Attention:

Please do not change price levels to reflect the demands and financial norms of elite players with massive amounts of plat and enough characters to quickly generate plat.

Trying to play the game without 6 boxes and inflated server economics is hard enough as it is.

The current price levels are fair, especially for newer or casual players that do not have the same means of generating income as more established players.

If anything, reduce the times for solo and group instances. 

1.  Running through Emerald Jungle one day,  I turned on the auto run function and got up to get a beer.  To my surprise, I heard the sound of combat and rushed over to check.  Sev, that bastard of a green drag with his obscenely rare green scales, had literally spawned on top of me.  I managed to resist his fear and instantly began sending frantic tells to every friend and person that I'd helped on the server - the scale was the last part I needed for my warrior epic.

Within 5 minutes, I had a raid formed of everyone from top tiered raiders to various poorly equipped 60's who I constantly invited to groups.  We managed to take Sev down on the first kill, and the other warriors did not even suggest rolling for the scale.  Shit was truly epic.  A group of close friends rushed with me to complete the quest.

2.  I once gave my password to a friend so he could powerlevel a real life friend of his.  Big mistake.  One of them had guide powers and managed to use the guide GM powers to bind my character (a wood elf druid) to the Neriak Shadowknight and Necro guild.  My character was de-leveled about 30 levels...  GM's restored my account because I guide was involved, but that incident caused me to transfer servers anyhow.

3. My two best friends: the best healer I've ever known (dwarf cleric - at the time a constantly high college student) and the best puller I've ever known (human monk - at the time a sexually repressed MILF, lulz).  We met in Oasis one day around level 11, and played together for over 2 years.  At times we were dragged to different guilds, but we all managed to make it to the high end raiding guild for several months.  We quit around the same time after Luclin, but still keep in touch through email and facebook. 

4.  Finally, my first run to freeport from Qeynos really shocked me at how huge and mysterious the game was.  It was actually scary running through the dark, dodging griffons and orcs and all other ill manner of beast.  This was back when you only had zone borders and /loc to help you navigate. 

Everquest had such a unique and strong community.  The community, as it has been said on this forum, was the heart of the game.

Players needed this community because the world was wild, unsafe, and mysterious.  People had to work together without the help of maps and readily accessible websites.  Everything is now so safe, stream lined, and user friendly that such communities are hard to come by anymore.

Those were the f'in days.

After playing here for a couple of weeks, I've come to notice that there seem to be two ways for relatively new players to play on EZ:

1. Box 4-10 accounts and try to be self-sufficient.

2. Respectfully request help.

Absent from these two options is the ability to group with other like-positioned players and progress.  The reality of this structure becomes readily apparent as early as POT epic 1.5 spawns.  The number of players who want to form groups for most content are extremely small.

So, after playing here for a while, I'm wondering if it is worth it for players that enjoy 1-3 boxing (2 is ideal) to continue playing?  We can't progress up tiers of content without massive help [either buying runs or relying upon acts of charity].  Neither option (1) or (2) is very satisfying.

EZ has a great community and GM, but the structure of the server itself does not seem to go well with solo or small group play.

Any insight on this topic? I'm currently trying to collect Qvic/Tvic armor for my characters and then will be shooting for T1 stuff.   Does this situation ever improve or only get worse as you move up in tiers?

Reed,

Regarding your previous post addressed to me:

Please consider the average level of difficulty that the server should be based around.  Most players do not have the time or system specs to box 6+ toons in various squads.  I'm sure a large number of players simply play for fun. 

I played EQ live through Kunark, so please dispense with the "lulz, did you play real EQ?" argument.  I enjoy playing EZ precisely because it doesn't have the same dreadfully painful pacing that EQlive has.

And I stand by the statement that RoA should not be gawked at as some mystical artifact that confers automatic respect.  Again, it's a ring-clickie that was once relatively simply to get with a set of PLing toons. 

