Asheron's Call - Creating A Character Video

So do you have to buy the game to even try i out?

Originally Posted by rune_74
So do you have to buy the game to even try i out?

Yes. They've replaced the previous model of first month trial + sub fee after that, to a one-time payment of $10 for a 50 year (aka lifetime) membership.

Trust me, it's beyond worth it. $10 for the fun I've had so far, I feel I've already got my moneys worth, for sure.

And to all you single-player RPG players out there, yes, you can approach it like a single-player game. There are going to be some undesirables in chat (maybe one guy - squelch them), but overall it can feel like an absolutely massive single-player RPG. I'm talking massive the size of Daggerfall, by the way. Maybe not quite as huge but it's certainly enormous and at least 20 times bigger than the biggest single-player open-world I've ever played in a game. Easily.

Lots of dungeons, lots of creatures to hunt, incredible character building, some fun co-op at times if you're into that, lots of customization and some good lore and questing to round things out. I like it a lot, and it's basically everything I remember from playing 15 years ago, and then some.

Originally Posted by Fluent
Yes. They've replaced the previous model of first month trial + sub fee after that, to a one-time payment of $10 for a 50 year (aka lifetime) membership.

Trust me, it's beyond worth it. $10 for the fun I've had so far, I feel I've already got my moneys worth, for sure.

And to all you single-player RPG players out there, yes, you can approach it like a single-player game. There are going to be some undesirables in chat (maybe one guy - squelch them), but overall it can feel like an absolutely massive single-player RPG. I'm talking massive the size of Daggerfall, by the way. Maybe not quite as huge but it's certainly enormous and at least 20 times bigger than the biggest single-player open-world I've ever played in a game. Easily.

Lots of dungeons, lots of creatures to hunt, incredible character building, some fun co-op at times if you're into that, lots of customization and some good lore and questing to round things out. I like it a lot, and it's basically everything I remember from playing 15 years ago, and then some.

Ok, just spent 10 dollars, better be worth it…taking your word for it

How will I ever do without that lunch from mcdonalds if it doesn't work out…

Be careful with how you create your character. It seems possible to create some builds that will struggle at first with some not-so-efficient choices.

Originally Posted by Fluent
Be careful with how you create your character. It seems possible to create some builds that will struggle at first with some not-so-efficient choices.

I haven't played a lot yet, but man are the controls bad!

How do you control your character? do you use the keyboard mostly?

Originally Posted by rune_74
I haven't played a lot yet, but man are the controls bad!

How do you control your character? do you use the keyboard mostly?

It's a game was made for keyboard turners.

The controls aren't bad. Lol. They work fine for me. I even play some in first-person mode and it works good enough, although the mouse axes invert for some strange reason.

Other than that I think the controls are fine. You can also remap pretty much whatever you need.

I use the keyboard and I'm starting to use some of the keys, such as quickslot numbers, and I need to remap "scroll through selections" to 2 new keys. I click on most things I want to interact with, and only rarely change the camera angles.

I think you just need to get used to it. It's got a learning curve, for sure. I was stumbling around that training academy like a damn fool, but once I got my feet wet for a few days of gametime, it got better. Now I'm quite used to it, although there is still room for improvement by using the keyboard keys more.

Enjoying yourself, rune?

I'm finding this game utterly addictive, just like I'm 12 years old again playing on my friend's account. I'm now level 24 and the character building is just awesome. Super addictive stuff. I'm in no hurry to level and just enjoying the sights. There's lots of fun quests and good exploration. Even just hunting in the wilds is a lot of fun and rewarding. Really enjoying it!

You on Frostfell server, rune?

Edit - And remember how I said that you could build a 'bad' build? I was kind of wrong. There's opportunities in the game to re-spec your build if you'd like, but also, a new, better weapon makes a huge difference. I was struggling at one point, but once I upgraded my throwing weapon, improved my strength and coordination a bit, it made a HUGE difference. Now I'm able to kill things easier and get decent XP while hunting.

And here's an example of the character building. Every point in your skills is so fun to get! I currently have a 198 in Summoning, and at 220, I get to summon a stronger golem than my current Mud Golem. Once that happens, I will be a much more efficient killer. I also use throwing weapons and have enough strength and coordination to survive with those attacks. I also just learned fletching, so if I invest enough, I should be able to create some very nice darts for my atlatl. (You can also purchase arrows from fellow players if you don't want to craft them yourself.)

So with this load-out of skills, things are very fun thus far. I also have enough magic in Creature Enchantment that allows me to buff myself with nice buffs to help me survive in tougher areas. Also, there is an Arcane Lore skill that allows you to equip better magical gear the higher your skill is. This is also extremely fun and addictive, because when you finally reach the Arcane Lore level of a specific item you were waiting to activate the magic on, it's a very rewarding moment. And those buffs on the armor and weapons are going to make all the difference in how you survive in this world.

Great stuff, man. Hope you all consider checking this gem out again. I'll make more videos soon and upload them for you all to check out. Don't sleep!

