Vaniki - dead on arrival with no guilds ?

There seems to be only 2 guilds have said they are starting on Vaniki.

Is it me or is this server dead on arrival ?

Of all the TLP servers ever created, Vaniki will definitely be one of them. As for our guild, we're still very much on the fence regarding the server but it would require large last minute changes for most of us to roll there.

https://discord.com/channels/510555234570076193/836414589188309032/836415993348620299

#greed-is-good-public-chat

The Krim 04/26/2021
not ow batphone but will be run differently than any guild ever before, i have some cool idea's that dropable loot will make for fun loot bids with splitting etc
Way back when they had all the hype for a possible FV server i ran around with some cool idea's for a dropable guild based on GDKP instead of DKP

Faceless X In Virtue and then Greed is Good ended up killing a few OW mobs. If mobs are up, someone is going to kill them until the server reaches Trakanon population levels.

I didn't really pay attention to Vaniki cuz I don't plan to play it but it does seem strange. I thought there'd be more guilds for both TLPs really. Didn't Mischief have like 20 some guilds at the start?

Its been an emotional ride. This is basically my reaction through it all.

"All classes at start, with God Lock" - Nice, that sounds fun

"Locking you to lvl 40 so you have a challenge on raids" - Hmm...okay, but no point in killing that stuff. Group gear is better than classic gear.... You know, since you opened GoD up?

"We will move the server quickly so you are not stuck at these lvls long and we will unlock blocks of content at once so you stay busy" - Oh wow, easy does it lol...Now im a little concerned with my health if i get to involved. We still dont really have a reason to raid though, right??

"We'll give challenge rewards for beating fights 10 lvls early to make it worth it" - Massive hype! Im on board now, lets go! What about epics? Do we get epics?

"Were not lowering quest levels and heres the update on the challenges for Vaniki! We're proud to announce Cazic, Yelinak, and Cragbeast Queen will have special rewards." - What, no epics..? by the time we can do epics we have access to better gear?
Six expansions of content, the most recycled TLP expansions that players come back every year for, and you came up with three challenge reward fights!?Three....Easy...Fights......


Everyone: At least i wont have to worry about summer vacation plans.

Meanwhile @ DPG:

Didn't Mischief also start in the midst of a global pandemic that caused a large number of countries across the entire planet to instigate lockdowns that caused a huge upswell in people playing computer games while at home?


I mean sheesh, short memory or what.

I don't think the pandemic made that big of a difference when it comes to playing EQ. I am sure many more people played video games but it was Michiefs unique ruleset that made it extra popular.

Aradune and Riz were the pandemic servers

Its just another half done server to sell the yearly same bags.

Its a shame too, Quarm server was fun, they said they were gana do more like that, that was only like 5 years ago, The reward was a cool mount that you could only claim once. Make that claim per server plz.

You did get unlimited titles like omen, omen of war ect depending on trophy. and a exp potion for just logging in.

The rewards they give being one time are not worth the investment, its just for the people that buy bags and krono from the store to buy banded

i saw someone on mischief with the mount, cant believe he waited 5 years to claim it. Thought the thing was lost to time

Vaniki is a server built for a section of the player base that doesn't exist.

People who like to zerg content, don't like challenges. People who like challenges (low-man splits), don't like to zerg.

Because EQ players were out clubbing 24/7 before then....

So the truth is there aren't many guilds announcing for the server because if you can't field 54+ its going to be a struggle to get the challenges completed, and if you knew for certain you had 10-15 core members from your existing guild/friend group that were going to move over, you could reliably get the 25-30 necessary to do most raid content on a normal TLP and power through it so long as you had the right core classes, the truth is fielding 54+ is a lot harder to do, and most guilds who do it, split so their members actually get a decent amount of loot from the get go.

Vaniki is designed around the zerg guilds... and most people just aren't that. Honestly I was excited about Vaniki when it was first announced, a level locked challenge server with the right challenges could have been fun, I expected something very different though, with like a basic low tier reward for beating T1 expac content, and ornaments or something cool for beating end tier content in any given expac early...This would mean even casual guilds would have a reason to go in and try the challenges. As it stands if you don't plan on joining this year's zerg guild, the raid experience is going to be a confusing mess for no reward.

