My observations after three days

Tombs · July 2004

I started on the KvK server and got to level 10 then moved to Frostfell because I want to interact with other players.

I am now 300 exp from level 15 when my mage will branch off into a healer/mage.

Here are the bad points:

1. low population

2. lag in heavily populated areas due to the graphics

3. large learning curve (downloaded so no manual and I had to learn everything from chatting to selling on the fly)

4. terminology - I seldom understand what is being broadcast, things like "Starting Boots ++6/9++" and I have no idea WTF that means lol.

Some good points:

1. Skill Based Combat (as a Mage even lol)

Having over four years under my belt of auto-attack and taunt with EQ this was a bit of an adjustment. Yesterday I got owned by some Grutt Rathunters basically using auto-attack and a couple nukes ( I was then out of vigor - mana). Well, I spent a little time on the boards and learned that you can't be succesful if you don't use all the tools at yoru command.

I returned today to own those bastages. Fire debuff/nuke from range, auto attack with staff, ice nuke to slow as they get close, inner calm to regen the vigor I lost, ease suffering if necessary to heal myself, big nuke when they are vulnerable, and strafe the entire time to dodge range attacks...

Yes, that is right, you can actually dodge incoming javelins or magic range spells ;p. CoH has great combat but you can't even do that there. LOL, in CoH, the Ice Blast will follow the enemy around a corner and hit them (I guess CoH has only "guided missile" range attacks. I am a big fan of combat in CoH and this combat is better. With the same powers I sucked yesterday and today am 100 times better but still, I would say in comparison, only "OK". Hence my comment of the big learning curve above.

2. Water

The oceans, lakes and streams are by far the coolest design or model of any game I have ever played, Not only that but when youjump off a cliff to swim a channel your character does a cool animation and actually dives...

I was running along a road and there was a spot where it dipped between hills and I was running through knee deep water where the road got washed out, pretty cool...

3. Other neat graphics

Ever been scared of your own shadow? LOL, I have never seen my toons shadow in a game before and thought it was some mob until I realized what it was ::::19:: .

I got hit from afar by a Shear Beetle and turned to find it and I couldn;t see it because the glare from the sun was in my eyes. WTF . That is a pretty neat trick and something you could use in the PvP if I ever get there. The world is interactive and things like being blinded looking directly into the sun when it is just above the hilltop happens...

4. Crafting

As an eq grandmaster smith and baker this game destroys that aspect in comparison. I wanted to make a Human Robe yesterday for my mage. Well, it requires sinew from mobs you kill and silver. I crafted a beggining knife to be able to collect hides, bone, chitin, sinew, etc from mobs I kill but had no idea how to get silver.

I went to Cragstone and managed to research where silver might be found. Using the facilities I made myself a surveying map of some likely spots to mine silver. After crafting a pick to harvest it I found the Cartomancer (npc's who can teleport you to random locations using a map that you make and give them). After about ten minutes of searching around after the port I found the silver vein and was able to collect half of what I needed for the robe. I rinsed and repeated and then had enough and made my robe (she, I was lucky to not fail it ::::28:: ). This is a far cry from filling bags with ore from a vendor and then standing at the forge while the guy behind you cusses you while you go from 10 skill to 110 monotonously crafting banded armor.

I am not even a crafter yet, just at the tip of the proverbial crafting iceberg...

5. Quests and Lore

I am almost 15 now and it has not felt like a level grind. Why? There are so many quests and they give huge experience that I enjoyed the difficulty of accomplishing them. In addition, the world is rich with Lore, enough for even the most avid roleplayer to immerse himself

6. Allegiances

It wasn't long until someone asked me to swear loyalty to his allegiance and, once I did, he took me to two allegiance halls and introduced me to the powers that be, who are always there to buff you and your items as well as to remove the negative effects of dying.

Paying 100P for a Virtue and Spirit of the Wolf...well, not in this game.

It is nice to have people to answer questions and tohelp you when you are stuck on a quest you can't quite complete.

7. Diversity of character

You can spend your points into whatever area you want to and really diversify your character. It is entirely possible to see two mages of the same level with very different capabilities due to how they allocated their exp skill points. You don't have the traditional best "power builds" where everyone of that class does the exact same thing.

Offensive mage and want to become a healer? Sure. Want to be a Warrior-mage? Sure.

8. Travel

It is easy to get around with all the rings and the ability to bind yourself at different lifestones (although not for me, the world is huge and I have no idea how to get to a lot of places...YET).

9. mature players

I have yet to run across any of the L337 d00dz in this game. Most of the people are helpful and very interactive.

10. Vendors

I hate hunting, filling bags and stopping to trek back to the cities to sell. In AC2 you can take unwanted items and convert them into their value in gold. It is a nice feature, although I will admit yesterday I spent an hour looking for vendors to sell to until someone told me... <----dork

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Anyway, some observations after three days and 15 levels. I am enjoying the game so far.

Magister Tombs
15 Human Mage

Mr_Miracle · July 2004

Very nice post

But I dont think AC2 really has that big of a learning curve. The starter quests explain things pretty well imo, even if u dont have a manual. Other than that, I agree with pretty much everything you said.

