How to Clean Up Your WoW Account

One thing in World of Warcraft I can’t stand is how many toons and alts I accumulate over time.  For me, it has been hard to settle on one character.  Finally, with my Paladin, I have been able to be completely happy with a class after going originally from Paladin to Rogue, Rogue to Mage, Mage to Warrior, then Warrior to Rogue, and finally Rogue to Paladin.

I am not a multi-server player, so all my toons are on US Shadowsong.  That often leaves me with filling up my 10 available character slots pretty fast.  At one point, I had 6 max level toons, 2 PvP twinks, and a bank toon.  Way too many for my gameplay style.

While I realize many people love playing multiple alts, I am satisfied with my single Paladin, because I can DPS (which I prefer), tank, or heal if I choose to vary up my playstyle.  It gives me a much needed variety to deter me from playing other toons, so that I can fill other specific roles I may want to play.  Only a Druid can perform these three roles in addition to a Paladin.

So, how do you clean up your WoW account?

Determine Your Gaming Approach

What I mean by gaming approach, is how does WoW fit into your current lifestyle?  If WoW is your top priority in life, well, that’s a whole separate issue, and you need help!  But for all the rest of us, figure out where WoW fits in your priorities.

For me, I am a married, stay at home dad who works on the weekends.  My daughter is 15 months old and runs all over the place. Since my wife and I work opposite schedules, the little time we have together is something we try to savor and enjoy.  Needless to say, with housework, taking care of my daughter, and finding time for my wife, WoW is pretty low on the priority list.  But I love the game, so I do make time for it.

I can roughly manage about 2 to 4 hours a day on the game maximum, taking time to jump on my toon during my daughter’s nap times, and at night when my wife is watching her TV shows.  Weekends are different, and since I work, rarely do I get a chance to be on.  So, with my limited gametime, multiple dedicated toons are out of the question.

To help me control my WoW playtime, I chose the Paladin, and opted not to have a true ‘alt’.  When you have multiple alts, don’t deny that in the back of your head you always feel the need to upgrade them and get them into positions to raid, etc.  I know, I’ve been there before.  It almost becomes a like a job, and that’s when burnout hits hard and fast.  One toon to do everything I want.

The Paladin can level easily, solo just about any old PvE content, as well as most current non-dungeon/raid content.  I can focus on DPS, and heal or tank if my guild needs it.  An all-in-one toon. This accommodates my limited gametime to maximize my experience in the game.

Now, I have alts I have leveled, but only for the purpose of being gatherers, or crafters, since I like being self-sufficient.  These toons do not do dungeons, PvP or raid…they merely have been leveled for my enjoyment, and sit in the main cities to accommodate my main Pally’s gear and consumable needs.

Finding Expendable Toons

So, time for the dirty work.  I have accumulated 8 toons on Shadowsong, and I need to thin this number out.  Since my main is the Paladin, that one remains untouched, but everyone else is fair game for deletion.

First, I have to determine the usefulness of each toon:

• Khorana – Lvl 80 Rogue (Herbalism/Enchanting) ALT
• Khoala – Lvl 72 Mage (Tailoring/Jewelcrafting, Bank alt w/ Guild Bank)
• Khore – Lvl 10 Warrior (Bank alt w/ Guild Bank)
• Khor – Lvl 80 Paladin (Mining/Blacksmithing) MAIN
• Khorbin – Lvl 61 Hunter (Herbalism/Alchemy)
• Brittany – Lvl 80 Paladin (Herbalism/Enchanting) ALT
• Khorbacca – Lvl 32 Paladin (Mining/Engineering)
• Khorro – Lvl 6 Horde Warrior (Bank toon for future Tauren Paladin)

So that is eight toons, and I see a lot of repeating professions.  Since that is what my alts are for, I have some re-working to do.

The first to go is Khorbacca.  I already have 2 Paladins, and Engineering is just about on the bottom on my list of useful professions.  Plus, no more leveling until Cataclysm.  Easy nix.

Second to go is Khorro.  Instead of leveling a brand new Horde toon, I will delete him, and make a levle 55 Death Knight named Khorbacca.  This will also lock the name of Khorbacca for my Tauren Paladin.

The third cut is my level 61 Hunter.  Fun class to play, but too slow for my taste.  I know, I know…Hunters level fast.  But that should tell you how fast Paladins are leveling now, especially with Heirloom gear and the Seal of Command buff.

So now I am down to 6 toons.  Need to cut one or two more.  The solo bank toon I have will be deleted, and I will move Khorana, the Lvl 80 Rogue, to be GM of that personal guild bank.  Khore is gone…so now down to 5.

That is where I currently stand.  I am this close to nixing Khoala.  I don’t play her at all, and when I do…every time I stop to drink mana I want to faceroll my keyboard.  What’s that like, having to stop to drink mana?  Oh wait, Ret Paladins don’t have to do that! See how spoiled this class has made me?  Can’t even tolerate consistent mana drinkage!

The Final Changes

Now I am left with 5 toons.  The final change has to occur.  Can you spot what is still keeping me from being totally happy with this five player set-up?  We now have:

• Khorana – Lvl 80 Rogue (Herbalism/Enchanting) ALT
• Khoala – Lvl 72 Mage (Tailoring/Jewelcrafting, Bank alt w/ Guild Bank)
• Khor – Lvl 80 Paladin (Mining/Blacksmithing) MAIN
• Brittany – Lvl 80 Paladin (Herbalism/Enchanting) ALT
• Khorbacca - Lvl 55 Tauren Death Knight

I have 4 Alliance alts, 3 of which are level 80.  But Khorana and Brittany have the same friggin’ professions.  This was actually deliberate. When I made Brittany, I knew I was going to make her a DE and Herbalist due to her better solo-ing abilities in case I wanted to farm DE mats from a dungeon.

Khorana will simply make a shift from Enchanting to Alchemy, to fill the void left by my delete key annihilated Hunter.

I have finished my account clean-up.  I cleared out all the banks on the deleted toons, sent all their gold to Khor, vendored their gear, and put all their bags back into my personal guild banks.  The only thing that remains is the lingering question of will Khoala live to see another day?

More than likely, I will hang on to her until Cataclysm.  Not only will I be leveling a Tauren Paladin, but I will also be leveling another Alliance Pally to try out the new leveling content.  That Paladin will probably be a Jewelcrafter,and then she can take Khoala’s place.  That still leaves me with 5 toons.  Only one is actually played as my main, and the others just enjoy a life of leisure in Stormwind, awaiting my random calls for their services!