Should I make a second character?

I have a question here from Lucas:

My character is a level 37 Life (wizard) . . ., and I have a question. Everyone I meet seems to have at least two characters over level 10. I always feel lazy whenever my friends have more than 1 character that are up to the same place they are and I'm still stuck with one character, because I don't want to redo all those quests over again.

**Sigh** Wizard City, Krok, MarleyBone, MooShu... and then DS! Ugh. I guess one of my problems is that I usually do all the side quests I pick up because I want to hit GM ASAP, but seriously - creating another character to level up to your higher character seems like a ton of work and I feel lazy.

What do you think I should do? Because I really want a Storm and Death Wizard, lol.

Cool! I get to express my opinion rather than give a fact! yay!

Here's my opinion: It all comes down to how moody you are, your definition of how you win the game, and your determination level.

Moody? Well yeah! These characters all play differently. Some days you're going to feel like a life wizard (full of helping and life) and some days you're going to feel like a storm wizard (full of raw and dangerous power) and some days you're going to feel like a death wizard (no worries, I can do it all myself, you're just here to make things go faster).

So if you're pretty even keeled and feel pretty much the same way every day, you're not going to need a second or third character at your disposal. You are what you are.

Which brings me to this game . . . and how you win it.

From what you're saying, it sounds like you generally like to play a game through to the end and then you're done. We all can relate to that. Like most gamers, you see the world out there is so full of other games, why waste your time playing this one again?

However, you're also in this strange game where it's not just a game; it's also a place to hang out and meet people. Games like these are different from the games you've played in the past. I mean, have you ever played a game on your wii where your friends thought you were lazy (other than wii fit . . . that just doesn't count for this metaphor ;-))? I mean, no one is going to be calling me lazy on Super Smash Brothers . . . maybe unskilled, but probably not lazy. :-)


But this game is different! It is! And so, I think when a game is different, you should play differently than you usually do. You should do crazy things like play the lower levels over and over making new characters and meeting new people! Because in the end of this game, the big bad boss is not Malistaire. The big bad boss is you. And the way you win this game is not by beating Malistaire, but by how awesome you were while playing this game with others. The memories you forge while fighting through the game with other people are what you should keep!

But, if you're just in it to play it and move on, you won't need those additional characters. Forge on.

NOW, let's talk about this game and what it's really like. This game has gotten easier over time. Grizzleheim has made it so you can get a slight edge on leveling and given you an additional training point. Mounts have made it so you can get from place to place faster. The bazaar has made it so you can get the best gear at every level. What this did was make the easy parts of the game easier. Krokotopia and Mooshu are kind of a drag now (*ducks and covers from the people who might disagree here*). There's no towers in those worlds and IMHO they are just not as tough as the other worlds. Sometimes the drag of these worlds will push you back to Wizard City where a trap stacked on you by a monster and other people joining in a fight and fleeing can really make things challenging. (Believe me, I was defeated a few times yesterday on my new ice wizard.)

So, I can see why people go back to the beginning of the game because sometimes easy parts of the game can be a drag. That may be what is happening to your friends (probably not, but you never know. I'm just covering my bases here).

Anyway, what does all this have to do with whether you make a second character or not? Well, the answer from my point of view is yes, most definitely yes you should make a second character . . . and a third . . . and a fourth! Yeah, you're going to do the same quests over and over. But, you will now have a character for every mood inside you, and you never know who you might end up meeting in the process (never know, you may make a lifelong friend like I did back in my Everquest days)! Every character class plays differently, and you'll really be giving yourself a richer game experience in the end.

. . . And if you have the determination, with one of those characters you'll eventually beat Malistaire. There's really no rush to save the spiral, he just keeps respawning anyway. ;-)


Give a new character a shot!

Happy Dueling!