So... what have I missed?
I've been considering playing Imperian again, and was reading through some announcements to get an idea of what's going on, but since I haven't played seriously for well over a year, year and a half maybe. So I figure the best way to figure out if I want to get back into things is to ask the people who are actually playing!
-PK Related:
I notice the death penalty was altered, and on paper it almost seems like death has all the consequences of dying on Battlefield now (well, aside from the whole damage resist debuff), is that an accurate assumption?
How strict are the admins about PK reasons these days? Stricter than back when I played or more relaxed?
How has class balanced fared? Are there certain classes that just cannot compete in upper-level combat right now or can they all hold up pretty well now? Both in reference to individual one-on-one fighting and group combat.
When I last played one-on-one fighting pretty much only happened in the arena and the rest was focused on group vs. group (or, if you jump somebody solo, quickly becomes group vs one), is that still the case?
-Roleplay Related:
Are there any guilds with a military theme still in existence or have those pretty much gone extinct?
Do guilds presently strive to maintain certain themes in general at all? Or have most of them ended up trying to cast the widest net by being all-inclusive with no real theme?
Is remaining in-character as much as possible something generally valued or has that become unimportant?
-Organization Related:
Are there any particular organizations right now that are basically dead or have things stabilized where I can be assured that no matter where I go, there will be people active and willing to help at most any hour?
Has anything changed regarding how leadership is selected and what power organization leaders have over the playerbase?
-Credits Related:
Do credits still have roughly the same value in terms of what you can buy with them as they always have or has there been changes to that aspect of things?
Has any sort of a character retirement system yet been implemented to transfer the credit value of one character to another at the cost of that character?
-PK Related:
I notice the death penalty was altered, and on paper it almost seems like death has all the consequences of dying on Battlefield now (well, aside from the whole damage resist debuff), is that an accurate assumption?
How strict are the admins about PK reasons these days? Stricter than back when I played or more relaxed?
How has class balanced fared? Are there certain classes that just cannot compete in upper-level combat right now or can they all hold up pretty well now? Both in reference to individual one-on-one fighting and group combat.
When I last played one-on-one fighting pretty much only happened in the arena and the rest was focused on group vs. group (or, if you jump somebody solo, quickly becomes group vs one), is that still the case?
-Roleplay Related:
Are there any guilds with a military theme still in existence or have those pretty much gone extinct?
Do guilds presently strive to maintain certain themes in general at all? Or have most of them ended up trying to cast the widest net by being all-inclusive with no real theme?
Is remaining in-character as much as possible something generally valued or has that become unimportant?
-Organization Related:
Are there any particular organizations right now that are basically dead or have things stabilized where I can be assured that no matter where I go, there will be people active and willing to help at most any hour?
Has anything changed regarding how leadership is selected and what power organization leaders have over the playerbase?
-Credits Related:
Do credits still have roughly the same value in terms of what you can buy with them as they always have or has there been changes to that aspect of things?
Has any sort of a character retirement system yet been implemented to transfer the credit value of one character to another at the cost of that character?
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Comments
I haven't noticed any guilds that really have a theme in the same way they used to, which I personally believe is a shame.
OOC/IC is about the same as it ever was, really.
Stavenn and Ithaqua are the "most" dead. Some places are almost empty and inactive, others have a passable level of activity. Nothing like it was 6 or so years ago, however.
Credits are the same as they always were, I don't think the gold re-balancing has changed the value of a credit, but did lower the price a little.
‘Every sword’s a weight to carry. Men don’t see that when they pick ’em up. But they get heavier with time.”
Pk:
Death doesn't matter much at all now. Hits your pk xp, so if your someone who cares about that that might be relevant.
If you have a reason, your fine. If you don't, it depends on the person.
No class really springs out to me as being unviable. Defiler might struggle at the high end, but that should be addressed by the classleads hopefully.
One v one happens between the people who are interested in it.
Rp:
No military guilds spring to mind. I'm not that familiar with a lot of the guilds now though, so not sure.
Most guilds are pretty catch all. The one's that aren't tend to struggle (Idras maybe? Saboteurs?)
Staying in character seems about the same as when I started playing.
Rest pretty much covered already.
1v1 is the same as it has ever been. People team you or run if they know they can't beat you, and you run from or team people that you know you can't beat. Such has it ever been.
Guilds lost a lot of their power back when professions came in and they ceased to be the gateway to class. Now if you put a lot of restrictions in the guild, people just won't join it. It's a lot harder to be a hardass militaristic guild when anybody who wants the class without going through the guild can trivially do it. It's also a lot harder when you're in a circle that's got multiple organizational options. Stavenn was, imo, able to limp by on that for a lot of the time, which is partially responsibile for it's condition now.
RP is what RP has always been. People are consistently in character, but if you want "five line emotes", you should probably look elsewhere, as always.
"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."
They have a "vibe" that is similar to the Vindicators and the Avengers - not a candle to the old Diavlous/ occasionally Justicar guild.
The old Diavlous are dead and they're never coming back.
They could get away with it in the past because if I wanted the deathknight profession I had to put up with Trez and Alitis and going yes sir no sir three bags full sir to every terrible who's plodded through the promotion steps. There just wasn't another route to the profession and so if I wanted it I'd have to suck it up and salute the likes of Dassiu.
Now I can just go join the Trollkin.
Guess which one of those I'm more likely to pick.
"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."
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
The thing about the militaristic guilds is that you need presence to carry it off. Aeodren was the best I've seen at this, Trez could do it, Juganothion had it... Raykel doesn't. You have the positions but you come off as whiny and demanding. "Iniar, come with me!" as everybody sits there and ignores you, etc.
"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."
Raykel, the thing with combining the Malign/Diavlous and making it work is that you have to focus on the whole theme and have each part build towards that, imo. If you have a crazed ritualist, make sure that the military supports that. You can't have awesome weapons without R&D.
The big problem with the Diavlous is that rigid discipline system has always easily bleed over into thugs kicking puppies when they're down. It was incredibly off putting and made for a Jersey Shore mentality. After that, you get into being berated, insulted, and talked down to when you're not pk elit-o-saurus. As the quality of GM's declined and started circling the toilet, it had to be pretty shitty to get talked down to by someone who couldn't pk his way out of a wet paper bag.
“When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization.”
“When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION.”
“When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.”
“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.”
“A leader leads by example, not by force”
"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."
‘Every sword’s a weight to carry. Men don’t see that when they pick ’em up. But they get heavier with time.”
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/534/236/1ed.jpg
‘Every sword’s a weight to carry. Men don’t see that when they pick ’em up. But they get heavier with time.”