Suggestion from new player: Help files

[Onea]

Hi everyone,

I just started a new character last night. I was able to learn most of the basics from the wiki, but there are some things that are still unclear to me. Fortunately, I had my brother to teach me, but you may want to include more information for new players who aren't so lucky.

My suggestion is that you build on this material in the wiki with some of the following:
- explain weapon levels/experience relationship
- how to get experience
- "player roles"... can you have a dedicated healer, or mage? Is a jack-of-all-trades the only way to play? etc.
- consequences of dying
- grouping with other players
---- what level you should start doing it, and some suggested zones
---- how experience is split if you have multiple people killing a monster. eg. if one person does all the fighting, and the other person only heals.

Thanks for reading my suggestion. If I think of anything else, I'll post it here.
Onea

 

[Jelly]

It's a good idea, but unfortunatly I lack the time (yes, I'm lazy, that's why >_>) to do it. Maybe someone else will. Also, welcome to the forums.

 

[Durak]

I think that updating the wiki is a very good idea because of how useful it could be for new players. If we combine the updating/expansion of it with Thothie's low level server idea then I think that would be a great step forward for MS in helping new players. New players' main problems are 1) Finding a server to play on and 2) Getting information. If we leave low level players alone on a server without a veteran to "tell them everything" then the wiki would be a valuable resource. It could hopefully give them enough starting information so that they want to adventure with their other new buddies and find out more.

One section that we could all help updating is Items. It's well updated in structural content at the moment but we could do more to make it used and appealing. If we added screenshots of the weapons and useful information such as; level requirements, some attributes, and if the item can be bought. Since you can only buy low level equipment it wouldn't be much harm to the discovery aspect if you gave basic prices and which towns the purchasable items are located in. Alternatively, you could simply say that the item IS purchasable.

In addition, this page in particular should be updated. http://www.msremake.com/wiki/index.php/ ... own_server

 

[Orochi]

Most of the wiki stuff in there is pretty recent. I did an overhaul of the player character section. There is still more to add, though, and I haven't gotten to items yet. Also, I aam unable to edit the server running section because Kuroneko won't unlock the page.

 

[Thothie]

My suggestion is that you build on this material in the wiki with some of the following:
- explain weapon levels/experience relationship
- how to get experience
- "player roles"... can you have a dedicated healer, or mage? Is a jack-of-all-trades the only way to play? etc.
- consequences of dying
- grouping with other players
---- what level you should start doing it, and some suggested zones
---- how experience is split if you have multiple people killing a monster. eg. if one person does all the fighting, and the other person only heals.

There’s in-game help pop-ups for most of this stuff.

I’ve been considering making a help menu you can communicate with through the chat, that will give info on your combat hud, but it’d be a bit time consuming to write and test all the bits.

There are also help panels in Edana with a lot of this info. They appear if you spawn there with less than 20hp, or type help in chat or console.

Although the quick answers are:
- explain weapon levels/experience relationship
Hit stuff, and you get better at hitting stuff with that weapon and get stronger. Heavier weapons add more hp, while lighter weapons add more agility, and magic adds, magic.

- how to get experience
Hit things that move until they stop moving, unless you think they might stop you from moving.

- "player roles"... can you have a dedicated healer, or mage? Is a jack-of-all-trades the only way to play? etc.
No, and yes. Unless you like pain… a lot. Combat roles are dynamic: if your party needs healing, heal, if your party needs tanking, tank.

- consequences of dying
You will lose a certain amount of experience from a random skill, and 1% of your gold.

- grouping with other players
---- what level you should start doing it, and some suggested zones
---- how experience is split if you have multiple people killing a monster.
---- ASAP, provided you can find players of around your level.
---- Exp is split based on how much damage each of you did to the monster, although there’s some inflation in multi-player, so the monster will give more XP than it would if attacked by a single player.

eg. if one person does all the fighting, and the other person only heals.
There is no XP for healing, but (FEB2008a+) healing players will help you qualify to get first pick of certain treasures.

 

[Onea]

1. There’s in-game help pop-ups for most of this stuff.

2. I’ve been considering making a help menu you can communicate with through the chat, that will give info on your combat hud, but it’d be a bit time consuming to write and test all the bits.

3. There are also help panels in Edana with a lot of this info. They appear if you spawn there with less than 20hp, or type help in chat or console.

4. - "player roles"... can you have a dedicated healer, or mage? Is a jack-of-all-trades the only way to play? etc.
No, and yes. Unless you like pain… a lot. Combat roles are dynamic: if your party needs healing, heal, if your party needs tanking, tank.

