Newb Queries

[izopyn]

Hello Peruser,

I'm considering joining the SoD server but have some questions; I will greatly appreciate any answers you can give.

I apologize in advance if the answers to any of the following questions can be found elsewhere on these forums; I have investigated to the best of my ability and patience and have not found them.

1) Does SoD use "classic" or "revamped" texture graphics? (E.g. Freeport, Nek Forest, EC, etc.)
2) Which expansions are available on the SoD server?
3) If they are all available, which are required to play? I read in the main FAQ that the "Platinum Pack" is a minimum requirement; I do not have LDoN... will I need to buy this to play or is it only recommended?
4) Can players be charmed?
5) Is there any possibility of additional servers being created, e.g. PvP or Progressive?
6) In relativity to the SOE servers, how amiable do players tend to behave on SoD? In the absence of paid GMs and corporate server management, do disputes and disagreements tend to be easier or more difficult to resolve? Have you experienced more or less harassment?
7) Is it possible to solo "adept" mobs?
8) In regard to group-finding... can someone give me a ballpark estimate of difficulty in finding a group (between 1 and 5) at "prime time" in the following locations?
a) Crushbone
b) Paludal Caverns
c) Unrest
d) South Karana
e) Highhold Keep
f) Castle Mistmoore
g) Plane of Justice

Thank you very much for any light you can shine upon my gloomy understanding of SoD. I will appreciate any feedback you can give.

Lies, 60 Dark Elf Enchanter, Ayonae Ro, Retired Summer 2003
Kobane Skatterbrane, 54 Half Elf Bard, The Combine, Retired December 2006

 

[Paxx]

Hmm..

Ok to begin with SOD is NOT live. So most of your questions are irrelevant.
With that said lets see...

1) Mostly classic
2) None, but many zones and mob models are used form various expansions.
3) Everything up thru LDON and GoD I believe.
4) Yes
5) Possible but doubtful.
6) SOD has real GMs, petition system works.
7) No
8) a) thru f) these zones exist (with the exception of b) but are not as you probably know from live. Finding a group varies with level and how well you play your char/make friends/etc..
g) You do not want to go to the Plane of Justice. If you do end up there your chance of finding a group won't matter.

 

[robopirateninja]

I'll tackle your questions as best I can, but I'll have to skip some of them since I never played Live.

1.) not sure
2.) SoD uses zones and textures up to and including GoD, if you are missing expansions you won't be able to play.
3.) As Above, I think that there are some expansions that you can run the game without but not enter certain zones, not sure what those may be but definitely get all of the expansions required.
4.) Players can be charmed by mobs, not sure what happens with charm in PVP.
5.) I haven't heard of any plans to add servers to SoD, although about once a week someone posts a suggestion that one be created.
6.) Most players are pretty cool to play with, and intentional griefing is punished by GMs with jailtime or banning. There is almost always at least one GM on, and they are all volunteers who are looking to make SoD a better place, conflicts are usually resolved swiftly.
7.) A severely twinked character might be able to solo the first couple adepts, but after that you need a group or raid to tackle them.
8.) The content on SoD is all custom, so the zones will look familiar but the mobs, quests and everything else will not be as you remember. I don't know all of the zones from live but off the top of my head:
Crushbone: Is now Fearstone Keep, a zone for ~lvls 10-20. The zone used to be notoriously difficult but was recently revamped to make it more attractive.
Unrest: I think Unrest was what is now shrouded isle, it's a zone for ~10-30, its pretty popular
Castle Mistmoore: Is now Eldenals Mansion, a level 60+ xp zone. There are groups there all the time
Plane of Justice is the Jail zone now, whenever ooc gets retarded you can probably find a group in there!

 

[calaran]

Hello Peruser,

I'm considering joining the SoD server but have some questions; I will greatly appreciate any answers you can give.

I apologize in advance if the answers to any of the following questions can be found elsewhere on these forums; I have investigated to the best of my ability and patience and have not found them.

