Converting new players into long term members of Excelsior

[Highroller]

Well my take on things is this.

Players not willing to a ask questions are not likely to read a guide. I know I answer any questions I get to the best of my ability.

If they DO read a guide and follow it then the places in the guide will be even more crowded.

I DO think we need more places to hunt and more champs and faster and more random restart of champs. It would help even if the existing spawns respawned faster so if you don't get as much per kill you can make up for it by a faster kill rate. Maybe have each level of a dungeon respawn faster and be more dangerous then the one above it.

I do think some skills need to be overhauled so there is more interest in NON-hunting skills.

For example fishing has basically the same rewards as an osi shard. With the increased rewards other places you got to really be a fishing addict to put much time into it. Some kind of original deco or new and interesting weapons or armor as a rare mib drop would help.

The ONLY thing I see alchemy used for here is to support bees and the making of royal hive items. Maybe make some of the potions last long enough to actually be useful. Maybe 30 minutes vice 30 seconds (sheer guess haven't timed it but its not long) And perhaps make the potions stack with spells. Ie be able to use str. potion AND str. spell. The list goes on.

But the bottom line is we can only help people stay that are willing to invest time and effort to advance their characters. Those that come and leave almost immediately in most cases I think were hopeless as long term player prospects. We really don't need more people that want things made easier for them so they can have the same gear as people that have been on the shard for 3 years. We have already come a long way from when I first started on the shard and there was probably an average of 15 players online.

While there is room for improvement I still think this is the best shard around )

[Ceara]

I DO think we need more places to hunt and more champs and faster and more random restart of champs. It would help even if the existing spawns respawned faster so if you don't get as much per kill you can make up for it by a faster kill rate. Maybe have each level of a dungeon respawn faster and be more dangerous then the one above it.

For example fishing has basically the same rewards as an osi shard. With the increased rewards other places you got to really be a fishing addict to put much time into it. Some kind of original deco or new and interesting weapons or armor as a rare mib drop would help.

The dungeon idea is awesome and I agree 100%. I'd also like to see a new mid-level dungeon filled with mage, archer and plain LIzardmen, along with Slimes and Plague Beasts, with a pretty decent spawn rate.

The Rat Men hole in Ice dungeon is almost like that, but respawn rate is slooooow. But IMO the Lizards are more fun to kill than Ratmen.

I've been saying for months that sea treasure/land treasure needs an overhaul. Got to add other stuff in those chests to make it more interesting and worth doing. Many on this shard enjoy deco'ing and there would be an interest in such things.

Also keep an active spawn of stuff that appears at sea. Random water elementals, sea monsters. They are not that difficult to fight. But it might help prevent unattended macro-fishing. Yes I know there is an AFK check but it's so blah and has the same feeling as a "Test of the Emergency Broadcast System." Fishing would be a lot more fun if "dangerous." More different colored nets would be cool too that will spawn more than the green. Green nets appear way too often.

"uh oh your line snapped and the fish got away"
"uh oh that's not a fish" *3 Kraken spawn*
Kill 3 Krakens. One contains a blue net and another a SOS bottle. Open bottle... darn it's not an Ancient but I'll fish it up anyway.
Sail to spot
Commence fishing for treasure
"You anger the sea by disturbing the wreckage" (treasure guardians) 6 Water Elementals spawn and are killed
Continue fishing for treasure
Treasure chest appears at your feet
Open treasure
"Oh wow I got a set of deco horseshoes. That will look cool in my house stable area."

[Yoda]

I love what I am hearing about treasure hunting and fishing chest rewards.. to be honest this is one of the first shards i have EVER played on where treasure hunting wasn't THE thing to do.. mind you the treasure maps at least are a pretty good money maker.. the 5's are 5000gold each chest, and if you loot the chest mor guardians spawn, and you end up between 15-20k when its all said and done, as of right now and I could be incorrect the only tchest I have had drop a rare item are lvl6..

one of the only things that bugs me about freeshards in general is lemming esque behavior, there is so much to do on anyshard its insanity to see so many wear/use the same gear/fighting style, hit the same spawns over and over etc etc etc..

tonnes of things to do.. if you want a great long term goal.. get a beastiary of paragon chests.. some of them are INSANELY hard to get.. I believe my bro Tennebrae once showed me a paragon savage chest, and a paragon bird chest

I can only imagine the obsessive levels of gameplay it took to get the birds..

regardless rare loot in tchests would be simple for staff to do and increase the usage of that WHOLE system.. while we are at it.. there isn't any reason we couldn't add the lvl 7's is there?

