40 Nihilum showed up for Nagafen years after box released - No Variance killing Red99

[Kergan]

I think at this point Stasis making posts actually ensures nothing will ever get done. I imagine the staff at this point just completely ignores any threads he starts. It's like a kid waving his arms in the air and yelling "pay attention to me!" over and over...eventually you just ignore it.

HB, you have some good points. But I still would not call this server broken. Everything happening is because of the way EQ is designed. Every PVP server had a top guild dominating 90+ % of raid content. People only share when they have to, it's human nature. I appreciate your frustration, but in the end without changing the fundamentals of EQ the scales will always tip a direction and on a server where you can impose your will on another force it will lead to a single guild dominating.

Put it this way...if you took the entire 55+ population and randomly put them into two different guilds within 3 months the situation would be exactly how it is now. One side would gain an advantage, top players from the opposing side would start leaving and you'd have a dominate force crushing the inferior one into irrelevance. Servers with over 10 times our population had this same thing happen, it's a game design issue not a population issue.

[heartbrand]

The point is this is red. Theoretically, many of us chose this server because it's not a PvE server. I understand that this is not a crushbone war counterstrike elf simulator quest box. But that doesn't mean it should be 95% PVE 5% PVP. I understand the value in "locking" down pixels to deny your opponent an advantage in PVP. But at the same time, this HAS to be balanced with keeping a viable population. I get that there always be a "#1" guild with such a small server pop, but it shouldn't be only a one guild with nothing else. There has to be some sort of balance, be it 70/30 80/20. Right now it's 99/1. People on the other side aren't looking for all the pixels in the game handed to them. They are looking for "hope," i.e., "if we get lucky, I have a shot this week at item X." Some of the suggestions I provided give that hope, keep people engaged and willing to be an underdog. On this server, the reality, is "lol nope u aint gettin dat 0% shot", and that means people quit. That seems retarded to me. You can cry WoW or something all you want, but I'd rather a viable server with a thriving pop that has a little bit more of a distribution of pixels with some fighting over them, then a "hardcore" red99 like we have now. I wish I knew how to code, because I'm fairly confident if I did I could build a server that people would play on over this one. I could fund a shit load to it too.

If there are people out there who do know how to code, and want to build a classic-"style" [i.e., some compromises made but the essential "classic" spirit maintained], and want to make money for their contribution, hit me up in PM. I'm willing to fund this.

[Not_Kazowi]

Pras HB

Problem the server faces is that's nihilum is doing everything possible to stagnate the server. It's not bad enough y'all have bis characters and all raid mobs on lock down vampire times. Nihilum also keeps recruiting and taking players that we need to compete.

What's the point of playing this server or on a red one in general? Why do you guys see it a necessity to obliterate all and any competition. Nihilum still killing nagafen and vox is comical, like any of y'all even need that loot anymore.

I guess nihilum wants just one big guild on red99. Just make this sever blue and merge it and reopen a new red server.

[Stasis01]

The problem is you dedicate 0 time for mobs that you have no need killing.

It's far too easy to kill them, just to screw over any competitors.

People will only share when they have to, time commitment is one of the most obvious motivators.

[Dacuk]

Kergan while i disagree that this is what it would end up like in 3 months, even if you are right, those 3 months would be fun as fuck and pop would totally blow up.

now whats the point.. miserable grind to 60, app nihi and be a warm body... how is this a thriving pvp server?

[Stasis01]

And BTW HB has ran RD perectly. Fair loot system, chill mentality, good raid knowledge, geared main tank or geared cleric.

There is literally nothing someone can do that he has not done, high playtime etc.

No variance is broken.

[Elderan]

Originally Posted by heartbrand [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

And here is the same argument since day 1. No body can "pvp" you because you have the vast majority of the level 60 population who are willing to log on @ 10am EST on a work day to kill dragons once a week in a three hour span. There's no counter to this. There's not enough people to recruit, etc. Because there aren't enough pixels for the other side to get, people get burnt out / quit / app nihilum. It's a never ending cycle that makes the box uninteresting. I'm sure this will get 10,000 LOL U MAD HAHAH PVP US PLAY BETTER responses, shrug, w/e, I have my loot. I can get 85% BiS in Velious without ever touching foot in NToV. But is it going to be fun? Shrug, I don't think so. There's a lot of more compelling PVE games out there than EQ.

Doesn't really matter, the truth is, the devs don't care about this server, and most of the players don't either. People will zerg Velious, get full gear, and then quit forever, and this box will finally die. If I ran this box, I'd allow blue transfers/copies TODAY, I would enable 2 boxing for sub 50 chars, TODAY, I would keep static spawns but mix in a second 10 day complete variance pop with serverwide YT when the mob popped, remove OOC, likely completely shut down the red forums on this site, perma bans for rule violators based on their IP. I would launch this with a one month huge hype phase with bonus XP, classic drops back in the game during this time period. I would make a monthly GM event, maybe more often, where a random raid boss is popped with GM chosen teams to fight for the mob.

