.::\\~Pegó en el palo
Legend of Mir
Supe estar enfermo. No mucho, no MAL, pero enfermo al final. Hoy día padezco otros males, pero no el de la adicción a los mmrpg (massive muliplayer role playing games).
Creo que en este sentido me salvaron el reloj biológico y la falta de fondos para pagar por el juego. Los que alguna vez jugaron a algun juego de rol multiplayer como LOM saben lo adictivo que puede ser. Es terrible. Te come la vida. No salís de tu casa, no le ponés una mano encima a tu novia, no te juntás con tus amigos.
No dormís. Lo único que hacés es pulir tu personaje día y noche con otros enfermos a lo largo y a lo ancho del planeta, hasta que el cuerpo dice basta. Y soñás con eso. Y pensás en eso todo el día.
El problema es el mismo que con las drogas: está muy bueno y lisa y llanamente ... no da dejarlo. En Yankeeland, la adicción a los mmrpg ya está oficialmente documentada como una "enfermedad". Tiene una patología y una sintomatología clara, marcada y clasficable. La cantidad de personas que se enajenan, pierden el laburo, los amigos, las novias, etc, se cuentan por miles. Repito: el problema es que está muy, pero muy muy bueno. Es un lugar en el que las barreras para convertirte en todo lo que quieras ser son mucho más bajas que en la realidad. Y el personaje termina absorbiendo al jugador.
Yo solía a jugar al Legend of Mir día y noche. Tenía un taoísta bastante pulenta y ostentaba un puesto medianamente importante en una de las cofradías más poderosas de Mir. Cada vez que me logueaba era como conectarme a otro universo. Siempre te recibía esa musiquita apacible, sedada, pacífica. Recuerdo que me gustaba correr por las zonas más desérticas por la mera paz que me daba. Recuerdo cuanto me imbuía en la piel del personaje al ir a cazar solo a las minas de no se donde. Recuerdo cuando maté mi primer Ghoul (solo), cuando participé de una expedición conjunta y finamente planeada con la guild para matar a Zuma. Recuerdo los amigos de todo el mundo y las innumerables aventuras. Recuerdo haber sido Ministro en una boda entre un australiano y una divina psicópata de michigan (muy similar, a decir verdad, a la próxima imágen). Recuerdo estar más loco que una cabra y terminar agradeciendo que el juego se haya vuelto pago y que en un rapto de cordura haya decidido no hacer un tarjetazo.
Me acordé de todo esto porque encontré un texto que escirbí hace mucho. Una guía para principiantes a Tao. Un manifiesto a la enfermedad. Que procedo a compartir con ustedes.
A HUNTING GUIDE FOR TAOS
Written by Dikano
Dikano2001@yahoo.com
If you have chosen a Taoist to be your character in LOM, you have chosen to be a not so good fighter and to cast not so good spells; but you'll able to make your way by using a combination of bashes and magic, thing that both wizards and warriors can't. It's very cool in a way, and kinda sucky in another.
I believe the secret to level Taos fast and make the most of the character relies mostly on two things: selecting the proper hunting ground and selecting the right hunting buddies. I'm only level 22, but I can give you a glimpse on what worked really well for me.
Level Nothing
First of all, go for Hens, Deers and Scarecrows for a couple of levels. Meat the animals off and start making some money by selling the meat. Try to put your hands on an Ebony Sword as soon as possible by killing about 9 million Scarecrows (anyway, it's not that much of a deal if you don't) and, dude … please don't forget to wear your Base Armor!
Level Three
Get yourself a couple of Copper Rings (dc0-1), a couple of Iron Bracelets (accuracy +1) and a Precision Necklace (accuracy +1). If you don't have enough money for all that, it doesn't matter; get what you can and move on. Those items should give you enough power to take out some Raking Cats, Hooking Cats and Yobs (if you're in Border Village and not in Gingko Tree Village, you'll need to cross the river to find some Yobs. The trip is very well worth it, since Yobs have better drops than Cats. Just check out the map in the manual and you'll find the way). For now on, stay clear from Yetis, Omas and Cannibal Plants.
Level Five
At level five, try to get a bronze sword (unless you already have an Ebony Sword, which is still better) and start saving some money by selling meat lumps.
Level Seven
When you reach level seven, it'll be time to decide whether you want to improve your Taoist skills (soul class), your fighting abilities (damage class) or your defensive skills (armor class). You can either choose from a balanced set of items to wear and have good numbers on every class or enhance just one and have even better numbers in that sole category. At this point, I believe soul class is still not very important. So, if you feel you're always about to die in every fight, try get a couple of Leather Gloves (ac0-1) or Silver Bracelets (agility +1). If you feel ok about the damage your taking, stick to the items you're already wearing.
