Hello all!
I heard so much good about this server from friends. Words of elegant scripts and great RP enticed me to give the server a go. I've been playing/building/DMing in NWN for years and with my previous servers long gone i decided to find some new servers and stopped by here first.
Creating a character and logging in were easy, i loved the loads of information available in the starting area. It truly seemed a rich place that was carefully crafted. The command system was a welcome sight to me, and i headed into game hopes high. I even managed to talk a NWN n00b into playing with me and we set a date. We were met towards the starting portal and had some fantastic RP about the dire situation on the island. It really hit home the depth of the story. After taking a brief look around and we called it a night.
Anxious to get into the guts of things, my friend and i set aside some time on friday to try a few quests out. We started in the newcomers tower where we left off and read the board. Thinking to start at the top, we decided upon the rat quest. As we were heading out, another PC asked to join and after some brief discussion we agreed to the company. This seems to have been my first mistake.
Upon reaching the granary the other PC charged in quickly, running off. It seemed to be more of a "smash and grab" than an "RP a quest" and it was evident he'd done this one before. Preferring to take my time and enjoy the story of the quest as i get a feel, i was somewhat irked about the behavior but eventually the PC managed to regroup with us and continue the quest. Upon completion he ran towards the loot as fast as possible, handed some to us, then ran off quickly with little interaction. I have no doubt he was off to the next XP farm, and my friend and i wondered if we were playing WOW or NWN.
Hoping this was just an outlier, my friend and i decided to try something else. Just outside the granary was someone saying there were goblin problems. We thought this was the granary again, but it wouldn't let us in so we headed west to an area labled as "goblin squatters". Sounded like it might be the area. We poked around a bit, going slowly and cautiously despite not seeing any living creature around.
Then things went crazy. A huge spider with several buffs attacked us, subdueing us in just a few blows. I thought perhaps it was a DM, as in the PVP rules it more or less implies that PVP is reserved for situations warranting it after some "build up" but i was wrong:
It was another player who jumped us.
They quickly realized we were new, and after knocking us down a few more times asked about us. I suppose that they graciously left the few remaining supplies we had, but the damage was really done.
Having no HPs or abilities left after the brutal attack, the night was done early. I had logged on to play and found only half-hearted RP and folks attacking us merely for walking an area away from the starting point, and then not had a chance to even play long.
I have to say that I'm greatly soured to the server and will likely look elsewhere. To those that bid me check it out, i gave it a go and prefer a server that i actually get a chance to at least play a bit.
I hope this feedback is useful to the team.
TLDR: Server seems well built, but has a poor RP gaming culture and lack of respect for new players about it.
It's unfortunite that one or two bad experiences would ruin the server for you. The setting as a whole is very interesting if you'd give it a chance.
The truth of the matter is that no matter what RP server you venture onto there's always going to be people who aren't commiting their full attention to meaningful and entertaining interactions at all hours of the day.
The community and playerbase are awesome on average. It's a shame you'd leave because one noob wasn't as experienced at role-playing as you seem to be.
'Hope you change your mind and give the server a chance.
sorry
Some people are scared off by the Player versus player here. Other people relish the challenge.
I GET KNOCKED DOWN. BUT I GET UP AGAIN.
I'm with RagingPurpleGiant here. I hope you give it another go. You can throw me a tell and I'll help you out. I play Charlie Larkamn.
I hope you return at least to read the responses, as I am sure they are similar to mine and decide then whether to give the server another chance or not
You have clearly run into a very unique way of getting involved. PvP is indeed quite rare way to get started but some PCs are playing bandits and other lowlives who stalk PCs in the ruins. However it is not at all common it happens and the server rules are quite clear about full-looting and PvPing new players, however the problem comes when none can actually tell who is a new player. Especially if his/her roleplaying is good.
What I suggest you to do is to react to the robbing/beating as your character would. There are lawful and peacekeeping factions about and other good aligned persons who you should try to contact. Perhaps make a sending, explain your troubles and someone might come to help you. And might be willing to help your character get 'revenge' or whatever he wishes. This is where the intrigue comes.
