Join Us for the Rum Cellar Campaign this April!

no more yearly expansions.

Although I agree with you, that I hope the price for all content does not go up a great deal, it seemed worth pointing out, that you could enjoy grouping with your friends and new members in some of the free old content. Eidolon and Obol are free now, and everything below. You could take your friends there and mentor to them. If they like it, then they can buy in like we did, but they don't have to buy in right away, if you will just mentor for them, and show them around at that level.

Actually I do use a lot of that older content to both help level new members and to give them good opportunities to practice playing their characters in real scenarios while still having the ability to rescue them by using some overpowering dps from time to time. I love a lot of the old zones and frequently visit and play them; so I am not being end level content focused only but I do also love playing newer content too.

What I was trying to get at was the frustration I feel when having to inform new members about pay blocks to end level play once they have finally gotten to that point. I have been here since the beginning and do remember the frustration with the adventure packs and how it did fragment - segregate the pool of people that you could group with and I Just don't want to have to go thru it again is all. Once was enough for me - dressing the failed experiment up in a new dress doesn't do anything to fix the flawed concept.

I am open to the idea that DBG want's (is in desperate need of) new cash infusions over and above the current sub fees - (it seems to me that the investing company should have been aware of these financial problems before purchasing the company and the company's liabilities) but without a DEFINITIVE statement from DBG that there will no longer be future expansions and that ALL new content will be in this form then I am sorry I have a hard time trusting them.

Again I remember that the original "adventure packs" were a complete failure - the zones and the mechanics were sub par and because hey they were considered optional material these bugs were by and large ignored (a favorite SOE tactic - workaround = fixed)

So with all of this in mind how on Norrath can one set of zones be enough to "save" EQ2? If the issue is uber raiders powering thru material what makes DBG think that only one zone will keep them satisfied? That argument is just plain mirrors and smoke - this is simply a poorly veiled money grab plain and simple.

sooooo, how much for the "collector's edition" of the campaign?

I don't buy this at all. If people had all burned through it and become bored, then AoM groups wouldn't be the Only ones you can find on my server, and the only ones looking for additional group members. Instead it would be nothing but crickets.

Same price probably, you just have to pay for it again once you get half way through.

oh my brain, it hurts, my sides, the laughs, the tears, the "truth is stranger than forum fiction"

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't see anywhere that s7n7a7k7e stated or implied that there would be a necessity for anyone named Beyoncia to prepay anything. The existence of an option does not necessitate unanimous selection of that option. In other words, s7n7a7k7e's suggestion for having that option available doesn't require everyone to choose that option - so your opposition to the prepayment option doesn't mean that the.option should not exist, it just means that you probably wouldn't want to choose that option (which still would give you the option to purchase them piecemeal).

It isn't like there is no precedent for a bundle to be less costly than the cumulative price of each of its constituent parts would be when purchased separately. I think that s7n7a7k7e's suggestion could be modified somewhat to add a third option, which would be to purchase all of the DLC for a given year, but not require it to be purchased before that DLC was released. That way, folks would be able to wait until all the DLC was released for that year, then purchase it as a bundle for less than it would have been separately. Folks that prefer to extend the benefit of the doubt might (by buying it in advance of its actual release) get an additional discount beyond the bundle discount (because of the time value of money*). This would reward those that spend money earlier, while still allowing those that don't have as much faith in the development team to be able to save some money. (Note: I'm not making a value judgment about those that prefer to only purchase content that has officially been released. I'm just saying that those that prepay should have slightly less cost than those that wait until the entire bundle is live - for the reason indicated in the footnotes.)

This isn't a personal attack, so I hope that you do not perceive it as such. It is merely acknowledgement of the fact that disliking a given option is not, itself, a good reason to disallow the existence of that option (although it is a good reason for you not to choose it). That dislike, along with objective supporting data, might be sufficient to convince others that the existence of that option is a bad thing. However, without that data, it merely appears to be a justification for you not selecting it.

If you weren't trying to rebut s7n7a7k7e's suggestion about whether the options listed should exist, then I apologize for misinterpreting your post. Because, to me, it seems that you are trying to argue against the option even being made available.

