Hello and some feedback

Hello all. New player here, have been keeping an eye out on SOTA for a while now trying to make my own mind up about it rather than listen too much to the various doomsayers. Anyways finally took the plunge this weekend and have started to play the game. I was a long term UO player on the Europa shard from 2000 to 2009 and loved that game so I am really hoping SOTA fullfills its true potential. Have played many other MMO's since UO but none have really matched that experience.

Only played a few hours so far but some initial thoughts (realising of course the game is still very much under construction)

Character creation - nicely done starting without form and the actual process nice and easy. Plenty of options changing height, face shape etc but not much in terms of hairstyles or other adornments which seems a bit odd.

Starter area. Chose the path of Courage and ended up in Highvale. Good starting story that needs fleshing out a bit and finding things like the note from the children was a bit of a frustrating experience rather than an exciting one. Gathered a couple of quests and exited out through the gate. Was not clear at all whether I needed to explore the surrounding area so in the end headed straight out towards Resolute to complete the quests I had.

2d World Map. Seems a bit odd to start with in an MMO but it grew on me and it certainly looks good.

Graphics in General. Maybe slightly old fashioned compared with some but looked much better than I expected and really beautiful in places. Music is also good/very good tbough the looping could do with a polish in places.

Resolute. My first experience of a town. Generally looks very good - yes the player housing on a grid pattern does jar a bit but has to be expected given the nature of housing in this game which is so much better than in any other current game I would say. I like having to talk to NPC's to discover their names etc but the Ooooos, aaaahhs and crying is truly aweful. If those sounds are just holding noises then ok but if they are intended to be in the completed game then please change them or get rid of them completely.

Obscurity : for a newbie trying to figure out such things as how training and xp pools work and how to unlock your combat deck (still cant do that though I know somehow the skill trainer will do that but the one in Resolute currently won't grant that to me for some reason I cannot fathom) is really painful. I dont want a game that is too easy that you can just sleep walk through but I do feel some of this basic stuff is made obscure/ difficult just for the sake of it which can lead to alot of frustration for a new player which in turn can lead to them simply giving up.

Speaking of frustration where on earth is Brigid in Resolute so that I can give her Gawains sigil ? I cant find her anywhere and this is much like the childrens note in Highvale. Sticking an object or a quest NPC in a willfully obscure place changes a quest from an enjoyable challenge into a tedious and frustrating excercise in futility.

In my short time in game so far I have generally confused and often frustrated but am also very much enjoying much of what this game already offers. No doubt will be posting some more thoughts as time goes on !

 

Thanks for providing all the feedback... every perspective helps the devs!

As to the above...

Spoiler

when you enter the gate, go to the tavern on the right side of the plaza. Brigid is drinking at the bar.

 

Thanks for the tip ! I looked in there a number of times and didnt spot her - must sharpen up ! Is good that all the quest npcs dont go round with big glowing arrows or the like over their heads though !

 

There's a bug report for that, seems like it hasn't been picked up by the dev team.

It's been a while since I last did this quest, but I'm fairly sure the guard who open the gate for you will tell you where Brigid is if you ask on the way in.

 

Thats a bit of a begger ! Where should I go in order to get that unlocked please? Bearing in mind I currently have no idea of the geography of the world and my character can barely hold a sword..

 

Most other skill trainers work fine, so you just need an NPC town with a skill trainer of which there are many.

I think there is a moongate in Highvale which will transport you to one of the other starter scenes at certain times of day, though I've never used it myself so I have no specifics. You can then go to the skill trainer in Soltown or Aerie depending on where you end up.

Easiest place is to get to by non-magical means is Brittany. You'll need to head through Nightshade Pass to the East, which will probably kill you if you try to stop and fight anything so don't stop! As you come in you will see a notch in the mountains on far side, that is the way out. Head down the path and then swim across the lake and then up the path on the other side, Brittany is to the North when you come out.

Another alternative, if you have a teleport scroll, is to get into zone chat (enable this through the gear icon on your chat tab) while on the overland map (in multiplayer - hit zero on the numeric keypad to see who's around) and shout out that you're a newbie who needs a teleport target in a town with a skills trainer. You can teleport to anyone on your friends list who is also in multiplayer.

Finally, you could always ask on the Hospitaller channel on Discord, someone is probably online who could help you.

 

Great write up! Welcome!!!

 

Many thanks for all the incredibly useful advice

 

Welcome to the game