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Really want to give this game a fair run... some questions...
WSIMike
Member Posts: 5,564
in Shadowbane
Hey all..
Okay, so I originally tried SB wayyyy back when it was still a pretty new game and played for a bit. Don't remember why I stopped playing - I think I picked up AC2 or something.
I've come back a few times since then but for some reason, I just felt either overwhelmed or underwhelmed... or some combination of each. I think I felt overwhelmed at the apparent vastness of the game.... that is... they give you alot of ground to cover, even in the lower level areas and I always had trouble finding worthy mobs to fight after about level 10. And so I guess I was underwhelmed by the apparent (to me) lack of direction the game gives you - it left me feeling like I was wandering aimlessly. Then there were wierd tech. glitches, like getting stuck in the environment that even using the unstuck command wouldn't fix... I'd get unstuck and immediately be "warped" right back into whatever I was stuck in to begin with. I think that was the finishing point for me most of the time I tried it.
However... the core gameplay of the game, the depth of the character customization (which amazes me still) and the overall idea behind it has always intrigued me - I just couldn't get past the fundamentals of it enough to get in to any of that.
Then there was the reputation SB players seem to have as callous, abusive and generally unfriendly people, that always turned me off.
I'm posting the following as examples of what I've read about the game, quite alot in some cases, in the past and is what kept me from giving it a fair try. Don't take this as me bitching about the game. Take it as an opportunity to either clear up misinformation I may have given too much credit to, or perhaps to elaborate on or clarify something that is a bit hazy at best.
First is the whole "newbie bullying" thing. What I've read so many times is that new players are relentlessly ganked 'til they either somehow land in a guild to protect them (which I'll get to in a moment), or get sick of it and leave. Some have said things along the lines of "well that's what you get in an open PvP game; it's not for carebears" and.. I agree but I disagree. Saying "high levels ganking newbies is part of the game, if you can't take it then go play WoW, carebear", pounding your chest and flexing your muscles is all well and good, I suppose. It is a PvP game, and it does require a thicker-skin to play, succeed at and enjoy than a PvE or light PvP game.
But, really, as I understand it, it seems what those types of players are doing is basically stomping on ant-hills and potentially limiting the player-base. More New Players is a good thing in any game, if for no other reason than it keeps the game more active and, at least when there's a subscription involved, brings more money to the company to continue developing it. In that light... why so many people would choose to stomp on and then laugh when a new player gets fed up and leaves is beyond me. It really seems like shooting yourself in the foot to me.
My question on this is.... is it *really* as bad as it's made out to be, or is there some exaggeration going on?
The next thing is this.. the guild thing. I've read for so long that it is extremely difficult to find a guild because there's so much paranoia of spying and such. Yet, now I'm seeing that yo ushould get a guild before you leave the newbie area. So.. has there been a change of thinking on the guild thing? Is one situation or the other wrong, or... What's the situation with that?
And lastly... this is a question of my own, rather than a "complaint" I've read. How is the in-game community? If you have a question, make it known that you're a new player and would like some help with something (ie. understanding how something works - not asking for money)... how are you regarded? Are you shouted down, heckled and berated for being a "n00b", or are there people who will actually acknowledge that you're a new player needing help and answer your questions?
So.. thanks for the time to read this and hopefully the responses will bring me closer to giving it another go and farther from staying the hell away...
Oh yeah.. and is it still free to play? Can't find any info on that.
Thanks!
Okay, so I originally tried SB wayyyy back when it was still a pretty new game and played for a bit. Don't remember why I stopped playing - I think I picked up AC2 or something.
I've come back a few times since then but for some reason, I just felt either overwhelmed or underwhelmed... or some combination of each. I think I felt overwhelmed at the apparent vastness of the game.... that is... they give you alot of ground to cover, even in the lower level areas and I always had trouble finding worthy mobs to fight after about level 10. And so I guess I was underwhelmed by the apparent (to me) lack of direction the game gives you - it left me feeling like I was wandering aimlessly. Then there were wierd tech. glitches, like getting stuck in the environment that even using the unstuck command wouldn't fix... I'd get unstuck and immediately be "warped" right back into whatever I was stuck in to begin with. I think that was the finishing point for me most of the time I tried it.
However... the core gameplay of the game, the depth of the character customization (which amazes me still) and the overall idea behind it has always intrigued me - I just couldn't get past the fundamentals of it enough to get in to any of that.
Then there was the reputation SB players seem to have as callous, abusive and generally unfriendly people, that always turned me off.
I'm posting the following as examples of what I've read about the game, quite alot in some cases, in the past and is what kept me from giving it a fair try. Don't take this as me bitching about the game. Take it as an opportunity to either clear up misinformation I may have given too much credit to, or perhaps to elaborate on or clarify something that is a bit hazy at best.
First is the whole "newbie bullying" thing. What I've read so many times is that new players are relentlessly ganked 'til they either somehow land in a guild to protect them (which I'll get to in a moment), or get sick of it and leave. Some have said things along the lines of "well that's what you get in an open PvP game; it's not for carebears" and.. I agree but I disagree. Saying "high levels ganking newbies is part of the game, if you can't take it then go play WoW, carebear", pounding your chest and flexing your muscles is all well and good, I suppose. It is a PvP game, and it does require a thicker-skin to play, succeed at and enjoy than a PvE or light PvP game.
