My first couple days in Salem.

[jcwilk]

I'm on Plymouth.

I personally switched off of plymouth and left my character behind so I could play on a different server and am glad I did, however, some folks do choose to play there. You should make sure that Plymouth is the server you want, it's very unique. Someone had a nice summary of the servers but I can't seem to find it, here's a quickie one:

Plymouth: Dominated, and taxed, by the MM Tribe (aka the chief aka jwhitethorn). If you pay the tax you'll be safer than any other server, if you don't your settlement will likely eventually get flattened, but some enjoy the risk of evading them. The population on this server is typically half or less of the other two servers, it's likely a bit inflated from tribe alts as well. Personally, I decided that neither safety nor imminent destruction were attractive gaming environments.

Jamestown: No major risks except darwoth, but he isn't nearly as powerful as the chief and he's just one guy who doesn't play well with others so that's not likely to change. There are also some pirates but they've been a bit quiet lately and usually only go after noobs, so they'll only initially be a danger. If you keep your head down, build some walls at a base well away from boston, and get a good amount of braziers up you're likely to be safe as long as you don't trust the wrong person. The community is pretty friendly and inclusive with various chat groups as well. This is the server I play on so I may be biased.

Roanoke: the Candy Gang are the dominant group on this server, but there's only a few of them left, though they're very strong. Aside from that it's somewhat similar to jamestown except more political and a bit more difficult to secure yourself from harm. The chief seems to fancy stirring up trouble over here as well.

[DarkSeed]

profligate

You make that sound like a bad thing.

[Claeyt]

Plymouth is a dead server.

It is quite active actually.

It is the least active server by over a factor of three because the Tribe is so hard on new players. While Roanoke almost hit 80 today for the first time since June, Plymouth couldn't even break 30 because the Tribe apparently wants to see the game die one server at a time.

I was just wondering, does anyone have any more pointers they could possibly give me? I'm not asking for help, just some guidance!

1. Leave Plymouth immediately and start on Roanoke (largest population) or Jamestown (safest farmer town)

2. Download and use both Ender's Client and Latikai's client if you don't already. (I don't think you need to download Ender's with Lat's anymore.)

3. Read Sevenless's guide and the Wiki for help getting started. I haven't really checked out the Tribe's Wiki but it might be more up to date than the mod's Wiki now.

4. Read my guide on how to not Die while playing.

[Amour_Vulpes]

-Scissors.-

Keep this is mind when reading Claeyt's post on this forum.

anything claeyt (belethor the merchant) says is to be immediately disregarded.

While he does, and this is rare, post some good information, such as redirecting new players to guides for the game, as well as third party clients, should not be disregarded. However anything and everything political should be disregarded. For obvious reasons regarding his "propaganda train" he seems to run 24/7. I'd suggest asking for information within the help section primarily as it'll block this propaganda, most of it, that he seems to spew out.

Else you'll be saying six months from now "Why did not not simply reading this persons post six months ago." as a many others have said. If you need proof just see the political section of the forums. Hopefully this will help solve any stress issues, that would occur via the reading and/or thinking of Claety's posts, that may occur.

[Holy_Bejebus]

I'm on Plymouth.

-Scissors-

Thanks for the help! I think I'll stick to Plymouth though. Seems like a nice server!

[Amour_Vulpes]

-Scissors.-

Just be sure to read up on the treaty and what not. Despite the political show that is presented by a many the MM group can be good people if you play along. It is basically Farmville in Salem if that is your thing.

[Holy_Bejebus]

-Scissors.-

-Scissors-

Thank you for the help! I've read about the treaty, and a helpful player told me a lot about it. I think I'll be fine...for now!

[Claeyt]

Thanks for the help! I think I'll stick to Plymouth though. Seems like a nice server!

Just so you understand:

Plymouth drops to a single digit player base except during peak hours between 20:00-24:00 GMT. Much of the time you won't see anybody in the market.

The Tribe owns every single stall except one in the market and none of them will become available anytime soon.

[Holy_Bejebus]

Thanks for the help! I think I'll stick to Plymouth though. Seems like a nice server!

Just so you understand:

Plymouth drops to a single digit player base except during peak hours between 20:00-24:00 GMT. Much of the time you won't see anybody in the market.

The Tribe owns every single stall except one in the market and none of them will become available anytime soon.

