The Newb Experience

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dlhennes

Dalayan Beginner
Hello, I've been thinking about SoD for a while now, having some strange desire to relive the old EQ days (played from vanilla release up to Luclin) and I was wondering what the newb experience would be like starting this late in the games life.

Would all the low and mid level zones be empty? Would I have no one to group with, trade with, talk with, and generally share the MMO experience with? I would love to play SoD for a while, but I really dont want to be on my own the whole time up until the high levels.

So, what is everyones opinion on the matter and do you all have any suggestions and advice? Thanks!

-Bailbub, retired Tribunal player
 
That's mostly going to depend on (1) your playtime (2) how pro-active you are about groups.

There is, admittedly, a sense of "everyone is high level, oh poo" on the server, but the numbers actually contradict this feeling. If you're willing to be pro-active, form groups, and seek out the newb experience, it's there.

That said... if you play on Australian hours, you're going to be at a bit of a disadvantage.
 
I am pretty new. started last week and play EST and I am level 8. There are constantly at lest one newb group or players in Blackburrow or the sourounding areas.

The guys here are really honest about population questions. I think they are bieng pretty humble. I was very suprised at the low level population. Its not huge, but if you WANT to group you can make it happen.

Maybe that slows down around 20-50ish, But I dunno yet. I would assume on a server like this if you go adventuring off the beaten path at a early level you will probably be alone. Certain zones hafe exp penatlies and others have Exp boosts. I think Blackburrow is a plus 15%.

So if you look and find the zones with boosts I bet you can find a group pretty easily.

Its free bro try it out. I just did a longer blog about it if you want a little more info from a totally Newb (ex EQ player) www.theleagueofshadow.com
 
http://forum.shardsofdalaya.com/showthread.php?t=15666

Its not for typical US timezones (I have no idea where you are located), it gives a rather nice idea of population density by level.

Personal experience leveling up from 1 - 65 (Started about a year and some months ago) was if I wanted to group, it was no more difficult then a live MMO. That is if you put in the effort, you'll find a group at most any level range. SoD is nice in that

a) You can box on additional char. Some people will say this hurts groups, I'll argue otherwise. If you can find 2 other people, you can fill out a full group.
b) You get the same exp for 2 people as you do with 6. No reason not to take more people in most cases because of that.
c) Soloing is an option for many classes (and when its not you can box 2 characters and duo all the way up)

Get on in. Do the quests (they are worth it here, and some are VERY well written to boot). And if you don't like it, you've lost nothing but some time you were looking to burn anyway.


And take a look at notmyname's thread http://forum.shardsofdalaya.com/showthread.php?p=151811 for some other handy starting advice.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I'm EST, US which I assume is what the majority of SoD players are (American that is) and I am absolutely not against grouping, thats one of the whole points of an MMO.

Now, when you say its just about as easy to get a group as live, do you mean live in the old days of vanilla and EQ at its peak, or live today? I haven't played EQ in about 4 years, so I really have no idea how the "real" game is doing, but I do know that I would absolutely not be able to play it in its current, inflated state with lord knows how many expansions. I've read quite a bit about SoD and I like what I've seen so far, so if I could indeed jump into the game and be able to group up and play like the old days, that would be great.

As is stands now, I'm looking at playing either a Bard, Druid, Enchanter, or Necro. On live I had a Halfling Warrior up to 60, servers top raid guild, and it was fun, but I don't imagine being able to get far with a warrior now unless I could get a group ALL the time. And I know people have mentioned 2 boxing, but that doesnt appeal to me, so a somewhat solo-capable class is something I would enjoy more.

Thanks for the comments guys, keep em coming!

-Bailbub, retired Tribunal player
 
Play whichever one of those classes you think you will have most fun with....cause to be honest....you can work any of those you mention up. SoD was reworked to work. They did a great job in its creation and tweeking.

Side note....high lvl necros aren't slaves to casters. No mana feeding like on Live. Kinda sucked to be a raiding necro. Not here!
 
