Easy death

[MagicManICT]

It's pretty much like that in every open PvP game. You struggle along the first few weeks/months working your way up the food chain until fewer and fewer people will mess with you.

[dageir]

To me, the key of this game is...you work hard, you build and all that is all completely replaceable and not such a big deal to lose. Your character on the other hand...is not so easily replaced. So avoid other players till you really understand the risks. Get Enders Mod, it's a huge help.

The loss of the character might feel hard, but in reality you should get used to losing you character. If killed in the middle of nowhere you could always inherit your grand claim and "level up" fast. If you lose your citadel it sucks. If you lose your citadel and your life it also sucks. I would say losing your holdings if they are of some stature is worse than the char.

[MagicManICT]

To put it in perspective:

I spent nearly a year playing Haven & Hearth pretty consistently. In that time, I was only killed by another player once, and that was at the start of a new world and I had made a mistake of kiting a bear along a lake a few days in and being stubborn enough to try and finish the bear off instead of taking off for home.

[Shiala]

The loss of the character might feel hard, but in reality you should get used to losing you character. If killed in the middle of nowhere you could always inherit your grand claim and "level up" fast. If you lose your citadel it sucks. If you lose your citadel and your life it also sucks. I would say losing your holdings if they are of some stature is worse than the char.

I have to totally disagree with you on that. It has taken me weeks to get my farmer's skills up to where they currently are. I would consider it a hefty loss if she were to get killed. My place getting completely wiped out would be much less of a loss to me at this point. I recently moved and it only took me a few days to get the new place pretty much back to where the old one had been. Having the skills to put up stone walls immediately, all of the metal infrastructure, storage, a house, my farms, garden pots, etc. meant it was pretty easy to rebuild. If I had to level all of those skills up again from scratch, that would take a lot more time.

Now my fighter alt, she is much more disposable. She has been breezing through skills levels and is raising humours like nothing because I already have the infrastructure in place. So I guess it just depends on what type of character you're talking about losing. Losing the one that makes that infrastructure possible is indeed painful and a big set back. Losing one that just relies on the infrastructure that is provided by others isn't nearly as much of a loss.

[Zephyr40k]

I understand the shock experienced by people who have never played a permadeath game before. However the people's points are valid. This is the nature of Salem.

I have found from personal experience that it is easier and faster to level up the second character than the first. Especially if you have a well-stocked and defended homestead for the new character to inherit.

But truly, the #1 survival skill in Salem is the logout reflex. Be able to log out within 3 seconds whenever needed. That person rushing towards you is most likely not trying to hand you a purse full of silver. Logout first, ask questions later.

[Shiala]

But truly, the #1 survival skill in Salem is the logout reflex. Be able to log out within 3 seconds whenever needed. That person rushing towards you is most likely not trying to hand you a purse full of silver. Logout first, ask questions later.

Agreed! If I see someone coming towards me, it can mean one of two things. They want to kill me or they're a total noob who hasn't figured out the need to fear others yet. I err on the side of caution and always assume they're out to get me. Of course I'm also pretty paranoid which helps keep me from getting too comfortable with my surroundings. I'm also suspicious of anyone who wanders too close to my camp, especially if they're in noob attire. My reflex to someone outside of my camp is that they're a spy who must be dispatched before they can report back to their master. Just something else for curious noobs to keep in mind when they decide to investigate someone's settlement.

[Zephyr40k]

I believe you can never be too paranoid in Salem. Whenever a red square appears on my minimap my pulse quickens and my hand moves automatically to hover the cursor over the "logout" button. Every. Single. Time. (except when I'm in Boston, of course. :p ) If they don't appear to be making a beeline towards me, sometimes I'll stick around. But I'm always hyper-vigilant.

It was a big achievement to get my stone hedge completed and the gate locked. Now every time I get back into my compound alive and slam the gate shut behind me, there's a huge, visceral sense of relief.

Oh that reminds me, a noob question I've been meaning to ask: there's no "Lockpicking" skill in Salem, is there? My formula for how long I have to log out if and when someone launches a full-on assault on my compound depends on this.

[Dallane]

Oh that reminds me, a noob question I've been meaning to ask: there's no "Lockpicking" skill in Salem, is there? My formula for how long I have to log out if and when someone launches a full-on assault on my compound depends on this.

Nope but gates are broken down very fast

[Zephyr40k]

Oh that reminds me, a noob question I've been meaning to ask: there's no "Lockpicking" skill in Salem, is there? My formula for how long I have to log out if and when someone launches a full-on assault on my compound depends on this.

Nope but gates are broken down very fast

OK, that's good info. Thanks. So how long does it typically take to smash down a gate to a stone hedge? Assume the typical ganker's bile stats. (50?) Am wondering if I have time to gather up a few high-value items into my inventory before logging out.

Also, what happens if I log out while holding a chest or stone urn? Does it log out with me?

[Ass_Kraken]

You have about 10 seconds to realize someone is running at you and log out. If they were friemdly they wouldn't charge at you, it is very easy to avoid death if you don't commit crimes, which newbs can't even do.