For the new players and old, we need some changes.

From what I have been reading the majority of players on the forum are expecting levels that go past the cap of 100. I have attempted to spark the debate of a lateral movement, but many players really prefer the vertical system. This does not bother me, but my concern falls towards our new players and old.

The other day I ran through Crescent Reach on my Magician and saw (35) players in the starter zone. I ran down to the killing area and there was new players and veterans alike starting the journey of creating a new character.

The defiant system coupled with mercenaries provides new characters with a necessary advantage. At first I disliked the idea of defiant as it outdid the regular content acquirable in the majority of zones regardless of where you leveled. But this game is about raiding and our lovely community. Everything before raiding is just an adventure.

So my question to you as a community: What can we do to give new players and old a fantastic and nostalgic leveling experience as they work to grind and become raid-ready?

The current "Hot Zone" system in place has become dull. The developers have not rotated these zones as promised. Is it because they are busy? Most likely.

There are players who simply say: Get rid of the Hot Zones! But that would not be the proper thing to do and would most likely be a further headache for the developers.

My suggestion to the developers for the most gain with the least pain: Make every zone level 1-65 a hot zone. This allows players to really have an adventure. They will not be forced to go to "x zone" because it is the only one for their level that provides an experience boost.

People in this game want to progress quickly, but also have fun and fight various different content. You already took away druid and wizard ports, the old bazaar, and multiple other things that I loved about the game. Please do not force me to get less experience because I want to go spend time in zones that a team of developers, at one point their lives, spent a very long time to create and build.....

Players do not experience a huge grind until about level 70. That is when they really need to start grouping. Until then though, everything should be a pure choice of adventure. If I want to go to this zone one day, and another the next, don't penalize my experience!

And remember before you comment on this post. The end-game of this game is raiding. This should not really bug any players. We want them to get there as quickly as possible. Now as for what you do with zones from level 65 and up: They should just give a standard experience bonus. After level 80 there aren't really that many zones you can venture by yourself.

/Sign if you agree, and of course you can always disagree.

The idea behind hot zones is actually to encourage grouping. Rather than have everyone scattered across the world, players your level are likely in the hot zone.

It's true that raiding is the end of this game, relatively few players ever get to that point. Even raiders admit that raiding is often boring, and they prefer the group game.

So you just negated what you said. You said people think raiding is boring and that players prefer to group. I don't understand then the point of being forced into "x amount of zones" to eventually get to something quicker that you find boring.

If you don't like the idea of all zones, how about 2-3 hot zones per expansion? That way players can look at 2-3 zones, know what they are, change it up and still find groups. The idea of increased group play is great, but to be forced into one or two zones for your level bracket is just unnecessary.

It's kinda like this: Most experienced people would rather level fast at least the point of getting AAs, but even then, fast for a while. Grouping is great, but most people don't take the risk of grouping with unknowns (non-friends / non-guildies), especially as you get higher level, but pretty much across the board. Lots of examples of people getting banned for someone in their group using exploits, hacks, etc., but the innocent players not being fully aware (usually they have a suspicion). Hotzones were developed to help facilitate and improve grouping at lower levels. However that system was implemented some 6-7 years ago, and the game has changed since then. As I just mentioned about the current situation of grouping paranoia. Also, soloing / moloing is often better than grouping, unless all of the group members are high quality (compare or exceed merc standards) or one is much higher level power leveling the group.

Raiding is boring, like everything else in the long, repetitive run. Grouping is more solo than raiding also, which is what the game is really about for many players.

Now each person is different, and likes different things, but I just covered the generalities. This explains how Hotzones (which came out when pick up groups were just starting to significantly die off) came about for their purpose, where at the time, there were still alot of pick up groups compared to now, and the paranoia hadn't set in as much. Also, experience was much better in a group back then.

I don't see any easy / fast fixes to the current situation. I don't want Hotzones to go away, but I'm not against it either. They don't really promote grouping any more, and xp bonus from hotzones is misleading when the zone is terrible xp to start with. However, I still like the idea, since it keeps people from over crowding, mass slaughtering via Power Leveling the few really good innately xp zones.

You can come up with simple idea solutions, but others will come up with reasons they wouldn't be good ideas.

Personally, I just accept things as they are, hope for good decisions on improvements, state my opinion when asked, and applaud improvements that actually improve something.

Skimming what I just wrote, it all seems like jibber-jabber and that's probably 'cause I'm way past my requisite 16hrs of sleep, and getting close to 24hrs awake.

Yther Ore.

