Newbie Island Pt. 2

Starting Level: 5

Picking up from where I left off last time, I'm doing a mission for Travis Molen, since he seemed the right guy to have a chat with. I do like the addition of blue names, and the changes to the ICC Guards.

I'm down at the port doing the Unicorn mission when I notice an NPC I don't remember seeing before... Adri Afeli. His mission to progressively kill NPCs and bosses seems a good addition, although we'll see what my story is after I complete it!!! In the meantime, I keep up my work for Travis Molen.

Unfortunately I'm not going to change the habit of a lifetime, so after completing the Elsa Oosta mission, I move over to Omni. Long live the corporation and all that!

I finish Adri's mission down at the docks. I think it's a huge improvement, a scaling mission like that that's a bit of a progressive challenge for a new player. Once I get enough AXP for AI2, I head back and hand in Adri's mission. The backpack is a nice touch, and I remember people crying out for these on Newbie Island years ago.

I try a few aliens on the upper level, farm enough credits for the armour, nanos and my sunglasses, and that's me for today. I've conquered the island. The real fun begins now!

Finishing Level: 9

Newbie Island

Starting Level: 0 (1 for the pernickety sods out there)

I go through the Morning Star station, just like I remember it. I should note I made my first character, Stillian, in 2004, so I'm not quite as old as they come. I pick an Opifex, reasoning their base attributes work well for MA, as does their speed and evades. I know very little more about MA's beyond those guesstimates so I hope I'm right.

I pick my name with surprising ease [rumours of a name clearance might have been true?] and Janneau is here.

Where is here? Exactly? How the hell did I end up on this beach? That's got to be the worst intro ever.

I spend a few minutes fixing my settings. I'm not an innocent here, and I'm very OCD about my GUI [budum-tish] but I finally get it the way I like it. I talk to Brandon and get my first level. This I question as well. How the heck are you supposed to know to talk to Brandon?

Anyway. Leets and Reets I kill for a few levels. This is great, Q, Q, Q, Q, Q, Q, 1, 2, Q, 1, 2, B, good old AO gameplay!

I notice I distinct lack of Take me to the Shop's, which were always a nice wee boost. I'm hoping there's a replacement out there, since I want to start well and continue that way! I remember Leet Bones aren't very valuable, but I've never seen these seashells before so I've taken a few to see how much they sell for.

I get a few levels in and fire into my IP expenditure. I first notice the Suggested Distribution button. Interesting, and at a glance seems reasonable for a new player. Not sure how it would do in the long term though. I up all the usual skills for a level 4 and move onto doing Things™ for Brandon. His missions seem pretty straightforward and as I remember them, a reasonable introduction. I still question how visible he is though.

With the missions done, I face the first challenge of any AO player. The snake! Fortunately I'm successful in my... oh I crashed. That's the AO we know and love. Quick login again and I have some reasonable loot. Time to go see Antonio with this belt.

I sort out my belt, and sell my stuff to Antonio for a quick buck.

I don't want this post to become long and unreadable, so I'll drop it here for now. It's nice to be back in AO and to enjoy it all over again. I'll just have to see how that continues.

Finishing Level: 5

New Adventure

It's been a while since I played AO, or took part as anything more than a spectator. I came back and found myself woefully out of date. I went from being, circa 2006, a well-respected and competent Doctor, to an unknown at the bottom of the pile. It's disconcerting how much things have changed.

I've decided to work myself through these changes. Janneau is a Martial Artist, which I've always thought to be a middle-of-the-road profession. With her I'm going to work through the game, commenting on the changes I find and other things that may be of interest.

Where previously when making a new character I'd skip Newbie Island or other places asap and give myself help from my main, this won't happen much [at all if I can help it.] I'm going to work through the game from the eyes of an innocent.

This might be what it takes for me to get back into the game I love, because even so little as a year-ish away has left me dumbfounded and unmotivated upon my return.

I hope you find this interesting, and I hope I do too.