Oakwynd may have Finally done me in.

I hate to say it, I tried really hard to enjoy the new server... but I just can't get into it and it's actually killed my desire to even log back into Mischief.

I don't understand making a server with XP bonuses for each character that hits max level, then Make it to where you have to level about 4 toons to max to get slightly above Live xp on the 5th. (if my math is correct) Also do you lose that bonus every time the lvl cap goes up?

From Wed to now at 2 am on Sunday I have watched the population drop out of the bottom.

Friday night My guild and I went into one of the (5) picks of Upper Guk and Held Ghoul shin lord for 4 hours and the only person that even came by was a Kind Chanter that just got Clarity and came to buff us.... First Friday of a TLP on a xp weekend there are usually over a dozen Picks of Guk

Saturday night prime time on a 50% bonus xp weekend in permafrost I held the Alchemist camp for 4 hours un-contested in the single pick of the zone only had one guy come in and say hi then laugh at my Guilds name I usually have to fight tooth and nail to keep my camp there with 3 or 4 other picks available during a first weekend of a TLP.

I don't know folks this one seems DOA to me.

I kind of understand the sentiment but I think you and others like you are really pushing in the wrong direction. The problem is a lack of novelty. We've done what 7? 8 tlp now? Instead of it getting harder, the push seems to be to make it even easier. It's just ridiculous how fast people are hitting 50. Everyone funnels into like 2-3 zones to level and they do it in like 2-3 days. So solutions always seem to be to address the symptoms and not the problem... "the game is becoming boring... faster unlocks, more exp, more loot"... essentially all the blood has been drained out of classic eq at this point. The reason for slow exp in the first place wasn't because the devs were idiots - it was to keep people subbed. Making the game easier and easier so that people who work can speed to max level and raid log isn't making the game appealing to play.

Its 4am sunday morning on the east coast and the server is at high population.

What are you hoping to accomplish by making this post with just blatant lies?

Brother, I have not seen this many people WTS Krono since Aradune. The server is chock full of casuals doing casual things. Its poppin, just not the same poppin as your style.

I have been an Oakwynd detractor, but it is most definitely a happening server.

The rate is too slow this time around for me, even with the bonus. I don't have the kind of time, patience or interest level to sit in groups for dozens of hours just to raid Cazic or farm frenzy...again and again.

If I could level at a reasonable clip solo, or box the way I want to, I'd probably stick around the server. But I can't, so I won't.

Cheers to all those who do actually enjoy it.

The experience rates are intentionally slow and I'd say that the bonuses for reaching level cap are just meant to be an extra, probably inspired by EQ2's 'Veteran Bonus', which works in a similar fashion.

Basic cointel ops. The funny part is, the other half of our team handles the "this server is actually fun!" salt posts. A "salt post" is not as in "tears," but is a reference to how you can make a nuclear primary more radioactive (more "dirty") by "salting" it with material such as Cobalt-60. Anyhoo. It's an easy gig. "All bases must be covered" blah blah, really.

edit: I hope I didn't confuse anyone. A so-called "dirty bomb" is not the same thing as an actual nuclear device using the salting method. Just to clarify.

All I see for the most part are a ton of boxes running around. There were a bunch of picks at the beginning of some of the lower level zones but they have been cut in half if not more. I figure that's just due to people spreading out more but even in the "high traffic areas" it seems lower than it should.

The economy is already screwed up and expensive. (thanks krono lords.) not even a week in and people trying to sell Kronos for 1k-1.5k or try buy them for 400p. To put the economy in perspective people are trying to sell drops for 3kr already. Trade skill stuff like hides for spell research, you can sell a Krono and have enough to buy 3 attempts. the equivalency on a live server would be like 6.8 million plat for 3, 66 skill level combines.

Once the krono lords find out they are selling to each other and not really making any profit the servers population will dry up.

If it's not fun for you then do something else

I suspect the days of releasing 2 TLP at the same time are in the rear view mirror now

Not blatant lies, just my observation. The server may be "High" population but my point is that it has dropped to about 1/3 to a 1/4 of other TLP servers at the same point. (4 days)
Even Commonlands tunnel has half the population in zone at this very moment (9:30am sunday) Currently 199 people; when usually the first pick is packed to 400 with buyers/sellers and more people trying to Pick in.

My math tells me that you need 44.445% more XP to catch up to live. So your 6th toon will be getting slightly above normal xp and toon 8 would have about a permanent Bottle of adventure II buff. I suppose if you get to keep that buff forever that would be worth the effort but from what I've Heard and I admit I could be wrong the buff dies when the level cap raises.

Yep the Guild I am in is Named "Waiting IV Diablo"

The only reason that Oakwynd is not seeing the same level of actual players as normal is because of FTE - just like Vaniki were struggling to keep numbers last year (due to another failed experimentation with core mechanics) ... only worse.
If they opened a 2nd TLP server now without FTE (or Vaniki) mechanics then I bet that it would be just as busy as new TLPs always have been in the past.

You know what... the FTE other than a little weirdness on occasion really hasn't bothered me. It doesn't always work but its nice to make really long pulls and not have the best mobs picked out before you get back to camp

This isn't what's going on. It's literally a case of them releasing the same server type too many times in a row and people are getting tired of it. People are sort of turning against classic eq for some reason, to do what exactly? For example the guy up in the thread said the rate is too slow... and he doesn't want to do it so he can just raid the same things over and over... so what is that guy exactly wanting to do? There isn't really anything else to the game other than leveling and raiding.

They can try doing things with loot to make the game interesting at this point, or rebalance the classes, or change the ruleset somehow to make it interesting. That's probably the best way to retain players, but this company hasn't really had a great post verant track record of doing anything that actually makes sense or makes the game better. There are so many small things they screwed up at some point and never fixed - like player scaling at low level, even the exp rate from level 1-5 is messed up somehow when they flattened the curve.

That's all good and fine for you (and others feeling the same as you), but the point is that a lot of other regular TLP players don't feel the same way about it - which (after the initial curiosity is starting to die off) is now starting to become visible with the dwindling numbers of actual players.

So what should they have released instead? Cause they did a basic tlp last year and people didn't like that. Do they just do mischief clones forever, no more assigned loot to names?

Far more likely that it's because people don't want to do the same type of content on 10 different TLP.

I have seen no data supporting this claim. Quite the contrary in fact.
1) There have never been a server like Oakwynd before
2) Last years standard TLP server did just as well as any other similar standard TLP server before it. In fact it is still doing very well.

I kind of agree. DPG have a poor track record when it comes to trying to fix things that weren't really broken in the first place and neglecting to fix things that (still) are (including some of the things that they themselves recently broke - like DOTs counting for full dmg before even the first tick etc.).

Until I see confirmable data supporting this claim then I am going to disregard it as being purely your personal opinions - especially considering that the confirmable data that I have seen speaks to the contrary.

Having said that then there are many things I would like to see DPG do for TLPs - and that counts both additions/changes as well as rewinding some of the changes/restrictions that they have forced upon the TLPs over the years.