>1) One of the biggest things I hear about is the loss of
>fun with practice.
>
>I think you're projecting what you want (an easy game for
>powerranking) onto newbies. I really don't think newbies
>worry about this stuff- the things that draw or keep them have
>a lot more to do with orienting them.

You want newbies to stay, the point of my post mainly was around keeping people here so there's not a big turn-around rate once people "get into" the game. Practicing requiring a lot of time, which requires a lot of playing time, something a lot of people avoid because we have lives outside CF.

>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 -
>
>I don't see how a ranking area that begs for easy PK of anyone
>using it will encourage new players either. I think you're
>projecting what you want onto newbies.

Any monkey can get to 11, but surviving 11 to 20 as a newbie is the learning ground that keeps people or sends them packing. If there was more group oriented fighting early on, they'd have a better chance to learn aspects of the game they wouldn't when they get beat solo. Also, it will force playerkilling into their lives and not let complete newbies be level 40 without it. The last time I was with a newbie and we had a group pvp fight he said immediately after "That was SO fun! They beat me senseless earlier, wow" - you want people to stay and learn, they need an earlier testing ground and place to grow mature. Fighting pre-20s is the easiest place to survive with very little ways to lag or even options. The suggestion below my thread about making the experience worth more is pretty fair for the risk.

>when you've played level 40+, level 1-20 becomes a huge
>pain nowadays with all the practicing required.
>
>Sorry, it's not required. Plenty of people skip it entirely,
>including a number of our best.

"Best" may be a bit different on your side of the table. A warrior who doesn't work on defenses isn't wanted to lead groups. An invoker who doesn't have a high level spell because of lack of practice isn't wanted - a better example is an invoker without shields who "should". On the other spectrum, an empowered class at level 20 without the gift from his God isn't wanted. I'm not saying speed ranking, I'm saying speed learning. It makes a big difference to the "fun" factor, even if it was a bit faster. People don't enjoy "work" in games like spam practicing or such, it's why people hated Ultima Online and chopping wood

>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.
>
>You're claiming that more people makes it harder to group.
>This is profoundly backwards. I don't even know where to
>begin, other than to say that having more options is good.

When there are 20 people to rank with and you're a newbie who doesn't know where the Vale is, they find someone else. When there are 5 people, they take whatever they can get. Maybe it's been awhile since you've been a newbie, but we're quite discriminated against because "the waste of time" we are compared to someone who knows how to play.

>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.
>
>Kobolds? Goblin Village? V'dramir's? Aldevari? Graveyard?
>Lumberyard? Academy? Troglodytes? Udgaard Plains?
>Forgotten Crypts? Galadon Sewers? Forest Road?
>
>All have sections aimed at newbie-level ranking, and all are
>easily accessed from nearby hometowns. Many have exact
>directions in helpfiles. If you're willing to walk slightly
>further, a few dozen other areas can serve that role.

As I said earlier, any monkey can get to 11 and the areas are closer as you said. White Tower was an example of a level 11-20 area that was close and that's what I'm suggesting - after PK is enabled. What you just mentioned was all pre-11 and not what I was trying to suggest. I should have explained it more in detail. Another reason the White Tower was a nice 11-20 area, was it was a few rooms from a protected city and didn't require 2,000 movement points to get out of (Past, Akan, Vale, etc)

>5) The Ultimate Empowerment Solution - make partial
>empowerment an automatic QUEST given by your guild
>leader.
>
>This defeats the point of immortal-based empowerment. We want
>empowered characters to be hand-screened, even if it means
>they're somewhat uncommon and special.

Not at all, they still have to get empowered - just at a higher rank. They can still be empowered earlier and can still seek it early, but it gives them a way out to actually play instead of sit arond waiting for empowerment at level 11. And my fact about lack of healers is still very valid, maybe the solution to faster ranking is just a faster healing rate or more healers. I thought this way, with healers being able to be level 20-25 would make people play them more and help people rank faster. I know that a healer is a very wanted groupmate and making them more desirable to play is a good direction I think.

>You wanted feedback. I thought the entire post was way off
>base.

Sorry you feel that way, but this is from the view of a almost-newbie. What I need to stress is level 1-11 is not that big of a deal and is not what keeps people in the game. Carrionfields is a playerkilling-driven mud and that simple fact makes levels 1-11 more of a preliminary investment to understand the game. To get people to stay, they need to enjoy 11+ - even as newbies.

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!