Author Topic: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots  (Read 6428 times)

Winter83

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Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« on: August 26, 2011, 05:05:19 AM »
I've been playing for a couple of month now and had a chance to visit several marvelous maps on the server such us the forests and meadows around the village the slopes of the mountains. Yet every time I did there was a higher level player babysitting me as my character is only lvl 7 so having trouble with even the weakest spawns in those maps.

I began to wonder. There are so many awesome possible rp hubs that are completely deserted, or only get attention on specific events or plots (Port-á-Lucine, Village). One would need a stronger character to survive and live around the village and the Port's thugs are pretty deadly as well.
Now due to the slow levelling process many players just quite or make a new character before even hitting level 7-8, and the couple of higher levels usually hang around in Vallaki. That makes it extremely difficult to get company often visiting those places, and makes it almost impossible to place my seat to the village within at least 1 RL year which is needed to achieve a level that makes living in those areas sustainable.

I'd guess there'll be no quicker level progression on the server, so the average levels will forever remain around lvl 7.
Perhaps it is possible though to make the village accessible to under-teen levels? (those nasty ogres in the foothills and big wolves around), perhaps some dungeons or hunting areas that allows lower-mid levels to hunt?
What I see that players stuck around Vallaki for a long time untill they get higher than lvl 10 (class dependent of course), which is a long time, but after a larger part of the server opens for them. I don't see many players with that much patience, and after a while the areas around Vallaki became very boring.
(Honestly it is really difficult to find suitable companions on mid-levels, imho)

I was wondering also if it is a possibility to script spawns dependant to player levels? So if you have a higher level buddy you'd get higher level spawns, but the threat is also higher. And if you are an unlucky sod wandering alone as you cannot find anyone to help you, your presence would spawns monster that's challanging on your level but not impossible to beat.




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Emomina

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2011, 06:02:12 AM »
I think you overstate how slow leveling is. I have a character that is not even a year old yet, and is level 12 going on 13.  Mind you, I don't get to spend as much time on the game I was once did so its not even hardly a grinding pace.
I suppose you can roughly get to around level 14 or 15 in one year if you have good groups and good roleplay and actually try to quicken the pace.
There has to be a place for the 12+ too, the Vallaki area offers little intrigue or danger PvM wise past that level so the village and beyond is where those characters really have a place. I don't like the idea of a full scaling spawn rate, I have to say. Its very "fair" and I prefer there being places that are always beyond your means and therefore important to avoid.
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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2011, 09:55:19 AM »
 When you travel with proper groups, you can do nearly anything.

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2011, 10:25:55 AM »
The problem with that is I've noticed, very often over the past month, that if you're under level five, a lot of people seem to think you don't exist when it comes to traveling. They'll acknowledge you for some brief RP and then head off without you.

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2011, 10:47:18 AM »
Well, you can't see levels anymore. But that shouldn't at all factor into stuff anyway.

Only if you're going to take someone to Perfidius which is a bad idea anyway.

I generally take people regardless of level with me, if it makes sense for the character. Especially if I am collecting crafting components, as it levels that person up, and I don't have to carry heavy things. lol.

Also supposedly the creation of alchemy and potion brewing was creation so that people who for whatever reason couldn't find that group I speak of, to go out with fewer members. (Though IMO, all it did was make clerics more self relient, lol, but this is neither here nor there)

I suggest trying not to flood yourself into areas like Har-Akir, Perfidus, as they are -meant- to be forboding and dangerous.

Other domains, like Blaustein, Barovia, and the Port - are all meant to be scaled to various levels and can be used for RP.

There are also A LOT OF DUNGEONS, I've found in Barovia that NO ONE ever does because they're too busy farming the same three dungeons. Take risks, respawn a few times. It's okay. We're not going to judge you.

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Chaszmyr

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2011, 11:58:22 AM »
The problem with that is I've noticed, very often over the past month, that if you're under level five, a lot of people seem to think you don't exist when it comes to traveling. They'll acknowledge you for some brief RP and then head off without you.

