lurkers/new players: advice from a noob

[TarukShmaruk]

Longtime Rallos Zek vet here, from 1999-2004. I saw it all - from the days of being able to loot weapons/shields/ranged, to the days of an enchanter being able to charm you and type /pet get lost and you would slash yourself for 32k and take XP loss, to me personally taking vengeance upon the naked PKs (who risked nothing) by using my pet to XP loss them, to ultimately loot being removed.

I would never go back to an item loot EQ PVP server. Hell I don't know if I'd go back to EQ PVP.

For two reasons, mainly:

1) EQ PVP is hilariously imbalanced because it was never designed for PVP. Whether it was the naked ice comet Wizards of vanilla, the hilariously OP necros of Kunark that could solo 5 people at once by chain casting deflux and other unresistable (in pvp) spells, or how OP melee became from velious onwards.

2) EQ is not a game that supports item looting well. It is far too soul crushing to get jumped and lose some item that took a week to camp - it just drives people to quit. Games that support item looting are games like Eve, UO, Darkfall - these are games where items are craftable and replacable and unless you are stupid you never lose anything too valuable.

It also tremendously devalued droppable gear and increased the value of NO DROP gear.

And I say this with a lot of fond memories of RZ. But there was also a reason RZ was such a bluebie server where PKs became KOS by everyone and PVP was discouraged.