Also, you should not worry about the supplies. It might be hard to gather supplies as a new player and being constatly low with them and low HP might be annoying. However, if you contact other players and explain to them you are new, even in a tell, they are ready to guide you to quests which are intended for new players/characters and will fill you with supplies quite nicely. Or maybe they will get you on a quest with them and aid you get those supplies.
It is not that odd that people grab the loot swiftly from the chests but if your character feels like you have been ill-treated, someone is stealing from you etc, feel free to react it in a way you feel proper. Call the guards, spread about the guys untrustworthiness or whatever feels proper.
I am quite sure that if you give yourself and your friend a new attempt in this server, you will be satisfied with the fruits. Send a tell to those with whom you travel, explaining you are new and would like to get known better with the server and it's RP they are often willing to aid. It is impossible to know who are new players unless they express it, many use secret accounts for their own reasons. And we do not get new players that often so- Mostly expected they are known with the server.
New players are very exciting and valuable to this server, I take it everyone wants to aid you get started here. This is an old game and we cannot expect the player rate to raise up tremendously and old players tend to leave. Hopefully you decide to stay!
-Elmo2
I dont think you're giving a fair review by judging our entire gaming roleplay culture in a two hour session. You'll find there are plenty of people who likes to dungeon crawl slowly through an event, scenario, quest just like you, here... and that most of us do despise people who rush them just to get the XP and the loot. It's a shame you do not wish to meet them as I'm sure there are plenty who are looking for good roleplayers to bring along for all their adventures.
As for the spider incident, an unfortunate situation, as random attacks with no roleplay beforehand, while possible, are quite rare.
Seems you were unlucky with your draw for the day, I'd urge you to try again as I'm pretty confident that you would get along with a lot of our players. There are many of our higher level/more settled players who would have been glad to show you a tour if you'd asked them In-character.
But if you are not, good luck finding a server that you enjoy.
CULTURE
Quote from: swimmingbird;221159Hello all!
I heard so much good about this server from friends. Words of elegant scripts and great RP enticed me to give the server a go. I've been playing/building/DMing in NWN for years and with my previous servers long gone i decided to find some new servers and stopped by here first.
Creating a character and logging in were easy, i loved the loads of information available in the starting area. It truly seemed a rich place that was carefully crafted. The command system was a welcome sight to me, and i headed into game hopes high. I even managed to talk a NWN n00b into playing with me and we set a date. We were met towards the starting portal and had some fantastic RP about the dire situation on the island. It really hit home the depth of the story. After taking a brief look around and we called it a night.
Anxious to get into the guts of things, my friend and i set aside some time on friday to try a few quests out. We started in the newcomers tower where we left off and read the board. Thinking to start at the top, we decided upon the rat quest. As we were heading out, another PC asked to join and after some brief discussion we agreed to the company. This seems to have been my first mistake.
Upon reaching the granary the other PC charged in quickly, running off. It seemed to be more of a "smash and grab" than an "RP a quest" and it was evident he'd done this one before. Preferring to take my time and enjoy the story of the quest as i get a feel, i was somewhat irked about the behavior but eventually the PC managed to regroup with us and continue the quest. Upon completion he ran towards the loot as fast as possible, handed some to us, then ran off quickly with little interaction. I have no doubt he was off to the next XP farm, and my friend and i wondered if we were playing WOW or NWN.
Hoping this was just an outlier, my friend and i decided to try something else. Just outside the granary was someone saying there were goblin problems. We thought this was the granary again, but it wouldn't let us in so we headed west to an area labled as "goblin squatters". Sounded like it might be the area. We poked around a bit, going slowly and cautiously despite not seeing any living creature around.
Then things went crazy. A huge spider with several buffs attacked us, subdueing us in just a few blows. I thought perhaps it was a DM, as in the PVP rules it more or less implies that PVP is reserved for situations warranting it after some "build up" but i was wrong:
It was another player who jumped us.
They quickly realized we were new, and after knocking us down a few more times asked about us. I suppose that they graciously left the few remaining supplies we had, but the damage was really done.
