Progression Server Poll Results: What's Next?

I don't understand how people think two different servers with slow/fast unlock timers will matter to the players that want to rush/lock/poopsock content. Both servers will have that group of people that will get to the end to grief others. There is no way around it. And if one server starts without that group people will switch from one to the other just to do it. Sorry to say the only way around it is instancing.

That's "1k while free" people who were willing to go through the legwork and technical drudgery of seeking out illegal things in shady places just to play. And I guarantee there's a good number of them who'd prefer something later, official, and legit, even if they had to pay for it. It's just that there's such a huge divide between what EQ is and what EQ was that they're forced to the end that's closer to what they remember.

And what happened to those 6k players, where did they go? More importantly, *when* did they go? Would it be a good business move to delay that point into infinity?

LOL, legwork and technical drudgery? Perhaps its just the circles I frequent, but the data's quite prevalent (but then again, I'm friends with the inner circle there, so go figure) from everything I've seen - even people I didn't introduce to it nudge me every so often on Facebook and such.

And most of them left in Classic, 6k dropped to about 2.5k before it even went to Kunark. Largely because of all that "Classic perfection" you elicit and how awesome it is being capped on content eternally.

Besides that most of the other drops were gradual - even today Fippy is still as populous than many other servers. (It's a bit lower overall, but considering most servers are half F2P accounts you do have to scale it some for the others)

It was not directed at you personally.

I hope they make a locked server for you guys, I just don't think it will be as big of a hit as you think. It most certainly will not generate as much money for them as new content.

Before I asked what is your ideal goal for this server everyone wants and I think what I was trying to get at is, what happens when everyone is level 60 with 3 -5 alts and aa's maxed out? What do you do after that? Is it just the fun of creating alt's over and over again and doing the same content over and over again? How many times can you camp for stuff in Lguk or SolB before it gets old and you want to see something new?

If anything we should be asking the Dev's to create harder expansion content that requires the utilization of a well rounded group.

I like that they are slowing down the progression. I also like the server name Lord Doljonijiarnimorinar!

Nothing will kill the race, but the race will kill the server.
So give them something to do (in the form of extra/new content) in the meantime if we are desperate to keep them around after they hit max level. It's not like they don't have characters on other servers to play.

Well, *I* know it's really not that hard, but to the average person, I think it'd at least appear inconvenient at best. And come on, you can't tell me Fippy is in a "populous" state compared to what it was even after the initial dropoff to 2.5k.

I mean, locked or unlocked, I'm there. I'm gonna be playing regardless. I just want it to be as good as it can be, for as long as it can be. The fact that an unlocked server will inevitably fall down to ghost-town levels is depressing, and confusing that DBG would commit to it knowing that certainty, but it's not enough to keep me away. I just think it could be better.

Anything will fall to ghost town levels after a while when subs are involved, that's fact.

If you want them to never hit that point, you should be lobbying for F2P not permanent locks. That's what encourages people to stay on those other options.

I don't really see an argument in the OP for a locked server so much as slow progression with the building of new content in every expansion which actually creates a new game. Personally, I think that would be amazing, and want to see more attention and votes on this subject, because we could actually have these additions with what has been approved and presented to us at the start of the thread.

Keep everyone around longer, make it challenging to level and raid, and add new stuff that we could get giddy about working on.

Id have to go With the Max Nostalgia option with no voting on unlocks myself. Just let the expansions unlock when there supposed to and be done with that one.

Instancing plus new content in old expansions FTW. Not just on TLP, but implement it for every server and we will have more to do than walk into every zone in the achievement tabs for those expansions.

How about the first 3 months of going live is F2P to gather the interest and give everyone time to feel like they are part of it, then shut them out unless they subscribe. Reverse the formula on the later expansions, only opening it to F2P for the second half of it's period so they aren't competing with subscribers?

The problem with this idea of creating "new" content in older content is that it takes resources away from the "live" game and basically the bread and butter of the franchise.

I mean imagine that pitch at the board meeting

"So Steven's you want to spend $160,000.00 to make content for older content that hasn't been touched for the past 12'ish years?.... Pack up your S**T!"

Or they make him take a drug test.

The one thing I also keep struggling to understand is that you basically have all of what your asking for minus the extremely long leveling process in the game right now. Along with other things like guild lobby PoK ports yatta yatta. But there are ways around that so you don't have to use them.

I think paying to play builds in consistency--I feel so much more compelled to play games I'm paying for, so I sign on to make sure I'm getting my money's worth.

All speculation based on nothing more than your own hypothetical situation. New content, regardless of the expansion, is new content; and people will want to check it out, and subscribe longer to keep checking it out with each new expansion being released.

Since you brought it up, here's a bread and butter analogy concerning the franchise:
The bread is moldy and butter is spoiled. We just got a new chef. Why can't we ask him to bake a new loaf with different ingredients instead of waiting on another stale slice of the old stuff that barely sustains what is left of us?

F2P for a progression server? In what world is this a good idea?

They don't need to make it that complicated. All they have to do is guarantee a PoP-era experience and they'll rake it in on subs. The people who leave in classic will come back when its at its peak. If it's locked in at its peak, the window for that to happen extends to... well, forever.

It's super easy: Lock at PoP, require sub, flip switch, receive bacon. Endless bacon. Who doesn't like bacon?

F2P model half-works right now because you have so many "fluff" items in the Market but the Original game is so bear bones where would they make their money? People would roll over in their graves on progression if they sold XP pots.

I currently pay $45/month for this game and I don't mind 1 bit. It's fun for me and I can afford it without worrying about making the mortgage payments or having my lights shut off. I like that they make it a have to pay server.

This whole entire forum is filled with speculation. We're all like political commentators. My speculation is just as good as your's haha.

They already did an entire lower level series of "expansion" content in TSS. You want them to keep re-inventing the wheel?

I'm not suggesting F2P - I'm saying that's what you need to emulate the results.

I think F2P would be an absolutely terrible idea - but it would get numbers.

They sold exp pots on the last round of progression right at the start.

Sure do! It keeps people playing who want to backtrack through it, and provides something different the next time through. The promise of new (old) content from the game so many people cherish is worth checking out.