Eden-DAoC

As a veteran player who's been with DAOC since launch—through multiple hiatuses and returns—I want to start by saying that Eden has created something truly special. The passion and dedication of this team is evident in every aspect of the server, which is why I'm writing this feedback from a place of genuine appreciation and investment in our community's future.

What's Working Brilliantly: The Battlegrounds Model

My most memorable and enjoyable experiences on Eden have consistently been in the battlegrounds. Why? Two key factors create an environment where skill and strategy shine:

Template Accessibility: Bounty Gear ensures everyone enters with competitive equipment

Balanced Competition: Similar realm ranks create fair, engaging fights

The result? Thrilling RvR where victories feel earned and defeats feel like learning opportunities rather than foregone conclusions.

The 50 RvR Challenge: A Tale of Two Player Types

However, 50 RvR tells a different story. While I don't want to diminish the dedication of players who invest significant time in template optimization—they've earned their advantages—there's an unintended consequence: casual players like myself face such a steep gear disadvantage that meaningful participation becomes frustrating rather than fun.

The Business Case for Change

Here's what I believe we're risking: casual players represent a significant portion of any MMO's population and subscription base. When this demographic feels excluded from core content, they don't just leave RvR—they often leave the game entirely. This creates a shrinking player pool that ultimately hurts everyone and has the potential to kill the server like we saw in Live and Uthgard.

A Proven Solution: Apply the Battlegrounds Formula

I propose implementing something like what you've already perfected in battlegrounds: a straightforward questline that provides key accessories to complement our epic armor, resulting in a competitive end-game template.

This isn't about participation trophies—players would still need to earn these items through gameplay. It's about ensuring that when we step into RvR, the outcome depends on tactics, teamwork, and skill rather than who has more hours to farm optimal gear.

The Positive Impact

Immediate: More players in RvR queues, shorter wait times, more dynamic fights

Long-term: Higher retention of casual players who feel they can meaningfully contribute

Community: Preserved competitive integrity while expanding accessibility

Final Thoughts

Eden has already demonstrated the perfect balance with battlegrounds—competitive gameplay where gear doesn't determine outcomes. Extending this philosophy to 50 RvR through accessible template options would create a more vibrant, sustainable, and enjoyable experience for our entire community. Casual and even new players ensure the games growth and survival and implementations such as this support their continued participation.

Thank you for considering this feedback, and thank you for everything you've already accomplished with this incredible server.

philistinestudies wrote: Fri Sep 05, 2025 5:33 pm
[...]
What's Working Brilliantly: The Battlegrounds Model

My most memorable and enjoyable experiences on Eden have consistently been in the battlegrounds. Why? Two key factors create an environment where skill and strategy shine:

Template Accessibility: Bounty Gear ensures everyone enters with competitive equipment

Balanced Competition: Similar realm ranks create fair, engaging fights

The result? Thrilling RvR where victories feel earned and defeats feel like learning opportunities rather than foregone conclusions.

The 50 RvR Challenge: A Tale of Two Player Types

However, 50 RvR tells a different story. While I don't want to diminish the dedication of players who invest significant time in template optimization—they've earned their advantages—there's an unintended consequence: casual players like myself face such a steep gear disadvantage that meaningful participation becomes frustrating rather than fun.

[...]

Well written feedback.

Just some additions:

Do you know why there´s sth like a bp armor gear? It´s probably because you´re exping through BGs so fast that any other kind to reach equipment which max most needed stats/resis takes too long or is too expensive for this short time.

Lvl 50 is the max level and there won´t coming itemization-wise impactful new expansions inside a season. So if you make once a gear it will probably stay until the end of the season/beta in most cases. Yes, there can be done probably more min-/maxing in several cases, but for a more "casual-minded" player maxing resis, stats, some speccs and some toa boni is probably enough to play and compete. Gearing is also a meaningful progress to have a bond with your char. This wording feels probably silly, but if you don´t need to invest sth, you don´t care a lot about it.

Realm Ranks. Every season has a weekly increasing RR cap. I know it can feel devestating if a enemy have sometimes a much higher RR. Still DAoC has a RR system which increases the combat/utility-power with increased ranks. DAoC isn´t an arena game. PvP fights are probably in a lot of cases never fair. Also "fair fights" in same numbers are not fair. You can give a casual player rr12 for free and he will still be beaten by the better player with much less RR. RR is the longterm progression - also saved over seasons.
It would be fine -in my opinion- to slow the RR cap increasing much more, but it should increase. You can´t wait for every casual playing 1h/week.

DAoC is a "open world" RvR mmo. Atleast gearwise it´s much less unfair.

