Firiona Vie Everquest

I lost my credit card on a business trip a few weeks ago and got a replacement... which may be a blessing as Sony will not be able to auto-bill me for renewal. Which I really think I may not do... the final straw? http://www.station.sony.com/en/stationcash/

This post I saw on the Sony forums... kind of captures my feelings:

People are upset because it affects the integrity of Norrath itself.

Why work to level a character if you can buy one pre-leveled, or pay to have it power-leveled? Or buy permanent experience bonuses. At that point being higher level says nothing about your work or dedication or skill but only the size of your wallet.

Why work to gear up a character if you can buy gear in a mall? Why explore, why camp stuff, why group, why raid? Just get out the old wallet and buy your gear. And when that happens the gear you have, and the power of your character in that gear, bears no relation to the game world, or your achievements in it... just to how much $ you have to spend.

It destroys the meaning of achievement and progression in Norrath. It breaks the suspension of disbelief necessary to fantasy. It destroys the game.

Sure these first offerings are kinda harmless, but they've been testing the waters for a few years now, with stuff like LoN. Most people thought LoN was harmless, but as an enchanter every illusion I had craved was no longer available as an in-game quest for a spell, but only as a LoN clicky to be won with a lottery ticket. That destroyed an essential fun part of playing my class, and my character's identity.

Plat-selling, hacks and power-leveling are bad for the game, and instead of being eradicated they are being institutionalized and validated as acceptable.

Edit: It is done; sometime in March will be the last day I awake to see the stars in the sky over Antonica.

That sucks. Really sucks.

I'm sorry to hear that! Good luck with whatever you may pursue next.

We'll still be able to find you on here, I hope?

Nasorin wrote:We'll still be able to find you on here, I hope?

For certain. I do still have a couple of paid months to go. If there is one thing that has made Norrath a pleasure to visit, it is the series of friendships made. That extends to everyone here, but I will name in particular Licinia's longest living friend, Stormfollower; her dear sister of spirit and compassion, Elianeth (and the Sprite!), and the always determined, always positive Jetamio. And until Licinia turns in her Investigator's Badge, there are still people for her to help.

Good day everyone,

Following the discussion topic - and quite worried about the idea of Licinia leaving us - I would like, if I may, to expose my own point of view on the matter...

To quote the previous thread Licinia is referring to...

True, if gaining more seasons than others, and finding rarer items than others, or...

If being the first to slay a nasty...or...

If being the first to unlock a zone, an event.... or...

If, in a word, being *better* than anyone else was what mattered to me, then *yes*, the idea of others being able to buy their way up to achievement would be a bother of the dreadest kind - because skills and dedications would be overcome by real money spent.

However... all of the aforementioned matter *not* to me.

I do not play to be the most efficient, most battle hardened, most adventurinig Cleric ever to tread on Norrath.

I do not aim at raiding in any way - not in the sense most people think of - and I cannot care less if others have completed before what I eventually managed to, or with less dangers, troubles, people....

I play to have fun through playing and roleplaying with friends, carrying out at our pace and the way we want what we aim at in game.

Yes, from an ethical point of view, Sony introducing a discriminating element in game - who can pay will learn faster, who cannot will not - is bothering me. but then again, I will just - ignore it. We do not have to play along Sony - and yes, people are likely to use it. I just will - not use it.

Most of my friends will not either - because what we value, care for, and have fun doing - is not rushing toward raiding zone at double experience rate we would have paid real money for.

Yes, some people will spend a lot of dollars, euros or any other currency to take advantage of something Sony decided to make official and that already existed in the murky waters.

It does not mean we all need to do so.

It does not mean that we are lessened by not doing so - if we are not competing for the same goals.

And I am not.

Yes, I regret Sony's decision.

Yes, I find it highly unethical and morally debatable.

I will just - ignore it. Just as I ignore people selling coins, powerlevelling and such - we share the same game and universe, but our paths will never cross.

It is a roleplaying game, and that still means we can play our ways and imagine the realms our way - even if others are not playing along, we do not need them.

