Avoid it's about Lineage 2

[schild]

Several people (possibly more than 7) are playing it that way as well.

[slog]

Haemish, the boredom comment was meant more in relation to the first 20 levels playing as a gimped dwarf, it wasn't meant to refer to the game as a whole, though I admit several people have read it that way.

You played a Dwarf without a guild (or a group of friends) to back you up?  I'm not suprised you had a difficult time.

[Sky]

He told me how he had been level 25 and went out to do some PvP for a couple hours the night before. He lost 5 levels. Ugh. It will take him longer than 2 hours to regain those levels for sure. Losing that amount of time in PvP kept me from buying the release box.

Holy crap I missed that one. That's amazingly dumb! (imo)

The big nail in the coffin of EQ was that I was tired of losing more experience from deaths than I could make up in my paucity of playing time.

Just....losing 5 LEVELS at level 25!?! Holy crap.

I tried with Lin2 because I really wanted to fiddle with the large scale PvP.

Three cheers for Planetside! ;)

You know, I wouldn't mind a deeper game than the two mmogs I subscribe to (CoH and PS). If only someone could make them as fun as those two games instead of some exercise in masochism. But so far the scorecard reads: deep OR fun, and I'm betting on fun, whether it wins or not. At least I had fun while I was playing.

[HaemishM]

Haemish, the boredom comment was meant more in relation to the first 20 levels playing as a gimped dwarf, it wasn't meant to refer to the game as a whole, though I admit several people have read it that way.

As I've said before, if the first 20 levels are fucking boring, that's all I will know, because I will not put up with painful boredom in the HOPE that something somewhere MIGHT be fun.

Shit, I did that enough chasing after women I knew would never even let me cop a feel, much less get bizizzy with. I don't like dating, thus one of the multitude of reasons I'm happy about my upcoming nuptials, and I don't play games that don't even show a little leg without a huge amount of time listening to tirades about how its last boyfriend treated it like shit.

[Soukyan]

I must admit I'm on the same side of the coin as Haemish here. If it isn't fun immediately, it isn't worth my time AND money. My time is money and I value it for that. So when I'm wasting my precious time and money, I better be grinning ear to fucking ear the whole time. But that being said and having played the beta for a bit, I would like to hear player thoughts on what makes Lineage 2 fun. Honestly. Lineage 2 is the first MMOG I did not purchase upon release so I'm trying to decide why I gave it a pass. What do you find most intriguing about it. And I want information based on what you've played thus far, not what is to come. What has been fun about playing a dwarf crafter? Perhaps I missed something or was approaching it all wrong when I tried one as I didn't go very far with it because I felt bored by the mechanics of it. So yeah, I'm interested. I also would like to hear more about the Seige system. I've read bits and pieces here and there and it sounds interesting, but I also read that it won't be patched in until June now? Is that correct or did I misread something? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[slog]

I must admit I'm on the same side of the coin as Haemish here. If it isn't fun immediately, it isn't worth my time AND money. My time is money and I value it for that. So when I'm wasting my precious time and money, I better be grinning ear to fucking ear the whole time. But that being said and having played the beta for a bit, I would like to hear player thoughts on what makes Lineage 2 fun. Honestly. Lineage 2 is the first MMOG I did not purchase upon release so I'm trying to decide why I gave it a pass. What do you find most intriguing about it. And I want information based on what you've played thus far, not what is to come. What has been fun about playing a dwarf crafter? Perhaps I missed something or was approaching it all wrong when I tried one as I didn't go very far with it because I felt bored by the mechanics of it. So yeah, I'm interested. I also would like to hear more about the Seige system. I've read bits and pieces here and there and it sounds interesting, but I also read that it won't be patched in until June now? Is that correct or did I misread something? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

I doubt anyone besides me plays Lineage 2 and reads this website.

[schild]

I doubt anyone besides me plays Lineage 2 and reads this website.

