New Player - Have questions :)

Hi! I'm playing the free trial because I want to know if my comp can play the game and so far I don't seem to have any problems with my system. I'm considering purchasing GR and subscribing. But before I do I want to get a better understanding of the game and see if I'll like the game after all.

I'm wondering which server is the friendliest to new comers and has a fair population, otherwise can someone tell me what archetype is the best choice for soloing? And should I start as a hero or villain, and which has the best server population?

My play style is more range-attack and team support so I think Blaster would be a good choice for me, I’m not much of a tank type. Also I like to take my time and read the storyline and mission quests so I do a lot of solo playing so that I don’t hold anyone back especially when I’m still learning how to play. Yet I understand that to solo a tank is the best choice. I’m open to suggestions.

I understand the free trial is very limited and I won’t succeed past level 14, and that I can’t invite players to team or use some of the chat channels – bummer! But I think I can use the mentor program channel to get answers to questions.

So far the only dislike for me is the camera movement, and maneuvering my character. I don’t like it when I press D my character moves right but the camera stays center. I’m sure I can change the settings, I just need to figure out how in the menu.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to the replies.

I Reccomend virtue. Hero is more populated almost everywhere. And if you looking for ranged and support, a defender.And scrapper is better for solo IMO.
Forget everything about other MMos. There are no "Healers" And to quote Dechs, it's almost like a curse word around here. There are no "bad" builds. Look into mid's hero designer if you need build help.

Edit: Also, search "Mentor project" On the forums.

First off, welcome to the game!

As mentioned by Terminal, Virtue is one of the more populated servers, and so is Freedom. All tend to have decent populations though, and all are going to be nice to newcomers, for the most part.

As for what archetype is good for new players, Scrappers (hero-side) and Brutes (villain-side) tend to be good choices. They deal good damage, and have enough survivability to handle some newbie errors. However, if you're into ranged attack and team support, a Defender or Corruptor might be a good choice, since they have both of those aspects.

You can definitely change how your keyboard moves you around if you go to Menu -> Options -> Controls. You should be able to map everything around in there.


Again, welcome to the game!

Q/R
This is the most friendly MMO I have ever played, so feel free to ask questions in game as well as in the forums.

I second (third or fourth depending on how many responses ring in as I type) Freedom and Virtue as a good place to start.

My best piece of advice is to join groups as you play. It is easy to join teams and, IMHO, makes the game much more fun to play. I have played on rolling PUGs that lasted hours and had a blast. It's also a good way to fill up the friends list. You can solo if that is your thing but I feel this game was made with teams in mind.

The most important thing is to have fun.

In the login screen servers are displayed with the last one you logged into at the top and then from lowest to highest load at the bottom. Since server load is mostly equivalent to population the highest population servers are usually towards the bottom.

While you can't use them on a trial account most servers have global channels used to coordinate events and find teams. Global channels are usable no matter which character or server you're on.

Also it is fully intentional and sensible that the camera keeps looking forward when you hit D. Q and E are turning left and right. A and D are strafing left and right. It's like a movie or tv show where somebody is running to the side but facing forward and shooting at the enemy. You can also turn by holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse back and forth. It can be much quicker and more precise than the keys.

If you are looking for crowded and friendly then Virtue is the place. If you are looking for crowded and friendly/complete jerks then Freedom is the place. There are a lot of good people on Freedom but there are also a lot of people whose sole reason for existence seems to be to mock people who ask for help.

If you play a hero then start in Atlas Park, not Galaxy City. Both are starter zones but very few people start in Galaxy so it winds up seeming like the game is devoid of players to newcomers who start there. If you are going to play in groups then pretty much any archetype is easy and survivable unless your team leader is an idiot who insists on setting the difficulty to maximum for "leet xps". If you are going to solo then the best hero archetype is a scrapper. It offers durability almost as good as a tank and damage almost as good as a blaster.

And no matter what you choose don't worry about death. For the first 10 levels there is no experience debt and all that happens is you either use an inspiration to revive yourself or just teleport to the hospital. And don't worry about leveling fast. As long as you are having fun that is what matters. There is no real epic end game content that you have to get to like there is in so many other games. It's all about the journey, not the destination.

