Despite the many issues I still enjoy playing L2 more than any other game out there. It is impressive that after 3 years the PvP/PvE, game economy, graphics, sound/music, and animation are still more entertaining than any single- or multi-player game that I have tried. I struggle to understand why new players do not adopt the game.
There was a good push on a prior chronicle (I don't remember which one) by adding newbie buffs, newbie gear, etc to encourage new players to start the game. I think it is time to add better incentives (perhaps aligned to the first chaotic throne release) to bring in new players.
Here are my suggestions:
1> Newbie buffs improved to be permanent and applied to all newly created characters on any account until either (a) the character delevels once (measured by recording total number of deaths per level and limiting to 14 or fewer, to prevent abuse of the buff) or (b) the character achieves level 20.
2> The first character on any new retail account (not on any free trial account) has 1m adena in the inventory. This can not be abused as new retail accounts cost too much money for anyone to acquire them for the 1m adena. By providing new characters with adena it helps set them up for D grade equipment when they hit level 20. This in turn will make 20 - 40 more enjoyable.
3> Any character below level 20 can switch to any other race or class and maintain their level by talking to an appropriate NPC. This will encourage people to play around with their class without risk to find one they really enjoy.
4> Any character level 20+ can "abandon" their class (but not their race), losing all their current skills and SP set to 0, by talking to an appropriate NPC, and becoming at their choice, either a Mystic or Fighter class of their race. They would then need to talk to an appropriate NPC to select a new starter class. Once they select a class they would get same starting skills as a new level 1 character. For characters level 19+ they would then need to start the first class transfer quests to open up the new skillsets of their new class. This would allow people to choose a different path for their character without having to waste their time "rerolling". By losing skills and SP it would make it difficult but not impossible for 40+ characters to change class. Note that it will be particularly difficult to change to a nuker class if you are 40+ due to spell failures so these classes would likely have to invest in SP scrolls to acquire key skills once they complete the first class transfer. There may be some arguments that this could be abused (I haven't thought too long about it yet...) and as such it may be necessary to put a max level constraint. But I do think that it should be possible to reselect a class. Too many people get far into a class before realizing that they don't like it and have to start over. For the semi-casual player this is a game killer. L2 should be all about PvP but instead people are spending majority of their time on level grind.
If the first 40 levels were more fun by eliminating the tedium of adena and buff management and making it easier to try out a lot of different races and classes then I suspect that many new players would play the game for a few months just as they would a single-player game. Then, of these, some number would become interested enough to play the game more seriously.
Of course, for this to be effective would require some in-store marketing effort by NCsoft to be sure to get the message out.
Weak Spud, level 80 on new account creation, all chars, all servers. Boss jewels, S grade in WH, billion of soul/spirit shots and NPC's of all buffers on AF and auto buff.
Weak Spud, level 80 on new account creation, all chars, all servers. Boss jewels, S grade in WH, billion of soul/spirit shots and NPC's of all buffers on AF and auto buff.
Weak Spud, level 80 on new account creation, all chars, all servers. Boss jewels, S grade in WH, billion of soul/spirit shots and NPC's of all buffers on AF and auto buff.
Don't forget the free castle and the lvl 80 strider.
OK thanks for hijacking. Flame or criticize the original suggestions. Everyone knows that with established characters power leveling is trivial. None of the suggestions I made would make it any easier to power level than it already is. This games needs a steady flow of new players or it will never make it through the chaotic throne series.
The only option that might be abused is option 4 and that could get a level cap if people are really that paranoid. As I said, anyone that wants a high level character of any class can already easily get one. By offering option 4 it allows more casual players to experiment between play styles without investing another year of time.
OK thanks for hijacking. Flame or criticize the original suggestions. Everyone knows that with established characters power leveling is trivial. None of the suggestions I made would make it any easier to power level than it already is. This games needs a steady flow of new players or it will never make it through the chaotic throne series.
The only option that might be abused is option 4 and that could get a level cap if people are really that paranoid. As I said, anyone that wants a high level character of any class can already easily get one. By offering option 4 it allows more casual players to experiment between play styles without investing another year of time.
I think that the reason you get these responses is because the game is already 100x easier than it was when it started. If you make it even easier at the beginning, then it is sort of like using a bait and switch scam. You let new players think that the game is like this all the way through and then they come to find out that this game is HARD.
I would love to see new players joining the game, but I dont want someone joining the game who thinks that everything will be handed to them. It isnt fair to the people who spend time trying to teach these people, nor is is fair to the people that find out later in the game that it isnt super easy.
1> Newbie buffs improved to be permanent and applied to all newly created characters on any account until either (a) the character delevels once (measured by recording total number of deaths per level and limiting to 14 or fewer, to prevent abuse of the buff) or (b) the character achieves level 20.
