Ahh yes, good ol' camping the good loot dropping named mobs (Notorious Monsters) in FFXI... One of the big reasons I stopped playing... I was eager to start going after the HNMs, or the Gods (like King Behemoth, etc) until I learned about their ridiculously low spawn rate (once every 24 real-world hours for King Behemoth), and that people were always camping it.
The other reason I stopped FFXI was far too much dependence on other players to progress.
Blech... On to more interesting (and relevant) topics..
I agree with you on the adventuring/exploring part in SoR. I haven't even left for the mainland yet, and even on the starter island, I'm finding myself wanting to explore to see what's "out there" - even though I know it's pretty much just other villages for that region.
I'm still getting my head around the skill system. Haven't really figured that out yet.. but that's okay, because I know I will
. And finding out which mobs aggro, what their detection range is, etc is always fun for me. One of my favorite pastimes in FFXI was practicing what I call "the fine art of mob-dodging" - basically, footing it through an area with mobs considerably higher than me (Very-Tough to Incredibly Tough), dodging all the aggro'ing mobs and making it through without being attacked. Always a fun challenge... and a great preperation for those situations where you have no *choice* but to foot it through an area. I would escort alot of people to different towns that way, too. I'm sure I'll do the same in SoR once I'm more familiar with it.
Anyway.. I'm really psyched about uncovering all that SoR has to offer, and I'll be taking my time doing so...
zzeii wrote:Lag is definately a problem, but it wasn't bad before, and they are working to fix it now, its why I'm working on a crafter, lag doesn't affect that much.
No loot. If you know any game with good loot, the good loot only drops off specific mobs. And those mobs are always overcamped. I'd rather not have a KS fest going on for those. Just take a look at EQ or FFXI.
Stam costs for post 80 skills. Here's where I have never had a problem. Improved damage/Accurate Attack/Bleed/etc levels are all based on the Q of weapon you are using. There is no point using Improved Damage 6 when using a Q 20 weapon. Improved Damage 2 will give you the same double damage without the high cost to offset it. Check the info on the skill to see what its level requires. Using a q50 weapon, Accurate attack 3/Improved Damage 5 will give you the optimum damage/accuracy for the lowest cost. To do this every swing can be expensive. But thats what feint option/attack after parry/attack after dodge were designed for. When I solo I set my Feint attack to be the regular attack, and pop attack after parry/attack after feint as they pop up. I get those full strength attacks, and even in heavy armor only spend 13 sta a swing, something I easily regen at that level. When you are in a party, and tanking, you can easily use full out attacks all the time. Its what sta/hp heals are for. And if you aren't tanking then you shouldn't have to wear heavy armor. Light/medium will greatly reduce your stamina drain. It's all about attacking 'intelligently' not just turning on auto-attack and going afk, like how eq works. Also you can use lower id/aa/etc and while not get a full effect, still do more damage with a q50 weap using id2/aa1 than with a q20 weapon. Having multiple attack options is very very key for being a good fighter, I have 9 different attacks on my hands that are quite easy to switch between.
Decay rates...Yes they suck, losing 3/4 of your armors hp in a couple days really sucks (300hp armor mind you).
There are crafters that are on par with the fighters, just you have to find them, make friends with them, and hope they don't charge insane amounts.
I love the complexity of the game. Learning it is the biggest challenge, like how to use your fighting skills to suit the situation. Learning which monsters are the best to hunt for sellable mats/exp is also good. Exploration is needed in this game, which has always been my favorite aspect of any new game. Simple hack and slash is boring. This is definately an 'Explorer's Game', far more than any other MMO I've seen.
I am a fighter/crafter, no magic or resource gathering, and left for the mainland at around levels 37/43 for each of my main skills. The issues are there for me in n00bville, too, but the mainland is totally frustrating. I may experiment with newly rolled characters now and then, but I will ignore my main character for the time being. Tryker holds my interest and is the race I want to play but, for now, it's riddled with problems.