The World of Layonara  Forums

Author Topic: For those fast leveling characters out there  (Read 6367 times)

Halfwit Genious

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #100 on: December 02, 2007, 08:47:56 pm »
Quote from: darkstorme

If you manage it while soloing, more power to you.  


This is kinda off topic but I am trying to get the real answer on this. I have been talked too once and was given quite the reprimand about how bad soloing was and how it wasn't in the spirit of the community and all that. Since then I have never repeated what was made to look like an offence. This comment though makes it sound like solong is completely ok. I just want to know one way or the other. And if it's wrong should we be encouraging it like this?

This is by no means a rant or angry post I just want to know the truth.
 

darkstorme

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #101 on: December 02, 2007, 09:03:14 pm »
Well, soloing is not in the spirit of the community.. but it also harms no one but the person doing said soloing.

It's discouraged because most/all the spawns are weighted against soloing.  So the survival rate of the solo adventurer shows a precipitous decline past the first few quests.  Those things that can be safely soloed often don't give much by way of reward for the soloing adventurer... so either way, it's sort of a mechanical discouragement.

If you want to solo, I can't see anything wrong with it... but it kind of defeats the purpose of playing in a multiplayer RPG.
 

Leanthar

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #102 on: December 02, 2007, 09:03:48 pm »
There is nothing wrong with solo'ing, nothing at all. So long as when you come across players (or have reason to do so) you stay IC and RP...not just do circles and hack and slash the entire time.
 
 Many times (not all mind you) solo'ing does tend to cause a player to forget about RP (even when meeting up with players) and just hack and slash and loop creatures/areas/cnr. Solo'ing itself is okay (and it should always be) but looping or just plain ole hack and slash the entire time (ignoring RP opportunities or not staying IC) is where things go south in a real hurry.
 
 Many players can do it just fine, a fair few can not. And some times (again not nearly all mind you) this leads to abusing AI (as an example).
 

Eight-Bit

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #103 on: December 03, 2007, 12:21:03 am »
It is easily possible to get level 7 with a good three to four hour commitment if you do it properly. I've been on and around Layonara for a while and have started, and promptly destroyed many a low level character of my own. It's hardly difficult and if you are having trouble getting your levels, either on your own, or with a group. Feel free to give me a PM Nagash. I am happy to help, I like talking about the mechanics of this place, and I'm feeling like a nice guy. :)

Leveling past seven takes effort. Leveling past 12 takes commitment. Leveling past that takes dedication. Think about that before you send me PMs, however. I'm a lazy typist.

EDIT:

Quote from: darkstorme
Well, soloing is not in the spirit of the community.. but it also harms no one but the person doing said soloing.

It's discouraged because most/all the spawns are weighted against soloing.  So the survival rate of the solo adventurer shows a precipitous decline past the first few quests.  Those things that can be safely soloed often don't give much by way of reward for the soloing adventurer... so either way, it's sort of a mechanical discouragement.

If you want to solo, I can't see anything wrong with it... but it kind of defeats the purpose of playing in a multiplayer RPG.


I have to disagree, my friend. Please do not take this as any thing against you, however with Leanthar giving you a thanks and the fact that you are an established member of the community I want to present the other side of the argument so that both sides can be seen, and support what Leanthar has said  in the above post.

Soloing is not in any way harmful to the server. There are times when people complicate things, get in the way, slow you down, or otherwise add another level to the game you are not interested in. I solo when I want, or have to, play alone. I group up when I can or want to. It is as simple as that and I think it is irresponsible to place a stigma upon it.  

Soloing is difficult and so rewarding in many respects. You are given proof of your character's abilities. Being able to "benchmark" yourself, so to speak, will make the game much more interesting. Being able to understand the relative difference between four to eight moderate monsters and one or two difficult monsters can be confusing, and I won't discuss how I do that here (But let's say that you know you can survive four to six regular Ogres. In a group, you might be able to survive two to three Berserkers or one to two Mountain Giants). Being able to solo is an excellent confidence boost and lets one know what they are able to handle so they do not bite off more than they can chew in a group. The group environment can be misleading as to the individual power of your character, and as we all know (or should, at least), a group on Layonara isn't as strong as it's weakest link - it is as strong as the most powerful, in many respects.

Once again, please do not take any disrespect from this. I merely wanted to place my opinion on the matter.

Oh, and looping, camping, harvesting, mindless luring (which even groups do...), and running the Holy Mistone Marathon is frowned upon and I do not suggest doing it. THAT kind of soloing does damage the server.
 

