What keeps you logging in?

Seth

Deladan said:

I log in to keep in touch with a very few people, infact if they went dormant. I dunno what I'd do. I've been trying to join the same order for roughly 200 years. Still no go. I don't really interact on an indepth level with anyone. Gotten really used to being an outsider though, and for the most part it shows. 

One day he'll be back! As I keep telling myself

Kasya

I keep coming back for two reasons. The first would be the people, with dynamic characters to play against and create stories with. There's always new people to meet too, which makes it even more fun.

The second is that actions can have real consequences and acting and reacting can further a character along in ways that I couldn't have planned. And even when I do plan, plans can go completely awry. 

Trevize

Because it's one hell of a game.

Ainly

Gleam.

Bluef

People - I love seeing old friends return and meeting new people, especially rogues and would-be Dreamers or Curia members.

Hunting - I'm a dragon but it's a nice stress-reliever at the end of the day to pummel some undead.

Gold/experience - There's always something to harvest, sell, quest for, etc.

Designs - Still the best bang for your buck in Achaea by far is the ability Crafters have to make unique clothes, jewelery and food items.

Other - The way armoursmithing, multiclass, etc. has  been set up you can work your way into things slowly now. I know some people pushed right through, but the challenge of doing things without spending a bazillion real-life dollars is one of the things that makes the game fun. Heck, you can even save up for all the arties you want if you hunt steadily in the right places!

Alcaro

Honestly? The only reason I log in anymore is habit.

I'm level 71 and I've been playing for a little more than two years. No, I haven't spent that entire time bashing. I spent most of it roleplaying and meeting amazing people. There was a time when I didn't care about artefacts or Dragon or gold. I loved the roleplay and the people.

Now Alcaro is surrounded by dragons. Freaking 18yr/olds and 19yr/old novices who are artied out the ass and just buying what she's having to work so damn hard for. As a character, it makes Alcaro feel like she's never going to get to that point where her hard work pays off. She wants to give up.

As a player, it makes me hate the game. I understand that artefacts are optional and it's totally possible to bash your way unartied to dragon, but let's face it, only masochistic people who have that kind of determination and time can really do that. I know I'm close, but I still feel like I'm not going anywhere. I don't have a steady income irl. I don't get an allowance -- my parents don't pay me to do things I'm supposed to, like chores.

Never mind that I spend hours out with our dogs, grooming them and taking care of them because Mom's sick and can't do it herself.

I feel so unappreciated. It really sucks.

Kiet

Arties if you don't PvP are like the most optional luxury in the world. You're blowing things out of proportion. Why do you need to bash to dragon in the first place if you've been having fun for two years without it? Dragon itself is an even more unnecessary luxury.

Dairon

Alcaro said:

Honestly? The only reason I log in anymore is habit.

I'm level 71 and I've been playing for a little more than two years. No, I haven't spent that entire time bashing. I spent most of it roleplaying and meeting amazing people. There was a time when I didn't care about artefacts or Dragon or gold. I loved the roleplay and the people.

Now Alcaro is surrounded by dragons. Freaking 18yr/olds and 19yr/old novices who are artied out the ass and just buying what she's having to work so damn hard for. As a character, it makes Alcaro feel like she's never going to get to that point where her hard work pays off. She wants to give up.

As a player, it makes me hate the game. I understand that artefacts are optional and it's totally possible to bash your way unartied to dragon, but let's face it, only masochistic people who have that kind of determination and time can really do that. I know I'm close, but I still feel like I'm not going anywhere. I don't have a steady income irl. I don't get an allowance -- my parents don't pay me to do things I'm supposed to, like chores.

Never mind that I spend hours out with our dogs, grooming them and taking care of them because Mom's sick and can't do it herself.

I feel so unappreciated. It really sucks.

As someone who started playing this game at the age of 13 or so, I can relate to this post pretty hard. Until this year, I really didn't understand how to make gold or hunt effectively to fund the super expensive artefacts everyone (but me) seemed to have. I always thought those items were for someone else, but that didn't really ruin the gameplay for me. 

I think after my return from dormancy, I figured out a few sneaky methods to earn some gold, which pretty much put me on a credit-hungry craze to make everything I own (and can potentially own) into profit. I think it's something that just somehow clicked after all those years. I don't really care to buy any more artefacts (not that I'm decked.. just satisfied) but here are a few tips. 

I literally spent hours hunting rats and bashing buckawns to buy a stack of bloodroot back when I was younger. Now, I know just the right places to hunt (or quest, or steal) to make the gold in 1/20th of the time. The most important thing is to NOT SPEND the gold you make on useless things, and making little rules as to how to spend them most effectively (Buying off credit market at a certain threshold, herbs at bulk price, etc). Buying and trading items hard to find are also a huge income source. 

Don't feel like it's hopeless. After all, I've always considered Achaea a game that really starts paying off as you delve deeper and deeper into the game. Also, it's important to allow a sense of self-accomplishment as you progress. I was super happy when I first bought my artefact bow (level 1, no shooting upgrade) but I felt like shit afterwards because I kept on comparing it with the other people around me. It's a damn impressive achievement saving up 250 credits in-game, I just didn't really think so back then. It's good to pat yourself on the back every once in a while. 

