Gemstone IV, Boom or bust?

[Ansherak]

So we've had our first full day in GS IV, whats everybodies thoughts?

I'm not so sure this is the game I want to spend my free time playing, it seems overly convoluted to me.

I can see true new comers logging in for the first time and being so overwhelmed that they just say....forget about it!

I'm not ready to toss the towel in yet, but GS IV is hanging by a thread in the aspect of earning my time and money.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

D-

[Caiylania]

My only complait is having to be invited to tables and having to invite. Other than that I love it. I love all the new verbs, the learning as you go (more realistic!), not plopping down at tables, combat manuevers, so many new things for all of us.

I also think new challenges are good, its shaking up those who were in a funk or whatever. Fresh air to me. It will have its bugs and quirks, but hey, I think they did great.

[CrystalTears]

Why would new comers be overwhelmed? That's true for any game someone starts for the first time, so I really don't see what that has to do with anything. From a fresh perspective, they're going to love it, quite frankly.

The people already playing have to deal with the changes, some good and some bad. They changed way too many things all at the same time, and that is what's overwhelming, even to the point of frustration. They should have left the levels alone. It would have been easier to tolerate all the changes if people were at least the level that they achieved in the first place.

[Caiylania]

You still have the same EXP you earned. They just changed the amount per level. Since they lowered the cap, that just means it will take you longer to hit the cap, instead of Less time to hit the cap. Personally, I'll be happy to hit 50/60. Then take my time. :D

Caiy is quite happy

[CrystalTears]

You have the same exp but you don't have the levels. The spells and skills you had earned. That's what people have lost. Screw the experience. Now people have to hunt the same crap they hunted once before. Like my fiance said to me last night, the beauty of a game like this was the joy of passing one hunting area to get to the next one. Who the hell wants to go back in and time and hunt the same crap all over again? I'm angry for him and those in his shoes and I wouldn't be surprised if we both quit soon over this.

[Caiylania]

That is a good point of view. How many levels did you loose?

[CrystalTears]

I personally only lost 7, but my fiance lost almost 20, and his ingame wife lost 60.

[Ansherak]

Well, CrytalTears, what you say does indeed have merit, though as an avid online gamer of many games, not just GS and Role playing games, the systems are all so inter-related it really does get awfully cloudy quickly.

I'm from the old school I guess....Kiss....Keep it simple stupid, and this has always been a better recipe for success than getting overly complex and tedious.

Not that I like Achea, (though it really is a decent game)
It boasts numbers comparable to GS now days, and it's free.

The constant downtweaks and lack of a common vision, so it would seem, that pervades the current mindset of the Simutronics administration, leads to many frusterating situations.

Just as an example, I was playing today, very close to a train, a real train, and running around with the exp modifier, I was left feeling, whats the point?
Where's the satisfaction of accomplishment?
Is it really in the RP value and ONLY that?
I like to RP as often as I can, unfortunately, thats just not always an option, and for those that don't mind RP'ing on there own, more power to you. I prefer to interact, if no ones around, then I hunt, rest, hunt, rest, add infinity.

I guess thats why I started this thread, I wanted to get a feel on how everyone else see's the game now and the changes.

It feels somehow, hollow to me, maybe that will change over time, thats why I said I wasn't ready to throw the towel in yet, I've managed to tweak my character to the point where he is a far better hunter now than he ever was in GS3, and the reward for that? Knowing I stumbled upon the exact training path every other experienced wizard will take that wants to excell at the top end of the game.

My old incarnation could hunt, pick boxes, skin, teef, enchant, recharge, help others with mana out hunting, or spells.

Todays characters require extremes really, being a little good at everything is now no longer really an option, as if you try to balance it out that way, you are pretty much sub par on ever skill.

Bah, thats my long winded rant for the day, we'll see what happens, it is a fresh release and I'm not quite ready to go back into hibernation yet.....

D-

[Caiylania]

They lost 60 levels?? I was told that wasn't possible. Maybe they got corrupted. Have them report.

