AlexX:
1. They apparently want to join in on the game and be able to tackle people who have already been playing for 2 months.
Assuming that my complaints are due to me having just started a new character and/or having no grasp on the game's mechanics is a mistake. I do believe that most of the high-leveled players have developed their skills in their game, and that doesn't have a proportional relation to their playtime. Exactly because of their developed skill (not playtime), they wouldn't lose to newcomers, even if both players had the same resources, unless that the newcomer had indeed superior skills (unlikely, except that player is a pro at similar games -- but again, the most dedicated players would take the first place).
The problem is, in most MMOGs, playtime does give benefits to people who play more, and playing more doesn't necessarily mean playing better, having more skill (again, except on cases where actual PvP is the only source of character improvement). If players of most MMOGs rely that much in skill, I wonder what would keep them from playing single-player/2-player games and make them think that these games punish people who dedicate themselves more, and benefit new players by giving them *equal* resources.
We explain that its only natural someone will lose to someone who knows the game better
If my complaint was this, I wouldn't be playing single-player/2-player games.
You're denying, so far, the possibility of someone being saved by their better equipment/higher level, or someone being just as good as you, but defeating you because they have better equipment/higher levels.
but they insist learning the game doesn't matter, because apparently those two months are that big an advantage and that the gap between you can never, ever close.
Why do you have the idea that I'm saying all this because I didn't learn the game for quite a long time?
Why do you think that other players will always play less hours per day than you? Are you going to fight these people, or the ones that will spend more hours per day than you?
Also, the level gap may close at later levels, but that doesn't mean that the players will have equal conditions, much to the contrary. Like I said in earlier posts, the main problem later on is the equipments. There may be a level cap, but there won't be a limit to how well-equipped one can be. Those who value levels only, disregarding the importance of equipments, will someday change their minds.
Even though Trance has even posted proof lower-levels can still win with good strategy.
Sorry, that's not going to work that often against people who are similarly skilled, at least, and know to use their advantages to their favor. Think of the example, "a master with the rock defeats the novice with the sword, but doesn't defeat the master with the sword".
I explain that proper use of skills is vital
I explain that proper use of skills by top players is a given, it's just expected from them, not due to their playtime, but to them actually thinking about what matters more in their fights. Since they're fighting similarly skilled top players, they will either try to settle their scores with better equipment (for PvP and GvG), and having the proper classes to execute attack/defense strategies and having numerical advantage (for GvG). (particularly, I liked the strategic potential, but still felt like fighting the system, regarding other aspects)
otherwise someone just sitting there and spamming use of their rare weapon will just find themselves kissing the floor.
that would be another case of a high-leveled player that doesn't know how to use his/her advantages to his/her favor. Not the kind that I was looking for to fight against.
They don't listen and continue to insist that all that matters is how long you've been playing and that skill is meaningless (again, contradicted by Trance's examples).
I did say that playtime is the primary factor, but unfortunately had the skilled players in mind, not the ones that commit such critical mistakes as in former examples. So, once again I wasn't good enough at expressing my thoughts. Whatever, people think that it will be easy to overcome the difference in equipments, by playing better, by having more skill than the opponent (who will have a similar degree of skill, at least, if he/she is to be regarded as a worthy opponent). That's a mistake, to not give the proper importance to your own level/equipment (some friends of mine, for example, would know not to pick a fight with certain players, just by looking at their gears, without even having to lose to them once. This is so common knowledge, that lots of players often wear inferior gear as a disguise), and to underestimate the opponent's skill, putting him/her at the same level as the former defeated opponents.
They completely dodge my questions.
You didn't understand my metaphor about the dude at school, I could only expect you to not have understood what underleveled meant. As for that question (how large a gap between equipments/level can be, for me to consider them a significant difference), in the hands of the opponents I expect to play against, my build when I played last time..
= +8 Unfrozen Silk Robe (don't remember if I had a +7 Silk Robe of Zephyrus back then, and/or a +7 Aqua Silk Robe, I think that I didn't have them yet; that wasn't the only server I played, btw): Silk Robes give 3 base Def, each upgrade point gives 2/3 additional Def, each Def point reduces physical damage by (100-Def)%, and give 10 MDef (MDef can't be upgraded, and works similarly as Def, for magic). Unfrozen means that the character wearing it can't be frozen, and won't fall victim of bards' freezing songs or opposing wizards' freezing Area-of-effect spells; "of Zephyrus" means that the armor is imbued with wind element, thus making the user take 75% less damage from wind-element attacks, 50% less damage from water-element attacks, but 50% more damage from earth-element attacks. "Aqua" means that the armor is imbued with water element, making the user take 75% less damage from water-element attacks, 50% less damage from fire-element attacks, but 75% more damage from wind-element attacks.
