New Player advice

[FizRep]

I haven't played AC since maybe 1999.. but I thought I'd give it a try again since I liked the game mechanics. I have read the boards here a bit, and I have some questions:


1) To get used to the game again, should I go more of a melee or magic type? Melee seems more straightforward.
2) For either melee or magic, which skills should I have in the top tier from the start?
3) I hear people make references to "Level 7 buffs" for new players. What are they talking about?
4) When Mites die, do they go to heaven?


Thanks for any answers!

[jaclin_ff]

4 - No they respawn :-)

1 - Ill let more uber folks take this question
2 - again Ill let someone better answer
3 - buffs/spells/buffbots there are level 1-6 probably when you played, now there is level 7s for a long time and just came out level 8s. So the buffbots you use will have 7s and probably augmented to have 2 horus buffs as well.

[grudge08]

Welcome back! I came back to the game ~5 months ago after 6 years away, so I understand the draw to return as well as all the questions you must have. :)

1. Melee toons are far easier to operate, require less maintenance work and have a lower cost to operate. I'd recommend building a melee until you get familar with the game again, get some resouces built up, etc. Personally, I'd recommend UA; it has decent kill speed and leaves you plenty of free credits to have other skills (eg lockpick) that will give you some flexibility.

2. Your kill skill (whether that means sword, ua, etc) should be spec'd as should melee defense. If you're a melee, also spec arcane lore. Your kill skill attributes should be maxed (so str and coord if you go UA), with the rest divided over End, Focus and Quick depending on your play style

3. Generally talking about buffbots. Hopefully you pick a server that has a couple public buffbots. If not, hopefully you pick an allegiance that has one. If not, you'll be self buffing. Not the end of the world, but will mean much slower progress.

4. I hope not, they are vile, evil creatures. ;)

The advice you didn't ask for but that I'll thrust upon ya anyway; get two accounts if you can swing the $. Create all characters on both accounts and have them all do the training academy gem turn in (ie, dont run them through, just turn in the gem); this means they'll all be level 5. Swear all the toons to each other, back and forth across the accounts, with the toon you intend to play at the -bottom- of the chain. What this means is that as you level your main toon, it will pass up xp to your other guys. By the time you get your first toon to a decent lvl, your second toon (on the other account) will be passed the most painful lvls. Later, you can either dual log on a single machine or run both accounts concurrently on two machines. This gives you a ton of advantages; can't stress it enough.

Good luck, have fun, come back often. :)

[FizRep]

Thanks for the advice all!

Two more questions:


1) Is there anywhere that these public buffbots usually are, or does it toally depend?
2) I remember now that melee weapons can have different damage types. Is there a better one at the start when fighting drudges and mossworts and such?

[grudge08]

Thanks for the advice all!

Two more questions:


1) Is there anywhere that these public buffbots usually are, or does it toally depend?
2) I remember now that melee weapons can have different damage types. Is there a better one at the start when fighting drudges and mossworts and such?

1 - On Thistledown, we have two in Holtburg and one in Eastham. These two towns are common allegiance hometowns (ie, there's a new command to recall to your allegiance hometown), thus their placement. I only play TD, so can't comment on other servers

2 - Fire and Bludge are key, maybe Lightning if you decide to spend quality time with the Luggies

[jaclin_ff]

Another word of advise... find a good active allegiance on an active world that you like. this will make you play time MUCH more enjoyable !

[Stickyman]

Fiz,

If you want to sign on Harvestgain tonight, I'll take some time to walk you through your first steps back. I'll be on as Shoshinshu or Benny Burrito.

In chat box, type "/tell Shoshinshu, Hi!" or "/tell Benny Burrito, Hi!"

I'm a returning player, quit in 01, returned about one year ago.

[Gustaive]

Stay away from:

Fiuns/Ayabar's Lab
110 Eaters
EO

[Bozo]

Stay away from:

Fiuns/Ayabar's Lab
110 Eaters
EO

No need to be sarcastic. These places are actually tied to quests or kill tasks.

[Gustaive]

No need to be sarcastic. These places are actually tied to quests or kill tasks.

I'm not being sarcastic. I'm serious. That is the advice I see given to new players in /cg and it's not good advice for a new player.

[FizRep]

Why would going to those three places (wherever the heck they are :P) be good or bad for a new player?

[Stickyman]

Those are the most frequently locations to powerlevel. It all comes down to what your goals in the game are. There is a wealth of lower level content, but usually not many players at the level to quest/hunt with. If you enjoy solo play, this is no problem.

Most quilds work on powerleveling the new members to a level where they can join most group quests. At this time in the game, almost all group play is at the highest levels, which can be obtained by leveling in Olthoi Arcade / Fiuns / 100 Eaters / EO.

Some would argue that you can level just as quickly without spending time in those dungeons.

It all comes down to discovering your play style and finding a guild that you are comfortable in. At the end of the day, the choices are yours. Advice is good, but nothing is in stone. In fact, one of the best things about AC is that it can support all different play styles.