Thank you for the replies! I'll be responding to everyone, so here goes the multi-quote shotgun:
I'm aware of the various IRE forums (although I thank you for taking the time to post convenient links) — but as you may suspect, I wanted to broach this discussion on neutral ground. I presume that a topic like this one could become quite heated and colorful on an IRE forum; having played online games for years, I know how we players can be on our home turf, so I try to avoid "stirring up the natives" if at all possible.
Nevertheless, I certainly don't disagree with you. I'm sure there's plenty of good advice to be had on the IRE forums (not to mention a higher concentration of people who are familiar with their game), and I won't shy away from posting there if the need arises.
Thank you for the detailed response, Elvarlyn. Regarding credit bundles, I was already aware of them — but it's still excellent advice, and of course you had no way of knowing whether I knew about them or not.
Regarding the need to choose a race and class carefully, that demonstrates exactly why I started this topic. It's difficult or impossible for a new player to know that sort of thing in advance, and as I tend to spend a lot of time developing my character concept within the first few hours of play, it's very helpful to know what my limitations are; that doesn't mean I'm not willing to start over a few times, but (much like the game itself) I don't want to spend weeks becoming attached to a character (and making friends on that character!), only to eventually realize it's inordinately expensive or difficult for me to play and enjoy.
So if I decide to play, I'll make it a priority to find out what class/race combinations would be a good fit for me, and keep in mind that I shouldn't get too attached to my first (or second, or third) choice.
Finally, as I mentioned before, I know very well that I can't prance in and be king of the PK hill within a few months (or years, or even at all, for that matter).
Important point: Speaking of PK, your reply (and in fact, several other posters' replies) are actually very encouraging. As soon as we started talking about credits, you all immediately framed your replies to include PK as part of the discussion. That tells me that credits are most critical for players who want to be competitive in PvP.
I've never been a "carebear" or "flower," but I've never been obsessed with PK, either. I don't feel the need to hit the hardest, have the best gear, kill the most people, or anything of that nature.
However (and
this leads to a new question), if PKing and PvP are vital parts of the game — such as being called on to help defend a city, or as a requirement to help me rise through the ranks of organizations — then yes, I would be upset if paid-for perks turned the tide of those battles. It's not that I'd want to avoid PK entirely, mind you, but if it's thickly interwoven into many other aspects of the game, that's a whole different ball game.
(I think the question is self-evident.)
That's all encouraging to hear. I've always known that, given time, one can become a top-tier player without paying a cent — if nothing else, players can pay in-game money for credits, so of course it's mechanically possible to arm oneself to the teeth with artifacts without actually buying a single credit.
But the important thing I've taken from your post is that pretty much everything except hardcore PvP is fairly readily available to any player, even if they haven't yet invested in their characters, and without the need for artifacts right away. That's a very good thing.
Well, you're not the first person (in this thread or elsewhere) to mention that loading up on artifacts isn't the be-all and end-all even for PKers, and I'm inclined to believe all of you.
About lessons, that's actually been one of my main concerns: I know you can't "max out" your character advancement in IRE games without using credits. However, it does seem like it shouldn't be too prohibitively expensive and/or time-consuming to do so eventually, with a bit of patience and smart purchasing of credits.
Ha! Thanks for the compliment, I guess. There's actually a weird history behind that screen name, which is why I use it, even though it conjures up images of "emo" teenagers these days.
I'm aware of New Worlds (as I am of most MUDs and MUSHs with at least 30-40 concurrent players online), but on TMS, my personal policy is not to divulge whether I'm interested or disinterested in any given game... although I suppose this thread is an exception. That's mainly because of the credit system, though (not because of the quality of the game), so don't take the fact that this thread is about IRE games to mean I've overlooked everyone else.
I appreciate the shameless plug, though, and rest assured you've not been overlooked.