1) Does SoD use "classic" or "revamped" texture graphics? (E.g. Freeport, Nek Forest, EC, etc.)

I believe classic as far as what you're asking. You can turn on the 'enhanced' graphics in the setup... which turns on the Luclin models, but you're referring to something that was done much later I believe. That said, some things are very different like.. Freeport = a high level (50+) zone of undead mobs, not a starting city.

2) Which expansions are available on the SoD server?

I believe we utilize stuff out of all the expansions up to and including GoD. LDoN for sure. There are zones you could not get into and likely gear you could not use if you didn't have LDoN and GoD... but if you have up to the expansions before that (LoY or PoP, can't recall which was directly before LDoN), you could just patch up to current retail which would guarantee you having everything you need.

3) If they are all available, which are required to play? I read in the main FAQ that the "Platinum Pack" is a minimum requirement; I do not have LDoN... will I need to buy this to play or is it only recommended?

See above. I know you'll need LDoN at least. You may not need GoD but at least LDoN.

4) Can players be charmed?

Yep, as far as I know.

5) Is there any possibility of additional servers being created, e.g. PvP or Progressive?

This is highly unlikely. It has been discussed before ad infinitum... but currently the staff here is working on another project... a game they're writing from scratch. Having seen the game design decisions made here in the past, I have no doubt that this game, freed of client-restrictions will be phenomenal.

6) In relativity to the the Company servers, how amiable do players tend to behave on SoD? In the absence of paid GMs and corporate server management, do disputes and disagreements tend to be easier or more difficult to resolve? Have you experienced more or less harassment?

Players here are a weird combination. They are the most friendly, helpful and interesting people you'll meet on an MMO (with a significantly higher average rl age than current MMOs like WoW and Vanguard) as long as you will help yourself. If you log in and are like "giv me gold plx kthx!" they will despise you. If you ask on public lines every day how to get to different zones or how to do quests, rather than consulting these forums and the exceptional wiki... they're going to treat you poorly. But if you are earnestly trying to learn and play and enjoy the world, you won't have any problems... smaller community = a larger % of the base will know about anything good/bad you do, so people maybe tend to be on better behavior.

7) Is it possible to solo "adept" mobs?

I have heard that being VERY twinked out, you can solo the first 1, maybe 2. Beyond that, I highly doubt it.

8) In regard to group-finding... can someone give me a ballpark estimate of difficulty in finding a group (between 1 and 5) at "prime time" in the following locations?
a) Crushbone
b) Paludal Caverns
c) Unrest
d) South Karana
e) Highhold Keep
f) Castle Mistmoore
g) Plane of Justice

You're going to want to read through the wiki and posts about how this world differs from what you're used to. You're not going to find zones by many of those names in this game... and if you go to the zone that looks like that zone, that MAY be located off the same adjacent zones, you'll find that it most likely has different inhabitants and a different backstory/theme. Keep in mind this is not just an Game clone server. This is an almost entirely different game that merely uses the same game client, same races (except vah shir) and classes and same zone files but customizes everything possible.

As far as finding groups goes... it can be tough, I'll be honest. If you FIND a good group, levels FLY on here... but there have been 10-level stretches where I basically 'had' to solo 'cause I have low playtime so I couldn't sit around and wait for a group. Good news is, you can 2box (called DC'ing here 'cause often it's just 2 clients on one machine rather than 2 machines... DC = dual clienting) so you can make your own group with a tank/healer combo.

