Shattered Kingdoms

Hi everyone. I'm a newbie to SK and I'm running into a little bit of trouble. It's a little embarassing to admit but I'm getting owned by the "young warriors" in the newbie school.

I'm a priest with the standard equipment you get in the school. I've fought the warriors many many times but I've only beaten a warrior once... and I got beaten the rest of the times. I even went and bought chainmail just because I thought my armor was the problem but I'm still getting killed all the time. Changing where I aim and my mood doesn't help either.

Any ideas or suggestions? Maybe I just started with a newbie non-friendly class? I'm getting a bit frustrated. I feel like SK could be really fun... but getting owned in the newbie school is too much.

This can be a problem on multiple levels, including that your stats aren't done that well or that you aren't using your spells in combat (cure light, for instance).

Not to divulge IC info, but I think it'd be acceptable for you to post your current stats and eq list to us so we can help you get started.

If you don't want to do it here on the boards, I'd be more than happy to take it to PMs to give you that little nudge to get you going. I understand starting on a mud, especially one as complex as this, can be very intimidating and difficult.

But I'm sure once you get the hang of it, you'll be skyrocketing off.

And, priests are the best class to play! Talk about a friend making machine with that c resurrect spell.

Thanks a lot Grakus. I'm not really sure as to what's acceptable or not.. but here are my stats:

o STR: Strong INT: Brilliant WIS: Clever o
o DEX: Awkward CON: Healthy CHA: Sociable o

As for my equipment,

> You are using:
<worn around neck> a grey woollen cloak (brand new)
<worn on body> a chainmail tunic (brand new)
<worn on head> a grey quilted skull cap (brand new)
<worn on legs> some grey quilted greaves (brand new)
<worn on feet> a pair of stiff boots (brand new)
<worn on hands> a pair of stiff gloves (brand new)
<worn on arms> a grey set of quilted sleeves (brand new)
<worn about waist> a blue leather belt (brand new)
<right hand> a wooden practice dagger (damaged)
<left hand> a round practice buckler (brand new)

(I have many other daggers for when this one breaks) As for using spells, I don't even have any spells so I'm pretty sure that's not the problem. I'm still a level 1 Priest who is 2/3 of the way to the next level.

By the way my character's name is Thetof if anyone would like to help

I would like to post more, but I am really time limited... I sent this mail to a friend who has similar problems...

This is based on a merc, so the skills / spells to train are going to be different.

The 'Outfit' command is your friend (you can even use it in combat). The state of your weapon, I found, makes a huge difference.

make an alias, something like:
remove dagger
outfit
drop dagger
drop tinder
drop buckler

You dont need the others, just the dagger as it keeps getting damaged. If it aint at least very good get rid of it.

In the west wing, go see the quarter master. Salute him and he will give you full armour. Get some coin and get a sword/weapon (from the armoury just outside the training ground). They dont last long, but long enough that you should be able to get a new sword/weapon when the old one has worn out.

Don't bother with training anything but the basics that you need. Sword and maybe Bash. Bash stops the pallies healing and the mages casting their spells.

Other help. Go to the infirmary. There you will get healed and things like
shield and armour cast on you. Which is better than not having them.

Don't flee (It costs XP), let them stun you. Rest up and then do it again.

Don't get a sword. Worty there is slow and forgets priests don't get sword.



Yes, there are two pieces of good advice. But remember, mobiles outside the newbie area will not just simply stun you.

That's not too bad of starting stats. But let's get you fixed up here.

Have you stat trained already? (Typed train stat at the trainers?) And if so, I would maximize your con first, it determines your HP and some PE. Which is kinda important, dontcha know.

Secondly, unless you're a priest of Alshain/Dulrik/Ain/Algorab/Sargas you can't wear the heavy armor as described in help armor2. You need to stick to the light armor materials, because wearing the heavy armor will lower all your skills.

