A Message From the Team about Phinigel XP

The time is NOW!

Yes please. DBG the server is going to tank in population as time goes on with the double exp rate off. Please adjust exp up to where RF/LJ are. It makes no sense to have a server with these faster automatic unlock times but also the slowest exp rate of any server. The dragons have all been downed already! Your reason for slowing the exp no longer applies. Please fix this situation before more people get fed up and quit! I'm already having a hard time forcing myself to play. Its just so unproductive!

Unless their reason was to disallow anyone except high playtime from any meaningful raiding in era.

Before the ddos attacks guk was at about 1/2 of what it was during double exp. seems that DBG policy is to get people to sub for a month and buy pots, not to actually stick around.

I'm still enjoying/preferring the reasonable (current) XP rates. I got up through 38-40 pretty reasonably by last weekend. I even missed out on considerable amounts of the double XP days due to holiday and work related events. I'd be 50 by now if I was able to dedicate the time I want to. But unlike the XP Cry Team:

1. I am okay with missing out on double XP weekends
2. I am okay with taking my time

XP Cry Team wants instant gratification. I mean, the wife and I even took Sunday off entirely from EQ, despite it being a double xp day and despite that we didn't get much double XP time the past two weekends. We did nothing EQ related and did other stuff together in life, because we wanted a break. It's a novel concept to try and enjoy a game to the XP Cry Team.

My wife has also never played EQ at all, not even for a minute, prior to my suggestion to her that we play it when Phinigel released (I go back to original EQ release, stopping around 2005). She is used to quick XP funnels like WoW, and actually has stated multiple times how much she is enjoying the change of pace with EQ and the increased social aspect from everything being slowed down vs. the frantic "must get max level in the next 2 hours" from WoW/etc. I think this has become her favorite MMO now in large part of the ancillary benefits of the current XP rate. This goes in the face of the XP Cry Team's supposed "only old school masochistic players enjoy this XP rate!" when a "brand new to EQ" player is actually loving and preferring the level rate of EQ on Phinny vs. any other MMORPG she has played.

Would I like to be 50 right now? Yes and no. My guild has been clearing dragons/planes/phinny, and I'm anxious to play around in there. But, we'll be there soon, and I'm enjoying the ride as is my wife. Heck, yesterday we putzed around most of the day camping Lord Gimblox (CLR Epic) for a change of pace.

The XP Cry Team just truly is unreasonable from virtually every facet, and comes off even more Min/Max than the supposed "hardcore" crowd they claim is being catered to. The reasonable (current) XP rate is good for the server/community, and here's to continued hope that it remains the same. I post this so any DBG folks reading this thread understand that for every raged out XP Cry Team post, there's many of us who don't spew as much vitriol on the forums that are simply playing in game and having a blast. Keep it going, DBG.

You have a casual "get there whenever" mindset, which is not what 84 day unlocks line up with. Why not just play a Live server and experience all the content if your wife is new to the game? Oh that's right, that won't work either because there's nobody in the low level zones, but that's what Phinny will also be by the time Luclin hits when the XP barrier is too great for anyone to viably catch up.

I feel like your reading comprehension needs some brushing up. My wife and I will be raiding "in era" in classic and in future expansions. We do not have a "get there whenever" mindset. We're playing to raid. But we're also not having to "sock" it like the XP Cry Team wants you to think you have to. We're playing reasonably and will have weeks of raid time in classic, more so in kunark, and onward.

I also feel like you don't even comprehend your own posts. Your argument against a point nobody has tried to make is that once Luclin hits, starting a new character will be prohibitive? Faster XP rates would make that happen sooner and be even worse of an issue. You XP Cry Team folks, you're a crazy bunch *scruffles your hair* but we love hearing you whine anyway.

Your playing reasonably, what lvl are you at and whats the /played time invested so far? Just curious. Whats the drop time on kunark?

