Another new player.

[tolerai]

Greetings all! I am guilty of being another new comer to the SoR world, and despite hungerly reading the various other newbie questions posed by newbies like me I have some of my own. In advance thanks for reading and my apologies if the post is rather long - I am trying out the 14 day trial and downloaded the game from the site - so I am without an instruction manual to enlighten me.

Question time - Extraction/Prospecting
I *think* I have finally got the hang of extraction and prospecting - however I have some questions on it and was wondering if anyone could answer a few of them.
[1] - I notice a blue bar on the source nodes I extract from, and every so often it drops a little, but otherwise I am unsure as to what it is or if I should be worrying about it.
[2] - I just left the newbie areas, and I practiced finding nodes here and there, but there didn't seem to be any set area for a particular material. What I mean is that I may find bark in a place I might find sap (under a tree, near a mushroom, in a field of grass) and I was wondering if certain types of materials can be found in particular areas. (What determines if Soo Sap is in an area compared to beng bark?)

Question time - Weapons/Armor
I'm pretty good at swinging a weapon. I discovered how to design my own skills by adding options and using credits, but I have some questions on the weapons themselves.
[1] - I was using my beginning dagger and picked up a lance - hoping that it would be better. Thankfully it was, but I had no idea that it would be based on the information in the item description. How can I tell one weapon apart from another besides quality?
[2] - I am thinking of making my character into a paladin type of character - using shield/medium armor and casting healing spells/healing auras etc. Is this viable, or will I discover that it will fail?
[3] - How can I find better weapons/armor? I have just recently left the newbie land and now am looking around in the big city for some new items. I didn't take any crafting (a mistake?) so I'm hoping other players have items up for sale someplace. Also - what is the better stats to look for? Is the armor-value important, the %age reduces, those slash/blunt/pierce numbers? I take it it should be a combination of things.

Question time - Encyclopedia
[1] - The thing that has intrigued me the most about the game is the knowledge of things one can acquire. For example - I was hoping to study the brodoc's and detail things i found out about them in the encyclopedia, but I can't seem to be able to do that. Is there some way to unlock the Enc. for my use, or will I just quest for information?

Last Question - Story
[1] I love the story and lore behind the world and I'm hoping that it is expressed well in the game itself. Does the game have a story/quest you follow, or do you make one yourself? For example - the goo - will one discover the reason for it's being, and ways to counter it (possibly riding an area of it) or will it just be there - something to recognize and avoid?

Thanks so much in advance.

[dc77066]

Greetings all! ...

First, welcome to Ryzom!

[1] Blue bar represents how many mats are in the node you are harvesting from. Hovering your mouse over it should give you a quantity. If the bar reaches zero, its empty. You won't empty very many for a while and emptying a node has no ill effect until you hit the Supreme mats in the Prime Roots.

[2] not really. Some people say there are tells depending on what your landscape settings are but not really. You will find that fields tend to be a group of mats as in if you find shu fiber, you'll find cuty shell near by. Fields don't move [much] so once you get a general feel for the area you'll be able to find what you are looking for. Eventually you'll get skills that make finding a grade or type of mat easier (tracking, multiple sources, range, angle).

Question time - Weapons/Armor
[1] There are differences. Weapons do different types of damage. Axe/Sword are slashing, mace/staff are smashing, pikes are piercing. Some mobs are resistant to some damages and each class of damage has its own add-ons. Stats of the weapon give you some insight, damage (max damage) stat and hits per minutes are good places to start.

[2] this could work. The trouble you'll have is fighters tend to be slow in their casting because of the malus of their equipment. Healers tend to use light armor and magical amps. Amps give huge bonuses to your magic skills but don't allow you to equip weapons or shields. You'll probably end up being a fighter or healer, switching depending on the needs of the hunting party.

[3] Local vendors will sell player crafted items. The best stuff is usually reserved for guildmates. Joining a guild is probably your best bet to gain easy access to equipment. I tend to mix it up as you can find some nice stuff on the market and I want people to buy my stuff too! As far as crafting your own, you can use skill points to buy crafting starter plans and you'll be off to the grindmills. It's not easy to be self-sufficient. As far what stats to look for... I think everyone has their preferences. I try to find matching sets

Question time - Encyclopedia
[1] The Encyclopedia is a work in progress. You may stumble upon pieces as you take missions from NPC's. Most of them are level and fame base as you must prove yourself worthy of the knowledge of the ancients. Soon (tm) Rite Givers (barman, intendents, guard chiefs, tribe chiefs) will offer these rites to you. There are also rumors that ambers of wisdom can be found "in the wild" (not yet, though).

Last Question - Story
[1] The Saga is largely unwritten. Ma-Duk and Jena haven't made their intentions clear. The Goo continues to poison the land and the Dragon slumbers deep within the Prime Roots. Harbringers of Doom and the Guild of Ellias plot and twist the truth. The Karavan and Kami vive for our allegience. Time will tell. Until then we write our own saga. Some day the plot lines will cross and the story will unfold.

Again, welcome to Ryzom. I hope you enjoy your stay.

Have Fun! Help Others!
-Raku

[rabcaz]

Greetings and welcome to Atys my friend, I hope that you will find it a lovely stay here with us. I think that dear Rakujitsu made a very nice answer to your questions.

Enjoy and have fun my friend !

[philu]

Welcome to Ryzom! Hope you enjoy your stay.

I think Rakujitsu pretty much covered it. Only thing I would add is:

Last Question - Story
[1] I love the story and lore behind the world and I'm hoping that it is expressed well in the game itself. Does the game have a story/quest you follow, or do you make one yourself? For example - the goo - will one discover the reason for it's being, and ways to counter it (possibly riding an area of it) or will it just be there - something to recognize and avoid?

The story is intended to last 8 years so yes only time will tell! As Rakujitsu said, the threads of the Saga are just beginning to be revealed. Plots within plots, rumours of war between the 'super powers'. We poor homins can only wait and see what will unfold.

[tolerai]

Thank you for the responses and greetings! As I read more though the forums I picked up a few hints and tricks about harvesting (the sit down trick was very helpful so I don't deplete an area) and combat. Looking forward to seeing more of the world too! I'm going to be the scourge of Gingo's and Ragnus world wide.

Thanks again for the warm welcome.