Skip to content

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?
«1

Comments

  • Military theme guilds are almost gone entirely, none of them retain a strict disciplinary policy, I don't think there are any real Knight guilds in existence.

    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.
  • I tried to get involved on an alt, but tbh, there just doesn't feel like there's a lot going on, despite some incredible effort on the part of the volunteers and an effort on the part of the administration to make the game more mechanically appealing. I think it depends what you want in the game. I'm personally past the point where I feel like trying to get into PvP on a meaningful level, and I'd rather just enjoy some roleplay, but that's probably the least fleshed out area in the game.

    If you enjoy shardfalls though, or group PvP in general, I think there's a lot of appeal.
    ‘Least I won’t have to carry it no more. You see how bloody heavy it is?’

    ‘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.

  • The Idras were trying to develop some really cool themes and still maintain its anti-hero/soldier of Idras thing that, in my opinion, it took from the Wardens at some point in time. Unfortunately, almost all of us went inactive and well, we know how that goes.
  • 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."

  • I think there should be at least one guild which can offer that as an option. I enjoy the RP associated with a military guild and I think it is a great shame that they have all been watered down slowly to be more appealing to everything. I can honestly say that if any guild took the military line, and did it sensibly, I would join that Circle to be a part of it.
  • The Revenants still have the military/knighthood vibe.
  • MenochMenoch Raleigh, NC, USA
    Not really.
  • Iluv said:
    The Revenants still have the military/knighthood vibe.

    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."

  • I honestly liked the Diavlous roleplay back in the day. It wasn't because I wanted the profession or anything. The idea of having a military organization that acts like one really boosts up roleplay, even if it means stepping on your own balls from time to time. Alitis was the one supervising my Knighthood and I must say he did not miss the oportunity to tell me how worthless I was with each small mistake I made. And I liked it. I see no reason why the Revenants can't be at least 60% the way the Diavlous were, in terms of being a military organization.
  • Raykel said:
    I honestly liked the Diavlous roleplay back in the day. It wasn't because I wanted the profession or anything. The idea of having a military organization that acts like one really boosts up roleplay, even if it means stepping on your own balls from time to time. Alitis was the one supervising my Knighthood and I must say he did not miss the oportunity to tell me how worthless I was with each small mistake I made. And I liked it. I see no reason why the Revenants can't be at least 60% the way the Diavlous were, in terms of being a military organization.
    I remember back in the day, before I switched to Anti-Magick. I miss the RP Diavlous and Aeodren.
    image
  • RaykelRaykel Romania
    edited December 2013
    I'm trying to revive most of what used to be. I know people told me not to focus on professions so I'm mostly focusing on combatant versus non-combatant. I've had some people interested in the ritualistic side of the Revenants, brought by the Malignists, and while it's awkward to have an insane ritualistic elf acting in a military fashion, I really have a strict policy on maintaining decorum and respect. I can't go the other way either, and absolutely ignore one part of the guild, killing off the Malignist RP. It's really hard to find a balance.

    Sorry if I'm not 100% coherent. Extremely tired atm.
  • edited December 2013
    The Diavlous should have folded back into the Noctusari and kept the Noctusari name, what with them being an offshoot guild.

    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."

  • I've been trying to make the Wardancers eat the Dunestriders for ages, or maybe get the Crusaders to do it. :(
    <div>Message #2062&nbsp; Sent By: (imperian)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Received On: 1/20/2018/2:59</div><div>"Antioch has filed a bounty against you. Reason: Raiding Antioch and stealing Bina, being a right</div><div>ass, and not belonging anywhere near Antioch till he grows up."</div>
  • edited December 2013
    Khizan hit it on the head. I loved being in the Revenants, and what was done with Menoch (many thanks for listening to me, bro!), but it's -all- about presence. Sarc has none, and probably never will, but I enjoyed being a support character and pretending to be a Maligned Knight. :P

    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.
  • IniarIniar Australia

    You can't have awesome weapons without R&D.

    Steal the new tech?
    wit beyond measure is a Sidhe's greatest treasure
  • You can do a military without all being front line roman legionnaires. It's been done in every military and in a ton of science fiction novels. Back in the day, the Knights of Takhisis were the bomb. To be fair, the Knights of Solamnia were equally awesome. You could easily pull off a military system based off of a similar framework.

    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.
  • Knights of Takhisis are always awesome, and a good inspiration for me. :)
  • IniarIniar Australia
    Ahkan said:

    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.

    “The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds.”

    “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”
    wit beyond measure is a Sidhe's greatest treasure
  • Ahkan said:


    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.

    Exactly. Your rigid militaristic guilds always end up populated by a bunch of little tin gods running around playing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman without regard to the fact that it ain't no fun to be cast as Private Pyle. To add insult to injury, those types are usually worthless in combat, too, and only get their rank by jumping through promotion hoops and grinding out tasks.

    "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."

  • That's always been me thing with Stavenn in general. They actually had some great dollars and cents types at the helm as things started going down the gutter, but that's not what the city needs. It needs someone who can kick butt and be intimidating. It was the gold standard started by Iriaen, Jagara, Dregaur, Sethren, et cetera. The Diavlous are basically the same.
    ‘Least I won’t have to carry it no more. You see how bloody heavy it is?’

    ‘Every sword’s a weight to carry. Men don’t see that when they pick ’em up. But they get heavier with time.”
  • I always envisaged the Revenants keeping the Diavlous Knights going, as a path/advancement route to Knighthood. Creating something on the side for the Ritualists and getting into Necromancy as an art/science. With some Garden assistance, then adding this to the Stavennite heritage of being an Empire - most Empires also value their culture as much as their military might.
  • Emileigh worked her ass off and helped me create an advancement path for the ritualist/artsy/science part of the guild. I left the combat path as it was seeing as not many people were interested in it or good at it (including me). I'm honestly waiting for someone capable to contest me. I still want to tweek a couple of things so that at least the guild has a skeleton to build on.
  • I honestly wouldn't like the guild handed over to a warlord or a combat bot whose sole interest is, well killing people. Or if so, I wish they had decent and active Secretaries to keep the guild and the military RP alive. I've been in the Diavlous since I started playing, except for the first month I picked up Imperian, as a Justicar, and I really feel a connection to this guild and its heritage. I know sometimes taking orders from me or having to respect decorum feels a tad silly seeing as I had my "moon-moon" moments, and I honestly want to retire seeing the guild up on its feet and on good hands. If everyone refuses to follow simple role-playing rules then this guild has no chance. Imagine if this was actualy a real scenario. The leader is derp, his soldiers are complaining and not respecting decorum, but at the same time nobody steps up to challenge and oust him, instead they just act like smartasses and do as they please.

    http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/534/236/1ed.jpg
  • Hi guys, I should have posted in this thread since I have similar questions as Alitis. Anyone able to explain to me how the professions system works now? It sounds like I should want to join Stavenn since my old org could seemingly use more people, but I'd also ideally like to play a class I haven't played before, like Defiler. Though I think I remember something about Noctusari being overhauled?
    Drill baby drill because luck is a skill.
  • MathiausMathiaus Pennsylvania
    Most classes have seen there fair share of changes. Currently, Demonic has the most recent influx of fighters. Summoner and defiler seem solid on damage if you want to go that route.
    image
Sign In or Register to comment.