* For those not aware, that refers to the idea that a given amount of money in the present is worth more than the same amount at a later date due to its potential to earn a greater amount**.
** So with Interest = Principle x Rate x Time, if Principle and Rate are the same, the Interest will be greater for the longer period of Time it is invested.

All of those disgruntled players are back and were back some time ago for the most part. Yes, this could lead to disaster for the game and for us, but I doubt it. People will complain about the content in them because people complain about the content in everything that has been released. The population may drop off in the summer, but if a new campaign is released with raid progression maybe it won't drop off nearly as much. Maybe some guilds will be more active in order to clear content that isn't 8 months old.

Regardless, if we get new content, I'm fine with that in any form. EQ2 won't be the first game to offer DLC updates like this and they won't be the last.

No one does them because they are ages old. It happens with xpacs as well so I'm not sure how this is a valid complaint or analogy. As for fluff, there is so much fluff in this game you could choke a boatload of puppies with it.

actually there is a lot of content i haven't finished yet including some of the adventure packs. i did the splitpaw pack on some of my toons however, i found them interesting. i loved getting the boar head for my houses and the little boar pets. i even enjoyed getting lost, having to move boards and crates to get at things, and all of the little fun things that made the zone interesting. And i will do them again on other toons.

even after all this time, although yeah the rewards are not the best (but they look good on my house actors) each time i run through this again on one of my toons it is fresh for me. probably because i wait months between toons to run it. so i don't see why anyone would put down these adventure packs. when they came out they were intriguing. i especially like content where i have to figure out how to do stuff. might be a bit frustrating, but jumping from step to step in guk for example to get to the next room of the zone was fun. although in some zones if i fell i had to start over because i died.

it isn't so much the rewards that make content worth doing. it is the fun you have doing it. is it a puzzle that you have to figure out? are there secret doors you have to find? are there traps you have to get out of? can it hold my attention for awhile?

if all you are playing for is the loot and the reward, then you have missed the point and the fun. it may be only one zone. if it were open to all of my toons instead of just the maxed i would be happier. but if one zone keeps me occupied and makes me want to repeat it, then it is worth the money.

you can't please all of the people all of the time. you can't even please them some of the time. but if daybreak gets anything from all of our feedback, i hope they take one thing to heart. we don't want content that is only doable by maxed toons. we want content we can all enjoy and take our friends and families into. if they continue to make content only for maxed toons, they will hurt themselves and our game.

we have told them in expansions past this very fact. we have told them in this thread. where games miss the mark today is by catering only to people who are maxed level with maxed gear. that leaves out a whole lot of people. the game who consistently is inclusive of lower level people will find more money in their coffers. those who continue to ignore the people who don't have maxed toons will find those coffers dwindling.

the way i see this new content lacking is not in that it is only one zone. one zone can be quite engaging. it is that only maxed level toons can do it. most of my toons won't be seeing such content anytime soon.

I can't believe all the negativity from people. These mini-releases are the way most MMOs are going. I think it's a great idea! And I love that there are ones we can pick and choose. The housing one is very interesting to me, as does the crafting. So c'mon people - give this a chance and stop your grumbling. At least we still have this game to play!

The problem a lot of people are having is that they are afraid they will have to start paying for than they are accustomed to for the same content or less. For instance, let's say I save money by skipping out on Crafting/Decorating related DLC, but my g/f has to pay $15 more than before because she is a decorator. Where as before this was all-inclusive with the annual base expansion pack.

Another fear is that players will be fragmented more than they already are. With annual expansions there is still fragmentation due to the fact that not all players purchase the latest expansions. But at least you know that when purchasing the latest expansion, that you will be able to play with all others who purchase that expansion. Furthermore, being that expansions are annual, it increases the chance that the expansion population will grow as more players purchase the expansion over the course of the year.