Xirion

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #104 on: December 03, 2007, 02:40:01 pm »
Where was the part where you disagreed? *girns*

...no seriously I think there is nothing wrong with what you said, it is not the type of soloing you described that is frowned at nor is it the kind Nagash mentioned. If there is noone at the server there is nothing you can do but soloing, quite logical. And I doubt there will be any GM that speaks to you about that.
One thing that could possibly could happen would be that a GM pops in and gives you a little interaction (thanks pseudo, you probably can't remeber but anyway)

It is systematic grinding that is ment (as mentioned by many others) and only-soloing. If you hardly go in parties and play Layo as a single-player-module for NWN (I can't see how this can be motivating in the long run but...)

And if you feel like exploring a bit alone today because you're not in the mood to RP or god knows why, fine!
If you decide that you need some resources for your crafting, fine!
And if you want totest out how strong your PC is, fine aswell!

Just remind yourself that there is another point, which should be the main point, the playing with other people... RPing.... adventuring... friendships and  antagonism... all what makes a PW fun.

"If you want to solo, I can't see anything wrong with it... but it kind of defeats the purpose of playing in a multiplayer RPG."
This quote fits it best. Ofcourse not if you solo from time to time, but if you solo all/most of the time... why not play a good single-player-module or a new RPGame than?!

My two cents,
>Xirion>

Edit:
P.S. My highest char is lvl 10 now (approved half a year ago), I would bet your PC, Nagash, will be higher soon (no offense I just have very few time to spend playing).
 

darkstorme

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #105 on: December 03, 2007, 02:51:04 pm »
*nods*  What Xirion said.  Also... I'm not certain where we disagree, Eight-Bit.  I have nothing against soloing - I've done it often enough myself, when I can't find a group.  (And I'd be interested in knowing how 3-4 hours of play can get you to level 7, since I've been playing Therise and Zardoc for months now, and they're both level 6.)

I just think that the point of a Multiplayer Role Playing server like Layonara is the interaction with other players/characters... not simply exploring the world.  The latter is fun.  The former is fantastic.  As I said, soloing harms no one (except perhaps the solo'er), and certainly doesn't harm the server.  But it's not what Layonara's really meant for. :)
 

Xirion

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #106 on: December 03, 2007, 03:08:48 pm »
Quote from: Nagash von Ritter


It's all about perception, none of the veterans, the admin team or gamemasters will even slightly agree with me, but I would imagine any honest newbies would agree if they wern't afraid of the banhammer.


Oh... another comment to this maybe (I know I am late... I know, I know)

I, not admin or highlevel or too long at this forum and the server, want to say that from my experience sharing once thoughts/feelings/concerns/ideas is not disliked, but wanted

An example is the new rest system this thread (http://forums.layonara.com/general-discussion/129212-problem-new-resting.html) was one of the reason why it was changed to what it is now and not remained as it was designed before that. It was an example of how constructive critics can influence things here.
Ofcourse not everybody is now happy how it is, but that'll never be the case, but I think atleast now all can live with it better.

So aslong as you stay constructive and ontopic without turning insulting, you can say pretty much whatever you want (atleast this is what I feel)
 

ycleption

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #107 on: December 03, 2007, 03:56:02 pm »
A couple comments:

First, to Nagash..
I'm not sure where you are picking up the idea that there is retribution for player mistakes... This is a pretty friendly server, and for the most part if you are doing something against the rules, other players will probably let you know , just to be informative, well before it rises to the level that a dm would step in. There have been very few players who have ever been banned here, and most showed complete and utter disregard for the community.

Second, (not sure if this is really quite the right place to say this but...) I hear a lot about how people are worried about level range, and inappropriate partying. To me, difference in level should never never limit who adventures with whom. Obviously, there is a problem when a player regularly goes with groups of much higher level players to high level areas. However, mentoring type relationships are an important part of RP in this type of world, and often it requires adventuring with different level players, or exploring interesting areas that may be a bit beyond the lower level's ability to go to unaided.

Nothing says that a higher level group can't spend some time in low level areas to accommodate a low-level party member. Just about any high-level character can nerf themselves with creative RP to make partying with low-level characters viable: Maybe your dwarven weaponmaster "got drubbed, tho' it shames me to admit it, by a ruddy elf in the Stormcrest dart games... canna' have tha, so I've got to practice a bit on moving targets..." Maybe for a wizard, "I am attempting to work on strengthening my foundational magics, and will only prepare simple warding spells on this outing..." Maybe you "need to work on defensive techniques" and so just use parry mode. I'm sure you can come up with something that works for your own character; Drexia carries nunchuku with her for that purpose, and has a variety of reasons for it depending.

Basically, my opinion is that you should let RP determine who you party with, and then figure out how that party can work within the rules so you aren't leeching off others, or allowing others to be a leech.
 

Polak76

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #108 on: December 03, 2007, 09:45:20 pm »
Firstly i'd like the thank Nagash for voicing his opinion, especially as a new player.  Sometimes that takes alot of guts, especially in an established server about an often fragile topic.  It's the new players opinions that I'm always interested in.  They give a fresh account of the server and can often identify the flaws that we miss from being so established and sometimes stubborn about.

