What is Darkpaw doing to Bring New Players to EverQuest?

I have a Google alert for "EverQuest". Recently, a news story came up in my Google alert, it was an obituary. It mentioned that the guy who passed away loved to play EQ. I choked up. That obituary could have well described myself and most players on these forums. It got me to thinking about my own mortality and the mortality of this MMORPG that we all love and call home.

Without new players, to replace the ones that have passed away, eventually EverQuest too will pass.

All subscription based services from Netflix to MMOs all have to contend with something called churn. Churn is defined as the following:

The churn rate, also known as the rate of attrition or customer churn, is the rate at which customers stop doing business with an entity. It is most commonly expressed as the percentage of service subscribers who discontinue their subscriptions within a given time period.

Simply put, without new subscribers/customers being brought in to replace the old customers that no longer subscribe, a business will eventually die.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I don't see any effort or resources being expended by Enad Global 7 and Daybreak/Darkpaw into attracting new players to EverQuest. I don't see any web ads for EverQuest, I don't see any public relations campaigns where PC gaming magazines, websites and streamers are invited to press junkets to preview new expansions or new TLP servers.

I don't see any effort made to improve the newbie experience which is still stuck in 1999 in order to hook new players. Blizzard famously spent thousands of hours polishing the newbie zones in World of Warcraft to ensure that they would attract new players. And you know what? It worked.

The starting zone of Surefall Glade is one glaring example of a pitifully underwhelming and barren newbie zone with only a handful of mobs that a level 1 player could even possibly defeat. The itemization of most of the starter dungeons and zones is abysmal and former devs have acknowledged this time and time again. Overall, the EverQuest newbie experience on TLP servers is so atrocious that I doubt any new players would bother to keep playing.

Eventually newbie quests are available in the Luclin era but by then, they are pointless as new players can purchase far better gear in the Bazaar.

The user interface of EverQuest is horribly dated and a jumble of spaghetti-like confusion and complexity that a new player would find intolerable.

The starter weapon graphics look like they were designed by a toddler. Rusty swords, bronze swords, fine steel swords, and many magic swords all share the same primitive graphic. These graphics could be easily updated with weapon graphics that already exist in EQ but for some reason nobody has cared enough to get it done.

As EQ veterans, we can all easily excuse these shortcomings by appealing to nostalgia, but new players will simply not tolerate it. Without a constant infusion of new players, the EQ that we know and love will come to an end sooner rather than later.

Instead of pumping out new expansions like clockwork every year, maybe the devs should pause for a month and take stock of EQ. Many of these problems could be a fixed with a few weeks of development time. It would be investing in the future financial viability of EQ.

New players would have the added benefit of bringing some much needed fresh blood into the EQ community. After all community is one of the cornerstones of fantasy MMORPGs.

I urge the powers that be at Daybreak/Darkpaw to roll a level 1 character and experience these problems for themselves. All devs should roll new characters and play all the classes from time to time. Walk a mile in the shoes of a brand new player and I guarantee it will make you a better developer. Bring in some new players in a focus group and see how they react to a fresh install of EverQuest and see how they react to the newbie experience.

Thanks for listening.

I would like to see authoritative, quantitative data and analysis to support your premises and arguments. What are EQ's data points? I have seen EQ ads; what is proper marketing expenditure? What is the CBA of redoing newbie zones?

This post is a bit too heavy on scattershot suppositions for my liking.

Thank you.

Been asking this question for at least the last decade.

This is actually on their roadmap for next year.

I agree with your points Brontus.

I would love to see them do something to draw new players in. Every single "new" player I've seen on bertox is actually someone who had played some time in the past and decided to reactivate their account.

I think the tutorial does a fairly good job of leading you through the first 10-15 levels. Gets you used to fighting, using a merc, etc.

There is Crescent Reach as a good newbie zone. Of course it is sad that about nobody does start in the other starting cities but this has not much to do with their graphical design. It is just that new players are set to start in CR for a whole bunch of reasons (good and bad) by default and they do not know about other starting cities at all often.

It is very problematic to change the layout of a pioneering game like EQ into something like WoW which was the next MMO generation where it was possible to analyse and reflect the strenghts and weaknesses of EQ to create something "better". Both games have different concepts and target groups. It is still possible to add another modern starting city with a similar expansion concept like TSS but will this help anybody ? I guess that the new lvl 100 heroic characters will be released together with an expansion that does offer lvl 100-110 content and a heroic starting city, so that they are not that lost like they are currently at lvl 85 with HoT content which is not very newbie friendly. New starting cities for lvl 1 PCs are obsolete as everything is there already in a high quantity.

