Please help me understand UO

[doximus]

Hey everyone.
I am a vet. MMO player. Started back in 2001 with DAoC, but unfortunately never had a chance to try UO out.
So here i am all happy and peachy got my UO, made a char and logged in. 2 days later im killing this orc looking dudes on noob samurai island.
Since there are no levels, how long does one spose to sit in noob locations?
Havn't seen a single dungeon so far. Nor any other person.
Is there any guide that will tell me where to go to level up?
Cause im used to for instance "at level 10 find a noob dungeon, get a party going, have fun" and at level 15 move down the road to find orange/yellow con mobs and exp.
But in UO i get to a TP and all i see is a bunch of names.
I tp to some location, just to find bunch of cows and bears.
The game is kinda harsh on new players =)
I also tried to make a tamer, but without the knowledge of a mob spawn places, i gave up on that idea. Tried to tame a dog around britania but all i got was "cannot be tamed".
Everything is so confusing.
I simply have no clue what to do or where to go.
Someone point me at the right direction please.

Im currently playing on Atlantica server, nick Senkan

 

[RichDC]

The beauty of UO is that you dont have to be a certain level to go anywhere. There are no noob dungeons per se you can go to anywhere you want and the area is so vast that for a new player you could wander aimlessley for months on end!!!

The bad side is that the player base has significantly reduced, unlike the days of old where you could wander the wilderness and find other adventurers now people tend to stick to spots they hunt in.

You have picked a very populated shard so yuo have that benefit, sounds bad but go to the banks (i would suggest luna, it can be found through any moongate) and ask for help, people should be willing to help.

Worst case scenario and no one is willing to help, switch shards before you invest to much time. I myself play on Great Lakes and when i started (still rolling the young tag) i was given armour, weapons and runes to areas i should hunt in. From there it was a slow proccess hunting in dungeons(despise to start, then shame) until i found a guild (DC*) and from that day on ive never looked back!!

Welcome to UO by the way, dont get frustrated it truly is the best MMORPG out there!!! It will however, take your love and devotion but you will reap the rewards!!

 

[Black Sun]

Let me start by saying this, UO is a tough nut to crack. But once you get yourself in, and start learning the ropes, it's the most fun and rewarding MMO out there.

UO is unique in the aspect that there are no "levels". You can fight whatever you want, whenever you want. How well you do in that fight is based on your current number of points in your chosen skill set. I started a new character out on Atlantic a few months ago. I'm still in New Haven (The newbie area) training on him. Once he get's to a point where I'm comfortable taking on tougher monsters, I'll find myself an easy dungeon for him to play in for awhile. What is your current template? Knowing that would be a big help in giving you some pointers. Here's what my new char on atlantic is planned for:

Fencing 120
Tactics 120
Healing 100
Anatomy 100
Hiding 100
Stealth 100
Lockpicking 100
and any leftover points will be dumped into magic resist most likely.

I planned him out to be a stealth fencer/dungeon picker. When he's fully trained, he'll be able to sneak into a dungeon, and pick the lock on chests there, take the gold, and get back out with little to no combat involved. But should the need arise, he'll be capable of holding his own in a fight.


As for your dog in Britian, well, I have seen a player named "a dog" using the Ninja skill to turn himself into dog form and running around. That might be your untameable dog right there. I'll keep an eye open for you while I'm out and around. My name on Atlantic is Raven Blackmoore. If you see me about, and need a hand, feel free to ask. I don't have much in the way of mateiral goods on that shard yet, but I'll help you out any way I can.


Oh, and welcome to UO.

 

[doximus]

Thanx, i'll try to find that luna place =)
My current build is.
Samurai
Swordsmanship 54.4
Parry 30.1
Tactics 25.5
Bushido 56
Anatomy 42.4
Healing 30.9

43 str.
32 dex.
16 int.

Raising str is a pain.

 

[DevilsOwn]

why not spend some more time in New Haven? build up your skills and, with the abundance of easy escorts, your gold stash also helps to get your timing down with easier monsters, and many times there are people stopping by that town and their only reason for going is to help out new players

 

[Black Sun]

Thanx, i'll try to find that luna place =)
My current build is.
Samurai
Swordsmanship 54.4
Parry 30.1
Tactics 25.5
Bushido 56
Anatomy 42.4
Healing 30.9

43 str.
32 dex.
16 int.

