views after 2 weeks of playing this game

[makuyi]

i've played this game for 2 weeks now. I would like to share my views on it, now that I still remember how it feels to be a new player. In the first days, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information there is. The newbie channel was a great help, especially when Maxine was there, because at least I understood her answers. Some players who answered my questions gave me information that raised even more questions.

Finding out which boat goes where was hell, and most of the time i just clicked and hoped I ended up in the right spot Why not give the boats names of where they are going to.

Although people are very willing to answer my questions, I still have no clue how to raise levels. There always seems to be a prerequirement for something.

The one thing I am good at is making FE, I have 4k of them. Problem is that I dont know yet about what armor to buy or how to invest the money.

I am doing the novac quest, but I have to go to Naralik and they told me that a new player should not go there (no clue when I am ready to go there)

the haidir and xaline quests are very nice, cause they give some money.(although trying to kill 30 rabbits is horrible some times, I find it hard to target them) I would like more quests like that in the beginning.

The beginner quest where you have to look for all the flowers should be done later. In the beginning a flower is just a flower. Now i know better.

I guess it would be nice to join a guild to get info, but I know better than to just join the first guild that is available. I know 2 players only so far and it is nice to say 'hi'when I see them. Other than that, it is still an alone game for me.

I see blue letters when there is an invasion, but I dont know if I should go (dying is not my thing, cause I cannot always find my db back ) Yesterday they announced a contest for new players, but I could not enter cause I was not new enough.( i would have loved to get that prize)

I think I am doing pretty good in this game; my oa is 36 and my alchemy level is 23 (yep, lol, I understand how to raise that) I can make iron and silver bars. At the moment I am making matter essences, because some one told me to and I needed a change from the FE, but i dont know what they are for.

I thought I could make some money by making racoon hats ( a change from the fur gloves) , so I made 15, but apparantly no NPC wants them.That made me smile.

I have an excavator cloak, and I have 1k money. I hope I dont die and lose the cloak.

I still feel kinda lost in this game, but I am sure that will change soon.

A couple of days ago, some one came up to me and gave me some armor. He/she said that it was to help new players. I forgot his/her name, but i really appreciated the gesture.

 

Overall I think one needs quite some patience to get started in this game. I wonder if other new players have that patience. I know I do, because this game is worth my time.

[Raytray]

You are welcome to apply to join IRON. #guild_info IRON ingame. We are usually more than happy to answer questions and help out.

 

I'm glad that you decided to stay and for your comments/suggestions. Thanks.

[chr0nik]

Great feedback and glad you're enjoying the game. I'm sure many players will have replies to your comments, but here are a few of mine.

Finding out which boat goes where was hell, and most of the time i just clicked and hoped I ended up in the right spot Why not give the boats names of where they are going to.

You can use the eye cursor on the flags on the boats to see where they will take you. You can also see the flags for each map in the encyclopedia, Ctrl+E>Maps. Over time you will likely learn them all.

Although people are very willing to answer my questions, I still have no clue how to raise levels. There always seems to be a prerequirement for something.

If you're interested in suggestions or guides from players on the ways to level skills, you should take a look at the skills section of the forums.

The one thing I am good at is making FE, I have 4k of them. Problem is that I dont know yet about what armor to buy or how to invest the money.

The biggest drain on your income in the game early on is often the requirement to read so many books so if you have no immediate need to spend your gold, it doesn't hurt to hoard it. Augmented leather armor should be great for quite some time and you can see the progression of armors in the encyclopedia. Some people also prefer chain mail early on - while augmented leather has better stats it also breaks easily as you probably know already.

I guess it would be nice to join a guild to get info, but I know better than to just join the first guild that is available. I know 2 players only so far and it is nice to say 'hi'when I see them. Other than that, it is still an alone game for me.

There is no rule that says you are required to stay with any guild you join though some may give you a bit of drama when you leave. Other than that it definitely wouldn't hurt to join a guild if for no other reason than to meet some more people in game.

I see blue letters when there is an invasion, but I dont know if I should go (dying is not my thing, cause I cannot always find my db back )

There are two types of invasions in the game. The first are scripted and have a chance to occur at every new hour in game. The scripted invasions are announced by GIWS, the Global Invasion Warning System and none of the variants that occur automatically are very good for new players. The other type of invasion are those run by an admin. You'll often see the blue message "Message from radu: ..." or "Message from Thyralax: ..." and those usually have capped maps, some of which are great for newer players. The capped maps are limited by attack & defense levels. For instance, Desert Pines might be 20 a/d, Morcraven Marsh might be 80 a/d and Portland might be 60 a/d. Wherever the average of your attack & defense falls would be the map you would fight on and face monsters you would have good odds of defeating, with some tactics and patience of course.

