Very interesting thoughts which mirror my own experiences trying to pick old MMOs up again. It's especially difficult when you return to a level-capped character. I still haven't got my head around all the additions (in term of enhancements, recipes, drops and powers) that they made to City of Heroes during my six months or so of absence. Getting my old level 50s to a stage where they're "maxed out" again would seem to almost take the same amount of time as rolling and levelling a brand new character.

Strident, on August 19th 2009 06:29 am

Part of the reason that leveling a brand new character will seem easier this way around is because many MMOs, including WoW, offer easier leveling at the lower levels after their level caps go up. For instance, when I was leveling my toons I didnt get a mount until level 40. You are going to get one at 30. Soon, with a new patch coming out, I hear that is going to drop even lower. So it may seem like a new game at your higher level, mostly because they have to keep it interesting and fresh for those who are playing regularly, but starting a new toon is roughly easier now than it was previously. Probably to assist you to getting towards the new content faster :P (oh and btw - your chat window would have told you when you first logged in that "Your talents have been unlearned" but you might not have seen it for some reason. Nice article, good read.

Serpentius, on August 19th 2009 06:29 am