[Ansherak]

Originally posted by CrystalTears
You have the same exp but you don't have the levels. The spells and skills you had earned. That's what people have lost. Screw the experience. Now people have to hunt the same crap they hunted once before. Like my fiance said to me last night, the beauty of a game like this was the joy of passing one hunting area to get to the next one. Who the hell wants to go back in and time and hunt the same crap all over again? I'm angry for him and those in his shoes and I wouldn't be surprised if we both quit soon over this.

A very good point I left out aswell, Do I really want to hunt the same thing for months and months on end? In my current rtrain bracket, my choices are very limited, though perhaps they'll start releasing some new areas.....anyone wanna make odds on this?

I was pretty much ready to move up to the next stage of hunting on my to-do list, and now I am back to the start of my current hunting grounds, ugh, I was already bored numbed from it.

Ahh well, it will definately take longer to reach the cap when a person keeps losing interest and puts there accounts on hold for months at a time until a fit of boredom forces re-activation.

D-

[CrystalTears]

The cap is 100 and she was 160, so yeah, she lost 60 levels, and I'm sure she's not the only one.

[theotherjohn]

Originally posted by Ansherak
So we've had our first full day in GS IV, whats everybodies thoughts?



its already the same ole same ole to me

[StrayRogue]

Drizzsdt lost 140 levels. Malok 170. 60 is peanuts Caiylania. As for the tables: they always used to be like that. A good change in my opinion.

[Xcalibur]

Drizzt got killed?

Someone wanna try him to see his DS/TD?

[StrayRogue]

Drizzt stopped playing GS before the Ice Age dumbass. Drizzsdt was hardly unkillable before he lost his levels.

[Xcalibur]

Sorry, pardonne me for forgetting to put a "S"... As if i knew Drizzt was a character before, you mister-know-it-all

I'll write Drizst that way.. Anyone wanna try him just to see numbers?

[StrayRogue]

There is no such character in either the game or literature called Drizst dumbass.

[Xcalibur]

Forgive me the fact i don't know all the rip version of Drizzt, or whatever you call him.

I feel so dumbass not knowing that.

[StrayRogue]

Of course you do. You can barely fucking read as it is.

[JustMe]

The level loss wasn't that bad, however my DS loss was significant. I lost 14 on my AS, close to 200 on my DS. The worst part of it was, I can no longer pick boxes decently and hunt decently like I could before.

In GS3 I was able to pick, hunt, steal, skin and have fun. Now I'm able to hunt, hunt, hunt and get bored as shit hunting. In order to hunt sufficiently enough I had to drop everything besides the major combat skills. Does it suck? Yes. Will I wind up getting bored and quitting? 99% sure I will if something doesn't change. Gemstone was a fun place. Now it seems like it's made for 2 types of people. 1) People who RP and care nothing about level gain. 2) People who power hunt and care nothing about RPing. For the people who like a little pepper with their salt, you're S.O.L. at this point in time.

Some of my favorite times in GS were sitting around picking boxes and goofing off with friends or young ones and now I'll no longer have those times.

And for a positive comment about GS4 - I like the tables the way they are now, it keeps me from having random idiots dropping by and starting trouble. Also some of the new verbs are great, I've had fun goofing off with those and learning them.

Edit: Your, you're, something like that.

[Edited on 11-22-2003 by JustMe]

[Xcalibur]

What's the idea behind 1 minute spells, in fact?

Does people still use 150 (140?) and 919 as often as before?

Seems very expensive for someone that just got em for a boost.

[Ansherak]

Originally posted by JustMe
The level loss wasn't that bad, however my DS loss was significant. I lost 14 on my AS, close to 200 on my DS. The worst part of it was, I can no longer pick boxes decently and hunt decently like I could before.

In GS3 I was able to pick, hunt, steal, skin and have fun. Now I'm able to hunt, hunt, hunt and get bored as shit hunting. In order to hunt sufficiently enough I had to drop everything besides the major combat skills. Does it suck? Yes. Will I wind up getting bored and quitting? 99% sure I will if something doesn't change. Gemstone was a fun place. Now it seems like it's made for 2 types of people. 1) People who RP and care nothing about level gain. 2) People who power hunt and care nothing about RPing. For the people who like a little pepper with their salt, your S.O.L. at this point in time.

