What DBG might actually do

Posted this in the mega thread but it got swallowed, so posting it here for discussion.

I think we need to consider the business goals DBG has to meet with every server for it to be viable.

Something to keep in mind is the majority of players will never make it to max level or if they do, won't make it through multiple expansions. The new server rush, where you get that huge shot of nostalgia to the veins, is where the vast chunk of players get their fix and then churn out.

Looking at Coirnav, we can assume that the slow experience rate was likely a way of increasing experience potion sales at the cost of a smaller number of people making it to high level. The tail of the population that makes it there is going to be the most profitable as they continue to spend - a server like Phinigel demonstrates that this is possible.

Coirnav also showed the beginnings of classic/TLP fatigue in terms of numbers. It was still packed, but not as much as previous launches. This probably contributes to why they are starting Selos in Luclin - it's a fresh approach, also widens the appeal with more starting classes/races.

My read is that this is a best of both worlds approach - they want a server that can propel players that would normally churn out into higher level ranges, giving them constant content (monthly) to hopefully increase the size of the tail and graduate it into a live server eventually.

But DBG also doesn't want to miss out on the classic nostalgia hounds and by announcing the low exp rate on Mangler, they can potentially still get a really high return on experience potions etc even though it will likely have lower numbers with the 2 server launch. In effect it's a slightly tweaked curve based on Coirnav.

The servers make sense to me, I think the miss here is with how they were announced as 'ultra casual' and 'hardcore'.

I think DBG are basically in a place where it's a choice between riding out the negative feedback to stick with your model projections versus making changes that will improve sentiment around the launch.

Personally I think the classic fatigue factor could be slightly underestimated in this approach. A simple solve would be to balance the experience rate to simplify the choice.

EG:

Leave Selos as it is

Change Mangler to have the same experience rate as Selos and potentially change the start point to a trilogy start (Kunark or Velious)

My 2c

So you want both servers to have the same xp and one launch velious and one luclin. Why would even launch two that are basically identical?

I do not see this happening.

what if double xp/double rares/double faction cant go on mangler, what else would make it good? take away no drop? let content unlock if a guild beats it?

basically you're another one who wants selos as a hardcore racing server.

what they should do, is swap the lockouts on the two servers, and increase the exp on mangler. BAM, selos is the casual, take your time to level up and smell the roses server, and mangler is the hardcore race server. as advertised

there will still be people who are disappointed because they wanted the slow exp, grindy more dangerous feeling of original everquest, but as far as I can tell, they are in the minority and most are happy playing on project 99 anyway.

Good point about which one becomes the racing server.

I feel like if they both have the same fast exp rate, then really it just comes down to lockouts?

pretty much this.
if you follow the forums you'll see, there are very few people (at least on the forums) who want slow grindy exp. so yes, the main differentiator should be lockout timers.

that is unless DB are willing to think out side the box and come up with something creative. which is very unlikely given the proximity to the actual release.

they should have been working on this stuff at least 6 months ago, and hammered out the details then. its very clear that this whole thing is very last minute.

The problem with the mangler exp thing is that I won't play, and a huge number of people won't play. I'm not buying two bags on a server like that.

They're greedy and can go themselves. Mangler will tank financially, and those repeat customers won't be coming back.

Basically a ton of Agnarr players are ready to start over and they're being greedy , and those players will just bail.

What a waste.

Greedy .

Agree. I don't think anyone wants slow exp.

I’m one of the rare few who wants grindy Mangler. I re-subbed about 2 months ago and have been on Corinav. Exp is a bit slow, but I’ve leveled several toons. I really like the Mangler idea and I actually hoped they could have included corpse runs and all non-trade skill loot no drop.I was hoping for close to P99, but to go past Velious and on. As is, Mangler would be “hardcore” because people are going to have to form groups of friends and guilds they can trust and rely on not to get them killed with the harsh death penalty. Mistakes and wipes on raids would have huge after-effects of needing to mobilize and get all the lost exp back... at a slower rate. Keeping up with content would maybe be very difficult for unorganized, casual guilds.

The other servers are all so easy that if a double exp weekend comes along, you can get max level in 1 day. If you die, exp loss is minimal even without a rez. The biggest fear on a raid is just getting enough warm bodies to show up.

I’m not even one of those guys that lives in moms basement. I work full-time, play couple hours each night and binge weekends and holidays if possible. EQ is just overly easy and forgiving these days in my opinion.

I can agree that the 'hard' factor has eroded over time. I think the amount of playtime people can dedicate has also decreased. Especially for 'ultra casuals', hence the desire for fast exp/slow unlocks.

Tbh, the harsh exp penalty doesn’t really matter much once you have access to clerics with 96% Rez. I’m not sure I see the point in it.

I think mangler will become a clone of Selo's but start in classic and keep 3 month lockouts.

I really think db should rethink how they look at this. let's face it, this is a business and the goal at the end of the day is to get as much of your money as possible with the least amount of effort. I have a idea to make this work, actually two.

Idea 1: Set up a go fund me page to raise money to unlock each expansion. I know it's extreme but let's face it you guys will find a way to get your mom's credit card to fund this.

Idea 2: Have everyone start out as poppa smurf (male) or as smurfette for (female). I would say that at least 90% of the population would buy a race change potion.

We all love this game, so let's help think of ways for db to generate income to keep it going.

So essentially every other TLP with boosted exp?

I think you are severely misunderstanding the demographics of the TLP's...

--Jade is just sayin'

Essentially yes. The casuals don't want drastic changes. We just want the same game we have always played but you know the pace slowed down some so we can actually sit down and enjoy it and not feel like we have to have a second job to accomplish all the things we want to accomplish. It would be cool if they would do things like instead of faster raid lockouts they would just have the raid bosses drop double or triple loot and add Free trade etc but lets be real they aren't going to do anything that outside the box now that would involve alot of extra work on their part. Though they could surprise us.

Because that won't be for a long time. The large death exp loss wouldn't matter as much if the first few expansions didn't have timed DT bosses every 3 feet. What tank, off tank, or tanky DPS is gonna wanna take all of those DT's for a 0% rez and have to go back and exp for 2 days to get back up to level before its time to take all those DTs again?

Hahaha. Right? This ain't WoW '04.

90% Rez is a classic spell...

You're right! I am a rere. I was thinking about 96% and always used 0% because it was quicker, my brain went into 0% only mode. I so sorry!

The selo xp rate is too fast for Mangler, some of us like to actually feel a little bit of resistance to our levelling and not as if the game was treating us like entitled 12 year olds and giving us xp for just logging in. I would be ok with a halfway compromise between the two to keep as many people as happy as possible though for this server.