EZ Server

     Recently, I have been helping the newer players hit 70 and inviting them to my guild. Iv been talking to them about the early content and from what I can tell, plane of time is a huge problem. Pretty much all of them have said they would have quit without my help because the bigger bosses in time, have so many hp's its like a 40 minute fight for them to clear 1 boss. I feel time needs a bit of a scaling down in the area of hp's to help them progress. As it is time is literally a huge block for the newer players.

      Also, the only other thing I can tell is that LDON, and the fact that you need to clear all the way to 6 before you can revisit the levels you want is also a problem. Not everyone especially the people breaking into LDON are going to have the time or motivation to sit there and pound out all those levels in one go.

      Other then that I don't see too many bad early obstacles in the early areas of this server, its a ton of fun for them.

+1

I just went through this about 2 months ago.

Time is a pain. I initially was going through with only 3 players, and that just wasn't cutting it at all. I literally took 45 minutes to kill a boss, and thats when I decided to make a full 6. With the full 6, and (important!) 6 mercenary wizards (you can hire them for free! and the wizards are the best dps of the mercs), it wasn't bad. Slow, and grindy as heck, but not bad.

LDoN was fun. Sure, I died on floor 4 like 10 times and eventually had to ask for a run-through, but it was fun.

Honestly, a much bigger problem for me was Terrorantula and the Master of Weaponry. I simply could not do those, at all, without outside help (either another playing killing, or some mega-buffs).

Just my 2 cents
Time was one of my most fun experiences on EZ. I had maybe 4 characters at the time and the boss fights took an epic 30 minutes. Dragon slave was near impossible without outside help to get my first character epic'd. I had to gear up in dulak and time trash to fight time effectively... Which was also fun.

However I would possibly agree with your point as it relates to the spider and possibly dragon slave. They seem to require assistance.

- Darpey

+1

I would agree with this... not that I disagree with anything else, but this in particular can be a pain for newer players.

You're gonna hit these walls all the way through progression.

If time was/is an issue, theres not much hope for you to progressing beyond T5. Honestly.

+1

Also, what's wrong with asking for help?  I only made it to about T4 before I stopped playing regularly and I asked for help a lot.  Met some good players and that's how I found a decent guild. 

I don't understand the problem.  I remember those levels and it taking a long while...I remember it taking 45 minutes or so to kill PoAir boss mobs...its all part of the grind of the server.  If people find PoTime grueling, then they are going to hate T5....and if they hate t5, they are going to loath t8 and having to farm 100 armor pieces and 100 green scales and 100 red scales and 100 silver scales....I don't see why any of these items are things that need addressing.  If they thought that EZ Server meant things were EZ, well they were just wrong.

The fresh 70 game needs a bit of a tweak. The 60 PVP broke it for people. I'll see what can be done. As for LDON, that's just part of the game. If you need to bounce after clearing one floor, camp at the entrance/exit of that floor. You can log back in and continue. If you are wanting a way to bounce in and out without reaching the 6th floor, then you are out of luck.

With the minor proc buffs for new 70s, they shouldn't be quite so "stuck". The duration on Hunter's Arm could be extended to an hour, if need be.


-Hate

Ya see, I totally understand this attitude. I even more or less agree with it - if the first 50 hours aren't fun, then the next 5000 sure won't be!

But, and this is a pretty major "but", a lot of people are very dismissive of new players having a hard time. Read the guide, and everything pre-T4 is apparently easily doable with a party of 6 people. Heck, read the guide and it basically implies that you can (with care) solo PoTime! (which, imo, is nonsense)

So people feel stupid if they can't do it with 4 or 6 (or at least, I sure did). And if they /ooc ask for help, or just to complain / vent, they're often shut down. They're also often offered help, and that's good! (I'm more than happy to smash spider or something for new players, I needed help there too!) And of course, if they haven't read the guide yet (shame on them!), then they don't know what to expect and Yeah, PoTime is Harder Than Expected.

I'm not really sure that I think Time should be easier - I enjoyed it quite a bit. Gear up on the trash mobs, then the easier outside bosses, then hit the tunnel bosses. Nice and simple. But I do seem to recall the PoTime bosses taking longer than any boss up to T2 (not including epic bosses). So I can totally see the arguments both for and against an easier on-boarding process - which is what PoTime really is. I just can't decide which argument is better, so I'll leave that final decision up to those more capable (or more responsible ;) ) and just go with it.


This is good news, and make me happy. It also kinda makes me want to try it out :D

I haven't been on much at all lately since probably the last scheduled double loot weekend, but I would like to point out all the grinding.  I received a lot of help in the begining yeah, but as far as the grinding part, I did 95% of it by myself.  It is required on the server, without a doubt, but the amount of grinding has burnt me out.  An explanation to why I have been gone.  After assisting gnomi with his UW's and attempting to get uc's I needed a break.  I don't know how people farm them so fast but I've spent month's farming pieces for UC's and I still only have 1.  I've been sitting at 48 oracle on my 2nd for about 3 weeks now because the v2 just is not dropping.  Now, I'm not saying get rid of the farming and grinding but I am saying maybe the amount of farming is a bit way excessive?

