In regards to PvP and high levels

[zombniac]

My Arelith experience has been super fun. You collect your writ, go out and hunt monsters with your party and then have fun at your quarter or whichever tavern. But as a casual player, I feel like level 30 is too high of a level scale. I have been playing very casually despite every day and finding it very difficult to reach full level. Even then will veteran level 30 characters just beat you with ease. I can hardly take two steps in getting to know people or conflict without being bashed by a massively unfightable level 30. It's unfair to anyone not willing to invest LOADS of time into build mechanics and focus heavily on PvP. Also, PvP in my experiences have always been completely unfair, unrewarding and unenjoyable. Despite some rare cases such as a massive, planned battle or other rare cases for example, how many other people can say differently? I feel like a 1-10 or 1-20 level scale would be much better.

[Good Character]

In a game that is primarily boiled down to RNG and turn-based hitting, there needs to be intricate class mechanics. There are multiple resources that help you with understanding those mechanics.

On the issue of level 30, it's hardly difficult to reach it for the rewards you receive. Also, keep in mind even if we went to level 20 it would be equally as difficult and time consuming to reach level 20, because all the XP gains would be divided.

How are you getting into constant PvP, and why has the PvP you've been in not rewarding?

[chris a gogo]

I've quite enjoyed most of my PvP experiences and generally those that were badly done i have received tells apologizing and often a raise, you get the occasional jerk that is all about just there own enjoyment but they don't tend to last to long before getting banned/deleted.

I would say with my current main im about 60-40 in PvP wins to losses but winning is not really the point of the encounters rather it's about building conflict and interest so that others want to go fight my character as a foe, and want to do so in a fun way rather than a boring run up and attack with no RP, which has happened recently but I didn't report it as it was the most fun losing ive ever had.

Watching the heroic(fully buffed) paladin running away from the unbuffed goblin had me LMAO for a good ten mins.

[Ninjimmy]

I mean... there are servers that are 1-20, if that's more your speed?

It might be better to avoid PvP in general? I mean... why and how are you getting into fights with guys way higher lvl than you? O.o

[The GrumpyCat]

My Arelith experience has been super fun. You collect your writ, go out and hunt monsters with your party and then have fun at your quarter or whichever tavern. But as a casual player, I feel like level 30 is too high of a level scale. I have been playing very casually despite every day and finding it very difficult to reach full level. Even then will veteran level 30 characters just beat you with ease. I can hardly take two steps in getting to know people or conflict without being bashed by a massively unfightable level 30. It's unfair to anyone not willing to invest LOADS of time into build mechanics and focus heavily on PvP. Also, PvP in my experiences have always been completely unfair, unrewarding and unenjoyable. Despite some rare cases such as a massive, planned battle or other rare cases for example, how many other people can say differently? I feel like a 1-10 or 1-20 level scale would be much better.

I'm not saying you're wrong... in fact you may even be right! But this is one of those things that likely just isn't going to change, or if it does it wont' be for a long, long, long time. This server is pretty much built with the idea it's level 1-30 and changing that - especialy changing that downwards, would mean changing and rebalencing absolutly massive swathes of content. It'd be basicaly building the entire server from the gound up again I expect.

So your point is interesting and probably well made, but it's... kinda the way it is.

[The Impregnable Derp]

I think a lot of us really underestimate how many casual players there are who never even reach level 30 on a character even after years of playing. I think a lot of us also forget how difficult or frustrating the game can be when you don't know much about it and are trying to scrape by as a low level character who has made questionable build decisions. Sure, it might be easy for YOU to get to level 30, maybe you have 10 hours a day to play, know the best and most optimal places to grind, have level 30 buddies handing you free wands, and another buddy on call playing a healer cleric to buff you with 200 hp overheals for your level 10 writs. It might not be that easy for a new player who doesn't know anyone or anything. So lets not be dismissive saying things like "Getting to 30 is easy!"

Far as leveling goes, I can manage to gain at least one level a day up until late teens. From there and into epics it might take a day or two. This is just doing my 3 daily writs and maybe some extra grinding or gold farming afterward to make the last 1-2k I need to level up. So getting to 14 can be done in a couple of weeks playing casually. It usually takes me 2-3 months to reach level 30 though. Those epic levels are particularly painful once you can no longer do writs and you need 25k+ xp to level up. The good news though is that with so many writs having their level ranges increased we will have a much easier time with gaining epic levels.

