Ranger Power-Level OnlineFollow

I am frustrated.


Why am I frustrated? Because Getting exp in the low 80's without some kind of power level is absurd.

I just went to the supposed "hot-zone" Korascian Warrens. What do I see when I zone in? Guess.


/who


100ranger Eueluarueaulrluaru
83mage Twinkface



Sighhhhh...why bother even /ooc'ing for a group? I know this guy is the usual xenophobic "I only group with myself" kinda douche.


In fact, I've heard this quote several times from people, I guess they think its original and cute:


"I find I'm better company than other people."


This has become the general ethos of the basement-dwelling "I-got-15-Level-100-Alts-In-raid-gear-and-haven't-seen-sunlight-in-twelve-years" cretin.


At least in the old days you could kite for decent exp till end game. The game wasn't so HEAVILY based on getting power levels.



Let's look at the facts:


A few lvl 85s with mercs can head to Korsascian Warrens. They can pop lesson if they want, it's still gonna be slow as hell. Each mob will take over a minute to kill (yes...even if YOU were there with your boundless skill and genius aa selections). These kills will net about 1% xp every 2 kills. Or about 10% for an hour and half (giving time for medding and pulls and downtime).


Meanwhile, in feerott, the level 85 has gotten 10% in a few minutes from his ranger PL. He made dinner, watched some TV and found he had gotten 2 levels already.


It must be hard for that kid to not look at the group of 85's--sluggishly crawling to 90 at GLACIER-LIKE SPEED--and not think:



"What a bunch of stupid morons, they should just get a ranger pl."



Shouldn't EQ reward people who actually do things without a PL? How about TRIPLING the xp when you're actually grouping and not getting a PL higher instead of the other way around?


OR, even better, when someone forms a group of ACTUAL people (not mercs or PL) you get 5x the experience, (not the crummy bonus you get now which is hardly noticeable). This would immediately stir a revolution of people forming real groups of actual people. Imagine how many people would be inviting to groups if they new there was something in it for them? Even those greedy bastards in HoT would start inviting people.


(How have I figured this out and teams of Devs getting payed to do this job can't? It's so fricken obvious to me as a solution to an obvious problem..)



LOGIC. Embrace it.



Do the EQ devs really hate anyone bellow 95? Don't they realize I might buy their overpriced 50-dollar expansion if I could actually level and get to use it? Or is it more profitable to just make exp'ing without being in the elite social club so damn miserably slow, that people are forced to buy exp potions in the store (which barely help). Is that the business model here?


Actually, you want to make 50 bucks off this player? Give me a damn zone I can level at without the help of some snooty, bragging ranger who cant stop talking about how many 100's he has and how many fabled he has solo'd this week. Or some 100 zerker who keeps linking his raid gear and demanding I ooh and ahhh at his crits.


Or make some damn solo tasks you can do in the mid 80's that net some reasonable exp, like 5-8% a mission, not this 1% bs (seriously! WTF!) I'd do a long, convoluted and dificult quest if it gave me an entire level. Would that be so bad? 1 stinking level for a dificult quest? Apparently so..


In closing, EQ has lost its way and its gonna lose players over it. The mercs were one step into creating an anti-social environment, and now that everyone can 5 box on newer computers there is almost no reason to even talk to anyone (except for when raid time rolls around).


It's almost better to play a game with high-end graphics, because at least you know everyone wont be 5 boxing and might actually even want to group. Also with a new mmo you don't have to play catch-up for a year just to get to where the game actually starts and people raid.



The Free accounts might of caused a "surge" in money for EQ, but mark my words, if the devs don't start doing more for the normal people who don't want to be "Pl'd" and want to just earn their own exp--by actually groups as Verant intended--you will see a mass exodus just like the last one. Nostalgia is only so powerful, most of us just want to get to end game where the game actually starts, not claw and struggle while the other half of the server earns their exp vicariously through some ranger.



The most common complaint I hear from players who usually leave for other MMO games is that they cant get any exp. That its slow without high level friends. They usually grind in a "hot-zone" for a few weeks, see how slow it is, than just quit and never are seen again.



