Anarchy Online

I'm currently downloading the free trial thing. If I like it and consider buying the game, I was wondering what the Shadowlands are like. I remember reading reviews for it way back in the day, implying that it was a total change in the way the game is played. Do you need to be a particular level to start doing stuff in the Shadowlands?

On RK you could go anywhere at any level (excluding lvl locked dungeons), it was just a matter of going there. With SL there are multiple new large regions but you progress through them based on your level or if you can do the required task for each ring (acts as a pass and buffs some stuff) to move to the next region. Although once you have keys to side gardens/sanctuaries (kinda like towns) for a region you can hop from one to the other but if you got SL after playing a char to 200 and wanted to go to the sixth region you would have to get yourself through the five before it first (could skip the first actually with a Jobe portal). Rather than the grid or whom-pahs there are many statues through each region that you can access from the gardens/sanctuaries of that region and keys can get you from one gardens/sanctuaries to another.

There are no real lvl locks for anything in SL short of some quests and the starter area (can go back in till lvl 50 I think). You could play from lvl 1-220 in SL and never go to RK once if you wanted. SL is mainly for the much better XP and the only place to get SK (Shadow Knowledge, XP to gain lvls past lvl 200) plus of course SL only items. With SL RK would be for getting various items of interest from the different dungeons and quests, tokens plus anything relating to the AI and LE expansions.

The perks, new items, new nanos, new areas and such from each expansion didn't really change how you play, just added more to play with and more options. SL was the first expansion and the biggest by far in regards to game area and only one to add new profs of the three. Closest thing to totally changing the way you play the game would be how a lot of people used the generated missions to level but with SL you will get most of your XP at lvls 1-200 from various mobs outside or in the various static SL dungeons.

Originally posted by Sawtooth

I'm currently downloading the free trial thing. If I like it and consider buying the game, I was wondering what the Shadowlands are like. I remember reading reviews for it way back in the day, implying that it was a total change in the way the game is played. Do you need to be a particular level to start doing stuff in the Shadowlands?

I do not see a total change. you'll need different heals thingys, they are called stims in RK and coils in SL.

no whomphas, but statues, and a couple portals. Those are really the only difference. That does not mean there are not more difference, that just means they are SL exclusive. There are other items that can only be found in SL. Some items (well most) have a level requirement to be used that are from SL, like Symbiant's instead of Implants. There are some nano programs and armor and weapons were your required to have SL or can only be found in SL. But the same can be said of AI, and LE

Some or a lot of people can not handle change, may explain why there was a lot saying there was something like a total change how played, it plays the same. Shadow lands is part of the Storyline, those that did not like are most likely not RP'ers (playing to story line) , [I'm just guessing about that]

as already mentioned, SL has better XP. You can start as a level one, or wait till later.
as the part that was mentioned getting the rings to access next level Zones, after a certain level, you do not need to do the ergo quest, but just talk to Ergo.

basically there really is not much change, just now your going to see where some of the mobs in RK came from (that fell off the Brink into RK), and and where some of Omni Teks Tech came from, oh and  a land that looks differently