I activated my UO account again, just to check it out.
First impression: more people than last time -- that is for sure. I actually met several very friendly players in Britain who, coincidently, had just reactivated their accounts as well. Unfortunately, nobody in the city seemed to know much any feature that has been added in the last two years.
I also seem to be much more powerful than I was the last time I reactivated. The last time, I remember running around, getting my ass handed to me by such lowly creatures as harpies and ettins. This time around, though, I put on my full set of NPC-bought platemail and a random sword and shield I found, and headed to the dungeon north of Britain. I was able to slaughter ettins as if they were mongbats, and amassed some 20k in about 20-30 minutes just by letting ettins run into my sword.
I was told I should pick up an additional combat skill such as chivalry or one of the asian ones, but I haven't yet. I am just the old-fashioned swordsmanship 7x build. I am thinking of the samurai skill since it would add to my parry skill nicely for a whopping 25% parry chance once I am GM'd in it, though I may not bother, since I seem to do okay as-is.
I am a little bummed that I cannot trade in my old crappy vet rewards for better ones. I got the ethereal horse before ethereal unicorns were available, for example. Oh well, I still have 3 left to choose, and I will save them.
My house is, obviously, very much gone. Bye bye thousand's upon thousands of rares. I wish I had sold it at least. Oh well.
Uhm... oh, they raised the skill cap for vets, as now mine seems to be about 720.
It is easy to place a house, if I wanted one. A small house is worth about the price of the deed now days, though the largest can still fetch a few million gold coins. Most houses are unimaginably ugly.
Inflation means that just about all "common" items are completely worthless now. Considering I can churn out coins at a rate of a thousand every minute or so, they do not go for much. A platemail chest piece, which once upon a time was highly valued, is not even worth looting at this point.
I remember when wild horses would be snatched up in minutes, even in the wilderness. A wild packhorse just wandered by the Britain bank, where he hung out for a few hours, without even the newbiest of newbs trying to tame him. I thought about it, but didn't.
I still insist on going around and selling every last thing I loot from any monster I kill, but it seems so pointless. I can make more money by not looting treasure, and just taking the coins, than I can by running around to all the different shops and selling the loot.
Player vendors seem rare in Trammel, compared to before. I failed to find a single one that sold weapons I would want, though I did not look very hard. My old-fashioned exceptional katana made by some random person will have to do for now.
I haven't died since I reactivated, so I do not know if that is any different.
I seem to be the only person who has no expansion except T2A. People run around me with mounts like the beetles, which I cannot see. I cannot go to the more populated Luna, nor can I build a custom house. Darn.
Overall, I am having fun. Ettin-bashing is a good calming exercise.
I think an ettin could kill me in no more than 4 hits, but they never seem to hit that often, unless it is a big group, and I heal faster than they hit.
I finally let go of my pride, and decided to enjoy myself in the game, despite the fact that I am constantly surrounded by neon pixel crack.
Even my hair is neon, you know. Very hypocritical, but back when I got it, it really was special. Now everybody has it. Oh well. Maybe I will dye it brown.
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