A Solution for the XP Changes?

[swedago]

For those of us that do not wish to level in "Easy Mode", and who wish to enjoy all the game content....

Is there a way that we can have a 2nd XP Lock option that allows us to do quests and not jump through levels? 

I personally like to do all the content.  I like to do all the raidzones without a raid of 80s mentored to level 50 to create no challange.

My entire guild is level locked to do as I just mentioned.  However, with this new XP modification, the only way for us not to level our main raid toons is to:

A) Make alts

B) Hide in the tradeskill Instance

C) Stop Playing

D) Stop Questing

E) Stay in your in game house

Some sort of solution would allow those of us that do not agree that leveling fast is fun would be very much appreciated. 

[Daedalus Raistlin]

I second this. As you can see from my sig, I like to take my time.I know of a guildie who disables combat XP, and would probably want to disable quest XP as well. He takes it slowly and does as much content as he can find, and I bet this increase will annoy him a lot.I haven't played on live yet to see how the XP effects me, but I think I would like an option to disable quest XP too so I don't outlevel everything.

[Zarador]

Then...the solution for those that find leveling too boring...

• Join an exchange server, purchase a level 80 character, log into end game.
• Check a web site to determine which of your 50 AA's will be best at level 80.
• Spend 10 hours in the newbie zones getting fishing up to cap.
• Get attacked and The Commonlands where you spend 2 hours getting your combat skills up.
• Get to 80 to discover that Adept I spells/arts don't really hold up so well and that 2 plat you earned in your week of leveling to 80 won't buy very many upgrades.

If you think leveling is dull, try catching up on skills and gaining AA's while doing trivial content.  On a good day, my level 71 Warden who is behind on her crushing can get about 1-2 skill ups off green heroic mobs.  Keeping in mind that this is only doing Melee on the mob and takes about two minutes a kill.

[Daedalus Raistlin]

Zarador wrote:

Then...the solution for those that find leveling too boring...

• Join an exchange server, purchase a level 80 character, log into end game.
• Check a web site to determine which of your 50 AA's will be best at level 80.
• Spend 10 hours in the newbie zones getting fishing up to cap.
• Get attacked and The Commonlands where you spend 2 hours getting your combat skills up.
• Get to 80 to discover that Adept I spells/arts don't really hold up so well and that 2 plat you earned in your week of leveling to 80 won't buy very many upgrades.

If you think leveling is dull, try catching up on skills and gaining AA's while doing trivial content.  On a good day, my level 71 Warden who is behind on her crushing can get about 1-2 skill ups off green heroic mobs.  Keeping in mind that this is only doing Melee on the mob and takes about two minutes a kill.

I'm not sure what you mean by this.My understanding is that this thread was about slowing down the levelling, by adding the ability to disable quest experience just like we can with combat experience.

[Zarador]

Daedalus Raistlin wrote:

Zarador wrote:

Then...the solution for those that find leveling too boring...

• Join an exchange server, purchase a level 80 character, log into end game.
• Check a web site to determine which of your 50 AA's will be best at level 80.
• Spend 10 hours in the newbie zones getting fishing up to cap.
• Get attacked and The Commonlands where you spend 2 hours getting your combat skills up.
• Get to 80 to discover that Adept I spells/arts don't really hold up so well and that 2 plat you earned in your week of leveling to 80 won't buy very many upgrades.

If you think leveling is dull, try catching up on skills and gaining AA's while doing trivial content.  On a good day, my level 71 Warden who is behind on her crushing can get about 1-2 skill ups off green heroic mobs.  Keeping in mind that this is only doing Melee on the mob and takes about two minutes a kill.

I'm not sure what you mean by this.My understanding is that this thread was about slowing down the levelling, by adding the ability to disable quest experience just like we can with combat experience.

My apologies, Pre-Coffee here...

[swedago]

If people wish to breeze through levels that is on them...  They pay to play this game.  If SoE decided this is a move to make?  Guess it is their game =P

I would just like an option for those people (I have a whole guild of "those people&quot that wish to slow their XP not increase it.

Gamestyle depends on the player.  However, options for those that differ would be better than to just force-feed a playstyle on all.

[Azekah1]

Yea, taking away choices from players is not a good way to keep them happy and paying...

[PurpleWarri]

Being away in LotRO and Warhammer Online taught me a useful lesson - I like fast levelling!  When you find your starting to frown at the XP bar at L20 in a game with 40 levels, you know there's a problem

Re-subbed here today and looking forward to getting back to SS for some fun.

