LOL. No. But continue your attacks Benito. For the last seven almost eight years now I run 9 toons at max levels to buff folks on the server. And for all that time I do buffs for ALL levels and usually a couple times a day repeating the buffs for at least 7 minutes to allow folks to log multiple toons in. I know I do enough for folks to feel like I am making a difference so I don't need you to tell me how to do that And don't tell me how to run a guild Benito. Just don't. My guild has been highly successful and active for what it is intended to be a CASUAL guild. I would prefer content is such that it allows a casual approach to leveling in the group game. To allow informal helping of each other to get things done. Once the game requires a disciplined MUST DO IT this way I think that will be the end of it for me. I don't run a guild to TELL PEOPLE what to do. I run a guild and work on creating a friendly environment where folks can feel free to help or not as they feel each day. I don't want folks hiding on alts because they HAVE TO help others through progression. I don't want folks feeling bad because they felt like doing their own thing. If you want something different then run your own guild I also have never ever used the guild to benefit myself. While I help others I do all my progression and leveling myself first. Once I get that done yes I help others. Unfortunately Daybreak is causing that to take much longer then usual. People do help each other but they are also very tied up in getting there themselves too. Like it or not (cant speak for the raid side) but on the casual side there is a lot of boxing going on and part of being a casual guild is letting folks do things the way they enjoy doing it. Just let some of us play the way we have for years... after all we kept playing for that very reason. Done with you Benito.
That is your management and leadership style. But don't outsource your problems or failings to game design. There are organizations and individuals that must adapt to the changing environment - in this case, game design. If you want your people to succeed, then you need to organize to confront the "problem" (completing tasks). Communicate and coordinate. Your people are waiting for your leadership. Being the server's buff bot is like Blockbuster keeping their brick-and-mortar stores open. Edit: I am not trying to be mean. You have the infrastructure and the resources to attack tasks and missions. Your people might just be waiting for the order.
As a 20-year filthy casual veteran (and a really old one at that), I have a somewhat different take on ToV. It starts with the belief that Darkpaw Games did not just happen and that discussions most likely have been ongoing throughout much of the ToV development. That Holly is at the forefront of the new group in charge of EQ development is a notable achievement for her and for the casual gaming world. Why? Because she once said that the secret sauce to keeping the game profitable and ongoing is attracting former players. One way DBG did that was by expanding TLP servers. Another method was to make GMM available for those who found TBL too difficult. However, I see something in ToV that is attractive to my casual gaming. Faded Snowbound is a vast improvement to EoK and RoS (conflagrant) gear, even at 110. My warrior's HP went up about 20K for example. The armor is quite inexpensive and I've been able to outfit many toons. Am I ready for progression? Not yet. I need to get into 111 first I think. That may take me until they do an anniversary double xp period for a few weeks, especially if I can then use my ceremonial scholarship vials. In the meantime, Darkpaw may decide to make it even easier for casuals and returning players through another GMM style add on. Or, they may do something else. What I truly believe though is that they will do everything in their control to make the game a great challenge with commensurate rewards for raiders, enjoyable with progress for casual players and something for the in betweens. Will everyone be happy? Hardly. But I am hopeful and optimistic that DPG and Holly will take the best course they know to make for a successful game. Of course, I sure would like more experience from grinding . . .
I agree with what their intentions are actually but whether they are achieving them I may disagree to some of it. ToV was tuned to people in TBL end game group gear. So although snowbound can be an improvement over your gear I think for most returning players it should be at TBL levels because expecting people who don't have a guaranteed group to complete TBL now is not practical.
If I recall correctly, Ngreth asked some people to port over old characters to Beta to tune it for lower end (or casual) players. I believe some players didn't access these chars since RoS.
DBG monetizes the current expansion not the old ones. In order to have the opportunity for recurring user spending (triple A buzz word) they need you engaged in the current expansion. The design of ToV has nothing to do with anything else. Now, I’m not requesting any changes to be made, but people keep asking what are they going to do with experience in ToV next expansion. The answer is obvious... first dim it down, then turn it off in the old expansion and turn it on in the new expansion.
Since we don't get Vet rewards anymore they should take the ones we have every year reduce the time on them. 10 rewards 20 years... So maybe each Vet reward reuse timer goes down by half or quarter. 1. Lesson /20 hours 2. Infusion of the faithful /20 hours 3. Jester /20 hours 4. Expedient recovery /Once a week 5. Steadfast servant /20 hours 6. Staunch recovery /3days 7. Intensity 4/hrs 8. Throne of Heroes /72mins 9. Armor Of Exp /20 hours 10. Resupply Agent /20 hours 11. Lesson every 10 hours 12 Infusion of the faithful every 10 hours 13. Jester /10 hours 14. expedient recovery /3.5 days 15. Servant /10 hours 16. recovery /1.5days 17. Intensity /2hours 18. Throne /30 mins 19. Armor /10 hours 20. Agent /10 hours. 21. Lesson every 7 hours? 22. ect ect ect Obviously they could work on the time but dropping it down so we still feel like we are earning something for a LIFE LONG HOBBY.
And yet you still can grind away at mobs to 115 if that is what you want to do. The game does not prevent you from going that route. Only you are preventing that with your mindset. And if I play casually, why do I care how XP rates are? I am not in a rush to level up. I am not in a rush to do hunters or collections or anything like that. There is no timeline that says I need to get such and such done. I play two hours a week, so what about XP rates? I will get there when I get there on my time, regardless how long ittakes, the way I want to do it. EQ still allows that to happen FYI...
