What drives you?

[Ezze]

I tried making a necro as in theory it seemed pretty fun to basically try and solo to 60.

Then as soon as I hit level 2 and it became apparent that I would probably need to kill like 100 rats to get to level 3 the whole excitement immediately wore off.

Does anyone actually enjoy sitting in one spot doing the same thing over and over and over 100 times just to see the xp bar move slightly? Surely that's not fun? So what drives you to push through? Do you think about being level 60 with epic and use that as motivation? Do you see yourself one day raiding somehow? What is it about someone's mindset that allows them to keep going in this game?

[mr_jon3s]

I set goals when I play. Like I can't quit till my bags are full. Or I have to group and get at least a yellow. As for the early game its so easy to kill stuff that is white or yellow its a breeze.

[maskedmelon]

Set lower goals and stop to smell the roses ^^ From sometime in my late 30's I set my goal to 1blue/hour and have yet to walk away from a session disappointed ^^

[myriverse]

Fun. Nothing else. I routinely have fun just fishing on a coast or begging NPCs for coppers.

[rollin5k]

Prefer not to move IRL as much as possible

[Itap]

In general, every class is boring until ~level 20.

[captnamazing]

In general, every class is boring until ~level 20.

except for warrior which is boring forever

[Arclyte]

a 1991 dodge stealth

[fadetree]

To answer the OP, yes, I like long boring grinds, as long as I can see incremental gains.

[fastboy21]

There is something oddly satisfying about clearing a named mob/ph, even if its only in a newbie yard, and seeing what the random number generator gives you as you right click the corpse.

I get a rush out of it. Just one more ph...just one more ph...just one more ph...

[Terdnado]

People with a bad attitude gonna have a bad time anywhere doing anything and vice versa. Most people come back for the nostalgia and the social aspect of the game. P99 community is probably as good as it gets as far as MMO's go. Been here about 3 years and from personal experience I'd estimate at least 70% of P99ers are potheads and casual players and ain't nothing wrong with that.

[loramin]

What is it about someone's mindset that allows them to keep going in this game?

For me it's about nostalgia and guaranteed progress. Nostalgia is self-explanatory, but guaranteed progress ...

So in real life nothing is guaranteed right? It's not like if you fill out 500 more forms your boss will give you a raise, or if you have exactly 100 conversations with the cute girl at the coffee shop she'll give you her number.

But in EverQuest, if you kill one million (or whatever the number) of monsters you get a level, guaranteed. It's just up to you to kill that one million without dying; if you can, you get the reward of a level (or faction or phat lewtz or whatever).

Classic EQ is all about the grind. For me knowing that I have a guaranteed path to progress, even if it's just in making my virtual character more powerful, makes that grind incredibly satisfying, and that's why I still play EQ sixteen years later.

[Lojik]

Don't kill blues at level two, kill even or yellow cons, or do turn ins/ quests

[HallyVee]

I tried making a necro as in theory it seemed pretty fun to basically try and solo to 60.

Then as soon as I hit level 2 and it became apparent that I would probably need to kill like 100 rats to get to level 3 the whole excitement immediately wore off.

Does anyone actually enjoy sitting in one spot doing the same thing over and over and over 100 times just to see the xp bar move slightly? Surely that's not fun? So what drives you to push through? Do you think about being level 60 with epic and use that as motivation? Do you see yourself one day raiding somehow? What is it about someone's mindset that allows them to keep going in this game?

Nope, I'm afraid what you just described is exactly my idea of fun. I love early leveling precisely because you do have to kill so many and it takes so long. I actually lose enjoyment when my kill speed increases as I get better equipment. This drives me to fight tougher enemies, which, thankfully, can be found in this game.

As to the specific driver? We could psychoanalyze all day, but we'd all get different answers. Something to do with why I can play a two hour session of Elite Dangerous without getting a single kill, or even close, and come away feeling like I made progress and had fun.

[Morbo the Annihilator]

I'm a Kunark nut.
As soon as I heard rumours about Kunark's release, I dusted off my retired cleric, farmed some caster gear and had a goal of grinding an iksar necro from 1-60 across kunark-only content. I had a brief lapse in focus when I spent level 30 killing NK guards, but apart from that, I xp'd across almost every Kunark zone. It was awesome fun.

Yeah, the grind is tiresome sometimes, but I was always excited by the prospect of the next place to grind through.

Now that I'd levelled a few characters up, it's more about raiding. There are people that make that side of things less than enjoyable, but I guess that's inevitable when there are so many personalities jammed in together.

[Sinder]

if your struggling at lvl 2 as a necro.... /pet attack should help you there. but thats another subject i think.

as for motivation I love the idea of maxing out a char as best I can. With a necro, one of my favorite classes, I actually don't enjoy the raiding scene because it turns into a twitch session... not why I created a necro. so I usually solo and see what the best/hardest thing I can solo is. I remember the first time I charmed my way through Veksar with my necro. that was fun. Also a necro in pvp when theres no 200 resist check for lifetap was fun. thats a huge difference between the p99 way and live though. not sure why we couldn't just nerf the hoop and leave all the rest of the lifetaps alone. I could face tank so many classes on VZ with my necro. especially bards... :D

[myke66]

Does anyone actually enjoy sitting in one spot doing the same thing over and over and over 100 times just to see the xp bar move slightly? Surely that's not fun?

