Tis the season for alot of returns, and I am counted in that statistic. My question to the general public is a simple question but shouldn't be a real simple answer. Returning to game to play a beastlord again. Which has been unlocked on Phin., but still waiting on Rage and Lockjaw. My question to you the readers: Which TLP server should I start out on and why? About me, I am a casual player, aprox. 2 or 3 hours in the evening, but can make exceptions at times once I get to raiding. Have raided in the past as a cleric and SK. So let me know how you feel about your server so I can try to figure out which one I should play on and be ready to raid by PoP time.
Pinny: unlocks faster (Expantions), you need a group to get ok exp (solo is terrible exp).Pinny is how ever high populated.Plenty of guilds to choose.You can box but need more then one computer.RF and LJ have faster exp, slower (6 month) unlocks on every expantion.Lower population, you will need a guild to have the most fun.Boxing is allowed from one computer.US timezone have lots of options. RF have EU options:EU timezone its Darkwind for more hardcore and raiding, Twilight Dreamers for more casual/social/raiding.RF will vote for luclin 22th oct and should unlock 31th, pinny is a month behind in unlocks. Me myself i play on RF because of the exp and allowed to box, i couldnt stand out the solo exp on pinny and i dont have the time to join or form groups everytime i play.
Phinny. Instances are game changers. You don't have to deal with "Cancer" in the raiding scene. Exp rate isn't as terrible as people make it out to be on Phinny. I've seen folks grind out 60 in 3-4 days without double exp. 2 days with double exp. AA's come relatively quick, and the population is extremely healthy. (8 picks of SSRA, for example)
If you are more casual exp'ing and don't intend to box characters on same computer - Go Phinigel Instanced raiding is the big draw here. You can get a group together, and pop an instance when you want for raids. RF/LJ are only open-world fights. So, you have to hit what is available, and it is thus, more contested. Phinigel currently has about a dozen guilds raiding Luclin end-game content simultaneously because of this. If you are interested more in soloing, and boxing alts on same computer - Go Ragefire or Lockjaw (Ragefire will unlock Luclin a little faster I think, though Lockjaw I think still has The Sleeper?) Phinigel has coding that makes it a 'true-box' server, where you would need a separate computer for each account playing simultaneously. There is also more time in the content, about 6 months before voting opens for next expansion. You can take more time doing things this way. Phinigel for the most part will open a new expansion every 12 weeks.
I have dabbled on all 3 servers to get a feel for the lower ex and to watch gen chat to get a feel for the population. Leveling up I do plan on bst and either bard or druid as a buff box. I am more interested in hearing about the community of said servers. Its kind of like looking for a new car. Narrowed it down to 3, all the same model, just one newer with different bells and whistles, is how I look at it. Just looking for a salesman from each dealership to sell me on one.
Depends entirely on if you have a second computer or not. If you plan on playing a single character beastlord with 2-3 hours then you would be wise to run a second account because that limits your grouping time which brings you back to the 2nd computer. Phinny requires multiple computers. RF and LJ don't. I left Phinny because of the multi box rule and am now on RF. I run two accounts and xp on my own time. I enjoy RF's lesser xp grind as well. It's a ghost town for the most part, but there are some nice folks that actually like seeing new people join the server. I assume LJ is the same way. Phinny is not the mecca of grouping that it once was. People log on to raid and use guild groups with out of group toons to PL their alts when not raiding. So anywhere ya go can have potential to be by yourself a lot. Phinny does have an active community though and that bazaar is handy. Why not try all 3? See which one works for you best.
I play on FV, but decided to have a little look see on Phinny. Started in Qeynos, within a couple of hours I was in a full group in Blackbarrow. Next evening another full group in Blackbarrow. After hitting level 8 made the run to the north Karana wizard spire, then on to Faydark via nexus. Walked into Crushbone and hey presto another group. Last night moved to Unrest and again there are groups all over the place. Currently level 13 and have not made any of those levels solo. Group xp is so much faster and everyone knows it and seems willing to group, it does remind me of the old days. I enjoy FV because of the loot rules but intend to continue on Phinny for a while and see where it leads.
Phinny's slow exp/slow solo exp is and aways has been to encourage grouping and thats why you will be able to find groups pretty much 24/7 there. Same with the true box rule, you can't just box a full group on 1 computer and play the game by yourself like what you will be doing on RF or LJ with the only chance at human contact being joining one of the 2 and a half guilds there. Phinny probably has 10x the population or more. Phinny has instancing meaning casual players can still experience 100% of the raids in era as 10 or 15 guilds are doing there now. Open world still exists and it seems there is a lot more competition there these days where no 1 guild is locking everything down anymore like the first 2 xpacs where there were only a handful of bosses to kill. Bazaar is constantly at max traders on phinny, the market is thriving. I could go on but do I really need to? So if I'm selling you cars...do you want the ferrari or the pinto? Both are the same price.
