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Roccandil

Thinking of trying this game

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Found this game via searching for "sandbox mmo", and it seemed the most promising of the results. From doing a little digging I can see that the Epic is server is largely dead* (but see below), and that I should probably start out on a Freedom server.

 

I see a -lot- of Freedom servers, though. Anything I should know?

 

Couple more things: if I like a game, I'm willing to spend money on it, so I would likely go premium. Also, I currently play World of Tanks in a clan, and am used to TS/Discord comms in battle, with callers, and I really like teamwork-oriented gameplay. Anything like that here?

 

*On Epic: from what I read in the other thread, Epic sounds like abandoned ruins with an excess of deadly monsters prowling nearby, and that sounds like an environment another game might create deliberately. Of course, I know basically nothing about the game, other than checking out some tutorials, but dropping a squad into Epic to work together to survive and build sounds like it could be fun.

 

If nothing else, I think it's cool that an abandoned server "reacts" like that. (For that matter, I wonder if can you find "artifacts" in Epic from the "ancients", er, the previous generation of Epic players? :P )

 

 

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One thing is that the game isnt instant like a lot of the others. Its a grindy game but very rewarding. I'd join a village to start off with as it can be hard out there when at the start everything will kill you :)

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If you fancy the more extreme survival style of playing, I can recommend Epic at the moment actually, kinda ....

 

I mean it's not dead as such, I mean, I'm there, right now, and there are a couple of players on, but it is rather underpopulated at the moment.

 

So one thing you won't be short of is animals :)

 

But truthfully, I'd tend to point you in the direction of a Freedom server, simply because you'll get more ingame help and assistance from the community there, as well as the chance to join a village to at least help get started with skills and stuff.

After a bit you can always make an Epic portal and 'restart' your character on Epic, which won't affect your Freedom character at all, since it effectively starts a new character withthe same name, and keeps your premium status, and bank balance as well, (the only things shared between the clusters is premium and money in the bank).

 

So don't let the population on Epic put you off, that can change ;)

 

Plus, we got dragons just hanging around waiting to play on Epic ....

 

Spoiler

RZ6BV2V.jpg

 

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Greetings friend!

 

While I am normally an extremely negative person about the game, its because I love it so much!

 

I would like to start out by saying, welcome. In terms of places to start it depends on your mindset.

 

Now if you want a play style focused on building, crafting, and social capabilities to make yourself a rich industrialist, I suggest freedom servers.

 

If you require a bit more purpose like, "For the Good of the Realm!" type mentality, I would suggest a pvp server.

 

That is all I can say for now.

 

Cheers.

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1 hour ago, Roccandil said:

If nothing else, I think it's cool that an abandoned server "reacts" like that. (For that matter, I wonder if can you find "artifacts" in Epic from the "ancients", er, the previous generation of Epic players? :P )

I feel like that's fairly possible. I've been speculating from the hints that the next skill is archaeology, so maybe.

 

Pvp is dead so I can't recommend it sorry.

 

As for Pve:

I'd would recommend Indy, Deli or Xanadu. While Xanadu has a lot of players I feel the experience could get boring really fast at least when starting out. You can go on for hours walking without seeing anyone. So for a new player it is a lot better with other people,I'd go with a smaller server. You might end up in a dead pocket of Xanadu when you spawn in if you pick the wrong starting town, it's huge and gets lonely fairly fast. 

 

Indy is the second largest server after Xanadu and my pick. I'd also say Deli is good also, smaller than Indy though. Both have more community presence. Easier to find friends and work. 

Cele, Exodus, Pristine and Release are similar to Deli but out of the 5 small servers I think Deli is the winner, much more involved community, nice people also.

 

You'll have to look around though, Xanadu has a lag issue so also consider that if you choose to go there.

Edited by Niki
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We have been getting into PvP on a daily bases for about a week now.. But as some others have said it's not always constant. 

 

Truth is though if you want PvP you can find it. There are groups/kingdoms and each of them all work together. Shot calling is common for pvp. 

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If you like long term projects that reward you with the accomplishment of 'Hey I did that' then this is indeed the game for you. ( check the screen shot thread )

 

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Don't listen to people telling you what's dead and what isn't because all that does is feed into the idea that it really is dead and actually ends up being the nail in the coffin for something which could have had a second wind. The fact you were able to deduce Epic's state off affairs as a new player is terrible for Epics prospects... 

 

In my opinion you should join Epic, you'll get to level faster and get a feel for the finer things in game faster which will make the game easier which for a new player is a good thing, there's nothing to worry about PvP wise, most people tend to over think the reality of PvP but it's nothing as severe as imagined, not even when the populations were higher. Once the devs do whatever they are doing with Epic, maybe it will be full of life again, if not they will be forced to do something with the players that called Epic home and that'll probably be a transfer from Epic to Freedom which at that point you'll be able to pick any Freedom server you want as they all connect to each other. So it's a win/win really.

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Be aware that Epic is not connected to the other servers. All other servers are connected by ship, and through trade, including the Chaos PvP server.

