Wheel of Time MUD

So I got frustrated earlier, and lost my temper. Something a game hasn't made me do in a very long time. I have the wiki, plenty of pages of information favorited for future access, however this information will only get me so far. A lot of information you can't find by looking for it, Ask in chats and the discord, if you are lucky players like Draz, Ominas, Geoff, and Arston will be on and you can pick their brains for knowledge. Other times you get the folk who like to say search the wiki, or explore and find out.

Experiencing a game for the first time is exciting. Especially this one. I've loved a series for so long and i can actually create a character in the world, and have my own adventures. I feel like levels 1-20 fly by so fast, and then i'm thrust into the pvp experience. 20-30 is slower, you'll die a lot. Lose levels and experience, and you'll figure out the areas as you go. 30-35 much of the same, speeds by with scalps. It's right around level 40 where it falls off for me. The time between levels increases even more, and you are going to feel each death even worse than before.

Dying is not the problem, right? You are going to learn something each time you die. You could've done this differently, or should not have done something. Dying is a learning experience. When i was 12 it was this game and runescape on my rotation for pc gaming. As i got older i gravitated more towards permadeath games, or challenging games. I'm not afraid of death in a game.

So far dying has taught me:

1. Stay the firetruck away from doors.
2. Don't park your horse in front of the cave you're exploring.
3. If you're a channeler, be specific with your blind targets. Channel 'blind' Woman can in fact blind yourself!
4. STAY AWAY FROM DOORS
5. Do not run around with notice on all the time, even in cities, you will hagg and be a sitting duck for a backstabber.
6. If you are literally standing on the ledge of a precipice and read "You can hear the sound of rushing water beneath your feet." Do not press D.
7. Don't pick on Espen about failing a bunch of bashes against your dodgy character, because the next bash won't fail and you will be turned into bloody fragments.
8. Tear, Illian, and Amador are strict no-channeling areas. Light balls are spooky to the common folk.
9. Roland does blade forms, 150hps - 0 hps in a round of combat is possible when you miss both your stab and your flee.

I feel like my last few deaths haven't taught me anything though. I've deforested complete zones on Locken and Yrza trying to slowly crawl through the 40s with my Chicken companion. I've tried the tarantulas, the twin-headed snakes, the ogiers. I'll collect a few scalps and turn them in, be close to the next level. It's not long after though that i'll find myself exactly in the same spot, doing the exact same thing, and coming to the exact same outcome.

When i can find a partner to exp with it's great, however i'm still inexperienced and new, and make a ton of mistakes. Partys with me never seem to last very long, I did do a smob run the other night with some folks and enjoyed that, nearly gained a level from it too.

My issue isn't with the dying, it's with a lack of information. I feel like i'm all geared up and ready to hike the pee-wee trail, and i'm finding myself on k2. Don't misunderstand, the wiki is great, the docs and the calcs people hand out are great. https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Re-equip_guide This is the closest thing i can find on the wiki to a leveling guide, do you notice how it isn't linked to from anywhere on the wiki? You literally have to know that it is there to find it. I've tried it with Leveling guide, the only thing that pops up in the search is the Legion of Unity.

I will say that that is more information than i've been able to find on the darkside. Like Lightside we even get the little Ts in the map that lets us know there are trees there to level with. I haven't even tried to find information about the seanchan, though i've stumbled across bits.

I don't want the characters back, the level 1-35 grind isn't the worst i've ever had to do, if i decide to level another character hopefully by the time i get to that wall again someones written some information somewhere thats easily accessible. That i suspect will be the rage of many new players, which with the publicity the series has been getting lately you will hopefully find a new wave of people to play and enjoy the game, theres an even higher chance that this will be their first MUD as well.

Edit* Man dying and regearing isn't an issue. I put like 8 dodge sets, 5 combo sets, 16+ Weapons from spears, staves, swords and daggers in the barrels i had saved for reequipping my characters, not even mentioning the 5k+ coins. It's like a broken record. I literally hit a wall. A point where i was making 0 progress across my characters, Pygmy stalled at level 33 because i strictly made him to learn to Pk, then was told i had to hit 51 before anyone would even consider taking me. Locken, Baki and Yrza, I'd join in whenever i saw it, the other times i'm doing precisely what i was told to do. Explore, level, learn the areas.