Yesterday they announced a contest for new players, but I could not enter cause I was not new enough.( i would have loved to get that prize)

You mentioned this to me in a private message and I understand you feel left out or that you missed out, but this was just one contest hosted by one player. There will be many more that you will be able to participate in.

I think I am doing pretty good in this game;

Yes, you're doing great. The ultimate metric is whether or not you're having fun, not how quickly you can gain rank in some skill or how perfect your build is though that's my personal opinion. You sound like you have a good attitude and understand that part of the game is the challenge of learning. I'm not trying to patronize you, but it is refreshing to read your feedback expressing things you've found frustrating & enjoyable all in the same reasonable tone.

[EvanMarie]

First, I agree with everything chr0nik wrote.

 

Second, I think one of the most useful tools for success in EL is to just type "hi" in local chat when you see someone harvesting near you. I've had many short, informative chats that way. Some of those chats have developed into friendships.

 

Third, for your first invasion you could go with a couple of friends so they can get your db if (when) you die. That's what I did and had great fun even though I died.

[Sithis]

join a guild that has newbies and learn/raise your levels , most of the "big" (pk) guilds dont talk much , people know what to do.

i hope u stick around and see what is EL

[Zenial]

Welcome to Eternal Lands!

 

It's great to see such constructive input form a new player, you've gave us some great insight into where the strengths and weakness are for newbies! Looks like Chr0nik has addressed heaps!

 

I am doing the novac quest, but I have to go to Naralik and they told me that a new player should not go there (no clue when I am ready to go there)

You have a few options on how to get to Naralik, by using a Naralik teleport ring (which can be bought from players or some "Bots" (purple names)) or by walking across Morcaven Marsh (careful, this map has armed skeletons).

 

If you see me in game, feel free to ask for help and advice! Hope you're with us for many years to come.

 

Here's some useful reference sites for this game. Hopefully, you'll find them helpful.

http://www.el-cel.com/

http://el-wiki.net/Main_Page

 

And don't worry, Racoon hats are cool! Players might buy them.

Edited June 25, 2010 by Zenial

[Gilrain]

ty for your valuable insights

 

i do remember when i was newbie that i wasted hours in Whitestone, because thats the first map after IP. When i discovered DP and VOTD it was a real surprise, because they were safe (even at night) and not so large.

I died several times in WS (to the same invasion trolls) because i didnt know that the blue messages were important for me and didnt understand what that really meant. (deprived me of my newbie armor from former quest)

I also died in SKF when entering from WSC, because i didnt know how to find info about such a map without going there.

 

In fact to resolve such problems i think we need a kind of tutorial guide with infos what to do and what better not to for the first levels.

And i mean it must be different from current info as well in content as in placement.

Maybe we can develop such a text in the wiki together, i'll think about eleborating more what i mean...

 

regards

[eagleprince]

Hey there,

 

Nice to read a newer player's input.

 

I think Guild PEN would be a good choice for you.

Please type #guild_info PEN or get in touch with nathanstenzel. Although I suspect he will be reading this soon

 

Welcome to EL.

 

EP

[the_grud]

I remember when I was noob,I was helped by players whose name i cant remember now!

But there are players in game who will help you if you ask.

When harvesting or in store just say *hi* ,someone will reply.

I dont think players replying to this post should be recruiting BUT *rofl*

#nu guild is a friendly mature guild with very helpful players some with high levels.

Anyways stick at it there are many different things to do in E.L.,you will be doing stuff in 6 mths time you dont even know about now!

Feel free to pm me ingame if you need help/advice/info

 

the_grud

[Brom]

Good work! This is an excellent and informative post! I second EvanMarie, talk with people. Not everyone wants to, but many of us love a good conversation, and after that converstation, you have another friend, soon enough people will walk up to you while you are harvesting and join you just because they want company too.

Feel free to chat with me when I am on, I love helping out.

[KoDdy]

First, I agree with everything chr0nik wrote.

 

Second, I think one of the most useful tools for success in EL is to just type "hi" in local chat when you see someone harvesting near you. I've had many short, informative chats that way. Some of those chats have developed into friendships.

 

same here =)

[Entris]

Welcome to EL, glad you like it

 

If you need help with something you can always ask in local if there are other players around you (when harvesting some might be AFK if not someone will most probably answer you), if you get confused about an answer you can always ask them to clarify what they mean, since there are players of all ages and from all over the world it is not un-usuall that the answers might confuse someone.

[Wesmania]

Hey, welcome to EL. Let me give you a free hint that'll save your life more than once:

 

ctrl+e is omnipotent.

[makuyi]

Thank you all for your constructive suggestions. It is appreciated and made me feel more 'at home'in this game.