Of course it is obvious that not much money is reflowing into the game but there are always things going on in the background like incoming and leaving developers and many different new features and changes.

TLDR: Implement systems that can be done solo or in cross server groups to mitigate low level population designed to help players learn the game at different stages in their progression since the game changes greatly by level 85.

EQ is very different from some of the other popular MMOs (FF14, WoW, SWTOR).

The tutorial is awesome, a good way to interact with new players. It sets a foundation but the game changes fast and in big ways as you progress, sometimes faster than you'd expect. Can we even call the tutorial the tip of the iceberg these days?

someone who levels 1-60, gets a good feel for the class in that range then heroics their character and its a completely different ball game at 85. add in that these players may have molo'd on a live server that is very top heavy and are playing something akin to a rogue, monk, warrior, berserker or wizard and now find it much harder to progress with a mercenary since most things have been designed to be done in groups with a puller/CC and a tank and/or healer.

Even if they don't heroic a character, the 75-85 gap is treacherous for some in a molo setting as the hotzones get more and more difficult. these new players ask for advice and are pointed towards boxing more characters to get things done and they have just started the tip of the iceberg on one class, nevermind 3-6. The HA's also scale pretty hard if you don't keep up with your gear, making some pretty tough to beat in addition to the only exp gain is achieved upon completion.

Is it possible to perhaps introduce extended tutorial instances or a solo mission questline that helps with understanding spell lines, new AAs and what they do, stacking of abilities, how to use them or at least pointing out different commands and macro possibilities a new player can use. all the while doing this in a setting to get experience and gear akin to the heroes journey?

75-85 is also a tough gear gap to close for FTP new players who haven't done tradeskills or can't molo the SoD progression to get HoT tier 1 armor equivelent armor. The game is pretty vast by this point and trying to do higher end SoF or lower tier UF content is rough in defiant gear. This is also where some of the 80-85 hotzones point towards. Another negative on this is that the gear you will find in group game SoF era is barely better than defiant as it is and trying to molo the SoD progression for achievement gear or the tiered items is going to be tough without help.

Is it time to introduce new tiers of defiant gear and maybe allow FTP players or at least silver accounts the ability to gain more AAs or a reduced autogrant (perhaps up to 100 vs 110 TBL) to help with this?

SWTOR and the best example being FF14 scale your power to the level of the content you're hunting in. In FF14 you unlock the ability to enter new dungeons as you lvl/gear up but if you do randoms you may get thrown into a low level dungeon and use abilities only available to the level you've been scaled to.

I can't come up with an idea on how to implement something like this in EQ due to the vast array of AAs/gear someone can have at different levels. It does pose a mention that if a cross server system where players of different level bands can team up for short instances that offer drops and loot rewards that are relevant to their level. Think LDoN but cross server and rather than a currency reward, its a random loot box with items or something. this would help immensely with getting players to interact with one another without massive server merges.

*New player Joins EQ*
*New player plays the Tutorial Solo"
"New player looks for a Group"
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"New player logs out"

Dev1: "We had a new player log in yesterday & solo the tutorial, hadn't seen that in a while!"
Dev2: "Really?"
Dev3: "And what are they doing today?"
Dev 4:"10 bucks it aint EQ"

Why does Everquest need to add new players? A game does not last for decades upon decades. The fact that it has is such an impressive feat in gaming.

At some point, this game is going to sunset. Just like every other game before it. Why do people think the game Everquest should be thriving in the year 2050?

Additional thought- TLP is good for new players. What developers should be focusing on is retaining the players they already have, not trying to get new ones.

Not everyone will die when you do maybe?

Im sure I saw this thread 15 years ago.

If they make a new UI, I hope they include in there the option to not touch my UI. I don't want to relearn where everything is.

If they do ever choose to advertise EQ again I do hope that this video won't be their guide.

Just imagine how they would look being naked and you would think twice.

My theory is that advertisement and trailers for everquest, won't bring in true newbies, simply because everquest looks horribly outdated in trailers. It is simply not "photogenic" enough. Just try to look up some of the earlier expansion-trailers on youtube and check the comments. Many of them is about how outdated it looks.

Maybe a shiny new 3d-engine and an expansion that takes advantage of the new tech, as well as some graphical remakes of the older zones, would lure some newbies to the game? It would of course be expensive and might annoy some of the oldtimers who prefer a more nostalgic appearance. Personally I think it would be awesome to get that updated.

Ouch, your knuckles must be sore!

