Hows the game these days

[Ludovician]

Did being on the eqemu server list give the population jump we all hoped it would?

How many people are on at prime time these days? The forums haven't picked up much but I'm hoping that's not indicative of 2.5's success or lack thereof... this game needs to be played!

 

[Nebi]

this game needs to be played!

says the guy that refuses to play. GET OUT YOU SCUMBAG

PS: also join <vintage> http://www.vintagesod.com

 

[Gawain]

When I've checked the numbers at eqemulator.org during the evenings I've seen SoD up to 145, often around 120-125 during those hours. So I wouldn't say it's gotten a population bump yet. At the time of typing this message 12:30 CST on a Tuesday it has 67.

SoD is listed under the Preferred servers. There are 6 Legends servers, 5 of which are always more populated than SoD. There are 10 Preferred servers. on eqemu of which there are 10. SoD is consistently in the top 3 of those but among all servers during prime time is usually the 7th or 8th most populated server.

 

[RobbyBenson24]

I have only been back for a few weeks but noticed that the population hasn't been revitalized, per se. There is some new life in the form of newer players and as evidenced by the enthusiasm for Xavok's journey through all of the adepts, item giveaways in /ooc, and the use of community toons to help the new.

 

[Ulandx]

SoD is listed under the Preferred servers. There are 6 Legends servers, 5 of which are always more populated than SoD. There are 10 Preferred servers. on eqemu of which there are 10. SoD is consistently in the top 3 of those but among all servers during prime time is usually the 7th or 8th most populated server.

All servers other than p99 are heavily boxed,3 to 12 chars played by one player in the average,so actually their real population is lower than SoD's.

Did being on the eqemu server list give the population jump we all hoped it would?

I think it evens out,new players from being on EQemu server list who dont know "old" SoD with old players leaving/not playing/playing much less because of the catastrophic state
of the game.

 

[Kait]

I will say that general attitude of the server is much nicer lately, not sure how to pin point it, less hostile? Still sassy though.

 

[daenar_sod]

Online video games are serious business ok?

 

[Kait]

Online video games are serious business ok?

Shut up & make our guild!

 

[Chiifin666]

I will say that general attitude of the server is much nicer lately, not sure how to pin point it, less hostile? Still sassy though.

That's because a lot of the hostile people quit and moved on to a different game or just quit games all together (that's me)..


My high-end guild, that downed NZ even, went from 27 active people down to 2-3 active players.. Hell, I gave it 3-5 weeks of continuing to log in at every raid time but now I might log in just once a week to see if the guild motd has been updated..

My girlfriend is happy with the new client/bugs- she gets more time with me now and I save electricity a little bit, as I just keep my tower powered down.

 

[XavokSoD]

Personally, i can't see myself playing here too much longer. The amount of exp you need just to catch up is ridiculous but that's not the biggest issue with this server. The biggest issue is that there are very few groups at 65, you can log in and sit lfg for hours or even days before anyone invites you to a group and sure you could leech from one of the many 2 boxers that farm plat but thats boring (at least in my opinion). In its current state, the server rewards group play with more exp but due to a 1.2million plat sink (which every character needs to gain eventually) it offsets the reason to play with other people. The plat sink was probably put into the game years ago (im guessing) when sod had a bigger population (guessing again) and there were tons of groups going on, but i just cant see how this system works with the population sod currently has.

You're a new player? Just hit 65 and ready to start the "real game"? Tough luck, hope you have friends already playing cause if not your up shit creak. Maybe you can grind out solo or get the occasional group invite but its going to take you YEARS of exping just to get the tome count most everyone playing already has.

Now i know not everyone is like this, there are people like melport (usually helps people with bounties), Irelc (usually leads pugs and adept raids) and Oeso (one of the few people i have seen actually /oocing for more to join his exp group) but it does seem like the majority of people would rather 2 box then to play in a full 6 man party, which is a shame.

