Asheron's Call Goings On

[Telemediocrity]

Yes indeed.

For those who're curious:  Thrown Weapons currently has two real modes of attack (Aside from the old "tossing dinner plates and snowballs" approach which is more for shits and giggles than anything else) - Atlatl, and Spikes.

Atlatl is an equippable weapon that flings atlatl darts, works about like a crossbow with similar damage output.  You can buff it, and the damage output and operating procedure is similar to other ranged attacks.

Spikes are crafted throwing darts that do about 75% of the damage of an atlatl, but have no launcher:  You just equip 'em and toss 'em.  The advantage to spikes is that in exchange for the lowered DoT, you can weild a shield while you throw them.

Thrown Weapons isn't quite as good for damage as bow or XBow, but it does give you some serious versatility and works well on a melee character.  I've trained it on my sword, just searching for a good atlatl to work with.

[Riggswolfe]

It's now fully arrayed, from most skill credit cost (Sword) to least (Dagger and staff), in a coherent order.  The more skill credits it costs, the better it is.  Sword is the best.  Dagger/Staff, when all's said and done, works out to between 66% and 75% of sword's damage.

The thing I remember was swords did more damage on paper, but because of faster attack rates as well as racial bonuses dagger and unarmed users actually totally outdamaged sword users.

[Cheddar]

The thing I remember was swords did more damage on paper, but because of faster attack rates as well as racial bonuses dagger and unarmed users actually totally outdamaged sword users.

This was addressed awhile ago.  More skill points = more damage output.  There are benefits to taking a lesser weapon, as stated by Tele, but Turbine has always impressed me with their balance responses.

[Riggswolfe]

*twitch* I must stay away from AC....

[Telemediocrity]

I logged into AC today, did a couple quests... but the majority of my time ingame today, I spent it in the library.  I had entirely forgotten that the three capital cities had libraries of the lore of their respective cultures.  I read and read and read...  I also found something I had entirely forgotten about: In AC's first year, they ran a fanfiction contest, and the best 9 stories became official lore for sale in the capitol libraries.

Without really intending to, today I logged into a MMO to read books.  Yay for Asheron's Call.

[Cheddar]

Finally got around to really playing AC.  I had a good time; only slowdown was when a HUGE battle started early in the evening near Holt, and was still raging on hours later.  I need to find a decent monarchy to swear into.  I hit level 12- I have higher level characters on the server still but am not comfortable enough to log them in until I relearn more of the game.  Open PvP is pretty rad, even for a little fish! (I made 200k+ just looting random dead people).

The learning curve is pretty steep.  It is hard for me to recommend this game to the people around here, but I will echo Tele's sentiments about it being pretty damn fun!

I began as a swordsman, but will probably switch to a mage noob soon.  The noob armor the give now rocks; if anyone here decides to play on DT make sure and KEEP your armor!

edit for clarity.

[Cheddar]

They are offering $10 for the purchase of the game electronically.  It will be $9.99 until September 30.

http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=476

Wish I had read the August announcements before purchasing the expansion/game!

[hal]

Ok, ok, I give up. I'm in MMORPG withdraw here. So melee is cool? Any starting hints? I swear I played this game 97 years ago on one of my "I'm fed up with EQ fits" . It didnt overly impress me then. But, I'll give it a shot. You guys keep talking Ok? 

[Cheddar]

Ok, ok, I give up. I'm in MMORPG withdraw here. So melee is cool? Any starting hints? I swear I played this game 97 years ago on one of my "I'm fed up with EQ fits" . It didnt overly impress me then. But, I'll give it a shot. You guys keep talking Ok? 

Melee is cool.  Remember a few things, though.

1.  Racial abilities.  Gharundim start with staff, Aluvian with Dagger, and Sho start with Unarmed fighting.
2.  All weapons use strength to calculate damage bonus, EXCEPT Dagger (uses coordination) and UA (uses Strength + UA skill).
3.  Specialize your weapon and melee Defense!  Do not specialize healing. 
4.  Depending on wether you play on Darktide or the non-PvP servers can make a big difference on your template.
5.  Do not turn the noob plate armor back to the NPC, ESPECIALLY on DT.  It is pure LOVE.

