What are the advantages of using an oil client versus a new client?

[xclnth 0]

A much interested in Old Ragnarok but I'm pretty sure that simply having an old client won't do anything but I really have no idea what the client actually controls.  

[KirieZ 90]

Client control a few things:

1. The user interface and content it can display, for example, newer clients switches the old small buttons for icons, removes that old UI that required you to pick the stats for your new character, etc. On the other hand, new features like RoDEX, Achievements, etc are only supported in newer clients

2. How much is hard coded into the client vs customizable -- for example, really old clients had a lot of things hardcoded, newer ones moved many things to Lua files that can be easily customizable

3. Some game-specific content is tied to the client too -- for example, back in 2018/2019 we had the 1st/2nd/trans jobs rebalance, some skills changed the way they work in a way that the client needs to adapt. Like songs from bard/dangers now showing a effect around the caster, or a delay on sonic blow being removed (which is enforced in the client)

 

It will also define how it will talk to the server. One huge example of that is when GIF emblems were added to 2019 clients and newer, clients from that date onwards would no longer accept the emblems as before, and until emulators supported the new API server, we had no guild emblems.

 

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So, I don't know a real "advantage" of being in an old client, being on a too new client has its issues, but going for a too old client is also an issue.

 

Too new:

 

Pros:

- You have newer stuff

 

Cons:

- Your client may have stuff that does not work because the emulator doesn't support it

- We have less patches in NEMO because they were recently released and the old patches doesn't work on them

 

 

Too old:

 

Pros:

- You get some old UIs that are no longer available (nostalgia?)

- You _might_ have more patches, and more likely for emulator to support them completely

 

Cons:

- It may be optimized for old operating systems, and perform bad on newer ones

- It may be so old that emulators accidentally broke them and will be hard to get a fix for it unless you know how to fix it yourself

- It may be hard to find documentation/help, since everybody moved on from them already

 

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I would say, unless you have a really good reason to, stick to a mid term, even more if you are a beginner. I personally recommend sticking to 2018 ~ 2019 clients, at least as a starting point. While I saw many using 2022 clients.

 

I think going for 2023 and newer, or 2015 and older, you will start to thread through more complicated areas, with less support, and you will likely need to solve issues yourself

 

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NPCs and items are not tied to the client version, but to your emulator. if you are simply looking for that, a 2018 client should make your life much easier than a 2012 or earlier client

 

 

hope this helps