Spawn
Slayer
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Posts
- 8,076
- Location
- The Netherlands
- Society
- The Ministry
- Avatar Name
- Storm Spawn Bootcamp
I have been mentoring since it was “ invented “ in entropia.
There used to be a clear road for a disciple to follow when starting a hunting career.
My disciples would sweat when starting out, or they would have deposited 10 dollars and had 94 peds to play with.
The paths that could be followed:
Rifle/carbine:
Opalo , and when maxed out buy the biggest amp the disciple could buy and skill up. Mostly new players bought the a103 because it was dirt cheap (tt+1). They could hunt way larger mobs and all was good. Disciple was happy and graduation went smooth
Pistol:
Get the m2100 and when maxed out buy the biggest amp the disciple could buy and skill up.
. Mostly new players bought the a103 because it was dirt cheap (tt+1). They could hunt way larger mobs and all was good. Disciple was happy and graduation went smooth
Longblades:
The tt-sword has a really slow reload, so I would advice a combo of the axe 1x0 and the sword, so the disciple could start hacking with the axe, and switch half-way to the tt-sword. Not as eco, because you would miss a lot with the axe, but it had decent reload.
Shortblade:
The tt-blade has the best dps, so no real problem there. But there were no bigger weapons that had sib, so doing more damage could more easily be done with opalo/a10x
Fisting:
Nice knuckles from the tt.. skill up. The problem was there were only non-L bigger fists, so I would advice not to skill up with fists
Blp: was not a starting path, because they didn’t exist in L versions or from the tt.
Grenade launchers, maces and rocket launchers didn’t exist yet.
CHANGE 1 the amp nerf
Rifle/carbine:
luckily along with the amp nerf, the m1a and m2a were introduced.
The advice i could give was this: get an opalo, max it, buy an a101 skill up until you have the skill to use the m1a, buy an a102, etc etc. No real problem, albeit a bit more expensive.
Pistol:
Hmmz.. the tt-pistol only does 4 damage, has slow reload... so skilling up using only the pistol could only be done on snablesnots young or some other really low lifeform.. Not exactly a "fun" experience to start your entropia life this way. Later after the amp nerf. the p1a pistol was discovered, which was sort of an opalo for pistols. However it was L, it decayed faster and it cost 17 peds or so as opposed to 3.80 for the opalo. For noobs pistol skilling was limited to depositing players from now on. When the m2100 was maxed out, the a101 could ofcourse be used, which made the situation a tad better.
for the rest of the weapons nothing changed.
CHANGE 2 unlimited items stopped dropping (especially amps)
Rifle/Carbine:
the price of amps was going through the roof. The advice to get an opalo and an a101 was no longer a viable option, because of the whopping tt+90 price . Same goes for the m1a+a102 .. Really expensive for a new player to buy.
Luckily the cb-5 was discovered, it had a bit more dps then an opalo.. so I would advice the player to use that. there were also L-amps that could be used, although ofcourse not as good as the a10x series. The Lp120 was also a bit expensive as a successor (43 peds) compared to the m1a.
So as an alternative advice, i started advising old school guns, like the bravo me, the tasmo me, the mar spark, justifier mk1 or mk2, if the player wanted to hunt bigger things.
Pistol:
Situation got worse now that the a101 price went through the roof. the m2100 was simply a too meagre gun to start with and it was expensive as hell to get it amped up a bit. xr-40 added too little damage, the xr-50 did too much. the boom ccc was looted, and besides all these amps were worse in eco and had markup. Pistol skilling with laser became a no-go, until the emik s-30 was discovered. BLP pistol skilling was now possible. the s-30 did 5 damage and had decent reload and there were not so expensive amps. Still the road for pistol skilling became a bit more expensive after this second change.
other weapons were unaffected.
Grenade launchers were introduced, and are now a good option if a player wants to do a bit more damage. too bad you have to have been skilled at least to level 2 to consider it.
CHANGE 3 higher regen mobs
at the start this didn't mean much for new players, but when the combibo was changed.. alarm bells went off. Later on the caudatergus and the molisk were secretly changed (or they forgot to tell). The process of this change is ongoing, and a lot of playersthat all mobs may be changed to higher regen mobs. This means that the higher damage per second your weapon is, the better.
Rifle/Carbine:
The opalo will only be viable as a team-hunting rifle. the a101 is not affordable anymore for a new player, and the laser upgrade path brings guns that have too little dps (m1a , m2a, riker series). Hitting a combibo young or a cauda young is still very possible, but a molisk young is really way more expensive using an unamped or amped opalo.
So for rifle/carbines the way to go is blp. blp simply has way higher dps, due to the reload speed.
