Preparing to come back, just a few questions.

[Vynlark]

Hello Dedicated UO Players and Fans Alike! I'm preparing to come back to Ultima Online, haven't played since it was released, and before the various expansion packs, boy were those the days BUT even though things have changed and I've been primarily playing LoTRO, I've still had this feeling, drawing me back to UO. I'm into Role Playing/PVP/Raiding/Adventuring, anything. With that said, my my questions/concerns are:

1.) Which server is the most populated? I'd like a good crowd around or at least not a desert.

2.) Are most using this new client, UO: Kingdom Reborn? I still have UO:2nd Age install disc and Third Dawn. I tried the Kingdom Reborn client when they were allowing a trial when it was still in beta or something, it didn't look bad, just didn't run well on my laptop (which was the primary machine I was testing it on at the time), I'll be playing on my desktop now.

3.) Any guilds that are actively recruiting? (Maybe some that see this post?)

My apologies since some of you probably come across posts like this all the time but I'm serious about coming back to play, so I felt this was one of the best ways to ask, considering I used stratics when I originally played UO. THANKS TO ALL IN ADVANCE, Hope to hear some good news.

 

[DevilsOwn]

welcome back

I may not have this right, but I think Atlantic and Lake Superior are the most populated US shards ~~ and most likely you'll want one with a good connection, so you should check that out, too

Ratio of KR users to 2D users is not published, but from comments on the boards it seems that majority of players are still using 2D ~~ coming off another game, as you are, you most likely would not have the difficulty making the interface transition that seems to be holding most players back from using KR, and if you have a good machine you should try it out ~~ there is a KR forum here to help with any questions you have about it

I play Legends so unable to help with guilds on the larger shards... but I would like to mention, don't rule out the less populated shards lots of helpful, friendly folks and room for housing, t'boot

 

[Teufel_Hund]

Don't come back don't waste your time or money. EA no longer responds to anything. No customer support and no aid to the common player who plays by the rules. Unless you plan on scripting and making lots of money on fools like me and the rest of a small few DON"T COME BACK! You will only be frustrated in the end. Wish I would take my own advice.

 

[Azazel of LA]

I just feel the need to beat Rico to the punch and say it ..... PLAY SIEGE!

 

[Coranthe]

/signed

 

[Teufel_Hund]

I just feel the need to beat Rico to the punch and say it ..... PLAY SIEGE!

yeah La, but you know I am right

 

[Sarphus]

Don't come back don't waste your time or money. EA no longer responds to anything. No customer support and no aid to the common player who plays by the rules. Unless you plan on scripting and making lots of money on fools like me and the rest of a small few DON"T COME BACK! You will only be frustrated in the end. Wish I would take my own advice.

Don't listen to this guy. He's being over-dramatic. UO is still an awesome game and there's still plenty of fun to be had.


I'd agree with your first reply that atlantic is definitely a high population shard. My advice would be to poke around shards that are a decent connection for you and see how many people you see during the times of day that you play. Every shard has times of day when most of the people online aren't actually playing the game.

Most people I know use 2d. I use both clients, but primarily use 2d. I think I will use KR more in the future because of the wonderful modding opportunities it has, but for now I'm playing on my work laptop because my wife took over my super gaming computer (until we move).

 

[azmodanb]

Come back if you want too... just get a shard with best ping, and start again, you can always xshard to a bigger shard later if you find the need.

Atlantic, and LS.. yeah prolly, Baja is kinda big... still ....

If you prefer the OLD UO, Seige is the closest you can come anymore.

Still the same game, just with new issues, and some of the old ones... but the same good ol UO in my opinion .. cya soon.

 

[Vynlark]

Well first off, thank you for all the replies, much appreciated and as for response on not to come back, I understand but am still willing, as for I don't have any other mmo's currently that grab my attention, definitely not the way UO used to. Ok, so now for a few more questions/concerns, if everyone doesn't mind:

1.) What is Legends? Form of client, shard?

2.) What is this Siege I hear about? I'm assuming it is a shard but before specific changes were made or ?

3.) Where do you all currently play? Last time I played I had a good connection to LS, Atlantic, I think the original server I played on back in the 90's was Chesapeake, I could be wrong.

4.) If I were to choose to alternate between the 2D and 3D clients, which 2d would I want to install? I have the Second Age install and Third Dawn. Do I need to purchase any of the several expansions? to keep up with the crowd, etc. If I use KR, I still interact with everyone on the older client right? That's how i remember it for when Third Dawn came out with it's "graphical improvements"

Hope I didn't forget anything. Again, thanks for the responses.

