The Seven Year Itch

[Aetherwalker 1,863]

Been gone for a long time, thinking about coming back. You know what we used to say, you never quit Wurm, you just take long breaks.

Somebody give me the cliff notes on the state of the game in 2023, please.

Can you still feasibly make enough silver in game to pay for premium?
What's the current server layout/population dispersion look like?
I hear there's been a crackdown on RMT, does that mean I won't be able to buy an account to start playing again?

Tell me everything I need to know. Convince me it's worth coming back.

[Ruger 610]

Mate, a seven year itch, have you tried a farmers salve for that?
 

Following to see what’s new round here. Hard going through all the City Hall posts. 😤

Edited February 27, 2023 by Ruger

[Docterchese 1,570]

I remember you from the forums back in the day! Welcome back!

 

So I stopped playing in 2016 but came back in 2022, I got the same itch for Wurm and have been really enjoying the current game.

 

2 hours ago, Aetherwalker said:

Somebody give me the cliff notes on the state of the game in 2023, please. 

 

So Wurm's population is smaller than it once was, but it's still stable, and the game is seeing active development, probably at the fastest pace in a few years. We're still a little overdue on it all coming out, but the exploration updates of the last year or so have given us treasure maps, cartography, and soon hopefully holy sites and goblin camps.

 

The game looks and feels similar to how it did in 2015, but with some key changes: some areas of the graphics (like the sun, night sky, and volumetric fog) are noticeably much prettier; various features (like cooking, fishing) got overhauled and have much more depth; and after the Steam release in 2020, new servers were opened that are still separate to the old Freedom servers. There has also been brand new stuff like Archaeology, which I really love as a feature as it feels very Wurm-like while adding a lot of cool items, as well as smaller new things like runes, new wall types, new containers, donkeys, new wood types, underground houses, underground paving, highways, and probably loads more that I've missed.

 

Overall I think the game is in a surprisingly good place; I didn't think it would still be around by now, let alone with ~700 players online on the busiest days. I think at the very least that Wurm has many years left in it, although it probably needs to see big QoL changes to keep attracting new players and stay alive.

 

2 hours ago, Aetherwalker said:

1. Can you still feasibly make enough silver in game to pay for premium?
2. What's the current server layout/population dispersion look like?
3. I hear there's been a crackdown on RMT, does that mean I won't be able to buy an account to start playing again?

 

Quickfire answers:

 

1. Yes, especially from selling bulk mats. 5k bricks will get you premium. Rares are also a good moneymaker.

 

2. The Northern Freedom Isles (added with the steam release) have four servers, Cadence, Harmony, Melody, and Defiance (PvP), and most of the playerbase is up there. However, there are also plenty of players on the old SFI servers, including some newbies, so really either is a good pick. It will take less time to catch up with other players on NFI as the servers have been open for much less, although on SFI, prices are cheaper so you could get better skilling gear for less. Epic is pretty dead and has been for a while, sadly.

 

3. Yes, RMT had to be banned as a part of the Steam release. However, with food affinities, caffeine, and the crazy amount of game knowledge people have learnt in the past few years or datamined from WU, grinding is *much* faster than it was in the past, so it will be a lot quicker to catch up than it was before. I've found it quite a bit easier to grind now compared to when I played before, simply because I have access to better gear, more bonuses, and more knowledge.

 

 

Overall, it's your choice if the above sounds good enough to come back; but really, I'd recommend picking a server, finding a good alliance to help you get on your feet, and jumping into the game to give it a try for yourself. I did that last April after a 6 year break, and I'm still here playing!

[Votip 1,611]

2 hours ago, Aetherwalker said:

Convince me it's worth coming back.

Is it?

[ThatYoungLad 83]

5 hours ago, Aetherwalker said:

Been gone for a long time, thinking about coming back. You know what we used to say, you never quit Wurm, you just take long breaks.

Somebody give me the cliff notes on the state of the game in 2023, please.

Can you still feasibly make enough silver in game to pay for premium?
What's the current server layout/population dispersion look like?
I hear there's been a crackdown on RMT, does that mean I won't be able to buy an account to start playing again?

Tell me everything I need to know. Convince me it's worth coming back.