With DLC you will see the same type of fragmentation, except that it will be more frequent, and divided into more than just 50/50 chance of players who purchase the annual expansions. Instead it could end up being more like a 1/4 chance that that person has the same DLC as you. I'll give you an example:

• I used to play Battlefield 3 religiously, and was very active on their online Battle-log community. The initial game had tons of players on at all hours of the day/night. Didn't matter what time you played, you were almost always guaranteed to find good servers full of players.
• In Battlefield 3 there were about 4 game modes players could choose from, including Conquest, Rush, Squad Deathmatch, Squad Rush. So there was already some division in the community varying depending on the popularity of each game mode. But as I said, the population of players was immense so all game modes were full of players.
• Then came along the DLC packs. Five of them. Just.... five...

1. Back to Karkand
2. Close Quarters
3. Armored Kill
4. Aftermath
5. End Game

• These DLC packs came around every few months, just like what the Devs are promising here. It all sounded great at first. But with each DLC release, the communities got divided more and more. It wasn't just how popular the game mode you liked most was that determined if you would be able to find servers with players. Now you had to worry about if other players had the same DLC pack as you did. For instance:

1. The Close Quarters DLC pack had 4 new small maps for fans of Counter Strike style game play. It also a new game mode. The gameplay style this DLC brought to the game was only popular with certain groups of the community. And even though some people purchased the Close Quarters DLC it didn't mean they played it exclusively.
2. So now you have a situation where players without the Close Quarters DLC, could not play with players who were playing on the Close Quarters maps, or the new game mode that came with it.
3. Now take that scenario and multiply it across each of the 5 DLC packs that were released over the course of a year. With each DLC coming with it's own exclusive maps, and game modes, it created a situation where many of the game mode types felt empty. Too many exclusive DLC game mode types and maps caused a huge separation in the player community. Some of my favorite maps I could no longer play because now players were spread out too thin across the new content from the 5 DLC packs. Even with the new content, if it wasn't popular, prepare for a ghost town because there wouldn't be many people playing that new DLC mode once the novelty wore off.

Now take that scenario from Battlefield 3 and apply it to Everquest 2. We all know now there will be several DLC content packs released over the course of the year. Multiply that by even more as the years go by and the DLC packs add up. The division in the community might not be apparent with the first 2 or 3 DLC packs (...or it very well might). But as DLC is released, players will begin picking and choosing what DLC they want to purchase and what DLC they won't. This is the whole point of the DLC packs after all right? Even the Devs said so.

• What happens when the DLC you purchased is not a very popular one? Be prepared to struggle through it alone, just you and your mercenary, majority of the time.
• Want to play with a friend who didn't buy that particular DLC? Nope. Not gonna happen.
• Finally got a group together, but someone suggests running some of the new DLC zones? Hope everyone in the group has purchased that DLC pack, or someone's getting kicked from group.

It's not like in EQ2 where if you had the latest annual expansion you got all of the previous content with it. So all players could play the latest content with each other as long as they purchased the latest expansion each year. And even players who did not purchase the latest expansion were treated with new content that they did not have access to from two expansions before the latest release.So even though there was some division still in the community, you at least know there was a 50/50 chance that a player had the expansion.

And there are even other concerns regarding the DLC packs. No one knows for sure what types of features or items will be locked behind pay-walls of DLC. I'm already afraid that the new Summoner Pet Appearance feature might be locked behind a wall of DLC. Which if that happens, is a ripoff to me because my Necro and Conjy didn't even get a new appearance for the last tank pets that came with AoM. They still have the same character model of the tank pet from two expansions ago...

I was all excited to get my new pet until I summoned it. I thought it surely had to be a mistake because I did pay for a new expansion right? They couldn't have short changed us right? If that feature is locked behind DLC then that will definitely be the case...And if that tank pet doesn't get a new model even if we are given the option to make our pets look like older models, it is still a huuuuuge cop-out. It clearly sends the message to players that either they got lazy or they ran of funds to pay a character designer to whip out a new tank pet model. Hell even just selecting one of the enemy models as the new tank pet would have been better than making it the same as the old one. I would have loved a huge Void Beast as a Necro tank pet.

There are plenty of enemies to choose from and most have different variations of them to fill the Apprentice/Adept/Master versions of the pets. Hell anyone remember the huge Grim Reaper pet Necros used to get in the previous EQ games? If I have to pay $15 or more to have what should have come with the latest expansion I am going to be royally disappointed.

