Last year around this time, a friend convinced me to try Plat, as that was his main platform. I was ALL prime and completely biased to Plat. Of course I hated the idea of droppage with death, but it was more than that. I thought they were a bunch of elite snobs that never interacted with each other. Basically, a ghost of Prime. Not to mention, it cost more, although to be fair it's currently only $10 more per month (used to be much higher).

And then there was the whole.... 'What about all my awesome stuff???' Yeah, my prime characters are fine tuned with feature alters and custom crap, money in the bank, etc. So switching to plat? Starting over? Sounds like a lot of work. Especially looking like a newb again. Still, he convinced me to TRY it. So I did. I ran around with a crap falchion, newb clothes, no silvers, and NO feature alters (which is a really big deal to me, as I don't want to look generic). And I only knew one person.

Now, nearly one year later, I think switching to Plat was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Why? Because Plat is basically the Gemstone I've been wishing for. Yes, that sounds silly and exaggerated, but it's true. And here are some reasons why.

1. You may start with nothing, but a year later, I have more higher-end stuff than I have after 20 years of prime. People are willing to give or loan you weapons/armour if you ask (sometimes even if you don't ask), and as the hunting areas are less overhunted, the treasure is usually much better. Within a month or so, I had decent weapons. After several months, I had awesome weapons. So acquiring things is not impossible, even when you're starting out. There is also a MHO called Outfitters, specifically designed to help out new players with things they might need/want. Within reason, of course. They aren't just going to hand you a rot-flared nerve staff, but they will likely have something you can get started with. And speaking of acquiring things...

2. Merchants/raffles aren't clogged with 100+ people, so you actually HAVE a chance at winning something. 2018 EG was my first Plat EG. It was the best EG ever, considering I actually won some raffles and got spun several times, after past prime EGs being very disappointing. When merchants pop up from time to time, pretty much everyone gets something done. Raffles aren't overflowing with tickets, so you have a chance. Also, things such as auctions are actually doable for peons. During CCF I managed to win a glamour tattoo for 2mil. The same auction in prime went for over 200mil. So my emphasis here, is that YOU HAVE A CHANCE. A REALLY GOOD ONE.

3. Community. Now, I know there are several communities in prime. I might even dare to use the term 'cliques'. Actually, I do dare. After all my years in prime, I never really belonged anywhere. I had a few friends that came and went, and I tried to involve myself in groups. But it just never happened, as the groups were usually already established (with no 'open to new friends' slots), people didn't like me, or no one really even cared. Whatever the case, I was very lonely in prime for the last five or so years. I tried to join a few outside chat groups involving prime people. Still didn't feel a part of them. Joining plat, though? I made friends. I joined the PlatChat on Discord. And yes, it took some time. But now I feel part of the community. I feel PART of Plat. I don't need to join a group, because really, there is only one group. Plat is it's own group. And if you make the effort, others will meet you half way. It wasn't immediate, and I admit I got disheartened a lot at the beginning. But I stuck it out, and it was worth it. People in Plat are SO helpful. You need spells? Just ask, and someone will probably be around to help. Need a raise? Same thing. Whether you ask IG or on Platchat, usually you can find someone to help.

4. Storylines. I know Kenstrom Story Time is a big deal. In fact, I did my best to try and participate in those storylines. However, I was disappointed and frustrated every single time I tried to involve myself. To me, it seemed as if there was a specific clique (yes, I used that word again) that was catered to, and everyone else was just... there. Some people managed to slip through the mediocre cracks and become one of the elite. But really, it was the same people over and over, taking front stage. Not to mention, mostly what everyone did was stand around and try to out-talk one another. It wasn't fun, to say the least. And yes, I may be a little bitter over all that, but I DID try. Now, let me focus on Plat. The storylines in plat are much more involved, and if you want to participate, you absolutely can. There is no 'elite' circle, because really, there aren't enough people to do that. If you make an honest effort to join, you will be included. Not only are there GM storylines, but GMs will also work with people if there is a player-run storyline happening. We have a few player-made storylines that are running parallel and interweave with GM storylines. If you have ideas? GMs will listen. No one out-talks each other and tries to be 'the winner', if you will. It's much more immersive (I mean, realistically, are you going to have 50+ people all questioning one random NPC?). It made me realize what a storyline SHOULD be. I appreciate the effort GMs like Kenstrom put into them, but unless you have an 'in', it can be very depressing.

