Some concerns about Ephinea

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anime said:
I'd argue that you aren't skipping content by rushing to Ultimate mode, as all quests can be played at all difficulties. The only thing you really miss out on is the lower difficulties/drop tables, which aren't a whole lot of fun imo.

I agree that TTF is an unbalanced quest but it holds memories for a lot of people, so it's pretty important.
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You're still skipping content. All I really read off this is you don't like replaying things you've done before. I coulda sworn we were talking about -new- players. Just because I had a Dreamcast back in the day, doesn't mean my little brothers need TTF to get to Ultimate to see it quicker. It's like rushing into sex as a 5 year old. Yeah, you did the deed, got it done, but I'm pretty sure you feel more confusion more than anything.

TL DR (Last one?): I'm more than well aware TTF is part of PSO BO, but in my opinion, skipping to ultimate mode with new players is a small part of the reason PSO communities are small.
 
Senraise said:
skipping to ultimate mode with new players is a small part of the reason PSO communities are small.
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Keeping the game as "vanilla" as possible is important to me. I don't do TTF or any quests really. Maybe endless nightmare. I just hop into the forest or whatever I'm ready for and push my way to the boss.

Last night Crono and I started from forest 1 to Dark Falz. It took about 3-4 hours. I leave my games open and name the lobby scooby so people know it's me. People will hop in every now and then and we'll just grind it out. We had Mew, Quela, Andy, and some others help us out at the end but it was still the PSO experience that I remember when I was younger. Playing online just grinding it out while people hop in and out of game. I didn't say much during the run but seeing them chat with each other was cool.

Everyone is different of course. Some find the grind to be boring. They say Ultimate is where the game really begins. I dunno though. I can grind it out by myself in lower difficulties until others join. But in Ultimate can I grind it out without having a party? Ultimate seems intense. So many enemies, so much going on. Or in TTF, the rush past enemies to finish the quest, to kill the bosses. Where is the bonding? Where is the companion to grind with through multiple levels?

MMORPG's start to forget this important aspect and lean towards the people who don't see this and just get bored with the grind. But other people is what makes the game not boring. Without friends, without companionship in an MMORPG, there is no point to playing online. You might as well be playing with bot boy Kireek all night.(Not the user K_I_R_E_E_K)
 
Everyone is raving about elitism but I've barely noticed anything from anyone. I feel like people barely moan that much and help each other out when asked. Obviously there is bit but that's the same in every community. Maybe I'm just ignorant to it all because I could care less about people's arrogance.

I keep to my own devices mostly but I always go out my way to help the hardcore lowbies. And if anyone asks I'm pretty much down to lend a hand.
 
I'm about to spout off some stuff about what I feel like personally, as a person who has been playing PSO since the Gamecube release:
First, I'd like to express that the reason why I got so into PSO in the first place was because it was the very first game where luck was involved in obtaining weapons and armor and I had to really work and grind hard for the best stuff. It was a game so early in my life that rewarded people for putting in time and effort. I liked that and gravitated towards it. When I started playing PSOBB in 2008, I was attracted to a completely different aspect of PSO. I never got to play Online on the Gamecube so I had to cope with PSOBB being my multiplayer experience. That's mainly why PSOBB stands out to me so much is that, even after getting a Broadband Adapter and being able to play Online on the Gamecube, PSOBB still ended up being the definitive multiplayer experience for me personally; for better or for worse.

I've come across a lot of servers that build upon the idea of creating new weapons and server exclusives and that's nice and fun and all that, but after a while it gets daunting because you join a new server and suddenly every one you meet has these insanely huge server exclusives that are super over powered and broken. Dark weapons as well were always the issue to me too; they were always so extremely powerful no matter what server you played on that a typical completed load out consisted of any of the Dark weapons and a few random hit weapons. You'd never not see a highly skilled and experienced PSO player not using a Dark weapon. I always thought that was stupid.