 

I have been away until recently, but I will try to enlighten you:

 

-We have a second Freedom cluster called Northen Freedom islands, its more populated and not as stale and developed as SFI, so if you are thinking of starting anew, I recommend you this cluster, specially come to Harmony and join the Southern Harmony Alliance.

-You can make a lot of silver in NFI, not so much in SFI. A rare metal tool in NFI can go for 12-15s easily, although rares rolls are more uncommon than in SFI. Mortar is 4s/k opposite to 2s/k in SFI. In general, you can make lots of money in NFI without using your credit card, just as I do every day.

-The server dispersion says there are more players in NFI, Wurmnode says in SFI there are, by the time Im writing this, 10:37 am +0 UTC is 184 online people in NFI, and 151 in SFI. There are far more deeds in SFI, but most of them are inactive.

-You cant exchange silver for euros/dollars, tho people will always find a loophole somewhere to keep up with this. I dont recommend it tho.

 

In general, I recommend you to come back, I also had an itch for years until I finally made my decision. Just try to keep the game as a game, and dont burn out yourself because you dont take enough breaks from projects or silver-making activities, and youre fine. PM me for more details.

[Schiann 994]

Long time no see! I'm forever taking year-long breaks, so tons of stuff still feels "new" to me.

 

Things I don't see mentioned above:

Buildings can be constructed underground in caves.
You can farm underground using Large Planters.
Tar and clay can be created in a spot of your choice, via a craftable Transmutation Liquid.
Fishing was overhauled to be more interactive and complex. (OK, this was mentioned)

Lots of new horse colours, and bred animal traits. 

Libila religion on Freedom.

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Schiann
missed a mention

[validate 598]

miss ya old neighbor,   i personally love playing on the new servers, Harmony is where i mainly play now.  a ton of fun starting a new character and new deed all over but with all the knowledge we have from the over servers.   my new character over the couple years is getting close to my SFI main skills.   the new cooking is fun to me. affinity food and drinks help for grinding skills and even coffee and alcohol to speed up use of sleep bonus and make skills harder for more gains. 

 

i still log in to my old characters to check on animals but down sized the SFI deed to cheap upkeep while i await the merger of server clusters like many did for release and pristine after xanadu.   but as i said a ton of fun starting over. I do take breaks 3-6 months off, just log in once a month to breed pets.  but i too get the itch .  with a back injury waited 5 months for surgery and now had that waiting 2 more months till back to work.  wurm playing has been a true blast like my first time playing after moving to deli from indi. almost 1000 hrs since mid december lol  addicted yes.

 

NFI the new servers make 2k mortar and 1k brick  =10s  really easy.  or even 100 support beams net you 7s there.  SFI old servers = about half the silver as those

 

 

new site   https://www.wurmnode.com/    shows populations for the servers also.   NFI seems to have more and mainly on 2 servers harmony and cadence ,  SFI  mainly on indi and xanadu the rest the rest under 30 players

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by validate

[Valdor 1,426]

Hey, I remember you! I can't believe you were gone for 7 years. Does time really fly so fast?

 

I love the state of Wurm right now. But then again, I always have  So, I am perhaps not the best person to offer advice, if you actually need convincing to come back. I would say that if you need convincing, then perhaps Wurm is not what you need right now. It should draw you back on its own. But if you meant it more metaphorically, then I hope you come back. Best of luck!

[Zerobyte 286]

I took off 6 years and came back for the 2020 NFI server lauch, hooked again, game has changed heaps, im really enjoying it

[Hailiah 443]

You can still make enough silver in game for premium, easily.

There have been a lot of changes.

Cooking revamp, animal husbandry revamp, archaeology revamp, new stuff like treasure maps and cartography, to name a few.

[Sheffie 1,120]

I think you may be able to make enough for premium just by foraging. The NFI kingdom coffers seem to have consistently full.

 

Plenty of players are offering a helping hand on a "pay it forward" basis. You can get gear, tools, arms & armour free or super cheap if you're patient and ask around.

 

I offer newbies, homeless midbies, and returning oldbies a place to stay at Mooncat Lake on Cadence. No strings attached. If you like the place, stay or put down a deed nearby. If not, no worries.

(more info in the Cadence recruitment forum)

[Holar 1,484]

Just get some ointment brother. Not worth coming back to.