I think if you really liked Game and especially if you were around in the old days (some would say pre-PoP, some would say even older like... Velious/Kunark or even the original release) you'll find that this game has much the same feel of the old game. It's an older client which does bring us SOME restrictions but overall it does what is needed. The theme/backstory is totally different here... some old cities are now mob-infested zones... some old beginner zones may be raid zones now... but there is a storied reason behind EVERYTHING. The plot develops as we go (there's even a city that has been literally built/populated/staffed by players). There are true good/evil factions, a series of quests for a main plot development, well thought-out quests for every class in the game, and revamps to many of the game systems (no PoTranquility to use for portals, you'll go through the mansion of portals instead... no Bazaar, but instead a custom-written trading system... exp bonus for being in groups so every member beyond 2 just adds to efficiency and doesn't 'cost' you exp... archaic/ancient/relic spells that are RARE drops and very very nice finds for casters... tons of stances for the melee/hybrid classes that can have huge effects on combat... greatly increased out-of-combat mana regen, but lowered in-combat sit-regen so sitting/standing/healing/sitting cleric bots are less useful, just get up and go melee if it's not AE/rampage... when you die, you don't lose exp, oyu just get a debt that can't go over 100%, and you pay it off by using plat or by killing several mobs... Bards are not NEAR the carpal-tunnel-inducing class they were on Live... Paladins are more of a DPSing tank class than they are on live... gah, there really are about a million things you should read up on... but know that those who play here are FIERCELY loyal to this server and this admin/gm staff for the most part because they have provided a porsche for free rather than us paying monthly for a pinto).

Basically... say hello to your new home, unless you were really looking for an exact 'clone'.

 

[Paxx]

.... because they have provided a Porsche for free rather than us paying monthly for a pinto).

Pretty much sums it up.

 

[izopyn]

Thank you Paxx, RPN, and Calaran for your quick replies, you've all been extremely informative.

I misinterpreted the meaning of Game server-emulation in my initial research of SoD. You've elucidated me considerably. I do now have some new questions, if you would be so kind as to continue your very generous feedback.

6) SOD has real GMs, petition system works.

The meaning of that question was whether players on SoD tend to be better or worse at resolving issues amongst themselves... in Game I found that people were often obstenant and quick to call a GM unnecessarily. My inclination is to guess that players on SoD would be better in this regard, have you found that they are?

4.) Players can be charmed by mobs, not sure what happens with charm in PVP.

I should have clarified, I was intending that in the PvP context. Does anyone know if players can be charmed by other players in PvP?

8) a) thru f) these zones exist (with the exception of b)

same races (except vah shir)

So there is no "Luclin" or Luclin equivalent, then? (I'm gathering that there's no PoK either; thank god.)

I believe classic as far as what you're asking. You can turn on the 'enhanced' graphics in the setup... which turns on the Luclin models, but you're referring to something that was done much later I believe. That said, some things are very different like.. Freeport = a high level (50+) zone of undead mobs, not a starting city.

That sounds very intriguing, and I'm relieved; I hated Company's "new Freeport" passionately, and am glad that I won't be seeing it again.

You're going to want to read...paying monthly for a pinto).

I couldn't be more satisfied with your reply calaran, thank you very much. I just have three questions about your post.

1) You mentioned major changes to Bards, in regard to the avoidance of carpel tunnel syndrome... could you elaborate a bit on this? Is it simply easier to twist spells, or has spell twisting been made less effective? Is it possible to AoE/Snare/Selo's kite?

2) You mentioned that finding a group can be tough... This is what made me stop playing FFXI. Is it often so difficult to find a feasible group that a player can be essentially paralyzed in game progression? If so, what are the best ways to mitigate this?

3) Finally, I couldn't find anything on the Wiki regarding the trading system... could you perhaps provide a brief explanation of how it works?

Thank you again to all of you for your help!

Edit: One more question occurred to me.

What's the deal with boats?

 

[Duma]

1) Does SoD use "classic" or "revamped" texture graphics? (E.g. Freeport, Nek Forest, EC, etc.)
Classic.

2) Which expansions are available on the SoD server?
Zones and mobs up to GoD (soon), stats and AA's up tp Planes of Power

3) If they are all available, which are required to play? I read in the main FAQ that the "Platinum Pack" is a minimum requirement; I do not have LDoN... will I need to buy this to play or is it only recommended?
You can play with any number of expansion you just wont beable to zone into zones or see mobs you don't have. Best to just have them all.

