What makes your main your main?

[Deleted]

I used to only play 1 char when I was subbed, I never understood people who made alts...only are rare few could play multiple characters well, most of the people I met suck at everything they play.

[Deleted]

It's the one I raid with. And that can change from expac to expac, it usually depends on what my guild needs, too.

But there is this one character I hold dearly. The warlock I leveled with in vanilla, where I saw Azeroth the first time. Also the first raid... she stays special, of course, but she's not my main anymore. Have to let go...

[Forgettable]

He's got pretty much every teleport item and doo-dad that's useful to have. I can't be bothered to collect all of those on any other characters, plus my DK is the character I raid with, so... It only makes sense I do more stuff with him because he has better gear.

[Mahourai]

I started playing on it and I had the most success in high-end raiding on it.

But mostly it's just because it's the name I use on Ventrilo and the forums. I played my priest for 2.5 raid tiers this expansion.

[quras]

I started playing on it and I had the most success in high-end raiding on it.
SNIP....

That was me. First toon even made and created back in vanilla beta. Went into live with a same name and main toon. I was very good with it even though all it's changes over the years. Might as well stick with what I was good at.

That it didn't stop my love of alts.

[schwank05]

I have had a different main for the start of every Expansion, but always seem to some point in an Xpac to come back to my Druid.

[Teebu]

Mage Engineer. Hard to stay away from a lifestyle of portals and gadgets to get around everywhere. Debating switching to Hunter, but damn if I won't miss those fucking portals.

[popsicles]

I can't say goodbye to my full d2 + Benediction priest

[Legat0]

Once wrath hit, I've always been a DK and never looked back.

[Meillquei]

For me, my warlock has been my main since I started playing in BC. When I play any kind of video game, I always tend to pick the most evil character if there is an option. Therefore, warlock was the natural choice. I loved the play style. It was difficult to get used to, but I got the hang of it. My warlock was the character I got all the achievements/mounts/pets on because I couldn't see myself playing a different character. She is MY warlock. Even race changing her was out of the question.

So I guess to answer the question, a main would be the one special character you have. You know, that one character you can't bring yourself to delete because it was your first or most precious character.

[TheWorkingTitle]

Simple question, but how do you people stick to your main? What makes your main unique enough to stick with him or her?

In a vacuum it's because I love the Mage play-style but when you start adding in other variables you begin to realize how difficult it would be to ever switch -

-8 Legendary Items ( Huge time sinks, RNG bullcrap, super long quest chains)
-60+ Exalted Reputations (Huge time sinks, some unobtainable reputations)
-Transmogrification Items/Unobtainables (Huge time sink and some are impossible to replace)
-Vanity Items/Unobtainables (Huge time sink/expenses and some are impossible to replace)
-Ability to use High Warlord Gear (Old PvP Titles, impossible to replicate that way - would be forced to RBG)
-Honorable Kills amassed (Huge time sink)
-Teleportation Devices (Re-leveling a profession, waiting for holiday events and to get lucky enough to obtain it..just not feasible)
-Challenge Mode Gear/Portals (Will become unobtainable)
-Rare/Unobtainable - Patterns/Schematics of both Professions (Some are gone, others super expensive/impossible to feasibly grind yourself)
-/Played and Sentimental Value (Priceless memories, time invested, skill gained - not replicable unless I put 10 years into another class)


Then you throw in Mage specific perks and there's no other choice from where I'm sitting

-Portals/Teleports
-Conjurable Food
-Slowfall
-Blink
-Ice block
-3 Distinct specializations



TL;DR - Time Invested, Game-play Preferences, Sentimental Value, and Unobtainable items

[sargior]

I have no main. I play all 8 90s.

My wod pre-order boost was used on a monk and now that is my top geared toon somehow at 572ilvl with all the rest 560+ except 1 who is pretty fresh at 90 at 540. I don't raid heroics either.

[Gamestar]

I like my class (warlock), /played, reputations, items, history, raid progression (not just in the current tier but having progressed in previous tiers when they were new), gear (although that's only a reason not to switch mains during a patch), and it was the first character I leveled.

[Honkeymagoo]

My main is whatever has the highest ilvl.

[Anyael]

I was called by the name of my character for maybe 5 years raiding with a guild, it has stuck to the point that I turn when I hear the name said.

That is why my druid will always be my "main", even if I don't play her the most.

