Yep, every time you see someone mention Overseer in the same thought as "cash grab" or "pay to win", you know they have no clue what they're talking about. In fact, early on, when they didn't have a quest-completed limit per 12 hours, you COULD make that argument. They specifically added the limit to prevent it from being a cash grab.
That's because prior to ToV, putting xp rewards on quests was an afterthought. You don't do quests/progression stuff in older expansions to level...you do it for the sake of doing it and getting those rewards (heroics, mounts, familiars, whatever). Grinding was still the primary means of leveling. Clearly, they changed all that with ToV...changed it for the worse in my opinion. If they added 100+ Hot Zones, and then continued to introduce a new set of max level hotzones on the non-level increase expansions...and made the xp bonuses on those hotzones HUGE...then it might make things better for people who don't care about progression and just want to grind out their levels. Because they obviously have no interest in what players think and don't want to go back to a pre-ToV method of leveling.
Overseer isn't the "best" option for anything... it's not supposed to be. Actively playing the game with 5 other people will always be the best for everything except hunting for groundspawn shinys. On the other hand, Overseer is one of (if not the best) supplemental option to do the following with genuinely minimal effort. Completing collections and thus getting trophies and AAs. Earning Tetradrachms to buy ornamentations, rez tokens, group currency from previous expansions for Type 5 augs (NEW!), powersources (NEW!) Earning normal experience with minimal effort Earning mercenary AAs with minimal effort Overseer has been a massive boon for my alts and for my wife's main (which gets as much game time as my tertiary toon). If you're ok with "slow and steady" progress for the above, then you don't need to spend a single penny.
I am a lapsed subscriber. I have a few permanent accounts and I have non perma accnts as well. If they ditched overseer and made mob exp the way we all used to know it then I MIGHT come back. This would be the bare minimum. I dont ever expect it to happen though under the current management. They want our game turned into an idler that they can sell your micro transactions to make bearable. Screw that and too them honestly for ruining our IP. This is EVERQUEST! It was NEVER intended to be a crappy mobile quality idler. #EQISNOTANIDLER
Good riddance. EQ experience model is almost perfect at this time. The only annoying thing still remains - mob killing still gives level experience. It should be converted to AA's only. This way all those laggards around would have to do actual questing and progressions tasks instead of mindless static camp grinding. And the happiness will be around - because nobody needs the infestation of population by progression-less, achievement-less slackers demanding the rewards for just being level 120. Oh, the memories of useless lvl 100 characters grinding themselves up by doing Gribbles non-stop, lvl 105 characters grinding themself up in FM in EoK, or to 110 in Sathir's Tomb, or to 115 in GMM grind camp. Good thing since ToV it became quite a challenge to level up by grinding and now people have to actually get good and do the progression. #EQISNOTFORSLACKERS
Lol.. typical of the current gamer. The heck with those of us who have invested in this game for 20+ years. The heck with those of us who built this thing through our support and communities since 1999. I'm amazed when people act like grinding exp is for mindless morons. This is what EQ was for over 20 years. Relationships get built in those grind groups, because you talk and get to know one another. It's not just mindless pulling, at least, it shouldn't be. There is more happening there than just the exp. That grinding always has been a meaningful way of progression. Mobs give exp and drop loot. Then named mobs, who are on a rare spawn, drop really good loot. It's not rocket science. We also quest and have since classic. How do you think we got those epics back in the day and many items were quested. I like that progression is a thing and I think its a good thing and I'm even ok with it being higher exp. However, it shouldn't be the only meaningful way. Groups of people getting together to kill mobs and have conversations for 4 hours should also provide good quality experience as it always had for literally two decades!
Where did I ever say "the heck with me who has invested in this game for 20+ years" ? Absolutely NOT! Not heck with ME! I played EQ for last 20 years and I'd hate to see it go back to inferior times of grinding. Do that while doing progression and questing. And if you prefer grinding - AA experience should be great! Just not level experience. And your reference to 2 decads is false - starting from VoA the experience earned by quest was higher than just grinding trash down.
Maybe I misunderstood your "good riddance" comment. If so, I apologize. Look, I agree, I don't want what we had in the year 2000 either, that was fun then, but no way I could enjoy that today. The problem is, that for many, it's nearly impossible to do the progression. Especially for those of us who have jobs, and a life outside of EQ. I have 3 level 110 characters and no I don't do the 3-6 box thing. I can't molo ToV progression even with my BST who has the highest level gear and EM possible for 110. Therefore I'm going to need lots of help, that help is there sometimes, but more often than not, its not there and especially when I have less than 2 hours to play which is pretty normal. However, I can probably put a group together with my BST+Druid or BST+Bard box, and do some grinding somewhere, but the exp is going to be pretty terrible at 110+, which means, Overseeer, a mini game, is going to be more meaningful exp MOST days then actually playing and enjoying EQ. I"m sorry, but that's a problem.
Don't you people see the flaws in your own statements? Who can still gather 5 other people on today's servers when everyone is AFK doing Overseer. Overseer is done solo, with 0 risk, 0 travel time, 0 need to socialize with anyone. Why is this idiotic Overseer system in EQ to begin with. Why have any EQ XP zone at all if it is easier to do Overseer instead. You might as well just shut down 90% of EQ's zones.
