Conquest of the Horde

I think a lot of the changes that the server underwent during the break were great. I think it will help encourage a healthy bank of good roleplayers, as well as encourage thought-out characters, storylines, and plots. I think also that the structure involving titles and working for them through roleplaying is fantastic (and I am extremely excited about it). I think that's all great and the bottom line will minimize drama and maximize the quality of roleplaying. I appreciate the resolving of these problems IMMENSELY. However...

What I don't understand is the removal of the mall to make items harder to access. My understanding is that ALL of the server problems were drama related and the server was brought down mostly to figure out ways to nullify drama on the server and improve roleplaying, not to alter the game mechanics. I understand we will get tokens, but my logic works like this: If you request a set that looks great to rp in, you're screwed (pardon my french) for many other sets because you won't have the armor base to farm for things. So, the silver tokens we receive when leveled will be used for tier 6 stuff and nice weapons, just so that if I need to farm in the future, I will have the ability to do so. This creates a problem, because it would leave me with not much choice on what to start with in terms of outfits, and many of the things I'd like for my character (note: most are SIMPLY for looks) are NOT easy to come by or impossible to get when farming. I realize the GMs have said many times that "You don't need a specific item to RP", and this is very true, but I (among others) really do like having a few things to change in and out of on my character; I like having matching outfits, keeping my character looking sharp and whatnot. And of course, all of the armor I would want would be simply because of looks, not to overpower my character. Now, since the access to items because of removal of the mall is extremely limited, a lot of time will be spent farming when I'd much rather be RPing and furthering my character. It's my opinion that if the server wants to truly develop a strong roleplaying base, that this is going to hamper it or at least slow the progress by causing people to have to farm quite a lot and quite often for what they'd like for characters. The distribution of tokens is also going to be difficult for me, because I feel that the likelihood of me coming across enough tokens to really satisfy the wants of myself AND my character (a very vain Bloodelf) is pretty low.

My intention with this post is not to bash the GMs or anyone, and I hope it doesn't come across that way because it's not how it is intended. I just hope that perhaps it will inspire some consideration of these aspects of the changes that were made, and how the changes might affect the players and the roleplaying. It is not meant to be disrespectful at ALL because I so deeply appreciate the server and the hard work that goes into maintaining and running it. It is all just for your consideration and thought. I hope that this won't cause any hard feelings towards me from the GMs or anyone else, because that is not how it is meant. Simply a little food for thought for everyone. Comments are welcome. I'd love to discuss this more deeply.

Anyways, thank you for reading. Now, I'm off to post my revised profile again. See you all soon!! :3

The server came down for reasons other than drama. The GMs needed a break, there were character complications that needed to be addressed, and pretty much an overhaul was needed. Show me a server without some measure of drama and I'll head there post-haste. People are people - no matter what, there's always going to be some kind of disagreement. It's up to the individuals involved how it's handled, ultimately.

I don't like having to choose between RP gear and 'farming' gear either, but with all changes, I'm sure things will be taken into consideration, and perhaps the 'mall' returned in some fashion, in time. As for the token system being the way it is, the awarding of gold and platinum ones for good behavior struck me as a decent idea. I do think silver tokens should be more available, though.

~Felseed~

Gold and Platinum tokens were removed because we GMs were overloaded with something that had very minimal gain. The custom items were so-so at best in that only rarely did their stats actually matter in RP. Honestly, we felt that the current Farseer's Gift ring, which does improve combat stats, would be enough for most non-Outland encounters, and most Outland encounters shouldn't be easy anyway.

It's a matter of perspective, I suppose. I never found myself *needing* T6 or S3 in an RP situation.

True, but it is still rather hard to farm in Outland.

It's not difficult to farm outland at all...a quick trip down that road where all the orcs wander gives more than enough gold. Actually I walked out of the Stockades last night with about 30 gold, since each mob was dropping approximately 30 silver a time. Thirty gold was enough to buy trinkets on the AH for my character, rings, and a necklace - sorted! I'm sure a Gnomergan run or some similar instance would give up plenty of cash, so I'm not worried about tearing through Outland much just yet - which ties in well with character plans anyway.

I have carved through level 15 mobs and found items to wear for full outfits. I ground up my leatherworking and my smithing in order to get some passable outfits and if people want a particular look in leather or plate that isn't UBAH, then I can probably make it.

If there's things you want, take up a trade, or find out who is! Do some tailoring, search about, be resourceful! I actually levelled my leatherworking to 300 and then realised I really liked my beginner set for everyday wear on my character. I only broke down and spent tokens on his combat stuff to make sure I could take loads of hits if need be. However I've got leatherworking abilities on my rogue and my Blood Knight is a blacksmith. I have the ability to not only make various sets for rp, but I also can make rather useful stuff like leather patches to boost stats, iron spikes to put on shields for extra damage, keys to open lockboxes, silver rods for enchanters, sharpening stones for weapons, counterbalances, chains to keep you from getting disarmed...honestly, a fair bit which can give even your simple items an edge.

I guess it is a matter of perspective...but I notice GMs have time to actually rp now, and I know before they had none whatsoever. It's not like we're all destitute. If we want more tokens, then roleplay, rather than insist rp is impossible unless we achieve a, b, and c. Since we're all respective nobodies in any event, having a massively extensive wardrobe isn't all that necessary to my mind...that comes with character development. Sure I could have bought the uber elite PvP set for my Blood Knight, but he's only just become a knight himself, so he's wearing Blood Knight standard armour and a tabard. He doesn't even have the epic mount at the moment. He probably won't till he makes a name for himself. No one ever sees my rogue in his rogue gear because he doesn't want anyone KNOWING he's a rogue. That's how I approached the whole thing with restrictions, working my character around that, rather than creating characters that were inflexible and HAD to had certain things in order to be playable.

I'm fine with the changes, and actually more interested to get ingame these days as I now can send my characters out to do some missions and things, and thus tie those into developing storyling, where before I just had so much cash, and so much provided me, that I really didn't feel much inspiration to explore the world and do anything.

Maeven brings up a big point. Yesterday, I was shocked when I realized that I had gotten to RP for quite a long time uninterrupted, and with a variety of people. And there was RP in Shatterspear! Yes, Shatterspear, where people used to run around in circles and show off the uber gear they had just bought and not consider RPing out at least the purchase. Now it seems to have become a popular place for characters to come and train against the dummies and interact with one another. I really shouldn't be surprised or amazed by this, but there you have it.