Hi, everyone...

I'm an avid fan of MMOs in the general sense of the term and also a big fan of RPGs in particular. I currently have finished playing Guild Wars for the most part, as I've been playing it too long. As well, I don't see many things coming out lately that I'd be interested in or want to play or want to spend the money on. I've had MUD experience in the past, both with RPIs and more hack 'n slash types as well, so text-based gaming isn't new to me. I haven't done it in a while, though, so that's definitely something to mention.

I have been reading up on the game and it looks like you guys have something really special here. I've been tempted to try IRE games in the past, but have never gotten around to it. I was about to try Earth Eternal recently, but as you all may know, that's not going so well. I have read up on things in the game though, so I have a general idea of how Lusternia works, at least from the website's perspective.

I'm a grad student, currently working on a Master's in Mathematics, so I'm an intellectual type of person who enjoys studying things and learning about them. However, that also means that I have basically no money so that I won't be able to afford credits in general as well, unfortunately. It could happen that I may get them every once in a great while, but at this point it's better not to plan on it.

I want to find a game that's newbie-friendly. I don't expect things to be easy to learn instantly or anything like that, but that people in general are friendly and willing to answer questions and be around. I can't stand it when I log into games and then get stuck with being around people that are in cliques and trying to break into them, with little to no success.

So, here's my questions for you all.

1) Is Lusternia newbie friendly? Are there many cliques that are difficult to break into? Do people enjoy welcoming newer people into the game?

2) Is the game worth playing and can you continue to be competitive without paying millions of dollars in credits?

3) For someone who's attempting to also study computer programming on the side, are there opportunities for scripting in this game at all?

4) And finally, do you think that someone with my experience (at least so far as I've listed here) has a place in a game like Lusternia?

5) As an afterthought, are there some threads I should be reading in particular (other than forum rules) to get myself a bit more up to speed before I create a character and jump in? (I suppose threads answering all the general newbie questions 'what's the best class for me?' 'what town should I start in?' etc)

Thanks so much for not only having the patience to read this, but also for any answers you're able to provide me.

1. Lusternia has its own learning curve, but so long as you're willing to read whatever scrolls people in your guild/org point out, you'll be fine. Cliques are cliques, if you play long enough, you'll find your own niche. Many players like helping out noobs. Of course, not everyone is like this, but Lusternia has a big number of them. Plus there are guides.

2. If the game weren't worth playing, there wouldn't be people here. You can be competitive without buying credits (many true stories about this), but having RL money obviously helps.

3. You can say that scripting is one of the most important parts of PvP, PvE, and generally any mechanics-related activities, so yes.

4. Of course you have a place in Lusternia, everyone does.

5. Just read most of the pinned topics, not so much the bitchthreads.

1. Yes and no. There are cliques but if you jump in, do well, make an effort, and get noticed then people will take you in. If you act like a bump on a log and just sit on your hands then you're probably going to have a miserable time. It is like most MMO's in that regard.

2. Some classes are more expensive then others but their are many ways to get credits IG and through monthly contests. IRE is also starting to throw away credits in some form every month to get people to play.

3. If you want to get into combat a system is necessary.

4. I can't answer that. Everyone is different and I sort of think this sort of thread is useless. Just jump in and feel it out for yourself.

5. If RP is your focus then I'd suggest the histories on the website.

Rather than repeating what folk have already answered, I'll take a stab at that fifth question and say that to best determine 'what the best xx is for you', just try everything out. Enjoy the glory of metal slicing through bone and facing whatever the e-world decides to throw at you with barely a scratch? Maybe a melee class is for you. Want the renown that comes with blasting with magic and power? Tons of caster guilds for you to choose and dabble around in.

Worried about where to start off in? Easy enough to figure out what the general flavours are for each organization, but without your own input or experience, the best we can do are recommendations.

Otherwise, enjoy!

P.S. If you have questions, feel free to just ask. Someone around here should be enough of an e-nerd enough to be able to pick up your query and answer it.

And remember, Fain is watching.

I loved GW, so you are instantly welcomed to Lusternia. (Competitive GVG ftw, especially as mesmer!).

In my experience, there are definitely cliques, but they're not exclusive. You have got to take initiative; people notice this, and will start including you in things, and eventually, you'll be among friends. I don't think very many people are asshats (except maybe to opposing orgs/cliques, but even then).

I actually moved to Lusternia because I couldn't play GW competitively anymore, so the combat is great. Scripting (lua) is required to be in pvp OR you can purchase/use the publicly available systems such as AG, Treant, and M&M(?). Or you can build your own.