How about a cookie cutter build? Hey man, you're new and just starting out, right? Well look, this weapon class is good for beginners, you want to practice it to R% and then dodge and shield parry to R%, don't bother going lower than R% otherwise you won't gain any benefits, or waste the pracs. Oh, nobody wants to give you information on it? Well here man, spend most of your gold repraccing and trying different things. Ah dung, stuff you were doing okay against before is now kicking your ass, so back to the drawing board. If you pay attention you can catch snippets, 85% pick unlocks most doors, 60% search find a good bit of rooms. It's not written down anywhere though.

Darkside may have sucked in me not being able to PK with anyone, but at least the players there were helpful in the prac department. Oh you rolled a bearish warrior? You want 99 bash, clubs are good and easy to find, you'll want to go abs. 1 prac rescue. Don't bother with survival.

Why do you want to get from lvl 40 to lvl 51? You get 0-33 hps? And you get 20 practices?

Is average 10 hps and 20 practices going to prevent you from doing anything on the mud? Nope.

My advice is do not exp unless there is an exp modifier on.

The map is huge. If you do not want to die, then listen to chat and narrates and stay away from PK areas.

Don't exp in doors and always know if somebody attacks you what is the safest place to run to.

Level up 2 rogues, and keep both equipped so If one dies you can use the other to equip it, then use your rogues to equip your other characters.

When there is an exp modifier on go kill trees or something.

I'd focus on clanning and ranking first, and then levelling secondary. Clanning and ranking will progress your character to the main bonuses in the game, extra dmg and postures.

Make a DS character, make a SS character, make a FC, make a MC. Craft some weapons.

As you explore and build up the muscle memory in the game. You will naturally find it easier to survive PK encounters with the built up game knowledge and you will naturally find exping getting easier.

Hit me up Locken and we’ll xp. I’ll show you some tricks and the xp scalps. You can go to 51 in a few hours with the multipliers on. Which should be as often as possible because it’s so annoying

When I was newish, I had the most enjoyment going through the clanning process, meeting people and experiencing their personalities, and pretending to be able to defend Andor. Exping was close to the bottom of my enjoyment list, it was just something I needed to do and it allowed opportunities for other things to happen (running into murderers, darkfriends, raiding DS / SS) which then gave me the PK shakes. Level 51 seemed so unattainable at the time and I had a sort of awe for those who reached it.

Dying is rough and it’s not fun to lose gear and progress, I empathise - But it allowed me opportunities to smob with others to get gear, only to inevitably lose it again (hopefully slightly less easily than before).

For what it’s worth, I thought Baki held his own very well in PK @ 4K. If you ever did decide to come back, I think the Queen’s Guard would be a great place for you to progress.

Edit: my bad, my comprehension is poor. Dying isn’t the problem, wiki could be better. Agreed.

DS is by far the best side. pk is impossible to completely avoid because of basin/rats/ravens/df's/tracks etc, but you can pay attention if you hear of groups in certain areas. There is zero reason to feel pressured to get to lvl 51. I dunno who told you that, but for most characters, 30 is fine. To get into most clans, lvl 30 is fine. Some chars you want as high as possible because status weaves (blind, chill, fear etc) are based on your level and your targets level, so if youre a channeler and you want to blind someone and youre lvl 30 and their 50, you wont land. PS mobs have levels too. If youre ever on ds feel free to ask questions, this game has an unbelievable amount of information that over the years has always been FOFY, but now with wiki and friendly players that transition has been made easier. ALso, with the addition of exp scalps, exping after lvl 30 isnt quite as bad as it was, so utilize them as much as possible when there isnt much going on. Keep your chin up, this game has its ups and downs, ebbs and flows, but most of the people are great.