Quote
Well, you can't see levels anymore. But that shouldn't at all factor into stuff anyway.

I think it comes down to the fact that if people are going to something difficult, they don't want to have to tote around someone who is going to get one-shot the first time things get dicey and have to call the whole expedition off to get someone resurrected. Even with levels hidden, I wouldn't be surprised if people who are about to go do something find some way to ask what level you are so they don't have to take care of you after you get squished.
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firebrand

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2011, 12:04:50 PM »
I'll chime in on this one myself since I agree wholeheartedly with the OP.

I'm gonna post about two different experiences. I have 2 characters who presently have both stalled out at level 5, it may be their levels, it may be their classes, it may be I'm just unlucky I don't really know. I've figured with both of them there are really only one or two places I can safely go on my own and those are very high gambles for me even with mobs that need nat 20's to be able to hit me.

Most of ya have probably seen me around as Ash Silverblade. I won't go too much into build, sufficing to say that I don't have an easy method of healing myself. Not a big deal in most cases. I have heal skill and bandages in a pinch. The issue is there is really one dungeon (the beetles) that I can reliably full clear on my own and that is if I get lucky enough not to be totally raped by the hive mothers. They are the only mob that is a major risk for me in that place. Everything else needs a nat 20 to hit me if I play my cards right and the Drobita supply me with a reliable enough healing source that I can get through the area just fine. The problem with this is, it seems like the exp I get for doing this is negligible. I mean I'm doing something that for me takes everything I have and yet I'm still on the message "just attained your new levels of power" and "feel as if you can handle whatever the mists throw at you." As far as I've come to understand this is still on the low end of exp to next level and high end as far as the most amount of bonus exp I can be earning.

Ok, so I can go into the Morning Lord crypt and get bone knuckles for potions right? Nope, that place is far more dangerous to me IMO because many of the mobs have damage reduction or hit much harder when they do tag those nat 20's and not every mob I can encounter needs that. Now again, its only one or two mobs in there that really spell my doom, but I've learned to avoid those. I pretty much cut and run if I'm alone and see more than one warrior skeleton or warrior corpse. I can sometimes use the doors or other positioning to my advantage and make them manageable, but even just one lucky hit sends me packing unless I have some of those handy potions. Whatever the case... I've killed quite a few mobs that to me were a bit of a challenge to take on alone.

The last place I can reliable go is the sewer and kill rats and I mean really.... they are rats. I'm not expecting much exp there.  I know of a few other areas to check out, and those are crap shoots because I never know what I'm gonna encounter. Green oozes, no problem, ochre oozes, gotta run like hell. Ghouls, no problem, one ghoul lord sends me running. Shadows, I don't even think about it. Zeklos, no problem, its about 50/50 if I end up needing to run.

Now on Ash I tagged along with a higher level character to help clear and get the bounties in Port a Lucine once. That was fun and admittedly lucky on my part. That one run is what got me to level 3. The rest I have done on my own with this character with little exception.

Tsuki has had the fortune to fall in with some of the others of her unique plight and has cleared some of the more difficult areas with a group in tow. But even then, there isn't always that group to have in tow. Solo content wise, she is in roughly the same boat.

Now I can understand a reason for having a tough climb. You don't want the power balance to skew because someone can go grind happy 24/7. The soft/hard exp cap seems to take care of this just fine from what I can tell. I also understand there needs to be more dangerous places for the higher levels to go. I would just like it if those supposedly non-dangerous places for ME were more worthwhile. As it is it is a gamble for me to go to the places I've mentioned and one wrong death for me means losing hours of work. Why you ask? I've tried to live by the rule of earning enough coin to have on me so I can be raised should the unfortunate happen. Thats not tough, I can earn that in a full clear or two of the beetles, plus mink and rats. That at most takes me an hour maybe two of solo work. No problem.