Let me tell you my personal history of dealing with leveling up past 110. At that time my beastlord main had group gear from TBL + GMM, my alts were equipped even worse. ToV just been released and Tier 1 gear was sold for insane amounts. My groupping buddy just quit EQ and I was on my own for progression. I recruited a new partner and proceeded to level up in GMM by doing Night Howl mission (my initial venture to ToV ended up with by butt handed to me by trash skellies). But doing the same mission endlessly is no fun. And my new partner needed some past Heroic AA's. So we did lots of progression (CoTF Champion, TDS Champion, TBL Champion, and Paragons what we could). In less than two months of casual play my beastlord dinged 113, when I could summon new warder. Then we went to EW and started ToV progression tasks - Mercenary and Paragon. Well, it was tough at the begining. I was really proud of my lvl 113 self when my group tackled EW Partisan with my new warder tanking. After that it was a steady progression toward Icebreaker. I did Paragon in my guild group when opportunity happened. It took me 2 years for the first Griklor kill on my own. No instant gratification past 110. All that was when group TBL gear was the best I could get. You have better gear these days. Start questing until you ding level 113 and then new warder will become a much better tank.
That’s a pretty terrible sales pitch, in two months of doing trivial content you gained 3 levels? That’s pretty awful. I don’t know how anyone could defend a system like that.
"In less than two months of casual play" You missed the context. Casual play might be as little as 30 mins a week or possibly even less. I have 3 accounts. I did not get ToL one on of my account with my beastlord that was 115 because I had started to play a bard as my 'main' on one of my other accounts. I got NOS for my beastie account a couple weeks before the ToL launch because I thought I would have some time to game, but work had different ideas and soaked up the time I was intending to play her and I am generally a "casual" player these days. However, without doing the CoV, ToV, ToL, or NoS content and using Overseer to continue to amass collectible bits, I was able to get to 120 a couple weeks after NoS launched (and work was finally not crunchy) doing "older" content while helping to level a guildmate's character through the 90s (with content blood-red to the 90ish character so actually PLing her). I intentionally don't have 120 maxed to 99% on either of my level 120 characters and I do not raid (at this time - I used to long ago). But there are actually a lot more play styles than only raiders or "hard-core" players. I don't expect to be max max level within a week.
Are you saying we're not valid players or just that you think we play more than we say? Also what's the definition you deem for casual? I play a couple hours in 'set' groups (mostly the same people but life interferes at times) twice a week. For one of those groups, we've been trying to get back to more the recent releases (thus my PLing a guildmate w/o a Heroic 100 purchase) , for the other we've intentionally been in the lower levels, not quite to mid-80s, doing content there (on a Live server, not TLP). At times I might have an hour at most some days and none on others and a couple hours on others depending on my work load and other stuff. I am play the most of the members of my guild *laugh*. I tradeskill and spend time on housing as well as moloing. I generally don't join pick up groups because of my own social anxiety issues. I am casual by my own definition and definitely casual by a raider definition. How I play is just as valid as anyone who is a hard core raider. The playstyles of my guildmates who have even less time to play is also entirely valid. Our money is just a valid, too, to Daybreak in the form of subs, DB cash purchases, etc. I do not have a lifetime membership. I was on the verge of total burn out (from raiding and much more "hard core" gaming) in EQ2 when they were first offered and then stopped playing before they were offered again. I have 2 subbed accounts at the time.
The devs never would do so because they want that the players do level their toons fast so that they will buy the latest expansion and AllAccess together. The quicker the better. The whole live server concept has been build just around that and more revenue. This does mean that the Overseer exp quests are the most important part of that mini game beside being a daily hook to get the players back into the game. What looks like a gift for the players is like everything else in the game a gift for Daybreak, EG7 and its investors. Basically everything a gaming company is doing is never being done for the players. It is like a casino: The bank does always win.
Do you really think 6-7% XP per day on average if you do both the 6hr and 12hr every day is "fast"? Seriously? You can get more than that level 115 - 120 moloing in RoS or EoK for an hour. And, if you do the merc and partisan quests there you can get AA. And if you're max of max level, you can get AA which you don't get through Overseer directly. If your character is 120, you are not locked to ONLY the content of the last 2 expansions. You can even go and do a grindfest, if you like, in any zone where the are light blue or even green targets. You might even be able to kill stuff faster if your 120 and the content is light blue. Faster kills can equal more XP over the same period of time.
Are you trying to play ignorant on purpose. You knew what I meant when I said people are doing AFK Overseer. Overseer requires no interaction with the game world at all. People are just clicking on a bunch of recruits, clicking complete, and logging off. The reason I lost interest in EQ is stuff like this. EQ developers actively undermining their own content and game. And it's not like Overseer is even a fun game itself, it's horrible. It's a mindless game of just clicking on a bunch of recruits. If I wanted to play a point-and-click, there are $1 games on Steam that are thousands times more fun. If anything I feel sorry for the guy on the EQ team who has to design new zones. Because EQ zones are deserted and there is no one in them, and Overseer is one of the reasons. At least the old zones are still used on TLP.
