As a relatively newer player but with veteran friends, I think I have some valid points that could be brought up from this side of the table. I've grown a lot I think in my CF ability in every aspect but have a ways to go...well enough background, here goes.

1) One of the biggest things I hear about is the loss of fun with practice. I can understand the staff doesn't want everyone running around with 100%s in everything and has added the features to make learning easier while ranking - problem is, most people don't want to rank without them. The learning curve for CF is huge and nearly exponential including all the preps, skills/spells, tactics, etcs that those few % can make a big difference - even if you say there are those that run around and win with low % (which I have done), when you miss and die because of it, you're cursing the idea that you didn't practice. Sure you could have missed anyways, or you might even have 100% and miss (which should occur less in my opinion), but the fact that you died and lost everything because of it is a huge problem for newer players - the downtime for that is what causes the "must...practice" mentality. Tactics may beat it, but people don't like running a lot when you don't know what to do.

2) One of my best friends constantly says how he misses the White Tower - not because of the story behind it, or the special things in it, but the pure fact it was the newbie showdown place of the mud - you could guarantee that a majority of players were there in the ranks of 15-20 and group fighting was common there. In the ranks of 15-20, there are a lot more options but a less occurance of group on group fighting. Ranking, for the most part, can be done in complete silence if you find a non-common area or an area far away (Akan is a great example of a neat place but horrible location for newbies. Too far away, too many movement early on, and too far if you die. I've seen newbies who die there just delete because of it.) - and that becomes a grind (and ranking is a LOT slower here compared to other muds. Yes, it builds character but how many times did your parents say that to you before you hated it?). I love the fact that groups bump into each other and we need more of it early on - groups in high levels is depressing because it's never really even. Level 15-20, you really only have a few options but those options matter in fights and I think that ability to group fight and pk consistenly near a town makes for great training for newbies in playerkilling. It'd also give people the enjoyment they want early-on and I hear it was faster ranking then today - when you've played level 40+, level 1-20 becomes a huge pain nowadays with all the practicing required.

3) More people = harder for newbies. It's quite simple. When you ask for a group and don't know where they are, 99% of the time they say no since they can find a non-newbie to rank. That's something that needs to change somehow, but really I don't know how besides make learning areas easier and closer (like in town lumberyard, graveyard, white tower, etc) for the earlier ranks. Balator is the closest thing I can think of and that's a horrible place now to learn (Centurions BLOW for newbies. I had a helluva time understanding what to do when pinned by a group and centurions, or worse, people demanding the oath to newbies who don't know where Galadon is! There is a reason people hated them being used in areas like Eastern/Balator/Past - restrict them to imperial lands and it'd make everyone happier for the most part. Only group you'd disappoint would be gangbanging homos who sit near them in Eastern - and the rp standpoint of two centurions instantly walking far out of imperial lands to get taxes is is horrible. At LEAST make them go to the Citadel to get them and pay them, then make them walk them out to where they want to go. Or better, make it so that player can't leave the area or invisible, or the Centurions shrug and walk back.)

4) Information hiding is completely different from spoon-feeding and I think is a big deter for newbies. Like the comments people made about skill effects, spell effects, etc - yes, use them and find out, but when you're on the receiving end as a newbie from something the helpfile doesn't explain it's a lose-lose situation. Death is a great teacher but a horrible aspect for new players.

5) The Ultimate Empowerment Solution - make partial empowerment an automatic QUEST given by your guild leader. Make it random and based maybe on sphere (something that never gets used much) - yes newbies shouldn't be doing empowerment, but us semi-newbies who decide to pick a god that we didn't know never shows up or whatever has something to do up to 20 or 25. It'd also increase the number of empowerees I think which would be nice - healers make the game a LOT easier. When you see only 3-4 healers in a game, you realize why it takes forever to rank.

I had more but I can't think of it right now, I'll probably reply with more later. Time for bed

Night

Despite the fact that my weapons and armor are in desperate need of repair, I blow the entire king's reward on Ale and Whores!