The problem really comes down to this. Unless I build up a stockpile of weapons and shields and whatever else, which just seems kind of silly both IC and ooc I'm screwed unless I recover what I drop on dying. Noy just mildly inconvenienced, but may as well hang up my hat. (This is how it feels to me, it may not actually be the case, but let me tell ya its discouraging). Which is fine. Death is meant to be something intimidating. So I can wait for someone to drag my hapless corpse back and get raised. No big deal. I don't mind this risk most of the time. And honestly, on most of my runs out I've been lucky enough to recover and get back up if I get knocked down, but that mostly means I hang up my hat for that run and go lick my wounds.

When you travel with proper groups, you can do nearly anything.

This is very true.

I generally take people regardless of level with me, if it makes sense for the character. Especially if I am collecting crafting components, as it levels that person up, and I don't have to carry heavy things. lol.

This seems to make you the exception not the norm.

Also supposedly the creation of alchemy and potion brewing was creation so that people who for whatever reason couldn't find that group I speak of, to go out with fewer members. (Though IMO, all it did was make clerics more self relient, lol, but this is neither here nor there)

This is also true, but the cost/reward/time factor costs me resources that I don't really have. The amount of time I spend building up potions is easily flushed down the drain in one bad run. Not to mention it costs me quite a bit of gold to reliably make one usable potion. I know this will get better as I get more skilled. But its still less of an alleviating factor and more of one more thing that really just isn't in my eyes helping me as much as people think it should be with the number of times I've been told this in response to how hard it is for me to do things on my own if I want/need to.

I suggest trying not to flood yourself into areas like Har-Akir, Perfidus, as they are -meant- to be forboding and dangerous.

There are also A LOT OF DUNGEONS, I've found in Barovia that NO ONE ever does because they're too busy farming the same three dungeons. Take risks, respawn a few times. It's okay. We're not going to judge you.

These two points kind of fit hand in hand. I know not to go to those more dangerous areas cause I get raped faster than I can blink. As far as a lot of those other dungeons the problem is, no one does them. And as I understand the longer something goes without being cleared out the harder the spawn gets. That usually means it spells death trap for me unless I have one of those elusive groups in tow.

I'm not so much complaining that the exp is too slow. Maybe I am a little. But what I am complaining about is that the risk/reward factor feels incredibly skewed and is honestly extremely underwhelming for me when I tackle something that takes every resource I have and just doesn't net me much in return. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.... I don't really know, but the challenges for a new player seem fairly daunting which hey is ok, I like a challenge as much as the next guy, but I also feel where the OP is coming from. There comes a point where that challenge is no longer just challenging, but incredibly ridiculous.
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ethinos

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2011, 02:02:11 PM »
Said stuff.

Ok, nearly everything you said comes from the point of view of how difficult it can be to solo dungeons here. And it's true. This server places a big emphasis on grouping. A lot of the systems encourage grouping. This won't change, as that's how the Devs wish the server to be. As a player that prefers mundane melee builds, and whose only caster is the exact opposite of a powerbuild because it fits with his character concept, I can sympathize with the difficulty of going it alone. You really do need to group up to travel and adventure. Only heavily independent spellcasters can usually solo dungeons of a challlenge that'll earn them a decent XP return. But don't disregard the gains of roleplaying XP. I think I've got more 'proud' messages from simply roleplaying leisurely than I've probably earned lately from adventuring.

However, from what I can tell, the Devs want Vallaki as a low level zone, and the Village to cater to the higher levels (to encourage the PCs to migrate to level-appropriate areas), so I'm not surprised that you find it difficult to go there. I'd like to see Port-A-Lucine made a bit more low level friendly though in some way. The Port offers a more sophisticated society that is better suited to like minded PCs.
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Nemien Callishan

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2011, 02:13:14 PM »
I'd guess there'll be no quicker level progression on the server, so the average levels will forever remain around lvl 7.

That high? I've had two characters stuck on level 5 for over a year now.

The problem with that is I've noticed, very often over the past month, that if you're under level five, a lot of people seem to think you don't exist when it comes to traveling. They'll acknowledge you for some brief RP and then head off without you.

