Unused Zones

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Tala_Darkraven
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Unused Zones

Postby Tala_Darkraven » Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:38 am

Being an old time player and recently re-starting new player I have spent some time reading the boards to get a feel for what is happening in mud and the problems that exist.

First of all(and this maybe all for now, im pressed for time) is the discussion of unused zones. I see many references on board to the amount of zones that do not get completed and the lack of new blood in game.

As I am not able to detect how many new people sign up anymore this may be completely pointless, but here goes anyway. Why not make some of those unused zones more low level friendly? It seems there is also discussion of the items being outdated or less than useful in the high end game. It would be useful to new players joining and begging new.

There has to be a way for new/lower level people to improve themselves other than trying to save thousands of plat and hopeing that an item will fall to them via auction or board.

My suggestion would be to make it easier for the lower level folk to do zones that help better them to reach the next step. Not only does this make it more fun for the guy walking in fresh with nothing but starter gear, but it would make it easier for them in the long run.

I may be wrong but it seems, as it has been forever here, that unless you have the high end damage(rog) or the uber tank gear you will severly hindered in character progression. Casters are still what they are. You can by with lower end stuff if your stats keep you rolling at a pretty steady pace.

My point is coming into the game new and seeing what you are up against somewhat curves the desire to pursue the game. Leveling a warrior to 50 and not having gear, other than what you can pick up through lucky purchases, wont get you into the high end stuff.

Maybe moving some of the older outdated gear up to newer players will make them more accepted into the circle of larger zones.

Its just an idea, wether or not its good is up to everyone else. I see it as a pretty good way to increase zone usage and maybe keep some newer people interested.
Tala_Darkraven
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Postby Tala_Darkraven » Sat Apr 22, 2006 1:09 am

Please respond to this and let me know where I am wrong right or just insane.

I dont get upset when my ideas are disected!
Vigis
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Postby Vigis » Sat Apr 22, 2006 1:49 am

Sounds like a solid idea Tala, but I see a potential problem with it right off.

If you change the difficulty of the zone so lower level players can finish it, you make it easier for higher levels to 2-man or 3-man it and farm the gear. If that happens, then it becomes a trickle down economy just as it is now. 1 small group of people will smite for the gear, then put it on auction, then the lower level people will purchase it on auction and are in the same boat they are now.

There is a possible way around it though. Level locked portals could be put in place (like the one south of WD). However, if that were the case, I couldn't roll it for exp, which is something I'd much rather do than running through DS for the millionth time. Maybe the portal could dissappear after the zone has been completed or x # of hours have passed *shrug*.
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Postby Anab » Sat Apr 22, 2006 3:01 am

Ok what im about to say may offend some people but i dont care because you know its true if you are....STOP BEING A PLAT WHORE!!!!That being said i know i am as i like to say Ninja loot instead of a nice fair Group-loot :) anyways in response to your idea i think maybe we need to get a strick rule put into place for the noob area. Dont make is so anyone can roll a level 1 new char and transport all their EQ to the new char. Now i know yeah this would increase the whole "man i hate xping its so boring". Wait till you read the whole post. Add a few of the low zones already in game that arent done and put some shabby eq in it but put it into the Scardale part mebbe? I dont think the noobs would be turned away at the XP aspect as in Scardale they can quest, grind, afk, and if ya put a zone in...learn how to group more effectively with other noobs than having a level 50 come by and scoop em up. Ok now to address the people who hate xping and have multiple 50 chars and what have you. Stuff it. You already have a level 50 char and if you just group with other noobs there then you not only show them how to play thier character for a much longer period of time but you allow them to group with you at an early level. Getting level 20 doesnt take long if you are a power mudder(if you have multiple 50's then your a power mudder to me). Thats my side of it....and just to be sure. Stop Whoring Plats!!!!! now where is my ninja suit?

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Tala_Darkraven
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Postby Tala_Darkraven » Sat Apr 22, 2006 3:02 am

Thanks Vigis.

I thought about that after I had entered it. It wouldnt completely solve the problem but it would be nice to see it started somewhere.

The idea of level restrictions for a period of time, or until it has been completed is intersting.

I really cant complain with the mud for the most part. It certainly contains a large group of very friendly helpful people. There is no doubt!

I am just looking to consolidate some complaints and bring in a new perspective. One from a new player seeing things from a different view.
Tala_Darkraven
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Postby Tala_Darkraven » Sat Apr 22, 2006 3:13 am

Thanks Anab.

That is also and intersting idea. Moving some unused zones with a step up of eq than starter gear is a good idea. The only problem I see with this is the exp table in Scardale is sick. You can level to 20 with minimal gear rather quickly if you have any sort of understanding of MUD's in general.

Maybe if the level limit was raised to 25 and there was a cost if you leave the area to enter toril. It would force lower level people to be more dependant on each other.

Now I cant complain about others picking me up to help out. It doesnt seem to be an issue, at least in my case. Many have taken me in and drug me around.

This is more towards long term usage. In the hopes that there will be a increase in player base. I know its a pipe dream, but things always go in cycles. Soon enough people will be looking to do things they did before, and text based will make a come back.
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Re: Unused Zones

Postby Xisiqomelir » Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:14 am

IMHO, your thread title is misleading. This is more about giving more options to new players rather than using old zones. Old zones do get hit up btw, at least, they do whenever someone needs to finish off a quest.