And it's time for you to learn your first Taoist martial art (yay!): Healing. Go to the library in Bichon Wall or Border Village and buy the Healing book. Double click on it, learn the skill and then assign a hot key to it (F1, F2, etc.) in the martial art label (F11).
Now you can heal yourself and others. Buy some mp potions and hit the woods again. This time, start trying to hunt some Omas, Yetis, Spitting Spiders and Cannibal Plants. One at the time, dude; don't go so ambitious.
Level Nine
At this level, you may choose to take a couple of Large Bracelets (ac0-1). Actually, you can take Steel Bracelets at level 8 (ac0-1, mac0-1). And it's time for you to learn Spirit Swordsmanship, the second Taoist martial art. Unlike Healing, this skill works automatically with every successful hit you make, so there's no need to assign a hot key. You can train this skill in the Academy in Bichon Wall (all you have to do is hit the Trainer till your eyeballs pop out). You can now probably, with this new skill, take a few monsters out at the time.
Level Ten
Level ten comes with two new possible weapons: short sword and iron sword. Choose the one that suits you the best. Also, you can now wear a Bronze Helmet (ac0-1); so try to get one.
It's also time for you to move out from the woods and venture into the Natural Caves (41: 108). Don't go on your own yet; get a group and make it your responsibility to keep everyone alive and avoid one on one fights with Skeletons (not to mention Bone Fighters). You'll get great experience points there … and probably die a lot, hehe.
Level Eleven
At level eleven you finally can get out of that lousy Base Armor and wear something decent: Light Armor (if Versacce was alive, he'd probably jump in front of a bus).
With that, it's time for you to start taking part in one of the weirdest jobs in the game: mining … the one and only way to make some decent money for middlers. Many people hate it; they say it's boring, slow, lame and even unfulfilling (talking about overreacting). Personally, I find it quite amusing; you get to meet new people and chat a lot while you mine, it's a great time for a coffee/smoke/sex-break and it simply fattens your wallet (an issue not to be diminished if you ever want to count on the attributes and benefits of a rare item). So, buy a pickaxe and head to the Abandoned Mine (663:214). Try to go with some friends and stay clear of the Zombies (they can still kick your butt big time).
Level Thirteen
When you get to level thirteen, get yourself a Bronze Axe. You can now also wear a new necklace, either a Black (dc0-1) or a Yellow (sc1-0) one. As in level seven, you need to choose if you want to make more damage with your hits or to improve your soul class. This is up to you. I went for the yellow necklace, but I'd suggest black necklace now.
With a good weapon like the Bronze Axe, you should now be hunting Scorpions, Bats, Maggots, Skeletons, Throwing Axe Skeletons and Bone Fighters in Oma's Tomb (147:33) and start getting familiar with the Woomyon Wood's map (325:33) and the Serpent Valley's map (672:83).
Woomyon is all about Omas, Yetis, Oma Fighters, and maybe a few Oma Warriors. The first two are no problem unless they come in hordes. Fighters, although you can kill them, will still be pretty hard to defeat. And Warriors remain out of your league. Drops are very cool here for this level, so check it out.
You won't find anything new in SV but the Snakes. They're not too tough, but at this level, run when they come in groups of 2, 3 or more. Try to get used to the map because it can get very confusing and you'll often be at a loss there.
Level Fourteen
At level fourteen you get Poisoning, your third martial art. Tough one. Besides buying the book, learning the skill and assigning a hot key to it, you need to come up with all the elements that are necessary to create poison (look them up in the manual) and take them to the poison maker in Gingko Tree or Sabuk Wall.
Let me tell you something about poisoning: most Taos don't develop it. The two main reasons are: 1) it takes about forever just to get the ingredients; it's an absolute drag to wonder erratically for hours through Bichon after Cannibal Plants and Spitting Spiders (not to mention the eternal trips to the caves after Maggots and Scorpions) and a major waste of time and money; and 2) poison occupies the space of your left bracelet (space that will be used ALL THE TIME by Amulets when you hit level eighteen). I have Poisoning level 2 (I've only seen five or six Taos with Poisoning level 3 … that should give you and idea of how little people pay attention to this skill) and it's a pretty nasty weapon. I can tell you that one hit with poison (level 2) can drain about 33 hit points from it's target (killing every single mob in Bichon's woods in just a few seconds and with no need to engage in melee) and it's really helpful when Zombie hunting. But (there is always a "but"), it's basically impossible to switch between poison and Amulets in the middle of a tough fight, so it's up to you to decide whether to go all the way with this martial art or to use the "ingredient gathering" time to gain experience. This is obviously an important issue and the webmasters may change this lousy mechanism later on, so it may not be such a complete waste of time after all when the next patch comes out.
