The Future - An Open Letter from the Homecoming Team

[Sundodge]

 

In order to test this we will soon be opening up a TEMPORARY shard. This will appear in Tequila as Homecoming (BETA) and will require a new patch. We will be using a complete copy of the existing Homecoming account database, so if you wish to partake please ensure you create your account ASAP - once the copy is made, new accounts will not be able to participate in this test.

 

To begin with, this shard will contain a copy of all characters from one of the existing shards (which one exactly is TBD). Everyone will have access to the /levelupxp command and we’ll also be making everything in the Auction House free in order for you to quickly create new characters and give the new platform a thorough test!

 

 

- The Homecoming Team

 

I know I'm being dense but I can't see the option for Homecoming (BETA).  I'd really like to try out some powers on characters I may or may not level up on home shards, depending how the power looks/work with their theme.  Every time, it seems to just automatically start downloading the default option.  Could someone maybe provide me with an up to date link perhaps?  I did search to no avail.

[srmalloy]

I'm with you on this. People are just rude to the ones that support AE and level with it. They rather force their play style on everyone else " sounds like real politics in the world". First, it was to give the servers a break from being overloaded and I agree it needed to be done but we where told it was just a temp thing until it calmed down. Now It's we are going to force you to level our way because you level to fast. Funny thing is people are still power leveling outside of the AE. I did it last night lvl 10 to 40's faster then it would of took me to solo do it. I joined a level 50 brute and He ran me through an end game TF.

 

"Just a temp thing until it calmed down." Well, as you've observed, it hasn't calmed down, leaving the reason for having the XP reduction for AE missions fully as applicable as it was when it was applied. While it's not a reason to be deprecating AE grinding in and of itself, I think that one of the reasons the AE grind is so attractive to people (beyond the 'get my recreated character to 50 ASAP so I can have it back' group) is that, for many MMOs, the game doesn't really start until you hit level cap -- the missions are just there for you to grind XP to max level. And many of us remember the stories we leveled through in the game, and some of them likely look at AE grinding as throwing out the majority of the game world in the single-minded pursuit of endgame -- that it's more important to get to level cap than to enjoy the trip getting there. For myself, if you want to dive into a virtual combat simulator inside a virtual combat simulator and ignore the stories, go to town -- but the GMs run the server the way they want, and if they want to discourage your "right" to run huge ambush farms that degrade the game for hundreds of people for every one of you running the farm, that's their prerogative.

 

[Murcielago]

When is Homecoming going to support character to text file exports? There's no way I can possibly convince myself to play on a server where I'm a C&D away from losing all my characters again.

 

That's something we've looked at and had internal discussions on. The short answer is that it's something we would like to be able to do; there are just some technical details that need to be worked out to be able to do it at scale. The brute force method (using dbquery) causes lag for other players when you use it on a server that's hosting more than a few hundred online.

 

I would seriously give you my first born child if I could export my characters.

[SwitchFade]

I just want to throw in my two cents, I quit official CoH back in the day because all everyone ever played was AE... No one played any other content, the streets were barren. When I first logged into these servers and saw people actually PLAYING the game, I was immediately impressed and enjoyed the experience. Please don't lift the AE nerf, its a real game changer and I appreciate it 110%. Thank you all for a very pleasant and enjoyable game experience. :)

And yes I do kind of agree DFB spamming is annoying, BUT it's 110% better than the alternative. At least only a small handful of upper level people seem to be participating in it, instead of 75%+ of the whole community. (although i don't completely understand it TBH, after level 15-20, why do it? You only have access to like two powers on your bar, so why put yourself through that after getting through that first low level slump of not having many powers?)

 

(Also as a sub-note, this is easily the friendliest and most chill community I've ever had the pleasure of being part of. Thank you all.)

 

And this is what both sides of this supposed debate must grasp. Content like AE used for powerleveling is not the issue, the issue is how it overwhelmes the communication channels and the perception of new players is that that is all the game is. Veterans forget what made them fall in love with this game. When any form of farming floods all grouping to the point it is the majority of what newbies see, it will disillusion them.

