Time to bring the flavor back.

[Drakiyth]

Greetings everybody,

Things have got a lot better in my life and I am a lot more stable now. With that said - I am very much considering
getting a server going again for everybody that is like the original Varlyndria server. One thing I don't want however
with the new server is a donation system because of the drama that happened before. But if it comes down to players
wanting something I will do a 100% cosmetic donation system.

THIS I PROMISE - YOU HAVE MY WORD

A good example of this system is: PATH OF EXILE. Different spell effects, glowing aura
around your character etc. Absolutely NOTHING that is game changing, such as items that can't be obtained
unless you donate or a tier system that gives you godly power. I never want to go down that path again. I want
everybody to enjoy the new server and not have to worry that they can't get passed a certain area because they are
not a donator.

QUESTION: What is the server going to be called?
ANSWER: This is yet to be determined. What I can say is when I get the rust off I will be working on something soon.

QUESTION: Are you bringing class paths back?
ANSWER: Absolutely.

QUESTION: Are there going to be new paths or are you keeping the old ones?
ANSWER: I plan on making some solid new paths that have a rich variety like before.

QUESTION: How many paths are going to be available at launch?
ANSWER: I plan on doing 2 for each base class at the start. 32 choices. Many are going
to be mixed with other ideas I had so it really makes a solid class but keeps the flavor.
EXAMPLE: Plaguebringer and Erosionist could be a Plague/Acid combo path that can use slimes/rats/bugs and other nasty stuff.

QUESTION: Are we going to start at max level again like Varlyndria: Ascension?
ANSWER: No. This will be like a normal server with some awesome variety for the base classes. Just like Varlyndria 1.

QUESTION: Will there be custom zones and bosses like the original?
ANSWER: Yes. I plan on adding some fun custom things with maps that aren't used often.

QUESTION: Will the server be solo friendly and have bot parties like the original Varlyndria?
ANSWER: Yes. I plan on making it very solo friendly with bot/mercenary fun.

QUESTION: Are there going to be need for guilds or huge raids for end game?
ANSWER: I really want to make a fun server here that you can just get on and play without
worry of other players being online to complete a quest. I will be making this a very solo friendly server but make sure
it's also challenging too for a group of friends. I don't want to do the huge raid scenario with this server.

QUESTION: Are you going to use an item system generator like you did with Ascension?
ANSWER: I want to make sure items are hard to obtain like the original Varlyndria and not spread
all over the place like candy. Expect to see some basic weapons and armor in the hub to start out and a lot of base EQ
items to find along with some custom stuff. I don't want to stray too far away from the original game but just enough to make
things interesting. When you get a magic item it's going to mean something again.

Please post your thoughts on this and the things you would like to see make a comeback.

[chasem]

Hey Drak - Good to hear things are well and also excited to read this. I loved Varlyndria (all stages but especially original).

Sounds great - Keep us posted!

[Wood_Elf]

If I have the time, I will of course be there to try it out. Loved all of your iterations of Varlyndria, especially the original.

[Sorce08]

Nice to see you back, Drak. I was just talking about Varlyndria a few days ago. I'm sorry for how things ended up the last time, and I hope everything will go smoothly this time. I agree with the idea of not using the donation system, even though I donated and enjoyed it, it seemed too easy in becoming a slippery slope. Hope to see your server on the list soon.

Ralpho

[Zaela_S]

Don't know about your server, but if you do go for cosmetic donation rewards I want to toot my own horn and suggest custom weapon models. A system to show a selected weapon model in place of a player's actual weapon would be trivial to code, if you're into that (assuming you wouldn't want to just give donators #wc).

[Thorkinal]

Pleased to see that you are back Drak, can't wait to see what you have instore for us.
Moozilla~

[Drakiyth]

I like all of your ideas so far and it feels wonderful to be back creating a world for everybody to enjoy.
I have been working very hard on a new server for the last couple of days now so development has
started, and I will be releasing another post about the server when I am much further into it. What I
can tell you right now is this server is not going to be called Varlyndria and it's not going to have a
cliche story line where you need to save the world and work with dragon sisters. This world will be
more about survival and strife and something unfortunate that has happened to you.


More details to come. Stay tuned.

[royz]

Glad to see things have improved for you man! Can't wait to see the new server. Ill be there at day one!

[troylus]

I just read this and I am absolutely fucking stoked! WE MISSED YOU DRAKIYTH!