With regards to PVP, I probably PVP way more than the average Arelith player. I tend to play conflict heavy characters and am not afraid to be the first to hostile. The vast overwhelming majority of PVP experiences I had were fantastic, typically the other person will message me to say thanks for the RP or that it was awesome, if they don't then I will reach out to them. Sometimes I lose and they message me to apologize for killing my character, I let them know there's no hard feelings and thank them for the RP. Most PVPers on Arelith are cool, mature people, it is rare to hear of an actual bad PVP experience, and when it happens the worst offenders are usually punished one way or another.

PVP is also very easy to avoid if you want to avoid it. Just carry a couple of portal lenses and use one to teleport somewhere else at the first sign of trouble. When I was a new player I almost never got into PVP because if I ran up on some evil army of demon summoners I had enough sense to just lens out. Also just avoid heavy traffic areas, if you go to the most popular spot to grind where everyone else goes to grind then eventually one party with a paladin is going to bump into a party with summoned fiends or undead and then it is on. If you play a stealth character there are relatively few characters with enough investment into Spot or Listen to catch you. I'm able to get around settlements on a wanted character fairly easily with minimal investment in the Bluff skill and no dedicated bluff gear. No one's caught me yet.

[Nitro]

I think a lot of us really underestimate how many casual players there are who never even reach level 30 on a character even after years of playing. I think a lot of us also forget how difficult or frustrating the game can be when you don't know much about it and are trying to scrape by as a low level character who has made questionable build decisions. Sure, it might be easy for YOU to get to level 30, maybe you have 10 hours a day to play, know the best and most optimal places to grind, have level 30 buddies handing you free wands, and another buddy on call playing a healer cleric to buff you with 200 hp overheals for your level 10 writs. It might not be that easy for a new player who doesn't know anyone or anything. So lets not be dismissive saying things like "Getting to 30 is easy!"

I'll stick to my guns and say "getting to 30 is easy" as someone who only has about 2hrs to play daily at best, and usually plays solo. Writs really have made the leveling experience super easy, and by the time you're up in your 20's and out of writs even poorly built characters have a wide plethora of easier places that while not granting great XP, aren't hard to solo. (Unless you're doing a flat out bad build, or something masochistic like a non-conjuration spellcaster).

It's certainly incomparably easier compared to how Arelith used to be. Go back 12 years and the vast majority of the server never hit 30, and the ones who did often took months on months on end.

[mash]

"How long should it take to reach level 30?" is an ultimately a question which can only be answered with "whatever feels right for the intended target audience". Having recently reached level 30 on my first character here, I think the pace of leveling is even a little too quick. I found that people were generally very helpful in coming up with builds or teaching you the essential Arelith mechanics. Leveling with a party is strongly encouraged, being the ultimate multiplier for both fun and time efficiency. I wish rebuilds would be offered a little more leniently, as newcomers especially are prone to miscalculate the difficulties of the server and may find themselves backed into a corner quickly due to a build error. But on the other hand, restarting a character up to level 10 really is not that big of a deal.

While I can see how some may enjoy a further reduction in level pacing, it would feel off and disappointing to me.

[Curve]

I'll stick to my guns and say "getting to 30 is easy" as someone who only has about 2hrs to play daily at best, and usually plays solo.

That’s 700 hours a year. I also have an easy time getting to 30, but I know the server very well. I can definitely see where getting to 30 seems like a pipe dream for a lot of people.

The writ system to me is a Pandora’s box. We can never really go back. The cat is out of the bag. We are so spoiled that you hear people say things like “get my daily level”.

As to high level PvP? You just have to roll with it. Ask for advice if you want to get better. This game has some strange and esoteric mechanics. And let the losses affect your character, have them change and be less whatever it is that initiates these death battles. Try shifting your character away from open hostilities and try to achieve your goals in different ways.

No matter your ooc opinions try to allow your characters to react ic. Change, learn, get bitter, whatever.