Having no HPs or abilities left after the brutal attack, the night was done early. I had logged on to play and found only half-hearted RP and folks attacking us merely for walking an area away from the starting point, and then not had a chance to even play long.
I have to say that I'm greatly soured to the server and will likely look elsewhere. To those that bid me check it out, i gave it a go and prefer a server that i actually get a chance to at least play a bit.
I hope this feedback is useful to the team.
TLDR: Server seems well built, but has a poor RP gaming culture and lack of respect for new players about it.
Agh im so sorry, the player that your speaking about was me x,x In the frist part. Well the reason I did it as a smash and grab was beacuse I had to log right after, and it was a emergancy.. Im very sorry!
Really sounds like bad timing and bad luck. These sort of things are not the norm, particularly for new players.
The vast majority of the playerbase will be happy to answer your questions and guide you in the right direction of the low-level quests and such. If you see me on, I play a dwarf named "Manus Bellringer", account "PupEfUA".
Please feel free to send me a tell with any questions, and I will also be happy to give you insights into the server's rather difficult learning curve.
-The Pup.
Welcome to EfU. EfU is tough.
Like an end of season chicken cooked too fast and let out to dry before being plopped on the table, shriveled and blackened.
It's also not for everyone. But it is for me, and everyone else who posted.
Also, with a look around you'll discover atleast three separate NPCs who heal you, the priest near the Market place does it for free.
I'm sorry that you've had such a bad experience, but I would like to point out that in all the time I've played here I have only had a few.
I would urge you to give it another go, you'll find a high quality of RP and some wonderful, creative players that will no doubt surprise you with their innovative ideas.
Good luck, whatever you decide to do.
I would like to thank everyone for their replies, and i have read them all carefully. While the offers for help are greatly appreciated, i believe they miss the mark. It was not my intent to demand a hand-out, but instead to just point out i wasn't given much of an opportunity to play to begin with. That is, the damage done was to the time i set aside to play a game. As far as i could tell in the time i invested reading the rules/backstory before playing, this should not have happened. I suppose the problems could be summarised thusly:
1) PvP guidelines are apparently not really followed as advertised. The PVP section of the rules is the very first thing i, and many read when picking out a server. I went here (//%22http://www.escapefromunderdark.com/forums/-%20It%20is%20not%20acceptable%20to%20target%20level%202-3%20characters%20with%20muggings,%20ritual%20sacrifices,%20random%20beatings,%20or%20other%20PvP.%20If%20conflict%20occurs,%20it%20is%20acceptable%20to%20engage%20in%20PvP%20if%20they%20have%20done%20something%20to%20earn%20it.%20The%20exception%20to%20this%20is%20monstrous%20and%20app%27ed%20characters.%22) and saw:
Quote- It is not acceptable to target level 2-3 characters with muggings, ritual sacrifices, random beatings, or other PvP. If conflict occurs, it is acceptable to engage in PvP if they have done something to earn it. The exception to this is monstrous and app'ed characters.
I can only assume that i ran into a "monstrous" or "app'ed" character, whom in talking to after the fact lead me to believe this is quite a common thing on the server. All well and good for those looking for a challenge, but for my friend in particular who was just learning the client it is devastating. I strongly recommend changing the wording of the PvP guidelines to indicate the reality that a thorough beatdown is likely to be received without any warning or buildup.
Again, nothing wrong with the server being that way, but it really isn't the type of atmosphere for beginners to the game client and at very least you should strive to be honest with the way you advertise the server.
2) I was prevented from doing what I came here to do: Play a game.All the free healing in the game doesn't help much when you've expended all your abilities and potions in a brutal beating you received while trying to walk around and learn the server.
I take my time pretty seriously, as I haven't much to spare. I only have a few hours at a time i can hope to spend in playing a game, and i can't hope to compete in some "grind" situation to level and make war on other players. Moreover i haven't the stomach for such chest-beatings. I think this really touches on the heart of the issue, in that "Grinding" the quests is thereby encouraged and RP diminished. Many of you suggested this route, and i would tell you that way lies the death of a good (RP) server. A "rat race" situation should be avoided at all costs, and i would caution you that people are getting to the starting line, and getting ready for the gun.
