Just a discussion about the super cool Rizlona server speeding up unlocks

Running a box heavy group turns EQ into a pretty interesting and unique game with optional coop modes. Even the other single player RPGs in the Baldur's Gate / Ultima veins or other MMO boxing don't have the unique and synergistic gameplay that EQ boxing does.

I was actually thinking that if I was still in the game dev business I might try and make a game whose core mechanic was built around the idea of a character having two independent command/motion threads. Some games have this, either with a pet/npc that you give commands to or two hands (ex: skyrim), but nobody really has tried doing it in the same way 2boxing in EQ has.

Some devs have given that idea some thought on EQ I can;t recall exactly who but I read an interview once upon a time where the devs had considered supporting being able to control multiple characters from within one interface, they had even considered what tech they'd need for that.

I'm using Rizlona as a place to 6 box for the first time. Just something I'd never done in EQ before, so figured why not see what the fuss is about.

Its..interesting. Being your own full group is definitely convenient, and gives EQ an entirely different vibe. I'm gonna level to 50 and see how it goes, but I dont think its something I'd do long term.

I did make the rookie mistake of not including a porter in my initial crew though. but then I think about having one less OP mage pet and I get over it. probably should have gone druid instead of shaman for healer, but ah well. few more levels and the shaman can throw in a pet as well~

For me.

EQ is NOT a hard game, not even close, especially in the early expansions. Playing just one toon is actually kind of boring as there isnt a whole lot to do, this is more true for certain classes. Boxing makes the game more engaging and more entertaining for me. As the game progresses things get quite a bit more complex, but again not so complex that you cant play 2 characters very well, especially with the IN GAME macro system.

Mage- Sick pet, nuke occasionally, med
Wizard- nuke occasionally, med, mabye root a mob away from the group if you dont have a chanter..
Rogue- turn on auto attack, hit backstab when its up, feint occasionally

etc etc

Granted some classes are busier then others, but no one class is "that complex" in early EQ.

inc if thats all you do you arent playing those characters to their full potential argument.

Post level 55, Everquest becomes a super grindy, fairly horrible game experience, this is made exponentially worse when there are fewer and fewer people around to group with. Even with mercs, going for 55 to say...90, is a huge boring slog, and if you're trying to play catchup, you're trying to do most of that molo or boxing. It's sleep inducing, and for what? At that point you might as well just go play on live and not deal with the horrible exp restrictions that are present on a lot of TLPs.

Theybreakgames knows where their money is, and that's opening new TLPs. The promise of a new server, and a new start, that's filled with people, is the main real draw to EQ. It's a fairly simplistic game, especially in early expansions, most of the "fun" is social interaction, when that's gone, the inherent boring nature of the game really kicks in.

I don't see what that has to do with anything. DBG isn't going to make a decision based on forum children flinging insults at one another.

This is just my opinion. There is the claim that boxing has kept EQ alive all these years, but I would ague that it is also the reason that keeps many new and returning players from playing (As evident by the population differences between Aradune and Rizlona because the former is attracting those demographics whereas the latter mostly seems aimed at the veteran players) as well as will be the eventual sunset. And as somebody said, it's not a difficult game, but it was also designed for a solo individual to experience the world with a group of friends.

I'm not against boxing, and though this may sound a bit like i am, I do run a 3 box on Riz right now just to putter around. But I do have a belief that if DBG's was serious and truly did enforce a truebox/single character per account per computer per player ruleset, with a strong enough community, it's population would thrive with high numbers well past the typical life expectancy of a TLP.

That would also require that server community to re-embrace the idea that boxers are not welcome there/and or it's discouraged. I also believe that such a community would be tight knit and very welcoming to new players.

I would be curious to see how this would work. I have noticed that as the expansions go on, (I have played TLP's through veil) that the need for boxes starts becoming a thing. Attrition wears down players and you need boxes to start filling a raid roster, especially certain classes like bards, clerics, etc.

Whether or not this would be rectified by a server where people are happy there are no boxers would have to be seen.

Personally, up until like Omens playing just one toon is incredibly boring imo, They just dont have any buttons.

This is assuming from your post you mean one toon per player period, kind of fuzzy on that just reading your post

I mostly disagree with your premise, the early expansions are the most conducive to the social aspect of the game. Mob damage and health are both low, which allows almost any mix of players to get together. SoE started to developing the expansions PoP and further around requiring specific setups and it fundamentally changed the game.

I agree with you that a real truebox or single character server would foster a large and vibrant community, but eventually those players will succumb to frustration. A game being designed around needing groups needs constant recruitment, shared goals, and easy coordination. EverQuest lacks all three of those.

I fully support the concept of a truebox or single character server with the GM enforcement. It'll make hand over fist in cash, but I don't see it having the staying power in later expansions. The group compositions are just too strict. You're likely to see a server filled with the strong solo classes more than the classes that struggle.

The problem is that the last "boxing" servers were Ragefire and Lockjaw and, before that, Fippy. None of these servers had access to instanced content of any kind. I feel that a certain subsection of the boxing crowd on those servers persists to this day as the section of boxers that are heavily motivated by RMT and profit.

