Attracting and Retaining new players

[Nakkasu]

Hello everyone, most of you know me moderately well. Today the topic is clearly to get and keep new players on ex. You all know how to vote so i'm not going to touch base on that.

Something i feel we need is a little better advertisement. Something we really need to cap on is "Character Development" atleast put that somewhere on your banner +C. Or touch base on that a little, relayers are a lot of fun. Granted a hard grind but fun.

A nice clean up or more facets for housing. a lot of new gamers to ex have a difficult time finding a good spot. even though uo is old and most gamers to uo arent new we shouldn't use that as an excuse to not do for others. A saying i like which i heard from andy stanley.

Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.

Ex has a lot to offer and we dont give ourselves as much credit as we should. even though some people get displeased at times you have to remember that's everywhere you go. there are ups and downs everywhere in uo in rl in work in this in that over here over there !

feel free to post more constructive feed back but these are some small thoughts.


also re-vamps to some areas would help maybe a little more leveling friendly for newer players setup like a account time entry to certain custom dungeons for new players to utilize and learn as well as level weapons at a fair speed without worry of the veterans of ex camp spawn hogging.

oh ya for the more experienced player, more congested area that are mildly difficult. nothing major but things like....... dragons , succubis, rune beetles, demons, maybe some oni? fan dancers, and like this range of enemies !

that is all ! as usual have a pleasant day everyone ! <3

[Xcrjndi]

A new facet would please more than one person, including myself.

+1

[Nick]

I think a mirror Felc facet half controlled by umbris baddies and half by orcs and there brutish minions where spawn is really heavy so that its not like most of the world where theirs nothing to fight or see between dungeons. I love how in lost lands by poison champ the dragons and spider ppl and the ant ppl fight each other endlessly so maybe the orcs could fight the umbris in this facet lead by the proxy boss.
Played on a shard once where good part of the north west corrnor was full of acid themed criddters that would eat your armor and swarm your poor hunting party. And at randome unexpected places in the woods shadow dragons would spawn that could instant cast heal them selves until their Mass reserve of mana was exusted.

Something else that would be really cool would be the ability to set up "camp" in felc. not build houses but be able to spread a bed roll spark a champ fire and lock down two or three chest with out them diapering. maybe for 12 hours at a time. something like that. I spent a few weeks trying to RP a wanderer with some packyies and just fish, hunt log and mine and I kept wishing I could stake them down and build a temperary base camp. This would be my favort Idea to be implemented if I had a vote. Not that this is a Democratic club or anything. all hail +C

[Angmmar]

Well add new "things" like new races like elfs (or from the abyss exp the gargoyle race) with his unique race skills... all new stuff from abyss exp its awesome, like new artys (new weapons to be lvled and new cool relayers), dungeons like underword and the new champs from there... A better pvp system will be cool, but in this server with the no-skill cap will be not much fun, i guess... maybe a pvp points to get unique gear like in WoW... that maybe wake up our interest...

Sorry for the english, dont have time to use a translator

[crazyb0b]

The reason I ended up leaving, coming back, then leaving again was because of how cookie cutter the combat became. I left the second time because of the changes to dread horn area spawn which was my main source of income and items.

Combat consists of getting high dex to auto heal, making a WW or Yumi weapon one handed and melee or ranged everything while taking absolutely no damage since you insta heal. My problem is that I loved magic in UO. I was a mage on almost every character I had. I tried to make magery worth while on this shard and you can't. There is almost no way to keep up with the damage output of your standard leveled 1h yumi or whirlwind weapon. Quite sad actually

EDIT: I played for about 8-9 months a year back. Forgot my login info on the forum hence the just created forum account.

[Angmmar]

Agree i like magic too... but here mage class suck... if a enemy player have 120 RSpells all resist in 70%, and instant heal, really magic dont have any use for pvp and even PvE, monsters have high RSpells too... will cool no skill cap for profetion, but u can choose just 5 or 7 skills for combat (like necro, paladin, mage, swords, fencin, anatomy, taming)... i dont use dex and bandages (instant heal) in my character, i trust in life leech + vampiric Embraze... and really work good for me...

[Xcrjndi]

Definitely keep this thread alive, no matter what effect it will have on things..
New is always good, keeps the interest going.

[crazyb0b]

My main question is why CAN'T they boost magic to be on par with melee. You can't use both in conjunction effectively since casting stops your attacking. There is practically 0 PvP on this shard as well so there would be no need to worry about "balance".

Maybe make spellbooks that add dmg to magic? Not just sdi, but actual damage to skills? Make them levelable as well? Or have the ability to turn weapons into spellbooks and retain their damage boost but turn it into + magic damage?


Just annoying that it is either pets or 1h relayered (or both) spam on almost every single character on this shard.

[Sethra La'vode]

I am really diggin all the above ideas. I, too, think making magic more on par with mega weaps/gear would be awesome. Even have areas where a weap can become almost useless so you have to have done the "Choose a Name" quest and then you did the "Who knows?" to get the "Magic Sphere of Enlightenment"...hehehe Maybe you have to be holding this non-levelable, cannot turn anything into it object to get these awesome magic boosts that you have to have to hunt in particular areas. The shard is great: everything can become rote no matter how many ways you go at it. I feel the staff is small and works hard to keep us busy with quests, fun items, fun places to hunt...and they have LIVES outside of here (I hope!), so implementing all the awesome ideas I see on forums is almost impossible, I would think. Any scriptors out there?? Anyone that could maybe touch on some of these ideas, work a base-line and see if +C is interested? Ya never know! Good thread!!!