We're both L42 and have had several days since release where we played nothing at all, idled in town working on swimming, or camped a mob for the wife's CLR epic (Lord Gimblox). I think we only got about 3-4 hours of XP time last weekend (which was double XP). I don't have the /played right now but I'll post back this evening with it. Kunark arrives March 2nd (See Roshen's post: https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...nch-date-q-for-faq.229387/page-2#post-3376071 ) So we've got basically 2 solid months (Jan + Feb) to hit 50 and raid. Plenty of time. Gobs of time.

I agree with this assessment. I've not played every day and am already lvl 45...which is reasonable for me as a grouping class. I also spent much of one of the double exp days playing...but doing quests because I wanted a break from the group grind. I'd have a few more lvls if I hadn't done that.

Part of the issue is that the first few lvls are exhaustive. I honestly feel like it was more effort for me to go from 1-10 then to go from 25-40. Not exactly sure why it feels that way, but the first few levels were a big drag for me. I'm not sure why they do it this way. It makes much more sense to make the first 10 levels fly by so that people can focus on getting immersed in the game...meeting people, getting to a lvl where you can actually have meaningful groups, getting some abilities to give you some actual game play choices (this is especially true for melee). That's just my thought.

The issue that is coming down the pipeline will be what happens after luclin release. With the introduction of AA it will become very difficult for a new player to catch up if they are truly starting from scratch. The lower lvl zones will be increasing vacant, players will be working AA (not lvl'ing alts), etc.

The team will need to re-evaluate the leveling curve at some point...but for now, I feel it is fine.

Pick an enchanter, necro, druid, cleric, mage
Average roughly 5 hours a day at current exp level
Get 1 Krono, sell it
Abuse a quest like redwine, get your guy to 14 in 45 minutes for about 400p ish
Abuse a different quest to 10+ if need be

Should take you roughly 25 - 30 days to make it level 50 if you waste very little time finding groups, or messing about.

It's not exactly casual since it's roughly 28 hours a week for 7 days,

This doesn't take into consideration that camps will be occupied (the good ones), using potions or double experience or having a group ready to go right when you log in.

Even abusing the quest(s) to make an alt the experience = too slow to enjoy having an alt play with friends. Good luck.

9 Days left on the krono timer and I'm just finishing it out by stacking up on kronos for when the exp becomes enjoyable in a 16 year old nostalgia game.

I will be getting level 50 in the next few days, and I have not rushed at all, but I agree that the exp rate should be raised, at least for the early levels.

The problem that I keep running into is that I want to start an alt, but just getting to level 3 is extremely painful. I'd rather grind from 45-46 again than do 1-10.

I am already noticing less lower level players on the server, and having more lower level alts and new players will be vital to this server's longevity.

I believe that daybreak will eventually raise the exp rate; I just hope it doesn't happen too late.

Wow, oldkracow. Here I am feeling like a sucker for just grouping up and having fun chatting with people, making friends, and ending up L42 without running a single XP quest or purchasing a single Krono. Shucks on me. Some of you seem to go out of your way to make this game a chore.

Grinding is a chore, it doesn't serve a purpose especially in a game this old where every facet of it is known.

Alts and new people joining = life blood of a server.
I couldn't get friends to commit to this experience rate after bypassing the 1st 10 levels with my help.

Imagine in a few expansions down the road someone trying to roll on the server or making an alt..... should be a riot to see that.

Alright, I've been wanting to pose this question to everyone who keeps saying "but think of the (future) children" is at risk because of the current xp rate. I ask this with genuine curiosity, because I am willing to acknowledge I may not have thought through all the cases.

Fast forward 12 months. Let's say I start up fresh on the server as a warrior. I see the situations like this:

[ Current XP Rate ]
I login, there's few people my level. Grouping is tough. I can't solo beyond the early levels rendering "xp rate" meaningless. I depend upon developing friendships with the few people around my level in-game, or posting on forums/etc. to pre-make leveling groups.

[ Higher XP Rate ]
.... the same exact situation. In fact, the only change is that I could potentially see there being LESS people in the leveling ranges because those lucky enough to be powerleveled by the friend/guildmate that enticed them will rocket out of my leveling range even faster.

If your argument is "if I play a soloing class I can level fast on my own", then you've derailed the point of the game and decided that those interested in group oriented classes don't matter 12 months down the road. You could argue that the increased xp rate would encourage soloable classes to solo vs. group, contributing even worse towards new player experience.