Before you dismiss my post as newbie whining, I would suggest making one or two level 1 toons, stripping them of all equipment, plat, and gear.  Take those toons (without any help from other boxes) and pretend that you know no one on the server.  Rely solely on charity and luck.

Also, pretend that you know no plat farming or leveling tricks.  Just go off forum posts and in-game NPC help. 

Now, grind your way up to 70 in any "solo" manner (again, no PLing or boxing).  Do not ask any of your friends, or people you know to help in any way (or use a boxed character) -- pretend you know no one and nothing about the server.

Then, once you do this, consider whether the content of my post had any merit.

Playing on EZ should not force new players to walk the lines between constant begging for help or boxing ridiculous amounts of characters (contrary to myth - most people box 2-3 toons that I've seen). 

The EXP change does nothing more than increase an observable gap between two different classes of players.  Hunter does a great job running this server for us, but this is one change that he should strongly consider revising.

Signed.

As a new player, I do not see the point of the XP reduction other than increasing the already blaring gap between new and hardcore players.  

Grinding AA's for my mains has become like molasses, and I do not even see the point of trying to RoA (or making a druid/war combo for the PL).  

Responses to Arguments made in favor of the change:

1.  "Old players will quit because there is nothing difficult."

The timing of this change does not support this argument.  T5 is brand-spanking-new and no one has yet gained a 5.0 or farm status of T5 gear.  Considering how new T5 is, this argument does not make any sense: T5 will keep vets going for a long time.  Those of us wanting to reach T5 one day, however, now face a much longer and rougher road ahead of us than the path previously trekked.

2. "RoA needs to have more bragging rights!"

This argument would make sense if Hunter made a 'new' RoA with higher stats to reflect the massive increase in difficulty that goes into obtaining a RoA.  Veteran players already have RoA on several toons and had to do approximately 1/2 the work to obtain the item.  

In reality, the only thing about the RoA that has changed is how difficult it is for a new player to acquire the item.  No one cares or is going to respect a person simply because they have a RoA -- it's not like a drooling epic sword; it's a ring slot item.  Again, there is no increase in prestige or scarcity of the item - those who already have RoA have devalued its importance already.

3. "Well, just add instanced CoM/PoF zones."

This argument ignores the problems the exp nerf has caused for new players without PLing toons and combos.

--------------------------------------------------------

Hunter, please consider reverting exp back.  The current change poses major obstacles for new players and defies any equitable principle.

Plus the noise they make.  The terrible croaks.   I enjoy sound too much to play with sound silenced. 

Therefore, only one solution remains: froglock annihilation.

The postal service is killing me with suspense.  The game could arrive today or sometime through next Monday, argggggghhh.....

...I hope this is not too off topic, but I must confess that USPS is testing my patience.  "Close enough for government work" does not justify slow shipping speeds!

Arrrrrrgh, ship my expedited copy of CoF faster...  I'm itching for EQ mayhem and carnage. 

The systematic annihilation of the froglock race cannot be delayed.

Insight from a new player:

1.  Well, I know that I was attracted to this server when the news about Fippy server hit the press.  Then, I paused for a moment, and really asked myself if I wanted to spend hundreds of hours camping highpass, lower guk, and drudging through old world content (again) when all I wanted was some quality nostalgia and ownage.   Perhaps the influx is for this reason among some newer players?

2.  Outside of info contained in the youtube videos, help topics, and a few sources, some older players might feel overwhelmed at all the changes.  That is how I feel at the moment (I have not received my copy of CoF yet).  Even after several hours of preliminary research, I have dozens of questions still in my head.  When the game arrives and I get inside the game, I can only dream of how many more questions I'll have, lol. 

3.  Some folks cannot box.  I pray that this laptop can handle at least a triple box, so that I can figure out the mystic EQ art of self-sufficiency.  If I can't box, I hope that I can at least find a guild, make a few friends, or be self sufficient enough to figure out a way.  General requests for charity should be a desperate last resort. 

