Grinding to max level

Jericho

A question to those who are already 50+. How do you do it? In my youth I could grind no problem, but now it just seems mind numbing. Do you have things you do to entertain yourself while you're trudging through it? 

I had to take a break due to life and I've fallen behind. Just curious! 

Minei

I'm only at 30 but I've had two max levels on another IRE game so I will draw on that. The further in levels I got the smaller I made my goals. Instead of a level get half a level, or just a few %. I also timeboxed it, like taking an hour, and here I already find myself doing a round till my weapon gets 10%. Music certainly helps, and I'm considering audiobooks or podcasts. Could watch something too but don't automate so much you risk getting into trouble Also having a job helps, I can't grind non-stop weekends on any game any more but just a little while after work and before bed does the trick, and if I don't feel like it, skip days till I do feel like it again. Plus with other activities becoming more feasible you can set other goals like finding all the quests, incursions, or leveling your hacking. And well it being a multiplayer game I've also already done spontanious teaming up with people, which can be fun too.

Jericho

Yeah I've got Sabaton on right now and I'm just taking my time. The problem is my biggest concern is that if I don't hit max level in a reasonable amount of time I won't be relevant to my faction; which has been my experience in Achaea and Imperian. 

RocketCat

I recommend trying out questing as a means to break up the grind! Each area in your level should have a respectable number of quests. I find them entertaining, you learn about the lore of the setting, and I dare say time spent collecting quests youve already solved is really efficient xp/hr!

Kestrel

If you find it boring, don’t do it. There are more important things in life.

If you reach the point where a game starts to feel like work, you’ve defeated the purpose of playing it. It’s supposed to be fun. There’s no rule that says you have to keep chasing the highest level. Find out what makes the game fun for you, and do that instead.

Matlkael

Questing exp has been bumped up recently (and it's really noticeable!). Variation (bashing, questing, maybe even incursion-ing) might make the grind less mind-numbing.

Xiru

What @Kestrel said. I'm not in a rush to 75, because there's other things I want to try out and do first as well as trying to establish my character firmly in my head as someone other than a murder bot. But when I do bash, I set myself a low goal so when I surpass it I can feel accomplished.

tysandr

Find an IG enemy. Make that enemy your most hated enemy. Feel it in your bones. Feel it in your gut. Get killed by said enemy a few times. Make sure said enemy is the level you want to reach (75). Stalk them. Get information on their whereabouts, their comings & goings, their inclinations & habits. Make a link-chart on a corkboard. Use pins & string. Pin up a picture of your most hated enemy. Make many arrows for how to defeat them.




Level to 75.




Beat them.




Starmourn -fin-

remember: every good villain needs someone to punch up

Joscelin

I still have no idea how I managed demigoddess in Lusternia, and that’s with aetherhunts being bonkers. I’m trying to stick to the grind here because I feel like if I don’t make it a priority, it’ll never get done.

Slander

I'm not 50 yet, only 45. Would probably be 65+ if I could have played every day but there was about a week I couldn't be around. There's three things I've got going for me. One is that I can't work because of a disability so I have a lot of time, but that's only opportunity and not reason to grind. Second is that I really enjoy the grind here because it's not just pushing one button repeatedly, I actually have different strategies depending on what I'm killing. Third is honestly probably the main factor for me - which is, uh, being really fucking depressed. This gives me something interactive to do which takes my mind off other things where just watching something wouldn't engage me as well.

Minion

Jericho said:

Yeah I've got Sabaton on right now and I'm just taking my time. The problem is my biggest concern is that if I don't hit max level in a reasonable amount of time I won't be relevant to my faction; which has been my experience in Achaea and Imperian. 

Just want to say, I have played in IRE muds for quite a long time. 8 years in Lusternia and most of the time Midkemia was open along with stints in all the others. I have only ever spent the time grinding to max level on one character and have found ways to be relevant in every place I have played. Even in combat, I was able to do quite well in groups at level 70-80. 

The point is, relevance is what you make of it and has little to nothing to do with being at the top of anything. If that is your goal, great. Don't feel like you're lesser than anyone simply because of your level. There are plenty of other valid reasons to feel irrelevant.

Shinonome

Having something to watch or read while I grind...

