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Etherdrifter

Returning Player Experiences

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This is a thread for returning players to post their stories and experiences.
 

I'm quite curious as to what reception a returning player has, what are the first things they notice, what is the general situation they find themselves in?  What brought you back?
 

Example:
 

My only return after a long break (a good few years back) was to find myself in largely the same situation (my deed was upkept), and my skills were all 20 or below (I was tree blind!), and I couldn't use my main skill (magic).  The upshot was that I could do all the things I couldn't do as a priest, but I couldn't really advance my character without giving that up.   I still re-premed, because business was good for magic then and I could pay my monthly premium with casts (though I never did).
 

What brought me back was the joining of the clusters, I could make a new home on Xanadu, and there was a massive call for courier and genesis casts.

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I have had several breaks during my Wurmian life, some of them lasted couple of months, some longer. But I always followed the news what was going on in Wurm and every time I returned I found something great features, new adventures (i.e. rifts) or some new people to come across with. And it's always annoying to realize that your premium has run out (ugh!). :D I have been always careful so that I do not lose my deed during my time off, I have had always that little feeling that I will be returning, no matter what. All the creations, hard work and animals cant be just dumped by the inactivity. 

 

Wurm Online has come a long journey and I'm very eager to see where it heads next. Maybe we will see new Summer event, since I truly enjoyed the last one...! And I would imagine many would return when something special happens, like events or so, what pulls people together and  encourages you to spend time with amazing company. :) 

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I logged into my freedom deed, looked at the projects I have and was like "dang I should finish those".

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I premmed up my character and logged in.  My freedom house was torn down, my cart was looted, and I was kicked out of village (thanks cyberhusky/quicktor).  I used a portal to see how things were on epic.  My village was disbanded and I didn't have access to minedoors or houses or anything.  I contacted someone who had manage on the minedoors in order to get into the safe mine to get my cart, and then catapulted my way out of my old village.  I sailed back to an existing deed with my remaining items that I could collect, and soon after that I took what pvp gear I had and went homeserver raiding.  Serenity was like a barren wasteland.  I lived there for years in the past, and all the active locations I once knew were now just ruins.  We roamed the server for quite awhile just trying to run into somebody's local. 

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9 minutes ago, Alexgopen said:

I premmed up my character and logged in.  My freedom house was torn down, my cart was looted, and I was kicked out of village (thanks cyberhusky/quicktor).  I used a portal to see how things were on epic.  My village was disbanded and I didn't have access to minedoors or houses or anything.  I contacted someone who had manage on the minedoors in order to get into the safe mine to get my cart, and then catapulted my way out of my old village.  I sailed back to an existing deed with my remaining items that I could collect, and soon after that I took what pvp gear I had and went homeserver raiding.  Serenity was like a barren wasteland.  I lived there for years in the past, and all the active locations I once knew were now just ruins.  We roamed the server for quite awhile just trying to run into somebody's local. 

And then I ran into your local, and hilarity ensued!

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I came back to Indy in  2015 after playing for about 3 weeks in 2013. I was still a noob, and I was easy bait for mobs.

It was only an old friend that saved me and helped me find my body. I think that had he not been there, I probably would have quit again.

I was then brought over the N. Indy Academy where I spent a few weeks getting my footing (perhaps for the first time), before venturing out to make a deed of my own.

 

And three years later I'm still there. 

 

The area has changed a lot, but It's always going to be my home.

 

I also started a second toon to explore a bit more, and she now resides on cele after having given Xan, Deli, and Release a good try.

 

<3 Wurm!

 

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I took a break from wurm for a few months after realizing how much im paying for it, and how much I could pay in other things. Eventually i thought "Theres no place like wurm." I bought 2 months of premium and was farming/priesting. little after a month into premium and i realized how much it was not worth it buying premium and tried my best to stay away from it. Now I roam around the forums waiting for the day premium is cheaper or free to play allows higher skills (up to 25 characteristics and 40-50 in skills) and keeping up to date with the new cool stuff being added. Loving the dyes!!! which i didn't have to pay so much to experience it.

 

Now that im not paying for wurm, I buy other games for 8 dollars that occupy me for several months. Or even free to play games that i jump on and off of.