You're asking a few different things, so I'm going to break up your post and try to answer things individually.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imadinu I'm wondering which server is the friendliest to new comers and has a fair population, [...] And should I start as a hero or villain, and which has the best server population? [...]

Well... Virtue and Freedom (I'm operating under the assumption that you aren't on the EU servers) are our two most populated servers. Virtue is the unofficial RP server, with much of its' population remaining in character much of the time. Freedom... well, freedom has a slightly negative reputation for hosting most of our less savory players. But it is also our most populated server. YMMV. The other servers' populations tend to fluctuate, but remain decidedly low in comparison. That said, I enjoy myself on Triumph. Whatever you go with, be sure to enquirer in the server's forum about Global channels. They are the best way to coordinate the forming of teams for any task. Perhaps tied with active supergroups.

As of right now... Hero side is generally the most populated across all servers. Although That's not saying that you couldn't get a villain team going if you wanted to. But the status-quo might get shaken up a bit with the introduction of Going Rogue, and side-switching, later this month. No idea where the line will be after that hits.

Quote:

[...]otherwise can someone tell me what archetype is the best choice for soloing?[...] My play style is more range-attack and team support so I think Blaster would be a good choice for me, I’m not much of a tank type. Also I like to take my time and read the storyline and mission quests so I do a lot of solo playing so that I don’t hold anyone back especially when I’m still learning how to play. Yet I understand that to solo a tank is the best choice. I’m open to suggestions.[...]

Solo... I'm leaning towards Blaster/Scrapper for heroes and Brute/Corrupter for villains. Tanks can take a beating, but generally, I find it quite frustrating solo, as the damage output isn't stellar (Not quite tedious, but getting close).
Scrappers/Brutes can still take a decent beating while tearing through enemies. Blasters are glass cannons that can annihilate anything as long as they aren't face down on the ground. Corrupters' damage lies somewhere between the low defenders and the high blasters, but includes that 'team support' thing you mentioned.

Ultimately, like servers, the choice is yours. Try a little of everything to see what you like.

Quote:

[...]So far the only dislike for me is the camera movement, and maneuvering my character. I don’t like it when I press D my character moves right but the camera stays center. I’m sure I can change the settings, I just need to figure out how in the menu.[...]

By default (last I checked, anyway), the game uses a modified standard FPS control scheme. W-A-S-D - Forward-StrafeLeft-Backward-StrafeRight. Q and E turn your character left and right, respectively, keeping the camera centered on your back.

helpful tips; Holding right-mouse button and moving the mouse swings the camera left/right/up/down, and turns your character so that forward remains relative to the camera
Holding middle-mouse enables free-look, so that you can swing the camera around to look at your character's front. To reset the camera, zoom all the way in using the scroll wheel (or simply hit B) then zoom out again (B once more). I'm reasonably certain there is a key that resets the camera in one keystroke, but I find the scroll wheel or B are easier to remember.

Personally, I keep one hand on the mouse to facilitate turning and the occasional targeting, and activating powers in the 7-8-9-0 slots. The other hand is on WASD for movement, within reach of tray powers 1-2-3-4-5-6, and the shift+/ctrl+ of those numbers to quickly fire off powers in those two trays. Your preferences may differ from mine.


And after typing all this, I strongly suspect most of it has been posted as I was typing... :P
EDIT: more or less, yep. And since I don't see it linked yet, I highly recommend bookmarking Paragon Wiki if you plan on sticking around for any length of time. (And if you ever google it, remember not to go to the old Wikia site. It is no longer actively updated.)

Paragon Wiki is your friend.

It is full of detailed information on just about everything game related. You can start with the Player's Guide and explore from there.

When someone talks about Mid's they are talking about Mid's Hero Designer (it does villains too) which is a character planner for those who like to plan their character's progression in advance or when they chose to respec their character.

Virtue and Freedom are the two busiest servers.

You can solo with any archetype and power set combo, it's all a matter of how quick you level. This MMO is not like some others because there isn't a pressing reason to rush to the level cap, there is plenty of content at all levels.

