Removing the Level XP Cap

Share an idea or post some constructive criticism for the server.
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Talisman
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Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby Talisman » Sat Apr 06, 2019 1:54 am

This is a topic that I've had some hub-bub and discussion with between both players and team members recently, and so I thought if this is a topic circling people's minds then we should simply open a suggestion thread about it and talk it out as a community. I'm really curious to hear what people's opinions are on this one. Of course, as Suggestion thread tradition dictates, I'll start first:

When I first spoke about this recently with a team member, I was on the side of lowering the time between xp gaps, but keeping it in place. This was because I didn't mind the system personally; for me it encouraged me to have alts, which I thought was rather nice at the time because I'm usually terrible at creating alts but always want to try out new concepts. However, after speaking with a player recently about this my opinion has shifted even more progressive and I just want to see it removed all-together now. I know that's the extreme case, but let me exlain my reasons for going this way:

First and honestly foremost of these reasons is that it dawned on me why I really didn't mind the xp cap. It is because I have often created a character, but then became busy in real life and by the time I got back to the character my cap was far higher than I was going to get before real life became busy again anyway. For me, the cap practically didn't exist most of the time. And I think this was actually a fairly common scenario, because most of our players are rather seasonal or on-and-off. That's when it hit me: this level cap actually encourages you to be an on-and-off again player. It certainly doesn't incentivize lingering on one character when you have the time of day to play that character because that character is going to have a lot of "xp downtime" where they simply can't progress. So some (and I would argue more than half, really) players are going to feel the pressure to either roll another alt, or take a break from TER.

And those last five words say it all for me. We shouldn't have systems on the server that in a way encourage taking a break from TER. That's not a way to cultivate and support a full-time playerbase.

On top of this reason, however, we already have dungeon xp reset timers that act as a soft-cap and keep the leveling process at a steady flow, and these dungeon xp reset timers themselves can be tweaked and modified as needed to put to slow leveling down if the team wants.

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Dawnbreak
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby Dawnbreak » Sat Apr 06, 2019 2:42 am

+1.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

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Danuvis
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby Danuvis » Sat Apr 06, 2019 5:41 am

I agree all around.

Loreweaver
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby Loreweaver » Sat Apr 06, 2019 6:28 am

I would argue that the current soft-cap from dungeons is not enough to keep the leveling process at a steady flow. If players frequently hit the xp cap, that is proof of that.
I would argue too that players for whom level advancement is vital are going to hit their cap at level 8 regardless. Yes, it takes more time, so it can delay the point of 'xp downtime,' but if the difference is we end up with more retired level 8s instead of retired 3s and 4s, what is the gain in the long run?

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blatob
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby blatob » Sat Apr 06, 2019 6:45 am

Indeed.

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Talisman
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby Talisman » Sat Apr 06, 2019 7:25 am

Loreweaver wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 6:28 am
I would argue that the current soft-cap from dungeons is not enough to keep the leveling process at a steady flow. If players frequently hit the xp cap, that is proof of that.
This is a great point, and seems to pierce to the heart of the issue: There is a difference in what people consider to be 'enough' to borrow your wording. There is a whole spectrum of xp gain/leveling rate that can be explored and maybe a better equilibrium point exists between keeping leveling at a desirable pace without stopping excited new players hitting level 3 in their tracks. This adjustment could be done with the dungeon resets/xp tics alone without an extra layer of time gating.
Loreweaver wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 6:28 am
I would argue too that players for whom level advancement is vital are going to hit their cap at level 8 regardless. Yes, it takes more time, so it can delay the point of 'xp downtime,' but if the difference is we end up with more retired level 8s instead of retired 3s and 4s, what is the gain in the long run?
I don't agree with this argument because you're equating a retired level 3/4 to a retired level 8. These are not the same because a retired level 8 means the player invested more time into that character and ultimately more time into TER. I'd rather players that grind all the way to level 8 be bored rather than new players that are excited for the server and want to be rewarded for continuing to explore areas for the first time. They easily hit that lvl 3 time gate and that can kind of be a smack in the face when you're still excited to explore a new server on a character you're still getting to know.

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Jogglehog
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby Jogglehog » Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:35 am

I like that cap encourages players to have more PCs. I hadn't made a priest or a cleric, ever, and now I have, he's pretty fun.

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CluelessNoob
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby CluelessNoob » Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:47 am

I'm torn. While I think the XP cap is great, I also find myself agreeing with Talisman's words.
The way the system currently is seems to only be encouraging people to play part-time as opposed to full time. Which in turn is killing for any storylines PC might create.

If anything I'd suggest a different system. Perhaps one that continues to provide RP XP which is not capped or something along the lines.
Or, yes, remove the cap all together and maintain the max level on 8.

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blatob
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby blatob » Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:59 am

I would consider lowering the XP in dungeons/exploration to 10% of current value in such case.

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Kilaana
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Re: Removing the Level XP Cap

Postby Kilaana » Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:05 pm

May I ask how storylines are affected? Playing part time or full time is dependent on the player. Xp does not limit a story, but imagination does.

Regardless of cap, storylines can still be executed in an enjoyable fashion. The level 3 character can still play a good role in a story with other level 8 characters.
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