I'd have no objection to them enabling people to level slower if they so desired though - horses for courses and all that.

[DCarnage2]

What they should do is make a buff or debuff... that reduces XP gain by a certain % or make it so a player can set the percentage of XP earned both off of kills and quests.

[Ammadessi]

I'm new to the game, but personally I'd like a choice to choose how much xp I'm getting. A difficulty slider, or box to click, perhaps. I personally don't mind chugging along at the lower levels, so I'd like an option to turn down xp substantionally, instead of just turning off combat xp (which I've already done).

[swedago]

Ammadessi wrote:

I'm new to the game, but personally I'd like a choice to choose how much xp I'm getting. A difficulty slider, or box to click, perhaps. I personally don't mind chugging along at the lower levels, so I'd like an option to turn down xp substantionally, instead of just turning off combat xp (which I've already done).

Personally I have 5 level 80s already..  The last thing I want is to level fast to 80 again.  I enjoy the mid level content and would like to stay there a while and do all the quests I missed before.

[Trellium]

I agree with the OP. Why is it an issue to have the option to slow the experience rate down if that is the way you want to play?We always have combat off, on our mains as well as our alts, yet we ding far too fast. All we want is the ability to play at our own rate. If someone else wants to see levels race by, I could care less if they get a giant sqeaky hammer of death that whacks a mob and grants a level. It makes no difference to me, as long as I can play with slow level gains.I would level lock each level until I did ALL of the quests. I would turn down this new experience bonus, as well as vitality. Even better, I would also like to sell vitality on the brokers. :p

[Zarador]

What would work nicely here is the slider that we had in Everquest Live.  You could adjust what percentage of combat experience you wanted applied to AA experience.  This way you could be ensured that doing quests and collections and such wont result in a combat experience gain. Honestly, they could work it out fairly, something to the effect of how end game level 80 Combat Experience is applied now.  "X" amount of "Combat Points" gets applied to the requirement to reach "X" amount of AA points. Sure, there would be a point of diminishing returns just like there are now if you do the grey quests for AA and you already have a good amount of AA points.  Some return, while eliminating unwanted experience is better than no return.As the AA Cap gets higher and higher and the abilities are more desired, people will no longer fully appreciate that fast leveling curve if it means mindless grinding of trivial content because you hit level cap far too fast.

[Full_Metal_Mage]

I don't think the new expience point requirements need to be changed. Again.

I suggest that players who are obsessed with doing everything with one character take a step back and look at the game as it is today. There are many more zones and many more adventuring options than we had when the game launched. Plus, a standard subscription includes three character slots more than were included when the game launched.

Rather than trying to complete every single quest in every single zone on just one character, choose a path for that character to follow and enjoy the journey as you go and don't fret about missing out on a few things with that one character along the way. Then, when you level up an alt, you can enjoy content you did not experience the first time through from the perspective of a new character. The game will feel fresher to you on an alt if you're not doing the same things you've already done half a dozen times.

Stop trying to control the game experience and just experience the game.

[Zarador]

Full_Metal_Mage wrote:

I don't think the new expience point requirements need to be changed. Again.

I suggest that players who are obsessed with doing everything with one character take a step back and look at the game as it is today. There are many more zones and many more adventuring options than we had when the game launched. Plus, a standard subscription includes three character slots more than were included when the game launched.

Rather than trying to complete every single quest in every single zone on just one character, choose a path for that character to follow and enjoy the journey as you go and don't fret about missing out on a few things with that one character along the way. Then, when you level up an alt, you can enjoy content you did not experience the first time through from the perspective of a new character. The game will feel fresher to you on an alt if you're not doing the same things you've already done half a dozen times.

Stop trying to control the game experience and just experience the game.

While I respect your opinion, to a degree, some players do enjoy making an alternate and this time seeing the entire world, or as much of it as they can.  Like a box of chocolates I always go out there with the idea that this time...I'm going to control myself and "DING"! Ooops.. did it again .Mentoring is defiantly fun, but not quite the same as experiencing the zone with friends while your at that level.  "God Mode" gets disruptive at times when you find yourself wiping out a zone that would have killed you easily were you the real level and not mentored down. The "obsession" often is the diversion, almost as in raiding for the best gears and masters. Some of the "obsessed" got our first character (or several characters) to 80 the fast way and now enjoy maxing out every aspect that we can on an alternate character.  For example, this time around I made a Warden that I capped the skills out in every level instead of spending hours catching up on harvesting and such.  I also started a trade as well as a secondary trade.  While adventuring, I have been attempting to do as many quests in as many places as I can while doing the Lore and Legends as close to the appropriate levels as possible.  I like to think of it as "refining" the character now instead of just getting to the end game cap in a race.  call it a Min/Max where I enjoy being the minimum age to experience the maximum content!

