The things nostalgia make us do

[flippers]

So I have tons of games on Steam, most of which I haven't finished, and here I am re-installing a 14 years old game due to... nostalgia, I guess? I do remember fondly all those times, back when the game came out, where I lost hours, days, nay, weeks of progress to one mishap, a random PK or a clever scammer. And by remember fondly, I mean have PTSD relapses.

I'm Flippers, and I haven't played UO in more than 10 years. I'm pretty casual, so I'm probably going to be a perma-newbie. I'm also a cynical, unpleasant bastard, but hey, if any guild is cool with that, I'd like to join one to at least know some people as I start up my first character and get my bearings.

I'm pretty rusty when it comes to macroing, so any guides or programs to help me with that would be welcome. Being a casual, I want to use my skill ball on the skills that are generally considered the hardest to level. Stuff that can be macro'd isn't crucial, and I have the patience of a saint for gathering and crafting. Oh yeah, now I remember why I want to play UO again. I bloody loved this crafting and gathering system. Anyway, suggestions for optimal skill ball usage are, obviously, more than welcome.

So, hi everyone, I'm looking forward to playing with you / having my pockets emptied and my corpse desecrated by you, whichever applies best to your style of play.

Addendum: UO Auto Patch just takes forever, doesn't it?

[flippers]

Alright, I got started, got 90 or so magery and GM Fencing, along with 75 taming, inscription and smithy. An awfully nice player, Raj, gifted me an imbued Kryss and an ostard, so I feel like I'm ready for adventure. Just a few questions before I start.

1. As I understand, the economy is kind of screwed, due to an uneven ratio of gold sources to gold sinks, resulting in pretty expensive items from player stores. As a band-aid fix, monsters now drop less gold, which is good for the server but tough on newbies. So my plan is to gather items that sell well to other players, rather than kill Earth Elementals for around 100g a pop. What easy to get items would be ideal to get me rolling in this troubled fictional economic climate?

2. Where can I find Bake Kitsunes, and what's a good way to grind Vet and Animal Lore? Have a second account punch my beast while I macro bandages?

3. And that's the tough one... what can I do to, erh, not make the controls suck? I would like to use Q, E, R, T, F, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. without it typing in chat. Is there a launcher or an option that does that? ie. you need to press Enter to start typing in chat, and just hitting letters executes your actions and macros instead?

4. Are direct damage Magery spells (Energy Bolt, Flame Strike) a good way to fight? I was a bit underwhelmed by the damage of these myself as opposed to the damage of the random Bone Bull thing I tamed in the newbie dungeon.

[Tyrone Biggums]

1. Gems and imbue materials sell. Certain ones sell better then others. Check out player vendors for an idea of pricing and what to look for. That's what I did when I started.

2. Bakes are in tokuno. Vet - heal your pet. Lore - set a loop to lore your pet.

3. Use you f keys and combinations with f keys example alt + f1. Other then that not sure.

4. To PvM I normally use a pet to tank and melee it. I find weapons hit faster and harder. Use energy vortexs or a summon if you don't have a pet yet.

Also please check out the Pandora Wiki since alot of your questions could be answered there.

[Dirk Kincaid]

I've been wanting to come back to UO ever since I left to follow my friends into star wars galaxy, then stumbles into WOW. Hands down UO was always my favorite MMO. Theres just so much more content here than in many other games combined. I even tried starting my own shard before but just dont have the computer skills to keep one running. I'll be camping here for a long time.

[Belegerandh]

Welcome back to it. It's about as far back in time as I'll let myself go, though I do miss the 'Questron' and 'Zork' days on the Comm 64.