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. The goal here isn’t to remove templating or long-term progression, but to add one optional, baseline path for accessories so more players can participate meaningfully at 50 RvR. Below is a point-by-point response to ensure clarity on where this suggestion differs from the status quo and why it supports long-term population health.

BP armor exists for fast BG progression → agreed, and that’s the point

The existence of BG Bounty Gear proves that when players share access to a decent baseline template, participation rises and fights feel fairer and more fun. The request is to mirror that successful design at 50 with a modest accessory baseline tied to epic armor, not to hand out best-in-slot sets. This adds an option; it doesn’t replace templating.

A baseline at 50 reduces churn from players who reach cap and immediately hit a wall, which is precisely when communities either retain or lose people. Inclusion at the on-ramp is growth-positive and does not prevent min-maxers from continuing to optimize.

“Level 50 gear lasts the season, so invest; bonding matters”

Agreed that investment creates attachment; the proposal preserves that by keeping the baseline intentionally shy of best-in-slot, with fewer premium charges/procs and room for upgrades. Players who enjoy crafting, PvE, and shopping for edge-case stats still have strong reasons to chase BiS.

Bonding should come from play, not from being noncompetitive for weeks. A short, RvR-focused questline or BP-purchasable accessory set is an on-ramp, not a destination. It fosters attachment by getting players into good fights sooner, where social bonds and realm identity are formed.

“Casuals can cap what matters; DAoC isn’t an arena and fights aren’t fair”

Non-arena doesn’t mean resignation to avoidable disadvantage. A baseline that caps core resists/stats reduces gear disparity as an avoidable barrier, while skill, group play, and realm coordination still decide outcomes. That’s healthy asymmetry, not enforced symmetry.

Saying “PvP is never fair” misframes the request. The ask isn’t for mirror matches; it’s to avoid a predictable, structural gear deficit for casuals at the exact tier where population is most fragile. This keeps progression meaningful while broadening participation.

“RR is the long-term progression; caps rise weekly; slowing would help, but it must rise”

No disagreement that RR is long-term. That’s exactly why a gear baseline helps: it isolates RR and skill as the variables that matter, rather than forcing new or returning players to fight both RR and lopsided templates at once. This aligns incentives with RvR participation earlier.

A baseline accessory path doesn’t touch RR caps. It simply ensures that when caps rise, more players are still in the fight to benefit from them, instead of quitting after repeated noncompetitive experiences.

“DAoC is open-world RvR; gear is ‘much less unfair’”

Open-world RvR thrives on concurrency and density. Even small reductions in onboarding friction yield outsized gains in peak-hour fight frequency and variety. A baseline accessory option at 50 is a low-scope lever with high community value.

If gear is already “much less unfair,” then a modest baseline won’t harm the ecosystem—it simply formalizes what the community values in BGs: accessible entry, meaningful optimization beyond that, and better fights overall.

Clarifications about the proposal

Scope: Accessory-only, designed to pair with epic armor; targets caps on core stats/resists with limited or no premium charges/procs. Opportunity remains for BiS optimization across items, procs, and charges.

Delivery: Either a short RvR questline (60–120 minutes) or a BP vendor unlocked via a one-time quest. Items are character-bound and non-tradeable to preserve the economy for min-maxing paths.

Progression: Optional light upgrades via weekly RvR tasks to keep a sense of growth without displacing crafted/PvE/raid incentives.

Why this helps community growth

Keeps returning/new/casual players engaged at the cap, where attrition is highest, without undermining the satisfaction of full templates. More concurrent players means healthier matchmaking, more realm activity, and better retention.

Mirrors proven BG dynamics at 50: accessible baseline plus meaningful optimization. This is an additive path that supports cultural sustainability—welcoming players in, not gatekeeping them out.

To clarify still further, I'm arguing for increased inclusion from within a highly exclusive legacy culture that has a verified correlation with server death. There is no downside to my position as it conserves the role of BiS while supporting population growth and sustainability. Moreover, the model is verified and working on Eden's Battlegrounds. The intent is to improve retention and fight quality at 50 while preserving the joy of templating for those who love to optimize. Thank you for the discussion.

I like thar idea alot. I used to play SI. Trying to get my head around gearing on Eden. Not sure how ToA items work and some other stuff.
Point beeing i wanto RVR. Hitting the wall with first lvl 50 is intense. I enjoyed lvling and BGs so much. Gearing and XP ing was linear. Simple.
I as many others got limited game time. Getting a decent rvr set early would greatly improve player experience and incentive to hit the frontier not feeling like total free rps considering rr2 with epic armor and molvik jewelry.
My oppinion as a newcomer to eden. (Dinged 50 in s1 but never really played beyond that, until now.)