I'm on frostfell….and totally lost. I went into a portal that led to any area with a whole bunch of portals now I'm in another town…I was trying to do one of the blue contract quests….not working so well.

Yeah, played some more tonight…looking for items in a dungeon….respawn rate is pretty crazy….though, I'm getting quite good at killing them. My inventory was at 290%….my character seems to float not run though as he moves around…is that the same for all characters?

I'm wearing the starting plate and I cast spells…I'm thinking that is weighing me down.

Try wearing the starter robe and turning the plate chest piece in to the Pathwarden in your starter town. He/she will give you an item you can use in return for turning in the starter gear that you don't need.

I think your character floats because of the heritage you've chosen. Some of the heritages float, like Empyreans and possibly another one, I'm not sure.

290% burden is way too high! Your character will be extremely slowed because of that. I have a 160% right now and still see a bit of slowdown in my characters movement speed. You may want to increase your strength stat or just not carry everything you see. A good tip in general is to only carry stuff you need + low burden/high value items.

Keep in mind, about the re-spawn rates, some areas are designed to have a higher re-spawn rate to increase challenge in that specific area/dungeon. I just got out of a Banderling den that had an insane re-spawn rate, and I died multiple times trying to clear it. Other areas have a lower re-spawn rate and aren't as bad.

You may want to ask someone in chat if you can have some Town Portal gems. They are invaluable for moving around the world. With those gems, you can open a portal to the town portal network, which then allows you to fast-travel to whichever city you would like. If you don't want to fast travel, just forget this advice.

Blue contracts are good for starter characters. You can also do some hunting in the wilds to gain XP and get better gear, or just explore dungeons and stuff. Try not to die too many times or you'll get a heavy vitae penalty. Easier said than done.

If you plan on playing for awhile, you may want to ask someone to be your Patron. They will get a cut of your gained XP, but in return they take you under their wing, outfit you with better gear, help you out, etc. Now, you can get plenty of help from helpful players without the Patron system, but in the Patron system you are almost guaranteed to be well taken care of, making the game easier for starter characters.

Oh, you should probably use the buff bots in Holtburg, too. These are 'bot' characters that will automatically buff you with level VII buffs which last 2 hours, so at the start of your play session it makes good sense to get your buffs, which in turn make the game easier for you (but not too easy, you can still die.).

Have fun, and if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in this thread.

Thanks for the info…for sure going to take off the plate.

What does encumbrance actually do in this game? Just slow you down?

Here's a site that you will definitely want to check out at times - http://acpedia.org/wiki/Home

A quote about burden from there:

"Once you pass 100% burden, your character will become overburdened. When this occurs, you will notice the burden meter, and your Character Information Panel icon at the top right of the screen have turned yellow. This will put an impairment on your Run, Jump, Melee Defense, and Missile Defense skills according to how overburdened you are.(See table below)
At 200% your character will no longer be able to jump, and will drain stamina when walking or running. Your burden meter, and character information panel icon will become red.
At 300% you will receive no further detriments, however you will not be able to carry any more items. This is the limit of your burden bearing capacity.
Burden % Reduction in skills
100-109 10%
110-119 20%
120-129 30%
130-139 40%
140-149 50%
150-159 60%
160-169 70%
170-179 80%
180-189 90%
190-300 100%"

http://acpedia.org/wiki/Burden

Anyone else decide to jump in yet? Just curious.

I find this game to be scratching that ultimate character building itch, along with it being a massive, MASSIVE open-world. I just love exploring random areas and coming across tougher enemies to hunt. When you see that XP increase by a good amount and you're able to apply that to your build in a meaningful way, it's basically RPG heaven.

And yes, this is by far an RPG, not an MMO action game or something. This is dice-rolls, pen-and-paper-esque questing, deep lore, lots of world interactivity and great character building and customization, all rolled up with a social aspect to it. It's great!

If you're anti-social, it's cool, you can quest alone thanks to the buff system that allows you to buff up your character a bit. When you're feeling more social, it's nice to interact with the mostly nice community.

I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I def think you guys should check this one out. The character building aspect alone is worth the price of admission here.

I'm now level 40 and the character building is quite nice! I recently raised my base Summoning skill to 220, which was very challenging and took a lot of XP to do, but it's worth it because I can now summon a more powerful golem to help me. Very cool!

I'm now working on getting my Fletching and Missile Weapons base skills to 250, in order to wield a very nice, powerful throwing dart weapon. With the Fletching skill, you can fletch your own arrows, darts and throwing weapons. To gain access to the best throwing weapons, you definitely need the ability to fletch your weapons!

I am going with a throwing weapon build, which also requires some Strength to do proper damage. So, you can definitely specialize and focus on whatever build you'd like to create. There are a lot of intricate facets that can be built in different ways.

There's also Tinkering skills, which allows you to apply salvaged materials to weapons, items and armors. I have tinkered a few things in my arsenal and it helps a lot. The loot system is also robust and there is plenty of customization and different effects that can help define and enhance your character build more.

Fun stuff!