And before the flamers jump on my back for wanting things "too easy," I don't. I want things reasonable. I just want a few zones where an 80-85 can solo at a reasonable pace without having to rely on a damn PL of some kind.



Remember before these new expansions? Think omens. How easy was it to get a group in WoS or MPG? I was getting 5 tells from random people an hour asking me to group. I couldn't keep up with all the opportunities to level. These days? In 5 months of playing I have not gotten a single random tell for a group, AS A TANK. That right there should just show you how badly the devs screwed the social aspect of the game. Each expansion reveals some new blow to the community.



Anyway, after Elder Scrolls the only people left on EQ servers will be said snooty basement-dwellers, all shivering at the thought of losing their stables of lvl 100s, but by then, nobody will be around to care, and they will waste away clinging to their nostalgia in a ghost town created by their own apathy.






Edited, Apr 27th 2013 3:45pm by bronzebed10

Edited, Apr 27th 2013 3:45pm by bronzebed10

Edited, Apr 27th 2013 3:50pm by bronzebed10

Edited, Apr 27th 2013 3:50pm by bronzebed10

Edited, Apr 27th 2013 3:51pm by bronzebed10

Edited, Apr 27th 2013 3:57pm by bronzebed10

Edited, Apr 27th 2013 3:58pm by bronzebed10

Join a guild, make some friends. It's the only good, sure fire way to get groups all the time. You can try to form your own groups, but no one is going to look for you just because. Most people that know what they are doing, do at least as good, if not better solo, than taking a chance on a random group (The group has to be really good to better than solo / molo). Then there are the massive reports of people getting banned for hacking and them claiming innocense, but clearly noted how some pick up group looked suspicious. Officials have even said, you can get banned for just receiving the bonus of a hacker, even if you had nothing to do with it.

So to summarize. Form your own groups. Join a guild and make some friends to build up a support system for grouping. Most people are going to avoid pick up groups for a multitude of reasons.

Yther Ore.

But there are alternative spots where you can level a Tank class from 80-85 solo (or molo), which are easier than the current hotzone Korascian Warrens especially if still at lvl 80.

The first places that comes to my mind are the SOF zones: Fort Mech or Gyro Beza and Zeka till 85 or a level or two higher if solo. Then go into Feerott the Dream at 85 or 86ish.

Your dilemma is that as a tank class if you molo with a cleric merc your dps would be low vs Feerott the Dream or even Korascian Warrens mobs hitpoints, which equates to slow xp gain when levelling.

If I had to guess what's best for you I'd say grouping via an active guild or boxing are your best two options for fast xp gain.

Levelling wouldn't happen as fast if a tank class moloing with a cleric merc.




Edited, Apr 27th 2013 9:37pm by hexeez

I agree. I have been farming AA's the last few weeks, and on the char I'm currently working on am averaging 40-50 per day. Today I grouped and made only 8 so far. Usually by this point I'm around the 30 mark, so the group is a significant penalty compared to soloing.

Edited, Apr 28th 2013 2:12pm by KEC

Edited, Apr 28th 2013 2:12pm by KEC

Two possible things at work here:

1 - The group had issues, or was just not fighting in a good spot (should be fighting DBs or higher for the bonus *)

2 - The issue I wanted to bring up, mob density/respawn. This is the main issue, I think, that hurts groups ability to make XP at the same rate as solo/duo groups. The group is certainly >capable< of making XP at a faster rate, but just can't get enough mobs to hit that rate.

For a full group, each person is getting 36% of the XP/mob as a solo player. So if the group kills 3 times faster than a solo player, they're actually making 8% more XP/hour. But think about it. If a solo/duo can do a decent job of keeping an area clear, then a group is gonna have problems keeping busy.

* - A lot of people forget the level based XP bonus. If the mob is within 5 levels of you, you get a bonus that scales with the level difference. A mob 5 levels below you gives a 95% XP bonus, even level is a 160% bonus, and 5 levels above is a 225% bonus.

So if you're lucky enough to have a full group of decently geared folk, don't go for the easy areas. Go for even-con mobs, at the least.

Tat

Edited, Apr 29th 2013 1:50pm by tatankaseventh