Angelus_dead
10-12-2009, 02:12 PM
The Suggestion
Add another kind of in-game service called Least Reincarnation (or even a non-reincarnation name) which costs only a nominal fee in plat or items. It can be used by characters level 4+, and it will reduce you to a level of your choice at least 3 below your current level. If you hold items that would be unequippable at that level, you can choose whether to keep holding them, or send them to a special bank. When you return to the reincarnate trainer you can instantly switch back to your previous level, with nothing at all about your character changed. (Favor or items earned while deleveled are be kept)
Why is this Important?
A clever man said that an MMORPG earns profit by renting access to its customers. That's true: the core of the business is that you provide infrastructure for people to play a game together. Obstacles to customers playing together undermine the business viability. They can particularly make it hard for new players to join, if the population base has all moved on to high-level content.
Currently DDO involves a major obstacle to two customers playing together: even if they're on the same server, they might not have characters of corresponding levels. There are two ways players can work around it, but they're both too much effort: either the low player tries to advance, or the high player buys another slot and then races to advance and catch up. Obviously neither solves the problem of "Need caster for Pit, know the quest".
The proposed system would allow a capped or high-level character to briefly drop down to assist other players whose enjoyment of the game is blocked by lack of characters to recruit. For example, if I have a level 20 cleric I could drop to 12 to help a VON pug or even 6 to run Stormcleave. That ability would be a major improvement to DDO's accessibility. For comparison, look at the mentor/sidekick feature of City of Heros, or the dynamic level cap of Final Fantasy XI.
Additional Note
Maybe Turbine doesn't want to allow temporary de-levelling to be too available, because it could undercut the market for new character slots. If that is a concern, they could put an extra limitation on it, such as a character de-levelled in this way being unable to enter quests unless another character was already in. Or there are a variety of other approaches. It would be a mistake to look at this feature as competing directly with slot sales. Keep in mind that low-level adventure packs would become more attractive if more players are able to delevel and play them properly.
Add another kind of in-game service called Least Reincarnation (or even a non-reincarnation name) which costs only a nominal fee in plat or items. It can be used by characters level 4+, and it will reduce you to a level of your choice at least 3 below your current level. If you hold items that would be unequippable at that level, you can choose whether to keep holding them, or send them to a special bank. When you return to the reincarnate trainer you can instantly switch back to your previous level, with nothing at all about your character changed. (Favor or items earned while deleveled are be kept)
Why is this Important?
A clever man said that an MMORPG earns profit by renting access to its customers. That's true: the core of the business is that you provide infrastructure for people to play a game together. Obstacles to customers playing together undermine the business viability. They can particularly make it hard for new players to join, if the population base has all moved on to high-level content.
Currently DDO involves a major obstacle to two customers playing together: even if they're on the same server, they might not have characters of corresponding levels. There are two ways players can work around it, but they're both too much effort: either the low player tries to advance, or the high player buys another slot and then races to advance and catch up. Obviously neither solves the problem of "Need caster for Pit, know the quest".
The proposed system would allow a capped or high-level character to briefly drop down to assist other players whose enjoyment of the game is blocked by lack of characters to recruit. For example, if I have a level 20 cleric I could drop to 12 to help a VON pug or even 6 to run Stormcleave. That ability would be a major improvement to DDO's accessibility. For comparison, look at the mentor/sidekick feature of City of Heros, or the dynamic level cap of Final Fantasy XI.
Additional Note
Maybe Turbine doesn't want to allow temporary de-levelling to be too available, because it could undercut the market for new character slots. If that is a concern, they could put an extra limitation on it, such as a character de-levelled in this way being unable to enter quests unless another character was already in. Or there are a variety of other approaches. It would be a mistake to look at this feature as competing directly with slot sales. Keep in mind that low-level adventure packs would become more attractive if more players are able to delevel and play them properly.