If your argument is "but they'll be powerleveled/have friends" then you've essentially decided that late adopters should get max level faster simply because "reasons".

Tried my best to not type this in a facetious way, as I am genuinely interested to hear why some folks feel that higher xp rate somehow affects long-term new player adoption in a positive way. I can only dream up plausible ways it hurts it (as outlined aboev).

Your logic isn't flawed, but it is premised on the idea that removing barriers (like harsh low lvl exp) don't encourage players to stay on the server. This isn't true imo.

Removing some of the barriers that emerge to new players staying on the server is essential, at some point in the future, to helping the server stay healthy. Harsh exp rates in totally empty zones is one of these barriers.

As the server ages people will leave and people will join. It is beneficial to the entire server for the population to remain healthy (i.e. population must remain stable or grow).

The problem is that as the server ages barriers preventing easy entry of new players present themselves. This results in the over-all decrease in server population and eventually causes the death of the server. So, if you don't want the server to die out due to low population (any Vulak players here?), it becomes important to allow easier entry to the game for newer players because they will have barriers that make it more likely for them to leave the server.

Its nothing needed immediately or even soon (as in the next couple expansions). The devs have a variety of tools that they have used in the past to remove these barriers to attract new players and let them catch up. The most dramatic tool (and certainly not needed atm on Phinny) is the Heroic character system on live.

Some suggestions:

Make Levels 1-5 go faster. No grouping before then and it doesnt take much to learn how to spam A. the one nuke you have. B. send in a pet or C. hit 'a' for auto-attack. Repeat 1000 times until you are level 4-5. There is no "learning" your class at these levels and for the most part it is 100% solo grind.

Over some preset timeline ( ie. 1-2 months into a xpac ) increase experience for new players and alternates to "catch up". It doesnt have to be much. What? 1-10 100% xp gain. 10-20 75%. 20-30 50%. Mix or match any formula. Shift as needed or when more levels or AA's come out.

Do nothing. Catching up wont be to hard until later on ( See intro of AA's ). You have what 8 more months to get to 60? before Luclin? Not impossible. I would actually vote for this one but I want players to stay on the server and I want new players to join now and later on. So part of me is for faster xp in earlier levels for new and returning players to play catch up.

The idea is that if the exp rate was quicker, the following would happen:

1) More people would be leveling up alts. Right now just the thought of doing 1-10 again at the current exp rate is dreadful.

2) New people would want to try the server as they would feel like they could catch up to the current content in a reasonable amount of time.

People will be more willing to get someone up to speed on levels/AA if it's a short period of time. If people have to endure that practical full-era cap XP rate, they're not going to be as willing to lose that much time themselves. "You can raid with us in 5 or 6 months, another 2 expansions later" just isn't going to work and people aren't going to bother. It's freaking common sense.

And I bet you're playing considerably more than 15, maybe 20 hours a week right now. Which is what people have been saying. After my holiday break, the most time I will have is 3 hours a night, 5 nights a week. I can't play weekends. So basically DBG is saying those 15 hours a week is too little time to even raid in era more than 1 or 2 weeks tops per era. God I keep repeating myself everytime someone else doesn't go back and read all the common sense math posts. I'm done.

Yes. You are starting to understand. Both myself, DBG, and others are continually telling you this answer. Not everyone gets to raid "in era". Some people will be left out. Zero weekends and 3 hours a weekday is likely enough to do some "in era" raiding, but might not. It's borderline. It is acceptable that not everyone is able to raid "in era".

Mind you, you will still be able to raid, and the Kunark -> Luclin span will give you some catch-up time and you'll likely raid "in era" better there. But, that's the disagreement here. You feel it's your inherent right to raid "in era" on your convenient schedule. DBG (and some of us) do not. I simply wave /bye when folks unleash the tears over this. I understand you, and those like you, will stamp your feet and quit, and I am at peace with that.

I doubt you're done, though. I would be sad if so. You are a significant source of my entertainment on these forums this past week.