Solution to lower level grouping woes: hotzones or group XP?

[Galaa]

After years of hopping around different MMORPGs (even played FFXIV, Rift and still having an active SWTOR sub), Im coming back to Everquest again LOL.

Just started a character and cant seem to find much people playing around in the newbie zones. I did a /who all 10-20 and saw that everyone is scattered around in different zones, probably soloing. Im sure not everyone wants to solo, but many lowbies are forced to due to unable to find people to group with.

Makes me wonder, if there are hotzones (level 10-49) and group XPs, will it encourage people to gather around specific zones? With more people within the same zone, it will lead to more chance of grouping IMO.

With a small XP gain in hotzones (10%), it will encourage low level characters to congregate in specific zones, and giving an additional XP bonus for grouping, it makes people want to group as well.

These measures will encourage more new players into the server as well IMO, as they know they have a chance to group with people again (the reason why we all wanna play EQ), as well as encourage players to create alts (again adding to more chance for grouping for new players).

[Kassel]

Not classic

[formallydickman]

~ 10 people in blackburrow atm
~ 20 people in oasis in their teens
~ 15 people in unrest
~ 12 people in mistmoore
I can't remember /w all command for upper guk but I'm sure its pretty full as well.

Seems pretty good, not great, but it is Monday night and about 100 less people online than the last few days had.

[Kika Maslyaka]

that's inherited problem with running EQ on a smaller scale - too many low end zones, too many starting cities - causes high population scattering.
EQ world was designed to support 1.5-2.5k population per server. With about 500 as average max, server still only at 25% capacity.

Nothing can really be done about it without breaking the "classic" set up, other than player driven "hubs"...
Or, recruiting another 1k-2k prime time players ;)

[Flunklesnarkin]

you didn't just put FF14 as the first of your mmo credentials did you?

[bizzum]

you didn't just put FF14 as the first of your mmo credentials did you?

I remember the time I got beta, installed it, ran it for 15 seconds, turned it off, and uninstalled it. FUN.

OP > 1-15 is probably the hardest but there are always groups in the good zones, even late at night. It's not hard to find groups if you try to put it together! If you can't find one, find some people to do it with. There is a big influx of new players now it should be easier than a few weeks ago to find some people to play with.

[classic_o]

http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/7014906/

^ Possible Fix?

[fischsemmel]

The grouping issue is simple, really.

Groups are shitty.


I have yet to be in a group in this game, after 52 levels on a necro, 50 levels on a cleric, 49 levels on a bard, and ~20 levels on each a shadowknight and a rogue, where any group earned better xp than I could have earned solo (excepting the rogue, of course).

I don't know if players are bad, or if they don't pay attention, or what. But group xp is just terrible on the whole, and even in a great zone with a balanced group of good, attentive players, group xp is only "good."

Because of this, anyone who can solo decently or better (aka everyone except rogues and warriors) WILL solo. They will avoid having to spend time and effort moving to groups, dealing with bad players, putting groups together, sitting around with /lfg on. And they will earn more xp for less effort.

There being too few people grouping is just incidental to this.

[Caridry]

The grouping issue is simple, really.

Groups are shitty.


I have yet to be in a group in this game, after 52 levels on a necro, 50 levels on a cleric, 49 levels on a bard, and ~20 levels on each a shadowknight and a rogue, where any group earned better xp than I could have earned solo (excepting the rogue, of course).

I don't know if players are bad, or if they don't pay attention, or what. But group xp is just terrible on the whole, and even in a great zone with a balanced group of good, attentive players, group xp is only "good."

Because of this, anyone who can solo decently or better (aka everyone except rogues and warriors) WILL solo. They will avoid having to spend time and effort moving to groups, dealing with bad players, putting groups together, sitting around with /lfg on. And they will earn more xp for less effort.

There being too few people grouping is just incidental to this.

not entirely true, i have been in some guk groups where we were raking in some monster xp. thats pretty much it though >.>

[Bohab]

35-40 seems rough, not sure what happens to all the people you group with up to 35? They all seem to vanish... haven't found a group in days for my rogue. Looking like I should just farm plat on necro to have him powerleveled at this point.

[Littlestgnome]

The groups I've had up to this point have been a bit of a mixed bag. The thing for me is that a group is (usually) less risk with the potential for better payoff (ie, named spawns and drops). I can often times gain solo exp at a faster rate but generally can't hold named spawn locations unless I've already outleveled most of the immediate area in which case I'm no longer maximizing my exp gain anyway.