 

Xanadu is unique for its size. It is also the youngest, and therefore more untouched, server.

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Xanadu is also the laggiest of all the servers.  I'd strongly suggest starting on one of the other Freedoms.

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You can build or use portals that other characters have built to switch between your character on Freedom Isles and a sort of 'clone' of that character in the EPIC system, but the two systems are entirely seperate and skills and inventory don't pass through and aren't shared between the two.  Your individual character's banked silver/coins are accessible by both, though, as is Premium status, but not items.

 

So consider starting a character on the Freedom Isles (individual server choice would be based on what you're looking for.  Post here what kind of PvE environment you prefer and likely you'll get a number of responses/suggestions)..  Once you've gotten a taste of the Wurm Online game mechanics and built up some familiarity and skills, then you can consider going through an EPIC portal to create an Epic character.  On the chosen EPIC server, it'll have the same name and be the same character but it'll be a starting character all over again without anything the Freedom Isles character had picked up or skilled after originally spawning.  To play the character version that exists back on Freedom Isles again, you'd have to travel back through a Freedom portal and I believe there's a minimum delay in time necessary to wait between system-switches like that.

 

Some things to consider about the different Freedom Isles servers.  Note that as someone stated, all Freedom Isles servers can be reached by in-game travel by boat.  In time you can build your own boat or hitch a ride on another player's, but there is no NPC-based travel.

 

Chaos is the only server in the Freedom Isles system that is PvP.  Originally it was called 'Wild' and was its own seperate PvP area. It was more recently added into the Freedom Isles cluster as a PvP area reachable by boat from the PvE servers. Pretty deadly for a newcomer.

Chaos and Independance are larger than all of the other Freedom isles servers except for Xanadu, the largest.

 

Xanadu is a huge server, the newest and largest of all Wurm Online PvE servers.  Because of that, it tends to have a bit more lag.  A good number of active players as a total whole, but they tend to be more spread apart and seperated so number of players in a single area isn't necessary more than on the other PvE servers.

 

Independance:  The original Freedom server and as large in size as Chaos.  If you want 'virgin territory' there's a few spots in the very-varied terrrain, but with its longest history of established players you'll find Independance to have a very established infrastructure of tunnels, canals, roads, etc.

 

Deliverance was the second PvE server established some time after Independance was formed.  One of the smaller servers, as are Pristine and  Release.  Those latter two originally were seperated from all the other Freedom isles servers but now are connected like the others.

Deliverance is the second PvE server created, and had some newbie-friendly design aspects.  Pristine and Release are relatively newer servers though older than Xanadu.

 

Exodus and Celebration are smaller servers the same size as Deliverance, Pristine, and Release.  Afraid i've never been to them so can't really offer an experienced opinion on them.

 

 

Edited by Tristanc
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Basically there are two Clusters, Epic and Freedom

 

Epic is dead and isloated.

Freedom has both PvE servers and a PvP server, wich you can travel to by boat if want to change your playstyle or want to go to a diferent server to be with new friends or simply like to move around.

 

You will see a lot of complaints in the forum, but the game is unique. If this is your thing, you wont find a game like Wurm anywhere else.

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Thanks for the feedback and help, everyone!

 

As to my playstyle, I like building, but not as an end in itself, and I also like combat, including PVP, but I prefer coop to solo. I'd want to build/craft/fight to support a team/clan/guild. Is that what a village is?

 

Oh, one thing that tends to turn me off is too much RNG (like Path of Exile: so much grinding to get orbs, only to throw them away if you tried crafting with them, since getting something good is so unlikely). How heavy is the effect of RNG in this game?

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1) Building and terraforming are a major part of this game.

2) Combat is in this game, though its level of complexity is... near null.  It's almost entirely numbers based, and player skill barely factors in.  (PvE)

3) There is very little to none in terms of Coop play like you're describing.  There are weekly rifts and there are unique boss slayings - - coop play there is a really smart idea, though honestly, most folks just don't do it.  If you find a good crew, you'd rock those.  (PvE again)

4) RNG is a factor here, but it's different than POE and similar games.  You earn everything here through hard work and repetition and time.  RNG factors into some of it, and the RNG Is a bit off (their algorithm isn't truly random).  People in this game and on this forum will complain about RNG, but in my opinion, based on what you've written and my similar experiences, RNG isn't much ado of anything here.

Edited by Finndar
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21 hours ago, JakeRivers said:

don't go to exodus, that freedom server is so dead

The player count on the server is good for its size, independence has usually 2x the people but is 4x the size. Xanadu has usually 4x the people and is 16x the size. Odds are, smaller places have more people per sq. km

Edited by Yiraia
Forgot to add a comma
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So, I registered and installed, and it looks like I got dumped into the Freedom cluster (dunno which server), without getting an obvious chance to select a server. The client does have a server list showing active population, but I can't click on any of them.

 

Did I miss something?