I'm never forced into any zone. I might choose to go to some zone for a quest I want to complete. But I don't feel forced to chase the fastest experience. Now, if they stopped giving any experience in zones other than the hot zones, I would feel differently.

But I'm content most of the time to just go group in zones which are not hot zones.

Raiding is boring and turns into a job that you never get paid for
your forced to raid with some people that in must part wouldnt give the time of day to in RL and vice versa. I wish there was more grouping and less boxing

"So my question to you as a community: What can we do to give new players and old a fantastic and nostalgic leveling experience as they work to grind and become raid-ready? "

The correct answer to this question is. Nothing. That game is dead and gone, it will never return. The best thing to do is accept EQ for what it is NOW, which is still a lot of fun, just different fun than it was in the past. If you don't at least 2 box you are unnecessarily limiting yourself. It's free, do it.

Hotzones are not about fast leveling, well not ONLY about fast leveling. They are about corralling the players of a given level range together. Much better that those 35 people you saw were in Crescent Reach TOGETHER, than 2 of them in Misty Thicket, 4 of them in Butcherblock, 6 in GFay, 3 in Freeport etc etc.

Now all that said i think the Hotzones should be changed at LEAST 2 times a year, 3 or 4 times would be better.

True that is the idea, but it is not the case. The last several times i took an alt through a HZ It was anything but that. Most of it was people PLing alts or higher level toons swarming by mass killing and wanting nothing to do with grouping with others. The /ooc /shout bable about KSing, Training and all things of that nature was non-stop. They were not a friendly grouping experience. Yes I box and have PLed alts myself but alot of people do not show common courtesy to others as I do. I honestly have played in HZs a handfull of times in the last few years because they are more of a headache than anything. Only increasing the number of HZs would be benefitial not rotating them more often. PLers and swarmers will just take the highest experience grind away from lower level groupers. Now that I think about it Xerzist is probably correct in saying every zone 1-65 should be a HZ then only have a couple HZ up to lvl 85 or whatever.

I agree, the lower levels are fast and trivial now, even without using the existing hotzones.

Definition of a hotzone is a zone that gives more experience than other zones designed for the same level. If all such zones have the same benefit, then they aren't hotzones anymore, by definition. So what you're really asking for is the elimination of lower level hotzones entirely.

I got an idea for a new player experience. What about 'power-hour' weapons? Low-level quests that give you a weapon/armor/jewelry that has a right-click high-level (lvl 100ish) buff that lasts for an hour and has a 24 hour recast time. You would have to work the code so that these buffs did NOT land on players over level 50 or so. Not sure if this is possible.

You could give new players high level buffs, haste, dmg shield, recourse effects etc so they can slaughter a zone for an hour.

So my question to you as a community: What can we do to give new players and old a fantastic and nostalgic leveling experience as they work to grind and become raid-ready?

The premise that the end all be all of EverQuest is raiding is fallacious. The vast majority of players not only do NOT raid, they have no compelling desire to raid. Those players who DO have the desire and interest in raiding are more than adequately accommodated by the game as it is.

To suggest that a limited number of HoT zones somehow penalizes players is ludicrous. Players have now as they have always had the choice of how they wish to play.

The developers have chosen over time to "dumb down" the game to suit the supposed abilities, inclinations and predilections of what may kindly be described as the "instant gratification" class of player, much to the dismay of those of us who actually enjoy some challenge. This idea only suggests a further deterioration and more enticement for that "gimme, gimme" class of player. If the objective is, however, to do just that, then full speed ahead.

New players: not sure, maybe some innate bonus for not wearing defiant armor, and not buffed to the gills with high-level buffs. Harder = more rewarding, right?

Old players: Remove faction limits (I've saved Norrath countless times, yet Grobb will never like me), revamp shrouds, let merchants and GMs in player cities be killable again (with tons of hp to balance rate of death), and fix those damn quests abandoned 10+ years ago. I find it hard that a game called EverQuest has left behind so much content, but there it is.

And I'd always push for a "EQ Original" server that stops before the Luclin or Kunark expansion, where players earn rewards for their account to claim through achievements.

One can dream though, eh? Doubt any of that will happen, because sadly it's all about new stuff that squeezes pocket change out of us and unless they find a way to profit from updating/fixing nostalgic content they will never do it.