Some of my favorite times in GS were sitting around picking boxes and goofing off with friends or young ones and now I'll no longer have those times.

And for a positive comment about GS4 - I like the tables the way they are now, it keeps me from having random idiots dropping by and starting trouble. Also some of the new verbs are great, I've had fun goofing off with those and learning them.

You summed up what I was trying to say in a much shorter and elequent post!

D-

[JustMe]

They are basically now for "emergency" situations. Too bad they can't cast when stunned.

[Xcalibur]

So when saying you lost 200 ds, is wall of force (919 if you're a wizard) counted in the lost or not?

[JustMe]

My main is a rogue, so no, that wasn't counting any spells.

[Artha]

Oddly enough, I'm liking it. I'm able to hunt and pick above my level, even if hunting does take forever. And I can still RP. And ranged weapons are fun.

[JustMe]

I tried to use a crossbow but my DS was -6 when I was kneeling so I decided to pass on that whole thing.

[Artha]

I'd even be happy if they had some way to exchange a weapon and/or shield for a runestaff. Seeing as how we have 8 sets of weapons and shields we will no longer be needing....

You could try selling them in the Landing.


I tried to use a crossbow but my DS was -6 when I was kneeling so I decided to pass on that whole thing.

I'm not a fan of crossbows anyway. Long bows are nice, if you have a decent amount of hiding.

[Edited on 11-22-2003 by Artha]

[Ilvane]

I tend to agree that new people coming in might have some difficulty and be overwhelmed. There is so much information out there, it's hard to figure out where to go! heh.

I don't like the sprite entry, the so called tour. I like person to person contact much better than something automated.

Overall, there are so many changes, I'm going to refrain from talking about how I feel for at least of month.

If I don't feel better after that, we'll see about everything then.

-A

[LordSagan]

I've been refraining from making any major comments about my thoughts on GS4 until I had a chance to do some serious playing around with it.

Overall, I think the change is bad for the game. However, I don't think the change is all gloom and doom as some folks are making it out to be. Let me break down my experiences.

I'm still a viable rogue/assassin as Sagan...even though I cannot one shot kill. Does this make me a less efficient hunter? Of course it does, but it just means I need to find a new style of hunting. I cannot rely on the one shot-one kill mentality to survive in the field. Since I've always leaned towards a bit of PvP, this isn't a big deal for me. I know how to handle fighting toe-to-toe. For some folks, this is going to be a major adjustment. I'm still fully triple trained in traps and locks. I'm still fully double trained in cleaning pockets. I had to cut back my spells from 7 spells to 4 spells, so I can no longer get lockless boxs, but this is a minor adjustment. Sure...my range for picking is lower. However, it's only lower due to my level. The worst part of all of this is the loss of levels/skills that people had become accustomed to. It will take time for them to adapt.

My warrior is actually better off now than he was before the change. He is a much more efficient hunter. He never had any sort of magical skills to begin with, so he didn't lose anything by losing all of his mana...it never did him any good anyway.

My cleric is still a conundrum. I'll admit I've never been big on spell casters...so the magic changes are what I'm tackling last. My cleric is a full brawling volner...so we'll need to see how viable that is under the new system.

Overall, bad change because of how complicated they made things....but still doable as a game. Is it as much fun? No...whenever something is overly complicated, as GS has now become, it is always less fun. A pure number cruncher is going to have a blast. A casual player isn't. Simu needs to wake up and recognize that their customer base is primarily casual players....not number crunchers. They are not catering to their audience with these changes.

My .02

[HarmNone]

From what I am hearing, Sagan, I completely agree. :(

HarmNone

[theotherjohn]

people talk about this game being complicated.

I think it is still a lot easier than the recent graphic games I have tried

[StrayRogue]

Technically yeah. I suppose we don't see all the calculations and stuff when we play EQ like we do in GS. I still feel its pretty simple stuff. I felt GS3 was complicated when I started, I learned to live with it. I am sure the wayward n00b coming into GS4 will do too.