Again i apologise if i have offended. This is just intended as some feedback from someone who has now spent much of his adult life playing, building, and DMing NWN servers. I hope that it is useful to you.
It's a good thing you post your first impressions of our server here. There's nothing offending about your post, and it's valuable for everyone here.
Obviously two hours of play are not enough to evaluate the place properly, but i certainly understand that 2 hours 'wasted' is more than enough for anyone to just go look somewhere else. And we don't want that to happen.
Answers saying 'we're a tough server so suck it up' are pointless: EfU being "tough" is no excuse for what happened. We aim to be a challenging yet fair play and fun server, and it can include various styles of play.
Sadly you just ran into bad luck and again. Try again, meet other people, and you'll see it's worth it.
People, if you want to run and grab xp and loot for lack of time or whatever, solo the lowbye quests.
It's harder for pvp as players don't know who's lvl2-3. Random muggings are very rare though: most of the time people pvp pcs they've had history with. If you're a lvl3 getting mugged, just send a tell to your aggressor. I'd wager they'll just run off when they realize their mistake. You will get pvped at some point though, and if that' something you don't like, well, EfUA's not a place for you. But you can certainly go a long way without pvp too.
Anyways, try again. People here are friendly. Can't be worst than your first time, now, can it? ;)
QuoteI strongly recommend changing the wording of the PvP guidelines to indicate the reality that a thorough beatdown is likely to be received without any warning or buildup.
Well, as many pointed out here. This is
extremely rare + looking through the logs, the player who did this felt quite bad, he knew he made a mistake, and apologized in tells, as well as tried to guide / help you.
QuoteAgain, nothing wrong with the server being that way, but it really isn't the type of atmosphere for beginners to the game client and at very least you should strive to be honest with the way you advertise the server.
Not sure what this means or where it's getting at. If it's directed at the guidelines, again, the player made a mistake for which he apologized.
I would suggest playing for another two hours and see what you think after that.
I can honestly say I have never experienced PVP that fast, so as has been mentioned that is very unusual.
Generally the RP on the server is of a high order and as importantly the OOC behaviour is also always polite and considerate.
The settings *is* very dangerous and that is part of its attraction to many.
I (as well as many many others and of ouorse the DM's) would be happy to assist with any questions, hints or help when you next log on. My log on at the moment is Scar_EFU.
It is actually frustrating that this has happened to you, my whole time on EFU:A i have only been randomly mugged once, and i have been around for about a year now.
As people have said, it is so rare for that to happen, and it sucks even more that it had to be to a new player. I think its wrong that you should give up so quickly though, as others have suggested, you should seriously stick around because EFU is not like any other server here, it is a form of art and i would hate to think someone is going to be missing out on the sheer awsomeness because of a simple miss understanding.
As the DMs said, its cool you took the time to share your first impressions, but i really don't think you are being fair, in a sense.
Going to just be honest and say that IMO this server probably isn't for you. By the sounds of your posts you're looking for C.S Lewis, while EFU is more like G.R Martin.
Hopefully I'm wrong and you give it another shot, and come to accept and appreciate the many challenges of EFU. Either way, good luck.
Quote from: Caddies;221362Going to just be honest and say that IMO this server probably isn't for you. ...good luck.
I agree with Caddies.
It's good that you post your opinions, but I think you've just had an unfortunate series of events. Generally pvp doesn't find you on efu unless you go looking for it. If you play a prominent pc who ends up finding themselves with enemies, yes you may get subject to attack.
I think you should give EFU another whirl, most questing on the server isn't like you described. I've been playing here over three years myself and while the server life can be harsh. Its generally extremely rewarding.
Quote from: Eraamion;221367This can strike players coming from different PW cultures as "harsh" or "unwelcoming" but I would call it a feature without which the server's survivalist feel of constant danger and palpable intrigue would not be possible. When I want to visit exciting locations in real life, I have to consider the increased risk rate. Same applies to EfU.
