Lee says Armor disappearing from loot drop tables in next patch

[Diego Rossi]

Schedim wrote:

Diego, now you just sounds like grumpy old dwarf. We as well as this game in itself need some time to find it self.

That is why I have chosen this icon.

I don't like how anything that isn't in the "approved and intended game play style" get squished heavily.
GW want to attract non US players? The they need to make feasible to play for a time even if you meet rarely your company mates.
20 lives is fine for a coin videogame, not this game.

I really should change company and get in an Europe based company because my company leaders play when I sleep?
We should be segregated by playing hours?

My impression is that PFO is moving toward a very restricted play stile.

[DeciusBrutus]

I'm pretty sure it hasn't happened yet, but it's possible for a character to have to bootstrap themselves up by gathering enough to sell to buy a weapon to fight.

I'm not sure that's entirely wrong. It's pretty hard to get there intentionally without taking obviously stupid actions.

[Tyncale]

Compared to early Everquest, the way you start your life in PFO is soft as baby-bottoms. Well, apart from the PvP part, but that is still pretty mild currently.

An entire set of starter gear, no corpse runs to get your gear back and wimpy goblins?

Any firebeetle from the North Qeynos newbiegrounds would eat an entire Goblin tribe alive! ;)

Anyway, I think this is all part of fostering player interaction, something that has been lost in many MMO's. I have saved up several armors and plan on distributing them for free to new players in Rathglen when they have lost their starterkit.

After I run out, others will jump in. In the future, players may haul low tier armors to the Starting cities (Thornkeep) and hand them out there.

I think there's begging and then there's politely asking for some help. Chat channels have been too quiet in MMO's anyway.

Also, the "from rags to riches" part has been eroded from MMO's also. I agree with Yrme here. It is fun to beat the odds and feel that your efforts made you some progress.

I do not think it is the harsh start that will drive newbies away, it is a harsh, unhelpful and "silent" community that will do this.

[Ravenlute]

Diego Rossi wrote:

I really should change company and get in an Europe based company because my company leaders play when I sleep?

That's entirely up to you and how you feel about your Company. GW has no part of it.

[Tyncale]

Ok, I am officially addicted to grinding starter goblins, please take them away, Lee.

Edit: aaaand I just hit Goblin Slayer 8. Will I be able to get to 9? It's only 3750 more goblins.

Edit 2: Omg, Basic Leather Sheet +3! Must pull one-armed bandit one more time.....need more quarters...

[Schedim]

Junkie! :-)

[Proxima Sin of Brighthaven]

Proxima Sin of Brighthaven wrote:

...you'll be leaving new players without a source of +0 gear unless you put it into the tutorials (where I think it should have been all this time anyway).

Lee Hammok wrote:

Also we are modifying the quests in the starter towns that previously gave you shortbows, focuses, etc, to give you a basic set of tier +0 gear for a given class if you buy some skills associated for that class. So the quest NPC who previously gave you a shortbow if you talked to him twice will give you a shortbow, light armor, and rogue kit if you go buy the proficiencies for all three. So players will be able to get a set of starter gear, and one tailed to their class, but not an infinite number of them.

+1

That is a super important bit that probably would have de-aggrod the masses if it had been in the blog.

[Schedim]

Proxima Sin of Brighthaven wrote:

That is a super important bit that probably would have de-aggrod the masses if it had been in the blog.

But not half as fun?

[<Kabal> Daeglin]

Diego Rossi wrote:

For some reason one of my not so happy replies was lost, so I want to repeat it.

<Kabal> Daeglin wrote:

There will not be any settlement that does not offer starter gear, if not Tier 1 +1, to recruits or even possible recruits. Any settlement that doesn't or can't will be at an extreme disadvantage in recruiting. There will not be any need to farm them. It also reinforces behaviour GW wants - make social ties, make them early.

The starter town aren't settlements.

Your settlement will put a crier in each town advertising your settlement great offers to new players? you will be so eager to get inexperienced players even after several months of playing?
Or you think that the new players will learn of your offer by reading the forum, a forum whose existence they can even not know?

I don't see "I should beg you for my starting gear" as a healthy social tie.

Yes.

Yes.
*shrug* Maybe? If they don't look in the recruitment thread on Goblinworks forum, or look at recruitment threads here, or check the links to our settlement forums, I can't make them.

Rewarding recruits with trivial gear is s common strategy. A couple of settlements expanded their population significantly in Alpha by employing this strategy already. Recruiting to a settlement isn't something you are "done" at some point, unless your group doesn't intend to play the settlement/territorial part of the game.

A settlement specifically interested in more EU players could try advertising free starter equipment to EU players. Would it increase their recruitment? Probably more than doing nothing.