Suggestion to Encourage Levelling Across Norrath

[cd288]

Rajax I agree with a lot of your comments besides the dynamic ZEM. That’s way too much work to expect volunteers to do.

Idk if you need to make the exp bonus for groups that high but certainly it would be nice because it would mean you have fewer groups of three or four sitting there exping while multiple people sit LFG. Kunark outdoor zone boost would also be nice because it just makes no sense to EXP there unless you have to. So much easier and more efficient to EXP in the old world.

[cd288]

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

1. Will certainly be abused, you will just have bots/alts filling those spots afk

2. If you boost outdoor kunark zones it will just mean bards, druids, wizards level faster and you'll see even more PL groups. I do agree that end game dungeons could use a little tweaking.. . but outside of those, ultimately I think you'd just see the majority of them being used to level up alts faster via PL ala runnyeye.

3/4. How much faster do you want levelling to be than it is now ? Your solution of making it easier to level overall with further incentives or using complicated mechanics to artificially control xp seems counter to the point of classic EQ and what makes it interesting. This type of over thinking is what lead mmo's into a death spiral in my opinion

5. There are only so many zones with guards to kill. By eliminating this, you're robbing people of a relaxing solo playstyle enjoyed by many. Some don't like grouping or being funneled into what you deem is the only way to play the game. This would also just result in more stress and people fighting over a now a reduced amount of solo spots.

You wouldn’t see that in Kunark zones. It’s not like some of those Kunark zones aren’t already to most popular locations for bards and Druids, it literally changes nothing. There’s so many good exp spots in the Kunark outdoor zones for both groups and soloers that simply go unused because it doesn’t make sense from an efficiency perspective.

If I’m soloing in the old world on a caster I can probably kill two mobs for the same amount of mana it takes me to kill one in Kunark (or if not the same amount of mana, the point is after killing the Kunark mob I need to med...my mana bar can’t kill two mobs one after the other like it can in the old world). That’s such a huge discrepancy, especially at higher levels when you’re already spending hours and hours on each level. Boosting those ZEMs a bit would make it make more sense to explore the Kunark zones sometimes.

[rajax]

Originally Posted by cd288 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Rajax I agree with a lot of your comments besides the dynamic ZEM. That’s way too much work to expect volunteers to do.

Idk if you need to make the exp bonus for groups that high but certainly it would be nice because it would mean you have fewer groups of three or four sitting there exping while multiple people sit LFG. Kunark outdoor zone boost would also be nice because it just makes no sense to EXP there unless you have to. So much easier and more efficient to EXP in the old world.

Ideally, the dynamic dungeon ZEM I was imagining would have been just automated without requiring staff involvement. More or less bug free- like Mob pathing... With no idea how P1999 logs data this may be trivial or impossible to implement.

If that proposed max cap of 200% or double base XP sounds too generous, to put it in perspective- as I understand it, that is the same as the current permanent ZEM for The Hole that is causing everyone to swarm there. As I worded it, this would take 5 continuous real time days of no or 1 group only activity to reach that cap and would lower if the area became very active with 13 or more players.

The group bonus also could be too generous, but concerns about PL or BoT groups seem irrelevant as people who only care about min-max XP rates are going to do whatever it takes to get to 60 as quickly as possible- fun be damned. No matter what bonus or nerf is applied. Just report and enforce the server rules or ignore them whichever you choose. If large groups just sit around hogging trivial outdoor content, perhaps those “free” 5th and 6th group spots should only be in effect in those specific dangerous dungeon/raid zones the staff flags as “group encouraged”

Maybe the best solution would be to simply change the ZEM periodically as the original poster suggested but never publish any changes. Not knowing the ZEM is as classic as it gets. The things I suggested would be more in-line with a far future “blue” that focused on original new content and new server ruleset.

[Toxigen]

Just boycott the Hole if you're a competent player.

Leave all the dead weight mouthbreathers to trip over themselves in there.

There is more fun (and $$$) to be had in other zones.

[strongNpretty]

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

Then people just pick whichever zone is most efficient and go clog up there. That doesn't resolve the root issue at all.

Then at least that's on us....

[strongNpretty]

Originally Posted by Man0warr [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Why do people need to explore? It's a 22 year old game, most everyone here knows every zone. All a Rotating ZEM accomplishes is it taking a few days for people to find the best ZEM and then that will be the place everyone congregates.

If ZEM values are flat across the board, then everyone just packs back into the zones with the best Loot, i.e. Sebilis.

At least the Hole can literally support 10-12 groups of people wanting to XP comfortably. Can't say the same for other zones.

Sorry for the many folks that this applies to- I have hella to see and adventure still. I feel bad for those who have beaten this game into the sand, and continue logging into for pixels... That shits sad.

[Man0warr]

That's all the incentive you need then. Have fun exploring.

[jolanar]

ZEM should be based purely on zone difficulty and nothing else.

[cd288]

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

ZEM should be based purely on zone difficulty and nothing else.

I mean it generally is. but the term difficulty in a game like EQ also includes things like travel/how far melees are from a bind point etc.

[Faxi]

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

Seriously. Just get rid of ZEM's all together honestly.

agreed.

one low ZEM for outdoor zones.
one HIGHER ZEM for dungeons.
one middle ZEM for dungeons with the best loot tables - Seb, HS

EQ gets more interesting. No more lawyer questing Camp stealing bitching in Hole. Economy gets balanced with more variety; you cant give Loam away.... its worthless because Hole is the only zone to level past 50.

Nothing would make P99 more classic than balancing the ZEMs and letting players explore.