Quote:
Originally Posted by tristantio
[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
Typically bad experiences outweigh good ones for the majority of people - I think all the red boons (bonus xp, LNS policy etc.) are almost necessary to incentivize players who run into those bad experiences (ganks, twinks, /ooc rudeness).
Having a bad night on red (many ganks) can leave a huge sourness on someone's view of the server.
As the population is around 300 and growing, I think it's at a pretty good balance at the moment (there isn't a big risk, imho, of all of blue suddenly flooding over to red).
Also, while not classic, I think the group situation on red is more akin to what original EQ should have been anyways (in very few cases does having a 6 person group cause the group to get xp 6 times as fasts, hence the prevalence of solo classes that can grind groupless on blue).
|
We're not just talking about some conventional bonus to experience gain.
As I understand it the experience system works as it did (or does) on live on the progression server. On normal live servers experience was cut, thus demanding that group members contributed a minimal amount. Other games have used group exp systems similar to what's on the progression server on live. I was first introduced to this form of group exp gain in Shadowbane. I probably saw it in other MMORPGs too, but didn't know about this back then. Basically, if you made 200 exp on a kill solo, you'd make 200 with additional group members. So it only made sense to add additonal members since there was no loss.
When EQ first released, it cut the experience everytime a new member joined, something like this:
Solo: 200 experience
2nd member: 100/2 = 50 + 0.4 = 50.4% = 100.8 exp
3rd member: 100/3 = 33% + 0.8 = 33.8% = 67.6 exp
4th member: 100/4 = 25% + 1.2 = 26.2% = 52.4 exp
5th member 100/5 = 20% + 1.6 = 21.6% = 43.2 exp
6th member 100/6 = 16% + 2 = 18% = 36 exp
* It may have even been less. Back then, the group bonus was very VERY small. I think the thinking was most of the bonus from grouping came from dying less and having ready access to veterans/knowledge
* Note this assumes each member will supply at least an equal amount contribution as yourself. Ofc, not every class would add an equal amount to the rate you kill monsters. Some classes would be more redundant too. For example, if you're a cleric and invite a cleric instead of a warrior, you're ineffectively using your healing. And if you're a rogue and invite a mage, you'll gain aggro from the pet and won't have anything to heal yourself, not mention being a bad tank, thus preventing you from fully contributing - you'll slow down exp for the mage
Thus, when you invite a new member, they MUST perform at a high level to make inviting them worthwhile. If they afk a lot or are severely gimped or do not supply as much healing or dps or tanking as you like then you'd typically want to invite someone else or disband them, as you'll make exp faster without them.
As EQ aged, it cut the exp less for each additional member. In 2001 there was a revamp to the group exp which added a bonus up to 20% for the 6th member (on top of the division which already happened). Later in EQ's life, the bonus rose up to something like 80% more for the 6th member. The 6th member was also free.
What's different about the exp system on the live progression server and on the red server is that it doesn't cut the experience when you invite a new member, or if it does it's a very trivial amount. For example, in the old system, a 6th member would be 100/5 = 20 PLUS a bonus. An 80% bonus would increase 20 to 36. So if you got 200 experience per kill solo then you'd get 200*0.36 = 72 with a 6th member and a 80% bonus. In this new system, you might get 150 per kill with the 6th member, or even 200, if there's no cut. This means there's far less expectations placed on additional group members; potentially none. So you don't care if they're a ranger or a afk a lot. Their performance only matters if your group is full and a more active or better player is available.
This change means minimum REQUIRED expectations are lowered. This I think fudnamentally changes the game. It also greatly reduces the value of solo-classes like druids or necromancers, since they're far better off joining groups than soloing. If there's no exp cut, a 6th member would mean potentially 6x more experience than soloing. That's substantial and means a player is better playing a group-based class like a warrior/cleric/enchanter/rogue/monk. It means soloing is no longer a viable path to progress since grouping is up to 6x faster.