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It's always the same cycles for me: Returning to Wurm I come up with a few projects. This time round it was connecting my deed to the Highway system (ongoing... requires a tunnel) and building a brewery. After a while I start to ask myself "what for? You are the only one active in this area. No one needs your goods and no one will ever see what you build or use it." Then I start looking for other games. I play another MMO for a few months until endgame, realizing that I don't have the time to do endgame (which usually means raiding on a schedule unless you have the patience and tolerance to try your luck with PUGs - which I don't have). Then I return to Wurm.

 

Sometimes I think I am just too old for this ###### :P

 

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My expierience is totally different than ones above. Wurm is or might be pretty expensive comparing to other games, true. But I'm the kind of person, who's not saving money on hobbies, passions or long term fun. Good time spent on it is worth to me all the money.

 

Regardless if we talk about Wurm, few other games, music collection, science, books or miniatures collection. If they tell me, that I have to pay hundred bucks monthly, then I decide if my own entertain is worth it, and it surely is. Also that's why I don't play all the games i can, nor I'm much into free games. I have a few, actually 2 titles that Im playing for years, used also to play Diablo 2 for over 10 years. And that's a reason for me to always do my best and play as well as i can to reach all the goals that I'lI set for myself, and then look fo new, higher ones, to improve on any field I can. And reason why I'm against making Wurm easy peasy. I don't like easy challenges.

 

What is and how looks usually my return after a break? Why i do take so much breaks? Well, that's different almost everytime. At least second question is easy. I'm taking breaks if not for family and other passions mentioned above, I'm doing it because i need to focus on World of Tanks, my first importance game. Well, used to be at least, but things have changed probably.

 

First time I return to Wurm was already after a few years break of playing. When i already left Golden Valley, then moved to Indi. I took a break back then, because i was much into 1vs1 and 3vs3 esl tournaments in WoT. After this period, i returned... i saw my old place on Indi deeded by strange people. I saw so, so much new stuff in game. I couldnt find myself. I heard however of new opened great server, Xanadu. For a former adventurer, fresh, wild, untouched and- insanely huge land was more than enough to left everything behind and move on there. And that was a first, best choice I've ever made in Wurm. I ended up in Newspring. First, i took a look around. Fog, can't see anything. I moved south of Island. For few days I was living in cave (great times!) And i was certain, that an Island I am on, is the Xanadu itself. I was disappointed. I've built a rowboat. I sailed off my cave, around southern shores of NS and I saw this. A huge massive of land, great mountains all over horizon. I was like omg. Once again i didn't even get back to a cave to take my gear. (Low ql ones but still). I sailed to q9 area, then to o8 area. There I've got myself into trouble. Few people helped me, including Theria. Greatest person I've ever met in Wurm. I spent there a day talking with Theria and his fresh Lemosa deed, alliance. In a day he learned me more about Wurm and community than I ever knew from lone adventures. I moved furthere and I discovered free lands around i8. I've spent there few days planning to stay and i met another great person, Mommat. However after long consideration, I've made another decision. Now i believe it was a second best in Wurm for me. I returned to Theria and o8 grid. I've spent there many years learning from Theria and others, helping others on my own. And together with Theria extending our alliance further  since it's very beginnings. I've spent there my best time in Wurm. Then i took another breaks for different reasons. Usually I was taking  2-3 months of break to focus on WoT tournaments. When I was returning from breaks, experiences were different. Sometimes nothing changed at all, sometimes everythig was looking different. New walls, staircases, bridges. But Wurm's life and it basenebts learnt from Theria in lemosa, that is aiming for higher goals, hard working on them and sometimes forcing yourself, giving your best to do something for yourself or for others to make your dreams possible is still the same. Regardless of changes within game, I'm not that much into new stuff. I've never used new cooking, barely few weeks ago built my first bridges. Doesn't matter as far as i have my own plans still to do. Then we'll see. 

 

Another thing is, that my toon, all my time spent in Wurm, and Wurm itself is like my own story to me. I love to roleplay abd use my imagination playing Wurm. So pretty much, after every break, I'm getting back to my castle, then it's not like i was playing other games or doing o ther things. I'm discarding thinking like that. Just my toon returned home from another foreign war or adventure, and after his absence it's time to once again take care of own holdings and clean mess. :)

And this is the same immersive story continuing since Golden Valley. And soon I'd like to Share it maybe. 

