The EQ2 Time-Locked Server Discussion Thread

Do this and I'll give you my first born.

I'm geussing that's the point. DB needs money coming in and the popularity of the new EQ1 servers show there's demand.
Devs, make this happen!

One of my wonderings about this would be in the area of crafting.
Some of the mechanisms were introduced later on, specifically writs/dailys and the like. Would those be turned off (i.e. the NPC's hidden away) until such time as to match when they were introduced originally?

My other wondering is to think about how many items are going to be banked waiting for transmuting to be unlocked.

Maybe you should read Roshen's posts. The point of the server is not to go back to how things were. The point is to make a server where the old and low level content is relevant. In this context, all races and classes being available is not a problem unless they pose a game balance problem. As far as I can tell, this is not an unusual problem for any specific class or race. Obviously, AAs are completely different. They make characters more powerful and it makes sense to consider limiting their availability.

I would like to re-direct this question in a way that the developers might be able to give us more information that is compatible with the uncertainty on their side. It would be nice if we could be provided with a date which represents our minimum expected wait. In other words, tell us that this will not be available before a certain date. Since we already know it will most likely happen before the end of the year, we will then have a window of time. Maybe it makes sense to give the estimate as a range of dates, for example: between October 1 and December 31. This would help set our expectations better and allow people to know that the progression server is still a ways off in the future.

It might be simpler and better for server performance if they were to set the stat soft caps to some very small number or zero instead.

My understanding is that the purpose of this thread is for us to tell the dev's what we hope to happen with this server.
So, rather than wondering what they'll do, what is it you want them to do about crafting?

For me, I like the convenience of how crafting levels now with all the writs, dailies and quests. And transmuting is certainly easier to level up if you start as soon as you create a toon.

I could understand some people more dedicated to crafting than my lazy self wanting it to be a real accomplishment to have a top level crafter.
Now that I think of it that may be a way to lessen the effect of gear inflation...not everyone running around in MC gear. People would have to farm for legendary, meaning more grouping.
Add in a nerf to the drop rate of rares...

Yeah, now I don't think transmuting should be in right away, and definitely not adorning, making gear more powerful is the opposite of how launch should be.

tbh this sounds like a bad idea. now don't get me wrong I liked old eq2.
But what I am hearing is "we won't have this, this or that, that takes too much time, won't do that".
It's better to have things good then rushed. I don't understand how time is a factor. if something takes time/work, just release it later??

Well damn, after years of being told it probably wouldn't happen...it's a nice surprise anyway. I am a bit of a nostalgia junkie, I'll admit. I'd play it, probably. Bummed about Isle of Refuge though. A few points, some of which others have already made:

• I'll echo others' sentiments. This will be a bust without the content or gear being adjusted somehow to present some kind of challenge. As it is now, with all the mechanics and itemization changes over the last few years, even capping at 50 and shutting off access to DoF+ zones, the content would be way too easy. People would be doing 10+ times the DPS they would have at launch. People (crusaders especially) will be trolling contested dungeons and probably soloing the raids.
• I'd personally be against Beastlords and Channelers being available from the outset. Channelers moreso since IMO they would unbalance things too much. Not to mention, they'll whine when RoK hits and everyone else is getting their mythicals.
• Where would players start? None of the current starter zones existed at launch. GFay/Darklight are EoF(?). Gorowyn is RoK. Halas was...well technically not tied to an expac, but was released well after TSO if I am remembering correctly.
• Please, no voting. Just start the countdown when the main boss is downed for the first time, assuming no exploits or other fuggery. The fact is, the early content is going to die pretty fast, regardless. Holding new expacs back too long will cause those of us who actually want to kill stuff leave and will kill the server after 3 months.
• Fix your code that trivializes heroic and lesser raid mobs when in a raid. There are a few old raid encounters that are essentially broken if you try to actually form 2+ groups for them, because the waves of adds or whatever are heroic, causing them to break and reset the encounter. Two examples of this are the Mayong Mistmoore encounter in Throne of New Tunaria, and the Ice Maiden statue in Icy Keep. There are others too but I can't remember them off the top of my head. Maybe they're already fixed, I dunno. But they were broken last time I tried them with a full 24-man raid.
• Presumably this will happen anyway, but AAs should be restricted to the expac they were released in. Yes, I know they won't be turned on until KoS, but even then, access should only be to the KoS tab. It's going to be lol if Summoners are ele blasting Tarinax and clerics start popping divine guidance and going AFK.

I am definitely intrigued, though. I'd probably sub for a month to try it out.

Level 1 whatever looking for raid guild, I guess.

I also would like to add that I as well with many others would prefer not to see ANY AA until the proper xpac it was released in as well. I would like to keep it true as possible.

-Jaz

Oh, and what about Avatars?

I totally want to be woken up at 3am again to kill those.

It would be nice if they made it so that races are more important; where an ogre warrior is superior than a ratonga warrior. I think the racial traits and combinations with particular classes made even the uglier races more desired and allowed for more census variance.

Also on my wish list for this server......please include chimneys that you can actually slide down from the roof,and also add a chimney sweep top hat with a broom on SC.....also add that ratongas can have soot on their faces when they sweep the chimney !!!

I agree that the XP rates should be lowered, however you need to consider Veteran XP bonuses first. Time locked servers are going to attract players with older accounts without level capped characters. Veteran XP should be disabled so the leveling is fair and consistent to everyone and the server remains competitive. The veteran bonus can vary and stacks up to +200% percent which is triple the normal XP amount, only after that is removed can you figure out a proper XP nerf.

From the second post on page 1 of this thread

Sorry, I should of reread the original posts but I am only bringing it up as people seem to be figuring leveling times and XP nerfs with the veteran bonuses in mind. You would also be leveling in vanilla Shattered Lands content which is no where near as streamlined as the newer zones with possible player character debuffs. I've seen -90% XP rates suggested. Leveling at a tenth of the normal rate could take much longer then it did at launch when you factor in stat debuffs and nerfed movement speeds.

That is what Beta is for. If an EXP penalty, stat debuff, or mob enhancement is too much, or not enough, that feedback can be used to adjust it before the server goes live.

Raiding and grouping with people is a personal thing. Game mechanics don't drive it.

Question for people in this thread, what's more desirable leveling from 1-50 or playing with random people from 1-50?

Playing with random people for me.
I just molo thru the stuff now but it's not fun like it used to be when you really needed a group.

A bit disappointed on the queens colony/outpost and racial starting zones in the cities mentioned on the first page of this thread.

Maybe I don't fully understand how it works, but given that the zone assets still exist in the clients for the old parts of the revamped cities, and the island as well as the old village zones being reused in the new quest series, why can't you just create new copies of instances of each of the old zones and go from there? It seems like you can make an instance of any zone you want and name it then program the NPCs in it. Take McScroogle's past quests from frost fell, a lot of them took place in house zone assets and other zone assets from the past of the game but renamed and reused for the quest.

Sorry but as I'm not an MMO developer I need so hear it stepped down to my level, but again it seems so possible that the excuses come of more or less "we don't wish to spend money or time on it".

And I mean no offense to you guys (the devs). If it's bad enough where it just really won't work, then that's a really bad inefficient/unscalable system and it's unfortunate that it even exists.