Whats the deal?

[glennm]

Hi, i'm a fairly new player in the world of Ryzom and am here to perhaps be enlightend by the goals of this game. Heres my little story.

Alright, so i started off at newb island, did every single quest and enjoyed the game. I was told mainland was the place to be and you need to be prepared, so i lvld some skills to 35+ before i ventured over.

Im looking at the loading screen in anticipation for like, 5min. After 5min of teeth grinding i get my first view of the mainland, i flip up the map and wow it's huge! Turn off the map and start moving around, quite choppy and laggy really i thought to myself, guess it's because i just entered. First thing i notice is the 500 NPC's running around in the zörai city and snow falling making the lagg no better, i need a system upgrade yeah i thought, but i can run BF2 on high >.<

Well, after 3h on the mainland i ask myself, why the hell am i doing this mindless grinding and rather not so creative quests? Why should i keep lvling skills? Where are the rewards for the efford, i see people yapping about a great community but im here for a gameplay experience aswell, to achieve things and gain cool rewards.

Right now im running about with my Mektoub packer just grinding and crafting with nothing to look forward to really..

So i got a few questions i need answered if you all dont mind.

When would you be eligable for pvp without being grinded by 250 Melee ppl? Is the pvp system developed enough to be viable for newer entrants on the mainland? Also, is there any rewards promoting further pvp in pvp, i read you gain resource advantages by taking over land but thats not in everyones interest.

One last question, what did you all look forward to while going through hours of repeating the same things over and over from newbie island to Mainland.

Dont be shy to reply, appreciate any responce aslong as it's constructive and on topic.

Thanks in advance!

[grimjim]

PvP isn't the be-all and end all.
Grind is only a grind... if you grind.
You need to set your own goals, your own agenda, things that you want to do to get the most out of Ryzom.
Look into the Ring.
Explore.
Try other lands.
If Zorai lags you out so much you might be better off in a more sparse environment, such as the desert, which will put less strain on your system.

I'm here for the RP, in character politics and the ring.

[vguerin]

Well, after 3h on the mainland i ask myself, why the hell am i doing this mindless grinding and rather not so creative quests? Why should i keep lvling skills? Where are the rewards for the efford, i see people yapping about a great community but im here for a gameplay experience aswell, to achieve things and gain cool rewards.

Right now im running about with my Mektoub packer just grinding and crafting with nothing to look forward to really..

Tasks on the mainland are typically done for 2 reasons, raising fame or completing rites. Your exploration and learning the many area's of Atys as you grow should be a large part of your gaming experience. The cool rewards are not a shiny +5 vest of stealth you recieve by killing a troll in some dungeon (the closest we have now are the NPC bosses, which are about to be revamped), rewards are the materials that the mob drops based on it's role. There are different types of bosses here and the mats they provide will be some of the key ingredients in making the best of the best.

Ryzom is a classless game, if you foraging about with your packer and crafting then you have started on your path to discovery.

So i got a few questions i need answered if you all dont mind.

When would you be eligable for pvp without being grinded by 250 Melee ppl? Is the pvp system developed enough to be viable for newer entrants on the mainland? Also, is there any rewards promoting further pvp in pvp, i read you gain resource advantages by taking over land but thats not in everyones interest.

Unless your dueling where you set the level of your opponent by challenging or accepting a challenge... PvP is done on a big scale in outpost battles, being faction flagged (open game to anyone tagged with other faction) or by running into someone in a PvP enabled zone and deciding to fight or flee.

Of these methods only OP are really less about levels/gear... In OP battles you can be well below level caps and aid your team.

One last question, what did you all look forward to while going through hours of repeating the same things over and over from newbie island to Mainland.

Initially the wording of this question led me to believe you wanted to know about newbie island, but relooking it I assume you meant from when we started to where we are now. I can ask that you relook my first response. RoS is the "New Player Experience" and may hint where they are going to refocus some of the mainland stuff (wow, what an endeavor), but the newb isle many of us began with was simpler and more like the mainland.

[glennm]

You interpreted my question correct vguerin, sorry if it was a bit oddly written hehe.

Thanks for the reply both of you, especially the explanation around PvP.

I'll be signing off Ryzom for now, it's a great game, but not my game unfortunatly.

[chessack]

This is one of the problems with Silan... I love it and think it makes a great tutorial, but it is slightly misleading because it "acts" like other games, with quests that give out quest rewards such as armor and lots of XP. Players who are new to Ryzom but vets of other games will think "OK this is just like _____". Then they pay money, get to the mainland, and find out, no, it's actually not ilke ______, because quests on the mainland do not reward anything substantial (faction is not going to do it for most people). I can definitely see people feeling like Ryzom has tricked them into paying $15. They're not trying to be deliberately misleading on Silan, but it turns out to be slightly misleading nonetheless.

That's why any time someone asks on /universe about the mainland I try to be as clear and emphatic as I can, that quests are essentially meaningless (as most people would define it) on the mainland, and that if you aren't good at finding your own role in the world, Ryzom is not the game for you. That's not an insult by the way... it's just reality.

C

[khyle]

This is one of the problems with Silan... I love it and think it makes a great tutorial, but it is slightly misleading because it "acts" like other games, with quests that give out quest rewards such as armor and lots of XP. Players who are new to Ryzom but vets of other games will think "OK this is just like _____". Then they pay money, get to the mainland, and find out, no, it's actually not ilke ______, because quests on the mainland do not reward anything substantial (faction is not going to do it for most people). I can definitely see people feeling like Ryzom has tricked them into paying $15. They're not trying to be deliberately misleading on Silan, but it turns out to be slightly misleading nonetheless.

I could never bring myself to like the new New Player Experience (aka. newbie isle), and I think you summarise my concerns.
The old refugee camps were great at capturing the spirit of the actual game, having the same kind of missions, not quests where you earn lots of xp rewards; they were tied into the style of the mainland, not some crude mixture of ecosystems, they were different for each race, giving a good preview as to what one would expect on the mainland. The problem may have been the player density, or lack thereof. While for my taste it was not too empty, there were indeed times of absolute solitude which has probably put off not only a few potential customers.
In my opinion, Nevrax overreacted by lumping together all the areas into one and creating a universal help channel and adding quests intended as tutorials but realised as massive xp boosters, when maybe universe alone might have been enough (for a first step at least). Their intention at least seems clear, to never have a barren new player area ever again.

I'll be signing off Ryzom for now, it's a great game, but not my game unfortunatly.

It's sad to have you leave, but you do so reflecting the process that led to your decision instead of thrashing what did not satisfy you. I tip my hat, and wish you good luck in your quest for your dream game.

[chessack]

I think they could probably solve this problem by getting rid of some of the massive rewards for doing quests. If the tutorial quests awarded far less XP, and absolutely NO loot whatsoever, you'd have a much more realistic trial, but it would still be a tutorial.

Would that turn a lot of people off? Yes. But those are the people who are subscribing for 1 month, feeling misled/ripped off, and cancelling. I don't think they get anywhere by making people feel cheated. And many folks have posted about it.

C