Meta Notes
Updated 12/24/2001
Creating Tze and this website has been an interesting project. It all started many months ago when I was considering what new kind of character to make. I had tried many melee warriors: unarmed, sword, axe/xbow, etc. I had the luxury of being able to be my own patron since I had already built a level 36 mage and a level 46 archer. I spent thousands upon thousands of pyreals each time I decided to try a different character, accumulating weapons, armor, jewelry, etc. Everything that would be needed to make that character the "best" it could be.
But none of those characters ever lived beyond level 12 or so. There was something bothersome that I could not put my finger on. Finally I realized that I always felt that I was doing a mental comparison between how well my character was doing and how well I saw others doing. Were his skills developing correctly? Would he really be uber in the long run? Maybe I should have first run a dozen different templates through Split-Pea to optimize XP utilization? I was spending more time worrying about my character than having fun with him !! I was plagued with the dreaded reroll syndrome.
The solution seemed to be: do something different.
If I could not be compared directly to anyone else, then I had no need to stress over how well I was doing. Instead, my only criteria would be: Was I having fun?
I asked a message back then on the CoD boards. "Can the Jitte compete?" was the title. Inevitably, the replies were a resounding "No". The jitte was not really viable: too low a base damage range, not many high-level spell jittes, etc. Of course, the answers made sense: why use a 3-5 jitte when you could use an 8-16 morningstar, or take Staff if you want bludgeoning, or take Axe since it's better than Mace for the same number of skill credits?? Why place oneself at such a disadvantage?
Yet, the idea still stuck in my mind. And I began to look for jittes in shops, and on the message boards and I saw that, indeed, although their damage range is generally low, there were elemental jittes, jittes with level 5 and 6 spells, and so on.
And when the Mi Krau-Li's Jitte quest appeared, I did some serious soul-searching: was it good?, was it bad?, did this make the Jitte viable or was this the end of my silly notion?
Ironically, it was all the messages regarding people rerolling as Staff users that convinced me that the Jitte was viable. If experienced players saw a 5-10 or 6-12 staff as a powerful weapon, then surely the Jitte - especially Mi Krau-Li's - was equally viable!!
And so began the creation of a Sho Jitte Warrior concept.
My first aborted attempt was a character who Spec'd Lore only, so he could take Creature as well as Item and Xbow. I wanted one of those "I can be self-sufficient and do everything!" characters. Likewise, his stats were skewed to make magic more possible. This turned out to be one of those "the first 40 levels suck, but he'll probably really takes off after that!" kind of template. I had no interest in playing such a character through 30 or 40 levels of misery. Especially since I enjoy the low levels - running in fear from Hunter Shreths, and worrying if the next drudge is a Prowler or only a Skulker. Finally, I already had a 4-school mage, so the thought of buffing every few minutes with Creature as well as Item spells (and Life spells later on) was discouraging.
By level 7 or so, I decided to reroll again. And I made a concerted effort to really make this character a focused warrior. So, I took MissileD as well as Item Magic. I have not been disappointed with MissileD, contrary to many of the messages I had read on the boards. With all the Lugians, and even Mosswarts that I fought, it was extremely useful. And it allowed me to solo through the first Krau-Li dungeon with relative ease.
Will I ever cast level 6 spells? Should I take Life magic? Should I have spec'd MeleeD? Sure, I think about such things. But I also recall that the first person to reach level 100 was a sword-swinger with no Life magic and a gimped starting template. There are some places my archer goes that my mage never will and vice versa. And so it will be with Tze. This is the nature of playing varied characters in a world with varied creatures.
Creating the website has given the character some life and additional purpose. It created a "backstory" of sorts and a role-playing philosophy for the character. (I wish I could maintain the role-playing aspect that the website portrays, but I confess that in-game I act just like any other player. Role-playing in-game is hard, at least for me). In addition, it gives me a way to share this 'experiment' with everyone else.
I've had at least one or two other people contact me regarding creating a Jitte Warrior, and I am delighted when I hear such interest. At least if it generates more interest in Mi Krau-Li's Jitte, I will be happy since I think that weapon is under-appreciated.
