How many save slots do you use during a playthrough?

I've noticed my friends and others have multiple save files when playing most games. I feel like I'm in the minority by only having one save file for a whole playthrough. I can see the logic of having multiple slots for a playthrough, but I just don't like to do that.

I'm just wondering which camp GB users fall into, and if you have any stories about good/bad experiences with your game saves.

Usually two in case one gets corrupted or I get stuck and can't proceed or something.

I do 2 when possible, it was a long time ago but I want to say that I may have had a problem with twinsen's odyssey... and that game is pretty long, I think I lost quite a lot of playtime, been doing the double save ever since.

@onarum: @someguyjohnson: Do you just do two saves in the same place or alternate at save points?

Usually only one if it's the type of game that only really uses hard saves. (So basically every non-PC game prior to last gen.) Maybe two if I reach a point in the game where something might happen that I would want to revert a save.

When it comes to more open world games, or ones with lots of branching choices I'll often keep a lot of different saves. Especially if it happens to be a Bethesda open world game. There's so much jank and so much room for something to go wrong that I always keep numerous backups.

I'm definitely more willing to have multiple saves now that save space isn't such a limited and valuable commodity though.

I use two. I have one in a town/safe area before I go adventuring, then a second save while on my adventure. Sometimes I use a third to branch off my second when I'm trying something I don't think will work.

@patoday: I alternate saves usually

I've recently started doing three slots. A save, a save from a mission ago, and a save from the mission before that. This doesn't include auto or quick saves. If I want to mess around or something I create a fourth one for that purpose and delete it when done.

I very rarely use more than one slot, even in long-ass JRPGs and such. It's probably a really stupid thing to do but I haven't had a corrupt save since the PS2 (and now that I've said that I'm fucked).

All of them

I used to do just 1. Now I stick with two just in case and with Bethesda games I just stay safe make a new save every 2-3 hours.

Generally one, sometimes two alternating ones in case a save gets corrupted or something.

As many as possible haha

If there are unlimited save slots, I'll usually use three just so I have multiple points of failure in case a save gets corrupted or puts me in an unwinnable situation. Otherwise, one is usually fine.

Multiple - just in case I want to go back to awesome moment/level or want to try doing things differently.

One because I live on the edge

As many as possible. If I can have as many saves as I want, then every save is a new save

If I have the option, I usually make a new save each time 'cause it's the option with the least clicks, and I have so much extra space so why not?

I try to cycle between 3

Usually 1 for most games, but for some I make an exception and go for 2 or 3.

With the proliferation of auto-saving I only have two total saves for my playthroughs. The first being my manual save, and other being my auto-save.

In addition to any auto-save, I typically alternate between two manual save files, and I'll occasionally keep a third save file that I'll save to more infrequently as an emergency fallback save (I'll typically only do that when it's something like a lengthy RPG).

On RPGs I usually use more than one. I mostly use 1 though.

If you use more than one you need to seek professional help!

Depends on the game. Skyrim has over 400 save slots right now but other RPGs I might only rock 3 or 4.

Way back when I played KOTOR I only used one save slot. Then loading the game took forever and once or twice locked up on me. I googled my problem and it was the lack of save slots, specifically the single save slot being rewritten over and over, caused lag and slow down.

So for games that will require lots of house and saving, I use new slots either every time or every few saves.

Depends on the game. For fallout/elder scrolls type games I tend to have multiple (3-4). On the one hand I do this because those games tend to be glitchy. However, on the other hand, sometimes I make a decision I regret and so I will revert back to a previous save to rectify said mistake. So I suppose it's in games that have choices that impact how the story unfolds. For example, in kingdom hearts, I always have a single save.

I believe in the one try save not counting auto-save. I know that makes me strange but it just seems like the right thing to do. Also I get annoyed personal when I see a save file I'm not using be there.

One, and then two, and then forty. I can't help myself.

Generally between 3 and 5. Every time I save a game, I write over the oldest of the 5 slots. I've had a number of games with bad saves or a save that leaves me in an un-winnable position, so I've learned it's better to be safe than sorry. I don't have the time to go back and start over again, so I keep my saves fresh and on a constant rotation.

