EQ TLP 2024 Teek (Random loot) & Tormax (Traditional) #neckbeardnostalgia

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Greyman

Trakanon Raider
716
953
Yeah each TLP has a few more players than the previous that decide "If you can't beat em, join em".
 

Breakdown

Gunnar Durden
5,977
8,252
I've said it elsewhere, but my suspicions for a 25th anniversary TLP announcement by daybreak would be a classic start, slow expansion release schedule with quality of life features removed. Yes, I basically mean P99. I am not saying I want this ruleset, I am just saying DB is so out of touch they would think they could get a lot of P99/quarm players.

if Zaide is right and they get 17000 at launch I doubt they care to poach the couple hundred from p99 and quarm that don’t already play TLPs too.

also I don’t think current dev would be able to remove qol at this point, the client and game is too far along for them to strip much out
 

Rajaah

Honorable Member
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I've said before and I'll say it again... a "successful" future for EverQuest is via private servers, and I am not talking about emulated servers. I'm talking about actual licensed private servers that use DBG's login servers. Let the players pay a hefty fee to run their own licensed servers where they ARE the GMs, they choose the rulesets, they choose the experience modifiers, they choose which expansions are open at any given time, etc.

Will there be toxic private servers? Of course there will be. Don't play on them unless that's what you enjoy. Eventually you will find a server that is ran by a group of people that you click with, and that will be golden right there.

Let the server owner(s) handle customer support because they ultimately ARE customer support. They know who is cheating and they know who they permit to cheat and how they do it. If they want to run a server that allows botting, so be it. It's their server. They paid the yearly server license fee, let them run it the way they want to run it. If they are a duchebag, over time they wont have enough people playing on their server to warrant them spending the money to continue running it. It solves itself.

And, as for farmers.... if the server owner doesn't want them, it isn't that damn hard for them to pop in to Sirens Grotto and say "bye bye mr fucktard". Kick em from the server, delete all their stuff, problem solved. They come back, do it again. They come back, do it again. Eventually they will stop because it's not worth their time. The point is, an individual managing their own server can do 100% better than a paid customer support representative. They ultimately know 90+% of the people that play on their server. They pretty damn well know who is a real person and who is a bot there to make money off their server.

Will it happen? Fuck no. They are entirely too stupid at DBG to do something logical like this that would make them a shit ton of money.

*edit*

Just wanted to add to this that I would totally play on a season competition server ran by someone like Zaide that would not allow the fuckery that people do today on the TLP servers. that's the kind of private server that would be fucking fun as hell.

The main problem with your idea is that if they did something like this, you'd probably have about 300 new servers pop up immediately, and each one would have like 12 people on it and fizzle out quickly. Would need to spend some time hyping up and prepping a server with broad appeal via the boards, and see if you can hoover people up from the other servers who'd like to play somewhere with actual people. There are only a few people who could likely make a server stand out from the masses and actually concentrate a playerbase.
 

Rajaah

Honorable Member
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Reading this, I can't help but feel like I forgot to log out of my alt Breakdown account before posting here :p Like seriously, this is me, by about the 40th AA in the soulless zone Greg's End, I wonder WTF I am doing and drop it until the next time around.

In related news, does anyone else have a small group of friends who keep dragging them in to the next 'Big game/MMO/TLE Server' only to be the last one left after they all quit in a week? :p

Apparently you're my alt because these things happen to me too. Especially that last one. I jumped to WoW in 2006 to play with a bunch of friends who had been crowing about it for MONTHS, and by a month in they had basically all stopped playing. Happened again later with other games. Partly because I always wait too long to get into new things and end up jumping in during the decline where people are leaving.
 

Korzax Stonehammer

Blackwing Lair Raider
775
438
They need to release a new server with all xpacs open at server start. See how people progress. Raiding would be interesting.
 

Mahes

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
5,282
6,327
They need to release a new server with all xpacs open at server start. See how people progress. Raiding would be interesting.
So would the server start 1-50 and then slowly increase or would it just be a new server? If 1-50, then you need to remove level requirements from all items to make it worth trying bosses that should be impossible in theory. Also, what time table for level increases? For extra fun allow for AA's 3 expansions in advance. Adds a greater chance of defeating encounters a few expansions beyond current point.
 

Arbitrary

Tranny Chaser
29,136
80,215
I wish Vaniki had been a success. It was really neat until the challenges became unrealistic but with the low pop and mediocre reception it's unlikely we get more experimental rule sets. It seems unlikely the cheating is going to get reigned in by May and given how comfortable people got cheating while on Oakwynd the 25th open world scene should be a disaster. Lots of people = lots of competition = lots of pressure to be a scumfuck. With minimal punishments doled out why not cheat? Less than a week after launch we should have posts here about how X member of <Lords of Jizz> warped on to Nagafen to get the lock and everyone got to watch him kite it around until his guild could show up.
 

