Can Mercs be moved to an earlier expansion?

Alright, I get it that taking truebox off a server once it hits Omens (or thereabouts) might be a tough sell. But what about releasing mercs earlier than Seeds of Destruction, which is level 85?

There are a variety of reasons this is good, namely the unanimous opinion is that player dropoff is precipitous after Planes of Power, and it only worsens over time. To put it into perspective, however, that's level 65. So for a long time, and many expansions, the group scene is hampered by declining numbers and Truebox effectively ensuring players stick to whatever number of toons they've been running already.

As Selo, the ultimate server to combat burnout, has shown me, even in a fast paced server the group game is important but it's terrible for casuals that don't box or don't have a clique of sorts. I've recently seen some friends just stop playing even though I think they would have continued, had they had another option than "buy a cheap laptop."

And really, what would be the downside to mercs coming in earlier? Is that worth retaining more casual players that don't box as much?

I always thought mercs should come with TSS. I don't know why, but that's where they seem to fit naturally in my head. mmm maybe thats reason enough to discount my suggestion. But ya, sooner wouldn't hurt.

Honestly you could put them in anytime after Gates of Discord and I am curious who would complain? Boxers will still box, but single players will go to another level. They might not quit. I could easily see the not-quitters-that-otherwise-would-have segment outweighing any negatives. The group game would be, in fact, stronger I think just because at any given time more unfilled groups will be started.

I think they should allow apprentice 1 mercs =)

The unfortunate issue here is Daybreak's stance that mercenaries are not allowed in raids. I wish they would reconsider. Until if/when they do, I don't think mercenaries will be pushed back even one expansion to SoF (where, coincidentally, the most recent open-world raid targets exist).

Selo is hurting right now at the 50-70 range, I don't think casual players (those that exist) will survive the 50-80 range before SOD drops. That's also the range that 'twink gear' will fall off. Need Mercs now.

The focus I would like to maintain is not at all to modify how mercs function, but merely to unlock them earlier to help TLP's curtail the waning population that inevitably hits every... single.... time. Populations will, of course, continue to fall, but with mercs out earlier (say, Omens of War) at least casuals/1 boxers have a fighting chance of being able to hang around and actually play for an hour or two in some meaningful capacity.

Mercs allow a true "true boxer" to solo far better, and allow 2 friends to do a lot more. I'm open to it, but I haven't seen any drawbacks at all. To be sure, this is not a Selo problem, it is an EQ problem and especially a TLP problem. It seems like a quick, easy fix to help all TLP's retain players that otherwise quit for good.

How early is early? TSS seems reasonable to me. Earlier than that, the mercs are way too powerful.

Classic.

Mercs in classic on a brand new TLP would be the greatest disaster ever unleashed in Everquest. And that's saying quite a lot.

If P99 can root NToV dragons and have mercs then why can't TLP's get them a little sooner?

There are so many reasons people quit after POP the list is just too long.

Maybe mercs would help but most likely people just get tired of not making progress however they define it.

I believe the term is "molo"

There's a couple of issues with this.

1. All the merc quests to unlock the various tiers are based in the SOD expac.
2. Mercs are insanely overpowered at lower levels.... even the J1 mercs, which would trivialise all content.

1) Yup, and they should stay that way. The J1 is plenty strong enough until then.
2) Again, agree to a point. That's why TSS feels like the right place to drop them. By then they're not OP and the population has started to thin notably.

Then again, since I refuse to box, mercs are a godsend to me. Without them, I have to pick my targets much more carefully when I'm forced to solo. I wouldn't mind if they put the A1-A5 in with LDON.

Honestly the 50-70 range on Selo isn't nearly as bad as the 1-50 range. Depending on the class you chose it is damn near impossible to level because you are forced to solo most of those initial 50 levels. I am leveling a shaman right now and currently level 42 and I don't think there has been one time I have been part of a full group. Mostly it is solo or perhaps duo if I am lucky. Last night I got really lucky and had a boxer PL'ing his BL with a high level druid and he let me tag along for the ride so with the currently XP bonus, I managed to get quite a boost in my progression but even that is rare. As for my SK that is currently at level 24, I am pretty much stuck because while I can solo, it is a dead slow process. If I was trying to play a class like the Warrior, with no ability to solo, you might as well forget progressing.

At 50 though, it isn't too outrageous to find full groups in places like Grieg's End. I have two level 66 and 1 level 58 and can say, the grouping game is vastly improved at these levels though improved doesn't mean that grouping is common, rather it is just more common than at the lower levels. I will admit that for my two character at level 66, I find the ability to find groups has become more difficult. I think that is because I am now having to compete with the multitude of max level 70 players that are also LFG and with the majority of the server being level 70, there rarely is a need to choose anyone less than 70 for your group.

As to the topic of adding mercs. Honestly, I have to say I would honestly like to see them added. I mean I would 100% prefer to group with 5 other live people, but since everyone is already boxing and very few people seem to want to group, I think I would be having a much more enjoyable experience with a merc to assist me with catching up to the rest of the server.

I don't think it is a good idea to globally unlock mercs at an earlier expansion than SoD, perhaps a "special rules" TLP as a one off to test the waters might work though, there are a whole bunch of issues around mercs & I think the very earliest would be TSS (level 75) as prior to 75 the mercs are so strong that they allow for relatively easy soloing even without J2/3/4/5 mercs being available, that ease was intended as by then on live servers there were so few players of lower level around that getting a group was damn near impossible.

I think the major problem on TLP is the very long time spent at Level 70, Prophecy of Ro is an expansion which has aged particularly badly, felt rushed at launch to begin with & it's Deathknell end raid zone had some particularly poorly realised raids, I would go so far as highly recommending it not have it's own time span & just be unlocked with Depths of Dark Hollow.

Playing devil's advocate....

If a large portion of those people who play TLP actually leave one for another then adding mercs in earlier with the intent to keep people from dropping out may actually be bad for business. Biggest cash influx is probably early on with bags, pots, then mounts, etc... If more people stay on any existing TLP and don't move to the new one in hopes that it will be easier to make groups, etc. then the new ones don't explode like they normally do.

But what you describe is pretty much how it is on most TLPs currently. I tend to play on Selo every night and most of the entire day on the weekends. I think it was last Saturday when I logged in at 10 am and sat spamming the general chat with every character I own for like 5 hours straight before I got my first group and I covered pretty much all level ranges as well. Two toons at level 66, one at 58 and two in their mid 20s and despite covering damn near every level range and every role from CC to DPS to Healz, nothing nada for 5 hours.

So if I want to progress I either solo or sometimes go days at a time waiting for the rare opportunity to group. I would call that damn near impossible to get a group.

Maybe you should not spam general, but actually grab a few people together and start doing stuff. you really dont need a full group to kill mobs either. As a beastlord i have been tank, puller, dps, healer and even in a kite group or 2 without any healer or tank. Get something going and see where it takes you. hell, i think more then half the server doesn't even join general chat.