Getting momentum without rage quitting...

[Odinn Moriarty]

Hey,
So I have a few basic questions about getting enough foothold to go from nostalgic/frustrating addiction to fun and immersive gameplay. Hopefully it doesnt come off a bit ranty.
This shard is amazing and the potential once you get settled in is pretty exciting but getting a bit of gold for basic equipment and regs to get started is wayyyyyy harder than I remember..even just the cost of regs vs return on monsters doesnt break even, pk's aside. I have a couple characters going and each of them has been pk'd to the point of absolute bankruptcy as well.... They even keep killing my horses Im back naked in the newbie dungeon fighting mongbats to try to get a basic plate set.
Any insight on a relatively safe way to get going without rage quitting would be massively appreciated.

My other questions are on the end game side of things. Just trying to get used to the variations in templates.
I have two main guys on the go a nox fencer and hally mage and a crafter on backburner.
These two were always the most fun (for me) in the day, just wondering about build tweaks and viability on this shard.
Im hung up on skills for the noxxer
Right now at the core I have

Fencing
Tactics
Anatomy
Poisoning
Healing

for the last 2 (3?) slots im debating between hiding, resist,mage and arms lore
Hiding is gm'd right now and is really helping mitigate getting slaughtered by pk's (though i keep forgetting trapped pouches)
resist in my mind is absolutely essential but Ive seen a few builds with hiding who drop it all together?
some amount of mage is usually essential but again, not too sure. Arms lore is the most boring option to me but dissarm and dmg boost? not sure if its worth the points.

hopefully all that isnt too incoherent. any insight from those who know the shard better would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dread Lord Bile]

Tracking. Not only does this skill provide a large damage boost (25% at GM) it also allows you to constantly track incoming hostile players; greys and murderers. I wouldn't play a character without it. The range is quite significant too at roughly 100 tiles at 100.0, which if your in a dungeon is reduced to 50 tiles. So aslong as your mindful of your surroundings and where dungeon moongate exits are it can be quite difficult to be murdered, atleast by people who aren't lurking in the shadows.

You've almost got one of the most annoying characters to fight against, the nox dexxer. I'd recommend a template such as;

GM Fencing
GM - 120 Poisoning
GM - 120 Taste Identification (helps with applying poison)
80 Healing
GM Resist
GM Tactics
GM Tracking (scouting + hamstring)


That is a 720 skill template, but is pretty damn deadly if played correctly. You can get away with not having anatomy quite easily.

 

[Odinn Moriarty]

The idea of hamstring, tracking and roughly the same damage output with a minimal sacrifice to healing is kind of amazing. Thank you!

Are there similar tweaks to Hally mages on this server? Right now Ive been putting into
swords
tactics
anatomy
mage
eval
med
resist
as is, the cost to work on this dude vs what Im getting in return is too high so hes on backburner but hally mages were always my favourite build for wandering around and keeping the wolves away.

 

[Dread Lord Bile]

The base template for hally mage is;

Swords
Tactics
Wrestling (while your casting you wont have a sword in your hand, thus you will get hit 100% of the time without it)
Mage
Med
Eval
Resist

There are some tweaked versions of this that include 80 Tracking for the ability to hamstring and keep people around to follow up with more spell damage, but that really requires 20 skillballs to pull off. I personally stick with the 7x100 version.

 

[Daolin]

Don't go to dungeons. Stick to above spawns and explore different places to find ones you like. Over 3 weeks here and I haven't been killed by a pk. I'll admit, i had a couple chase me, but nothing more.

 

[AreYouKidden]

Keep in mind that both those templates your working on, are more on the PvP side of the spectrum, neither are super efficient PvM farmers - though I personally prefer to have at least a partially PvP capable character, than a flat out glass farmer like most recommend. Arms Lore is a huge damage boost in any PvM template, because you get a damage boost when you disarm, and for subsequent attacks after - I personally don't find it that useful in PvP. So it's really just what you want to play.

I do agree though that Tracking is almost essential - that pre-alert to reds, you can then actively track to see how many reds, to determine if you want to fight, and try to kill the single one, or run because he has friends.. And also agree with the overland being the safer route, just know your escapes, in different directions for when you do run into a PK - or when you do get a blessed runebook 50k prev vendor. (have a macro for a quick recall out).

Persevere, stay safe.. Getting started is the hardest part, and when it hurts the most to lose!

 

[Odinn Moriarty]

Pvm doesn't interest me much beyond gaining resources and having a reason to be in a dungeon or wander around. It's the things that happen along the way and chance encounters that are fun. Much more interested in spontaneous pvp and killing griefers. It's so satisfying when someone tries to gank you and you take them out.

 

[Smokey McCallum]

Peace macer is the way to go to earn early cash. Youll have enough to set your other chars up before too long. Be warned though, a poisoner can be expensive to get to 120

 

[Luckystrike]

Pks here are just poor people who are too weak to take part in tournaments or fair duels. Horses, beginners and bards / gatherers are their main pastime to farm your gold. Unfortunately it is also the case that this repent system gives these village idiots a platform. For a long time, I think this concept will break the shard. If you see one of these "PKs" again, feel sorry for him and give him everything you have. That is his way.

 

[Elric]

Trap pouches.

 

[AreYouKidden]

@Luckystrike, it's horrible that you are projecting your bad experiences, and inability to cope with PK's - on other new players. I realize your a little jaded, things haven't worked out for you, but there are just as many people who join the server, and continue on, and succeed, even with the PK population.. Do i feel they could have stricter punishments? 100% I do - but the server is not impossible to play, and it's far better than many other servers in that regard. And the reality is, this gentleman is here asking for advice on how to deal with them, not how to give in and throw in the towel.

My laundry list of things to do to help against PK's:

• Get tracking - it offers a passive hostile tracking mode, so you can be alerted before the PK's are attacking you
• Get defensive skills - parry, resist, weapon/wrestle, healing - don't be fodder for them on a glass cannon bard dexxer, it doesn't matter if you are farming slower while you get to know the server - your still farming. As you get more familiar with the server, and how PK's fight, you can always dial some back..
• Carry potions - str - to pot up to 120 health, refresh to get through mobs, cure to cure poisons, heal to get an extra heal on the run
• Carry trap pouches - so you can pop them and get out of a paralyze
• Carry an adventurer rope - so when you do see a red on track, you can start your run with a 10 tile teleport for a jump start or save it to jump past - mages also have teleport
• Be aware of your surroundings, know where the escapes are - hunt in areas with multiple escapes
  • Tracking is more efficient in overlands, and almost always provides multiple escapes and is a far greater area for PK's to cover
  • Ruined Lyceaum is a death trap - don't go there, so is Snow Fort..
• Consider these next two warnings/awareness, if there's a lot of people there, sometimes the safest place is a crowd.
  • Be aware of the weekly bounty board and which dungeons have boosts for the week - PK's like to go where the people go
  • Be aware of the weekly monster hunter society quests and which dungeons are focused on - PK's like to go where the people go