A topic came up in Uhall a few ago about how hard/expensive it is for players to take part in any new content. So in the interest of testing I started a character on Origin to see how long before I reaped the high value new rewards. If you've not played Origin before it's laggy, under populated and doesn't have much in the way of vendors though coming from Atlantic and Europa maybe I've just been spoiled.
To preface I did already have a couple of hodgepodge characters there from having a peek at past events, no one developed, however, between them and with the new shared bank I should point out that I did have more than 25k to start with (not a lot more).
I started with 60 Str, 20 Dex, 10 Int, because Int raises faster than the other two when not at the skill cap. For skills I went with 50 Throwing and 50 Begging (to mess around with trick or treating) which although I dropped does show I didn't spend every minute training or grinding up a character. I went with Throwing because you can kill things with no armor or equipment or ammo.
I started in Haven and bought Tactics, Anatomy, Bushido and Chivalry to 40 for 400 gp each, also bought a Bushido book and a Chivalry book but didn't tithe anything. I then did the advanced gains quests taking most of those skills to 50, at the same time I allowed Focus, Med and Resist to raise. Why? Because the quicker you get to the skill cap the easier it is to do your stats. Fighting Spectral Binders and Zombies I soon had another 3k gold which covered what I had spent so far, I also had one piece of looted jewelry which gave me some LMC to help with Bushido gains. (I didn't work Chivalry at all).
I decided to stick my character in VvV for some free artifacts. My Int reached 70 just doing the new player quests and then needed turning down to go into Dex. I took a run over to the Turtle Champ Spawn and one was just being killed I didn't get rights but did get 40k off the floor. I then went and purchased a small boat and sailed to Underworld. This is a cost I could have avoided if I had thought to run round Luna first as there was a Corrupted Crystal Portal on a doorstep. But well boats are blessed and useful to have anyway.
I went in and set myself up on a ledge with the Acid Slugs and made a macro to attack the nearest, prime Lightning Strike and use Anatomy all at the same time. Bear in mind I'm still using the Boomerang I started with. Maybe 1-3 hours of actual training like this and Throwing, Tactics, Anatomy, and Bushido were all in the 70's, Anatomy in the 80's due to double gains from hitting and direct use. As I was using LS Med and Focus also raised and by day 2 I was at the skill cap, and Str/Dex maxed out.
Visiting the Turtle Champ another 2-3 times in the first two days acquired me with more gold, and armor and the first drop a level 1 book for Wrestling. I purchased an npc Soul Glaive for range and base damage and took the Spellweaving, Dreadhorn and Shimmering quests while in Heartwood too just for access and good training spots.
Day 3 I worked skills a little more everything in the 80's and considered Necro/SS although without any LRC or a crafter have held off on this so far. The character can now easily take part in all levels of the Champ and got the second drop a level 1 Necro book.
The character has died but as all the gear is expendable I haven't bothered to insure any of it, none of it has been lost.
So all in all it's not difficult at all to start getting rewards as my 2-3 day old character shows. Admittedly I know more than a completely new player, but these things are all available and every aspect of the game documented in enough paces that if you wanted to get into it quickly you could look it up.
To preface I did already have a couple of hodgepodge characters there from having a peek at past events, no one developed, however, between them and with the new shared bank I should point out that I did have more than 25k to start with (not a lot more).
I started with 60 Str, 20 Dex, 10 Int, because Int raises faster than the other two when not at the skill cap. For skills I went with 50 Throwing and 50 Begging (to mess around with trick or treating) which although I dropped does show I didn't spend every minute training or grinding up a character. I went with Throwing because you can kill things with no armor or equipment or ammo.
I started in Haven and bought Tactics, Anatomy, Bushido and Chivalry to 40 for 400 gp each, also bought a Bushido book and a Chivalry book but didn't tithe anything. I then did the advanced gains quests taking most of those skills to 50, at the same time I allowed Focus, Med and Resist to raise. Why? Because the quicker you get to the skill cap the easier it is to do your stats. Fighting Spectral Binders and Zombies I soon had another 3k gold which covered what I had spent so far, I also had one piece of looted jewelry which gave me some LMC to help with Bushido gains. (I didn't work Chivalry at all).
I decided to stick my character in VvV for some free artifacts. My Int reached 70 just doing the new player quests and then needed turning down to go into Dex. I took a run over to the Turtle Champ Spawn and one was just being killed I didn't get rights but did get 40k off the floor. I then went and purchased a small boat and sailed to Underworld. This is a cost I could have avoided if I had thought to run round Luna first as there was a Corrupted Crystal Portal on a doorstep. But well boats are blessed and useful to have anyway.
I went in and set myself up on a ledge with the Acid Slugs and made a macro to attack the nearest, prime Lightning Strike and use Anatomy all at the same time. Bear in mind I'm still using the Boomerang I started with. Maybe 1-3 hours of actual training like this and Throwing, Tactics, Anatomy, and Bushido were all in the 70's, Anatomy in the 80's due to double gains from hitting and direct use. As I was using LS Med and Focus also raised and by day 2 I was at the skill cap, and Str/Dex maxed out.
Visiting the Turtle Champ another 2-3 times in the first two days acquired me with more gold, and armor and the first drop a level 1 book for Wrestling. I purchased an npc Soul Glaive for range and base damage and took the Spellweaving, Dreadhorn and Shimmering quests while in Heartwood too just for access and good training spots.
Day 3 I worked skills a little more everything in the 80's and considered Necro/SS although without any LRC or a crafter have held off on this so far. The character can now easily take part in all levels of the Champ and got the second drop a level 1 Necro book.
The character has died but as all the gear is expendable I haven't bothered to insure any of it, none of it has been lost.
So all in all it's not difficult at all to start getting rewards as my 2-3 day old character shows. Admittedly I know more than a completely new player, but these things are all available and every aspect of the game documented in enough paces that if you wanted to get into it quickly you could look it up.
