Multiboxing is a sign of a deeper problem with the game.

Maybe DP should implement a mentoring system similar to that which is in EQ2.

I think that was what I ended up doing. But why should I have to do that when they have a shroud system? Playing with low-level friends, is the very purpose of shrouds(afaik), so why are shrouds banned from the tutorial?
Iirc there are encounters in the tutorial that are meant for groups, where a shrouded friend would be useful.

I don't remember(it was many years ago) but are there tutorial quests that require abilities that a shroud doesn't have? is that the reason?

I also remember being annoyed that my original level 20 war(that was inactive since kunark) had no way of getting the starter gear from the tutorial, even though it would have been a big upgrade(it was before they added defiant gear).

This is a bit off topic though...

The shroud system is flawed and has caused issues in the past. Most people would rather play with their own character then a npc that imitates a class.

A *cleric* merc should never be outhealed by a *pally* player. Especially if that pally is meming primarily aggro or damage spells and not serving the role as the groups healer. But I think we're talking past each other. You seem to be saying that mercs are barely good enough for your specific use case, (mages in an expansoin where mages are really strong, 2 group spots being taken up by healers) I am saying that mercs should be able to be an adequate but not great replacement for a player. If the goal is to disincentivize boxxing / botting by the non-krono farmers then one of the approaches taken should be to make forming groups without having 6 players fairly painless.

Not everyone wants to limp through grinds and content at a snails pace. Much like we need to recognize that it isn't 1999 anymore and people don't have an hour to spend spamming LFG before finding one, we should understand that for much of the playerbase they don't want to spend hours mercing their way through stuff that is designed for a full group to kill in minutes.

Aggressive server merges, improved mercs. Those are tangible things they could work towards that would work to reduce the number of people who turn to boxxing as a crutch to be able to keep playing in the face of low populations.

Many people here have already pointed out many items on a long list of problems within EQ. If we cut through the red tape and look at facts there are a few apparent things:

1. The game is designed to be played with a group/raid. Nothing is geared around solo play. Even if this were to changes, the varying classes would cause a whole new set of issues as some classes can solo well and others not at all. This also creates another issue in that content designed to be soloed would be trivial to any groups making a ton of wasted content.

2. Let's look at the demographics of the majority of EQ players. Most people playing have been playing for 10+ years. Many of us started when we were teenagers or younger back in the original EQ. Everyone knows the friendships forged over the years with guildies and on many servers, people know many members of non-guildies. This is why when people join guilds, people generally already know about the person because they have been around for so long. It's RARE to get a new player to EQ, especially ones that stick around. Moreover, when you do get newer people they are once again part of a more mature crowd as opposed to a young crowd.... The point of this paragraph is that most of EQ's player base is more mature and middle-aged or older. Many of us with families, full-time jobs, and other real-life obligations. Most people don't have the ability to spend countless hours of grinding in a rare chance to get a named and then an even more rare chance to get the item we are looking for like we once did.

3. Merc's were poorly implemented long ago, there were rumors for years that additional merc classes would be added to try and help alleviate the grouping issues. This never happened and to be fair, I'm not sure it would have fixed the core issue. We need to face the fact that most players just don't have the time to sit LFG for hours for the hope to get a group to then need hours more doing whatever the task is they sought out to do. This is one of the core reasons people resort to multiboxing. Multiboxing allows people to log in for a much shorter time, do what they need to get done without having to spend copious amounts of time recruiting people. It also helps people who work odd schedules or have families and can only be on during certain times which may not be during people's playtime.

4. Trends... this one is touchy for some by accepted by the vast majority of players. If you sort through the spam you will notice there is a very small vocal group that would like you to believe the feeling of everyone however it's not the case. It's an unspoken "resource" that many people use to allow them to alleviate the issues listed above so that they can still enjoy the game. This "resource" has been around for 20+ years in EQ. It was much more hush hush back in the day however many people have warmed up to it, again to help with the issues listed above. Many guilds openly talk and allow it without issue due to its beneficial uses. Now, 20+ years later it's being targeted for "fill in the blank" reasons. Through the changes of Everquest's franchise ownership there has been an unofficial agreement between devs and said "resource" which has recently been ignored. I understand DPG is a new company to EQ and they have the right to change their stances as they see fit but I ask... Why? Why now? and What is your plan to fix the huge void that this direction is going to cause?

In the end, Everquest is a GAME! We all play this to have fun and many of us are still with the game not due to the graphics, lack of quest system, basic raids (compared to newer games), copy/paste minimalist expansions but for the relationships, we have forged with friends over the decades. I humbly request the devs reevaluate their direction and if they have issues with said "resource" then reach out to them and have a realistic conversation. Work towards an "Official" and mutually beneficial agreement to move forward. After all, there is already a great platform to work off and it would take unrealistic resources to do a complete official overhaul to the game to rectify its core issues with the game and iron out all the balancing issues.

