How to Stick with a PC to the End?

[Deadlykate]

I am sure we all have this issue of annoyance when you feel like your PC is really doing nothing and dying way to much. Past few days I've been stuck at level 4-5 and feel like my PC is really doing nothing, and I really hate questing sometimes.

I've been known to rage quit a lot of PCs that would of done interesting stuff like Maria Blackwell but I usually rage quit after losing so many levels and feeling nothing is really going on. So I am curious how do people stick with their PCs even when they start to feel like a chore trying to play?

Any advice or anything would be helpful, its just getting annoying to die like every day after leveling and really doing nothing.  

[Vlaid]

There's no trick to it except to think about whatever plots/allies your PC has.

Other than that, just enjoying the PC you're playing? Starting another one won't give you anymore xp and supplies than your dead PC. I'm in a similar position myself with few supplies, few ways to quest and struggling to get back up.

So just patience and will to continue on the PC I guess. After I perma'ed a few PC's via ragequit (which I later intensely regretted) I learned to never let myself ragequit, always respawn and decide if you want to abandon the PC later.

[MaimedGod]

For me...

- always keep in mind what your character is currently working towards, be it a promotion, a change to Sanctuary law, securing control of territory, deciphering an ancient text, learning more of the setting lore, mastering the Machine, et cetera. If your character isn't working towards something, just think about it for a bit, and have them start working towards something.

- If you get bored of the character itself, take a break for a few days and then come back and see if you're still bored of them. If you just really don't like playing the PC, then quit them, but usually you will have more fun if you stick with them even through all the shit that you don't like.

- find stuff that you can do that will keep you interested and entertain you, even beyond just questing.

[Random_White_Guy]

My track record typically sucks with this, but I'd say the following:

1) Find a group. Get really close to your faction PCs or some friends your PC has made over time and do as you can to stick as close to them as possible. Try to help push their plots and in the meanwhile try to get them to help your own.

2) Make a new character quirk. Maybe your PCs recent failings have made her more beligerent and she develops a drinking problem. Or starts taking out her aggression on weaker people.

3)  Don't ever quit a character over "Questing". Because let's be real if you make a new PC you'll have to quest again anyway, as Talir always told me so long ago when I'd quit over my disdain for repetitive questing.

4) If all else fails, and I know some people hate to hear this, this is a Game. If EFU starts to feel more like WORK than GAME then don't be afraid to throw in the towel. Some concepts are awesome and work. Others sometimes are better on paper and don't pan out how you like.

5) Or, take 3-5 days break and come back refreshed for your current PC or  with a new concept idea.

[Nikolaz]

I think the Watchers have been a bit quiet lately, which I don't doubt has a part in you feeling this way. Personally I was -very- active (Perhaps too much so) From my Watchers creation and until the start of this month, sometimes logging in for more than 8 hours a day. With the onset of Exams and me feeling slighty burnt out from all the playing, I've been neglecting the Faction a bit- though I do hope to me more active in the future (We had a short patrol today that ended prematurely when Penaxisus got the shit kicked out of him by a giant piece of steel)

So I think I'll take some of the blame for you feeling a bit bummed on your character. Will try to arrange more activity, if you have any ideas for something that could be fun don't hesitate to bring up suggestions (IC or OOC) ^^.

[PanamaLane]

Best thing I can say is that when you are feeling down on your pc, take a couple days to cool off. Watch a movie, play a different game. If you find you want to continue after a few days, do. If not, then don't feel bad about starting new.

[wundyweiss]

Have to make more conflict / enemies really. You need to not be afraid to take risks and do something that'll make you hated / loved / feared / respected. Try those pvps you wouldn't even think of doing until X level. Push goals that conflict against other pcs, like taking over the in-between and holding a toll. The biggest thing is doing something that sparks your and other people's interests. You have to take big steps and gambles that won't work in your favor 100% and see how it unfolds.

I also think it depends on what kind of character you're playing. IIRC you're a watcher; well, there's a bunch of wanted men down in lower! Why not aim on taking them down, getting a bunch of friends / allies ready for a fight? Be more corrupt or goodly, and make deals that benefit you or the populace. It's all about creativity in the current situation of the server. There's a ton of PCs out there who deserve to be brought in, and see justice served. And if you die doing that, it's all part of the game!

