How to Return to Imperian
I'm looking to return to playing Imperian after a long absence (a number of RL years), and it seems like things have changed quite a lot, what with the Gods being gone, autocuring existing and there being an official demonic circle now. So I've come to the forums to try to get a little guidance on how and where to return, despite the fact that I know this post is dangerously close to flamebait - please try not to tell me just how your given org is awesome and everyone else sucks.
Here are my three main questions:
- What level of activity does each circle/guild have around now? I'm vaguely favourable towards playing magick circle because I have a friend who's just started a character there, but ultimately I'll go where I feel I'll find it most interesting. Interest, though, requires people.
- Which classes are at least not brokenly underpowered now? I know autocuring will have unbalanced a bunch of stuff, so if there are certain classes that are just not worth playing at the moment or are scheduled to get changed massively soon, that'd be worth knowing about.
- Are there any major RP changes I should be aware of? For reference, I last played seriously around the time Ithaqua was founded. How strict is the whole circle thing generally, are there any weird alliances/enmities that I should avoid or might be fun to get into? Is there anywhere that particularly stands out for interesting RP at the moment?
Thanks in advance for any information, and hopefully I'll be joining some of you soon on one character or another.
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Magic: seems to have a high population, although they've seemed to not be coming out to shardfalls and such lately (I may just be missing the times they do). I've heard they have quite a lot of internal stuff, but I've never played magic so can't really say for sure.
Demonic: was low population, but has started to pick up the last couple of weeks. Definitely the smallest circle still, but they typically do well and have people around down to help pick fights (if that's what you're interested in). Demonic rp was pretty solid when I was in the circle, and I doubt that's changed.
Antimagic: Probably a bit smaller than magic, but definitely up there. (Might just be external perception which puts magic as having more people). I enjoy the environment personally and don't have anything to complain about. Again, nearly always has people down to go pick fights or rp with unless you play the twilight zone.
None of the classes are really terribly underpowered. Some are much more useful in teams than one v one (Malignist for instance), but they're all pretty good. Summoner and mage are due a revamp in the next three months or so. If you're more interested in team combat or one on one that might be easier for people to expand upon.
I wasn't playing back when Ithaqua came out, so can't say what changes have taken place since then. I'd say cults/sects are probably the biggest opportunity for new rp opportunities though.
Tl;dr: All the circles are good, none of the classes really suck but summoner and mage are getting redone soon, look at cults/sects.
Magick: Not quite as big as Antimagick, but fairly close. Unless one of the 'Generals' is about and willing to lead most people don't seem interested in the shardfalls. I enjoy the people I interact with and the sect roleplay is a lot of fun.
Demonic: I can't really say much other then it seems like the smallest circle. (I don't play a character on this side.) Definitely has some good people that make great enemies. Also I am jealous of the woodlings.
Big Differences: There isn't much in the way of cross circle IC interaction, other then as enemies. The shardfalls plus autocuring has blurred the line between the PvPers and the RPers, which I think is fantastic. The roleplay, especially from the older generation of players, is much more subtle then it used to be. I forget when multi-class went in, but it's pretty awesome.
A little more knowledge about what you're interested in doing would probably let people give you more of an idea where to go or what class to pick up. Whether you want to be an Aspect asap. PvP singly, in teams or both. Quests or intense RP is your thing? I think Septus covered most everything else nicely.
If you do decide to join your friend in Magick, feel free to bug Aulani if you're looking for interaction or need some help. (This goes for your friend as well.)
‘Every sword’s a weight to carry. Men don’t see that when they pick ’em up. But they get heavier with time.”
‘Every sword’s a weight to carry. Men don’t see that when they pick ’em up. But they get heavier with time.”
the claims are stated - it's the world I've created
‘Every sword’s a weight to carry. Men don’t see that when they pick ’em up. But they get heavier with time.”
Obviously a class that is good at hunting is a bonus, but it's not my primary focus. Both kinds of PvP interest me, although it's been so long since I fought in an IRE game I'd basically be starting from scratch. Are quests really a big deal now? I know there is separate quest exp in Imperian nowadays, but they always felt like kind of an afterthought in all the games. RP is definitely a big deal, because it's those interactions with real people that keep me logging in over the long haul.
- I think most classes are decent at hunting now. In magick the power houses of hunting are Runeguard and Druid.
- PvP is different and for some classes up in the air with classleads in progress. Perhaps other people who know more can weigh in here for other classes. Hunter is really nice for teams but not very effective in one-on-one unless you plan on getting artifacts. (I have a lot of testing left to do with the brainmelt change.)
- I mentioned Quests because the newer areas are somewhat interesting (plus the achievements and QHonours) and Bards with their waymarks make great questers.
- RP can be found everywhere, you just have to be a bit persistent sometimes.
Profession-wise, they're all in a pretty solid spot right now. They all bash decently, they all PvP decently, they're all awesome in groups. While they'e not all equal, we're talking like "9, 8, 7" and not "8, 5, 1" here. It's pretty hard to go wrong with knight, no matter what circle you decide on.
As well, the guilds don't really matter that much, since you can learn the profession without being in the guild. So if you, say, wanted to be in the Noctusari guild but be a deathknight by profession, that's perfectly workable if you can find somebody to give you the deathknight profession.
"On the battlefield I am a god. I love war. The steel, the smell, the corpses. I wish there were more. On the first day I drove the Northmen back alone at the ford. Alone! On the second I carried the bridge! Me! Yesterday I climbed the Heroes! I love war! I… I wish it wasn’t over."
As a note, if you decide on Runeguard and don't want to be a Vindicator, you can send me a message and I'll apprentice you.
I don't really care about class control, because if you really wanted to get the profession and run off and be an ass with it, all you'd have to do is put up with the guild long enough to learn up to class.
"On the battlefield I am a god. I love war. The steel, the smell, the corpses. I wish there were more. On the first day I drove the Northmen back alone at the ford. Alone! On the second I carried the bridge! Me! Yesterday I climbed the Heroes! I love war! I… I wish it wasn’t over."
Rune tablets are what are used to flare runes. Each AB in runelore describes what that rune does when flared on a tablet. To flare the rune, it must be sketched on a tablet in your inventory, and in some cases you must also have a tablet wielded.
the claims are stated - it's the world I've created
the claims are stated - it's the world I've created