Confused about this server's progression system

[Alandrian]

Coming from retail WAR, I am confused about the progression system on this server - namely the aggressive bolstering system. Please correct me if this isn't the case, I'm probably missing something, but it seems that you are punished for levelling up and gaining in rank? I have a BG at rank 15, with all the best gear from RvR influence rewards + blue tallies etc, and he seems to be weaker now than he was at rank 10, or at the very least the same. I seem to recall that some of my stats were higher a few ranks ago than they were now.

So if that's the case, what is the point of levelling and advancing? You can just keep making new chars and be as good or better than people who actually took time to level their chars.

Hah, at least now when I get to r16, I'll be on par with r40 rr 40 players, lol!

[adamthelc]

Sometimes stats go down as you level, but that's if you don't upgrade your gear.

The issue you are having is thinking that T1 influence is the best gear available at that level. Level 15 is actually T2, so there is better gear out there you just have to leave the T1 zones to get it.

At level 13 the T1 influence gear is probably the best gear you can get, so with bolster you are as strong as you can be. At 14 or 15 if you actually have the best gear available you will be stronger, because I think the soft caps are a little higher. Could be wrong about that though.

Around that level I think the basic low t2 green renown weapons become better than the T1 SC weapons.

[wargrimnir]

The power curve in T1 peaks around R12, after that you need better and better gear to be top of the pile. This keeps R15 players from stomping everyone else and generally makes for a level playing field in RvR. We get new players all the time, no need to scare them off at their first venture into PvP.

R16 at T4 receives a similarly generous bonus, provide the huge caveat you have gear equal to your level. The benefit you receive drops off pretty quickly otherwise. This means as you're leveling you should regularly be upgrading your gear. Wearing the same set for several levels after you receive it will drop off in effectiveness. This lasts until you're R31 and can start doing T4 PvE where you'll have several objectives to take care of. Mid-Tier should be looking at Havoc/Mayhem from PQ's, Tracker/Stalker sets from Epic Quests, and of course the RvR/Scen sets which are cheap enough to be fairly accessible if you spend your time there.

Once you're in T4, the power curve drops off again. This is to keep people at the PQ's picking up Ruin sets, which is the starter set in T4. This should easily get you a couple levels before you complete it. Afterwards you should look into the T4 Epic Quests to pick up the blue weapons, which are generally considered quite good until you start picking up RvR weapons. If you do a bit of RvR you should probably have enough to wear Annihilator.

Ruin and Annihilator lead into power levels for doing the Beastlord lair boss quests. Beastlord is another stepping stone to Conqueror gear, Genesis accessories, and Subjugator weapons, or to get your feet wet in Gunbad for the Redeye sets. Ch22 Hard PQ's will finish up soon, and Onslaught sets will be more accessible to coordinated guild groups.

So yeah, there's a little bit of progression on the server, but it's more geared at keeping you on par with the curve as you level through, provided you keep up with it. Check the wiki linked at the top of the site for details on all that stuff.

[RuffRyder]

It takes a bit of time to get used to this kind of progression and especially the gap in T2+ if you are not aware of how it works out.

Regarding T1 it is way better than on live, where overpowered, potted, BiS-with-talisman-geared twinks roflstomped all new Players from the start.
You see enough twinks now, too, but they are way less overpowered or even weaker.

From T2+ you will not have to worry about you stats right from the start, but as already stated you should keep your gear up-to-date, what is not that hard with lesser XP and more RR/INF gain in comparison, without using the vendor's stuff.

Advancing in T2+ means losing some power over the time with a big hit when bolster disappears, so the whole journey through T2+ thanks to the lower XP gain is another kind progression you were used to on live, but it is still progression.

So if you see no point in leveling or advancing with this plus the better gear and sets, be it the look, stats, bonuses, whatever, then maybe it is not the right game for you, but imo it is what makes the experience great, though new content will come in the future and there is always something new to do.

[Alandrian]

The power curve in T1 peaks around R12, after that you need better and better gear to be top of the pile. This keeps R15 players from stomping everyone else and generally makes for a level playing field in RvR. We get new players all the time, no need to scare them off at their first venture into PvP.

R16 at T4 receives a similarly generous bonus, provide the huge caveat you have gear equal to your level. The benefit you receive drops off pretty quickly otherwise. This means as you're leveling you should regularly be upgrading your gear. Wearing the same set for several levels after you receive it will drop off in effectiveness. This lasts until you're R31 and can start doing T4 PvE where you'll have several objectives to take care of. Mid-Tier should be looking at Havoc/Mayhem from PQ's, Tracker/Stalker sets from Epic Quests, and of course the RvR/Scen sets which are cheap enough to be fairly accessible if you spend your time there.

Once you're in T4, the power curve drops off again. This is to keep people at the PQ's picking up Ruin sets, which is the starter set in T4. This should easily get you a couple levels before you complete it. Afterwards you should look into the T4 Epic Quests to pick up the blue weapons, which are generally considered quite good until you start picking up RvR weapons. If you do a bit of RvR you should probably have enough to wear Annihilator.

Ruin and Annihilator lead into power levels for doing the Beastlord lair boss quests. Beastlord is another stepping stone to Conqueror gear, Genesis accessories, and Subjugator weapons, or to get your feet wet in Gunbad for the Redeye sets. Ch22 Hard PQ's will finish up soon, and Onslaught sets will be more accessible to coordinated guild groups.

So yeah, there's a little bit of progression on the server, but it's more geared at keeping you on par with the curve as you level through, provided you keep up with it. Check the wiki linked at the top of the site for details on all that stuff.

Thanks for the nice explanation, appreciated.