Addressing Population

One of these things - and others are directly related to it - is population or the community.

Anyone who plays EverQuest II knows that population is a problem, not a game breaker mind you, but indeed a problem across all spectrums. From the newbie, low level and mid level game (and even high level on some servers) population has been a growing problem for awhile and will continue to be one for some time.

Though what do I mean exactly by population?

The EverQuest II servers are healthy. I don't have the exact numbers but in terms of absolutes, there isn't very many problems. The issue at hand is how that population is divided. Sadly, I would say, at least 75% are at the high level, 15% at mid-level and less then 10% at the newbie and low level.

This is not healthy, at all.

If we look back to the immensely successful games of the past - EverQuest and Ultima Online - and even the giants of today - World of Warcraft and Lineage 2 - they all had, over the prime of their existence, very healthy populations across the board. New players were coming in on a regular basis to experience the thrill of the title that they heard so much about. Not only that, but content was regularly added, across all levels, so even veteran players were experiencing the low and mid level game.

This is not happening in EverQuest II.

When I contemplate this topic I admit that what I am going to propose in this article is perhaps a little far-fetched in some respects but it is also a necessary change, some of which has already begun in the Desert of Flames. Nevertheless, the different stages of the game needs help, population wise, which will make the game better as a whole.

Newbie and Low Level Populations

New players are absolutely essential for a games success, long term. Not every single veteran is going to stay around until the game is inevitably shut down from lack of support. So with the influx of new players the absolute population remains the same.

This is certainly not the case in EverQuest II.

Fortunately, EverQuest II isn't very old yet where this problem isn't even a consideration at this point and time. Veteran players, usually, start moving on after two or three years where they just become tired of the game, and no one can blame them really. So, if anything, the population is just going to grow but once EverQuest II hits that three years old mark then this is going to be an issue and it is best to deal with it sooner, rather than later.

So what are the problems plaguing the low level game?

Two things come to mind instantly: the economy and community.

In terms of the economy, all you have to do is look at prices for weapons, armor and adepts. The prices, especially for the least popular classes, are often times insane. Far, far too much for a new player to afford.

The reason the prices are so high? The sellers expect (and not without good reason) for veteran players to reroll and to pay these prices, and that is what is done. While the sellers are lining their pockets with gold and platinum, this doesn't bode well for new players. So much so I'd be willing to say that most, if not all, of new players that leave the game do so for this reason.

The community is an issue as well.

No one has to be told that the community isn't the greatest in EverQuest II, especially for low level players. I can remember back to the days when on Befallen - never a high population server - had three or more instances open in either Antonica or the Common Lands. These days I'm lucky to see two open (and in each instance there isn't exactly a lot of people).

That one concern within community, in and of itself, creates a very lonely feeling for the player. Not only that, but with the crafting instances in Qeynos and Freeport, the population in the streets is sparse, save for the NPCs.

As a result of this the player is feeling less immersed, lonely and an overall feeling that they're playing a single player game online, not a massive multiplayer online role playing game.

So what's the solution?

The economy solution is very difficult to pinpoint and vastly too large for this editorial but the community problem is being addressed slowly but surely.

Yes my friends I'm talking about the city of Maj'Dul in the Desert of Flames expansion. The city is aligned to neither Qeynos or Freeport and could very well act as the central hub of Norrath in the future. It is a dynamic city as well, giving people reason to be in the city.

So when that low level player, out of curiousty, wanders into Maj'Dul they'll find themselves incredibly immersed and really feel like they're apart of that city and it really is alive.

If the low level community factor of EverQuest II is to be fixed something similar must be done to Freeport or Qeynos and yes opening those coliseums would be a very good start.

Mid Level Game

The mid level game doesn't have the neglect problems that the low level one has but has a clearly defined issue with definition. What I mean by this is, the mid level game is merely a stepping stone to the high level game, which shouldn't be the case at all.

So what can be done?

Content, content and more content is the most obvious, and really the only solution.

It wasn't too long ago that a guild member of mine asked what raid content is available for a level 30 (mid-level, arguably) and the simple answer is not much. I later talked to him, and others who are in the same predicament: they want to raid but are too low leveled. So what are they doing? Grinding their way to level 45.