Third! You need to learn cure light asap, that is your bread and butter exp spell for several levels to come. Also, ask for a mentor (mentor command) and ask them for advice in the game. This is a surefire way of making friends and mentors are both rewarded for their assistance in the terms of mentor points and (at least if I was an imm) perhaps even RP rewards for taking their time out to help newer players.

Remember to also train skills as well as spells. Learn dagger up to the highest you can and the same goes for cure light.

When fighting, aim mid, it'll help you cut off their arms and make xp easier (they can't hit you with no arms). Learn to heal yourself (c 'cure light' between the 'rounds' of combat) as you fight, and set a wimpy of around 25 or 30% when you leave the collegium (NPCs outside there will not simply stun you). This will enable you to auto-flee and not be killed.

I wish I could honestly help you in game, but you will have to use the mentor command for that.

Please feel free to ask any more questions.

Grakus

NOOB everyone knows that if you cut off both of there arms you will stop getting XP. D has spoken about that. So aiming mid DOES NOT help you get more xp.

Sigh. Let me do a bit deeper of explanation:

He is a priest. With terrible str and 1 attack per round. By the time the second arm comes off, the mobile will be at awful/pretty hurt condition. Therefore, he will have already earned most of the exp available for the mobile (in this game, you can gm without killing anything), but will take overall less damage because of the rounds that are spent with the mobile having only 1 arm (which still does grant you exp).

This advice is for him, as a new player, if you have nothing to add to this discussion, please take it outside the newbie forum.

Thank you.

I think maybe the problem is he spent that little half a level of experience on the wrong skills/spells, or hasn't yet. Have you attributed your stat points yet? Also, that chainmail will make you not hit as much, spells fail more often, etc...

Ah, priestly advice is something I can give.

The mentor command is your friend. Being a newbie to this MUD can be a little tricky, and having a person IC to ask questions to is a big help. But, mentor calls are not always answered. So here's a few suggestions on making friends ICly. Since you are a priest, you will need to choose your religion before Initiate status otherwise you can't use your new spells. So pick the religion you want to go in soon. As a newbie I highly suggest a religion that seems active. So keep an eye on the who list. If you're a lightie look for titles like "Knight of Truth" or "Defender of the Dawn" if you're a grebie perhaps "High priest of Death" or "Choas' Ham Sandwhich" (chaos would be a fun newbie religion I think, but the RP is a little silly at times). If you're a darkie look for "Knight of Fear" or "Pain's priest". I'm sure you get the idea.

Once you decide which religion seems active and interesting to you, contact someone with the appropriate title and express your interest in joining the religion. Make sure to let them know you're a priest, they'll get you in as soon as possible (everyone loves priests!). Then ICly tell them you need a mentor, someone to give you advice, show you where to train and so on. They'll be able to help you out.

Another thing that's helpful is to change your title to something along the lines of "New the Pyrathia, Seeking a Mentor". Sometimes people will contact you to offer help.

And lastly, find your way to the local Inn and asked those gathered there for help. Even the darkies will help out newbies in their own little way.

As for help with the newbie monsters: buy new dagger as soon as possible. The practice daggers just plain suck. I also suggest you stay in the newbie school for a while. Get good at killing the NPCs, train your skills and spells, and collect a little coin. You will be kicked out of the newbie school once you train level six.

Once you do leave though, buy a pet (I suggest a horse, mule or camel). As a priest you should never be without one. Make sure the pet is on stun (o all mode stun). Until you get damage spells (which takes quite a while), stand next to your pet and o all h NPC. The pet will start the combat and will take most of the blows while you stab along side it. Try to keep it alive with cure spells, but a good beefy pet shouldn't need much curing.

I hope that helped a bit. If you have any questions or just want to chat, feel free to contact me on my YIM (mourningsun2417). I'm at my computer most of the day.

EDIT: Oh, and make sure you consider the NPCs (con NPC). Some of the newbie NPCs are tougher than others. For now try to stick to perfect matches and tough challenges.

I think these NPCs have been too tough for a while. I've been trying to tone that down. Hopefully they're about right now. If any experience players would like to give me some comparisons or feedback, I'll see if Algorab and I could address them.

A