 

 

Writing on phone is terrible, meh.

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Recently returned after couple year hiatus.  Had a dream about Wurm.  Was in a land of HUGE carts pulled by trolls and people were jumping out the cart running...was really weird dream.  Few days later I decided to play again.  Reluctant because I knew my deed had disbanded and all my gear and stuff looted and gone but wanted to see how the areas has developed, new players, new deeds, new features.  I had kept an eye on wurm updates and press releases and saw many new changes so came back.  Upon entering deli, I stood at the spot where my old deed token was.  My mine had collapsed, my guard tower still standing, farm fields dried up and replaced with grass, hedges still growing around what was a resting area and looked like someone deeded over my old deed.  Decided to go check on my neighbor Teslian...nothing but a sailboat and few other abandoned items  remained on his deed.  Guess he had stopped playing, been almost 3 years since he logged on.  Kept exploring towards nightmare lake where it once had deeds all along the bank.  Found a couple of deeds and tons of mobs.  At this point I started to wonder what happen, where did everyone go?  The last time I played you could not find a open plot of land around the lakes and coast as these were prime locations for deeds and ports filled with merchant ships being filled to carry out their trade contracts and sell their bulk goods.  Continued to explore beyond the lake and found plots of land where deeds once stood, players once lived and villages thrived on fields of veggies, hunters roaming the woods, farmers tending the fields, smiths hammers smacking metal and making weapons and tools and villagers gathering materials from mines and surrounding areas. 

 

I discovered plot after plot of open land, nothing but slabs and pathways for as far as the eye could see remained.  Abandoned forges,  bulk storage bins and furniture litter the ground.  I felt alone :(  surrounded by mobs, where once you would be protected by higher skilled fighters in town and players grinding their fighting skill.  I carefully headed back to familiar regions where I would feel safe as I had a few rare tools, tools I had purchased and various other items I did not want to lose left in my inventory.   Continuing to explore, I wanted to find a deed, a player...something, anything.  Gave a wave in chat o/ I was surprised to see some familiar names Ellenmarie, mrcoolman, were still playing, so I knew that there was people still around.  An half hour later after finding nothing, I decided to make a house to hold my stuff while I explored more.  Built a little house and farm on top of a small hill.  Had to continue my mission to find another human being.  There has to be people near Greendog!  It's the main spawn, right?  So, I found my way back to Greendog (I actually died and that's how I found my way back but shhhh nobody has to know that) which had a nice makeover, the area around had houses and was built up.  Felt better, found civilization, so I thought.  Roaming the area looking for a person to pop up on local chat...nobody??  What is going on here? 

 

I left and started to head back to my house.  Finding out this new highway marker system I found my way to Rainbow Bridge, an landmark I remember watch being built.  Always thinking wow this guy is crazy, as I was unskilled back then and couldn't do what he was doing.  Farming alone, mining alone, built a forge and replaced some of the tools I had lost when my deed disbanded.  On one hand I felt wow I can get a lakeside deed now, but all my neighbors had vanished.  All of the players has vanished.  Nameless lake where Seara's (misspelled?), Elof's deed once stood, again nothing but ruins.  I remember nameless lake being a active area with many players and villages and ports.  Deliverance Keep still stood proud and active that has merchants.  Fossils deed still stood strong and also Aldura's (sorry spelling) big castle still stood and another deed in the area.  I had stopped playing around the time that Aldura was building that castle.  So I decided to stay in the area since it seemed to be the most active area I found.  Finally, someone logged on.  Met Suveli, a long time player.  We chatted for awhile and was a friendly fellow so I decided to deed in the area on Elof's old plot...Port Genesis was born.  Found it to be a fitting name as it means " the origin or mode of formation of something."  Was nice to see deeding has got quite a bit cheaper and the 10 silver form was replaced with a deed stake.  Upkeep was much cheaper also.  I have a goal to bring the area back to its former glory, hopefully active enough to intrigue other players or new players to deed the area and build it up.

 

 I feel wurm has advanced and made progress with updates, content, bug fixing but the playerbase has dwindled down...I ventured through the forums and hit up WU forum.  I see many old names had migrated over to WU.  Born and lived on deliverance for the entirety of my time playing, I felt I could not abandon it.  It was home.  It IS home.

Edited by Smokie
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