EQ FIXED NOW, YOU CAN GO PLAY [Author: Lum the Mad]

Or making a big step in the right direction, anyway. Brad McQuaid posted the upcoming changes alluded to earlier in response to player feedback about grouping penalties and downtime. It’s a loooong post and I’m not even going to try to quote from it; just go read the damned thing. Here’s the highlights.

• Certain underutilized dungeons are having their XP modifier boosted, anywhere from 12% to 25%.
• Experience given when grouping has been reworked. First, the group XP bonus has been boosted, from the current 10% for a group of 6 to 20%. Second, XP is distributed among group members based on level, not total experience. Third, hybrids (and others with XP penalties) are given “free” XP to basically eliminate the hybrid XP penalty, which McQuaid admitted was flawed in its conception but that the game was too far along to simply give people levels. You read that correctly – when grouping, there is no longer a hybrid XP penalty. I cannot emphasize enough how needed a step that was.
• Resurrection XP grants have been modified to be in line with this system – see McQuaid’s post for details.

Cynics may wonder what new games are about to be released (Oh NO! Third Dawn CDs on the horizon! Dump the hybrid penalty off the starboard bow, Gordon!) but really, what we’re seeing is what happens when Verant finally stopped defending and started listening.

Works better that way.