The problem being, on the old servers, the boxing crowd physically crowded out people from accessing much of the EverQuest content. We have had a plethora of advancements since then, and you can see from these very forums that the lion share of RMT boxing services are appearing on Aradune - not Rizlona. But the entire other section of dedicated boxers who are not in it for profit are very welcoming, and can engender an excellent community - and we are seeing experiences again right on these forums proving this to be the case.

Accordingly, it is the stigma and leftover resentment from actions that took place on older servers that is splashed all over these forums. Actions and experiences that quite simply cannot happen in the same form on our more modern TLP servers. Instead, on truebox servers, it is the casual boxers and single boxers that are at a massive disadvantage to the dedicated for-profit boxers. These are the players whose morale is quickly deflated at seeing best-in-slot gear being sold by the fist-full, rendering personal achievements feeling empty. But the old resentments do not at all paint an accurate picture of the total boxing community of EverQuest - certainly not those boxing veterans that continually push older TLPs further on their march to Live.

I briefly tried to reunite with my guild on Fippy during the Phinigel launch. The amount of boxing assistance that was offered to try to bring my character up to speed - me, a boxer myself - was beyond anything I had ever seen before. But that kind of story is never told on these forums, resulting in the amplification of only one viewpoint.

Whats the point of driving a sports car if you never take it to the track?

Whats the point of having a cell phone if you never check your voicemail?

Whats the point of having a microwave if you never use the 20% power setting?

There are a million reasons to play Everquest. Most of the reasons not to play everquest involve other players.

What people like you can't understand is that there are things that seem insignificant but change the overall vibe or feel of a server/game. Technically, every expansion is just adding content - you can just go and do everything you did before. In reality, new mechanics/new content change the way you have to play the game and it may not be the same experience you had before.

What you need to get through your head that is that there are thousands upon thousands of games. EQ is not a sacred cow - people will play it ONLY if they want to play it or if it's fun. I like old eq for various reasons, that doesn't mean I have to enjoy garbage content made in 2020 by devs that have nothing in common with the devs that made the game I actually like.

Right?

Mmmm, OK, sure.

Swing and a miss!

Some of us wanted a boxing server simply so we can box our accounts on ONE computer. You can box as many computers as you want on the "Truebox" servers (except, theoretically, not on Aradune).

The main reason we like to box on one computer is that we have difficulty finding or forming groups - often times (and in my own case) because we have limited playing time. Who wants to form groups, travel, etc. and spend over an hour just getting ready to play, when you only have a couple hours of playtime a night?

Boxing (alt-tab style) is also a pretty in-efficient way of xping (though probably not as in-efficient as normal PUG's with very limited time). Having slower leveling and less playtime means getting to 50 is much slower for the casual boxer - than it is for someone who can PUG (or group with guild/friends/family) for 3+ hours a day.

Since, you could always multi box (as many boxes as you could ever want - as long as they are all on different computers) on any of the Trubox servers, DPG specifically made Rizlona so boxers who wanted to box on one computer could play there. Argue and argue as much as you want, but that is the primary reason why they needed to add a non-trueboxing TLP server. Boxers could ALWAYS play on Truebox TLPs as long as it wasn't on just one computer!

It was - and is - just silly that Aradune is a two-box server when that will never be sufficiently policed or enforced- except for people with one computer who still can't play 2 toons on Aradune! So one-computer boxers will be marooned on Rizlona. Many of the one-computer boxers are casual and go slow. So, no thanks on speeding up Unlocks on Rizlona.

Are you going to tell me that you use the power settings on your microwave? Everyone in my office just burns everything and then complains that the microwave that cost more than my laptop "doesn't work".

Speed limits are, in this country (the US), generally not enforced. There are certain high-traffic areas where you'll get a speeding ticket. But the overwhelming majority of speeders go unpunished.

However the overwhelming majority of people still drive at or near speed limits. Lots of people toe the line, and go 5-10 mphs over, but even though the chance of getting a ticket is near zero, the threat of getting a speeding ticket and the fact that there is a speed limit is enough to keep most people from going 140 on highways.

They don't need to ban every 3-boxer or botter on Aradune to create a server where the overwhelming majority of people 2-box or less. The fact that most people care deeply about their accounts and don't want to run the risk is enough to keep most folks from breaking the rules.

Yes. There will be botters. But there were going to be botters anyways. Hopefully some of them get banned. But the fact that most of the people on the server aren't boxing, and those that are are primarly 2 boxing creates, in my opinion, a more fun playing experience.

I was boxing a cleric and an enchanter at launch. Way too hard and didn't feel comfortable charming. I'm back to playing 1 char for now and I'm a much better ench because of it. I've been in many groups with boxed chars (usually priests) and its always bumpy.

Edit: You can confirm my statement that speed limits are not enforced. Simply take the number of speeding tickets you have received and divide it by the number of times you have broken the speed limit. If you get a number greater than 0.1%, lets chat.

I don't have any numbers to back it up, but for CMV's (Commercial Motor Vehicles), the speed limit is very much enforced. (Either passively, aka governors or active by police). It's much more lucrative to give a speeding ticket to a Trucker than it is to the random Joe going 5-10 down the highway.