[Ansherak]

They've gotten so obsessed with the balance factor they've entirely forgotten about the fun factor.

D-

[StrayRogue]

The only time every profession will be balanced in ANY game is when every profession can do exactly the same thing at exactly the same cost. But yeah I agree, "Balance", or the illusion of balance that the GMs are trying to instill in GS is what is killing the game for alot of folks.

[Ansherak]

Originally posted by StrayRogue
The only time every profession will be balanced in ANY game is when every profession can do exactly the same thing at exactly the same cost. But yeah I agree, "Balance", or the illusion of balance that the GMs are trying to instill in GS is what is killing the game for alot of folks.

I couldn't agree with that statement anymore than if I had written it myself.

D-

[Xcalibur]

ff11, swg are 10 times less complicated than gs4.

a newb that doesn't know about stats in gs4 will sux from 0 till he drops or until someone REALLY help him

not the same thing on the 2 mmorpgs i tried

[GSLeloo]

Hmm.. my DS sucks but everything else is not bad. GS4 is ok by me.

[StrayRogue]

No, only what you see is less complicated. Do you think you'd understand half as much as what you did if you could see the "guts" of the graphical games? I doubt you could. But as I've said in previous threads, graphics games caters for the simple of mind. They are presented as simple, but are incredibly much more complicated on a mechanics basis.

Quick Gen worked for me back then, and it will work today as well.

[Xcalibur]

Get to sol haven or ice mule without a map or a script, less complicated my butt.

I admit i didn't remember quick gen, for a newb it may be a solution.

"guts"? i don't understand.

[StrayRogue]

No, of course you don't. Idiot.

[Xcalibur]

Explain then

Cut the insults, you impression noone with them

[StrayRogue]

Speaky englishy?

[CrystalTears]

Originally posted by Lady Daina
PS- Thank you to Tsoran for the spreadsheet! Holy jeez that thing has saved me SO MUCH time and effort! :D Lovin the script option for reallocation, and it even fills in the data from the older versions for you! Big Kudos!

Oh this is SO true. He saved me oodles of time. Used the script to reallocate four of my characters and it was a breeze. Worked beautifully. Thanks Tsoran!

[Latrinsorm]

I love GSIV. I have a low end warrior. It's awesome. In GS3 I tried out a warrior and dropped him at around level 5. This is much more fun, though I'm not quite sure why.

I see the sprite quests as an answer to people questioning the mentor system. For a true newbie, the sprite quests are money. They teach you how to interact with the environment at the most basic level, which is probably the most difficult thing to figure out. Going through the sprite quest smooths out the learning curve quite a bit. Are you going to reach cap based on the sprite's advice? Probably not. But it's definitely a good start.

I sympathize a bit for all those folks who "lost" so much power, but at the same time I have to point out that this change will make things better. If not now, in the future. There's no doubt in my mind. That whole balance thing seems to be a hot ticket, but I think we can all agree it sucked that Clerics were undeniably the easiest way to advance in levels. Undeniably. I played a cleric once and I couldn't take a shit without gaining a level. It was ridiculous.

[Bastard]

It seems they addressed a lot of the crap I bitched about for years. Sounds good to me.

[Dighn Darkbeam]

Thoughts on GS4

Disclaimer for the squares: I only play a Sorcerer, so I can only write from a pure's prospective.

DS - Has dropped down, beyond that of being in sync with the monsters AS losses. Does this mean the game is now harder? Yes. I dont really mind all that much, just takes me longer to hunt as I have to stay near neutral stance at all times.

TD - Went up for most creatures in comparison to their newly adjusted levels. Im not sure why the PTB decided to do this, but whats done is done. In my hunting range (50-60) its noticable, but not too much of an impairment. I have heard this problem grows to the point where Sorcerers in Ta'Faendryl no longer bother with sorcerer spells and use other circles and bolts to hunt effectively. Sounds like the game is still broken.

Encumbrence changes made me laugh. Everything goes down when your encumbered but TD? Gee, wonder who was behind that decision.

The new verbs and RP mechanics are very nice, and once fully implemented will add alot to the game. New spells for sorcerers are not released yet, but we are used to this, and are patiently waiting for Animate dead and Minor Summoning.

