I have a similar problem, but not directly related to twinking.
I started playing EQ with a friend of mine, and since he had much more free
time to spend on his chars, he was able to advance far ahead of me with a
number of characters, but usually he would have one that he was working on
that was near my level so we would hang out and adventure together.
Recently I turned another friend of mine on to the game, someone who had
been very addicted to UO and did not think EQ was going to be that much fun.
He started a character and was moving up the levels pretty quick, but then
at about level 15 he decided that the whole process was taking to long, so
he bought an account from E-Bay with a 50th level character and a couple of
20-30 levels characters.
At first this really did not bug me too much, and while I tended to look
down in general who bought accounts from E-Bay, I cut him some slack. But
now it is really starting to cause some bad feelings, mainly because he's
off adventuring in the planes Guk, Sol B, etc. and I am still looking at
another 3-4 months at my pace of play to even get into the 40's where I
might be able to try those places.
It really make me wonder what I am putting all this work into. While for the
most part I still have fun, on the nights when I join up with the world's
most inept group or worse can't find a group I begin to think about hanging
the lute up and calling it quits.
I know this is not something any one of us can change or fix, but I thought
I would put it out there to see if anyone else had a similar experience.
Bernwyn Ablesong
Mith Marr
----- Original Message -----
From: "JasonF" <JasonF@...>
To: "Eqbards@..." <eqbards@onelist.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 1999 9:12 AM
Subject: [eqbards] Twinking Causes a Crisis of Faith
> From: "JasonF" <JasonF@...>
>
> I've been playing my bard "Crier" for just under 38 days of 'played' time
> and I just hit level 36. That's definitely *not* fast leveling, but I've
> seen a lot slower. Before my bard I played a monk up to 23rd and an
> Enchanter up to 13th while learning EQ and realizing that the best class
in
> the game was bard.. but I digress.
>
> Last night I saw a level 9 bard in full Lambent, dual Ykeshas, Flowing
Black
> Silk Sash, Mistmoore Drums, the works; he was decked out like a level 50
> that hadn't been to the Planes. About four days ago I saw a level 15 in
> full Lambent, and I assume he had MM Drums and other goodies as well.
>
> I've got to say that this was *profoundly* discouraging to me. I've been
> working my ass off for the pieces of Lambent armor that I have and I
*still*
> lack the boots and helm. So here I sit, dejected on the sands of Oasis,
> being *less* complete than a guy that started his bard last weekend. Not
> only that, he literally *laughed* at me for having 38 'played' days and
not
> being level 50.
>
> When there ceases to be any way for players' characters to differentiate
> themselves from one another other based upon level (i.e. time and effort
> expended), what is the point of continuing? I want, when people look at
me,
> for them to know that I braved death and died many times to achieve the
> armor that I'm wearing. I don't want people to assume that I bought it
from
> a farming high level Wizard or Mage or twinked myself with it. I am now
> "just another bard in Lambent". If the armor was NO DROP it would be a
> different story. The bard that I saw in Oasis would have been in steel
> probably and I would have something tangible and visual over him based
upon
> my efforts. Everyone that saw me would then *know* that I had earned the
> pieces for myself. They would know that I had pulled Gypsy Musicians from
> Mistmoore Castle for a lute, and that I had pulled Gargoyles in Lower Guk
> for a Basalt Carapace. The Lambent armor's not being NO DROP has reduced
my
> efforts to inconsequential and unnoteworthy.
>
> I am seriously wondering what it is I'm doing playing a game that makes me
> feel this way.
>
> Crier Sharpsong
>
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