I’m currently located in a safe house, near Summerholt (it’s NE of me). Since this is apparently where I’ll be logging for the RL night, I think it’s a good time to go over some highlights on Day 1 of exploring Xan on horseback.
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Initial highlights: So far I’ve visited 5 starter towns (Linton being the best looking, and Whitefay being.. well, not so good). I do like the fact the starter towns aren’t a no-effort copy, it looks like they try to fit in with their surroundings. Though I can’t say the same about the markets (which look like exact no-effort copies). Linton’s market showed this the best, having two roads that go nowhere.
I also bought a skiller pick from one of their markets (yes I could had made my own, but I’m too lazy). But hopefully with this pick, it will encourage me to start grinding my Mining skill (to where I can start getting my own 70QL ore).
Now I shall discuss the other highlights, starting with the first;
Got to the west side (across from Dragonshearts’s deed), and ended up at a deed that wasn’t named on the map. But after mooring my boat and hopping on my horse, I discovered that this is exactly where I needed to go (to reach the main roads). But going on this pretty sandstone-covered road, my computer seemed to not like it too much; was getting constant freezing (to the point it nearly locked up completely). Not really a good first impression, Xan.
Yet somehow, it recovered (by causing Wurm to CTD with no error). But since then, it has behaved normally. So I don’t know what the fuck caused this insane resource use, but I’m glad it fixed itself.
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Second highlight, was heading SW towards Newspring (after visiting Lormere). To hammer in just how big this server is, it took a half an hour to get there. But the journey to get there.. breathtaking vistas of mountain ranges and valleys of trees. I feel Xan has just stolen the coolness factor away from Deli. However, that wouldn’t be fair to Deli (since Xan is 4-times bigger).
Therefore, Deli keeps its title (as the coolest small server), and Xan (-VS- Inde).. there’s no contest, Xan wins (even though Inde would care less, being the oldest PvE server).
There’s also a second part to this– the unique ways of marking specific areas, using hanging lamps (showing the distance in KM), and the use of gravestones (marking POIs like Tundra reservation areas, bridges, and the like).
There was even this one where it said “Have a safe trip!” Seeing this on a gravestone, was just.. hilarity. “Don’t let the troll bite you in the ass!”
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Third highlight, crossing the longest bridge in my Wurm life– the Newspring Bridge. What was fucking cool, is this bridge accesses a large island (which has the starter town in its central location). It was also, how far from the mainland I was. I could see the entire SW coastline from the bridge! So cool.
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Forth (and final) highlight, was heading to where (I assume) to be the location of where I went to, to buy my Knarr. This ridiculously long E/W highway (accessible from north of Linton), has to be the coolest thing I’ve seen in this game. When I see 1,529 (in meters) until reaching the next deed, it once again shows how massive this server is. I swear, it would likely take two RL hours to get from one side of Xan to the other (without stopping).
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But that isn’t the cool part, it’s seeing miles of untouched wilderness along this highway (that you would see IRL along an interstate). No deeds as far as the view distance can see.
Like this one time, I park on the side of the road (to get Umawarrior some grass as she’s getting slow). Acres of lemon trees. No guard towers. No deeds. Very few mobs. This, is the feeling of being on your own (literally). For a game that’s supposed to be multiplayer-based, this is a great refresher of what it feels to be isolated from annoyances.
I loved it. Absolutely, loved it. Great way to clear one’s head (when you’re asocial).
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Did eventually arrive at where my Knarr was ‘born’ (using a foot tunnel to access it). At first I was unsure if this was the place (and I had to go over my old screenshots from late 2015). But sure enough, this is the place. I remembered the rough cobble path going along the shore, that B2 dropped me off to go pay for it.
Actually kind of upsets me that the place is gone. But, ehh. It was still good to be able to get here (didn’t think the foot tunnel would had even worked in my favor).
So far, I really like it here in Xan. However, I worry I might be exploring too many things, too quickly (and be done way before what I originally predicted). I also worry I might run out of ‘cool spots’ too quickly (since I’m focusing on seeing all the starter towns, and not anything else). But I’ll try to focus next on following the coastline of the server (once I get done with seeing all the towns).
What I wish I could actually have, is Cindylu (the person I met from the Impalong last year) here on a horse, exploring Xan with me. But she hasn’t been seen in just over two months (and it’s really starting to worry me). I hope to talk to someone in Pristine (before the next Impalong) and figure out where she went.