Constructive feedback on Mangler and Selo

Increase the rate of xp gained on mangler and problem solved. Traditional people will love mangler and hardcore raiders can tryout Selos.

This is hopefully at LEAST what they change on Mangler.

When the "casual server" was announced I discussed it with a few people who either used to play EQ bit not for a long while or who never played but were interested. Everyone jumped to the conclusion that "casual" would mean "faster and easier than the current Live game". Personally, I was hoping for XP around double Live (like Test used to be and may still be for all I know). I also thought there might be some significant relaxing of things like respawn times, maybe generally faster movement speed, a range of things that would make the entire experience, well, faster and easier.

I didn't really consider the unlock times for expansions but if I had I think I would have imagined that "casual" would mean faster than a regular progression server. Each expansion releases gear and systems that tend to make earlier content easier, so by that logic the faster the expansions unlock, the more casual the earlier content becomes. It seems that my and my acquaintances conception of "casual" play is somewhat adrift from the way the concept is understood both by the current developers and many of the active players. It seems to mean "very slow and meandering" to some, which I guess is one way to interpret "casual".

I've played on several progression servers over the years and I've played on and off on Live since 1999. My whole playstyle is casual in as much as after 20 years my highest character is only in the low 90s. I was hoping that with a "casual" progression server I might finally get further than that but judging by the rulesets under discussion it seems clear that the nearest I'm going to get to what I would think of as "casual" gameplay would be if I just stuck with playing on Live. That feels like an opportunity missed.

I think the best suggestion I've seen so far would be to have the "casual" server open for F2P at a lower xp rate and have enhanced xp as part of the All Access package. The enhanced xp should at the very least be equal to Live. For my tastes it would be faster. Add an option to switch that enhancement off in case paying players don't want it and everyone should be happy. That would make for a nice new start server with a chance of gaining a good population and would give a good motivation for F2P players who got into it to upgrade to a paid account.

Selo's can be left alone if Mangled gets changed, if not it needs 2 month unlocks.

Mangled needs to be:

1) Renamed because its awful
2) Experience increased to Agnarr/Selo's rates with penalties removed
3) FV (free-trade) rules

Boom, everyone's happy on both servers and they are unique enough to be differentiated and co-exist with existing TLP servers.

DBG don’t let the cries of a few forum warriors drown out the voices of the masses! We want PVP!

The only people who want PVP are like 8 guys who will play for like 3 days and then say "this sucks" and give up.

This is PVP in Everquest in a nutshell:

Mangler I want to play. I wish there was another hardcore element that makes EQ more difficult in a way other than xp. Like tuning back the power of players in relation to npc’s. EQ seems a little too easy these days . I believe this could help reduce box farming and soloing.

I like how Selo and mangler offer a choice more suitable to farmers so the hardcore players have their own server . I’m going to try to convince some friends and my brother to play Mangler. Hope to see some of you there!

pvp needs no loot loss when dying, no xp loss on death, and things like everyone can only bind in a city so people will find someone to grp with so they do not get camped by a group if they try to xp, also bad guards that death touch people like a minigun that are diety based so babies to the game are protected

The ultimate solution to making a server casual is to make every new character created start out at the exact level that is required to be able to group with the current max level players on the server. So if it starts in Luclin, everyone creates a character that becomes level 44. And as the cap increases so does this starting point. To get around lack of gear to start simply provide everyone with the testbuff gear upon creation and once you hit planes of power enable the tutorial so they can equip the baby defiant.

I'm a casual player. I like to think I'm the target audience for Selo. Here's my thinking, for what it's worth:

Faster experience is a BIG PLUS (and so is better access to rares). The Coirnav rate was unbearable and basically kept me off of the server (and out of the game). I feel like a faster rate, and consequentially the ability to feel meaningful progress even during slumps when it's hard to find a group would do a lot to assuage occasional burnout. In my experience, part of being a casual player is being unable to keep up with the first wave of leveling players. The last two TLPs I started on I ended up quitting because I spent a few days LFG with no success because the crowd had moved on. The only real way to fix that issue without boxing (which I despise doing) is a better experience modifier. Besides that, personally I love soloing in EQ, and I feel like the last few rounds of TLPs have been profoundly hostile to it.

The month unlock seems quick, but others have pointed out rightly that it's not like casual players were going to be doing bleeding edge content after two months, and the one month unlocks would have been the deal-breaker. That said, there's more to experiencing an expansion than keying up and doing the last raid. Especially starting in Luclin, having more weeks to get AA--even at an accelerated rate--wouldn't be the worst idea. I'd be happy with a 8-12 week turnover, but honestly the announced rate isn't a deal-breaker.

I feel like using FV-style loot and trade rules could go a long way toward making the server unique compared to other TLPs and implementing a frequently requested feature. The way I see it the only people who stand to lose are professional and semi-professional farmers who have perfected cornering the market on prior TLPs and would have a hard time controlling prices in an inflationary commodities environment--especially one in which the spawn and drop rules favor flooding the market with gear.

As for Mangler, I genuinely have no opinion because the advertised ruleset is so draconian that I'd never entertain it. I can think of nothing anyone could offer to persuade me to play on a server more grueling than Coirnav.

I just feel like they're missing the boat on what casuals or hardcores want. Slow experience is something almost no one wants. The other details need to be what separates the servers.

Wishful.thinking: give selo a 2 month unlock, normal lockout, and double raid loot (and give raid stuff a debuff that makes it take 50% more damage and do less damage.).true box Imo that is ultra casual letting people get stuff done with half the number of people in a raid.

Make mangler a real race for the hardcore. Same fast xp, start in classic 1 month lockout, allow boxing, and the nly a 24 hour lockout. Let them raid every night to get an edge.

That leaves no option for those who want 4-6 month unlocks, but I can't fathomwhy the want that long of an unlock on a fast xp sever. Don't you remember howeasy it was to get to 50 on RF?

Fv loot on both or neither.

Only if I can transfer from Selo to Mangler when they are both at the same expansions!

I like the 1 month unlocks, but I want to start in Luclin not Classic.

No reason to stay that long in any expansion. Attrition hits these servers hard even at 3 month unlocks.

People on live have found plenty to do in the newer expansions which are released with about a year before the next one.

And the people playing TLP's have found a reason not to stay on Live for those same long periods of time.

Yes they make a shed load of alts and go and play on TLP servers

Are you trying to say people quit live for TLPs because of the time between new expacs lol?

There's plenty to do in later xpacs to occupy yourself for 4-6 months.

No. I'm saying people playing TLP's have no interest in playing Live for any length of time.

Then why the rush to get to the latest xpacs....?