Simply raising XP doesn't really help casual players.

or any subscription game on the planet.

Yeah, except then the players are actually right. As opposed to normally when I company is beholden more to the investors that actually paid for the game. Most MMOs are not running around turning a profit in one year. If you have people that emotionally invested and they think they are owed the game designed just for them for $15 a month. Imagine how bad that attitude will be with the backers that paid way more.

Busted.

Well how many subs does EQ have? I mean if these casual games aren't doing significantly better than a "niche" game that is 20 years old, are they flourishing?

I define myself as casual. I played usually 12-14 hours per week. I was one of the top 50 geared players on Phinigel for the most part of 2 years.

All I cared about was gear and winning Magelo. Here's some things I didn't care about.

I didn't care about having friends, I didn't care about socializing, or getting achievements, or doing xp groups, or playing Alts.

I didn't care about farming plat, I didn't care about doing tradeskills, I hated the absurd amount of time required to flag for raids, I hated the rediculous amount of time it took to farm Orux, or faction.

ALL I cared about was advancing my character and being the best geared possible.

I hated the tedious amount of raiding required to gain 1 item, I hated having a weapon or shield 4 expansions old because you didn't adjust loot drop rate on a 3 month unlock.

I stopped playing EQ TLP because expansions are too fast for the amount of loot that drops. Do I need to remind you, all I care about is loot.

I'm a filthy casual that played 12 hours a week, and ALL I care about is loot.

I saw dozens of people quit Phinny during those 2 years, EVERY single person quit because loot was so few and far between.

Your game doesn't drop enough loot for 3 month unlocks. Fix that.

Watch what a complete failure 1 month unlock will be. Why didn't you double the loot drops instead of halving the lockout timers? No one wants to waste their time raiding 7 nights a week.

Pro tip, even double loot would not be enough. Phinny needed double loot, so I guess Mangler being 3x as fast needs 6x the loot.

Can't wait to play Mangler and get 8 trakanon breastplates for my 90 man guild during Kunark, it's gonna be so fun FUN !!1!1!

Those great memories of when your guild has 16 tank classes on the roster, each with their little wish list of important gear upgrades before the next expansion. Couple of AC clickies, nice tank earring, a shield, maybe a nice 2hs for when you aren't tanking.

Then you realise there's only 2 raids left, not a single Ring with the AC click dropped yet, most of your tanks are wearing 3 expansion old shields, and you're wondering how you'll get 8 Knight 1hs weapons in 2 weeks?

Maybe you just got unlucky? Then you check Magelo and the entire server is undergeared.

Maybe if I quit and start again on Coirnav, then again on Mangler things will be better this time???

Oh we only got 1 Cobalt BP from Trakanon and no legs from Venril Sathir? But we have 12 Warriors on the roster. No no just unlucky. I will play the new TLP next year and surely then I'll get the items I deserve! Woooo it's gonna be awesome!!!

This stream of consciousness brought to you by:
Neldarion
"Ride the loot dragon!"

That warrior with the only trak bp probably feels like a total boss. On combine my guild got a bit dominated in kunark. We lucked into a couple cleric bps on our few trak kills but I am not sure we saw even one cobalt. I had the only VS cleric legs. I loved them. Mana free symbol = easy offhealing. I don't believe I stopped using them until at least pop. Nobody else in ROI had one and I felt special. One cleric managed a da hammer in era, and he got to ramp tank when neither pally was on. You could feel his excitement in cleric chat. Dude probably had to call his doctor 4 hours after that ssra raid.

You do not need top raid loot on every person. You do not need bis or even upgrades in every slot for every expansion. The content was not balanced around this and having an overfarmed horde of bis-ers trivializes what is already quite easy. Those warriors with no cobalt bps will have no trouble doing the house for a quick and good upgrade anyway. Now the vindi bp actually looks amazing, like it did in era, and not a stepping stone or shaman toy.

The thing is is that if you dont raid then you dont need the best gear. If you do raid then you are getting the gear.

Need, no, but it sure makes the group game a whole lot more productive. When a raid geared group can do in 1/4th the time what a group geared group can do, in group content, that's pretty significant, especially when you have limited time to play and accomplish things.

If all you care about is advancing your character and being the best geared possible with no regards to others then you are hardcore, playtime doesnt matter at the point.

I played on fennin ro back in the day, my guild was the second guild to clear PoTime, and we did so every week, even through GoD.

Guess how many timespinners we got for our 5 rangers in that time.
1? 3? everyone had one?

Nope ZERO, we never saw a timespinner drop. RNG is RNG.

If your goal is to be BiS at the end of every unlock a TLP so you can stare at your magelo and beat off, MMO's much less everquest are not the game for you. Honestly that is part of the allure of the game to me, I hate that some of the new MMO's just spoon feed you gear.

more time gets you slightly more drops, but the odds of being BiS are still up to RNGesus

Also a 90 man roster? no wonder your gear is so spread out.

If playtime isn't a consideration of what makes someone hardcore vs casual, that means you can be super hardcore and play 12 hours a week. Or super casual and play 18 hours a day?

Then you have a problem when creating server rulesets. How do you design a server around casuals that play 18 hours a day and don't want loot? Or hardcore's that play 12 hours a week and want full BIS?

Grats you just answered your own question...

No one can agree on the definition of casual and hardcore... how do you design a server for. 20 hour a week casual player(they exist) or the 12 hour a week hardcore...

The answer is you cant, you get as close as possible... you are a minority tbh, I doubt there are very many people with your playtime that have aspirations of being the best geared player on the server. It isnt a realistic goal.

Also the game already caters to you in a massive way... no way a 12 hour a week player could attain close to bis gear without aoc’s.

My guild had the majority if people like me. During raid hours we'd have 50+ people online. All other days at the same time, 12 people online. I would say I am the majority, not minority.

With AoC's and instanced raids in later expansions, the days of pewpsocking and playing 18 hours a day are over. You can play 3 hours a day, 3 times a week and be the best geared on the server.

Except you arent getting open world spawns, which is another chance at loot every few days... so yah, higher olaytime makes a difference.

Theres the “double loot” you are looking for

What open world spawns? There are none after like PoP. Even if open world spawns actually existed, I have 0 interest in playing more than 12 hours a week, or playing some pseudo PVP grief fest that is OW EQ. You not seen my Aten Ha Ra video? Just stick "grizvok" into youtube.

After pop sure, there are less open world spawns.. but before there ARE.. I see what you are saying but you want the same magelo as someone who kills twice the mobs you do...

Not to mentuon thos hardcore guilds are splitting their instances. So their 70 man roster clears time twoce a week, or aoa, or insert raid zone here halfway theough the expansion...

I see what you are asking for. But doible the loot off each kill would be so boring. Look im bis after 5 clears cause mobs rain loot. If I wanted loot handed to me I would play WoW

I split time twice a week with a 70 man roster. It takes about 2 years of solid raiding for 70 people to get BIS. So double loot means you are full geared in 1 year. You realise expansions are 3 months long? That's not a boring amount of loot.

Do some math and stop trolling.

Not to mention there was what, 18 guilds on Phinny before PoP? How does that work out for double mobs for all 18 guilds?

So im trolling because i disagree with you???

Im simply saying i think tons of loot is boring, im fine going a raid or two without an upgrade.

Not evwryone plays the same way, im fine just getting a few items on my “what i want this expansion” wanting every item you want in every slot is setting yourself up for failure.

Guess you also didnt see that in years of raiding time back in the day we didnt see a single timespinner... unlikely but it does happen.