There very well could be some truth to the aversion of grinding 50 more levels, particularly once you've had to grind through the last 20 or so. When you get to that point, you'll understand better =) But grinding is just one aspect of MMO life, and I think it's one of the lamest methods used to ensure players keep playing.
Another purpose for level caps is to ensure that newer players can reach semi-equal footing to older players. There are games that do not have a "cap", and veteran players are guaranteed to decimate any newer player no matter how well that player is able to play the character.
Raising the level cap also increases the barrier-to-entry for newer players. In most MMOs, you accept that as a new player, or player still leveling, that you are weaker than others who have been there longer. You also know that with enough time and/or effort, you can reach that peak and be able to compete with those veterans. The longer it takes to equalize your skills with the old-timers, the more likely it is for someone to begin to lose interest. Even WoW faces that obstacle and has had public discussions about continually raising the level cap.
I don't think Ryzom needs to raise the level cap. It doesn't serve any useful purpose to how the game is structured, and it would require a lot of effort that could, instead, be spent adding other features to the game. Raising the level cap is more than just changing a couple of maximum values in the code, whipping up some new grind fodder in a new randomly-generated zone, and boom you're done.
I would rather the Devs spend valuable development time on adding more things for us to do at the current max level, and even lower levels, instead of spending the time on raising the cap and then re-balancing the game around the increased level ... and STILL not have anything to do at max level.
Another purpose for level caps is to ensure that newer players can reach semi-equal footing to older players. There are games that do not have a "cap", and veteran players are guaranteed to decimate any newer player no matter how well that player is able to play the character.
Raising the level cap also increases the barrier-to-entry for newer players. In most MMOs, you accept that as a new player, or player still leveling, that you are weaker than others who have been there longer. You also know that with enough time and/or effort, you can reach that peak and be able to compete with those veterans. The longer it takes to equalize your skills with the old-timers, the more likely it is for someone to begin to lose interest. Even WoW faces that obstacle and has had public discussions about continually raising the level cap.
I don't think Ryzom needs to raise the level cap. It doesn't serve any useful purpose to how the game is structured, and it would require a lot of effort that could, instead, be spent adding other features to the game. Raising the level cap is more than just changing a couple of maximum values in the code, whipping up some new grind fodder in a new randomly-generated zone, and boom you're done.
I would rather the Devs spend valuable development time on adding more things for us to do at the current max level, and even lower levels, instead of spending the time on raising the cap and then re-balancing the game around the increased level ... and STILL not have anything to do at max level.