I decided not to get too anal over reallocation and decided to simply tinker with my stats until I could train in what I wanted. No spreadsheets, no calculating multiple training paths, ect. It was difficult, and Dighn turned out alright. I wont be going through it again.

Is Gemstone the worse because of these changes? I would say yes, though slightly, at the moment. Give Simu about 3 months to get everything as it should be and we will be good to go....Until phase 2.

Kris na Su'ta

[Caiylania]

Originally posted by StrayRogue
Speaky englishy?

I'll admit, I don't understand him always, but do you know French? Don't pick on someone who has at least attempted to learn your language unless you are fluent in his.

[StrayRogue]

When I attempt to speak French on a French board, sure he can give me all the hassle he wants.

As for more of the changes:
Dighn what are demons looking like so far?
Who likes the new/old tables changes?

[Artha]

Don't pick on someone who has at least attempted to learn your language unless you are fluent in his.

Don't criticize foreign policy until you become a world leader.

[ThisOtherKingdom]

My AS is about 45 higher.

My DS is pretty much the same in offensive, maybe 20 less in defensive.

I'm still 3x picking, disarming, perception.

I'm still 2x picking pockets.

So you can see why I don't understand all this "Now it's impossible to be good all around the board."

Level 32 rogue.

[CrystalTears]

Sword swingers didn't get affected as much as the spellcasters.

Someone still needs to explain to me why Wizard's Shield, a 19 mana spell is only one minute. I never heard the rationalization for that.

[Kitsun]

They crunched Wizard's Shield only to uncap other defensive spells. So they want us to have less and more defense, all at the same time!

[Xcalibur]

Same goes for 140?

Caiylania: thanks! you're cute AND intelligent? wowow!:lol:

[Sean]

basically form what i can see the average DS in offensive for the 50-60s is around mid 300s .. a wizard can generate that without wizard shields so leaving shields in as +50 would just throw the creature ASs out of whack again so they can get hit .. same reason my walls only last a minute

[StrayRogue]

Tijay hit the nail right on the head.

[Tendarian]

Im having a great time in gs4. I can hunt in Icemule again which i prefer a lot. No silly EN for this rogue! I didnt want to become a sniper at first,but since they changed it and i can stay hidden with a LOT more success than i had before its great. Also once i realized if i hit the left eye and dont kill it,dont just keep shooting (think it goes to chest) switch your aim to the right eye then shoot,if it dont die switch to neck,head etc. For the first couple hunts it took me 7 arrows sometimes to kill til i realized this or read it somewhere else. Plus being able to pick my own boxes is incredible and very nice. Overall id say B+ id give it more but i dont like that the gift wears out eventually.

[Stunseed]

Yeah, Tendarian was messing the mountain up in Mule.My Ranger has no change to swing, alot more DS in offensive, and is still unstoppable. My others need lots of work......LOTS. Still having the great Wizard debate, and my Cleric needs something < hell if I know yet >. I enjoy going back to the ol' hunting ground. Giants were rich back then, not as rich now, but barely broke.

Love you Jolena!

[GSLeloo]

I repeat after me and another sorcerer friend attempted to hunt today. The DS of the sorcrers need to change. I was getting hit by a creature I'm 20 trains older than (me fully spelled up).

[Dighn Darkbeam]

As for more of the changes:
Dighn what are demons looking like so far? >>

Non-existent. They decided to wait a bit and release them with a RP storyline. Shrug.

I repeat after me and another sorcerer friend attempted to hunt today. The DS of the sorcrers need to change. I was getting hit by a creature I'm 20 trains older than (me fully spelled up). >>

No, no. Sorcerers are supposed to be hit in guarded by AS/DS attacks. That is what makes it fair. Ask Strayrogue, he'l set you straight.

[Soulpieced]

Everyone is bitching about my AS is lower, my TD sucks now. None of that matters. What matters is how you train, and how things act. I have found numerous serious problems with pretty much everything I have encountered in 4.

1) Boxes still haven't been converted. We're still on boxes made for a level 160 game. OTF stuff still spitting out traps over -500.

