Shattered Kingdoms

I've been away from SK for quite a while, the last character I played was Ninevar a couple of years ago now. I've been trying to get back into the game but finding it really hard with all the levelling changes and such. I've got a few characters knocking around the realms, none of them give me much enjoyment and only one of them has managed to make it passed novice. So has anybody got any good ideas for me? I mean where to start? What combo will give me good RP opportunities and a good chance to survive? I am a hopeless PKer? I'm finding light-aura levelling especially hard, as the last time I played a lighty to any kind of level, the Caverns of the Undead were the place to go. Levelling in the outpost doesn't seem nearly as rewarding.

Any ideas please?

For starters, you will now "have" to change between levelling areas quite frequently. Take notice to how well you know the area, as it has influence on how much you learn from there.

Other than that, I can only say that you should involve yourself with asking about ICly, as to where you should train. The inn in Nerina or Sith'a'niel seems to be the most crowded ones these days, for finding help.

Welcome back

In some instances, the area command will help you to identify leveling places at the appropriate time. I don't think you're hopeless. There's plenty of ways to get better, asking here is a start. Definitely make use of the mentor command. I'd say its always helpful to have a pet. Maybe invest in a few throwing weapons. Make friends, that never hurts.

Good luck and welcome back. I think I remember Ninevar. Was that a character in the Adepts? I think Ninevar was around when I played Dern perhaps.

A

If your looking for RP opportunities go priesty. Theres never enough of them, and each side always needs more. Yes, the constant rezz and brew requests will get old, but if you trudge them them you'll be happy. Theres an active IMM following and hopefully they'll spice things up both directly and indirectly.

As far as leveling, yes, it has changed. It honestly isn't much harder at the lower levels, but it is much harder as the levels get higher. More group leveling is required, but at the same time the number of character interactions has increased. (IMO though, no concrete evidence)

The final thing to note is: There is no more power leveling like before. If you know this game really well, you can still level very quickly, but even many of the veterans are taking longer to level then before. You *will* have to stick with it through thick and thin to GM, but it'll be worth it. D's changes seemed to have mostly worked, as most characters seem to last a little longer.

sleeper

The wilderness is a better place to train than it used to be - check out the things in Zhenshi, Uxmal, and probably Taslamar. Don't worry, I'm also horribly slow at leveling.

If you're getting bored in the upper levels, you need a class with more utility, such as a priest or a sorc. If you're not making it past novice, try a strong warrior combination with maxed strength - say, giant merc - to breeze past the first stages of leveling and hopefully find more friends when you're a little bit stronger.

I think I'll play either a grey or light aura priest. What religions are active at the moment and/or are in need of a priest? I hate all that waiting around to be inducted or what-have-you. My last priest Samarkan took forever to be inducted, about a month real time, which was a bit of a pain in the nethers. So I would kind of hope to avoid that this time.

Most grey and light aura religions seem pretty active right now. You shouldn't have that much trouble.

Good job btw to whoever went OOC and ranted at the character named ninjamonkey. Did it occur to you it might be a new player? Because, guess what? It is and he's not quite 14. How do I know? He's my oldest son. He didn't whine or complain about it, just asked me about a proper name and how to do commands and such but I thought it was worth reminding people that not every player is a vet being a twit. Just a thought.

Personally I would think that 14 would be old enough to read, comprehend, and answer the three questions about the newly created name, all of which would have to be answered with a lie in order to create the character name "Ninjamonkey." But hey, I guess there could be exceptions to that simple expectation.

JavaMonkey. This might sound heartless but being told at about crappy RP when starting out hopefully will set him on the right track. If I was playing SK and spotted a name like that I would have words with them.

I would probably guess it was someone who had a few to many drinks and thought it would be a laugh. I can think of a few older players would who struggle to keep a straight face while telling someone "OOC You where just owned by Ninjamonkey."

That aside, I dont know how it was handled but it doesnt matter who is on the other side of a name like that they should be informed its not fitting in SK.