 

[DevilsOwn]

oooo me, me, me for number one!

Legends is a shard, yes, born in the year 2000 (May?) as a replacement for a game that (then) OSI bought from AOL and shut down..... that game was Legends of Kesmai, from which the shard of Legends took it's name

now, on to the rest of your questions

 

[Teufel_Hund]

Don't listen to this guy. He's being over-dramatic. UO is still an awesome game and there's still plenty of fun to be had.


I'd agree with your first reply that atlantic is definitely a high population shard. My advice would be to poke around shards that are a decent connection for you and see how many people you see during the times of day that you play. Every shard has times of day when most of the people online aren't actually playing the game.

Most people I know use 2d. I use both clients, but primarily use 2d. I think I will use KR more in the future because of the wonderful modding opportunities it has, but for now I'm playing on my work laptop because my wife took over my super gaming computer (until we move).

Over dramatic Sarphus? Guess you did not read the thread where the IDOC in Luna was taken by the scripter...oh wait a minute they put in the code just recently to prevent scripters from getting the IDOCs we see how well that worked. Duping is so rampant it is not even funny the dupers are not even trying to hide anymore because there is no fear of punishment. It has been how many months since we have heard anything concerning SA. I agree there is plenty of fun to be had in the game, and I myself will be here probably til they pull the plug. But i will not recommend this game to any of my freinds again until there is real change, which in my opinion means I will never again recomend this game to anyone.

 

[Joyous2K]

I didn't read all the replies and maybe you got your answer. The game is very different from release time. There is basically a lot of math and items and bonuses and if this then +2 that and if this then -1 that. It stinks to keep track of, but some people do it and some people do it and enjoy it. It is also different because you can control the amount of risk in your game by choosing to play in trammel where PKs don't exist.

I would recommend KR especially if you are just getting back in and would need to set up new macros and all anyway. KR is definitely less popular here and probably in UO proper. There are many advantages to KR, but mostly it just looks better. But if you are coming back for the awesome artwork of the journals and all that then you should play 2D. KR abandoned journal design and a bunch of cutesy stuff that made 2D so folksy. KR is buggy, but that part of UO's theme, isn't it? "Are you with us? We are buggy."

So that is my perspective. Less risk, but more item garbage via math and grinding. KR is better, but little adopted.

Since you are preparing to come back I assume your mind is made up, but I wouldn't recommend it unless they lowered the price to like 6 or 7 dollars a month. This game is pretty FUBAR as far as design and implementation are concerned.

 

[PlayerSkillFTW]

UO still has it's lure. Strip away all the colorful pixels and crap, and the mechanics are still there.
Biggest problem with UO is it's managers, EA. EA has an acceptance policy of Cheaters/Scripters/Dupers/Exploiters/Scammers/Etc. All the trash that you wouldn't want in your game, EA accepts with open arms. 7/10 PvPers use a cheat program, most commonly speedhacks and pot chugging scripts. The once prestigous title of "Rares Collector" now equates to "Dupers or their Fences". True Craftsman are rarely ever seen, now you just see scripters sitting at the Smith/Tailor/Heartwood gathering high end Runic Tools. The high end crafted Runic Weapons/Armor you see in Luna, you'll never see the maker of them. GMs are absolutely worthless. The economy is a **** hole. All of it due to EA not having the balls to back up their "No Tolerance Policy". There's a joke saying that EA has a "No Tolerance Policy" on their "No Tolerance Policy." To put it simply, EA is the slum lord of gaming companies.

 

[Connor_Graham]

I'd say come back. There's no other game like UO. If you decide to choose Pacific (which is #4 on the highest population list) let me know and I'll help you get a foothold with gear, a house, etc.

Welcome back!

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

If your system has a 256Meg or better video card on an AGP or later connection, go ahead and try out KR, at least give it a shot. Depending on your playstyle, KR could be a better lient for you than the 2d client. It's not perfect or really even "complete" in every sense of the word, but it's MUCH more stable than it was a year ago (and even more stable than people give it credit for being) and when compared purely client to client has MANY more options and features. Once you start adding in player-created UI mods, it gets even more powerful.

If you've played one of the later XML/LUA-based games (WoW, etc), you'll have a reasonable understanding on how the KR client really works, just add in the UO control system and you're set to go. However, in my experience with both UO and WoW, the KR client is actually more powerful than WoW's in terms of what you can set up in terms of hot bars, slot options, macros and so on.