Raising str is a pain.

Your best bet is to say in new haven for a while longer, go to the weapons trainers north east of the bank. Find the instructors for Parry and Tactics. Double clicking on them will give you a quest that will help you raise your skills. After you get the quests head east out into old haven and fight skeletons and zombies for awhile while your skill raises. Make sure you have a shield equipped though, otherwise your parry will gain painfully slow.

 

[Black Sun]

why not spend some more time in New Haven? <snip> and many times there are people stopping by that town and their only reason for going is to help out new players

That's usually what I'm doing there when you find me there on Catskills.

 

[Duskofdead]

Thanx, i'll try to find that luna place =)
My current build is.
Samurai
Swordsmanship 54.4
Parry 30.1
Tactics 25.5
Bushido 56
Anatomy 42.4
Healing 30.9

43 str.
32 dex.
16 int.

Raising str is a pain.

As a newly returned player, let me tell you Luna is a horrible place to find newer/developing characters to party with. It's a great place to see people standing around AFK in ridiculous gear.

I'd recommend hanging around Haven, and particularly working some skills in the "training" area to the east of Haven, where there are undead and such. In those two areas you are most likely to run into other newish players. Give it a little time.

To raise strength, I'd recommend (temporarily) working two skills regardless of your eventual skill choices--- mining and mace fighting. Mining is a bit inconvenient in that you have to actually stand there and do it and not do something else, so it can be an aggravating way to raise strength if you otherwise do not plan to keep mining afterwards. I'd recommend fighting with mace weapons until your strength is where you want it (on my alts I take it all the way past 100) and then set the skill to go down, if you do not wish to remain a mace fighter. It's a great strength raiser and increases frequently.

 

[cheerful]

On Europa we have a couple of guilds that hang around Haven helping new players, look out for such guilds on your shard.

 

[Lady_Emma]

When I purchased my first copy of UO 10+ years ago I also bought a play guidebook.this book explained that this game was a place to live. That is what it is because the goal is not to level up and beat the game but rather to define yourself, your character, form relationships and build the game life you want. You can create a copy of your real life persona or you can be the antithesis. Play in UO is not mindless character building and stuff getting like many of the newer games, though in recent years quests and collecting items has become an option in game play. Rather, in UO you direct your own play and achieve goals set by yourself alone.

You can enjoy a long term, interesting, challenging game if you put the time into understanding game play and building a game life.

Friends are nice but not necessary but veteran players can provide help in game basics but you have to create your own style of play and set your own goals as you go along. I am not on your shard but Luna is a congregating place for many players so if you want help it is a good place to meet people. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Hildebrand]

I spent months in Haven when I first started. There was plenty to do, plus I didn't know how to get off the island haha! Then someone helped me by giving me a runebook to all the banks in Britannia and suggested to me to practice in Britain cemetary and Dungeon Despise (which are good for newbies).
Only later did I finally find that there was a moongate on Haven, lol.

UO is a game of no pressure. Explore. Create. Meet people. Help and be helped. Go anywhere with no limitation. Some people don't even have skills and they play. Again, no pressure to 'GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL'.

I'm on Atlantic too. New Haven is friendly and Luna is kinda nutty, but busy. Britain west bank is always busy (just watch out for when an invasion kicks in). It's good to take those new player quests in New Haven. Want to be a mage? Take the mage quest, resist spells, meditation, focus quests if you're under 50. You get nice rewards and a good feeling of how things work. Then make some good macros depending on your skill. Want to be a bushido warrior? Take those quests and get some blessed rewards too.

And one of the best steps you took, is read Stratics. Great source of info and great people.

 

[debii]

Welcome to UO! do the quest in new haven. talk to people in game you will generally find someone willing to show you their favorite places, advise you on their playstyle, provide you with runes to places and help you with upgrading your armour and weapons, most people are very nice but there are scammers out there. Until you build your skills enough to run fast and protect yourself beware of someone offering to take you to Felucca or thru a red moongate. Have fun and enjoy exploring all the options dont rush, make all your characters so they are old enough to receive special gift items for holidays you can decide on whether to change them later or not.
Playing 9+ years and still having fun!