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  1. #1
    Curiously attractive for a fish man Zorafim's Avatar
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    Default What's the most fun way to play PSO nowadays?

    I guess I'm looking for something that has all versions of the game on PC with the most balance and quality of life improvements. Something where I can play as any class I want to without worrying about being over or underpowered, where weapons do fun things, where I can play the most content, and maybe has some fun balance on item drops so that it's not such a hardcore grind. If there's adjustments to controls to allow me to have greater customization binding abilities, even better.

    Does anyone have any recommendations?

  2. #2
    Curiously attractive for a fish man Zorafim's Avatar
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    I'm seeing that there's different fan servers, which is roughly what I'm looking for. I'm seeing Ephinea and Ultima. Ultima seems to have edits to it for a more streamlined and fun experience, so I suppose I'll work with that.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zorafim View Post
    I'm seeing that there's different fan servers, which is roughly what I'm looking for. I'm seeing Ephinea and Ultima. Ultima seems to have edits to it for a more streamlined and fun experience, so I suppose I'll work with that.
    Whichever version you choose, may you have a pleasant time traversing the terrain of Ragol again, Zorafim!
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  4. #4

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    I'm using the Ephinea server to play PSOBB for free.

    This is the first time in 22 years of actually playing pso ONLINE instead of OFFLINE. To me, it's hilarious that it's taken this long for me to experience its online mode.

    I'm playing as a HUCast atm.
    Last edited by thepeaguy83; Jun 17, 2022 at 09:52 PM.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by thepeaguy83 View Post
    This is the first time in 22 years of actually playing pso ONLINE instead of OFFLINE. To me, it's hilarious that it's taken this long for me to experience its online mode.
    Certainly no fault of yours that the official servers shut down, thepeaguy83.

    Trusting unofficial methods is a big leap for most people, I imagine.

    Not to mention, PSO-W itself prohibited talking about other servers for a very long time, so that could have also been another thing that prevented experiencing PSO (somewhat) as intended.

    Either way, much like Zorafim, hopefully the landscape of Ragol feels refreshed when traversing it with comrades!
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  6. #6

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    Thanks.

    I tried to get into pso2 with a friend last year or so, but I found the experience disappointing. I shan't be revisiting the sequel any time soon.

    I'm grateful that I now have the opportunity to play pso1 how it was meant to be played: with other likeminded fans of the series and its spin-offs.

    PS I-IV & PSO are all I care about, PS wise.
    PSN ID: thepeaguy83
    Steam:thepeaguy

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by thepeaguy83 View Post
    Thanks.
    You're welcome!

    Quote Originally Posted by thepeaguy83 View Post
    I tried to get into pso2 with a friend last year or so, but I found the experience disappointing. I shan't be revisiting the sequel any time soon..
    My condolences that whatever that experience was like, it failed to provide the adventures you & your friend were seeking.

    Quote Originally Posted by thepeaguy83 View Post
    I'm grateful that I now have the opportunity to play pso1 how it was meant to be played: with other likeminded fans of the series and its spin-offs.
    Indeed. It is certainly worth appreciating that some talented people made it possible.

    Quote Originally Posted by thepeaguy83 View Post
    PS I-IV & PSO are all I care about, PS wise.
    Similar sentiments here. Though I never played the first. And, in an alternate timeline, if Phantasy Star Universe had come out a year or two sooner, then I might have experienced that as well. (Whether it was good or bad that I didn't play PSU or anything to come later... will forever remain unknown.)
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zorafim View Post
    I'm seeing that there's different fan servers, which is roughly what I'm looking for. I'm seeing Ephinea and Ultima. Ultima seems to have edits to it for a more streamlined and fun experience, so I suppose I'll work with that.
    Ephinea recently started a new mode called "PSO Classic Mode", like just a couple of weeks ago now.

    Basically the rules/goals when you make a character on that mode is for the experience to match that of the GameCube for the most part. That means no EP4 content, and no EP4 items, and no Blue Burst drop charts changes, it's also pre-TTF/RT.