Ah well, that is a shame. Lack of activity on a server can suck, so far though, I haven't had a lot of problems on Plymouth. If it is as bad as some people say, I have a character on Jamestown I might go to. So far though, Plymouth seems alright.

Again, thanks for the help.

[DeepSixed]

Welcome to Salem. You chose the right server. And you have the right attitude. I look forward to hearing of your adventures in these lands.

Chief PeePooKaKa
MM Tribe

Tribe will give you two weeks to make something... and then it will come time to pay tribute... pay up or we'll destroy what you've built and/or kill you.

That's why Plymouth has the fewest number of active players- Tribe controls it via 3285 alts they have covering the map...feeding them data on where folks have dug. IF/when you level out a space... you will turn up the dirt and discolor a section of the map... which can then be seen on the mini-map (and by Tribe's ~3300 alts).

If you have deep pockets (can buy silver), play 30-40 hours a week (to earn tribute money), and don't mind living on the tolerance of others (no matter how hard you work you will NEVER catch up to 'Legacy' folks)... then stay on Plymouth otherwise you'd do better to restart elsewhere now.

At the very least... play on another server until you learn game mechanics, etc... and then return to Plymouth where you might stand a chance.


No matter were you settle

1. Wherever you build- it's not forver... not the first or 2nd time... expect to move on eventually.
2. Don't develop a single character. Everyone lose's a main eventually... even the Might Chief has lost a toon. It won't hurt as much if you already have an well developed alt
3. If you do build- make sure you have more than one toon attuned with a Master key. (It will really suck when your alt can't open the doors...or lock them because you only had one character with key attunement.)

Note: if you might be able to technically build a Plank fence with 20 humors... but you can't destroy one without 100 humors or more. So it's not a simple matter of destroying/replacing all the gates..

4. Never pay upkeep on a bell or claim you don't have permissions for. If you can't access the interface- destroy it and build your own. (Bug I suspect, but you can pay someone else's bill, and then be criminalized for it after if you don't have rights to trespass. sucks majorly!)
5. If you do put up a town bell; make sure your pclaim covers the bell (inside the town) otherwise someone else will do it and take over your town (and kick you out).

6. check out http://code.google.com/p/salem-map-tool/wiki/Howto and start your own map and/or be familiar with it. If/when you start exploring; it can be easy to get lost if you wander far from your claim. Especially if you put a temp lean-too to port back to boston to sell snake skins, charms, etc. Being able to reference a map of your travels is invaluable. Period.

7. Use Latikai's client (might be mispelled)... He is an actual player on Roanoke and it continual updating his version. Latest perks include reverse lighting inside Mine's and such. For me- going into a mine is like daylight. I no longer need a torch or to set a few fires to see what I'm doing. Generally, he's done more to improve my game performance than Jorb has... by a long shot!

8. Darkness- plenty on how this works; but what isn't mentioned is that darkness is also influenced by where you are situationally. The SE corner is 0-5 Darkness, while the SW corner (or as close as you can get without a boat or canoe) is 30? Just because you made it to a border and survived... doesn't mean it won't be worse elsewhere. The equations that determine darkness depend on where you are on the map...

If/when you wander in darkness- always keep a lit torch in your hand. It will help alleviate some of the darkness drain on your humors. It's tiny, but over time it adds up; and you'll always have a ready fire source to light campfires to roast chestnuts, etc. (No doubt my now you now what a pain in the ass it is to use tinder drills...and how unreliable. Lit Torch is 100% every time and the humor cost is negligible.

9. Purity... this is the biggest pain in the ass in the game and where most the 'legacy' angst comes from. Essentially as a new player... you are screwed. Period. Unless someone who has well equiped prior to the 'fix' (it was before my time as well) gives you legacy stuff no matter how many hours, days, months, even years. I wager you could spend a decade grinding your toon... and you will never approach what legacy folks can in a month.

But- hey- Legacy folks will say this is still a Beta and you should just accept and love it. (While they Lord it over you through no fault of your own.)

[Latikai's client also offers an option to always who purity % of every item picked up save fired pots]

Most folks quit when they realize this. Hell, I'm always tempted. If I considered the only worthwhile goal defeating the legacy folks straight on... I would leave. It's a mathematically impossible.

Suffice it to say that purity/alchemy can be profitable if you live long enough... but again- no matter how long or how diligent you, as a new player, can NEVER measure up. Never w/o someone who is Legacy feeding you everything.