Shattered Kingdoms

Delf hellion's fron N'Kashya. Several pieces have great MP to begin with.

That's because adamantite doesn't exist below level 45.

I truly don't mean to derail the conversation and I want to stay wholly civil, I just feel strongly that making levelling easier truly isn't the answer and I'd like to make my counterpoints here since I think this is where the IMM attention will be focused. I also would like to make a play to convince some of the players that there may be a different solution.



Here you say things begin at Master, which is my main complaint is that it really doesn't, but later you agree with me that things are GM oriented (sort of).



I mean, do you really disagree with me? It sounds like a roundabout agreement. At the end of this sentence you concede that you could start at Master. Doesn't that mean it's not %100 quite yet? If you make it easier to GM, and everyone is GM I'm assuring you it's only going aggravate that situation.

At any rate, that wasn't really my key point. My key point was that we're both right. Levelling sucks and the game is already too GM oriented. But no one answered me really I feel, isn't the answer to that not to make that more GM oriented but instead to start making lower levels more fun?
The repeated complaint, as I did mention earlier, is that you can't do anything below GM really, especially since there are so many other GMs. Is there any other reason to grind? Jardek says he will do it either way - because he doesn't want to be marginalized.
That is what I was asking, that is my key point:
Is there a way you can feel comfortable below GM?

edit: I was looking at it and I just wanted to say,

I don't think this is how it should be or is meant to be actually, that's just the unfortunate way of things. I believe I've actually heard the imms say that they would like to more people influencing the game at low levels.

It's level 45, I'll refer you to Achernar's post right below yours.

*toots his own horn*

Cohorts are an idea that I've proposed and Dulrik is indeed going to look at adding. This is exactly the kind of thing we're trying to do.

Every time a low-lever character tries to do something on SK, at least 1 GM or 2 or 12 will get pissed about it and PK the hell out of him or her.

I've personally been on the receiving end of that on numerous occasions.

We are definitely on the same page.

I know Sklz is trying to accomplish something new with this thread, but this topic is has been brought up several times in the last few months.

My response is the same but let me make some new individual points:
1. I want to make playing the lower levels more fun.
2. Corollary to #1, I want to give lower levels characters more influence.
3. Corollary to #2, the number of Grandmasters as a percentage of all the players in the game needs to drop significantly.
4. To accomplish #3 requires making it BOTH harder to attain GM (and Champion) and less advantageous to attain GM (and Champion).

After doing some number crunching, I assure you that I don't think that levelling should be slowed overall. I actually agree that levelling should be sped up for Amateur to Journeyman.

Number 1 isn't solved by things like throwing code, NPCs that will automatically equip or unequip weapons just so that they can hurt you more, or ensuring that people can wear only the minimum (and sometimes not even that) effective gear.

Number 2 can't be solved solely by code or rules. As I stated in my post, it's also partially player attitude. However, I think some part of the player attitude stems from the fact that everyone knows you can't keep a well-enchanted kit before GM, can't keep any of the ready-made "lewts" before GM, etc. So many of the priorities for competitive play in SK are hinged upon GM that it will forever be the highest priority for the vast majority of players.

Number 3 can't be solved until you solve the contradictions that exist in code and in game between your statement that characters should be complete at Master and the realities of the game.

Number 4 exists in contradiction to your statement on the front-loaded stat point thread from just a few hours ago. You are, evidently, against taking even one of the smallest advantages away from grinding to GM, so why should anyone ever stop at master?

D, you do a good deal of fine work on this game, but I really think you need to get your consistency up in regards to your focus. You do things to try to slow down the twinks (who will, unless hour- or age-requirements are put in place for Champ and GM, achieve GM in under 100 hrs no matter what you do) but all it does is hurt the non-twinks. The twinks will always find a way around what you do to try to slow them. The only thing you could possibly do is put age and hour requirements into the higher statuses. Adding rediculous levels of challenge and fatality to leveling only hurts the people who don't level well already, and who will quit rather than face an impossible and frustrating task.

Seriously, you say one thing, and do, in many cases, the opposite of your stated intent. It's not doing you, or the game, any favors.

Dude.

Chillax off of Dulrik.

Just because he wants to achieve the same goal doesn't mean he has to opt for the same solution.

(Add goblins as a playable race.)

You mean, I did the number crunching.