Consider this a "state of Oceania" report of such haha
I've recently returned to UO about a month ago after a long break and have been surprised at how much has changed and that there is also a decent number of players on Oceania. There's definitely more action now than there was when I left around 4 years ago.
Spawns and PvP are a pretty regular occurrence (VvV has really helped in that department), loot has been completely revamped and improved, players are doing peerless and other stuff like that all the time, the shard has a new EM who is frequently running both PvP and PvM events, and there's just more activity in general. The Devs actually do stuff now which is nice for a change haha.
Old players are returning all the time which is good to see. I've even seen a few new players on young accounts start up and continue playing. EOB is by far the most active guild around at the moment and there are quite a few others such as S^R etc who have regular players.
VvV is a great addition to the game which has replaced the old faction system and creates plenty of PvP action. For those who haven't tried it, it's similar to the old Order vs Chaos system except with a town capture feature and a few other differences. The great thing about it is that it tells you when and where a battle is taking place over guild chat, so you'll always know where the action is. Battles happen all the time with only a 5 minute wait between them. Currently, FFS (aka me lol) dominates the leaderboard, with other guilds also ranking well in both points and kills.
Haven't tried any of the High Seas content yet, as it came out while I was away so I'm not upgraded to it. Thinking of getting it for myself as a xmas prezzie tho so I'll probably check it out soon hehe. I have seen the new ships though and they look brilliant! The old boats sail smoothly now too which looks much better.
As for housing on the shard, there is a good amount of room to find yourself a nice spot on any facet. My castle fell while I was away but luckily I was prepared for it and banked everything in it that I didn't want to lose. Having 30 banks across 5 accounts really came in handy, even tho it's a bit of a nightmare to sort through it all now, but I'm getting there haha. Anyway, I managed to place a new castle right next to where the old one was after scouting a few spots and deciding that I liked it the most. So if you're a returning or new player looking to place a castle or large house there are definitely still spots available.
When I first returned I was a bit skeptical as to if it was worth coming back, but after seeing that the shard is indeed alive and kicking I would definitely recommend it to any former player who is thinking about playing on Oceania again.
I've recently returned to UO about a month ago after a long break and have been surprised at how much has changed and that there is also a decent number of players on Oceania. There's definitely more action now than there was when I left around 4 years ago.
Spawns and PvP are a pretty regular occurrence (VvV has really helped in that department), loot has been completely revamped and improved, players are doing peerless and other stuff like that all the time, the shard has a new EM who is frequently running both PvP and PvM events, and there's just more activity in general. The Devs actually do stuff now which is nice for a change haha.
Old players are returning all the time which is good to see. I've even seen a few new players on young accounts start up and continue playing. EOB is by far the most active guild around at the moment and there are quite a few others such as S^R etc who have regular players.
VvV is a great addition to the game which has replaced the old faction system and creates plenty of PvP action. For those who haven't tried it, it's similar to the old Order vs Chaos system except with a town capture feature and a few other differences. The great thing about it is that it tells you when and where a battle is taking place over guild chat, so you'll always know where the action is. Battles happen all the time with only a 5 minute wait between them. Currently, FFS (aka me lol) dominates the leaderboard, with other guilds also ranking well in both points and kills.
Haven't tried any of the High Seas content yet, as it came out while I was away so I'm not upgraded to it. Thinking of getting it for myself as a xmas prezzie tho so I'll probably check it out soon hehe. I have seen the new ships though and they look brilliant! The old boats sail smoothly now too which looks much better.
As for housing on the shard, there is a good amount of room to find yourself a nice spot on any facet. My castle fell while I was away but luckily I was prepared for it and banked everything in it that I didn't want to lose. Having 30 banks across 5 accounts really came in handy, even tho it's a bit of a nightmare to sort through it all now, but I'm getting there haha. Anyway, I managed to place a new castle right next to where the old one was after scouting a few spots and deciding that I liked it the most. So if you're a returning or new player looking to place a castle or large house there are definitely still spots available.
When I first returned I was a bit skeptical as to if it was worth coming back, but after seeing that the shard is indeed alive and kicking I would definitely recommend it to any former player who is thinking about playing on Oceania again.