SoD's bottleneck

cian2 said:
kinda surprised to see all the fuss about rested exp since it's a pretty minor bandaid at best in my imagined implementation. i think the combination of rested exp and camp bonus from daoc would be a nice start.

for the unfamiliar, camp bonus works like this: the longer a mob of a certain spawn point is alive, the more its bonus exp builds up. when the mob dies, it gives out that bonus exp and goes back to zero. it's almost like a reverse rested exp
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actually really really really really really really like the sound of this!
 
I really like the camp bonus from daoc. Its cool because it makes you want to check and kill those mobs that you normally would skip past. Its cool in the game killing a mob and getting like 650k xp and then getting an 850k camp bonus because the monster literally hasn't died in days. It usually goes up something small like 5% an hour or something and does have a cap at i think 150% extra xp for that kill. That game has a lot of cool mechanics like camp xp and grouped mob xp (getting bonus xp for pulling mobs that were grouped or linked). Could always have these bonuses go down slightly depending on how progressed a player is.
 
preferanon said:
In particular SoD does not currently have any active support for anyone who is trying to progress as a new player who is just reaching level 65...in short progressing from a fresh level 65 currently on SoD to a tier6 geared toon absolutely requires being *carried* there by older players, and that is stupid.
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This is a problem?

I very much like the fact that breaking through the raid game requires a ton of players, and in a community as "small" as the one that supports this game, there's going to be a veteran presence backing every little guy. Raids are a big deal. But if you *really* want to progress, you have to play a lot outside of raiding, and in that respect, the only fresh 65s that are at a serious disadvantage are tanks.

Ludovician said:
Shards doesn't cater to the casual player at all. If you can only log in for an hour a night due to life restrictions then you might as well not play the way things are.
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You won't ever have the best things on your fomelo if you only log in an hour a day, but you can still have things.
 
DaoC was a great game concept and camp bonus xp was very nice and deserves a look at as well as many other features from other games should not be ignored.

Dragonkin guild was formed on the basis of the casual players not having a zillion hours to spend on a mmorpg and has never abandoned the newer players to SoD.

Its hurt us in the raid community as far as progression goes but strengthened us in the casual players community and thus is big reason why we are still fairly active after nearly 3 years. Tier 1- 4 has been our core theme but we have managed to progress a bit (tier 6-7 currently) under a casual environment with lots of different players cycled in as they show up and have time to contribute. We dont shoot for the stars cuz our rocket ship is not made for that and as a former hardcore live raider its true that the game doesnt get any more fun at tier 12 then it is at tier 6. The numbers just get bigger.

The paths for newer players does exist if you search hard enough and inquire through the proper forums and channels. Logging on hoping a guild notices you though through grouping or superior gameplay limits your choices and / or paths.


A few suggestions for the Staff to help newer players ....


Expand the bounty system from thurgadin to other towns with an emphasis on like level 1- 50 unique rewards or even just a Title in front of your name , like I Ate the ole ninety sixer steak from your favorite bar tshirt ! ( ie. Grobb Bounty Hunter ** insert name here ** )


More Access to the mansion or portals , There are just too few access points around SoD for newer players to get around.


A big one is a revamp of the listsold system , nothing like the bazaar please from live haha but the current listsold system in SoD is sooo user unfriendly for newer players.


Adept killer bonus xp , Say you help kill a adept the raid should be blessed with a xp bonus buff or something that lasts a day , a couple days , even a hefty hour bonus or something.


More lower tier GM events ! ( one of my funnest moments as low level live player was a race they did around the outside of the arena like a horsetrack with pvp flagged action). These type of things are just too rare in SoD.


I got more but gotta leave something for the next post.
 
preferanon said:
The following is my opinion and is formed under the perspective of a new-ish player.

SoD is stagnating in an unhealthy condition that will lead to continued population declines from now until anything foreseeable into the future. It is not because of the low-rez graphics or lack of enjoyment that SoD could provide. It's simply a matter of the age of the world and lack of adjustments that have kept pace to keep an aging world active and healthy.

In particular SoD does not currently have any active support for anyone who is trying to progress as a new player who is just reaching level 65. It is impossible for example to form a group of all level fresh level 65s and there just are not that many online. In short progressing from a fresh level 65 currently on SoD to a tier6 geared toon absolutely requires being *carried* there by older players, and that is stupid.

Fresh level 65s are either forced to solo (ie not get any decent XP or loot) or try to join groups with people who may have as many as 500-1000 AA. This automatically means that many classes looked down on as inferior especially anyone wishing to play a tanking class.