[malcolm_mountainslayer]

The server owner himself enjoys pre 30 conflict and isn't about lvl 30 play for both pve and pvp. If your constantly getting into fights with lvl 30s, you may be doing something wrong IG. There are stil lots of players out there who often never/rarely get to 30 on their characters. That being said, if you got a bone to pick with 30s, then follow a build guide and get to 30. But there is no reason you have to be in conflict with 30s.

Play on skal as a super easy/practical example.

[Watchful Glare]

My Arelith experience has been super fun. You collect your writ, go out and hunt monsters with your party and then have fun at your quarter or whichever tavern. But as a casual player, I feel like level 30 is too high of a level scale. I have been playing very casually despite every day and finding it very difficult to reach full level. Even then will veteran level 30 characters just beat you with ease. I can hardly take two steps in getting to know people or conflict without being bashed by a massively unfightable level 30. It's unfair to anyone not willing to invest LOADS of time into build mechanics and focus heavily on PvP. Also, PvP in my experiences have always been completely unfair, unrewarding and unenjoyable. Despite some rare cases such as a massive, planned battle or other rare cases for example, how many other people can say differently? I feel like a 1-10 or 1-20 level scale would be much better.

That is an unfortunate truth of the server; Arelith is easier than a handful of other servers as far as my experience has allowed me to see, but this disparity remains the same everywhere.

It being 'faster' leveled as it is in Arelith works well with the very light 'consequences' system in place. Even if you are attacked as a level 10 by a level 30, the most he can do is take away a trivial amount of XP, and maybe prevent you from showing up around the same populated area for 24 hours. But he can't 'perma' your character, or lock you out of the game, or really impose any other sort of permanent consequences upon your character. It's... Fleeting at best. It may frustrate you in the moment, but that's about it. It's not really dreaded from an Out of Character perspective, though it might be traumatic In Character.

So PvP is not really something that works as a regulating force in the world, or a 'true' measure of anything, from an Out of Character perspective. Even if you kill someone at a lower level they will, eventually, reach level 30 and you won't able to as easily anymore. It has no weight per se. If you kill people, and they don't stay dead, then it's always going to be more rewarding (and indeed, more effective) to see other ways to achieve your goals, whatever they are. Simply because those ways are more permanent, ironically, than trying to kill another player character.

On the other hand, because PvP has very little (by comparison to 'harsher' server settings) consequence to it and because the server as a whole is very big and populated you will see a lot more of it. I see PvP almost daily even though my characters rarely, if ever, partake in it.

I have a simple rule for that that other peolpe share: You do not engage in PvP until you are level 30. Because most people who are willing to engage in PvP or, in fact, push for it are level 30 with the equipment they need in order to be appropiatedly competitive already sorted out. Not to mention a (likely) highly competitive meta build. This includes any and all forms of PvP as I've seen, from sporadic fights to planned mass PvP. If you try to participate and you are not level 30 with your gear sorted out, you will get trashed by someone that is.

The 'do not engage in PvP until you are level 30'. This can be reflected IC as your character being new into the city and knowing they have to keep their head down until they've built up the alliances, the connections, the strength to really have anything to bring to the table to the push and pull.

You will rarely see a bully picking on an established level 30 character with skleens and top tier 5% equipment, because they OOCly know their odds and wouldn't enjoy getting trashed and being ridiculed. And you won't see many low level freshly made character trying to bully others with a lot more established presence due to the same. It's not something many people enjoy writing, describing a loss or a humiliating defeat out of their own volition.

It's awkward, I know, but with the current model, it is as they say though it may bring little comfort at large "It is what it is". There are avenues with which to avoid PvP, though uncertain because it's not a rule that your character must be given an out. If someone is killing you repeatedly for little to no reason however I would reach out to that player and communicate my concerns, see if they can tone it down a little because it achieves nothing but giving another player a constant overwhelming negative experience. See if you can reach a middle ground, or an understanding. Cut your character a deal.

[Skibbles]

About five or six years ago it was pretty difficult stuff to get to level 30. Well maybe not 'difficult' but way more time consuming.

I was fairly new to Arelith at that time, so I may be incorrect in the wider scope, but when my first character hit level 30 I felt like very few other characters were on that level.