[anarchy]

i too would love to see magic increases. i could pre-cast a spell do my whirlwind then when they try to run i would finish casting the earthquake or something to do a finish kill. yeah i like that idea. just makes me much more powerful.

[sirboss]

I played for 3 monthe then left almost 2 years ago. Went back to WoW. then SWToR I dont like paying money every month even if i dont play. I have the money it just the princpral of then thing. I left because I didnt get mucb help in game to make gold, People gave me gold showed me a few tricks but when it came to Champ Spawns I never got invited or ever never got scrolls, what fun is that? As for armor the price i way to high for good armor. and if you dont have good things to sell whats the use. I JUST GOT FRUSTRATED. I was in a good guild they helped but they have there clicks too. yes i am quite and cant type or spell very good so that dosnt help. Very slow typer and i have to look when i type. Sorry for the rant but I love the game been playing it since it started back in about 94 i think. but its a little hard to make friends here, people have therer own groups they play with. So my advice is dont give everything to noobies show them how to get it!!! TEACH THEM!!!!

[Nick]

I can agree that it can be hard to Make some actual friends here, Probably stem from the fact that you don't "NEED" to band together to do stuff here. On other shards I remember forming parties to go hunt lizard men weaker would skin stronger would kill, same party would form to go collect dragon skins. Here there is no real need to team up to do anything, I think the only thing on the shard I haven't killed on my own is the harrower. teaming up is discouraged because you have to split the loot at the end and since you CAN do it on your own it's more profitable to hunt solo, I can make 2 mil in 3-5 hours of farming, holding my new baby Girl, and watching TV. The addition of three or four hunting mates wouldn't make my hunts any smother but would cut down on how much money I take home. I have been here a while and have a few acquaintances but no one who I would actually call a actual in game friend. The group hunting is part of the game I miss some what, and the post above me is very true...it can be hard to make some actual friends here.

[Larsa]

So my advice is dont give everything to noobies show them how to get it!!! TEACH THEM!!!!

Two thumbs up to this!

I think it's about time that the shard should expand to the new SA (Stygian Abyss) and HS (High Seas), the shards that I used to play and some still frequent have all move on. With the new expansion they can make these area tougher... so the powerful players can group together and have some fun. e.g. the stygian abyss dragon at shard 'A' requires like 8+ average players to take down. It randomly hits 300+HP with its fire breath... we have dexxer and mages (yeah... that's right mages) to be able to defeat it. It's lots of fun not because it takes like 30-45mins and there's lots of cussing....swearing... and frustration but at the end there is this feeling of group accomplishment.

If you are still a loner...I mean self accomplish fighter (hooorraahh!) you can always do the ML/GOC quest, umbris camp, etc to your heart content, but with a new area it opens a lot of possibilities. In my mind this is how I picture it.... for the new and mid players stay on the current areas, for the advance and the ones that are all relayered to the teeth SA/HS. That way there is a goal to achieve... there is (yes...) a challenge.

Yeah yeah... it all sounds good but who is going to do it? Well, I don't know... I am just suggesting something to attract and still retaining new and old players. Instead of improving and coding on stuff we already have, lets try to expand to uncharted lands.

I can proudly say that I have met a lot of nice folks in Excelsior and some which I will truly consider them to be friends in/off game (you know who you guys are). It's all about the chemistry... if you click with them then the friendship will go beyond the pixels if not then it is just another fellow gamer with the same goal. These are my humble 2cents... Stay classy Excelsior!

[Ilsanor]

Ok, just for the sake of clarity - I've been here only a year, so I'm not sure how things looked 2 years ago when you were playing sirboss. I'm commenting on the current state of things.

but when it came to Champ Spawns I never got invited

I seem to can't say this enough - getting a personal invite via PM is something you earn, not just get. Go out there, check the champ spawns yourself, let people know if they're up and they'll do the same thing to you (most of them anyway). And watch global - many people just say that XXXXX champ is up. Unless you meant getting voted in instead of getting invited. From what I've seen (and practice myself) most people let everyone in until the last candle, though reputation of the player willing to join plays a certain part as well. Again, do right by people and they will do so by you.

or ever never got scrolls,

You need to do a certain amount of damage to a boss to get a PS, that's just the way it works. Use buffs (consecrate weapon, enemy of one, divine fury, angel form, bless), weapon specials (crushing blow, piercing shot etc.) and/or pets to get your damage output up.

As for armor the price i way to high for good armor.

As far as I know, you can get a full 70's resits, 100LRC leather armor for just under 90k. Is that too much? Nobody said you need to wear GoC right from the start. And if you prefer to put your own suit together, then there's a few vendors that sell platinum plate/ethy leather pieces for under 10k. Just have to look.

but its a little hard to make friends here

it can be hard to make some actual friends here.

Have you actually made an effort? I mean, it's nice to complain and all, but people don't just just randomly walk up to others and ask "will you be my friend?". Try joining an *active* guild. Talk on global. Talk on TeamSpeak. Visit the forums. Get yourself at least a bit known. The community here is by far the most friendly I have ever seen.
Nick - you're kinda confusing friends with helpers. For me (maybe you definition differs) friends are people who I enjoy being with, having fun with, talking to. I don't care how profitable it is (or not). If you're looking for friends just to help you earn faster, then I believe that is the reason you have problems making them.

teaming up is discouraged

One word - Sgail. Good luck doing that solo.

[Nick]

Well friendship stems from spending time together usually in the mode of helping each other achieve goals. Almost all My good UO fiends stem from random ppl banding together to do something we couldn't do on our own. I will agree I need to find a active guild, I joined one a long time ago and they haven't done a single thing since then that i am aware of. I cant even get out cause i forget where the guild stone is. lol