Coming Back, Need Suggestions

[Dustaylor]

I'm coming back from a looonnnngggg vacation from AC. I've forgotten almost everything that I knew about the game.

I migrated my account and have a lvl 102 BM and a lvl 50 Archer on WE.

I have tried playing around with both of them and hardly have a clue as to where to go, what to do, etc. Also, over the past couple days I've been fooling around on these characters WE is very lonesome.

I need some suggestions...

Should I just start a new character and play from scratch?

Are there any servers that still hold a decent population during the evening CST hours?

If I started from scratch I was thinking of making an archer...

Are archers any good in this day and age of AC?
Would it be better to start with another character, since i do not have an alchemist for arrows?
If so, what are some popular templates?


Thanks for any help you guys can give me!

[Lancelore]

Heya Dustaylor,

Welcome back. AC has not the same gameplay as a few years ago. There is much more to do and lvl 100 is not high anymore. If you know the way around, it is easy to raise a new char in a couple of days to lvl 50. So starting all over is not that bad.
Maybe it is a good idea in your case. Just start easy to learn the game mecanics again.
The servers have the same amount of players, some a bit more, some a bit less, but not hughes differences, expect VT. This latest server has less people around. Maybe you were in the wrong places on WE. But keep in mind that the midweek evenings has less population then the weekends. Besides that Decal is not working yet. When this program is back, you will see an increase in gameplay.
If you decide to start over again, I can recommand to start on Solclaim in Holtburg. There are a lot of new players (or new chars) there.
An archer is a decent char to play with. However lack of alchemy is every archers problem. But most of the time there will be players to help you out with this problem.
If you make an archer keep in mind that the gameplay tends to big mob fighting, so melee defense will be in place.
An exemple of an archer template is:
50/30/100/100/40/10 or something like that. Coordination en quickness are the most important ones. But if you tend to life archer, you should put more in the magic attributes.
If you should take a melee char, sword is the most populair now.
Then your main attributes are strenght and coordination. An exemple of an extreme melee template is:
100/10/100/100/10/10. A bit hard to play in the beginning, but at the end a very strong melee.

Anyway good luck in your dicissions and give it some time to meet nice people who will help you around. A good patron is very helpful too.

[tesla_ff]

i'm a second shift worker in cst, so i play late evning to early morning, and such as it is so does several clan mates in my guild. if your exploring other servers, you can look up ophar kabitaki, tesla, mandax, tahonie' , cherished faith, aquaphor on the frostfell server during your play hours. many in the guild played in the days that you did but are still here, however the game is much different than it used to be, and the early levels will not be so harsh as they once were.

[mystsun]

Welcome Back! :) I play on WE and am never lonesome. In fact on these double xp weekends people come out of the woodwork..and its great!
I'd play the toons you have and start a new blue toon. I have a level 104 mage and have a great time playing her. Lots of places for her to get in fellows or hunt alone. Archers are big in our clan and some of our people used a new slot we got in the last year,( not the expansion one) to start archers. Our active monarch is an archer and I love hunting with her. Her name is Fable and she would be more than happy to answer you archer questions.. and you don't have to be in our clan to get her help... she is known far and wide for her generous support of strangers. If you have mage questions on where to hunt contact me. I also would be happy to hear from you. :D

Did you join a clan? To me thats one of the most important aspects of AC for me. My clan is why I continue to play for years... it gives people to explore the new content with, people to talk to , people to ask advice .. etc.

I would suggest logging onto the VN boards WE server and talk to some of the clans there. What do you want? a small family type clan, like ours, or a big clan with tons of people in it?

Our clan is small but its been around for a long long time. Sometimes I log on and noone is around, but usually I log on and go to allegiance channel ( which has changed the game in a great way) and say Hello clan! and get lots of Hello's back. I ask where everyone is hunting and decide who I want to join.
We have members that have been with the clan for years, like myself and we have new members that just came to us.

If you'd like to check out our forum its KOTSR.com I'm Sundara or Mystiqua in game. :cool:

[Sasame]

If u want to start a new player i would be willing to help u on thistledown im in an allegiance where everyone helps u starting out if u and ur patron are active in AC. I myself have not been playing long but i will help but u dont have to if u dont want it is just an offer i have helpped many ppl in and out of the clan but i will help u if u come thistledown.
Happy to hear someone is coming back to AC

[Gyes]

I'll just cut right to the chase...

>>Should I just start a new character and play from scratch?

I would strongly consider making a new character, but don't throw away your existing ones. Try making a melee character and playing through the new content. You'll get a good feel for what's changed and what hasn't. Melees are also cheap to level (unlike archers and mages). Once you get a feel for the changes since you've left, I'd pick up your main characters again and relearn their nuances. That being said, you'll probably want to stick to your home server so you can use your existing characters to help your reroll out with equipment, cash, etc...

>>>Are there any servers that still hold a decent population during the evening CST hours?

Pretty much covered in previous posts - just don't play on VT.

>>>If I started from scratch I was thinking of making an archer...
Are archers any good in this day and age of AC?

Personally, I don't think archers have changed a whole lot since DM. The only thing I can think of that has changed in a major way is that archers can't simply have one omni-purpose bow. You'll need one rending bow for each damage type, plus an Armor Render for general use. That's a lot of weight, so you can either pick 2 or 3 bows before you head out into the field or you can raise your strength through the roof and carry your entire collection with you. Finally, melee defense seems to be the necessary skill to have on the new islands, so you may want to pick it up.

>>>Would it be better to start with another character, since i do not have an alchemist for arrows?

Not having an alchemist would be a pretty major inconvenience, but you could get around it without much trouble. It doesn't take a whole lot of alchemical skill to make infusions, so if you do decide to make that melee character, you could play him for a while and then revamp him into a trademule. Right now, the untrain/specialization temples have 1 minute timers on each gem, so you could retool your characters very easily. That ends in September, but still, reworking your melee into an alchemist wouldn't be that hard even with the old 2 week timers.

>>>If so, what are some popular templates?

Melee templates haven't changed much since you've left either. Prior to ToD's launch (when Buffbots roamed the landscape...), you'd see a good number of magically-gimped characters, but I'd strongly recommend against that kind of thing. UA and Sword seem to be the most common melee choices, so I'd pick something else. My highest character is an axemaster and I like it. Mace would be a nice choice against the Olthoi too. As I mentioned, melee defense is more important now than it used to be, so I'd try out a tank melee (spec weapon, spec melee, spec arcane). Low maintenance and quick to buff.