4) Can players be charmed?
Yes.

5) Is there any possibility of additional servers being created, e.g. PvP or Progressive?
Already had PvP servers that didn;t work out.

6) In relativity to the the Company servers, how amiable do players tend to behave on SoD? In the absence of paid GMs and corporate server management, do disputes and disagreements tend to be easier or more difficult to resolve? Have you experienced more or less harassment?
Players behave themselves a lot more than on live servers. Sony has to be professional. Wiz and company get to be merciless assholes ^_^. The rules are taken and enforced with extreme prejudice.

7) Is it possible to solo "adept" mobs?
No, you cannot engage them by the time you get high enough to solo them. They are level locked.

8) In regard to group-finding... can someone give me a ballpark estimate of difficulty in finding a group (between 1 and 5) at "prime time" in the following locations?
a) Crushbone
b) Paludal Caverns
c) Unrest
d) South Karana
e) Highhold Keep
f) Castle Mistmoore
g) Plane of Justice
Haven't played the under game in years so I can't comment on this.

 

[moghedancarns]

1) You mentioned major changes to Bards, in regard to the avoidance of carpel tunnel syndrome... could you elaborate a bit on this? Is it simply easier to twist spells, or has spell twisting been made less effective? Is it possible to AoE/Snare/Selo's kite?

IIRC, and I am close, you hit the songs you want to play, they are joined to the melody, and those are the ones you play. You get two beneficial songs and one detrimental. You stop it with /cm endsong, which stops playing all songs and you set a new melody. You could still kite in that fashion, but it is less effective as AoEs hit only a small number of mobs, no swarm kiting.

2) You mentioned that finding a group can be tough... This is what made me stop playing FFXI. Is it often so difficult to find a feasible group that a player can be essentially paralyzed in game progression? If so, what are the best ways to mitigate this?

All Classes can solo. Classes that could not solo were made to be able to do so in some fashion still fitting their theme. Light Blue mobs give full xp when soloed, they give much reduced xp in groups. Ina group, no matter how many people, 2 or 6, you get half the xp for killing the mob. thus, full groups kill the fastest for the best xp, far in excess of soloing unless the group truely sucks. Grouping can be hit or miss, mostly in the 50s because their simply are not that many people of that level. Low levels have lots of alt, high levels remain full. The alts begin to peter out in the upper 40s and the 65s are not really interested in having those under 60 in the group. However, the "main quest" and other standard side quests will finish out these levels easily if you save it.

3) Finally, I couldn't find anything on the Wiki regarding the trading system... could you perhaps provide a brief explanation of how it works?

/cm listprice #, place itme in shared bank slots... item for sale for #pp
/cm listadd xxxxxxxx, you name shows up in listview, with xxxxxxxx description
/cm listview #, view the lists of descriptions, # at a time
/cm listsold xxxxx, see what xxxxx has for sale
/cm listsold next, see what the next person has for sale
/cm listbuy xxxxx ##, buy item xxxxx is selling in the ## position
/cm listsend xxxxx #, send an item CoD to xxxx for #pp

The seller will lose some PP in bank transaction fees... to avoid these, meet the seller.

 

[izopyn]

Perfect. Thank you moghedancarns!

I will be jumping into SoD straight away, I think.

 

[Kyeld]

1) You mentioned major changes to Bards, in regard to the avoidance of carpel tunnel syndrome... could you elaborate a bit on this? Is it simply easier to twist spells, or has spell twisting been made less effective? Is it possible to AoE/Snare/Selo's kite?

Non detrimental songs do not need to be twisted, two can be played at the same time. Detrimental songs on the other hand have to be twisted, you can play two detrimental songs at the same time, but only one will continue to play without twisting.