Message 14466 : How to be happy on MUME after level 26 (Rook)
Written on Tue Feb 25 07:51:07 1997

See, here's the thing.

I'm not gonna tell you how to run a successful legend character. Nor
am I I gonna do the whole, "Yer a legend now, just start a new
character" thing./

Rather, I'd like to give a few hints on how to be happy, that is,
content with playing your 26+. I mean, when you're done level-
racing and all. When you've reached a level that's pretty okay with
you.

I mean, let's face it: sooner or later the whole xp thing wears thin.
At least the way I've always xp'd past level 20 or so, it's always
been find a few mobs that'll give 18k xp or so, hopefully in some
vincinity to one another, and kill them over and over again. In a
group or no, this can get pretty damn boring. And believe me, I've
done this with enough alone time and enough (at least) somewhat
mild substance abuse to know this as self-evident. XP is pretty
damn boring.

So here's the thing. Or at least, here's how I play MUME, or any
other MUD, I suppose, while maintaining that certain "je ne sais
quoi" or whatever.

Granted, I've used the term "damn boring" enough to sound like
Holden Caufield now, so I'll edge away from that. What I really
want to say is, "care less". It's almost ironic: if you care less
about your character, you really will have more fun.

I guess xp is the easy part. Past a certain level, let's face it:
you generally don't mobdie unless your really drunk. And with
pk, the xp loss is really almost negligible...

But hey, when you get pk'ed, you lose all yer really cool stuff!
Bummer, huh?

Well, aye, there's the rub. Good eq is a real pain to get (yes,
even for pukes!!). But that's where it's time to think about
things, maybe. What exactly is good eq?

Think about it. With a few gold pieces you can easily acquire a
full set of thin leather (sleeves, pants, boots, gloves). Then
you get a hood. Cheap, easy...no problem.

And yeah, a plain shirt or enruned robe is not so difficult
either. So what now? Well, there's plenty of semi-good stuff
that I guarantee you can acquire within an hour of rl playing
time: fgc or black cape; lww, arthedain, or mw, and a broad,
2-hander, or an eket...all easily enchanted (among the free
people at least).

In any case, it all adds up to a real decent set of eq, all
things considered, that one can acquire with minimal effort. I
mean yeah, you'll be better off with a full set. And a staff
certainly helps a bunch. But even with a grey, iron, and bsb...
do your chances of survival really increase that much? I know
that for me at least, the number of times that i die are far more
dependent on how i play rather than what eq I have. Maybe it's
a U.S. thing or maybe it's just me.

But that fact really does hit the crux of my argument. I mean, I
do like having nice eq and all, and I'd certainly never refuse it.
But, more to the point, it's almost as if when I have too much
good eq, I play too careful...i won't run into the warrens, i
won't roam around neni when i know darkies are about.

And the bottom line is: that's no fun! Why do I play at all
then?! I understand, of course. I MUD to have fun, and I can have
more fun at higher levels and with better eq...but there comes a
point where I realize I should just say to myself: now is the
time. And eq has nothing to do with it.
Let's face it: a full set just isn't even that much better than
the "easy set" that i outlined above (at least for mages). Maybe
+12 db and +1 dam (brd over enchanted eket/thorn). Honestly, I'd
be surprised if +12 db has ever saved anyone's life.

So here's how I like my MUME, at least. Play fast, play easy.
Never let eq or the loss of eq bug you too much. It's never the
end of the world...just an opportunity for revenge. ;)
You'll have a far more fun time cruising ger and eregion,
defending bree and tbad or whatever when, hey, you've got
nothing (or little enough) to lose. More so, at least, than playing chicken in big groups and
storing ports or whatever.

-Rook