[Ilucide]

We'll get the ability for characters to turn off quest & exploration experience into GU50. Unfortunately it was really just too late to get that code change in for 49. We don't want to take away anyone's style of play. =)

[soibit]

i think a slider like we used to have in eq live would work nicely however, i play on nagafen and i would like to have a little tweak to that idea as to not make AA easy to max out at level 10 (^__^).    take a slider like we used to have but only apply it to quest exp.  then we can still lock our exp for combet and maybe put like a max of 50% of all of our quest exp back into AA. i think this would solve a lot of the issues without giving people an easymode to gain AA.  just my 2 cp

[Full_Metal_Mage]

Zarador wrote:

Full_Metal_Mage wrote:

I don't think the new expience point requirements need to be changed. Again.

I suggest that players who are obsessed with doing everything with one character take a step back and look at the game as it is today. There are many more zones and many more adventuring options than we had when the game launched. Plus, a standard subscription includes three character slots more than were included when the game launched.

Rather than trying to complete every single quest in every single zone on just one character, choose a path for that character to follow and enjoy the journey as you go and don't fret about missing out on a few things with that one character along the way. Then, when you level up an alt, you can enjoy content you did not experience the first time through from the perspective of a new character. The game will feel fresher to you on an alt if you're not doing the same things you've already done half a dozen times.

Stop trying to control the game experience and just experience the game.

While I respect your opinion, to a degree, some players do enjoy making an alternate and this time seeing the entire world, or as much of it as they can.  Like a box of chocolates I always go out there with the idea that this time...I'm going to control myself and "DING"! Ooops.. did it again .Mentoring is defiantly fun, but not quite the same as experiencing the zone with friends while your at that level.  "God Mode" gets disruptive at times when you find yourself wiping out a zone that would have killed you easily were you the real level and not mentored down. The "obsession" often is the diversion, almost as in raiding for the best gears and masters. Some of the "obsessed" got our first character (or several characters) to 80 the fast way and now enjoy maxing out every aspect that we can on an alternate character.  For example, this time around I made a Warden that I capped the skills out in every level instead of spending hours catching up on harvesting and such.  I also started a trade as well as a secondary trade.  While adventuring, I have been attempting to do as many quests in as many places as I can while doing the Lore and Legends as close to the appropriate levels as possible.  I like to think of it as "refining" the character now instead of just getting to the end game cap in a race.  call it a Min/Max where I enjoy being the minimum age to experience the maximum content!

I see it this way: instead of having to jump around to every zone in a tier just to get enough quests to level up, lowering the experience point requirement should enable players to pick a contiguous path for character advancement and enjoy the game in a manner more consistant with a story telling perspective.Playing a Qeynos based character could for example, now mean playing in Antonica, Thundering Steppes, Zek, Everfrost, Sinking Sands, Pillars of Flames,  Kingdom of Sky and then into RoK and completely skip Commonlands, Nektulos Forest (gah! I hate that place), Enchanted Lands, Lavastorm, or any of the EoF zones. You could play all of those skipped zones on an evil character.I think that rather than simply speeding up power leveling (which some players will always do regardless) this change makes it easier to get a character immersed in the story of Norrath.

[Oh]

Ilucide wrote:

We'll get the ability for characters to turn off quest & exploration experience into GU50. Unfortunately it was really just too late to get that code change in for 49. We don't want to take away anyone's style of play. =)

You know while this is great and all, I must be really dense. I just don't see the problem, leveling is exactly the same as it was before, you have to do NOW the same things you had to do before. The only difference is it takes less xp to level then it did before. Can't say it's by a huge margin but it is enough to make a point. SOOO what is really different? All of the options the OP stated were what was there before the xp changes happened and still alternatives that could be done. If the point of these (not just this one sorry) threads are just for this new feature then I guess I get it to some degree but then the question i ask at the end will be very important for you.

Don't get me wrong I'm not dissing that this new feature is being added, I guess I am just not on the same page so to speak as others despertally trying to get this.