The big issue I've had with groups thus far is that many players either don't remember or don't stick to tried and true EQ formulas. Namely, they don't let the tank grab aggro before going in with swords flailing and spells blazing.

No nukes before 70%!

[Pomaikai]

I dunno, I've had great luck in EXP groups from my start through 45, where I am now. Extremely solid exp, and many times blazing exp. Now, some of that may be colored by the fact that I'm a Cleric and we don't solo worth a damn in Classic EQ. We can and I've done it, but it's an ugly thing to watch.

[fischsemmel]

I dunno, I've had great luck in EXP groups from my start through 45, where I am now. Extremely solid exp, and many times blazing exp. Now, some of that may be colored by the fact that I'm a Cleric and we don't solo worth a damn in Classic EQ. We can and I've done it, but it's an ugly thing to watch.

Don't use colorful words. Tell me what % of what level you were earning per hour.

The cleric I was talking about leveling earlier? Every time I joined a group with him, people in the group were going on and on about how the xp we were getting was so great, when it was like half of what I had been soloing 30 minutes earlier while 3/4 afk and with no risk of death.


Oh, ya see! I just re-read your post and you said that you, as a cleric, can't solo worth a damn. You are SOOOOO wrong.

Come on. Tell me your group's blazing xp rate in the 30s. Is it faster than 2 yellows per hour? Cause that's what my cleric was soloing in unrest from 34-39. And it wasn't much slower than that from 19-34, probably 7-9 blues per hour.

[fischsemmel]

The groups I've had up to this point have been a bit of a mixed bag. The thing for me is that a group is (usually) less risk with the potential for better payoff (ie, named spawns and drops).

This is one of the two reasons to group on p99, the other being because you meet people and at least some of those people end up being really cool and making it onto your friends list and chatting/playing with you for a long time.

But the "groups can handle named spawns" thing? Well, that IS a legitimate reason for an untwinked melee (that being SK, pal, rang, monk; we all know that rogues and warriors aren't soloing in the first place without ridiculous twinking) to join groups. But every single caster (plus bards) can solo naked, more or less. They are better off spending their time getting to higher levels faster and than worrying about drops.

I have not found grouping to be lower risk than soloing with any of my characters so far though. Groups want to go into dungeons most of the time, and without the right group and/or players, that gets ugly pretty quickly. But if you are the one forming groups and keeping them from getting in over there heads, I can see this being a perk to grouping also.

[formallydickman]

Duoing is faster than soloing in my experience, so long as the 2 classes are at least somewhat compatible. It doesn't always have to be a full group or solo.

[fischsemmel]

Duoing certainly can be nice. Depends on the camp moreso than the classes, imo. Any 2 classes can duo better than solo if their camp can support both of them. But adding a second class of anything into a camp that the one person is keeping clear or nearly clear just divides the xp two ways without increasing the amount of xp there to be earned.

Duo seems to most benefit melee and pet classes, I think. Melee since they can't solo for squat, and pet classes because they have to worry about the pet eating xp when solo.

[Galelor]

35-40 seems rough, not sure what happens to all the people you group with up to 35? They all seem to vanish... haven't found a group in days for my rogue. Looking like I should just farm plat on necro to have him powerleveled at this point.
I saw 35-45ish like this on my shaman.

I would also like to add 2 points of contention regarding the solo is better argument:
1. Soloing is super fucking boring...
2. EQ is mostly designed around grouping/guilding. If you are leveling your first char and want to have success when you are higher level, I suggest you make friends while you are leveling up.

[fischsemmel]

I don't really mean to argue "solo is better" in some overall way.

The thread was started because of the justifiable perception that groups are hard to come by while leveling up. Me pointing to all the reasons soloing is preferred for a lot of people is explanation for the difficulty in players finding groups.

Grouping is only really a good idea if at least a few of the following are true:
1. you need to make more friends
2. you are a warrior or a rogue and can't afford a PL
3. you are totally untwinked and are a melee who is not a bard
4. you want to group just because

Plus it's not like you can't make friends when you are 50+. No reason that someone can't zip 1-50 without talking to a single person in game and then make friends while doing something more productive than killing orcs in oasis.

[Teeny]

The grouping issue is simple, really.

Groups are shitty.


I have yet to be in a group in this game, after 52 levels on a necro, 50 levels on a cleric, 49 levels on a bard, and ~20 levels on each a shadowknight and a rogue, where any group earned better xp than I could have earned solo (excepting the rogue, of course).