But yeah, there is no point in coming off as a beggar by spamming channels.  Unfortunately, some lack social tact to send tells, make friends, and know who to ask when a helping hand is needed.  Those who lack such tact are the same individuals that flood chat channels and give off an air of entitlement.

Considering my first exposure to paladins in over 5 years involved reading 5+ threads that complain about nerfs and massive balancing issues made to the class, I'm pleased to say that the proud standing tradition of paladin humility has not been offended, =P.

Oh, <3 pallies, teehee.  Can't live with them, but can't live without them, either.

Someone had to loot all the rotting plate and look really cool standing in the WC tunnel with flaming swords, lol.

Same thing happened to me a few months back.

For some reason, after 48 hours, some of the keys that were not working started working again, but most of them did not "rework" after a chance to dry.

You may try waiting a little bit, but I had to order a new keyboard.

Haha, it's going to be so much fun learning how to box.  Hell, back in the day, you were lucky if you could get EQ to run in a window without your comp blowing up in your face.

Thanks for the suggestions!  I'll see how many windows my laptop can run and adjust accordingly.  I've already read the multi-boxing thread, and will probably use ISBoxer while following the tips. 

I've read about paladins, and their subsequent nerfs, and might be interested in playing one if I can manage 4 boxing.

I'm kind of stuck on warrior, monk, and cleric for old-times reasons; my best friends in EQ (who I grouped with 90% of the time) played a monk and cleric for their mains. 

...In my personal experience, Paladins were always the ones that managed to beat me on loot rolls, horde all the DKP up, train the raid, cause extreme guild drama, and engage in other forms of special behavior [I suspect the Firey Avenger and 'TEH HERO' complex flavored the disposition of most paladins back in the day].  Bad memories of paladins in general, lol.   

What classes(es) or combos are good for soloing old world content (pre-PoP specifically)?

Oh god, I can't wait.  Froglocks must be exterminated with extreme and brutal prejudice. 

Whew, fabled?  My crusty old butt has a lot of stuff to come up to speed on, lol.  Who ever thought they'd brand new mobs by making random high level spawns of old world mobs. 

Kreemo, if you don't mind me asking, what are the exact specs of your laptop?  Specifically, do you know the video card/display chip it uses? 

I tried to send you a PM, but not sure if it sent through.   You've made my day with that information though!

I'm thinking about boxing a warrior, cleric, and monk at the moment if my laptop can handle it. 

Also tempted to do maybe an SK, cleric, and warrior... decisions, decisions....

...or maybe a monk, cleric, SK? 

Arrrrrgggghhhh.....

After 3 months of 80+ hour weeks, stomping in the face of mobs that cost me hundreds of hours seems like a fitting way to relax, =P. 

Man, I really hope this laptop can run the game.  Fixing up the desk top would be such a pain...

Luckily for you, in order to progress you have to go into ALL of those zones (see ref: Fighter's Guild Quest and Caster's Guild Quest)

If you see me online, send a tell. I'll be more than happy to let ya tag along for things you need to get done (Qvic, Tacvi, etc..). Next week, or whenever im not being slave driven, i'm planning on making a few more boxes. Apparently im missing and Enc, Wiz, 2nd Monk, and some others... and have alot of t1/t2 stuff rotting. Figure may as well kill two birds that way. More than welcome to come and get what you may need as well.

Thank you for the warm welcome and help.  It's much appreciated from a crusty old pre-Luclin veteran like me.  I'm trying to research and discover as much as I can on my own, but have not been able to answer a few big questions:

1.  How much beef does your comp need to have to handle 2-4 boxing?  I understand that boxing is almost required at times to progress.  Any idea of minimum specs? 

2.  How often are the old world raid bosses up for slaughter?  I read that they are on standard world timers -- how often do they get smacked into the ground? 

I'm especially itching to kill Trakanon, Yelinak, NToV, and countless others.

Thanks again for the warm welcome! 

Thanks for the welcome.  I look forward to making Lower Guk, Sebilis, and Upper Guk pay.  Froglocks and I have a long and nasty history.