Convince me to play TLP

past the first paragraph and in the several other posts in the thread would have worked. I didn't come here to "crap" on anything, I simply am turned off by microtransactions in general (irrespective of EQ version), and wanted to know the extent to which they affect these servers. I have been interested in trying TLP for quite some time and I harbor no ill biases toward either server... I simply don't like supporting MTX-based services is all.

Most roll Barb... but if I went rog... GNOME all the way!!

I have played on 3 TLPs and have not spent a dime on boosts, potions or bags, really anything on the shop at all. Further, since you need an All Access account to play on a TLP, Daybreak gives you 500 DBC per month for free which you can use for that sort of stuff if you want, even if you don't give them a dime. In any case, I have never felt left behind and no one has expressed any prejudice if I wasn't using things like XP potions. In fact, I think only about 1 in 20 groups I was in had anyone using a potion.

The only thing where you see much of a difference between Old School EQ and now is that you can buy Krono for cash and sell it for plat or trade it for items. This means that a person who is willing to spend real money might be a bit better geared, pre-raid at least, than those that didn't. However, since there isn't an "Gear Score" types of ranking, no one really cares what your wearing. Also if those who spend money on Krono, aren't going to be able to gear themselves better that a dedicated raider because the best gear in this game is No Drop and thus can't be sold.

So yeah they have a cash shop but it really doesn't give anyone any sort of real advantage and no on really cares if you have bought anything or not.....well I take that back, everyone will love you if your constantly poping "Bottles of Shared XP" but that isn't a requirement in the least.

I think perhaps I am just more against people wading in here without even having had an honest "try before you buy" experience of their own before making a bunch of assumptions about how stuff works & asking if those assumptions are incorrect.

Jumping into the game for yourself to see how the ecosystem of MTX works here & seeing for yourself how the game design is all but divorced from the MTX aspects would have answered almost all your questions in very little time at all.

That'd be great if I could try the TLPs before I bought them but sadly I cannot

Regardless I have decided to give it a whirl and I hope I enjoy myself enough to stick it out for as many expansions as there are people to play with!

I used to play p99 too. I found the QOL improvements of modern TLP was worth price of admission. You lose a little of the immersion due to certain things, but when you see how cool the world looks (lavastorm mountains will knock your socks off) it will be like playing a new game which still has most of what you liked about EQ.

No, you didn't, and no, it didn't have anything to do with creating TLPs.

Combine opened in June 2006. Rogean didn't start working on p99 until 2008 and it didn't release until 2009.

I don't know if other MMOs did TLP type nostalgia servers before EQ, but EQ has been doing it for 16 years.

No.