I don't know if players are bad, or if they don't pay attention, or what. But group xp is just terrible on the whole, and even in a great zone with a balanced group of good, attentive players, group xp is only "good."

Because of this, anyone who can solo decently or better (aka everyone except rogues and warriors) WILL solo. They will avoid having to spend time and effort moving to groups, dealing with bad players, putting groups together, sitting around with /lfg on. And they will earn more xp for less effort.

There being too few people grouping is just incidental to this.

I hate to say it, but I agree with this post almost 100%. I think a lot of it is, we've gotten used to games with very minimal downtime, so now that we're back to a game like this any downtime drags really long.

I think a part of it also is though a lot of people on this server do indeed abuse the group mechanic. I find in a lot of the groups I get into, there always is at least 1 person taking a 5-10 minute afk break at any given time. There may be plenty of mobs to pull, but just its not going as fast because someone is always afk. The only thing you can really do to solve this is, start a list of people you know not to group with tbh. This will keep them from always taking an abundant amount of afks. Try to stick within a group of people who are like minded such as yourself who want to maximize XP.

Just my 2cp.

[Teeny]

I don't really mean to argue "solo is better" in some overall way.

The thread was started because of the justifiable perception that groups are hard to come by while leveling up. Me pointing to all the reasons soloing is preferred for a lot of people is explanation for the difficulty in players finding groups.

Grouping is only really a good idea if at least a few of the following are true:
1. you need to make more friends
2. you are a warrior or a rogue and can't afford a PL
3. you are totally untwinked and are a melee who is not a bard
4. you want to group just because

Plus it's not like you can't make friends when you are 50+. No reason that someone can't zip 1-50 without talking to a single person in game and then make friends while doing something more productive than killing orcs in oasis.

The only flaw in your logic is we don't play MMO's such as EQ to play solo 1-50. Not to mention, the fact that unless you're one of the key solo classes, xp is slow especially with the current penalties being in place. Yes it is completely possible to solo from 1-50 without interacting with a single person for max xp. The problem is the incentive for people to play their lower toons to group with these newer people.

I personally would be more apt to play an alt in a lot of these lower zones if there was an xp bonus in affect. Does this mean anything to anyone? No, but boosting the pop of this server by giving a couple days worth of a minor xp bonus won't hurt the server overall I think it would help it. Its not classic, etc etc, that argument is always thrown around on this forums. There's alot of things not classic about this server that people are happy about. Adding about 100 more active players would be great for the community, and keeping them for more than the first 20 levels when they realize the xp penalty + the grouping situation is a PITA then quit.

just my 2cp.

[Hitchens]

I've found grouping on P1999 to be easy and enjoyable. I've had lots of fun grouping in both indoor and outdoor zones.

The community in-game is great and quite active.

[acid_reflux]

E.Q. live has hotzones. You can even buy a rotdog that you can ride around on like a skinless quadrupedal penis. Check it out...

. . . oh btw, they also do bonus exp days on top of the hotzone exp. Noob zones are vacant and buggy as hell.

[eqravenprince]

There is a reason I do not play a group only class like a Rogue. It's mainly because I cannot stand sitting LFG for more than a minute or two =). So I like any idea of how to make getting into a group much much easier.

Firstly, I would amp up the experience bonus for grouping. Second, instead of hotzones, I would actually modify the zone experience modifier percentages to be more in line with actual risk of a zone and then publish it so everyone knows.

But with all that being said, I am fairly convinced nothing is going to happen that is not classic. And I am ok with that, I just won't be playing a Rogue anytime soon unless he is super twinked.

[Pomaikai]

I've soloed a lot. It's just painful at this point in EQ. I pretty much soloed all of 44 killing the undead cleric in Kithicor getting about 1.5% exp per kill, and 5 kills per EQ night cycle. It's just the fact that you can kill a few and then have a long break waiting on mana again. Yes, you can solo but there is a whole lot more downtime for us than most other classes when it comes to soloing. It was our penalty for being the most sought after class for grouping in the game.

As for grouping exp? 10-20% every 30 mins in a good group was about right, depending upon level. Hell levels being the exception here. I think part of the reason that I get very good group exp, is that I get invited into groups which are capable of taking on much higher levels mobs than I could ever handle solo, and I go into dungeons and areas that other classes at my level would not be asked to go to.