I also remember having horrifically garbage equipment. I'm talking a cleric with +1 cha full plate and 20% weight reduction on account of being a CHA battlecleric (this was back when plate actually slowed you down too, so my cleric mostly wore leather armor). Whew lad, it was good stuff.

It took me crazy hours to get to thirty, though most of it was just RP.

Currently Arelith is just more streamlined. The mechanics are less obscure, there's more access to the basin than ever before, there's a plethora of excellent gear to make or buy, and the wiki is actually useful and up to date (seriously - thank you so much wiki people).

As far as pvp goes I've had very few encounters where it was not possible to deescalate tension. The greatest exception being usually weeks if not months of RP buildup and friction to where pvp is obviously unavoidable. Even so, the buildup is usually intentional.

I'm not sure how to better advise against finding oneself in pvp, though. I know it's quite possible to go a very long time without getting into pvp - even in the Underdark - by simply deescalating or just not making roleplay overwhelmingly confrontational. It might also help not to make a character with a faith or set of powers that are extreme - such as a warlock, or hardcore Cyricist, or hardcore Cyricist warlock.

[xanrael]

My thoughts worth less than 2 cents:

I personally saw a lot more PvP with both parties being below max level pre writs and generally enjoyed that more as it seemed a bit more organic than the mentality of "okay I've hit level 30 and have my gear squared away, my character suddenly found their spine". Sometimes you even see the mentality taken to the extreme where someone adopts an uncompromising attitude because it's a minor inconvenience for death and they know they'll be back.

That's not to say I'm suggesting for people to pick fights with others 10 levels higher than them either, backing down makes sense.

I think there can be a bit too much meta-knowledge at play sometimes and if the difference in action is the OOC thought of "well I don't want to die and probably be delayed on doing this writ" vs "I'm max level so whatever" maybe reconsider for a bit. Not that wishing changes things, but I'd like to see non-max levels be a tiny bit more eager for PvP with equivalent level people and level 30s a tiny bit less as appropriate for their character. Not a major shift, just 5% to 10% would be about right.

[Fargreze]

My Arelith experience has been super fun. You collect your writ, go out and hunt monsters with your party and then have fun at your quarter or whichever tavern. But as a casual player, I feel like level 30 is too high of a level scale. I have been playing very casually despite every day and finding it very difficult to reach full level. Even then will veteran level 30 characters just beat you with ease. I can hardly take two steps in getting to know people or conflict without being bashed by a massively unfightable level 30. It's unfair to anyone not willing to invest LOADS of time into build mechanics and focus heavily on PvP. Also, PvP in my experiences have always been completely unfair, unrewarding and unenjoyable. Despite some rare cases such as a massive, planned battle or other rare cases for example, how many other people can say differently? I feel like a 1-10 or 1-20 level scale would be much better.

If you are a melee build, you will have a hard time fighting other melees above you - that's the nature of Attack growth. Believe it or not, you've only just scratched the surface. Even at 30, many characters are still a long gearing grind from being able to handle the hard DC hurdles throwable by any half-brained caster. Worse, most characters can't create their own custom equipment via dweomercrafting, so you need to hire a friend to do that tedious menuing for you.

The temporary solution to plug holes in your saves is to make use of immunities (via potions and wands), which requires knowledge of the relevant effects (Negative energy protection, Freedom of movement, Death ward, Clarity, etc.) and what they guard against, plus access to those potions (i.e. you must spend the increasingly scarce gold to buy them). You also want potions of Balagarn's and True strike to be able to knock down and hit dexterity builds, for example. Having a good chance may come down to knowing your enemy, and having time for premeditative buffing to get the right effects up in safety - not always an option. Sometimes you have to run. Surviving is much closer to winning than losing, so put your Haste and Invisibility potions where you can find them immediately. If they don't have floaty eyes above their heads, invisibility is a great idea. Let the foe gossip about how you fled without having any proof.

Most battles versus meta builds are tests of all of your knowledge, gearing, item stock, and execution. Often they can apply this comprehensive multi-pronged pressure with remarkably little effort.

