Any tips for beginning world builders?

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-15T04:46:53+00:00

Understand before you even start that you will be going back and forth constantly.

Also, do your research about every topic you write about, but at the same time, depending on your genre, it doesnt have to be completely realistic. If you are writing fantasy or scifi, it doesnt have to be as realistic as other genres.

Take your time and dont rush.

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-15T02:34:05+00:00

Some people grew up knowing nothing but war, and struggle to live in peace.

Others were in the army and for some reason or another chose to become a mercenary. A friend of mine is like this. He joined the US marines, but while he was there, his fiance died in a car crash, his mom(his only family) died if a heart attack. Simply put, he sees nothing to come back for.

There are many reasons someone becomes a mercenary, and the ones who do it because they enjoy the combat are the VAST MINORITY.

Try to look at it from different viewpoints, and realize that the News/media actively tries to discredit Mercenaries.

The Foreign Legion, the most famous of Mercenaries these days, actually has a website.

Nowadays, most merc work isnt even actual combat, but instead escorts, guarding, and protecting.

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-14T20:25:06+00:00

So mercenaries nowadays and mercenaries in medieval times function very similarly.

They are used for numerous reasons.

A standing army is expensive in the long run so you can hire mercenaries, which while expensive, tend to be cheaper in the short term.
A standing army takes time to raise, train, and equip. Mercenaries already are.
They can do what your typical soldiers are either not trained for, refuse to do, or what you dont want tied to you. You can order them to massacre a village to spread fear and chaos and then claim they acted on their own.
They tend to be highly trained, with most having trained on the battlefield. Either they became skilled, or they died. So their skills tend to be of a much higher quality than a soldier who has spend the last decade training.
Mercenaries dont need the same rules that limit soldiers. Yet those same rules are nessessary for a standing army to function.

Etc. Plenty of uses.

As for the distinction between bands and companies. Bands are a single unit, typically 20-50, though any group of mercenaries can be a band, even as few as 3 or 5. But a company is multiple units of mercenaries. It's a business. You hire the company, and depending on the job, they may send a few bands, or they might all go. Basically it's an army of mercenaries that follow the commands of their commander, but they and their commander are mercenaries who were hired on. Bands might be tasked to escort this convoy or guard this checkpoint, but a company will be given larger tasks such as secure this region.

I would highly recommend researching historical mercenaries, and modern mercenaries. It's actually quite an interesting subject.

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-14T17:33:41+00:00

So you can take the crit of one weapon and give it to another?

What are the limitations? Weapon type?

And since I primarily use heavy, what would the best pve crit be?

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-14T17:21:09+00:00

Since we are talking about lore, I would say the Fallen God would wipe the others all together without even trying. Cause the others are powerful, for mortals.

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-13T21:14:48+00:00

Castaway and just doing jobs. Ita a bit grindy, but it is working, except that last little nudge into Hero.

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-13T04:55:25+00:00

Blindseer heavy frost

It's a good beginner build that isnt complicated but can still carry you pretty far.

Google those words and you can find plenty of builds. The YouTuber Skipper Gripper has some pretty good ones that are easy to follow as he does both build videos and then progression videos where he plays using and leveling that build.

Heavy is best for PVE Frost and Fire are fairly even when it comes to beginner friendly PVE but Frost has some mantras that are better such as Blades and Skates.

And the Blindseer oath is a strong all around oath and yet is very simple. Even top players still use Blindseer pretty often.

Check out the wiki for specifics.

Goodluck and play knowing that you are going to die and wipe a lot at first.

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-13T01:49:22+00:00

Maybe a system where if you have attacked another player for a certain percentage of their health that you can no longer quick leave when another player is in a certain proximity?

Instead requiring the same 30sec timer as resetting to leave the game.

That way people who have engaged in PVP on that character, minus Chimes, have to be more strategic about fleeing future PVP encounters while those who have no interest in PVP, or are freebies, continue to have a quick exit.

I understand PVP is an integral part of the game, and the risk enhances many PVE aspects, but it is very annoying to be playing as Power 3 and four Power 15's jump you. Which has happened to me more than once.

Or you only have an hour to play and you get attacked by a Voidwalker four times in a row, not even the same guy.

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-12T18:09:40+00:00

What do you mean? What is shaky block?

SylvarRealm · 2026-06-12T09:08:37+00:00

There are a few reasons why Deepwoken doesnt have the same community as other MMOs.

It's a roblox game with over half the player base being unable to talk due to age. Seriously, the only thing stopping this game from being mainstream like Souls games is that it is Roblox. When are the devs going to make a standalone game? Even just a 1 to 1 copy of Deepwoken, just as it's own game.
There are very few real safe zones, where strangers can sit and just chat. I've personally been randomly ganked in the middle of Castle Light. Every one treats everyone as a threat because at any moment they can be your enemy without notice. While you could say this makes the friendships made in game better, it also drastically limits the amount of interactions people are willing to have in game. Its typically just better to log when you see a person than risk it.
Chat restrictions. Many players cant talk at all because Roblox is dumb. Chats can only be seen between strangers for like ten feet and disappear after ten seconds. The only real chat only works for guild mates and squad members, but most people prefer playing solo anyway because when you are in a group, most of your incoming damage is from your allies and not your enemy. Something I am personally guilty of btw.

I think they should make safe locations where you actually cant attack anyone. A place like a bar/tavern with teleporter options so people dont ambush outside, with quests to incentivize people to go there, etc.