I also agree with some of your comments, in particular the ones about quests where the heavy-weights get all the attention and you feel like a bystander.  I can't speak for all the GM's, however, if you get a chance to jump on the Australian quests (probably when you get back over here) with Dezza and Psuedo as GM's,  you'll find that their quests are less focused on world altering events, and more focused on player amusement which I feel gives everyone a shot to be the star.

As for fast leveling.  It used to bother me when someone zooms past me in a couple of months of playing versus my year of playing.  Then I take comfort in knowing that they're often just a high level character and nothing more.  My character on the other hand is a rich character, full of mysteries and intrigue and plants his mark on the world.  That is what keeps me here.  If I was leveling up so fast I'd probably have eight characters, all of which would bore me with lack of substance.

As for soloing, you my friend have chosen the lonely road.  To aspire to be a corathite or related faction/alignment usually means to walk the lonely path.  I've had to tamper with the fate of my latest character slightly to allow tolerance for others to join me or visa versa.  Unfortunatley the days we get a Corathite group together are two few and far between, unlike the good ole days.  
Hence soloing is fine so long as it is not abused in my personal opinion.  We can pick on soloing characters as abusing the system by grinding and camping, however, so can groups.  So long as we're all conscious and aware of the rules there are no excuses for that type of behaviour.

To conclude I've had my latest character for a year and I just cracked lvl 16.  My previous character took about a year to hit lvl 20.  Others out there can crack lvl 20 in about 3-5 months.  The difference is available time and if people out there wish to spend all their time online, good luck to you!
 

Eight-Bit

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #109 on: December 04, 2007, 12:24:54 pm »
Quote from: darkstorme
Well, soloing is not in the spirit of the community.. but it also harms no one but the person doing said soloing.


It was in reply to the harm it may cause to said soloer. Otherwise I agreed entirely. I really ought to be more specific. At least I hold a better train of thought than good ol' Morvis used to.

*Changes the subject and darts away..*
 

Nagash von Ritter

  • Jr. Member
  • **
    • Followers of Corath
  • Posts: 85
    • View Profile
Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #110 on: December 07, 2007, 10:34:42 am »
Quote from: Polak76
Firstly i'd like the thank Nagash for voicing his opinion, especially as a new player.  Sometimes that takes alot of guts, especially in an established server about an often fragile topic.  It's the new players opinions that I'm always interested in.  They give a fresh account of the server and can often identify the flaws that we miss from being so established and sometimes stubborn about.

I also agree with some of your comments, in particular the ones about quests where the heavy-weights get all the attention and you feel like a bystander.  I can't speak for all the GM's, however, if you get a chance to jump on the Australian quests (probably when you get back over here) with Dezza and Psuedo as GM's,  you'll find that their quests are less focused on world altering events, and more focused on player amusement which I feel gives everyone a shot to be the star.

As for fast leveling.  It used to bother me when someone zooms past me in a couple of months of playing versus my year of playing.  Then I take comfort in knowing that they're often just a high level character and nothing more.  My character on the other hand is a rich character, full of mysteries and intrigue and plants his mark on the world.  That is what keeps me here.  If I was leveling up so fast I'd probably have eight characters, all of which would bore me with lack of substance.

As for soloing, you my friend have chosen the lonely road.  To aspire to be a corathite or related faction/alignment usually means to walk the lonely path.  I've had to tamper with the fate of my latest character slightly to allow tolerance for others to join me or visa versa.  Unfortunatley the days we get a Corathite group together are two few and far between, unlike the good ole days.  
Hence soloing is fine so long as it is not abused in my personal opinion.  We can pick on soloing characters as abusing the system by grinding and camping, however, so can groups.  So long as we're all conscious and aware of the rules there are no excuses for that type of behaviour.

To conclude I've had my latest character for a year and I just cracked lvl 16.  My previous character took about a year to hit lvl 20.  Others out there can crack lvl 20 in about 3-5 months.  The difference is available time and if people out there wish to spend all their time online, good luck to you!


Well lonely yes, but sometimes the greatest thing is to take the path less travelled, I would rather walk alone in a new place never before seen than in a shopping mall, seen by millions!
 

Gulnyr

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #111 on: December 07, 2007, 01:03:57 pm »
An excellent sentiment, but the dark path of Corath is not exactly new.  There have been quite a few Corathite characters, and some of them have left a mark.  The path may not be trampled bare, but it's still obvious that people have walked it.  It's not entirely new, but it's still a lonely path because most characters don't like Corathites.

If you are looking for a truly new path, follow Goran.  Or Deliar.  Or Vierdri'ira.  Even Grand or Grannoch.  These gods have had very few (if any) followers among the PCs.  No one that I know of has ever stood forth and successfully made a mark under these banners.

