Main reasons for a main character: A question of viability or just emotional bonds?

[OzoAndIndi]

Very much attached to my pair of mains (obviously the two lucky enough to be my signature). I think it helps that I prefer to play with the camera at close range, not a mile away like some people do, so I'm quite attached to them. I like my alts a lot, but these two... my mini me, love her to pieces, and my Belf, totally adore him. They're also both Rogues, always loved the general feel of that class.

[Zantos]

I think there is a major difference between someone who enjoys playing lots of alts, and someone who plays the FOTM class. I have tons of alts. At least 1 of every class at 85+. Does that make me a FOTM player? Not by any means. My main is a paladin. Has been since nearly my start. I was a dk from start of wrath to ToC. At the start of ToC I changed to a paladin main. I always try my best to play my class to its full extent. However, sometimes I just want to chill on a different toon. So I do. My paladin will always be my main focus. I raid on them, have a RBG title on them, collect what I can on them.

[Nurabashi]

I have had 4 mains over 4 accounts over the years. All Enhance Shamans. I think it's emotional bonds, and the fact that no other class really does it for me.

[Lastlivingsoul]

Honestly I play my character's as if I was writing a book using Pop culture characters. If I made a Warrior named "Marv" and I found a really Black Gladiator-eske Transmog I could play as that character forever.

Most of my character's are just references so maybe I'm not as cool as somebody who makes up their own name, or goes all out with roleplay but its the story that I make for myself that keeps me entertained.

[Vermicious]

My main is my brain... the character I happen to be playing at that time is my main.

[Deleted]

You can have the same main for many years and still be an altoholic.

You can also be a FOTM reroller (or someone who likes to reroll anyway) without being an altoholic.

Being an altoholic or not has nothing to do with having a stable main. It is a variable which stands on itself ie. do you like to play alts or not.

I can provide you a valid reason of someone who is rerolling regularly as well. Think of someone who gets bored after mastering a class. So once mastering class, next patch or expansion this type of person switches to an other (or quits the game) or switches role or something else. This may seem like a FOTM reroller while in reality it is a person who requires a challenge to enjoy the game.

For me, for example, I have every class at max level, some multiple. I play my main with the spec I like most because out of every class and spec (and including its off specs) I have played it is the one I will enjoy most, and am also currently best at, and can bear to play it for a few evenings a week for raiding. That does not mean I am bad at playing my alts, or do not min max those. It also doesn not mean I am not open to rerolling or will never reroll. I can think of various situations where I could reroll and my class being weak in 5.0 was indeed one of the reasons which caused me to take a break.

So your first post describing what you are discussing is inaccurate.

Now as for your question, I can find 2 explanations.

1. knowing the small tricks of your class, and knowing how to min max 2. indeed the emotional attachment and fond memories.

Reason 1 coincides why a FOTM reroller may not know the small tricks of his class. Such a person would on the outside look like a good player who masters their class, but if you look into details they are doing things not as good as they could, do not know the small aspects of their class, are not creative enough with usage of glyphs in situations where other players would be. They are not as good as a veteran player of that class and spec would. The person who likes to play a class till they master it however will have less to no problem with reason 1. But that is mostly a skill and mindset difference.

Reason 2. I find a bit silly since you abandoning your main does not imply you lose those memories it may just be a bit harder to connect to them since you switched class. But even that requires further analysis. Why the emotional attachment? You do not lose it if you reroll, the memory remains. It is problably the fear of losing the connection with the game at a whole because you did not play that very class or spec back in the days. In other words the old conservative approach to stick to what works, refusing to change and adapt, etc.

[Vermicious]

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[Noorri]

I have one main, a paladin. I level alts but don't use them for anything, I just level them mostly. The reason I stick to my paladin is mostly old habit, I have gotten so used to it that I can't be bothered to learn a new class at the same level. Although we'll have to see what happens with the hunter I am currently leveling, enjoying it far more then I thought I would. WoW actually became fun again when I started to level her.

[cFortyfive]

Despite how shitty it is at times I just have the most fun playing warrior. If that wouldn't be the case I'd fotm reroll each content and have zero problems with that.

[Viradiance]

Absolutely, especially with her being an RP character. I have a special love for my Viridian that my Monk will never replace.

