People say this never happens, even some of the people who regularly do it. It seems to depend on the time of day: if you're one of the lucky ones who's around when everyone else is, you probably won't get bitched at as much, but if you're one of the ones who pays the price for other people's raids, you get the yummy double package of being hopelessly outclassed and being pressured twice as hard to join those fights.

The admins made some changes, for which I'm grateful, but it's not helping. The fight has its own momentum and can never end now save by outside intervention. The best hope is for yet another "oh my god, here come the Soulless, we must all band together" event that forces us to break the momentum of the fight. After such events, we never pick up quite where we left off, we tend to forget the whole "you apologize first!" slap-fight that passes for diplomacy.

Failing that... anyone know any good MUDs with a rich history, lots of roleplaying and culture, and some fighting but not enough to take over? I used to know a great one, I wish I could find one like it... (PM me.)

Either that or they will be motivated to purchase credits to trans more skills and get more artefacts...

Speaking of which, I am surprised there is no experience boosting artefact. Either as a permanent effect, or perhaps something you can activate once a game month that gives you 10x experience gain for the next 2 hours, or whatever. Given that you can purchase skills and other enhancing artefacts to help you participate more effectively in combat it should follow on that increasing your level would be an available upgrade too.

Demigod is a requirement to participate in high end pk. It just is. I think the admin want it that way. On the brigh side, once you get there it can be pretty fun.

Artifacts aren't. Yes, they help, and in the case of damage warriors, do most of the work for you. However, there have been many good, and even great fighters with 0 artifacts.

Also, I don't know what race you are, but some races just do not work outside of demigod. Faeling, for isntance, is a demi only race unless you want to die in a heartbeat. Until you get demi, it's far and away the best idea to go high con with lots of resists.

All of which brings me to the point that I've decided to make.

A big advantage that Lusternia (as it was when I got here, almost 2 years ago now) had over the other IRE's (and I might just be looking at the past through rose-colored glasses) is that while combat was present, it wasn't pervasive. It was there, but it seemed that the majority of the population was busy doing other things...trade work, bards & scholars & other cultural things, power quests...the things that helped their orgs and the game as a whole and didn't really harm anyone.

Now it seems like Lusternia's not that much different from the others as far as the atmosphere goes. Now it seems like the most common goal is to reach Demi, become a top tier combatant, and crack heads open for the glory of the forest/the Wyrd/the Taint/the Light.

My two cents. I'm likely doing it wrong.

Have the tweaks we've put in not helped at all? Is there still an oppressive feeling of 24/7 raiding? Are guardians being used?

Let us know your opinions and suggestions!

Again, I disagree that it is a "requirement". I think skilled players below demigod can take out demigods. (Actually, I know that is true.) But I've suggested before that if demigods have too great an advantage, we are willing to consider tempering that. Make death hurt a lot more? Take away some powers? Every time I suggest tempering demigods, it goes over like a turd in the punch bowl, but I'll listen to suggestions!

In Serenwilde, we're forbidden by policy from using guardians due to the power cost. Don't know about elsewhere.

In Serenwilde, whole hours go by between raids, but if you cared about raising Ladies (I don't, but some do), the sum of raiding and then rebuilding after raids is literally a 24/7 job. Even if you don't participate in raising Ladies (and don't mind being bitched out for it), the only remaining options are solo and interruptable activities like hunting or influencing. You certainly can't gather people for a ritual, an aetherhunt, a play, or even a discussion.

The problem isn't the mechanics now. The mechanics built up the momentum of conflict, but now the momentum is self-sustaining. In theory, diplomacy could end this, the players could end this; and that fact is sure to dead-end this conversation. In the whole history of Lusternia, that's never happened, so far as I know. It always ends up being either an event that distracts everyone (and when it's done, no one feels honor-bound to immediately resume hostilities at their previous level), or some OOC thing like someone switching orgs or going dormant, that ends it.

I am wary of overgeneralizing my conclusions because right now, for the first time maybe, Serenwilde is the ghost town, caught in the death spiral where the worse things get, the more people leave (either org-hopping, alt-hopping, or going dormant), and the more people leave, the worse things get. But people in other nations keep posting the same conclusion on the forum. I suppose in some places you have to replace "responding to raids" with "going on raids" when speaking of what group activities are still viable, though.