I'd happily wave goodbye to the old graphics engine, so long as the new one was in the same aesthetic.
But there are plenty who want to have a choice of keeping the "old look" and with TLP they do have a point..
Maybe there is some way to keep both camps happy, so rather than "classic v luclin" we might end up with "classic v *new-look" but then you might have fans of the Luclin look unhappy. Maybe a new engine just emulates the classic & luclin look, giving the textures a high-resolution update as a bonus and then new zones created after its roll-out are given the full new look & Nostalgia isn't impacted negatively.

My death, your death, anyone's death has nothing to do with a company not wanting to bring in new players in a two decade plus old game.

Here are the top five selling PC games of 1999- Sim City 3000, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Everquest, Caesar 3, Age of Empires 2. How many brand new players are going out and buying/downloading one of those games outside of EQ? How many players (outside of EQ) are even playing any of those games more than an hour in a month? Pretty sure the answer to both of those is close to zero, if not actually zero.

Here are the top five selling video games of 1999- Pokémon red/green/blue/yellow, Final Fantasy 8, Pokémon gold/silver, Super Smash Bros, Donkey Kong 64. How many first time, brand new players are playing those five specific titles in 2022? How many players are playing those five games in 2022?

My point is, players nowadays have a plethora of choices- games that are newer, shinier, better looking, more popular, more mainstream, more everything. And they have over two decades of options at their disposal. Brand new players may play Final Fantasy, but they are not making their first purchase the 1999 version of FF8. They are buying the newest and latest model first.

I would love to know how many brand new accounts were created in 2021 by first time players who have no personal connections to any players in Everquest. I am not talking about the EQ player who makes a third account to box- that player is already invested into the game. Not talking about the EQ player who invites his friend along- that friend is receiving immediate help to progress, and that friend is playing a 22 year old game because he is invested in the friend who.has played EQ for years. Not talking the player who retired in 2008 and decided to give a TLP a try- that player has prior connections and experiences to EQ and understands what s/he is getting into.

No, I mean the brand new to EQ player. I think you would find that number to be very small, if not zero. And DPG knows that that is a demographic that they should not invest time into, because the ROI is so minimal that it is really a waste of time in a 23 year old game. Now if they decide to release EQ3 or something in 2027, with 2027 graphics and gameplay, then by all means go out and market your shiny new toy! Find brand new players to play your game!

But this one? Let the game carry on for those who have years and decades into our accounts. Placate to the current players, and let the game ride off into the sunset, just like every other game that has been released.

So gloomy

The cost of acquiring a newbie customer (no prior exp with EQ) is going to be too high to be justified from a business perspective. But they can do things to ensure that returning customers have a great experience and stay for as long as possible. As a returning player who came back after last playing in 2003, here are some of my thoughts:

* Bring the /testbuff command to live servers. This command on the test server bumps your character up to 25. Live servers should have this command so that returning players can skip the tutorial and jump right into a level where the classes have fun and challenge. With the max level being 120, it doesn't seem like it matters all that much if someone starts at 25. There's nothing wrong with the tutorial and leveling to 25 isn't that big of a deal, but it's a bit of a hassle for someone who is experienced with the game. The biggest challenge these days of getting to 25 is figuring out how to level up your skills that lagged as you were leveling. Let players jump to 25 so they get right back into the fun and they stick around.

* Allow original starting zones for newbies. I know this goes against my first point, but I wanted to level up in my old home of Kelethin rather than an unknown zone. If I have to level myself, I want to do it in a place I can relish in the nostalgia. Nothing wrong with Crescent Reach, but it's not really the newbie experience I wanted to have. It's not like there's anyone really to group with in CR anyway. If I have to level up solo, I want to do it in my favorite zones.

* Figure out a way to let players level up past the post-75 slog. I had a blast leveling up to the mid 70's with my merc. It was a good challenge and a fun experience. I didn't mind I had to do it solo since there was no one to group with. But after that, it got much more difficult. I was going OOM spam healing my merc trying to keep it alive, and frequently failing. I've made it to 90, but I'm not sure how much more I want to keep at it.

Rather than trying to attract brand-new players, they should focus on the demographic who is likely to play, which is existing and returning players. They should realize that the sub-100 game is pretty much deserted. New players will have to solo up to high levels to play with the rest of the server. They've done a lot to address that--with things like mercs, Defiant gear, and hotzones--but those benefits peter out too soon. There's a gulf of difficulty after 75 that may cause people to quit before they can get to a level where grouping is more viable. So what they need to do is make sure that the returning player has a fun newbie experience and continues having fun as they progress solo to the level where the bulk of the server population is.