Convince me to play TLP

Greetings, forum dwellers!

I am an individual who has pretty much exclusively experienced Everquest via the project1999 server. I absolutely love the game, and I've always been curious to try out a TLP server (mainly to see Luclin and beyond), but have never gotten around to it. I have been planning on joining the Yelinak launch for a bit over a month now, and my hype has been building immensely! Last night I pulled up the web page to subscribe for the first time, as well as buy my Roguish bag (despite my absolute DISDAIN for microtransactions).

While perusing the DBG store page, I became aware of the extent to which this game is monetized, and holy moly, I am taken aback... short duration XP/clarity/sow potions, xp/plat/inventory space/raid currency perks, the ability (more like INCENTIVE) to multibox despite the server being "True Box", the ability to straight up buy plat with real money... I'm frankly disgusted by what I'm seeing. I realize the immediate response to this is: "if you don't like it, don't buy it." Please consider the following:

I am the kind of player who intends to put 15+ hours a day into hitting level cap asap, then join the uber poopsock guild and invest as much time and effort as possible into min-maxing my character and helping my friends/guildmates. In games like WoW, I have had multiple server-first level caps under my belt (not because I think I'm some godgamer or anything like that; I simply push myself and my limits because that is how I enjoy playing games). Maximizing my own potential for efficiency and displaying my ability to push for long sessions (personal best being 60 hours straight!) is how I have fun with MMO server launches like this. Tying this back into the topic at hand, as a player trying to maximize in-game time usage, when a company offers me additional means to increase my efficiency, I am 100% obliged to do so, lest I sacrifice a "competitive" (I use this word lightly) advantage.

This isn't me trying to say "if I'm not server first 50 Rogue, I can't have fun..." Instead, I'm saying that "I will not be able to enjoy the game knowing that my time is literally wasted xping/farming at slower rates than are possible with MTX." I know it's easy to say "just chill out and play the game for fun, don't worry about efficiency," but the time-based nature of the TLP means that any goals I have for a given level cap are on a strict timer... 8 weeks of classic where roughly ~2 weeks (I don't know how long TLP leveling takes) are spent leveling means only 6 weeks to gear up from classic content and knock out any other pre-kunark goals... by spending a couple hundred dollars, you can cut that leveling time in half and have more time to complete post-50 goals.

So to end my rambling and hopefully tie things up neatly here, I'm very conflicted as to whether or not I will join you all for the Yelinak launch I have been so excitedly looking forward to. Should I expect everyone to be boxing duos/trios, chugging xp/clarity/sow pots, and an economy based on how much real money people can throw at plat as it becomes available? I WANT to dump hours upon hours into this server to experience the breadth of content available, but my own principles as well as my innate competitiveness is holding me up...

tl;dr: Was really hyped to no life on this server, very turned off by microtransactions giving what seems to be significant in-game advantages that feel really bad to play without. Any advice/suggestions are appreciated, thanks for listening to my rambling

Hey, you. Play TLP.
There, that oughta do it.

There's nothing different here than most other mmos. Experience potions are a fact of life. I don't plan on using them, aside from the ones I get for grabbing a bag. My goal isn't to be better than everyone else, it's to do the best I can. Live is, well live. It's not the pet project of a small group held in stasis for infinity. This has evolved and much of what evolved is tailored to the casual player. Honestly, even without the experience potions, if you're as diehard as you present yourself, you'll still level pretty fast.

No thanks. Nobody cares what you do and nobody likes listening to p99ers whinge about this or that

3-4 days at 16+ hours per day should get you to 50.

The microtransactional things you can purchase in the DPG store aren't game-defining to the point where if you don't play with them, you're sol. In fact, the majority of them only provide a slight advantage that outside of a couple of things, goes un-noticed. I have to believe P99 wasn't or isn't your first MMORPG / online game. Every game these days have microtransactions as this is a great way for the company to offer minor perks to enhance the gameplay for those who purchase them, while generating revenue for themselves.

If you play as much as you stated IE 15+ hour days, there is no reason you shouldn't be 50 within 2 days, maybe sooner, without using experience potions. Should you wish to use experience potions, it'll just be 25% (at most depending on down-times, wipes, selling / gather spells, etc) faster. The idea that you have above of these microtransactions being game-defining is very much exaggerated.

