Seafury nerfs, epic nerfs, etc

[Meriakh]

I was thinking about this recently, and just in general the nerfing of things like epics (sham tears which went from 30-75k), as well as seafuries, which are the most recent. For new players like me (who have only played for a handful of months), these nerfs represent serious difficulties. Prices on some items are astronomical - mage/necro epic 200k, torpor 110k, and the list goes on. As an old player its not an issue - you've made millions of plat through the years. You've gotten the rarest items that have been nerfed (holgresh elder beads, etc) and sold them for a ton, and have been able to amass wealth using those same nerfed spots (seafuries). You're in no rush to sell that epic MQ, and many guilds love to horde these same high value targets to get even more wealth.

So really, why would the devs nerf things like this, which then only makes things harder for new players? These nerfs seem to actively discourage new players from sticking to the game, and the big guilds seem to have little interest in sharing world spawns with other guilds or players, unless you pay insane fees. So unless you're willing to join one of the big guilds and then wait in line for 2-3 months for your turn, there is no reasonable way to complete your character without insane amounts of time invested. I feel like it would be much better to buff items, thus allowing new players to have a chance at these high value items and giving old players something to strive for. Is there a method to this madness of continually nerfing items, epics, and cash spots?

I guess I'm hoping for a bit of discussion on here as to what other people think - from my point of view I don't see many positives to recent nerfs.

[Linksfather]

Only 200k for mage epic? Where do I sign up?

[fadetree]

Well, my guess is they nerfed seafuries because they were sick and tired of all the squabbling. Don't know for sure though. Doesn't bother me any, I hate to play in those environments so I never went near the place. If you spend some time camping some high value stuff I bet you can still make monies.

[Itap]

I've been on the server for ~5 years and have never amassed more than 100k. You do realize this is (classic) EQ, right? Everything about this game is a time sink. It's up to you to decide how much time you are willing to spend on it.

[branamil]

This game is unfair for new people to the server. Not that it should be fair, but it isn't.

Camping items 5, 7 years ago was way, way more lucrative than camping items now.

Back then you could have camped rubicite, elder beads, mana stones, or fungi staves, a return of 10s of thousands of plat per hour. Now that they are taken out, nothing even remotely as lucrative exists.

Of course raiding back then was more rewarding, too. Back then you could have raided Sleeper's Tomb and gotten items that no longer drop. Worth millions of plat or even priceless items.

[Meriakh]

That is my take on things as well. I feel like at the very least new and interesting items should be introduced - this is for both older and newer players. Gives new players a chance for great returns and old players get to go for awesome items. Nerfing things just seems a bit backwards, as old players quit due to no interesting content and new players can't ever catch up because the options just aren't there anymore.

[loramin]

Originally Posted by Meriakh [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Is there a method to this madness of continually nerfing items, epics, and cash spots?

Yes, and it's very easy to explain. Project 1999 exists to re-create Everquest as it was in 1999(-2001). That includes a true progression of every patch/expansion along the original timeline, along with getting every last detail just right.

You can't just code something like that from scratch and get everything right off the bat, so the devs created a sort of beta server, where intrepid beta testers could find all the bugs so that when they made the real server, everything would be truly classic. Blue is that "beta" server.

Blue is where the devs make their best attempt, and then improve it over time. Every "nerf" you see is a result of them correcting mistakes they'd made previously (or it's a nerf Verant made in the classic timeline). While certain ones may seem to penalize or promote some players over others, that's not their goal. Classic Everquest is their goal.

Someday the final fruit of their labor, the Green/Recycle server, will be released. When it is released it will have none of the issues you're complaining about, because the devs will have learned from Blue and everything will be correct from the start.

[Telin]

Originally Posted by loramin [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Yes, and it's very easy to explain. Project 1999 exists to re-create Everquest as it was in 1999(-2001). That includes a true progression of every patch/expansion along the original timeline, along with getting every last detail just right.

You can't just code something like that from scratch and get everything right off the bat, so the devs created a sort of beta server, where intrepid beta testers could find all the bugs so that when they made the real server, everything would be truly classic. Blue is that "beta" server.

Blue is where the devs make their best attempt, and then improve it over time. Every "nerf" you see is a result of them correcting mistakes they'd made previously (or it's a nerf Verant made in the classic timeline). While certain ones may seem to penalize or promote some players over others, that's not their goal. Classic Everquest is their goal.

Someday the final fruit of their labor, the Green/Recycle server, will be released. When it is released it will have none of the issues you're complaining about, because the devs will have learned from Blue and everything will be correct from the start.

^

[Crashking]

All I have to say is the server doesn't have to be this way. Yes it being as old as it is the high levels are able to dominate it to a degree. I am with you OP in the fact I would to have loved to got my hands on some of the nerfed things, but alas I found the server way too late. I didn't get a chance to play back in 99 and experience all things classic and I missed it here as well. It sure would have been nice to make a trip to Sky without all the super gear that is available now -- because I have seen where basically 1 group can now go up and take on the content there. But over time on live this was the case as well with each additional expansion, past content just got easier and easier. The ability to then twink out a new toon made it so it could fly to the same heights as a main.

I for one will be campaigning for change and a more classic feeling of cooperative community but so far this a slow process of getting things in order. So let me just say - change will be coming and I hope others of like mind will join.

[Murri]

If anything nerfing seafuries will help things stay a little cheaper. Seafuries were putting just raw plat into the economy. Certain items may not be worth as much anymore because there are so many floating around but having just an insane amount of plat getting added to the econ, if anything, would raise the prices of all items. Go out and farm a ton of velious tradeskill mats if you want to make some money.