TLDR: This server has a HUGE flaw and its the plat sink. You know there's an issue when people would rather play by themselves then to play an MMO with OTHER PEOPLE. Sod is a great server, it really is and i had a ton of fun killing all the adepts but the server is missing one crucial thing and its the thing that makes everquest what it is and thats the social atmosphere, you're playing an mmo but yet you're not. Sorry but i didn't sign up to play SoloQuest.

 

[Kait]

I think, if you put as much effort into making exp groups as you did getting your adept kills, the game would be much different for you. Several times the last week I've had a full group in Elds, people asked if they could join, I said yes, exp, talking, plat, it was good.

Also, I used to worry about how far behind I was too (I started two years ago), it really doesn't matter, most people here care about if you can press buttons right, exp comes, plat comes, I don't care that I only have 3 whole tomes done on my former main. I had a guild that I loved & enjoyed playing with, I was never made feel badly about being a new player from THEM, I was hard on myself instead.

I guess my point is, this game gives what you put into it, & frankly, that's most games.

 

[Rikunda]

It isn't the plat sink that is the problem. I have had a lot of time where someone is farming cash but they will take others into group to leech exp. Just the other day I was in Overgrowth with Fihuh. He got money, I got exp, and we both laughed as the chanter mob almost killed us because of AE mezz. We could use more groups, and maybe a world event or two (a week) but at least the hemorrhaging has stopped.

 

[Ulandx]

The amount of exp you need just to catch up is ridiculous but that's not the biggest issue with this server.

No,xp is way too fast.

The biggest issue is that there are very few groups at 65 .

What do you think were all the players that helped you with the adepts? I bet 90% of them were long-timers with at least one "tiered" 65 box.
Makes me wonder why you didnt make friend with them on your journey through the adepts,sitting in a city and occasionally ooc a "Nec 52 lfg" never worked even on live.
Personally I dont make 65 groups cause there is no reason for me to xp anymore having most important tomes and AAs max'ed on my 65 mains box (and 2.5 eating tomes occasionally).

... but due to a 1.2million plat sink (which every character needs to gain eventually)...

What ? NEED ???
I'm 6 years on SoD highest charm I got is the 225k one,its a personal preference if you go for the higher charms.

Tough luck, hope you have friends already playing cause if not your up shit creak. Maybe you can grind out solo or get the occasional group invite but its going to take you YEARS of exping just to get the tome count most everyone playing already has.

Again,why didnt you make these friends during your journey through the adepts?!
And it doesnt take years to become a valuable member to the community,I know several players who needed about 3 to 6 months to get ~300 AAs + a few tomes + 8k mana,fomelo Bzar
for example,his only other chars he had when he started were a 55 Dru/War box (which at that time sucked if I may say that ),Bzar was created early nov 2015.

All in all I am surprised by all this negativity from you,especially because you got TONS of help with all the adepts.
Surprisingly finding groups is very easy on SoD even easier than on live(Mercs!) or at least it was before 2.5(not playing much since then).
Also its not mandatory to be 65 to have fun,there are times when I play my xp - capped 55s more than my 65 main box,depends if there are enough other ~50s to group with.

The player you know as Melport.

 

[Nebi]

the problem is that people think they need a million tomes. fact of the matter is you probably need 10.

vintage right now is raiding 1 day a week and some people are having fun. I for one am and I'm not putting in 40 hours a week into raiding or leveling my character out of group.

Re - charms : you wont need a 1.2 mil charm for a LONG FUCKING TIME so there is no real reason to worry about it.

 

[ironmaiden]

On my first set of characters I was way behind. I just XP'd as much as I could and found a guild that was working on progressing from scratch at the time. Currently <Vintage> is trying to do something similar I believe.

The needed charm thing really depends on your class for the most part. Outside of tanks you can get away with 100 or 225k charm even at higher tiers and not lose too much. In the lower tiers it's generally enough to get AAs & a bit of a codex bonus.

 

[Tevinter]

On my first set of characters I was way behind. I just XP'd as much as I could and found a guild that was working on progressing from scratch at the time. Currently <Vintage> is trying to do something similar I believe.

