Before I begin playing

[rpglover123]

Hello my name is jon  and I would like to ask some questions before I begin playing.  In most mmos I enjoy the majic system the most,so how is the majic in planeshift? are the pets any good? does planeshift have a big environment to play in? and what ways are there in making money besides mining and hunting?  

[Karyuu]

Hiya, and welcome to PlaneShift and the forums :)

The current magic system is a lot weaker than that of melee or steel. It\'s a work in progress, and there needs to be a lot of adjusting and balancing for magic to be equal. But there are quite a few spells available, that do something rather than nothing - you\'re just bound to be more successful not using them... :p Pets currently only follow you around - no other function. Environment in-game: city of Hydlaa, section of the city of Ojaveda, Akkaio, and a wide area of hills and valleys in between. Not enormous, but not too small. And currently, mining and hunting (and questing, when quests work) is the only way of gaining money using game-mechanics (that is, not trading with players, doing team-run events, etc.).

Remember, pre-alpha tech demo ;D

[Kiirani]

Also the deaths realm, dungeon and sewers. Running is also half broken right now, so it\'ll take you ages to explore all of that and when you\'re done, you can see where you can get to, for instance, climbing from one side of the dungeon hall to the other by jumping on the rafters.

[Mordaan]

Originally posted by Kiirani ... climbing from one side of the dungeon hall to the other by jumping on the rafters.

 8o   You can still do that?  I had forgotten all about that.  Haven\'t done it since the days of MB.  Fall damage = ouch!

[rpglover]

Originally posted by Karyuu
Hiya, and welcome to PlaneShift and the forums

The current magic system is a lot weaker than that of melee or steel. It\'s a work in progress, and there needs to be a lot of adjusting and balancing for magic to be equal. But there are quite a few spells available, that do something rather than nothing - you\'re just bound to be more successful not using them... :p Pets currently only follow you around - no other function. Environment in-game: city of Hydlaa, section of the city of Ojaveda, Akkaio, and a wide area of hills and valleys in between. Not enormous, but not too small. And currently, mining and hunting (and questing, when quests work) is the only way of gaining money using game-mechanics (that is, not trading with players, doing team-run events, etc.).

Remember, pre-alpha tech demo

Ok, would you know when the majic will be better?  and how is the melee so far regarding the skills and stuff?

[Karyuu]

Some balancing will probably occur after the wipe, and there\'s no way of estimating when that will be. Within the next year is as close as anyone\'s managed. As for skills, currently we have Melee, Knives & Daggers, Sword, and Axe. All are functional and fun, I dare say. Though it takes a lot of time and effort to progress through them, but that\'s how it should be :) And it\'ll become harder yet.

But remember - PlaneShift is first and foremost a roleplaying game, so you\'re expected to act in-character at all times in-game, with out-of-character text designated with parentheses or brackets, and all of your actions in-game must have a roleplay reason. Just a reminder I simply must give to people when they first ask about combat :)

[rpglover]

Yea I read that whole instruction guide on your website and noted some important shortkeys to add in as soon as I start playing (/attack, /cast ? spell_name, etc.).  But cant you guys put in new updates for majic and pets without having another wipe out?

[Karyuu]

/attack is already there :) Plus you can just double-click on targets. New content for magic and pets needs to be created first - and while the team is certainly working on bits here and there, there are other things they\'ve already wanted to add for a while (crafting, visual character variaton, beginning with hair colors and hair cuts, etc.). It\'s all on the To-Do list, but prioritized some.

[rpglover]

I see.  I guess i will havve to try it out for myself to really know.  Is there anything else I should know before I get planeshift?

[Karyuu]

Explore, be nice, act in-character as much as you can, read the Naming Policy, and have fun :)