Now I don't want to get off on a rant here....but

I remember back in June of 1999... I was a new druid, human and blind as a bat. I remember finally finding my way out of Surefall glade, and entering Qeynos Hills. It was night, and skeletons and evil looking bats were flying around.
It was an amazing rush to feel completely vulnerable. I attacked one bat with my meager club, and then after I killed it I ran back to the safty of the guards.

About 45 minutes later... picking off small targets.. I finally got up the nerve to run down that path... and found myself in North Qeynos. WOW! what a city! here was an amazing place to fight stuff.

===

This is just a short segment of my first EQ experience. I was clueless, unexperienced, uncoordinated, lost, timid, and had no plan. My only thought was "I better start learning, or I am a dead man."

Over the next weeks and months, throught trials and failures, I gradually started to understand what was going on. I made mistakes, and I learned how to deal with them. My first armor I bought was the wrong size. My first weapon I bought, I could not use.

I was so thankful when someone offered to sell me the amazing patchwork armor for only 3gp per piece. That was so much cheaper then the leather armor I saw in the stores.

Eventually I made enough money to buy that leather armor.. and some silver jade rings.

I remember at 9th level seeing a level 30 warrior. I was very impressed.. I did not talk to him though... I didn't want to bother him.

=====

Today in 2002... Everquest is a different game. Websites abound with information on every concievable detail. People no longer worry about what is around the next corner, they read about it before they even get there.

Under tenth level players no longer worry about loosing their body, so they recklessly charge into places without any apprehension.

Giving a SoW to a new player no longer gets you a "Wow thanks!" it is... "can i get HP, thorns, regen?"

New players have no awe of high level players anymore. They have no idea what we went through, and how much we scraficed to get them the benefits that they enjoy.

Jus the other day I got a tell from a level 10 rogue in North Qeynos... She had accidently attacked the bard in Surefall Glade, and was asking me (On the moon in The Gray) to come give her a SoW to get her body. When I said she had nothing to fear in Qeynos Hills, she said "I just run so slow.. I want to be faster."

And that is when it went full circle...Higher level PCs have gone from "demigod" status.. to almost an extension of "customer service."

Of course that is just my opinion I may be wrong,

I sort of agree but -

They have no idea what we went through, and how much we scraficed to get them the benefits that they enjoy.

You make it sound like we are customer services. I don't ever go non-/anon or /role (it's a guild thing too) but it sounds to me like you're a nice guy who tries to help all the people that ask him to do these things. Just say no :p

Why say NO?

I help when I can help!


Thats part of my enjoyment.

I may be ranting, but I am not exactly angry...heh.


Over all, I am more just upset that younger players are cheating themselves out of the best stuff that everquest can offer...

Those early years of being ACTUALLY afraid to enter a dungeon... To get the shivers..

That feeling goes away so quickly, and very soon you get numb to it... I hate that the young players are so quick to want to "grow up"

Its been said before... I will say it again.. "60th level is not the game... its what happens along the way."

With the exception of under 10s now not having to find their bodies when they die, *true* new players still do go through all that.

A true new player won't have a clue what SoW, buffs or twinks are. Unless someone comes along and gives them some old items, they'll even have to work for the pride of their first plat and next set of spells... and they will :) A true newbie is very unlikely to beg off a higher player, or even try to talk to them.

As for twinks, well... they've "been there, done that" so I don't think they care about any of that.

Now, if the rant is about the lack of true new players then I quite agree :)

Still, having said that...

Although *most* alt characters / twinks just want to get to raid level in the shortest possible time (and are also addicted to SoW, hence they can't stop asking)... I'm having a great time starting out from scratch, with a brand new untwinked druid on Test. Earning the first plat, finishing the upcoming newbie armor quests (which now leads to me twitching whenever I see a forest drakeling), getting enough money for the next set of spells... excellent stuff.

I value this set of newbie armor that I worked for with sweat and blood, even higher than the 'decent' stuff I bought from players in EC with my previous druid. I started with 0cp and 0 items, ended up quite reasonably equipped... all through my own work... great feeling, shame people are so quick to dismiss it and throw twinks together :)

I truely believe that new players asking for what you describe are not in fact new but twink players. I've been playing for under 2 years and can remember my days in quenos hills vividly. A couple of players in their 50s helped me out on my then main ranger with banded and a velium sword i can still remember the anticipation of getting to 25 so my weapon would proc shards :)

When i finally gave up on my ranger at 26 i started a human druid and hes the character i play today.

Personally i think most players on our servers have never met the true nubees, who are off in some corner never making any noise fighting to make a level.

