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Noaani wrote: »

People spent a lot of time in L2 (Source; NiKr) at those farming spots. If they were a "happy accident" and the develoeprs didn't intend for that to be the focus of the gameplay, then what did they expect the focus to be?

Like, in y our opinion, since you are the one seemingly saying that it wasn't the developers intention for those spots to be farming spots, what did the L2 developers intend players to do, to fight over?

(sorry if the quote comes out incorrectly, I was not sure how to edit out the quote within a quote within a quote and keep an overall quote)

There is a bit to unpack with L2, and perhaps not covered previously. Perhaps this perception of how xp spaces might turn out is why past L2 players anticipate that there is the same potential within AoC.. yet all to be seen.

In Lineage 2, many farming spots developed into optimal grind zones over time, but they were likely not designed with the intention of becoming what they did.

Players often discovered micro zones within larger areas that provided the best XP gain or strategic advantages, leading to fierce competition for these spots. These zones, while part of a wider area with general mob spawns, became critical to leveling due to specific mechanics or advantages tied to their geography, spawn rates, or even monster cycles. The could be as micro as a static position with the range of your fire!

One such highly contested farming area was known for its unique night and day cycle, where the environment changed every two hours. During the night, powerful mobs spawned, offering significantly higher XP returns than day time, making it an ideal place for power leveling. The spot was especially prized by ranged players who could stand in a single optimal position with minimal movement, efficiently killing mobs to maximize their experience rate. To further boost their efficiency, many players would delay picking up loot until the end of their buff cycle, allowing them to focus solely on DPS. This strategy, combined with the increased XP from nighttime mobs, made the area highly competitive.

In context, at the level that this area was a good xp area, I could level 5% an hour vs 2% elsewhere.

The fierce competition wasn't just for the XP, though. The uncollected loot that piled up became an enticing prize for opportunistic players or groups seeking to take over the spot. If the current player farming the spot was killed, others could potentially claim both the XP farm and the accumulated bounty of unclaimed items, leading to frequent skirmishes and PvP battles. It was just easy loot! ...

Players generally picked up anything decent that dropped straight away but left the general loot for up to 20min.

Similar contested farming spots in Lineage 2 include:

Seal of Shilen – This area featured undead mobs that spawned at night, offering high XP for experienced players. Like other spots, it had key positions that allowed ranged or AoE classes to farm efficiently with little movement, leading to heavy competition, particularly during the nighttime mob cycle.

Forest of the Dead – Known for its dangerous mobs, this area had a night/day dynamic where specific undead creatures appeared in high density during the night. Certain spots here became hotspots for ranged classes looking to power-level, as they could stand in one place and clear waves of mobs without much movement, making it a highly contested area for XP farming.

And then there were oae farming spots, where mass mobs were trained into a waiting party for even greater xp returns (power levelling). The mass of mobs coming in made easy pickings for pvp or pk as sometimes you could not see the hits you were receiving for the mobs that were hitting you or just the sea of mobs surrounding you!.