Rajaah

Honorable Member
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They need to release a new server with all xpacs open at server start. See how people progress. Raiding would be interesting.

New normal server with everything unlocked = No progression, everyone levels to max and starts doing modern expansions.

New server with level raises at intervals and everything unlocked: This would be real interesting. At 50 people would be raiding VT and PoP T1 and T2, at 60 groups would be farming Arcstone and Relic for gear and probably raiding PoR (which would probably be way more useful under this paradigm). Only real downside is things like Kunark and GoD/OoW would get pretty much skipped over except maybe by casual guilds. Whole thing would end up looking a lot like Vaniki, except for whichever Faceless type guild tried to test themselves by seeing how far they could get on each level cap.
 

Zaide

TLP Idealist
3,907
4,752
I wish Vaniki had been a success. It was really neat until the challenges became unrealistic but with the low pop and mediocre reception it's unlikely we get more experimental rule sets. It seems unlikely the cheating is going to get reigned in by May and given how comfortable people got cheating while on Oakwynd the 25th open world scene should be a disaster. Lots of people = lots of competition = lots of pressure to be a scumfuck. With minimal punishments doled out why not cheat? Less than a week after launch we should have posts here about how X member of <Lords of Jizz> warped on to Nagafen to get the lock and everyone got to watch him kite it around until his guild could show up.
Vaniki launching in GoD was a death sentence imo. They also needed other changes which have since been made so the server is in a good spot, but casuals don't roll on servers unless they start in Classic or maybe Kunark, and without casuals a community never really sprouts up.

It really sucks because I think the Luclin launch of Selo was one of the best ever and some of the most fun I've ever had but I don't know if we'll ever get another one like that, and if we do idk if a critical mass of casuals would even give it a shot.
 
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SorrowsEnd

Trakanon Raider
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Selo launch was the most enjoyable.

Multiple leveling path options and the beginning raids in trash gear was super fun.

I think if they want to try to push Personas more we might...and this is a hopeful might, see level required tag removed like on vaniki. With gear just having recommended level instead of a hard required level really changes the playing field for personas and gear collecting. Also makes alt leveling hilarious.

I'm afraid with so much talk of slower expansions and unlocks we will get another server that is dead most of time between expansions.

I know everyone has their own ideas of the perfect server. Personally I'd like no truebox from the start. Start in luclin-pop, free trade, no level required gear, double drops like vaniki (this makes camping and questing with friends awesome, everyone wins) and finally just no keying required. Just flat out get rid of nonsense key camps for raid content. Keep expansion unlocks to 6 weeks at most. Skip the trash expansions (ldon and anything level 70 etc). Make a server that is actually fun? People are going to bail the next year no matter what. Don't give me another classic start or its not worth playing outside of the first week fine steel krono farm meet and greet.
 

Arbitrary

Tranny Chaser
29,136
80,215
Changing the ZEMs once a year with the launch of a new TLP is some of the easiest, lowest hanging fruit content and they don't do it.
 
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Greyman

Trakanon Raider
716
953
I'm not sure it would work unless there's a dramatic and immediately noticeable difference.

People tend to go to the same zones over and over for a lot of reasons beside ZEM.

Easy to get to
Loot
Mob density
Familiarity
It's where the most groups are etc.

Like Unrest xp feels like it has been nerfed on the last couple of TLPs but it doesn't stop half the 10-30 population from congregating there.
 

Xevy

Log Wizard
8,897
4,112
It's fairly simple. You modify ZEMS to either have new hotspots (Sol A, Mistmoore, Kedge Keep, Najena, etc) or just balance them across the board.

THEN you add a random bonus roll on rare loot. Mischief style "random loot from within tier" so that you can be killing shit in Kedge Keep and still get your BIS LGuk loot as a chance. This also combats shit like the fuckdick with 6 necros camping GEBS literally 24 hours a day. It leaves the chance of actually camping a piece you need available while making other historically barren and unused places much more appealing.

The leveling "rail" of newbie zone ---newbie zone adjacent zone----Unrest---Lguk---Hole literally every time, is so fucking bad it needs a changeup. Shit like Permafrost and Kedge Keep are untouched in terms of camps outside one or two items by some one trying to get a mammoth cloak or shaman spear. It also means you could kill the Ghoul Lord and GEBS to drop and cream your jeans. It's the best of both worlds.

