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what I experienced is that most of the new players left before even hitting the 125. They leave Silan with a level that is massively restricting their ability to do things on the Mainland. You can't really walk a bit out of a city to do a mission without dieing fast. While this is quite nice for some (I like it), for new players it can be quite a demotivating issue as they realize they have to grind a lot to even survive outside the main Cities.

One thing I would suggest is to make experience catas free for all until lvl 75/100, so it's a bit less grindy at start and new players won't feel like leaving cities would be their death, but what else should they do?. Also so they have a bit time to get into the game and getting more spells/abilities to play with.

Another reason for this:
Giving xp catas from start and taking it away also has a bigger effect than never having it, only if you pay for it. Why paying for something that you had no idea could be so practical? It's just basic psychology.
Let new players level a bit faster until a certain level so they see a bit more from this game as they dive in more.

Yes I know, you get usable catas as f2p, but that's not comparable to have it all the time. The way it is now looks quite a lot like a pay2win system. Pay and all is easier/faster/more convenient. Oh and you can level beyond 125. As f2p it is already a big grind session to reach 125, if they ever see the sense to reach 125 as f2p. Their decision process "to go sub or leave the game" is much earlier. So help them get past this by helping them at start with a few levels. That would be the easiest compared to reworking a lot other stuff.

Just a suggestion :-)

Yazoo - Considering that it's a small team of volunteers working on inherited code, I think a little conservatism is, unfortunately, quite justifiable. That said, it would be nice if they were a little more receptive to input, especially from those outside of the UTC+2 time zone.

Sinvaders - Agreed on both counts.

Adriaxi - I think the real problem there is that many things, especially progression, work differently enough in Ryzom that the lack of quality instruction makes for a steep learning curve. Sure, an experienced player who knows the mechanics can easily get both Fight and Magic to 30+ in under an hour, but new players will take considerably longer; I think it took me a couple of MONTHS the first time. I was legitimately ready to quit until an experienced player taught me what the Silan NPCs did not, and I went from 35 to 135 in less time than it took to go from 1 to 35.
However, there are some who feel progression is too fast because they can use various advanced techniques to master their 12th weapon in only 3 days, and/or that they got masters before cats were a thing and want others to suffer as they did, so expect a bit of pushback.
As for free cats until a certain level, a lot of folks hand out cats like candy, so there's little need for change; just ask in Uni and you'll probably get some. But like I said earlier, knowledge of the mechanics speeds up progression so dramatically that one cannot help but think that much frustration would be avoided if they simply made Silan more instructive. If you could get to 100 in under a week without cats simply by being taught correctly, would you be willing to take just a few minutes to learn? If so, then maybe you should ask why you aren't being taught better.

I have freely given out cats, even to the poster of this thread. But alas, game mechanics and lack of quality instruction are the deciding factor on leaving early for a more polished "fun" and less grindy game elsewhere.

The only thing cats do is make a person expect easy mode. Like it was said, having them and then not is essentially worse than not having them at all. But having them all the time just ensures boredom faster. It is a tough call to use xp boost as a means to attract and retain players.

Also, a fresh new player likely will have zero clue that cats exist.

I still think having speed eggs drop all the time from select mobs, maybe semi rare drops....and not just holidays, would go a long ways towards the grindy running for hours aspect.

Yeah, that's why I spend so much time around Atysmas doing little else except hunting Speed Eggs. If Speed Eggs were a bit more accessible then I would be able to enjoy my holidays a bit more!

I have always questioned the long cooldown on Speed though. Sure, at higher levels it's a bit shorter, but there's no reason for it to ever have gone over 10 minutes. That sort of cooldown may be good for Invulnerabiltiy and the three Protection Auras, but Speed is one that really should have it's cooldown time adjusted.

Regarding the speed counts point. I believe it should stay as it is. It's a temporary buff that allow players to escape a risky situation. If you were able to run more frequently at this speed most of the dangers you can encounter on Atys won't be as dangerous as it should.
That's also why I dislike a lot speed eggs. But what could be a nice idea is an occupation to allow players to craft their own speed pact (or whatever you want it to be called). I also like Revvy's idea about speed buff on armor.
And maybe add another threshold than just increase speed by 100% as eggs and speed stanza is doing.

At the moment, if you want to go fast you still have the mount option.

Actually cats did have a lot more importance before.

It used to be produce by Outpost, pushing players to be very active in fight and the geopolitics of Atys.

Sinvaders - I might be more inclined to agree if they didn't take 1.0 Bulk each. As it stands, I do have to watch my loadout, and I think having to make some sacrifices for speed is appropriate. However, I don't want them to ever be so plentiful that you don't have to make a prolonged deliberate effort to get them either.

I do remember those days as well. I still felt the same about cats back then. I also hated OP battles as well :-P

It's hard to hate something that only ever happens when you're miles from home earning rent money. While scheduling them for 19 UTC has some strategic merit, it also kills interest in them for anyone outside of Europe. The same goes for RP events.

I'm sure a lot of new players who live outside of Europe are bored by the lack of happenings they can attend too, so that's another change that should be considerer.

Jusat to dispel the assumption ... thre is in fact a "manual" and there is a wiki.

For ones who come back after being away: https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Patch_2020#Big_changes

(on top of the page, you'll see other links)

For news players:  https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/User_Manual

and, also, https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Silan_Guide

On wikis, most of stuffs are under categories (works a little as tags)

• new commer: see the https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Category:Starting_Out
• on gameplay see https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Category:Gameplay
• sploilers should be under https://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Category:Portal:X-files/The_Cave