Minei

One thing about pvp that I saw in EVE Online was groups taking along very new people, put them in a cheap ship, give them a point and a web, and let them tackle an enemy. If your little newbie guy lasts long enough for the cavalry to rush in and take over the pinned target and keep them there till they are defeated, well, you tell me again who's not relevant in combat. Yeah it is humble and boring but having your newbie name on a really juicy kill isn't bad if you ask me. I really want and hope to see that here too. Lower levelled players who tag along and assist in hindering while the big players dish out the damage.

ekary

I hit 75 last night, what I did was make a basher that allowed me to do the moving then hit f1 and let it repeat my attacks until it killed everything. Then I move to another room, hit the button and on and on. Lets you watch movies or binge TV shows while you bash, and also keeps things within the automation rules. I highly recommend setting something up like it. You can even put in pings that will tell you when something dies, or when your health drops to a certain percent. Whatever you need to do to grab your attention when it is needed.

Zhulkarn

Minei said:

One thing about pvp that I saw in EVE Online was groups taking along very new people, put them in a cheap ship, give them a point and a web, and let them tackle an enemy. If your little newbie guy lasts long enough for the cavalry to rush in and take over the pinned target and keep them there till they are defeated, well, you tell me again who's not relevant in combat. Yeah it is humble and boring but having your newbie name on a really juicy kill isn't bad if you ask me. I really want and hope to see that here too. Lower levelled players who tag along and assist in hindering while the big players dish out the damage.

Back then my favourite was the werebear raids where you put several electromagnetic countermeasure modules, warp scramblers and droid stuff into a group of miner ships along smaller cheap ships hunting unsuspecting pirates who think they hit the easy target jackpot. 

Jinresh

ekary said:

I hit 75 last night, what I did was make a basher that allowed me to do the moving then hit f1 and let it repeat my attacks until it killed everything. Then I move to another room, hit the button and on and on. Lets you watch movies or binge TV shows while you bash, and also keeps things within the automation rules. I highly recommend setting something up like it. You can even put in pings that will tell you when something dies, or when your health drops to a certain percent. Whatever you need to do to grab your attention when it is needed.

Doesn't really sound like what you described is within the automation rules. Sounds like a script that not only repeats attacks, but heals, and target switches without any input.

Help automation: "Basically, if you can walk away from your computer and your character will go on without you, there's a problem." 

But I don't make or enforce the rules; I'd just be more cautious about what you advise other players is and is not acceptable.

ekary

Played IRE games for years with the same basher. Admin know we all use them. It requires input and I cannot walk away from my computer and it will continue on, as soon as the mob or two in the room is dead, it stops until I move and start it up again. Nice try though.

Maruna

Jinresh said:

ekary said:

I hit 75 last night, what I did was make a basher that allowed me to do the moving then hit f1 and let it repeat my attacks until it killed everything. Then I move to another room, hit the button and on and on. Lets you watch movies or binge TV shows while you bash, and also keeps things within the automation rules. I highly recommend setting something up like it. You can even put in pings that will tell you when something dies, or when your health drops to a certain percent. Whatever you need to do to grab your attention when it is needed.

Doesn't really sound like what you described is within the automation rules. Sounds like a script that not only repeats attacks, but heals, and target switches without any input.

Help automation: "Basically, if you can walk away from your computer and your character will go on without you, there's a problem." 

But I don't make or enforce the rules; I'd just be more cautious about what you advise other players is and is not acceptable.

It's exactly the type of basher that is in my publicly available system. It's within the rules.

Perfect

Jinresh said: [relevant stuff]

There's a news post from tecton stating that clearing a room in one button is okay.  If he were to walk away, the room would eventually respawn and he wouldn't attack again, or, the mob would be aggressive and kill him.

Minion

Matter of fact, how is it enjoyable to people to press one button and let some system do all of the work like that? I don't get it.

Your system sounds like cryptocurrency mining.

Perfect

Minion said:

Matter of fact, how is it enjoyable to people to press one button and let some system do all of the work like that? I don't get it.

Your system sounds like cryptocurrency mining.

It's not enjoyable. But it's less painful than alias'ing every hit.  Some don't enjoy bashing at all

Vielar

Minion said:

Matter of fact, how is it enjoyable to people to press one button and let some system do all of the work like that? I don't get it.

Your system sounds like cryptocurrency mining.

How is it any less enjoyable than having to press a button over and over again? Same thing, but without the wrist strain (what can I say, I'm getting old).

ekary

Minion said:

Matter of fact, how is it enjoyable to people to press one button and let some system do all of the work like that? I don't get it.

Your system sounds like cryptocurrency mining.

Crazy as it sounds, there are other people in the world that aren't just like you! Some of us don't like bashing, but it is a necessary thing, especially in Starmourn. With a level based gear system, you will get smooshed by higher levels in PvP. 

