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Why are magic items so important to player happiness? Is it because they're reflective of that persons 'success' as a character?

I cannot understand this perspective, for I've never been one to want or desire magic items, and I can freely say that if I never get my hands on an 'uber' item, my life will remain just as wholesome as it was.

And I would encourage most heartily anyone, who understands why magic items are important and does not have the need to make an aggressive and rude post to reply to my question. After all, it would give me insight into this culture-streak that seems to reflect uber magic items with player success.

But then, I could be wrong.

As I said, feel free to enlighten me on this subject. I would dearly love to know why magic items are so desirious.

-M

Marius the Black wrote:Why are magic items so important to player happiness? Is it because they're reflective of that persons 'success' as a character?

A lot of players consider the acquisition of 'stuff' as an indication of success or self worth. If they do not obtain the best buffs, the best weapons and armor, as soon as possible then they feel deprived and unworthy. This is a personal flaw that is taught to most of us from birth. We are taught to acquire things, to be 'successful', and so on. Humankind has always been greedy.

Shineys as a friend of mine used to call them are nice to have but they are hardly mandatory items to hunt successfully here. you can do just fine with nothing but player made stuff against all but the very nastiest of critters and even then it's a matter of being a bit more cautious not that it cannot be done at all.

as has been stated the way to get items is to hunt for vast amounts of time and if you "process" enough critters you will get some nice items in due course. i for instance got a couple of nice drops from corpsers early on and spent months hunting them before i clued in that it was just luck not "corpser magic bonus". i have also been cured of the idea that new players get a bonus on their odds to find uber magics for the first little bit they play.

Well, to answer Marius' question, I must first say that I agree with his point. I know, I know... this is going to come as a tremendous shock to some, but I read back through my post(s) and found that I, myself, sounded much the way Marius is interpretting the situation. Also, I must say that, in part, this may very well be the case... I know, for myself it may have been, though I didn't even realize it myself until he pointed it out. However, I thought about it for quite a while before posting an answer, at least for my own personal view... *** honestly, yeah... I probably did look at it much that way (being successful, accepted, whatever) at first. But as time went on, I did notice some significant differences in abilities... only certain abilities, mind you, if you had 110 skill instead of 100, 90 skill instead of 80, etc... mainly, for me, it has been druidry, tactics, and archery. Now, I realize there are probably many others, but like I said, I'm answering from my own personal experience. Also, like I said, at first, though I didn't want to admit it, even to myself, I think I was probably just after "stuff", but that did change the longer I hunted. After a while, I found I nearly NEVER fizzle on my druidry spells with 110, while at 100 I had a difficult time casting Nature's Blessing (88 skill required) on my dragon or friends. So, for me, having an animal lore buff does seem almost a requirement for a druid. No, it doens't have to be +10- in fact, right now Dalia is wearing 3 items that total up to her +10 in druidry. The tactics and archery go hand in hand- I noticed a significant increase in damage dealt after I had +10 in tactics, and hit rate is astronomical with 110 archery. I realize that 1/2 of your dexterity is calculated to determine hit rate with a bow, and Celeste has well over 100 dex unbuffed, so this is a factor, but I definitely hit more and harder with 110 archery rather than 100.

Now, do I feel I couldn't play without "uber" buffs? Hell no. And I realize, after a LOT of thought on the subject, and dismissing the childish response and almost natural reaction to get "mad" at anyone who might have said I was whining- yeah, it did sound like that. I completely agree. I honestly didn't intend it to sound like that. What I had asked was really a "Hey, where the heck do you guys FIND that awesome stuff?!?" I usually realize far too late that things I say don't come out the way I planned (God bless my husband for being one who can figure me out....lol).

Now, as for people wanting uber items in general- sure, I think everyone would jump at the chance to get a really great item. But, I think all those who posted in reference to "Good things come to those who wait" were correct. They do. Also, I'd like to add "Good things come to those who work their butt off for them". They do, too. It takes a while, but I can honestly say that the items I've gotten on my own, down in the deep dark depths of dank-smelling dungeons have a much more satisfying feel when I put them on than the ones I bought on the auction or from other players... I sincerely hope this answered, at least for my personal perspective on the situation, Marius' question. Hopefully others will think it through as well and offer some tidbits of their own. Happy hunting all!

Cel