You are not the only one who has progressed through tiers....and the highlighted part applies to you as well. Just because you think its fine, does not mean it is.
Not anywhere in this thread did I say or imply that "it's fine." I implied that your solution sucks and will not work. Now I'll state it blatantly: your solution sucks and will not work.
I highly suggest you get the notion that I am anti hardcore out of your head. Its patently false. However, if you can explain to me how the top few percent 'drive and support' SoD or any game where others don't, feel free. I know some folks in the top few percent of raiders in any mmo like to think they are special and doing something worthwhile for the game itself by logging in but...its simply not true at all.
I highly suggest you not claim to know or understand what's going on in my head. You don't.
You took this bit way out of context, or just completely misunderstood it. No where in my post did I make a reference to the "top few percent"; I clearly stated that the server is mostly sustained by a combination of the staff and hardcore players. Why the hell would casual players donate more overall than those who put more time into the game? This is bordering logic.
This is true for all MMO's, especially free ones.
The read I get from your post is...if hardcore players have to raid a lot for loot, they will vanish. Both of us know that's absurd. Hyperbole and assumptions are fun though...
The read you get is wrong, or you're being disagreeable for the sake of argument.
Ignoring your hyperbole, this happens already. This happens in any MMO regardless of the number of drops/kill. It's happened here since forever. Raiders raid, they get bored of it or don't feel they are getting the pretty new toys fast enough or they get tired of not having something to kill on raid days, or simply get burned out regardless of raid schedule, or any number of reasons.
You agree that resentment will create a rift among players and content, eventually driving them away? Why the hell do you think bludgeoning that cleft with more resentment will somehow solve the problem? Are you of the opinion that the more people you drive away will ease the congestion? You're absolutely right, it would...
The rate of progression reverting back to what it was in 1.0 would not be all doom and gloom like you make it out to be. There were raid guilds then too you know. Evidently you need me to repeat myself several times, so I'll do it once more....changing the drop rate, even with an increase in spawn rate will not likely ease anything without the new content that is heading your way through Ikisith. Trying to remedy the massive influx of raid quality loot onto the server that 2.0 brought is not going to happen in a single step, nor overnight. If the drop rate/spawn rate were changed before any additional content, it may not ease congestion but it would/should keep folks busy with shit to um...whats that word I am looking for.....OH...RAID!
Evidently you need me to repeat myself several times, so I'll do it once more...
So you can say you think there is congestion due to the quality of the loot available but fail to make the leap that quantity has a major impact? That does not compute. Quality will always be relative to the content (or should be), therefore its quantity that should be re-examined unless you are correct and somehow raiders are skipping through tiers with a minimal number of loots from the previous tier....at which point would it also not be wise to reevaluate the rate a tier can be burned through(drops/kill)?
I didn't think I'd have to foster you along this road to enlightenment like a fledgling. We are making headway though!
Apparently you missed my quip about umbrellas and flagships. Do you even understand how many guilds use ringers that basically power level them to the next tier? Fuck, you'd be hard pressed to find a guild that starts on tier 1 or even tier 2 anymore. Worse yet, it really only takes a monster tank to carry an entire guild through the tiers, and they are available by the metric fuckton.
After tier 5 is where this becomes a huge problem. Progression grows slower at an exponential rate because guilds start backgearing everyone to supplement their tank/ringers. However, they can't backfarm fast enough and are eventually accompanied by another guild. And another. And another. Then they realize there just isn't enough content to accommodate the massive influx of individuals into their tier, leaving them discouraged and bitter.
Which is a fine segue into my next reiteration: disregarding the fact that halving loot quantity is going to make people rage, coupling that with increased spawn times is going to allow more people to raid which eventually promotes um.... what's that word I'm looking for... OH... CONGESTION.
It's ironic that you're able to make the leap to blaming quantity yet can't hop to the conclusion that minimizing loot quality to negate the effects of hyperinflation would allow for a broader and more resolute range of content development, which would, in point of fact, lead to healthy rate of competition and um... what's that word I'm looking for... OH... PROGRESSION.
However, there is no reason to over complicate the matter with feelings or opinions or guesswork as we are both doing. Simple fact, progression is twice as fast in 2.0 vs 1.0 due to the number of drops per raider. I think that's bad, you think its fine. Oddly enough, if I were still raiding like I have in the past I also would likely be losing my shit if anyone suggested loot drops be reduced. Nobody usually likes the thought of having their candy taken away even when they are sitting on a ton already.
That's just not true. Progression is "twice as fast" in 2.0 because you have access tomes, more content, smaller raids, players who have already paved the way, and more fucking people to help.
You still don't get it. Increased spawn times at the cost of loot reduction is not going to solve the problem of current or future congestion in any tier.