Thessia

It's fun the same way that making money is fun. It's not the journey in this case, it's the destination.

Maruna

Minion said:

Matter of fact, how is it enjoyable to people to press one button and let some system do all of the work like that? I don't get it.

Your system sounds like cryptocurrency mining.

There's a such thing as enjoying different things. I enjoy coding. I enjoy seeing those efforts pay off, in the form of the things I make working as they're intended to.

I'm passed the point of 'enjoying' bashing, after having gotten to max level probably ~20 times now across 4 different IRE games. If I had to sit there spamming F1 still like I was playing in 2005 then I probably would've just quit before even getting level 20. You'd be surprised just how many are in the same boat. Sorry but text games aren't interesting enough to warrant that kind of mindless grinding, compared to something like Black Desert grinding.

Slander

I don't like grinding in other IRE games because you repeat one attack (except for Achaea where you use battlerage occasionally). That's why I love Starmourn grind (and Nanoseer especially) - I'm using 4+ different attacks each mob. If I was gonna automate that I'd just go play a Diku MUD where I mindlessly type kill <thing> because at that point it's functionally identical.

Minion

Perfect said:

Minion said:

Matter of fact, how is it enjoyable to people to press one button and let some system do all of the work like that? I don't get it.

Your system sounds like cryptocurrency mining.

It's not enjoyable. But it's less painful than alias'ing every hit.  Some don't enjoy bashing at all

Thems the breaks... the game has an inherent grind to it. Only very sick individuals enjoy the grind. I don't think that things like this are good for the health of the game because it eliminates the human stamina aspect of gaming. I can only grind for so long before I want to spoon my eyes out. This and other systems like this give an advantage to those using them. While I can pit up with button pressing for an hour or so at a time, you can generate marks with little to no actual effort. 

I hate the one button room clearing systems. They can still walk away for the most part. All they have to do is set up in a non-aggro area and it pings you to come back. You don't have to pay attention whatsoever.

Maybe I am in the tiny minority of purists here and I'm sure all the coders will jump me for it but I am far from giving shits. It would be impossible to regulate out of the game, I realize. I can still think it is bullshit.

ekary

Minion said:

Thems the breaks... the game has an inherent grind to it. Only very sick individuals enjoy the grind. I don't think that things like this are good for the health of the game because it eliminates the human stamina aspect of gaming. I can only grind for so long before I want to spoon my eyes out. This and other systems like this give an advantage to those using them. While I can pit up with button pressing for an hour or so at a time, you can generate marks with little to no actual effort. 

I hate the one button room clearing systems. They can still walk away for the most part. All they have to do is set up in a non-aggro area and it pings you to come back. You don't have to pay attention whatsoever.

Maybe I am in the tiny minority of purists here and I'm sure all the coders will jump me for it but I am far from giving shits. It would be impossible to regulate out of the game, I realize. I can still think it is bullshit.

You're the kind of person that east soup with a fork huh?

Vielar

You do know you can download one of these systems too, right?

Gaming isn't, and shouldn't be, about how much of an unpleasant thing you can put up with. It's meant to be enjoyable, so if you have a tool available to you that can make something more enjoyable, it makes sense that people are going to use it.

Minion

ekary said:

Minion said:

Matter of fact, how is it enjoyable to people to press one button and let some system do all of the work like that? I don't get it.

Your system sounds like cryptocurrency mining.

Crazy as it sounds, there are other people in the world that aren't just like you! Some of us don't like bashing, but it is a necessary thing, especially in Starmourn. With a level based gear system, you will get smooshed by higher levels in PvP. 

Crazy as it sounds, I realize. I am still entitled to an opinion.

You will get smooshed by higher levels in just about any game. If automate to this level the grand majority of mmos out there, you would be ip banned.

Your interest in the grind does not matter, honestly and stating that as a reason tells me you need a different genre of game.

The fact that the admin can't regulate it out of the game without a lot of time and effort doesn't make it any less of an advantage. While I realize people have released systems to do this for you, it doesn't justify a thing. I still believe it to be a shitty way to play this game. Again, my opinion.

Atalkez

I dislike the grinding as well, but it’s a necessary thing. I don’t want to have to walk into every room, target the thing, attack 12 times, target next thing on a loop. When I’m killing 100-200 things in a setting, all of the above becomes nothing more than wasted time. So yeah, it’s cool if you don’t like it, but it’s just easier to do something I’m not a big fan of if it’s less of a hassle.