As for mercs. Using 2 healer mercs works very well. They keep my pet alive unless everything gets out of control. (mass adds) While a PC healer is better, I can get by with 2 mercs. I can focus on DPS for the most part. Seldom I do I need to heal my pet. But times change, I've played my mage since 2002, so I've seen the good and the bad. I do however appreciate the healer merc.

With my 2 mages xp is actually fairly quick. Got to level 120 on both Christmas Eve. Not as fast as some, but fast enough. At least for me, xp isn't a snails pace. It would go quicker with real other people though. I have 2 years to go at 120, so I don't really need to go faster. I'm not in a race.

I'm willing to group with people, but when I log on, I get stuff done. I'm not going to sit around LFG. It's either molo or I box 2 mages. Did the LFG thing a long time ago when LDON was new. It was great and awful, depending on how quick you could form a group. I personally don't want to be forced back into that. That wouldn't work well with the instant gratification crowd of today, not in the least.

If people wanted to do away with boxing DBG's would have to get a lot of new people to sign up for EQ. Which won't be easy because the game is ancient. Right now, everybody does their own thing, either molo, boxing or a group of dedicated friends. Most of us have been playing for years and we've adapted to what works for us. It will be hard for all of us old timers to change our ways.

All my old EQ friends that I used to group with have left the game. My RL friend who got me into EQ died. He was killed in a boating accident. I'm all that's left from the old gang. I wouldn't mind finding some new friends to group with and get stuff done, but at this point in my life, it's not necessary. I'm content with my box team.

You've never really played with cleric mercs outside of them healing pet that are tanking, have you? Also seems like you probably aren't really into the group/raid game... so this post really isn't for you. They could change nothing and you'd be happy, or they could dramatically change things and so long as they didn't nerf mage pets you'd be happy. Wonder how you'd feel about mercs if they adjusted pets to be unable to stay alive vs group named mobs and you had to resort to *shudder* merc tanks. lol

Before EQ launched, Brad McQuaid (rip) said something to the effect that he did not expect the game to last more than six months. The fact that the game was so successful it warranted an expansion was shocking.

I've grouped with people while using mercs as healers, I've done a lot of different things over the years in EQ. Mercs, no mercs, groups, raids, solo, molo, and boxing I had a druid friend who used a merc tank. It was about the same or maybe a little worse than a pet. That was during HOT, so it's been awhile.

I've played the game when a pet was basically a dot. (GOD) I remember it getting 1 rounded vs trash. I've played when beating a rare/named was tough, in some cases, impossible. I've also played when the pet was a god. Heck, I used to chain cast my pet during the PoP expansion, that was fun.

It will go in cycles like it always has. When the pet gets blown up be named again, so be it. I'll continue to play. I wouldn't use a tank merc anyway. I would just create an SK to tank if I went that route. But here's the thing. If there's a named that gives me trouble, I will learn to overcome it and eventually beat it. The last named I had issues with when I finally dropped it, it was intoxicating. I actually clapped. That thrill was worth getting pounded on. Something that's lacking when named mobs are a cakewalk. I like a challenge. The harder the game the more I love it. When you overcome something, you just can't beat that feeling. (EQ wise)

I'll be happy if EQ stays alive. The game is my addiction. Working out and feeling young is my other.

UK ISPs had a lovely system where they wouldn't charge by the hour but you were disconnected every two hours on the dot.

I'd love for them to introduce character mercs, where I can pop out my own account character, AA's, and gear, to party with that runs in an automated fashion. That could be on an existing account (and yes, I'd pay an additional subscription fee for the +n feature).

Then, give me great incentives to add RL players to the group over bots/mercs. Give me a hefty XP bonus, chance for additional loot, increased stats or special buffs to kill faster, etc. That way it helps reinforce the social fabric of the game while allowing those who choose to "solo", the ability to do so.

This is already an option however it requires use of another resource. As I posted above, it was accepted/tolerated for 20+ years but now they are cracking down for whatever reason. Its crazy because the people using said resource are paying DBG for multiple accounts in order to be able to do this. Shutting it down is cutting into their revenue and thus diminishing and already low budget for development. It also further hurts the grouping community because often times if people wanted to group and only 2-3 friends were available someone would often times box 3 guys so they could have a proper group to get content done. Now DPG wants to make things event harder.

( I would argue that your statement is not strictly speaking true ... but ... )

Blame the people who have used and abused those 'tolerated' things to the breaking point.

How many posts are there about people running 24/7, warping to targets, running multiple picks to farm plat.

They (DB) just figure its more cost effective to throw all the apples out rather than trying to sort out who the apple abusers are.

Server merges accomplishes exactly nothing.

If you can't find a person or two to make friends with on one server, not sure how you're magically going to do the same with another server merging in.