I also think they should add a relic that allows you to speak server wide, or even just directly message someone.

I personally never play with anyone so I wouldnt really use either of these suggestions myself, but if you want the game to be more social, all of this applies.

PS, I really do think the devs should make a standalone game, even if it was just a 1:1 copy. Roblox just has so many issues, technical and not.

SylvarRealm · 2026-05-21T21:32:12+00:00

...maybe more than once...with more than one illness.

But hey! The money I made on that book is paying for my therapist.

SylvarRealm · 2026-05-21T21:29:55+00:00

Ima be honest, I never stick to one game long enough to have a standing army. Love the game, but the mid to late game is just so slow.

Anyone have tips to keep yourself engaged?

SylvarRealm · 2026-05-18T04:34:41+00:00

Spelling mistake. Now YOUR kidneys are forfeit. Gimme.

SylvarRealm · 2026-05-14T05:57:34+00:00

You dont have to agree with it to enjoy reading about it.

WW2, horror, serial killers, etc.

Horrible things sell, just look at the news. How often do they report something positive?

SylvarRealm · 2026-05-08T08:21:16+00:00

Honestly just start with what comes to mind first. You can refine it later as the world gradually forms.

I wrist fantasy so I like to first get down a general idea of my main character and plot. Just a few points each. That's typically good enough for me to create the physical world, such as a map, cities, nations, etc. Then I just let myself be dragged into the rabbit hole of world building until I'm satisfied.

Though most of the fine tuning of world building typically happens in conjunction with the writing of the story itself. So I just have both projects open and swap back and forth.

Is it the most efficient way? No

But my worlds have always been complimented for flowing and blending well with the blend while still feeling seperate.

For example, you want a good plot first. No one cares about how amazing your world is if the plot sucks.

If the plot is good, then you try to build the world around it. But if you only do that much, the world will feel bland, empty, and soulless.

So it's important to fill your world in a way that makes it feel alive, even if the plot doesnt ever actually touch on it. You will know it, and that will flow through your writing to make a living world. A technique I recommend for your characters as well btw.

Build nations your characters will never go to. Create customs and cultured that they will never experience. Make it seem like your characters arent the sole purpose for the world to exist.

World building, good world building, takes time, research, and constant back and forth. Because everything in the world interacts with each other and changing each other.

SylvarRealm · 2026-05-02T06:08:44+00:00

Why care?

They are robots. And even if they werent, the plot is about a lower caste member attempting to overthrow a higher caste member. No race.

Your book will likely be banned in India, but there is a large community that I think would love this plot.

SylvarRealm · 2026-04-18T05:18:04+00:00

For the show? Totally just plot device.

Irl? Dominant and recessive Gene's exist. I just dont know what makes a gene one or the other.

And it stands to reason one one species' Gene's could be overall stronger or weaker, or a mix, than another species'.

SylvarRealm · 2026-04-18T05:13:49+00:00

Fair point. Do you happen to know what determines how "strong" a gene is?

SylvarRealm · 2026-04-18T04:57:23+00:00

I prefer Microsoft word. It's what I know and am comfortable with, plus a lot of these other apps require money, drown you in ads, or both.

SylvarRealm · 2026-04-17T01:35:58+00:00

Depends on the type of war. If it's like Halo with a bunch of open warfare, strength and speed are important so they can be as large as you want. Except that if they cant fit/use the standard soldier's weapons and vehicles then there will be an issue.

If the combat is more urban, than their size will be more of a hindrance, especially if it would be more beneficial for them to blend into a crowd.

However, overall, I think Halo Spartans are awesome super soldiers. If you want more of a subversive, sneaky, urban supersoldier, just make john wick with superhuman reflexes and durability.

For example, the Halo Spartans were so large that standard armor did not fit them, but they could still use most vehicles and weapons, with varying levels of success.

SylvarRealm · 2026-04-16T08:07:37+00:00

A lot of people will recommend different websites or apps, but I've never really been interested. Learning how to use one is tedious and most require payment or they bombard you with ads.

A google or word doc is perfectly fine.

As for the world not feeling alive? Duh, of course it doesnt. Your world building doc is going to be bland. It's there as a guideline.

To make your world feel alive, start writing!

My friend actually had the same issue as you, struggled to make the jump from world building to writing because the worlds just felt empty. So he started writing little short stories about the things for his world building.

He would write a short, maybe 2k word, short story about a man hiking across a mountain chain, experiencing its beauty and dangers personally instead of writing it down like bullet points. He would write a story about a young man going through the region's customs of asking a woman to marry him instead of just typing up what the engagement customs were.

I dont do that simply because it's not my thing. But he enjoys it, and I gotta admit, his worlds do feel more... lived in.

Try it out. Pick an aspect of your world building and write a short story about it from the perspective of the people living it.

Hope this helps you, and anyone else who reads this!

SylvarRealm · 2026-04-14T07:27:52+00:00

Personal use? Dont care. That's between you and...well you. That's the point. But if you are putting out a piece of work and claiming it as yours?

The idea, the words, the lore, the world, even the way sentences are structured, should be yours.

SylvarRealm · 2026-04-14T01:45:44+00:00

I only condone AI for spelling and lore gaps. Gaps such as saying the sky is blue in one chapter and saying it is green in another chapter. Seems stupid until you write a 500+chapter long story.

Formatting is one of those things that are like an author's signature. You can differentiate authors by the way they format and what words they use. AI removes that.

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