Asheron's Call (1)

[born2ramble]

Reading this thread reminded me how sweet the game Asheron's Call is.

Basically, this game kicks the [censored] out of any other MMO ever created.
It came out around the same time the original EQ came out, and is by far the most unique, free-form game I've played. Every other MMO I've played since (EQ2, WoW) seems utterly rigid and confined in comparison. There's only so much you can do in most games, and your role in the game is pretty much set up for you.

AC PvP rocked faces. On the PvP server, you can attack anyone at any time in any place, under all circumstances (except for like 30 seconds immediately after you've died.) Unlike other games where superior levels/gear make an unsurmountable difference, AC often comes down to pure experience, knowledge of the area, and, of course, skill. You run across someone 5 levels higher than you in WoW, and you're toast. Even if they suck and you [censored] made the game. You can loot players just like normal critters. At level 60, you could handily kill a crappy lvl 125, loot him, get rich, and go on your way.

Characters are entirely customizable. There are no pre-designed templates or character trees. You can specialize in run and jump if you want. You spend Exp. as you get it and improve whatever you like.

Combat is very free-form compared to games with targeting systems. In WoW, you cast a spell, and it hits the person. In AC, you cast a fireball and it launches real quickly at a person, adjusts to lead a person and hit them in motion, but can always be avoided if you're quick. The game is like being in godmode 100% of the time. The rush you get from PvP is unparalleled because it actually matters. You die and you're going to lose cash, items, and you're got to earn Exp. to get back to your full power (you lose a chunk of your life force or whatever.)

Perhaps most importantly, the game isn't instanced. You're a part of the globe at all times and can always run into other players at any moment. Part of the reason I disliked WoW was that everything was fragmented. The game was like playing [censored] chess. There's a perfect strategy for everything. You're in a 5-man instance for most of the facking game, isolated from the world, trying to employ the perfect strategy. You [censored] up, you start over. I WANT TO BE FREE MAN.

Coolest part of AC: the had random events all over the globe. Sometimes for weeks on end, there would be a mod-controlled super-man running around meeting groups of people. Storyline was divulged right in front of you from a live character. Sometimes he gave out items. Sometimes he killed people in all kinds of crazy-ass ways. Oh, and patches were made every month for free. You didn't have to buy a new expansion to update the game - they added items, monsters, tweaked gameplay, and added whole new chunks of land/dungeons on a monthly basis.

They made an AC2 (it was ok), but it was unsuccessful because everyone left to go back to play the original. /end rant.

But yeah, servers, etc?
I played Morningthaw at first (went PvP at about 25.)
Then switched to play Darktide.

[Pokerho]

AC was the only game I ever played where I felt like I was really part of the game. That blue swirly thing when you started up was as close to a vortex sucking me into a different world as anything is ever gonna get. I'm playing LoTRO now, and it's fun, but not even close to the same.

[Scary_Tiger]

I started on Solclaim and then played several years on Wintersebb.

I know Grimstarr also played AC.