Pickup groups are dead because:

1) Progression in most expansions has to be done in an order, and people don't want to do stuff with strangers that doesn't benefit them
2) Content is so easy for raiders we walk through it, but is still somewhat challenging for non-raiders in terms of needing specific classes/skills to get through or a GEARED tank, so they have to have the "right" pieces, which is harder if they aren't people you know

Throw in people are lazy and sad and won't make their own group and expect if they log in and go "so and so lfg" 5 times over 2 hours they are somehow being shunned and then log off, that's why these people can't get groups.

I dont think the large majority of people that use said "Resource" would care if they cracked down on people using exploits such as warping (which they already had been doing before this). Instead, now they seem to be doing blanket suspensions. As for your statement about "plat farmers", im not sure if this is a rampant issue or not as I haven't seen it on my server however again I ask... what is that player doing that a normal player couldn't do? If he/she is just running around slaughtering mobs... you could do the same just as anyone else could. I'm sure you would follow it up with something like... but they are doing it 24/7. My understanding is that people that farm plat do it in old zones that no one is in. If thats the case who cares... people barely use the bazaar and plat is really only used for spells/augs unless your on a TLP which the "resource" doesn't work on anyhow.

As far as "(DB) just figure its more cost effective to throw all the apples out rather than trying to sort out who the apple abusers are." This business model is gonna hurt them in the long run. Many people using the resource pay for upwards of 6 accounts or more. Thats alot of revenue for them. Also, many people using the resource group with people not using the resource which is why often time people in guilds can get things done. Should they start cracking down with a more permanent options, the fallout of the remaining people not being able to complete content will be seen. Also, should guilds lose 20% +/- of their people it will be very interesting to see how things unfold going forward. Especially considering most guilds are struggling to fill raids already.

I agree with most of yepmetoo's points about the reason PUG's are a PITA.

I think server mergers might help for the short term but really don't address player retention and giving people a reason to login that has a good sense of time spent vs reward.

We recently had a player from PoP post in our guild forums and express interest in playing but was turned off by how much work it would take to catch up and concerns about no groups on live.

The move from 3hr lockouts to 6hr lockouts is a prime example of going to wrong direction. This move cut the available number of people to run those missions during prime time, and they are the only missions that have any kind of replay-ability.

Personally, I'd like to see reduced lockouts and significant increases recurring rewards for doing the progression / merc quests. I think all of them should give some of the group coin, especially the progression ones that take several hours to complete. I'd also make it so you can do/get credit for nearly any step if someone in your group does that step. Make it so a PUG can add a person mid run and get credit.

Its deeper then this. Many people like EQ because of the "challenge" compared to other "ez mode" games. The problem most games struggle with is how to navigate the divide between the two in order to keep the majority of people happy.

You cannot have challenging group content designed for a full group if you also want people to be able to molo/solo it. Again as mentioned above, you would need to do twice the development in order to fulfill both areas. You also then need to worry about the rewards group vs solo and everything else slowballs from there. Add on to the fact EQ is already working with a skeleton dev crew... there isnt a good/easy/cost effective fix.

Biggest barrier to PUG's now is entrenched mindsets, while I haven't been in lots of guilds all of them had plenty of players for whom PUG was a filthy diseased thing to be avoided at all costs.

Ninja-looters, morons, players who constantly AFK, that dude who trains the group then cries about not getting rezzed.

Personally, despite having more than my fair share of exoperiences of the above, and worse I still enjoyed PUGs, some were amazingly good, every now & then I would meet an undergeared player with amazing skill who had no idea how good they really were (much rarer to find them these days I know).
And in most of those aforementioned guilds we had an officer team who would purposely group with one or two of the people LFG in chat & if they were good players try to recruit them, regardless of their crap gear.

I think it is important to a lot of players, that there are consistent and clear rules for the game. Their previous stance of not doing anything about it for so long, made me think that DBG did not take their own game seriously. Paying a premium for multiple subscriptions does not mean rules should not apply to a certain group of players.

Im fine with DBG enforcing things now. There will of course be a time-period where the "resource-users" will need to adapt to their intended limitations and learn to play differently, but Im confident it will work out in the end.

For an MMO, having a reputation for accepting cheats, can really harm the ability to attract new players( or returning players for that matter).
How many players would invest time on an MMO with a tainted reputation?

If we're speaking historically, they used to have GMs who would punish bad behavior. Rather than just detecting some prohibited third party software they would look at reports and check up on people who were being disruptive. They would then punish those players for their deeds in game. I suspect that the overwhelming majority of players, even most that use third party software would agree that it would be nice to have that kind of enforcement again. And seeing as how (based on what I've been told, I stick to live) TLPs are constantly plauged by autobot crews running 24/7 with zero punishment... it seems those people are using something distinct from the one that got so many people put on time out recently. But there's no doubt that those krono farmers are using something to script their actions. Same as the bazaar bots that automatically adjust their pricing within a minute or two of someone undercutting them.

FF14 is probably the most botted game in the history of MMOs. They recently did a ban wave that hit people for RMT rather than non-RMT botting. From what I understand they have no interest in going after "casual" botters.