So what I always enjoyed was the vanilla experience. Since to me, Gamecube was the vanilla PSO experience, I like that this server just reenacts that only it adds vanilla BB Episode 4 nonsense. I'm okay with that. It's basically a SEGA server copy/paste and since I never got to play official SEGA PSOBB or PSO, I really really enjoy playing here. Even if I'm not Ultimate yet, I could be in Ultimate playing on Ultima or Schthack in 16 hours or less but here in 12 hours I'm level 27. That doesn't even bother me because I know that when I do hit Ultimate I'll be just as powerful as all the other FO's in the game whether they are level 200 or level 80. The reason behind that is because there's no gigantic boost you get from server exclusives. Like, for example, Ultima has a Hylian Shield and Psycho Bridge for Forces that are practically required to even make a Force function in Ultimate mode. We don't have those here and as a result, I can enter Ultimate at level 80 and be just as powerful as a Force who is level 100 in Ultimate (pending I have the techniques at the required levels), that's mostly a crude comparison, but the idea is the same; it's vanilla experience and in a vanilla experience, the skill gap and gear gap is not nearly as gigantic. I'm not absolutely required to have a Dark Bridge as a Force, or a Dark Flow as a Hunter, I can do just as well with a Chain Sawd or Zanba on a Hunter as I can with any other weapon. It's not as restrictive.

Even if the community is divided, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm still waiting on my courage to hit Spuz up in the lobby to talk or ask Colette to talk with me while I shoot fire at ground moles in the Forest for 2 hours; but even without that, my personal experience comes in as a long time player of PSOBB and PSO all the time. I'm perfectly aware of how to build my mag, what to feed it, how to kite enemies to get the most out of casting my spells, etc. Information that I learned whilst playing PSO is useful in this vanilla PSOBB experience. I came here because I was having a rough patch in my life and PSO was not helping me anymore and I wanted to love PSO and PSOBB again; this was what was missing in my heart. A vanilla PSOBB and PSO experience that feels just like the good old days of being offline on Gamecube farming for loot and levels while still having the benefit of having a dedicated community to talk to or be around when I get lonely. It fills all the gaps I had with previous servers; no other server feels like the original experience.

I'm here to stay at the very least, even if nobody talks to me or plays with me, I'm still going to be here; if not for the people, then definitely for the original SEGA experience of PSO.
 
Zues said:
I've come across a lot of servers that build upon the idea of creating new weapons and server exclusives and that's nice and fun and all that, but after a while it gets daunting because you join a new server and suddenly every one you meet has these insanely huge server exclusives that are super over powered and broken. Dark weapons as well were always the issue to me too; they were always so extremely powerful no matter what server you played on that a typical completed load out consisted of any of the Dark weapons and a few random hit weapons. You'd never not see a highly skilled and experienced PSO player not using a Dark weapon. I always thought that was stupid
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Well combo locked weapons being unlocked without any other checks causes some serious imbalance. This is what happens when you have teams that overlook why a weapon is combo locked at 971 atp, and easy to get a bare minimum triple 50 stat calibur. On top implementing customs weapons should be thought out to not break the game. Making DF 2.0 with 1.5k atp 150 ata is an example (obvi completely broken). I'm sure another server has done things like this. Highest ata for most weapons at base is 30-60.

When players play a ton, you'd figure they have end game gear (lame,DF,80hit charge vulcs,etc.) Regarding being "highly skilled".

On another note, having the boss rush quest do spoil a lot of the game if you're going for "optimum" experience. But a lot of players don't keep in mind, it's only optimum if it's cleared quickly. If it takes you 30-40 mins to clear a TTF, you could literally play any other quest and get equal or more gains in that time limit. Being "optimum" is a means to an end, there's not a huge point to leveling super high, I mean you do get high stats, ya?

Ex. 200 atp difference between lvl 160 and 200 isn't going to make runs "that" much quicker. It's more or less just going to make yourself feel better. There's no end game quest really, so until someone releases something like that I wouldn't worry about kill speed too much, only things kill speed can be relevant to are of course, timed quest or time attack quest.