Let's change the scenario a little bit. Infuse raid content so when you reach level 30 there actually is something to do, with perhaps as much diversity as the level 45+ raid content. In this scenario yes players would want to reach the high end game but wouldn't have such a rush-rush attitude and enjoy the mid level game a lot more since there would be stuff to do. No longer would the mid level game become a stepping stone.

The high level game, fortunately enough, does not have the issues that the low and mid level game does. There is a sizable amount of the population that is there already (my 75% figure) so there is always friends to experience that content with. The only reason there is complaints, perhaps, is when a high leveled character has done everything and is merely awaiting content (which will end with the Desert of Flames).

So the high level game is not an issue but the low and mid level game is. On the other hand, perhaps this is completely permissible since the low and mid level game only lasts three or four months but in my mind it would be unwise to ignore it for a prolonged period of time.

It is not an issue now, it won't be in six months or a year from now but it will become an issue two years down the road. New players are not as frequent as they need to be and EverQuest II will slowly decline.

After the Desert of Flames releases the low and mid level games should be addressed. It won't help out the majority of the subscribers (high end population) but it will be incredibly beneficial in the many years to come.

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Posted by addicted2 at 2005-08-26 11:21:13

I totally agree with your statements here. I have had problems lfgs to play with because of the low pop. So I have soloed most of my way up to the mid30s. This is sad and very lonely. I dont mind soloing but to group once in a while would be nice. And the market is outrageous to much gold just for a low lvl item makes game harder to injoy Anyway SoE needs to address this issue soon. I know for me I am getting bored of this and want to quit game but of coruse I am addicted. So I put up with the problem until it is solved or until I can not take it and quit. Grindng to a high lvl is so slow but hey need to get there to enjouy game again. Great article.

Posted by Xadius at 2005-08-26 12:32:49

I couldnt disagree more. There is more to do at mid-level than what you are eluding to. The sheer amount of mid-level quests should be enough to keep you busy for awhile. Sure the groups are sometimes hard to find but the vast majority of quests available can easily be solod. If you get tired of soloing and cant find a group you might spend a little bit of time harvesting and looking for those rares which could pave the way for those expensive weapons armor and adept IIIs. Furthermore when you get tired of that try crafting awhile with all those harvested items. One more point I spent a large portion of my mid 30s doing guild writs. Thanks for the article.

Posted by Sossorio at 2005-08-29 11:55:56

I agree the problem is mostly for the lvls 10 through 25. At these lvls. And at least on lavastorm server its pronounced for Freeport players in my opinion. Po*beep*tion on the evil side is a lot lower than on the good side. unless you are adventurous as a Freeport player and go far afield at the low to mid lvls you have a hard time finding groups. I understand the game lore reasons for having split good and evil cities but post betrayal lvls you should be able to live in neutral places like upcomming Maj Dul cities. Look at EQ1 everyone was in Nexus and PoK as soon as they found about those zones. Granted EQ was a few years old by then and had progressed to that point but still. Devs shouldnt force segregation.

Posted by Chilidog at 2005-08-30 07:17:28

Awesome Magi. Pretty much sums it up perfectly. In order for higher levels to get better they do need more chancesplaces for Raids why not have like how some of the SP stuff does either scaling or make certain current raid instances have a level 30-40 instance. The only problem i see is that a majority of people are always looking to power level and get to that magical 50 Then complain when theres nothing to do. Take your time enjoy the world and make friends with the vast number of people around.

Posted by day1EQ2 at 2005-08-31 08:05:57

I pla*beep* EQ2 on its opening day when there were 5 zones for refuge island and Oakymist forest ect... Well 30days in to the game I quit and went back to EQ1. Well then WoW came out and I tried that OMG fun. This game did a really good job of being fun It is fun if you like pvp it is fun if you dont like pvp its good for people who like to solo and for people who like to group. Trade skills are fun to do unlike eq2 I got a 12 scolare and I wish i could take the time i lost back ... Hope they do an EQ3 soon cause am a big fan of the EQ line but this version really sucked ...