Arthur_Parker plays it and reads the web site, does he count?

[slog]

I doubt anyone besides me plays Lineage 2 and reads this website.

Arthur_Parker plays it and reads the web site, does he count?

cool, he can answer then.

[Monika T'Sarn]

I doubt anyone besides me plays Lineage 2 and reads this website.

I read this website, but  usually don't post, and I'm playing Lineage 2 hardcore at the moment. The fun thing about lineage 2 ?  PVP with consequences.
If xp is to easy to gain, loosing xp when dying does not metter. When equipment is hard to get, loosing it is a big thing. You just don't 'go pvp' for the fun of it - you do sieges, or you fight players about other things that count.  Again, because leveling is slow and items are hard to get, good leveling spots and loot provide things to fight for.
Let me tell you about some events of the last two days in Cruma Tower:
We had camped two rooms, pulling 20+ krators and portas into one group then  killing them with wizard AE's and polearm users. Great xp, fun leveling. On sunday, a group moved into one of the rooms, we tried to convince them to leave, but no luck. We tried to 'encourage' them to leave by fighting their mobs, they bashed a few of us a bit trying to get us to fight, but eventually we just gave up and moved on. XP for the rest of the day wasn't optimal.
On monday, we're back in the same two rooms, another group came, and we just didn't want to take it anymore. The usual story: We fight the same mobs for a minute, one of them goes purple a few times. Eventually we all attack back, and after a bit of fighting three of them are dead, none of us died or turned red, and they leave. We haven't been disturbed in those rooms for the rest of the day.

[Arthur_Parker]

Well I will attempt to answer from my point of view.  L2 is difficult, it's difficult to get started and with exp loss (which I'm not that keen on) and item loss (which I like) it will stay difficult long term.  It's a game in which I get a sense of achievement from increasing in levels, getting new skills and increasing my wealth both in money and items.  

The PVP+ nature of the game makes it unpredictable and that also interests me.  The graphics are very good, the world seems very large at the moment, have just permanently left the Dwarf island, had made trips out from it before but had always returned.  Recently completed the class change quest, which required me to make a trip to the other side of the main island close to Dragon valley, was fun to explore and really brought home the size of the world.

It reminds me very much of early AC Darktide, the struggle to raise enough cash to afford a decent weapon etc, the unexplored areas etc, the randomness of encounters with other players.  The random nature of the loot drops that means virtually every mob you kill has a very small chance of giving a good item, which appeals too.

I'm not currently in a guild and probably won't join one or make one till I'm somewhere in the 35-40 level range.  Guilds are even more time intensive and I just don't have the time at present.  What I’m hoping happens at higher levels is the type of normal daily occurences that Monika has described above, Dwarf island is pretty low population and the battles for resources there have been much more low key.  The Dwarf Coal and Mithril mines are also the largest dungeons I have ever been in, in any game.   Wasn't able to find a indepth L2 review, there's this but again it doesn't go into great detail, I haven't experienced enough of the game to properly review it as yet.  The 1st chronicle with a lot of changes has been put back to June.

[Signe]

Hey! Lookee, there! Something positive came out of this thread, a new sig!

No, I'm just the same old sweet little Sig I ever was.

[Soukyan]

Well I will attempt to answer from my point of view.  L2 is difficult, it's difficult to get started and with exp loss (which I'm not that keen on) and item loss (which I like) it will stay difficult long term.  It's a game in which I get a sense of achievement from increasing in levels, getting new skills and increasing my wealth both in money and items.  

The PVP+ nature of the game makes it unpredictable and that also interests me.  The graphics are very good, the world seems very large at the moment, have just permanently left the Dwarf island, had made trips out from it before but had always returned.  Recently completed the class change quest, which required me to make a trip to the other side of the main island close to Dragon valley, was fun to explore and really brought home the size of the world.