Coming from P99, you also know there are transactions that happen in that game, just not necessarily in a store format. I'm sure you like many, are aware of people selling plat, etc, for real money. They just do this through other means. I find it hard to believe you are this disgusted with microtransactions in Everquest, but were completely okay with transactions in P99 or at least able to tolerate them to continue playing.

I've been on P99 since 2010 and here for most TLPs. You will barely notice the difference if you decide not to engage in the marketplace offers. If potions are a detriment to your experience with the server, just don't buy them. That being said, they're great for those of us who were young and broke back in '99 but have a lot of disposable income now and still love this game. I've already spent a few hundred for Yelinak and I'll spend a few hundred more before I'm done.

Really though, you will hit 50 faster than on p99 by a large margin without a single xp pot, so you won't feel put out if you opt not to buy them. You also aren't competing directly with other players in a traditional sense, so if they're running mana and regen pots and your aren't who cares? You aren't fighting each other, and if it's your group or guild mates then it just makes your efforts that much easier too.

Thanks for your response!

In regards to the fact that microtransactions are a thing, I cannot disagree with you... I know they've been around in many genres of games and aren't going anywhere any time soon. My concern is that the majority of people will be using perks/potions and that I will be left behind by choosing to play without them. The Raid currency perk seems almost necessary, and I would argue that the inventory slot perk, plat perk, and the 40 slot/100 weight reduction bag are all as close to necessary as possible without actually being a hard requirement.

I plan to play a rogue (bad choice, I know) and I don't know anybody playing on this server, so I am a groupless rogue at the mercy of whatever I can squeeze myself into. Ideally I'd want to find a static group of people with similar intentions to me (long hours, scheduled sessions to 50), but would I be expected to use the MTX xp boosts if I found such a group? Not sure what to expect, or what is expected of me in this regard

2 days to 50 with no xp pots? Man that is 1/7 the time I expected based off what I'd seen on p99.

I am aware of many of the p99 scandals involving server guides selling plat, and the likelihood that the staff all the way up to nilbog/rogean benefit financially from the server, but I was only recently made aware of this by forum diving old RNF stuff. I am disgusted by that too, but I am (presumably) not supporting them fincancially, as p99 is a free server.

Pretty sure 'only' 25% XP potions are available during Classic so you get 5 hours of XP in 4 hours. Mischief launched on May 26th, Faceless X In Virtue had 88 people raiding Naggy and/or Vox on the 28th and Level 40 was required to attend the raid and 43 people raided Hate afterwards which requires Level 46. The next day 56 people attended the Fear raid.

The three 25% XP pots that come with Roguish will save you 1 hour each, you can save at most 8 hours on the way to 50 even with somewhat inefficient groups. It's not going to come anything close to cutting the time in half and 'serious' players will not be taking 2 weeks to get to 50. Especially since Memorial Day XP bonus falls on the first weekend of Yelinak and Vaniki, same as it did on Mischief and Thornblade.

"Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV? With an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime."

Sorry, not sorry. But I think the p99er's sound a lot like that. But unironically FF is a really fun game I was very skeptical.
Anyway back to the OP. No one's going to convince you one way or another. You already have preconceptions about TLPs and P99 and therefore biases in one direction or another just based on your post.

You are gonna have to make that conclusion.

I played FFXIV through ultimates (before the new one) but stepped away from that game permanently due to disagreements with the direction the devs seemed to be taking the game since 3.0. The final straw for me was actually them delaying the Dragonsong ultimate, as I had been putting a lot of prep into getting ready to prog it in patch 5.5. Great game that peaked back in Heavensward imo and has been steadily downhill since.

Back to EQ, I think my biases are under-informed due to lack of experience, hence my reaching out here to see if my concerns are founded, and where to set my expectations (again limited by lack of EQ experience, specifically on TLPs). There are aspects of having a TLP experience that I find extremely appealing, despite the massive turnoffs of the monetization of the game

I found a 19 page P99 thread last night where people were aggressively arguing about whether GINA is cheating. Pretty much solidified my conception that P99’ers are smooth brained. I feel like every time another one of them makes the jump over to DPG servers, the game as a whole is taking another L.

I assure you I do not share their sentiments on third-party programs (though I personally prefer not to use them unless absolutely necessary). I have a pretty liberal definition of "cheating" in games, that always boils down to context.

Well, the 40 slot bag saves you a lot of time, but neither that or not buying a single thing in the store will hinder your ability to keep up at all.