Best thing to do is jump right in, honestly.

For the cliques, just to add my own opinion and experiences, most people in the "cliques" are nice, and have many jobs that make them dedicated to improving their city/commune and helping out new people. Unless you (general you) go out of your way to try and alienate and attack the people within said "cliques", you wont have any problems.

People are people, and people generally can be very understanding and welcoming, just jump in and don't feel intimidated by the "cliques", we never really leave highschool in that regard.

It's a social setting so cliques are everywhere. Even the people who sit and complain about the cliques are in a clique themselves. As said before generally if you sit around and don't do much you will be overlooked. If you romp and pounce and snuggle you will end up in the clique some frown on. If you work and advance in guild and city and look like an achiever of any sort, rp, fighting, political, generally useful you will quickly be adopted into any number of cliques.

Scripting is almost a must have skill, even just basic scripting.

Yes you can do well with never buying OOC credits. Your better guilds for that would be monk or guardian, though there is a thread somewhere that discusses this more indepth with everyone giving varying opinions. Warrior is not lack of credit friendly.

Avoid any thread that looks to be over 5 pages long or is closed. It's probably got me and/or others arguing with borderline forum ban posts.

If it were not for the copious script opportunities, my interest in Lusternia (or any MUD) would be severely diminished. The people are overall pretty great, but I'm really here because I love to code.

And, if you're determined and diligent, you can earn credits in the game without spending money. I've been playing since the game first opened, and I've earned over 31,000 credits. I know I'm a bit of an exception, but if one person can do it, anyone can potentially do it.

Wow, let me first of all say that I'm amazed by the sheer volume of responses this fast. It says much about the health of the game and its community when there are so many people willing to answer this kind of a thread in this span of time. I do definitely appreciate all the answers that you guys have given.

I am pretty sure at this point that I'll be researching some more things about the game before creating a character, but I definitely am going to create one. I'm one of those insane people that need to have everything researched and know some significant things about the game before jumping in. I can't stand it when I make uninformed decisions and gimp myself permanently (either from a personal RP standpoint or a combat standpoint).

Thanks, Jigan for all your thoughts, by the way. The fact that you said none of the classes "have" to have credits is encouraging, especially as it seems that there are ways to gain credits to some extent within the game. I hope to find some of those ways as well. ... Fain?

@Sahmiam... I actually tended towards PvE in GW, as I couldn't seem to make the break into competitive PvP there due to time constrictions and craziness, because I never could be in the game at exact times due to real life concerns. But I've heard it was a pretty interesting scene without a doubt.

@Gregori ... I will have to research the classes a bit more. I tend towards warrior-types in general because my playstyle is much more of a "slam into it real hard and if it moves, great... if not, hopefully my armor protects me for a while before it dies." I have a reckless style of play which is usually great for warriors because I can last longer that way.

@diamondais ... And yet... we all are so glad to leave high school at the time, right? It definitely is interesting how in so many ways we've only changed slightly socially from that time.

@Xiel ... I tend towards organizations/areas which are more focused on being the good guys. ie. not the dark, brooding types. However, as I've noticed from reading the website, this would place me more or less in Celest. The only reservation I have with that is that I also enjoy being on the frontiers of exploration and the "new" towns/communes seem to be really interesting in that regard. It seems as if the game's really spread out and I've been wondering if there really are enough people to support all the places there are. Worried slightly about picking a place to be that has enough people to hang out with.

@Othero ... While RPing isn't really my focus, I definitely play MMOs for interaction on some level or another. So, I suppose to some extent it's important to me?

@Sojiro... Histories... yeah, I'll have to check those out. The lore of a game is always interesting!

EDIT (ninja'ed by Zarquan!): @Zarquan... it seems from a preliminary search through the forums that you tend to be at the forefront of all the coding projects and a huge name in that regard here in this game. Thanks for your input in this particular area of the game! And while I don't think I'll ever be a huge competitor for you, I do appreciate that you're ready for that kind of competition.

It might help your research to check into Xiel's site of lusternian information galore. He has all of the skills listed on there, so if you're learning toward one class/archetype, you can check out the skills to see if that is really where you want to go. He also has some basic information on the guilds on there. The address is: http://sites.google.com/site/xieltalnara/home

No one is really too dark and broody in the game, so don't worry about taking a risk and playing something other than the shiny happy city of love and Light. All of the cities have their own thriving culture. Even with the diversity of all of the organizations, in Lusternia a great deal of the RP/politics/action is focused around the cities/communes and not the guilds, so while it seems like we have a lot, none of the cities are ghost towns by any means. If you're playing for interaction, you'll get it anywhere you go.