[kail]

Played my lock since early tBC, went through all of the pet and mount quests, topped (or tried to) dps meters, and loved the play styles (RIP SL/SL). During Wrath, he was the only one I focused on for reps and achievements.

My other characters are there just to provide varied gameplay. ATM Spriest gameplay is something I have fallen in love with, Blizz fucked my lock up.

[Luko]

My main has been my warrior since 2005. I completely lost interest in it by the middle of MoP. It just doesn't feel anything like it did when I enjoyed it most, simple as that. For a while, I was tied to it because of the achievement progress he's made and the reps he's maxed, but I'm simply at a point in my life where there's more important things than my in game hipster epeen.

I've been playing my hunter religiously since and I guess you'd call it my new main. Why? It gives me the most fun in every aspect of the game that I play; Raids, PVP, questing, farming, soloing, etc.

[Jaexy]

Green fire. My favorite color is green. Yup. That's about it.

[theostrichsays]

Tanks who know how to push their buttons is apparently hard to find.
I love my druid but... if that wasn't the case I would likely have swapped.

[aziras]

I am an altoholic. I had a main in vanilla (warrior), because raiding on more characters was a mess back then.
Then I migrated across the Atlantic just before TBC (no fancy server transfer there, it is the big old re-roll style. Even went all out and faction changed too). This means I don't have all my exalted vanilla reps, and since it was before achievements and transmog was added, there were little in terms of doing old content. I just sort of powerleveled a new warrior and took it from there.
I also leveled up a hunter for farming, ended up doing a ton of PvP on this one before TBC hit (there was that crazy christmas period where they changed the honor earning and everyone could get the HWL gear by playing enough to get the honor to buy it). In TBC I also had a shadow priest for arena, just to try that out.
Lich King was where it went completely bonkers. I had to try the DK (being a passionate plate player), so I maxed one and started raiding on that, then after a month or so, I started missing my shield and leveled my warrior again. Then he took over my main raid group's spot. But it does not end there. The main raid group (bunch of friends) had pretty slow progress, so we made a more serious alt-raid on alternate days. I brought a hunter there and this raid turned out to progress faster than the "main" raid. At the same time I played weekly with another group of friends leveling slowly, so I had a pally and a mage for that group - which eventually got to max level as well.
Then I took a long break, skipped cata, and came back for 5.4.
Leveled up my DK, then started missing the shield, so leveled the warrior. Then found out that I did not want to deal with guilds, so to optimize my LFG/LFR playtime I decided to level up a druid to queue tank+healer. The DK, warrior, and druid now all have 540+ gear and sort of "done" in terms of non-guild playing. I have MoP reps scattered between them, depending on what I needed for tradeskills, so none are really that far ahead of the others. To round up the altoholic addiction, I actually enjoy tradeskills a lot, so I had to have my JC+Enchanting shammy leveled up as well, but right now he is the only one of my 90's that is just sitting in TI gear. Last fling is a warlock I leveled up because I wanted to try the goblin starter area and the warlock green fire quest. Having a small army of 90s, all the tradeskills and good experience in powerleveling means that it took less than a week to get him through SoO. The gear is a little lacking due to RNG and the fact that I spent most of the week farming for a sealed tome. Finally got it last night, so now I am off to the do the quest and who knows what happens when I finish that. I still have my hunter sitting at 83 waiting to get leveled, and a pally+mage that might get some playtime as well. Or I would level my priest since I havent played that since TBC.
Likely by the time WoD hits, I will have all classes at 90, waiting to see which I would play to 100 first.
One thing is certain though, my boost will be used on a rogue. I had one at 60 in vanilla and I never liked the class (but it was by far the best miner alt on a PvP server). So the plan is to boost a rogue to 90, level lockpicking and use it to open lockboxes, so I do not need to use ghost iron for that.
And then there is the whole alliance aspect... still haven't played worgen, and haven't played Alliance since vanilla.

The biggest change in the game in terms of main vs alts is the sharing of achievements between characters and BoA items. For altoholics those are just awesome. The commendations for reps are great too. And I would love to see something that could let me farm gear for my characters on a different character (like a way to share/transfer valor).

But to answer the initial question. My "main" is the one where I currently have a target set. It is likely to change as soon as I achieve it, but while a goal is active, it will be the character I log in when I have time to play.