[Elapsed]

Do you have any emotional bonds with your main?

I've been Elapsed the holy pally since classic when I started, I've changed servers once and genders. I have a strong connection to my toon and to being Holy. As of wrath I got a ret offspec and tend to keep it well geared to make leveling/dailies/rares easier. But I will and always have raided holy. Next patch will be the first time I question this dedication as the blues seem to be on a warpath against the way holy pallies heal right now. But I will continue on Elapsed in my 10 man as Holy and we will find a way through the content even if I'm not helping as much as I could on my alt druid.

Also to note I have another holy pally Collapsed who I often get to max level and raid with since TBC

[Dasani]

I can only really truly enjoy one class at a time, and that is my main. It's was a druid for years, then a DK in wrath and now a monk. I have alts, and in previous expansions i'd end up getting just about every class to level cap, and even in this one I have about 5 other level 90s already. I'll get on them and do an LFR or two, but then I get sick of playing them. I mean I can enjoy them at the time, but I tire of it very quickly and always long to get back on my main. I could play my main all day every day and not get tired of it I don't think, the only reason I don't is simply because I run out of things to do. I clear all the MOP raids every week, doing old content with pug groups I find just to help them through it and also for the lulz.

It's one reason im looking forward to flex raiding so much, i'll be able to do flex raids whenever I feel like without being unable to because i'm saved. Then I can just play my main all the time. I'm hoping since flex raids are more like pugging, it'll be more fun than say something boring and irritating like LFR.

[roahn the warlock]

I've played a warlock for ever.. not to be all smug. But all other casters are a snore fest after playing a warlock, and for some reason I can never get behind a melee, I like tanking, but it always seems like an effort to get gear, and it's much harder to find a raiding guild as a tank. and healing.. oh hell naw

[The One Percent]

I was stuck on my warrior until MoP because of achievements, mounts, pets and other vanity items. I was rather pissed when it appeared that the titles for doing the Horde Rebellion weren't account wide. They need to stop doing that shit.

All they need to do now is to make those vanity items with spell like effects (like the ones that drop off MoP rares, arch items, ect) learnable and have them go into a vanity spell tab that is account wide. Tabards learnable and account wide would be good as well.

[muto]

Blizzard ruined Holy Priests with Chakra, so if I want to heal I have to play boring Disc =/

My second favorite class is Warlock. I like DoT classes.

[Windfury]

I've only ever had one main, I couldn't bring myself to switch, I've done too much on that one toon.

I do love playing alts to keep things fresh though.

[H3llhog]

I do have a main: my Warrior, the first character I created when I joined WoW back in BC. Been playing him most of the time since then, even in its worst days (Remember Warriors when WotLK went out? ><) Hey, if you been playing your character for more than 3 years, and remember all the quests you done with him, all the raids, all the dungeons, wouldn't you get attached to it?

In the end it depends on the person, though. At the end of WotLK I started having alts (DK and Priest), and even lvled up some characters just for transmorging/twinking. Nobody can replace my main, though. He's the one I play most of the time, the first one to reach max level in every expansion since then, and the one I identify myself more with.

[Dontrike]

I have been playing the same character, with the same professions, and on the same server for 7+ years. If it wasn't for the need for every priest to heal I would have been shadow since then. Last 5 years I have been in only 2 guilds. At this point the character is basically me, plus I don't really find alts that exciting and only level them when extremely bored which is usually one character per each expansion.

[CrankyBastard]

I have a slew of characters, but usually I have a 'main' per expansion, depending on how I feel their stories will advance.

Vanilla was NE druid; BC was tauren druid. Wrath was a sort of tie between my Resto shaman and demonology 'lock. Cata started as my Fire Mage leading, but instead my Arms warrior took the stage at the end. Mists has been my Shadow Priest expansion...but I play just about all of my characters per server, depending on mood, whim, and what I feel like trying to not be terribad at.

Lately I've been feeling the urge to actually take an Alliance character to level cap. It's currently a tie between my original now-boomkin and my Frost spec Worgen DK.

[Nutri]

I started playing as a Hunter during the BWL patch, switched to Warlock during T4. Since then my main has been that same ol' warlock.
Leveled and played various other classes at endgame level throughout the expansions, but that Warlock always remained my main character.