They are trying new stuff..

Not only with our TLP's: Mischief and other rule set variations.
But in EQ2 also, they announced two new TLP's Kael and Varsoon.
Kael: "On Kael Drakkel you will start at level 90 with a full set of level 90 gear. As you adventure through the lands, you will be auto-mentored down to levels appropriate for the zone that you are in, making content you normally would have been out-leveled relevant once again. Special loot drops along the way will allow you to upgrade your base gear as you progress. With over 1,800 achievements you can truly explore the game's rich lore like never before. A special leaderboard will allow you to see how your achievements progress stacks up with others on the server. You will also be able to see the percentage of players on the server who have completed each achievement. "

Varsoon: Free trade server, one coming out in May other in February.

So maybe, they will create more unordinary TLP's this year for EQ1.. (Not going to lie, I would just rather see Aradune 2.0).

EQ2 is probably the right place to try the "mentor down to the level of the zone" mechanic, have seen this system used in other places, like SWToR & GW2 for example, the big important factor is content, the games that use this system all have a lot of quality solo content EQ simply does not posess.

I am pretty sure it would be a bad idea in EQ though, in EQ there's a whole meta-game of going back to old content you are massively over-levelled for in order to get some trinket you never got there in-era or to farm old mobs for items you need for recipe completion to boost your Artisan-Prize progress, as well as achieves.

Maybe you could choose to switch it on/off.

The biggest barrier I see for it working in EQ however is that the dev team for EQ are ideologically opposed to near to max & max level players gaining any meaningful character/gear progression outside of the latest expansion, or indeed for any character to gain progression from signficantly lower level content by any means, it's why the Shroud system's EXP got an enormours nerf shortly after it was rolled out, so I think it would be a pretty big shift for them.

Doing this would feel like a big waste of Developer hours they would be better off investing into the game to make it "more modern" like raid lag reduction, ui overhaul, gameplay improvements, graphics overhaul, new character models, more character progression, and a proper catch-up system like a "side-kick" / "squire" system.

What about Aradune with FV loot rules ..and open classes to other races lol ..well you know ..DE bards, troll druids, ogre paladins, iksar rogues lol, Wood elf shaman ... we need some variety !! This can be done by adding more deity options on characters and giving proper alignments and starting city ..

Going all the way back to Phinny, they have done an "unordinary" release every other round of new TLP's. So, since we got Mischief last round, it's unlikely they will do something out of the usual mold this round.

Actually I was playing on one of the free EQemu servers recently (Project Lazarus). They are not true to the original and opened up many class/race combos. It's a very different experience from live (or TLP) EQ so they are not really in competition I guess. Bit I do enjoy Iksar Ranger a lot

Imho it would be cool if next TLP was OoW locked, unlock all veteran AA and some new race/class combos

I'm a big fan of this kind of idea, while we can't have (& don't need) new classes more combinations opening up is on fairly solid ground, though there exist a few problems which are going to mean some can't be done right. (like Ogre Casters because of no robe gfx).
Some could be done with the current models/animations/armor options but a fair few would have to wait for a new set of character models to allow for them.

I think if they do it, they just recognize some things aren't going to work quite right. No int caster spell vendors for ogres? Deal with it and figure out a way around it yourself, no need for them to add vendors. No Ogre robes? Too bad, live with the naked/cloth graphic or upgrade to heros forge.

But, I doubt they'd do this because they wouldn't want to release something that isn't polished.

The mentor server is interesting, I loved EQ2 for quite awhile and it's mentor system was always fun to play around with. I am curious it is going to handle some zones with very large level spreads or if it's going to just put you in the middle of the range. Generally mentored down characters were extremely more powerful than a normal player of that level so I doubt it would matter.

I don't really see Free Trade mattering that much on EQ2 servers (at least prior to like TSO) with how much they jacked up the itemization. Anything worthwhile people already sold loot rights to anyway.

I appreciate them trying something new. Random loot is something new and it has been a blast. I am really enjoying it, along with the free trade.

I've been preaching open class/race combos for a while now. There are at least two servers that have done it, so there is no reason professional game developers with far more resources can't as well. Yes, there would be an issue with some animations. Have them point to a default animation. All variations of monk kicks get directed to a basic kick which all races have. Same goes for robes and races that currently do not have robe caster classes. Have the robe point to a default cloth or leather appearance when worn by, for example, a barbarian. And have them all unlocked from day one, if it's a Classic opening.

@Daybreak/Darkpaw want to see me and many others move to a new TLP off Mischief? This is how you do it. I'd prefer random loot, but the FV loot rules (no silly RP stuff) is fine. And for the love of any of the deities in the lore, just say no to True Box.

What made Aradune special besides the limited box "rule" that was eventually not even attempted to be enforced?

Aradune and Rizlona originally had "dedicated" in their name. They stated this was a 6-month experiment, subject to potential continuation after that 6 months. They never introduced the GMs.

"Dedicated GM - Rizlona and Aradune are GM dedicated servers, this means they will be more visible on your server and petition queues will go direct to them. It is possible that there will be instances where other GMs may assist when available but most will go to your specific GMs. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more about your server's GMs!"

Ogre Bard FTW

I've got the Visage of the Brute if I want to look like an Ogre. It sits untouched in my illusion keyring. People who want some sort of all/all class/race setup either have no imagination or they want to min/max and think the Ogre frontal melee stun immunity is worth more than a leaky bucket of spit.

I knew a Dwarf Paladin who habitually used the Wood Elf illusion from his Crown of Deceit but the funny thing was that he didn't even roleplay, just had an odd hangup about being a dwarf which at it's creation had the "best" stats for a paladin.

Gnome monks and Ogre bards are just weird affectations for those who don't realize that their joke wasn't funny the first time they told it and it's getting really old

Everyones got their own reasons behind wanting or not wanting a thing. I don't really care at this point since I won't ever get the one thing I want which is a shadowed man illusion for rogues.

Ogre ench? Yes plz

That's an odd request since ENC can be any playable race via illusion.

That's the whole "Ogre frontal melee stun immunity" thing again.

you should tune in to Aradune general chat!

The ENC is the one stunning ;o)