Where is the reward for beating like I dunno literally any luclin or PoP boss at 50 or 55? Seru is done with like 12 people in era... bet it would be done with like 30 if no one was full NToV geared, and AAs weren't available yet. Take PoP... I bet even a good casual guild could down BoT, bertox, tactics, or Sol Ro at 55, high end guilds for the last few TLPs have downed all of PoP at 60... where is that tier of challenge content? Instead we get CBQ... CBQ at 65 is still a challenge for most who haven't been farming time to excess, at 55 again if you aren't fielding 54+ its just not going to be worth your time - especially since even a victory means you then get to send your raid into uqua (at 55) so that people can actually get the gear that they win off of CBQ...

The first 4 bosses basically won't be beaten "in level" unless you are the open world zerg guild. The cherry on top to prove that is King/Queen don't even have a DZ for other guilds to TRY to compete for the target.

Take CBQ... are raiders at 55 expected to have a second raid guild that does level appropriate content I.E. luclin/pop?, to feed the raiders attempting CBQ gear so they aren't wiping non stop, while the main force attempts CBQ, and does GoD to gear up for Omens & King/Queen attempts...? I know this is meant to be a challenge server, but who is the challenge made for? how many people want to play like that? How many guilds can support 150+ player machines for this style of content on a given server without burning out?

Personally, I've been considering playing on Vaniki once the truebox relaxes. Make a duo (beast and mage likely) and just play casually. I think the non-raid element of the server has a lot more appeal, it is just a shame that so many seem to think "if I can't raid at the very top the server is worthless!"

Mischief is just too much fun. I can’t see myself swapping anytime soon, especially with Omens and Dragons on the horizon.

This new server is a gimmick, it might be good to make some quick Krono at the start, but your fooling yourself if you expect any sort of decent population beyond the first month.

The regular TLP might draw more people, but again, I think it’s going to be more of a Krono grab, then back to your main servers.

I think you're right to point this out.

I am hoping to raid "in-era" on Vaniki but if that fails I might still stick around on there as the rest of the ruleset is still interesting.

okay, fair point, and I think the ability to charm +10 levels with no resist check is absolutely goddamned broken and will result in chanters being able to just steamroll the game in the group game. And that could be good for kicks, while not being particularly balanced.

So yes, there are some interesting quirks, but this is supposed to be a raid-based challenge server, but where it differs DRASTICALLY from Quarm, is that Quarm was a seasonal server. It was a race. It was a one and done, get it done and move on type of deal. The rewards were so-so, though the mount was nice, but I think it took us like AT MOST 3 weeks, maybe less, I don't remember perfectly, but I was there on that glorious day that Vape All Stars defeated OMM, and I think we cleared Anguish one more time for stragglers, and that was that.

Now with Vaniki, the main appeal is still that hardcore raiding aspect, but instead of being a seasonal thing, a commitment of a couple weeks, you're talking a MASSIVE commitment of time for even worse and less appealing rewards, in content that will demand long and grueling raids with high amounts of wipes and misery and tedium.

Some people really do just like to torture themselves, but as someone who was keenly interested in this server, I can tell you that it's not just about hard content, it's about RvR, Risk vs Reward. If the rewards are enticing, bring on the challenge. Once the FAQ was released, and we realized that LONGER LOCKOUTS will mean an EVEN LONGER time commitments to maintain a presence on the server, the gear we would acquire would be nerfed heavily via the Recommended Level system, and the achievement rewards were 1x and of no value or little value....well generally speaking the prospective player base was very turned off.

The only thing Vaniki truly needed to be at least a marginal success were awesome rewards that everyone would want to get. That's by far the biggest selling point and also the easiest not to mess up. I can best sum DPG's efforts on this server thusly:

vaniki is potentially a great casual server once it hits its stride at like 65; no truebox, live xp, tss/tbs content to play with

its a shakespearean tragedy its been labeled the hardcore challenge server and casuals wont touch it

When have we ever played the servers as they were supposed to be played?

Mangler was supposed to be the hardcore server and Selos the casual, look how that turned out.

From day 1 of the announcement of Vaniki I've been planning on playing caually with my daughter. Main draw is my beloved beast unlocked at launch and having all content for x level unlock at once. No more sitting waiting for expansions to unlock with no level increase. Max of 12 weeks at a level.

Whats not to love for a group player.