It's not neccessarily just levels. There's some very tight knit little groups who simply won't let you in whoever you are unless you're part of their little group already.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2011, 02:15:31 PM by Nemien Callishan »

ethinos

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2011, 02:26:58 PM »
I'd guess there'll be no quicker level progression on the server, so the average levels will forever remain around lvl 7.

That high? I've had two characters stuck on level 5 for over a year now.

I've kept an eye on the level list upon login ever since I've played here, not to notice the levels, but because I have niche characters that I prefer playing with like niche characters. However, I've noticed that the 'average' or 'mean' level seems to be more closer to around 9 or 10. *shrug*

Quote
The problem with that is I've noticed, very often over the past month, that if you're under level five, a lot of people seem to think you don't exist when it comes to traveling. They'll acknowledge you for some brief RP and then head off without you.

It's not neccessarily just levels. There's some very tight knit little groups who simply won't let you in whoever you are unless you're part of their little group already.

I've played with a lot of players over the years and have never really had a hard time joining another group. As long as it makes sense in-character, and that there aren't any reasons for your character to not come along, I don't see any reason to not have your character get admitted. I think our players are way more open and friendly than you perceive them to be, and to be honest, I think it's newer players being bashful or unconfident in their game-playing abilities as a low level that causes this mentality.

I've invited numerous level 2s/3s/4s on adventures without knowing that they were such. I've had my roguish gentleman saved in the spider cave by the quick actions of a level 2! Without him, it would've been a total party wipe, rather than a disasterous dungeoning attempt.
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Emomina

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2011, 07:41:12 PM »
I have never been more than only slightly aware of the levels around my character once I log in. I certainly don't concentrate or put effort into leaving someone out of an adventure because they are lower level. Actually have had a lot of success fulfilling the last role left in a party (usually healer or locksmith) with a lower level. They are eager to get involved in something exciting and they are more apt to listen to ic instruction and coordination because their survival depends on it to a greater extent than normal. Its all about the roleplay and since you don't see levels its sort of a case where you have to make more effort to emphasize levels over roleplay than it has ever been.

Anyway, speaking personally, I don't think I have ever had the level range skew much in a party before. Its just something that rarely comes up because my higher levels are hardly ever in the outskirts to interact with the newest characters.
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dark_majico

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2011, 04:32:02 AM »
The problem with that is I've noticed, very often over the past month, that if you're under level five, a lot of people seem to think you don't exist when it comes to traveling. They'll acknowledge you for some brief RP and then head off without you.

That hasnt been my experiance. I have often been invited to places I know full well I wouldnt even be able to hit with a range crossbow, and they knew that too. I just walk and talk, and pretend to be usefull lol.

Soren / Zarathustra217

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #12 on: August 27, 2011, 05:06:48 AM »
The average level of people online is about 8.

Most activity is around the western outskirts, but slowly, the Mist Camp is becoming more active too (thank you for that).

The average level of people in the western outskirts is 7, while at the mist camp it's 12.

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #13 on: August 27, 2011, 11:09:48 AM »
The average level of people online is about 8.

Most activity is around the western outskirts, but slowly, the Mist Camp is becoming more active too (thank you for that).

The average level of people in the western outskirts is 7, while at the mist camp it's 12.

I'm trying.

BreakFree

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #14 on: August 27, 2011, 02:02:58 PM »
The problem with that is I've noticed, very often over the past month, that if you're under level five, a lot of people seem to think you don't exist when it comes to traveling. They'll acknowledge you for some brief RP and then head off without you.

Quote
Well, you can't see levels anymore. But that shouldn't at all factor into stuff anyway.

I think it comes down to the fact that if people are going to something difficult, they don't want to have to tote around someone who is going to get one-shot the first time things get dicey and have to call the whole expedition off to get someone resurrected. Even with levels hidden, I wouldn't be surprised if people who are about to go do something find some way to ask what level you are so they don't have to take care of you after you get squished.

