FFXIV An Alternate Approach

Tags : ffxiv news, ff14 news, final fantasy xiv

For those of us who’ve familiarized ourselves with the MMORPG scene, either by playing through and gathering first-hand experience, or by reading up on a few examples, we’re quite comfortable with the term, “Alt” or “Alternate.” For the sake of those who might be less comfortable with this idea, an alt is basically just that—an alternative character that you create. What varies from person to person, however, is the approach they take to developing their alt. Many players simply choose to dedicate their alt toward item storage and crafting purposes, and still others choose to pursue another job or style of play on their alt. In this article, I’d like to share a few hopes and options for alts in FFXIV, by dissecting the option down into a few basic categorizations. Keep in mind, I’ll be excluding the topic of dual-boxing (owning two or more accounts that you play simultaneously), as that, to me, isn’t really an “alt,” and would require its own topic dedicated to it.

Mister Indecisive

This type of player is someone I can truly sympathize with, as I often find myself in the same predicament. With the approaching release of FFXIV, it is easy to become excited at every droplet of news that we’re fed by SE. One can find themselves torn between the idea of leveling a bulky Elezen male who tries to valiantly protect his comrades and a petite Lalafell girl who scours the lands of Eorzea for plant roots as a botanist. These are two simple examples, but the possibilities are nearly endless. Some players may find it possible to contain all of their ventures into a single account, but, for others, including myself, the desire to control two very different characters is appealing. Even when I’ve made my mind up about what type of play style I want to have, I can’t simply put my foot down on the type of character I’d like to develop those skills on.

Miss Roleplayer

One of the reasons people can develop that indecisive mindset is because they see their character a portrayal of some kind of being. They simply can’t, or would not like to reduce their husky Elezen guy to a weaver who makes extravagant dresses for the public, despite their interest in clothcrafting and weaving. Instead, though, they might see this role fulfilled by one of their other personas on an alternate character. Roleplayers are also given the option of developing unique personalities on each character, which can be exciting for them and rejuvenating when the same type of personality begins to age too quickly. Maybe they’ve worked out a feisty female hyur, but they often would like to play the role of a sweet and gentle Roegadyn. Alternates cater to that sort of desire.

Sir Storage

Others still, choose to devote their alts to simply being “servants.” In this, I mean that their alts serve a simple purpose—item storage. In many games, despite possibilities for increasing storage capacity, the pursuit and development of their man character can pose a serious problem. For me, this was realized quickly when trying to perfect my ninja in FFXI for soloing. The amount of gear required for such a goal meant that I had very few slots left for storage of crafting goods and armor and weaponry for other types of jobs. This kind of problem is quickly diminished with the aid of an alt, who can easily relieve the strain caused by a near-bursting inventory.

The Two-Timer

When playing through any game on your first attempt, it’s easy to skim over important details, missing storyline information, failing quests, and developing your character in a less-than-ideal way. There’s no need to start anew from nothing, however, as alternates allow players to relive those experiences once again while possibly playing through as a different role. This can be true for someone switching up from a tanking position to a healer, and even for someone who simply wants to relive the earlier levels of their higher level job, by revisiting past missions and places.

Distant Relatives

The final usage I’d like to discuss may not apply to many players, but is still an important tool for players with split interests. Many times, a single player has a multitude of friends, however, those friends may not all play on a single server. Even in the case of a common server, games like WoW presented the problem of playing as an Alliance character when a few friends were on the Horde-side of the game. Rather than excluding your buddies, why not divide your energy amongst two characters in order to keep those bonds in tact? While challenging to level a character on another server or separate world, many will find the predicament rather exciting, and may use their past knowledge to quickly advance and develop their next character.