Hey guys,

Been dipping into the pool a bit lately, noticed some disturbing trends that I wanted to see if I could get perspective on.

I see a slew of hero range Imperials that seem to login and out consistently at the same times of day. It's hard to prove that it's a coordinated effort but when they end up being 80% of the online players, it's hard not to question it. Is someone watching this?

Has this been how cabal wars go lately? Even more all or nothing than before? I don't really want to invest time in leveling up to 51 just to dodge gangs 24/7.

Anyone have some hands on experience with how this has actually been playing out? Are they just a roaming death squad or are they simply running area explores?

Do cabal leaders/imms still give quests to PK people when there's a good chance you don't have many/any people in your PK range? Has that kind of questing been out-dated with the lower player counts?

Good to see you all,
jhyrb

Changed my mind about posting the full story. But don't believe all you read below.

As long as posts are being hidden away by stone-faced humorless Nazis.

Nothing pleases them more than to see it bleed out, nice and slow.

People tend to remember when other people log in so even subconsciously I'm sure that factors into it, if not outright consciously choosing to login when things will be 'easier'.

There's no denying that people play alts when their main has a tough range and vice versa - it's too obvious to write off as coincidence.

At least I really doubt it is.

Actual player numbers are not that high.
Most players are working adults so they tend to have fairly consistent schedules.
Most people primarily play one character at a time.
A high percentage of evening players are playing imperials presently.

A relatively low percent of the player base really enjoys being consistently on the really bad side of a matchup the majority of their playing time.

As a result the folks you see playing at N time on Monday will likely be the same players you see the same time Tuesday. Because always being a real underdog is really really tough, over the long term folks seek middle grounds which just keeps changing the overwhelming cabal. At the moment Empire is rather popular, possibly because of the closing of scion, proliferation of cool explore trips, and general popularity of evil over good characters.

"Most people primarily play one character at a time."

I'd be shocked if this were the case. My gut is that at least 50% of the player has at least one mess-around-and-skill-spam alt.

In 20+ years, I've had only once had two chars at the same time. Think in the last 3 years, only one at a time.

Is life going that badly for you?

Much love,
Bemus-ed

Yeah, I felt bad about not playing when you did. I have to make up for it, one more kick at the can while it's still possible for nostalgia.

Cheers,
jhyrb

That ship has sailed now! You missed the chance for a Ruufus and Muubai reunion. Don't do it Jhyrb :P

Much love,
Bemus-ed

YOU CAN CHECK OUT ANY TIME YOU LIKE, BUT YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE.

nt

I don't think we'd ever reach the heights of Muubai and Ruufus again. It's for the best that we hold on to those memories as long as we can.

>I see a slew of hero range Imperials that seem to login and out consistently at the same times of day. It's hard to prove that it's a coordinated effort but when they end up being 80% of the online players, it's hard not to question it. Is someone watching this?<

It is coordinated, but not explicitly so. Basically, with SCION dead, people realize if you want to jerk off over eq, join Empire. So a lot of solid explorers all "happened" to roll Empire at the same time (over and over again through multiple characters). The players are watching...but it seems like that's it.

>Has this been how cabal wars go lately? Even more all or nothing than before? I don't really want to invest time in leveling up to 51 just to dodge gangs 24/7.<

Yep. Mornings/Early Afternoons are Fort/Outlander death marches, and then once 5pm EST hits, thus begins the Imperial Horde until about 6am EST. For a while I (and some other players) tried to change it...but it eventually just gets annoying.

>Anyone have some hands on experience with how this has actually been playing out? Are they just a roaming death squad or are they simply running area explores? <

When it is 2-5 Imperials on (since it's never just 1), it's usually "take items, sit behind Centurions, slaughter people trying to retrieve". Not necessarily roaming death squads, but it's difficult to retrieve at Cents against Trapper Thief + Invoker + Anyone. They usually do this long enough to let 3-4 more Imperials log on and 3-4 enemies log off. That's usually around midnight EST.

>Do cabal leaders/imms still give quests to PK people when there's a good chance you don't have many/any people in your PK range? Has that kind of questing been out-dated with the lower player counts?<

I've totally heard of IMMs like Akresius doing exactly what you describe (even though, as you mentioned, with low player counts, it's a bit more difficult).

Yeah, that's pretty disheartening to hear. I was hoping for more RP at this stage of the game with less PK happening. I guess you can't ban 80% of your overnight players if they all decided to unionize in the Empire.

This is why permas and allowing university crews to play together was actually GOOD for the game. You used to have various groups all at war with each other and that's what made things exciting. Now it looks like 1 group, which is a massive percentage of the players. :(

Not really what I wanted to hear Sam.

Cheers,

...for a cost.

And that cost is Carey Price and Max Pacioretty for Chris Kunitz and Marc-Andre Fleury. Make it happen.

Jesus Price is not for sale. Maybe for a Fleury and a Malkin.. maybe, but probably not.

When you see the huge imperial gang on, that normally means they're going on exploration trips. There are definitely fort heavy times and empire heavy times, but I don't think you're too often dodging huge gangs (not that it doesn't happen!)

I'll also say that, from my perspective, there's a pretty good Nexus presence right now, which can help even things out at certain hours of the day.