However, I think a more important idea to come away with (one that has been stated by others, also) is this:
Meta Notes of 7/01/2001
At this point I have reached level 55 with Tze. I am finding more and more faults with the character's design: wishing I had started with less Endurance, more Focus, dropped missileD, spec'd Life, and so on. It is probably similar to the fault-finding one does in a relationship when you've been with the other person for a significant amount of time: all those little quirks that were not an issue before, now start becoming huge glaring flaws that make you practically despise them and make you forget why you originally wanted a relationship with them!
The temptation is to reroll another character who will be my "perfect" character - the one who will be flawless, powerful and capable: the one with no "mistakes". And every time I feel this way and jump into Split Pea and start fiddling with attributes and skills I come across that same old dilemma: compromise. There simply is no way to create a character with every skill spec'd and every starting attribute maxed at 100. And that brings me back to the original question of: "if I can't have it all, then what character will I be happy playing?"
Perhaps it is time for a new challenge, perhaps it is time for a battlemage or a spec-Life UA, or.....? Or, perhaps it is time for a break. I think, though, that it is the lack of future possibilities that is drawing nigh: skill credits are scarce, there are few higher-level quests, and the xp requirements per level are starting to become notable. Monarchies never have been an interest to me, so the xp garnered must continue to come from my own fighting, as it always has. The reality is that such endlessly repetitious fighting for the sake of xp would wear on most people. Perhaps with a more "efficient" template that could kill quicker and faster I would not feel that it is so much work.
So, the thought of creating a new character continues to creep into my thoughts. And yet, if I had the tenacity to come this far, then why abandon Tze now? The character is not that bad....in fact, he's pretty capable in most situations. Well, there is one issue. As more content is developed by Turbine, it is skewed more towards being challenging to the more 'uber' modern templates. So that, although I avoid places where I would need to compete with others for kills, I lack the template to do well with much of that higher level content on my own - not only at this level, but for many, many foreseeable levels to come.
It's not that I can't fight them, but that I can't fight them very well. And that leads back to the original criteria for Tze of "creating and playing an enjoyable character". Perhaps I must face the fact that this character has become less enjoyable as I approach these higher levels? And if so, then why continue to play him? Why put myself through that for reasons other than blind tenacity, a desire to not abandon my investment of time & sweat, and, well, so that I can keep updating this website (i.e., a "pride thing")?
I do not want this to be a discouragement to those who wish to start their own Jitte Warrior characters. The character has been fun to play and if your goal is fun and not super-high levels, then I firmly support that. However, I wish to also be frank with those who anticipate extending their character to high levels, and want them to be aware of the results of my experiences so far. I have simply realized that after having several characters reach mid-levels before retiring, that I am at a point where I desire a character that will be most fun at higher levels. So, as my goals change, perhaps so must my character. And unfortunately, there is no way to significantly alter a character at his current level of 55.
Part of the dilemma of creating a character specifically for high-level play is the need for optimization due to the exorbitant cost of skills at high levels. And that optimization 'requirement' is generally at odds with the notion of creating a unique and/or unusual template - who's skillset and attributes may not reflect the most optimal configuration. Creating such a character will take much thought.
One very important thing I wish to note is that this website was not started with the idea of promoting the Sho Jitte Warrior concept specifically.
My real goal is to promote the possibility and potential of character designs that are unorthodox and unique. So, if someone saw this site and decided that they wanted to create a Kasrullah-only "Desert Macer" or an Aluvian hand-axe character or something else unique, then I would feel this website succeeded. Indeed, if all it did was make someone realize that their current "gimped" template was no better or worse than mine, and it renewed their desire to continue playing it, then the website has succeeded. If someone creates a Sho Jitte Warrior form specifically for high-level play, then it is a success.
Best of luck to you and hope to see you in Dereth :)
Meta Notes of 11/30/2001
Dark Majesty and Marae Lassal have breathed some new life into AC for me. I enjoy wandering the new island and I like the artistry and feel of the new creatures and towns and such.
However, the recent patches seem to be continuing a trend of including more and more non-meleeable monsters. After the insulting trophy weapons such as the Fang Mace and Lugian Sceptre, to find worthy melee items such as Diamond Shields on monsters that cannot be meleed is insulting. And on Marae Lassal, the packs of a Virindi Executor surrounded by Observers that fall once the Executor is killed is likewise disturbing since the Executors cannot be meleed.
