Old player coming back: where and how to play?

[Salaad]

Hi, I played this game intensely way back in 2012-2013 and then i have alternated between long periods of pause and very short periods of play. This is because the game has changed a lot and I noticed that with the new sets the "uniqueness" of the character build has been lost, given that everyone can do everything, which tends to bore me. I also found it difficult to find opponents when I tried to engage in dueling. At the moment I would like to try playing again, however I would like some advice on what type of character to play in order to have fun and which worlds are the healthiest from a user activity point of view. Can a character focused on duels work or do I risk getting bored? Or does a full trading build to earn as much money as possible still make sense?
Thanks to anyone who can give me advice.

 

[Symbiote]

currently Colorado is the most active world but focused in FF, i don't live outside Colo so i can't tell if other is more duel oriented

imo duel is kinda rigged because you win with higher level of upgrade gear and a wide toolkit to deal with every kind of encounter, given your opp doesn't notice your attack 10 minutes before and change his gear to counter yours, so i'd say the meta is rigged but you can extract your bit of fun, still, for you still find hard matches to beat

leveling through duels is quite easy since their xp is now double what used to be months ago, so laddering to rush until lv120 via duels is a good choice

somehow soldier is more duel-oriented than dueller, the only good traits from dueller is to preview equip stats and do ranged duels that go unnoticed before it's too late

for money the 15s luck spam sets do better than stealing pockets - people learn to use bank now, so honest works still pays better than duels and is more polite, duel for the sport not for the scam

if you want to get started on Colorado, find player The Cleaver from PURGATORY and he will be more than happy to introduce you into duelling - good game mate

 

[Salaad]

Thank you for your answer!
And what about non PvP playstyle? It is still funny to just focus on quests, jobs and market trading? Maybe it's an unpopular opinion but I really don't like all these new sets that they added (bonus are way too OP in early game making any other base gear obsolete) so I'm thinking to just play as an adventurer and ignore them since they break the game balance that I've known back in the days.

 

[Symbiote]

if you want to ignore PvP go adv, if you don't want to ignore PvP don't go advent he is thought to be the worst in FF although we can discuss strats

there are plenty, Plenty of quests to do if you want to - i advice level first then quest later so you can unlock the majority of them, they go up to level 150 and beyond of requirement

for jobbing, sets break everything so you dont need a specified build - you have Independence/Colombian for XP and Revere/Helen for $$, RIP full trading adventurers - also there are sets for farming products, happy or not you will need them to progress and the early game is harsh for newcomers who dont know that plethora of sets; the good stuff is always the recent stuff

you can farm products and sell on market, crafting actually decreases value imo dunno why, seems like raw materials are more valuable than crafted products but if you want to roleplay as craftsman you can totally do that

again, if you ignore PvP that will make your gameplay waaaay lighter; too many heated emotions in fortress, keep that for later or for never is my advice

 

[Poker Alice]

Thank you for your answer!
And what about non PvP playstyle? It is still funny to just focus on quests, jobs and market trading? Maybe it's an unpopular opinion but I really don't like all these new sets that they added (bonus are way too OP in early game making any other base gear obsolete) so I'm thinking to just play as an adventurer and ignore them since they break the game balance that I've known back in the days.

I think you gotta find what you like and if there is something you don't like git away from it. PvP can be fun but if you want to succeed at it I'm bettin you have to spend your dang gone money. I'm a free player so shy away from that playstyle which leaves what? A playstyle that is non-competitive which might not be what INNO wants but they do advertise the game free-to-play so... funny yeah maybe but I think that is one choice a player can make.

 

[Thanatoss]

There are new higher level jobs with much higher luck value than before so trading build is useless.

Holiday spirit set is great for archaeologist work and helen gibson for robbing a gold digger job.

It is also very easy to level up now with xp sets. You can get to 100lvl in less than a month.

 

[ra1g]

This is because the game has changed a lot

who's gonna tell him

 

[Salaad]

What I don't understand is: if anything can be done just by switching a set, what's the point of having skill points? How should I use them?

 

[Poker Alice]

What I don't understand is: if anything can be done just by switching a set, what's the point of having skill points? How should I use them?

Little
And as yee peer into the lookin glass at the fashion which are rulin yee existence yee might ask the question is this madness?

 

[Symbiote]

What I don't understand is: if anything can be done just by switching a set, what's the point of having skill points? How should I use them?

they are not useless at all, they do make a marginal diff for certain aspects

take a soldier for example, he is level 150 and has 150 ap and 450 sp to add... he adds all on HP and with the premium buff now he has +12k hp to absorb bullets in ff

if you are in a duel and the other guy has more reflex/dodge/tacts in his gear, you can beat by having more points in shooting/aiming/app in your skill tree

for jobs that do becomes a bit useless yes unless you are looking for marginal gains again: i do 16k luck value in gold digger but if i'm full toughness i go for 17,5k luck value and become sturdy against meele brawlers; at higher levels you could also do that to unlock certain XP jobs but it is on the PvP aspects that the skill points make the most difference

also in FF for dmg being full leadership is the rule as it maxxes your damage too if you don't yet

 

[WesternCalin]

Generally the skill points are used in 3 main ways. Either as fort fight build (depending on class and strategy used), in duels ( the same as ff depends on build type) and in construction for high level church building as sometimes the points from sets arent enough. Other than that you can use them for the various high level jobs, if you plan on spamming such a job.

Funny how me and Symbiote had the exact same thinking and points we wanted to discuss.

 

[Poker Alice]

I agree with the two amigos skill points are not useless but they are reduced in effectiveness with inflated fashions? With my particular setting in skills, even though my skill selection was focused in one direction... when I remove the checkmark from show bonus - skills are reduced by 2/3. Two thirds is a lot? No? It would be like standing beside someone with lifts on. They look like they might stand 6ft tall but without the lifts are really only 4ft tall.

 

[Salaad]

So how I should invest my skill points if I want to play a money-making focused adventurer?

 

[Caerdwyn]

Put them in the skills required for Gold Digger and Archeologist, that way you can focus your gear on +Luck to work those rare drops.

 

[Symbiote]

start with construction for early xp jobs and keep farming xp up until level 100; there are many xp sets around and some cost next to nothing, after level 100 try some luck farming gear like revere or helen and go pump that bank account

reaching level 100 takes no more than 1 months, after level 120 the leveling system changes and becomes soooo burdensome, but you'll get the hang of it

 

[Poker Alice]

start with construction for early xp jobs and keep farming xp up until level 100; there are many xp sets around and some cost next to nothing, after level 100 try some luck farming gear like revere or helen and go pump that bank account

reaching level 100 takes no more than 1 months, after level 120 the leveling system changes and becomes soooo burdensome, but you'll get the hang of it

Most certainly leveling ability is reduced the higher we go. Didn't understand "you'll get the hang of it". Huh?
The question of where to put skill points becomes less important with any improved gear purchases and therefore is it correct to say without purchases we are just grinding away?