Been away for a long time, interested in returning... worth it?

[Old Wolf]

Hey all,

I've been away for a long while, but I'm interested in returning (I miss it!). My question is, is it worth it? Are there any shards still active enough that I'll be running into players a lot? Lake Austin was my old home, but it was dwindling before I left, so I'm sure I'm going to have to look elsewhere. I also played Great Lakes for quite some time. I'm just looking for a shard where I'll find other players in one of the major towns at any given time, where the community is active and friendly, where there are auctions, and plenty of active guilds. Does one exist?

Also, if I do return, any major things I need to account for over the last few years, or just some new content?

 

[Ludes]

IMO it's always worth coming back.. several of the shards still have quite active communities.

The general consensus is Atlantic being the biggest I think but don't quote me there.
Personally I think Catskills has the best space to population ratio.

 

[Tina Small]

These four Japanese shards still have significantly larger populations that I would say rival Atlantic's and Great Lake's: Mizuho, Yamato, Asuka, and Sakura. Europa also seems to still have a large population. Of the North American shards, I'd say Atlantic, Great Lakes, Pacific, and Lake Superior are the ones with the largest remaining populations.

As far as getting caught up on content, I'd recommend you browse through the UOGuide.com site and Stratics (uo2.stratics.com) and read whatever catches your attention. Stratics has archived copies of all the publish notes and announcements that you used to be able to find on the uo.com official website, in case you're looking for that sort of information.

 

[Viper09]

I'd say that it is worth coming back. But you can always open up a trial account and wander around for free to kind of "dip your toes in the water" before you jump back in.

 

[MalagAste]

Personally I've always been on GL and always will be.

If you do decide to return might look me up and I'll help you find what you are looking for if I can.

 

[Old Wolf]

Sounds like Great Lakes or Atlantic are the two best options?

 

[Tjalle]

Or you can come be a +1 on Siege...

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Where to go really depends on how you like to play. What's your style? Casual gamer, PvPer, PvM/Eer, RPer, socializer? Do you like EM events (think Seers)?

Just be aware that you won't find people in the towns on any shard, unless it's Luna and sometimes Britain. The lack of anything to do in towns has kinda made them irrelevant. (And no, I'm not counting the Loyalty grind as "something to do in the cities" since, well, virtually no one is doing it anymore)

 

[Sono]

The RP events will be different on each shard, not only depending on the EMs, but the players. I play on Atlantic and the events are rowdy, lots of dragons, and lots of chatting. People are always moving and casting and getting lost. It gets confusing fast. But, it's a lot of fun and I love it. There are also player run events on Atlantic and other active shards. I tried an EM event on Sonoma and loved it too. It was a different feel because people were quieter and it was more calm (until the fighting). It depends on your play style. You can also look at the EM boards and shard forums for a sense of the events on each shard.

 

[Ludes]

Where to go really depends on how you like to play. What's your style? Casual gamer, PvPer, PvM/Eer, RPer, socializer? Do you like EM events (think Seers)?

Just be aware that you won't find people in the towns on any shard, unless it's Luna and sometimes Britain. The lack of anything to do in towns has kinda made them irrelevant. (And no, I'm not counting the Loyalty grind as "something to do in the cities" since, well, virtually no one is doing it anymore)

Yah^.... I'm sure you didn't want to start a "My shard is better than your shard" discussion..
Catskills is still largely Role Players.. even though with General Chat now you can't always stay in character..
But I still see people in Trinsic, as well as Brit, and always people in Luna..
It's all personal preference...
I have characters on Atlantic as well though.. they do have more people.

And my Siege guy will always be my favorite.. even if I do neglect him. But that just goes with his storyline fiction.. he's always had a much harder life! But hey.. he moved there willingly..

After all he was the one that said he wanted it to be harder!

 

[Old Wolf]

Where to go really depends on how you like to play. What's your style? Casual gamer, PvPer, PvM/Eer, RPer, socializer? Do you like EM events (think Seers)?

Just be aware that you won't find people in the towns on any shard, unless it's Luna and sometimes Britain. The lack of anything to do in towns has kinda made them irrelevant. (And no, I'm not counting the Loyalty grind as "something to do in the cities" since, well, virtually no one is doing it anymore)

Well, in answer to the question of my play style, I'm strictly a social gamer. I love interacting with other players, be it fighting, role playing, monsters or events, my priority is meeting new people and enjoying the game with others. I do a bit of role play, particularly with my fishing character and my old reporter/event character. And I'm huge on trading... particularly in person. I think for me a big aspect of the game is trying to cleverly make money... not because I have to have it, but just because it's a good challenge.

Hope that helps!

And thank you for all the answers so far!

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Atlantic has the "largest population," though with that moniker comes all the associated issues. But if you don't PvP, that kind of population doesn't really matter.