[hal]

First, Thanks Ched. You saved me 10 smackers. cheap enough but I ordered the box so I've got a few days. So, reading your post do I want to start Gharundim? Or does it not matter so much as I just need to know how to advance. Can you guys point me at a decent forum? I could amuse myself trying to gleen some info out if possible.

Please add gleen to the spell checker. K by thks

[Cheddar]

First, Thanks Ched. You saved me 10 smackers. cheap enough but I ordered the box so I've got a few days. So, reading your post do I want to start Gharundim? Or does it not matter so much as I just need to know how to advance. Can you guys point me at a decent forum? I could amuse myself trying to gleen some info out if possible.

Please add gleen to the spell checker. K by thks

One thing I forgot to add:  The more skill points invested into a melee skill = more potential damage.

[Telemediocrity]

Well, holy shit.  Asheron's Call is going to be getting pets.  At some point, I'll also add a lot to Cheddar's advice for new players.

[Jayce]

Please add gleen to the spell checker. K by thks

It's probably not in the spell checker because you spelled it wrong.

It's "glean".

[Telemediocrity]

Subtle humor is unfair to some.  It took me a second to get it, but the "k by" part clued me in.

Of course, maybe he really did misspell it and I'm just looking wayyy too hard into that.

Anyhoo, I have a brief respite from work, so some comments:

So, reading your post do I want to start Gharundim? Or does it not matter so much as I just need to know how to advance. Can you guys point me at a decent forum? I could amuse myself trying to gleen some info out if possible.

Start any race you like.  There's really very little difference; they might just provide you with a bit of extra versatility.  Character creation is good, in that it gives you the full formulas and effects of everything you do (In other words, if you start with high strength, you know exactly what skills will be benefitted by that strength and exactly how much).

Random thoughts:  If you're planning to be an archer, you might be best served as an Aluvian, since they get the Dagger skill for free, which uses Coordination just like Bow/XBow.  If you're going to be a mage, you might best like Sho, since they get Unarmed Combat for free, which doesn't base its damage off of Strength or Coordination as other weapons do.  Gharu'ndim have an edge in trading and crafting, since they get a free tinkering skill; Viamontians are sllightly better as vassals since they have naturally specialized Loyalty, meaning that odds are they'll pass up more free XP to their patrons.

Bottom line: All of the above are very minor considerations.  They will not make or break your enjoyment of the game, only serve to broaden you out a little. This is very different from some games where your choice of race is part of maximizing your killing power.  It's only worth caring about if you're the type that naturally wants to micro-analyze all those choices.


Assuming you want to play melee, pick whichever race and skills fit how you imagine your character.  The Gharu'ndim are crafty and mercantile, the Sho are contemplative and zen, the Aluvians are crude and hardy, the Viamont are imperialist conquistador types.  Sword technically has the highest damage output, but every melee skill kills things perfectly well; feel free to go for spear or mace or staff or dagger if they capture your fancy, and don't worry that you'll "fail" at character creation.  If you don't feel like taking magic skills, don't worry about them.  If you feel like exploring, take lockpick; there are locked doors and chests and passageways all over the place.  Sometimes you need a lockpicker to get through them, other times a nearby monster or another branch of the quest might provide you with the key, but lockpicking skill provides a shortcut.  You might find items on monsters which would be useless to most people, but that you can turn into something valuable (a key to a locked treasure chest, for instance) with your lockpicking expertise.

Tradeskills are very different than other games.

Fletching is all about arrow-making of all types.  If you're going for a ranged attack, you want fletching, hopefully sooner rather than later.  It'll make life much much simpler.

Alchemy is useful for a number of different things.  Everything from completing certain quests to crafting health and protection potions/gems for yourself to imbuing fletched arrows with elemental effects.

The tinkering skills are all about improving the items you find in the loot system.

