Ideal server:
-a least Luclin Era - if earlier than PoP, a travel system* (see below for explanation)
-PvE
-Bots/limited boxing (same # of bots as boxes in-use allowed at the same time, and relative to raid difficulty. e.g. if 1 allowed - may have 1 bot or 1 box, 2 allowed - any combo of boxes and bots adding to 2 etc..)
-limited gear vendors - a little weaker than what you find at that level. moreso for level 1 (if newb armor quests not present) than for later levels. maybe a full set at low level but for later levels (mayabe upto 35-40ish) stuff that is weak enough that it can only be useful to round out gear or a hard to find slot for those levels. at some point it should be expected that the player can go to dungeons, or whatever, and properly outfit themselves.
-tradeskill vendors - at least for rarer things or somethign that requires larger population for it to be commonly found.
-RoF2 allowed. or at least UF. after trying takp/project2002 i will never use some clunky, crappy client again. the older software isn't better. it looks like crap and runs like crap. i don't care about hte exploits that i don't use... why screw everyone for a few doing stupid things. even worse if the rationale is emotion or nostalgia based. again, inclusion > exclusion. if some want to use that crappy software, then they can choose to do so, while the rational people will use better software.
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Mostly theory, explanation and gibberish will be found below:
i've leveled countless toons to max over EQ/EQ2/WoW/whatever else. i've roughed it too many times with brand new accounts or toons. it's no longer amusing. anything that can help the early going that doesn't influence the latter stages of the game would be welcomed. low level spells should be cheap! since the population is so small, the orignal balance for players included being able to sell that luck hq bear pelt for some spell money at low levels. so, something should be adjusted for making money or buying neccessities. i think it's easier to reduce spell prices so that you don't unexpectedly make somethign else too easy at low levels -> less ramifications.
rate of exp = gathering of gear. i think that's the key. the biggest problem wiht re-tuned servers is that you either outrace your gear, or your gear is way too OP.
Era isn't even that key to me, as long as travel is somewhat aided. i actually like earlier eras more for simplicity in an already complex game when it comes to gear and zones etc... oh! and spellbooks... just too many spells to organize with later expansions.
* - some ways allow for both perspectives of travel, other ways are exclusive. when a rule is created that does the latter on somethign that is clearly an opinion, i don't get it. so, the people that like to travel want those that don't to be forced to do so. seems like a bitter way to do things. while, having portals or pok allows for both to be happy. why would someone who supposedly enjoys autrunning for 20+ minutes be upset that someone else who does not enjoy that crap to avoid it. hypocrits.
the peripheral stuff in the game should be about inclusion, and not exlusion. you don't like seeing people click a stone, then suck it up and stop forcing your opinons on others. each to their own on enjoying the small stuff in the game (or believing that its a total bore and waste of my time to hit autorun and watch tv while my toon buggers off)
i think some people's memories are a little off on "classic" difficulty at level 1. you could go out and kill lev 1-2 moss snakes, decaying skeles and equivalents without a problem with just the basic tunic and starter weapon. on some servers the moss snake lays you out 80% of the time. a tank (non-solo class) in patchwork with a cracked staff could take out evens/yellows upto level 5-6 or so.
since population is always a problem, some basic vendors would be nice. nothing too advanced that you won't dungeon crawl for gear upgrades at that level. it can't prevent you from wanting to do content. i want to visit the dungeons as i level. i want to tool around in them for more than 10minutes or use #zone loc to get right to a boss room.
tradeskill vendors - and i don't even like tradeskills, but for others
the race newbie gear is great for a start - even if it's out of era. i just don't think 20hours of collecting stuff matches the reward at those levels. the drop rates shouldn't require too much for so little. i shouldn't be able to run 1 circuit of the newbie zone and have an entire set, either. i think being able to get a 2-3 pieces before returning to sell vendor crap is about right. as long as you get them before your level allows you to go to dungeons for some fun.
if you allow boxing, then bots should also be allowed. i don't want to run 6 clients on my pc and burn out my gpu/cpu. whether a script on my computer runs them or a script on the server is really no different. it's silly to differentiate between the two. allowing multiboxing then limiting how you control them doesn't make sense either.
if no boxing/bots, then some tuning would be required for raid content. why make a server where no one will ever be able to defeat teh tougher npc's? either due to population or .. well mostly that.
with boxing/bots - raids tuned to 1 group of decently equipped players, or if poorly equipped with more people.
i don't want a cavalcade of bots/boxes following me around. 10-20-30 bots/boxes is a bit ridiculous and avoidable. i bet it's less load on server too by limiting the #s.
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