5. The Portal system. This has spoiled me for life, I think. When I go back to prime once in a while, I keep forgetting there is no portal system. For 10k a month, your transport ticket is good to any portal, anywhere in the realm. Want to grab something from your locker in Teras, but you're in the Landing? Just use your portal ticket, and it's basically instant. You use the same portals as in prime, via the Premium Halls. The difference is, 10k for one month as opposed to cost each time you use it. Now, if you have billions, you might not care about this. For those of us with considerably less, it's a Godsend. Raffle in another town? No big deal. Someone offering a spellup in another town? Be right there!

6. The roleplay. Now, I know there is a lot of RP in prime. I've done my fair share. But there is also a lot of subtle 'ooc-ness' in prime, much much more than in plat. Prime has hundreds of people at any given time, and the chance for real immersion can sometimes get watered down. My main in prime is a healer, but standing in TSC and just healing wounds from people who don't bother to interact gets a bit old. Not to mention you're possibly competing with three or more other healers, and at least one of them is basically a bot who instaheals the moment someone enters the room. More of a wham, bam, thank you ma'am type of thing when it comes to services, it seems. Which is fine, really. But some of us like to RP out our services. Or at least converse while we're helping you. Since the Plat community is smaller, you do get to know everyone around (who wants to be known, of course). Yes, there are several players who keep to themselves, or at least don't RP much. But generally people are happy to RP with you, and storylines definitely help if you need some kind of direction. The quality of RP varies from player to player, as it does in prime. But I find the quality is pretty damn high, for the most part. And there aren't the type of cliques that Prime has. If you aren't in a certain clique, RPing in prime with any of those people is impossible. So between the non-RPers, the cliques, and the loners, some of us don't really stand a chance. In Plat? You definitely have a chance, if you want one.

7. GM involvement. It's kind of a given, that since the plat community is small, the GMs are more involved with things in AND out of game. You can actually RP with their NPCs, sometimes even one on one. They like it when players get involved, even in small things like 'what seasonal items should we have for Thraks?' Discord helps, as they are also in Platchat, and it helps to actually get to know them as people, not just floating entities that sometimes do things for you, or make things happen. There isn't really favouritism, at least that I can tell, because there aren't 100s of people vying for attention. The GMs have enough time to make sure everyone is taken care of if they need something/help. And I must say, I DO love the Plat GMs. They are super nice, and really, really fun. Lots of creative ideas, as well.

8. A bit superficial, but... locker space. 125 to be exact, in each town. With the portal system, it makes it even better. Enough said.

Now, there are a few things that aren't so wonderful about Plat. I know it isn't perfect. I won't make a list, but I'll mention a few things that could be worked on, or issues I've run into. Firstly, the Guilds. While it does take significantly less people for an audience, I've been less than thrilled about doing Rogue Guild stuff, which means I'm barely two ranks. Yes, people are willing to help if you ask. But I hate bothering anyone. And finding a partner - again, do I want to bother someone? Assuming someone is available? Not really. Also, sometimes I feel guilty asking for spells, IG or OOG, because my character is not self-sufficient when it comes to hunting. Still, these two are really the only cons I can think of.

Honestly, Plat is the perfect fit for me. It might not be for everyone, of course. But when I try to play prime, I only last about ten minutes now, and immediately return to Plat. It's my home. If you are thinking of trying out Plat, I really encourage you to do so. New players are welcomed, and help is always offered if you let someone know you need it (sometimes you don't even have to say anything). And if you've read my entire, long-winded post, kudos to you! :D Also, feel free to ask me anything - I'm happy to help out. Especially if you give Plat a try!

Tanai in Plat.

After reading over Tanai’s post, my own thoughts differ at least somewhat. I have been primarily in Plat for the past two months and change, rather than her year. I’ll look at some of her points as well as adding in my own thoughts.

1). Gear:
This was actually not so much a concern for me, especially at first when I was testing it out to see how I felt about things. I do miss some of the fluff/RP items I have in Prime, quite a lot. Some are sentimental, some are great items, some are a mix of each of those.

A couple of months in, I have a mix of things. I have some quite good items (primarily from Duskruin), but one of those I would have been able to get in Prime anyway. Probably more easily, in fact. I cannot really comment on how long it will take to equal or surpass some of my better items in Prime. Needless to say though, I have not reached that point, at least in some regards. In others, some items I have are better than gear I have in Prime.

The Outfitters have not been active in the time I’ve played, so I can’t comment on that.