Or they could ruin the nostalgia of EQ and just implement LDoN's starting in classic. They have level scaling down to what, 10? So it's easy to do and the loot there sucked dick outside of merchant gear which would mostly be req and rec locked. It's a much more casual friendly way of not having to wait for a pick or sit on a list to get the "good" exp camp, but it definitely tarnishes the spirit of EQ. I could see this as an AMAZING way, however, of helping people level personas and getting very casual/very new players into the game. One of the things that made WoW so successful was the instancing of dungeons for the normie group. Putting that in early and not having to wait ~1.5 years to get to it might help out the non EQ diehards. And in the end, that's what DBG needs to do. Appeal to NEW players rather than throw the same basic bitch TLP Aradune clone out every year and suck the fat off the same 300 whales that float on over.
 
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Kharzette

Watcher of Overs
5,351
4,101
I'm very much in favour of whatever system makes the challenge of obtaining an item more about defeating the encounter than getting up at 4am to try to find it uncamped.

Personal picks for 100 fippybucks?
 
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xmod2

<Gold Donor>
771
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Vaniki launching in GoD was a death sentence imo. They also needed other changes which have since been made so the server is in a good spot, but casuals don't roll on servers unless they start in Classic or maybe Kunark, and without casuals a community never really sprouts up.

It really sucks because I think the Luclin launch of Selo was one of the best ever and some of the most fun I've ever had but I don't know if we'll ever get another one like that, and if we do idk if a critical mass of casuals would even give it a shot.
Doing GoD zones extremely underleveled was some of the best EQ in recent memory. As a player I don't give a shit if a server has 'mass appeal', I want interesting and challenging shit to do. It's too bad they had no idea what to do with later challenges/rewards. The first few unlocked were cracked.

I figured after hearing about personas they would lean into that to basically replace the 'free trade' / mirror shit on Oakwynd. That was until the dev with the thought behind it left.

God only knows what they'll do now, but nobody relevant is going to play seriously on another normal speed, truebox classic start. Even if that is what makes them the most money.
 

Rajaah

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I'm not sure it would work unless there's a dramatic and immediately noticeable difference.

People tend to go to the same zones over and over for a lot of reasons beside ZEM.

Easy to get to
Loot
Mob density
Familiarity
It's where the most groups are etc.

Like Unrest xp feels like it has been nerfed on the last couple of TLPs but it doesn't stop half the 10-30 population from congregating there.

I'm all about doing a "scenic route" static that still gets to max level quickly, but doesn't maximize speed in the most optimal route.

Then do things like Blackburrow or Crushbone at early levels, Runnyeye, Highhold Pass, Highkeep... if Kunark is open add in LOIO sarnak fort, FM giant fort, Kaesora, Dalnir, Karnor, HS
 

yerm

Golden Baronet of the Realm
6,500
16,642
While luclin was an absolutely fantastic place to start with awesome leveling options... too many people opt out. I suspect that a trilogy start is about the best we can hope for with post-classic that won't just be a wasteland. I actually think it'd be fantastic to see how people approach it, eg druids charming spiders or shaman being wildly strong for the late stage grind levels.

For random loot, an issue becomes that you can't target farm stuff, so it can be just brutal to deal with "going back" or "catching up" if certain things matter to you and you missed that era. My proposed solution is a simple one - always drop the regular loot table and then add any bonus loot(s) as additional. For example, if you kill phinny you always get a hit of phinny loot; you can still target farm him for your epic drop.

I'd also like if they threw in some of the later game stuff early. Mercs are game breaking early so maybe not them, but overseer or hot zones with their quests or missions like giantsgiantsgiants and stuff like that? The first tlp, combine, had a bunch of obscure stuff that they hadnt gotten out yet, and a lot of it was pretty cool. Leave some in. Or mix some in.

Vaniki went a little hard on the elite aspect. I lobbied for a server like that for a long time before it came, but they went a little far with it, and then stuff like spell resists being whack to compensate. All they need is something like a 1 week gap between new expac launch and corresponding level increase, so pop at 60 for example. No need to be too wild - cool for a few people but not gonna appeal to most - and just have it as a very brief sweatlord phase as each expac with a level increase comes out.

They also need all classes at start. The excuses given are giant piles of horse shit. They do NOT need to balance anything. Berserkers will be the literal worst class for any leveling phase and beastlords are just not stronger than mages 1-50 or necros 1-60, firmly outclassed, so they arent op. Let them go day 1.
 
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Lambourne

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
2,878
6,882
I thought LDoN would be really popular as leveling content on Vaniki because of the reasons above (endless stream of mobs you don't have to compete for) but as it turns out, the mobs in there have way more hp and people quickly figured out that it was better xp/hour to go back to camping Paludal Caverns and Unrest pick #122.

Players will go where the xp/hour is best so shaking up the ZEMs will absolutely work, they just need to make sure they bump up zones that can handle the number of players at modern power levels (i.e. instances or open world zones that don't have the requirements to spawn a new pick set too high)