Looking to Relocate

Amreen

Hello there!

I'm a Starmourn player that's looking to relocate as it feels the game isn't going many places.

I probably shouldn't make this into an attempt at comparison but I'm thinking to find a new home in either Lusternia or Aetolia.

Is there anything you could advise me to make my choice glide to Lusternia? I'm not really the best PvP'er, usually prefer a good RP environment where people get involved and one can grow. I do not forsake PvP but it's just not my main focus, just want to feel I'm part of a good, involved community and that the RP, be it short or paragraph, is out there.

This is the reason I do not consider Achaea since, in time, it grew to be more of a pvp game with less focus on proper roleplay and stories.

I guess I'm just looking at the community, RP potential, pve and admin dedication.

I've noticed Lusternia population isn't that high but I toured the forums and I like the admin dedication here.

Aramel

Hey Amreen, glad to have you here. I think one of the ways in which Lusternia differentiates itself from Aetolia is that it is a lot more org/city focused. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on how you like to play your character, but for me personally it gave me a closer connection with my citymates in Hallifax, for example, which I didn't find in other IRE games and which caused me to come back to Lusternia intermittently for well over a decade. Re: comparing roleplay in Lusternia and Aetolia, a lot depends on what you want to roleplay as, and I encourage you to make a preliminary character and pop in and out of a few orgs to see how you like things and themes before you settle down on one particular thing. 

Amreen

Thank you for your reply!

I heard Lusternia is going into a free model? 

If I am right...does that bring any concerns towards the future of the game and getting invested into it now? Starting at this point, I mean

Jolanthe

The biggest issues with Lusternia all seem to be core to the PVP experience, so given what you're looking for it might not be too bad.

There are a variety of ways to earn up to twenty credits per RL day, and it's not too difficult to manage if you get good advice and direction. I think it would be pretty easy to advance along as a new player without wanting to spend any actual money any time soon, so the pressure there should be minimal. Worst case scenario, you might only lose some time before you get a feel for whether the game's a good fit.

Lusternia also has this distinctive blend of seriousness and silly, cutting right on down through the lore. On the one hand, we have the ancient histories with the warring between the Elder Gods and the Soulless, with most races being splintered Elder Gods who have scattered into pieces to avoid being entirely consumed... and then we have the Gnafia, which is basically a reoccurring gnome criminal organisation that threatens reality with their excessive japes and greed. I don't think it's always to everyone's taste, but I have fun with it.

Your timezone is liable to impact your experience a lot too, we see some pretty significant dips outside us prime time these days.

Also, as I understand it, no new characters will have any retirement value, so if you've retirement credits you're mulling over with, you might not want to sink them on the first character you make.

Amreen

Ah that's some good bit of information there, thank you!

Unfortunately, I'm EU, GMT+2 so I guess it's the same as in other IREs, lower population to be expected, considering I saw that IRE games mostly have US based players. But that I've had to live with for a long time anyway. That's a neat part about credits, sad though on the retirement issue but I'm not phased. I appreciate the comprehensive answer

Czixi

If it helps, we have a really strong contingent of GMT/EU based people in the Havens! So there are people on both sides who get what it's like to be in the lower population side of timezones. And you'll find that some orgs have stronger PST leanings than others, so if you take Aramel's suggestion of trying a few places you can also use that to find people who are more in your playtime.

Welcome to Lusternia!

Lycidas

@Amreen I can say without a doubt, Lusternia is best choice if you're just looking for RP and stories. Other aspects of the game need some work, and are getting it. As for any advice on that front, you may desire to join a larger population org such as Glomdoring or Magnagora to always have at least someone to interact with. However, places like Serenwilde always have people interested. I've known Hallifax to be a RP org as well...I mean, if you look at the most used tags, 'Hallifax rp log' is one of the most used. Gaudiguch has some characters there, and I'm sure you could find some entertainment, in a manner of speaking. As for Celest, the few people I see there are mostly PvP and whether they want to hear it or not, haven't been following their org RP for quite a while.

In summary, depending on what kind of RP you want to do, there are some people in each org that can make it happen. I'll keep an eye on the thread to see what you're gunning for and help where I can.

Enya

From a player perspective, the free to play model is pretty much all gravy. A huge amount of the resources in an IRE game come from people who already aren't being paid, so the potentially lower attention paid to the game by people who might have been counting on some resources coming their way doesn't change very much (if anything). 

It just means that there's a more robust way to gain credits in game, instead of just paying - though you can still do so if you wish.

Eliron

I'm going to also urge you to just jump in and get a feel for places.

I haven't played Aetolia, but as someone also largely RP-focused, the RP opportunities in Lusternia are what really keep me here. I personally enjoy the variety: organizations, guilds, orders, families, all can have rich histories and opportunities for interaction. My character has moved between various RP-focuses depending on events and people available, and that flexibility has kept me interested in him for far longer than I would have been had I only one option to explore.

There's also some mechanical support for cultural aspects/roleplay that are lovely. I've really enjoyed the designing options for creating trade items in game, and the stage system that lets you create full productions with intricate costumes, scenes, and special affects that can be recorded.

Amreen

Thanks everyone, for the welcoming and comprehensive answers!

Kagato

One thing I have found that keeps me in Lusternia and seems to be one of the biggest factors for drawing people into Lusternia is the flexibility and versatility in what you can do.  If you enjoy PvP, once you hit the appropriate levels there is Domoths, Wildnodes, Raiding and soon Timequakes will be coming into play as well. 

If you're not much of a PvPer like myself, there's just as many, if not more things to do.  You can write plays or books to help your home's culture levels, you can work your way up the ranks of a Divine Order and perhaps one day become one of Their chosen Avatars, you can become involved in the politics of a city or commune, whether it be as a minister in a particular area of your city/commune, or if you make enough friends/allies in your home, you can always 'go big' and contend to become the city/commune leader. 

There's a heap of places that you can go hunting, either by yourself or with other people, or if you plan to play a pacifist, there's always the influence system, where you can engage others in ego battles instead.  Lastly, you can learn how to command an Aethercraft and take a crew hunting with you (I guess you could say it bears SOME similarities to Starmourn, but requires several people - a pilot, an empath, a siphoner or two and some gunners)

Shango

Look to the lore, believe me...it is so much more in depth than any other IRE I've seen yet. Become an expert, you'll almost passively generate RP from people wanting to go over it, to say nothing of potential for Divine to get involved in revealing new lore 'lost' from during the Vernal age, Elder wars even, and more of the post Vernal time period from the founding of the Holy Celestine Empire. Though honestly there's so many gaps in the untold millenia prior to the modern age the game began...wooboy