How PK's ruin it for all

[Allyward]

I think you are an intellectual mite if you think UO is about Pk'ing. I first played UO on a very small shard at uni (about 10 players). No one macroed so you would bow down to someone who made it to GM Swords. Yet it was incredible fun having all ten fighting ONE dragon or getting stuck in wind with no food or nightmares on your tale ( We were after the black armor).

This is what makes UO as well as the roleplay. In fact I have not met a single red that actually roleplays evil (they just run up to you cast paralyze and one shot noob kill...very entertaining).

We subverted the order guild and stole high end spells like chain lightning right under Lord British's nose (while on trail for bring a dragon in town). On this shard, I find them on the ground next to the bank.

You guys are really missing out with your GM everything and picking on those who just love playing the game and not letting a computer program play it for them.

You couldnt have said it better I still remember getting to 96% magery without macroing...it was about meeting people and having adventure. Guilds ACTUALLY meant something!! You hunted together, trained together, died together and grew together. The only fun I have had while being attakced was a guy who did it in roleplay...that is slightly more fun!

Well said Vanatos!

[Tarvok]

Personally, I enjoy the PK environment. I have NEVER played a PK, myself. I don't think I've ever defeated another player in battle. I just enjoy the sense of danger, and the puzzle that is "How do I play so I can avoid being PKed?" I like the fact that, when I see a name come on screen, I have to ask myself, is this friend, or foe... because both are possible.

I was deeply disappointed by my experience on OSIs servers for this very reason. On Trammel, all may not have been friends, but nobody could do anything to me, so there was absolutely no danger. On Felucca, EVERYONE was foe, what few that were there, since that, for the most part, was the only reason to go there. There was never any uncertainty. So I mostly played Siege... but the dreary graphical environment that was the blasted lands of Felucca just plain sucked.

I think I am fortunate that I haven't played a whole lot of UO on other shards. I can see how one might be frustrated by differences in gameplay that force one to re-evaluate one's tactics... but why are you here at an "era-accurate" shard if you aren't fond of the era accuracy? I got into UO late... but I heard tell of the days when mobs of noobs would rush the bridge, hoping at least a few of them would make it past the PK gank squad that camped the bridge. Call me a masochist, but I tend to enjoy that sort of thing.

At any rate, I don't think you're trying hard enough. I've been soloing almost exclusively since I started playing about two weeks ago, and I've only been PKed once. The reason for this is that I did the research. You didn't. Let me tell you what you should have already known:

1. Graveyards. The ONLY genuinely safe graveyard is Jeholm GY. If you're going to Brit GY, it's either because you want the PvP, or you haven't done the research. Don't go to Brit GY. I don't know the others.

2. Dungeons. It is possible to avoid PKs at dungeons. Don't make a mess in the first room; most PKs will check for a mess, and if they don't see one, they'll figure there's nobody there, rather than delving further in. RUN through that first level, move on to later ones.

That is the result of research. Now for exploration:

The wilds: There's plenty of stuff to kill out there, and, for the most part, there aren't many people out at the periphery. There's plenty of people in the triangle between Britain, Cove, and either Minoc or Covetous. The one place I got PKed was on the road between Britain and Trinsic (and I shall one day return the favor, "sellstuff" :p ), but since then, I haven't seen anyone... and if you just head out into the woods, you're pretty much safe. For larger monsters, the area north and east of Yew is pretty desolate, and filled with Ettins, Trolls, and Reapers... if you're ready for them.

As to mining, I always hear that Britain Farms is a good place to mine and avoid PKs... though that can only last until people actually start taking that advice, rather than going straight to Minoc every time. My strategy, were I to play a miner, would be to develop my character's PVM skills enough that I can clear a deep wilderness location, and do my mining out there. Hmm... maybe once I'm tired my my ranger, I might try that.

[ClowN]

t2a was a rough era for UO. PKing is a major part of the game, and a big reason why alot of people still play t2a era shards to this day. honestly, i started fresh on this server a few months ago. no one gave me ANYTHING. i have never been PKed. even when i was a newb. it is very easy to avoid dieing when your farming if you just take a few precautions.

1. setup an emergency recall macro in razor. this should be pretty self explanitory, but if you need help, someone can post a macro.

2. never leave town without being on a horse

3. try hunting in areas that arnt frequented by other player. you might be suprised how much money you can make by just farming liches and other low tier mobs. not everyone gets rich killing balrons and dragons.