I wait for some alleged melee improvements to come soon. If they do not appear or are not adequate, then I will have to assume that the direction of the game has shifted so far toward mages and hybrids that I will likely reroll or simply quit. Again, it is not just a matter of not being able to kill some things and not others, it's a matter of being able to do so efficiently, instead of having tedious, drawn-out battles that are fun the first few times, and then become simply a pain. With no vassals or xp-chain to rely on, all my xp comes from my own battles, and itch to reach 65 and get Creature Magic (assuming I can do the skill credit quest along the way) gives me something to shoot for, but at 11+ mill per level, even 2 1/2 more levels seems like alot of work.
The spiked club and Assault Mace are my current weapons of choice (a Singularity Mace will replace the Assault one once I can get it upgraded). Sadly, I rarely use any of my Jittes anymore. With mediocre Life Magic skills to imperil/vuln and the preponderance of spellcasters using Drain/Harm, high regen, high AL and so on, it becomes ever more so important to drop the enemy quickly. If not, then the battle will continue for long periods of time as I have to essentially kill it over and over several times.
Yet, after all that, I still enjoy Tze for the most part, and I am reluctant to reroll. As long as I keep varying my hunting locales (Aerlinthe, Dires, OP, ML) on a regular basis I can usually avoid boredom and have fun.
Meta Notes of 12/24/2001
I have made a decision: I will not reroll. Period.
I knew I could achieve more and be more powerful if I rerolled. But the
thought of accomplishing all those levels again for the 4th time was weighing on
me. And the thought of "wasting my time" playing Tze when I could be
using that time to be leveling a new character made me not want to play Tze. But
I couldn't bring myself to delete a mule and face the leveling again.
Still, I kept it in my mind: "if it gets too frustrating, I'll just reroll".
And my mules were jammed with stuff I might need: lower-level jewelry,
clothes, weapons, armor, etc. And it was a goodly assortment considering that I
had several ideas of what new kind of character I might build, hence the stuff I
saved was to cover all those possible character types. :P
Finally, this last week, I opted to dedicate the rest of my AC career to Tze
only. It was a choice that ended up being a big relief. I went thru my mules and
cleared tons of stuff out, some I sold, some I dumped in a town square for
people to pick up of the ground, and some I just let rot.
I also stopped agonizing over loot I'd find: should I add it to my mules? "Gee,
if I ever made a Gharu Swordsman with missileD these leggings would be
awesome!" LOL. No more. If they aren't great for a quick trade, or I don't
know of someone to give them to, then they get sold.
After that decision, I was able to hit 65 and pick up Creature magic in short
order. Now, with 3 schools and casting 6's (with some fizz) in Creature &
Life, and soon in Item, I feel a renewed sense of vigor in the abilities of my
character...even though nothing too dramatically has changed in his stats.
Now with an Upgraded Singularity Mace (thanks to Absolut Citron for guiding me through the dungeon!), and an Impen VI buckler, I feel pretty confident about this characters abilities. No, I won't be taking out Executors or soloing Aerefalle, but he is a good "all-around" character who will have longevity.
Now the great dilemma is: work more on his attack skill (I still can barely hit a vapor golem and Eviscerators and Silver Tuskers evade me more than I'd like)? or on his magic skills (fizzle, fizzle, fizzle, arrrgh!)?
I will miss not doing all the low-level quests (including the new ones introduced this month). I still firmly believe that some of the best fun in AC is at those lowest levels. I look back fondly on those days - even with leveling multiple characters, the thrill of eventually being able to handle more than three Drudge Prowlers at once always felt like quite an accomplishment. :)
I also have a nagging feeling that I will never use my Jittes again. Unless Turbine introduces some kind of boost to them, I'm afraid I will vendorize my collection. And that saddens me. It also is the reason my storyline has shown Tze "falling off the path" after 60.
Turbine seems to have an incredible reluctance to improve Mace/Axe/Spear/UA to a level competitive with Bandits. And why I as a macer have to wait to level 70+ to get a 10-20 damage mace (Pyreal Mace) while the Atlan Axe has been 10-20 all along just baffles me.
So, the packs of Jittes sit on a mule, waiting for another month or two for
some inkling of whether there will be some improvements made. If not, then I
will sadly sell them off, and never look back.