I only hope, Licinia, that you will change your mind with those few words, and decide to stay with us and provide us with your delightful company...

Elianeth's player

I too play the game as a social expansion of my life; it's an escape for me from all the daily stresses and unfulfilled promises associated with the unfortunate truths of Reality. This selling of gear and of experience and other such benefits is not much different from them implementing things in a $40 expansion - AAs, potions, etc... or other items, which may be purchased at random from a set of imaginary (digital) cards, at a base price of $3/15 cards. If people can barely afford the game itself, and cannot afford these things, then they are being discriminated against just as are those who cannot afford an endless supply of 150% experience. Even in game, those with the most platinum can buy their skills at a guild master rather than working on those skills (tradeskills excluded).

I have never been at the level cap. Ever. Sure, a little extra experience is nice, but how is buying experience modifiers any different from buying platinum and then twink gear? Or from paying real-life money for in-game experience via powerleveling from a third party? Or, god forbid, paying to hack the game and flooding our market with false gear? With a few exceptions, most friends of mine who have met me when they were young, then surpassed me, got bored and eventually quit. So let them "buy" their experience... we'll always have our skill on them, and still have the stories to savor.

I know why SOE did it. They did it for more money and for more players... because Their competition puts out easy games such as World of Warcraft. Everquest is too complex for this generation of fast-paced gamers. They don't want a game with Tolkein-esque detail; they want something they can buy a guide for. And if buying experience, buying cards, buying $40 expansions is what keeps the server I play on running... have at it. They can pay and I'll play.

I have what some would consider a small fortune in Everquest... and yet I keep simple things, such as my Serpent Seeker's Charm of Lore, to remind me why I play. Yes, I can "buy" my way to the best gear... I can trade my way through the game and eventually obtain pieces with 1000 mana. But it's in the name. Ever Quest... I play because I love the world and the people; I do things most of the current population - even on Firiona Vie - would consider to be useless or outdated. I read the text before the [brackets]. Just as Elianeth so eloquently put it earlier, it's not a competition. The reasons why you stay on Norrath are your own.

Why do you play?

Nasorin wrote: Why do you play?

It's not the levels. It is the illusion of immersion in the world of Norrath that this last action finally destroyed for me.

In a roleplaying world, our characters should be determined by the choices they (we) make. The game world should (and once upon a time long, long ago, did) reinforce that. So, à titre d'exemple:

Licinia is born as an agnostic human enchanter from Qeynos. As a human, she has lower INT and CHA compared to an Erudite or Koada'dal, and lower INT (but higher CHA) than a Tier'dal, the only races at the time that could be enchanters. She also is the only one who cannot see in the dark. The libraries in Qeynos are poor. As an agnostic human, however, she is not KOS in all but Oggok and Cabilis, so she can faction easily enough to earn the trust of the Koada'dal, the children of Erud, and even the Tier'dal. As a roleplayer, I did all three, and came up with roleplaying reasons and background to do so. She even eventually became accepted in Cabilis - voila, her background as an envoy or spy. Her limited access to spells is expanded because she can now go to the better libraries in Neriak, Erudin, or Felwithe. Her work is rewarded. She also becomes a researcher (tradeskills).

As a member of the Order of Three, she is aligned against the Bloodsabers. She does many quests for the city authorities and becomes hated by the Bloodsabers, but virtually a hero of Qeynos. She is awarded the Badge of Nobility, which allows her to see invisible and gives her some decent (for the time) stats.

Fast forward a few expansions.

Sony provides a fully-stocked city where travel is instantaneous and faction is irrelevant (Planes of Power). All of a sudden, the game no longer reinforces the need to faction - so almost no-one does. All the old cities and the zones interconnecting them become ghost towns. All poLicinia's faction work is rendered for naught by the mechanics of the game.

Fast forward a bit more. Now, items become more overpowered. Now, Licinia's past quested rewards, and advantages with merchants, become irrelevant. Also, old enemies are neglected, and the very fact that the character hates Bloodsabers and is dangerously close to the truth behind Kane Bayle is... abandoned by the game.