V2 grind in hoh sucks, about the only time worth doing it is during double loot. I have been grinding v1's in ToFS2 which is not too bad, avg 1 a clear which takes a few minutes. I got burned out doing that so went to HoH for awhile and would pull 2 or 3 sections at a time and got 1 v2 out of the entire zone. Bad rng I'm sure but still. I know you have to earn it but after 6 UC it's just a booooring grind.

If it is not hard you have accomplished nothing... this game is hard... most people don't make it to the final tier before burning out and going back to something else.. it takes HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of hours to get to t9.... Casual players will never see the top end and thank god because the rest of us would be bored and gone in a month or 2.


Seriously need to look at other options is POT is taxing your patience and the rest of us should not have our content changed to fit some easy 10 hours a week players needs to progress...

sorry...

lots of servers lots of options...

this one is hard...

Here's the problem: Hate and Akk are two guys. Thats it. Any new content is either created by them or funneled through them....which severely limits the amount of new content we get.

Call it grind if you like, but the truth of the matter is that if you trivialize content....remove the "grind" then its conquered in no time, players hit max gear/tier and get bored in no time at all. Is it a balancing act between boredom because it takes so long to get through content, vs boredom because of nothing to do? Hell, yes!!

But I'd rather be bored because it takes me so long to overcome content than be bored because I correctly recited my name and got a goodie, which is pretty much the way content is in most MMO's since Whores of Warcrap. At least this type boredom I get the "Hoorah!" of finishing the job when I do.

As someone pointed out to me regarding passing out high end buffs several times a day: you do a player no favors when you make things TOO easy. This is one of the reasons I havent been buffing much lately (well aside from that whole surgery and pain meds thing), and why you wont see me buffing as often.

Lets not see content so trivialized that EZ server becomes yet another pathetic excuse for a 10 second loot collect.

When I played the actual game 14 years ago, a big part of the awesomeness, was progressing and improving. I absolutely loved the grind. I was never the figuring out type of person though - but once I knew how the dots were connected, I plowed through.

I quit, got married, got children, and figured my gaming life would be limited to GTA and other such fastfood games, and I surely wouldn't be playing anything as captivating and time consuming again. Aaaaaand then I stumbled upon EZ Server.

The content reminded me so much of the live experience, people were awesome and helpful - every time I hit a wall, I could get pointers, and sometimes even a bit of help. Most importantly though, I could do it on my own schedule with my own team. I didn't have to have to log in for 5-8 hours every night, to raid and earn points - but still able to progress and improve :-)

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I found that this place, can deliver a bit of the experience I had when I played full time as a youngster - And the horrible frustrating shitty mindnumbing grind is a big part of what I like about this place.

I agree that this place will scare off the people looking for an easy ride through content - but the people that it does actually captivate, are the ones you'd want playing around you, for the most part anyway.

I apologize for any horribly constructed sentences or errs of grammar.

TL;DR - The content takes a horrible long time to get through... and its awesome!

^^^ That post too ^^^




This is the BESTEST explanation EVER!!!!!!!!!

I think one thing that would help new people starting off is to be spammed with the fact that all xp acquired on this server, whether solo, grouped, or in a raid, is all equal to the solo xp value. Even before people learn to box, you can still level a full 6 characters in the exact same amount of time as leveling one or two, just by having them grouped and in the same zone, while only playing the 1 screen. So many new people I've run in to said they started with the 3 box, then went to level 1 more character at a time instead of just starting with 6 or doing 3 and 3. And it's just due to them having no clue about how xp works here. That's about the only reason I ever log on members of my 3rd group is to soak xp (when they aren't buffing and /cheer'ing)

Maybe it could be part of the Welcome message to Field of Bone.  :P

Goes back to one of my earlier posts in this thread: things need to be explained better, because how this server is....what makes it FUN....is counter-intuitive for old EQ players, and to an extent people who've played on other EMU.

I think a lot of people are actually missing the point of what I started here. Some of the content is actually not do able for new players when they first get to terrorantula. You won't kill it in time gear. You won't go passed LDON 5 in LDON gear without more then 1 healer on rotation. I'm not saying its not a challenge, im all for barely do able with a massive challenge and grind. There are certain mobs and area's that need a minor tweak that are more suited to the gear you are designed to fight it with, assuming you didn't bring 4 healers in your 6 man squad.

I am also NOT saying, the server needs work or these are things they need to do. I am simply suggesting things that may help the server grow with a higher population if Hate and Akk decide to investigate. I know they do this on their free time and we are all beyond grateful, they obviously don't have to address this situation if they don't desire it or feel its necessary.

Also, im not saying to make the server easier or less grindy for people who jumped to that out of nowhere conclusion. But if you want to reel more people in, making the early content of the server challenging, but still flow as you would assume would probably benefit the server.

That is all, I am not the best with words but I tried my best. I am truly grateful for all the work Hunter, Hate, and Akk have put in this server and anyone else who lingers in the back ground.

