What if DoF opened in 3 weeks and KoS 3 weeks after that?

Seeing as experience on Varsoon is going to be at Live server rate and most people will be max level the first week (with many of us max level the day it opens), what if Desert of Flames opened 4 weeks after launch and Kingdom of Sky opened 2 weeks after that?

Otherwise, there is going to be a whole lot of people with absolutely nothing worth doing for like 12 weeks between server start and DoF unlocking and even more of nothing to do between DoF and KoS.

Just a thought on how to keep a high population on the server long enough for us to get to the good expansions.

I think faster unlocks would be great. Not sure about those timelines though.

Also the leveling speed is barely a factor when it comes to what how soon content should be unlocked at. If it takes 8 hours or 40 hours to hit 50, it maybe moves the first raid by a few days. Even less of an impact in later expansions.

I was a little over doing it on the time frame. Maybe 1 to 2 months each for initial and DoF.

Would be nice. Four months is torture.

in a traditional sense most don't just hit max and stop to wonder when the next xpack is to raise the cap again. If Varsoon T5 raids are exactly like Kaladim then it will be fairly fast and easy, as it's pretty much always been. If they beef things up just some it could help with a facade of longevity.

probably a lot would prefer 2 months T5, 1 month DoF, 2 months KoS, 3-4 EoF+ onward. but with mid-content activities the extra 2 months is supposed to make sense. If they can nail hunter quest changes and all mid-content releases like the T5 gnolls then i think a lot will be having fun into the 3rd month of T5 and some of those who join late or go slow will still be satisfied into month 4 of T5.

but that's just me having my hopes up. we have a little bit of a better focused team working on Varsoon including more constructive conversations with devs about raids, progression, and itemization we previously never really had with a TLE launch. focuses are narrowed and i think we're on the right track. is free-trade the right track, that im not really sure about, but we'll see eh...

I would keep paying a subscription and not flake out after 2 weeks.

So, the Idea of folks playing on a TLE (first time or otherwise) is not to actually play the game? as in travel through zones, do quests in groups and so on? Just log in day one sit at desk for (X) hours, grind to 50, oh yes and must be just the right class or no one will wish to group with you.
It is summertime, short unlocks seems like many would just quit as they would fall behind very fast. Not everyone can play 12-20 hrs a week. A lack of true inclusion seems like it would continue to diminish player base.
May as well just make the TLE a raiders TLE. Start out at 50, as soon as a team completes all raid content, next territory is un-locked. Then off and running to compete next unlock- complete game in 4 months, claim "You Win" and the competitive urge is satisfied.
It is a bit short sighted to believe that this is how everyone wishes to play or that "Everyone" is an EQ2 veteran and knows everything about every class and the game. My opinion only. The most vocal folks may not always represent the majority, even if they believe they speak for everyone. Hats off to a few folks out there. While they may be a bit snarky in their comments to others, it does seem they trying to post positive feedback and try to improve the game.
Telling folks to disable XP or play like they want, is the same as saying "Go play on live" we not doing that here. People want to feel like they are a part of the community and doing similar things within it. (Hope that makes sense). That is one of the primary reasons people enjoy MMOs to begin with.
Maybe just a little less focus on reaching the "END" and a bit more on the journey and why you first played EQ2 to begin with. Reach out in a positive way and help others learn different classes or complete quests. There are multiple ways to keep people engaged and playing (and paying-which we all need).

Why is it that the people who choose to take their time leveling are so hung up on the idea that others prefer to get to end game quickly?
Because I can tell you with certainty the overwhelming majority of those who "rush" to end game, couldn't care any less if you chose to play 5 hours a week picking flowers and never hit max level.
You play your way, I will play mine. Neither is the right or wrong way.

Sort of my point. Basically, the loudest voices are saying to others- If you are hoping for a grouping/playing the game experience, forget it "Just go play solo" does not do much to expand the player base which in end is not healthy for the game.

i just wanna buy kronos with the plat i make.

A slow rate of xp will not control the speed at which players progress through content. I have seen that on every TLE and I have played on all of them.

It would be wonderful if there were always people to do things with when I log on, be it questing, grouping or whatever. That won't happen and it never has. The reason isn't the rate of xp.

The server's longevity will be based on things like the length between expansion releases, itemization, etc. That is the honest truth.

Lastly, no one is telling any one how to play the game. The facts though don't support the idea that a slow xp rate will control progression.

Organized groups can do 1-50 in a single day and you wonder why there's not many people at lower levels questing, grouping, or whatever. Any Joe Schmoe with vitality stored up is going to progress through levels with minimal effort. You yourself are clamoring for fast XP but in reality it just makes the server even more top-heavy earlier on than it should be. Each server has a certain shelf life when the lower level areas are booming with players and i'm unsure how you're defending this fast XP rate is beneficial to the overall server health if these areas are ghost towns on week 2 instead of week 4.

Nothing screams accomplishment quite like being able to reach max level on a brand new server day one, paying DBC to research your best spells... To each their own, no matter the leveling speed i'll be playing. But your original quote, "a slow rate of XP will not control the speed at which players progress" is just wrong. You'll see on the 24th when there's raid gear for sale on the broker already.

Ah yes the landscape of the server will look drastically different if those organized groups hit 50 on day 4 instead of day 1.

Server is gonna die at the same spot no matter what, shortening the unlocks will just speed us to the next TLE server.

Again, the rate of xp doesn't stop any one from playing through the content at which ever pace they choose. I am not advocating for one play style over another. Those were your words not mine.

The rate of release sure does, though.
3 week releases (or four and two) - as proposed by the OP - would be far too fast.
What exists is fine.

If your primary desire is to socialize - to play with, or simply around, others - a swifter content release cycle will give you more people to play with for a longer time.

People are constantly leaving a given game. Games lose about half their population per 4 weeks before hitting a "bottom out" point. By week 12 you'll have 12.5% of the population of Day 1. By week 16 you'll have 6.25%. That means month 3 is a dying server and the last month is a dead one.

The only thing that brings population back is new stuff. A 10-week cycle would see the population dropping to ~20% before being refreshed with a new expansion. That's probably the sweet spot for EQ2 given its low starter population.

You'll notice I don't mention XP anywhere in here. That's for a reason - it doesn't matter. You lose players due to time. Your XP can be slow or fast - half of your players are lost to other entertainment every month. If you don't provide them with a hook to come back soon enough, they'll be gone for good.

You can watch this video if you want to go into the specifics:

Bringing back old stuff in three weeks or six months won't matter, then.

It does.

The longer the wait, the higher the chance is that you'll permanently lose players because expansion releases aren't an economy reset.

At the same time you have to give most players enough time to enjoy the content. A good balance there is 8-10 weeks.

You're not going to permantly lose players you weren't going to permantly lose anyway.

Hell, there are posts here for people returning to play the TLE again. They are not permantly lost.

There is a faction here to race, and a faction that's here for the nostolgia, as you've already noted. The Racers are going to leave (or at least pause operations) once the race is over. Those here for the nostolgia will take their time trying to capture the ambiance of the game-that-was. Of course they can't fully succeed, but they will leave when the server gets to a point they no longer like and return on the next TLE. The longer the expansion, the longer the second group sticks around.

12 weeks should be the minimum length - 16 is fine as is.