Also out of curiosity when you "turn off quest and exploration" xp does that also turn off Achievement XP? I know that will be an issue if it does or if it doesn't, i'm sure there are folks on both sides of that one.

[Xand]

Ilucide wrote: "We'll get the ability for characters to turn off quest & exploration experience into GU50. Unfortunately it was really just too late to get that code change in for 49. We don't want to take away anyone's style of play. =)"Good to hear that that feature will be implemented, thank you for the info Ilucide Could i bribe you into releasing it sooner as an hotfix maybe ? *shoves a mountain of muffins and hot chocolate in the direction of the DEVs*For some of us (me included) it is a huge issue, worse than linkdeads every 30 mins.Would a modivication for the ability to turn off quest & exploration xp be possible (for the future - no need to waste time on it now - for folks like me the "turn off" switch is needed right away - well... i moe like wanted yesterday but that's another story *g*let's say, 3 settings "GU49 xp" "Q&E xp off" "Q&E xp as it was bevore (%-wise), modified to the new xp requirements per level" ? That way we hat full freedom in our stiles of play.-fast levler-slow levler-adventure xp off but small %of adventure xp for every quest done I agree this may be not important to some. Seen as useless by some, since you can turn xp off and on as you like (when the Q&E xp fix wents live).But for some (raides hand) it would restore the old leveling feeling (adventure xp off, slow adventure xp from Q&E) that they come to love over the years

[dawy]

Ilucide wrote:

We'll get the ability for characters to turn off quest & exploration experience into GU50. Unfortunately it was really just too late to get that code change in for 49. We don't want to take away anyone's style of play. =)

Thanks Illucide perhaps your words will finally put these sort of threads to bed.I love the xp changes myself,i've been here since what..LU 4 and seen a lot of changes to the game some bad but on the whole mostly good and i have to say LU 49 is one of the best LU's i've seen in the game

[Outkasted2006]

Daedalus Raistlin wrote:

I second this. As you can see from my sig, I like to take my time.I know of a guildie who disables combat XP, and would probably want to disable quest XP as well. He takes it slowly and does as much content as he can find, and I bet this increase will annoy him a lot.I haven't played on live yet to see how the XP effects me, but I think I would like an option to disable quest XP too so I don't outlevel everything.

Love the solution. You guys will still lock. But dont give me this crap. People lvl lock to HOARD AA, run around with there buddies, and be low lvl locking nublets. Yeah that's skill and knowing how to play your case. Max AA (whatever lvl cap your at the time),Have your mount that gives you bonuses you shouldnt have at this lvl, all your masters since your locked and have forever to get them, and then best yet, always running in packs... All that, then brag about your UBER kill streaks. Love killing those kind of people as I am lvling up toons. Me and my very little AA, not locked self. Funny stuff, getting killed by someone who maybe doesnt have as good of a title, or AA, or equipment or mastery of all his spells.  Please just take away, lvls, mobs, quests, and just make it so we all are basically 80 or whatever lvl, and we can alll just pvp. Everyone gets the spells, there are no spell upgrades. And then lets have some real pvp.

[Xand]

"Some" of us don't play on pvp and nope i do not "hoard aa" but i find it more enjoyable doing quests in a zone where the mobs have another color than greythe increased xp gain doesn't bother me - as long as it is not forced on me and makes the play style i enjoy impossible.I don't throw harsh words in the direction of players who prefer level gain above everything else (or just want to level faster than what used to be). All fine for me - but i want to be able to enjoy the game my way, without being accused of "hoarding" "running around in packs" and show of with the number of AAs i have. I just don't like running blindfolded through the game world and seeing leveling up as my only goal. For some of us simple playing is the goal of the game. not reaching lvl 80. Of course this is my opionion - and if someone has one 180° to mine ? I let them Some people like the faster xp - let them! (and grats to you )Some hate it - let them switch it off and they are happy again. Nobody is forced another playstile, as it should be.Whatever my personal preferences in game - I would never imply that other play styles than mine are wrong, or generally less desirable than mine. Or the other players are "generic insult" because they don't share my view. Let's be nice to each other, don't bash each other because some like hot chokolate more than coffe

[Thunderthyze]

Personally I would prefer shades of grey rather than black or white so if anyone at SOE is taking notice of preferences put me in the box marked "XP slider" rather than the one marked "XP on/off button". Level locking is an entirely different mindset from wanting to enjoy progression at a sensible rate. And don't forget, there are as many definitions of a "sensible rate" as there are subscribers hence my preference for a slider....if possible.