Exactly, this being my first and only server on NWN i was just instantly sucked in to the experience. I can understand that people coming from other more laid back servers are going to have a hard time adjusting.
I think the people who stick with this server in the long run will find it just that more rewarding then any other due to the extreme risks involved.
I really hope you give it another shot.
Quote from: Eraamion;221367That said, I do agree with the observation about grinding culture regarding scripted quests. I like to do a quest train from time to time but the ruthless gearing toward questing efficiency (hurrying up without waiting for AFK players, [COLOR="Red"]extorting specific buffs from spellcasters,[/COLOR] metagaming the enemies you are going to face) can get irksome. We could discuss the causes (I can certainly share my theory) but it is easily mitigable - you can have awesome extended roleplaying sessions and relaxed, slow-paced questing with a comparably large part of the playerbase, so you merely end up interacting with the characters that suit you / your character.
Note the part I have highlighted in red.
As a wizard and a player who primarily plays a wizard in almost every game I have ever played. This irks me, it irks me greatly. I hate it when people tell me as I join the party: "Go prepare X, Y, Z. Also make sure you memorise D we'll need it against
." I'm not even a transmuter, I'll provide some buffs, but I want to play my way - you know send out some offensive spells as well as react to situations as I deem fit. I am the wizard, not you!
(note that I haven't ever raised this issue in game, as I've mostly been adapting to the server so far so didn't see to challenge any norms.)
I've been sucked in to a standard role which seems to be: hey go invisible and heal the others and watch as they kill everything for you. Seems to me the only way for a wizard to be accepted into groups so far. I'm not fond of it.
With that said, I have reached a stage where I am not interested in simple quests anymore for my character. So it matters less and less.
There are definitely other ways to play your wizard that are quite acceptable when doing scripted quests.
Quote from: "Eraamion"That said, I do agree with the observation about grinding culture regarding scripted quests. I like to do a quest train from time to time but the ruthless gearing toward questing efficiency (hurrying up without waiting for AFK players, extorting specific buffs from spellcasters, metagaming the enemies you are going to face) can get irksome.
To be honest, what you describe here is probably my biggest gripe with this server, and the main reason I don't often join random scripted quest runs. For a server with such an extremely high quality of roleplaying in every other aspect (and it really is awesome), the dips of roleplaying quality during random, run of the mill quests continues to baffle me. I know that it is hard to maintain RP during combat, but the biggest issue is probably the rushing and the nearly palpable air of "I've done this quest a million times, let me get my loot and experience as quick as possible so I can continue roleplaying afterwards". There is very little conversation, nearly no discussion of tactics, and even less actual execution the same. Further, there is hardly no interaction with or discussion of the quest environments, placeables, story or intrigue, and any attempt to start such basically leaves you standing alone in an empty room with everyone ahead charging the next group of monsters, before you even have time to complete your first "hey, look at this, guys!". Add to this the general level of (often subconscious but still noticeable) metagaming, and I can easily see how ending up in quest runs like these turn off people who came here hearing about the server's exceptional level of roleplay.
I hope I do not come off as too harsh writing this; Scripted quests are a very tricky ball to juggle by their very nature, and obviously not all runs are like this. But I really think there is room for quite a lot of improvement from players in this regard, and it is an issue that even puts many "veterans" off, not to mention new players with high expectations.
Considering I am both a veteran (of the server), and a newcomer (to the Archipelago), I can say that it's equally off-putting in both regards. The quests themselves are
awesome, but World of Warcrafting through them is not.
- Wrex
I'd like to drop a couple of hints for people who are new to playing mages here, since it took me about 2 years to get away from the whole "hide/buff" thing. All PCs really *need* for most quests is mind wards if you think you're facing Chaotic/Lawful/Evil stuff, and magic weapon. Flame weapon also helps a lot, as do specific defence buffs for hard points. The rest though, it's no big deal. The trick is to find the most effective or enjoyable loadout, and those aren't mutually exclusive. The most fun I've had on wizards has usually been on those who responded to "got any more spells for me?" with "Not unless you'd *like* me to set you on fire..." or when I've known that a situation calls for Numerous Fireballs. Someone who will call in a sorcerous airstrike on command can be worth his weight in gold.
