Server/Classic Observations
 

I'm pretty new to this server and a few things surprised me as a classic server, both good and bad.

The most shocking thing for me is how WoWish the community is in game.
Back in classic every group I've been in did Need before Greed and here it's the opposite. In fact, out of the dozens of groups I've joined only 1 didn't greed everything that dropped(including full guild groups). To me this is disgraceful and greed of this magnitude doesn't belong in classic EQ.

The 2nd thing that surprised me was how stable this server is. I get zone crashes but as far as the server goes it's acted nearly flawless and lag free on my end. Good job.

I was also surprised that class xp penalties sharing with groups was added. My nightly group is already starting to reject Troll/Ogre SK's just cuz of this. Hybrid tanks certainly have an advantage over Warriors for holding aggro but Bards and Rangers? I know this was classic but not everything about Classic was good or even made sense.

Lastly I like how active the developers/GM's are on the forums and in the community considering it's all volunteer work. Good job making this server happen and more importantly making it free. At first glance most people are worried about a low population but this server actually has too many people somehow. This is a good thing, too many is much better than too few.

You're in the wrong groups. I've never been in a group that wasn't NBG unless it was a complete pickup group full of strangers & it was set greed from the get go. I think this was one group in 50 levels?

Your experience here isn't typical, imho. Change the ppl you are playing with if it bugs you.

I've never seen groups not be NBG either.

You guys haven't camped a high plat item in a group yet. If you were in a group at Frenzy or Freeti you might find that the rest of the group wishes to roll on the big ticket item.

I'm a fan of NBG, but my first impression of the server was not WoW. Though I've never played WoW. I found players to be super helpful and generous. No complaints at all!! And I echo the OP's point that there is no lag !!?? incredible.

hmmm
 

Oh I have changed my groups, often. In fact, aside from the nightly group I have a different group every day.....all Greed rolling everything. The worst part is even if your the group leader you have to piss 5 other people off just to change it to NBG because chances are a few people in your group got screwed over by the last group Greeding everything. So they want to roll on everything now.

Anyone have any thoughts on shared group xp penalty? I think it's far more trouble then its worth just to remain "classic." I mean lets get real, 90% of us are not using the Classic UI right now.

Ditto. It has always been need before greed in any of my groups. When it comes to big ticket items it gets a bit grey imo - that's when NBG starts to make less sense, anybody who is on those camps could probably use the cash generated to upgrade their toon in similar fashion - it isn't really greed, it's the same motivation as being at the camp to wear the item, and typically if you are in a group for the camp you need those other classes to get a shot at the item - if you don't greed those items pretty soon you'll find nobody willing to go to any camp that doesn't drop their gear.

^^

I agree with Chicka, if you are camping a rare spawn knowing it drops something you don't need you should get a chance at the loot if it is a pug. I only think this for the upper end loot. If you are camping something for a friend this is when it changes.

If you get the item that you can't use you could easily go trade it for an equally hard item to camp that you can use. There is obviously a grey area of how good the item needs to be before everyone gets a shot at it though, and the greedy bastards fighting over a 100pp item that a group member could use is the problem.

while I am a fan of NBG, I have been converted ever so painfully over the long 10+ years of gaming. I now see both points of view and would be content with either, especially if it was consistent server-wide

A bid system would be an alternative. When a drop drops; players bid on the drop. Highest bid in the group gets the item. If someone knows a drop is worth 4k, it makes sense for them to bid at least 2k since they could double their money.

This should also prevent that bitter taste one gets when a new group member wins the rand ten minutes after arriving in camp; departing immediately thereafter.

In classic EQ... I recall 'greed' being a major issue, really.

Dunno how many groups and even guilds split over just those issues. Of course, you WILL find more people who are willing to be 'good sports' in general.

Reputation - in a game where just leveling to max level is a BIG deal; means a lot more.

It's not so easy to just pop up a new alt if you have tarnished your name. I thought about that last night - perhaps one of the 'core' things that makes EQ so much better - is in fact how dang hard it is to level - you become more attached to your first main, other people in the game mean more - the names have some MEANING.

In WoW, maybe a few names of friends have meaning, but you rarely hear about people talked about like they are near legends - which I recall on EQ Classic. Some people had skill, some people had personality and others knew it.

I still remember some people from old EQ - and mostly because of their personality. You'll find more 'good' people to group with and stick with them.... That's less people for the ones with bad reps to 'use', since you already have a group.