My other advice for laser simply buy old school weapons, like the mar spark, the justifier mk1 or 2
Pistol:
the m2100 is now useless crap. It always was a bit crappy, but with higher regen it is of no use at all. Laser pistol is no longer a road that can be started in, you can only change from rifle to pistol if you have enough secondary skills. (or chip them in).
Blp pistolling is still okish. s30, s40, s50, bl800, s60 is a nice upgrade path still.
Longblades:
A lot more high spec longblades have been found, they mean nothing for the new player, since they have no skill to use them. the problem of the tt-sword remains the same: its very slow in reload. and all the L upgrade weapons are too. the rutic slo is doable at 30 reload
My advicenow for new players: go skill up using the tt-sword/axe 1x0 combo,(doing half the damage with each) then do the same for the upgrade choices... cutter one/2x0 embra/honor etc.
this way you still get your dps in the mob, although you loose eco.
Shortblades:
the shortblade has the best dps of all the tt-weapons, so it is a good starter now. and it has been complemented by good choices in the high end section.. shortblades have a new future
grenade launchers: yes go for it. higher dps for not too many peds
Conclusion:
The three changes mentioned mean to new players that putting 10 dollars in to try the game out, is not the same as before these changes. The upgrade path for players with limited funds has become more difficult for ppl wanting to use a rifle or a pistol.
The fun perceived by new players has been severely cut . (compareing opalo/a103 for 40 peds and 60 peds ammo, shooting molisk up to guardians, to opalo/a101 for 93 peds and 7 peds ammo, barely able to shooting a molisk young)
For the fun factor as a new player you need a society, a mentor to bring you to nea's or another place to do large teamhunts, like swunting, to get a bit of the fun factor back. A noob without connections or wanting to do it all alone, is severely limited in current times.
Advising old school weapons to players may not be the most economic/smart way to mentor, but it does give new players more fun then going the opalo/m2100 way. with the current prices of amps and the higher regen of increasinly more mobs, old school weapons are also increasingly more important for new players. You cannot kill an atrox with an opalo. and without the skill to use a bigger L gun, haveing a big katsuichi sword or a justifier mk2 is a good alternative.
My advice to Mindark: add three weapons to the tt: one more expensive laser rifle, doing 10 damage with faster reload speed, one extra pistol requiring 2 ammo with higher reload speed (45-50) and a longblade with a reload speed of 30-35, to give new players a better chance to make it in the changed universe
We want new players to stay, and not leave after being disillusioned.
There used to be a clear road for a disciple to follow when starting a hunting career.
My disciples would sweat when starting out, or they would have deposited 10 dollars and had 94 peds to play with.
The paths that could be followed:
Rifle/carbine:
Opalo , and when maxed out buy the biggest amp the disciple could buy and skill up. Mostly new players bought the a103 because it was dirt cheap (tt+1). They could hunt way larger mobs and all was good. Disciple was happy and graduation went smooth
Pistol:
Get the m2100 and when maxed out buy the biggest amp the disciple could buy and skill up.
. Mostly new players bought the a103 because it was dirt cheap (tt+1). They could hunt way larger mobs and all was good. Disciple was happy and graduation went smooth
Longblades:
The tt-sword has a really slow reload, so I would advice a combo of the axe 1x0 and the sword, so the disciple could start hacking with the axe, and switch half-way to the tt-sword. Not as eco, because you would miss a lot with the axe, but it had decent reload.
Shortblade:
The tt-blade has the best dps, so no real problem there. But there were no bigger weapons that had sib, so doing more damage could more easily be done with opalo/a10x
Fisting:
Nice knuckles from the tt.. skill up. The problem was there were only non-L bigger fists, so I would advice not to skill up with fists
Blp: was not a starting path, because they didn’t exist in L versions or from the tt.
Grenade launchers, maces and rocket launchers didn’t exist yet.
CHANGE 1 the amp nerf
Rifle/carbine:
luckily along with the amp nerf, the m1a and m2a were introduced.
The advice i could give was this: get an opalo, max it, buy an a101 skill up until you have the skill to use the m1a, buy an a102, etc etc. No real problem, albeit a bit more expensive.
Pistol:
Hmmz.. the tt-pistol only does 4 damage, has slow reload... so skilling up using only the pistol could only be done on snablesnots young or some other really low lifeform.. Not exactly a "fun" experience to start your entropia life this way. Later after the amp nerf. the p1a pistol was discovered, which was sort of an opalo for pistols. However it was L, it decayed faster and it cost 17 peds or so as opposed to 3.80 for the opalo. For noobs pistol skilling was limited to depositing players from now on. When the m2100 was maxed out, the a101 could ofcourse be used, which made the situation a tad better.
for the rest of the weapons nothing changed.