 

So, in essance, either keep farming out of broadcsts or adjust the rewards to encourage balance so new players experience the game that hooked all of us veterans. We live in a community, and in all communities we have a balanced compromise. People who argue for let me play my way forget that they can play their way, if they can find a solution that doesn't harm the community. This same argument is used in examples such as mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists. Some simply argue they should not be forced to wear a helmet because it is their choice and their body, and harms no one else. The society they exist in believes otherwise, due to the negative impact on the community. We get you want to play your way, but it the harm it causes to your community outweighs your individual desires.

 

 

[Colette Valiant]

"i25 has, in fact, had years of fixes as well as a range of new content put into it from a very dedicated group of fans."

 

This is important! For anyone who still harbors any resentments -- CoH may look the same, and play the same, but its not! A host of new code had to be created before it could be playable, including adapting to Tequila and the ability to download patches. They also added an entirely new AT (Sentinels,) new power-sets, QoL improvements, and the list goes on. I understand a lot of effort's devoted to untangling the original "spaghetti code" ("refactoring") as much as possible. This behind-the-scenes work results in more efficient execution and easier modding.

 

"In order to test this we will soon be opening up a TEMPORARY shard. This will appear in Tequila as Homecoming (BETA) and will require a new patch."

 

Even if you're not a programmer or artist, you can help by play-testing on the beta shard. This is very helpful, and an excellent way to show your devotion to the City's future.

[Noyjitat]

I thought the dmca thing was another fake like what happened to the wildstar emulator. Some troll that didn't provide proof they were from ncsoft.

[Saikochoro]

Any thing looking to be done about the epidemic of people doing DFB (Death from below)? I know some people are looking for quick levels. but when LFG chat is nothing but DFB LFM call outs. its a little bit annoying. (seeing this consistently on Everlasting)

 

Its even a little concerning the few times I did it, the groups I was in had at least 1 - 3 level 50+veterancy ( Task forces are wonderfull, so are strikes. would love to see more people wanting to do those to work on merits sets...)

 

This is not an epidemic. I see people advertising task force groups all the time. I also see radio and other mission groups forming constantly. I have easily filled radio mission groups that I post. I also have an easy time joining one that is advertised. I also have an easy time finding or filling a DFB group when I want to.

 

DFB is a great way to get leveled up quickly for those that don’t want to do the low level content and prefer mid level content. There is nothing wrong with this. Even when I first started the game back in the day before DFB I wished for something like it.

 

For those that don’t want to do DFB they don’t have to. For those that do want it they should have the choice.  People should not have to play how you want them to.  Many of the people doing DFB will probably enjoy task forces and other content in the mid to high levels.

[justicebeliever]

I just want to throw in my two cents, I quit official CoH back in the day because all everyone ever played was AE... No one played any other content, the streets were barren. When I first logged into these servers and saw people actually PLAYING the game, I was immediately impressed and enjoyed the experience. Please don't lift the AE nerf, its a real game changer and I appreciate it 110%. Thank you all for a very pleasant and enjoyable game experience. :)

And yes I do kind of agree DFB spamming is annoying, BUT it's 110% better than the alternative. At least only a small handful of upper level people seem to be participating in it, instead of 75%+ of the whole community. (although i don't completely understand it TBH, after level 15-20, why do it? You only have access to like two powers on your bar, so why put yourself through that after getting through that first low level slump of not having many powers?)

 

(Also as a sub-note, this is easily the friendliest and most chill community I've ever had the pleasure of being part of. Thank you all.)

 

And this is what both sides of this supposed debate must grasp. Content like AE used for powerleveling is not the issue, the issue is how it overwhelmes the communication channels and the perception of new players is that that is all the game is. Veterans forget what made them fall in love with this game. When any form of farming floods all grouping to the point it is the majority of what newbies see, it will disillusion them.