[Knight Of Pentacles]

My track record typically sucks with this, but I'd say the following:

1) Find a group. Get really close to your faction PCs or some friends your PC has made over time and do as you can to stick as close to them as possible. Try to help push their plots and in the meanwhile try to get them to help your own.

2) Make a new character quirk. Maybe your PCs recent failings have made her more beligerent and she develops a drinking problem. Or starts taking out her aggression on weaker people.

3)  Don't ever quit a character over "Questing". Because let's be real if you make a new PC you'll have to quest again anyway, as Talir always told me so long ago when I'd quit over my disdain for repetitive questing.

4) If all else fails, and I know some people hate to hear this, this is a Game. If EFU starts to feel more like WORK than GAME then don't be afraid to throw in the towel. Some concepts are awesome and work. Others sometimes are better on paper and don't pan out how you like.

5) Or, take 3-5 days break and come back refreshed for your current PC or  with a new concept idea.

Number four should be number one.  I really dislike the stigmatization given to those who abandon their characters (in a tasteful manner).  Often I have PCs whose concepts I thought great at the beginning but then I realize how shallow and limiting they were so they end up in a dumpster.   Abandoning a PC when you stop having fun is different than abandoning one because of a xp hit or a big ingame punch.  Those can typically be avoided by logging out ASAP and taking a breather however.  If in a few days you aren't having fun, then I think it's safe to throw in the towel.  But yeah, experience and loot are secondary to your character's development. The plots you're involved in, the allies you have, and the reputation your character has built is truthfully the more powerful aspects of a character.  RWG is a brilliant example of this; even without loot and high levels every character he plays manages to rock the boat because his characters make allies and build bridges and use manipulative techniques.

[Bouquet of Roses]

I've had my ups and downs with characters, too.
Some I've quit 'caus they'd run their cause, a select few out of Rage, as is the popular term!
Mostly, though-
I'm not much for questing, myself. I don't like running the same quests over and over and over. It's just not fun to me.

So the best advice I could give is this:
Stop caring about levels. Yeah, they're good to have, they let you do stuff, but they're only levels. Your level doesn't matter, your character does. You can totally be a badass at level 4 or 5, it's all in the attitude.
I find it alittle more difficult to not care about supplies, but I'm a gatherer. I love collecting things.
At 4-5, there's absolutely no shortage of ways for a Sanctuary based PC to gather supplies, so yeah.

I know my way won't work for everyone. Some people enjoy questing, and I'm not gonna fault 'em for that.

So, in short!

Find out what it is you really enjoy doing.
Do it.
Have fun!

[efuincarnate]

Breaks are really good, pretty much agree with RWG's post.  Give it a day or three, and come back to it.

Also..take up fishing ig...way underused efuss skill there. Quit the Watch, and join the fishmongers! (seriously tho, take a break, best advice that can be given)

[Lira]

Some advice from the tabletop gaming world that I've found useful in PWs: your character is who you make them. Don't feel straitjacketed by your original conception of them, or who you feel they've become over time. What they do dictates who they are, and you control what they do. If you feel like you've written yourself into a corner with an established character, if they've become less fun to play because of how you feel they have to behave or what goals you think they should be pursuing, figure out what it would take for that character to become interesting for you again and change the character. Good fiction is full of people undergoing reversals of their dramatic poles, and it's usually far, far better for everyone involved if you go for that kind of recalibration rather than abandoning an established PC.
 
 Here's an example from actual play:

 For the better part of a decade, one of the players in my tabletop group was a guy who's a kickass roleplayer, but is afflicted with  bad ADHD. The serious, no-shit “I literally cannot sit still during a session and must walk around the house fiddling with objects while doing dramatic RP” kind of ADHD. So when he isn't feeling a character, that gets to him fast. We were in the midst of a game that would go for 40 sessions over the course of about 2.5 years when that feeling hit him. He had made a character who was aggressively opinionated about something important to what was going on, and it was pushing him into contrary positions with the party so much that it was going past the point of being enjoyable for him. We paused the game and hashed it out over dinner, and he decided that the most productive thing he could do was to change how he approached that character's beliefs. Instead of aggression against the other PCs, he backed off and started manipulating the context. He went after NPCs and converted them to his cause, or engineered situations where our characters' beliefs drove us into alignment with his goals. He became a political strategist and back-room dealer who occasionally stunned everyone with outbursts of ferocity (and psychic lightning). It worked because he took an existing element of the character â€" his insight and cold calculation â€" and brought it to the forefront, so that it seemed natural while still being a refreshing change.

