[AO] Anarchy Online, anyone else a Froob?

Hahnsoo1

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

meh I already get free yalms on my "real" account should I ever resub as a vet reward. The jetbikes and hoverboards would just be for show.

Yeah, that takes at least 2 years of continuous subscription to achieve (unless your account is bugged... congratulations! You have gobs of Vet points for no reason now! *grin*). Not everyone has been playing the game for that long.

The Dude With Herpes

Heh I think I subbed for almost 4 years total before I finally broke away so vets-r-us here.

The Dude With Herpes

Hey look at that; I just got an e-mail yesterday from Funcom saying I can renew my subscription for a free month.

Hmm....

The Dude With Herpes

Man this game runs amazingly bad for how old it is and how poor it looks. It's funny because all the "old" stuff runs ok; but if I go into the "new" areas like Old Athens or that stupid floating shop outside of Newland the game starts chugging. There's no good reason an 8 year old game should run that bad.

On the other hand it was nice to load up my soldier and go do 15k on a full auto on some random mob.

Hahnsoo1

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

Man this game runs amazingly bad for how old it is and how poor it looks. It's funny because all the "old" stuff runs ok; but if I go into the "new" areas like Old Athens or that stupid floating shop outside of Newland the game starts chugging. There's no good reason an 8 year old game should run that bad.

Direct-X 7 FTL. :-P Also, AO is fairly wonky when it comes to caching content to memory, and has a lot of strange disk access voodoo when opening doors or loading up player models.

I'm told that running the game on a RAMdisk really speeds things up, if you wanted to try it.

Link to a relevant thread:
http://forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php?t=448683

Archsorcerer

Yes, there is still a few playing.

Halloween content! Yay!

http://www.anarchy-online.com/wsp/anarchy/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=content&func_id=2370&table=CONTENT

Bigity

I still miss this game, but I'm not going to play it again, it would just spoil all the warm, fuzzy memories.

Archsorcerer

Hey Hahnsoo1, if you are available, is it recommendable for an engie to pick up a rifle?

Saban

Archsorcerer wrote: »

Hey Hahnsoo1, if you are available, is it recommendable for an engie to pick up a rifle?

iirc, engi's are a shotgun class.

I think they have shotguns as a green skill, maybe pistols too. Some obscure rifle might work but alot of the time those builds dont last long and all it will really cost you is Reset IP points.

I havent played in a long while so things might have changed though.

Archsorcerer

It's pistol (Green) , grenades(light blue) and heavy weapons(ligth blue). I remember some talks of engies hiting for Aimed shot damage and I got a MTI USP 1200 (pistol/rifle hybrid).

BTW, does anyone know where can I find the art of the blonde solitus engineer and the slayerbot? The one used in the 'Free AO' banner.

That was quick Saban.

Hahnsoo1

Rifles are actually a good low IP choice for most professions (including melee-heavy classes like Enforcers and Keepers). They are great for any PvP (mostly because of Aimed Shot), and there are a TON of large buffs for both Rifle and Aimed Shot. The Shiny cluster in the Eye conflicts between Rifle and Aimed Shot, however, and no profession other than Agent and perhaps Adventurers have large Concealment buffs to effectively use Aimed Shot in PvM.

I would definitely not recommend Shotguns for Engineers (and Traders are the Shotgun-heavy profession, besides). They have a high 3.2 multiplier for Engineers, as shown on the Skill Chart. Albeit, the IP cost for Shotguns is cheap for most professions due to the lack of special attacks, but there are more damaging and IP-efficient options for nearly everyone. Plus, there's really only one decent shotgun for froobs (the Maw of the Abyss). Most people who rave about Shotguns point to the Maw, but you can't even get a Maw until level 125, and it takes a good team who knows what they are doing in Inner Sanctum to do so. Stick with Pistols or Grenades... better yet, stick with MatCre and TimeSpace and get yourself some bigger bots.

Archsorcerer

Ok, I'll consider a rifle another day. Besides the Original Electronicum, any decent pistols around the 15 - 25 lvl/ql range?

Hahnsoo1

Archsorcerer wrote: »

Ok, I'll consider a rifle another day. Besides the Original Electronicum, any decent pistols around the 15 - 25 lvl/ql range?