If any staff ever wants to visit on this or any other subjects me and highroller aspouse on, in the evenings often we can both be found on the roof, and will gladly talk your ear off with positive suggestions

be well all.. I must say the last couple days I have been seeing bits of the excelsior "vibe"

[Thorgal]

Actualy, in my opinion, it all comes down to one thing and one thing only, who is your first contact in the game when you are <born>!

New players, most of the times, are lucky to get a tour of excelsior, but touring someone isn't just a 5-10 minute deal. Too many times have i talked to new players who have been toured around the place and still didn't know what to do or what not to do. Knowing where Tc/Yc/Brit is doesn't help if you dont know what to do once you are there!
Often tours are being given just for the ed reward. So the tour needs to be thought out, planned and of quality or else new players are left to them selves with tons of info but with no comprehension of the shard or game. Sometimes its a lot to absorb in just 10 minutes, just figuring out how to move or interact is a challenge if you have no UO exp.

So i guess what im saying is, instead of trying to find new way of keeping new players here, just volunteer to the youth center and learn how to give good tours, and take the time to do it, not just a 10 minute look around and leave that player alone after. Offer that player to contact you through pm for any further question and or advice, take them on a few hunts appropriate for a new player.

The first contact you make on a game usualy end up being one of a long term collaboration or even friendship, so basicaly, make it count.

[Tigurius]

Having just started - it really doesn't help to have people farming the rats and other creatures in the newbie zone. Rat quest takes about 10 times longer when you have two veterens farming the quest rats and auto skinning/looting the few kills you manage to get in and doing so from across the room.

The ability to actually use the newbie dungeon is kind of ruined considering the few people who would not have scripts and macros set up yet would be... newbies. In particular, farming the quest-specific rats when you have one or two green-helmed newbies running around is pretty obnoxious.

So yeah, as someone mentioned earlier there is a hurdle in overcoming the fact that this is UO. The fact that it's free should pretty much do that though. The biggest barrier I see is that there are a decent number of players completely uninterested in the idea of new people joining the game.

[Thorgal]

Having just started - it really doesn't help to have people farming the rats and other creatures in the newbie zone. Rat quest takes about 10 times longer when you have two veterens farming the quest rats and auto skinning/looting the few kills you manage to get in and doing so from across the room.

Wrong!

To enter the dungeon, you need to be less then 21 days old so they are no vets there for sure, maybe some folks that know a bit more about the game but thats it!

The biggest barrier I see is that there are a decent number of players completely uninterested in the idea of new people joining the game.

I dont find this to be accurate, but if it is... screw them, enjoy yourself! There are ennough players out there willing to help and share on their experience and knowledge of the game. Sure there are a few very negative people but dont let them get to you, and if some are'nt willing to have new players join the shard, the majority will welcome them arms openned!

So if you need anything dont hesitate to pm me i.g

Thorgal Pain

[Tigurius]

Wrong!

To enter the dungeon, you need to be less then 21 days old so they are no vets there for sure, maybe some folks that know a bit more about the game but thats it!

Ah ok - so the "young" classification isn't visible? Thought it was - and assumed people riding Reptalons and Cu Sidhe with "legendary" in their title around the newbie dungeon seemed out of place. So, when I didn't see "young" in their names I guess I wrongly assumed they were just vets farming.

If they were "young" characters too then I guess the problem would more be experienced and well-tooled players with young accounts farming so effectively as to render the newbie area less effective. Not much you can do about that I guess.

Are you sure though that the newbie dungeon can not be entered by older accounts? I know some things aren't supposed to be accessible, but man I must be doing something wrong if those guys are as green as I am and kitted out like that.

Any suggestions on starter macro/mod/script packages?

[Thorgal]

Ok if what you say is true then sonething is wrong or i got something wrong, cause to my knowledge, if you renounce of your young status, then you cannot enter the newb dungeon anymore, i may be wrong but still, i will ask a gm just to be sure. About the legendary title, that realy isn't hard to acheive, you cant get that in any skill in a maximum of 2 days if you take it slow. Might wanna read up on the how to be awesome guide by Devlin, very good insights in there. Has for macro or scripts go, check out Razor or easyuo, lots of good scripts for those. Other then that i guess would be to ask a lot of questions in world chat and maybe try to do a few Newb champs to get some power scrolls free, do you use the training room much? You know you can train combat skills afk there! Up to 75! Good luck and dont hesitate to contact me i.g.

