I find myself waiting for each new TLP to be released, because it always comes with a fresh wave of nostalgic people like myself who really enjoy those first few expansions: the rush to level, get certain items, and play with other people all along the way. Invariably, as time goes on, TLPs lose people. They drop off either because they got what they wanted out of it, or because it hit some expansion they're less interested in until everyone eventually moves on. Personally, I'd really enjoy a "seasonal" server, which auto-resets at a very predictable cadence. For example, 5-6 weeks of each expansion up to LoY, after which it resets back to Classic including a full character wipe. Depending on what the final expansion is and how long each is left live, it would reset on a roughly 4-6 month schedule. This would give people like me something to always look forward to. No new TLP lately? Well no more than a few months to wait (or just jump on the current seasonal server, because it should still be pretty lively at any given point). Ideally, you'd have the option of transferring your character to a Live server at any time (or at least at the end of a season). But I realize that adds complexity for the developers, so I don't think it's a must have. It would sweeten the pot because if you find a character you really enjoy, or get a drop you don't want to lose, you have a way to keep the character. You might think people would tire of the character wipes, but if they're anything like me there are so many classes and races they want to try out, items they never acquired, etc. and constantly having other players running around just makes it more fun. Not sure the policy on naming other games on here, but I'll say there's a very popular ARPG that has this seasonal model, and I always come back to it at the start of every single season to try out different character classes and armor sets. Thanks for reading, Mirthe of Quellious
I don't agree with this being the case. I'm positive the reason people quit is because the game is just so watered down now in difficulty, people used to actually invest time into their characters. now there's no need to. It takes zero effort/time to reach max level and even less time to get geared which leads to people having nothing to do but raid log. The majority won't agree with me but i honestly think pickzones was the worst thing that ever happened to EQ. It makes leveling easier / quicker and injects WAYYYYY more gear into the game.
its a simple numbers game, the server sizes compared to back in the day and what we see at releases now are not similar at all. you cannot have the amount of people in the game at TLP launches in 1 version of a zone. you would have full groups of people camping 1 mob respawn in newbie zones, which isnt realistic. in order for them to take away pickzones, they would have to release 4 new servers... and lastly, pickzones didnt make the game easier, the game is easier b/c everyone has done it several times and there isnt a essence of the unknown anymore - just my 2 cents
Its not about the game being done before many times over, its about there being 8 FBSS camps at launch instead of 1, which like i said leads to a massive gear injection, hence making it easier and quicker to get everything you want/need.
Thanks Nolrog, I don't read the forums (came here just to post this suggestion) so I didn't know someone started a similar thread. But maybe it means it's a good idea.
