I'm new to online - questions!

[Azeraphel]

Buying ep3 prompted me to get online, and I've found myself enjoying ep1&2 more than 3... So, now I'm an online newbie who's still trying to figure things out. Big fun. Maybe people can answer a question or two for me?

Can you check what level of players are in a game before joining it? Or do you just get to see the difficulty setting?

Are drop rates different online? Just curious, I remember hearing a rumor that they were.

I assume that everyone's using keyboards? My keyboard adapter hasn't arrived yet, so I'm still clunking around with the pad. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

Ultimate online is... hard. Not really a question, but my L96 RAmar was getting unexpectedly spanked. Yay!

Any other noobler tips? I take it Antares 8 is the official PSOW ship? Thanks for any tips.

[trypticon]

Just the normal tips apply here.

You can check to see what level people are in the game you are going to join by pressing the X or Y button while looking at the different games (I am used to the gamepad, so I'm forgetting which one it is. I think it's X though).

Simple tips: Don't use any freaking AR codes to boost your level, or get your items. If you are going to go do that, then don't join the online community with that character.

Don't spread dupes and hacks please, it is only common courtesy that you keep them to yourself if you have them.

Don't discuss cheating methods with people online, or you will end up seeing results like those that are already running rampant accross the ships and lobbies.

In order to keep yourself sane, stay away from Vega, or really any other populated ship or lobby. Playing solo online is going to get you a lot of good experience early in the game. Later on in the leveling process, you will, unfortunately, be forced to play with other people online, simply to activate switches and open doors on any levels besides Forest and Mines.

Keep your mag stats up, including IQ and synchro, and learn to play along with others in order to complete the photon blast chains.

When playing legit, remember that others will think you are cheating any time you have a weapon or armor slightly better than their own. Using the weapons you find on the ground in the forest on normal is usually the best way to go if you don't want to be considered a cheater, duper, hacker, you name it.

Also remember to keep your characters under level 100, and try to burden other gamers by joining up to do Ultimate Ruins runs with them a lot. Any character over level 100, or who fares well against the ult ruins will be considered a cheater.

Remember that no matter how legit you end up being, even if it ranges in the elite legit category, you will still be considered a hacker by anybody who didn't see you gain every level you have personally. This is a good lesson that it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks about you, only what you know.

Play To the Future, and get used to playing it, because it will probably be all that you are going to end up doing when playing online with others. This single quest destroyed the game, in my opinion. People were talking about it constantly before it came out, and then once it did, it was all anybody online wanted to do. Granted, there are a lot of people who grew dispassionate about the game because of the constant runs of this quest, but that doesn't erase the fact that it is still there. If you want a way to get bored with the game really quick, then by all means, get into this condensed version of Episode 1.

Learn to know your enemies, and learn to realize that a lot of them are going to end up as regulars on PSOW.

Expect the unexpected, as you will probably spend countless hours looking for a single rare, and then a week or two after you give up on it, the thing finally drops for you.

Get used to the spamming, and learn how to get around the language censor. The spamming happens in lobbies, and games. The language censor was not something you had to deal with offline, but online you will.

Get a keyboard. I have noticed that you said you don't have one. This will be fine for a while, but if you decide to take part in the Challenge games, a keyboard will be necessary in order to save prescious seconds off the clock.

Speaking of challenge, get into it. It is a lot of fun, and a great way to learn how to play the game in a team oriented manner. You will learn your place, and learn your strengths through the challenge levels. You will also learn that Japanese players don't necessarily want anything to do with English players at all.

When it comes to challenge, I recommend you go to Alcyone block 6. If you are unable to get in there, go to block 7, and choice search for somebody who is in block 6. That should get you in there, even if the block has more than 100 people in it.

When joining a challenge game on Alcyone 6, make sure that you are not joining as the fourth person. A lot of corruption has occured in the past from people making this mistake. From what I have viewed, and experienced the times I've gone through challenge on the way to get my S ranks, the only really safe challenge game is one you create yourself. Keep in mind though, that the enemy counts will differ depending on your section ID. It may not lead to the best of times for you, but you should still be able to play through the levels in under seven hours, and name your own S rank.