Take Blur and just hang back. Load up colour spray and save someone from a big group of attackers by stunning them all. Grease a bunch of enemy ranged troops to keep them knocked over. Hold back a Combust and flambe the boss or a Scint Sphere for a big group of mobs. Buff the hell out of yourself, pick up a spear and run around stabbing wizard mobs while yelling "MAGE DUEL!". Even pick up a crossbow just to snipe weak enemies. The real trick to playing a wizard offensively though is to get people to agree that if you say wait, they wait, unless they like running into Ground Zero. Also, to remember you need potions too, not just frontliners. Brew yourself up haste, blur, etc for emergencies.
My last PC was a ranger 1/Wizard 7 who fought as a skirmisher with his spear and longbow. The wizard before that was an insane gnome who would begrudgingly offer people very basic buffs, enhance himself, then run in screaming with a waraxe and kill everything. He got to L9. It's easily doable to not invis buff.
Quote from: Egon the Monkey;221455[COLOR="Green"]The most fun I've had on wizards has usually been on those who responded to "got any more spells for me?" with "Not unless you'd *like* me to set you on fire..." or when I've known that a situation calls for Numerous Fireballs. Someone who will call in a sorcerous airstrike on command can be worth his weight in gold.[/COLOR]
[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Take Blur and just hang back. Load up colour spray and save someone from a big group of attackers by stunning them all. Grease a bunch of enemy ranged troops to keep them knocked over. Hold back a Combust and flambe the boss or a Scint Sphere for a big group of mobs. Buff the hell out of yourself, pick up a spear and run around stabbing wizard mobs while yelling "MAGE DUEL!". Even pick up a crossbow just to snipe weak enemies. The real trick to playing a wizard offensively though is to get people to agree that if you say wait, they wait, unless they like running into Ground Zero. Also, to remember you need potions too, not just frontliners. Brew yourself up haste, blur, etc for emergencies.[/COLOR]
My last PC was a ranger 1/Wizard 7 who fought as a skirmisher with his spear and longbow. The wizard before that was an insane gnome who would begrudgingly offer people very basic buffs, enhance himself, then run in screaming with a waraxe and kill everything. He got to L9. It's easily doable to not invis buff.
[COLOR="Green"]Good idea, I might make a wizard with that kind of personality some time, not anytime soon though. It could happen to my current character if he is really, really ticked off, but unlikely; he's fairly patient.[/COLOR]
[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Some excellent suggestions there. I was thinking about a few things like that myself. Now that I am at a decent level, with a fairly good arsenal of spells, I am becoming more capable of this kind of flexibility. With that said, I dislike huge groups where my buffs are spread thin. I'll be taking active measures against such groups forming I think. Either that or no buffs for you! Except my character and I as a player generally don't like leaving people out so it is unlikely to go that way.[/COLOR]
Thanks for sharing those interesting character experiences! *chuckles*
Quote from: Wrexsoul;221451To be honest, what you describe here is probably my biggest gripe with this server, and the main reason I don't often join random scripted quest runs. For a server with such an extremely high quality of roleplaying in every other aspect (and it really is awesome), the dips of roleplaying quality during random, run of the mill quests continues to baffle me. I know that it is hard to maintain RP during combat, but the biggest issue is probably the rushing and the nearly palpable air of "I've done this quest a million times, let me get my loot and experience as quick as possible so I can continue roleplaying afterwards". There is very little conversation, nearly no discussion of tactics, and even less actual execution the same. Further, there is hardly no interaction with or discussion of the quest environments, placeables, story or intrigue, and any attempt to start such basically leaves you standing alone in an empty room with everyone ahead charging the next group of monsters, before you even have time to complete your first "hey, look at this, guys!". Add to this the general level of (often subconscious but still noticeable) metagaming, and I can easily see how ending up in quest runs like these turn off people who came here hearing about the server's exceptional level of roleplay.
