I'm trying to get back into CF after a little while away and have gone through a few characters already. I find a few minutes to two hour spans when I can play at home or at work, come up with a concept, write a role and start playing.

15-20 ranks later I grow bored, create a new character, write a new role, delete first character and play new one until 15-20 ranks later and again... same thing. New Idea.

I've written two-three post role entries just to fall out of touch with a character and feel it's time to try something new, but nothing seems to grab me.

Anyone else go through this and/or have ideas to get past it? I'd like to stick with a character for a change and join a Cabal again for the Camaraderie, maybe get a Tattoo again for the Immteraction and Characterization, but i don't know why these characters seem to lose their depth. Maybe I just need Zoloft.

Any advice'd be great.

Reading these replies has brought me some insight I hadn't thought of before and I'm shocked I never saw it...

It's sort of funny, I've been playing since 2001 and most days I still feel just this side of a newbie. I'm in some sort of middle range where early on I'm very self-reliant. I can get around on my own, with only a few mistakes, can solve all the basic quests with my eyes closed and know where to practice below level 20 or 30 ...

When it comes to the more advanced aspects of the game, like PK, higher level quests and where to go I'm still a beginner and more reliant on others. There's some sort of learning hump I seem to have not gotten past and not even realized was still in front of me.

I'm going to have to work on that.

Nothing gives you more insight into playing the high end game than playing the high end game. Pick a character, make it an easy to rank/decent exploring one, and just power rank to hero. Then jump in. You will get spanked in PK, and have #### for gear (you won't know where to find it) and preps and everything else, but the longer you stick it out with this character, the more you'll learn about how to compete, where to explore, how to do PvE, etc. etc. etc.

Honestly, every newbie's goal should be first and foremost to hero a character and learn all they can, preferably to the point of con death (I'd say age, but if you are age dying you aren't trying hard enough).

I know that I personally was (still am with some classes) in your situation, but that powering a few characters to hero changed that so much that it has totally changed the way I play the game.

I agree with that, and I'd also tack on "be in a cabal that will see a decent amount of raiding."

Being a Herald or uncaballed is great for what it is, but if that's all you ever play you do miss out on part of the game.

.

Is Fortress really mainly a first-time Cabal? That was one of the Cabals I was considering.

IMHO, it's a good a choice as anything. It probably does have more real newbies than most cabals, but it will see more raiding than Tribunal/Outlander typically do, and it will have people more inclined to help you if asked than, say, Empire.

Really top players are rare-ish in any cabal but maybe Scion, and that's something I wouldn't suggest as a first stab at doing the 'I'm going to hero and run through my con and learn' angle.

Fort is good for the reasons he mentions, and bad because you and the other noobs much just get steamrolled in a seriously morale crushing way causing you to lose interest.

On the other hand in Battle (once you get through the onerous process of being inducted) you will have (some) people willing to help out, and (probably) several high quality players to learn from. You won't learn much about what magical preps to use when, however you can learn where to find them and what they do (in the general sense). You will also learn how to move around quickly and hunt effectively without magic. This is an invaluable skill. The big upside is that your cabal powers (and restrictions) mean you can't prep, so you'll learn a lot about tactical fights. You'll learn when to run away and when to go balls out...etc. etc.

There are several good first time rager classes, but I'd highly recommend assassin zerker. You won't be quaff invis meat before you can get inducted and you have all the tools to get to hero and compete.

Just my 2 cents.

I think people who start with Battle sometimes have a hard time going away from Battle.

Fort doesn't really categorically take it in the pants more than most cabals. It has its ups and downs like anything else, though that being said, there probably are more really weak Fort players than really weak Battle players.

Yeah, that's definately a big part of it. Being High Herald felt like an accomplishment, and it definately was, but it also confuses you because you miss out on a lot of the battles and in-fighting politics. I strung along the Emperor for a while to keep the Heralds safe without paying a tithe and it was great for RP, but as soon as we'd have started fighting the Empire we'd have ceased being neutral.

I find that with most roles I eventually get bored, even if I follow it fairly strictly. Being an empowerment class (or religious non-empowerment guy) tends to spice things up, because you have a third party (your deity) who can inject unepxected things into your character's life. If it's all coming from you then nothing can ever be a surprise.

Only rarely do I have characters that are just fun to "be" because of their personality/role.

I've always had more fun when interacting with players and immortals on a consistant basis, especially when I know I contributed to someone elses enjoyment of the game. That's why I found being a Herald so rewarding a few years back and I can see why Immortals enjoy it.

Maybe it's time to try a Paladin, Druid or Healer again.

I'm not sure what kind of characters you play, how much RP you do and how in depth you get, but maybe try a very generic role. Play an archetypal character that has a very easy to get into feel to it, something where the RP comes naturally and isn't forced this might help you from feeling lost after a couple playing sessions.

If you just get bored, what sometimes works for me is to set some realistic goals for my characters and work hard to not let myself delete till they are at least mostly met.

Just what has worked for me in the past, hope it helps.

I've tried all sorts of combinations between race and class, Light, Gray and Dark hearts, but the main thing is creativity. I'm always trying to come up with some new idea or something different than what stereotypically happens over and over again.

I never feel forced to RP, RP is more important to me than the PK. What's hard is trying to keep the character fresh.

Maybe it would be beneficial to just make a standard character with no background and see if he grows into something. All his roles would be post-academy. That's not a bad idea at all.