For example, some builds will simply run over anyone without great AC or evasive skill, like Barb/WMs (bonus: they have a fear aura! - another saves test), or push your resources to the brink, like Pale Masters (I hope you brought your 50 Lore gear and Word of Faith scrolls!). To survive, you may have to be able to identify a problem you have never encountered, and react to it quickly. What's this, I'm moving slowly? Was that a failed fort save against the Spellsword's Cold Imbue, or did their Rogue get off a Crippling Strike? Who cares, hit the Restoration wand (which I bought, and hotbarred, or put in a convenient place in my well-organized PvP inventory tab)!

PvP in this game is not for the faint of heart, or those who fear that which they do not understand. Even after over a thousand hours I learn things every day. In my eyes, I have never been in a fair fight, and that includes the pre-arranged arena duels - character matchups are rarely even, and the archetypes I've played tend to do well against some builds and struggle versus others. One example: Weaponmasters will destroy opponents who can't evade their attacks (caught unprepared?); Pale Masters laugh at WMs with crit immunity.

THE CRASH COURSE

1.) Follow a build. The years of knowledge condensed into a premade build sheet will make you viable and show you the strengths of your class(es), and there is pretty much always a mechanically powerful build that fits your character concept. This is a must; I either acquire or make a sheet before I start any character.

2.) Haste always. Movement is the strongest thing in this game, if you can't move you're probably dying. Also you do everything else twice as fast, and that action economy is really important.

3.) Pick a deity to worship, get your piety high, and assign pray to your hotbar. If something you don't understand happens and you appear to be rushing towards your death, type -pray or click your button. One foolproof "second chance" per critical battle, at the cost of a little XP. See point 2: if you are immobilized or having trouble getting away, this means someone is probably executing a good plan about how to kill you.

4.) Get your AC up. Utilize Improved Expertise. Use magic effects like Barkskin, Mage Armor, Cat's Grace, Shield, Improved Invisibility, everything you can get your hands on. Melee and ranged enemies cannot kill you without hitting you. Just slowing down the rate of hits gives you time to think.

5.) Get basic Gear. Most melees want 7 points in their Attack stat (strength? or if you have Weapon Finesse, maybe dexterity), 7 in constitution, and to gain the remaining 5 points by drinking the relevant potions. Save for a good cloak (Sergeant's Cloak and Displacer Beast Cloak are great choices depending on your build, not the least because they come with stat points), and try to get a Greensteel weapon, but try to prioritize AC (a better shield, better armor) over weapons.

6.) Learn about Flatfooting. You can massively decrease your enemy's AC by putting them in a flatfooted state. This can swing a fight. A successful Knockdown attack, Balagarn's versus a dexer, attacking out of invisibility, stealth or darkness, etc: these can all help you hit otherwise "unfightable" opponents. Standing and trading blows is rarely a good plan - get tricky! Learn about one flatfooting strategy (e.g. drink invisibility pot and attack while they can't see you) and test THEIR knowledge. Also, don't move with WASD during combat, it'll leave you flatfooted. The mouse will keep your action queue filled (those little squares at the top-left when you're doing stuff) and thereby keep you alive.

7.) Fight. You will remember why you lost every time it happens and a little experience puts you above most players. Someone once said "The player who knows his build best tends to win" and I believe it. There's no better way to learn your character's mechanics than to use them; friendly arena duels with good players are a huge eye-opener and a fast track to being decent. Characters with consistent beliefs will end up in conflict... embrace it!

[Hazard]

Don't move with WASD during combat, it'll leave you flatfooted.

This is so very important. Maybe it's because I am playing from Australia or maybe it's because the game is just old, but I've always found that using WASD can be helpful to overcome pathing issues, but every so often your character will just STOP and be stuck in their action pose, giving the enemy time to catch up and beat the snot out of you.

[Bunnysmack]

Massive +1 to Fargreze's post. That is some of the best generalized advice for PvP I can even imagine!

As for the OP, I know it can be frustrating to deal with seemingly unbeatable opposition, but you have to remember that Arelith has a wide range of player personalities and preferences. Some people enjoy a more casual pace, and are averse to conflict, others get excited about the challenge and strategy of either political or PvP confrontation. Neither mindset is definitively right or wrong, but we all have to share playtime in this server, so we all have to learn how to live with one another.