I prefer the current system for newbie buffs: more becoming available as you level and then fewer as you approach lv25. I think it would be a disservice to new players to become so dependent on the newbie buffs then forced to go cold-turkey at lv20.
2> The first character on any new retail account (not on any free trial account) has 1m adena in the inventory. This can not be abused as new retail accounts cost too much money for anyone to acquire them for the 1m adena. By providing new characters with adena it helps set them up for D grade equipment when they hit level 20. This in turn will make 20 - 40 more enjoyable.
This suggestion does not sit well with me. I think 1 million adena would be way too much. However, I like the idea of giving new players a greater chance of achieving stronger equipment. I would instead introduce a Song of the Hunter (http://lineage2.stratics.com/content/library/quests/index.php?id=15048) type quest in the starter village that allow players to earn low D equipment through various tasks.
3> Any character below level 20 can switch to any other race or class and maintain their level by talking to an appropriate NPC. This will encourage people to play around with their class without risk to find one they really enjoy.
Now this sounds interesting. :D
4> Any character level 20+ can "abandon" their class (but not their race), losing all their current skills and SP set to 0, by talking to an appropriate NPC, and becoming at their choice, either a Mystic or Fighter class of their race. They would then need to talk to an appropriate NPC to select a new starter class. Once they select a class they would get same starting skills as a new level 1 character. For characters level 19+ they would then need to start the first class transfer quests to open up the new skillsets of their new class. This would allow people to choose a different path for their character without having to waste their time "rerolling". By losing skills and SP it would make it difficult but not impossible for 40+ characters to change class. Note that it will be particularly difficult to change to a nuker class if you are 40+ due to spell failures so these classes would likely have to invest in SP scrolls to acquire key skills once they complete the first class transfer. There may be some arguments that this could be abused (I haven't thought too long about it yet...) and as such it may be necessary to put a max level constraint. But I do think that it should be possible to reselect a class. Too many people get far into a class before realizing that they don't like it and have to start over. For the semi-casual player this is a game killer. L2 should be all about PvP but instead people are spending majority of their time on level grind.
I think losing all of your SP would be too much. It wouldn't be impossible, but would a semi-casual player who isn't willing to start over be willing to play a character at such a disadvantage? I like the idea of giving players the option of rerolling while retaining their accomplishments, but crippling a character's skills would still be a game-ending situation.
What if the price of rerolling within your race was 1) giving up all of your current skills, but being refunded the SP, then 2) having your level reduced a grade (a level 64 would become lv52, 53 to 40, and 44 to lv20, for example). In this method, the price is still high, but the character can still function.
No, not the Kamael >.< I think that is the last thing we need. Rather a fix to PVP imbalance and various other issues first.
But ads, well that would be something. WoW is everywhere. Even people that dont use computers know what WoW is since it pretty much is in every **** magazine and all.
Who's running the Marketing Department of NCNA, or do they even have one? Bet they dont have one, or if they have, it is made of 1 person who is the assistant, developer, secretary and chief at the same time and he has been sleeping for past few years.
No, not the Kamael >.< I think that is the last thing we need. Rather a fix to PVP imbalance and various other issues first.
A new race is better than a new server IMO. You cant deny that a new race will bring in new people. It just will. Heck, you may even see some of your long lost friends come back to check it out.
It is not easy enough for new players. There is no way a new player can participate in sieges and it is nearly impossible to PvP (since they will never run into a low level toon that is not a farmer or a twink with a chip on their shoulder) without a serious time commitment. This is killing the game. No new blood.
I would think the established players would realize that L2 is like a Ponzi scheme. Without loads of new players entering the game the economy kind of collapses and gets really boring.
It would bring more ppl if it was advertised, but yeah, it has that effect, to some extent. A new server doesnt really help anything as the old ones have lots of space left ^^
I just dont like the whole concept of those winged freaks. If they have a starter area, I will take one of my abandoned alts there to pk every one of em >.<
And my long lost friends mostly got fed up with the cheating in the game ^^ And some ppl I knew must be suffering from amnesia since they've forgotten how to speak their native language but are now superb speakers of Russian. So they cant really be coming back :(
And my long lost friends mostly got fed up with the cheating in the game ^^ And some ppl I knew must be suffering from amnesia since they've forgotten how to speak their native language but are now superb speakers of Russian. So they cant really be coming back :(
I mentioned this eons ago, and I still think it might help some, but not much at this point. It wasn't popular because players love easy prey, makes them pwn better. Now it's probably even less of a useful idea, now that duels are an option. Arenas should be level graded. There should be arenas that one can ONLY enter if they are within 3 lvls of that arena's level. Once you enter a lvl restricted arena, all buffs get wiped and no outside of arena buffs are allowed.
