Cats on the Moon

[Deathrydar]

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

EQ was still a group centric game when SoL and PoP came out, those expansions didn't change that.

It absolutely changed that! It perhaps didn't completely kill it, but it absolutely 100% changed the group centric" element of the game!

[ziggyholiday]

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

It absolutely changed that! It perhaps didn't completely kill it, but it absolutely 100% changed the group centric" element of the game!

In what way(s) did it "absolutely 100% change the gorup centric element"?

If anything, soloing became less viable (for the vast majority of players) during these two expansions, especially PoP.

[Hithrohir]

Maybe the implication was that raiders distanced themselves too much from the rest of the playerbase, thus trivializing groups and turning them into just exp vectors. That's my belief, anyway. Luclin and onwards was when you could no longer get fairly high-end through trading and group content, and when raiding became exclusively an uberguild thing as opposed to anyone being able to do planes and the lesser raid targets of the first three eras. This trend kind of started in Velious, but nowhere near to the degree of Luclin and especially PoP and onwards. Luclin was when raiders completely stopped caring about non-raid content and wouldn't be wearing a single piece of gear that came from the market, quests or groupable dungeons.

[guineapig]

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

If anything, soloing became less viable (for the vast majority of players) during these two expansions, especially PoP.

Soloing was alive and well in PoP. You just had to pick your spots well.
First time I saw a Shadowknight soloing in the planes was during PoP era in the Plane of Disease fear kiting the bugs outside. Saw rangers and bards soloing regularly as well (in the planes). That's just naming some non-typical soloing examples. I know clerics did quite well solo during PoP although I do not believe they were doing so in the Planes themselves, but rather on old world content. It all depended on how much time you were willing to invest in AAs.

[ziggyholiday]

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

Soloing was alive and well in PoP. You just had to pick your spots well.
First time I saw a Shadowknight soloing in the planes was during PoP era in the Plane of Disease fear kiting the bugs outside. Saw rangers and bards soloing regularly as well (in the planes). That's just naming some non-typical soloing examples. I know clerics did quite well solo during PoP although I do not believe they were doing so in the Planes themselves, but rather on old world content. It all depended on how much time you were willing to invest in AAs.

That's why I said the qualifier "vast majority of players". Also, I was refering to soloing for exp in PoP zones.

[Stormhowl]

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

AAs ... gave you a reason to get online and get a group

Implying that one NEEDS something to progress to have a reason to log on.

[starspun]

No, implying that someone who wasn't content sitting on their ass while twiddling their thumbs doing nothing at all would have a reason to log in.

[Stormhowl]

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

No, implying that someone who wasn't content sitting on their ass while twiddling their thumbs doing nothing at all would have a reason to log in.

Progression isn't necessary to put an end to "sitting on your ass while twiddling your thumbs doing nothing at all"; your own motivation and reasons for playing are enough. They should be enough, at any rate, and I feel the success of EQ pre-Luclin would be proof enough of that fact.

[starspun]

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

Progression isn't necessary to put an end to "sitting on your ass while twiddling your thumbs doing nothing at all"; your own motivation and reasons for playing are enough. They should be enough, at any rate, and I feel the success of EQ pre-Luclin would be proof enough of that fact.

For some people, yes, your own motivation and reasons for playing is enough. For others, it isn't - some people need a tangible reward in their sights to keep working towards. That is THEIR motivation, what keeps them going - knowing there still is a way to improve their characters.

Strange how personal preference works, isn't it?

[guineapig]

Although I must admit I used the Bazaar almost religiously every single day and my character was in there when ever I wasn't playing. Comparatively I have spent maybe 20 minutes in the EC tunnel since the server launched. I just can't be bothered.