is it mostly gear based? and solo viable?

Originally posted by momodig

is it mostly gear based? and solo viable?

It's hard to say.

There is "better" gear but the game does revolve around your skills. You can even create your own skills/spells.

Having said that, it's important to note that this game is NOT like a theme park game. So, as far as "is solo viable", well I've soloed in this game at lower lvls but it feels that the main thrust to the game is more about joining a good group of people.

Game is more of a sandbox (or a complete sandbox from what I've seen) so it is what you make of it.

In any case, I just wanted to give you something to chew on while you wait for a vet to come along and give you the scoop.

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Originally posted by momodig
is it mostly gear based? and solo viable?

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Via solo its VERY grindy, but as its a sandbox game its expected really. You create what you like with your spells, using the stats you prefer, get your gear made/bought and venture forth.

Grouping in any MMO has its advantages and guilds in Ryzom are always looking for new people, which you can reach incredibly easy via chat channels and such. Originally it had been planned/aimed at to have the game be very group orientated, but as the months went by and the playerbase dropped (company issues, funding etc) it became really a solo game/small group of friends one.

The thinking with the new 1-125 being free is to draw more people in, maybe that'll help you guys out at lower levels, building up a friends list etc. However like someone said in another thread, its not advertised really, which has always been the number#1 issue with Ryzom.

I'd have a go at it though momodig, it remains one of my favourite games ever when I was testing back in 2003 and always will be. :)

The game, except for some obvious content (bosses mainly) is perfectly soloable but there is a drawback: the combat against animals in the right range of your skills are not really easy to kill and this normally end up with a downtime, waiting to recovery your stats. So, soloing can be a long process. The other side of the medal, considering there is no class restrictions, is that just 2 people teaming together, both with some healing capabilities (not necessarily too high) or with a good use of weapon enchantments, will *totally* remove the downtime.

A new way to remove the downtime is to use some kind of "Occupations" potions. Being that something new and not sellable at merchants, you have to ask for them to people or produce by yourself. Actually is more reliable just to play at least in 2 people, and go soloing if you don't mind of downtime between fights.

About gear, the crafting is very deep and because the gear stats can have small diferences, but not excessive, depending by the materials used and the recipes, the combat result, in general, very balanced, unless there is a very big skill difference (ofc).

Gear, can make the difference, but also the "actions" you use (and build by yourself) can make the difference, so I would say the game requires a mix of all: good gear but also good "actions".

FInal note: with some very few exceptions, all the gear is player crafted and there is no animal in game that drops gear or stuff, they only drop materials for crafting (body parts).

So you will never need to do a specific quest to kill something to gain a special "purple gear" (doesn't exists) with the only exceptions of the NPC raid bosses, that can be considered end game stuff.  They drop some special gear (parts) but most important, they drop the crafting plans of them.