The best pistol at that level range for a froob is the SOL K-91 Monster (called "Mini-Monster" at that QL range). However, it is dyna/boss loot, which means it is not easy to get. You'd have to buy it from other players, and it generally goes for about 2 to 5k per QL. Worse, you'd outgrow it quickly and have to buy ANOTHER one in a week.

The Original Electronicum can actually be bought up to QL 50 by expansion players in the city of Jobe, so you could simply ask someone with expansions to get you some. They are relatively inexpensive (10-30k each).

A lot of Engineers go for the Solar-Powered Tinker Pistol, but that requires a large investment in a nearly-worthless tradeskill, Weaponsmithing. At least Mech Engi and Elec Engi are required for trimmers, which are necessary for any Engi worth his/her salt.

The best option is to simply rely on your Bot. That's what it's there for. Learn how to hide around corners so that enemies don't chase after you, and send your robotic minion to do all your dirty work.

Archsorcerer

Thanks Hahnsoo, I think I will retire from AO for now. I need to try it with the expansions.

I wish the devs introduced mini crossbows (pistol/bow hybrids with fling and bow special atk) so there was a point in arrow-making.

Wonder_Hippie

So, who's still playing? I'm downloading the free thing right now. I guess that makes me a froob.

Raggaholic

I'm a level 20 Enforcer froob. Anyone else?

Wonder_Hippie

Level 6 Agent froob.

The UI's really making me appreciate WoW, but it feels like it's going to be a deeper experience. I like being able to allocate skill points like that, it reminds me of Asheron's Call.

Raggaholic

Yeah, I think I'll be playing this for a while. It helps that I play with a friend.

The graphics are pretty ancient, especially coming off of playing MxO, but the gameplay is pretty good. I like the fact that there is a lot of variety to what you can do with your characters. Leveling seems to go pretty quickly too, and it's not all as boring and repetitive as it was with MxO. It helps that there is still a large community playing.

But... I still don't know what I'm doing half the time.

Wonder_Hippie

Yeah, it's exceedingly cumbersome and obtuse. The language, acronyms, and slang are so unique, too. It takes some getting used to.

LittleBoots

So do the people who are still playing, are you on RK1 or RK2?

Raggaholic

LittleBoots wrote: »

So do the people who are still playing, are you on RK1 or RK2?

I'm on RK2. My exgf and I play almost every night. We're still under level 30, but we have a real symbiotic relationship in the game. I'm an Enforcer (tank) and she's a Doctor. Sure, we can run missions together, but we run through missions really quick together.

Fun fact: She deals as much, if not more, damage than I do. The docs on that game, with the poisons and debuffs, are REALLY formidable.

Wonder_Hippie

I'm on RK2 as well. Playing a fixer now. Fun class, but I still really haven't gotten the hang of this game. Are there any good general newb guides out there so I can get my bearings a bit instead of feeling like I'm wandering around the entire continent doing delivery quest after delivery quest? I've run a few missions, and I like how quick they are, but I feel like I'm missing some huge part of the game.

Archsorcerer

At low levels there isn't much to do as a froob. There is a line of quests when you arrive at mainland. If you are omni, you can get a helmet, backpack and a leet doll (ubah! :P ).

Beyond getting the NCU ring and the speed boots from the Subway, do team missions and go to temple of the Three Winds. The robes are a pretty nice boost to AC. Check out aofroobs.com

Recomendations for leveling up: http://www.aofroobs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5152&start=0

And guides for the free version: http://www.ao-universe.com/main.php?site=knowledge&link=0

I have lvl 10 Sol Trader in RK2 and a lvl 40 Opi Trader in RK1, Nightchemist and Canonhound respectively.

Raggaholic

Well, I'm out of this one too. MxO was too boring/repetitive. This one was just too frustrating. Nothing like being a level 32 Enforcer with a level 30 doc backing you up at the TOTW, only to always get slaughted while seeing people run through there doing eleventy billion damage per second.

My 1hb weapons suck... so I go to TOTW.
In the TOTW... I can't kill/loot anything.
I can't kill/loot anything... because my 1hb weapons suck.

Archsorcerer

Raggaholic wrote: »

Well, I'm out of this one too. MxO was too boring/repetitive. This one was just too frustrating. Nothing like being a level 32 Enforcer with a level 30 doc backing you up at the TOTW, only to always get slaughted while seeing people run through there doing eleventy billion damage per second.

