(Question) What does UO offer a newb-like-dude?

[rogumpogum]

I played Chessie and Catskills around the time of Age of Shadows, or before. I didn't play long, but I enjoyed the time I had. Life tends to make things like games fall to the wayside and now I'm wondering if the game still offers hours of mindless entertainment.

I usually played in character, silly little toons that didn't do much of anything but build stuff, cook, and fish and complain all day about it. I didn't hang out with any guilds or "roleplayers" because it seemed a little too rigid and intense for me.

I logged in on a trial account and, well, I didn't see many people at all in the old places (Yew, Skara, Britain).

Heck, landscapes have changed, old houses I remembered are gone, etc.

Anyways... Can ya'll tell me what's what and why you still play and what keeps you interested?

I can't do the Warcraft, LOTR, Starcraft, Next Big Thing. I like casual gaming, you know?

Anyway, uh, DISCUSS!

 

[ziggy29]

I think the most important thing is to find a good guild with good people who will help your in-game characters develop and grow over time. I've been playing about a year and I think I would have been lost and floundering around had I not found a good group of folks who took me under their wing.

While you're in a trial account, you can go from shard to shard and from place to place and perhaps find the right place.

And on most shards, the center of commerce tends to be at Luna these days. If you haven't checked out Luna, look there in additional to the usual "old" places where players congregated.

 

[Brytt]

Baja has a lot of casual "sandbox" players. We go out to dungeons just enough to get the materials for our next crafting project. We spend way too much time on our customized plots and... just when they're finished... we wipe it all and start all over again.

I took a break after Age of Shadows and came back just before Stygian Abyss. I'm not sure what I am anymore... I used to be a rigid roleplayer but I've softened up over the years. I don't have as much time as I used to and if you're too strict of a roleplayer, it's hard to connect with folks. So I'm somewhere in between. I'm enjoying a lot of the new systems: imbuing is a great long-term project, the new recipes for existing skills are a lot of fun, or there are plenty of other skills you can work up to a fun level with a casual amount of time investment.

If you'd like a Baja tour sometime, drop me a line at 29827012 on ICQ or PM here, and we'll introduce you to some folks.

Welcome back and have fun!

 

[rogumpogum]

Thanks guys. I logged in for a few minutes tonight, and the lower population doesn't bother me (I KNOW it's Christmas, but a few years back that didn't matter), in fact it's oddly comforting to know that those who are playing right now are likely sticking around because it's enjoyable for them and has always been.

What IS shocking is how the game has changed and there is simply SO much new and different that I found my fuses shorting out and my head spinning. It might take a LONG time for me to get around and relearn a game I thought I knew and was prepared for.