Ents
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Ents, or treefolk, are tree-like creatures known in some stories as tree-herders but in truth are simply creatures which have adapted to their surroundings for safety reasons. Ents are hardy and strong, but they are slow to heal and recover from wounds. Due to this weakness, over the eons of their existence, Ents have chosen the method of hiding out in the open. The end result is a tall sapling which is brittle like a tree, looks like a tree, and ultimately has the dexterity of a tree. Ents have RACIAL-ARMORBARK and gain experience very slowly. Due to this fact, this race is meant for experienced players. They have been blessed with RACIAL EARTH-EMBRACE, which lessens the cost of death. They also have the wonderful perk of providing SHADE for everyone in the room. This lets the darker races not suffer from sun damage.
- Abbreviation: Ent.
- Resistances: Cold, Poison, Stasis.
- Vulnerabilities: Chopping, Fire.
- Racial Size: very large.
- Racial TNL: 20000 XP.
- Well-Suited to Be: berserkers, clerics, warriors.
- Ill-Suited to Be: archers, monks, rogues, shadowfists.
- Cannot Be: black circle initiates, bladedancers, fusiliers.
Diplomatic Corps
Ents may participate in the Diplomatic Corps every 10 levels at lowmort. All Ents should report to the Midgaard Beastmaster when they are ready to begin.
Comments
Ents are tied with Golems as having the highest racial damage modifier of any playable race. They have a high Wisdom allowing for plenty of practices. They have a high Constitution, and as a race get good HP gains. They have Racial Armorbark, which is the second best racial armour for creatable races and fourth best (out of seven) counting remort races. Ents receive a 20% reduction to the mana cost of divine spells, which is second only to sprites, but no reduction on other spell types. All of these are good things, some of which are significant advantages over other races.
On the negative side, they have a very poor Dexterity, the worst in the game bar none. They get very low move gains, which at low level can cause some real problems if you are walking alot, especially in snow or mountainous terrain, and can even continue to cause problems at hero when wearing Fatewalkers and after a recall or two. They get a VERY slow regeneration rate on HPs, mana and movement. Also, even at 100% in a spell they are not no-fail, though do not fail as badly as some races. They have by far the worst racial archery mod and terrible stealth. Then of course comes the big one, which people always talk about when they discuss Ent, and that is the 20,000xp needed to gain each level. This means that the xp an Ent takes to get three levels is more than enough xp to send a Human to Hero.
However, things are not so simple. Gaining xp from levels 2-4 is considerably easier than gaining xp from 2-51, as killing mice in the Meadow is not going to be particularly dangerous for an Ent, especially if they are spelled with even the basic spells coming from Nom. The main factor which makes Ent tnl difficult to deal with is time. Even with Racial Earth-Embrace making the maximum penalty for a death 1000xp (better than a Dragon's death xp loss, or even Firedrake's), it is going to take a long time to get an Ent ten levels. Even with the Diplomatic Corps quests shaving five levels off the run to Hero, most players are looking at around 100 hours of game play without a HoG boost, just to get to Hero. So, for people who are looking for a specific kind of character to get somewhere and reach some kind of goal, then in general they should look at a different race.
The benefits which Ents get, which are nice, are not worth the 20,000 tnl penalty by most conventional thinking and players who are level driven and are looking to rise steadily and quickly and reach Hero, or Hero 500, or Lord, will be disappointed. As of January, 2012, only a single Ent has morphed to Lord, a significant achievement that took well over 1266 hours of playtime. Most people who try Ent will give up before they even reach level 3, and of those who pass that point, few will make it past level 10.
On the other hand, for players who are not actually in any particular rush to arrive at any particular target level, then they may find Ent an enjoyable race and find unexpected benefits with it. For one thing, the Lowmort game is much more enjoyable as an Ent. Instead of running through an area once, or maybe twice before the xp begins to dry up and it's time to move on to the next tried and trusted area on your path to Hero, a Lowmort Ent can take the time to really enjoy certain areas and get to know them very well. Further more, when you are running the same area twenty or more times to get a single level, it is far more of an encouragement to mix it up a little and explore new areas with similar ranges - ones which are less run, and give better xp - for if nothing else, you will be overkilling your own mobs. Further more, when you are not leveling every ten minutes, there is a much greater incentive to pay attention to your equipment, and to search out the very best for your level rather than making do with your Mudschool gear for twenty levels. Spending time gathering gear is no longer a waste of time because you are going to be way beyond it anyway in a couple of hours. If you play a spellcaster, or have an enchanting ALT, then it is again worthwhile enchanting and enhancing your armour and weapons to really get the best out of them - enjoyable things for those who are not in a huge rush. As you gain levels you pay much more attention to any skills gained and test them out much more thoroughly, sometimes learning things which are passed over and missed on the way to Hero. Each level is anticipated and attention is generally paid very carefully when it comes time to level and few players are likely to forget their leveling gear with their Ent.
It is a slower game with Ent, to be sure, but for some it can be a rewarding one.
Some useful tips if you plan to play an Ent;
- Invest in Cotton Candy, as it is irritating to have to cut a run short due to a lack of movement.
- Clerics may want to use the spell Word Of Recall instead of the recall command, to save moves (available at level 3, or level 5 hero for most others).
- Do not waste time when you first create your character. Your Boost spell only lasts a certain amount of time. For most people this is until their first level, but for an Ent, it can more easily wear off through time. Get out there and kill the Mudschool mobs and get killing mice in the Meadow.
- Acquire all the Level Gear you need as fast as possible, if neccessary with an alt, to cover any shortfalls from spells. Always level in spells and Level Gear.
- Do ALL the DC quests. Even if you die while attempting the final mob, you will have got a free level out of it.
- If you can acquire an enchanted and/or runed weapon for yourself early on, it is worth the time.
- Bear in mind that while as an Ent you are significantly tougher than a lot of other races you can visit areas which are rather higher than your usual level range, especially if you are running with full spells, you can get a little too ambitious at times. While from 2-10 it is not uncommon for Ents to be able to happily solo mobs for around 500xp per kill, this will not last forever and at higher levels you should probably consider an average kill to be in the 100-200xp range if you want a sustained and safe run.
- Above all, be patient. Ent is not a race, it is an experience.