XP potions, Clarity Potions, Haste Potions - they all make your time more efficient, but are simply convenience items to be frank. Clarity potions are still less mana per tick than Clarity/Similar itself, at most level ranges.

The XP grind in EQ is still a grind. Sure, those running XP potions will get more XP per hour than those not using them, but the overall impact is pretty minimal. Most people aren't using XP potions constantly.

Although.. I do really love the Clarity potions and usually have one going if I'm not playing a class with a lot of mana regen. In many cases, like if you are playing a druid or mage, they will just help a bit in keeping up with the Necros and Enchanters, for example.

I will be on Yelinak myself, but my goal is to just have fun and play 'chill'. So if I don't personally level super fast, I won't care.

But yes, there will be a segment that 6 boxes. Others that will pay for powerleveling - and they will level super fast. But there will still be tons of groups at all ranges, and if you are intent on raiding, join a good guild soon and you'll level right along with them NP. No mix of purchased potions will boost solo XP to what group XP has been boosted to. You will notice that solo XP seems abysmal compared to group XP. It's not that solo was nerfed - but group XP has a serious boost now. That's why the level 50 is attainable in a couple days. In a group! Solo.. 50 in two days would be quite a feat, IMO.

I did P99 before EQ did TLPs myself. It's not that I don't appreciate what they do, but I decided I wanted to play on TLP since the choices to support/kill the game and every other choice to be made was by a business and group of people, rather than the whims of one or just a couple of people. I did think the upper end was a bit toxic, but that's not much different than old EQ was anyway. I think there's less of that now in Live and on TLPs due to instancing, dynamic zones and such. Not knocking P99, they are what brought this whole concept of progression servers to life, really. But in my case, I do like the 'quality of life' enhancements in the current official game. Not that I don't like the challenge EQ offers - but it helps when time is limited.

Dragonsong was well worth the wait. I don't' think I've had that much fun in a raid. Well I could argue TEA is great too but I'll always be a coils boy.

But yeah EQ just go for it. I don't have the patience to spend hours on end, I have a life now. EQ was what I did in college/uni because well I literally didn't have time for a job as grants/scholarships as any graduate student would understand and now I like to consume content at a more reasonable pace.

I loved being a hardcore raider and doing progression but once I took a step back and saw that really a 12 month cycle that realistically I consumed so much content at such an unreasonable pace that I basically had nothing to do for half the year. Now I try to stretch it better. I play more often but small windows.

The fight looks great, the class design and most of the non-raid stuff the game has to offer just hasn't meshed with me for awhile now. I actually raided a bit with the Astrologian who got world first Dragonsong Ultimate back when he was a Dragoon/Monk on the Zalera server

I thought the direction of class design was a bit sketchy to me. But I real class design doesn't equal game difficulty but it does affect accessibility and there is still room for stand out players but with the core game design even back in heavensward, that wasn't a very positive experience, I was a archer/bard main for a long time and I think in Shadowbringers I rerolled to Warrior.
I really like low APM classes I wanna enjoy the game not having to think about server pings and calculate a Bayesian model to see which of 9 openers I need this morning to as a Dark Knight. I still want a learning curve and some challenge but I don't want to wipe on prog because someone rerolled and didn't spend 60 hours on a practice dummy mastering their new rotation. That's not fun for me or them.

I'm pretty much 100% with you here with the exception that I have real life obligations I can't ignore while poo socking, but your feelings on the micro transactions are super valid, even if some other jaded forum posters always seem to say they aren't and tell us to go back to P99.

That said, P99 and TLPs are *completely* different experiences. Yes, there is a P2W element, but so much *else* is changed too that it doesn't impact your gameplay that much. IF you feel obliged to use said P2W features, yeah, expect to be spending some money. It is possible with a little bit of foresight to buy most of these kinds of things via plat in game. You can pay people plat to get in on their shared group exp pots, and things like that. Conversely *you* could charge people plat to share those exp pots.

Between the fact that corpse runs just... don't exist anymore, the EXP rate is much faster, and gear is extremely easy to get due to instancing, you're gonna hit max level and be geared up super fast. So the period of time where you would be needing to buy these items to play your preferred playstyle should be relatively short lived.

My words of advice are just don't go into this thinking it's going to feel like EQ did or P99 on easy mode. It fundamentally plays different than either of those, but it's still a great time if you can get over some of the more obvious changes (RIP old Freeport T_T )

Why would P99ers even need GINA? The game is so mindless in those eras there's basically nothing to keep track of lol.