Another note, it some SEGA quest series are quite a bore to play, having a stream of constant content of new quest could be interesting. (OFC checking for no crazy stupid Ultima monster spam quest)
 
Ehh... I started playing on this server the same day the infamous "summer event" ended. I've played PSO all my life since DC so I know my stuff. So I'll tell you what I found since joining this server:
1- Population is really small, which makes lower level players to be friendly no matter what. Why? Because theres nothing to gain from being a dick here. Since they are few, they need to help and support each other. That includes me of course.
2- The problem with the small population is the ratio between high level players and low level players. It's probably 30 new players for each 70 high level players. So by default, being new here is quite hard because you end up being minority. Nothing can be done about it since most people who play PSO till lvl 150+ have been playing PSO their entire life. Also the high level players don't gain anything from helping the new players so you cant blame em for not helping. They are here to enjoy the game in their own way, not to babysit other players out of obligation to make Ephinea a better server. And no everyone has the teacher DNA on them so you need to respect that too.
3- The infamous "summer event" as I like to call it seems to have spoiled everyone in this server. Since I wasn't part of it, I have no idea how good it really was, but it seems it was SO good that most players don't enjoy playing the game without the event. If I try to grind for something, most of the time the tip I get is "wait for the next event". And this is not affecting the new players. This is affecting the old established players. Maybe it will happen to me as soon as I get a taste of these "events". But as of know, this event had a huge impact in the game.
4- When it comes to new players, the most important thing you need to show em is how do you enjoy PSO. Most people think this is race to be part of the high level guys IFK at the lobby and that is not the point of the game. Sure is cool to be high level and have nice stuff to show off but at the end of the day, PSO is another game where people come to distract and spend some time. Some might spend their time collecting hardcore stuff. Some may spend it doing casual Forest to Ruins runs. Some might try to find a Battle Lobby for all eternity (I want to find one -_-). But saying "u need to reach ult, start doing TTF" is cutting off all those options to those new players. I love PSO story (yes it has a story) so showing em how to appreciate all those details little by little might help. Let them find their own way to enjoy the game. Don't force players to play the GRIND game because its going to burn em sooner or later. Leveling is one thing, finding the cool gear is THE REAL MONSTER of the game. And these players just go away when they learn how HARD is to be like the guys AFK in the lobby.

And like the admin said, at the end of the day, just play however you wanna play the game. As long as you are having fun, thats all that matters. If you are not the teacher type, that's ok. Just try not to be a douchebag. If you are a hardcore player, thats awesome too, just dont make other people think that they are less because they are not playing in hardcore. Stick to what makes you enjoy playing the game. What truly ruins a game/server is when the people become toxic players because one thing or the other. This is quite a hard game to find so most of the people who play this game is because they love it. As long as each and everyone respects their own way of playing PSO, it's all good.

PD: Still hunting for Limiter. The room is always open for those who want to try their luck.
 
Zues said:
I'm about to spout off some stuff about what I feel like personally, as a person who has been playing PSO since the Gamecube release:
First, I'd like to express that the reason why I got so into PSO in the first place was because it was the very first game where luck was involved in obtaining weapons and armor and I had to really work and grind hard for the best stuff. It was a game so early in my life that rewarded people for putting in time and effort. I liked that and gravitated towards it. When I started playing PSOBB in 2008, I was attracted to a completely different aspect of PSO. I never got to play Online on the Gamecube so I had to cope with PSOBB being my multiplayer experience. That's mainly why PSOBB stands out to me so much is that, even after getting a Broadband Adapter and being able to play Online on the Gamecube, PSOBB still ended up being the definitive multiplayer experience for me personally; for better or for worse.