Have fun. I think a lot of people have forgotten that episode 1 and 2, even though it may be old, still has a lot of content to offer. Not all of the rares have been mass duped, and spread like crazy yet. And with those that have, what does it really matter? So long as you enjoy what you have, make use of it, and don't worry how others may view it. The game only retains it's element of fun so long as there is a sense of friendship or partnership amongst the players, regular, or new to the servers. We could all get along much better keeping that in mind.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: trypticon on 2004-04-08 10:58 ]</font>

[Jae]

When you put the cursor on a game, you can hit X to see who's in it and what their levels are.

I guess the drop rates are the same online. I've never been too much of a stickler to even take note of drop rates. What does change for sure is the frequency of monsters online.

Not everyone uses a keyboard. A lot of people do, but there still are people that don't have them. They're especially important in C-Mode, but otherwise you can survive without it.

Ultimate online is more difficult than offline yes.

When I played a lot at the GC release, Antares 8 was the PSOW block. Now I'm not so sure. It might be still.

And of course like Trypticon said, get used to lobby spam and don't stress when people try to get under your skin. Like all online games, PSO has its fair share of immature people. Learn to ignore them and not get worked up over it. You'll have more fun that way.

As for the legit thing, I prefer to play legit but that's just my personal preference. Not everyone shares this mentality, so you'll just have to learn to tolerate the dupes and hacks if you're not into that sort of thing. Play how you want and don't let anybody else give you crap about it.

Also if you need some help through the tougher stages of Ultimate, I'm always up for some leveling. Give me a holler if you see me. Characters are in my profile. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime1.gif

[BOmar]

On 2004-04-08 10:44, trypticon wrote:
In order to keep yourself sane, stay away from Vega, or really any other populated ship or lobby. Playing solo online is going to get you a lot of good experience early in the game. Later on in the leveling process, you will, unfortunately, be forced to play with other people online, simply to activate switches and open doors on any levels besides Forest and Mines.

When playing legit, remember that others will think you are cheating any time you have a weapon or armor slightly better than their own. Using the weapons you find on the ground in the forest on normal is usually the best way to go if you don't want to be considered a cheater, duper, hacker, you name it.

Also remember to keep your characters under level 100, and try to burden other gamers by joining up to do Ultimate Ruins runs with them a lot. Any character over level 100, or who fares well against the ult ruins will be considered a cheater.

Remember that no matter how legit you end up being, even if it ranges in the elite legit category, you will still be considered a hacker by anybody who didn't see you gain every level you have personally. This is a good lesson that it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks about you, only what you know.

WTF?! o_O

You have some serious issues with people who you have played with online, but believe me, it is not like that at all!

Solo online is just as boring as solo offline apart from you have the added bonus of the possibility of FSODs and lag! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

The majority of people on PSO aren't going to think people over 100 are cheaters or those who do probably wouldn't care enough to mention it.
Even though most people think of lv200s as cheaters, very few seem to say anything to anyone below 200 despite there being codes for many levels.

If you intend to use dupes/hacks then head over to Vega and you will get all the items you would ever need from one of the friendly dupers and also will have like-minded people to play with.
If however, you want to play legit, you would probably be better finding a legit clan to join or just finding a group of like minded people to play with.

The PSOW block (Antares http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_cool.gif is pretty empty now Ep3 has arrived in the US, so I would suggest using the Player Matchup forum here to find where people hang out or to find some friendly people to play with.

You can tag along with me and the rest of my friends on our egg rappy hunts if you want. We would be happy to show you the ropes of online play http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

[Jae]

Haha. I think Trypticon was being a little sarcastic given the current state of the GC PSO community. It definitely gave me a good chuckle.

Don't stress too hard over the hacks/dupes or else the game will start to lose its fun factor. Yes you'll sometimes encounter people doing INSANE amounts of damage from hacked/duped weapons, but heck you're a RAnger so hog exp with your shotguns if you have to. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[Azeraphel]

Thanks for the tips, the sarcastic and otherwise.

For the record, I'm 100% legit, and anyone who's "jealous" of my crappy weapons, well, they can't be helped. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif (OMG, that handgun! It's so red!)

I'd love to get in on some rappy hunts, or C-mode runs. Sounds like fun.

[BOmar]

On 2004-04-08 12:54, Azeraphel wrote:
I'd love to get in on some rappy hunts, or C-mode runs. Sounds like fun.

My guild also play cmode every weekend http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

If you are ever stuck for cmode players, then head over to Alcyone6. It is the Japanese challenge block and it is thankfully still very full.