Tombs · July 2004

For me the learning curve was in:

-realizing there were no vendors to sell to and that I could do it myself (remember no manual)

-learning the commands for chatting in the various channels

-active combat (strafing to avoid range, jump casting, etc.)

-knowing to butcher to improve crafting after killing, etc.

...and I am sure there are more things.

I am now a level 18 Human Mage and have a decision to make as to whether I will go Sorceror or Enchanter (healer just seems like a lot of wasted abilities as I don't use a shield - that seems more for a Paladin type character).

Any thoughts?

I mainly solo and have only been in two fellowships

Skael · July 2004

I'm level 16 and I went Enchantress. They are appreciated for their buffs apparently.

That's another learning curve part.. it's hard to tell what the role of your character will be like at higher levels. From what I have seen on Turbine forums Enchanters are needed for buffs and crowd control. Sorcerers are needed for their debuffs which enable people to fight harder stuff.

Vendor buy us all a decent MMORPG bank guards recdu recsu

Liqz · July 2004

Awesome post. I like to remind all the new players that you do not have to fly-at-it alone. http://www.ac2hq.com is an incredible site that has newbie leveling guides, all the quest walkthroughs broken out according to level (just pick one and look for a fellow), a dynamic map that shows all the portals and where they lead and forums with tons of player info. Another kick ass aspect to Asheron's Call 2 is that Turbine was wise enough to allow people to build 3rd party applications using the Microsoft .NET framework. You can actually download enhanced maps, enhanced radar mods, cool HUD skins and AC2AGENT (INGAME INSTRUCTION MANUAL W/TOPIC SEARCH)! I highly recommend this and it is easy to set up. Simply read the instructions under "3rd Party Apps" on AC2HQ's homepage.

Trust me, when you get the higher levels, you will feel like your efforts are being rewarded. There is so much to do and I trust you will have a blast becoming immersed in it.

Jutul · July 2004

Great post, Tombs! You are mirroring my feelings about the game too.

JennysMind · July 2004

Since I'm a lvl 51 enchanter (respeced from defender), I can tell you what I use an enchanter for. Tatercoat is a skill that debuffs the mob so it can be hit for more damage. Mezzing paralyzes a mob in its tracks. Definitely good for crowd control and when you get to higher levels and have to fight tyrants, you will be glad you have this skill. It works great for crafting on Linvak when you don't want to be bothered when you are mining. There is another skill that stops a mob in its tracks. Very handy when fighting a mob that uses melee. This also makes an enchanter a fairly good solo toon even though it doesn't have good health heals.

The most important skills to train at low levels is Mastery and Grandmastery. For an enchanter, give these skills a higher priority over any offensive skills. Mastery, Grandmastery, and Paragon determine your chance of hitting a mob and evading an attack from a mob. These skills should always be the first to be maxed out. Also there is pass-up skill points. For every 10 levels put into a skill, 1 point will be passed up to the skill above it (when the skill is trained).

Just some friendly advice from a player who has been playing AC2 for awhile.

Slanger · July 2004

Very well thought out post.

I too remember my first few days, and remember having the same noobish times as you.

Then someone told me about www.ac2hq.com and I got the AC2Agent which let me view all of the Quest/Vault guides from the website in game. Plus they have the Enhance Map which changes your difficulty Map to a Portal Map that allows you to view all of the portal routes. Very useful mod IMO. I was never lost again once I downloaded that Enhance Map and AC2 Agent.

I still don't know much of the lingo, but I'm picking it up. Like yesterday I finally did "Boots" which is a LVL 40+ quest called Shades of The Lost Heroes, as a reward you get Boots of Lost Heroes. Hence the nick name.

Currently Playing:
AC2, WW2Online, SWG

Retired:
Everquest, DAoC

Tombs · July 2004

I thought Boots meant the opal boot quest lol...

Well, more uniqueness.

Music.

Holy shit. I walked over to one of the portals and there were three guys making music you can actually hear in game. One had a bass, one a lute, and one some kind of pipe thing. As I was standing there wondering how they did it, one of the guys stopped playing and handed me a guitar-like thing. Before ya know it I had joined in and we were jamming.

Unique and cool LOL.

JennysMind · July 2004

There are something like 15 instruments in the game. They actually had loot that popped up a 3 member NPC jazz band lasting 1 hour. Tumeroks can play many kinds of drums too. Humans and Lugians can't play drums. Another aspect of the game is dancing /dance1-/dance10. Also try the moose dance /moose. The allegiance I'm in went on an event to other allegiance halls with a 10 person just to do something fun and wacky.

XSlackJaWX · July 2004

Makes me very happy to see posts like this from new players just joining Dereth. I'm very glad that others can see all the good things in this game instead of picking out every tiny little thing they don't like.

Glad you're enjoying the game Tombs....Though you should be on Darktide...

Asherons Call 2 - Level 60 - Tonk CB
Proud Member of Half Dozen
Darktide

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My observations after three days

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