If you do try KR, give yourself some time to get accustomed to it. Don't expect to be able to do everything right off the bat and don't be afraid to ask questions. Players on the KR forum are willing to lend what assistance they can.

If you really try KR (beyond looking at one UI aspect and logging out) and are still not happy with it, then all's good, choose the client that works best for you.

 

[Vynlark]

Thanks again for the replies. Personally, I won't be doing any item duping, exploiting, or cash grinding (unless it's legit), scripting unless their is some benefit and it's not cheating, that's just not my style. I understand the pvp is going to be unbalanced due to cheaters/exploiters but I guess I won't be pvp'ing too much, mostly role playing or enjoyable adventures with good people.

I should be good on the hardware end, Dual Core, 3gig Ram, 512mb pci-express (Nvidia 9600 GT). I did play WoW from 1-30 but quit, wasn't my cup of tea, as some say. I'm currently a avid player of Lord of The Rings: Online, and it's UI is similar to the kind you mentioned, and I've used a few player-made UI skins, nothing to elaborate, more for compact and neatness. I did try KR when it first became available (can't specifically say when), it seemed nice just didn't run well on the machine I tested it on.

And what's the idea behind the Siege shard? Is there somewhere I can read about it's differences from the other shards? Is the Legends shard somehow different as well or just the name take?

 

[Belmarduk]

This game is a wreck thanks to EAMythic...
Good Luck

 

[DevilsOwn]

I'm surprised none of the Siege players have stopped by to talk about their shard they gripe about some aspects of it, but seem to love it dearly.... it's Fel rule-set only, tougher to gain skills and tougher to gather wealth, if I understand it all correctly

Legends is a regular shard, sorry if I implied anything other... nothing different about us, cept I think it's about the nicest around I am biased, yes

 

[PlayerSkillFTW]

Siege Perilous is a shard without the Trammel rulesets or Insurance. It has a system in place that limits how much in a skill you can gain in X amount of time once you reach 70 in a skill. Those are about the only differences from a normal shard. You can't X-Shard to or from Siege Perilous.

Even on high end machines, i'm talking about top of the line, KR doesn't like to work. It works for some computers, and not for others, even if the other computer is more powerful. Noone knows why, EA still hasn't figured it out yet. Last time i checked (Which was a few weeks ago), it has a real nasty memory leak that will make UO: KR CtD (Crash to Desktop) frequently. I go into the Melisande Room in 2D, it runs fine. I go into the Melisande room on KR, it lags/freezes like a SoB, reminds me of being back on a 250 Mhz comp with 26.4k conn. It's that bad.

 

[Chad Sexington]

Siege

-No Trammel facet.
-Felucca ruleset is used in Ilshenar, Malas, and Tokuno.
-No item insurance.
-No passive reveal.
-No requirements to get into the Thieves' Guild.
-You can't buy skills from NPCs.
-You can't transfer to or from Siege.
-You can't use advanced character tokens on Siege.
-The bonus that Arms Lore gives to resists on armor and damage increase on weapons is slightly higher. (Blacksmithy/Tailoring + GM Arms Lore gives ~All 60's resists.)
-All items have durability. (Scissors to cut, bladed weapons to skin, fishing poles to fish.)
-Only spellbooks without mods are blessed.
-Items bought from NPCs cost 3 times as much as they do on other shards.
-Vendors upkeep costs are 3 times as much as they are on other shards.
-It has a special Hero/Evil system.
-Every person is able to Siege bless a single item.
-Rate Over Time (RoT) system for gaining skills, making it take much longer to gain skills at higher levels.
-Recall and Sacred Journey spells do not exist. (You can still use Gate Travel.)
-You can't sell to NPCs.
-You're limited to 1 character per account.
-It's great.

Did I miss anything?

 

[THP]

Siege

-No Trammel facet.
-Felucca ruleset is used in Ilshenar, Malas, and Tokuno.
-No item insurance.
-No passive reveal.
-No requirements to get into the Thieves' Guild.
-You can't buy skills from NPCs.
-You can't transfer to or from Siege.
-You can't use advanced character tokens on Siege.
-The bonus that Arms Lore gives to resists on armor and damage increase on weapons is slightly higher. (Blacksmithy/Tailoring + GM Arms Lore gives ~All 60's resists.)
-All items have durability. (Scissors to cut, bladed weapons to skin, fishing poles to fish.)
-Only spellbooks without mods are blessed.
-Items bought from NPCs cost 3 times as much as they do on other shards.
-Vendors upkeep costs are 3 times as much as they are on other shards.
-It has a special Hero/Evil system.
-Every person is able to Siege bless a single item.
-Rate Over Time (RoT) system for gaining skills, making it take much longer to gain skills at higher levels.
-Recall and Sacred Journey spells do not exist. (You can still use Gate Travel.)
-You're limited to 1 character per account.
-It's great.