[Xand]

Another question : is there an aprox. date when GU50 will go live?  Bevore the Expansion or with the expansion ?  I just hope it won't take a month till the xp switch/slider makes it into the game

[Zorastiz]

People, change is a constant, just as in RL things change in our online worlds, dwelling on it doesn't help and for some can become obsessive.

Breathe deep, give it a chance play awhile with it and see how it goes.

[Faenril]

Full_Metal_Mage wrote:

I see it this way: instead of having to jump around to every zone in a tier just to get enough quests to level up, lowering the experience point requirement should enable players to pick a contiguous path for character advancement and enjoy the game in a manner more consistant with a story telling perspective.Playing a Qeynos based character could for example, now mean playing in Antonica, Thundering Steppes, Zek, Everfrost, Sinking Sands, Pillars of Flames,  Kingdom of Sky and then into RoK and completely skip Commonlands, Nektulos Forest (gah! I hate that place), Enchanted Lands, Lavastorm, or any of the EoF zones. You could play all of those skipped zones on an evil character.I think that rather than simply speeding up power leveling (which some players will always do regardless) this change makes it easier to get a character immersed in the story of Norrath.

That would make sense if there was a main storyline in EQ2 sending you through the zones sequentially.But it's not the case, there is no "main quest" sending you from antonica at level 10 up to Jarsath Wastes at level 80 for instance.Personnally I see that as an advantage as you are free to experience the zones you like in whatever order you like.The point is while some ppl are alt - oholics and like switching toons regularly, some other ppl would rather focus exclusively on one toon, maxx it out and do as much content as they can on that toon.There is no "right" or "wrong" playstyle, and thankfully EQ2 can support both playstyle (and has managed it quite fine IMO so far).Regardless of you favored style, there is no reason one play style should now get screwed.If some ppl want to do TS, Nek, BBM on the same toon before quests get gray, it's their problem, it does not impact the power levelers gaming experience by the slightest bit.

[Brook]

Ilucide wrote:

We'll get the ability for characters to turn off quest & exploration experience into GU50. Unfortunately it was really just too late to get that code change in for 49. We don't want to take away anyone's style of play. =)

Yet you continue to do so.

With all due respect I know its an impossible job to please everyone and I know you do work hard to try and please as many as you can, but...by adding this without a way to opt out you have taken away from many peoples style of play just with this one little change.

Its about the same thing you have done with the resting stance on the females.. WHY? Was something broken with the way they stood before? That's a lot of wasted time changing something there was nothing wrong with. I don't pretend to know what you have to go through to change things, but I do know that the time spent changing something as ridiculous as that stance probably would have been better spent adding a slider or exp off box instead.

Could it be just hot-fixed in please instead of waiting a month?

[swedago]

Ilucide wrote:

We'll get the ability for characters to turn off quest & exploration experience into GU50. Unfortunately it was really just too late to get that code change in for 49. We don't want to take away anyone's style of play. =)

I know many of us appreciate this. I do not want anyone esle's right to zoom to 80.  I just wanted to play the game the way I prefer..  I am the one paying for it =)

Someone seemed rather annoyed about level lockers...  Sounds like PvP to me. The solution I suggested was not for PvP, but even if it were...  You can lock too.  A 30th level toon with 60 AA in PvP will die to a 40th with 1 AA.  Mit/Resist/Attack is determined more by level difference than by AAs.  If you are getting griefed by someone who killed their toon 100000x by the guards so they would slow their XP & just get AA...  What can I tell you?  Perhaps PvP is not for you? I played on Nagafen since launch..  I was one of the 1st players to 70th when it was cap.  After a while I realized that I enjoyed PvE better.  No need to give yourself a heart attack in a game.  Play to have fun..  Not stress =)

A lot of you in this thread have many opinions, and that is your right.  However, I do not agree with one person's demand to change things for their own enjoyment.  I prefer options as to how you wish to play.  I look forward to GU50.  Thanks Ilucide

[Howlingmoon]

Moha@Innovation wrote:

Another question : is there an aprox. date when GU50 will go live?  Bevore the Expansion or with the expansion ?  I just hope it won't take a month till the xp switch/slider makes it into the game

GU50 = Expansion release. Expansion release = November 18th.