2) Creatures are buggy and shit doesn't make sense. A lying down construct with no legs which is the size of 10 giantmen can dodge 2 of my attacks in a row how?

3) I think the concept of "game balance" really fucked things up in general. If you want to be good, you're going to have to go some variation of a cookie cutter, and there is probably 3-5 "optimal" paths per profession. No more true mutants, not that this is a problem.

I can add more if people ask about specific instances.

[Soulpieced]

PS: I lost over 200 AS and 60 levels.

[Edited on 11-23-2003 by Soulpieced]

[Xcalibur]

SP, straycat seems to thought mutants were still possible, care to explain why in your opinion it's not?

[Soulpieced]

Not possible if you want to make it anywhere in game. Now granted I'm doing TWC as a bard now, but it is surprisingly effective. I just don't think that people will become "mutants" because it's hard enough being viable in one of the proposed paths.

[Dighn Darkbeam]

I would say a bow wielding sorcerer is a mutant. They seem to be Viable.

[Kitsun]

The poor documentation and conflicting information is definately problematic with the new release. I mean they still have first aid's description as aiding with skinning AND survival helps with skinning too! I could have sworn first aid is now only to tend. I had to dig for an insane amount of time to find out how the additional mana per pulse was added because its not listed in the skills off the main menu.

And this endless swirling haze of LAG is killing me.

[Latrinsorm]

First Aid DOES help with skinning. Now you need two skills to skin. Which is a separate issue.

Mana control helps with mana per pulse, which is listed somewhere, might've been the boards.

The lag IS brutal. But mostly the documentation is there. You do have to dig for some of it.

[Kitsun]

I consider it poor management of information resources. We only have so much time to get the training done. There isn't a search engine to help me dig up information on the site. The documentation was supposed to HELP us along, not make it a research nightmare. If I wanted to do more research I'd sign up for more writing classes.

[Caramia]

I'm enjoying the changes, it sure adds some texture back into the game. When I first started, everything was a bit overwhelming and took time to get used to. It evolved into something so easy, anyone could walk in and three months later they would be a Lord. So I'm happy that the game has some of its original challenge back.

[Ansherak]

3) I think the concept of "game balance" really fucked things up in general. If you want to be good, you're going to have to go some variation of a cookie cutter, and there is probably 3-5 "optimal" paths per profession. No more true mutants, not that this is a problem.

Soulpieced

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Training to the extremes seems to be the only viable path now days, I was a fairly well balanced character in GS3, I didn't excel at any one thing, but I was more than competent in several skills.

I tried to re-allocate into something similar and it was a disaster, so essentially it comes down to this, if you don't train to the extreme in which ever avenue or path you choose, you won't even be adequate, you'll be sub-par.

3-5 Training paths? I see 2 viable ones for a Mage, with a few very small variances, I can't speak for the other professions yet except as a warrior, and my warrior is definately in a much better situation as far as being able to train in how I would want him trained....No surprise there.

My mage, as a pure hunter, has never enjoyed so much success, unfortunately it was at the cost of everything else I enjoyed doing in the game.

Hunt,rest, hunt, rest, hunt, rest......

ugh..

D-

[Miss X]

Ooh, dont think I've seen anyone who plays an empath as their main comment yet.....
Basically, when I first tried to hunt after re-allocating my AS was down by 30 and even in defensive the stuff I was hunting in gs3 was hitting me. Also, when I tried to bind them, their TD had gone up and my CS had gone down,and it was taking 9 casts of bone shatter to kill them which was most annoying.

I was so pissed off, but I was talking to Nakiro about it, and he suggested putting all my lore ranks into manipulation, and getting loads more in first aid and I also ditched 10 spells from minor spirit circle and put them into empath circle, and now bone shatter totally rocks!!

Ive had to change what I hunt, thanks to great advice from Lassitar I found something much better to hunt, and its only taking 3 casts max to kill them. I can hunt in guarded, and even if I channel with my weapon away, its rare that they hit me.

I think in general, I have my empath set up to hunt and heal pretty will till phase 2... Lord knows what will happen then!