I hope I do not come off as too harsh writing this; Scripted quests are a very tricky ball to juggle by their very nature, and obviously not all runs are like this. But I really think there is room for quite a lot of improvement from players in this regard, and it is an issue that even puts many "veterans" off, not to mention new players with high expectations.
Considering I am both a veteran (of the server), and a newcomer (to the Archipelago), I can say that it's equally off-putting in both regards. The quests themselves are awesome, but World of Warcrafting through them is not.
- Wrex
I think the feeling of that could be lessened by the DM's by changing up the quests every so often, changing the enemies, cutting off paths and putting in new ones, secret areas, etc. We'd all really appreciate the work. On a similar not, City of Arabel, has a really neat system for one of it's quest, the carpenter quest. You've all probably done it if you've played over there, the enemy types are random or something and it switches between three different types. I think just manually changing the most common quests every couple of resets would be even better. Good luck.
There is already a quest on EfU that has random spawns integrated. Creating and changing spawns through entire quests, areas, etc. is more complicated and harder to do than just snapping your fingers.
As for secret areas, there is a system of random areas already in-game, which encourages exploration! Try it out, it's really fun.
Swimmingbird-
Sorry you had a poor time. The EFUA experience has been increasingly catered towards heavily D&D/NwN experienced gamers due to the fact that these are really the only people who play anymore (NwN 1 isn't exactly flying off the shelves these days). What this means is that, in a world where the amount of time a DMs can create new content is naturally limited, we're left to find entertainment in each other. Since we're basically the same group of d-bags who have been kicking the crap out of each other for the last couple of years and a couple of people who showed up late only stuck around cause they were grooving on the competitive aspect of the server, we can seem like a pretty cold group of bastards.
Due to the fact people can change their alias (and often do), we just assume whenever we meet a new character that its someone who knows this old song and dance. Like in playing a game of Halo, you will go onto a new server and someone will shoot you in the face without explanation or apology - its assumed you understand how the game works and would just do the same if given the opportunity.
People who stick with it tend to find EFUA rewarding and fun, but if the competitive aspect isn't your thing, I wish you well in your server search.
Well, a lot of people have replied..but I'mma stick my two cents in since I'm also pretty new. I have had good days and bad days on here, not to mention the server I DM on came back up. So I've also been splitting my time between the two.
That being said, I have hit lvl 5 once. I have deleveled back down to 2 so many times I've lost count...and been ignored by several groups of elitists that don't know me yet.
I have also met some great roleplayers that I wish I could kidnap for my own server, lol. I, as a player, HATE PvP. I do, oddly enough, enjoy the server so far. It is nice to know that my characters actions have consequences that could get her killed by another character.
So, on the rare times I'm logged in, look me up--if you decide to give it another chance. Sometimes its hard to group up just because you miss a gathering of your level range going out to massacre poor, defenseless monsters. XD I cannot tell you how many times I have sat in the Kingsman, roleplaying with myself while waiting for people to get back in from a quest.
As a DM, I feel like what I'm taking away from this original post is that our server, regardless of innovation, creative design, and a multitude of unique content is only as appealing as our weakest roleplayers in the eye of a new player.
While most would regard that as a completely unfair synthesis of EFU:A's collective personality, (I do), something we can take away from this thread is hopefully a desire to improve our roleplay as a whole.
Later new guy
As a player who often dies during questing, has a hard time reaching higher levels, lost everything countless times in the Underdark when crashes ensured that you lost all equipment and gold, often gets on and does not quest at all, has trouble typing pithy comments while in the midst of battle, cannot stay online for hours to enjoy super long quests or find quests in remote locations, etc., I have stuck it out and enjoy my time here.
When I first joined, EFU a few years back, I died in a quest with one other individual. I was told to wait till it was safe. I was told to return and found that I was dry looted by that fellow. This sounds just as bad as the experiences you have described. I am still here and understand that just because there might be a jerk or two, not all are.
I enjoy my time here and I am sure that you would too, just need a bit of time to navigate and meet more folk.