Before Cheal its all about being one of two healers to keep the mobs going non-stop, but once you get Cheal, you can get into groups with players much higher level than you are in dungeons that are much higher level as well. At least that has been my experience playing a Cleric both here, and on live for many many many years. If you're good, you'll get the groups that generate great exp. Plus, I enjoy not only the interaction with other players chatting in group, but also the chess game that is managing mana, agro, and keeping your group alive. That's the appeal of playing a Cleric to me.

But yeah, soloing in Classic is still teh suck compared to what we became later on in EQ Live. Bash was a big one. Just the ability to help interrupt casters, either soloing or in groups was a real help. The DA Hammer from Griegs End coupled with our self proccing damage shield and self healing damage shield turned us into incredible soloers though. Not many people understood the power of that combination, but those that did had some of the most fun ever in our Clerical career. Watching 10-20 mobs at a time suicide on you while swung and healed yourself like a madman gave you an adrenaline high like you wouldn't believe. Watching other classes freak out and try and "save" you was both hilarious and frustrating. The frustrating part being that they took away from my exp gravy train when they tried to "help" me, and then quite often the inevitable break I had to take rezzing and buffing them after they died in the process. I don't know if you ever got to solo using those tools on Live, but if you did you'd understand why soloing on a Classic server is just a painfully slow experience.

[Faisca]

If you LD while soloing chances are you have a CR when you get back in the game.

[Raelador]

Not classic

Yeah having 300 active people on a server isn't classic either. So your argument is null.

This community is nice on the forums, but in game people are usually solo. Sure sometimes you will get a random group in Unrest, Mistmoore, or Lower Guk but that is pretty much it. Most of the camps in those zones are on lockdown so you won't get to any of the good camps like on classic. This server is for people who want to hear the old music and hit the old mobs. As far as a classic experience it really doesn't measure up.

As far as making friends with people who are over 50 when you're lvl1... Yeah I'm sure you could tell a random person and make friends, but then you're the weird random guy who won't stop telling me... I'm not friends with that guy.

[Hitchens]

This community is nice on the forums, but in game people are usually solo. Sure sometimes you will get a random group in Unrest, Mistmoore, or Lower Guk but that is pretty much it. Most of the camps in those zones are on lockdown so you won't get to any of the good camps like on classic. This server is for people who want to hear the old music and hit the old mobs. As far as a classic experience it really doesn't measure up.


This hasn't been my experience at all. I thought when I got out of Oasis I'd be spending the rest of my time solo, but that hasn't been the case. I've been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to get groups on an emu server. I think I've spent maybe one level soloing.

I've had great luck grouping with random people to hit up Mistmoore, Lower Guk, Sol A, Droga, etc. Places I never thought I'd find pick up groups in. Not to mention the outdoor zones.

In my experience, P1999 has measured up quite well to providing a classic experience. The only thing that isn't classic is not finding myself grouped with asshats. But I'm okay with that.

[Raelador]

The classic experience is to do the research (aided by memory) and find the zones/mobs/group that yield optimal experience. People come here for the classic experience.



The classic experience on this server is hitting up project1999 wiki then.

[Raelador]

I'm sure you will find a random group in Mistmoore or Lower Guk. Those were the big zones on classic.

New people coming to the server can listen to embellished sunshine crap that Hitchens is spreading around, or you can realize that we have about 5 posts a week about new people not finding groups. I realized a long time ago there were no steady groups. It's a solo game if you can't solo you get plvled. If you can't plvl and you want to group you do a lot of sitting around and random telling. That is just the truth of a low pop server.

[Hitchens]

If your attitude is that P1999 sucks and you have to spend all your time soloing, chances are your attitude will make sure that's what happens.

[messiah_b]

Uguk, Unrest, Oasis, CB are all your friend if you are looking for teens.

My biggest suggestion is that when you do get a good group, to make sure and end the session by planning the next one. Others are looking for a solid group as much as you are so really it just takes a leader. Having a group confirmed even half filled at a specific time will be impetus for everyone to schedule since they know it will be productive time.

I see this happen all the time. On a Saturday you will have a group get together for CB. I will see 5 of them grouped again on Tuesday in Unrest and by the next weekend they are in MM. Alternate is just Oasis / Uguk / Sol A.

[fischsemmel]

It's not a barren wasteland ingame. There are groups to be had.

But it's not a fertile oasis, either. There are not always groups to be had.

If you play during primetime and hang out in the right zones and make some friends, you will usually find a group within 15-30 minutes. But usually isn't always, and spending 2 of 5 nights a week playing stuck trying to solo on your character when you want to be grouping? That sucks hard.

