Just saying, I loved the community of Stormhammer. All of the TLP's thus far have been a DPS racing, backstabbing, krono farming cesspool. How about for your 20th anniversary; make a true box server with 6 month unlocks and no kronos? I am sure you would find ALOT of support from the masses of "filthy casuals" who work, have kids, don't poop in socks, ect. Hell even at 40.00 a month per account, i'm certain you would have a hit server, especially if it had half the support of the original Stormhammer.
What will you guys do for the rest of the 5.5 months in your plan, for every expansion? How will you stop Plat selling items and RMT for Plat? Casuals get bored once the grouping is not rampant, and they typically don't know how to be resilient and form their own groups.... The population will be gone on month 2, as they get 1/2 way to 50 or are 50 and have their planar gear and now waiting for 6 months for the next expansion. I imagine RMT will be more lucrative if the cost to be on the server is steeper... Problem is the filthy casuals are the ones funding the pay to win get ahead... Your server idea is literally going to be more beneficial to RMT'ers.
You must have had a very strange experience with TLP servers. I've played almost exclusively on TLP servers since Phinny came out, and have yet to see the sort of community you describe. I'd be down for a server with no krono, but the rest of your post makes absolutely no sense. Yes, TLP servers will get increasingly top heavy as time goes on, just like every MMORPG does. It's the nature of the beast. That doesn't mean there isn't a place for casual players. I should know. I am one.
This is a really good point. Krono is DBG's way of getting in on the RMT game, and thankfully they did it without making the game pay to win. To the OP, instead of paying $40 a month for an account you could pay $15 a month, buy a krono occasionally if you find yourself falling behind, and comfortably keep up with the server release schedule.
Well not really... if you need 6 month unlocks you won't find any shortcuts suitable. You're better off playing any server and just doubt things at your own pace. Lockjaw is slow i believe.
the no krono thing will never go. 1. It is a money maker for DBG 2. since krono are on all other servers, then just have the krono's be traded on a different server, i.e. give me GEBs on this server and I'll give you 2 krono on that server..... etc
Really? Have you thought this position through? Most people understand that no krono would change exactly nothing.
How about a hybrid TLP server? Call it the best of all worlds. From Stormhammer, increased GM presence and many more random events with unique items. This would keep the server interesting, instead of the same ol' grind, server wide messages a few times a week announce fun events with prizes. Anyone remember doing the drunk halfling run? Or killing the mechadragon in steamfont? Or a commonlands scavenger hunt? GM events could be anything, anytime, and add a real sense of excitement. No sure how feasible pop-up zones could be, but an event that had you zoning back into mauders mire would be fun. From FV, most no drop items are tradeable. No lingo or group restrictions, with the limited time between expac releases, I think this would increase trade and player interaction. From the more recent TLP's, the Agent of Change. Decrease the lockouts to 5 days instead of 7. Just a quality of life thing. /pick zone too, but every time you /pick the timer increases by 150%, with that timer resetting after 2 hours or you zone out (not log out). 60 day unlock between expacs, unless there is a level increase, in which case it would be 90. 1.5x exp over live. Most people still have lives, no reason to slow exp when you only have a limited amount of time to play. I can probably think of more things I would like to see, but I would come back to a TLP server for something like this. At least it wouldn't be a clone of something that has been done over and over again. Smakk
Keep Phinny rules mostly as-is when it hits live. (AoC, larger server capacity, etc.) Add bonus Xp, spawns, faction, tradeskill success, and larger loot tables (more pieces of existing tables drop per mob). Continue to charge a sub fee. Any low pop progression that stalls or hits live folds into Phinny (Robust population would stay itself). Pretty much Stormhammer 2.0, with population (minus the GM events, and one LDoN theme).
Opening a new TLP isn't going to bring the Stormhammer population back. Otherwise they would have been back over and over.