It reminds me very much of early AC Darktide, the struggle to raise enough cash to afford a decent weapon etc, the unexplored areas etc, the randomness of encounters with other players.  The random nature of the loot drops that means virtually every mob you kill has a very small chance of giving a good item, which appeals too.

I'm not currently in a guild and probably won't join one or make one till I'm somewhere in the 35-40 level range.  Guilds are even more time intensive and I just don't have the time at present.  What I?m hoping happens at higher levels is the type of normal daily occurences that Monika has described above, Dwarf island is pretty low population and the battles for resources there have been much more low key.  The Dwarf Coal and Mithril mines are also the largest dungeons I have ever been in, in any game.   Wasn't able to find a indepth L2 review, there's this but again it doesn't go into great detail, I haven't experienced enough of the game to properly review it as yet.  The 1st chronicle with a lot of changes has been put back to June.

So, you mentioned you were nearing level 20, I believe or are past that now. How long would you say, in hours played, did that take? Also, I'm wondering, is XP earned by wandering groups as good as XP earned from sitting static in one spot? I prefer to wander and adventure about, even if the wandering becomes a loop around an area. Is this a feasible way to level at teens and higher levels or is it really only something that occurs in newbie areas where there are large amounts of mobs scattered about? It sounds like a lot of encounters are the old camp static spawn stuff like EQ.

[Arthur_Parker]

Time played till 20 I'm not sure to be honest, maybe 2 hours a day on average for 4 weeks, sometimes didn't get the chance to play for days.  I also tended to stay in one of two areas of the coal mines doing the weaver and bat quests which give 2400 Adena and 60 SP each time you complete each quest.

I have heard it is possible to level a Dwarf to level 20 in 4-5 hours if you have him equiped with the best non-grade equipment.  A Human can be leveled to 20 in about 2 hours with the same items

I generally roam around now exploring and killing, also need to check what type of mobs it makes sense to kill for a lucky drop, the new skills make a big difference as with an overhit skill I get a exp bonus if using it to finish a mob off.  Having a lot of luck with the level 2 spoil skill now which means most mobs give at least one kind of special drop.  I don't really like downtime and therefore tend to go for easier greens and blues which also helps with the money situation as I really need to upgrade my weapon and armour.

[slog]

I doubt anyone besides me plays Lineage 2 and reads this website.

I read this website, but  usually don't post, and I'm playing Lineage 2 hardcore at the moment. The fun thing about lineage 2 ?  PVP with consequences.
If xp is to easy to gain, loosing xp when dying does not metter. When equipment is hard to get, loosing it is a big thing. You just don't 'go pvp' for the fun of it - you do sieges, or you fight players about other things that count.  Again, because leveling is slow and items are hard to get, good leveling spots and loot provide things to fight for.
Let me tell you about some events of the last two days in Cruma Tower:
We had camped two rooms, pulling 20+ krators and portas into one group then  killing them with wizard AE's and polearm users. Great xp, fun leveling. On sunday, a group moved into one of the rooms, we tried to convince them to leave, but no luck. We tried to 'encourage' them to leave by fighting their mobs, they bashed a few of us a bit trying to get us to fight, but eventually we just gave up and moved on. XP for the rest of the day wasn't optimal.
On monday, we're back in the same two rooms, another group came, and we just didn't want to take it anymore. The usual story: We fight the same mobs for a minute, one of them goes purple a few times. Eventually we all attack back, and after a bit of fighting three of them are dead, none of us died or turned red, and they leave. We haven't been disturbed in those rooms for the rest of the day.

Still in PRX?

[Venkman]

Only a few hundred can be in a zone before it will create a copy of itself. Is this why you downgrade the thousands playing to hundreds?

Yes. I believe the zone population cap is 150 with new instances spawning when a population reaches 130? I can't recall that second number, but I think it was in the Bat Country forum here where someone posted the info.

