XP rollercoaster - Find a medium?

[VanillaPudding]

So for a couple of years now we continue to see this trend of high xp, then low xp, and then back. It usually starts with people bitching or whining (like this) about things being tuned down too low and wasting 2-3 hours on highly dangerous / risky top-end quests for something like 60-90 XP, at level 9. Meanwhile, the level cap on these quests is 10-11 and they present a very serious risk.

When you add in the fact that most of them aren't very well balanced and expect a group of above average makeup / skill in order to gain any reward (in terms of supplies), it becomes somewhat of a drag. We all have of course heard the statement that "NOT ALL QUESTS ARE EQUAL", and that is fine, but we are in fact playing a game that is based upon advancement (Status, levels, IC power, reputation, etc).

When too many of those options are cut off from possibility it forces people to treat EFU like a task rather than a game or enjoyment. Lowering XP (at least to the current state) does nothing towards the agenda of promoting better quality, and in fact makes people "grind" more and RP/enjoy/provide enjoyment less. Meanwhile, a few months ago the same things would have given at least 4x the reward, in terms of XP, and the overall atmosphere of the server reflected it rather well.

I would suggest that instead of bouncing back and forth between extreme values that the team finds some sort of medium and leaves it there for the most part. I recall Howland recently raised the amounts of XP on the server, but it all appears to be reverted yet again.



So, in summary :

- A happy-medium on xp gains from quests rather than real high or real low
- Lower XP gains simply makes people grind more and supports "supply bloat", another storm that has risen lately
- Lowered xp gains really only hurts the people that are not solid at mechanics / good at acquiring it in the first place. A "soft cap" works rather well and is already in place, so stifling the gains will only make players like myself swarm in potions (because hey, I enjoy questing still, so do many others!) while those less "capable" suffer.

[Damien]

After doing a few quests without a mage buffer I totally agree. Quests have become a lot harder, to the point where fun has gone out the window. I understand lowering the experience but without a wizard/sorc level 9 buffer to suitable sort you out the quests are already hard enough without the drop in supplies then added on.

[Zango_Unchained]

There is nothing wrong with exp when you can get 7 in a day without a party. The issue here is that players need to understand that some things are dangerous with a high risk/chance of high reward. I feel efu is a place much like real life where some times things don't pan out how you want them to for your char and be ready to take the hard hits and the light ones, be ready to win big and win small.
 
And if you feel there is an issue with exp try not to make another of the ten thousand threads that we have about this and bring it up directly with someone. Or.. use one of the older threads.

[Withered_Voice]

I think the experience gain is fairly normal until you reach the level eight plus range, then it drops off is a massive way.  That itself requires you to either be lucky to get a DM to reward you for your in-game efforts and actions, which let's be honest doesn't always happen to most people, OR spam the quests over and over.

I don't think people mind high levels, since there is plenty of things to for very high end characters to do if they want to be risky.  I think if it was not so hard to get to these higher levels then people would be more willing to be risky.  I guess that might be my own opinion though.

[Damien]

The problem isn't the difficult of quests as I said. The difficulty has become that quests necessitate a buffer now and if you don't have one you risk your exp and all your supplies to win over. I understand quests are meant to be difficult but this sort of thinking is going to force people into the strut of doing those staple quests over and over such as well and gnolls, and as we've seen also means quests like sunken enclave and mist ogres arent being done near at all.

[wcsherry]

Here is the general trend I've noticed:

We've hit a sweet spot where players reach level 7 in a few days, some in a single day yes.
Many of the dedicated players reach level 8 in a week. This seems ideal, 8 is a sweet spot for many of the perks, and is quite powerful indeed.

There's now a slow, gradual pace to 9 and 10.

I like this trend. A brute force grind to level 10 through questing will take quite a while and be difficult. It is meant to be difficult. Meaningful interaction with the gameworld will accelerate this process.