Thorgal Pain

[Adrias]

The only restriction on the newbie dungeon is that you have to be under 21 days. You do not have to have young status. Legendary/cu sidhes/etc... are pretty easy to get

[Shaladar]

Personally I find half the fun of the game is building myself up from scratch. When orcs are a challenge and reapers seem like mob bosses, Every battle is a challenge and succeeding at something is the exception not the rule. Once I can do it all I tend to find it less challenging but by then players have so much time and effort invested in the game they usually stick around. Besides by then they've made acquaintances and that's what a game like this is all about.

Getting people to stay is about making it interesting but challenging, giving them the ability to succeed on their own but also the ability to fail as well. It's a bout finding that person they can rely on to help out if things do get to hard or they want to try something harder.

I've found that the shards that fail are the ones that impose too many rules and the ones that give everything away for nothing. Finding that balance is what's important and making sure that the players that join are not overwhelmed while they learn the ins and outs of how to play.

Best way to keep players interested is to let them struggle a bit but be willing to help when it's asked for. Never ignore the "[c How do I...?" questions but do ignore the "[c Hey can you give me the uber <fill in the blank>...!" requests.

I find too that as a new player, having a little space is always good. I hate tripping over 80 new players as I learn but being isolated and never seeing anyone go by would be just as bad. New people want to know the shard is active but not feel as though it's overcrowded.

Anyway, that's about my half cent, I'll save the other cent and a half for another time.

[anarchy]

well said shaladar

[Tigurius]

Thanks for clarifying how new player status works. Somehow I ended up with 200 organics despite killing about 30 rats in total (I do like that the quest recognized I had killed rats in the wrong house, nice touch there.) I don't know if people can send things to you like that, but if someone did then thanks for the gift. Unfortunately I had not familiarized myself with how death in UO works nor with the insurance system before venturing into my first real dungeon.

It is nice to find an MMO with real consequences for death, but for someone who has not played UO since the Beta and Alpha it can be somewhat of a shocker the first time - at least when compared to how most MMOs handle death. I do like that death is more meaningful, though I suppose it might be helpful for complete newbs like myself if the game beat you over he head about insurance and explained the death consequences in the newbie dungeon and training area. If it did then I'm sure I just missed it.

I'm kind of tempted to delete my account, change my IP adress my altering my router MAC address, and just plain start over at this point. It is pretty daunting going from having 200k worth of gear 2 days into the game to having no mount, no gear, no money. Harder to work your way back up from that than it is to start the game in the first place. So I suppose my only other suggestion would be the option to let young players reboot an account. By that I mean reset it to day one (erase the character, all their stuff, etc. but let them restart with all the benefits of being brand new - like the 10k or so starting gold and 5 free skill trainings.) Obviously such an option should be very conditional, but that first death experience might be causing some of the literally younger players not to stick around. I'll probably ust say "well I was kind of an idiot noob there so that sucks," learn from it and soldier on, but I do see a common experience that might cause a lack of new player retention.

Granted, it's my fault entirely and it would be the fault of anyone in a similar situation too. Assuming things are similar to the last 5 MMOs you played and failing to proactively read instructions and guides was a mistake for sure. At the same time it might help attract non-UO players who have become sick of paying for MMOs they don't play anymore or feel like they're in a rut in if the particular very different aspects of game mechanics were pointed out slightly more loudly than they already are in the very beginning. Maybe have a message panel pop up with 4-5 bold bullet points or something

[anarchy]

i was just curious can you (at the beginning) make a character and log out in there and make an address book from another character to that character you keep down there? so you can send him equipment and things. because if you stay down there you can really be down there past your 21 days. it's just when you leave you can't go back.

don't know if i'm explaining this right. but i think you know what i'm getting at

[Thorgal]

That would be an exploit wouldn't it!

[dillingham]

I know i can say my guildies and I are always willing to help and give advise to a new players. So if you see people with TDC on there name and are lost and need help ask for some advise and we will do what we can to guide you along. BUT dont ask for free stuff cuz no one likes a begger.