Hmmn, SOE decides research is too hard for the players demanding quick spell access for their 0-60 progression-in-a-week (no offence, Jet). Enter a new combination system where a researcher with unlimited funds can go to research 244 by purchasing components. The years that Licinia worked at research, gathering rare pages here and there to get to 221, is surpassed in a day. A slap in the face to the players who worked hard for their tradeskills (I am sure I am not the only one here, this is likely valid for the other tradeskills too!).

Stats become so high that there is no practical difference between races. The gods are trivialized so that there is no practical difference between character choices for deities. New content bears no relation to old content, so there is no practical difference between starting cities. A new race (Drakkin) is created for little other reason to give special toy abilities, and a home town where all progression can be easily spoon fed to the masses - no need to travel, or to earn faction,in order to progress.

Aaaand.... in the guild lobby, the characters we see are no longer even Norrathians - now everyone has silly illusions, silly-looking familiars, and silly-looking mounts. It appears more like a cartoon than a MMORPG world that Norrath used to be. None of the contents we are given bear any relation to how the characters grew up. None of the choices we made early on in our character creation or progression have any relevance to the new, "improved" Norrath. Heck, why even call it Norrath, half the zones are on other planes or other planets or other realms of existence....

Of course, none of this is all that new. But what broke the camel's back - for me - is that with the latest introduction of SonyCash, the illusion was finally pierced beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. The game is now all about progression to towards a never-ending goal of the highest level, the latest improved version of the same spells we saw at level 65, and the silliest "bling" you can wear to impress your guild. In the end, thanks to the constant , more and more ubiquitous, jarring reminders of what Everquest now is, I can no longer even pretend I am "living" in the world of Norrath where there was once a struggle between the rightful King and those who would overthrow him, between right and wrong, between good and evil.

I am sorry to sound so negative. I do not want to damage the image that others may still be able to preserve. More power to them if they can! It is just that I can't anymore.

for their 0-60 progression-in-a-week (no offence, Jet).

I am so deeply offended...a week, pffft, I can do it in a day

However, lately even I have turned my back on the rush to be top dog. I rarely have the time to raid, and when I do, most of the time I end up playing here and just chilling. Xarzith is still on AA's and will be for some time, I am not concerned at all with getting her to 85. Even big Jet is still 81, and I'm seriously contemplating just retiring from the blue servers...if I could just let go of a 900AA Jet...

Why do I rush them to 60-70? Simply because as Licinia said, most peoples characters have grown up and nearly everyone I interact with reguarly are 65+. Once I actually get them that high I tend to slack off majorly and focus more on the RP.

Now...I got an email today about a servermerge on EQ etc, but they are also going to be opening a new server but we get to vote on what kind we want. Ideally, an RP server wouldnt have all this station cash stuff allowed in it, but I dunno if they'd allow it...

Jetamio wrote:

for their 0-60 progression-in-a-week (no offence, Jet).

I am so deeply offended...a week, pffft, I can do it in a day

However, lately even I have turned my back on the rush to be top dog. I rarely have the time to raid, and when I do, most of the time I end up playing here and just chilling. Xarzith is still on AA's and will be for some time, I am not concerned at all with getting her to 85. Even big Jet is still 81, and I'm seriously contemplating just retiring from the blue servers...if I could just let go of a 900AA Jet...

Just 900 AAs? You slacker

Actually, what is kind of sad is, according to SOE, 1000 is the expected average for the majority player base. Which kind of explains the way they are leading the game design.

/sigh What I need is a quest to re-invigorate me.

Lol, I am a slacker

I think even all toons combined they have less than 2000..lets see...Jet has 900, Xar has 300, chanter has 400, SK has 320...Tajer and Kattana have like 150 between them...so yeah, around 200 altogether, I just cant concentrate completely on one char

Don`t leave Licinia. Just take what you can from the game and ignore the rest like Elianeth says.