Great Lakes, Baja, and apparently Chessie have RP communities. GL is actually experiencing a bit of an RP renaissance at the moment, with a good number of people having returned or xfered from other shards. GL has also had weekly EM events for the last three+ years (Royal Spies). If you've played the shard in the past, you may still find faces you recognize

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Where to go really depends on how you like to play. What's your style? Casual gamer, PvPer, PvM/Eer, RPer, socializer? Do you like EM events (think Seers)?

Just be aware that you won't find people in the towns on any shard, unless it's Luna and sometimes Britain. The lack of anything to do in towns has kinda made them irrelevant. (And no, I'm not counting the Loyalty grind as "something to do in the cities" since, well, virtually no one is doing it anymore)

As I suggested to you in voice chat about 20 seconds ago, I think you are exaggerating this.

Most players seem to have a favorite town they like to bank, do repairs in, etc. And then there's BOD-runners

Few if any hang out there but you do see them and many will interact with you if you start it. Few are willing to start an interaction, and my characters are not chatterboxes. But most will greet Galen's curt *nods*.

-Galen's player

 

[Old Wolf]

As I suggested to you in voice chat about 20 seconds ago, I think you are exaggerating this.

Most players seem to have a favorite town they like to bank, do repairs in, etc. And then there's BOD-runners

Few if any hang out there but you do see them and many will interact with you if you start it. Few are willing to start an interaction, and my characters are not chatterboxes. But most will greet Galen's curt *nods*.

-Galen's player

I must say, I miss the old days when 20-30 people would all be sitting around WBB buying and selling... always something to do then!

 

[MalagAste]

I must say, I miss the old days when 20-30 people would all be sitting around WBB buying and selling... always something to do then!

I miss that and running into Brit to go to the Smithy and get Pork Chop Jesus to repair my stuff for me.

 

[old gypsy]

Ib yoos pickz Chessiepeekz, wees Pitmuck goblins lubs news foksies!

Icky Rotblossom, Pitmuck Island

 

[Frarc]

We always welcome back everyone no matter what shard.

 

[Lightfoot]

Ib yoos pickz Chessiepeekz, wees Pitmuck goblins lubs news foksies!

Icky Rotblossom, Pitmuck Island

Okay, Old gypsy, you piqued my interest. I'll create a new character and check Chesapeake out.

 

[Raptor85]

Hey all,

I've been away for a long while, but I'm interested in returning (I miss it!). My question is, is it worth it? Are there any shards still active enough that I'll be running into players a lot? Lake Austin was my old home, but it was dwindling before I left, so I'm sure I'm going to have to look elsewhere. I also played Great Lakes for quite some time. I'm just looking for a shard where I'll find other players in one of the major towns at any given time, where the community is active and friendly, where there are auctions, and plenty of active guilds. Does one exist?

Also, if I do return, any major things I need to account for over the last few years, or just some new content?

You realize by asking on a UO fansite whether you should return or not pretty much everybody is going to say "yes! it's worth it" whether it's true or not if only for want of more players playing

what year did you leave though? might make it easier to get a scope of what you consider a decent population or not. Right now ATL is still the highest but it's population is closer to how origin was in 2006/2007 (to put a perspective on how ingame population has changed) On atl you'll still see all the afk people in luna, a few people by yew gate, and a couple people scattered by popular farming spots but that's about it really. (aside from events)

 

[Lady Storm]

IF you miss something you come back... enough said. You and anyother you know are welcome... bring friends..... Welcome back kiddo no matter where you land ....

 

[Bryelle Vaughn]

Yah^.... I'm sure you didn't want to start a "My shard is better than your shard" discussion..

*grins* Awwww come on.. ya know we wanna.

Baja has a great group as previously mentioned as well and we are easy to find in general chat. Not to mention we tend to be eager to help and relatively friendly... we have cookies. (Among other things)

 

[Old Wolf]

Alright, I think I will bum around on a trial account for a bit and see if UO is something I still enjoy... if so, I'll go ahead and activate one or two of my old accounts and visit a few of the recommended shards. Thank you all for your feedback!

 

[old gypsy]

Okay, Old gypsy, you piqued my interest. I'll create a new character and check Chesapeake out.

Yay!

There's a lot to do on Chesapeake, and we have some great guilds... including the new town of Oasis which was established to help new and returning players. If you post on the Chessie forum you'll be sure to connect with very helpful people. And if you decide to visit Pitmuck, we goblins will be very happy to show you around (and feed you plenty of ice creams cakes).

 

[Emma Silvermane]

chessy has its moments .. but otherwise its good .. the goblins are very nice .. and i think arent we the only shard with goblins, Gyps?

 

[old gypsy]

chessy has its moments .. but otherwise its good .. the goblins are very nice .. and i think arent we the only shard with goblins, Gyps?

Don noes ib wees bees onlyz shard wif goblins... butz purdy surez wees onlyz shard wher goblins hab EM-madez ice creams stand atz Luna bank!

Icky