CoH has a lot of players. But like all MMOGs, players won't see all of those other players in one place ever. The promise is way way ahead of technology to support it, but it works because it's believable. Say SWG can support 15,000 accounts per server, with 3,000 online at any given time. I theoretically interact with those 3,000 people on the macro economic level. However, to actively game with those people in either competitive or cooperative combat, that number is severely reduced. To, say, 50.

Planetside and Shadowbane are the only games I've played that seem to provide proof that "massive" matters at all. Shadowbane was a shocker to me too. "Massive" to me is anything more than the 64 player cap a free FPS game can support.

I'm hoping City of Villains will show just how well the CoH engine scales to support realtime combat between 150 participants.

This is kinda what I was getting at. Your point of view is just so far away from those of us that do play that comprehension of the other side's point of view isn't really possible.

Oh, it's certainly possible. That's why places like this exist. L2 simply sounds like Shadowbane with heavier death penalties: 90% of a character's life is spent fighting PvE at the risk of PvP, because even when they achieve PvP viability, their inevitable losses will require new grinding.

Fun for some, and I thank you for answering my earlier question on who that is.

Them not being me is just academic. The genre is way big enough to support many non-interacting playstyles. Someone may come to MMOGs for L2 and leave MMOGs when they quit L2, and probably not have missed anything because nothing else would be as fun to them. Conversely, I'll spend the entire rest of my life not missing L2 because I know that sort of game is not for me.

But it's for someone, and that contributes to bringing more money to the genre, which means more options for all.

[HaemishM]

Let me tell you about some events of the last two days in Cruma Tower:
We had camped two rooms, pulling 20+ krators and portas into one group then  killing them with wizard AE's and polearm users. Great xp, fun leveling. On sunday, a group moved into one of the rooms, we tried to convince them to leave, but no luck. We tried to 'encourage' them to leave by fighting their mobs, they bashed a few of us a bit trying to get us to fight, but eventually we just gave up and moved on. XP for the rest of the day wasn't optimal.
On monday, we're back in the same two rooms, another group came, and we just didn't want to take it anymore. The usual story: We fight the same mobs for a minute, one of them goes purple a few times. Eventually we all attack back, and after a bit of fighting three of them are dead, none of us died or turned red, and they leave. We haven't been disturbed in those rooms for the rest of the day.

Other than the sparse minutes when you actually fought another living person, not one second of that sounds fun to me in the least.

No, I will never understand the hardcore mentality, nor will I want to.

[El Gallo]

I can understand why people like it.  The PvP matters because there is a big bonus for controlling the good levelling areas and a big penalty for not controlling them.  That gives everyone the meaningful PvP with consequences they have been asking for.  The long levelling treadmill creates and reinforces communities, and more importantly greatly increases accountability, since the cost for rerolling is enormous.  Finally the looting and xp loss on PvP death gives us more of the long-desired "PvP with consequences."  

What this thread has taught me is that all the people who have been asking for "meaningful, skill based gameplay" on these boards over the years really just want "EQ with more shiney and button mashing."  I have been saying that for years, and I am glad to see CoH/WoW prove me right =)

[HaemishM]

No, we want gameplay that doesn't punish us for not sitting at the fucking computer for 8 hours at a stretch. We want gameplay that is involving, and doesn't require putting in a motherfucking catheter (sic) so we won't have to take bio breaks away from the precious screen. We want a game that doesn't suck, isn't buggy, and isn't ruled by he who spends the most fucking time.

No PVP game has yet to bring that to us in the MMOG arenea, other than maybe Planetside. And maybe CoH when they add the Villians.

[Venkman]

/agree Haemish

What this thread has taught me is that all the people who have been asking for "meaningful, skill based gameplay" on these boards over the years really just want "EQ with more shiney and button mashing."

Where does skill equal flat out patience? If that's all it was, I'd be selling fully decked out EQ accounts for $2,500 a week and have long since quit my real job.

"Meaningful" means shit. Everyone's game is meaningful to them when they enjoy it. "Skill based"? Since fucking when? I had more abilities as a level 16 Bard in Shadowbane than I'd ever have on any two characters in L2. "Skill" connotes decision making and that connotes having some options at all.

