Honesty of UO

[Norweyn]

Hello, all. It's good to see such an old game still going strong.

A little history about why I've found myself back here. I used to play Ultima Online towards the end of UO2 in 1999. I continued playing up until release of Mondain's Legacy.

Recently I found myself back checking out UO Stratics but after finding how much has changed I'm not sure if it would be something that will stick.

What I mean is, how is someone with a new account to survive with all the new weapons and armor and economy changes? I guess remaining in Trammel would be the best thing but how long does it take to build a character ready for combat or to survive a dungeon today?

I've always loved UO and I'm sure I can love it again but is it really worth someone who can't play 5 hours a day to survive the change of UO? One of the earlier posts mentioned a tamed white wyrm not surviving anymore!

Now, yes I know it is my decision whether I want to play or not but try to put yourself in a 'New Player Returned' shoes. Would you start again? I'm starting to doubt and to just keep my memories of UO in the mind.

And please don't say 'try a free shard.' They are not the same. I get bored too easy with pixel goods handed to you on a silver pixel plate.

Thanks for reading my post and your time, extra thanks to those who respond, positive or negative.

-Norweyn

 

[Beer_Cayse]

Start a Paladin, take the training and quests in New Haven from the various trainers and you can have weapon, tactics, anatomy, healing (optional), chivalry and more up to at least 50. Old Haven is the training grounds with accelerated skill gains. Train a skill, then take the quest - lots faster.

Then you can do Despise or Deceit as starter dungeons. Save hides - plain and spined at least - for tailors looking to buy in bulk. Save cutup bones for them as well - I can get a good price per bone easily and NOT on a Luna vendor! Just plain old bulk sale.

That's the starter course. Take it from there. And most certainly hook up with a decent guild if you wish! They can be immense help!

 

[DevilsOwn]

You well know, after so many years of playing, that the world is vast and the number of adventures to be had pretty much unlimited. If you will be starting from scratch then the old training methods will still suit you, if that is your choice. There are lots of people/guilds on all the shards willing to help out a new or returning player. Except for the more populated shards, like Atlantic, housing is pretty much open with lots of nice areas for a large home.

Should you find yourself on Legends seek out anyone from ELV or FSB for assistance

 

[Norweyn]

Thanks for the replies Beer_Cayse and DevilsOwn.

So quests are the way to go since 8x8 and power hour is long gone I take it.

I used to play on Lake Austin and Sonoma (NA West). How are the populace of Pacific, Napa Valley and Origin these days? I'm not necessarily concerned with housing since I probably won't be able to afford it for a long while but I wouldn't want to be on a dead shard due to boredom.

Are ordinary crystal balls that used to be loot off liches really a rarity?

Thanks, hope to continue to get more feed back to assist in my decision.

 

[sayler04]

HI=)

I was you about 18 months ago; I had played a long time before, was exploring stratics and wasn't really sure if coming back was a good idea. But I took the leap, and honestly, I've never had more fun in uo. Its different than 99, no doubt, but still great fun.

Of course when I came back, all my chars were useless because templates have changed so much, and the couple mil or so I had in the bank that was decent back in the day was pocket change now. And I felt as if I knew NOTHING about the game anymore.

I started back with a tamer/mage template. For returning players from wayback, I think its a good way to go, even if only because these are fairly familiar skills. training taming at low levels can be incredibly boring, but you can sell hides pretty good (try to find a free vendor rental somewhere...you can rent vendors at other people's houses now!) if they're in bulk. Once you get to like 80 or 85 skill you can probably find jewels that will raise your taming high enough to have really good pets. Then farm swoop. With a rune beetle and a nightmare you can easily pull 80k-100k in an hour off swoop, and since he only aggros your pets he'll never hit you.

If you decide to play atlantic, I know a few spots where you could place a small house, if you like. And those are way cheap.

THere's lots of ways to come back, this is just how I did it. And these past 18 months have been the most fun I've ever had in game, and the most successful, and the longest running. It all seemed really wierd at first, but TOTALLY worth it.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

Actually, if you learn Imbuing and a crafting skill, you can make pretty decend items, even with only 80 Imbuing skill. Those items will not be top-end, but they will get you through most of the content if you know how to handle things.

However, if you want to PvP in Felucca, you will not be able to compete. I've been playing since 1997 and I still don't have the stuff I'd need to fight in Felucca. So I focus on guild wars in Trammel.

 

[Basara]

Yeas, the crystal balls are rare - they stopped spawning before AoS.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

If you play LA, I can set you up with a place if you wish. I have a runebook with spots that will easily hold an 18x18. However, I should warn you ... LA is still a smallish shard, but the folks are stellar.