 

NM: it's the tutorial (I wasn't facing the sign at first). :P

Edited by Roccandil
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Just now, Roccandil said:

So, I registered and installed, and it looks like I got dumped into the Freedom cluster (dunno which server), without getting an obvious chance to select a server. The client does have a server list showing active population, but I can't click on any of them.

 

Did I miss something?

You start out at the tutorial server 

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From the tutorial server, the server named Golden Valley, there will be a glowing portal that you can go to when you're ready and it has you select which server you want to go to from there.  I believe the glow is a purplish-blue.  It's within sight of where the game first spawned you in the tutorial.  To choose the server to teleport to (you'll have a very basic starter kit of tools and a tent when you start), walk into the spot with the glow and right-click on the structure object to get a menu and i believe it has you first choose between Freedom Isles and Epic, then has you select which individual server within those systems.  It's been so long I might be misremembering some of the detaisl.

 

If you have any big questions about game mechanics or how to do something, there's a channel in the tutorial called 'CA Help' that will almost always give you a good response to any questions you ask there (about game mechanics, etc, don't use it to chat).  All game volunteer staff on duty have it available to monitor to help starting players like you out.   Once you've teleported through to an actual gameplay server, there will be a CA Help channel there too (one covers about all the actual Freedom Isles servers together).

 

I *strongly* recommend you check out the.Wurmpedia

It's an excellent wiki with new player articles and links to info about just about everything in the game (all except for food recipes and meditation answers, essentially, plus it might not have added things from the most recent patches). 

 

Wurm has a strong community in terms of players helping players.  Feel free to ask questions here if you can't find the answer in-game or in the Wurmpedia.

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10 hours ago, Roccandil said:

I'd want to build/craft/fight to support a team/clan/guild. Is that what a village is?

 

You can say there are two levels of guild in Wurm. The most tight level is the village = settlement = deed. Here people live together and often share food, tools, animals. You can ask around for villages to join, which is very recommended for a new player.

 

But you will learn that most established players prefer to live alone on their deed. Having a solo deed, you can still cooperate with others, through the "Alliance" system. This can in fact be a very close-knit community as well, where people freely borrow tools, and deliver resources and work for each other as neighbours.

 

Edited by Cista

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So, I chose Epic/Serenity, partly for the challenge, and partly because it looks like a good way to experience the game mechanics more quickly, and see if I like it.

 

I puttered around the starting town figuring things out, and then travelled east into what I thought were abandoned lands. Not so. :) While I was practicing mining, the land owner showed up, warned me the server wasn't as abandoned as I thought, gave me a few items and some helpful advice, and sent me on my way. (He also suspected I was a spy, an alt someone had created. I guess kingdom warfare isn't dead on Epic?)

 

Not sure how I'm going to feed myself long-term yet; everywhere I went looked well-developed, and I don't know how to tell what's really abandoned (stuff is lying around everywhere unclaimed, but I did see at least three veteran-looking knights roaming around too).

 

Was able to exploit tower guards to take out a couple monsters and participate in the combat once their aggro wasn't on me, so that was cool.

 

Interface is a bit daunting, and so is the number of things I can do and skills I can level. Been looking at multiple tutorials, which has helped.

 

(Hopefully I'm not committing a faux pas by describing this...)

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I am glad to hear you are enjoying yourself. Find a group there and join them. The game is much better with friends to play with.

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12 hours ago, Roccandil said:

everywhere I went looked well-developed, and I don't know how to tell what's really abandoned (stuff is lying around everywhere unclaimed,

Use "Examine" on the ground. It will either give you a message that you are within a Village, the Village perimeter or "the lands of Wurm". The last message means that this is free land for anyone to use, as well as any objects laying around on it, which would then be abandoned and free for anyone to take.

 

=Ayes=

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I've met half a dozen or so folks, but most areas so far have been abandoned overgrown ruins. Gives the server an atmosphere of an ancient lost civilization (although all the active guard towers bely that somewhat).

 

I'm doing all right, I think. The most frustrating aspect of the game thus far is trading. Why oh why won't the trader accept a trade if I'm offering goods worth more than I'm asking? :( Trying to get an exact trade when the trader is low on coins is excruciating, made even worse because what the trader demands for the same goods changes so frequently (often by the time I go withdraw the exact coins I need to complete a trade and return, the trader will be asking for a different amount).
 

I also feel like trading values are bugged somehow; if I put in and draw out too many offered items while trying to finagle an exact deal, their value listed in the trade window no longer matches the difference in what the trader is demanding. If I reset by pulling everything out and starting over, then it looks all right again.

 

Also, any way to sort the trader's inventory? Finding the item you want in that huge unsorted list is hard on the eyes, and I wind up needing to do it several times to get a trade done. (For that matter, I'd like to sort my own inventory.)

 

Another oddity is that I can't find a way to change my demand, although I can change what I offer. Having to reset the entire trade to remove a demanded item is painful, and for that reason, I've given up on it as a practical means of balancing a trade.

 

The end result is a huge headache, and I would be totally willing to bypass it by taking a loss on a trade. I hope that's in the works, or that I missed how to do it.

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