Now, if L2 is just a matter of old-skool UO in that fights are determined by who hit the right button first, then yea, that's skill. But then we're back to patience. The patience needed to accept that you were a pentosecond slower than your opponent and have therefore incurred another hour of treadmilling.

But you know what this thread has taught me? That fanbois are not a dead personality type. That's actually good news. I was afraid there was no way a community like this could ever find a game to enjoy again, partly because the genre developers simply weren't delivering.

So now we have two games with rather strong fan bases (though CoH's is larger). Good. About time we had some diametrically opposing points of view again.

Even if I can't figure out what drugs the other side is on :)

[Soukyan]

Even if I can't figure out what drugs the other side is on :)

If they told you, they'd have to kill you. Trust me on this. A_P has a gun to my head as I type this. ;)

[El Gallo]

I wasn't trying to defend L2 in the second paragraph, that was directed at the raving CoH fanbois here, and the WoW fanbois elsewhere.  I just think it is amusing that the people who have been raging against the machine for years about the radical changes that needed to be made in the genre and flamed me to high heaven when I said that all we needed was "EQ with some tweaks" are now fighting with each other to see who can slober the most over EverHeroCraft.

Hell, I wasn't even really defending L2 in the first one, I was just trying to delve into the mind of the hardcore PvPer and point out why I think some of them might like the game.

[cevik]

I wasn't trying to defend L2 in the second paragraph, that was directed at the raving CoH fanbois here, and the WoW fanbois elsewhere.  I just think it is amusing that the people who have been raging against the machine for years about the radical changes that needed to be made in the genre and flamed me to high heaven when I said that all we needed was "EQ with some tweaks" are now fighting with each other to see who can slober the most over EverHeroCraft.

To be quite honest, I haven't seen a single "CoH fanboi" around these parts, everyone seems to be saying "well, it's fun, it'll eventually be boring, but it's a nice change," hardly fanboi material.  The only fanbois I see are the "U WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND LINEAGE BEACUZ U RN'T UBAR!~!!1!" people..

[slog]

To be quite honest, I haven't seen a single "CoH fanboi" around these parts, everyone seems to be saying "well, it's fun, it'll eventually be boring, but it's a nice change," hardly fanboi material.  The only fanbois I see are the "U WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND LINEAGE BEACUZ U RN'T UBAR!~!!1!" people..

The only point I was ever trying to make was that most people won't like Lineage for the same reasons that have been discussed  and endlessly debated for the past 3 years.

It's a dead horse topic.

[cevik]

The only point I was ever trying to make was that most people won't like Lineage for the same reasons that have been discussed  and endlessly debated for the past 3 years.

It's a dead horse topic.

And the point you made was right, but if one side is going to be pointing the fanboi finger, I definitely don't think it should be the side that is making the "you wouldn't understand man" argument.  From what I've seen, almost everyone here that is playing CoH has conceded that it's no where near the perfect game, we all just have had fun playing it for the last few weeks.  

Much like I had fun playing Grand Theft Auto for awhile, then I grew bored and stopped.  I never said GTA was the end all be all of games, I knew it wasn't.  It wasn't revolutionary, it wasn't the greatest game of all time, it was just fun to mug hookers and run over cops.  In CoH it's fun to gather a group of super heros and arrest some bad guys.

[Monika T'Sarn]

Still in PRX?

Heh, was that a honest mistake or a clever insult ? Long, ugly story behind that ...

I never was in PRX, I'm in Combine (www.the-combine.net). Just played as guest with them ( and CoS) for Shadowbane beta, then fought against them later on treachery. After we left shadowbane, we took a long time to decide on the next thing to play - I was in SWG mostly, others played Final Fantasy, we even returned to DAOC for a bit, but this is the game we play fully now.

