Hi! Can I have some advice?

[RainingVeins]

Hello,

I think people are slightly going off my FFXIV RP character - and I wanted to have a new MMORPG RP experience! I Googled and it said to try this but I am completely and utterly out of my depth with where to find the essential lore to create a character, what servers or areas I should frequent, little things that are specific to RPing in this game. Would someone be able to offer me a link or two to resources? I don't want to come in like a wrecking ball with no knowledge of how to play aha!

Thank you!

[TheOtherTed]

I'm not sure that lore means as much in this game as it does in other games.  A big part of that is the variety of power sets you can choose with each archetype.  Take tanks, for instance - in FFXIV you can start with one of 4 or 5 starting jobs, but here, the Tanker archetype chooses from 11 primary power sets and 22 secondary sets.  Thus, there is no "archetypal" tanker, and therefore no official lore that you can tap into.

 

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I almost never consider the in-game lore when making a character.  My MO is to come up with a general idea for the character I'd like to play, and see if I can find an archetype that has the toys that would make it work.

 

As for RP, Everlasting is the official unofficial RP server, but all servers are likely to have some themed super groups ("free companies" in FFXIV-speech) that may or may not have their own internal lore, as well as their own RP guidelines.  Check out the Servers section below.

 

Also, don't worry, we were all wrecking balls at some point.  Run solo missions until you get used to your character's strengths and weaknesses, then maybe try some repeatable team challenges like Frostfire in The Hollows.  Once you pick up the do's and don'ts of teaming, you'll have the experience, and therefore the confidence, to try tougher teamed content.

[chase]

Welcome, RainingVeins,

As TheOtherTed indicated, lore is somewhat flexible here.  One of the things that City of Heroes really did well was to provide deep enough lore for the lore-hounds while keeping things open enough to allow others to introduce any superhero-themed-trope to the world without appearing misplaced.

I even recommend not burdening yourself by tying your character directly to lore events.   Although we're all rather adept in handwaving away timeline wibbly-wobbliness, I've got college characters that originally started their hero career during the crisis of the first Rikti invasion (May 23rd, 2002 ) and some of them have yet to graduate almost 23 years later.   It's somewhat intuitive to include the events of the tutorial in your initial story, but that originally came out in 2011- some people will RP that event as happening just a few days ago and some will have volumes of personal story developed, married, had kids, etc, since then.   Amazingly, most of us are flexible enough RP'ers that these vast differences rarely come out, but it does hilight the benefits of bring-your-own backstory too.

For more evidence, check out the Federal Bureau of Super-powered Affairs database https://fbsa.wiki/wiki/Main_Page.   You'll find people creating entire worlds of backstory without it ever really clashing too much with the game's.  Or check out the game's wiki https://fbsa.wiki/wiki/Main_Page.   

Or ask any specific questions.  There are so many directions you can take that when i tried to make a broad outline here, it got out of hand quickly.


Regarding "places to go"
- Everlasting server is your best bet to find roleplayers.
- Many hang out around atlas park.

- Pocket D (a hidden-away superhero nightclub) used to be very VERY common, but so many people have made their own social spots in the "supergroup bases" areas that I don't know how hopping any one place IS anymore.
- The homecoming discord has sections for both "Roleplay" in general or the "Everlasting" server that are great ways to find people or in-game events.
- There's also a City of Roleplay discord and an Everlasting Roleplay discord that are excellent for developing connections. 

There are probably more, but sadly my time's been so short lately, I barely get to log in.

 

[JMacClear]

Hail all :

 

I am jumping into this thread as another new player with questions. 

 

Intro  : 

 

Very Middle Aged Canuck with zero MMORPG and zero CoH knowledge / experience.

 

However was a DM "way" back in the 80s/90's and did play a lot of Neverwinter Nights Persistent Modules in my day. I am one of those players that needs a concise biography / backstory but of course it would be brief as I know little of the 'Lore' of this game.   I prefer an action / game pace that allows for some (tasteful)  fun banter / ironic observations. Say 55% RP / 45% Action or something like that ? Everyone of course wants to end a villainous scheme and progress.  Even have a concept in mind now - a group of 5 or so 'Player Characters' or perhaps Heroes - that are Fantastic Four meets Alpha Flight sort of thing.

