Is this another "grind your way to victory" game?

[TeckXKnight]

If permadeath really turns you off to the game then Haven probably isn't for you. There are tons of other games out there that might make you happier. As much fun as Haven is, it is a permadeath game by design and so by design it's not meant to cater to everyone.

Personally the cycle and thrill of threat and death in Haven really draws me to it. I see starting over with a new character from scratch and picking up at my home from where I left off is a fresh start. Sure, it's disheartening for a little bit, but you have to come to understand that life moves on one way or another. It's up to you whether you move with it or away from it. =)

[Kathdys]

I have some demotivating words that might paradoxically be motivating!

Don't grind, don't strive to gain levels, don't try hard. Just enjoy yourself and let things come naturally. This is how to avoid disappointment. More power doesn't necessarily make the game more fun, and losing your 'progress' can be a net gain if it increases the challenge, and reduces the burden of in-character responsibilities.

[venatorvenator]

Ii just got killed by a boar... I had spent a lot of time grinding and leveling up only for this to happen. I am frankly too unmotivated to start another game. I play games for enjoyment, not simulation of real life with the grind and permanence that comes with it. I would be okay with permadeath in games if it were optional, or if it were in games where you don't spent hours and days grinding and leveling up stats. Do you have any motivating words to say, or is the game and I simply incompatible?

I do: How fun or boring this game is depends mostly on you. You can handle this feature as the RP the game is supposed to be and think, for example, "I am qazwexec II, son of qazwexec the First. My father died to a wild boar while foraging mushrooms, and now I take up this sword to kill that beast and put his spirit to rest. I will train myself in the arts of combat, and I will succeed.". You can even make a personal vow of killing every single boar you meet form now on. If you're creative, it doesn't matter whether your stats are high or low. Likewise, if you depend on quick and constantly positive rewards to enjoy the game, it doesn't matter how developed you are because you'll never have enough of that in this game. The only thing that's really disheartening here is other players' general assholeness, but if you're lucky, and decide to become a hermit, you will probably never be bothered by that.

[borka]

Age 0 weeks, 2 days

2 skills left ...
so what? play a bit longer to get clues ... reading and wiki might give clues but not knowledge just play on don't worry

[qazwsxedc123]

So I decided to create another character and I'm now more "advanced' than the previous one. I have some questions though. Is it considered acceptable to take (sometimes high-value) items from unprotected containers? I am aware that nothing is truly "yours" unless it's inside a "red land", but is this considered acceptable by the community or could it lead to someone ragequitting the game?

Also, are there any upcoming updates and content expansions?

Finally, I have been playing the game for days and have not come across any other human players. Do you know if players are all huddled in a certain part of the map that I'm not aware of? How do I access the game map (if it exists)?

[Potjeh]

Is it considered acceptable to take (sometimes high-value) items from unprotected containers? I am aware that nothing is truly "yours" unless it's inside a "red land", but is this considered acceptable by the community or could it lead to someone ragequitting the game?

Well, it's certainly not nice, but if nobody sees you do it you should be fine. Unless it's a trap, ie hot (stolen) items that can be tracked, so if you take such item to your base people can find where you live.

Also, are there any upcoming updates and content expansions?

A complete redo in a new engine is due in a few months. Latest thread

Finally, I have been playing the game for days and have not come across any other human players. Do you know if players are all huddled in a certain part of the map that I'm not aware of?

The map is huge and there's usually just 200 - 300 people online at a time. But not seeing other people is more of a good thing, because there's roving bands of murderers out there.

How do I access the game map (if it exists)?

http://sabinati.com/havenmap/

[qazwsxedc123]

Aaand I just got killed by the exact same boar again! All I did was accidentally right-click on it. I had no idea it would cause him to attack, since right-clicking does nothing for foxes, bears and wild cattle. I think this game really needs some major UI improvements, such as a tooltip that displays when you hover over an animal, object or item and tells you what it is or what clicking it does.

But thanks for answering.

[Prowny]

Are you using Ender's client? It has a feature that highlights animals and their "agression radius", which will save your life more than once.
But yes, in general, avoid bears and boars for now.
And like I said before, as soon as you learn something with every death, you are making progress

[TeckXKnight]

Right clicking them actually doesn't cause them to aggro, they aggro automatically if they detect a human player in their radius. You just coincidentally right clicked him as he was deciding you looked like fun to kill. They also don't always kill, it's usually a 50/50 toss up whether or not they stomp you to death. You're really lucky with boars =D

[Potjeh]

The red circle is NOT aggro range, it's just there to make animals easier to spot. They can aggro from further away.