To answer some other questions: Leveling while wandering around is possible - there are outside areas where mobs are spread far around, and a single person or duo can walk around a long time killing them.
Leveling does slow down later, but it does not get so exponentially harder as in other games. I am 38 now, and been averaging 10-15% xp per hour for a while.

[Arthur_Parker]

I am 38 now, and been averaging 10-15% xp per hour for a while.

Is soloing still a valid leveling playstyle at that level?  Also you mentioned xp per hour, don't be surprised if Morphiend breaks out in hives and starts jibbering when he sees that.

[Monika T'Sarn]

[

Other than the sparse minutes when you actually fought another living person, not one second of that sounds fun to me in the least.

No, I will never understand the hardcore mentality, nor will I want to.

The fun part of any game is overcoming the obstacles in your way; using the tools you are given and your knowledge about the game in the best possible way.
The obstacles in lineage 2 are harder to overcome then in CoH, and the tools we are given for it are shiny then those in CoH- that does not mean its less fun, it just means it is more difficult. Grouping up to overcome those obstacles together makes it more fun.

There's this sense of wonder I sometimes get when a group works perfectly - I had it in EQ with a good groups, I've had it in shadowbane sometimes, and I can get in lineage2, with the right people. Everybody does their part well, you know what the other people will do without having to say it. Things just work, and mobs are lining up nicely to be killed, and xp and money suddenly flows freely.
At one point when I was tanking, I noticed I stopped looking at my health 2 hours ago, because I totally trusted my healer. This would have been no big thing in a game where death has no meaning, but was wonderfull here.

[Monika T'Sarn]

I am 38 now, and been averaging 10-15% xp per hour for a while.

Is soloing still a valid leveling playstyle at that level?  Also you mentioned xp per hour, don't be surprised if Morphiend breaks out in hives and starts jibbering when he sees that.

It depends on the class. Archers can solo the bestl and get even better xp right now, but will get nerfed soon. Casters can solo well, possibly even get incredible xp with AE pulls, but have lots of downtime.
Tanks can solo low level mobs for low less xp, but more cash. Healers need a group after some point, unless they can find undead for their anti-undead nukes.

[Soukyan]

It depends on the class. Archers can solo the bestl and get even better xp right now, but will get nerfed soon. Casters can solo well, possibly even get incredible xp with AE pulls, but have lots of downtime.
Tanks can solo low level mobs for low less xp, but more cash. Healers need a group after some point, unless they can find undead for their anti-undead nukes.

Ouch. So would you say there are class balance inssues then? I don't like to hear the word "nerf" related to MMOGs, especially not one with a long level grind. I would hate to get an archer to level 38, for example, and then be nerfed and end up needing to reroll or totally change my playstyle. Granted, if the "adjustment" to the class is properly done, then there should not be a problem, but history shows us that nerfs in MMOG tend to end up crippling classes. If anything, they should incrementally beef up the other classes to bring them in line with archers, but that won't happen because developers of level grind MMOGs tend to not like to do anything that might make that grind a slight bit easier. But I am still interested to hear if you see a lot of class balance issues, flavor of the month classes, etc.

[Arthur_Parker]

Interview that mentions it here the Archer nerf was made months ago in Korea.  They basically owned at pvp, I can't find the quote right now but I believe they did state at one point they would prefer to bring other classes upwards rather than nerf the top ones down.

Light armour is currently broken too I believe, all the korean's are wearing heavy even if their class is specialised for evasion (light).

Don't know how true their policy on nerfing is, I just remember reading it, time will tell I guess.

[Soukyan]

Interview that mentions it here the Archer nerf was made months ago in Korea.  They basically owned at pvp, I can't find the quote right now but I believe they did state at one point they would prefer to bring other classes upwards rather than nerf the top ones down.

Light armour is currently broken too I believe, all the korean's are wearing heavy even if their class is specialised for evasion (light).

Don't know how true their policy on nerfing is, I just remember reading it, time will tell I guess.

