Quote:
Originally Posted by cd288
(Post 3465335)
None of those zones are anywhere analogous to PC. PC you can basically PL yourself to like level 20; it's the antithesis of EQ. Sure, you can get PLed through those levels elsewhere, but you have to get someone to do it; you have to interact with people.
Bazaar is shitty because progression in EQ is usually about sacrificing progression in some other aspect of the game (at least pre-60). Sure, there are some camps that are good for XP and plat at the same time, but not a massive amount. So you want to sell that loot you have for max value? Then go sit there and auction it; or if you don't want to spend much time selling then sell it as a discount and get out of there as quick as you can and get back to XPing. I liked that a lot of the time classic EQ required you to make choices about what you wanted to prioritize in the game that day. The other thing I didn't like about the Bazaar was the removal of player created auction hubs; it was awesome how people on different servers just organically created a hub (commonly EC, but sometimes GFay, NFP, etc.). I like that sort of world shaping choice being made by players, not designers who decided "here's a centralized auction zone for everyone that can be reached super easily with little effort by the player."
PoK was one of the worst things to happen to the game (I think the Nexus was terrible also, despite it still requiring a dru/wiz to quickly access). One of the things that makes classic EQ feel more immersive is the feeling of the world being large. The smaller you make the world feel via PoK and the Nexus, the less fun and immersive the world becomes.
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You make it sound like it's simple to PL yourself to 20. Maybe it is depending on perspective. I PL'd my own Ench to 16 with DF belts; years prior to SoL mind you. Slight different though when you don't need another human. I was PL'd in PC many times on live, which I didn't do it by myself. PC is bullshit because of poor balance in regards to classes that can PL being OP at PL'ing, not explicitly because PC itself is bullshit. Two different things, and I'm not against un-classic changes. That said, the Nexus was actually a boon for Dru/Wiz as it gave them a purpose otherwsie unneeded. You needed to visit the spires to go to Nexus. When PoK came along that purpose was removed because every other zone had a book.
The argument about Bazaar is equivalent to spending time doing nothing. Is it a good thing that you have to spend your actual life auctioning your gear in a fictional game? No. I don't think so. Is it meaningful to spend your time spamming shift+^? Not really, but The Bazaar, while not social, offers you the opportunity to not waste your actual real-life life in which you will die and that will be the end. I love the EC tunnel as much as anybody, despite it effectively being EQ's asshole. I love the social aspect of MMOs. I love democracy. /lightsaber. But there's a realistic limit in which you can expect someone to waste their time. Why do they need to be sitting at the keyboard in order to make a sale? Sales aside, why should your consumers be terrified of trainers pulling air elementals, griffons or Snape himelf to the tunnel? It's pretty to look at objectively, but ugly to look at subjectively.
I like MMOs being social experiences, and by that definition I technically hate the Bazaar, but I'm also incredibly drunk during both of these responses and can't find a reason for why "classic" mechanics can't be slightly changed to benefit everyone. I reread this once or twice but so drunk. Gave up. Sorry. |
