Shards...Which to choose?

[Cymidei]

Ok I may be moving..which shard is fun to play on, has good guilds, and has a decent player base? I know Atlantic is big but I prefer west coast due to ping. Example, my ping to Atlantic is in the 70's but to the west coast servers it's in the 30's.

 

[OREOGL]

I don't know about EC but I know CC had the population and connectivity buttons at the bottom of the shard log in page that would sort shards according to each. (Or did, come to think about it I haven't looked in a great deal of time).

This may help influence your decision.

 

[Martell]

Ok I may be moving..which shard is fun to play on, has good guilds, and has a decent player base? I know Atlantic is big but I prefer west coast due to ping. Example, my ping to Atlantic is in the 70's but to the west coast servers it's in the 30's.

ummmm the difference between 30 and 70 ping is practically non existent, you'll only notice it when interrupting low level spells in mage duels...

As for west coast shards, they're all pretty much the same...dead. Take your pick, you'll be playing with the same 10-20 people no matter which shard you choose.

Atlantic and Lake Superior (if you pvp) are the only ones that can be said to have an even decent player base.

 

[Cymidei]

Atlantic is so crowded though, I would be living out of my bank box. Might as well though. House fell down, lost everything

 

[Lorddog]

me me me ... choose me

 

[Lord Frodo]

Ok I may be moving..which shard is fun to play on, has good guilds, and has a decent player base? I know Atlantic is big but I prefer west coast due to ping. Example, my ping to Atlantic is in the 70's but to the west coast servers it's in the 30's.

Pac on the West Coast is probably the most populated and Origin the least. Do not let anyone BS you that ping does not matter because during events or fights your bing will climb and make playing next to impossible. Make Chars on all the West coast shards and play each shard about 2 wks each and then make up your own mind as to which shard is best suited for your play style. Remember to use chat chan when doing this and let people know you are there and why you are there.

 

[The Slug]

Ok I may be moving..which shard is fun to play on, has good guilds, and has a decent player base? I know Atlantic is big but I prefer west coast due to ping. Example, my ping to Atlantic is in the 70's but to the west coast servers it's in the 30's.

Baja has always been and always will be my home, but if you do decide to move to ATL, look up any GHT member. We dont have much but can help you get restarted and friend you to a home

 

[TimberWolf]

You can place houses in Atlantic. We placed a decent size house across the bridge in luna on an empty spot. It wasnt max size but it is a place to start rebuilding from.

 

[Fridgster]

Napa is a nice shard. People always looking to help folks out. As far as the dead shard comments, well the reports of our demise is greatly exaggerated


oh and there are open spots for at least keeps

 

[Scribbles]

you can find max storage on atl pretty easy. With that said you can place a castle on dead shards pretty easy.

If you like to play by yourself a dead shard is the way to go. if you like a high population ATL is pretty much where its at. medium pops would be great lakes or lake superior.

 

[Gem]

Great Lakes baby!!!!

 

[Fridgster]

you can find max storage on atl pretty easy. With that said you can place a castle on dead shards pretty easy.

If you like to play by yourself a dead shard is the way to go. if you like a high population ATL is pretty much where its at. medium pops would be great lakes or lake superior.

Dead is such a negative word. Besides, I think some believe that because someone isn't talking about anothers' mother in chat that there must be no one online.

 

[Scribbles]

Dead is such a negative word. Besides, I think some believe that because someone isn't talking about anothers' mother in chat that there must be no one online.

haha sorry let me a little more pc... Population challenged shards...

 

[Cymidei]

Population challenged, a term that would apply to Baja these days!

I started playing on Atlantic back in the day. I even played on Yamato for a year before I learned about that little thing called ping. Then I moved to moved to Baja and spent about a decade there. Ping is very important cause with a screaming fast ping of 20-36 I can do anything I want. Over 75 ping is getting too slow to kill mongbats. 200 and up is like being knee deep in chocolate pudding.. To play on Atlantic or Europa I would probably have to buy WTFast membership again. When I was playing MMOs with a bunch of crazy Swedes, WTFast was the only thing that helped....before I was at a ping of 400+ after 68.
Shouldn't have to buy a membership on 3rd party network though to play on a populated shard.

I think I will visit all the shards and see what they are like and who is still playing.

 

[FrejaSP]

You could try something different, make a char on Siege

 

[Zuckuss]

Catskills

 

[THP]

u can place a logcabin / villa sized house quite easily on atlantic

Alas and some of the other quieter west coast shards there is empty spaces so u can place a castle too..

