Hello Sunbeam!
You would get more feedback if you post on our forums or ask in OOC (in-game or via forum), not many of our players visit the developer forums:
http://forum.casualdreams.org
Casual Dreams:
- Casual Dreams strives to preserve the original PoP era EQ feel of wonder and daring
- Whenever possible, encounters are preserved or enhanced to be like the original live experience
- Mobs and encounters have been toned down (mob hp, stats, spell effects reduced)
- Player stats, spells and gear are live-like
- Instead of needing 6 players to kill one mob, you'll be killing 6+ mobs at a time solo
- New content will be like permanent GM events
- New content will not replace or subtract from existing content
- The RoF2 client provides the best gaming experience on Casual Dreams
There are extra features on Casual Dreams that did not exist during the formal PoP era but the newest client (RoF2) and later expansions (LDoN, DoN) added functionality (augments, spells) which greatly improved the fun factor of the game, so they have been embraced.
The Potion of Serious Healing is the cornerstone of Casual Dreams solo life. It is an instant cast Complete Heal potion. This is a real item that has always been in game, I simply reduced the cast time from 10 seconds to instant. You have to target yourself or someone else to use it, and anyone call fill the Cleric role with this potion. They cost 1 platinum each and players might use up to a few hundred while solo'ing a difficult raid zone, depending on class/gear/strategy.
The Potion of Spurn Affliction is equally important once you start raiding. This is a 0.5 second cast Radiant Cure potion that will help you survive encounters which would be almost impossible without it. It also costs 1 platinum each.
Casters:
- Cleric, Shaman, and Wizard have solo'd PoTime that I know of
- Casters tank well on Casual Dreams, there is no melee push (far fewer interrupts)
- Spells such as snare and slow work well even on most bosses (a couple bosses summon but everything is caster tankable)
- Endgame pets have been increased in level
- Raid loot is NOT nodrop, pets can be given incredible gear and weapons to boost their power significantly
- I am just finishing up an extensive rebalancing of PoP encounters as a Monk because there were encounters that melee were having a very hard time with that my Wizard destroyed with ease
- Caster specifics can be found on our website and class forums
Gear/Augments:
- Drops are normal, you will find everything you know and love right where it has always been
- Defiant gear was overpowered and has been removed
- LDoN gear from the merchants in the bazaar serves the same purpose as Defiant and is better balanced for PoP era
- LDoN merchants will give you LDoN points for any LDoN augments you find and return to them
- Not all world drop augs are LDoN augs, LDoN merchants don't take everything
- Most people do not bother with the LDoN gear
- If you level in dungeons you will find plenty of decent gear to keep you going
Boxing:
- Everything is balanced for solo play
- Boxing is not required at all
- Most folks who use MQ2 just use it to control a 2nd character
- Nobody cares if you 2-box
- It is a casual server and if you want to 2-box solo content that is your business
MQ2:
- Do not use 3rd party software to interfere with or gain an advantage over other players
- MQ2 is not necessary and I do not like it, I think it ruins immersion
- I am not your daddy. As long as you do not bother other players or flaunt it (ruining their immersion), I don't really care what you do in your free time
- When I rewrite an encounter I often put in anti-warping code and a zone-wide shout so others in zone realize what just happened
- If you are the only player in a zone, nobody cares what you do
- Examples here