As it stands, the PvP rules do a decent job of striking a middle ground on that front; they aren't a perfect set of rules, but nothing is ever perfect when it comes to conflict-regulating laws. Active RP is needed prior to PvP, and the DM team tends to frown a lot on players that attack PCs purely in an MMO mindset of "noob crushing" just to feel powerful. The fact that active RP is needed means that the defending PC has decent opportunity to 1. dialogue in order to de-escalate the situation, 2. Use a spell or item to immediately escape the area, or 3. simply run away.

The third option might sound ineffectual, but as someone who has both fled PvP, and pursued it, on a number of occasions...I can tell you that the nwn engine is rather generous to the needs of someone who just sprints away from hostiles as fast as they can; it messes with line of sight, applying melee flurries, range targeting, and can rapidly create confusion as to which transitions the pursued party used in escaping their attackers.

[Seven Sons of Sin]

The woes of Arelith are not the mechanical imbalance between new and old, it is the system and server knowledge.

People who have been here for 15+ years (of which, there are more than you think) have an immeasurable advantage in almost every aspect of the game.

One of Arelith's surprising features (or lack thereof) compared to other big multiplayer games is actually the lack of a 'reset' or 'shakeup.'

The biggest one maybe was the Lore changes really shifting how a lot of mechanics and builds work. The problem still, however, is that it was a pivot - those with mastery, experience, and knowledge really understood the consequences.

Arelith is very hard to communicate all its information effectively - you have to grapple with 3.0 NWN, then Arelith's "3.5-ification" systems, then with the Forgotten Realms, and then with the Arelithian take on the Forgotten Realms.

It's a super challenging experience, and relies on new players really learning an absolute megaton of information.

[Kuma]

The woes of Arelith are not the mechanical imbalance between new and old, it is the system and server knowledge.

People who have been here for 15+ years (of which, there are more than you think) have an immeasurable advantage in almost every aspect of the game.

One of Arelith's surprising features (or lack thereof) compared to other big multiplayer games is actually the lack of a 'reset' or 'shakeup.'

The biggest one maybe was the Lore changes really shifting how a lot of mechanics and builds work. The problem still, however, is that it was a pivot - those with mastery, experience, and knowledge really understood the consequences.

Arelith is very hard to communicate all its information effectively - you have to grapple with 3.0 NWN, then Arelith's "3.5-ification" systems, then with the Forgotten Realms, and then with the Arelithian take on the Forgotten Realms.

It's a super challenging experience, and relies on new players really learning an absolute megaton of information.

100% this. It's never been easier to reach level 30 and I doubt that's going to get any easier any time soon. In fact I'd oppose it wholeheartedly.

[Blood on my Lips]

If your constantly getting into fights with lvl 30s, you may be doing something wrong IG.

This. I can't imagine why you are finding yourself in so many pvp situations. The average player does not get into many situations like this.

[DM Rex]

I wouldn't say wrong. I would say in some way provocative.

We could always go to level 40....

we won't, don't worry.

[Anomandaris]

My Arelith experience has been super fun. You collect your writ, go out and hunt monsters with your party and then have fun at your quarter or whichever tavern. But as a casual player, I feel like level 30 is too high of a level scale. I have been playing very casually despite every day and finding it very difficult to reach full level. Even then will veteran level 30 characters just beat you with ease. I can hardly take two steps in getting to know people or conflict without being bashed by a massively unfightable level 30. It's unfair to anyone not willing to invest LOADS of time into build mechanics and focus heavily on PvP. Also, PvP in my experiences have always been completely unfair, unrewarding and unenjoyable. Despite some rare cases such as a massive, planned battle or other rare cases for example, how many other people can say differently? I feel like a 1-10 or 1-20 level scale would be much better.

The server is constantly being optimized for mechanical balance at what is represented by the top 5% ish of builds and players for PvP at lvl 30. I personally don't like this obsession with mechanical balance, but that's the way it's been going for a while now. It's an RPG not an MMO or class based FPS. If someone wants to play a wet towel of a wizard with 16 intelligence as a rp concept that's a choice. If someone wants to min-max some murderous killing machine and be almost unkillable 1v1 for 99% of builds out there, that's fine with me too. It will all get sorted out one way or another ICly & OOCly (if there's griefing/rule breaks). I have no idea why there is a compulsion for this idea of perfect balance beyond a rough approximation of viability for a range of builds (which we already have). Here's why I say that.

