WARNING: Newbie Altoholics
Many years ago, my MMO-RPG journey began with Guild Wars. I got lucky on my first character [a ranger], as she ended up being my favorite. But that luck ran out when I switched to WoW. Sure, I liked that character. But after spending HUNDREDS of hours working on her, I discovered one of my alts - as i started leveling her - to be MUCH more enjoyable and fun. The same thing happened on LOTRO, GW2 & DCO. My first character ended up not being my favorite character. Thankfully, with these other games, my discovery was after a week of play, not several months. Right after WoW, I developed a new system. Although some may call it a tad strange, many of you fellow altoholics may find it perfectly logical. I create several characters, within the first couple days and level them all up, at the same time, to about 1/2 way. At that point, I've learned what the various classes, traits and play styles I like best may be. It is at that time I finally choose a main character. However, this strategy does NOT work with MH.
MH is both a blessing and a curse for altoholics. Many of you are just like me. You love having tons of different characters. You have 6 of them, before you've even fully leveled your first character! MH is designed to be account based, in such a way, each character can positively affect the rest. However, without having any characters leveled, none of them are really helping the others. Plus, there is the problem of acquiring any of the other various characters. Unless you want to spend real money; it can be a grind to collect eternal splinters (aka: E or ES), which will allow you to purchase (for free) new heroes and team-up heroes. On the plus side, the game is also designed to have us altoholics in altoholic heaven. So, what do you do? What is the wisest course of action, for the consummate altoholic?
A) On day 1, you will get 400 free ES. This will unlock your first hero. There will be a couple heroes that sell for 600. But this is not an issue. You have options:
1. You can unlock your favorite 400 ES hero. This is what I did, only because I KNEW the hero I wanted. so, unless you KNOW which one you want, hold off buying just yet.
2. You can unlock two of your favorite 200 ES heroes. For us altoholics, this seems like a logical choice. But, 200 ES heroes are fairly limited. Also, the same concept, from point 1, applies.
3. Visit Adam Warlock, in the Tower, and purchase a, "random hero," for only 175 ES. You may get a 200, a 400 or a 600. You may love that hero. You may hate that hero. But it is the cheapest hero in the game. If you like the concept of random chance, this may be one of the best ways to go.
4. Do not forget about your team-up hero (TU). 200-600 ES - most are 400 - will need to be spent on him or her. Unless, of course, you do not mind the free SHIELD agent they saddle you with on day one. Take the time to do a little research on TUs, in the forums and on YouTube. You do not want to spend ES on a TU, who can be unlocked via a series of quests or an achievement. (Note: Rocket Raccoon can summon a permanent Groot, so do not buy Groot for him.)
5. Take advantage of the "TRY" option, which will let you level each and every hero to level 10. Take notes, either written or mental, as to the ones you like best. Skip the prologue and go straight into chapter 1, Hell's Kitchen. Run thru to the end of the chapter and Dr. Octopus. Switch toons and repeat. Doing this, you will collect anywhere from 6-12 ES per character (avg about 9). Do the math: 53 heroes x 9 ES = 477 ES! Add this to your free 400... Well, I'm sure you can figure it out from here. How long does it take, per run? After I took a couple hours, with the first couple characters, I can complete from the rooftop to defeating Dr. Oct, in about 30-40 minutes - including all the treasure rooms. Again, do the math.
6. Seven days later, your daily log-in bonus gives you another 200 ES!
Tomorrow will be day 13 for me. I've leveled about 85% of the "TRY" heroes to level 10 and have managed to unlock 1,000 ES in heroes (two 400's and one 200) and one 400 ES team-up. (Please note: I have 2 TU ... the 2nd one I bought for cash, due to the 1/2 off sale on TUs) Plus, I have enough ES left over to get another hero! But, I did not do it... You know why? Because I'll just be ******** myself, that's why!
B. The previously mentioned "positive effect" doesn't fully go into effect, until you reach level 60, with at least one hero. The more level 60 toons you have, the better the effect. But, there is a nice added bonus: You can do it 5 times, on EACH hero!
1. You may have noticed some players have their names in different colors? That's because they have reset back to level one. Each color signifies a first to fifth reset. When you reset; you get to keep all your gear, achievements, bonuses, etc. In simple terms, a level 10 Yellow will kick your level 50 first run @$$!
2. In essence, if you think about it, there are 300 levels. Just broken down to five different level 60s. So us althoholics can feel satisfied knowing our first level 60 is only leveled 1/5 of the way up! That's when you get your second hero going, to join him or her at that 1st level 60.
3. Along the way, you've been collecting more ES!
4. At this time, acquire your desired 2nd or 3rd hero unlock.
When my day 7 (or is it 8?) extra 200 ES came in, for my log-in bonus. By that time, I had already purchased my 1st TU, my 2nd hero (a 200 ES hero) and had 186 ES left over. So, I did a TRY on a couple more heroes. After earning the extra 14 ES, I was able to unlock another 400 ES hero. Today, I was faced with a dilemma - a dilemma which prompted this post: With 204 ES, do I get another 200 ES hero, or wait and keep grinding for a 400? That was when a supergroup (SG) member informed me about the level 60 bonuses. I have 3 heroes already! Get them all to level 60, THEN get that fourth hero! Not only will she level faster - with the bonuses - the other toons have all collected gear and goodies that will help her along the way.
MH is a game designed for the consummate altoholic. Provided, of course, the altoholic is willing to be a little patient. There are over 50 heroes! Our obsession with alts may be slightly delayed, but if you do it right, you will have a very very long list of alts feeding the unlocks of new alts, for a very very long time. It just may take a week or two, to level your first and second toon, before you can start on the alt train.
Hopefully, my rather lengthy post will help someone make sense of things and enjoy the game better.