My 1hb weapons suck... so I go to TOTW.
In the TOTW... I can't kill/loot anything.
I can't kill/loot anything... because my 1hb weapons suck.

Yep, ToTW is also known as Temple of the Train Wrecks. People don't yell TRAIN! like they used to. Here you can find decent 1HB weapons, the Howling Skull. Later you might be able to get an Icebreaker/Cold Morning Icebreaker.

2he is a more friendly option. Island weapon -> Longmoon -> Energy Scythe -> Frost Scythe of the Legionnarie -> Stygian Desolator.

You get some points as you level to reset skills if you want a change but they are limited.

Raggaholic

Archsorcerer wrote: »

Yep, ToTW is also known as Temple of the Train Wrecks. People don't yell TRAIN! like they used to. Here you can find decent 1HB weapons, the Howling Skull. Later you might be able to get an Icebreaker/Cold Morning Icebreaker.

That was a huge problem, but it's not just that.

I've played SWG and MxO. AO is a totally different type of MMO. There's not a real good place for a new guy like me to get a bunch of questions answered. The guides are generally out of date. The forums are filled with high level people speaking in jargon I have no clue about. In game... no one seems to want to be bothered.

It's just like the perfect storm of frustrating events, in one convenient package.

Archsorcerer

Yep. Pretty much the modests efforts of Funcom to keep the game alive revolve around trying to satisfy a small number of suscribers around levels 200 - 220 fixing stuff and adding some content to PvP. Froobs only exist to make the game look populated.

Being a new player in AO is though. Making money consists on selling stuff to high level players they forgot to get early. You can tell the game is outdated, not much personalization. But as a froob your options are even more limited in pretty much every aspect.

Many like to set their own shops, selling rare loot and few crafted articles. I guess that is what attracts some people (http://www.aogms.com/default.aspx).

KingMole

Raggaholic wrote: »

I've played SWG and MxO.

I take it you like the more sci-fi ish MMOs. Unfortunately, they are mostly average -> not very good.

Also some of them are really outdated now, like AO and Neocron, or are just barren wastelands like Planetside, SWG and MxO.

Wonder_Hippie

My biggest problem so far is how little information you get about the game once you get off the newb farm. I didn't know what the subway was because nothing sends you down there. I didn't know what missions were because nothing points you to the terminals. I don't know how to pick up the quest chain that started once I got off the island because the stupid fucking things are timed, which has the be the worst decision made in this entire game, and I don't remember how to get to the last NPC that had it for me so I can pick it up again.

It's just a poorly-designed game when it comes to interacting with the player. I've said it once, but it just makes me appreciate how well-made WoW really is. It holds your hand a bit much, but that's needed in an MMO where goals aren't exactly clear.

Also, what the fuck is with not being able to actually see what the rewards for a mission are? I can, you know, see the icon, but that's it? What the fuck?

Archsorcerer

You should have check out the manual. The login interface points where you can get the document. Ctrl + 4 opens the missions window, there you can see its description and duration, and with a right click delete it.

Also, you can see the rewards for mission. Shift + click on the mission icon opens the info, there you can click on the items icon and see its stats (QL, modifiers, et al). Still, since most missions rewards are crap, people use a tool named Clicksaver to save time 'rolling' stuff.

Clciksaver in action: http://www.aofroobs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2976

Raggaholic

Archsorcerer wrote: »

Also, you can see the rewards for mission. Shift + click on the mission icon opens the info, there you can click on the items icon and see its stats (QL, modifiers, et al). Still, since most missions rewards are crap, people use a tool named Clicksaver to save time 'rolling' stuff.

This was one thing that took me forever to figure out. I would buy nano programs only to find out I couldn't use them. Why? Because that "shift - click" to see the stats thing wasn't anywhere that I knew of. I'd be asking people in game how to see what requirements were and they'd just tell me to click on the item. I wasted a ton of money like that.

Raggaholic

Ok, so I've scratched the itch again and gotten back into AO. I have three toons so far, a lvl 35 Enforcer, a level 21 Doc and a lvl 11 Adventurer. I have the Adv to make money (roll for valuable loot), the Doc to make implants, and the Enf to play with my exgf and have fun (she has a combat medic based on doc type toon).