 

[Jirel of Joiry]

Well I play Legends, I don't recommend it anymore as I am looking to leave myself. The shard is pretty much ran by two guilds TMC and UF.
TMC are generally nice and helpful. Their guild leader Lady Damia and I are old friends. The other guild is UF......well as my Granny would say if you can't say anything nice then don't say nuttin.

There is another problem too, one I won't bring up because it will incite WW III, IV, and V!

It use to be the awesomest shard, but now it just needs an enema.

 

[Gameboy]

Well I play Legends, I don't recommend it anymore as I am looking to leave myself. The shard is pretty much ran by two guilds TMC and UF.
TMC are generally nice and helpful. Their guild leader Lady Damia and I are old friends. The other guild is UF......well as my Granny would say if you can't say anything nice then don't say nuttin.

There is another problem too, one I won't bring up because it will incite WW III, IV, and V!

It use to be the awesomest shard, but now it just needs an enema.

*tries to look at the one other thing"

 

[Giggles]

Really depends on what you want to do honestly. I can really only vouch for the fel life/guilds on west coast servers.
If you have no interest in pvp, Pacific would be the place to go. A few large guilds, and some small ones, with a very active and vocal community. Some pvp happens there also when people go run spawns, but not enough to really count on it.

 

[Lord Frodo]

Population challenged, a term that would apply to Baja these days!

I started playing on Atlantic back in the day. I even played on Yamato for a year before I learned about that little thing called ping. Then I moved to moved to Baja and spent about a decade there. Ping is very important cause with a screaming fast ping of 20-36 I can do anything I want. Over 75 ping is getting too slow to kill mongbats. 200 and up is like being knee deep in chocolate pudding.. To play on Atlantic or Europa I would probably have to buy WTFast membership again. When I was playing MMOs with a bunch of crazy Swedes, WTFast was the only thing that helped....before I was at a ping of 400+ after 68.
Shouldn't have to buy a membership on 3rd party network though to play on a populated shard.

I think I will visit all the shards and see what they are like and who is still playing.

Baja is a lot less "population challenged" than you might think and IMHO what we may lack in Alt size population we make up for in community. Are your old chars still on Baja?

 

[Deaol]

I would honestly just start playing on Atlantic and see how you like it. There are many max storage plots open to be placed throughout the facets, just have to hunt a little. Worst thing is if you don't like it choose a new shard and test the waters. I would not make any drastic moves until you've felt each shard out a little.

 

[Angel of Sonoma]

u can place a logcabin / villa sized house quite easily on atlantic

Alas and some of the other quieter west coast shards there is empty spaces so u can place a castle too..

there are NO west coast shards with readily available castle spots. only oceania and a couple of asian shards. on the west coast shards, the best you'll be able to do is find spots for a keep.

 

[Kirthag]

Come to Pacific. We's gots fun stuffs... I ping from Hawaii without issue.
Community is good - some active guilds that do champs. Random ppl go do Turtle. Fel isn't all that deserted (if you know where to look).
I might know someone who will sell you a castle - in Fel.

I moved to Pac from Napa. As a role player, population is kinda important - but I find myself not really RPing anymore. *sigh*

 

[TimberWolf]

I hear legend is getting better.....higher quality of people

 

[Jaden Rain]

I would think there are down falls to every shard, I have recently started playing UO again and my characters are for the most part all on Catskills, and most people there are very friendly and more then willing to help people new to the server,,,,,,,I do have a char or two on Atlantic and tend to wander over there from time to time .......

 

[BeaIank]

To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi:
Legends is a more elegant shard from a more civilized time.

But our populations is pretty low, so it might not be the droids you are looking for.
I have heard Atlantic is quite the wretched hive of scum and villainy, with lots of players.

Sorry, I just saw the new Star Wars and can't help but geek out.

 

[MalagAste]

Great Lakes is nice and friendly for the most part though it's not without it's own sleaze balls. But most of us know who the scammers and cheats are... and we avoid them. There are many very friendly and helpful guilds some pretty large... GTO, GoF... etc... some smaller groups that are pretty active. There is an active RP community... the Governors are fairly active and often sponsor events. We also have a "Live" Auction house that has run for MANY years.

