The concept
Vanilla’s real content, in its real patch order, but paced for us: one patch opens every two months. It’s slow on purpose. The full road from 1.2 to Naxxramas takes about two years. Each raid gets months to itself so we can actually clear it before the next tier drops, and the patches in between (dungeons, battlegrounds, world bosses, honor) fill the gaps. The ruleset stays fixed 1.12 the whole time. Only what’s available moves.
Now. The full 1.2 world is open, every leveling dungeon. Raids are shut. We level up together first.
The gate. Phase I (Molten Core and Onyxia) opens two weeks after 80 players reach 60. That’s the one community gate, no fixed date. After it, the cadence is fixed.
The schedule (months counted from the gate)
When
Patch
What opens
Gate
1.2
Molten Core, Onyxia
+2 mo
1.3
Dire Maul, Azuregos, Lord Kazzak
+4 mo
1.4
Honor System and PvP ranks
+6 mo
1.5
Warsong Gulch, Alterac Valley
+8 mo
1.6
Blackwing Lair, Darkmoon Faire
+10 mo
1.7
Zul’Gurub, Arathi Basin, debuff cap 8 to 16
+12 mo
1.8
Dragons of Nightmare (the four green dragons)
+14 mo
1.9
Ahn’Qiraj (AQ40 and AQ20), War Effort
+16 mo
1.10
Tier 0.5, UBRS 15 to 10
+18 mo
1.11
Naxxramas, Scourge Invasion
+20 mo
1.12
World PvP, vanilla complete
Standing rules: cross-faction, x1 rates, no shop, debuff cap 8 (16 once Zul’Gurub opens), world buffs for the first four weeks of each new tier and then off.
WHAT IF … instead of relying on a “tick tock” timing after the unlock of v1.2 … instead you link the progression to the number of Level 60 alts on the server?
To put it more plainly, you’d be looking at a progression schedule more like this:
When
Patch
What opens
80 Level 60 characters
1.2
Molten Core, Onyxia
120 Level 60 characters
1.3
Dire Maul, Azuregos, Lord Kazzak
160 Level 60 characters
1.4
Honor System and PvP ranks
200 Level 60 characters
1.5
Warsong Gulch, Alterac Valley
240 Level 60 characters
1.6
Blackwing Lair, Darkmoon Faire
280 Level 60 characters
1.7
Zul’Gurub, Arathi Basin, debuff cap 8 to 16
320 Level 60 characters
1.8
Dragons of Nightmare (the four green dragons)
360 Level 60 characters
1.9
Ahn’Qiraj (AQ40 and AQ20), War Effort
400 Level 60 characters
1.10
Tier 0.5, UBRS 15 to 10
440 Level 60 characters
1.11
Naxxramas, Scourge Invasion
480 Level 60 characters
1.12
World PvP, vanilla complete
I’m less interested in arguing over the “rate” of progress than I am over the notion that “there need to be more Level 60 characters (than before)” in circulation before advancing to the next patch.
Note that what I’m recommending here would rely on the total number of Level 60 characters recorded on the server, rather than requiring 80+40x# (in this example) accounts to have 1+ Level 60. That way, alts leveled to 60 by the same Player “count” towards this requirement, because you’re counting characters, not accounts.
Depending on how the server population develops over time (always hard to predict with accuracy and precision!) there is room to “tweak” the rate of unlocks with the number of characters getting leveled up (+40 per step, +50 per step, +60 per step, etc. etc.), so there is some “squish factor” built into the timing of this counter-proposal.
However, the major factor that I would like to bring to the attention of our @Innkeeper is that such a reformulation REWARDS (endgame oriented) Players who create and level alts. Such a scheme “helps” with making sure that there continues to be an infusion of “fresh blood” at the lower levels, working their way up, even after a Player has their first Level 60. That way, you don’t wind up with entire segments of the level grind “going stale” because there’s no incentive to play more than a single character on the Stonetavern realm (keeping the population growing is Somebody Else’s Problem).
To be clear … the idea of using +40 Level 60 characters per new Patch step is really a structural notion for “how to do it” (and the “why” of the incentive structure to keep playing that it produces) … rather than a “take it or leave it!” demand for this being the best/correct quantity of additional Level 60 characters in the Armory of the realm (that part is fungible).
Setting things up such that additional Level 60 characters have to be leveled (which requires investment of time and interest), rather than just WAITING for unlocks every 2 months (like clockwork, no effort required, it’s all on autopilot), would seem to be a superior incentive structure for keeping Players invested in the realm and to broaden the horizons of playing into additional alts for those Players.
First of all, ive to say, i like the plan to release the game “slowly” so u can rly feel the game and every phase.
For me personally i would not make every phase strict 2months - some phases have way more content then others - for example from MC to BWL u have not a single new raid for the players but the phase will be 8months - for my feeling thats way too long for no new raidcontent.
In other phases u maybe have a “harder” raid released and people will need prob more then 2 months to get full gear or gear up alts aswell - im planing to play “Barrens” so let me explain - in phases like where AQ-NAXX-SSC-SWP or Ulduar are the new “raidconents” 2months are maybe way to quick to step into to next content already - also in later expansion like tbc and wotlk the crew should rly take a look on the arenaseasons and how long they should be to make it playable
So what i would like to see -
Please make a Progression Plan for “Barrens” - listen to the Feedback from the Players - Make different long phases - depends on the released Content (Raids and Arenaseasons).
Thanks and hopefully Stonetavern will raise great.
