Asheron's Call Official Strategies & Secrets [Paperback]

Rusel Demaria (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 1999 | Series: Strategies & Secrets

Asheron's Call is the latest in an extremely popular new genre: online role-playing games. Similar titles include EverQuest and Ultima Online. The player creates their own character and joins a fully 3D online world populated by thousands of other people, a variety of monsters, enormous wealth, and spectacular magic. Throughout their adventures they develop their character's abilities and help build an enormous, persistent community.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sybex Inc; 1st edition (November 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782126545
• ISBN-13: 978-0782126549
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,706,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been a lot more useful, December 15, 1999

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Asheron's Call Official Strategies & Secrets (Paperback)

This game companion certainly contains a great deal of useful information, and I would not dispense with my copy for anything. But any AC player should be aware of its shortcomings before purchasing.

First, the book has no index, and that seriously lessens the value the book might have had otherwise. There are very, very many questions that I have had that could have been answered much more quickly if there had only been an index. Because this is an online game, if one is actually playing the game it is rather difficult to take the time to flip through the pages of the book to come up with the answer to a question.

Second, it would have been helpful to have more maps. Maps of regions showing dungeons, life stones, portals, points of interest would all have been of the greatest use.

Third, some guide providing a better idea of how to navigate Negreth would have been especially valuable. A drawing akin to a subway map might have been easily accomplished. As it is, if you have to get from one town to another, especially one that you have not been to before, it can be frustrating and irritating to figure out to get from point A to point B.

Still, the book does contain a great deal of helpful information. I have found the section on monsters and their strengths and weaknesses to be valuable. At one point I realized that I was achieving no damage at all with my fire sword on lime golems, opened the book, and saw that they recommended acid attacks instead. I switched, and went immediately from inflictng 2 or 3 points of damage to inflicting 15-25.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile But not Perfect, November 24, 1999

By 

Shaddai or Tirban (ThistleDown in Asheron's call) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asheron's Call Official Strategies & Secrets (Paperback)

This book was helpful to me as a new player. It is particularly good at spelling out how skills work, exactly how crafting (fletching, cooking, etc) is done, the allegience system, the portal system, and the magic system. It does not tell you exactly how to make a given spell; it tells you how to begin figuring it out for yourself.

It was clearly written with Microsoft's approval; it should be called "Strategies and Hints" rather than "Strategies and Secrets". The authors have been careful not to spoil any surprises. More concrete information about quests and spellcraft as well as specifics on the monster's strengths and weaknesses would have improved the practicality of the book tremendously

There are a number of tables, and a fair amount of text. All of it is written in a way that is easy to follow and not particularly overwhelming.

If you are going to invest in the game, this guide will give you a boost. If you're thinking about giving the game as a gift, this guide will help the new player a lot - but be prepared to hear a little grousing about the lack of "cheats" and walkthroughs.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Asheron's Call: secrets and strategies, January 19, 2000

By 

Michael Vacha - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asheron's Call Official Strategies & Secrets (Paperback)

First of all this book does a thorough job of giving you a complete overview of the WORLD OF DERETH. I found this book to be indispensible for creature weaknesses and strengths.

Second, although the book was a thorough overview it does not cover the "secrets" that is implied in the cover. I understood that it would give me the spells I needed and secrets to the game. The only secrets that I would have not found were the Microsoft Easter Eggs built into the game, this did me no good.

Overall this book does a great job of giving you the portals, lifestones, dungeons, and points of interest needed to the new game player.

I would truely recommend this book to the new player to the world of Dereth but as I am an intermediate player the book serves a medium amount of interest to me but none the less a true necessity for the new player.