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I'm thinking of subscribing...
AlysenMinase
Member Posts: 361
I posted a thread on the LFGame forum, asking if I should subscribe to FFXI or AO since they are the only two MMORPG's that caught my interest. I just left WoW after almost a year, and I want an MMO that is more difficult. I just didn't get a feeling of acomplishment from WoW. I downloaded both trials, and I prefer AO's gameplay over FFXI's, but there's one thing that's worrying me. There were lots of players on the starting Island, but once I got to Rome the only place I saw other people were around Mission terminals. If I start right now, can a new player make it to max level? I guess what I'm trying to ask is can this game be soloable, and if not, will there be enough players to find parties? I'm not expecting the game to be soloable to max level like WoW, I wouldn't mind if you get better exp in parties but have the option to solo.
Playing - EVE, Wurm
Retired - Final Fantasy XI, Anarchy Online, Mabinogi
Waiting - ArcheAge, Salem
Comments
Most Omnis hang out in Borealis, not Rome, due to the fact that Rome is rather spread out and Borealis is the most compact/efficient city in the game (and if Rome looks big, try Omni Entertainment...)
As for the soloing aspect, while a skilled player can technically fight their way from 1 to 200, it is exceedingly difficult/tedious and they will need to acquire implants, weapons and armor along the way and that requires interacting with other players, especially tradeskillers.
Best thing to do is find a decent org, one that actually interviews you some and has some code of conduct posted on a website or forums. They can supply teammates, advice, hand-me-down gear, etc...
Missions, the Abandoned Subway, then The Temple of Three WInds (ToTW) are active areas for low level chars. Of course those with expansions often just dive into the Shadowlands and try to power level...
You also ought to roll a neutral char to better be able to explore all the faction cities and get an idea of the political scene.
~\_/~\_O
I've recently started this game as well. Ever since Funcom announced the Froob deal, I've been meaning to give this one a shot, but I've just now gotten around to doing so. That said, I actually like the oldschool feel of the game. It's nice to be able to play an MMO where my hands aren't glued to the keyboard during every fight, and the level of character stat customization is astounding. The graphics aren't all that bad IMO, at least not when you're in the cities. The landscapes themselves are embarassingly bad, almost amaturish, but the cities themselves, particularly Rome, are very well done. I also love all the activity in the skies. Seems like ships randomly fly overhead, which add to the atmopshere.
I could see this game as a nice stopgap until SW:TOR is released, but I've been hearing nothing but nasty things about the community that makes me not even want to play honestly.
AO at the core is a truly amazing game. I kinda want to try it again, but my last experience in June left me with a horrific taste in my mouth called Super-Lag.
If only Funcom had the brains to update it and give it a revamp. I miss the golden days of this MMO.
Playing: EvE, Warhammer free unlimited trial, Allods Online
Played: Anarchy Online, WoW, Warhammer, AoC, Ryzom. Aion
Strongly Recommend: Ryzom, EvE, Allods Online
Same here, the engine is just really showing its age at this point.
If they ever manage to finish converting the game over to the AoC engine I would definitely consider making a comeback, my 220 Fixer and NT are anxiously awaiting the day they can make a return to Rubi Ka.
Same here, the engine is just really showing its age at this point.
If they ever manage to finish converting the game over to the AoC engine I would definitely consider making a comeback, my 220 Fixer and NT are anxiously awaiting the day they can make a return to Rubi Ka.
I don't even care about the graphics, just do not want to deal with the horrific lag. Plus, it would be nice to see some up to date feautures such as a useful & functional mail system to send items to alts, as well as a centralized market/AH system rather than scattered player stores.
Playing: EvE, Warhammer free unlimited trial, Allods Online
Played: Anarchy Online, WoW, Warhammer, AoC, Ryzom. Aion
Strongly Recommend: Ryzom, EvE, Allods Online
Lag and graphics are directly related. The old engine makes your cpu and hard drive do most of the work. New engine will shift most of that to the video card and should just about eliminate the lag.
The game now has a mail system you can use to send credits and items to alts (froobs can receive mail but not send it). They made a conscious decision, though, to not tie it to the GMS system for finding items.
~\_/~\_O
As proof of this, my graphic card just recently burned up. I've been playing AO with the measley 32mb onboard VIA graphics. AO runs perfect with all settings maxed.
Edit: As far as not tying the mail into the GMS, while it was a concious decision on Means part, it was a dumb one. Means specific reason for not tying in the GMS was he didn't want to remove the "social aspect" of buying and selling. Which is funny when you consider how much socializing takes place when buying from a player shop, i.e zilch, nada, zero. Guess I better not type that too loud, though, or Means will remove those next.
I had no trouble going from 1-150 in terms of grouping. I love that you said you watned a harder MMO because you want to feel like you accomplished something, AO is exactly that game, you have to learn it, the world means something because you wont be able to just fall into AO and be uber zombie level 220 in a week, there are alot of in depth things and MANY avenues and cool things to do. You will also find that you'll be constantly learning something almost everytime you logon, even at the 7 month point i was unearthing some new aspect of the game, be it weapons, places, or actual things to do in game.
There are a few things that will be daunting about AO but with a little chatting its easy to figure out.
1) Know that leveling is, for the most part, sectioned off to a few places: 1-24 Subway, 24-60 ToTW(temple of three winds), 60-80/90 Shadowlands Mortiggs or Foremans if you dont have paid account, 90-150 Ely Hecklers. At 150 it opens up a bit, but i did Sector 10 mostly. Thats not to say grouping happens no where else, but for the most part this is where you will see the most player activity. Also there are team missions and AI missions.
2) The most difficult part is twinking your char, and really i wouldnt consider it twinking because its a necessary part of the game, its the difference between you doing loads of damage, or, you being smashed by green level mobs. Read up on implants and how to twink your character, learn which classes buff specific skills/stats and atleast get a basic understanding of what twinking is all about, its a large part of the game.
3) Weapons (if not a MA) will need to be twinked on at higher levels, and that cannot happen unless the above #2 happens. There are quality levels to each weapon, after level 35ish, if you have a same quality level weapon as your character level then chances are you're sucking and in a few levels you'll be dying alot.
4) Most cities at this point are empty, but still you should visit them to see em, some are pretty cool. Most of the player population hang outs are: Rome Green/Blue around the item shops, Borealis, Jobe Platform, ICC, Newland, and in the Alien Sectors.
5) You can buy items in the shops, usually after level 50's they are horrible compared to what you can buy from the GMS(auction house basically). The shop items go up to level 100 i believe, after that all weapons and armor are drops and found in missions. Everyone says use clicksaver but i always used Mish Buddy, google it, it will let you search the mission terminals for specific items, a MUST have at higher levels for finding nanos(spells), armor, and weapons.
That should get you a fairly good head start. Good luck, i hope you enjoy.