This sort of arrangement would allow players have equal lvl fun with equal lvl buffs, to see what their class can REALLY do. It would be fun for longer lived players, as they can play with alts and help train would-be recruits. The only problem with this is that weapons grade restrictions matching the arena lvls would have to be changed/enforced as well. I still think it would help new players enjoy some pvp while not just getting dropped in one hit and have some hero yell at them "learn how to play noob!"
Arena fighting however isnt real PVP. Real pvp isnt equal lvl players, equal lvl buffs nor equal gear. Most often, it is not even equal numbers.
Also, the lack of space in the arenas is a major cutback, only the Stadion near Aden was big enough for anything really. Grade restrictions on arenas imho isnt needed since the only arena seeing everyday use is the one at mdt. Others are pretty much deserted.
Just go to one of the other arenas if you dont want S-graders pwning you. Plenty of space there. Never seen anyone in Giran arena ^^.
Sieges have always been high level content, noobies aren't supposed to participate in that. My first siege was at level 29, but that was what everyone was around, at the time. Naturally the level cap is going to rise for end game stuff as the game ages.
Don't limit the idea, expand. And yes, current arenas are way too small, always have been, running gates is a perfect example of this. Stadium was a great size, but a pain to get to, basically not a free port. My point is to make it fun. Real PVP will come later, but playing around will help to build skills, know what to watch out for, and train. Make an area where players of all lvls can come and watch multiple arenas, but participate only in their lvl arena, always aspiring to get to the next lvl arena. As it stands now, low lvl/new players come in and get dropped, well the few new players that there are.
perhaps the best help to get new players would be:
"Remove all the Farmers contaminating the starter regions and giving a worst first impression" !
Honestly.
If I would start the game new now, I would quit after one day.
No real players around, hordes of suiciding Dwarves with weird names, Quest spots full of botting farmers, empty chat and no one who answers questions, no market to sell and buy things,....
Biotox as I understand what you are trying to say I have to diseagree..
Lineage2 is getting simpler and simpler and easyier by the chronicle, and I think it soon is getting out of hand actually.
So please no more..
" We shoot you to lvl 40 in 1 hour and 30 minutes " offer to new players.
Man the lower levels is a blast.
I'm a new player to L2, joined about 3 maybe 4 weeks ago and right now, starting off is just fine. I do think that having seperate level arenas a la guildwars is a great idea for getting new players into the PvP aspect of the game cuz ohter than grind and do the rare quest there's nothing to do when you start off.
Also, if a GM sat around the starter villages and banned all the farmers/ soulless ones I think it would improve on first impressions by a landslide. And finally, advertising would be a good idea too, because I found out about L2 from a top 200 list of private servers... so ya, advertising would help a lot imo
The problem, as addressed by GMs in the past, is that Lineage 2 is a niche game. Having zillions of advertisings for WoW might work for them, but here's why: WoW is targetted at the non-computer-gamers. That means that if they advertise it in a hair salon, that's good, because anyone who's willing to put an hour or two per week in that game can reach the top levels.
If Lineage II had the same amount / types of publicity, NCSoft would probably sell much more copies of L2 than they sell now. But here's the thing: players would not stick to lineage 2 because it's way too hard.
And if you newbiefy the low levels of the game, once they reach the mid or higher levels they'll quit because that's not the game they had signed up for.
What Lineage 2 needs are some hardcore players, and you don't get those by advertising on cereal boxes, fashion magazines or during a cooking show.
Here's an idea though: You see a table of poker players looking bored. One guy goes all-in, his friend sighs and folds.
Then a Destroyer cuts the screen in half and you see quick clips of L2 PvP, raids and sieges. The caption? If you think Poker is hardcore, wait till you try Lineage II.
I'm a new player to L2, joined about 3 maybe 4 weeks ago and right now, starting off is just fine. I do think that having seperate level arenas a la guildwars is a great idea for getting new players into the PvP aspect of the game cuz ohter than grind and do the rare quest there's nothing to do when you start off.
Also, if a GM sat around the starter villages and banned all the farmers/ soulless ones I think it would improve on first impressions by a landslide. And finally, advertising would be a good idea too, because I found out about L2 from a top 200 list of private servers... so ya, advertising would help a lot imo
I often thought they should have some sort of low lvl pvp in the dark elf areas in order to whet the appetites of new players.
For instance, low lvl players really can't do anything in sieges except be scouts and such.
What if each low lvl area had a mini siege area that "the gods" would use as a testing ground for that area. Therefore the "gods" could enforce a ng siege only and I'm sure high lvl players would love to have a low lvl character participate as well.
Of course you are going to get twinks and the like but it might be worth a try.
It might be one way to revitalize lower lvl areas.