Should I Return?

[bearsfan]

I don't mean this to be a silly or insulting question. I love UO and miss it very much at times...at least I miss the game I played a few years ago. My question is meant sincerely as a guide to help me decide if it's worth my time/money to return. Is the game still viable?

I likely wouldn't be returning as a hardcore player for some time, if ever...more recreational a few times a week, maybe a half hour at a time. I don't mind to pay...I tried to fill in some of my gaming yerning with some free Facebooks such as Farmville and Kingdoms of Camelot, but they just don't measure up to the game I grew up with in UO.

I'm not even sure what kind of answers I'm looking for here, as I'm sure that everyone still playing adores it as I used to. I guess I really left the last time, as well as the time before that, for primarily monetary reasons. Sometimes $120 a year seems like so much to be "wasting" on a game...at others it seems like nothing at all.

I stopped playing most recently shortly after they started the raids in Cove(and a couple of other cities) where you had some of those tameable black warhorses (not sure of their exact name).

So any feedback anyone can offer as far as how the game has changed in the past two or three years, if you still find the game enjoyable, if the game still seems viable in the sense of that it won't shut down in the near future, etc. Any of that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Former (and perhaps future) Great Lakes player

 

[Schuyler Bain]

Ahoy!

Come on in... the waters fine!

 

[Plant Elemental]

You should try to come back, imho. Activate your old account for a month and give it ago! Just pay the month by month fee until you're hooked again, (happens to all of us), then you can do the 6 month plan.
Don't bother with a 14 day free tial, as there's so much to learn and get re-aquainted with. Plus, your old characters and items are probably still all there on your original account.

I left the game 3 years ago because it wasn't fun for me anymore. Then, that itch to play came calling me again. When I did re-join back in November, things were really different and took a month to catch up on things.

To keep things new and fresh, I decided to start all over. New characters, different shard, new templates, new house, etc. It was time consuming for sure, but I enjoyed it more than I thought.
Doing all of this made me some new friends, met some great people and kept everything from getting boring. Now I'm diving into uncharted waters by starting a vendor house in Tokuno.

There's still a lot i want to get done, such as GMing Fishing and hitting the seas (SoS's and T-Maps give ALOT more gold now than 3 years ago), making a gagoyle and attempting to GM the new Imbuing skill, I still haven't even had the chance to travel to Ter-Mur yet so that's on my list, grow some of the new plants, and that's just off the top of my head.

Everything will seem different this time around. New players, new vendors, new houses, and what you remembered might not be there when you return. it happened to me, which is my reason for starting all over again.

Hope my little story helped in some way. Let me know if you need more info and I'll be glad to help!

 

[Gilmour]

Ultima Online, The Legend of Massively Mutiplayer <- if you are still in doubt after watching the video... probably not

 

[grig_since98]

I came back in November of last year after 6 years of absence or so, and I'm enjoying UO more than I ever did, excepting perhaps the first couple years when it was new, and I was young .

UO definitely seems more accommodating to players without hours per day to play, though that doesn't necessarily mean it is easy. UO is, as it has always been, very much what you make out of it. You can have fun playing the game doing things that require very little effort, or you can do things that require a great deal of practice, skill, and perhaps time to accomplish.

Definitely come back and give it a whirl.

 

[Gilmour]

UO is the greatest game out there, too bad so many depends on graphics that is bordederline impressive and siesure provoking

 

[Capn Kranky]

I am sure to get roasted for this but over the years others have remarked (and I agree with this) that it is the gameplay that makes the game - not the graphics.

IMO, if graphics all spiffy and sooper-dooper are your thing, then UO is not necessarily for you at this time. If you want immersive play with scads of options and abilities then UO is the game for you.

 

[Gilmour]

As i have been quoted for saying repeatedly:

"Rift, WoW Etc etc are good games(<- keyword), but UO is a world"

 

[Krinkle]

You didn't really mention what you liked to do in UO. However, In the last two years Stygian Abyss expansion was added. SA gave us mini-champ spawns that allow us to get some artifacts as well as ingredients for the 'new' Imbuing skill.

High Seas expansion made sailing a much more smoother process as well as adding NPC pirates to kill.

There are many new Peerless bosses to slay.

They redone Fishing and Treasure Hunting.

They added Replica artifacts and Scrolls of Transcendence to Felucca champion spawns, in addition to what they previously gave from completing the spawn.

Factions was givin' some love when they added Faction artifacts so the PVP people didn't have to PVM much.

There are probably more things that were added but you would have to experience it to believe it. UO is still a great was to spend a few hours since you don't have to wait in line for a dungeon or wait until 25 people log on just to complete a 8 hour dungeon.