I think this is a great point. My PC Bard, Marcus, takes pretty much anyone who wants to go with him when he goes out. I've taken level 2's with me that are completely new PCs and players to the server, and most of Marc's IC friends are newer characters (I made him in 2008, so, most of the people he knew have either left the server, died, or made new PCs). This mixture of high-low levels makes adventuring a royal pain, simply because I'm normally carrying someone back (although a few of his 'friends' are now getting up there). Levels SHOULD mean absolutely nothing in an RP environment, and shouldn't be discriminated against in a pureRP world. But, per-say your PC is level 3, and mine is level 14, and ICly they become good friends, there's no (or shouldn't be) a reason to ICly not bring them based upon their level. However, when you spend an hour getting a party together to do something, and you walk in and the level 3 Rogue gets an Evard's Tentacle up the rear, kind of ruins it for everyone. Thus, the level removal thing might make it better for immersion as no one knows if you're level 2 or 20, still, there's going to be discrimination when going adventuring (unless a PC has a few bags worth of mist orbs).So ultimately I like the idea of level-based areas, some for lower/middle/higher, and I fully understand and support the ideals of group travel; however, unless you have a tight-knit clique that runs together and is the same level - dungeons can be very intimidating and frustrating for lower level characters, even if they have a level 19 PC escorting the party, and equally as frustrating for the higher levels who have to drag them back.
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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #15 on: August 27, 2011, 02:10:33 PM »
Well make sure the lower level chars, being that they are inexperienced, hang back

BreakFree

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #16 on: August 27, 2011, 02:16:09 PM »
Well make sure the lower level chars, being that they are inexperienced, hang back

Evard's, Hammer of the Gods, Elkeths wtf-area-spells-of-doom, etc., don't do much justice even if you're standing in the doorway. And unless you're taking them to a low level area, which makes no sense for a high level PC to go there, someone is going to cast spells that go boom.
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Mrjunkie

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #17 on: August 28, 2011, 08:58:28 AM »
There are plenty of level 10'ish CR'd dungeons wich are frequented by batalions of outlanders that often bring low levels with them.

Yes Area Effect spells will be used, but if you use some sense, you can easily avoid/keep the lower levels back.

Ravenloft is based on fear, a group of level 10's storm rushing threw a dungeon or a diverse group of levels that take it easy, require rest stops can create much more RP, aswell as the fear for the lower levels as they are on a knife's edge.


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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #18 on: September 21, 2011, 01:29:16 PM »
When I first came here I simply wandered downstairs beneath the Morninglord's church and saw a pair of mid-level (I presume) characters. I explained that I had just arrived and wanted to explore, but I didn't know the place and asked if I could tag along. They agreed but suggested that I hang back. I did. I watched from afar and never struck a single blow through that entire hunt. But I soaked up experience like a leech while I was talking to them. I had fun and I think they had fun educating me.

I may be unusual, but I have no pride. If I want to go somewhere, I am not ashamed to ask for help. I am learning smithing. I needed tin. So I asked a couple of high level people I know to help me clear out the hobgoblin cave. It was no sweat for them to sweep the critters aside like dry leaves, and they even volunteered to help me mine it. Meanwhile we had fun RP-ing and trading war stories. Then they volunteered to help me get the copper I needed, which was a huge help since at level 5 I wasn't getting good results with my mining either.

I ended up with an ox that was barely able to move under half a ton of ore, a high level friend that was carrying twice as much more ore in transformed state, and a fun evening. Plus I made quite a bit of experience. Then I made two levels in my craft while smelting and hammering the stuff.

It's not hard. In real life if you are facing a difficult, dangerous situation you don't go charging in alone. Not if you have any sense. You ask for help. If the first person won't help you, the second or third one will. Be polite and remember who offers and who refuses. Someday you will be in a position to offer help, and everyone knows the. The newbie you sneer at today may be the one in the right location someday to drag your high level corpse back to town. Or dig out the pile of herbs/wood/ore/skins that you need but don't want to bother with gathering.

