Raise the level cap... and make it burn!

[Arya]

This is a terrible idea.

The topic creator makes the mistake of assuming casual players never want to reach the level cap, as well as suggesting things that should not be in any modern MMO (i.e. EXP loss).

I agree that there needs to be some kind of hardcore content to appease the hardcore crowd, but that content should NOT be incorporated into the level grind! The hardcore content needs to be something that's separate, like special dungeons or NMs. The level grind needs to be accessible for everyone. Not just part of the level grind, but the entire level grind.

And just so you know, casual players want to reach the level cap just as much as anyone else, they just want to do it at their own leisurely pace.

Oh, and one more thing, it would be a very, very, very bad idea to raise the level cap any sooner than the year 2013. The current levels are sorely lacking in content, and if the level cap were raised it would only create that many more levels that would have to be filled.

We don't need a new level cap right now. What we need is more quests, more dungeons, more NMs, more content.

Whoa! 2013?! 2 years of a 50 cap (even if most content is added - which it will be in that time period) will just mean most people walking around with multiple Rank 50 jobs (even if they didn't want to level them - because they can't go any further with the class they wanted to play).

As long as Yoshi-P and the Dev's remember that there will still be plenty of people at lower levels when they raise a level cap, and continue to make lower level content (as well as higher level content), there will be plenty to do. In fact, I would have thought that if the lower level stuff is quite good, it might even encourage some players to go level a new class.

Regarding the OP, yes, I would like to see a harder grind for any future rise in the level cap. Currently 1-20 is ridiculously easy (I'd like to think I'm a casual player - I play 1-2 hours a weekday evening if I can get on, and maybe a little more on the weekends if I can get on - and obviously I regularly can't get on), 20-40 is still not a chore, and I've only felt 40-50 is being time consuming (i've only reached Rank 47 on my main class so far). I would love to see the difficulty curve continue for further levels, and hope SE don't go and nerf this in a few years (as they did in FFXI) when people get lazy and can't be bothered to make the effort anymore (which is a slap in the face to all those other players in the preceding years that ground their way to the top).

Even though I'm a casual player (though I would like to play more), I've managed to level fairly well as my fellow LS members group together to do leves every reset, ensuring good SP (despite surplus - which even I find annoying as it cripples your attempt at efficient levelling in your short playing time). Those LS members that have more time have levelled 2-3 classes in the same time (i.e. they outlevelled me a few times and I had to wait for the lower classes to catch me up so I could join them again).

Sensible casual players need to accept (and I think most do - there's just a minority that whines) that they cannot fly up the levels and obtain endgame/higher gear as fast as those harder-core (couldn't think of a better word, lol) players that put in way more hours than they do. But (at least to me), the achievement you feel when you get there is no less awesome because you know you've done the same thing.

I agree that if you're going to consistently play solo (because it's "too much effort" to play with others or join LS's?) then you will find it hard to level up. But then I also feel that if you're that kind of person, wth are you doing in a MMORPG? You might as well go play an offline RPG.

Bottom line: If it takes me a year to get from 50-60 (if/when they raise cap) because it's hard to do for the casual player, I don't care. I'll do it, and I'll feel like I've achieved something when I get there.

[Rhianu]

Whoa! 2013?! 2 years of a 50 cap (even if most content is added - which it will be in that time period) will just mean most people walking around with multiple Rank 50 jobs (even if they didn't want to level them - because they can't go any further with the class they wanted to play).

I say the level cap needs to stay where it is for at least two years because the current levels need to be absolutely bustling with content and filled to the brim with quests before the level cap is raised. And given that the game has been out for half a year already and the amount of content available has only gone up by a scant few quests, two years is probably about how long it will take the dev team to fill out the current levels.

Besides, level grinding is not the only kind of content an MMO can have, you know. If the endgame players want something to do at the current level cap during those two years, give them high level dungeons, quests, missions, and NMs. Give them epic loot and treasure to obtain. Release a new endgame dungeon with new, more powerful weapons and armor once every three months. That'll keep the endgame players satisfied for quite a while.

Oh, and one more thing... it's better to only raise the level cap when you release an expansion pack. That way you ensure that there will be plenty of new content for the new levels. Raising the level cap without an expansion pack to go along with it will leave the new levels with nothing to do.