Lower the difficulty level of the Server

[Twelve]

I like it the way it is.
 
The difficulty is part of the reason many are here.  There are plenty of servers out there, for all game play styles.
 
Hard ones
Easy ones
Just right ones
 
It is all opinionated to each individual obviously.  I prefer the server the way it is.
 
My $0.02

[Jasede]

Hang tight, guys, I am about to blow your mind with an insight only an incredibly genius such as myself could possibly provide:

Just because you think it's hard doesn't mean it is.
Just because you think it's easy doesn't mean it is.

Now excuse me while you sweep up the bits and pieces of your scattered mind.

[putrid_plum]

Jasede, let us mate and make wise babies.

[Vendayan]

I think too many people are missing the details to the point the OP was trying to make.  This does not necessarily have to be a debate over what is too hard or too easy.  The point is that in order for your character to remain relevant in many "hostile" RP situations (and regardless of your goal you WILL find yourself in one such as this), you need to have mechanics behind you.  For caster and rogues roles, even many non-hostile RP situations could only be resolved if you were just 2 or 3 levels higher for that certain spell you need to use or the skill points to open a given door or disarm a trap.

This of course leads to characters redundantly questing/grinding.  Even the ones who have no real IG justification for why they might want to.  They only do so because RP exp rewards are often rather slim and hard to come by unless your character has captured a DM's interest (which takes some time and usually doesn't happen during the earlier levels when you need it most).

I long ago grew dead sick and tired of seeing 75% of the players IG moping about and refusing to do any form of interesting RP while they look for suitable grinding groups.  Even whenever I have managed to reach L7+, the server "seems" dead.  If there's not a DM hosting an event, you can assume that most players are either standing around idle/AFK or off grinding.  I might spontaneously have an AMAZING idea for a player driven event, but if half the server is busy grinding at the time all I can do is simply shake my head in frustration.

Personally, I would like to see significantly greater exp rewards (if not mildly better treasure rewards) for all players from L2 to L6.  The only argument against this that I can see is that level diversity is good for RP.  I would have to debate it though by suggesting that many players seem to remove themselves from a lot of RPing until they feel mechanically significant enough to seriously begin considering their goals.  They envision that the meat of their character's tale would begin when they are roughly L5-L7.  Therefore they lay low and grind away until they reach that point.


Regarding the difficulty...

It should be understood that the learning curve to this server is likely not a great selling point for most new players.  NWN is reaching the end of it's lifespan quickly and it is not bringing many new players to it's community (that consisting of all online NWN players).  This server can only grow by attracting what remains of that community to our niche.

The most essential phase towards designing any form of gameplay is to ALWAYS let either unbiased statistical numbers or an unbiased portion your audience dictate what is too easy/difficult.  Never attempt to make that judgement call for yourself.  You cannot possibly have an appropriate perspective if you sit very near the top of that curve.  This would include almost all of our DMs.  Also, you cannot simply go entirely based upon the feedback from veteran players just because you've come to trust their opinions better over time.  The fact that they are veterans of this server biases the results of any such survey.

Personally, I have never considered myself among any higher echelon of veteran players on this server.  I would not even consider stepping one toe into some of these "epic" quests such as enclave unless I absolutely hated my current character or felt in a particularly self-destructive mood that day.  The best scripted quest is always less epic than the crappiest DM driven quest.  Then again...  I've only perhaps stepped into a quest as many as a couple dozen times for reasons other than feeling that my character was mechanically incapable of reaching his goals.  That's simply ALL that scripted quests are for.  Amassing exp and treasure so that you will become more mechanically significant in RP situations.  Of those other times, it was likely because I wanted to RP with another player who was too busy grinding himself to be able to do so otherwise.


To summarize this all, I suggest that for L2-6 the ratio of rewards/efforts should be increased while I believe that the ratio of risks/rewards might need some further attention (unless Mort has nailed it). Personally I like the risks/rewards ratio just fine within the L2-L6 range, but then I am not exactly a "new" player myself.

[Howlando]

That's simply ALL that scripted quests are for. Amassing exp and treasure so that you will become more mechanically significant in RP situations. Of those other times, it was likely because I wanted to RP with another player who was too busy grinding himself to be able to do so otherwise.

Well, they were designed to be fun actually.

Anyway it is hard to balance things just right and we can definitely improve in terms of making this place easier for new players. But after level 7 or so I think things should be more mechanically challenging, yes, because it makes it more meaningful if you accomplish things.

[Lulzebub]

Personally, I would like to see significantly greater exp rewards (if not mildly better treasure rewards) for all players from L2 to L6.

Oh man, I've been beating this drum for like, years now.

(If you're talking about RP exp, that is.)

[UnholyWon]

I say increase the difficulty! Screw the whiners!

That's right I said it!

[Talir]

Just to say this, you will get more XP and better loot through story-wise, concept-wise pursuit than through quests. If you really make the effort of involving others, the rewards will come. Proactiveness, while it may kill your character, pays off well.

[sylvyrdragon]

Just play your character.  I have had some that will do any quest anytime, then there is my current which has to have an IG reason to do them.
She has NEVER done Gnolls and only the purple crystal mine quest once, which ended badly.

If you RP and have reasons to do things you will find that the DM's do pay attention and give XP.  I can honestly say that the XP I've gained since reaching 7th has been almost (I've done 2 quests since then) all DM XP mostly from RP.  (I'm 1300 from 8th now)

So play it smart, don't be in such a rush to get levels.  Enjoy the character growth and development you can achieve through RP.

The quests are difficult and the wilds dangerous... Welcome to Ymph.

[Vendayan]

Well, they were designed to be fun actually.

Anyway it is hard to balance things just right and we can definitely improve in terms of making this place easier for new players. But after level 7 or so I think things should be more mechanically challenging, yes, because it makes it more meaningful if you accomplish things.

I should apologize for a bit of insensitivity towards those who worked hard to build them.  I don't deny that scripted quests are fun.  I simply think that they still pale in comparison to good player/dm driven events with a decent amount of effort put into them.  Especially once you've already completed them, they nearly always will.

Keep in mind that many of these have been scaled to become a "fun" challenge for players only once they've been learned front to back.  Going into any quest unprepared for it's unique challenge is death.  Going in perfectly prepared to a L2-6 quest is often mindless clockwork.


Perhaps one decent option which might help...

Maybe have an NPC which would wander about the ziggurat doing nothing but announcing that they've been asked by someone to find help.  This NPC would be inclined to suggest quests based on the average level for those players in the area at the time.  If you select his psuedo-random quest (which is to complete his suggested quest) the NPC might give an additional reward of gold and exp.  It helps to solve several problems perhaps?  A plot hook which doesn't require noncombatants to be out looking for trouble, which offers a bit more rewards to push players towards L6-7 a tad quicker and which encourages players to take on a larger variety of quests.

[AfroMullet]

Good player and DM events are more fun than quests, but they are simply not available at any time for everyone.

Quests are, on the other hand. Lower level quests, such as the level 2-6 are not meant to be very deadly or overly difficult. They are there for players to quickly and easily involve others. Yes, that can also be done through a player driven event, but that requires a bit of work. Quests are a quick way to meet new peopel to work towards things outside of quests.

[Caddies]

Make something for players to do if you don't want them questing. Recruit them, give them tasks, cause a stir.

Be dynamic. ;)