 

So, in essance, either keep farming out of broadcsts or adjust the rewards to encourage balance so new players experience the game that hooked all of us veterans. We live in a community, and in all communities we have a balanced compromise. People who argue for let me play my way forget that they can play their way, if they can find a solution that doesn't harm the community. This same argument is used in examples such as mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists. Some simply argue they should not be forced to wear a helmet because it is their choice and their body, and harms no one else. The society they exist in believes otherwise, due to the negative impact on the community. We get you want to play your way, but it the harm it causes to your community outweighs your individual desires.

 

This is well stated.  I was just thinking how I used to avoid Atlas Park because it was just sad and disheartening to hear "plz PL me" over and over again.  Missions there made me cringe, and the # of new toons I played dropped because I wanted to avoid Galaxy and Atlas.  It made the game not fun. 

 

I will say that I appreciate that all that old "How do I PL?" traffic has moved from Atlas Broadcast to the LFG Channel, but that too is very cluttered with DFB requests over and over again.  Can I still find a team to play?  Yes...Does it make it harder and less enjoyable?  Yes.  Is the current system better?  Yes

 

I want to be clear - I have no problem with people PL'ing, running AE farms, etc.  It's not my preference, but to each there own - but to say that my play style doesn't impact you, or the other way around?  That's ridiculous - no change exists in a vacuum.  There are always consequences...

[QuiJon]

Any thing looking to be done about the epidemic of people doing DFB (Death from below)? I know some people are looking for quick levels. but when LFG chat is nothing but DFB LFM call outs. its a little bit annoying. (seeing this consistently on Everlasting)

 

Its even a little concerning the few times I did it, the groups I was in had at least 1 - 3 level 50+veterancy ( Task forces are wonderfull, so are strikes. would love to see more people wanting to do those to work on merits sets...)

 

This is not an epidemic. I see people advertising task force groups all the time. I also see radio and other mission groups forming constantly. I have easily filled radio mission groups that I post. I also have an easy time joining one that is advertised. I also have an easy time finding or filling a DFB group when I want to.

 

DFB is a great way to get leveled up quickly for those that don’t want to do the low level content and prefer mid level content. There is nothing wrong with this. Even when I first started the game back in the day before DFB I wished for something like it.

 

For those that don’t want to do DFB they don’t have to. For those that do want it they should have the choice.  People should not have to play how you want them to.  Many of the people doing DFB will probably enjoy task forces and other content in the mid to high levels.

And here is the thing, as much as we want to say "different strokes for different folks" the truth is that some people in this game will always seek to define the right and wrong way to play it and will seek to make sure that others can not take part in what they consider the wrong way. Hence why we have a AE nerf. If they could find a way to give proper xp for developer approved arcs already they could have spent that time putting limitations on the mechanics they claim were over taxing the servers so that AE XP could be normalized without it diversely effecting server performance. They fact that they took that time to find a way to make what they consider to be properly playing the game exist without a punishment and keep punishing farms (even though some of that approved arcs use the same type of ambush mechanics and such) shows that the AE nerf is more about discouraging a style of play then server performance.

 

The thing is a gimmick will always exist. Hell I am old enough to remember when I could get an easy invite to a level 50 +3 farm team in PI because I was a level 46 and that meant I could side kick one of their buddies or second account's characters to the exact perfect XP earning level. Or when I was brought on a farm to drop into a dumpster of werewolfs because my fully slotted Nova didn't have a maximum target limit and would kill anything but bosses in one burst. Something will always be abused maybe it is time we stop looking to limit peoples options and just make sure that all the options are about equally as fair and let people decide from there how they choose to play for themselves.

[Surelle]

Thank you ever so much for all you do, Homecoming Team!

 

I was a bit afraid early on that CoX would become a hacked up zombie rez of its former self once it came back, instead of remaining true to the original game, but so far so good concerning changes. 

[Sidney]

Forgive me if this information is available somewhere, but will anything be done about people squatting on names with lv1 alts they'll never play?

