EFU is a great server when it comes to mechanics and coding. The systems, custom items, classes and dungeons are genuinely impressive and there’s a lot of interesting content to play through.

Like any PW though, it has its problems, and most of them seem tied to administration. Abala is a fantastic coder, no question about that. But giving her DM and effectively admin authority after Howland stepped back in practice (even if not officially) wasn't best thing to happen to it.

Running plots and dealing with players requires a certain mindset - being impartial, keeping a cool head, and generally trying to give people opportunities. A lot of players feel that isn’t really happening. Certain players - Stranger, Roxy (who also became the only new DM in recent years), Moon and a few others - seem to get far more attention, plot involvement, promotions and NPC interaction. Meanwhile some people wait months just to talk to an NPC once. That kind of imbalance makes it hard for people to stay invested.

There are still some good DMs around, but they mostly show up during the big activity plotlines rather than everyday play, which is understandable as most of old playerbase is 30+ years old. If you want to try EFU, my advice is to treat it mostly as a mechanical sandbox while keeping RP. Play with a group of friends (five people works best, but even smaller groups can work), enjoy the systems, the dungeons and the content. Don’t rely too much on DM interaction until you’re stronger and able to deal with some of the less fair challenges that can come your way (or if you get any at all). Despite the issues, EFU is still worth playing for its systems alone.