RE: Solutions to newbies having nothing to do

1) I hate level restricted eq
2) I hate level restricted zones

Personally, I think the solution would be to have newbie eq reload every pop. A sudden influx of 2 ac 3 hp !bits wrist gear that reloads on a lvl 35 warrior mob (for example) would do nada to unbalance high end zoning, but it would make life much nicer for lowbies. If highlevels wanna roll that for their alts, which they probably wouldn't, then the item will still be available for true newbies later.
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Tala_Darkraven
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Postby Tala_Darkraven » Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:14 am

Interesting input.

I dont really think the title is misleading, as it is directed to one of the gripes from another thread about zones being unused or outdated.

Its not entirely about making life easier for new players. It was a suggestion to solve an issue with unused areas with outdated eq.

Alot of those areas require higher level players to complete. And the gear that drops there, for the most part, is just plat fodder for those higher level players.

Why not make them more useful than to fill the coffers of people who can zone the higher end zones? At the same time it would create a little more excitement for the low end player and help them get equipped to move onto the next level. The exp grind is tedious to say the least. I would be quite sure that alot of people have given up simply due to it.

With the reworking of zones geared towards new members, and I mean new not someones newest twink, it breaks the continous grind of making 50 and hoping to get to zone with a group.

Also it would benefit many new people by giving them a chance to learn how groups work, as was mentioned ealier. There are a ton of things people need to know to be a functional part of a group on a zone run.

Games need to grow and change to be effective. People want to be able to advance, they want the excitement of getting that new piece of gear. They want to go to that next area. Right now, this game is alot of time spent killing over and over watching your skills creep up and your exp tick along until you reach 50.

For me thats fine, I had done it before. For the new person, someone trying out a new mud, or maybe trying a mud for the first time. It certainly challanges the interest level.
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Postby Botef » Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:23 am

Xis well said.

(skip to bottom paragraph for my idea)
As I see it, the problem is there is no low-mid level game anymore...Once upon a time, there was a lot of players who never reached 40+ and played daily and had people to group with and stuff to do. Now days, there are not many groups of mid-level people WITH mid-level aspirations. There are new players and established players grouping with new players.

Since most established players have no reason to do eq they can twink with a 50, they have little to no reason to goto these places as a lower level to smite them...They want to keep the XP moving...Why spend an hour getting your mage from level 1 to 2 with starting eq when you can load it up with eq and get there in 1 minute. Time is the driving factor here.

So your left with new players with nobody to group with, and their lack of equipment preventing them from soloing eq that fits their level range (heh yet if they do have the eq to do it solo, they probably dont even need what they are soloing). This leaves hand outs and auction as their source for eq. Making the mobs that have eq easier will only be of significant benefit to new players if the eq is more or less soloable by a new player, wearing new player eq. Most players with level 50 characters would just assume solo a mob for a new player then spend the time helping them do it 'legit' with a low level char of their own. Since there isn't enough new players to form groups to do these kinds of things, your left with the sense of impossibility because an original aspect of the game (low-mid level game play) is suffering the most from a small pbase.

A solution might be putting decent eq in places accessable to new players, but making it !sale !auction so that the desire to twink it for profit is removed.

Again though, whats hard for people to remember is a new player, wearing new eq can't accomplish a heck of a lot alone...and by the time they can, the eq they are after has probably out grown them (handouts/auction take care of that). That leaves them the option of grouping with other new players -which there is a lack of. Or, grouping with an established player with nice eq who probably doesnt want to take the time and risk of getting their alt killed to get some eq for a new player. They could just solo faster, and hand it down.

Much like is was several years ago, at least on the evil side, new players usually get hooked up with a lot of decent eq as soon as they are accessable to established players so anything they can accomplish solo within the first 30 levels is quickly thrown aside. Given how low the pbase is, I think its probably a waste of time to try and rework things to help new players get eq. Instead, I think established players should make more of an effort to get new players suited up...


Or perhaps a better idea, you could rework starting equipment at character creation to be a bit more reflective of the pbase...i.e., make it better. I really can't see this causing any problems...Established players power level to 20 in a matter of hours...whats wrong with making it possible for a brand new character to get there a bit faster? Anyone who has tried leveling a fresh char recently can see that under the current scenario the time difference in leveling those first 20 levels is huge...narrowing the gap wouldn't do much harm...and would produce a lot more groupable, accessable players in the mid-level range.
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Disoputlip
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Postby Disoputlip » Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:01 pm

I think you n00b lowbies should either form groups for eq you can do. E.g. tiny gold earing, UM2 RDA, stuff that 1 level 50 with some luck can solo.

Else you should get 50.


Gods could help a little with only putting xp eq in lowbie zones. E.g. coral greaves with sv_sp is waste of points for a midlevel item. All you need for xp is ac hp and tohit/dam.

I don't want to see more level restricted portals in game. (Although i think the cemetary one is ok).
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Postby Thilindel » Sat Apr 22, 2006 6:10 pm


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