Hiya guys, as Aion isn't being released until sometime in 2009 now, i started doing some reading up on L2, looks like a lot of fun.

Couple of questions though,

How are the server populations?
What server is suggested for a new player to roll on?
Also i had a trial key from my CoV box, but for some reason it doesn't work... if anyone has a trial key they would be willing to part with, please send it to imcloughy11@hotmail.com

I should probably mention i am planning to purchase the game when i get payed next friday, but i would like to jump ingame a little earlier if at all possible

Thanks for your time, and i hope to see you all ingame very soon

To answer your questions,

1. Depends on the server. Bartz and some other servers are very packed. Also, NC-soft is about to merge the lower populated servers, so that should help bring some life to those also.

2. Depends on where you live. As far as I know, Bartz has the largest North American population. There is a relatively new server called Luna too, but I would not recommend that unless you want a challenge. The main reason is because money would be even more of a issue then it already is in the game.

I'll go ahead and send you a trial code, hopefully it works. Also, good luck to you in the game if you decide to stick with it. Personally, I went to Lineage 2 until to keep me busy until Guild Wars 2 is out. So far I have been enjoying my time spent in the game.

Thanks mate, i will let you know if the key works when i get it :) I will more than likely roll on Bartz server, thanks for the advice

Ditto.. I know it weird but I have been looking for a game to play for awhile and I've been looking at games and I like this one. I heard some things but I think this will be a fun experience.. downloading it now

It's a lot easier to start out now, so you have chosen a good time to try.

Any advice... for a complete noob i'll probably head to the bartz server also.

just take it slow and enjoy the ride. dont let other people rush you on, because they feel you should have reached this or that lvl allready.

Stotan:
Any advice... for a complete noob i'll probably head to the bartz server also.

Follow the tutorial...use the in game guide and the official forums for advice. Make use of the shadow weapons(un-equip them when not playing, so the timer stops) and newbie buffs(from the noob guide).

There is a TON to do, just have fun and enjoy the lower levels. They go by so fast now.

If you do play on Bartz and decide to make an orc. Look me up, either as Hemi(Destroyer) or Guns(Tyrant) and I'll help you down the best path.

hotmail is being a bit iffy with emails for some reason, just PM or send it to imcloughy11@gmail.com , whatever is easier. I have just finished downloading and updating the client.

Update:

Stotan
Human Fighter
Level 9
Bartz Server

Advice = take all the "kill X mob and collect X and Y items" quests that give you like 10a per item hand in. That doesn't seem like a lot to you, but when you can collect 10k extra adena from doing that quest while simply leveling up, that is a huge boost for someone starting from scratch.

Also, find that one quest that makes you kill the mushrooms and gives you 2k per hand-in, and grind on it until your eyes bleed.

Don't get too happy with the newbie soul-shots. You will miss them.

Hunt outside where herbs drop.

Always carry some healing pots and a couple SoE on you.

Do not flag on anyone, no matter how newbie they seem. It's a common trick. Lvl 80 comes up dressed in newb gear, smacks on you, you smack back and then he kills you.

Get into a clan academy as soon as you can.

guitar:
Also, find that one quest that makes you kill the mushrooms and gives you 2k per hand-in, and grind on it until your eyes bleed.

to get this quest you need to head to the dark elf starting town. in the grocery shop there you can start it. just mentioning since as a human fighter starting out you might not know where to start it =)

I sent the code to your gmail account. Hope it works.

Gurag:

guitar:
Also, find that one quest that makes you kill the mushrooms and gives you 2k per hand-in, and grind on it until your eyes bleed.

to get this quest you need to head to the dark elf starting town. in the grocery shop there you can start it. just mentioning since as a human fighter starting out you might not know where to start it =)

I think there's 2 you can grind on actually, one involves killing mushrooms, one involves killing the marsh zombies in the swamp of sorrows.

I used to grind both, port to town when they're both done, turn them in, grab another scroll of escape and port back out to do them again.

Got me some nice newbie gear starting from scratch.

usually the starter quests in orc town can bring also quite good money.

there are 3 quests up there that can net you a good 1 mil. adena befor hitting 20 if you do it religiously.

Also don't forget the wolf quest. Once you're level 15, from the pet manager in Gludin. You can sell the wolves for 350k-500k each (depending on your patience and server). Only have to kill 50 mobs, talk to 3 NPC's and then take a "test'.

I can do this quest in 18min(longer lower level u are)using gatekeeper. Takes longer without, but you save the teleport money. Save your SS and newbie gatekeeper tokens for this quest and you could make a few million adena in a day. Wait till you're closer to 20, quest will go fast and you'll have enoguh money for top D grade.

Oh, oh, oh. The biggest money maker... manor. Read up all the possible guides that you can find on the official servers and figure it out. Then use it. If you are lucky on timing, you can potentially make 50-100x as much as you've spent on the seeds. One time when I rerolled, I bought some seeds for 8k, and made 800k from them.

Only problem is handing them in before the bots do.

My paladin was just a crop carrier, i could never get in to trade them before the bots got there, so i just had thousands of worthless plants in my warehouse.

So I have been playing I got to 10 with my human but I think I screwed myself. I used that teleport to leave talking island. I don't know where to go now. I'm at a ferry waiting but I can't get on the ship I try to walk on it I fall off into the water. Now I'm lvl 9 heh.

Others things I can't get over are the controls. the clicking is fine and using the arrows. But Is there anyway to change the controls around at all?

Also what is with the running even close to a building a it locking up your guy. I walk inbetween some crates and a wall that are from my view 6-7 feet apart but my guy stops in the middle of the open area and Ihave to fight to get him off the blockage. Also with flat rocks out in the field. why does my guy run into them and others I just run over?

Sorry to complain about your guys game. I'm just having a hard time with those things. other then that I love the game the history the story everything about it.

Go to a newbie guide. You are probably in Gludin right now, so the guide should be in the square where the church is. Talk to him and select newbie token teleport or something like that.

If you enable "enter to chat" in the options, you can use WASD for movement. I am not sure why you wish to gimp your maneuverability by using the keyboard to move, though.

Rocks? Boxes? Are you sneaking around some back alleys somewhere? Not sure what boxes you might be talking about, but why are you trying to scale a big rock? Some of them you can get on, from the right side. Others you can't. Why would you anyway?

well there are some clipping problems in the game. sometimes, if everything works right you can get across a low rock by simply walking over it, the next try you will get stuck before it, just because you approach from a slightly different angle or because your client had a short lag. just ignore it and move around, there arent too many places where this will become a problem for you.

to use the boat you need to buy a ticket from the npc in front of the pier. only then will you be able to travel this way. since it is a quite nice ride and even the music is decent i would suggest to everyone to at least take one trip with the boat.

I'd point out the game is running on a 5 year old engine designed for 32 players max.

It's amazing it doesn't just fall over completely, it must be held together with duct tape and gum.

They've updated the engine three times now, I think?

i would say they tweaked the engine several times, but the underlying structur is still the old unreal 2 one. and you can only improve on it so much.

Yup, it's still the engine designed for UT2003.

They've enhanced it by adding the bloom / glow used in the UT2004 engine tweak and obviously done a bit of optimization for more players and larger maps, but it's still an old engine.

Amazing it looks as nice as it does.

It's amazing they have stabilized it to the point it is now. Remember prelude and all the crashes? Now when was the last time you crashed playing recently?