The game is actually a lot more fun, now that I understand things. I'm still not making a lot of money, but I'm at least not wasting it left and right. Now, if only I can figure out which nano skills to focus on with my Enf (as well as get him some better weapons), I'll be set.

Archsorcerer

You usually look to equip implants higher than your level. Look for people in an org to help you with this, tradeskilling at low levels would take a toll in your IP spending. Only a Meta-Physicist with their buffs could help you in implant making at low levels.

Check out the premade implants in basic stores. It is a useful option, though kind of crappy, if you want to save money.

Raggaholic

Yeah, basically I've been buying implants out of stores, although I've made a doc character specifically for making implants when I get in a higher level. The problem? He has absolutely no combat skill and I'm mostly a solo player. Even though I can advance level by grouping in the subway or totw, I can't make a dime. My only form of attack is basically DOT whoever and outlast them by healing myself. That makes doing mission (which have to be a much lower level to even have a shot at completing them) take a LONG time.

Ah well, I'll work it out.

joxer

there are many shitty weapons in AO that are nothing but "shop food". if you need help with weapon selection let me know, the DoT nanos for doctors are pretty much a waste of nano till higher levels, they tick too slowly and do little damage compared to HP of mobs.

Archsorcerer

Let me quote Byochemyst:

The number one rule for doctors is to really internalize the following concept:

You do not kill; you outlast.

For those starting a doctor as a second career, this is very difficult to grasp initially. You're used to killing things -- you therefore care about things like weapons and damage and so on. Doctors obsess about weapons, that's true, but realize that none of us ever kill anything. We simply outlast the enemy with our heals. I've taken to calling my dual Gelids "D DoT" -- it ticks once a second or so for about 890pts of damage (if I hit at all). 890 is pitiful at 209; look at what a shade or an MA or a soldier at 209 does. THAT is damage. What I do is "D DoT", along with the other DoT's, and then outlast the monster in question.

The earlier you grasp and internalize this concept, the earlier you will find yourself easing into the medical profession.

From the Doc's Bible: http://forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php?t=349719&page=1&pp=20

Raggaholic

joxer wrote: »

there are many shitty weapons in AO that are nothing but "shop food". if you need help with weapon selection let me know, the DoT nanos for doctors are pretty much a waste of nano till higher levels, they tick too slowly and do little damage compared to HP of mobs.

Also, what do you mean by "shop food?" Is that basically crap that you sell to get the 300 or so creds that shops pay for them?

The weapons I'm really interested in are 1hb weapons for my enforcer. I'm still using the upgraded newbie island bats because I haven't managed to pick up even an howling skull in TOTW. It's sad. I also learned how to use clicksaver to try to roll for certain nano programs. It just sucks that it takes so long and so many credits.

Oh yeah, I read the docs bible. I understand the outlast bit. The problem is outlasting takes a long time fighting level 20 missions where you only dot for 18 damage every three seconds (and that's TWO combined) all while firing and missing every shot with your newbie island pistol. Each fight can take upwards of two minutes, but when the doc needs credits...

It's rough being a solo low level player.

xYUUBINKYOKUx

Anyone still playing? I was thinking of trying to put together a once a week group or something if there was anyone that wanted to start from the begining or if people have some characters already I have 2 50's I would be happy to play as well.

JediNight

I'm honestly surprised AO didn't close down years ago given just how ridiculously bad their launch was. Considering how many other MMOs have closed shop in far less time already.

The Dude With Herpes

JediNight wrote: »

I'm honestly surprised AO didn't close down years ago given just how ridiculously bad their launch was. Considering how many other MMOs have closed shop in far less time already.

Considering it was launched 8 years ago and they fixed their shit pretty quick; added to the fact that at the time there was no real competition in the sci-fi market (not that there is now either really), plus the fact that the pressure in a MMO launch then wasn't like it is now where you have to have some absurd amount of subscribers to be "successful", and it's not really surprising it's still around. Most of the good ones back then are still around today in some shape.

AO is a good MMO, it's stable, good community, good mechanics, interesting setting and stuff. I they ever get around to finally pushing out that new graphics engine they showed off last year I'd be hopping back in myself.

EDIT: It's also consistently profitable for Funcom.