TL;DR  invest some time into thinking about ways to earn cash. 
1. Learn different areas / methods 
2. Remember that SAVING is the other half to earning cash
3. Learn to feel good about yourself 
4. Be happy with what you've got, and use it to motivate yourself further. 

I'm not an expert in making credits (by far) but feel free to hit me up in game to ask about some details. I'd be happy to help out. 

Sarathai

Dairon said:

I literally spent hours hunting rats and bashing buckawns to buy a stack of bloodroot back when I was younger. Now, I know just the right places to hunt (or quest, or steal) to make the gold in 1/20th of the time.

@Alcaro something to add on to this: don't look at what the full-time dragon bashers can get in as representative of "normal" gold or experience gain. The results you'll get will be skewed.

Exelethril

I used to log in to play Dance Dance Revolution text-combat with coloured highlights/keyboard but now that everyone has code that presses all the buttons for them, I'm learning how to do that and spend my time bashing/annoying @Alrena instead of practicing.

Kiet

Annoying Alrena is a good pastime

Sobriquet

Also, @Alcaro bashing to Dragon is infinitely easier now than it's ever been. I see it as no real feat that someone's character can be under 25 and hit Dragon. Time is arguably the biggest resource in this game, and always useful to remember you're not the only one with RL commitments. This is a game after all.

Dairon

Sarathai said:

Dairon said:

I literally spent hours hunting rats and bashing buckawns to buy a stack of bloodroot back when I was younger. Now, I know just the right places to hunt (or quest, or steal) to make the gold in 1/20th of the time.

@Alcaro something to add on to this: don't look at what the full-time dragon bashers can get in as representative of "normal" gold or experience gain. The results you'll get will be skewed.

Very true. At level 71, it will be difficult to hunt anywhere that will earn you much gold. Between levels 75 and 83, my main source of income was not from hunting, but stealing. 

I also picked up inkmilling and gathering in the 80's and that really helped with the leveling and earning gold. 

Hunting for reagents is much more interesting than looking at the percentage levels crawl. 

Rohai

I keep logging in to dor tugarm @zuko

Aesi

Getting to dragon.

IM COMING FOR YOU.

After Dragon? Probably finding interests and likes. Relaxing. Having fun. I've spent the better part of six months total playing this game bashing my face off. Will be nice to be able to focus on things like house, helping others. STUFF AND THINGS

Austere

Aesi said:

Getting to dragon.

IM COMING FOR YOU.

After Dragon? Probably finding interests and likes. Relaxing. Having fun. I've spent the better part of six months total playing this game bashing my face off. Will be nice to be able to focus on things like house, helping others. STUFF AND THINGS

Relaxing? Interests and likes?  Having fun?! Uh,  nope.  We are only letting you "have fun" while you bash to dragon.  After that the real work begins. Combat or bust.    

Aesi

Daeir said:

Guess who's coming with me on suicide breathrain runs when he gets Dragon?

Aesi issssssss.

@Austere @Daeir

Knew I could count on you two to keep life interesting.

Zuko

Rohai said:

I keep logging in to dor tugarm @zuko

I keep logging on so I can spam Rohai with tells:

You tell Rohai frostily, "Son."
You tell Rohai frostily, "Son."
You tell Rohai frostily, "Son."
You tell Rohai frostily, "Son."
You tell Rohai frostily, "Son."

Rohai tells you, "Dad."
Rohai tells you, "Dad."
Rohai tells you, "Dad."
Rohai tells you, "Dad."
Rohai tells you, "Dad."
Rohai tells you, "Dad."



... I had to start taking it easy on the spamming though. Pretty sure I saw a red and white admin message flash by last time but I'll never know for sure because I had to exit Mudlet to get it to stop. I tried hitting QQ but I had too many commands in front of it.

Oops

Achilles

Aesi said:

Daeir said:

Guess who's coming with me on suicide breathrain runs when he gets Dragon?

Aesi issssssss.

@Austere @Daeir

Knew I could count on you two to keep life short.

Ftfy

Jacen

To answer the opposite question, writing my thesis is the biggest obstacle to logging back in, though there were also some frustrations with various IG things that were happening at the time I went dormant. The coding investment for combat things (especially as svo becomes further outdated and while svof plays catchup) also keeps me from logging in. Not to mention that logging in usually means testing people for House reqs or having business-esque conversations that require too much though investment to do anything mildly enjoyable.

Aziik

 To echo the words others have used, I log in for the people who play this game. I'm not actually that driven to level right now, or to make lots of gold ( I have enough to keep Aziik clothed and armed thankfully) and he is at the point where I don't feel he is slacking off when I just hop on to chat with friends. I've played Achaea multiple times over the past ...seven years and this is the longest standing character I've ever had ( Second longest was a three month stint as a Sylvan.) it's also the only one I learned combat on. I'd have taken a long break if not for some of the people I've met here.