 

Edit: Nevermind I found it:

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,2356.0.html

[cforciea]

We do have a replica, but it's using log shipping since we're running the cheap version of SQL server, so it's not online and available for queries. The replica is inside the secure part of the network in case we need to go active/active and run some shards there, which I believe was done this morning as the primary SQL box got maxed out a few times last night.

 

You have a license that lets you go active-active and not active-passive? You can also read off of log ship replicas as long as they aren't currently in the middle of a restore operation, and restore operations are on a schedule. Repeatedly citing security is a red herring; you already have firewall pinholes going to the secure part of your network, and I'm willing to bet it's a lot easier to validate the security properties of a microservice using read-only db access to serve get requests of effectively nonsensitive data than it is to be sure that ncsoft's auth server isn't going to do something evil.

 

FWIW, the super-high priority list contains issues that are affecting people daily. Excelsior frequently has more than 2,000 connected -- it was nearly 2,500 last night when it started queuing people and it was running really close to the instability line. It's the same issue that took down Torchbearer yesterday -- at around 2300 online with multiple MSRs going, dbserver couldn't keep up and the queue of deferred updates to send to the SQL server grew to over 60,000 before it became unresponsive. That caused many to get disconnected and stuck in the dreaded "character is still logging out" state. There's also a problem somewhere in the netlink code that can hard crash an entire shard if global services (chatserver / accountserver) go offline unexpected, but the bug only seems to show up when there are lots of people connected and getting a good crash dump is proving tricky.

 

Running without a way for people to protect their own character data also affects them daily, the effect is just in the form of risk. People just tend to be bad at risk management. Even so, I'm curious what would happen if you sent out a survey asking your players which is more important: being able to play during peak hours with less time in login queues and fewer crashes, or providing mitigation against the risk of their characters all going away. I have a funny feeling that there is a very large segment that would choose the latter, but don't understand the technology or the situation well enough to even understand that it's something that could happen to them, and that there's a way to mitigate it. And thus they don't go asking for it.

 

[Saikochoro]

Forgive me if this information is available somewhere, but will anything be done about people squatting on names with lv1 alts they'll never play?

 

They are putting in a naming policy that unlocks names of toons that don’t log in in a given time frame. It doesn’t automatically change the name, just makes it available if people try using it.  Toons in most in most danger I think that have to merely log in once per 30 days to keep their name locked. I think that is a super low level though. I think you have a year to login at level 21 or something like that. And names are perma locked at level 50.

 

Might be slightly off in the levels. Easy to still keep any names you want, but give name squatters more work to do.

[Radionuclide]

GM_Jimmy as I have been called a fool by members of this 'community' for disagreeing about the AE nerf and that xp itself didn't actually need to be nerfed by members of this community whose only beliefs is 'farming bad', please elaborate on this

 

(Another aside before I continue: The AE nerf was originally to reduce the strain on the server as many AE farm maps used mechanics which were incredibly server-intensive,

 

As I have tried to tell people, the only server intensive thing in a AE farm is ambush farms and that is due to how the map/spawn points/spawns are loaded. But all I ever get told is that I'm stupid and all farming bad. So which is it, am I wrong or are ambush farms the only bad thing?

I'm with you on this. People are just rude to the ones that support AE and level with it. They rather force their play style on everyone else " sounds like real politics in the world". First, it was to give the servers a break from being overloaded and I agree it needed to be done but we where told it was just a temp thing until it calmed down. Now It's we are going to force you to level our way because you level to fast. Funny thing is people are still power leveling outside of the AE. I did it last night lvl 10 to 40's faster then it would of took me to solo do it. I joined a level 50 brute and He ran me through an end game TF. and what wasn't posted here is the GM saying it causes grief to other players that can't find a group because everyone will be in AE missions, which is funny. If you are really trying to find a group you won't have trouble finding one. LFG chat is proof of that

 

LFG is proof you can find a DFB team.

 

Powerlevelling doesn’t bother me but, I couldn’t pass up the quip.

