Longer unlock server thoughts

You don't have to increase at the same speed the server does.

All 25 of you "slow unlock" folks should go to the same live server & start a guild called "Old & Slow" then you can use the AoC to progress as slow as you like.

A TLP for Slow folks would be dead on arrival, the number of you folks who want that is tiny, like really super-tiny like this text is right now.

Come play on Agnarr. Locked to PoP/LDON. No pressure to level. 4 raiding guilds that raid PoTime 1-2 nights/week each. You can "max out" your character and then move on to another one. Extremely welcoming community.

I understand what your saying and why but the game has progressed beyond long lockouts for expansion releases on TLPs. People know what's come ng for the next 20 expansions so they know what to do and were the go and what to cut out. Even on fresh TLPs during classic half the zones are empty and the same handful of zones are packed with multiple picks. People don't waste their time on long quests for that tiny upgrade when they know it's going to be replaced in a month. They know what factions they need to have for later, they know what prefa drops the need for epic 1.0/2.0. The only people that do all that extra stuff that are the hardcore crowd that has the time to waste doing them. And it steadily gets worse. I remember OoW unlocking on Mischief and outside of people doing Epics no one was in DS, NC, Bloodfields, RCoD. Everyone went to the wall camp in WoS or Splitpaw then at 69 it was RS and people doing the 4 hour lockout on Anguish runs killing the minis for orbs.

There is no reason for a long lockout because a handful of people don't have play times. I barely have any playtime (2-3 hours a night during the week and a few hours on the weekend) and still managed to be max level max AA used max banked on 2 characters before the next expansions would unlocked.

The general issue is that there is a very small minority of you that say you want long unlocks and an even smaller amount that actual want it AND an even smaller amount that would play on the server long term.

If you dont like "having to keep up", then don't? No one is forcing you to participate in new expacs.

I mean I see what hes saying. You want the rush of everyone being at your level of play with little or no ability to push ahead of that. Choosing to play at a slower pace leaves you in the dust and the average player doesnt want to feel that way. However, its a lot like live. I started back in 2002 and I was very far behind everyone who had been playing the last 3 years or so. Didnt feel good but stuck it out all the same because I genuinely just enjoyed playing the video game. You can do this on TLPs like Agnar, and if were being honest, some of these TLPs are still sporting more people than OG everquest servers did back then, easily.

Right, he wants a pipedream. The problem is, a slower unlock server is really unpopular and you will have very little people to play with, especially as the expacs go on.

I do miss the 3 month unlock schedule. And while I agree that 6 months is a bit long per expac... I will play devils advocate and say that the one time 2 tlps were launched with differing unlock speeds, the slower one was the more popular of the two.

And theres no real evidence that 6 month or 5 or whatever would be wildly unpopular. It gets suggested very frequently and theres no server to base this claim.

I'd argue the "fix" to this would be to modernize the game a bit...

I personally would LOVE longer expansions, but I also know reality. People would get bored quickly and the server would lose players until the next expansion release, many not ever returning. The trick is just finding out what is too long and what is too short. I imagine DPG has that data in troves and probably uses it heavily regardless of what the vocal population thinks it wants.

I like the idea of slower unlocks but i think it defeats the purpose of a tlp when new ones are launched every year the majority of the players gotta be done with the old ones so they can buy bags and krono for the new one, Else the business plan fails… so doubt we ll see one.

What is the harm in having a slower TLP ? If that pace isn't for you, don't play on it ... But I see it as a place for this "low" population of players can be and enjoy the game that they have spent so much time enjoying throughout the years. There is no reason those who want fast releases have to be there. Go back to one of the TLP iterations that has fast unlock and play. Give us old ,slow, gamers a place to belong.

It's wasted time and server resources, I don't know what's complicated about this. I'm not confused about why EQ won't host a single person TLP for just me to play on.

I'd like to see them try another "casual" vs. "race" sever. However, I'd like to rules to be further apart than on the last attempt.

For the fast/reroll server:

• Some combination of relaxed truebox (3 works for me)
• Traditional loot (not random) with FV no drop rules
• Limited expansions/temporary server life (1 year works).

For the slow/casual-friendly server:

• Truebox
• Random loot with No Trade in place (I think this combo would promote traditional/balanced groups and some need-before-greed consideration)
• Slower release schedule than the 2022 TLPs.
• A "Krono-like" currency unique to the server. (If technically viable, not available until server launch)

I tried TLP last year, and biggest turnoff to me was that it was all a race and most guild were giving boxes (alts in my option) ridiculous DKP rights (I don't think that makes sense until populations start to drop). We have that nostalgic feel associate with TLP, but it is nothing of the support. They are mostly hard-core races and rules in most raiding guilds are tailored to that crowd. If you are a true "returning" or "new" player, the rate at which raiding guilds expect you to gear up is astounding. Even "causal" guilds have gear/aa/potion/etc. requirements that would have appeared beyond hard-core 20 years ago.

I understand why. It is a combination of player preference, niche game appeal, and developer economics. I just feel sorry for individuals that get really excited for a new TLP and are really disappointed a week later when they realize the rest of the world started with a stack of krono and is pushing their boxes forward while leaving the aspiring single character player in the dust.

While my proposals may not work, the intent is to have a more casual server where boxing is more annoying, and no trade rules do away with a herd of planar geared level 10 boxes/alts two weeks after lunch. Alternatively, the fast server is designed for re-rollers with in-game resources on hand. It would offer many of the perks they like and more freedom to box without silly daisy chains of minicomputers.

Yet every single TLP basically dies at /after POP. For everyone to start again with nothing and doit all again only to die at/after POP yet again.

I dunno a TLP that took years to get to/after POP is about the same. At least this way you woudln't have restart every single year.

and that is why it won't work btw- No way in heck they are going to sabotage their Season of the Krono every year. Good lord! Keep the Krono harvest healthy and strong!

Yelinak, Mischief/Thornblade, Aradune/Rizlona, Mangler, Coirnav, Ragefire, and the ghost of Phinigel all say hi.

Anyone know what it costs to maintain a server ?

No server dies after POP. People need to stop spouting off this nonsense so others don't read it and feel pressured to reroll. Maybe then the servers would be even healthier than they are.

Aradune has gotten a mini boon in population size during...wait for it...SOD! They still have 10-12 active raiding guilds. That's far from dead. Mischief certaintly isn't dead. Rizlona isn't either. All 3 are far beyond POP.

Nobody wants long unlocks. That server will be DOA because nobody will want to raid the same garbage raids 6 months straight. People would rather a bullet in the brain than raid Naggy, Vox, Naggy 2.0, Vox 2.0, Green Naggy, Undead Naggy, Black Naggy, etc

Nobody is forcing you to reroll every year. That's your bad decision and you only have yourself to blame. Have some self respect and accountability.

Currently playing on Aradune and I wouldn't mind some slightly longer unlocks....but only for the later content because the gear farm for the middle expansions is a bit much. Not to mention the content is so much more fun than a lot of the earlier standard tank and spank raids. Something like 4 months with a level increase would be nice starting around SoF.

Longer unlocks would kill a server fast. On Thornblade we blow thru the raid content in about a week and then we are farming. TSS had a lot to do and we'll be spending 2.5 months farming, and TBS has content but no levels and no AAs.