Or maybe it is best to see how the server will end up when it reaches live and the we get a new live ruleset instead of just shoving the server into another one. If the server has a strong enough population to survive on its own after it reaches a live status there might not be a need to merge it at all.
I have no proof that there will be new characters created, encounter locking makes it more difficult to powerlevel, and therefore annoying to get other characters up to max. And the bonuses for having multiple characters at max level, are honestly pointless. The bonuses are too small, and the times it'd be needed for most people are when nobody is at max level. I hadn't really been considering oakwynd, because I've got no interest in playing on it, until about 20 minutes ago my entire concern had been hoping to keep encounter locking off other servers. But now that I think about the Oakwynd ruleset, The Encounter locking is bad, but the legacy is just sad. It's an interesting idea, but weak.
So if I understand this correctly, you are trying to insinuate that it may be difficult to merge FV and Mischief as it approaches live because the population of both will be too large and the remedy to that is to offer no offloading and instead force the theoretical problem you are creating? The accounts/loot system theory is absolute unrealistic gibberish. Did you conjure that up yourself? If history tracks, and they end up doing the merge mischief adopts fv's ruleset. Not the other way around.
Except everyone is afraid that if they open a new Free Trade TLP then Mischief will die, so if they open it after Mischief reaches Live then you just have a dead server at Live. Unless you are suggesting they never do another FT TLP, but I doubt that will happen with as popular as the server has been. So if s new FT TLP is going to tank Mischief's population then it best to discover that sooner rather than later.
I'll say this because DPG won't, it is VERY easy to get a general estimate of DPG's revenue. Their parent company may make tons, but the DPG division is not out here making mountains of money with 15k active accounts across all servers. I commend the staff for trying something new to see if it generates any interest that might boost that active account number. With that being said, when random people on the internet say "the player base wants X" just remember that's a feeling and not necessarily what DPG's data shows. (I also tell myself this every time I beg them to make a TLP-PVP server) Sincerely, Shody
I am suggesting that they don't want to create a new copy of an experiential server that will impact the population of the existing experiential because they want to see what the population will be like once it reaches live.
And I am suggesting that they don't want to draw the population away from the existing random loot servers by making a new one. In no one is that suggesting that they never do another one just that it will be later in the life cycle of the current ones if not after they reach live.
I know they won't share it but I would love to see the metric on the amount of people that has quit EQ in recent years because they were tired of being trained and/or kill stealed. Also would love to see the person justification that adding FTE would bring that money back. It honestly would have to be an amusing read.
I don't think that is even possible to track as not everyone who is quitting is saying why they quit.
You know this would actually be a perfect time for them to do a little experiment; see if Mischief is so popular because of Random Loot or Free Trade. Add Random Loot to Oakwynd; without the loot pinata and not affecting raid bosses, but leave the heirloom code as is, and see if that does anything against Mischief's population. Then they can still release a Free Trade TLP next year for the 25th Anniversary. And yes that is a completely biased idea since I want the random loot but give zero cares for Free Trade.
And as I have been saying I don't think they want to do anything that would impact the server such as repeating the rules before it reaches a live status.
They have to have some kind of metric for the bosses to say this needs fixed now; unless they seriously think this will cut down on CS tickets.....then again basing off the "intelligent" decisions some of my higher-ups have made they really could believe that I suppose. My condolences Devs.
Considering how many people complain on the forums about every little problem. You'd think we'd have tons of threads about being trained and kill stealing if it were that common.
Sure they have metrics but that doesn't mean it includes why people quit. Likely the metrics for this involve the number of CS tickets and that is what was used by the bosses to determine a solution for this.
Yes, but my hypothesis is that the vast majority care more for Free Trade and not so much about random loot, so the amount of people that would leave Mischief/Thornblade would be minor. It might just be enough of a blip on their population so the DPG could justify merging those two servers together finally, and become a net positive on their bottom line (one less server to maintain overall).
And as I have been saying that doesn't change their goals for how repeating those rules will be before the current ones reach live.
Except you don't actually know their goals; unless you are getting some insider info, you can only surmise based off their current no comment on new FT server. So there is no real harm in people either asking for a new server or asking for random loot to be added to Oakwynd; until the devs say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it will never happen.
If getting trained shows up at any noticeable rate in the exit surveys they send when people cancel I doubt that it'd be in the slightest bit amusing. Having personally experienced training just while moving a couple of characters from Neriak to Freeport the last time I played on a TLP I can say that made me less inclined to start on a TLP since then
Well you got it partially right by at least acknowledging that server life cycles was always going to factor in to it.
And I never said I know their goals or people can't ask for a random loot server. I am just stating what I think is the reason why they are not doing this.