 

Sorry, this is BS.  Sure you can get DFB teams in the LFG chat, you can also get all the TFs, DIB, Trials, Tip missions, etc.  Today I ran a Yin, a Posi, a Numina, and 2 trials through LFG chat.  Yesterday I ran some DFBs, trials, an ITF, and some Hero tip missions via LFG chat.

 

I cannot even believe people are complaining about using LFG chat to form DFB teams.  A month ago you couldn't play at all and now people are complaining about people using LFG chat to get DFB teams and using DFB to level fast.  Here is a clue: the LFG chat is to look for teams.  People running DFB are looking for teams.

 

DFB was designed by the real developers as a trial to quickly level lowbies.  Paragon Wiki states "Death from Below (DfB) is a "sewer trial" introduced in Issue 21 available to both Heroes and Villains, but not Praetorians. This trial can be run at any level and provides exceptional rewards, including experience point bonuses and Single Origin Enhancements, making it an excellent and popular tool for players looking to level new characters quickly."

 

While I can understand the AE nerf due to the server issues caused by the way the AE missions were created, I have not heard anything stating DFB replicates those issues and doubt that it would since this is official content.

 

There is quite a bit of DFB going on right now because people are trying out various ATs and power combinations to see what they want to main or to recreate their old characters.  I don't see the issue with it and would not like to see official content nerfed due to a small number of complaints.  My take is that in a month or two the DFB craze will have died down significantly.  the only negative impact I see is that you have to scroll through LFG chat to find content you want to do.  Guess what?  That is a good thing because it means a lot of people are playing and teaming.

 

Unknot, man. It was a joke and I said as much.

[Mr. Igneous]

Hello GM Jimmy,

 

Hope you are well.

 

What a fantastic post with answers to so many questions.  Thank you!!

 

A question for you. Is there any way to implement time stamps in the chat window in the future?

 

Thank you,

 

Mr. Igneous

[webdeath]

And there’s more to come, with two things on the immediate horizon. First up, a hotly requested QoL feature: numeric power cooldowns. This is something we’ve been testing internally for a couple of days now, and we’re hoping to make it public soon, but in the meantime here’s a sneak peek:

 

 

The first version of this feature will be coming in the next patch. Initially it will be available by typing “/cooldown_indicator 0/1/2/3" (1 puts the number at the bottom, 2 at the top, 3 in the center, and 0 disables the feature). Once we’ve gathered enough feedback it’ll be added to the options menu.

 

Secondly, we’ve been hard at work rewriting our database architecture for efficiency and performance. The most visible effect of this is to reduce the amount of time you spend waiting for character select to load.

 

In order to test this we will soon be opening up a TEMPORARY shard. This will appear in Tequila as Homecoming (BETA) and will require a new patch. We will be using a complete copy of the existing Homecoming account database, so if you wish to partake please ensure you create your account ASAP - once the copy is made, new accounts will not be able to participate in this test.

 

To begin with, this shard will contain a copy of all characters from one of the existing shards (which one exactly is TBD). Everyone will have access to the /levelupxp command and we’ll also be making everything in the Auction House free in order for you to quickly create new characters and give the new platform a thorough test!

 

PLEASE NOTE: Characters on the beta shard will be wiped after a couple of days. Do not become attached to anything here, for you will be very disappointed when it’s gone.

 

---

 

In closing, we’d like to thank all of you, our players, for the faith you’ve placed in us. We want exactly what you want: To bring City of Heroes back to life, and to ensure it stays that way.

 

The future’s bright, and we’re very much looking forward to sharing it all with you.

 

- The Homecoming Team

 

Visual numbers to see CD's?  YES!!!!!

 

Any chance that Beta Server can become maybe something more perma to allow for Character Build/Testings  Would be especially helpful for PVP..  At least from my experiences in old Live CoX.. Made it nice to build chars and try out builds and Ideas between wipes. :)  Especially if further down the line we start getting new Powers or other development in that area. other wise THANK YOU!!!