The needed charm thing really depends on your class for the most part. Outside of tanks you can get away with 100 or 225k charm even at higher tiers and not lose too much. In the lower tiers it's generally enough to get AAs & a bit of a codex bonus.

this post is pretty spot on. In regards to the exp vs plat thing, I think the game needs more worthwhile exp sinks (not tomes) and less plat sinks. If you could dump 250mil exp or something like that into a quality of life or cosmetic thing in the game, there would be more motivation to group with other people for faster exp rates. If cosmetic/QoL/fun exp soaking shit could be exped alongside tomes/AAs i think more groups would pop up among all tiers of players, and perhaps some higher tier nerds would be more inclined to group with others.

 

[sabuti]

LONG FUCKING TIME

please note the emphasis, as content where a supreme can possibly make the difference is currently not even being attempted, much less killed.

Edit: To the op, feel free to message on here, if you'd like my characters info for helping you out through xp or farming a charm or something

 

[Esquire]

The charm problem is more perception than reality.

Server just has an empty feeling most of the time. People show up for exp (as I've been told to band/camp a box several times over the last few days so one more unboxed toon could get into a group) but it feels like there isn't more than one or two 65+ exp groups going at once.

I know people are raiding because it's coming up in IRC. I know people are questing because rewards are still getting linked in /ooc. Server just feels very empty most of the time.

 

[Ezie3205]

You need passion to play this game for sure, it is an uphill climb the whole way but thats why people play this over p99, other EQmus or even other MMOs. The only thing you need to succeed at this game is a guild. Here is a quick list of great guilds in no order:

<Resurgum> Doing t10-t12 content, very solid and knowledgeable people. They seem to take anyone who is willing to app and they do a ton of groups and back gearing. Their A team raids are more structured but they take any good button pushers. Were recently recruiting a couple of key spots.

<Vintage> One of Nebi's progression guilds, think at the time of writing this they are up to t4 w/o ringers. Again, nice people with some very helpful members. They are taking anyone with a pulse and a keyboard.

<Dragonkin> Doing t9-t10 content and moving up. Accepting anyone who will app, will always do their best to get your main/preferred character into their raids. Very active and dedicated people with lots of week day groups.

You're a new player? Just hit 65 and ready to start the "real game"? Tough luck, hope you have friends already playing cause if not your up shit creak. Maybe you can grind out solo or get the occasional group invite but its going to take you YEARS of exping just to get the tome count most everyone playing already has.

I got to echo Mel on this one.

What exactly were you doing in these adept groups? Adepts/55 groups are composed of a lot fewer new players than you'd think. Specifically some people use that as a means of playing with/recruiting people. Community toons were made almost as much for new players to help themselves as it was for tiered players to help new players. This would have been the perfect time to ask "hey, do you have a main?" or "So, you guys know any fun guilds out there?"

Irelc and Mel would have been great people to ask about this. Fuck, <Vintage> is recruiting out the ass and is a great place to meet people or get gear/groups. Nebi makes a new progression guild like every 6 months, kiss his ass till he loves you.

The only thing you realistically need to make it to t9 content is a 36k charm, 250AAs and the ability to pay attention for up to 5 or 6 minutes at a time.

/ooc'ing for groups isn't always the best means of getting a group. Often the groups that are happening (of which there are actually a lot) are guild groups. Sure, there are a fair number of people letting you leech while they farm cash but that is more of a service if you need to afk or are having a hard time getting a group. It is hardly a good means to judge grouping on this server. Hell, I have sat in Elds asking for people to join me (for a full split) and had no takers plenty of times. Personally, I dont even always have /ooc on. There are people on this server who irritate me in /ooc and have so many alts that they have clogged up my ignore list.

TL;DR: Join a guild.

 

[Kait]

Lol, the irony of your post Ezera, is he's in Vintage. And not even 65 yet. I don't even know how to take this guy seriously at this point. If you just wanted to do adepts, cool, but don't act like this server is a barren wasteland when you just did every adept in like two weeks? and have stood in Athica like a bump on a log.