Acquiring items is not impossible, no, but I would say in the low end I did not find it exceptionally easier than Prime and arguably worse in terms of getting 2-4x gear.

2) Raffles:
Your chances at raffles are, of course, random. I have yet to go to an EG in Plat, as I started here at the tail end of the event in both instances. I had phenomenal luck with raffles in 2018 in Prime, so I’m not the best judge of this at all. I can see that, overall, it will obviously be far better odds in Plat.

My own unhappiness in this year’s EG in Prime stemmed mainly from the attitudes around me, more than the event itself. I will note only that I enjoyed the Carnival of Freaks and premium fest both far more than Ebon Gate.

3) Cliques/Groups:
My experiences here differ markedly from Tanai’s, though we did meet in Prime and became friends there first. I started in GS in the spring of 2015 and, overall, the CHE and MHO experiences have been pleasant for me.

Those are not the only groups and they are not always inclusive ones. I think many of them try, some harder than others. I have possibly lucked out in having spent a lot of time with some very inclusive roleplayers, but also my expectations may have differed. I know that many players want far more to be in the spotlight than I myself do.

In terms of Plat’s community, I think it is for the most part welcoming. There have been moments so discouraging that, had I not had the fortune of two friends already in Plat and/or two that I brought with me, I may very well have decided to leave. Sometimes just one or two negative parts can ruin an entire experience. That has not been the case here, but it was close at least once.

4) Storylines:
KST is a big deal to a lot of people. It tends not to be for me, as I’m prone to headaches from scroll and just prefer quieter RP. So, the RP in other towns was often harder to find, but more to my preference when it was available.

This is a place where I would agree with Tanai that it is often more readily available, if you spend any time looking. But my experience in Prime was not nearly so negative.

I have found the GMs willing and eager to work with you, and even throw you random surprises.

5) Portals:
This is a huge boon. There’s no two ways about that. Especially as your first month is only 1k. It goes up to 10k after that. It boosts your ability to go hunt somewhere else, to go meet someone to RP, helps with locker management, etc.

6) Roleplaying:
There is a lot of OOC behavior in Prime. Both of the quietly OOC nature and the disruptive. Plat has less of this and frowns harder on that sort of behavior.

That said, my first experiences in GS were in Landing and I think it is overall welcoming, if often borderline (or worse) OOC.

I am not sure I would say there are more chances to RP in Plat, but it likely depends on what people are looking for. As I am typically happy to RP with 1-3 other people, I rarely have problems there in either instance. At least as often in Plat as in Prime and quite possibly more often, I do have friendly faces show up and tell me I’m easy to find.

7) GM involvement:
I touched on this already, but yes. The GMs are more involved in and out of game. I have already talked to staff more than I possibly ever have in GS. I never felt neglected for that in Prime though, and as someone who often played in Solhaven I felt glad to see the GM-run events there.

I agree that the staff members for Plat are wonderful and creative.

8) Locker space:
Yes, this is an improvement over Prime. There’s nothing much to argue there.

9) As for the negatives:
I agree with the remarks about the guild work.

The smaller population also means that it can be hard to find someone to help, if you keep odd hours. Not impossible, and that’s to be expected as well, really.

If you intend to try Plat, I strongly suggest it’s more fun to try it with a friend or two. It might feel quite lonely if you go it alone.

Also tying into the smaller population: it can be difficult to find low level gear and sometimes spells, especially if you are hesitant to ask. It can feel pushy to do so, even though the community as a whole will tell you to ask and ask and ask. I will note here though that, when I was new, I asked someone about lowering the price on some plain 4x gear that I really couldn’t afford. The response that it was fairly priced and he might as well pawn it as sell it to me otherwise left me feeling even worse than asking in the first place had. However, had I been more willing to ask other people / more openly in Plat chat, I would likely have gotten that or a similar item for free.

There is definitely an idea that it is very easy to earn silvers in Plat, even when you’re new. That is partially true. When you are low level, you can find areas that pay quite well. If you are attempting to do the society Guardians of Sunfist, you will have a far harder time than you would in Prime. I very much do not recommend this for a first character in Plat, which I would not say about Prime.

Despite the remarks above though and some very dear friends in Prime who I talk to regularly and miss occasional RP with (and still show up for other events to see), I have played Plat nearly exclusively for two months.

So, my post was likely even more long-winded than Tanai’s, but I hope equally worth reading. And, should either post persuade you to try Plat, please do look me up. I’m Calauria there.