[macskull]

The only part I really have an issue with is the explanation for the nerfing of XP for the AE going forward. I get exactly what you have said about the original reason being the drag on the server resources. But I think the nerfed xp should have  been a short term fix and then take the mechanics out of the AE that allow for it to be exploited for farming OR if you use them the xp is then nerfed. Allowing those that want to RP and use the AE for stories to do whatever they want knowing that the xp will be lower but those that want to level in the AE that are playing missions even farming them that don't exploit the mechanics to get full or even double xp doing so.

As far as the exploitive nature of the farming goes all that nerfing the xp did was to change the flood of LFT spam to DFB instead of AE. The farming is still happening so really continuing to nerf the xp from the AE is a direct response to how SOME people feel the game should or should not be played. Put the xp back to normal nerf the mechanics themselves and let people decide how they choose to play for themselves. I personally mostly farm up to mid 20s. Then I start to play. I can do that in the AE or doing DFBs I would rather do AEs cause I can solo those just as quickly as I have to team to do a dfb. And I find it hard to believe that my preffered farm map of 24 bosses on a small tunnel map with 1 bot helping me is to much of a drag on server resources.

The farming that's going on is not utilizing exploits of any sort. That's happened in the past and when the game was live the developers were very quick to patch out such exploits.  The problem with "nerf this content because everyone is doing it and I don't like it" is that once you do that, people will move on to what they perceive to be the next best thing. That's exactly what happened with the AE XP nerf - people just moved on to DFB. If you nerf DFB, something else will become the new thing. Playing whack-a-mole with content is a little silly.

[Knightward]

First off I want to jump in on the chorus of "THANK YOU"s!

 

As for powerleveling via whatever means... by and large I'm ok with it, even though I have no interest in doing it myself.  The only way it could conceivably annoy me is if I'm on a TF with teammates that don't know what they're doing and as a result make it unbearably long or difficult (which is why I'm not interested in it, by the time my character is high level I want to know what I'm doing playing them).  I haven't run into that, so that concern could be totally unfounded.  Plus it could happen with people that haven't powerleveled.

 

However, I absolutely get new people getting turned off by the constant DFB/AE farms/whatever-the-next-quick-trick-is requests.  Not knowing the slightest bit of programming, would it be possible to set up a chat channel specifically for powerleveling?  That way new players won't necessarily hear it 24/7, but it's still clearly there for anyone interested.

[Zelebra]

I not going anywhere, just the fact that this game is back made me jump for joy (and almost cry out of pure happiness) please keep moving forward and we will follow im sure!!!

[golstat2003]

First off I want to jump in on the chorus of "THANK YOU"s!

 

As for powerleveling via whatever means... by and large I'm ok with it, even though I have no interest in doing it myself.  The only way it could conceivably annoy me is if I'm on a TF with teammates that don't know what they're doing and as a result make it unbearably long or difficult (which is why I'm not interested in it, by the time my character is high level I want to know what I'm doing playing them).  I haven't run into that, so that concern could be totally unfounded.  Plus it could happen with people that haven't powerleveled.

 

However, I absolutely get new people getting turned off by the constant DFB/AE farms/whatever-the-next-quick-trick-is requests.  Not knowing the slightest bit of programming, would it be possible to set up a chat channel specifically for powerleveling?  That way new players won't necessarily hear it 24/7, but it's still clearly there for anyone interested.

 

DFB is playing a trial the devs specifically designed for lower levels. I don't consider that the same as AE.

[Sidious]

will there be a switch from the current "easy mode" of game play to a more standard form of play experience?

 

Currently all one has to do to become a higher level in game is to play DFB or MSR until your eyes bleed and everything is opened automatically.

Where's the fun in that?

Great you get a shiny new 50 but you haven't actually DONE anything with them.

It's conceivable that a character could go from 1-50 without ever running a single mission.

 

There's no reason to actually do the Incarnate mission other than because you want to.

It's all just being handed to people.

If anything history proves that simply handing things to people has a negative effect on the life of the game.

 

Maybe I'm unique in the game but I would far more like to earn my rewards than simply be handed them.