Did I miss anything?

Yes !!! Try making a new char there form scratch!!! very tedious and annoying.

 

[Kaj]

Don't come back don't waste your time or money. EA no longer responds to anything. No customer support and no aid to the common player who plays by the rules. Unless you plan on scripting and making lots of money on fools like me and the rest of a small few DON"T COME BACK! You will only be frustrated in the end. Wish I would take my own advice.

I think you are right from your perspective.

The other side is that I know many players that adopt different playstyles (RP, tamer, guild-player, casual rares collector, mule etc.) and still greatly enjoy the game.
It just depends on how directly you are hurt by some of the obvious flaws in UO.

 

[kennykilleduo]

Agree that the most populated shard are Atlantic , Lake Superior , Also agree if you like more risk Siege has it all ( and one of the best communities ) , Both UO2D and UOKR are not 100% perfect but i'm sure ALOT of players will say many changes have made the game alot better in the last year.

Cheaters will always be a part of UO ( didn't they once say UOKR would fix many of current cheating issues?).

My advice to you is give UO a chance , dont let these boards corrupt you ( all the doom and gloomers , like me).

Have fun

PS , post what shard you decide..

 

[the 4th man]

Don't come back don't waste your time or money. EA no longer responds to anything. No customer support and no aid to the common player who plays by the rules. Unless you plan on scripting and making lots of money on fools like me and the rest of a small few DON"T COME BACK! You will only be frustrated in the end. Wish I would take my own advice.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
then quit, but don't push the loser attitude on others.

Vynlark,,,,ignore the ingrates on stratics, with the "duh" remarks.....clearly they pop prozac and get fat doing nothing more than "gaming"

UO still is the benchmark of games. No other game has the depthness or guts to stick with outdated graphics....that's not sarcasm either.....

Unfortunately,,,,you will find mondanes legacey, or MUNDANEs...here's why it's so.....some clown at EA decided to copy from world of whatever....and add quests.

Not too original and very narrow minded, let's pray this moron is selling burgers these days.

I play 2D and KR, regardless of what others say about it. Most creep away, I believe because the user interface IS new to learn.

On Atlantic, there are guilds recruiting.....HOT for one.....and LIFE too I believe.

welcome back.

 

[Erekose]

welcome back

I may not have this right, but I think Atlantic and Lake Superior are the most populated US shards ~~ and most likely you'll want one with a good connection, so you should check that out, too

Ratio of KR users to 2D users is not published, but from comments on the boards it seems that majority of players are still using 2D ~~ coming off another game, as you are, you most likely would not have the difficulty making the interface transition that seems to be holding most players back from using KR, and if you have a good machine you should try it out ~~ there is a KR forum here to help with any questions you have about it

I play Legends so unable to help with guilds on the larger shards... but I would like to mention, don't rule out the less populated shards lots of helpful, friendly folks and room for housing, t'boot

We all tend to forget that a very, very small minority of UO players read and/or participate on Stratics. Those that do tend to be old timers and cling to the legacy client. I would wager that the ratio of KR to Legacy is a bit higher than we might suspect. Just from anectodal evidence (talking to people in game) I know quite a few people other than myself who have made the switch.

Now if they'd just fix some of the annoying bugs like bulletin boards not working in KR. Then I wouldn't have to log into the ass-ugly Legacy client at all.

Cheaters will always be a part of UO ( didn't they once say UOKR would fix many of current cheating issues?).

It would, once they get rid of the Legacy client. The most popular program used to cheat doesn't work with KR and never will.

