Hybrid XP penalty removal date?

[winter888]

Originally Posted by am0n [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/edit...rs_letter.html

The short of it is that originally, the AMOUNT of experience you HAD determined how much you TOOK. Since a Hybrid needed more to level, an equal level Hybrid HAD more than someone else and hence they TOOK more.

The bandaid patch for removing this was to create free experience when a you killed a creature equal to the Hybrid penalty. They also changed how experience split was calculated to be based on level instead of total experience obtained. This essentially eliminated the Hybrid penalty while at the same time preventing people from suddenly jumping in levels (which is what would have happened if they changed the exp table).

This is why I am a huge advocate for just eliminating the penalty from the start of they create a Re99 server. While it may not be "classic," it would have pretty much no impact on the feel of the classic server while eliminating the need to do goofy gimmicks several expansions later to ultimately remove it anyway.

This means that we must address the penalty differently: basically, for every kill, after all grouping bonuses and zone bonuses are applied, the experience will be split up according to level, rather than experience. For those classes that do not have a penalty, they will then be given that share. Those classes that have a penalty will get their share, multiplied by their experience penalty. Essentially we are creating extra experience to give to those with a penalty after everyone else has gotten their share.

Since penalties are always a value over "1", this results in the creation of additional experience. And, since shares are determined by level rather than total experience as before, a character will get just as much experience for a kill based upon the size and level of the group, regardless of the class makeup. Finally, everyone in the group gains experience at a faster rate because we're creating the additional experience for those with penalties out of thin air, rather than taking it from other members of the group. That means that after implementation, those without penalties will get more experience for every kill than they would have if they ever grouped with a class with a penalty.

Now you'll notice that we are dividing up experience based upon the LEVEL makeup of the group. For instance, if a level 20 and a level 21 group together, the level 21 will get more experience per kill. That is however only fair since the level 21 does actually contribute more value to the group.

Summary

The changes that we are making in the next patch should have a profound impact upon the game:


Classes no longer have a true class-based experience penalty, making it easier for people to play the class that they want to play, rather than the class that they feel compelled to play due to faster advancement.

Race based penalties are no longer shared with the group, and in truth are not severe enough to greatly impact the advancement speed of any particular race. Even the race with the worst penalty will level no slower than a human monk does now, and in truth will level faster due to the other changes that went in.

The grouping bonus increase, in addition to the other changes, makes grouping much more efficient, without reducing the current efficiency of soloing for those who prefer that route.

Experience modifiers turned up in the other zones should encourage people to spread out, have more fun, and allow those staying behind in other areas to have more fun themselves since the area is less crowded.

All players, assuming that they have an experience penalty, or ever group with anyone who does, will level faster.

Something good to know, hope this change can be implemented soon.

[Hijiri]

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

If you don't like a hybrid with the penalties, odds are you won't like a hybrid without them. Hybrids aren't for everyone. The penalty stinks so much because it makes things drag out when you're not particularly having fun in the first place. Case in point: You don't see many folks complaining about the Iksar Monk experience penalty, although its combined 44% penalty is greater than the stock 40% penalty assigned to a hybrid.

Danth

One of the dumbest things I've read on this forum in awhile, thanks! Out of the the SK race choices, two are a push (1.4 vs 1.44) and the other 2 are very high compared to iksar monk ( 1.66,1.68 vs 1.4)

I'm sure a lot of players who had hybrids on live from the start like myself had no desire to go down that road again because it kills the hybrid classes.

[Zuranthium]

Even more important than the removal of exp penalty is the increase in stats that hybrids received in Velious. Are those in the game yet?

[Swish]

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

One of the dumbest things I've read on this forum in awhile, thanks! Out of the the SK race choices, two are a push (1.4 vs 1.44) and the other 2 are very high compared to iksar monk ( 1.66,1.68 vs 1.4)

I'm sure a lot of players who had hybrids on live from the start like myself had no desire to go down that road again because it kills the hybrid classes.

You won't get a group when they penalties are removed - there'll be too many lazy people jumping on the bandwagon.

[Troxx]

Getting groups certainly will be easier.

[captnamazing]

I think this will be a good thing. I like hybrid tanks [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Troxx]

In my opinion the biggest problem with the penalty isn't the extra time it takes to level, it's the impact it has on group behavior. In 1999-2000 the penalty was not known and/or understood. The penalty was there, but in not knowing about it, the community didn't discriminate nearly as much. You saw a similar phenomenon before parsing as well. Before the hardcore number crunching and parsing, Wizards were presumed to be good all around dps (vs now where it is known that outside of burst they have terrible sustained dps in a fast group).

Once the penalty is lifted, getting group invites won't be as much of a hassle for hybrids.

4 rangers a shaman and a cleric? Sure why not!
3 rangers a bard, a shaman, and a paladin? Sure why not?!
2 knights in the same group? Dps might suffer but you're not eating double xp penalty.

[Zeonick]

Did they remove the exp penalty in velious for a specific reason? Or did they finally just realize it was having a severe effect on the classes people would play?

If it was a velious-specific thing, then continue to remove it in a month. If not, it should have been removed years ago. It's a mechanic that is simply bad for the game, and limits class diversity to the point of being completely boring.

[fadetree]

It was not a velious specific thing, it was just finally recognized as generally bad, but this server does not care about what's bad or good, it cares about authenticity. Thus, I expect the penalty to be lifted in accordance with the timeline.

[Zeonick]

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

It was not a velious specific thing, it was just finally recognized as generally bad, but this server does not care about what's bad or good, it cares about authenticity. Thus, I expect the penalty to be lifted in accordance with the timeline.

I understand what their thought process is on that, but it also doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. We were in kunark for how long? The timeline isn't authentic. It's strange picking and chosing what to be authentic about when other aspects of the server are clearly not authentic. And in the end im ok with any decision the server staff wants to make, its their server, but it just seems odd to me to try and stick to certain mechanics that are "classic" yet damaging to gameplay when other aspects of the server are clearly not classic at all.