Game has a steep learning curve, as Zankou mentioned there is a lot of stuff, wiki helps with some, but not all. Best advice I think is find a clan you like that is active. Clans have different perks, but I imagine the best one as a new player is both the knowledge of your older clanmates and the chest to help re-equip. For me what helped when I was newer was setting goals for myself. I want to make a x within y time and see if I could make it. Be it I want to get to rank 5 so I can issue clan equipment or make a Lion Warden because I enjoyed Andor.

I imagine people are also more likely to help their own clanmembers with whatever. Be it exp, questing or sparring to improve on PK, zone knowledge and just answering whatever questions you might have.

I'll always recommend joining one of the SE clans, Defenders/Companions/Winged Guards. Very helpful environment and the PK is rather contained, most consisting of 1v1s where you can ask questions and advice from your opponent. Granted I don't know if those clans are any active these days.

As people mentioned levels don't matter too much for PK. Can join in at 30 same as at 51, you'll have a little less HP, but if you are in abs you won't be missing any pracs really. If you play combo, the lack of pracs might hurt your defense a little bit since you'll likely have to sacrifice some practices in shield parry/dodge to get the essentials(ride, survival, notice, track and so on), but in the grand scheme of things it isn't crucial and you can pk in 220 defense the same as in 240 probably.

That said, its good that you post this from a new player's perspective as those of us who've been here for ages probably take it for granted or assume the knowledge is already out there. I can try to write up some guides to practice setups later today and post them. If you could give me some information on what you'd like a guide on I can start working on them. It seems there is need of a sort of "new player guide to DS" with exp spots and so on? as well as a general practice guide with some examples of what setup to go as a new player with regards to ease of re-equipping etc?

The learning curve is steep but it is possible to get through with others. I love exping with others, even if I get fewer exp than with a Chicken, so don't be shy to respond, if I ask for exp partner on. I exp with newbies too! Ask questions. Btw it is normal to learn. I've been playing for 15 years, and just changing to a new type of character, new clan, and new zones I like to be in makes this feel like a new game

Some more lessons to your list:
-it's not just the river bellow you. Deathtraps in general give descriptions, when you look in them.
-two headed serpents are horribly strong (but I feel such accomplishment, when I manage to kill one, alone or with someone). Your best bet are the skeletal wolves, ailing ogier, or the dwellers for the Almoth practice trainer. Added value: MCs are are usually in Andor, not Almoth.
-join a clan. Many are good for a newer/learning players. The KMG are good, or the Queen's Guard, or Defenders. Active, helpful, open to people learning the game. The same is true about the Tower honestly (people underestimate that learning the game and learning to play a channie is exactly what being novice/Accepted should be about!)
-don't hesitate to ask for help!

I feel you may have been going about this the wrong way. You are blaming the lack of information, but I think it's your angle from which you come that is at odds with being succesful. Information is useful in complicated single player games, but it's the social aspect that is important in this game.

Yes, trying out which class you like is good and I mean that in the sense of rogue-y stabbing vs weaving vs melee. However, at first point, us oldbies focussed on one character. Sometimes for years on end. We had a main alt and maybe after a time, one or two side characters. We lived, and yes we died, on those alts. While doing so, we gained knowledge that stuck with us for years. Things that can't be learnt off a wiki page. How to judge a fight, how to run, how to hide. How to track.

If you're consistently on the same character, people will start to recognize you, which opens the "multi user" part of the word mud a bit more easily. Socializing. Knowing people. Hanging out together, whether it's for a smob run, a quick bit of help and whatnot. A lot of us clanned on our first or second alts and stuck with that character for years. Most clans (not Kandori Merchant Guild) have a clan chest and clan rent, which helps with reeqing and storing items. If you're in an active clan, you will have clan mates to fall back on. If you're in a clan, you're more likely to be invited to outings. It also opens up a whole new world of quests and questpoints to gain ranks.

While some of the players come back for the playerkilling, most of us play or come back for the social aspect. Hanging out together, doing things together. Shooting the breeze. Banter. Roleplay, if you are so inclined. I have people on my Facebook that haven't played in over 10 years that I still keep up with. I am friends with the wife of a player. WoTmud is so much more than a bunch of information on gameplay! It's the bonds and friendships that set the game apart for a majority of us.