My Skyrim has a ton of saves even though I am writing over a number of the older saves as I progress (yet again).

How could you possibly sort through all those in a game like Skyrim? If that was me I would have literally hundreds of different saves, per character.

KOTOR is the game where I started using multiple save slots too. Not due to the issue you had, but rather because I hit a game breaking bug about 2/3 of the way through the game and ended up having to start over.

I used to use a ton but these days I try to limit myself to roughly 3.

I'm typically a one-save kinda guy. I think it's a holdover from the days before consoles had internal hard drives as standard. Back then you either had internal save systems on cartridges with very limited saving options, or external memory cards which almost always had very little space and cost a fair bit to own multiples of. Save space was precious back then, especially in the PS1 era - I had a single fifteen-block memory card to save all of my games on, meaning I had to stick to a single save file for each game to maximise the space on my card.

Of course, these days the ubiquity of auto-save functionality and heaps of internal storage mean that's no longer an issue. But still, I find myself sticking to just the one manual save slot on most of the games I play. There are a few notable exceptions - if a game has a bit of a reputation for jankiness, such as Bethesda's open-world RPGs, I'll tend to keep three or four saves on the go, overwriting in rotation so the most recent saves are preserved. But otherwise, I tend to put all my faith in that one slot. Old habits die hard, I guess.

You don't really need to sort through them but it's not that hard, just scroll through I guess. I think. I have 834mb of Skyrim saves lol.

I try to limit myself to 2-3 saves per play-through, although with games like Skyrim/Mass Effect/ETC I can sometimes get carried away and rock 10-15 saves. I'd normally do it before branching decisions or stuff like that but I've gotten better since I would very rarely go back to those saves anyways.

All of them, obviously.

ROTATE

YOUR

FUCKING

SAVES

I have been burned too many times to have only one save slot. Usually I do around 3, but for Elder Scrolls I do about 10 since shit goes wrong constantly in those games.

Depends on the length of the game and what the built-in save system is like. If the game automatically generates quick-saves and auto-saves then I'll only use one slot. Also, if the game is one where a scenario of getting stuck, or wanting to backtrack to make different decisions isn't really an issue, then one save is usually fine. For long games where losing progress would be really annoying, or maybe even disheartening, I'll usually use three save slots (e.g.: Persona, Skyrim, etc).

I always end up making the backup saves with the idea in my head that they're there if I ever get stuck or if I want to make a different choice, but I don't think I've ever actually gone back and loaded an old save in those scenarios. In the exceedingly rare cases where I can think of where something ruined my save, like Skyrim (I turned into a vampire and didn't notice, and the storyline is basically ruined once that happens if you don't have the antidote), I couldn't be bothered to load an old save and would either make a new character/file or stop playing the game entirely.

Depends on the game but for example I'm playing Pillars of Eternity right now and I have a ton of save files.

As long as the game gives you an option, I definitely have at least two saves though. Just safety.

Only one

But like, how could you possibly make use of that many? Even if you wanted to load up an old save how could you even tell which one you want at a glance? I can't see any reason or benefit to having that many separate saves.

It's just easier to make a new clean save each time. Cuts down on issues that may arise.

@zeik: Habit! That's all. There's no reason not to, really, unless you just don't like an untidy-looking list of files.

depends on the game but as hard drive space gets cheaper I start seeing no reason to be limited at all. I always save to a new file vs overwriting data.

It would drive me completely crazy. I'm not even a tidy person, but something about having that many saves makes me cringe.

Depends on the game. Sometimes I use one for a few hours, then when I've progressed some in the game, I pick a different one, and get progressively more saves as I advance.

Other games I only use one, and rely some on auto-saves. In some games I alternate between two or more saves.

Saves? Thats for suckers. When I die in a game, I take it out and never play it again.

*Disclaimer: I am actually a single save type of person.

All of them it will let me.

Depends on the game and the save file size, but I think around 5 is probably optimal. For some games the size is so tiny I just take up all the slots because why not.