= +8 Cranial Guard: Guards give 3 Def, Cranial means that this guard makes me take 30% less damage from human characters (PC or NPC)
= +9 Superior Shoes: Shoes give 2 Def, Superior means that these shoes will give me Str(enght) +2, and an additional bonus of HP/MP (SP, in RO) of 10% if the equipment is upgraded to +9 or +10
= +7 or +8 Apple of Archer/+4 Drooping Cat/+4 Erudite Circlet: Apple of Archer gives 0 Def and 3 Dex(terity), the more Dex, the faster I'll be able to cast a spell (but it doesn't reduce the cooldown). There's a headgear that gives 2 Dex and 2 base Def, but I normally use Drooping Cat, switching to AoA when I feel I'm relatively safe or need the additional Dex. Drooping Cat gives 1 Def, 15 MDef, 30% Curse resistance (Curse is a status effect that decreases your movespeed considerably, reduces your luck to 0 and your attack by 25%). Circlet gives 3 Def, 3 MDef; Erudite means that this headgear gives me +2 Int(elligence) (which increases max SP, minimum/maximum MAtk, SP recovery and Int MDef). So far, every upgradeable non-weapon equipment has a safe upgrade limit of 4 times.
=+8 Staff of Piercing/+10 Quadruple Dexterous Rod (lol @ useless +10)/+4 Swordbreaker/+4 Mailbreaker/+10 Quadruple Stun Rod: Staves of Piercing give 80 Atk (plus 5 per upgrade), +15% Matk, +4 Int, and ignore enemies' MDef by 10+<upgrade level> (in this case, 18%); Rods give 15 Atk (plus 2 per upgrade), and +15% Matk; Quadruple Dexterous means that 4 cards that give me +1 Dex each are installed on it. Swordbreaker is a knife that gives 70 Atk (plus 7 per upgrade), and has a chance to destroy the opponent's weapon, if it's destructable, and if it hasn't been protected by an Alchemist skill, Glistening Coat. It's possible for me to use this weapon from a distance, through a High Wizard skill (Magic Crasher) that allows me to physically attack someone from a 9 tile distance. Mail Breaker is another knife with the same properties of Sword Breaker, except it destroys the opponent's armor. These two knives could receive 3 slots, but I didn't try to, because the price and the success rate for slotting would be out of my current reach, and I didn't have the desired cards to use on them (the ones that increase the chance of weapon destruction), therefore making said slotting upgrade useless, if I don't have cards to use on them. Quadruple Stun Rods give me 20% chance to stun other characters upon physical hits. (I'd hate to have this being used on me, because the resistance card against Stun is too expensive)
= Vesper Core 01/Hiding Clip/Nimble Gloves: Vesper Core 01 gives 1 Def, 3 MDef, Int +2, Max SP +5%; Clip gives 10 SP, and is a common item, meant mostly to contain Accessory cards. Hiding means that the user has a Thief skill, Hiding, which makes the user bury himself/herself in the ground and cancel out non-Earth skills. Hidden users can be hit through Earth skills (for single-target skills, they need to be targettable, though), can't use skills or attack, can't use pots iirc, can be revealed through a variety of skills (Ruwach, Magnum Breaker, Sight, Improve Concentration, Detect), and can be seen by players wearing a headgear with the Maya Purple card. Slotted Gloves give 1 Dex (while unslotted ones give 2), Nimble means that they're combined with a card that gives me 3 Dex.
There may be some stuff that I'm missing, but that would be an above-average equipment. It would make me resist quite well against Hunters (bow users) and some melee classes that are average-leveled/geared, but will not fare well against Mastersmiths (they have strong, spammable physical damage skills that cost them money), Assassin Crosses (they have either a skill that increases their melee damage to 400%, Enchant Deadly Poison, which normally is used against Wizards through another skill, Grimtooth, a targeted ranged attack (with splash damage) that an Assassin can use through the invisibility of his Cloak skill; either this, or another ranged skill, Soul Destroyer, which uses both Atk and MAtk, that can also be used from his Cloak skill) and most Snipers (Hunters with higher damage, due to them having more Dex). Wizards are usually a target, they're more useful in large numbers, since magical damage is reduced by 40% in WoEs (War of Emperiums). Still, I would do well against average-leveled/equipped players, and be sure to meet death against certain players (none of them being wizards/High Wizards), even with that equipment. Perhaps me being a wizard (like I mentioned, a target. Some would say, "glass slingshot" class) also helps this. (however, it was so.. nice.. when I was properly protected, through a Crusader/Paladin skill, Devotion, which transfers my received damage to the Crusader/Paladin, as long as we're close enough to each other, and I'm not Dispelled by a Sage/Scholar)
I would've moved on to other, new equipments, but, most of my IRL friends have stopped playing, everyone was also getting tired of remaking their characters, even with the presence of some long-time competitors/partners.
