Heya folks,

Thought I would stop by and see what was happening in the game and the guild. I have seen some of the older names I recognize and many of those I do not. So, is it worth it for an OLD Ranger to come back? I see a lot of things have changed and it may not be worth it for me to return. Well, for those that know me, they know it was not about the circles for me, it was the people in the guild.

Let me know what's changed(Short version).

Hope to see you all soon.

Nuich

I'm not sure how long you've been sleeping but I can comment a little. I was asleep for about 14 years and awoke about 4 months ago. The experience gained and leveling is MUCH faster.
Magic: When I left I was 90 circle and was one of the highest rangers. Now I'd say I am in the mid range. There are many higher. Magic has changed and I really like the changes. We can learn targeted magic now. There are some really fun spells, oath spell, cotc, and the target spells are especially fun. Check out the posts on ranger magic. When I was in the realm before you couldnt move at all without breaking the blend spell effects. Now you can drink herb potions, pick up loot, change weapons, and even walk all over. I love that btw. Ranger magic is better than ever in my opinion.

Companions haven't gotten any attention at all that I can see. I am guessing no one has touched them in 14 years. They desperately need help. recently people have said we wont lose them any more and they are going to get some love. I haven't seen any evidence of this. I just released a senile wolf to Kalika about a month ago. I think there must be a real shortage of gms who are interested in doing anything with the companion system. This is just my take on it.

Crafting has gone though a lot of changes. The systems are completely different and rely on specific crafting experience. I have to say they are wonderful now. It was just awful to go from making some of the best leathers, and bows in the realm to be back at square one. However, after gaining experience in them and finally being able to craft items, I have to say they are much much better now and really fun.

Tracking is horribly broken now. When you track a wolf, critter, or player the round time is so long even tracking to 3 rooms away is just impossible. They are long gone before you get there. If you track anything beyond that it is probably past a barrior (brook, climb, etc.) and you lose the track. We used to track our wolves, send them to find a dead person, and track to them to drag them to a cleric. Now rangers can really do nothing constructive that I can see with tracking. Even personal trail markers are useless now since you can't track past any barriors. It is much faster to just walk. I am not holding my breath but I hope this system gets some help in my lifetime.

The ranger tail system is still wonderful and there are more trails too.

Foraging is still great for rangers. We still come up with the best quality herbs.

As long as your focus is not pvp ranger hunting and combat is still as fun as it has always been. Sniping is still wonderful.

There seem to be a lot of other old timers like us who have returned to the realm lately. This has been wonderful and they have been a great help to make my experience as fun as it has always been. Many of us have been WOWed or lost in Elder Scrolls and other places, but have missed the depth and creativity found in the Realms. The folks are still supportive and friendly as ever. That is probably the best part.

These are a lot more things others can talk about. These are just a few things I thought you might consider and are just my take on it.

>>Tactics=the old multi opponent skill.

Tactics = the non damaging portion of the old brawling skill. FWIW Defending is more the old multi opponent skill, if anything.

I've enjoyed rangering all along, though I'm biased. Welcome back! Feel free to reach out on AIM (SpiffDR) with any questions. Elanthipedia is best resource for information.

Jalika

>>Defending is the defender's side of the multi penalty, and tactics is on the offensive side if that's ever relevant knowledge!

Uhh, pretty sure that's not at all right. The brawling skill was split into brawling and tactics. Multi opponent, afaik, was purely the defensive adjustment of fighting multiple mobs at your level, scaling back the penalty. Tactics is definitely the formerly non-damaging brawling attacks.

Nuich,

Welcome back, I remember you. I came back from a long sleep and I'm glad I did. Here's a summary of my experience:

Circling - Was never a circle chaser but the new system makes me feel like one now. Ridiculously easy.
Crafting - Huge improvement overall. I'd say bow-making, light armor-making and alchemy are awesome. Fletching has taken a step backwards. Don't know about the other crafts.
Companions - Well ya know. No change there.
Magic - Magic system is crazy awesome. Training magic is almost like a mini-game for me. Feats, scrolls, etc etc.
Critters - Much better variety. Can travel around and find stuff to hunt everywhere.
Trails - I love me some trails.
Horses - These look interesting but I haven't dabbled yet.

I'm usually in Rossman's or Shard if you want to holler.

Lukrani