 

[THP]

there are NO west coast shards with readily available castle spots. only oceania and a couple of asian shards. on the west coast shards, the best you'll be able to do is find spots for a keep.

erm well last time i looked there was at least 10 spots free on LA ...And deffo odd spots on legends and origin...On oceania and 2-3 of the asian shards there was over 30/40 free spots to choose from

BUT wait ....thinking about it.....They may have been taken up with the free TOL expansion were folks reopened accounts to get the free expansion and thus probably placed a castle or keep while they were at it for 90 days free use...other than that ...if the spots are now taken which like above ...they probably are ...prices are pretty cheap...u maybe able to prise on of someone who owns 5 castles ....but better still wait for the 90 days after the TOL deadline to be up and quite a few will fall in that week or so

BUT DEFINATE Most west coast shards have got spaces for large keeps and a very good choice too

 

[Hannes Erich]

Slightly off-topic, I just realized something funny (or at least dumb). Somewhere in the back of my mind, I still consider Lake Austin and Origin (and Legends too) to be "new shards". I should probably let go of that notion since they're all over a decade old. I started playing in 1997 on Great Lakes (I'm still there), so these shards all came out years after I started playing. I remember seeing some long-time players move to Lake Austin and Origin and thinking, why would they uproot like that after everything they've invested? I also remember making fun of Legends players because AOL.

I've sometimes wondered about Lake Austin. It would have been real useful back in 97-2000, when I was playing on 33.6k/56k modems, since I live near by in Dallas. If you lived in CST back then, there was always a bit of debate over what coast you should be shard-shopping on. I'm on FIOS now so it doesn't make a difference (I would imagine).

I started to move to Atlantic several years ago, thinking I wanted to see a shard that reminded me of UO's heydays. That lasted about a week. Then I realized I couldn't care less about population anymore. Anyone who does is probably playing the wrong game in 2016. Besides, I had my season. And Great Lakes is the second-most populous shard anyway.

I snagged a bunch of Atlantic's rares on my way back though.

 

[THP]

there are NO west coast shards with readily available castle spots. only oceania and a couple of asian shards. on the west coast shards, the best you'll be able to do is find spots for a keep.

HEY Just ran Baja for 20 minutes because i got bored ....and the Baja as both trammel and felucca castle spots free... that was just a quick look as this post really intrigued me...just saying... yes ! yes ! u can place a free castle on Baja for one starter.... i will keep you lot posted next time i get bored!!!! and i will go have a quick look on another quiet shard for a castle free to place update....thanks!!

 

[MalagAste]

Balhae is probably the most empty shard I've found.

 

[old gypsy]

Maybe make a test character on each shard and connect with the most active folks there? I'm biased, of course, but although our population is certainly not what it once was, it's the people on Chesapeake that have kept me in UO.

 

[MalagAste]

Personally I could never really live anywhere but GLs... It's my home and I love it.

 

[Gameboy]

Personally I could never really live anywhere but GLs... It's my home and I love it.

I feel this way about Atlantic.The only reason I even ever started here was I given a 7x7 home in Fel. UWF has really helped me come out of my box in game. I do things that I said I would not do, like the roof and some guild hunts.

 

[Jynxx]

I moved to Pac from Napa. As a role player, population is kinda important - but I find myself not really RPing anymore. *sigh*

Ahhh, another Napa traitor. Seems to be quite a few on Stratics.

You know who you all are.


SHAME!....

 

[Greer]

Siege is fun.

 

[Captn Norrington]

Balhae is probably the most empty shard I've found.

I own one of the Abyss houses there.... your completely right. It's rare for me to see even one person ( sometimes even during Balhae's prime time).

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

*cough*Siege Perilous*cough*...la

 

[Zeke]

Rico, you should try some Ricola for that cough...al

 

[Ansel]

I'm mostly on Atlantic but I can't claim to be fond of Atlantic. It's as Gameboy said, the specific guild we belong to there that practices a very old world ethos of service first. The top players are also the ones donating the most power scrolls, primers, blues, pinks, and suits for new players.

This, despite the fact that 90% of these new recruits are not going to stick with the game. Most are returning, not new. They're seeking to regain a feeling that cannot be regained once it's been lost.

Ping time for me from Munich is around 130 but I'm going from the backbone of the Internet in Europe to the east coast of the United States. Thus I'm dealing with very little U.S. Internet infrastructure. It's not the ping that's important, it's the variance. Sadly the States lags (no pun intended) behind many countries in the west and elsewhere in Internet speed and consistency. But for PvP I play Eve Online. It's a matter of personal taste, nothing more. Thus I might very well be S.O.L. were I to engage in mage duels in UO with my connection

There remain wonderful, warm, friendly player communities on several shards still. Adding to those already mentioned, Chesapeake comes to mind. You can find delightful people there at nearly all hours. Like many shards they have adapted to lower player numbers through the use of alliances. I like many people on Europa as well. But, again a matter of personal taste, I won't play any online game anymore unless I'm on a voice server with my comrades.