Besides reading those endless digressions on poison, you can also take your first trips to the Wooma Temple (84:278) in Woomyon Woods. Go with a group of warriors 17+ as a "healer" and try not to be a hero in front of anything that's not a Dung (I went there when I was level 13 with some 18+ and made it out in one piece, so you'll be ok). Good experience there.
Oh! And you can now also wear a Magic Helmet. Get one.
Level Fifteen
At level fifteen get a Scimitar (first weapon with SC bonus) and start Zombie hunting in group. Zombies are tough, but the experience is great.
Level Sixteen & Seventeen
When you reach level sixteen buy a couple of Blue Rings (mac0-2, dc1-0). At seventeen, change your necklace for either a Phoenix Bead (sc1-2) or a Naga Necklace (dc2-0).
By now, you should be just fine going solo in the Natural Caves and Oma's Tomb and fairly ok in the first floor of the Abandoned Mine. It's also a good time to start getting familiar with Mongchon's map. Mob is fairly easy to the east of the map and the drops are very cool. It keeps getting harder to the west (past Mud Wall), so you may want to wait a little before going there. And you could take your first trips to Zuma's Temple (861:176) as a healer.
Level Eigtheen
At level eighteen you finally get another martial art: Soul Fireball. As usual, buy the book, learn the skill, assign a hot key and buy some amulets. This skill will only work if you're wearing an Amulet in your left hand. You now have a long range attack (don't abuse, those amulets couldn't possibly be more expensive and that pickaxe's durability is already below zero). Also, you have the possibility of buying a Hard Glove (ac0-2) or a Magic Bracelet (ac0-1, mac1-2). I chose the Hard Glove for most of the time and the Magic Bracelet when going to the mines (very useful stuff against Electric Zombies).
Level Nineteen
Level nineteen is the first of two steps to "easier". You now get the martial art Summon Skeleton. A very cool martial art if you learn how to play your bone familiar. Again, you need Amulets to summon your skellie. I'd recommend you to level that skill as soon as possible (the difference between a bone familiar level 0 and 1 is quite important). You can do so by summoning skeletons in front of a guard until you reach the next level. It'll cost loads of money in mp potions, but it's worth it. If you learn how to use your skellie to take the heat off of you, you'll be able to go pretty much everywhere.
Get a Monk Bracelet (sc0-1) if you prefer it over the Hard Glove and a Steel Sword as well. Also, at this stage, I recommend you to go deep into the Bichon Mines to level (if possible: Storage Place of Ore. The drops there just help you to stick around until your armor breaks down) and deep into the SV Mines to mine (I usually get pretty cool gold ores in that mine).
Level Twenty
Level twenty is the second of the two steps to "easier". Now you get Hiding Skill. Even cooler than the bone familiar. This skill makes you invisible to the mob, except the one you're attacking. This is just great when you're surrounded by 12 zombies and your butt is on the line; all you have to do is hide and take them out one at the time (while summoning skellies one after the other … hehe). Actually, it's not THAT easy, but I've seen my self nearly dead between zillions of Flaming Woomas in the King's Room of Wooma Temple, and that spell kept me alive for a long long time (the time I needed to find the d/e and get out of there!).
Make a little stop at the weapon shop and ask for a sweet Kriss Sword; choose between Pearl Ring (sc0-2) and Black Ring (dc0-2); make a group and venture either to the Dungeons in Mongchon (about 140:90) or the Stone Tomb in Mud Wall. Very nasty things there … outstanding drops.
Level Twenty-one
At level twenty-one you get Mass Hiding. An art your fellow wizards and warriors will appreciate a lot. Stick to the dungeons for good experience points and drops, Wooma and Zuma rallies and start thinking about a future in a guild (other's or yours).
Level Twenty-two
At level twenty-two: Soul Shield. Can't say much about it, because I just got here. Get a couple of Gold Rings (mac0-3, dc1-1, mc1-1, sc1-1), a Death Gauntlet (dc1-2) if you prefer the damage class over the protection of the Hard Glove, and last but not least … that Classy Soul Armor that makes us Taos look so freaking cool. And if you're lucky (or rich) enough, you may even get an elusion necklace.
Last minute tips: don't pk; don't buy a medium armor; listen to radiohead; always have a Sun Pot and a Dungeon Escape in your fast access slots; wear a tiger's necklace when going deep into the mines; help your mom by washing the dishes; try to get a group of hunting buddies (that makes it all so much more fun); bargain like crazy; chill out and have a good time.
Hecho mierda, sí, ya se. Pero el DoToR Miroli y el cirujano CaVaLlO me ayudaron muchísimo y les debo la vida.