Thanks for the info, A_P. Methinks I will need to wait a few months to see how things pan out.

[Venkman]

The obstacles in lineage 2 are harder to overcome then in CoH, and the tools we are given for it are shiny then those in CoH- that does not mean its less fun, it just means it is more difficult. Grouping up to overcome those obstacles together makes it more fun.

You're high into the levels of L2 but how high did you seriously get in CoH for that sort of statement? There's complexities in CoH that don't come out during the time we all loved creating new characters and playing them to 8. That's just the fun part. What a character is doesn't come into play until later. Soloing is viable, but grouping is where the game trully is at. Standard MMOG fairre here, not unlike L2.

The goals are different, but the methodologies and mentalities are the same. Sure EQ doesn't have PvP like L2. But EQ's got as many hard-core players as L2 or SB or AC1: Darktide. The tools they have to maintain their hard-coreness are different, but being hard-core at all is just a state of mind.

Maybe Kaid and one other person here has played CoH long enough to know whether CoH rewards hard-core high/end-gaming as it does in other titles. More likely CoH isn't old enough yet though. The level cap is already going to raise above 40 and CoV is going to change the playing field considerably.

It's just that we're comparing "the reason to play" between a game that's been out a week and a game that's been out for six months (state-side notwithstanding). Not that we're not used to that of course :)

[Alluvian]

There's this sense of wonder I sometimes get when a group works perfectly - I had it in EQ with a good groups, I've had it in shadowbane sometimes, and I can get in lineage2, with the right people. Everybody does their part well, you know what the other people will do without having to say it. Things just work, and mobs are lining up nicely to be killed, and xp and money suddenly flows freely.

What you talk about here can happen in any game.  Just last night I was playing CoH with 4 of my long time guildmates from EQ.  One of them was even just fresh out of the tutorial and sidekicked up to play with us.  Anyway, we got in some ugly situations (once you start getting 5+ in instanced missions they start getting nasty), one of them where we had three bosses, about 5 Liutenants (sp) and maybe 20 or so minions (abominations though that hit like a ton of bricks).  We all just did what we knew we should and walked out without a death.  It was REAL close much of the time, but we managed.  Later on we had FOUR bosses at once and even more others and that got a few of us killed.

The difference is I have NO idea how much exp I made from that.  In fact I turned off the exp messages all together.  We were doing that because it was fun not because we would level.  Hell, I don't even know what level my character is right now to tell you the truth.  And I have no clue how much exp I made last night.  I did level at one point and even forgot to visit a trainer on my way to the next mission.

The difference is really the motivation.  If you stopped gaining any exp in lineage, would you still play?

[kaid]

Coh currently as you go up does have some decent incentives. The enemy ai gets much more diverse as you start encountering some very strange things. The missions get really amazing and elaborate with the big cot dungeons having to be seen to be believed.

The combat which is pretty much the focus of the game gets more and more fun as people start getting all their tricks and start fighting some truly odd creatures.

For very tough very fun fights nothing can beat devouring earth dungeons. It takes a while especially at the higher level ones to figure out what tactics to use against them.

The high level hazard zones can be very wild and impressive. I STRONGLY recommend for those who get level 20 something visit dark astoria and try to walk up to the citizens.

The story arcs get harder with ambush teams doing really wild things. I once got ambushed while I was flying around and is one of the few air to air fights I had in beta.


The main thing is find a group of folks you like to hang with as the combat is so much more enjoyable with a stead group where you can count on them knowing their job.

Kaid

[slog]

Still in PRX?

Heh, was that a honest mistake or a clever insult ? Long, ugly story behind that ...

I never was in PRX, I'm in Combine (www.the-combine.net). Just played as guest with them ( and CoS) for Shadowbane beta, then fought against them later on treachery.

Honest mistake.

I was in COS for a build or 2 in SB and I rememberd you.  I moved to DHL towards the latter half of beta.