But, really, as I understand it, it seems what those types of players are doing is basically stomping on ant-hills and potentially limiting the player-base. More New Players is a good thing in any game, if for no other reason than it keeps the game more active and, at least when there's a subscription involved, brings more money to the company to continue developing it. In that light... why so many people would choose to stomp on and then laugh when a new player gets fed up and leaves is beyond me. It really seems like shooting yourself in the foot to me.
My question on this is.... is it *really* as bad as it's made out to be, or is there some exaggeration going on?
The next thing is this.. the guild thing. I've read for so long that it is extremely difficult to find a guild because there's so much paranoia of spying and such. Yet, now I'm seeing that yo ushould get a guild before you leave the newbie area. So.. has there been a change of thinking on the guild thing? Is one situation or the other wrong, or... What's the situation with that?
And lastly... this is a question of my own, rather than a "complaint" I've read. How is the in-game community? If you have a question, make it known that you're a new player and would like some help with something (ie. understanding how something works - not asking for money)... how are you regarded? Are you shouted down, heckled and berated for being a "n00b", or are there people who will actually acknowledge that you're a new player needing help and answer your questions?
So.. thanks for the time to read this and hopefully the responses will bring me closer to giving it another go and farther from staying the hell away...
Oh yeah.. and is it still free to play? Can't find any info on that.
Thanks!
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road,
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Comments
it is free to play, however i cannot tell you to play or not play the game.. as far as i know it is new player friendly ... some ppl help in this game others just like to talk about your mother, but i guess that is just about every game you play lol.
the players, depend on what server you go to are start off with, some guilds help out some dont.. if you play on mourning and want a guild im pretty sure dragonscale will have you., but be warned there are alot of spys in the nation cause all they do is recruit and they dont care who. as far as other servers i have no clue, but im sure the chinese already got thier hands on the full maps and destroying the game more.
test just wiped so if you want fast lvls and fast gold and dont mind wipes every so offten its pretty good.
mourning as far as i know is a dupped server lol. everyone has gear, money, rescourses you name it dupped.
not sure if this helped out any but if you decide to replay again GL.
there are still alot of bugs, lag, etc..so if you get stuck type /stuck you will be unstuck in a few sec's
gl in game if you decide to play
Well thank yo ufor replying! I was beginning to wonder there for a bit if i'd asked some "hands-off" questions or something.
I'm well aware that there are basically idiots in any online game. I've dealt with and ignored them plenty in my time. I'm speaking on the general sense... some games on the whole seem to have a more helpful community, even games where the basis of gameplay is player-versus-player conflict.
Well, let me ask this... In players' experience, which server would be the most recommended server for a new player? Does it really matter? I think maybe test server might be a good way to practice with different builds and see how they are? Would that be a good idea? With the character config. so detailed as it is, it's both impressive and daunting to me. So.. I'm sure some experimentation woudl do me good.
I guess in general, I'm hoping that I could accomplish the following if I come to SB again:
- Find a good guild
- Find people who are actually helpful, can tell the difference between a new player trying to learn, or a "n00b" just looking for some hand-holding, and the maturity to answer accordingly. I like to learn on my own and really hate even asking for help; but sometimes it's necessary.
- The ability to actually play the game without getting ganked... *too* much lol. I have no illusions that it won't happen. I expect it to happen. Even in Lineage II with its quasi-open PvP, ganking could happen anywhere anytime. In SB, I expect it even more.
And I guess that about sums it up.
Thanks again!
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Mourning has the highest population, and there is a great guild there called Dragonscale.
They welcome all new players to their guild
If you don't want to get ganked, play a character that has track. Or make sure someone in you group has track.
Yeah, Mourning server is where you should be. Definately spend your first 20ish lvls on noob island lvling either by yourself or join a group with other lowbies. Once at lvl 20+ contact Dragonscale. The easiest way to do that is to type "/who dragonscale" in the chat window and it'll search for people with "Dragonscale" in the name. Dragonscale is very noob friendly and is always open recruiting. This means you will litterally have 100 people willing to actually help you- be it with gold, gear, lvls, general or terribly specific questions. I know they pvp often but they are known for NOT being rpkers (random player killers) and it has earned them a bit of respect too- that means many people refrain from randomly ganking Dragonscale players.
My second piece of advice is to get on the Shadowbane message boards. It can be a pretty hostile environment itself, but it has TONS of great info for players of all types. If you have general questions about... well... anything I recommend the "General Gameplay Mechanics" boards and once you decide what kind of player you will be making, visit the specific profession's board of your chosing. There are soooo many ways to gimp a character that it's a MUCH better idea to hit the boards and let other people help you and advise you on the best way to spend stat/ability/training points. Each class has a CRAP TON of spells and focus lines to pick from. Definately hit the boards before you even roll your first character.
Hope that helps a bit.