Yes, there are lone wolves in this game. However, those are usually established characters who know the ins and outs. Sometimes, these people just prefer that playstyle, sometimes they have to go at the drop of a hat and don't want to leave a group hanging. However, even they socialize a lot.

There is also a lot of suspicion regarding unclanned characters. Especially now there's a lot of darkfriends around. That's why it takes a bit of time to build a reputation as a dependable fellow player. However, this is easier when you're known to be a new player, so use that new player stage well!

If you ever do come back, I would suggest joining a clan, like Defenders or Queen's Guard. Maybe even Tower Guard, considering there's usually people from the White Tower about that you share a common background with.

Aira wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 09, 2021 1:47 pm

I feel you may have been going about this the wrong way. You are blaming the lack of information, but I think it's your angle from which you come that is at odds with being succesful. Information is useful in complicated single player games, but it's the social aspect that is important in this game.

Yes, trying out which class you like is good and I mean that in the sense of rogue-y stabbing vs weaving vs melee. However, at first point, us oldbies focussed on one character. Sometimes for years on end. We had a main alt and maybe after a time, one or two side characters. We lived, and yes we died, on those alts. While doing so, we gained knowledge that stuck with us for years. Things that can't be learnt off a wiki page. How to judge a fight, how to run, how to hide. How to track.

If you're consistently on the same character, people will start to recognize you, which opens the "multi user" part of the word mud a bit more easily. Socializing. Knowing people. Hanging out together, whether it's for a smob run, a quick bit of help and whatnot. A lot of us clanned on our first or second alts and stuck with that character for years. Most clans (not Kandori Merchant Guild) have a clan chest and clan rent, which helps with reeqing and storing items. If you're in an active clan, you will have clan mates to fall back on. If you're in a clan, you're more likely to be invited to outings. It also opens up a whole new world of quests and questpoints to gain ranks.

While some of the players come back for the playerkilling, most of us play or come back for the social aspect. Hanging out together, doing things together. Shooting the breeze. Banter. Roleplay, if you are so inclined. I have people on my Facebook that haven't played in over 10 years that I still keep up with. I am friends with the wife of a player. WoTmud is so much more than a bunch of information on gameplay! It's the bonds and friendships that set the game apart for a majority of us.

Yes, there are lone wolves in this game. However, those are usually established characters who know the ins and outs. Sometimes, these people just prefer that playstyle, sometimes they have to go at the drop of a hat and don't want to leave a group hanging. However, even they socialize a lot.

There is also a lot of suspicion regarding unclanned characters. Especially now there's a lot of darkfriends around. That's why it takes a bit of time to build a reputation as a dependable fellow player. However, this is easier when you're known to be a new player, so use that new player stage well!

If you ever do come back, I would suggest joining a clan, like Defenders or Queen's Guard. Maybe even Tower Guard, considering there's usually people from the White Tower about that you share a common background with.

All my LS characters bottomed out at the same level, I'd log on them, ask if anyone was exping or smobbing. 90% of the time i would be met with silence, so i'd go try to either do my own thing or start working on another character, because it was so easy getting to the level i was at it wouldnt take long at all. If pk cropped up i'd hop on Locken, Yrza or Baki, if someone would be looking for a group to smob with i'd switch characters for that.

Another thing that really bothered me is how often i would ask questions in chat on my fc, or even one of my non-channelers about channeling stuff. Every time i'm met with, "Oh, you don't want people to think you're an MC." "Oh, Seanchan or CoL are on and they will hunt you down if you can channel." Why tell me to ask questions in chat then if it can be used against me? Why even have two separate forms of chat if information from either can be used against you? What kind of atmosphere are we creating that new players cant ask questions about the game on the game chats?

I never clanned any of my characters, and i thought about it. I wanted to. I wanted baki to join the queens guard, Geoff said to make a backstory for him and join the forums. I suck at creating backstories, I suck at writing in general. I've never really been into the RP aspect but i was trying. Maybe next time i'll get to experience that.

as a general rule, narrates are in character and used for pk. Chats are more for ooc banter etc. people who use chats as basis for warranting is silly. Also, ds is much better. we only use narrates.