 

[FrejaSP]

Do like me, be an archer, it is possible to PvP with 100-130 ping as long you do not get packed loss.

This, despite the fact that 90% of these new recruits are not going to stick with the game. Most are returning, not new. They're seeking to regain a feeling that cannot be regained once it's been lost.

I know that feeling, had so many new and returning in the NEW guild on Siege. It's so hard to make them stay, when they don't understand, UO is not the same gane as it was 1997-2000. They do not stay long enough to give it a chance
I think the worse thing on Siege is, we are so few now and there is not much PvP around

 

[Ansel]

Do like me, be an archer, it is possible to PvP with 100-130 ping as long you do not get packed loss.

I know that feeling, had so many new and returning in the NEW guild on Siege. It's so hard to make them stay, when they don't understand, UO is not the same gane as it was 1997-2000. They do not stay long enough to give it a chance
I think the worse thing on Siege is, we are so few now and there is not much PvP around

And I sympathize, Freja. Fact is they're not going to get that 20th Century online game experience again in ANY online game. Lots of people see Ultima Online as first - and for good reason - but in many ways it was the last of the first generation online games.

The medium was originally centered on the online multiplayer part....on its uniqueness purely due to that. Its focus was players' development over time within a community. The key phrase was, emergent game play.

Stuff was optional, mostly because it was unnecessary to achieve the primary goal: belonging. This involved learning the game and becoming useful via several rites of passages enroute to that end. The secondary goal (and one hidden from the player for a good reason) was greater self awareness. Humans can't know who they are in isolation. We learn who we are by how other people react to us. Again, stuff is not necessary to achieve this.

But that's too lofty to be commercial in the ways other models were. Nonetheless, for early adopters of Ultima Online and games that came before it, it's where the magic came from. And stuff became known by the phrase, item based gaming which became essential to UO itself and all games afterward.

But I digress. The good news is that I hear it's a lot easier to belong on Siege now than in days of yore

 

[Kirthag]

Ahhh, another Napa traitor. Seems to be quite a few on Stratics.

You know who you all are.


SHAME!....

I still visit from time to time. However with my hours, I'm lucky to see anyone else.

 

[FrejaSP]

But I digress. The good news is that I hear it's a lot easier to belong on Siege now than in days of yore

I'm not sure it is, the community was different in old days but in some ways stronger. Before AoS half of the shard was red, but it was not a problem, the crafters and farmers survived fine and had good business and new Siege players got a month to train, protected of the NEW tag and with access to basis training gear in the guild house.

Right now, we do have some big troubles on Siege

• Crafters need customors so they can sell their wares. Vendor fee is way to expensive both on PC vendors and the community vendors in New Mag. And remove this 3x npc vendor prices.
• Young PvP'ers can't afford replacing their gear, the crafters suits are to expensive as they take to long time and to expensive resources to make. If they only have one account, they won't have their own crafter.
• Farmers too can't sell their wares and the magic stuff we have now is mostly used for unraw. We need more resist on the armor pieces so it easy can be put together to a suit and we need magic drop with 2-3 good mods, where crafters can add 2-3 mods to make it worth selling.
• There are to few players and to many houses on Siege, @Mesanna need to help us get rid of houses, that do not have an active Siege char, who at least login to the shard some hours a month. Very hard to build a new player town with all this ghost houses. In old days, we had player towns, where you logged in, looked around in the town and found friends or enemies. Now no one are around.
• New Siege players can't find the stuff on vendors they need to play. That be PvP/M gear or resources for crafting or deco for their home.
• To make the shard more alive, bring back spawn in the forest of Britainnia. Where are all the old Brigand and orc spawns, where are the old locked and trapped chests. There are no reason for younger players to hang around the player towns. Also give us fel bonus to resources and luck.

If Devs can make a few changes, that will bring more players to Siege, they will know, how to bring back PvP players to UO
And no, Item Insurance or more Blessing is not the solusion, better access to crafting and imbuing resources and more useful magic stuff from spawn = more and cheaper wares on PC vendors are the key

 

[Ansel]

I'm not sure it is, the community was different in old days but in some ways stronger.

