Same ol story, playing off and on for like 10 years. Got the itch again... Was hoping I could just get a shotgun blast of information on what's happening in today's UO (EA/Broadsword? servers). I don't have any method to my questions, just what I can think of right now. Any help is appreciated!
UO is the only game I've never been able to let go. There seriously needs to be a support group!
Where are the best items from (pvp and pve)? Crafted, Shame, Doom, Peerless, Imbuing, random turn-in sources, etc.?
-What mods should I be looking for (in general)?
Crafting and farming very high end bosses produce the best items. Artifacts play a minor role now, as many items can now drop as random loot that put some old artifacts to shame! All spots have at least 1 or 2 artifacts that drop which are still relevant.
Are all dungeons updated to the "new" Shame format?
They made "shame loot" global to all mobs. The fist mob I killed after a 10 year break was a solen warrior in fel, and it dropped an item that would have been worth 10+ mil at the time I quit playing!
Is the Abyss/Underworld/Peerless still relevant?
Everything is still relevant, but the effort vs. reward ratios vary substantially between different areas of the game. Example: Armor of fortune is still useful from doom, but you are just as likely to get other artifact drops that are worse than currently craftable items.
What are some of the strong templates used for farming the best items?
The all purpose template is a sampire with high end gear. However, the best template is actually based on what you plan to farm as all farming spots have unique highly specialized templates and gear to maximize efficiency. You can solo it all with 1 toon if you have enough soul stones and suits.
What are some easy farm spots I can start out on with a 120x tamer w/ greater dragon to get reacquainted to the game?
-Harder solo content?
With the new mastery system a tamer with a greater can do 95% of the content solo... The problem is it is super slow compared to other specialized templates. If you have multiple accounts a tamer makes a great support character for tanking/disco/back healing...
Best all-around pets to use as a tamer?
There are very few situations where other pets would outclass a greater. There is a new dragon turtle pet, but it is basically just a greater drag.
Any current events going on? I think Blackthorn/Minax items farming was the thing to do during my last stretch.
One of the devs hinted on the stratics forums that a new story arc involving the tribes of the new dinosaur lands would start in the future.
What are the fun things you guys are currently doing?
Rebuilding myself back up from peasant status. Theory crafting multi box strats for content.
I read the thread on the T-Hunters and that sounds like fun, are they still relevant? (have never had one before!)
Treasure hunting is a zen thing for most people. You either love it or hate it! It's not considered the most profitable profession, but if you consistently do level 6 maps you WILL make gold.
What is PvP based around? VvV, Champ spawns, harrowers, Yew gate, etc?
This is shard specific, but my best answer after some scouting is that pvp currently centers around general chat
Other useful, up to date, websites? UOGuide, Searchuo, finduo, stratics, etc?
The most reliable information by far comes from this site. Stratics is almost intolerable, because it is plagued by an extremely vocal minority of posters with their own agendas. Be sure to vet any information you get from UO guide or stratics, it is usually contradictory or outdated/wrong. I've been burned by this a couple times already.
Active/mature guilds on Atlantic with voice comms that I could look into joining?
If you ask in general chat most shards have guilds which cater to new or returning players and are desperate to cultivate the player community.