Want to be liked in Grobb there is a pathway, a long painful one (buy a lot of fire beetle eyes). Many factions in EQ don't go anywhere and have lost a lot of relevance. I like being able to find a pathway to being liked in starting cities, but, there is little point to gaining favor in old cities anymore. Some sideways planning to allow entry to instances based on ally status in various start cities could add flavor, but, would likely be a giant pain to many players and probably a bigger one to program a dozen instances - possibly with multiple levels a la LDON. One good thing is that discussing ideas can lead to game designers making notes and us in the future seeing things that got a start on the boards.

the issue is fine for normal exp to level up for lower hot zones , move to the next lower hot zone lvl.
The issue why the Hot zones get dull is the AA's. are they still looking into help the new toons get faster AA's.
The issue is the highest hot zone some times needs more zones. I see too many very high toons still in the Top hotzone taking muti camps like ferret2 some lvl 100 saying they have all the lizard camps on one side of the river which is 3 camps to the normal lvl players for the zone is very common.

solo was suppose to be social, but I kept reading it as social so didn't see until now.

Grouping is more solo than raiding also, which is what the game is really about for many players.

Yther Ore.

The couple of new players I got to try out EQ claimed that the UI was too clunky. I have to agree, I hate the default IU. New players want to jump into the game and enjoy it pretty quickly. The non-technical players will only struggle with a custom UI so much before giving up. I say create four or five UI's and allow people to choose which they like. Keep them updated with every patch. It will help keep new people, the truly new people. Outsource it to the community, whatever..

And sorry to say, the models were the other big complaint. We know where a conversation about the engine or a graphic overhaul will go though...

Scrap the hotzones and allow for xp bonuses that increase with each character at cap (something from EQ2).

I left the game about 2 years ago after almost a decade of playing. I miss playing EQ, the chat friendships I developed and the fun of getting my epic weapon. I never really mastered trade skills although I got good at some of them. Trade skills just required too much time and I was all ready burning real life friendships etc through my addiction to the game. I have actually been hoping for a EQ3 that might capture the maturity and flow that made early EQ so much fun and allow for complex game play. I actually enjoyed raiding especially when my group work could be highlighted as my characters advanced. The game got better as the developers made traveling from land to land easier and faster because it allowed players to accomplish more with less of a time commitment. For a while it seemed like the developers where getting it by creating exciting content and letting players get to it more quickly. then they went off the deep end by taking a good idea like personalized houses to store your stuff and created the mess that I see when I log on today. The reality is EQ self destructed because it destroyed the lives of most of its committed players through by developers decisions at critical times in its development. The competing priorities of chasing WOW supporting EQ2 etc left the game under served. I still log in from time to time and look for old friends, but more often than not all I here are /tells of yeah I remember you, or that guy went to a different server. The graveyard of great guilds and great players. Army of Antonica, Subliminal Realm, Ethereal Kindred....... Miss you guys. Hope SOE figures out a way to bring back the magic.

If you see 35 people in a hot zone, it's a safe bet most of them are flying solo or in a PL box group of sorts.

I do not think we need to make tons of hotzones but definitely need to offer players (whether they have a 100 char or not) to go to other zones and reap benefits.

There is no "Right Way" to play this game. Some people like to quest and some people like to grind fast as they can. Neither approach is wrong in any way, just different. And just as the game should provide content such as achievements and questing, etc. It should also cater to those who are interested fast-xp'ing. Now, does that mean people should be handed a 1-70 card? No. Simply though, it is counter-productive for a player who wishes to join there friends doing hot/voa/rof content as quickly as possible in order to truly enjoy their time in the game, to be forced to choose zones they do not particular like to be in only due to the fact that they will help them reach their primary goal faster.

To add, I know TSS is unique in it's content for having the vast levels available, but generally each expansion EverQuest has gone through has it's own feel to it. The zones may be different environemtns, different colors, different mobs, but you can tell the shared insight during the development. You can feel.

So what if someone cant stand TSS zones? For over a year, they must (for the most part) take less XP to avoid it. Making an entire expansion the majority of hot zones was not smooth and absolutely not something that should've been left alone this long.

It is not complicated, it is not rocket science and it is totally possible with no expense to the Devs to make this possible.

Ex: Make each level bracket have 2-4 hot zones, and rotate these 2-4 times a year.

Give people choices on accomplishing their goals and not force them to choose between them.

I don't think we need to make all lower level zones hot zones, that would just spread the player base to far and remove any chance of grouping.

How about keeping the ones we currently have for the hero's path, but adding additional ones which change every 6 months to a year. That gives players a little choice of where to level, but doesn't remove the assistance of where to go next that the hero's path brings to new players along with some pretty nice gear from doing the achievements.