Sorry Freja, I wasn't entirely serious. Recently, though, one player I know - who won't go to Fel on a regular shard - said he had a wonderful time on yours. He said you were very welcoming and nice, not at all like the Danes who raided Lindisfarne. Well...okay, so he's never heard of Lindisfarne and I shouldn't joke about something you care about as much as you do your home shard of many years.

 

[Gameboy]

Sorry Freja, I wasn't entirely serious. Recently, though, one player I know - who won't go to Fel on a regular shard - said he had a wonderful time on yours. He said you were very welcoming and nice, not at all like the Danes who raided Lindisfarne. Well...okay, so he's never heard of Lindisfarne and I shouldn't joke about something you care about as much as you do your home shard of many years.

I am 99.5% sure Ansel is talking about me, and for whatever it maybe worth siege perilous has been a good experience. I will admit that I have not been player killed yet, but I understood that when I made Avery that it would just be a matter of time when it happens not if it will happen. The general chat is welcoming and so are the people I have come across.

 

[FrejaSP]

Sorry Freja, I wasn't entirely serious. Recently, though, one player I know - who won't go to Fel on a regular shard - said he had a wonderful time on yours

*Smiles* There is a mega diff between Siege and regular shards Fel. The diff is, on Siege we all live together, PvP and non PvP, we are not splitted like on regular shards.
When the rules on Siege may be much like before Trammel and stat loss for reds, there is a diff here too. Back in 1997 - 2000, there was no choice for the non PvP'ers. The ones we have on Siege did choose the shard over being safe in Trammel. They accepted the risk, when they logged in to Siege. The players who started to play UO 1997-2000 had no choice, they could not choose a safe shard.

On Siege, if a PK want to buy his suit at the shops around him, he better get along with the shop owners, as he can't shop if banned from the shop. If he kill someone on regular shards Fel, he can still go to Trammel and shop on a blue char the shop owner do not know is his.
People depend of each others in a different way on Siege and with only one char on an account, it's harder to hide.

Anyone who miss old days, PvP'er or not should try out Siege.

And to the ones, who placed a Siege house and know they never will play there, take down that house pleace, we have several dirt plot, tjhat had been dirt plot for years. Let new Siege players have the place as you don't play there.

 

[FrejaSP]

I am 99.5% sure Ansel is talking about me, and for whatever it maybe worth siege perilous has been a good experience. I will admit that I have not been player killed yet, but I understood that when I made Avery that it would just be a matter of time when it happens not if it will happen. The general chat is welcoming and so are the people I have come across.

He may be Siege had been very peaceful the last year. I doubt we have any reds at the moment, who would loot a new char. You may even see a red come to help you if you ask for help in chat, because you die to monsters and can't get back to your body.

We restarted our Sunday VvV battles, Virtue vs Vice and so far they have been great fun, with no looting and a res from your enemy unless they are fighting or can't res.

We had also seen fights around Eodon Moongate. Again it was not about looting but just about share some fun. After res, the dead could loot their own body and move on. Sure a little fame maybe lost, but just kill some tigers and you have it back very fast.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

3 options

1. Atlantic if you want a crowded shard. This has many advantages and disadvantages.

2. Great Lakes. My home shard since the beginning till I moved to Legends. Somewhere between Atlantic and everyone else in population. Populated to the point that you may never get a castle or a luna house but wouldn't have a problem placing an 18x18. A decent population of players.

3. My home, Legends. Awesome shard with an incredibly popular EM. This is one shard that is actually growing. We're coming back folks. Can get just about anything you want if you ask in chat. Vendors not so much but decent. Good folks where everyone knows everyone and reputation matters. Would love to comment on Jirel's post, but I'm just gonna let it go. But be confident we will somehow manage to keep the lights on should she leave. Castles open up every few months at reasonable prices. I'm pretty sure you could place a keep today while you wait on a castle. Spawns aren't camped to death. Not many PK types, just enough that you should keep your eyes open. People make regular trips to Atlantic if you need something odd picked up. Once you get the grip of how Legends works it's kinda like Mayberry RFD. A nice little place to live where everyone knows everyone. Not much drama. I didn't even bring my characters over. There's so many skill gaining tricks, and skill gaining has been so well mapped out over the years that making new characters I found rather easy. The only thing I find annoying is I like to craft and if someone needs something people just give it away normally You have to be pretty creative in monitoring what people are looking for to make money as a crafter.