WildPotato back in ECO as ｎｉｎｇｙｏｕ!

It's been a long, long time since the last time I've played ECO. So long, in fact, that my characters were gone by the time I logged in (though that may have been a result of requesting my ID and password info).

But now, I'm back!!

Say hello to the fabulous new Ningyou-chan!

This time around, I decided to go a different route and make Ningyou-chan a swordsman. Rather than keep her chained as a slave to the support of others, I wanted to let her be able to take the blade of fate in her own hands! Literally.

Going melee is much more liberating in comparison to starting as a magic-based or supporter character. There's no need to wait out the MP recovery times or flee from monsters as a result of having little defense and hit points. Added to that jpECO's much improved item heal rates, and you've got yourself a great time. Granted, potions and food are still expensive. I've been lucky enough to receive a lot of help from my ringmates, who've given me enough money, potions, and GB to bring me to where I am now: level 95!

I'm still getting used to the miniscule CAP.

Three particular changes/additions made leveling all the more easy compared to idECO. The first is, obviously, the different experience requirements. The second is the removal of possession level restrictions, meaning you can possess or be possessed by people of any level regardless of your own. The third is the Soul system in which you can rent a person's soul to boost your stats. Those souls belong to other players who have put them up for rent in exchange for experience granted to them for each day their soul is being rented. The stat boost of the soul depends on the job of the player; fighters give mainly HP, ATK, and DEF; spellusers MP, MATK, and MDEF; backpackers CAP and PAYL; and novices and DEMs all stats or other miscellaneous ones (I didn't pay too much attention to anything but fighter souls).

Using the Soul/Tamashii system is cheap. You only pay 100 gold to rent a soul for several days of boosted stats, meaning there's little reason why you shouldn't take advantage of this. Also, it can make you feel nice when you buy what looks to be the soul of a cute girl.

I was never a big grinder in idECO. Usually I gave up after a level or two; at most, I stopped at five. I depended on Trass and Veil to GB me all the way up to the 90s because it was easier to just Random Heal and do nothing but watch. Because of this, I'm very proud of having gained about 45 levels in the span of two or three days, with very few of them coming from being GBed by someone else.

It's very refreshing playing like this. I've experienced a lot of new things and a few disorienting things, too. The language barrier is tough, but the game is worth it regardless. Playing ECO is fun for me because of its generous commercial opportunities for its players. Because it lets people easily sell and buy things there is always variation in what is available, and what is available is usually affordable for everyone and not just for the select few IM buyers (who are not few, because of the great IMs).

As such, my main goal is to be able to buy the cool IMs and other fashionable items rather than necessarily reaching level 110. Since the Chronicle jobs have beautiful armors I'm very willing to grind to be able to wear them, though. Also, the higher level I am, the easier it should be to make money... right?

Since the start, my goal was to reach at least level 80 to start grinding pirate oaths. I finally reached level 95 and headed out to Enigma. The fields were empty; only monsters roamed. The bridge which was full of golems selling passes and players resting from battle was now void of life. In the Enigma headquarters, Buru stood alone in the silence.

WHERE IS EVERYONE THIS CAN'T BE REAL

That's right. While in idECO Enigma was one of the most crowded areas full of competition in both the market and in the field, in jpECO it is little better than a ghost town.

Why? Because pirate oaths sell for 300 gold. Before the merchant price raise, that is.

One change made a world of a difference in the economy. In idECO, the best ways to make money may have been selling pirate oaths, doing Red Pearls (both the quests and the selling), vending boss drops such as Arsenal's weapons, and so on. However, these methods will simply not work in jpECO. Players in idECO exploited the 5 daily quest count, the easy multi, and the hardworking golems to rack up their gold, items, and experience. When you think about it, almost all of the easy ways to make money are tied directly to taking quests. Want to hunt oaths? Take Buru's quest to go to Pirate Island. Red pearls? Sell them for high enough that you profit well, but also low enough that players gain money when they complete the quest. Found some random items while grinding? Sell them to golems who will then sell them to players, who will use them to complete gathering quests. In many ways, idECO's bustling economy was fundamentally based on the accessibility of quest counts.

In jpECO, on the other hand, I have seen two prominent ways to make money. The first is to hunt golden insmouse and sell their drops. The second is to buy IMs or points and sell those to other players. There is no economy for gathering quests here, because quest counts are precious for players still in the midst of gameplay. Waste them all on quests for experience or money and you may have to wait days to complete the tutorial, to gain access to equipment shops, or to gain extra skill points. At any rate, the golden insmouse quest yields far more money than delivery quests, which seem to average at 30k for most levels. Selling golden insmouse drops yields an easy 100k for just one run, 200k-300k if you break party and reenter the reset dungeon before completing the quest.

Money troubles aside, I've been having a lot of fun seeing all the new features. Beautiful loli pets, revamped faces and hair, and also...

That little thing in the center is Ningyou-chan.

RING AIRSHIP! \o/

The ring ship was already completed by the time I started again. It's incredibly cool and serves as a convenient free warp to Uptown from your airship (which can be almost free thanks to the tutorial). Since everyone can pitch in and add furniture, you can find some awesome ring ships full of interesting things. My favorite sight so far was seeing figures of the humongous Emilgon, Titagon, and Domigon all gathered together, bashing and slamming a tiny bubus figure hopping in between them. Now that's good taste.

All in all, I'm glad to be back and playing ECO!

Bonus of resting on the ring ship. The sight of the sky from between the umbrellas is magnificent. Try it out some time by scrolling in and swiveling the camera to your character's back!