I've come across a lot of servers that build upon the idea of creating new weapons and server exclusives and that's nice and fun and all that, but after a while it gets daunting because you join a new server and suddenly every one you meet has these insanely huge server exclusives that are super over powered and broken. Dark weapons as well were always the issue to me too; they were always so extremely powerful no matter what server you played on that a typical completed load out consisted of any of the Dark weapons and a few random hit weapons. You'd never not see a highly skilled and experienced PSO player not using a Dark weapon. I always thought that was stupid.

So what I always enjoyed was the vanilla experience. Since to me, Gamecube was the vanilla PSO experience, I like that this server just reenacts that only it adds vanilla BB Episode 4 nonsense. I'm okay with that. It's basically a SEGA server copy/paste and since I never got to play official SEGA PSOBB or PSO, I really really enjoy playing here. Even if I'm not Ultimate yet, I could be in Ultimate playing on Ultima or Schthack in 16 hours or less but here in 12 hours I'm level 27. That doesn't even bother me because I know that when I do hit Ultimate I'll be just as powerful as all the other FO's in the game whether they are level 200 or level 80. The reason behind that is because there's no gigantic boost you get from server exclusives. Like, for example, Ultima has a Hylian Shield and Psycho Bridge for Forces that are practically required to even make a Force function in Ultimate mode. We don't have those here and as a result, I can enter Ultimate at level 80 and be just as powerful as a Force who is level 100 in Ultimate (pending I have the techniques at the required levels), that's mostly a crude comparison, but the idea is the same; it's vanilla experience and in a vanilla experience, the skill gap and gear gap is not nearly as gigantic. I'm not absolutely required to have a Dark Bridge as a Force, or a Dark Flow as a Hunter, I can do just as well with a Chain Sawd or Zanba on a Hunter as I can with any other weapon. It's not as restrictive.

Even if the community is divided, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm still waiting on my courage to hit Spuz up in the lobby to talk or ask Colette to talk with me while I shoot fire at ground moles in the Forest for 2 hours; but even without that, my personal experience comes in as a long time player of PSOBB and PSO all the time. I'm perfectly aware of how to build my mag, what to feed it, how to kite enemies to get the most out of casting my spells, etc. Information that I learned whilst playing PSO is useful in this vanilla PSOBB experience. I came here because I was having a rough patch in my life and PSO was not helping me anymore and I wanted to love PSO and PSOBB again; this was what was missing in my heart. A vanilla PSOBB and PSO experience that feels just like the good old days of being offline on Gamecube farming for loot and levels while still having the benefit of having a dedicated community to talk to or be around when I get lonely. It fills all the gaps I had with previous servers; no other server feels like the original experience.

I'm here to stay at the very least, even if nobody talks to me or plays with me, I'm still going to be here; if not for the people, then definitely for the original SEGA experience of PSO.
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In Mews defense....even in her twilight years of being 190-200....she was never seen brandishing OP Dark weps or touting her ubernisms but was always seen in her ears and tail simply helping the masses stay sane and undiscouraged =') <3
And for the most part....since midterms has started for a lot of ppl... the weeknight populace IS going to be a wee smaller =P
 
Senraise said:
You're still skipping content. All I really read off this is you don't like replaying things you've done before. I coulda sworn we were talking about -new- players. Just because I had a Dreamcast back in the day, doesn't mean my little brothers need TTF to get to Ultimate to see it quicker. It's like rushing into sex as a 5 year old. Yeah, you did the deed, got it done, but I'm pretty sure you feel more confusion more than anything.

TL DR (Last one?): I'm more than well aware TTF is part of PSO BO, but in my opinion, skipping to ultimate mode with new players is a small part of the reason PSO communities are small.
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You can still mix TTF and regular playing. As a level 3x player, I tend to go thorugh Caves and either Forest or Mines, then do TTF. It lets me get my dungeon crawling on and still farm some quick XP.

ODing on TTF can take a good amount of fun out of the game, so it's best to set up teams for regular playing to have a break from endless TTF.
 
One thing that sucks when you're new and you hit level 80, seems like no one really wants you in their Ult game. Feels like you're stealing someone else's spot whenever you join.