 

[Flora Green]

Siege

-No Trammel facet.
-Felucca ruleset is used in Ilshenar, Malas, and Tokuno.
-No item insurance.
-No passive reveal.
-No requirements to get into the Thieves' Guild.
-You can't buy skills from NPCs.
-You can't transfer to or from Siege.
-You can't use advanced character tokens on Siege.
-The bonus that Arms Lore gives to resists on armor and damage increase on weapons is slightly higher. (Blacksmithy/Tailoring + GM Arms Lore gives ~All 60's resists.)
-All items have durability. (Scissors to cut, bladed weapons to skin, fishing poles to fish.)
-Only spellbooks without mods are blessed.
-Items bought from NPCs cost 3 times as much as they do on other shards.
-Vendors upkeep costs are 3 times as much as they are on other shards.
-It has a special Hero/Evil system.
-Every person is able to Siege bless a single item.
-Rate Over Time (RoT) system for gaining skills, making it take much longer to gain skills at higher levels.
-Recall and Sacred Journey spells do not exist. (You can still use Gate Travel.)
-You're limited to 1 character per account.
-It's great.

Did I miss anything?

You can't sell to NPCs. That was a big shock to me the first time I tried SP. Still can't get used to it.

 

[Chad Sexington]

You can't sell to NPCs. That was a big shock to me the first time I tried SP. Still can't get used to it.

That's a good one. You have to actually interact with other players or monsters to amass wealth on Siege.

 

[AEowynSP]

Yes !!! Try making a new char there form scratch!!! very tedious and annoying.

Perhaps for you. I personaly enjoy running around on a semi noob char.
Also for skills like taming and poisoning ROT is a godsend.

 

[RoseBlue]

If i may, I would advise you to start a tamer on the first place : it's a long way to build up your skills but it's very enjoyable and the best money maker

 

[Samaira]

You'll probably want to get an upgrade code for your account, as most of the player vendors and banksitting happens in Luna, one of the cities in the newer landmass of Malas. The 9th Anniversary pack includes everything to get your content up to date. Be prepared for a boatload of patching, heh.

You're also probably going to want to spend a fair amount of time on the "Player's Corner" Forum here on Stratics, it is currently where all the template/profession FAQs and guides are located.

I'd recommend installing and patching both 2d and KR, just in case your machine decides to be a b#tch with the latter. KR is good - in some cases very good. If you have a crafter, there have been some awesome tweaks to make RSI less common in KR, and as Dermott and others have said, the KR forum here is fantastic for helping players through the changeover.

I play Oceania, but that's all about ping.

Hang in there, it might take you a while to get a handle on how the game has changed, but any of the shards mentioned by other posters are bound to have new player-/returnee-friendly guilds to help get you going. Welcome back, and good luck

 

[Beefybone]

Atlantic is the most populated shard. KR was a flop. That's about all you need to know.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

1.) Which server is the most populated? I'd like a good crowd around or at least not a desert.

2.) Are most using this new client, UO: Kingdom Reborn? I still have UO:2nd Age install disc and Third Dawn. I tried the Kingdom Reborn client when they were allowing a trial when it was still in beta or something, it didn't look bad, just didn't run well on my laptop (which was the primary machine I was testing it on at the time), I'll be playing on my desktop now.

3.) Any guilds that are actively recruiting? (Maybe some that see this post?)

1.) It seems that Atlantic is the most populated server. There are no official statistics, however. I play on Catskills, because it is populated, too, and it has a big RP community.

2.) Most people use the old client. Reasons: It takes a few days to get used to the KR client, and KR still has a few bugs. However, KR has improved a lot during the past months. I personally switched to KR 2 weeks ago, cause the graphics are much more sophisticated and I didn't like the choppy 2D client anymore.

3.) I think you will find guilds on every shard. We (the United Pirates) are recruiting on Catskills. But mind that we are no landlubbing do-gooders!

P.S.: Especially here no the boards, the whiners, complainers and pessimists seem very active. If you want to have fun with UO, I'd recommend not to listen to them, but just play the game and have fun. Because fun it is, no matter what people are complaining about. I don't need a GM daily to stroke my back, neither do I give a rat's arse about economy issues etc. The game offers so many ways of adventuring and challenge that it will keep you busy for a long time without worrying about this kind of stuff.

 

[concernedplayer]

1.) Which server is the most populated? I'd like a good crowd around or at least not a desert.

Atlantic is hands down the most populated.

2.) Are most using this new client, UO: Kingdom Reborn? I still have UO:2nd Age install disc and Third Dawn. I tried the Kingdom Reborn client when they were allowing a trial when it was still in beta or something, it didn't look bad, just didn't run well on my laptop (which was the primary machine I was testing it on at the time), I'll be playing on my desktop now.

I hate KR so I am biased. There's a few fanbois who love KR so they're biased. There is no doubt that most (nearly all) players still use 2D (this is a factual nonbiased statement). But if you don't mind downloading a few gigs give KR a try maybe you'll like it.