New Character Guide

From AvatarWiki
Revision as of 17:26, 13 November 2024 by Vagonuth (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

New to AVATAR?

New to AVATAR and creating your first character (or two)? Here's some general advice:

  • Most AVATAR players have multiple characters called "alts" so don't be afraid to experiment and there's no need to build your perfect character right from the start. (Note: multiplay, or playing more than one character at the same time, is forbidden except on mday - see help mday)
  • Your first few weeks of playing AVATAR will be at the lowmort (levels 1 to 50) and hero level so its worth considering how your initial character(s) will play at this level. Lord play will come later and shouldn't be the focus of your initial characters.
  • Low mort is mostly a solo affair these days however don't be afraid to ask for help. Hero play is mostly done in groups.

Race / Class Recommendations

So what character to make first? Ultimately the choice is yours and there’s no one right answer however with the choices below you won’t go wrong:

  • Just getting started and want to check out the game to see if you like it? I’d recommend going Lizardman Warrior. Warriors have the easiest early game experience with their high damage output and high hit points and they excel at both hitting and tanking. Lizardmen receive high hp gains and have Racial Armorleather providing a reduction to damage received. Other recommend races to start with are Orc (higher damage output) or if you are thinking of going for one of the Warrior prestige classes (Bodyguard or Ripper), then Ogre is a good choice with the downside that they have a higher TNL (if going Ogre Bodyguard, only train your Intelligence to 15).
  • Are you enjoying the game and want to get into the hero gameplay? I’d recommend going Dwarf Archer and then becoming a Fusilier at level 50. Most hero gameplay occurs in groups with other players and until you have a large hero, it can be difficult to solo and collect gear for yourself. Fusiliers excel at soloing early and having a Fusilier as one of your first characters will allow you to collect hero gear for all your alts. They are an incredibly flexible class that can solo, hit in groups and even tank. Starting as a Dwarf will give you high hp while retaining the option of remorting into a powerful Ignatur in the future. Another racial options is Gnome for nofail casting.
  • Do you want to play a spellcaster? Then I recommend going Drow Mage. Mages (and subsequently Sorcerors and Wizards) become some of the strongest classes in the game at Lord however they can be challenging for a new player. As a new hero, mages have low hp and mana pools and contribute little to groups and thus are often required to solo or lead groups themselves. There is a good argument for creating at least a low hero mage early and that is for their ability to enchant gear. Combined with a Dwarf Fusilier (above), you would be able to farm gear with the Fusilier and then enchant it with your mage, giving you early access to some great gear making all future characters of yours that much more powerful. For racial options, I recommend Drow over Elf for the lower TNL. Other options include Gnome (which can prestige to Wizard at level 50) or Lizardman which are not great spellcasters however they have good hp and retain the ability to remort to the powerful Tuataur or Dragon races.
  • Do you like to heal and support groups? I’d recommend going Elf Cleric and then becoming a Vizier. The Vizier class has an interesting healing mechanic. They can mark mobs with the spell “final rites” which then gives a chance of a pool being created on their death. Vizier’s can pop these pools with the spell “sanguen pax”, a powerful healing spell which provides hp to the entire group. Vizier’s receive limited mana compared to other spell casters however they also receive the spell “phlebotomize” which when cast on an enemy near death, will do significant damage while providing mana recovery. The race Elf is recommended as an Elf makes for a good Cleric as well as Druid if the player decides to go those routes instead of Vizier. If one is certain they want to make a Vizier then a Drow would be better than an Elf for the lower TNL. Additionally, a Gnome would also work. Centaurs make for some of the most powerful Druids and Vizier however they have a significantly higher TNL and it not recommended for an early character.

Race Considerations

When choosing a race, there's a few things to consider:

  • What is the "TNL" of the race, i.e., how much experience points is required to level the race. The higher the TNL, the slower your levelling experience will be. For a first character, I'd recommend a TNL between 1052 and 1333.
  • How much HP and Mana will that race have? This is mostly determined by Constitution and Intelligence respectively.
  • Does the race have a racial armor bonus? This will provide a flat reduction to damage received and keep you alive longer.
  • Does the race have a racial damage / archer / sneak modifier? These will provide boosts to your damage depending on your class.
  • For spellcasters, is the race "nofail" on spells, meaning does it have a chance to fail when its casts or will it succeed every time. Additionally, do the race receive any special spell cost reduction modifiers. The lower the spell cost, the more you can cast!
  • Do you plan to play one of the remort races? If so, ensure the race you're playing as meets the remort race conditions.

Class Considerations

The game playstyle is very open and all class can contribute at all levels in someway or another. That being said, you may want to consider what type of playstyle you wish to have once you lord. The playstyles at lord can roughly be broken into the following categories (note: this is an oversimplification and many characters can play in a multiple of styles). The most popular classes are bolded however please play what class you like best! (Remort classes marked with a *).

