Salem player (returning player) want to try

[Viriathu]

So, i started to play Salem around 2013 i believe.. the game at that time had many players and a lot of problems, now i returned and its actually very depressing.

Dead bodies everywhere, some inside their shacks and some disturbing sights like a body floating inside a canoe... a few players here and there, blood moon, madness levels to lead to permakill, its like they make every way possible for people to leave the game, as it wasnt hard enough to survive long enough and not be killed by some random player.
In the forums i heard about H&H, so i wanted to ask what is this game about?

Is the same as Salem? Please, be polite and dont flame, just thinking to move to another game as i feel Salem is pretty dead at this time, and wanted to know how this one works, just dont want to put to much time and effort in a game that is almost the same as Salem, because having 2 daughters and a job leaves little time to play and relax, so i make the best of it.

Thanks in advance.

[Granger]

Haven and Hearth is in so far similar to Salem that it was developed by the same people. Some mechanics may look similar as of this, but many are completely different.

Recent changes (teleport to your spawn point on PvP KO instead of being killed by your opponent) in Haven explore the idea to replace the negative sideeffects of PvP (clasically this was guaranteed death) with wound based penalties that have to (but can be) dealt with via the healing system. Combined with previous changes (siege mechanics, visitor debuff, nidbanes - just to name some) this presents the player a world way more lenient regarding making mistakes or meeting the wrong people.

While you can still manage to get your character killed (repeating bad choices is a good way) it is these days unlikely to succumb to a single bad decision or encounter, which is a good thing as this helps solving the classical problem of long-term character development, permadeath, fun game - pick two, greatly improving the world for players with casual or non-PvP playstyles. Long story short: eternal alpha, things will change, but being killed by the first random stranger (or mob) you meet isn't the usual fate of a new player anymore.

Either make yourself familiar with the mechanics by reading through the howtos and whatnot (some links in my signature) or explore the game on your own - the latter will most likely take way longer and lead to making interesting mistakes that can be annoying (or fun, depending on perspective) - pick the approach that suits you best. General gameplay advice is to get a claim up (and active) before starting to build stuff or accumulate resources.

TL;DR: Welcome and have fun in the game.

[azrid]

I have played both games and I like Haven more for these reasons:
1. More big updates.
New things get added almost weekly which is pretty amazing for a small team.
On top of that devs have gotten better at updates and listening to the community and are probably going to keep growing in that regard.

2. Easier to craft things.
In Salem you have to sift through a mountain of rocks to get one piece of glass.
In Haven you just melt down sand.
Haven community has complained about tedium in Haven but compared to Salem its much more forgiving.

You'll probably have a better experience with death in Haven. They just added a system that will allow you to survive any animal or player as long as you dont go outside with a bunch of wounds.

[Sevenless]

Recent changes (teleport to your spawn point on PvP KO instead of being killed by your opponent) in Haven explore the idea to replace the negative sideeffects of PvP (clasically this was guaranteed death) with wound based penalties that have to (but can be) dealt with via the healing system. Combined with previous changes (siege mechanics, visitor debuff, nidbanes - just to name some) this presents the player a world way more lenient regarding making mistakes or meeting the wrong people

Interestingly there was a period of time where salem experimented with this KO>hearth concept. Back when jorbtar were in control of the project that is.

As for salem vs haven. Same concept, find a spot to build a little city and then realize you want to kick your neighbour's face in. Defenses are strong currently, so even a noob solo player can defend their base short of landing beside a big boy who wants you to move (I've only seen Dis do this, just don't settle right beside large cities. Explore around the area you're thinking of setting up in). Mostly because it's a lot of effort to crack a single wall open, and noobs aren't worth that effort. Base design, quality grind, it'll all last you quite a while as a solo player.

In general, Salem was a 3d attempt to recapture Haven's feel that imo unfortunately failed. Hafen (when haven was upgraded to 3d) is a "going back to the drawing board" on that subject, and started more directly with haven mechanics instead of trying to remake the entire formula. Haven does the whole thing much better as a whole.

[Immatricious]

On a more artistic/contextual note, Haven takes place in a world slightly based off slavic and germanic mythology, whilst Salem is set in the unexplored Americas, the new world.

[Sevenless]

On a more artistic/contextual note, Haven takes place in a world slightly based off slavic and germanic mythology, whilst Salem is set in the unexplored Americas, the new world.

You mean tim burton's unexplored Americas *tm*