I'm sure this has been brought up, but I find this to be one of those weird things where in an attempt to make money, DBG is actually bottlenecking themselves. Having mercs level based on an upgrade timer is...it's jut not good. From a gaming and lore stance, you just plug them in and they charge up like a battery? And if one is plugged in charging you don't have any adapters to plug in other ones? They should level like any other sentient (and some nonsentient) being in a gaming world, and that's from use. I see a lot of mercs that look pretty cool, that I'd want to check out. But because say, I have a merc leveling from 10 to 11 and he's a week into it. If I want to level up a new merc, bloop, lose almost all that time from the older one, get some applied to the newer one and say the newer one is just not something you like soooooo...you go back to the old one and restart. Mercs are out here working. They're healing. They're defending. They're playing offense. They're getting paid. So, why not let them have xp and level them that way? Obviously the reason is because people pay cash to level them. Which is something I absolutely won't do. BUT...I am willing to pay some cash to buy other mercs, or pay a fee to have them level xp wise. I just think it's a lame time/money sink when there's already the free flowing udders of the Ascension cow.
Hm, waited to long to edit I guess. To make my pre-coffee rambling a bit clearer here are some suggestions which I think are reasonable. Let them earn xp as used. Slower gain, normal gain. However DBG would do it. But that allows you to swap them in and out. Have them gain a level for every 10 you gain. It keeps them even and at 11 they grind xp like we grind Ascension XP. Keeping the timed version. Drastically reduce the amount of time it takes. By half or more. When you start getting in to weeks to level..that's getting absurd, especially since mercs are primarily used by solo players. Allow more than one merc to be on a timer. Even keeping it at two would be fine. Or the DGB cash cow method. Just drop the price to level them a lot. Half. Because again, I doubt anyone raiding or doing experts even cares enough about a merc to drop cash on it, and especially not at these prices. Lastly, appearance mercs. I'd be willing to buy a few mercs with cash just to use for appearance.
Mercs used to take part of your experience but they didn't level up back then. So the mechanic is already there, I think someone thought of it, but during a planning meeting was bopped on the head with a pool noodle and told NO!!!
The guy who sits in the dark corner smoking cigarettes whispered "No...monetize it..." and they all got a bit nervous and followed the directive.
The problem with mercs taking xp is multiple 1) Toons that NEED mercs (as opposed to those who gain little or nothing from them) will progress slower 2) Quests and such are designed with the toon getting full xp. So either those with mercs will 'get stuck' or, if they increase the xp reward, those without will spring ahead. 3) other players don't 'take xp', so it makes no sense for mercs, that are less capable, should reduce xp gain.
Interesting. In EQ, Mercs level with the character, taking XP as their share of the kill/adventure. It may seem slower, but with a merc my characters can take on tougher mobs... up to a point. But the method kingmob23 mentions seems... off to me, and overly complicated. I should be able to train multiple mercs at the same time.
