Quote:
Originally Posted by Anh_Minh
Yes. In fact, if a floor is cleared, it's cleared for everyone. (But "cleared" just means you can move to the floor above. The monsters - save the boss - still respawn.)
|
Actually, that'll mean that the overcrowding issue would only be one for the first week, at most. Eventually, most of the crowds will disperse out, and you would be able to begin. Of course, the problem might be to find a party. Doing what Kirito did, and rushing out would only be a good idea if one was an experienced Beta Tester. Of course, this might mean that most of the core leading players would be Beta Testers, (or dead, for that matter, if they rushed to fast.)
Odds are, some among the 2000 were those who realized what Kirito did, but died because they weren't as familiar as Kirito, or not as good.
Furthermore, since you don't have to clear the floor, you could probably simply afford to take things easy. If there's Skilling options, I think quite a few players went down that route. Focus on skilling. If incoming resources require processing, process them. Once you've amassed enough, reached a high enough level, start farming monsters. By then, the rush should have subsided considerably, an you have a large war chest. Furthermore, by Skilling and Trading, you might have sufficient contacts to actually find guilds. Indeed, I wonder whether High Skillers might also be in high demand in guilds, as backline support, especially for larger guilds. Indeed, by one Month, if indeed, your gold is yours, can't be stolen by other players, can't be ganked, etc, etc, then those who made an early decision not to risk things so fast, but rather, to Skill may well find themselves far better off. Especially if they are the types that usually formed the Economic and PVE Base of an MMO. It depends on how many possibilities are there of course, but I'd presume initial resources will be plentiful, so if one wants to go down that route, he should do it right at the start. First night.
Until some Skillers and Traders have "exclusive" arrangements with large guilds, where sub-factions of the guild farm resources, and certain members process them to fuel and fund riskier expeditions and raids. While taking an hour each day to farm, and gain some Exp, so they can move along to other floors when the time comes, or so that they don't die when following their guild to the next floor, likely under tight escort. It depends on the Trading system. Are there AHs and Markets linked between towns, or can one stay in a starting town, or the first city with adequate facilities and skill your way up?
As for the previous debate on Guilds, I speculate some are formed out of previous friendships in MMOs, some are formed by a group gathering together and electing a leader, and some of course, by strength, but personally, I doubt that last arrangement would have been that stable, and experienced Guilds would have a HUGE advantage if they are well led. This is pure speculation, so forgive me if I accidentally guessed something correctly here.
Still, considering the limited copies, I'd say that most players were veterans of the MMO scene. Hard Core PVPers probably had a huge dilemma here, since PVPing here is actual murder. PVEers who fought Raid Bosses on a regular basis and such would be in good stead, though of course, continuously at risk every expedition. Skillers, those very good at that art, and merchanters might actually have been in a strong position in SAO. Those Skillers who appreciated it right from the start may well have found themselves in an excellent position by the end of the first month, provided that they were experienced skillers in other games, so long of course, that they gained a reputation for fairness. Selling lemons in SAO can be fatal for the buyer. Literally.
To summarize, I find the Overcrowding issue overplayed, (though it was also a good idea for Veterans to rush out to better hunting grounds, to get a lead) one can afford to take his time unless there are idiotic griefers who want to camp out. Skillers would be at a huge advantage, depending on SAO's skilling and production system. PVEers, especially those who got in together with their whole guilds from previous games would fare well. Your solo PVEer is in a dangerous position. Your PVPer has a huge dilemma. The few total Noobs are probably going to fare worst. If they are lucky, they fall in with a Skiller or a good PVE Guild that takes them in. If they are unlucky, they join the 2000, their fates ranging from being murdered or dying alone.
And as everyone has suggested, Support Classes like Healers are very invaluable. Even Stealth classes may well be used as scouts to map out dungeons and such. Enchanters, if they exist, would join the Skillers.
Unless of course, SAO follows an Elder Scroll V like leveling system, where you can level up whatever skill you want and choose to specialize as anything. Without pre-selecting a class.