Maybe I have just been lucky. I always found somebody willing to help out. I even tagged along into the coal mine beneath Dvergeheim, and the silver mine on Baratak. I spent most of both trips cowering behind something, but I went. I came out staggering under the load of experience. (Actually, I came out with a hard cap, but such is life). It was great.

If you want experience, haul cargo. It is easy, safe, pays decent money, and it offers experience that accumulates steadily. Plus you can travel with a friend and rp along the way. It's not hard to make progress here. I's slow as Christmas. And the crafting system is boring. But there is nothing difficult about advancing here, if you don't let pride or impatience get in you way.


« Last Edit: September 21, 2011, 01:31:40 PM by rcaver »

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #19 on: September 21, 2011, 10:21:09 PM »
i just would like to lask about the ab roll engine. What kind of random generator is used for it, and is it tied to something? Like any clock time or something?
Because when my character attacks 4 times a round, and at best only every 8th is above a 10 roll whereas his enemies that attack twice a round, and for them only every fifth is under 15, makes me wonder about the random generator.
It makes me wonder if the server is using a true or a falsified random generator....(err sorry dont know the appropriate translation.)
Not once have i encountered this, and it is looking pretty much like as if these rolls appear to happen at each day at the same time. I will have at one specific time a lot of high rolls, than at another a lot of very low and very bad rolls, as of both acting like a long streak. (talking about minutes!)
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Emomina

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #20 on: September 21, 2011, 10:47:08 PM »
Maybe I have just been lucky. I always found somebody willing to help out.
Nah, you are not lucky. I have seen so many people express doubts about the ability to make friends and groups over the years. The truth is something very different from perception, because if you make an effort to make friends then friends are to be had. I actually think its too easy to make friends most times. There are a lot of very trusting characters that will take you into dungeons or help you move crafting materials or even give you money without much or even any previous roleplay to bring about such charity. Which is fine, but I think all parties would do well to be a lot more trusting ooc and a bit less insta-trusting ic to get the proper feel of welcoming but challenging. We reap what we sew, I have had characters with tons of allies and some that ended up being alone mostly until they were shelved or closured. In all cases I got out of the character equal to how much effort I put into being dynamic with them. Any character played by any player can achieve anything, if one person does not work out as an ally, remember them, and move on to someone else. 

Since I have started many characters, I have noticed I have developed something of a low level routine. Namely, observing all other characters (because they are all new acquaintances to a new player-character) and approaching the ones that seem a good fit from the character's perspective and trying to make friends. Its not easy, just as making new friends in life takes a bit of effort and time to build rapport. The thing is you should expect not all will pan out, but the few that stick can be character-life long allies. A lot of times you will find they are in the same level range the whole way up and as result become adventuring partners or de facto party members. Sometimes they may eventually move apart, or one becomes more ambitious than the other.  All of the multitude of variables that can possibly come into play is the beauty of the game. If you approach it will literally no preconceived notions and only react based on IC, then awesomeness happens. Put all the focus into portraying the character concept that you had when you rolled the character. If they are racist, then show it, if they are arrogant then show etc.  The rest takes care of itself.
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hugolino

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #21 on: September 22, 2011, 03:47:32 AM »
I think you overstate how slow leveling is. I have a character that is not even a year old yet, and is level 12 going on 13.  Mind you, I don't get to spend as much time on the game I was once did so its not even hardly a grinding pace.

It sounded right or even understated to me in the original post. I don't have a single character higher than level 7 and my two highest characters (one level 7 and the other level 6) are more than a year old -- the level 6 is actually three years old. Most of my characters are level 4.

But what I am complaining about is that the risk/reward factor feels incredibly skewed and is honestly extremely underwhelming for me when I tackle something that takes every resource I have and just doesn't net me much in return.