A typical lord group will have 1 to 3 tanks (with 1-2 of them being from the Main Tank Category). A healer which will typically be a Priest (or dual other types of healers) for harder runs. Non-Priest healers can often be sufficient for simpler XP runs but can struggle on harder runs.

A group will always require firepower to kill mobs. Often this is made up of Sorcerers, Wizards and other types of spellpower. Some runs requires both spell and and melee firepower requiring a mix of the two. There are a few special runs that are "nospell" (can't cast spells for the majority of it) in which case the firepower will need to be predominately melee.

Stabbers are always welcomed in groups due to their high opening damage. Utility is also a benefit, especially blade dancers which can both provide group mana regeneration and a strong group defense buff through their dances.

Quests

Diplomatic Corp (DC) Quests

These are an important set of quests to complete as they provide a permanent boost to your stats throughout the life of your character, eliminating the need for leveling gear. There are five quests in total and you can complete one quest for levels 10 - 19, 20 - 29, etc. As the quest ends with a fight against a miniboss, most players wait till the ninth level in order to complete this quest. It is recommended to upgrade your gear and skills before this battle. If you need help with these quests, don't hesitate to ask for assistance on chat. Note that to maximize the benefits of these quests, you need to successfully complete four of the five (meaning its okay to fail / skip one). The quests get harder each time with the fifth quest being the hardest by far so its best not to skip an earlier one. See Diplomatic Corps for details.

Other Quests

There are several other early quests that provide nice bonuses but are not essential to complete. These quests include: Wayside Kobold Slayer Quest (+5% melee or spell casting, complete before lvl 10), Bonkers! Quest (+30hp/ma/mv, complete before level 10), and Exemplary Citizen Award Quest (free level, complete before level 50, best used at level 40+). Additionally, the patrol quests series are a fun way to gain a few free levels of the course of your low mortal adventures. Start with the Solace Patrol Quest between level 10 and 20.

Other Important Info

Training

In general, you always want to train Wis first, then Con, then Int in order to maximize your practice point, hit point and mana gains per level. Through gear, spells or quests, you can increase your stats by a maximum of three over your max trainable (shown by the number in bracket on the score screen)

Worship

When you turn level 10, you'll likely want to worship a god. If you are a melee class without much of a need for mana, Werredan is often a good choice for its 10% bonus to XP and additional hp gained per level. Similarly, for spell casters, Shizaga is a good choice for its 5% bonus to XP and additional mana gained per level. You can see a full comparison of the gods on the Worship page and you can visit your Class page for some class specific advice. If in doubt, send a message on chat and someone is sure to

Sanctum

AVATAR has a safe area called "Sanctum" where many players gather to relax, form groups or enchant/fletch. It provides for a place to swap gear and to regenerate missing hp/mana quickly. Players can reach the Sanctum from any uncursed room on the continent by typing "sanctum" or "sanc" for short. Most players meet in the room that is down and west from there.

Notably, players are allowed to have "spell bots" in the infirmary located in the infirmary at "sanc down west". These bots can provide you with spells that can prove valuable on your journey. The druid bots (the most common being Idle and Yorrick) can provide you with nearly a complete spellup by sending them a tell with the command "full" (e.g. tell idle full or tell yorrick full). They can also provide heals (e.g., tell idle heal) and portals (e.g., tell idle pp <portal point>). The bot Neodox can provide you with steel skeleton (tell neodox steel) and Martyr is a priest that can preach up a group (beckon martyr to join your group and gtell preachup). The spells "sanctuary" and "frenzy" are both quite powerful and have shorter durations than the rest of the spells (16 tics vs 48 tics). You may want to consider returning to Sanctum when they drop to refresh them (e.g. tell idle sanc or tell idle frenzy).

If you plan to run your own spell up bot, be sure to consult the help files and talk to others as there are very specific rules on how these bots can be used (e.g., only in sanc d w, must be available to all).

Companions

Throughout AVATAR, there are a number of Adventurer's Guild where you can hire two companions to join you on your journey and assist you in battle. This becomes especially helpful if you're playing a spellcaster and at levels 41+. For more information, see Companions.

Where to level

Where to level: Exploration is half the fun and there's no race to level. Visiting the can give you a full list of areas for your level. However if you're struggling to find decent xp, this is a general overview of the areas I visit. These level ranges assume you are fully spelled and are of a relatively strong race/class. For spellcasters and cleric types, you may need to level further in an easier area before moving up a tier.


Remember to have fun!

A final note: How you play AVATAR is up to you. Some players like to try to make their characters the strongest, others like to build characters based on a theme/roleplayer while others like to experiment. There is no one right way to play and all that really matters is that you're having fun!

Retrieved from "http://melanarchy.org/index.php?title=New_Character_Guide&oldid=59634"