I have played once before, and am about to jump into Aradune as soon as the servers go live again (gods willing). Have any tips for a relative newcomer about starting the game? What are some of the things you will do first?
Dont look at your exp bar often if at all Loot everything at first until you learn what is and isnt worth picking up Get a few bags early Play what looks fun but understand some classes have a MUCH harder time then others, especially in classic As a new player join groups, when there are 100 people fighting over the same 10 snakes groups can actually net more exp then solo players. Until you learn the tucked away spots where you can have mobs to yourself Enjoy the journey.
Yes, have fun and don't get discouraged. The game runs reasonably smoothly, except whenever they change something. Adding new servers is apparently a big strain on their wobbly and teetering system, but this only happens about once a year. It's an old game and there are tons of resources on the internet to help out. If you're having a problem, ask people in game or Google it!
Depends on class. If you are a caster and are short on funds, search a website and find the spells you want. An example is mage. You will want the water pet every time there is a new one. Some levels that spell is researched, so you will want the pet that comes next level. The reason you want water pet every time is because, due to them changing spells from once every 4-5 levels to a spell every level, mages get water pet 3-4 levels before they should. For example, at level 2 you get a a water pet that used to be a level 4 spell. That means you have a yellow pet that can lay waste to mobs.
Take a few minutes to check out the low level quests in your starting city/newbie area on Zam. Some of them are still worth doing, even after the exp reward was nerfed (like trading in bone chips to get pieces of tattered armor).
Buy the potion of speed (or whatever the SoW potion is called) from the store. It's a dollar for 4 hours of run fast.