Please bring back Catacombs/Instances/Task Dungeons
I just finished dropping both of my subscriptions again after taking a new set of characters to level 50 and finding that, once again, there is no content that I have any particular interest in doing. You are blocking access to what was arguably the best pve content in the game. If the Catacombs zones, the dungeon instances, and the task dungeons were available, I would probably be resubscribing my third account rather than dropping the other two. I suppose I wouldn't be quite as annoyed if I hadn't actually paid for 3 copies of the Catacombs expansion. Let me close by begging you to give me a reason to want to keep giving you my money.
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Also, I think you need to recheck your math. Catacombs launched in December 2004 and became unavailable in March 2017 with the launch of the Dragon's Curse Campaign so it's more like 12+ years. Even if your math had been better it still wouldn't change that content which people did pay for has now been unavailable for 4+ years. I wonder if you would be so quick to be unconcerned about people paying for content which they no longer have access to if it had been your favorite which was shut down.
Finally, keeping the players who did really like Catacombs happy so that they keep paying is a win for everyone. With the current very low number of players, every subscription counts.
How though? I honestly don't see Ywain gaining population without a server reset to an older version of the game since it appears the game is "too difficult" to play in its current state. I personally don't think that's the case, but I honestly don't see any alternative than constant back-to-back Caledonia-like events. Ghost keep has been a bust this time around, imo.
Edit: Someone in the frontier jokingly made a statement about how BS should look into hiring Uthred. That may not be a bad idea at this point.
DAoC has eschewed PvE development for a lot of reasons--for most players it was not their main thrust, PvE rewards have to be balanced with RvR effects, dev time is limited and PvE development takes a lot of time because it has to have content for many different levels, and has to fit into the existing game maps .... and a lot of stuff I simply don't understand, I am sure.
When I could no longer keep up in RvR I went to Gaheris, but before long I had done everything in every realm, and there was obviously never going to be more PvE content ..... and when existing PvE was cut back sharply there was a a lot less to do.
Like a "classic" server, the question isn't primarily whether PvE content will attract people, but whether the number of devs working on the game could adapt and manage the content. Until the player subs increase, there won't be new devs, and until there are new devs, there can't be new content ..... laying the egg kills the chicken and the egg never hatches.
There is a huge PvE market out there, and a small high-end RvR market. DAoC has firmly grabbed that high-intensity PvP player base, and right now doesn't have an extra hand to grab any more (as I see it.)
Even reconstructing Catacombs would take a lot of effort. For one thing, the latest campaign clashes .... for another, people who come back for Cats will complain about loot, bugs, etc .... so just reopening the zones wouldn't be the end of it. As with the "classic" server, once implemented it would need to updated and managed in order to keep those players interested .....
If DAoC could tap into the PvE market, it would probably pay off handsomely .... but there is that initial investment of cash for dev time, and it is a gamble, and I doubt Broadsword has that kind of financial flexibility.