[Leaf]

Hi, and welcome! I see soul of young alchemer

I hope you will soon learn how to play and have fun

The newbie channel was a great help, especially when Maxine was there, because at least I understood her answers.

It's true. I started to play again not so long ago and Maxine was very kind and helpful. Really deserves an order

Edited June 26, 2010 by Leaf

[nathanstenzel]

First, I agree with everything chr0nik wrote.

 

Second, I think one of the most useful tools for success in EL is to just type "hi" in local chat when you see someone harvesting near you. I've had many short, informative chats that way. Some of those chats have developed into friendships.

 

Third, for your first invasion you could go with a couple of friends so they can get your db if (when) you die. That's what I did and had great fun even though I died.

I couldn't agree more. Be social. Alot of people will reply and alot of people will be afk, but often enough, if you say their full name, they will see that you said hi and reply when they get back. You can learn so much just by asking for advice in local chat and alot of people will ask you if you need advice when they see a new player greeting them.

 

join a guild that has newbies and learn/raise your levels , most of the "big" (pk) guilds dont talk much , people know what to do.

i hope u stick around and see what is EL

I have had some previous members join pk guilds and......they just weren't the same anymore. I guess you could say a few of them were even "tainted" for a while.....tainted with evil, bad practices and bad attitude. Some pk guilds have rather respectable people in them though. Only a few pk guilds take in newbs and train them, to my knowledge.

 

Welcome to Eternal Lands!

<CLIP>

I am doing the novac quest, but I have to go to Naralik and they told me that a new player should not go there (no clue when I am ready to go there)

You have a few options on how to get to Naralik, by using a Naralik teleport ring (which can be bought from players or some "Bots" (purple names)) or by walking across Morcaven Marsh (careful, this map has armed skeletons).

<CLIP>

There is another route that can be much faster. If you take the route, put everything into storage. In the south west portion of White Stone, there is map flag to Grubani Peninsula. It is very dangerous, but if you are very careful to avoid coming close enough to monsters for them to notice you, you can head west and follow the map flag that is at the end of the road. That map flag is for Naralik. Granted, every single thing in Grubani Peninsula will be out to kill you, but if you stay clear of the monsters so they don't see you (you could say they have bad eyesight), you can make your way to Naralik. After you get into Naralik, you can walk north west to find the storage npc on the patio of the one house. Inside the houses is perfectly safe, but don't go down any ladders and expect to be safe.

 

Hey there,

 

Nice to read a newer player's input.

 

I think Guild PEN would be a good choice for you.

Please type #guild_info PEN or get in touch with nathanstenzel. Although I suspect he will be reading this soon

 

Welcome to EL.

 

EP

LOL Thanks for the advertising plug. Of course, if you join or not, new players can join channel 4736 (4PEN) to ask my guild questions.

[Shujral]

Nice to hear some feedback.

 

About feeling overwhelmed: I think this is common whenever you start something new. Keep playing, listen to people's conversations, try to learn the lingo. The main thing is time: you will learn everything you need to know, don't get anxious if it hasn't happened yet.

 

Armor: Augmented leather will suit you fine for a long, long time. By the time you really need anything more, you'll know your way around.

 

Guilds: I think I tried rushing into the guild scene a little too fast. Take your time.

 

Rabbits: I remember it being really hard, you'll get better.

 

If you're still here, still motivated, and have an excavator cloak, you're doing fine. Keep at it.

[Gil_Manel]

Great message, Makuyi, and filled with some good insights. You've also got some very thoughtful and helpful responses and suggestions.

 

I hope you continue to find EL fun...it *can* be overwhelming, and, it really is a game where you'll continually be learning, but, it's also amazing and hugely entertaining.

 

Chat with people...make friends...explore the various Guilds with the #guild_info <tag> command or simply by asking folks with Guild tags...look at the Guild web-sites...don't be in a hurry to join one, but, take your time and find one that most closely matches the way YOU like to play EL.

 

Continued success and fun!

[spirited]

Thank you Makuyi

 

Your post brought back many of the feelings I encountered when I first joined El.

 

Quite a few have given you wonderful advice already. But I just wanted to say one thing though. With regards to speaking in local to say hi to people. That's a great idea, either at store or when you’re sitting there harvesting something.

 

And as Nathanstenzel said, although many might be afk, most will say hi to you when they return if they know you’re talking to them.

 

Just don't be disheartened though if when you say hi at a store hardly anyone answers. I've seen that happen quite often in my time here and would hate for any newcomers to be disheartened by this.

 

All I can suggest is just keep saying hi. As others have said it's a great way of making friends, and I speak from experience here.

 

And like many others have said, if you see me or Bunnie (my evil twin sister) around the game, just yell hello and I promise (as long as I’m not afk) to reply.

 

Take care and I hope you continue to enjoy your travels through El.

 

spirited