That's how it is.


Edit - like what messiah said, your best bet for getting groups on here is to get to know the people who are playing when you play and make sure they know you too. With a dozen people near your level on your friends list who are your level and playing when you do, finding groups is tolerable. When I complain that there is a lack of groups, I really mean there is a lack of random pickup groups.

[Raelador]

I never once said P1999 sucks... you're delusional. I love P1999 it's the only mmo I play now.

But if your attitude is that there is no problem when there obviously is one, chances are your attitude will ensure that the problem persists.

[maahes]

After years of hopping around different MMORPGs (even played FFXIV, Rift and still having an active SWTOR sub), Im coming back to Everquest again LOL.

Just started a character and cant seem to find much people playing around in the newbie zones. I did a /who all 10-20 and saw that everyone is scattered around in different zones, probably soloing. Im sure not everyone wants to solo, but many lowbies are forced to due to unable to find people to group with.

Makes me wonder, if there are hotzones (level 10-49) and group XPs, will it encourage people to gather around specific zones? With more people within the same zone, it will lead to more chance of grouping IMO.

With a small XP gain in hotzones (10%), it will encourage low level characters to congregate in specific zones, and giving an additional XP bonus for grouping, it makes people want to group as well.

These measures will encourage more new players into the server as well IMO, as they know they have a chance to group with people again (the reason why we all wanna play EQ), as well as encourage players to create alts (again adding to more chance for grouping for new players).

Sorry to hear about troubles finding groups, we never encountered this issue no matter what time we logged in. I recommend joining a leveling guild, I am a member of Still Waters and no matterthe time I can get into a guild group. There are other leveling guilds too. Sgb, and a few others I can't think of right now.

[Hitchens]

But if your attitude is that there is no problem when there obviously is one, chances are your attitude will ensure that the problem persists.

My attitude reflects my experience on the server: that it's easy to get groups if you put in a little effort to find and/or create them. You see a problem I do not, but that doesn't mean I'm "embellishing" anything.

[Diggles]

rangers get groups SO FAST

[eqravenprince]

I think for the most part people do gravitate towards certain zones. A zone experience modifier would have to go up to something like 300% before I think it would make any difference in population. There is a reason Befallen does not constantly have groups there despite a high zem. The one thing that almost all popular zones have in common is that they can be soloed. Bring enough soloers, then groups form as a result sometimes.

[Raelador]

Hitchens after reading several of your posts I'm convinced you have a brain tumor and it's affecting your sense of reality. I am sorry for trying to prove an obvious point to someone that does not have the mental capacity to sniff his own feet.

[Hitchens]

Brain tumors must be a great way to find groups then.

[eqravenprince]

Brain tumors must be a great way to find groups then.

I suspect playing a Shaman is a great way to find a group =). I believe you when you say it is easy to get into groups. Now go play an untwinked Rogue, level him up without using any friends to start up with you. I quit my untwinked Rogue at level 5, the first moment I left the newbie ground and sat LFG for over an hour. I logged out, went and created a character that can solo and life has been good since.

[Hitchens]

I suspect playing a Shaman is a great way to find a group =). I believe you 0when you say it is easy to get into groups. Now go play an untwinked Rogue, level him up without using any friends to start up with you. I quit my untwinked Rogue at level 5, the first moment I left the newbie ground and sat LFG for over an hour. I logged out, went and created a character that can solo and life has been good since.

Hey, I'm still wearing large raw-hide stuff I looted from Orcs in South Ro. This is my first character on P1999. ;)

Level five of anything untwinked is going to be pretty painful. Innothule Swamp was a barren wasteland, but everything changed once I made it to Oasis and it's been pretty good since then. Please don't give up on your Rogues though, I like to buff them because they stab stuff to death fast.

[eqravenprince]

Hey, I'm still wearing large raw-hide stuff I looted from Orcs in South Ro. This is my first character on P1999. ;)

Level five of anything untwinked is going to be pretty painful. Innothule Swamp was a barren wasteland, but everything changed once I made it to Oasis and it's been pretty good since then. Please don't give up on your Rogues though, I like to buff them because they stab stuff to death fast.

Huge difference between a class that can solo versus one that cannot. Besides, it's not painful for you to leave Innothule and go to Freeport.

