A Question for the High Level People

[______________Zoltah]

This is just something I've been wondering lately...what would make you happier?

Would you rather

1) Have FC fix the experience curve issues that make it so it takes months (and considerable boredom) to get from lvls 180-200 and let you get to 200 faster.

2) Slow down the leveling curve at low lvls so that it takes about the same time to get to lvl 100 that it takes to get to 150 or so now?

From what i see here in the forums if you let people get to lvl 200 as fast as humanly possible they'll just get bored with the game even faster than they do now. I mean it seems that for many of you (me included) one of the reasons i play is to reach for that golden hoop and finally ding 200. After that there really isn't anything left to do...

However, if you slow them down then there's the issue of the malaise setting in at even earlier levels. But people would level more slowly, and being level 100 would actually mean something.

I've seen people get from lvl 1-160 in about a month without exploiting. This person will most likely ding 200 within a 3 month span in a game set to last for FOUR years! How many times is he going to do this before there's nothing else left to do?

I'm basically posting this because I'm just curious about what people would rather have. A long drawn out system where people are forced to enjoy each and every level they have instead of planning ahead, or a week at 8x8 where you can go from lvl 70-90?

[Marbreth]

Leveling is boring, making it any longer than it already is will not solve anything. People will just get bored a lot sooner and when they see the task ahead of them they will just give up.

You have to be one hardcore mofo to get from 1-160 in a month. Most people level at a much much slower pace. The only way that FC should be trying to slow down the leveling speed is by adding new content.

FC needs to add new dungeons, quests, trade skills, a STORYLINE! These don't have to involve uber loot or xp. All they need to be is fun. If FC can produce enough new content (not unkillable bosses that crit for 10k) then people will vary their game play between the boring but necessary leveling treadmill and fun. After all, isn't that why we are here, to have fun?

[Peisinoe]

Neither. (Speaking from level 185 perspective.)

What I would like is some variation. Some content. Whether getting to 200 is easy or hard doesn't really matter if there is nothing to do when you get there. 90% of the people I know who've reached 200 have a)quit b)started a new character c)attempted to ebay it. The other 10% do play, but out of them, I'd say at least half just run ql 200 missions for money. That leaves a very small percentage who still enjoy playing the game at that level. Why this doesn't raise a flag to Funcom that there is content lacking, I do not know. Instead Funcom seems to listen to the level 100 player who is still not running out of things to do.

Reasons why it's boring at high levels.

The game doesn't change from level 90+ except mobs become easier to kill.

The xp/ql curve is not thought out very well. I'm not asking for the ability to get 5-10 levels a night like when I was level 90.

All I'm asking for is that if I wanted to kill a ql 250 mob that took me 5-10 minutes to kill, the xp would be in line with what I'd get for killing ql 190ish mobs for 5 minutes. Currently killing the ql 190ish mobs for 5-10 minutes will give about 20--30 times the xp of killing that ql 250 mob. Not to mention seeing as I was killing them at level 90ish, they're quite laughable and boring to kill now.

From level 1-90, you keep advancing in what you kill. From 90-200, you don't really. At my level, it'll take between 1.5k-3k mobs for me to gain the next level. And I have 15 levels to go with each level taking even more. Can you say boring?

Equipment needs to be rethought as well. We play a game that pushes you to wear better and better stuff. This keeps you strong as you kill mobs/players what not. By level 140ish, all players generally are done eq wise. With the exception rare/unique items, they're wearing/wielding ql 200 gear. There is nothing wrong with that. It's how it's suppose to be. What the problem is is that equipment stops at ql 200. Equipment should go much higher to allow players to continue to get stronger. 14.5 is starting to expand on this idea, though it doesn't seem very well thought out so far imo. This of course does have to be integrated with the reworking of mob ql/xp reward.

Content. A lot of lower level people don't seem to understand that high level players have seen and done what they have, and probably seen and done a lot more that they haven't. When a high level player says the game is lacking content, they mean just that. They are not saying it's lacking for content for that level 100 player. Or that level 3 player. It's really silly when some level 100 tries to tell me things to do. "Go out and see the world blahblah." *laugh* Maybe, just maybe, in all my levels, I've already done that? "Go out and do this, go out and do that" these level 100s tell me, and they never stop to think that me being almost twice their level I've already done it all. For many high level players, the only thing left is pvp. And despite all the crying that pvp is nerfing the game, pvp itself has been nerfed steadily for a while now. From one who wishes to pvp, one could almost say pvm is ruining the pvp game. *shrug* High level pvp can be a lot of fun, but there are so many level 100 type players who think all high level pvp is about is killing level 75s. They too don't seem to realize that since they are only level 100, they can hardly have any idea what pvp is like for high level players. Yet they cry and cry and cry, and whine and whine and whine, and pretend to be know what they're talking about. And for some strange reason, Funcom listens.

Anything to do that actually required you to be high level would be appreciated. Boss mobs in 14.5 were a step in the right direction. Upping the supression gas where these were located was not. It went from being an oppurtunity for high level players to do something other then kill another mob...to being an oppurtunity for high level players to kill another mob. *yawn*

Xp becomes boring no matter what. There really isn't anything you can do about it, though our current system does need tweaking at the high end. Not asking for it to go faster, just asking for some variation on ql mobs we kill. In the end, it's that lack of content at high levels that is ruining the game for us. Pvp was the last thing really, and with 14.5, the chance to expand it was pretty much smothered.

[______________Orchid]

Always a treat reading your posts Zylina, I'd like to first say I agree with you 100%. I'm level 157, and I've been finding it real difficult to find new stuff to do for at least 10 levels now.

And im the most crazy chick on this planet imho Well, now Ive started a new thing, screenshots of me in leet form fighting roller rats, ok so i got ownzed, but hey, it was something to do, albiet, a struggle to come up with .. and in the final analysis, if you don't mind me breaking stride here...

I dont even goto Broken Shores anymore, unless it's a guild mission and it's our first together in a week or something.

I havent seena few things, like Tara, Prof Jones, Mantis Queen.. and so forth, but I'm not in any hurry cos I hate camping.

I fought Jack the Legchopper in a full team took an hour and he drops nothing I will ever desire.. Advy here, I dont need a aimed shot ring, thankyou, although I would love that MultiRange armband wherever that is located I have no idear, but I digress.

The Dust Brigade mobs are a thought, but requires a amount of cooperation with so many high level teams it boggles the mind.

The new camps, most are fairly easy, the greater anun camp, babyface camp, definitely tougher.. but kinda silly in the long and short of things.

Primus camp, kinda repetitive, yet again, alot of typical funcom repitition goin on..

I wouldn't mind seeing the following:

1- Ability to go off planet.
2- Some larger robots, like REAL BIG ONES 50-100 feet tall
3- some kind of underground subway system would be cool
4- new armor for advy's only
5- new emotes like 10,000 more alot of ideas in suggestion forum
6- apartments need major love
7- more to come... of course.

Let me reiterate, there is so little high level content that people will consider leaving AO for a new game, and alot of new games are coming on soon, hard, and fast...