Lower/Wilderness starting

[Damien]

Right, so I was having a discussion with someone about it.

I'm suggesting putting forward higher exp ticks for pcs who start in lower or the wilderness. As it stands if you start in upper, or any other starting portal that isn't lower or wilderness you are looking to be level 4 almost immediately. You then have access to the entire server really, there is no quest I can think of they can't do, and it is quite obviously shown in their levels and supplies.

Starting as a lower pc or wilderness is almost crippling that I want to quit my character as soon as I make it. You start at level 3 with near zero supplies and unless you start with an ooc group you are subject to a long slog of either dying or very slowly accumulating exp and gold through rats or slimes until you are high enough level to find friends or attempt to create a story for yourself.

Please to be changing.

Thanks

[Anonymous Lemur]

Starting lower gets you some extremely useful starting items for the low level stuff. (Breastplate +1 vs animals/beasts, 6 ac heavy armor, 8-24 charges of invis from shelters of Ibrandul, +2 hide cape)and starting the wilderness gives you access to a system that is basically a free ride to level 6 and roughly 1000 gold. I really think you're approaching these starting spots incorrectly if you're having trouble.

[Damien]

These are poor examples. The same equipment is found for free or with spawns doing hardcore or going to a community chest or even just asking the first person you see in upper. Then you've the added fact you are already higher level, with more supplies and with access to the entire server.

To your wilderness point it is also a poor example. Again you start at level 3 with no supplies really, and if you are any sort of support or non melee type char those slimes will kill you. Not to mention the grind of doing something as dull and sad as grinding slimes until level 6 is a horrifying prospect.

I may be approaching them incorrectly, but they are not great spots to start with.

I'm asking for a more casual and fair response here.

[Mia]

Damien is right that these starting areas are less populated and offer less access to easy start up quests. And if a DM is inclined to make them more attractive by adding a few extra low level quests I'm all for that. But I think the discrepancy in starting areas can also be accepted as good thing. Just like the hardcore prelude, some people enjoy the challenge or more monotonous and soloist aspects these starting areas offer. If you dislike these kind of things (I know I do and I can greatly sympathize with the boredom both Lower and Nature represent) I recommend starting in one of the more accessible starting areas and having your characters grow towards the factions in a more progressive manner.

[Pandip]

There's very little keeping non-druid nature concepts and any Lower concepts from Sanctuary proper, and even then I think an argument can be made to see druids occasionally appear in the area but not staying for extended periods of time. With the lack of a Sanctuary ring nowadays, Lower concepts are especially positioned to move about freely between Sanctuary and Lower. On a whole, this seems like a personal conceptual issue. EFU:R is simply in a state where secluding yourself from the hub is going to force you to have a bad time with your PC. If you want to play a passionately anti-Sanctuary PC, that's just the situation you're going to be in.

I do feel like the nature start could use a boost in initial experience and supplies, however. Sitting in Mycopolis grinding out fish and slimes until level 6 is definitely not an ideal way to get that part of the server more active with the rest of us.

[Saturnalia]

A suggestion that popped into my mind for the nature start.

Allowing wilderness start characters to use cowrie shells or something that allows them free transit between mycopolis and the blue mushroom, like it was with the rafter in EFU:M. It would do a good bit to connect them to the server. Maybe add these to a quest where you gather them with a search check like fungal blooms so you can control the max lvl and give some simple xp to boost them.

[Anonymous Lemur]

These are poor examples. The same equipment is found for free or with spawns doing hardcore or going to a community chest or even just asking the first person you see in upper. Then you've the added fact you are already higher level, with more supplies and with access to the entire server.

To your wilderness point it is also a poor example. Again you start at level 3 with no supplies really, and if you are any sort of support or non melee type char those slimes will kill you. Not to mention the grind of doing something as dull and sad as grinding slimes until level 6 is a horrifying prospect.

I may be approaching them incorrectly, but they are not great spots to start with.

I'm asking for a more casual and fair response here.

Have you not found the treasure chest, pollution, cutting and beetle quests? They're super easy... one of which is literally just "click on me to get 70-150 gold and a chunk of xp" Also theres an npc that will literally teleport you from mycopolis to right beside the lowbie quests around sanctuary. I've never had trouble getting a full plate from the starting in lower.  It's a pretty standard grind(by that I mean the same standard of grind you do as an upper pc) that if you choose you can just do alongside the lower and upper quests. Obviously you can't do as many quests as a druid, but druids have yet another system that's more in character to use involving the animal empathy skill.

I prefer starting in lower to upper for the fact that I'm a lot less likely to die at level 3 when running around doing the multitude of extremely rewarding quests available to you at that level when you have a ridiculous amount of invis. Not to mention you can walk up and enter upper sanctuary if you so choose.

If you're saying there aren't enough options for people who would prefer to stay out of upper entirely... I can agree you don't get nearly as much out of not having access to upper, but I sort of thought that was the point of excluding yourself form upper... to be away from civilization and the perks that come with it.

[Damien]

Right, a lot of amusing responses here so I'll dive in.

Fitzwilliam - I'm not talking about being lonely here, and it is ironic that you call it a conceptual issue and then advocate the concept of a char with no morals or cares so can just go about any crackden or church. For folks listening please don't ever make such a meaningless unaligned character.

Lemur - I'm going to give an example of what I mean here since again you're giving really silly reasons why it works. Let's say you start as a cripple (lower/wild char) and the other guy starts with all limbs. At this level all is fine, the player chose what he wanted here and can live with it. Then suddenly for no reason the guy with all limbs is catapulted to level 5, given all the necessary riches he desires and opportunities. The cripple is given a sharp sword and told to get ig.

These are completely different issues here. I am more than happy to accept living in hardship as that's what I chose as a player to do, but it's this unnecessary push up of chars who already don't need the help that I don't enjoy.

You also keep putting all these examples of how to circumvent the issues without addressing how fucking lame and dull they are. If anything the rise in ticks would give more reason for me to not grind and seek other options like role-play, and also give me incentive to try again should I die a horrible death.

[Talir]

Topic derailed into squabbles. Locking.