Newbies, armors, and helmets, oh my!

[dhuberma]

Hello again,

Some more newbie questions for you *grin*

(1) I was told early on to buy a light armor set. I found a nice medium quality ql50 set on the vendors in Fairhaven and (after a few hours of saving up for it) bought it (thanks for putting it up there, Sxarlet!). My character Irving, however, has evolved into a fighter/digger (which is sad since I wanted a crafter/magician). He's about to ding 30 in melee fighting.

I've noticed he still has no helmet (I'm loathe to wear one of those US Navy Diving Helmets the heavy armor merchant sells) and when he gets hit in the head by a critter, it's for full value.

Are there helmets available in the light and/or medium armor lines? What should a newbie be wearing for a helm, generally speaking?

(2) I was also told early on to eventually buy myself a heavy armor set for fighting. Since I'm a fighter (sad, since I always thought of myself as a lover), I've been thinking more and more about this. When high level folks come visit fair Fairhaven, they always seem to be wearing light or medium armors. The only heavily-armored fighters I see in Fairhaven seem to be newbies like me. The way I understand it, heavy armor has a severe penalty. But does it provide sufficient protection to the wearer to make the action penalty worth it? What do other melee fighters do when they're levelling up from 30+?

(3) I'm saving up my money for a packer -- but the price is really steep (especially considering equipment upgrades along the way)! It means (unless I stoop to saving materials on the vendor, which I refuse to do, or open a second account for muling, which I'm uninterested in doing) I have no chance to save any good materials I find. Equipment takes up half my capacity already. This isn't a question, but more along the lines of kvetching

Thanks and best regards,

[aylwyne]

1) Only heavy armor has helmets. There's 4 different races of helmets so you might be able to find a combination that you like the look of. You can use this dressing room to preview what the different armors look like.

2) Most people do tend to wear light armor for day-to-day stuff and then dig out the heavy armor for when they're doing melee. One reason for that is because of the action penalty associated with heavy armor. This will significantly hinder things like harvesting, crafting, and doing magic. So for 3 of the 4 XP branches, heavy armor isn't very good. But for tanking, it's a must.

I'd strongly recommend having a suit of light and a suit of heavy to start with. Use the heavy when doing melee combat, use the light for other things. As you start figuring out your role here on Atys, you can start trying different things out like mixing in some medium armor for the increased HP at the cost of more action penalty when doing magic.

3) Yeah, they're very expensive when first starting. You'll find that in Ryzom if you harvest, you'll quickly build up a healthy supply of dapper. Also, if you don't need to travel with your packer and plan on leaving it in the stable, just get the cheapest one.

[thlau]

Hello Irving

(1) Are there helmets available in the light and/or medium armor lines? What should a newbie be wearing for a helm, generally speaking?

I'm sorry to say it, but there are now helmets for light and medium armors.
So the newcomer should wear the helmet that fits best in his heavy armor set

(2)But does it provide sufficient protection to the wearer to make the action penalty worth it? What do other melee fighters do when they're levelling up from 30+?

The heavy armor does not only protect you better, it brings a nice hit point bonus equal to its quality (medium armor brings half as much).
So what you should wear, definetly depends of the game you like to hunt.
Because it is very popular in the lakelands to hunt Stinga , most who hunt those, wear light armor, since they only cause magical damage, and no physical damage. If you like to hunt clopper, you should go for heavy armor.

[amitst]

looks like they answered your questions pretty well, so here is some advice to you:

If I was to start a newbie character and was in your position:

I would own the following:
max damage two handed weapon, best speed I could find
q50 jewel set hp bonus
q50 LA set hp bonus

i would have those worn, and nothing else in my inventory except maybe a pick and a crafting tool

I would do the following:
always be on the lookout for a group of people hunting, the bigger the better
if i can't find a group I would dig

Oh and I love medium armor, and hate heavy armor, and high level folks tend to switch back and forth between melee and magic alot
(obviously not an easy task in tryker once you hit level 50)

Once I get to 100 melee or so I would be on the lookout for a magic amp with stats higher than 70% on all elemental and heal areas, and I would become flexible as a mage, healer, melee in any groups I encounter

of course there are many other ways to build your character but this way is the most straight forward and allows you to learn how to play at a good pace without too much dying

[dc77066]

Hello again,

(2) ...When high level folks come visit fair Fairhaven, they always seem to be wearing light or medium armors.

Thanks and best regards,

'cause medium armor is so darn sexy!! The new HP boost to MA and HA was a pretty decent addition. I've been seeing mages mixing in MA with their light armor for extra protection and HP's more than ever before. Makes me want to pick up my needle again. If you're getting hit in the noggin then you're too close to the mob

-Raku

[rushin]

just to confuse u i'd suggest getting a nice set of medium armor (or mixed light and medium) if u can. the malus (penalty) was reduced a while back so its not so bad at all for casting in. a good choice set will offer you a nice hp boost and some protection if you find your self up close and personal to mobs.

a useful tactic whatever armor ur wearing is to start a fight with a spell or 2 then switch to melee. that way you'll split the xp between magic and melee.

digging is the way to riches, and i'm sure you'll get started on the crafting soon enough - most diggers do

there is no right or wrong way to do anything, experiment and you'll find a solution that suits you

[sx4rlet]

Hello again,

Some more newbie questions for you *grin*

(1) I was told early on to buy a light armor set. I found a nice medium quality ql50 set on the vendors in Fairhaven and (after a few hours of saving up for it) bought it (thanks for putting it up there, Sxarlet!). My character Irving, however, has evolved into a fighter/digger (which is sad since I wanted a crafter/magician). He's about to ding 30 in melee fighting.

I've noticed he still has no helmet (I'm loathe to wear one of those US Navy Diving Helmets the heavy armor merchant sells) and when he gets hit in the head by a critter, it's for full value.

Are there helmets available in the light and/or medium armor lines? What should a newbie be wearing for a helm, generally speaking?

Thanks and best regards,

Tssssss... Don't you think I would have stolen your last dappers to sell you a light armor helmet if I could

[dhuberma]

Hello,

Thank you for all the responses. I appreciate it!!

The dressing room is neat -- thank you, aylwyne!

While in Fairhaven, Sxarlet knocked me down and took all my dappers. It's true!

Best regards,

[calel]

While in Fairhaven, Sxarlet knocked me down and took all my dappers. It's true!

I guess we' ll need to have a nice 'chat' with Sxarlet soon then; sad, she normally knows better.

Glad to hear though that new Tryker arrivals don' t have to run around dressed in rags or swimsuits.

[richky]

I guess we' ll need to have a nice 'chat' with Sxarlet soon then; sad, she normally knows better.

I think it must be 'cause she's out of work. Atys Channel 1 hasn't broadcast in ages .