ROFL! I remember thinking the same thing with my druid when I spent all the money I could raise farming the gobbies for several days to buy a velium warhammer that I saw on the merchant in the bank. I couldnt WAIT till that thing would start to proc so I could be uber with a weapon that does good damage AND procs! BATTLE DRUID! lol I even remember the first time it procced, I was hunting aviaks in sk when all of a sudden I got the proc message! At first I thought someone was trying to ks me! :rolleyes:

Traab "Love Machine" Fellhammer
Human Mob Compactor of the 51st Cycle
And Almost Too Sexy To Live!

"Now I wont even loot one off a green tizmak as I run back to my corpse!"

Paldor says: New players have no awe of high level players anymore. They have no idea what we went through, and how much we scraficed to get them the benefits that they enjoy.

You sound like some sort of martyr...

"We" (and by that I mean the players that began in the first week of final, and churned out some of the early level 50s) didn't sacrifice a damn thing to get anyone benefits. Sure, we had less knowledge about the game, but it was a lot more fun that way, and the world (along with the universe of facts about spells, skills, and quests) was much, much smaller.

If anything, it is "we" who stole the gameplay experience from "them".

Yep, getting old sux. Anyone else repeat the feeling they got from the first few hours of EQ? I stared at the box for 2 weeks before installing it in July of 99, knew it could'nt be good for me :)
Now I am seeing movies that are not fun, that would have blown me away when I was 15. 1999 : So young, so innocent.

Hehe, I remember trying to figure out what Shaman was trying to KS me because of the Velium Shards spell. I knew they had cold based spells and that their spell effects looked like that. :) Dang shammies casting Velium shards on my mob! The NERVE! :)

I do know what you mean though, Paldor. But it happens when games mature, I'd imagine there are few players who just walk into a software store and pick up EQ to try it out. I'd imagine most of the actual new players have friends who play and already have a fairly good handle on the game.

I still look for that "holy crap I am actually scared" feeling and its very hard to come by.

Walking through commons at level 5 traveling from GFay to Misty to meet up with friends... scouting MM castle alone when you actually could use invis for real.. I miss those days.

Yes, the new guys have no idea :)

I made my druid the day eq servers went live, and never looked back. Their are still alota old timers per say around, but the new breed of peeps are more concerned with lvlin up as quick as possible and forgoing all the things we first experienced. From the way the game has evolved since its beginning you really cant blame the newer players honestly though - its kinda a natural progression i guess. And yes I get some of those dumb @#%$ tells also - but /ignore works wonders.... :)

Oakendale ForestWalker
60 Druid

Although I am not an old timer like most people I still know what it was like to lvl up scared. I started out shortly before Velious came out. And I was a true NEWB. I remember venturing off into Lesser Fay with my freshly bought leather armor. I had no idea what I was doing, I ran into a brownie and got whacked. I had a friend who played (he was only 13 and just as big of a newb as me) so I kinda knew what was going on. I asked a lvl 38 player to drag my corpse for me. (to this day I wish I knew who I asked) When he told me no it was too dangerous I thought Lesser Fay was the worst zone in the game. That player however gave me 80pp to restore my items. I was the happiest druid there ever was. Now I am 55, I know the game fairly well, and yes I do have a twink. But unlike some people who think Twink's are the bane of EQ I disagree. I think if you started out a newb and actually worked your way to your main character then you deserve a twink. I know this is thread hijacking (sort of) but I was on a roll and couldnt stop =P

I remember being a real newbie as well.

At the orc lift around level 9, some nice passing druid cast SoW and Levitate on me i was so impressed with the levitate spell.

I also remember getting the ability to port and not wanting to port to Lavastorm Mountains because it sounded dangerous.

I agree that a lot of the new players miss the fun and excitement of not knowing what is in what zones and so on. But in truth they could simply not look up this information if they so choose. Its their loss not mine.

<chuckle> Regarding twinks...everyone hates twinks on their first character. Its hard to realize that most of the people somewhere along the line with one of their characters (or more) started brand new fresh selling things for coppers and saving the money to buy sewing kits so you could make yourself some patchwork armor and doing newbie quests for coin and xp. That is only fun once or twice lol.

I have zero desire to go through all that again with the knowledge I have now of the game. The wonder and mystery is a one shot deal for the most part.

OMG!!! I went throught the exact same thing when I started. I relate with every single thing you said. I was awed by 40+s, I was thankfull as hell to even get a sow, and I never begged!! I feel like my grandpa yet I'm barely old enough to drive. What's wrong with newbies these days?

to Sobe and the rest of the "uber crew" how much time do you have to deal with the unwashed masses in VT or Ssra? It's no bad when you see them maybe 1/week but (and yes I counted) 50 times in 2 hours gets ridiculous and then they are not grateful because you forgot to totally buff them on top of porting them whereever for free.

Ellzii