Should the max level expansion to 100 still be put on halt? For now I think yes, it's not time yet. Reasons being: the level gap difference between the starters 60% and the 10-20% of mid-old high levels lv70s-80.
Although after saying that, I do say that there is a feeling in the air of things getting stale for these endgame 70-80 people. It sure feels like staying max 80 might be bad if put up for another year, but at the same time it would be premature to put lv100 expanded maximum cap. In short words the impression: lv80 is ripe for some time now and we have just passed half the still-fine time where if it gets to 100% the fruit will start to rot slowly, but the idea of putting lv 100 would be a seed that is too sudden and drastic that the population players wouldn't adapt to, only a small peak of currently 80 people with the time and malls until they got to 95. So, 80 is ripe in harvestable season to change or to hold onto a bit more, but not long unless the attention is put into something relatively active/new; and 100 is not safe to play. YET.
That's my impression after seeing this forum posts, seeing the lv80 cap how it must feel with that sentence of "same mazes same CA, same BD, no change". Just honestly and with no bias in it, this is how it feels to be the current state and possibilities of the game for expanding. We can stay, but not on the long term. As some teachings say, things die when they stay still for too long, and live while they flow, but this is not the place for careless changes. ToP servers die fast if they change toooo fast.Grinding here is a good thing for stability and survival of this old game, and some surprises will probably happen, maybe currently in-the-works or something. It seems like that, maybe something is baking behind the scenes... New game engine, new huds, server technology you said...?
So it's not dead in any way of course. Now is just the time for planning to "do" something. No mall gems, no mall equipment of course. No unseals 85 no winter now. Hmm, something that will increase the enthusiasm in the 60s level range...? Level 80 is hard to reach for and there are EXP multipliers that cushion, deaccelerate the momentum of those who might get reaching level 70. So "80" is here to stay as a high difficulty,... but many are already at that? What would those people want that they find fun at those 'stuck' levels?
Hm, what about doing something bar-wise where PvP is there and you can get for naught no cost all the pvp potions and things you'd like, but that they disappear upon the leaving of that place? A place to "train" in pvp movements or activities, so no change has to be done to CA and consequentially not mess with any drop rates and overdropping and saturation of expensive gems. Maybe a special copy of the real "Argent Bar", where the Pvp-NPC and pvp outside-building area is still the same, but you can test out weightless potions, wines, hp potions, bombs, flashbangs, etc?
No, what about having to pay some kind of "coupons" that permit you "entry" to this skirmishing area for a delimited amount of time? Gold or mall to buy a pass? 3-day pass? 7-day pass? Still a way to incentive mall or farming. What about needing not gold, but items found in dungeons to do as payment for the Pass/coupon? To FC, DS, and all higher levels to DW. Will give those all that never go in there anyway to go in there, not just the chest farmers, bossers, or the regular PvP youtubers/soldiers and specialized guilds. Maybe... Do it guild-wise, to buy these coupons or passes, for the entire guild? Max is 25 members, there's that small feeling of companionship in small groups, maybe do a guild leader quest to require all enlisted guild members to be online and to participate in that killing, or maze exploring to doubleclick an item inside maze coordinates to complete it? Have then guilds compete for those spots in small peak moments where ones are trying to click or wait the cooldown of an item, in, say, 14 simultaneos spots that it must be used, and then a mechanic of others defending them until the process is finished? Imagine a kind of NSS map guild system of special coordinates where guilds must split up in groups in the map, and it happens to be one of these mazes?
Then there would be no actual implementation of anything new, and people would be bustling in those "high-sensitivity-to-Server-Life-Indicator" places? And people in Argent, Mine, Shaitan, Icicles, etc would be actually yearning to get kind of strong enough first for FC, or they could actually end up creating even more new small guilds with this incentive of pvp? Free potions, free manus copy of argent bar "map" or "isolated isle map", where if you want to get in you must have joined any guild and worked with them before?!
"[Skirmish Bar] where everything that happens while inside it will be undone once stepping outside again?" Maybe only permit in-guild pvp between members, so that if you want to try others, you still have to fuel the real economy of manufacturing people so they don't get affected? If people get used to using things, they might want to buy them once outside, now that they are confident in using them, so more mall-use or gold-to-rum transactions with stalls that still give support to the server? Maybe, an "opening of the use of consumables to the general-public, but only inside a certain 'where' "?
-"Why would I want to farm money, spend in potions, buffing items?"
-"Because I've trained in them and I now know how to use them, I don't fear buying and wasting them so I can buy a chunk of them in the mall or market and I know it will be useful, and if not sure, I can go train throwing bombs more with my guild pals and then go buy a stack of 50 or 99. But days are running out, so for the next week we will have to organize for the weekly farm/activity, and if my guild is a crappy uncommunicative one then I will leave and join one where we talk, or foundone with my other 4 decent guildmates that are also bored with the leader."
Or something like that.
OK sorry, try to get as much useful ideas as you can from this. This is at least useful to compare a thing/thought that one didn't need to think about, take the mechanics that don't inspire bad and if something's a bad idea, know that at least of all future possibilities, you know that that won't be done so you move to other things.
This is it.