The reality is the greatest commodity or advantage in this game is TIME. Farm the gold, grind the lvls, do the research for a good build, make the IC relationships and accumulate social power (not to mention roll 5-10 PCs for a uber reward race). The OP is right in that it's unfair to casual players making it difficult to assert one's self in conflict when you're poorer, weaker and have fewer friends than the opposition.

My question is, so what? Go join a faction that's powerful. Just wearing that Radiant Heart pin or having the right Drow House name in your name (while attracting some trouble) will deter others given your association. There are solutions to this that allow you to partake in conflict without relying solely on "your" mechanical power. Some of my favorite rp moments are just doing dungeons with random pcs at low lvls and discovering more about them and their back stories. Also adjust your expectations for how your PC can participate in the world, but that doesn't mean limit your fun. You can't be a mover and shaker while hopping on for 1-2 hrs a week. Other people are putting in serious time to build factions and the world is moving on without you while you're doing other stuff. That's ok! You can still pop in, rp, have a blast and contribute to the setting in a meaningful way.

I'd say that if you're in PvP more than even occasionally, you're 100% antagonizing or provoking it. If you're upset that you're ending up in PvP this often, take a step back and reflect on your characters' behavior. You can't be a religious, principled paladin and challenge murderous psychopaths then be upset when they death spell you or take you to a dungeon for interrogation, execution or ransom.

Does the idea of playing a character that has no spine and stands for nothing sound fun? No.. The issue is we want our cake and to eat it too. We want to be able to spit on the floor and curse the name of a true villain, or galivant about a civilized surface settlement as a monster race that is literally the stuff of NIGHTMARES for the common folk without consequences. If you're surrounded by bandits, cower in fear, find some creative way to negotiate/talk your way out of it, give up your coin, or seriously you deserve to die. If you're a drow on the surface, be afraid, you will be hunted, executed and at LEAST made to fear for your life by the most gracious of PCs and sent packing tail between your legs.

Nothing will solve the disparity in power, not reaching lvl 30, not using an in-meta build or trying to adjust balance. There is always someone that will get the drop on you, bring more friends, invest more time or just be better. That's ok. The goal is to have fun not win.

[Bunnysmack]

I will also add that the most mechanically powerful thing I've ever done is send out an SOS to friends via GSF Illusion or Wisp bottle and just stall for time. Not personally powerful enough? Make friends, get wisp bottle.

[Straxus]

I have a level 19 Spellsword that basically stalled where he is at because his personality (the one I made for him.) Doesn't work well with groups, plus at a certain point he felt like they were taking away from bank account.

I made a new character, and tried to make him way more willing to group up, jovial, and whatnot.

I can't imagine grinding to level 30 in months, when it took me a few years to get to level 19.

I am not complaining about PVP, I only had one experience with it, where it was unwarranted, but fun, it was those around me, that took it farther than it needed to go.

I was always cool with it.

I suppose it is all in the company you keep, and how you handle being killed... the RP is the reward.

[In Sorrow We Trust]

I don't find getting to 30 that hard personally. It's just a thing you do. I've been 30 on 6 characters and on a few of them i never even took writs. The scale from 1-20 is completely different, and cuts a lot of options.

[Reallylongunneededplayername]

PVP:

My advice, Don't PvP. Arelith plays fine without it and it is easily avoided

High levels:

Getting to level 30 is stupid easy, And I personally like the mid range and struggle of leveling up so this is a bit sad and I am often done with a character after 2-3 months. (And I don't grind, I just.. play a lot)

We used to have a better leveling system (Edit: To my opinion) in the Jjjerm era where you took like years to reach level 30 and this made those who were level 30 special.

I think there is also more pressure to become level 30 due materials, pvp and skills and the current staff plays in on that: Writs, Gift of lvl 15 etc. (Personally I think Writs should only give coin and if you start out at lvl 15, That's a big loss on experience)

Know though, a smart lvl 10 can beat a foolish lvl 20.