Please read Part 1 first to further understand the logic behind things being said further into the discussion.
Endgame Content
It's been some weeks since the release of Depths 2 and barely anyone is farming it. The meta has been easily established by veteran or rich players. Those who want to reach max gear know what they're aiming for. I acknowledge that such is advantageous especially for those who aren't really with big pockets or are starting players. Moreso, I acknowledge that spreading such knowledge throughout the community, what's BiS and what's not, is inevitable.
There are two types of characters: one that uses the dimensional combo and one that doesn't. If you fall under the category of not needing to farm the dimensional combo, then it would be safe to assume that you're looking for things to do such as farming zeny (raw or through mats), bloody branch spamming or possibly even gearing an alt that doesn't share the same gear with your main (which is highly unlikely because it's very expensive to gear an alt that is physical if you're coming from a magical build and reverse.) Chances are that you would most likely need to sell your gear to try out physical for magical and vice-versa.
Going back, we're left at an awkward position for those who do need the dimensional combo and are just starting endgame content in the server. In order to proceed to Depths 2, you'll be needing at least 2000 reputation points at Depths 1. I would say that this would be attainable in less than a week if you'll max out reputation gain or at least come close to the cap everyday. However, the aforementioned would involve having a great party consisting of several reliable (I say this because there are people who just tag along and literally do nothing) DPS and at least a cardinal for sustainability and efficiency. There are also other factors such as availability (time zone, personal agendas, etc). Point is, reaching 2000 in Depths 1 is no easy task for a beginner.
The problem at hand now is the lack of participants doing endgame content. Many reasons are mentioned above for the case of new players. For veteran players, there would be no need to run Depths 1 again if they have the necessary gear from there to proceed to Depths 2 (or solo Depths 1 to gain reputation for Depths 2 as they're strong enough to do so). There is also no incentive for a veteran player to run Depths 1 over and over again aside to sell mats they gain to new players or create new gear for alts (which is good, but as an established player, again Part 1).
The game is an MMO and should be cooperative by nature. Interacting with players should be pushed, but not restricted to it to reach endgame content. If I were a new player and I found out that majority of the players don't do endgame content because of reasons such as 'there's not enough people to form a party,' I would be heavily demoralized.
I am aiming for more cooperative gameplay, especially at the endgame content and level. I would like to suggest the following:
- Enhance party drop rate multiplier for number unique accounts (doing a train using your other accounts shouldn't work)
- Have useful materials such as BSB and BB drop from Depths 1 and 2. Though I am aware you can get heirlooms from D1 and D2 quests, applying this would encourage people to play endgame content as they are able to get raw zeny, endgame gear mats and more importantly the chance for MVP cards. This would also dilute the number of players heavily farming Nif_dun02. And, it only makes sense that the harder the content, the more rewarding it should be.
- Have BSB and BB as rewards in Depth and Abyss box. A shy amount of 1BSB from a "SPECIAL" Depths Box that could be claimed twice day in a master account would be very helpful as soon as they turn in 2000 kills from Depths 1. A random amount of 1-5BB from "SPECIAL" Abyss Box (like how shadow crates work) could be received up to five times on daily basis for a master account when completing a 450 kill count Depths 2 turn in.
What I said could be ideal, or could be not, as it would affect economy and player attitude towards certain things. There are many other ways to incentivize doing endgame content, it's a matter of finding balance for those who are old and new and those who play solo and party up.