This is some really good news!

Will you be planning on putting in some kind of PVP system?

[Drakiyth]

Originally Posted by troylus

I just read this and I am absolutely fucking stoked! WE MISSED YOU DRAKIYTH!

This is some really good news!

Will you be planning on putting in some kind of PVP system?

Thank you for the warm welcome!

I haven't even thought about pvp yet but I will probably add something when all the
pve aspect is fine tuned. The server is still in very early development stages,
but it's coming along nicely. I will have a lot more to show everybody when I release
the official thread.

[Drakiyth]

Here is a quick example/teaser of the new Warrior Path
that will be released with the new server.

Eradicators are damage dealers that use energy, lightning
and special physical attacks to demolish their foes. They
will also get bonuses to their melee damage and crit rate.
This is an example of what I will be doing to combine many
of the old Varlyndria paths together to make new ones. I
wanted to make a Slayer/Thane hybrid as they both really
kicked ass in dealing damage.



I'll release more info on all 32 paths and the name of the new
server in its own thread later down the road when I have a lot
more finished and ready to go.

Stay tuned, folks.

[Drakiyth]

Before I start: I Just want to give a big shout-out to my two friends who have helped
me get back into this when I was rusty as hell, adding some source changes and helping
with scripts etc. Thanks you for everything gentleman!


I just wanted to let everybody know the server is coming along well. There is still a lot of
work to do on it before any kind of release, but things are definitely moving in the right direction.
I also wanted to let everybody know that the server will not be needing anything like "VSES" this
time around. Stats will do the following automatically:

STR: Increases damage with melee weapons by 1% for each point.
DEX: Increases damage with ranged weapons by 1% for each point.
INT: Increases spell/discipline damage by 1% for each point. (life taps are 0.1%)
WIS: Increases healing by 1% for each point.
CHA: Increases perma pet and swarm pet damage by 1% per point.

Path clicky damage effects use INT to be boosted. However, INT as you all know is not easy to find on
most melee gear unless you're a SK. I have added some INT to all gear that has STR because of this to
keep melee characters in the game. Bots also now scale with the stats above and so do their pets as well.

Mobs are scaled to take on you (Champion) and your team of bots or a few player friends/boxing. They
have insane HP. Even a level 1 mob will kick your ass if you're not prepared for it. This also fits into the
story line. Your character is a leader that has their own unit of soldiers.

I suppose I can give off a couple last things about the server here while I am typing this. AAs at launch will
be limited to Shadows of Luclin only (the original AAs) and zones will be limited to Vanilla, Kunark and custom
areas only. There is a hub and the portal NPC is not a spoon-feeder type. He's going to dump you in the middle
of no where in choice areas that fit the story line (not revealed yet to public). Travel, wizards and druids will
indeed be very viable. There will also be some nasty surprises waiting for players outside of the hub zone at
random times also due to the story line. Let's just say the hunter becomes the hunted. The server delivers a
very unique feeling but still keeps the nostalgia that everybody loves of EQ - but just makes it more casual and
interesting. Progression is solid in all old world zones on this server. Items are not crazy and out of hand but there
are indeed a good deal of custom ones as well.

That doesn't even come close to covering everything.



More to come.

[Shin Noir]

First positive: I played a bit on your original server and enjoyed your efforts to tackle a huge class system.
Then opinion: Too many classes. Choices are good, customizing classes are great, but too many can cause favortism. KISS, retention of newcomers is usually small.

Keep up the awesome work!

[Drakiyth]

Originally Posted by Shin Noir

First positive: I played a bit on your original server and enjoyed your efforts to tackle a huge class system.
Then opinion: Too many classes. Choices are good, customizing classes are great, but too many can cause favortism. KISS, retention of newcomers is usually small.

Keep up the awesome work!

I can't agree more. That's why I have decided to go with two solid choices for all base classes that use a lot of the ideas
I had in Ascension - just combined together to make a more detailed class outfit but keep the flavor of it, and I find it funny
you said KISS because my motto in my notes is the Keep it Simple Stupid system. LOL

Good times.

[Shin Noir]

I have a purely experimental server i'm messing with where i'm totally breaking classes. Because, I have a feeling that a server that offers a revamp of classes is just.. interesting.

Working on a new patcher to ensure people can stay in sync easily. I don't see any good patchers out there for hacks. Plan to opensource my efforts and KISS that.