Wow, that was a long thread to read-
I don't think a completely non-instanced game can work; this is 2013, not 2000. If there is a mob which drops something valuable people will camp it to no end. I think Project1999 is a very good illustration of the failures of a non-instanced world in today's world.
People will take it overboard and despite how most "normal" people think that the players whom camp these items will eventually get enough and move-on, they will not. Seriously, look at the people who were camping the same items 2 years ago on this server... many, many are still here camping the same items. Why? I'm not quite sure but they are persistent and strangely dedicated to "earning" game currency and such.
Also, gold farming is only becoming more and more widespread. In a game which will surely not regulate multiboxing, I think it's naive to think that goldfarmers will not have many, many bots going at once, locking down several important camps.
I think vanilla wow (comparing it to later versions is really apples to oranges) held a GREAT balance as far as instancing dungeons, yet still having a huge distribution of gear. It was rare to see anyone with more than a few things the same as yourself, unless you were sort of endgame, which is equally true of classic EQ.
And, as far as seeing everyone wear the same thing as yourself--- Don't you think EQ was pretty much one of the worst games ever in that sense?
I really hope they do have an in-game store. I have played modern eq a mild amount and I thought the store is a great way to allow a huge population increase from F2P players, whilst also increasing the playability for those willing to spend $. It's not truly Play-to-win as only mounts, xp potions, and bags are sold (among other cosmetic things). There is no "instant level", "instant heal", or such. I'm sure many folks are playing p1999 not only because of the great game it is, but because it also doesn't affect their pocketbook.
Last, if the store gives people the ability to buy platinum or whatever the currency is, good. This further alleviates the burden off the rest of the population to financially support the structure of the game and significantly reduces the incentive for illicit RMT to occur which can destroy a community. There just needs to be significant ways to remove money from the game such as mounts, casino's ( Which I think are very fun and immersive, if executed correctly), spells, and cosmetics. Speaking of such, I think epic mounts in vanilla wow were probably one of the best executed methods of removing tons of currency from the game in a way which did not feel silly (such as the shadowhaven casino) and gave the player a sense of value.
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