Needless to say, many people have concerns about the new DLC model EQ2 is taking. More so because it's replacing expansions. If it were just additional adventures that players could choose from without being denied their annual expansion, I think people might not be as opposed. But the concerns are indeed real, and for a variety of reasons. I'm just hoping some sort of dialog begins with the Dev team and the community, because lately I fear there is a big disconnect between us and them. And that will lead nowhere fast.

Luck, I share your pain. I have dealt with this one, though, the last couple expansions. We have guildies that have the latest and some that don't, mainly the ones that casual game due to work & RL schedules. In addition, the last couple have really truly been a gear grind, which also alienated some of those that work.

Before I get slammed by those that work AND play, when I was in technical sales and traveled, it was approximately 50% of the time, work came first...so I fully understand the dilemma these guys face. If I had not changed my RL schedule, the last expac would have been Inconceivable *spoken in best Princess Bride tone* . Due to this, the chasm in gear is slowly expanding and old friends can no longer run things, if they log in when their schedule's allow. I spent part of Saturday trying to level up one of said friends that works/ travels, but does have AOM, so we could get him geared.

That said: I can't see enough of my guys catching up in time what it would make sense for them to get the new Campaign, etc. Hubby and I will get it. As for me, I run what I can, try to help folks people and decorate my houses.

Kitty

What I would like to know is:

• Will DLC's be bundled with the previous years DLC's?
  (like an expansion would be so we don't have to worry about buying 6 DLC's for previous years zones)
• Will there be Overland zones in the next larger one?
• What price range are they looking at for the full years worth of DLC's? $40? $90?
• Will there be CE DLC's? and Standard DLC's?
• Will this DLC or the next one make gear from AoM gear irrelevant? AKA only 1 zone becomes relevant

I am interested, but not excited. This particular DLC seems like slim pickings for $15. Let us see what it offers when it goes onto live servers.
The timing of the announcement was quite un-timely, which is unfortunate, waiting one day could have reduced half the confusion from this thread.

Friend has been gone from the game for over a year now. He's looking to come back and start playing and getting his toons from 95 to 100 and get AAs to 350, and maybe starting to raid again.

He doesn't have AoM purchased yet, but may hold off until the end of the month if this Rum Cellar campaign is bundled with an AoM purchase. Has any word been mentioned yet on how things are going to be priced? Or will he just need to buy AoM for $40 and then have to buy RC for $15 like the rest of us?

Hopefully this and some of the questions in the previous poster will be handled in the Live stream this afternoon. I am, however, skeptical and will preliminarily say that your friend will have to buy AoM and the new Rum DLC separately. They seem to have nudged the idea of future DLC made into bundles but this one seems to be on its own. Maybe I will be proven wrong.

With our level lock being 100 for the forseeable future I think all the DLCs will be extentions of the current power level and give us items to slightly increase our power... hopefully not negating all AoM zones.

My speculation and best guess in a resounding "No" based on AoD. It was initially called and "Expansion"; then a "Feature Pack" so they could keep on selling it after the release of the next expansion. Now it's not even sold as a bundle if I recall correctly. At best I *think* we might see volume discounts for multiple DLC's in the future and *perhaps* a entry package priced accordingly for a new player/new account.

These are great questions. I don't know if you are aware but there is a live twitch stream - https://forums.station.sony.com/eq2...ellar-livestream-tues-april-7-1pm-pdt.559441/ - at 1pm today, so a little over 2 1/2 hours away. Could be worth asking there.

From my initial beta test, I would pass on this. Gonna play it a little bit more today. So far it looks like a revamped Mistmoore Catacombs with Splitpaw puzzles and diffferent modes of difficulty?

Played it a bit... initially it looks like a Solo, Adv Solo, Heroic, Heroic Event, Event Challenge, and Raid version of the instance. Yes agree with the above poster the geometry is a rehashed mistmoore catacombs but entirely re-skinned and addons, so not really a huge deal there.

I will post more about the fun factor once I get through a bit more of the zones, but the initial stages of the story is quite interesting and entertaining. The 'stay' factor will be the heroic zones and loot drops.