 

I am not a jump in sort of guy. I have been 'reading' a ton of wiki / forum threads / and even tried to follow a YouTube video or 2 - however the jargon / learning curve is steep. Of course a 'little OCD' goes hand in hand with everyone who is a Roleplayer 🙂

 

Questions : 

 

1) I think Everlasting is where I should gravitate to... however should I jump into Excellsior just to complete the Tutorial / learn navigation / learn jargon first ?  I understand you can port your characters to other servers latter.

2) The old D&D adage is everyone starts as a Fighter (if you played).  However I see a fair amount of conflicting advice.  If basic movement / navigation  / chat / windows organization is steep should I not start as a Tanker or  Brute ? I understand the lack of ranged combat and drawbacks however when at zero % learning - is it easiest to just 'wade into battle' and pound thru the tutorial ??

 

Thank you in advance for any advice.

[chase]

4 hours ago, JMacClear said:

(snip)

 

1) I think Everlasting is where I should gravitate to... however should I jump into Excellsior just to complete the Tutorial / learn navigation / learn jargon first ?  I understand you can port your characters to other servers latter.

2) The old D&D adage is everyone starts as a Fighter (if you played).  However I see a fair amount of conflicting advice.  If basic movement / navigation  / chat / windows organization is steep should I not start as a Tanker or  Brute ? I understand the lack of ranged combat and drawbacks however when at zero % learning - is it easiest to just 'wade into battle' and pound thru the tutorial ??

 

Thank you in advance for any advice.

1) There's no harm in starting on another server- it might be beneficial on starting out if it seems to have more active players matching your powerset.   However, Everlasting isn't EXCLUSIVELY roleplaying, so you can still start there to learn the basics without upsetting anybody.  You'll find plenty willing to help.  (My wife and I have my "mains" on Torchbearer, as she's more of an offline story-creator than a roleplayer.  We go there exclusively to "fight crime" together and then I have my RP characters on Everlasting)

2) I'd suggest Scrapper or Brute, myself.   Tankers are great but have a durability that's really scaled for larger mobs than you fight in small teams and lower damage that makes battles more of a slog.   Brutes and Scrappers have a balance of defense and offense, so they do solo's great and tank on small teams rather well.   Brutes have a "fury" meter that builds up in intense fights, then drops after so expect "fury-lock" where you, as a player, get drunk with power, racing off to the next foe when common sense would tell you to take a moment to heal.   Scrappers have crit chances that aren't as tied to such a mechanic, so you may be more inclined to pause and approach a target in a sane manner tactically.   

There's an argument to be made for blasters, though-  their lack of defense DOES make them more squishy... but not notably so until the late-teen levels.   One of the more annoying things a MELEE player has to deal with in teams is being too blinded by special effects to see that foes have moved (or been knocked back) out of melee range.    A predominantly-ranged character doesn't have the same problem.   You might think Sentinels have the ideal mix of moderate defense and ranged attack, but they're a post-shutdown addition that I personally like, but I'm told the consensus is that they are better for experienced players.

----
This is probably more controversial, but I also suggest temporarily disabling leveling in the early-teens.  By that time, you'll have a nice small batch of attacks for a reasonable chain of attack and still have some annoying holes in your defense, but its a great time to get acquainted with everything.    Skyway and Kings' Row have a great many contacts (assuring things don't get repetitive on alts) and alternatives like radio missions, bank heists, etc and the leveling rate's a bit accelerated, so it's easy to blink and miss all this.  ( You also have the single overarching narrative of the Hollows available to you).    By the mid-late teens you'll see more foes with stuns/holds/slows/immobilize attacks, your travel power, the invention system and auction house (to name a few) so this is an ideal time to just pause,  assure you're comfortable with the basics, and give you a chance to focus entirely on those things as they come.  Don't try to do it all, but give yourself time to do *enough*

 

Edited January 9 by chase

[JMacClear]

Thank you chase ! 

 

Very much appreciated - all the advice. 

 

I created my first Brute after 2 plus hours in Character Creation - enjoying it immensely. 

 

RP means different things to different players - in all games of course. In traditional sword and sorcery it can be almost 90% social with strict rules  or action / RP balance. I didn't want to offend the culture of the server - needed to check. If RP meant dedicated time staffing the Watchtower/Team Mansion I was pretty sure my spouse and adult children might not understand 🙂

 

However I  hope to be a positive / 'in character' / contributor who plays a lot of Coop and enjoys in game super hero banter and ironic humour. 

 

Look me up as Nord Saskrad-Quatch if you have time to lead a rookie by the nose.