Okay, so... Iastin is a nice guy... and in fact, really isn't much of anything yet, other than a name. He has no real character concept, or anything along those lines, just has a really cool name. Now, that said...

I'm looking for a place to put him in Lusternian lifestyles. I have no idea what I should do as far as getting back into the game. I played a tiny bit when Tahtetsos were out... and I played as one for a short while, and I know that I don't really want to do that again. I enjoyed it, really, but I'm not wanting to be thought of as playing a class just because of its OPness (though that common belief may not be true anymore, it seems like the majority of players still think Tahtetsos and Ninjas are OP).

I've played mainly (read completely) Celest in the past... and so I'm familiar with the layout of the town and whatever (which is a huge plus, since I suck at learning new areas quickly). However, I'm open to the possibility of moving to Seren as well.

I would like to play something that can not only be fun from a RP standpoint (and have enough people around to RP with...), but also something that's combat viable (note that current funds dictate a lack of external credit purhases at this time). I enjoy knight archetypes quite a bit and I don't really enjoy the bard archetype personally (a shock as I usually do get into that kind of thing). I don't seem to make friends real quickly either so a class that's fairly good at bashing/influencing solo might be a good idea (I have no idea why I don't make friends quickly... just a particular problem with getting into a game).

So anyway... I would love thoughts and ideas on my current ideas. I can be any race/class (although I'm not particularly fond of dwarves).

On another slight side note, is Rika still GM for the SG? Because... right there... that's a huge point, as I had a slight experience RPing with her in the past and she was awesome! Anyway... would love thoughts.

As a last side note, please treat this topic as coming from a complete newbie to the game. Although I have played in the past, my immersion in the game and hence learning of the game itself was hampered by an increasing need to do homework. Once again, I do greatly appreciate all of your input in the near future.

~Iastin's Player

First, Welcome! Or welcome back, as the case may be.

The knight classes, while quite powerful, require the most amount of investment in both artifact runes and other such items. They do, however, along with the monk archetypes, have good bashing capabilities. I can't comment on the RP factor of either, as I've never been one in either serenwilde or celest.

How are you so... old :S

Me? I'm not that old... Or are you asking the other guy?

Rika is not currently GM of the Serenguard, but she is head of Serenwilde and still very actively involved in things. Serenguard is always fun for me. Warrior is a steep investment, however.

She's talking about Iastin.

Iastin (Male Undefined).
He is 241 years old, having been born on the 1st of Estar, -18 years after the Coming of Estarra.

Well, that's odd... I wonder if I'm going to have to change my name. Did someone steal my name already?! I had held off creation until I had an idea what I was doing.

To be honest, SG is really REALLY appealing. Is there a good race suggestion? And as for the credit investment, well... I can figure it out...

It's because you started the creation process but never finished. All that should be cleared up when you're done creating Iastin.

Edit: As an aside, I wouldn't stress too much about race/guild/city choice--especially race. All of that is easily changeable if you find you are unhappy with your initial choices. You are permitted one free reincarnation should you hate your race, and changing guild/city as a novice is a fairly easy process. I'd recommend creating and getting a feel for things from inside the game!

Knight isn't a bad choice for doing things on your own. You'll bash a bit slower at first, then faster later. Mostly, I like it because it's a forgiving class in terms of bashing as you have decent abilities that help you survive your own screw ups, to an extent.

In terms of combat against other players, knights are investment heavy. You can be pretty strong, but you'll need lots of toys to get there. Without them, it's tough. It's doable to be passable however.

In terms of race, if you go with Serenguard, elfen is not a bad choice for what you're looking to do. You'll be tough enough to bash pretty well, but you'll retain enough charisma to make influence a practical possibility. (You'll never be as good as a bard due to how the knight spec for elfen works, but it's definitely reasonable. If you chose something like, say, orclach, it's a tough go of it because of their very low charisma). Human isn't bad either, but you'll be frail for a while until the stat improvements really kick in.

As for what guild and city/commune, if Serenguard is appealing to you, by all means try it. You should pick what you believe will be the most fun for you, because to get anywhere at all with any guild, you'll need to enjoy playing.

If you do pick Serenguard, send me a msg in game (Akui). I'm a secretary for the SG and can help you in getting started.

Okay, let's assume for the moment that I'm going SG... that said, I need a race and I need a weapon spec.

I understand, of course, what you're saying about not worrying about it because you can always change later, but it's something that I would really like to have waiting for me (the free reinc) if I need it down the road and suddenly realize that I don't have it due ot the fact that I wasn't thinking clearly in the beginning.

So... any ideas for a race and weapon spec at this time? Is it worth it racing for a certain spec? Should I go Igasho just for BM?

Elfen, or maybe human, for the reasons stated above.

Aim for bonecrusher or axelord. They're considered the "leading" specs at the moment, and are a bit kinder to lower might people, in so far as anything is.

The racial bonuses are fun, but are far, far, far, from determinative.

Warriors require many many credits to have fun.

Just be aware of that.

If you like the warrior idea, but don't plan on having lots and lots of credits, I would suggest the Monk guild.

edit: After reading your initial post again, I suggest you either go Shofangi, or Nikotai, OR go for a mage/druid or gaurdian/wiccan guild.

You are really going to be hindered if you take the warrior route and don't have much funds for credits.

Oooh! If you come back being that old you should seek out the Starfalls and be my long lost daddy!

Which is easier to get into and understand/use properly for a new person between Guardian/Wiccan or Mage/Druid guild? And I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with Serenwilde in some form or another at this point.

I havn't played either so I don't know.

druids have to deal with timers on thier demense affects, which are mostly passive, along with some active elevation control (i.e., keeping people in trees)

wiccans, as far as I understand, have a bunch of ents which you mostly can't rely on, and work on keeping a person in a sleep or aeon lock.

They're difficult, but in different ways, so yeah it is hard to say which is harder than the other. They're both among the hardest classes to get right though.

Celestine is pretty straight forward, but you need a lot of credits to be extremely useful or do lots of 1v1. I don't suggest this unless you are either able to buy with real life money, are okay with being subpar, or will work hard for credits in game.

Welcome back to the land of the living, now grab a shovel and start digging.

*chuckles at Casilu*

So, from everyone that is posting on here, I do have to say that it sounds like I might be going SG after all. This is mainly because I'm at least familiar with warrior combat to some extent and I'll probably be better off doing something that I'm at least halfway decent at doing. So , perhaps, I should have time to create Iastin fully (getting a proper age for him) on Wednesday...

Knight bashing is one of the best solos in my opinion. Aside from being able to use dual swords or bludgeons you have totems which have abilities to buff you up and help you out and on top of that you get athletics which is a major plus right there. Things like surge, vitality, resistance, strength and so on are a very very big help when hunting. But as everyone else said...it is expensive. Master weapons are not cheap and good armour...well not going there. But if you stick with it, learn quests and good spots to hunt and mix in some influencing...getting gold to afford the up keep and still be able to buy credits isn't that big a problem.

That is just my opinion though. I love being Ur'Guard so I am a bit bias.