CHANGE 2 unlimited items stopped dropping (especially amps)
Rifle/Carbine:
the price of amps was going through the roof. The advice to get an opalo and an a101 was no longer a viable option, because of the whopping tt+90 price . Same goes for the m1a+a102 .. Really expensive for a new player to buy.
Luckily the cb-5 was discovered, it had a bit more dps then an opalo.. so I would advice the player to use that. there were also L-amps that could be used, although ofcourse not as good as the a10x series. The Lp120 was also a bit expensive as a successor (43 peds) compared to the m1a.
So as an alternative advice, i started advising old school guns, like the bravo me, the tasmo me, the mar spark, justifier mk1 or mk2, if the player wanted to hunt bigger things.
Pistol:
Situation got worse now that the a101 price went through the roof. the m2100 was simply a too meagre gun to start with and it was expensive as hell to get it amped up a bit. xr-40 added too little damage, the xr-50 did too much. the boom ccc was looted, and besides all these amps were worse in eco and had markup. Pistol skilling with laser became a no-go, until the emik s-30 was discovered. BLP pistol skilling was now possible. the s-30 did 5 damage and had decent reload and there were not so expensive amps. Still the road for pistol skilling became a bit more expensive after this second change.
other weapons were unaffected.
Grenade launchers were introduced, and are now a good option if a player wants to do a bit more damage. too bad you have to have been skilled at least to level 2 to consider it.
CHANGE 3 higher regen mobs
at the start this didn't mean much for new players, but when the combibo was changed.. alarm bells went off. Later on the caudatergus and the molisk were secretly changed (or they forgot to tell). The process of this change is ongoing, and a lot of playersthat all mobs may be changed to higher regen mobs. This means that the higher damage per second your weapon is, the better.
Rifle/Carbine:
The opalo will only be viable as a team-hunting rifle. the a101 is not affordable anymore for a new player, and the laser upgrade path brings guns that have too little dps (m1a , m2a, riker series). Hitting a combibo young or a cauda young is still very possible, but a molisk young is really way more expensive using an unamped or amped opalo.
So for rifle/carbines the way to go is blp. blp simply has way higher dps, due to the reload speed.
My other advice for laser simply buy old school weapons, like the mar spark, the justifier mk1 or 2
Pistol:
the m2100 is now useless crap. It always was a bit crappy, but with higher regen it is of no use at all. Laser pistol is no longer a road that can be started in, you can only change from rifle to pistol if you have enough secondary skills. (or chip them in).
Blp pistolling is still okish. s30, s40, s50, bl800, s60 is a nice upgrade path still.
Longblades:
A lot more high spec longblades have been found, they mean nothing for the new player, since they have no skill to use them. the problem of the tt-sword remains the same: its very slow in reload. and all the L upgrade weapons are too. the rutic slo is doable at 30 reload
My advicenow for new players: go skill up using the tt-sword/axe 1x0 combo,(doing half the damage with each) then do the same for the upgrade choices... cutter one/2x0 embra/honor etc.
this way you still get your dps in the mob, although you loose eco.
Shortblades:
the shortblade has the best dps of all the tt-weapons, so it is a good starter now. and it has been complemented by good choices in the high end section.. shortblades have a new future
grenade launchers: yes go for it. higher dps for not too many peds
Conclusion:
The three changes mentioned mean to new players that putting 10 dollars in to try the game out, is not the same as before these changes. The upgrade path for players with limited funds has become more difficult for ppl wanting to use a rifle or a pistol.
The fun perceived by new players has been severely cut . (compareing opalo/a103 for 40 peds and 60 peds ammo, shooting molisk up to guardians, to opalo/a101 for 93 peds and 7 peds ammo, barely able to shooting a molisk young)
For the fun factor as a new player you need a society, a mentor to bring you to nea's or another place to do large teamhunts, like swunting, to get a bit of the fun factor back. A noob without connections or wanting to do it all alone, is severely limited in current times.
Advising old school weapons to players may not be the most economic/smart way to mentor, but it does give new players more fun then going the opalo/m2100 way. with the current prices of amps and the higher regen of increasinly more mobs, old school weapons are also increasingly more important for new players. You cannot kill an atrox with an opalo. and without the skill to use a bigger L gun, haveing a big katsuichi sword or a justifier mk2 is a good alternative.
My advice to Mindark: add three weapons to the tt: one more expensive laser rifle, doing 10 damage with faster reload speed, one extra pistol requiring 2 ammo with higher reload speed (45-50) and a longblade with a reload speed of 30-35, to give new players a better chance to make it in the changed universe
We want new players to stay, and not leave after being disillusioned.