[Edited on 23-11-03 by Miss X]

[Halfsilver]

I reall'd grays as a pure brawler.

My MB is insane with Mobiles and courage up.

I can hunt soul golems in luukos' temple. I'm heading over there later on.

I bought a fist-scythe, and so far, I don't see too much of a difference from my longsword, other than it never punctures. Which is great.

Overall, my main Character is much more powerful in GS4 than he was in GS3, and I"m having a blast with it. As someone said earlier, though...it sucks that the thoughtful gift from simu wears out eventually.

-grays/d

[Edaarin]

My DS isn't insane or anything. Edaarin's been reduced to chain mail/brigandine, still coming to grips with that. Redux is pretty much gone (as it should be, I really think that at most only semidux for squares should exist, it was only a temp. band aid).

Heh, I still can't touch a self spelled mage my level if he has a shield/weapon or staff out. But I'm wreaking havoc with my dirk.

[Askip]

I will probably wait for Phase II before I make a judgement, I am looking forward to player-run shops and I hope Simu does a good job with them.

Currently I have a cakewalk hunting. At 104 it was slow learning in the Griffin Keen, and a chancy hunt in Maaghera's Tower. Now at 75 I coast through the Tower, self-spelled with a runestaff and zero Lore training.

:D

[Wezas]

My swing is about 50 less, my DS is less (though offensive DS is about the same as it was when I had walls, which is nice).

I 1.5'd in spell aiming, so my fireballs are about +45.

Stealing isn't so bad, as long as there's enough people in the room, 7 wands from one person is fun. Don't get caught too much, my 4th fine for stealing was 30k.

And I love bone shatter, especially on other people.

[StrayRogue]

Over-specialize, and you breed in weakness.

[Shari]

On a hunting standpoint, I'm struggling along, but I'll live. My AS has gone up slightly, since having gained those two free levels, so I guess that runs even. My defense has lowered by about 40, so I need to be fully loaded with spells before I think about hunting.

I'm still trying to tweak my training style so I can be more efficient.

On a roleplay standpoint, there are so many new great features I haven't even been able to test them all out yet. I've already rolled up two new characters and I'm having a blast.

Little excited, little dissapointed. It balances out.

[Overlord]

I suppose im happy hunting Greater Ice Giants in pinefar *shrug*

[Stunseed]

You and me both....I love hunting Giants. Hate Dispel, but that's what decapitation's for.

Love you Jolena!

[Prosperanna]

I'm having a pretty good time in GS IV. I *love* having more mana - as an empath, it's really nice to finally be able to heal down every wound I have without having to constantly ask for people to send me extra mana.

The downside is that while my AS has gone up (mainly due to the fact that I gained three levels) my DS dropped dramatically - carrying a 4X shield, in advanced stance, my DS is 52. So, I haven't been able to go hunting since the game restarted, because I don't know what I'd be able to hunt at level 15 that would give me experience, but wouldn't kill me. (If anyone has advice, I'd love it.)

-Anna

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by Prosperanna
I'm having a pretty good time in GS IV. I *love* having more mana - as an empath, it's really nice to finally be able to heal down every wound I have without having to constantly ask for people to send me extra mana.

The downside is that while my AS has gone up (mainly due to the fact that I gained three levels) my DS dropped dramatically - carrying a 4X shield, in advanced stance, my DS is 52. So, I haven't been able to go hunting since the game restarted, because I don't know what I'd be able to hunt at level 15 that would give me experience, but wouldn't kill me. (If anyone has advice, I'd love it.)

-Anna

If you can bolt, go to Ocoma Vale. They have rooms (pretty much at random) where you get +10 Physical DS and -50 Bolt DS. O! M! G! it sucks to be a TWC there but it must be great for Bolters. A little underhunting? Yeah. But you're an empath. ;)

[Askip]

<< my DS dropped dramatically - carrying a 4X shield, in advanced stance, my DS is 52 >>

Have you tried the runestaff route? I put all the weapon and shield TPs into magics (Harness Power, Lores, Spells, etc.), and found the DS drop was not too bad.