So I went ahead and loaded all the CDs I had from my EQ days (up to Planes of Power) and SoD doesnt work for me. I guess I need to buy the Titanium edition to get it to work, which is a little disappointing. Guess I need to think a little about how much I really want to play =P

-Bailbub, retired Tribunal Player
 
dlhennes said:
So I went ahead and loaded all the CDs I had from my EQ days (up to Planes of Power) and SoD doesnt work for me. I guess I need to buy the Titanium edition to get it to work, which is a little disappointing. Guess I need to think a little about how much I really want to play =P

-Bailbub, retired Tribunal Player
Click to expand...

You can get the single package for about $10 nowadays from places like Best Buy.
 
Cinn said:
server is half euro half north american.
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:evil: So your really saying that i fall in the 1% outside of 100% (ie as in 101% duh) because I am Jamaican, who lives in Jamaica, and is very active?

Hey Bailbub, $10 dolla is small compared to what SoD has to offer trust me I may have started awhile ago (little over a year) but I have a ton of low lvl toons and every time I needed a group at the low level I could find one. it isn't even that hard to find people to do adepts which you can read about HERE
 
Thanks Crunchy and Minerz, I actually didnt even consider something like Best Buy. I only really checked the **** store online, and it was something like $30 to get the expansion set. I guess I'll see what is around.

The last struggle I have is whether or not I want to be a raider again, or just a casual explorer. I dont have a ton of time these days with work and family (no more highschool and college carelessness for me =P) but I am curious to see what the top end offers in SoD. I want to see everything from lvl 1 up to the cap, but I dont want to spend months getting there, and decide to be a raider, only to find out I'm not needed by any competitive guilds. *sigh* why does real life have to get in the way of fun some times...

Anyway, the more I read the better things sound. Thanks for all the help guys.

-Bailbub, retired Tribunal player

**Guess I'm not allowed to say S.O.N.Y. hehe
 
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dlhennes said:
**Guess I'm not allowed to say S.O.N.Y. hehe
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So don't. Yeah I'm grouchy, have fun with SoD.

Btw, your install with existing disks up to PoP should work (mine did), be sure and follow the SoD instructions then once you are at the SoD patcher click Advanced and check Repatch all. You will also want the GoD expansion for SoD at some point.
 
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Minerz said:
:evil: So your really saying that i fall in the 1% outside of 100% (ie as in 101% duh) because I am Jamaican, who lives in Jamaica, and is very active?

Hey Bailbub, $10 dolla is small compared to what SoD has to offer trust me I may have started awhile ago (little over a year) but I have a ton of low lvl toons and every time I needed a group at the low level I could find one. it isn't even that hard to find people to do adepts which you can read about HERE
Click to expand...

I would say that the antilles are close enough to be considered North American. Leave room for the poor Brazilians and Kiwis complain.
 
Paxx, I've tried doing it with up to PoP expac, and I wasnt able to make it work, simply because the EQ patcher wouldnt work to get the rest of the files I needed from the other expansions. The SoD patcher worked fine, but without the other live side expacs it wont work (based on what I've read). If there is something not in the Wiki or on this site that I can explore, and Vanilla through PoP is enough, that would be great.

Maybe I missed a critical step in the whole process, so I'll try it again. I do want to play, thats for sure. Thanks for the help and info, I appreciate it.

-Bailbub, retired Tribunal player
 
dlhennes said:
Paxx, I've tried doing it with up to PoP expac, and I wasnt able to make it work, simply because the EQ patcher wouldnt work to get the rest of the files I needed from the other expansions. The SoD patcher worked fine, but without the other live side expacs it wont work (based on what I've read). If there is something not in the Wiki or on this site that I can explore, and Vanilla through PoP is enough, that would be great.

Maybe I missed a critical step in the whole process, so I'll try it again. I do want to play, thats for sure. Thanks for the help and info, I appreciate it.

-Bailbub, retired Tribunal player
Click to expand...

Eq patcher only works now if you have a live acct. Your best bet is to snag titanium, which should work ezpz. The problem you're going to have with just up to pop is going to be certain zones and models just not functioning.
 
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