No, TOV is not tuned for people in TBL end game gear. Negreth or Parthun said that was their intentions, but it never made it there after they nerfed it in beta. My conflagrant geared SK with heroic augs and 20k AAs tanked just fine right out the gate. My sub 20k shaman in conflagrant healed just fine right out of the gate. I guess my phlogiston geared ranger made all the difference in the world for dps
Regardless of play style people still like to feel they made progress with their time spent. Last night in GD, I popped lesson on my crew (115 cle, sk, ench, mage and 114 mage/mage) and ended with 4%. It was between 25-32 seconds per mob depending on how far I had to run between trying to spawn dervishes, with no med breaks. It doesn’t feel rewarding, and in the end this is a game. It needs to “feel” like I did something. It’s possible to have both achievement rewards and good experience per kill. I think the ideal range is around 0.10% to 0.15%. It’s still a significant enough number of mobs to grind, while also encouraging quest progression.
And I am grinding. While I will help those in my guild I won't ask for help leveling myself or any boxes I have and I can't seem to handle the missions. In the past I might keep trying things regardless of deaths but unless I know I can complete them I can't take the current death penalty. But I don't ask for missions to be made easier. I don't think they need to be easier. And I will never ask my guild to help me get through content. I help others not myself and I do that in many ways. I just wish and would like a way to grind exp and make up the exp I can't get that way. Does DBG owe me any of that? No. But I would just like the exp gain from grinding that I have enjoyed all those many expansions I was a paying customer for. For years I was able to exp that way now they say no you have to put up with much less exp unless you do all of progression. Again that is fine if that is what they want to do. But I will probably still complain about it. And like I have the right to complain about it I guess you have the right to complain about my complaining and so it goes. I guess what I have a problem with is all the opposition from people who like how ToV was done regarding experience. And you know if it was just me I could slow down and grind my way. I get frustrated at not being able ot offer 115 buffs for others. But again that is not a reason for Daybreak to change anything just part of what frustrates me. Some of us are frustrated at how slow grinding to 115 is. The rest of you won't convince us not to be or that we shouldn't be frustrated. The forums are open to all who play though so if that is what you want to do it is up to you.
I've just spent two hours in velks, grinding with a full group and in there was a lesson burn (and a partial wipe, some of the time was spent getting back to camp). Group make up was CLR, DRU, MNK, PAL, ROG, SK. Three of us were group players, three raiders, 1 x 112, 1x 113, 1 x 114, 3 x 115. I made just over 6%xp. We weren't going hell for leather, neither were we slacking. Eventually we were without certain buffs, and needed to eat, so we had to call it. I've said it before, you don't want the xp to be so high, people have maxed level by the end of the 1st week (although some did I believe - they I expect know some tricks) but nor do you want to make it so laborious that it stops people playing. Also guys, enough of the personal attacks! Or else all that will happen is they will lock this thread. It doesn't matter if you want more xp per kill, less or think its just right. Put your argument forward, and leave it in the hands of DB who ultimately will make a decision. They wont be impressed by in-fighting.
Give us numbers please such as exp per mob. Honestly not sure how you got 6% in two hours unless it was a raid geared group pulling several mobs at once. Not making a personal attack I have just used the numbers to calculate things and I don't think an average group is going to get anything close to 6% in 2 hours. If you took note of your exp and did the math I am sure you got what you said you got. The reason I ask for numbers is if we can get an idea of how many mobs you have to kill per hour to do that we can see how likely it is for others to achieve that too.
Excuse me, but you simply do NOT know whereof you speak. Lions of the Heart may be a casual guild, but but NO ONE is controlling anyone in this guild. There is a great deal of co-operation and encouragement whenever possible. We really do not need people coming from elsewhere to tell us how to play the game. You likely even mean well (or maybe you don't) but the "endgame" is not the only game in Everquest. In answer to your first question in the post I quoted, the purpose of a casual guild is camaraderie. It is certainly in abundance in Lions of the Heart. Sorry to butt in, boss, but I had to.
It is not control. It is coordination. Corwyhn is incessantly complaining on the forums that players (including himself) are not able to complete ToV tasks and missions for XP. Yet, within his benevolent power, he can muster the forces of an entire guild - "the largest casual guild on Xegony" - to solve that problem. Perhaps, I am too much of a Stoic, your guild leader must know what is in his control (muster, coordinate his fellow players to complete tasks for XP) and what is not (redo ToV design). I am not saying you need to go to the end game but Corwyhn is likely projecting his anxieties (not adapting leadership in the face of change) on game design and the forums.
Coordination *IS* control. Think about it this way, most true casual guilds are a bit like herding cats. You might get a handful of them all going in the same direction at the same time, but you'll never get more then that. As soon as you turn to focus on some others, the ones you had going right veer off. That's not to say anything bad about casual guilds or players at all!! Its just the nature of the different mindset of someone who is casual and one who isn't. The latter group is easy to focus and coordinate because that's what they want, what they expect, out of their guild. Face it, no matter how you try to twist this around, DBG made a bad choice with this. Taking away what was a viable leveling path for no gain is just a bad move. There were already good reasons to do those tasks for the unique rewards they offered.
The model that Corwyhn could utilize would be more akin to open raids or pick up raids (e.g. IGC on Xegony) but applied to ToV tasks and missions within his own guild. He would set and apportion days and times to create a common meeting point. It would be more informal (you do not need the level of experience and coordination applied to raids). There are varying degrees of control and coordination. Edit: The guild leader would be the catalyst for creating opportunity and linking networks. In real life, it would be like someone setting up a charity run (casual guild) versus brigade commander leading a forced march (raid guild). Additionally, if the followers respect the leader, they will come (and sacrifice).
Coordination and control are not synonymous though both make the other easier to achieve. Coordination is simply harmonious action while control is the power to direct or regulate. An effective leader can coordinate activities without resorting to compulsion and it is well within the scope of a casual guild leader to accomplish that. Whether members decide to participate in such activities and at what level is completely up to them of course.