4. mining is very profitable and can be done within town guards (delucia). this is how i raised my first 50k on this server to build my mage.

5. stay out of destard. i have never gone to destard and not seen a pk within 5 mins.

just stick with it, pretty soon you will have a pvp char built up, and when these half assed PKs show up to grief you, u can show them whats up. risk vs reward is what makes t2a the greatest game ever.

[kingtoad]

I like how people directly correlate PK's with players who were either bullied in school, weren't hugged enough by their mothers, or had some detrimental childhood event in their life.

I recommend the UO:R era for anyone who dislikes PKs.

[kingtoad]

I think you are an intellectual mite if you think UO is about Pk'ing. I first played UO on a very small shard at uni (about 10 players). No one macroed so you would bow down to someone who made it to GM Swords. Yet it was incredible fun having all ten fighting ONE dragon or getting stuck in wind with no food or nightmares on your tale ( We were after the black armor).

This is what makes UO as well as the roleplay. In fact I have not met a single red that actually roleplays evil (they just run up to you cast paralyze and one shot noob kill...very entertaining).

We subverted the order guild and stole high end spells like chain lightning right under Lord British's nose (while on trail for bring a dragon in town). On this shard, I find them on the ground next to the bank.

You guys are really missing out with your GM everything and picking on those who just love playing the game and not letting a computer program play it for them.

I disagree with you to an extent, about some things, but not all. The good thing about UO is that you could be what you want to be and play the game how you wanted to play it. There is much diversity in this game and it is the players and community who make the game what it is. And that was a marketing advantage that Origin played with Ultima Online--The fact that you can be who you want and play how you want.

The players that "paralyze and one shot noob kill" have always existed, in the T2A era, and even before that. Why do you think Britain Graveyard has always been a prime pvp spot on just about every shard? It is because PK's went there to kill new players. The new players would form an alliance in town and try to come out and kill the PK's. The concept of this has dated back even before T2A, which many call "the dread lord days", and that is where it all started. It was possible to kill people with an ebolt / bow shot with mediocre skills. Skill gain and stat gain played a major role in this because many of the new players had less than 50 str making them extremely vulnerable to death especially with a weapon like a heavy crossbow or halberd.

And now after the buildup, I'll get to my point. The game has evolved so much since what it originally was. Every era in UO came with a new playerbase, a new attitude, and a different approach to the game, and thus, the impact on individual players will have an affect because of it. Some people play this game to PK. Some people play this game to PVP. Some people play this game to roleplay, or craft, or kill dragons. There will never, ever be a true T2A server, and that's due to the game and playerbase evolving so much.

On a separate note, I feel the PK's add an additional thrill to the game--knowing at anytime someone can come out and destroy your world and take everything you have worked all day for.

[Hoots]

I like how people directly correlate PK's with players who were either bullied in school, weren't hugged enough by their mothers, or had some detrimental childhood event in their life.

I recommend the UO:R era for anyone who dislikes PKs.

I think what you describe above is a greif PK... I think there is a big difference between a greif pk and a real PK...

Nothing wrong with PK'ing... I am one who thinks the danger of PKs is what makes this game great. Without that danger/fear what would we have?

Greif pking is another story... and unfortunalty there are a few of those here, but i dont think they are the majority.

[kingtoad]

I recommend the UO:R era for anyone who dislikes PKs.

I think what you describe above is a greif PK... I think there is a big difference between a greif pk and a real PK...

What I was describing is the perspective of the general audience towards PKs. People have always related PK'd with childhood problems or other issues. Especially when they're angry. Usually such posts occur after an individual has been brutally slain.

[Tarvok]

Hell, *I* was bullied in school. *I* probably didn't get so many hugs as some. *I* never became a PK of any sort. I think if anything can be inferred about the psychology of a griefer from his gameplay alone (and I doubt that; I'm just saying), they aren't the bullied come looking for revenge. They are, themselves, bullies. Maybe not the physically large ones that bullies your average middle school "geek", but bullies, nonetheless.

'Course, back in the day, I wanted to be Anti, which is basically the same thing, only self-justified. :p

[kingtoad]

Hell, *I* was bullied in school. *I* probably didn't get so many hugs as some. *I* never became a PK of any sort. I think if anything can be inferred about the psychology of a griefer from his gameplay alone (and I doubt that; I'm just saying), they aren't the bullied come looking for revenge. They are, themselves, bullies. Maybe not the physically large ones that bullies your average middle school "geek", but bullies, nonetheless.