Dunno, all things to make this box exciting. Anyways, this thread is about to turn into 100 retti meme posts that I have blocked, a bunch of people from Nihilum saying how the server is great and tons of fun and to play better or something, Stasis and others making 100 QQ posts about the server, and the most important statistic: zero posts from devs.

I did the kill all raid mob bosses every week in a 3 hour window. I didn't find it that fun. It's weird, it becomes a "job" and you feel sub-consciously obligated to log in to do it, so I get the motive for people to continue doing so. It's like a second nature habit where you just "have" to log in even though you don't want to. One day though I took a three week break and realized I didn't have to anymore. It was pretty refreshing. I don't get the people that play here ultimately. Do you play with the three point sliders on max in NBA 2k also? That's what being in Nihilum is like. Ya it's fun to rain threes for a while, but eventually you realize "o man dis is pretty dum," and jack up the difficulty to superstar / hall of fame, and turn the sliders off. #RED99

edit: for all the people who talk about how velious will save the box, you can get 80% of the gear you need with 3 groups on off hours in the course of 2 weeks. people will get the gear, and quit, just like they did in Kunark. the only thing that can "Save" [i.e., 200+ pop with consttant clashes], is two+ viable guilds with consistent mass pvp. Velious won't bring that. It will bring pixels tho. I said this b4 Kunark also tho and no1 listened [although I was completely correct].

HB you are so two face its funny.

You were telling everyone how you planned to recruit 150 people to zerg nihilum off the server. You have zero interest in "making this a better server" so don't even think about trying to spew that nonsense here.

You failed in your plan because your plan was failed just like I tried to tell you before.

[Dacuk]

the funny thing also is that you aren't doing it to "lock out the competition". for the most part as a result of this behavior, people either quit or join nihilum. so then how does banking that umpteenth trak bp or CoF help the server? it doesnt, just in the long run kills the pop.

[heartbrand]

Originally Posted by Kergan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I think at this point Stasis making posts actually ensures nothing will ever get done. I imagine the staff at this point just completely ignores any threads he starts. It's like a kid waving his arms in the air and yelling "pay attention to me!" over and over...eventually you just ignore it.

HB, you have some good points. But I still would not call this server broken. Everything happening is because of the way EQ is designed. Every PVP server had a top guild dominating 90+ % of raid content. People only share when they have to, it's human nature. I appreciate your frustration, but in the end without changing the fundamentals of EQ the scales will always tip a direction and on a server where you can impose your will on another force it will lead to a single guild dominating.

Put it this way...if you took the entire 55+ population and randomly put them into two different guilds within 3 months the situation would be exactly how it is now. One side would gain an advantage, top players from the opposing side would start leaving and you'd have a dominate force crushing the inferior one into irrelevance. Servers with over 10 times our population had this same thing happen, it's a game design issue not a population issue.

Could easily be fixed with monthly drafts / fight caps / three guilds, etc. There's plenty of options to make things fun. My frustration, if you want to call it that, is that the server just isn't a lot of fun, on EITHER team. I get there's people out there who really enjoy logging on once or twice a week and smashing auto attack. I did it too. I'll admit, it's kinda fun for the first couple months to just to rape everything with ease. You beat up on everyone else in mass pvp, and you start to feel real skilled and powerful. You feel like a legit badass in Nihilum, no doubt about it. Eventually though, as evident by the massive burnout in Nihilum, most people find it quite boring in the end and quit. While I don't think something as drastic and top down as drafts or what not need to be implemented, I don't see the harm in a couple of changes that give the CHANCE at more pixels to the other side. Again, people just want "hope," even if that "hope" is only a 10% chance at pixels rather than 1%, it's enough to make people engaged and interested in continuing to play. While I didn't play on RZ, I played on a blue server Xegony, we never got 100% of the mobs like this. I really do understand that there will always be a top dog in this game.

My only "complaint" is it needs to be more of an 85/15 90/10 proposition than a 99/1. In the end, like I stated prior, I can achieve 85% of everything I want in Velious with Red Dawn. But what I want more than that, is some fun PVP for that. Unfortunately, I'm not sold that the current "setup" of this server allows for that. However, perhaps with Velious being "it" for project 1999, you'll see people get geared, and leave their guilds and start making small pvp crews a la Dentists / Sharknado. Now THAT could be a shit load of fun. Unfortunately, that's prolly 1.5 years away.

I just want this server to be a bit more fun. I don't think we need to put in Variance, I'm ok with this being a 90/10 server. But I don't think 99/1 is healthy.

[Elderan]

Originally Posted by Stasis01 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

And BTW HB has ran RD perectly. Fair loot system, chill mentality, good raid knowledge, geared main tank or geared cleric.

There is literally nothing someone can do that he has not done, high playtime etc.

No variance is broken.

This is where you are wrong. So many mistakes...