Nearly all SoD groups are reliant on relic style buffs from bots. A fresh buffing class is not often desired when most people can get advanced soul bound extremely long duration buffs from bots and than enter an area with 4 straight dps. (A possible solution is to make shorter duration spells slightly more powerful than relics, thereby making something like a shaman in a group actually always desirable)

This is really just the beginning. As there are no existing low tier guilds that are actually raiding and recruiting a new players only hope of progress at level 65 is playing a class that some guild desperately needs. Really by what method than some sort of newbie welfare does a fresh level 65 player go from store bought armor to t6 armor making her or him a respectable addition to those guilds that are currently active instead of some sort of beggar being carried by his betters?

I will offer first some beliefs. It will probably be laughed at but I'm hoping some admin might just see the truth of these words.

When the top level of your game is players in T12 gear with 500 AA and 50 tomes a new player should be able to get close to that condition within less than 1 year of dedicated play. They should not have to play for six years just to catch up to the average player who has been playing six years. That is not how successful multi-player rpgs work, if SoD was WoW, most of your players would still be in Outlands and never have enjoyed the later content at all before quiting.

New players should be able to offer something to lower guilds that would make most players a helpful addition to those lower tier guilds within a short time of being level 65.

Considering SoD has atleast 12 teirs of gear, it should not be that hard for a newer player to get into about tier6 gear, especially considering that is where all the guilds are on the bottom level and trying to recruit new players into.

A starting solution is not that difficult.

Make every piece of gear from Tmaps upto VD tradeable, low plat value (to encourage selling to players instead of to vendors). Make several zones that have T1-T2-T3 trad able gear AND cut the XP/difficulty level of zones like CMAL down so that it's not just a magnet for over geared 65s who are going to rot every piece of loot and just there for XP. Finally make CMAL simply reset every couple hours so that it can be cleared and farmed by lower level groups of 65s and big groups of 65s who to the benefit of everyone might just flood the market with low tier gear, which is exactly what SoD is in desperate need of.

The result is what? New level 65s will find it much easier to get into gear upto t3. This will make them able to do things like group and earn AA at a better pace. They will more quickly develop into characters tier6 and such guilds will want to recruit and let them take a real role in XP groups.

Seriously, let all new level 65s get into tier3 or higher gear if they actively play within a month of dinging 65.

The other option is laugh at my post and do nothing and watch new players walk away one by one.
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in regards to your tier 6 gear question. if i remember correctly if you get boe's it plants you in tier 6.
 
CharmCitysKing said:
tier 12 is way more fun than tier 6, and not just because "the numbers get bigger"
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This is true. NZ/Custo/FG/anything else marza made is really super fun. The only t12 fight i dont like is Gru`niet, punching a pillar for 15 minutes is not fun
 
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so how big is marza's dick? does it fit in your mouth/ass?

I wish I knew who made this comment, truly amazing. haha
 
Animand said:
Obviously came from someone who's never done Marza content. We're all his fanboys. They would be, too.
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Marza content is the only reason a lot of people play at high tiers, so its obviously someone who hasnt done marza content
 
Slayer90 said:
man i wanna try some marza content ><
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I suggest building up to it with some Thazeran's Tower content. Marza's content is known for having simultaneous mechanics requiring individual don't-wipe-the-raid responsibility, strict DPS checks, and many wipes while you perfect a strategy of when to use things like healing/mana potions, enchanter curses, dps clickies, and (at least on progression for Warchief Rujik Moktar) Call of the Blessed.

The new content in Thazeran's Tower has miniboss and boss encounters in the same school of thought. Some of them are playful checks of gear/preparation like the lower earth miniboss (I lolled at this one and love it a lot) and some are mechanic-heavy with the appropriate gear check (think Eyes of the Father) like REDACTED that hasn't been done yet.

Plus, the lower wings of Thazeran's Tower are a bit easier than most marza content (I'm exluding outer sanctum) once you figure out how to handle the designed-not-to-be-same-old-same-old trash, and that content is almost always up nowadays, and you can port to that zone, and you can bind right next to the zone-in, and and and and...

Marza content has been great, but don't overlook other content that has been created with that same design philosophy (now much more doable with the new scripting language).
 
Yes, I <3 Prophecy and Companions very much, and quite frankly, there are two things about Thazeran's Tower I don't think either guild has figured out yet that I can't wait for you to discover.

NGL, I really wish I could raid it with you.
 
One bottleneck of sod that idk if its been addressed is
content that is semi created by one person and gets left incomplete when they dont finish it and stop working on it.

some examples would be unfinished Deity augs/quests , Overgrowth quests , shadowdale Fae quests

I'd assume its because everyone wants to create their own content but idk.
 
For sure, I've been wanting to find out about the second leg of the refuge quests for ever. Lack of new epic quests that are semi accessible definitely tapered off my interest.
 
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