Hello all I'm playing Everquest 1 on Agnarr at the moment, which I enjoy very much. I like how the server is locked permanently at LDoN instead of progressing towards live. This is because PoP and LDoN was the peak of Everquest 1 - the time of the game where most people enjoyed it. I'm wondering why EQ2 doesn't make a server like this? Locked at Kunark, TSO or SF. Like I said I'm playing EQ1 right now, but I would swap games in a second if I knew that a server would progress to one of these expansion in EQ2 and then don't progress anymore. I don't have time to catch up with everyone on the TLE, so the permanent lock is an important feature for me - and it ensures that the server stays in an era where I would enjoy it - but also a lot others. And if you're afraid of player base stagnation on a server like that, you could make 'feeder servers' for it. So a new TLE server that goes to the last expansion and then merges with the old server. tl;dr I would like a TLE server that doesn't go past RoK, TSO or SF
Short answer, there isn't nearly as much grind in EQ2 as EQ1. We would run out of things to do way too fast.
Will never happen, unless they significantly rehaul the itemization and balance of the server to allow for players to still have rewards for continuing to play on the server. In it's current state there is next to no reason to run heroics, and a lot of the raid bosses in tier were 1 groupable.
Stormhold was locked on it's last expansion (SF) for the best part of a year before it was merged with AB and in the last few months before the merge you could count the amount of daily people that logged in on one hand
IF they were to do it (huge if, 99% unlikely) then RoK would be the expansion to lock it in. That's given they actually do proper itemization this time (like a serious couple passes on it), and then also get rid of familiars (they cause balancing issues with content). Also, no broker discount box. It's impossible for crafters to compete with certain people having those.
I think they're smart enough to know, the game dies if locked. There just isn't that much to grind on.
/reality_checked, thank you. Your right Atan, there won't be enough grind, or for that matter improvements or release from P2W ...but since I was dreaming, they could take crafting in a totally different direction, where one players toon could become a master in all crafts. The leveling and achievements would have much, much more depth and meaning but they would have to rewrite everything and that's not gonna happen so... /dream_over
I like that idea of master craftsman, but alas certain components of the game would have a hard time reacting to that.
Well it does seem like it's almost there anyway. We multi-class for the TS Apprentices and multi-class in the TS timelines. That could of put a little more grind into it. I would of loved a Jack of all Trades crafter. I know the vision was never there but they had know idea then what a game like EQII would look like over a decade later.
I'm with the OP on this. I've wanted this for a while. If Daybreak ever did it I would be forever subbed; and are you kidding me? There's plenty to grind. The grind from vanilla to RoK alone is LENGHTY to state it mildly. If TSO gets added on top of that the shard armor program to complement the original myth weapons is way more than enough to grind. I didn't even mention the crafting. There's enough to keep a player busy for months; and that's before an alt starts leveling up. Good grief people. You have to rest your eyes a little bit. You can't play around the clock ALL THE TIME. Humans have to eat, sleep, go to the store, sit on the throne, etc... The RoK/TSO days were the game's sweet spot. The content, the story, the experience was superb. After that it starts getting stupid. It becomes a grind-a-holic and mechanic/stat-inflated mess and EVERYONE knows it. This isn't new.
I had every instance cleared, 200 aa's, the signature done, all raids cleared, and a lot of the gear I wanted in under a month from raids on TLE. Even with the failure of not adding double loot to every box despite our 12 week timeframe I had easily over a hundred t4 patterns in my bank, and transmuted over 300 raid items. I guess maybe if you're a super casual player who plays 3-4 hours a week and can only pug/solo their way through things this server would be cool for you? But everyone who buys familiars, pay to win illusions/mounts, spell research etc is mostly the semi hardcore raiding community, because of that, the server's revenue would be much lower than just another tle~
Honestly it's more about bringing back vets that loved EQ2 but the game lost them with its changes over the years. It would be a permanent home for those that have no desire with later eras and would likely jump ship after or around Velious regardless. I'm waiting for an announcement on new TLE as I fully intend to join but won't play it all the way until live. They don't even necessarily have to keep it locked permanently. Deliver a faster-paced XP TLE with regular unlocks until Kunark and then begin to slowly unlock future expansions in 6 month intervals even. Agnaar EQ1 isn't successful because theirs unlimited content to grind at the endgame. It's the game itself feeling fun enough to play in forever. Simply reroll if one character is done. Or leave and take a break and come back a year later and play again. The server is not going anywhere.
I see this really only working for solo players. If there is enough of them to build a revenue stream off of, go for it. For people like me that enjoy raiding and higher tier dungeon content, we'd very rapidly run out of things to do.
And that therein is what aggravates me about MMOs. Why are the desires of raiding players prioritized over more well-rounded players who enjoy ALL aspects of the game? The way you state that makes it sound like your type of game play is the only kind that matters so Daybreak should meet your demands and ignore everyone else's. Sounds kinda dogmatic to me.
It's not so much about favoring one type of player over another, it is about what will sustain the most population/revenue. It just comes down to numbers, there is not enough "non raiders" out there that could not only populate a TLE specialty server, but also spend substantial amounts of money on the marketplace.
Actually, I think I'd argue I"m the more rounded player, as I've done like every quest in this game, every dungeon, every raid, several times. I could be wrong, but sounds like you've not done the hardest content this game has to offer.
How do you arrive at this conclusion? I assure you that there are a lot of fanatic interior decorators, and we do spend lots of money on the Marketplace for house items. Which is not to say that interior decorators don't also raid, or group, or craft, or whatever.
What specifically about TLE would attract a decorator? Would you spend money on decorations for a server that by definition has limited duration and/or content? Seems unlikely to me.