'Course, back in the day, I wanted to be Anti, which is basically the same thing, only self-justified. :p

This is why it amuses me when people correlate PK's (whether they're a "griefer PK" or not, it makes no difference in this instance) with people who have experienced childhood events that had a negative impact on their outcome as an individual.

Ever come to think that some people just like PKing? A PVPer may question some of you "How can you sit in a dungeon all day killing dragons over and over?". The question may be self-explanatory for you. But the root of the answer is that we all have different interests when it comes to this game.

[Tarvok]

And with those differences come conflict, which leads to the need to find a way to resolve that conflict, when the two playstyles come to clash. It is this conflict, and the many possibilities it gives rise to, that brings me to a server that allows unrestricted PvP, but is not necessarily exclusively dedicated to it. It WOULDN'T be fun to sit in a dungeon and camp dragons all day... but it is fun to try, knowing that at any moment, our harvest may be interrupted, and we may need to fight, or flee.

[Allyward]

Sort of agree to an extent...and yeah it is Grief PK's I mean in general, not skilled ones. Grief PK being what just happened again..finally placed a house and some guy runs in, kills me while I am trying to ban him and just steals my cape, bone armour and kills my horse...why? Because he can.

Anyway, I see where you are coming from...but the whole psych-analysis of PK = bullie or not thing..you say they might PK just because they like it. This is a valid answer, however, it is the WHY they like it...again referring to grief PK's...they like it purely because they can disrupt the game for someone else and make something out of that players control, as they infact begin to control their gameplay for a while. They purely enjoy making the game not fun for others. To me, that does say classical bully...and whether you want to go down the childhood family issues route or not as to why that person became a bully that is upto you...but a spade is still a spade even when called by a different name.

[UnknownLord]

This coming from a pk such as myself. I work, i didn't get bullied at school and i don't pk newbs wearing bone armour.. but i could. The point of pking is killing players reguardless of who they are. Saying its some 12 year old who gets picked on makes me think you got picked on in school and fail at a game. Do i tell you how to play a theif, do i tell you what to farm? "omg your lot supose to kill that!". News flash, outside of guards is everyman for himself. Don't like it, leave.

[Tomcat16789]

This coming from a pk such as myself. I work, i didn't get bullied at school and i don't pk newbs wearing bone armour.. but i could. The point of pking is killing players reguardless of who they are. Saying its some 12 year old who gets picked on makes me think you got picked on in school and fail at a game. Do i tell you how to play a theif, do i tell you what to farm? "omg your lot supose to kill that!". News flash, outside of guards is everyman for himself. Don't like it, leave.

Ive never made a PK at all in years of playing UO, I have died a heck of a lot to PKs, and I completely agree with this post. There are plenty of PK-free areas in guardzones, once you leave them it is up to you to be able to handle it.

I, for one, love the thrill of being attacked, its exciting and almost always I end up dying but that doesnt mean I can't shake it off, res, and move on.

[Allyward]

you love the thrill of being attacked and dying....ok

[Silas Lang]

yes i do like being attacked by REAL people. It would get pretty boring for me just fighting NPC monsters with no real threat. I like the feeling of having to watch my back, get in and out as fast as possible, escaping from an attack in the nick of time, getting revenge, etc. So yeah, PK's pretty much do make the game for me. Dying is a non-issue imo after all it' just a game. You die regularily to monsters right? Dont they kill your mounts?

As far as training up skills, I havent really had any problems getting pk'd while out training. Im not sure where you are venturing but it's not too hard to find a low traffic area. This shard doesnt even have that many pk's roaming around.

A negative act towards another player isnt necessarily griefing, even if its a skilled player vs a newb. I'm really not that surprised when an evil character with a red name kills me, my horse and loots me. Thats what i would expect from a despicable person. It actually feels kind of lame to be rezzed and handed recalls imo. It's role playing in a game to me and it doesnt mean theyre despicable in real life. Ever hear of "the guy you love to hate"? Villains are fun to hate/fear and it's fun to be hated or to be feared.

It's up to us as players to deal with the challenges in game. Everybody is quick to cry foul and put down certain playstyles. If you want to go duel vs skilled opps, PvP, PvM, mine, craft or w/e go ahead but not everyone wants to be like you. Like or not stealing/griefing/Pking etc are all established playstyles for some. You have the option of responding any way you want. Form an anti PK/anti griefing guild and start tracking offenders?? Might be pretty fun idk.

In the end ppl will end up playing the game the way they want to, as it should be.