The very narrative of this server is a metaphor for the current paradigm in which MMO and more specifically EQemu players exist. Players start in the "sanctuary", a safe place where laziness and easiness is encouraged. Every kill of a training dummy levels the player until level 13, in which they can level no more. The citizens of the sanctuary criticize the outside world for being too harsh, too dangerous. A strange man appears, and offers the player a chance to truly experience life in the 'real world' , and once the player takes that plunge and enters the New Nexus, experience slows down to that of classic EverQuest (remember classic EverQuest, that brilliantly immersive game that captured our hearts and imaginations, despite its difficulty level and lack of instruction?) and things become difficult. Players are unable to solo easily, and must form friendships and alliances with their fellow players. The risk is high, but then so is the reward. The story telling, the NPCs, never break the fourth wall. Quest text never refers to itself as a quest, NPCs never refer to each other as being NPCs, the word 'server' is never once mentioned, the word 'levels' is never mentioned, players are never taken outside of the narrative and the world that has been created. So many servers here have an NPC with "Server Information" etc under their name - you won't find that here. The very point of this server is to create a world that feels real and alive. It is not meant to be an "emulator server". It is meant to be a game in its own right. It is meant to be a world.
Too many of our players are joining the server as mages or necromancers, not because they have a love for the class, but because they have been existing in this paradigm in which those are "solo classes" and will enable them to do what they please without the need for interaction with other players. That doesn't work here, and some players are turned off by that fact. Some players cannot figure out their way out of the sanctuary. Some players ask, "Where is the buff bot? Where are the teleporters?" - Some players quit because things are 'too hard' , when in reality they are no harder than classic EverQuest was. We have gotten lazy, jaded, and have lost our imaginations. This server was intended to change that fact, to change the paradigm we have all been playing in, but it seems that modern day MMO players do not want a challenge. They don't want to be immersed, storyline has no meaning to them. They only want to casually play a game, sequestered away by themselves with no regard for the game world as a whole. This server was meant to break us of that mindset, but it is not happening.
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