Also, wherever you end up going, just drop me a line on the forums or in game if you need help!

There's a lot to do here on the PvE end of the scale, or even PvP that doesn't involve combat. Library, culture and roleplay are among the avenues of creative force where you can join in and match wits against others. And on the PvP end of the scale, it's always possible to go raid someone on your own, and you never know when a raid happens on your own ground, so you have to take an active stance against getting involved in combat to not get involved in combat.

You can do warrior without buying credits. It is quite the expensive class, but in the end you should play what you feel is fun. There's nothing wrong with making an alt of each archetype and playing around with it, and then sticking to the one which is most fun.

There's people to hang out with in any org. For better and worse, you don't have to worry about being alone. Also, while Glomdoring and Magnagora are the "evil" orgs, the alternatives are Celest, a very black and white theocracy, where you're either with us, or against us. Serenwilde is all about preserving nature, and caretaking the earth for future generation, but they have a bit of Shadow Druid hatred for civilization. Hallifax is all about making a better future through science and art, but they have by far the most rigid system (you can't get above the middle caste (City Rank 4) through fighting alone, something unique to Hallifax). Think "Crystalspires and Togas", but with slavery. And then there's Gaudiguch, which is a drunken, partying America, but with lots of hidden sects and other secret secrets. Sort of like the actual nation.

So the choice for playing a "good guy" is a bit more difficult here than elsewhere, since pretty much every org you end up in, you'll be forced to make some morally difficult choices. Especially since the gods of every org are pretty much jerks with their own agenda anyway.

Also, roleplaying is essentially a must here. Join Magnagora and you're a maggot working your way up to where you can treat others as maggots. Join Hallifax and you're part of the collective good. From the start, you'll have RP pretty much forced down your throat, so you should be ready for it.

Also, get yourself a mentor. A good mentor. They can make all the difference between a fun game experience, and a boring one.

And Fain is the chessmaster god of Magnagora. Check out his helpfile. All gods have one which tell you about them.

In each city, there is something of a focus Clique. This clique is the group of people most likely to grab you and bring you in. In general, these are the larger families, or certain more snuggly (Which I disapprove of) groups of people. If you talk enough, or show that you can have some fun but aren't airheaded (You'd be surprised at what newbie and novice guides put up with, refer to my poem for details.), they are likely to try to adopt you, or at least help you get waist deep in the game.

Celest: Dekovens
Magnagora: No snugglies allowed. (d'Murani, arranged marriages, whatnot. Rely on a few noblemen. Become their servant, something to attach yourself to them.)
Serenwilde: One big group of snugglies.
Glomdoring: Another group of snugglies.
Hallifax: Everyone.
Gaudiguch: Watch out for Doman.

Doman is Halli, fyi.

Crazy guy. Doman isn't in Gaudi... He is in Hallifax.

And really, don't worry about cliques. You probably won't see em even unless you're looking for em.

It's Doman. You aren't safe in any Org. You just expect him to be in the city of freedom more often.

Well, I'll agree with that part. Unless you're out of your teens. You're pretty safe then.

The Collective is one big clique where everyone is equal, most of them more equal than you.

Comrade.

< _ <

d'Murani's dead. It's either Kalas, n'Kylbar or d'Vanecu in Mag.

It's the least newbie-friendly of all the IRE games, in my experience, however it is also the most rewarding. As far as cliques, there are some, but you can easily insinuate yourself into nearly any aspect of the game with a little effort. When I moved to Lusternia, the people were all extremely helpful and went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I knew the things I needed to know.


Absolutely. Lusternia is one of the best IRE games for getting ahead without spending money. Artifacts don't have as much impact on combat and there are hundreds of things to do other than combat, which is mostly what credits/etc. are geared towards. Even more, it is actually feasible to bash and hunt for gold to buy credits here. The rewards for various quests and bashing drops are much higher and more frequent than in other IRE games. I've been playing about a month, now, and I've fully transed (as high as you can go) 1 guildskill and am about halfway through another just from hunting for gold.


Without a doubt, this is one of the things you will probably like best about Lusternia/MUD's in general. Scripting is and can be huge here. If you're serious about wanting to get involved in scripting and creating combat systems, etc. talk to me in game.


Everyone has a place in Lusternia.


You might want to check out the various descriptions on the website, learn about the cities, races and classes. Check out the wiki, as well, at: http://wiki.lusternia.com. From there, decide what fits your play style best and give it a shot. Nothing is irreversible, though, so if you find yourself playing something you're not enjoying, it's easy enough to switch out and find something new.