XP off, but with a twist..

[Derpy]

Was chatting with few friends yesterday and they said they simply dont want to hit max level in this game because how much the game changes at that point. They said that they rather reroll new character than play as a fresh lv40. And frankly i tend to agree with their view and dont really want to got trough that grind either to become somewhat viable again.

One of them threw an idea that game should have /xp off switch, but only after you passed T1 (so they could stay as lv16-39 forever). Gear grind to bis at lv39 is not that bad, i think you just get Ruin set with some renown jelwels etc around lv35'ish and youre pretty much done. This obviously should cap your RR to some level (40ish?) too to encourage people to actually hit 40 at some point and continue progressing.

[nocturnalguest]

Imagine there was a way to do that, we had -75% XP scrolls that pretty much ensure you will stay in 16-39 bracket for a very very long time.
However it was removed. Reasoning was a) hard lobby from very loud minority of people who force to forbid grouping up in this game, particulary in SCs as they cry that premades are ruining their game experience and make SCs unplayable and b) few skilled players showcase how bolster was strong wrecking havoc in oRvR and destroying BiS rr80+ chars as ~30 level lowbies.
We here seen some sh** man, and if you one of those who are not ok with premades then as i usually say - be careful what you wish for...
Also "i tend to agree with their view and dont really want to got trough that grind either to become somewhat viable again." this PoV is actually a good indicator of experience and knowledge lack as this whole "oh i hit 40" story comes from being clueless what to do next and how to play your char properly.
Much better way is to ask advices (ideally on guild discords even if you are not part of guild yourself) of how to build your char at 40/40-40/50-40/60 break points in details. Generally people say grind PvE and abandon all hopes, but its actually not so simple and there are alot of nuances.

[Derpy]

Reasoning was a) hard lobby from very loud minority of people who force to forbid grouping up in this game, particulary in SCs as they cry that premades are ruining their game experience and make SCs unplayable and b) few skilled players showcase how bolster was strong wrecking havoc in oRvR and destroying BiS rr80+ chars as ~30 level lowbies.

I think only issue with premades is in T1 SC's. Might disable join as a group in there, because let the newbies have their fun.. Instantly getting murdered by fixed group is not that cool and might make new players trying the game just to uninstall it.

I actually have no idea about numbers behind bolster system, so i dont know if its too strong or just fine. My inital thought about skilled groups murdering RR80's was 'good job' though...

Im just relaying the message basically. Quite a few people dont want to hit that lv40 wall.

EDIT: Yes, they could improve the matchmaking to SC's greatly to make it more 'fair' (try to add some type of gear/RR score and match players with similars ones to same SC's. Match grouped players to same SC's with grouped players from other side. Try to match better group combinations. etc... But this all would propably be in vain, because popluation is not that healty most of the time. They kinda just have to throw whatever players there is queuing at the moment to SC's and get done with it.

[Fenris78]

Just make XP reduction scroll back, with a rank 16 prerequisite. Done.

[shoelessHN]

Imagine there was a way to do that, we had -75% XP scrolls that pretty much ensure you will stay in 16-39 bracket for a very very long time.
However it was removed. Reasoning was a) hard lobby from very loud minority of people who force to forbid grouping up in this game, particulary in SCs as they cry that premades are ruining their game experience and make SCs unplayable and b) few skilled players showcase how bolster was strong wrecking havoc in oRvR and destroying BiS rr80+ chars as ~30 level lowbies.
We here seen some sh** man, and if you one of those who are not ok with premades then as i usually say - be careful what you wish for...
Also "i tend to agree with their view and dont really want to got trough that grind either to become somewhat viable again." this PoV is actually a good indicator of experience and knowledge lack as this whole "oh i hit 40" story comes from being clueless what to do next and how to play your char properly.
Much better way is to ask advices (ideally on guild discords even if you are not part of guild yourself) of how to build your char at 40/40-40/50-40/60 break points in details. Generally people say grind PvE and abandon all hopes, but its actually not so simple and there are alot of nuances.

The removal made zero sense as the players now get to t4 at rr40-50 and get destroyed by BiS 80+ players instead.

And the removal did zero to stop premades farming people in t2. It's incredibly easy to just reroll once you hit 40 and keep making t2 premades. Because it's very easy to cap your gear in t2 at all levels and makes the gear gap in sc a mute point.

[Sulorie]

Back then all arguments were said why it is better to keep the scroll instead of removing it. It wasn't convincing then, I doubt it will be convincing enough now.
It was removed for a reason but the effect isn't there, it missed its target.

[Derpy]

Back then all arguments were said why it is better to keep the scroll instead of removing it. It wasn't convincing then, I doubt it will be convincing enough now.
It was removed for a reason but the effect isn't there, it missed its target.

Im sure there was heated discussions back in the day (wasnt there, so dont know). Do you think everything is ok now and current system has no room for improvement?

I could argue that if system was well designed and players had fun across all level ranges, population would be more healthy. *shrug*

[Maltar]

Thinking about it, there are some things that could fit perfectly with a xp lock, and could be adjusted to not make it too unbalanced if some keep farming t2-t3 sc's.

I would suggest a epic quest chain, formed like an advanced tutorial of all the game mechanics. Spanning the entirety of t1-t3, ending with a xp lock at 39 until done performing the quest. But opt-on for t2-t3 characters made before quest was enabled.
Suggestions for included content:
The gain of crests and the spending of them for gear and weapons.

Solo queuing sc.
Group queuing sc as a premade.
Joining a warband in rvr.

Capturing a keep.
Capturing of BO's.
Running Boxes.

Doing dungeon content up until done with sentinel. (with a significant stat boost enabled to make it a bit easier to find groups.)

Using class mechanics.
Basic rotations.
Basic tactic sets.
Use of detaunt, taunt, challenge.
Morale usage.
Set mixing.
Talisman usage.
Pots and buff usage.

Basic Chat commands.
Basic tradeskills

Beastlord chain.

No bolster in sc once level 39, but enough increased bolster sub 39 to equal any gear gap or tactics gap. (so that people staying t3 permanently still is slightly on the backfoot)
Decent bolster in rvr(lets fear those 39's)

End of questchain should find the players with ruin, red-eye, sentinel, and rvr sets up until vanquisher level fully gained. And with a solid renown rank.

So ready to step into t4 with at least semi-viable gear, and for many classes, solid enough to be enjoyable gear.
Basically, embrace the xp lock, make it part of stepping into t4, and making certain any new players, (and old) are viable once they step foot into t4 proper at level 40.

[Nameless]

Bring back the stop exp scroll but it will stop exp only from PVE activities and reduces by half (or more) the exp from scens.
That way it is better balanced imo. You still get exp by doing pvp but you could gear with pve without outlevel too fast

[Scottx125]

The reason the XP scroll was removed in the first place was because experienced players were going back into <T4, building BIS toons and then farming new / less experienced players. <T4 isn't your personal farming ground, it's there as part of the learning curve. And I agree with the XP scroll ban. It was abused by too many people and it would be abused again if it was returned.

The problem is not that BiS players are destroying new T4's. It's the fact that when you hit RR40/Lvl40 your bolster drops away and drastically weakens your character. There should be a smoother progression to remove that sense of becoming weaker.