5. - grouping with other players
---- Exp is split based on how much damage each of you did to the monster, although there’s some inflation in multi-player, so the monster will give more XP than it would if attacked by a single player. There is no XP for healing, but (FEB2008a+) healing players will help you qualify to get first pick of certain treasures.

1. I noticed some popups, but nothing pertaining to my questions.

2. I think an online guide, say an up to date wiki, would be far more useful. It'd probably be easier to make too.

3. I noticed some help panels, but nothing answering my questions.

Clearly I haven't played long enough to evaluate 4 and 5 very well, but those don't sound so very appealing. When I play RPGs, say a MUD, I enjoy having a defined class which I can get very good at. It sounds like with MSC that I have to spend hundreds of hours leveling every single skill just so I can be viable in higher zones. Since I don't have very many friends to play with, I'd have to either do it solo (as you said, impossible), or with random people on the internet. That wouldn't be so bad with a good community, but the MSC seems rather small. I'm afraid that I won't be able to find someone to group with because none of the experienced players have any incentive to create a new character.

The way of splitting xp doesn't sound very appealing to me either. The damage requirement requires you to play either an active tank/archer or an uber mage. This eliminates the possibilities of thieves, healers, and other support classes. It also means xping is slow, even in a group, since you need to do all the damage yourself. The inflation factor sounds good, but it still sounds pretty tedious.

Perhaps a party system, where everyone in the party receives full xp if one member kills a monster, would make lower-level grouping much more appealing. If you're worried about a higher character xp-running a newbie, simply make the xp ramp down if you group with a much higher player.

Obviously, once I have more experience playing I'll be able to make a much more informed opinion of the current system, but this is my current impression as a new player. Take it as constructive criticism

Edit: Note, I realize this would be a huuuuuuge and difficult change, and you're busy with other things. I'm simply saying that the current system dissuades new players from playing and offered one solution.

 

[CrazyMonkeyDude]

Yeah, the jack-of-all-trades thing has been discussed to death, but I think more people prefer it that way. And if not, they can help with MS:S, because I'm pretty sure that's gonna have defined classes (should it come out, it seems to be cursed with coders who are idiots (save for the main coder, DrKill) that take the PR of the game-in-production and give it a very sound lashing.


Aaaanyway, jack-off-all-trades is the way to go, and joining a guild will definitely help you out, as guildies will help you get weapons, armor, and items around your level to help you level. As well, most people will be nice enough to help you out, should you ask nicely. Some will even go to the extent of keeping you alive while you kill massive amounts of monsters to help you level fast.

 

[ITS'aME'aMARIO!!!!]

I originally planned to make a levelling guide in my guild forum that I was gonna get... But I guess I could make it for the community. However I haven't played in a long time and I don't know the super good places to level nemore =P

(supposedly boss monsters are worth your time now.)

Here are my tips nonetheless:
-Have a place to level with your bladed weapons and your blunt weapons.
-(blades don't do too good against bare bones, blunts however do better.)

-Find a place where you can:
1. Kill the mobs 2. Kill lots of them 3. Do it quickly and most importantly 4. Be able to survive

-Cross-training different weapons may seem troublesome at lower levels because you level so fast and must switch a lot, but think of it this way.

Weapon skill points = HP,
HP = Survivability,
and Survivability = The ability to fight stronger monsters for more exp.

-Get Ice Shield and Rejuv as soon as you can! Ice Shield gives you 50% damage mitigation which equates to having twice as much hp! Rejuv will reduce your downtime by a lot (pop rejuv, have a seat, and you'll be healed very quickly) and healing others will help you get items and friends.

-Make note of where you can find potions in treasure chests and farm those places, then take those pots to a tough training ground for a nice boost in exp

-Buy a weapon strap or have a buddy buy one for you... Having a sheath for specific weapons may seem cool in a role-playing aspect. But holding all of your weapons in a single bag is um... a no brainer, BETTER!

-Take advantage of the hotkeys! the f1-f10 keys are hotkeys that you can bind weapons, memorized spells(scrolls only work hotkeyed once), and even individual pots(pots of the same type won't auto-equip) You can even customize these hot-keys to become keys easier to reach in the console for even further customization!

-Be Polite! And Patient! With other players and Thothie. or the bear gods will a.ss r.ape you so hard that nobody will be your friend. slut.

 

[Durak]

The item section of the wiki does have a lot of the information I was suggesting. Makes it easier to expand on it then .

Edit: In the blunt arms section of items most weapons say "best in game" and it should probably be revised.