Perk of Extra Emu and Damage

[Smee]

I guess the title kinda explains it but the idea would be a perk that would increase Emu by x% , Harv damage by y% and training/PK damage by z% i.e. +20% Emu, +50% damage from all harv events (excluding mini events) and +1-2% combat damage. These percentages are purely for example and everyones thoughts would be appreciated.

 

If this has already been suggested please close the topic.

[Vanyel]

I don't think it is a good idea. It might end with some people creating a muling alt to help others, e.g. guildies. In some way it might beat the purpose of mules.

[Smee]

I don't think it is a good idea. It might end with some people creating a muling alt to help others, e.g. guildies. In some way it might beat the purpose of mules.

 

 

what difference does a % make in creating muling alts? If people used the perk for doing that, they probably do it without the perk already, right? Or maybe make the perk exclude mules?

Edited July 2, 2009 by Smee

[KoDdy]

there r 3 ways what would happend IMO :

1)Everybody 2nd would have that perk

2)everybody would have mule

3)or both :-D sorry,but i think thats not so good idea...

[Burn]

I don't think anything (well, other than p/c) that gives permanently more emu will ever be accepted/acceptable.

 

960 max emu is more than enough, with mule 2208 max emu for those special occasions.

 

 

As for this specific implementation, the feel of it is just too... it feels forced to have such stats mixed into a single perk.

[Vanyel]

I don't think it is a good idea. It might end with some people creating a muling alt to help others, e.g. guildies. In some way it might beat the purpose of mules.

 

 

what difference does a % make in creating muling alts? If people used the perk for doing that, they probably do it without the perk already, right? Or maybe make the perk exclude mules?

 

You completely missed my point.

 

Right now it takes hours of 'work' to 'train' your mule (geee, it sounds really really bad). Introducing a perk that will give as much with 2 clicks doesn't sound like a good idea.

[korrode]

Right now it takes hours of 'work' to 'train' your mule (geee, it sounds really really bad).

Ya, it does sound bad.

 

The argument "bad idea because it will make the game less like a job" isn't a good one, imo.

[SenZon]

Make it expensive like the "pk" perks - problem solved?

[Aislinn]

The argument "bad idea because it will make the game less like a job" isn't a good one, imo.

 

You know, I hear this a lot (albeit usually from the same handful of people)...the game is too hard, it's not fun...etc...

But you have to ask yourself, what IS the game exactly?

Is it to take the quickest route to being as maxed out as you can be so you can just go around pwning everyone?

Or is it the strategy involved in choosing which things are more important to you sometimes at the expense of others? And then putting in the effort to level or gain game knowledge of whatever it is you are interested in?

 

I have to ask, what is the point of the game if everybody starts at the finish line or takes the easiest and fastest route and gets there in a month?

[Wizzy]

The argument "bad idea because it will make the game less like a job" isn't a good one, imo.

 

You know, I hear this a lot (albeit usually from the same handful of people)...the game is too hard, it's not fun...etc...

But you have to ask yourself, what IS the game exactly?

Is it to take the quickest route to being as maxed out as you can be so you can just go around pwning everyone?

Or is it the strategy involved in choosing which things are more important to you sometimes at the expense of others? And then putting in the effort to level or gain game knowledge of whatever it is you are interested in?

 

I have to ask, what is the point of the game if everybody starts at the finish line or takes the easiest and fastest route and gets there in a month?

 

You make a good point

 

However, for those new players, the time it takes to compete with the people that have been playing for 5years, is a really big gap. Not impossible, if you want to compete, you need to treat EL as a job lol, Not everyone that comes to EL has the luxury to spend the time required to level up to competive levels. IMO this is a good thing for me, I have the time, I like a challange. But for most others that come for a month, they soon learn that making 500 hydro bars takes a long time, and they may not want to do that to feel like they can take part in the pk part of the game without being cannon fodder

[Aislinn]

Newcomers shouldn't be able to catch up in a month.

Why should they?