Cooking can make some of the best health/stamina/mana restoration 'foods' around - but it's also got a very large 'fun' component to it.  There are literally hundreds (if not a thousand+) of food items that you can create by combining different ingredients, spices, etcetera.  Cooks can also melt down certain plants you may find growing on the landscape in order to turn them into dyes for coloring armor and other items.

5.  Do not turn the noob plate armor back to the NPC, ESPECIALLY on DT.  It is pure LOVE.

Keep it until you get better stuff, sure.  (One of the first quests you'll find ingame are the Scarlet Red Letters and Lucky Gold Letters that drop off drudges in low level areas - those quests will give you armor upgrades, among other things - you'll also get good armor off of monsters)  But once you get better stuff, turning it back in will get you some salvage that you can use to improve your newer gear.



Oh, and one final note: Do not fear death.  Especially at the low levels, the death penalty is minimal.  Death is not unimportant, but the game is designed such that you can have fun trying things that may fail without worrying too much about the consequences.

Try naked cliff jumping off a gigantic mountain.  See what happens if you run into that castle full of angry skeletons by yourself.  Take a portal to the Direlands, see if you can sneak by the monsters that can stomp you like a bug, and visit some of the high-level towns before your time.

You'll meet some people who will try to herd you into a very narrow playstyle; "At your level, you should be hunting at X.  You should be using gear Y with character template Z.  Here, do what I say and you'll be level 100 in a week."  Ignore those people.

Don't spend any time worrying that you're "playing the game wrong", and you're more likely to get the most out of it. :)

[Cheddar]

Keep it until you get better stuff, sure.  (One of the first quests you'll find ingame are the Scarlet Red Letters and Lucky Gold Letters that drop off drudges in low level areas - those quests will give you armor upgrades, among other things - you'll also get good armor off of monsters)  But once you get better stuff, turning it back in will get you some salvage that you can use to improve your newer gear.

I completely disagree, especially if one starts on DT.  There are times you will get drunk/stoned/tired and end up dying a billion times.  At these times this armor is pure love.  Hell its pure level anyhow.  No drop armor, with decent AL, that has some buffage on it??? 

Its rad.  Keep it.

[Telemediocrity]

Keep it until you get better stuff, sure.  (One of the first quests you'll find ingame are the Scarlet Red Letters and Lucky Gold Letters that drop off drudges in low level areas - those quests will give you armor upgrades, among other things - you'll also get good armor off of monsters)  But once you get better stuff, turning it back in will get you some salvage that you can use to improve your newer gear.

I completely disagree, especially if one starts on DT.  There are times you will get drunk/stoned/tired and end up dying a billion times.  At these times this armor is pure love.  Hell its pure level anyhow.  No drop armor, with decent AL, that has some buffage on it??? 

Its rad.  Keep it.

I'm on DT too.  The Society/Explorer armor is essentially no-drop as well - which is why it makes a bit of a superior replacement for the Pathwarden armor.

I agree, though, the Pathwarden armor is r0x.

[Telemediocrity]

Updates!

Pets were demoed at the Penny Arcade Expo.  They follow you around and do pet-like things.

AC may be seeing its first new minigame in two years or so (currently there's Chess and Fishing) - Dereth Hold 'Em.  It's Andy Caltado's pet project.

Their selling of online CD keys through Direct2Drive is netting them 300 purchases a week.  Not bad considering the game's age.

[Cheddar]

Updates!

Pets were demoed at the Penny Arcade Expo.  They follow you around and do pet-like things.

AC may be seeing its first new minigame in two years or so (currently there's Chess and Fishing) - Dereth Hold 'Em.  It's Andy Caltado's pet project.

Their selling of online CD keys through Direct2Drive is netting them 300 purchases a week.  Not bad considering the game's age.

I am having a blast.  DT is NOT for anyone around here though.

[Telemediocrity]

I'm having withdrawals.  In Korea right now, no laptop.  One more week, and I'll be in Japan, and back on DT.

[Cheddar]

I'm having withdrawals.  In Korea right now, no laptop.  One more week, and I'll be in Japan, and back on DT.