So what drives you to push through? Do you think about being level 60 with epic and use that as motivation? Do you see yourself one day raiding somehow? What is it about someone's mindset that allows them to keep going in this game?

Yes, I very much enjoy grinding and sitting in groups killing things over and over. I recently started playing (maybe two weeks or so now?) and my favorite times has been croc groups in oasis and upper guk groups. I am playing a cleric and I enjoy the healing aspect of the game, but recently started a shaman alt for similar reasons plus buffing.

What drives me the incremental power curve. I love seeing my character get stronger by the level an opening up new opportunities, zones, things I can kill/camp. I know that 60 is a long road but I do hope that once I attain it I will be able to raid or see content that I never took the time to during kurnark Live.

The grind does get slow, so short goals are best. 1 yellow, 1 blue, whatever it takes to meet your goal to be satisfied for your play session.

[myriverse]

Does anyone actually enjoy sitting in one spot doing the same thing over and over and over 100 times just to see the xp bar move slightly? Surely that's not fun? So what drives you to push through? Do you think about being level 60 with epic and use that as motivation? Do you see yourself one day raiding somehow? What is it about someone's mindset that allows them to keep going in this game?
I even enjoy it when there's nothing to gain.:cool:

[Clark]

I'd suggest Mary Jane or alcohol; whichever is your preference. Makes the game hundred times more fun. Of course no knock on the folks who play sober love you guys too!

Can also try to watch TV/Movies/listen to music while playing.

[Clark]

People with a bad attitude gonna have a bad time anywhere doing anything and vice versa. Most people come back for the nostalgia and the social aspect of the game. P99 community is probably as good as it gets as far as MMO's go. Been here about 3 years and from personal experience I'd estimate at least 70% of P99ers are potheads and casual players and ain't nothing wrong with that.

Good post. :)

[EQJubilee]

I tried making a necro as in theory it seemed pretty fun to basically try and solo to 60.

Then as soon as I hit level 2 and it became apparent that I would probably need to kill like 100 rats to get to level 3 the whole excitement immediately wore off.

Does anyone actually enjoy sitting in one spot doing the same thing over and over and over 100 times just to see the xp bar move slightly? Surely that's not fun? So what drives you to push through? Do you think about being level 60 with epic and use that as motivation? Do you see yourself one day raiding somehow? What is it about someone's mindset that allows them to keep going in this game?

This game shines when you are in a group. The combat pacing allows for social interaction with your fellow group mates, it makes the game 100 times more fun than any of the modern MMOs. Now if you are set on just soloing (similar to every other MMO out there) then you will need to find fun in other ways...take on challenging mobs, etc.

[Thulack]

I'd suggest Mary Jane or alcohol; whichever is your preference. Makes the game hundred times more fun. Of course no knock on the folks who play sober love you guys too!

Can also try to watch TV/Movies/listen to music while playing.

I don't think i would have been able to play EQ without weed. But yes weed and TV are what keep my occupied enough to play EQ at the same time.

[Glaani]

I met my husband in thegame about 10 years ago, so EQ will always hold a special place in my heartwe're having a blast duoing now, again...personally, Ilove the nostalgia and the memories that have come back while playing... thanks to theawesomeadministrators and crew for all of the hard work that has allowed me to experience the game once more:)

[maskedmelon]

This game shines when you are in a group. The combat pacing allows for social interaction with your fellow group mates, it makes the game 100 times more fun than any of the modern MMOs. Now if you are set on just soloing (similar to every other MMO out there) then you will need to find fun in other ways...take on challenging mobs, etc.

^ This. The pace of EQ allows you to sit back and chat with peeps unless you are a pulling or tanking for a good puller ^^

[DrKvothe]

This game shines when you are in a group. The combat pacing allows for social interaction with your fellow group mates, it makes the game 100 times more fun than any of the modern MMOs. Now if you are set on just soloing (similar to every other MMO out there) then you will need to find fun in other ways...take on challenging mobs, etc.

I agree with this and it's why I've enjoyed red so much. People are happy, almost desperate to group with you for that ridiculous exp bonus, so you get ridiculous but fun party makeups.

As for other ways to find fun, I've found that the fun of gearing up can be entirely revitalized if you make fashionquest a side project. This greatly increases the list of gear to work on, if only for the most obvious visual slots, and a lot of the gear can be farmed as you progress. For a shaman, for example, you're unlikely to earn any of your own gear upgrades by yourself until you hit 50+. But you can work on cool LOOKING gear well before then. Blackened iron is soloable at mid-20s and has a chain look but darker than banded. There's a whip you can equip from kaesora, terrible ratio but it's a whip! Druids can also equip this whip, and they can get a set of green plate from a noobie dwarf quest.

So yeah, group content, farming my own clickies and utility items, and fashionquest. That's my answer.

[indiscriminate_hater]

i just like hanging around cazic thule, blasting lizards and getting excited about seeing crusaders

[azeth]

I'm driven by a never ending storyline in which my character may participate... indefinitely. EQ isn't a race, nor does it ever end.

It's the best game history has ever seen.

[PDX0621]

Druids can also equip this whip, and they can get a set of green plate from a noobie dwarf quest.

WAT?!?!

[DrKvothe]

Just hat boots and breastplate. But with that and the whip, I've had people come up to me and say "wtf are you?!"

[PDX0621]

Well I know what I'll be up to tonight.

[captnamazing]

propagation of genetics