There's nothing wrong with playing a Corathite character and I'm not trying to dissuade you.  Go for it and have fun.  That path is definitely newer than some others.  I'm just offering that there is a difference between 'new' and 'lonely.'
 

Drizzlin

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #112 on: December 07, 2007, 10:22:26 pm »
I only know of one cleric of Vierdri'ira ever in play. Gulynr is right though and I admit walking the path alone is fun at times, but very lonely and hard at other times.
 

Krell Himmler

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #113 on: December 21, 2007, 02:58:29 pm »
I agree I like how it is possible to be very dedicated and level (relatively) fast as long as you are involved in many GM run quests/plots and RP exercises. I think it'd be wrong to punish the addicts for playing too much so I think it's a good balance.
 

Eight-Bit

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #114 on: January 10, 2008, 01:54:56 pm »
Quote from: Drizzlin
I only know of one cleric of Vierdri'ira ever in play. Gulynr is right though and I admit walking the path alone is fun at times, but very lonely and hard at other times.


Or painfully dull.
 

Drizzlin

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #115 on: January 10, 2008, 10:14:21 pm »
Quote from: Eight-Bit
Or painfully dull.


I can be "dull" but it can also be what you make of it. I wouldn't change a thing with Daralith or the path I have had to walk to play him. For me it has been anything but dull.

On a good note, if it ever became dull, you can always make another pc!
 

Verideth

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #116 on: March 14, 2008, 01:48:39 pm »
*throws a nickel in the pot*

I played on a PW named ALFA ( A Land Far Away). They have VERY tight XP and loot rules. I played my main PC for 2~3 years and got to 11 level.

He was very rich in history and stories. Ah Fror the Dwarven Wizard. :D

So far my experience in Layonara has been wonderful. I am honored that the DM's give players freedom to solo, powerlevel (to an extend), group, make a named for themselves and that they stress RP. Humm RP. I love RP.

All that powerleveling without RP, is called WOW.

I know, I played that too.

To me it gets old. I love history and talking old war stories. Remember that time you mooned that Medusa and got turned to stone? Har har har...

This is a game, we should have fun and respect for each other. Ultimately I hope I am making a few new friends out there.

Byron
 

Heinz Rondorf

  • Jr. Member
  • **
    • Followers of Rofirein
  • Posts: 86
    • View Profile
Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #117 on: March 14, 2008, 03:02:39 pm »
The main problem I have with being a lower lvl is that when I go on a DM quests, I will say something and then it will be ignored. So lately I have not been on any DM quests, and do not plan until I get my PC higher lvl so that what I say will not be ignored.

But I must say, there are a few people out there that do not ignore the lower lvls nearly as much.

My dwarf is lvl 9 now, I will most likely wait till he is lvl 12 until I take him on quests. I still RP with him though. I will sometimes spend over an hour RPing.
 

Script Wrecked

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #118 on: March 14, 2008, 10:56:45 pm »
Quote from: Heinz Rondorf
The main problem I have with being a lower lvl is that when I go on a DM quests, I will say something and then it will be ignored. So lately I have not been on any DM quests, and do not plan until I get my PC higher lvl so that what I say will not be ignored.

But I must say, there are a few people out there that do not ignore the lower lvls nearly as much.

My dwarf is lvl 9 now, I will most likely wait till he is lvl 12 until I take him on quests. I still RP with him though. I will sometimes spend over an hour RPing.


There are many reasons why you get ignored, the following is just one tact.

People need a while to get used to you/your character. Even if they are ignoring you, your responses are still sinking in (throw enough mud, some of its going to stick). After a while, they seem to "get you", and then start responding to you, including you.

My suggestion is do more quests, not less, otherwise when you reach twelveth level, people still won't know you, and you'll still be in the same boat.

"Its a public relations campaign, you've got to put yourself 'out there'".

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Script Wrecked.
 

Krell Himmler

Re: For those fast leveling characters out there
« Reply #119 on: March 15, 2008, 12:48:54 pm »
In quests many people get their point missed, there are so many messages coming up that it gets hard. I have the same problem personally, people talk to me and I miss a lot of what they say.

I think part of getting noticed in a quest is not being like everybody else...

If you speak like the average American/Australian/British etc adult/teenager/kid you will get ignored. Try and spice up your RP, make your character more unique, do funny, unusual or interesting things to get him/her noticed. I tend to filter out sometimes in quests people who speak like someone on the street and especially people who use any 'gangster' lingo. I think the harder you try and RP and the better you get with time, the more attention you will get.

Go to the once off quests, they're a great place to get involved. Check the calendar and you should find a lot of them. Also, check whenever you log into the server, if anyone is around your level and online, see if you can get some RP/hunting together and get to know people! This really helps to get you known and people listening to you in quests.