They were probably naive, but maybe they didn't expect so many of players to turn "Ask Me Anything" into "Ask Me For Anything." Though the later falls under the former, it's only a part. As for me, I found some of the questions and answers entertaining and other answers informative. Reading through the thread was better than I was expecting when the AMA was proposed.
I am only half through the answers and do appreciate them. Even an unsatisfying answer is better than none. It gives the players an honest overview about the current standing, limits, and possibilites. $4-5k per month is very low for a new dev in high priced San Diego, where condos do start at $1,200/month, and does partially explain why Daybreak does struggle to get more devs. Uncle Scrooge (Dagobert) saves the company to death. Condo prices 1 Condo prices 2 Condo price 3 (very close to the Daybreak studios at Carmel Mtn Ranch) - 320 sq ft (30m²), 1 room, $1,500 $1,400
Some pretty toxic responses here, no wonder they don't like to do these often. I can summarize for you what most of what they are saying in a non toxic way however "We don't have the income or labor to do most of what we would like to do and have to prioritize things in a way you may not agree with, but are still the best use of our time. However we are still watching the forum for worthy feedback. No we won't be breaking game mechanics that have worked effectively for 25 years because that isn't productive"
To be fair. Mob grinding has been the core mechanic of how you level up for far longer than questing and they changed that, and that isn't a small change.
How high did LDoN missions take you? How high did DoN missions take you? Gribbles??? The fact that some players plotted a strategy to advance solely on grinding doesn't mean that was the holy path to EQ satisfaction
You mean like 99.9% of all players basically pre-ToV? Next time I am on a TLP I need to tell my chardok group to go grab quests instead of that pesky bank camp! And lets not forget that when you compare Red Wine in classic EQ to red wine in modern EQ it is functionally very different. While yes you could in theory hand in 4000 red wine to a mob, in theory, in practice its very different when you do it single one at a time vs 1000 per stack. And naw I don't think they should have been nerfed. Level capped at 20? Sure whatever. But removed XP naw. Missions vs grinding is very different. LDoN is grinding within a mission. Same with a lot of DoN. The major point is the xp is entirely repeatable. Not in one bunch at the end and that's all. If for instance you could do one LDON for 100% into level xp and after that it rewarded nothing but 0.050% XP per kill the experience of doing LDoN's would be a very different experience.
TLDR: Tangential fawning over early EQ simplicity. In my opinion those are really good quest designs, because the players were naturally engaging with those mobs and leveling through the zones. Getting the belts or bone chips was an added bonus, and felt seamless with a roleplaying game. I wish they'd move mercenary quests to the achievement window, and make milestone rewards for 10, 50, 100, etc. The quest design that gets copied from WoW feels burdensome and doesn't let a player explore.