The problem is you can't find people to actually do this missions with to achieve the rewards and for a lot of this content you NEED people. Turning down difficulties so you can solo it goes right back into "Easy Mode".

 

So am I just being crazy or do others feel like the current game is to easy?

[_NOPE_]

will there be a switch from the current "easy mode" of game play to a more standard form of play experience?

 

Currently all one has to do to become a higher level in game is to play DFB or MSR until your eyes bleed and everything is opened automatically.

Where's the fun in that?

Great you get a shiny new 50 but you haven't actually DONE anything with them.

It's conceivable that a character could go from 1-50 without ever running a single mission.

 

There's no reason to actually do the Incarnate mission other than because you want to.

It's all just being handed to people.

If anything history proves that simply handing things to people has a negative effect on the life of the game.

 

Maybe I'm unique in the game but I would far more like to earn my rewards than simply be handed them.

The problem is you can't find people to actually do this missions with to achieve the rewards and for a lot of this content you NEED people. Turning down difficulties so you can solo it goes right back into "Easy Mode".

 

So am I just being crazy or do others feel like the current game is to easy?

Menu > Options >

 

 

 

[Abraxus]

I keep hearing requests to change the game, for various reasons, when in most cases, simply adjusting one's own play style will address most of the concerns I have seen.  You don't want to level so fast, turn off XP earning.  You don't like inherent Stamina, don't slot it, and it will be MUCH less a factor.  Don't like DFB, don't play it, and you can create a separate chat window to squelch all of the calls for DFB.  Don't like the naming policy?  Log in and move your characters around once in awhile.  Move them to new Day Job locations, and it makes it more worthwhile.  The one I really love is when folks complain about not being able to find a team for this, that, or the other thing.  The answer there is to put one together yourself.  There are a lot of people around, and if you put out a call, you will find folks who want to go along.  It's not that hard.

 

There are easy solutions to all of these issues that don't require the game to be changed to accommodate.  Let's not forget that it was just a little over a month ago, and there was NO game.  Now we have had it for a few weeks, and we are already dictating terms on how we will enjoy it more?  I think we really need to sit back, take stock of what we have been given (which is a second chance that nobody ever thought would happen), and appreciate what we've got. 

 

You want changes to the game?  Let's start thinking of things that actually require change, and are inclusive of the whole community, instead of those that would make it more the way we as individuals would like to see it.

[Riella]

will there be a switch from the current "easy mode" of game play to a more standard form of play experience?

 

The OP indicates they're leaning into the incarnate system changes and such, but as Jimmy pointed out back on page 1, the Rebirth server is running a more vanilla version of the game without these modifications. They're also missing the content and QOL features added by i25, but the Ouroboros dev team will be working on some of those QOL features as their next project.

[_NOPE_]

I keep hearing requests to change the game, for various reasons, when in most cases, simply adjusting one's own play style will address most of the concerns I have seen.  You don't want to level so fast, turn off XP earning.  You don't like inherent Stamina, don't slot it, and it will be MUCH less a factor.  Don't like DFB, don't play it, and you can create a separate chat window to squelch all of the calls for DFB.  Don't like the naming policy?  Log in and move your characters around once in awhile.  Move them to new Day Job locations, and it makes it more worthwhile.  The one I really love is when folks complain about not being able to find a team for this, that, or the other thing.  The answer there is to put one together yourself.  There are a lot of people around, and if you put out a call, you will find folks who want to go along.  It's not that hard.

 

There are easy solutions to all of these issues that don't require the game to be changed to accommodate.  Let's not forget that it was just a little over a month ago, and there was NO game.  Now we have had it for a few weeks, and we are already dictating terms on how we will enjoy it more?  I think we really need to sit back, take stock of what we have been given (which is a second chance that nobody ever thought would happen), and appreciate what we've got. 

 

You want changes to the game?  Let's start thinking of things that actually require change, and are inclusive of the whole community, instead of those that would make it more the way we as individuals would like to see it.

 

+1 Inf