GL guys

These areas could probably be made easier sure, I agree with that.

 However, your assertion here is incorrect.   If you are struggling on Terrorantula you can add more/different classes to your team. (having to kill spiders to pop Terrorantula is teh suq though)  Yes it is difficult to solo no doubt.   Though from the inception of EZ the concept, if you need it you cant solo it applies.   Often times you do need to get help.    If you absolutely must do it on your own (with your X number of box toons) there are also other options.    How about farming up some SLS and using the plat to buy Strike 2 augs?   As long as the SLS requirement exists for everything then there will always be a demand.   This seems to be a win win, new players get plat and can gear out their teams and veteran players do not have to farm SLS.   You can farm ldon level 3 and 4 to get oracles for your healers and guardians for your tank .   Again, you can also add to your team or team up with others that are doing it for the first time.  

In addition, T5 is completely doable by a team just getting to T5.   You will however have to aug out your dps, get UC1 on your tank, healers and dps.      When I did T5 the first time it took me 60 hours of grinding.  This is with a 12 box.   I had a couple of false starts though, I started, realized I was gimptastic and hit HoH (this was pre tofs) for my UC1s.     I also teamed up with people to make that grind easier.  

I am calling bullshit on this.  I started wih a Paladin (Orthanos) Cleric (Lunarmace) Bard (Damaskus) Monk (Chunck) Beastlord (Baten) and some other dps class (I don't remember) but Terrorantula, LDoN, PoTime...ALL was doable with  those 6 toons ....content is easier now than it was back then.

I retract what I said, if you get a pet caster in CG :)

I haven't done it recently, but I did all of Time except for Dragon Slave with 3 toons, monk, pally, druid.  I also did Terrorantula with the same 3 toons.  As long as I kept the damage shield dispelled it wasn't that bad.

I did LDoN with the same crew although I had a little help on level 5 when I got overwhelmed with trash and wiped.

Of course, that was a long time ago, so maybe it is different now.  Yeah it took a long time, but back then it was taking people half an hour to kill Shadow too so it just seemed par for the course.

Cleric Warrior Zerker were not able to make a dent in Terrorantula with Time gear.  The adds chewed through my team as well.  He is hard.  So is MoW.  I'm not saying change it I am not saying leave it as is.  But I just did level 1 - T2 content on fresh faces.

Yep, you will. Smarter, not harder. Figure out the skills your characters have already, and the spells you get at 70, and you can with any 6 man group EASILY. Solo? No, but thats irrelevant. This isnt a solo server.


Nope. Can do it with a group of 6 easily, if you play smart. With 3 if you're patient and smart.


Then you're doing something wrong. Its not an easy fight with just those three, but definitely doable. Did it with 3 test boxes tonight (war, druid, zerk) and no problem. Using stonewall on warrior? Focus of Heal on cleric? Clicking zerk epic as often as possible (using MQ2)? Are you just staying on the boss or killing off the adds as they happen?

There is a difference between hard and a time sink.  Just because I can clear the whole zone of qvic in 1 pull but get .5 essences doesnt make it hard.  It makes it extremely unrewarding.  yay, I killed the whole game once! so what? now you gotta do it 100 more times for that character and another 101 times for all your other characters...  if you can kill the content you are in without help, and quickly, it does not make it hard.  it makes it extremely boring clearing the entire zone 10000's of times for 1 drop that is like 1% chance of dropping.  First breaking into content yeah, thats hard; however, as I said before, farming that 1 item that has an extremely low drop rate is not.

Drop rates are not that bad. This isn't ez mode. Roll the sleeves up and dig in.

EZ seems to me to be about repeating content instead of "breaking" into new zones...going from t4 to t5 is not bad...t5 to t6...easy.....t7 to t8? very easy...grinding out the thousands of runs you need to get the essence/UC that is the hard part...the mobs wont kill you the grind will

That to me, is the bad part.  T5 use to be damned hard and then t6 was a rough too....t7 wasn't so bad but then t8 was a monster (referring to when zones came out initially not what they are now)......everything got tamed down so far that it is now so easy because everyone gets on forums and cries about their tough row to hoe (example is this thread)

Part of what is so great about EZ is the content that used to steam role me I can now go back to and steam role. Hunter figured that out a long time ago and continued on making new zones that was a bitch to break but once you get 2 zones pass that zone it became trivial. It is that formula that made EZ skyrocket with the population. Sure zones get tweaked and toned down after a while, but guess what? That is part of Hunter's formula too. He has been doing that since I started this server when Ldon was the end zone. He'd release a zone and use his GM hide and laugh his ass off watching people try to break into the zone. After a couple of days he would tweak the zone to be a little more doable and leave it that way for a few months. Once he started looking at the new zone he would look to see where people were at in content and if he saw people not really getting a zone he would tweak it again to get the non hardcore players up to par. He did that anywhere from half way to releasing the new zone or a couple of months after its release. This is the way things have been done since the max population was 32 and I think Hate really gets that.