    The idea is to mimic the "Classic" vibe of the game when it first released on GameCube (most peoples first exposure to PSO EP1&2).

    The only changes that they've done, and it's mostly for pure QOL:

    - Money doesn't drop when you die
    - EXP is shared, so as long as you're nearby, tagging isn't necessary
    - Loot drops are personal, so there's no "competition" for rare drops (largely always at the disadvantage of ranged players)

    You can't trade or play with "normal" characters/players, and you must play on a ship where only Classic characters can make parties, as you cannot make or join parties on any other ship.

    I'm level 52 now. The community of people who seem to prefer this mode does seem to be a lot smaller than those who want to play the traditional Blue Burst meta, so I won't lie we could use a bit more players, but it just started and is currently a tight-knit little community. If you're looking for a reason to invest in a PSO outing, I'd honestly highly recommend giving this a shot. It's a completely fresh loot economy, separated from the regular ships, and nobody is even level 200 yet.

    Here's Ephineas bit on it in their account mode information section:

    Classic Mode
    Ephinea features a ship, “US/Devaloka”, which is a designated classic mode ship, to offer a Blue Burst experience before the addition of Episode 4! Please note that while this is similar to GameCube & Xbox, it is not designed to be a GameCube & Xbox replica.

    This ship features many different changes:

    Episode IV has been removed, along with all Episode IV items being unobtainable.
    The drop table is identical to GameCube & Xbox, and can be found here.
    All rates are default, and cannot be boosted in any way.
    Coren (the wandering Tekker) will not offer any gambles.
    The difficulty level requirements are the same as official Blue Burst.
    Special Ephinea features, such as the Hunters Boost Road and Anguish difficulties, are removed.
    The quest list has been rebalanced, and does not feature quests such as Maximum Attack 4, or many fan-made quests.
    While this is a classic server, we have made the decision to keep experience sharing and individual drops, which are mandatory on the classic ship.

    Classic mode is accessed with any account type, by logging into a classic ship with a new character, and creating / joining a game there. Once a game has been created / joined on a ship, the character will be flagged as a regular or classic character, and can only play in the appropriate locations.
    Last edited by Zipzo; Jul 1, 2022 at 07:49 PM.

  9. #9

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    Been playing PSO on Dolphin with the Schthack server. I have no idea about the other servers though. No Ep IV content though, since it's GC focused. Either way, hope you enjoy PSO once again.

  10. #10

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    The most fun way to experience PSO today?

    Well it really depends I would say.

    1. Our own server
    My brother and I are playing on our own private Server. Where only a handful people are allowed to play. We eventually open it up for the public.
    But we still have SOME goals to achieve before we open the gates.
    Our own server has certain EXP Boosts, depending on the character level you are on. We also altered rare drop chances.
    Of course there is a team bank and a common bank feature. Which is awesome. And more features I dont want to tell right now.

    But back to topic. That server is a lot of fun, since it is intended to get rewards a tad faster. But not to an extreme.
    You will still have to grind a lot for many rare items or higher levels, but in general, you have the feeling that you could actually get EVERY item there is to get. Of course you need all ID´s for that.

    2. Ephinea

    I just started two new characters over there. They have a neat badge system that allows players to trade the found badges in against items. They drop randomly and have different tiers. Leveling is slower for sure on that server. But I enjoy that aswell sometimes. The community seems very great. Many old Gamecube and DC Veterans. I can not say that much more, but the ability to download the character data is appreciated.

    3. Ultima

    I played quite a lot of Ultima back in the day. It is still fully functional and is geared towards players that want to level faster I feel.
    But I had a 6 yea hiatus from this server and just recently tried it again. The community is still wonderful. But there are not that many players around sadly.
    But I will keep playing there nonetheless.

    4. GameCube Offline Splitscreen

    For nostalgia reasons I would not forget to play the GameCube Version of PSO nowadays. Especially if you have kids at home and want to teach them the ropes. There is a splitscreen option for 2-4 players. That in itself is awesome. And emulated on Doplhin it still looks and plays very nice.

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