Jumpstart option - new toons level 65

Nowadays if you are an experienced EQ player you can easily get a toon to level 80 in a day. New players can take much longer and this results in new eq players being spread across the level ranges as they each learn to level at various speeds.

I picked a starting level out of a hat and suggest level 65 as a possible level to allow people to start new toons at. An appropriate tutorial for that level range could be created also. This would get new players to a higher level range and buch them up a bit allowing much more in grouping opportunites.

I think some sport of option like this might be good for the game especially as we have already hit level 100.

What are you thoughts on this? Would this be a good idea?

I say let them always start out 10 levels lower than current level. So right now, it would be level 90.

Don't really like the idea. We should be encouraging the low-level game not allowing another way to completely circumvent it. Its easy enough already to level to 80, whether you are a seasoned player or not content-wise.

Unfortunately Everquest does not have the budget to support the lower level game and the higher level one. With the exception of the tutorial the lower (and you could argue hotzones) the lower level game isn't supported at all. It just exists...... I just think we need to examine options that will entice the new player to stick with Everquest once they try it.

I run one of the oldest casual guilds out there. I would love to see my lower level players concentrated a bit more to the higher end. It makes running events and such easier makes them feel a part of things faster.

Who would fill up the groups in lower levels? When thousands of new players were joining the game every week, it was easy. Now, not so much.

15 levels, so they can join my missions right away. Or 30 levels so they can join my group right away. Whatever.

The server where you could start at higher level didn't last long. I think it was just because there just aren't enough new players. The only real action it saw was players from other servers hopping on to race, then going back to their mains. I sure didn't meet anyone there who was actually new.

Ugh. No way. The lower levels are where people learn how to play their class. Spells and abilities come in slowly so you can learn what they do and figure out how they work and where they fit in with other things. If you let people start at level 90, you wind up with a large number of idiots that have no clue how to play the game (and who are useless in groups and raids unless you give them gear and AAs to match.)

just auto grant defensive AA's up to a certain point of significance I mean really 48 and 50 levels that get progressively more expensive I have a few hundred AA's on one toon and the only thing I have bought are those and I'm FAR from done as a tank class it's overly depressing the uphill battle to climb to be viable in the group game let alone raiding.

If I was a newish player just learning and found out about this climb I'd say screw it BUT I am not and I've hunkered down to get the task done.

1. Make a new mayong type server. 65/1k.

2. Allow transfers with a unique token, that cannot be bought with station cash.

3. Players get $25 headstart characters and sony gets cash cow.

This was true a decade or so ago when the lower/mid levels were flourishing with players. Now however, the low/mid level game is dead. Who really wants to play when there is nobody to play with? The only low/mid level characters on these servers are alts/twinks that are likely being PLed by someones main. Not everyone wants to create new characters on progression servers etc. Maybe someone new to the game or returning, have all of their friends on a non progression/PvP server.

These days, on non progression/PvP servers, the social aspect of the game is at max level. The sooner someone gets there the better.

How would they get the token?

Real cash in marketplace, similar to subs or expansions. They do not like people getting triple station cash and buying subs. Removing cash as a purchase method means more money.

I'd say start them out at either level 85 (so they are within the level range of taskadds and being included in current content stuff) or start them out at level 90 (so they are within range of taskadds for the next level cap increase if there is one within the next 6 months)

I agree with 65, since you can pretty much AFK to that using a warrior merc. Much more than that and you're avoiding the time when most people actually learn what their class can do.

It takes literally a few hours to get 50+. I'm not sure we need an insta start at level thing. I'd rather see it easier to get AA up than levels. The 50-80 takes a while, so if you're going to ask for a boost, ask for it to be through those levels.

What's the point of playing any game when all one needs to do is log in to have a leveled character? Are people really THAT lazy these days?

They tried that, it didn't really work. Thus we (Tunare) ate that server. That server ruleset is not viable. The people never learn their characters and end up alienating themselves from getting groups. For that same reason any token that would grant someone a higher level and set amount of AAs would have an even worse result on normal servers.

A month or less of casual play can get you to 60s or 70s; and that is without any PL'ing. I know this as I have a friend who I introduced to the game and has been playing for the last 2 maybe 3 weeks and is already mid 50s. No PL's, just the existing game and some of the consigned gear and defiant gear. She has been playing an hour or two a night 2-3 days a week; maybe longer on nights she doesn't work. In another 2-3 weeks I expect to be playing with her on my 98 main without having to use a shroud.

Putting aside that I think the whole thing is a horrible idea, 1k AAs are far too many to give away at level 65; 100, maybe even 250, but not 1000.

Hmm, well, if you really want easy mode, ask for the option to start at 100, with best class raid gear, augs and all available AA complete. That would allow most folk to say they won EQ and move on to something with challenge and a learning curve. The 51/50 server didn't really go anywhere, and easy as it is to Molo to 65 ish and or be Pl'ed to 80 or so, I recommend filing this suggestion under not a good idea.

This used to be brought up years ago, wasn't for it then. But now? With 10k+ AA toons, max level, and their boxed alts, a truly real new player logging on a free account to have a bash... must still be a large wall to look to.

Now, a lvl65 toon, 100ish AA's, Defiant gear? I think it's an option.
If not, and the problem is new players seeing a wasteland, the other option a dedicated newbie server selected by default (over-ride for a new alt for existing players), that all the newbies start on, get to 65 then xfer to a regular server?

Or... a level based xp buff? So newbie toons get crazy xp boosts in all zones until hitting 65 (though some look at the skilling up so you don't get toons that can't cast the spells they get at 65). This might be the most viable as it'd work with current code. NPC only responds to toon < 65 to give the buff, and second you hit 65, it wears off. NPC can be duplicated for a few zones and give advice on where to hunt (same as the book thingy that no-one clicks before asking in /general where to hunt). If possible, a bit of code for THAT npc to know where other newbies are so it can give advice on where to find similar level toons.

But yeah, the lowend game is non-existent, something to get toons out of that glut as fast as possible. Starting at 65 might work, but there's other methods that'd work too, and get people hooked on the 'dings'

Whats the point of trying to attract returning MIA players if they log in and see the huge XP/AA mountain to climb, only to leave/quit again? More times than not, over the years, ive seen players like that poke their head into the door only to leave again due to the sheer amount of XP/AA needed to get caught up with the social level of the game. The XP/AA mountain looks insurmountable to a lot of returning players. The game needs to keep these folks around and right now, its not doing a very great job at it. Sure, there are some cases where folks stick around, but that is because they came back and had some high end friends to help them. But not every case is like that.

Nobody is saying easy-mode. Automatically making someone level 90 with 5000 or so AAs wont effect your game any. In fact, it'll give you more players to play with. Its all about the games health and trying to re-hook these returning players.

This game isnt exactly in great shape population wise, I mean, its not horrible, but it could be way better in that standpoint. Its not flourishing at all levels like it once did. For everyone that quits EQ, there is nobody new coming into the game to replace them. That is a problem and it needs to be fixed. So the solution is to keep who you still have around happy along with trying to re-hook returning players. How to go about that? Make the path toward the social end of the game a lot more forgiving than it is now.

Any new game should adopt a Leveling Servers approach and EQ might as well be the test ground for it.

The lower end game would be viable as people would play on these servers simply because it would be cap'd at certain levels instead of this auto granting stuff.

All the Classic people would love it and new characters would have others to play with instead of soloing.
Server A: 1-60, Server B: 60-75, Server C: 75-90 -- Then they move onto a normal server.

Every move being optional, so anyone could just sit on a server at max level all the time if they wished to do so.