 Making that adjustment hugely extended the lifespan of that character, but eventually the changing context of the game and his ADHD conspired to make him want to take the aggressive, leadership-oriented route again. And again he made an adjustment, choosing a part of his character that had been present but downplayed for 20ish sessions and breathing new life into it based on the new context of the game.
 
 You can do this in any RPG, online or off. It's not a panacea by any means, but it overcomes a lot of problems.

[Moonlighter]

Some advice I can give from my limited experience here:

It can get quite discouraging at times to stick with a PC and feel like you aren't progressing, whether it be mechanically or via goals. I've had similar situations myself across all of my PCs. Sometimes, it helps to have friends who are willing to lend an ear for you to vent. Don't discount how much just this will help. They can lend insight into how you can breathe some new fun into your PC that you wouldn't have otherwise from your perspective.

If you ever start to feel constrained by your character, remember it's a role you wrote for yourself to play, and you can write yourself out of any corner find yourself in just as easily as you wrote yourself into it. Character development can (and often has) happened as a result of getting bored of complacency, at least for me!

So in short: Don't be afraid to talk, and don't be afraid of change. EFU has had a great community (from me, at least) in terms of people who will just help you if you pull them aside and ask them.

EDIT: Something else I forgot. Involve other people in whatever it is you're chasing! Find a way to pull them in, and don't be afraid to be an 'evangelist' for whatever cause your character is pursuing.

[Paha]

This is why I personally dislike alts and I tend to play my characters with firm planning beforehand, to get the idea, goals, both long and daily ones, to chase and keep myself busy. Will I chase things by doing certain type quests, and is there some items I can collect to enforce my status as.. Hunter, collector, something else. This notion is not about alts, but the point that I focus on a concept I plan to keep both myself and others I play with entertained, mostly myself by giving me clear ideas of what I can do mechanically, and how it fits my story.

Is there something to explore especially, near daily, that can let me make speculations and wild theories to make stand as an expert of some area in the server.

And then there's the simple truth of not taking it too seriously. It's good to be serious about your character and get into it, but it's important to be able to take things as they happen and not make it end of the world. Take a breather here and there, enjoy, and don't try to get everything done in a single day. It's just matter of perseverance at times, like everything is. Nothing in RL or in game where things are about freedom and "living" can be totally action packed and moving all the time for your favor.

[Somniis]

Hi Deadlykate :)

I only play one character at a time. I can't imagine dealing with all the meta-knowledge an alt would have. I'm by no means perfect at it.

I find that I must keep evolving my character, somehow. Especially if I'm stuck, any form of movement internally (feelings, thought) or externally (action) helps. So if I'm stuck, like I can't contact specific PCs, or NPCs, I've died three times in one session, everyone is off questing or RPing... and there is no-one to be found IG -- I take some form of action.

Sometimes, I go shopping to get new perspectives on what NPCs collect and sell. I think PlayaCharacter calls it: 'searching for possibility'. Not the shopping, but the act of searching...  I go for hazardous walks into places my PC would go to pursue what I perceive as plot related items, places, recent events, or unknowns. I'd rather risk more death sometimes than feel stuck.

Instead of questing, talk to someone IC. I often find it offers experience of the server , IC 'experience', that you could not have got on your own.

Use the recent string of deaths to develop PC quirks, as RwG suggests. If you are sick to death of Death, then go read. Write a letter to a PC who might have the information you need. Clarify your thoughts in a journal entry, see what is really going on 'inside' your imagined character. Many times, faction buddies are not present, and we've gotta roll with it. Talk to a PC you may have ignored IC and interact in some way, 'good' or 'bad'.

If all else fails, take a break, as people posting above have highlighted. A day or two can recharge your focus. Take longer if life calls you out to play :) . Change is good and natural!