Honestly I'm probably here for the old days when Sosaria was a dangerous place filled with thieves and murders... When everything was simple (equipment), yet complex (the world itself)... Now those two roles seem to have switched. We now have complex equipment (crafting, artifacts, farming) and a simple world (99% empty/useless except high end dungeons)... I feel UO has lost much of its glamor... But perhaps that was bound to happen regardless.
High end PvM bores me in virtually any game... Even if I were here for PvM, I'd go insane. It seems many other games (including a few MMORPGs such as Guild Wars) can offer decent AI and missions that make group PvM a tactical game, not "my equipment & template is uber, so I can solo anything in this world with some proper macros."
With that said I have yet to PvP since my return, but that is my end goal. That's why I play online games in the first game; putting my wits against other players. I guess only time will tell me if UO is the place for this, or if I should start a yahoo account and play chess all day.
In that regard, I am somewhat bitter about the game and it's changes - sorry for bringing that here... But on a happy note, UO is still a unique game with a great world. Character customization is great; no cookie cutter warriors, mages, rangers, clerics, etc. You have the opportunity to leave your mark on the world in some way to more extent than in other games... Community is also a large part of the game, and much of the reason why many of us play weather we realize it or not.
In the end, I'm probably here mainly because my computer is headed downhill, and until I can buy a better one, PlanetSide, Team Fortress and other more 'graphic' intense games that I enjoy do not allow me to keep competitive. Interestingly enough, though, I actually love the graphics of UO (2D); simple and clear; I'll always stand firm that graphics do not make a game, and I'll always remember UO for what it once was.
Other than that, I enjoy the Roleplaying, I enjoy the communities, and I enjoy playing with character templates... I enjoy running around the world and seeing old sites, though it's not nearly as enjoyable now that a large part of the population has left (especially Fel where the real adventure is).
I'll be starting a character into Faction fairly soon, which I am excited for... Aside from that, I've started up a character on Siege and am enjoying the work-up from nothing... No buying skills, no rapid gains to 50 skill, no trammel, no insurance - RoT or NoT, it's the way the game was meant to be played.
~ Solikos
