Longer unlock server thoughts

If the free servers started charging a monthly fee, I would expect their populations to plummet.

I wonder if it could be financially justified to have a FTP slow TLP? Perhaps have things like LFG and guilds only available to subscribers. For people who want a slower journey, having the server populated with lots of FTP players may make it have viable populations at the slower pace so that the AA members stick around.

Sure, but they're also only known by people in the know. The fact that they can eclipse TLPs in terms of actual players should be enough to set off some lightbulbs in the nonexistent DBG's marketing department.
After all, the real reason WoW classic exists is due to the popularity of non-Blizzard servers forcing their hand after blatant refusal to admit a large portion of the playerbase just doesn't like the design decisions they've made.

The slower pace unlocks have not done well. The population that wants them the most tend to flock to the certain emulated servers and have their own problems. People start raid logging and not logging in at all for the longer expansions unfortunately. PoP tends to be where servers start dying because it is so long, followed by LoY and LDoN for even longer with not a lot of new content. It’s also about the time when a new TLP gets released, and there is only so much of the TLP population that can be spread thin.

The people who fall behind tend to fall behind no matter the length of the unlocks. There just aren’t enough people in the game who want to go at that pace.

100% Agreed and Support this!

TLPs should be longer. All the rush guilds don't even get to enjoy their uber pixels in era for what they are. It's just 8 weeks of raiding and boomzilla, next meme. Out with the old pixels, in with the new.

There is a lot more to the game that people don't get to do. I like classic and kunark, can't stand velious one bit. Most people fizzle out past PoP anyway, at least my folks do. Not sure we will be doing another at this point anyway.

If you want longer unlocks just go play on Quarm. They are doing 9 month xpac unlocks. And if there is an economy-destroying plat dupe they'll respond and fix it within minutes.

we have had longer unlock servers and they were universally disliked.

The problem is there are not enough TLP players that want longer unlocks to sustain a server. Those people are on Agnarr right now and it seems to be the fix for them.

When given the choice (votes) unlocks were unlocked as fast as possible except 1 time (PoP). But overall the community voted pretty heavily to unlock faster and not slower.

That being said, I am not sure how people cannot keep up. I literally raid log outside of the first week of an expac (The first week I usually drop 20ish hours that week and get my AA's done, and whatever I don't do I just wait for EXP bonuses) and then I raid log the rest of the expansion, literally only playing 3-4 hours a week and never fall behind.

Keeping up isn't that hard, and just 6-8 hours a week should be more than enough to stay relevant.

Totally wrong story. Can you point out which server had longer unlock timers and what was its server rules?

TLPs before Phinny did not have AoCs and all the Raid Targers were monopolized by 1 or 2 guilds. KSing, DPS racing, Intentional Trainning/harassment happened all the time when a raid target spawns. Mage Bot Army ruled all the PP spots. This is why Previous TLPs failed. It was not about Timer.

Dude, Stop agitating with misinformation.

It certainly wouldn't be a popular idea, but I'd love to have a realistic option available (on any server) to be able to enjoy all of the pre-51st level content at appropriate levels. As fast as leveling experience comes, though, on any server, I'd end up completely overleveling just about everything and having to bottomfeed. At least, at 51st level here, expendable glyph AA become available, but prior to that there is just no realistic way to enjoy all of the lower level content at appropriate levels. Even sharing the experience between sixteen personas, I'd be likely to outlevel a pretty insane amount of content. So the only current option is to either skip over a ton of lower level content entirely or to have to come back to it and bottomfeed within it.

while 8 weeks is a little fast for my preference it is not off by much.

2 months of classic is a bit much...

2 months of Kunark is good.

2 months of Velious also good.

2 months of Luclin too fast...Luclin takes time and to get it all done and the guild geared appropriately takes more than 8 weeks. Luclin needs 12 weeks.

8 weeks of Planes of Power not near enough, Planes of Power should be 20 weeks,

Gates of Discord and Omens of War should launch together...

After Omens really does not matter for me the game loses it's attraction after Omens.


Agent of Change has made a huge difference but is 8 raids of each target really enough to equipped an entire raid force?

The last time there was a long unlock TLP, within 60 days of its launch:

They released Kunark early
Created truebox
Instanced all the raids
Made MOTM
And released Phinny with all the above and 3 month unlocks.

I agree with enjoy the content. I like to get to farm asap so I can do just that. On live the expansions last 12 months (you won't need 12 months).

Anyone interested in making a progression guild that is self-enforced with slow unlocks. Server don't matter if so i would gladly join because i totally support this as i have played on multiple tlp servers and was left behind multiple times in other guilds where I just could not get to 50 fast enough then i stopped playing because of it Last guild I was in they took down naggy vox in 3 days if that isn't rushing then what is.

The typical TLP generation today consumes content far too fast to move at a snails pace. Folks find other things to do and end up not coming back when the next expansion unlocks.

