New player question: what do I need to buy?

[virtualhabitat]

What do I need to buy to play, I am looking at the EA online store and They have S. Abyss as well as a high seas booster for sale. Do I need both?
anything else?

As an aside I am curious as to any thoughts on how well and quick a new player can get up to speed with the rest of the population.

Thanks.

 

[Theo_GL]

You can actually create an account for free to play for like 15 or 30 days. If you decide you like it - then buy Stygian Abyss to get all the lands. The High Seas unlocks the ability for some of the sea quest stuff.

It is a bit of a hurdle to get up to speed with players as most are vets but if you go to a populated shard (Atlantic, Great Lakes, Pacific etc) then there will be plenty of people willing to help you out. Look for me around GL and I'll make you some decent free armor.

There is a ton to explore in the game if you are new and some shards have guilds for nothing but helping new players.

Welcome!

 

[AtlanteanAngel]

Gold.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Welcome aboard.

Servers ("shards") vary widely in how new player friendly they are.

Equipment used to be left on the ground at the New Haven bank, and sometimes on some shards still is, so you could check there. That's gone down, though, because a new skill named Imbuing gives middle-level items a use.

The most basic thing should be to figure out generally what "class" (our term is "template" because, as you have already discerned, professions or classes in UO are made out of combinations skills), and try to get all necessary skills to GM as fast as possible, and learn the equipment you'll need.

Sometimes finding a guild can help, depending on the server many will like to take on newer players.

-Galen's player

 

[Tinsil]

Gold.

Probably this. Unless you can find someone generous enough to give you a great starter set, it's rough as a noobie.

None of the expansions are needed to start at all. Mondain's Legacy, which you are given for free, is plenty to start.

What shard were you looking at? The shard you play can have a huge impact on your experience with the game. Great Lakes and Atlantic tend to be the highest populated US shards if that's what you're looking for.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Play the free version before you lock in for the pay route. Once that is done, just buy the upgrade modules. By the time you reach the end of your trial period you will know from talking with people in game what you should buy.

PS: Don't buy gold, that will take a lot of the learning away from your start...la

 

[Sevin0oo0]

and if I understand right, you can't go straight from trial to paid acct, you must let the trial run out before it becomes a norm acct?

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

and if I understand right, you can't go straight from trial to paid acct, you must let the trial run out before it becomes a norm acct?

That is a silly setup. What if in the first few hours of play someone wants the full version? *shakes head*...la

 

[UOKaiser]

Like they said go trial route if you like buy Stgian abyss. Don't buy high seas till you feel you want it. If going the PVM or pretty much anything other than PVP then you don't need anything and play the game normaly as it was meant to be played. If going to play UO for PVP then you will need gold,equipment, etc. Pretty much be a advance player as soon as you start your PVP so you don't have to worry about the pvm side of the game..

 

[grig_since98]

Don't assume there aren't other people out there in your shoes. I bet you'd be surprised how many "veteran" players aren't as well set up as you think they are. For instance, I've had an account since March 1998, but the last time I quit I let my house decay, so I lost millions of gold worth of items.

Just find good people to communicate with, enjoy the game, and don't listen to haters.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

Wise words, Grasshopper! <chuckle> I too let my original account die off and then restarted another 5 year hitch that ended just a couple/three months ago.

To the OP: as noted ... find good folks for guidance and hunting, let the naysayers and doom-casters go by the wayside.

 

[seapup]

Yep just do ur 14 day free trial , get a good look at it ,then decide if this is the game for u.
As for expansion, if u r going to do some fishing as a trade then buy that booster pack.
Don't be in a rush to get game and then 1 month later u say screw it. Try it then when u decide at want u want to do and need help just ask around , u will get some help.

 

[Willard]

What they all said.^^^

If you come to Lake Austin or Atlantic, I can help you out with armor and basic necesities, but the growing pains of learning UO are a must if you realy want to understand the game and be one of those that sticks around for the long run.

 

[virtualhabitat]

So, I got the free trial last night and I played several hours today. Finished a couple of the magic quests.
At one point I had resigned myself to life on an island and trying to figure out how to get money to buy a boat so I could leave Haven. hours later I discover the gate...

 

[Tjalle]

So, I got the free trial last night and I played several hours today. Finished a couple of the magic quests.
At one point I had resigned myself to life on an island and trying to figure out how to get money to buy a boat so I could leave Haven. hours later I discover the gate...

Ah, the beauty of being new and discover stuff.

Hope you will enjoy UO...

 

[popps]

Just dropping a reminder about the Trial Version.

If you decide to use a trial version before the full version, please keep in mind that the trial Version is quite more limited that the full version in what you can do and places you can visit.

For example, as far as resources go, with the trial version you can only mine iron ore while the full version has also dull copper, shadow, copper, bronze, golden, agapite, verite and valorite ore (better types of ore that allow you to craft better things).

Same with chopping wood, with the trial version you can only chop regular wood while the full version allows you to also chop ash, bloodwood, frostwood and others.

I think you also cannot visit the Stygian Abyss with the Trial version and unless I recall it wrong you cannot have a house if you are using the trial version.

Some other limitations might also be there though I cannot remember them all.

So, the trial version may be usefull to give you a rough idea about the game but the full version will let you do quite more things.

I hope you will like the game, 13 years of existance and now going towards 14 !!

 

[Beer_Cayse]

What shard (server) did you start on? Haven is good for a start ...

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Ahhh the days of adventure. I remember back to my fist few weeks of UO. I was hooked. Running around the forests getting lost, and then there was the day I found a fel stone on a corpse. ROFL. What a surprise that was.

"HEY!!! What happened to the trees? And why is everyone here so friendly? They keep inviting me into their homes to meet all of their friends. And why did that player walk up next to me and not say anything? HEY!!! Where did all of my gold go?"

LOL, good times indeed...la

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Even better.

"I know what I'll do, I'll kill that goat" Damn I keep missing, wait a second...it's killing me! RUNNNNNNN!!!" ...la

 

[Beer_Cayse]

Goats were your evil encounter? Try a swarm of rabbits in the peasant hut, Hind Valley, Moonglow - 1998 when spawn overland meant something. And no clue about health bar dragging. Hut is guard zone.

You see it coming, right?


... V ....



... V ...


Swing at rabbit ... miss. Hit peasant ... >poof< "Thou shalt regret thine actions, swine!" and ... "OoOOOoo". Find a healer ... right ... what's a healer? Where's town from here? How do I move as a ghost?

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Was fun telling people to kill the townsfolk outside of Delusia for their "rare" clothes, then watch them turn red soon there after, lol...la

 

[virtualhabitat]

What shard (server) did you start on? Haven is good for a start ...

I made a character on Baja. I saw another thread where people from Baja wanted people to play there.
Really, choosing a server seems a bit like playing pin the tail.

I have learned about recalling now. my character is studying inscription. Mainly because I have to mark these runes to get anywhere without walking there. And I cant mark runes unless I have a scroll. The spell doesn't work unless I use a scroll. I was told this is normal and when my magic skill rises I don't need a scroll.

My mage skill just hit 50 when I logged off last night (up all last night playing again), but my inscription skill is almost 70 (yes, I sat there in the mage shop making scrolls for what seemed forever), so I can cast spells I can't really cast.
That last sentence is supposed to make sense.

Highlights from last night:
-I bought a spellbook with all the magic spells
-found out about runes and recalling
-died at the hands of a gang of ettins in a dungeon and lost my horse.

Lessons learned: carry extra black pearl in a firefight