Hi everyone,

I am new to Ultima Online - in fact i've never played it before - and was hoping to gain a little insight to the game, aswell as some sound advise for a beginner.

Basically, I'm wanting to play Ultima Online because it most likely, correct me if I am wrong, has a more mature and friendly community.

I was, forgive me, put off by the graphics at first; they just didn't seem to be able to do the game justice. However, I'm not one to judge a game purely on its graphics - I did play everquest for a long time since release. On the upside there is a new client on the way, which looks quite promising. Can anyone comment on the graphics - do they hinder gameplay in anyway?

As for the gameplay itself, Ultima Online seems more of a sandbox, but how much so? Can I be a 'healer' class? I didn't see any mention of a cleric within the guide sites I visited, but maybe the paladin is such a class anyway?
I like to play healer type classes so I can make friends and feel usefull.

A few other questions: What is the best server to start on as a new player? Are there any recommended classes for beginners?

Thanks for your time!
Sorry If my post isn't well structured, I should really be in bed!
Brian

I'll let someone else answer your main questions, as I haven't played properly in quite a while
But, welcome to the forums!

UO CAN have a more mature/tightnit community, but it can also have some of the worst elements of an online community
Which is why guilds are such a good idea
If you want my totally biased opinion , pick Lake austin as a starting shard and join the UOForums guild
They're a great bunch of friendly/helpful players.

you may squint a little, but you get used to it really fast. I liken it to the old RPG's on console games. The worse the graphics, the better the game play. In this game, it is the same. There is no other game to my knowledge that has the full breadth and scope this does. It's the Finaly Fantasy 7 of MMORPG's.

Welcome to the Forums, and to UO. Please feel free to ask around about server choice. While many of us play on Lake Austin ( the forum has a strong guild presence there), there are also the Role Playing guilds on Europa and other servers to consider.

No matter the choice, we can most likely find you a mentor to help you out a little and get you on your feet.

Welcome to UO and UO:F, Riiyachan! Oh man what a name... but cool but I will say right now I will not remember how to spell it at all haha! So don't mind me if I accidently typo it ^_^

As for graphics in UO for both 2D and 3D clients they will be upgrading the graphics soon enough with a new 3D client and it actually looks pretty neat! I think you will be impressed sense graphics is one of the things you look for in a game...

As for "classes" you kind of make your own... you pick so many skills and you work from that... course there is better combos than just randomly picking skills... people here will fill you in on that sense I am kind of UO stupid in that sense... I only had one charater and I am defintally not the best at playing the game so haha! it is better to hear the others here out =P

As for content UO is ALOT of fun especailly when you got people to hang with, show you around, and teach you how to play. You defintally came to the right place... everyone here loves to help and is always willing to give advice if you need it.

-RMS Carpathia-

Cool! Well seeing as though I absolutely loved all the final fantasy games for the SNES - plus the ones on the playstation, although I never did get to play FFVII - so that comment makes me think I will like Ultima Online.

Again, Ultima Online does seem to have a lot more depth than most online games.

I do also wish to join a guild, so I may well start on Lake Austin.

Its good to hear that you can basically tailor your own character, but at the same time it scares me to think I could tailor my character in such a way that I 'break' it. You know what I mean, I could pick the wrong stats/skills/spells etc.

About the current clients - I am downloading the UO Gold Client, but I am not entirely sure which type of client that is. I am guessing the 3D one.

Is there much difference between the two?

Regards.

As for the gameplay itself, Ultima Online seems more of a sandbox, but how much so?
Total Sandbox! There is no end game, your options are limitless!

Can I be a 'healer' class?
Sure can! Just go to the advanced tab when you create and choose healing as one of your options
What is the best server to start on as a new player?
Lake Austin has a very nice dynamic I think. Its not over populated and UOF is there!
Are there any recommended classes for beginners?
Personally I like warrior and you can have healing on there!

UO is a really dynamic game and it takes a little getting used to at first, don't get discouraged. You just need to find a nice guild, and you will find some people really enjoy helping out new people and can be very generous! You can do anything UO, tame dragons, make weapons & armor. everything you use in the game you can make a character to create it. Play around with your available character slots and get a feel for what you like best and we all will be glad to help you with any questions you have!

Good Luck!

~Snuggs

The good/great thing about UO's skills, is that if you choose a skill you later realise kinda sucks, you can simply "unlearn" it, by setting the skill to drop
Then you simply start learning a new skill and that one will drop
(That make sense?)

The UO gold client is both 2d and 3d, you get a choice on startup which one you want to use.

Excellent to hear.


I guess I will just pick the 3D client, seeing as though it is the most recent.

Aye as Adam says UO is very versatile. I have been playing full on in UO for 9yrs now and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I started RPing in UO around the year 2000 which is what i mainly do nowadays on top of PvM ( player vs mosnter ), as i still enjoy that aspect.
Its also fun helping new players like yourself, i always try to run by the young player dungeons and places like Haven to offer help where ever i can.

So if you pop by Europa i would be glad to help anyways i can.

One thing i do recommend and thats getting a untility program called icq as almost all players use it to talk on. You can get it for free at www.icq.com

Get the 2003b version.

If i can be of any help with advice or equipment please let me know over icq.My number is 164413512.

And welcome to UO

Thanks for all the replies all. There does seem to be a lot of nice people playing UO! xD

I have just been peeking through the snapshot forums and looking at all the screenshots. To be quite honest, the graphics dont seem that bad. Its just getting used to the isometric view and the interface that matters, I think.

The interface seems a little wierd and hard to understand, but I'm sure I will figure it out.


As for ICQ: I havn't used that program in a long time. I tend to use X-Fire, but if everyone else uses ICQ then I will download it some time.

Regards.