Saw this on Lockjaw in each Velious, Luclin and POP - and that was a server that allowed boxing to bridge the gap. I do not see a return to the only alternative to manage significant attrition for the months between expansions.

IF there was to be an alternative to “slower” game play, it would probably need an expansion lock at some future point in time that would keep players coming back between expansion unlocks. Given we already have Agnarr that offers the expansion lock at POP which is an infamous dropping off point for many - you’d need an expansion beyond that to be a locking point that wouldn’t harshly deter new entrants to the server trying to play catch up.

I don’t know the best point for that or the features required to sustain a second era lock - but some thoughts would include stopping at or around Epic 2.0 content, potentially enabling mercs once the final era is reached (to facilitate catch up), continuing down this “persona” path with features like EQ2 mentoring to benefit non-persona toon experience, and other things like that. Perhaps even auto granting AA up to a point.

There are a lot of ways to skin a cat for a “slower” play option with a fast forward button to join people at the end game.

What's your definition on "Contents Consumption"?

Back in the old days, defeating raid targets itself was a challenge and there were a few guilds actually farming them. But nowadays, deafeating is not an issue anymore. now it's all about farming.

So, i'd say "Contents are consumed when Farming BiS on all the slots is completed on a main. (*or prolly on one more alt)"

Yes, I do insist longer unlock. Only a few can do the farming completed within 8 weeks.

no bazaar = nobody can afford Kronos vs a server with a more...intermittent player base to begin with. Won't get past Underfoot expansion with more than 1 capable in era raidguild.


also, at no time does EQ run 2 different sets of code for servers. Merc unlock timers are expansion era related and baked into unlock timers already.

also - One major point of extended unlocks is actually seeing raid guilds gear up properly in in-era raid gear vs patchworks because the raids can only be run 7-9 times before next expansion, which is totally not enough to outfit an entire guild, this perma undergeared setup makes so many TLPs die around UF / HoT when things get real.

Interesting. I have been on two TLP servers that have gone past UF/HoT and neither guild I was in had any gearing problems whatsoever. Not having every single slot BiS does not equate to being undergeared. 95% of the time you can easily get away with having a mixture of current era gear and previous era gear. It sounds to me like you have played with people that just didn't have a solid gearing strategy.

No, I raided live to gear up properly. Personally I find the rush on TLPs a mix between undergeared, never a complete raid set, but not to worry, in a few eeeks new tier one outranks it anyway. They should eliminate lockouts on raid timers on TLPs really.

Not enough cycles to gear 54 people, but group gear is good enough to get into raids next tier so no worries.

Every TLP operates one way. Norrathian Deities forbid one TLP has a different rule set.

a no lockout timer TLP would be a hoot, especially with Mischief loot rules.

A story-

I raided in a guild on a TLP that killed the last raid of UF literally the night before HoT spawned. By end of HoT it and the only really viable raidguild merged and reformed.

I have since moved most of the characters off to play on live.

Population decline on TLPs is a real thing. Mischief is pretty bangin though and looks bright for long term player interest levels 85-125 and merging to live in some decent setups. The availability of otherwise notrade gear levels the playing field so more players can be viable raidwise in later expansions.

There are plenty of cycles to gear people properly if you are splitting on TLP. Two raids with 35 per split and gear rains from the sky. Also, what TLP were you on that was that dead by HoT? We just had 9 guilds complete VoA in era without an issue, and VoA is significantly harder than HoT. In HoT those 9 guilds were done with all content within the first few weeks.

I feel like you keep using the word "undergeared" a lot, and Id like to know what it means to you. Is someone who is not full T4 gear in every slot with every aug available to them considered undergeared? Because I can tell you that you do not need to be that fully stacked to be able to raid and complete content.

I think it should also be mentioned how easy it is to gear up with Raid currency added into the mix, especially considering you get double the raid currency from the start on TLP.

I am sorry you had a rough go at TLP, but that is not the typical experience of most people playing later into TLPs.

Not in era top tier raid geared in all slots. Full expansion set. Only on live.


Ever.

The guild was Damage on Ragefire.

I have played on pretty much every TLP rolled.

Attacking me, saying I must suck denies the simple math of short unlocks = limited trips to the well until live. Tha's all. Some people would like a go at having full sets and completionism at a more leisurely pace.

and some people, such as yourself, seem rampantly afraid of others wanting this. To the point of ad-hominem turns.

Why? Show me where the Filthy Casual touched you ;-)


Who are you? Holly Windstalker? Death to all noobs and casuals and all that?

In case you didn't notice, some of EQ's long time fanbase has

Aged a bit.

Some, who were young, irresponsible and carefree of time have a lot less of it these days. With inflation, even less time for some.

Be kind.

It won't hurt you.


https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...ourns-the-loss-of-a-legend-armourcarr.294115/