It has. Several times, at least three of which were during your stay here in Lusternia, one of which (which allowed hai'Gloh to happen) was pretty recent. That being said, I don't see anything motivating players to do so right now. The mechanics supporting the current conflict are just too strong, but the admin are pretty stubbornly resisting toning down the new killer quests.

You might want to refer to glom during the Celenwilde alliance before Talan took over and Shuyin and crew destroyed it almost habitually.

Also refer to the Celest ghost town shortly after that alliance broke. The game works in cycles and Serenwilde is getting theirs maybe for the first time as you said, I don't know. I am still kinda new to not know that far into the past about it.

I think you've got a different "it" in mind than I do, and your example firmly supports this conclusion.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't they already toned down the HG/XI? That alone says to me that they're at least willing to listen when we say something is somewhat askew, especially if we provide reasoning to back it up.

As it stands, though, from what I've seen Celest is tired of Seren backstabbing them, Seren is tired of Celest backstabbing them, Mag wants Seren's Cookies and Seren doesn't want to share, and Glom is too busy pwning the whole basin's collective face(s) to attempt diplomacy.

But seriously, the status quo currently emphasizes combat in such a way that it's going to be tough to undo the current Epic Fite! Unless we all decide to gank Krellan for raising Globglob one too many times, or something.

I beg to differ. Unless you have 6000 health, you get maybe 2 rounds to live, you're incapable of using certain skills effectively, and if you're a warrior, you lack the punch to fight like a warrior and end up turning into a monk wannabe because you have to use speed weapons.

We honestly need more RP events/quest to get people involved that new players can actually do too. The roleplay is what's lacking. The reasons behind HG/XI are gone, so why let them continue. The reasons behind raids are LOLICANPWNANOOB. I came to Lusternia from Achaea because the roleplay stopped and it was just PVP except for a few select groups (Occultist house, etc). Lusternia seems to be going in the same direction as Achaea, sadly, to the point that while I'll stick around in Lusternia, it won't be half as much as I have been and I'm sure a lot of others feel this way too. It's not just new players you have to worry about, it's the actual established ones, too.


I've been working on a draft of an RP event that I think would be neat and give new players and old players alike to be brought back into the actual roleplay and fun of it. I'll get it finished and posted soon.

I'm just glad that I have people in Glom like Rancoura, who keep the roleplay in it's place.

no, you are incorrect in your assumptions. as an only trans guild skills bard post bard nerfs and such i could still tank thoros in a spar, hit his vitality before we timed out and was never once in danger of dying as a level 80 something mugwump.

also, political attempts have been made between a couple orgs. if nothing comes of it, it is only the fault of the leadership.

Wonderful. You took down a Demi-warrior as a race that was subsequently nerfed into the ground. Any more pieces of half-information to impart upon us?

I fought for a few months between the levels of 80-99 without being a Demigod and lived. I didn't have full trans skills, only my guildskills, planar, and discipline, I didn't have artifacts, you learn to use your skills to the best of your ability to stay alive and you run alot.

And I still don't have 6k health.

no, im saying it was after racial nerfs when mugwump was supposedly terrible and i didnt care enough to change race and all im saying is combat only requires common sense, im sorry youre too incompetent to understand it.

This is wrong. Guardians are not banned by any policy in the Serenwilde. I even double checked with Aiyana to make sure I didn't miss something.

Her post when they first came out and before they were changed, -recommended- not using them due to the power cost. It also said that the Fates were probably going to adjust things if need be and make them more useable.

Anyways, they are not banned and never have been.

Two things.

1. If you say "Bard nerfs" and you mean "Racial nerfs" expect to be misunderstood.
2. Your poor grammar as opposed to your normal posts implies that I struck a nerve. Do take a deep breath before retorting, it makes your arguments more thought out.
3. Either way, as it is Romero and you are considered to be two of the best combatants to grace the game, so forgive me if I seem skeptical when you claim common sense is all that's required, yet other people have great issues fighting who are some of the most sensible people I know. Your bias makes it apparent that you would be quite happy to keep the system as inaccessable as it is at the present, as opposed to making it possible for the average man to be able to fight reasonably without making Lusternia into a job, not a game.