If melee is your preferred poison then Scrappers (hero side) and Brutes (villain side) are probably the easiest and quickest. Tankers (hero side) are slower, because they do less damage, but more sturdy than scrappers. If range attacks are more your thing than Blasters (hero side) and Corrupters (villain side) or the ATs of choice.

Awesome! Thank you all for the great info.

Father Xmas you came early this season. Thank you for the links. I do enjoy having a character planner handy. Great tools!

I started in Triumph (I think I spelled it correct?) and already had some fun teaming up. I was worried there wouldn't be much people around but turns out there are plenty.

I figured out the interface, though when I started my Hero the interface was blank and I can't seem to figure out how to bring up my stats window. I know left slash (\) brings up the menu and was able to get some windows back up… just the one with my stats seems to elude me. Is this a bug?

So far I like Blasters the most. I did rolled a Defender but feels too squishy for me, maybe when I can handle the maneuvering better and a have a better understanding of the powers I'll enjoy the type better.

I’m going to try a Scrapper on Virtue, to get a feel for the type and the server. Again, thank you all for the welcome and friendly advice.

A recent new player thread

and another

You can find some extra advice there.

Given the Trial Account limitations on sending Tells, I have a suggestion for you...

If you enjoy teaming, consider typing a comment in your Search Comment along the lines of:

"Trial Account player looking for teams - please Blind Invite!"

and basically don't try to hide the fact that you're on a Trial Account in any way - most Vet players will go out of their way to make your Trial experience a great one, so you'll eventually upgrade to a full account.

The main thing is, this isn't that tough a game- especially not the first 14 levels. Run around, shoot/hit things, have fun.

For your first time through the game [if you decide to join us for real] I recommend going with training/dual/single origin enhancements. To clarify:

A couple years into the game they added a new, parallel enhancement system- the invention system. It gives slightly better results for the same money, or much better results for slightly more money, or VERY much better results for RIDICULOUS amounts of money. It's much more complex, as well. (The Market Forum is where we play with RIDICULOUS amounts of money. You're welcome to swing by and say hi if this interests you; just be aware that no matter what assumptions people make, you don't need this stuff.)

The TO/DO/SO system is what the game is balanced around- you can play with the regular enhancements, just fine. You'll get a lot more benefit from having teammate buffs than you can ever possibly get from the Enhancement System.

If you master the basics of the game fast, you can move onto the Invention System early; if not, you can stick with SO's and do just fine.

Welcome to the game!

Quick recommendation :

If you buy the full version, keep track of the game account code. If you buy it via the digital store, it will be emailed to you after you apply it - otherwise it in the hardcopy you bought.

Also keep track of how and what you paid your subscription with the first time.

Credit or Debit Card - Type of Card (Visa, MC, Amex, etc) and the last four digits of the card number (these are the ones that will show up not XXXX out in your billing info while it's your active card.

Time/Game Card - Keep the entire number you entered in.

PayPal - the paypal user ID.

If something happens and you cannot get back into your master account, this is the info they will ask for to let you back in. Note - if you put in a credit card during account creation, but either change the card OR use a time card or paypal, the credit card will not be how you paid your first month's sub.

You guys have been a great help. Thank you ALL for the links and feedback.

I'm subscribing tonight when I get home. But I'm undecided if I should purchase the architect edition or the good versus evil edition? Any opinions from you guys would be appreciated.


I want to buy going rouge but I need to have an active account first, so I’ll get the expansion a little later since the game is pretty much new to me.

If you can wait a week you can get the complete Going Rogue and get everything at once. That said I started with GvE and the jump pack and Pocket D teleporter really help getting around on new toons. I think the AE edition just gives you a code to redeem for a booster but I don't recall which ones you get to choose from.

For basic utility, I say Good v. Evil. It has both the pocket D teleporter, Pocket D ViP pass, and the jump jets/jump pack whch is nice to have especially if you end up going super speed.

After that? Going Rogue - if you wait a week or so the "CE" version should be out such is the full game plus the goodies.

Arcitect w/magc pack fr buffing others, but the science pack's self destrction s fun too. Or the ninja pack for ninja run (the last you must buy seperate, as it is not a choice for AE )