"I" will let you in on Stormfollowers secret motivation that keeps him firmly in character most of the time:
He is fully aware of the "real world" and sees that the denizens thereof are able to inhabit the bodies of the real Norrathians (shades of Bodysnatchers) and are conspiring to take Norrath for themselves. But as it is such a crazy notion that no one will believe him, he keeps it to himself. In this way "I" am able to emit an RP growl at the tells and chat messages that offer me levels for greenbacks or cheap plat, and allows me to swear in character to one day find a way to rid FV of this evil influence.

See its easy? Mind over matter. If you don`t mind, it doesn`t matter. *grin*

The progression servers were a good idea... but really, it's the people that have changed the game. If Norrathians had chosen Not to just take the path of least resistance, we all would have been able to shape the way the game evolved. But people want easy... so we give them better versions of what they already have - the same armor, but in different (whole) sets, mounts, spells... It's a shame private servers are against the EULA, don't you think? Would be nice to have a server of pure roleplayers (and by pure I don't mean goodly). One where we could more accurately reshape Norrath so it maintains its structural integrity. I'd still fight in Rhinohide

Interesting and unique outlook, Storm.

While were on the subject...I got to thinking about my Rp experience in FV....There are several things wich are hard to ignore about the game we have there, leading to a much less immersive gameplay for me.

The one that gets me allot is the screwy time system! Time flies by so quickly in game that it severely limits the way we talk about night and day, sleeping and waking. And why is it Frostfell and anniversary events like halloween happen once a year in real time but not on the ingame time scale..like I said its screwwy and makes no sence to me.I would love to come home from work and realise its the same time in game as it was yesterday when I came home from work or to say goodmorning without wondering where the person I am talking too is from in RL. Can someone please explain this one to me?

Another issue I have with the games continuity is the way that people have all these alts and afk sessions. So many times I find myself in a conversation with someone that should take a few minutes that is streached out to hours or more due to them cycling through there characters on different servers or in different groups. Or they are just too busy with something elsewhere to bother responding No offence meant to anyone , I have done it and I can see how that would really broaden the amount of groups and interaction you could stir up but to someone with just the one character it sometimes makes for frustration and takes away from the immersion even more.

Then there are the Frogloks... Ok I`m not going to get into that too much but... C`mon! Who was the advertizing genious behind that expansion?! And on a similar topic, why keep the old graphics in some places, if your going to go through all the trouble to remake the models, why would you want to show how bad they were? I can understand it might be a speed issue for some people but thats what settings are for. No?

Finally The biggest detraction from the immersion into RP for me is the Chat channels ..I know they serve a vital role in setting up groups and RPing sessions But I find it weird to be sitting with my boots up by a fire talking to someone who thinks there adventuring somewhere, the whole logistics of "I am here in POK waiting for you", when were all supposed to be meeting in a safehouse somewhere boggles my illusion...allot.

Maybe my mind over matter sudjestion in my earlier post was premature and it isn`t so great all the time because sometimes I do mind. But It took me a long way. But lately the pessimism in FV on the chat channels and elsewhere has made me somewhat less eager to get into role. I am hoping to remedy that myself this year, By giving up the chat channels, I will still respond to tells (aka. telepathy) and my guilds chat ((via our startrek com badges )) But I`ll skip the other channels thanks, all of them no general no oasis. So its down to /say or /group for me ((I am not istructing anyone else to do so)). Even though I have had many a great RP session in the alliance channel the cross server chat and aforementioned loss of setting has sent me down this path at least to try a more pure rp environment. Again... no offence meant to anyone, these are not complaints about what should change.... this is all my perceptions here that I have to change myself and I still look forward with great intrigue to interacting with you all on many new adventures... just not on the alliance channel. This is not a resignation either, I still intend to be a member of the alliance , but just as a roaving member.

Well I'd beaswell just calling it a day then hadn't I? I am guilty of having alts and talking cross server and if this has upset one of my best friends then I am doing something wrong obviously. Honestly beginning to wonder why I play EQ these days.