I met a good group of guys.  Basically I play as normal in the evening, and stand around our little place during the day.  Auto Fellow + level 220+ patron = 5+ levels everyday while I am AFK.  Things on DT are a LOT harsher now.  Every major portal is camped (it seems) by looting asshats; all the main dungeons are guarded as well.  Before, as a level 80 something, I was at least able to survive via my wits and skills.  Now I can get away 10% of the time.  Hell, some fuckers chased me for 45 minutes last night.  Thanks to Decal, he always knew which portals I went into and what direction I was travelling. 

Harsh, harsh, harsh existance.  As handy as decal is I strongly believe they need a solution to kill it.

[Telemediocrity]

From what I hear, the new quests that just opened up last night to finally defeat Grael's three aspects are some of the best ever added into the game.  Falling rock traps, puzzles where you have to use your head as well as fight, and apparently Grael sets the whole damn place on fire when you fight him.

I really, REALLY want to get ingame.

Next month, the first pets go into the game.

Also, ninjas.

[Cheddar]

From what I hear, the new quests that just opened up last night to finally defeat Grael's three aspects are some of the best ever added into the game.  Falling rock traps, puzzles where you have to use your head as well as fight, and apparently Grael sets the whole damn place on fire when you fight him.

I really, REALLY want to get ingame.

Next month, the first pets go into the game.

Also, ninjas.

It. Was. Rad.  Course I died, but throughout the entire night (I was playing the entire 6 hours+ of the event) shit happened everywhere.  I gotta say, AC is winning my heart over. 

[Horik]

That right there is enough to get me to re-subscribe.

[Rasix]

Hey, getting around bans.  Good show.

[Horik]

Huh?

[Rasix]

"Yay" shouldn't exist.

[Sky]

I was in an AD&D tournament once back in the 80s, the singer from my band was also in. He played a thief and I played a mage/thief. We basically skulked around avoiding combat and stealing treasure, 'forgetting' to warn the others of traps, etc. The DM sent magic invisible ninjas against us, which got him disqualified from the tournament. Good times.

[Nija]

I was in an AD&D tournament once back in the 80s, the singer from my band was also in. He played a thief and I played a mage/thief. We basically skulked around avoiding combat and stealing treasure, 'forgetting' to warn the others of traps, etc. The DM sent magic invisible ninjas against us, which got him disqualified from the tournament. Good times.

Nerdiest post I've ever seen.

Unless your name is Alex and the singer's name is Geddy.

[Sky]

We formed our band as an art project. 

[Calantus]

What exactly is the objective in an AD&D tournament? o_O

[Mi_Tes]

I cancelled my subscription to AC1 a while back, but still keep hoping something draws me back in.  The reason I left was that the server seemed empty.  Have the numbers changed much in the last 6 months to year?

[Cheddar]

I cancelled my subscription to AC1 a while back, but still keep hoping something draws me back in.  The reason I left was that the server seemed empty.  Have the numbers changed much in the last 6 months to year?

Darktide ALWAYS has something going on.  Key is to get in with a good clan that does stuff.  Pocket communities and all that.

[Mi_Tes]

I cancelled my subscription to AC1 a while back, but still keep hoping something draws me back in.  The reason I left was that the server seemed empty.  Have the numbers changed much in the last 6 months to year?

Darktide ALWAYS has something going on.  Key is to get in with a good clan that does stuff.  Pocket communities and all that.

I usually don't PVP, any news on the other servers (especially Solclaim)?

[Cheddar]

I usually don't PVP, any news on the other servers (especially Solclaim)?

From what I understand all the servers have had increased populations in the last 6 months.  Main issue is that everyone will be 100+, thus you will need to invest some time or find a decent sized monarchy to get good interaction. 

FYI, getting 100+ is pretty damn easy on non-PvP servers these days.  I have considered moving to a non-PvP server; I love AC but am having issues finding people to play with on DT.  Everyone is on the treadmill so they can compete with higher level clans :(

[Cheddar]

Know what?  Fuck it, I am gonna roll a toon on Solclaim.