If they want 5 years worth of levels, they need to stick around for 5 years and get them like everyone else who has 5 year levels did.

I just don't buy the argument of "well i don't have the time to play for hours every day so I am going to buy my ready-made character" or "I don't have the time to play so I am going to beg for everything to be available for newbs too".

My answer is, if you put in the time and work, you deserve to be top of the charts. If you don't, then you don't deserve it. You should be willing to play the game at the level and speed you CAN play it. If not, this isn't the game for you.

Making everything insta-available gives long term players NO incentive. They have nothing to show for their time and effort if anybody can just buy it or get it in a month.

As to the pk dilemma, I thought the level specific arenas were supposed to fix that?

[Wizzy]

Newcomers shouldn't be able to catch up in a month.

Why should they?

If they want 5 years worth of levels, they need to stick around for 5 years and get them like everyone else who has 5 year levels did.

I just don't buy the argument of "well i don't have the time to play for hours every day so I am going to buy my ready-made character" or "I don't have the time to play so I am going to beg for everything to be available for newbs too".

My answer is, if you put in the time and work, you deserve to be top of the charts. If you don't, then you don't deserve it. You should be willing to play the game at the level and speed you CAN play it. If not, this isn't the game for you.

Making everything insta-available gives long term players NO incentive. They have nothing to show for their time and effort if anybody can just buy it or get it in a month.

As to the pk dilemma, I thought the level specific arenas were supposed to fix that?

 

I agree with you, as I just so happen to have the time in my life for this game. My point is for new players this game is really really hard. I recently took a little break to check out some other mmorgs and I was bored in a few days after runninng around doing a few quests. Personaly, I hate quests..but thats neither here or there. I found some other games very quick to level up, and most had level caps. Now I agree this is geared for games that have large turn-arounds. Players that come and go.. EL is great for people like me, but how many people are like me that can spend 10 hours + a day on a computer? As for the level dependent arenas, I dont have a clue why they are not more popular. I guess the players at those levels dont have time to pk, as they need to train for the next 3 years to step into kf.

 

My point is, EL is a bit more work for charater development then most other games I have seen. It takes a commitment (this is a good thing for me), however, I do think the reason the player base stays so small is due to the fact that EL is geared to a demographic of people with too much time on thier hands. There is a big market of game players that want to spend 2 hours a day gaming and still be competitive. For this reason, I would think the pk server/ with level caps would be ideal. But of course this would require more marketing to draw those new players to that server.

 

Honestly, for me, EL is the best. But I can understand why new players loose intrest, especily those with familys/jobs/pets . This game takes a termendous commitment to reach the high high levels.

 

See you on the top

[Aislinn]

I agree with you too, except for one thing:

Why does everybody have to be at the top? There is plenty to do for entertainment at all the other levels, from newbie up to not-quite-the-top. Plenty to do for the 10 hour a day players and for the 1 hour a day players. Sure it's hard for newbies to start but there is so much to learn and try, they shouldn't be complaining they are bored!

As far as being competitive...why aren't the "lower" levels competing against each other instead of wasting time whining they aren't at the top? As you say, there are a lot of newer players coming in who only have a couple hours to play...why aren't they finding each other and enjoying the game at their own pace together?

[korrode]

Obviously, a good balance needs to be found.

 

No one's saying people should hit caps or 'the top' in one month of playing, just that the current system is too extended.

 

 

My point is, EL is a bit more work for charater development then most other games I have seen. It takes a commitment (this is a good thing for me), however, I do think the reason the player base stays so small is due to the fact that EL is geared to a demographic of people with too much time on thier hands. There is a big market of game players that want to spend 2 hours a day gaming and still be competitive. For this reason, I would think the pk server/ with level caps would be ideal. But of course this would require more marketing to draw those new players to that server.

 

Honestly, for me, EL is the best. But I can understand why new players loose intrest, especily those with familys/jobs/pets . This game takes a termendous commitment to reach the high high levels.

Well said.

 

EL's current system caters to a small niche player type.