I could be completely wrong on this, i still felt awkward joining people's games at 120 lol.
 
Shovel said:
One thing that sucks when you're new and you hit level 80, seems like no one really wants you in their Ult game. Feels like you're stealing someone else's spot whenever you join.

I could be completely wrong on this, i still felt awkward joining people's games at 120 lol.
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I normally ask just to be sure. If I know myself I'm not going to be THAT useful, I let the party know before hand and if they dont want me to be there because of level or gear, its totally understandable. Maybe me being there is ruining their fun experience so if you ever feel like that, just ask. If they dont mind, you can stay :D. If not, oh well next room
 
Some of this feels like a complaint that expressing their opinion has gotten them into arguments. Like, elitism is on every server whether you like it or not and has been a thing since the game's release. Some times it's much more noticeable some times than other times but it's always here and it's always going to be. The main issue I find with elitism is not the people that express their elitism but the people that argue with them about it.

Seriously guys, you aren't going to change their minds about their elitism any time soon, so it's probably best to either ignore them and let it be, or just make sure that your argument is a compelling and precise one because honest to God, complaining about how dumb and toxic elitism is when you're the one opening your big mouth arguing about it is just as toxic if not more toxic to the community. In my experience, people who believe they are elite are not going to listen to those whom they deem not elite. I realize this advice infringes on your freedom of speech and expression right as given to you by the constitution, but it just seems really stupid to me to complain that elitism is affecting you when in reality, you are the one making it affect you. You don't have to give those people attention, you don't have to correct them or insult them or get into a huge argument whether they are right or wrong with them because at the end of the day, no matter how compelling your argument is, elitists will never change their mind to suit your ideals any time soon. So arguing with them and letting their elitism affect you is wildly your own fault; letting it affect the server and divide it is widely a community's problem as well. People can have their opinions but it doesn't make them right. So let them express themselves in whatever way they want and you don't have to agree with them, but for the sake of keeping the server drama free, keep your mouth shut and just play the game.

In other words, don't feed the trolls; if you do, don't come to a thread like this complaining that an elitist hurt your feelings when you argued with him/her and insulted his/her perspective. If some one tells me that they are superior to me in every way because they're able to play an easy time attack quest in 10-15 minutes, I usually ignore it and go on with my life because nothing they say has an effect on my playtime and has no affect on my ability to enjoy the game, but it's only like that if I don't let it get to me. Don't let these morons get to you people, it's not really worth it.
 
The complaint about events being too OP is definitely true, and they're definitely going to be dialed back. We kind of had the mindset to make each and every event better than the last one, so people would like it more (not necessarily reward-wise, but in what it offered and did to change the game up), but it causes some long-term issues.

Events should be a nice little boost, but not a replacement for the regular game, which we are working to address.
 
Matt said:
The complaint about events being too OP is definitely true, and they're definitely going to be dialed back. We kind of had the mindset to make each and every event better than the last one, so people would like it more (not necessarily reward-wise, but in what it offered and did to change the game up), but it causes some long-term issues.

Events should be a nice little boost, but not a replacement for the regular game, which we are working to address.
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My opinion:
1) Plat badge should have been 1/1.5 mil or something.
2) HBR should have been disabled during event (if that made the event too weak, the "event boosts" could have been buffed a bit).

That probably would have balanced it some.

What was your idea of "dialed back"?
 
From what I've seen, the 2 main complaints from players now that they don't have the event are:
1- "Takes too long to level up"... I heard there was 2x exp and sometimes 3x exp so people went ape shit with the exp. Of course Level 200 players give no fucks about it...
2- "Wait for the next event/HBR change/milestone to farm something."
 
Maybe I'm just not on enough, but the only time I've heard people complain about "wait for the next event" is people being sarcastic about it.
 
Really the only class change I'd entertain would be examining HUcaseals and RAcaseals and considering swapping some of their stat distribution. It would make sense to have a beefy front line and an evasive ranger... Among some other stats
 
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