Advice needed - how to gain traction as a truly new player?

[eqravenprince]

I wouldn't get too caught up in ZEM's. Adventure, try new zones. You'll find your leveling without it seeming like a grind.

Crushbone and Blackburrow are good choices. Dungeons I would also check out Najena, Befallen, Upper Guk, and Qeynos Catacombs. I believe newbie zones have an experience bonus, some have higher level mobs that would be good levels 5+, check out Feerrot Lizards and Misty Thicket past the wall and Butcherblock mountains.

Other dungeons I'm not sure what level they are, but worth checking out after a few more levels would be Runnyeye, Permafrost, Unrest and if you really want to go where no one has gone before Kerra Isle.

I don't want to tell you to avoid outdoor zones. Sometimes it's fun to try them out for the hell of it and adventure. Outdoor zones are usually less stressful in my experience.

[timoris]

Originally Posted by trollitc [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I've been struggling with how to word this post so that people don't get the wrong idea. I really enjoy this game, and I've met some fantastic people on the server. I'm not looking for handouts or free stuff, but some actual advice. So here goes.

My friend and I are just starting out on project 1999. Our highest level characters are 5th level. We don't have a mountain of plat from older characters or guildies we're sitting on.

I'm searching my memories from back in '99 and trying to remember just how long it took then to level up and start acquiring cool stuff. What should we be expecting with our characters?

We're currently in EC with occasional forays into WC and we're leveling at the rate of about one level ever 4-5 hours.

We've decided to play our characters (druid and monk) as a little group of our own. We're not opposed to grouping with others but we're not going to log on with these particular toons without each other so that they'll stay roughly equal in level.

What can we do to advance a little faster? I don't mind the grind that much, and I'm having fun in EC but a level every 4 hours, at the rate we can play, has me wondering if I'll ever get past level 25.

What would you all suggest? Or is it just a case of buckling down and grinding away? If that's it, that's fine. I'm curious though, how did you all get where you are? I see so many lower level characters sporting amazing equipment, and people selling/buying items for 50k PP+. Yesterday evening we watched a 5th level character soloing the griffin in EC, which was fun to watch but something we couldn't do at this time.

Have you all (by this I mean -the folks with riches/items/etc) been on 1999 since the beginning? Are you all guild members?

Thanks!

There aren't many "new" players joining the server at this time. A lot of lower level players are usually 3rd/4th/5th twinks of higher level players. The people trading items are 50kpp+ are raiders and players who farmed a whole lot of manastones and items that no longer drop before these items were removed from the game.

[cavtroop]

Originally Posted by timoris [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

There aren't many "new" players joining the server at this time. A lot of lower level players are usually 3rd/4th/5th twinks of higher level players. The people trading items are 50kpp+ are raiders and players who farmed a whole lot of manastones and items that no longer drop before these items were removed from the game.

I think this is primarily the cause of what we (as new low level players) are seeing. There is little to no market for lower level gear and equipment, as most everyone is a twink of some sort, or being helped along by a much higher level player. So players don't bother auctioning off the lower level gear - they either dump it or sell it to a vendor as it isn't worth their time.

Still having fun, just trying to figure out the server dynamics!

[Plyssken]

True to some extent. Don't be afraid to to look around in EC though.
I picked up a pretty decent necro earring for 85 plat and have picked up under 100plat piece upgrades here and there.

There's still a pretty good spectrum. You'll find "newbie super twinks" (Sorry old jokes, we had a couple of twinks called that once) but you'll also find folks like me scratching thru levels & celebrating every piece we upgrade from our handmade raw silk.

On the flip side when you pick up a group in a real camp (like Upper Guk) you have a decent chance of getting the loot if you actually need it. You'll also stumble upon those cool high levelers who see you killing something. Look at your equipment and hand you upgrades they happen to have in their inventory and were going to sell to vendors anyways ;-)

[Grozmok]

I love the low and mid level gear prices. It allows me to gear up and twink for peanuts.

[Plyssken]

Originally Posted by eqravenprince [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I wouldn't get too caught up in ZEM's. Adventure, try new zones. You'll find your leveling without it seeming like a grind.

Crushbone and Blackburrow are good choices. Dungeons I would also check out Najena, Befallen, Upper Guk, and Qeynos Catacombs. I believe newbie zones have an experience bonus, some have higher level mobs that would be good levels 5+, check out Feerrot Lizards and Misty Thicket past the wall and Butcherblock mountains.

Other dungeons I'm not sure what level they are, but worth checking out after a few more levels would be Runnyeye, Permafrost, Unrest and if you really want to go where no one has gone before Kerra Isle.

I don't want to tell you to avoid outdoor zones. Sometimes it's fun to try them out for the hell of it and adventure. Outdoor zones are usually less stressful in my experience.

Yeah, I'm loving Lavastorm I even found a little mini boss spawning area. I'm usually the only one pulling there and high levelers come by going to Sol B & I occasionally get ninjabuffs :-D

I liked the undead monolith in No Ro a couple levels previously right by the beach so I could fish in between pulls until my pole broke. :-P