Now, if it's the goal to purposely remain small-time and only cater to a small minority of possible patrons, then fine, the game's going great.

 

If more players is the goal (*cough* and more money *cough*) then one of the most important changes that could be made is to modify the current character development model.

 

Again i stress; i'm not saying go to a system like Guild Wars' where character development is extremely brief, i'm not saying change it radically in the opposite direction of how it is now, I'm saying to find a nice balance somewhere in the middle, that will retain a good deal of enjoyment for the current player type but also open the doors to the types of people that make up a large chunk of the world-wide MMO playerbase.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Korrode

[Aislinn]

I disagree that this game does not offer competitiveness for newer players...or for that matter any players who are not top 10. They are trying to compete with the wrong people at the wrong time.

This game has plenty to do at all levels.

And one of the GREAT features of EL is it isn't PK/combat only, nor should all decisions revolve around dumbing EL down just to get more PKers here. I don't see that trying to attract people who won't stick around for more than a month anyway is any good for EL.

As I see it, the flaw is not in the game design, but rather in the people who feel they can't play a game unless they are at the top, with the minimum of effort in a minimum amount of time.

 

Just as there is chess and checkers, maybe we can compare EL and http://www.progressquest.com/

[korrode]

Well once again; i'm not saying (and i don't think anyone is saying) "minimal effort" or "minimum amount of time".

[Aislinn]

Well once again; i'm not saying (and i don't think anyone is saying) "minimal effort" or "minimum amount of time".

And once again;

Saying players want to catch up to the older players to be competitive as soon as possible or they're bored and quit IS saying that.

The point of the game isn't to bypass the process, but the process itself. You are supposed to enjoy the trip along the way.

[korrode]

Well once again; i'm not saying (and i don't think anyone is saying) "minimal effort" or "minimum amount of time".

And once again;

Saying players want to catch up to the older players to be competitive as soon as possible or they're bored and quit IS saying that.

The point of the game isn't to bypass the process, but the process itself. You are supposed to enjoy the trip along the way.

hmm idk, i dont really enjoy grinding for hours on monsters after 3 years of being an EL player, but i sure enjoy pk'ing and having lots of opponents around my levels.

 

The trip was important, and used to be fun, but now the trip is just going on and on... and it goes both ways; it annoys me that im still years from the very top players, but it also annoys me that it's years before i'll have more competitive opponents.

 

I don't deny i'm not smack in the middle of the stereotypical MMO player, the char development cycle i've enjoyed is probably a bit longer than the average, but however you want to look at it, the simple fact remains that there's a plethora of games out there with char development cycles ranging from 6 months - 1.5 years and they have many thousands more players than EL, so it just comes down to if the game is meant to be designed for a niche, or if getting more players is a higher goal.

 

EDIT:

Also, much of what i say relates to combat and PK. I make no speculations about other aspects of the game, and i believe changes could be made to combat that would attract more players without in any way damaging non-combat skills.

 

EDIT2:

Lastly, i don't deny that the char development cycle is not the biggest issue that's hindering expansion of the playerbase.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Korrode

[Aislinn]

So where ARE the players around your levels?

Or are those the people who bypass that and buy the higher level characters that either should be still playing, or retired?

Logic says there should always be players around at all levels (assuming people don't leave after a month of playing).

By natural process it should be kind of like school, a bunch of players in every grade who level up together and have fun together... Where did they go?

[korrode]

To games where you don't have to spend far longer performing tedious resource gathering exercises than you do having fun.

 

EDIT: I know what the next question will be, and i have my answer ready

Edited July 3, 2009 by Korrode

[Aislinn]

So these mystery or maybe not-so-mystery games have all your needs dropped into your lap and you just run around killing people?

[korrode]

I don't know why you keep inferring that i'm saying everything should be uber easy or uber fast, when i've repeatedly said that's not what i'm suggesting.

 

Again; a balance needs to be found, things shouldn't just be handed to you, but it shouldn't be the ridiculously long and tedious process it is now either.