you everyone at Paragon and on Virtue. When the lights go out in November, you'll find me on Razor Bunny.
- If what you love doing is messing around in the character creator, save your costumes and powerset combos and come back to them in a couple days. Similar to impulse buys in the real world, by coming back to it a day or two later I can usually determine if it was something I actually wanted to play, or just a concept that sounded really cool to me in the moment.
- Try to think up a journey for your character. How/why does your character start out the way they do? What are they working for? Researching contacts via ParagonWiki can help this (i.e. your character has a vendetta against Longbow, you can research which contacts will pit you against the most Longbow enemies).
- Conversely, think up the end-game for your character. Can you truly make your character all you want it to be? My example: I have a Psychic blaster character that I want to make, but after looking at the powersets, there are certain powers I would want to skip, but with no psychic APP, I would run out of powers that I wanted to take. So I simply haven't made the character because I know that, while fun in the early levels, it will not be exactly what I want.
- Make a pair of characters that you always want to be close in level. So if one gets higher, you have to play the other one to raise its level too.
- Separate your characters into "solo/team only" categories. This satiates altism nicely. You do a couple missions with your easy-to-solo Stalker, but then a teaming opportunity comes along, so you switch to your corruptor because it has trouble gaining levels while solo. You feed your altism by playing multiple characters, but you also gain progress on both characters. Win/win.
- Final suggestion: take a break from the game. It is possible that you have become overstimulized, taking the excitement and spontanaeity out of everything you try, leading you to compulsively try out more things, making for a vicious cycle. (If this is the case, be thankful it is just a game, some people get this with FAR worse things...) A hiatus of anywhere from a few days to a month may be just the thing you need to put some new sparks into your gameplay.
@Winter. Because I'm Winter. Period.
I am a blaster first, and an alt-oholic second.
I tend to prefer jack-of-all-trades characters. If I'm able to do a little of everything, I don't feel like I'm missing out by not playing something else.
With that in mind, I'm treating my altoholism with VEATs. With dual builds, I can have a Crab/Bane and a Fort/Widow. I took my Crab/Bane heroside, so now I can do a little of everything on both sides.
Plus, it's nice to be able to play a ranged character who doesn't have to worry about mez too much.
and I'll back up Seebs and Memphis Bill. That really is the best advice. If you are having fun then ignore the levels.
Obsessing about how many level 50s you have and are they IO'd out etc is all just ePeen ego arrogance bragging rights etc.
Play to have fun now. The levels and the gear will come or not. And if not, but you're still having fun, play armchair psychiatrist and ask yourself why you care.
"Hmm, I guess I'm not as omniscient as I thought" -Gavin Runeblade.
I can be found, outside of paragon city here.
Thank you everyone at Paragon and on Virtue. When the lights go out in November, you'll find me on Razor Bunny.
Quote:
One thing I do when soloing... I actually RP it. I banter with the badguys all the time. Such as if I'm playing Madam Enigma, and some goomba says "You'll never take me alive"... She tends to respond with something along the lines of "Well duh, that's the plan." Was running the new ish 19 arc for the 20's villain side, and in the final mission I was bantering with the enemy every time they opened their mouths. That char isn't truly a villain (and is well on the way to becoming a rogue). So wasn't actively seeking more power. Rather, the guy telling me about this 'awesome power' alarmed me, and I was looking into it to prevent someone more dangerous from getting it. And getting really concerned about the Legacy Chain's plans for the power.
|
Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon
I will add that a good "hook", like some chat binds that make witty comments when you throw out a taunt, can make playing a character a bit more fun even when you're soloing. Even a good costume, or a gimmick like a Dominator using a second costume for when he activates Domination. Or a robot that always uses Self Destruction when Unstoppable is about to crash. (That's one I came up with recently and really love doing
) |
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
Quote:
That, maybe you just havent found or AT yet. I think thats actually a really big factor.|
Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
Well, find the characters you enjoy playing most (not just "it's cool" or "I like the name,") and concentrate on them.
|
I used to have some pretty bad altitis myself. Only reason i ever got 50s was because my SG would PL meh and generally right after i got a toon to 50 (if i even to get them to 50 which didnt happen a lot) i would make something else. But then, about a year or so ago, i found out that brutes where my favorite AT, i just loved playing them and everything from 1-50 and beyond was fun, (thousands of hours, billions of inf, and millions of prestige on my SS/fire alone). But since then the only other Toons not brutes i have gotten to 50 have been a widow and an MM that was already 40 before i found brutes and i cant seem to stick with anything else for more than 10 or so levels.
Within this last year I've actually gotten a kind of anti-altitis. I generally dont start a toon unless i think/know it is going to be powerful once its in the end game. When i make a new toon now Ive always got a build a set up in Mids. The name and concept for the toon? The last thing on my mind. Havent made anything just because of the concept or because it sounded cool in a very long time. . . I kind of wish i could just make a toon because its sounds fun.
"I have ridden the mighty moon worm!"
-Al Gore
Fiery Aura is only good for farming, I'm cereal
@Caucasiafro
Guilty of altitis here. 40+ toons here. Only 3 50s. For me, having fun with the toons is more important than getting to 50. It's about the journey for me. I enjoy working them through story arcs alone and on teams. I have a great group of friends to play with and I also love to just play arcs and read the stories. Just do what makes you happy.
Quote:
I also have chat macros set up. When she activates Unstoppable she announces "Rerouting power to Structural Integrity Field. Reactor to 110% output. Full Power Mode!" Her normal Unstoppable crash macro says, "Reactor reaching operational limits. Total shutdown imminent. Prepare for AI reboot." This warns my teammates I'm about to crash and they need to either be ready for me to duck out, or to watch my back as I burn a few Inspirations to recover. |
Originally Posted by GavinRuneblade
Cool idea on the self destructing robot.
|
If I go with the Self Destruction combo (which of course I can't if hasn't recharged from the last time) the macro says, "WARNING! Reactor core has been breached! Critical failure in ten seconds! Prepare for AI download to backup body." Then after she explodes, she "teleports" the backup body back into the mission. (that is, I use an Awaken) My teammates tend to follow this up with "It's a good thing you have lots of backup bodies."
And as Madam_Enigma said, I tend to use these macros even when solo. It really helps to give you a sense of the character, and helps immerse you in the action.
Quote:
Pfft. Lightweight. |
Originally Posted by Poisonfist1
Guilty of altitis here. 40+ toons here.
|
(I keed, I keed.)
Quote:
Macros? I don't use macros! Well, other then a few for my trick arrow defender. I make up the banter on the fly.
|
Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon
And as Madam_Enigma said, I tend to use these macros even when solo. It really helps to give you a sense of the character, and helps immerse you in the action.
|
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
Look at the last time you played them. If it is longer than a certain period of time, then delete them. Getting rid of one or two of your subs will also help.
The first step in being sane is to admit that you are insane.
Dont know if the title is appropriate....
none of them are IO'd out properly or Incarnate. I have alot of villains in 20 - 40 and loads under 20... some heroes mainly 95 % are villains...
I have 4 COX Accounts, 2 on EU 2 on US
I have 3 lvl 50's but i have been playing the game since mid 2005.... 5 years and 3 lvl 50's
I want to stop making new villains / heroes. I cant seem to stick with one or a couple and work them through all the levels.
I need some help advice for what i can do tto stick to one and stop making loads up then getting bored and moving around.....
any advice appreciated....