Painful meter
Rogue/Warrior - extremely painful
.
.
.
Giving Birth - very painful
.
.
Breaking your Fibula - very painful
.
.
.
.
Migrain headache - painful
.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Above this line need some kind of prescription medication to deal with the pain
.
.
.
.
.
Getting soap in your eye - mildly painful
.
.
.
Classes that can solo - Not painful

[Wolowizard]

Hitchens after reading several of your posts I'm convinced you have a brain tumor and it's affecting your sense of reality. I am sorry for trying to prove an obvious point to someone that does not have the mental capacity to sniff his own feet.

Is this how you treat people in game?

I've had similar experience to Hitchens. But any single person's experiences are mostly anecdotal. That said, I've found that grouping in most MMOs is what you make of it. Sometimes it requires laying some ground work. While there are less total people than in Live in 2000, I don't find it any more difficult to find groups in p1999. In fact, it might be easier since there are always XP camps available.

I suspect playing a Shaman is a great way to find a group =). I believe you when you say it is easy to get into groups. Now go play an untwinked Rogue, level him up without using any friends to start up with you. I quit my untwinked Rogue at level 5, the first moment I left the newbie ground and sat LFG for over an hour. I logged out, went and created a character that can solo and life has been good since.

My level 5 cleric couldn't find groups either and it was pretty painful for him until 9 or 10. The earliest groups I've found were around 8 or 9: Kurns for my necro and Crushbone for my bard.

[Splorf22]

Well part of it Fisch is your level. 50 is the peak of caster power relative to melee I think.
From 55-60 it seems things are much more balanced, and there aren't that many good places to solo anyway at that point.

Personally I think half of Verant's problems with balancing classic everquest were due to them trying to save memory on their servers by storing skills as 8-bit numbers leading them to cap skills at lower values. If melee got appropriate skillups in their 40s they wouldn't be nearly so weak (probably something like 100 more AC/ATK would make a big difference).

[Muchew]

1-10 can be painful, but even untwinked warriors and rogues can solo through these levels.
10-20 ALWAYS groups in oasis
20-30 Uguk, LOIO, HK usually have 1 group going. Join a waiting list.
30-40 almost always a group in OT
40-50 almost always a group in DL and usually a stables group in CoM
50+ ....

That being said, I think group exp sucks and solo'd 90% of my exp to 50, but there is certainly groups available if you go to the right place.

Pro tip: /who *your level range* all, send tells to those in exp zones within travel distance of you, and join a waiting list.

People act like you never had to wait longer than 5 minutes to find a group on live.

[Pomaikai]

The best advice I can give you to help with leveling up and getting groups, is to put people on your friends list that you had a good time grouping with. Then, when you log in and see those folks on, send them a tell and say "Hello!" You may not group with them that day, but they're much more likely to remember you fondly and will usually ask you to fill a slot when they are putting a group together. You should of course be doing the same thing. I keep in touch with the folks on my friends list in game. Even if I'm soloing, I've got folks I'm chatting with. Sometimes that will lead to a duo or trio, and sometimes even into a full blown group. And of course the final bit of advice is to be proactive! If you want to group, then start putting one together yourself! Don't wait for someone to ask you.

By the way... I'm a L45 Cleric. Feel free to shoot me a tell if you need some healing. I'd love to group with you! I also don't give a rats ass whether the group is optimal, or whether your race/class/both have exp penalties. If you can do your job well and are fun to chat with, then we're gold. Every class brings something to a group. Every player can bring something as well. It's up to you whether that is good, or bad. Idiots and asshats reputations precede them. Your rep is what you make of it. A player with a good rep keeps getting groups. Players with a bad rep? Not so much.

[Mcbard]

There are already ZEM on certain zones and people tend to gravitate towards them for exp. I think the reason that hotzones were added to eqlive is because there was just so much content that people could spread themselves out over, that entire zones were completely neglected (and rightfully so). It was a tool to get players of given level ranges concentrated into particular areas for grouping and exp.

This server only has n number of zones with a good ZEM that people group up in, and that number is never going to increase (with the servers classic-Velious scope in mind) beyond where it's already at for levels ~1-~35. If it's difficult finding groups in those zones, I would think that it has more to do with server population at those levels, and I don't think that implementing an artificial (non-classic) system to boost this is the right solution!

Most of this server seems to log on around est primetime (5-12 EST) and I've never not seen 20 or so people in the zones where people commonly level. Perhaps you are just looking for groups in the wrong zone, or you are not playing at times were the servers population is most active, but from what I've seen there should be people to play with! The best solution I can think of, and coincidentally most "classic" would be to get your friends to play. :)