That is my experience and I'm no newcomer. I've played here for several years. I have even suggested ideas -- such as the crafting quests -- that have been implemented in game. I've found that the risk/reward factor doesn't change and I don't expect it ever will. So as of this year I finally have given up on even trying to level, which only brought me frustration. I just try to stay alive, earn money, buy equipment, help newcomers, and roleplay. That is all.

I can't even remember the last time I gained a level on any of my characters. As for DM roleplay, my last experience was getting publicly flogged by the garda because my character -- who is not a native speaker of Common -- asked what a particular word meant. Yeah. What fun.

The truth is something very different from perception, because if you make an effort to make friends then friends are to be had.

I have made some friends. It is impossible not to over the years, even though there are so many friends I've made who gave up on the game for various reasons. You can skim the older posts in these forums and see many names of former players who no longer play. But, despite the friends I still know, the times I play the game are so irregular that I frequently will log in and see no familiar names online. I often will wander and not even run into any other players at all wherever I go, although that is exacerbated by my character's wanderlust and in-game occupation.

I have begun playing on the Baldur's Gate persistent world for NWN2 these past few weeks and I've had a completely different experience thus far despite the similar player population levels and the more frequent server crashes there. Every single time I log in I am quickly brought into roleplay and groups, and I rarely am not in a group there. The place feels so much more alive than PotM, and I'm not referring to DM activity but to player roleplay. I haven't had a single DM event there and yet the quantity of roleplay has been refreshing. If I had to pin it down, it seems that Baldur's Gate isn't so clique-ish as PotM. I am not sure why that is the case, but it could be -- in part -- due to the PotM's clash of different in-game cultures, the deadliness of the world itself, and the lack of incentive to take risks. Or perhaps it quite simply is due to the roleplay-centric nature of PotM that makes it more clique-ish.

EDIT: Just for reference, I play Lord of the Rings Online (roleplaying server) and frequently participate in pick-up groups. I do the same in NWN2 on the Baldur's Gate persistent world (roleplay required). I've done the same in other online games such as Champions Online, City of Heroes, and Dungeons and Dragons Online. The only online multiplayer game I end up soloing heavily in is PotM.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2011, 05:38:42 AM by hugolino »

BalorVale

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #22 on: January 11, 2012, 03:44:37 PM »
Umm just don't think about the leveling, I joined this server with one friend, he made a new character with me and our duo spread chaos the likes were never seen from two level 4's. It was a great learning experience and I learned you had to be more subtle with your character and you can't always take the aggressive road even though sometimes ICly it makes sense to do so. I have been playing for about a month and a half, I have 3 level 7's and a level 8. My level 8 is a mixture of Soloing and ALL RP. While I made my three other level 7's Roles in the party that no matter the level, people just like having around. Find a friend, Recruit a Friend. Its alot easier then you are magicking it up to be.

Not that I disagree completely, I can really see where the "click" mentallity comes off. Sometimes you see 6 or 7 people in a circle around outskirts, it feels intimidating to ask them a question and even more so if its a question about a location or for help. Nobody likes to feel like a noob but your going to have to jam through it.

Another thing that I see wreaking havok is that its very rare to see high level's make another low level PC to party with other low levels, "The high levels are high levels Therefor the low levels are low levels"? Play-A-New-Character Week fixes this to some extent, but have it be bi-annual or Once every 3-4Months. Immerssion is always best when everyone is on equal ground and there isn't the high level leaning on a Pillar with his sunglasses on waiting for trouble, or the terror of a low level Villain they have to quench.

HellsPanda

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #23 on: January 11, 2012, 03:54:59 PM »
Your incorrect Balor, many of our high levels also play low level chars.

Taty

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Re: Levels - difficulty - deserted hot spots
« Reply #24 on: January 11, 2012, 04:10:52 PM »
Your incorrect Balor, many of our high levels also play low level chars.

I cannot think of a single player with a PC over 15th lvl that does not have an alt. The practical reality is if you want action at high lvls there will rarely be times to go to a dungeon that will garner you xp, you need the right player mix around, so unless you are content to rp 90% of the time an alt usually comes into play.