Hey everyone! I have an idea that I'd like to pitch. We've had a good amount of new people coming in recently. And I've seen there's been a lot of discussion in various threads since I've been here about how to help and retain folks. It can be hard starting up in a place this established, and a little daunting when you see all those million+ auctions in the Trading Post. On the other hand, many strongly believe in "earning" your own way. Por que no los dos? That's what the "Under 60" Club concept is all about: Finding a balance, and helping new folks and old folks mix in. The idea is this: If you are in a position where you can afford to help others, offer special deals to new players with accounts under 60 days. Some examples: Paying extra for bought resources or items (ie paying 25g apiece for barbed leather to most, 30g apiece to under-60s). Giving discounts for sold resources or items (ie charging 25g apiece for oak boards to most, 20g apiece to under-60s) Offering finance assistance: low/no-interest loans/down payments on things like housing or boats, etc. These prices are just examples - feel free to set yours at whatever you can afford/feel is fair. If you are a new player here under 60 days, a screenshot of your account age (type [profile ingame) should suffice as evidence to the vet that you are indeed eligible. This thread is to hopefully drum up interest and participation in the vets here. It's a good chance to help the server grow without giving handouts, and it has the potential to spread to a wider base than just donating to player-run events (although those are awesome as well). Busy running BODs for that sexy runic hammer? Spend a little extra per ingot to have a new player mine for you. Can't seem to dump that extra house? Offer a lower SB for under-60s saving up for their first home. But Caska, do you expect me to sell my fort/cat statue/valorite plate arms bod for pennies? No. Supporting the Under 60 Club does not mean you have to sell EVERYTHING cheap, particularly endgame-level stuff. But if you've got a small tower you're sick of refreshing, or a bunch of extra pickaxes waiting around for CUB, why not? No one expects you to lose money. Just help our new friends out, so someday they'll be here to pay ridiculous Trammy prices, too. (I think I finally figured out how this works) Personally, I made my way here (and still do, when I'm strapped) selling boards to more established players, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. So if you're interested in participating, or have some feedback, post in here! Caska
This is so eerily ironic. Prior to seeing this I had just visited Ocllo and saw a new player picking cotton for making cloth to sell to players. I offered to buy all cloth picked in the next hour at 4 gold each. However I was very clear to let them know what the normal price is. I clearly said this was my "new player program price"... remember, we don't want to create false inflation. Har-har. Great idea Caska! I challenge all veterans this Saturday to actively employ a new player in Ocllo. Be it cloth, lumber, ingots... or help with a "quest" you're on in one of the adjacent new player dungeons. I especially challenge all idocers. You're on the front line and reap the rewards of inactivity. However, if it can get to a point where there are no homes to salvage, there is no business. A home is the foundation of activity and often the spark that turns a short timer into a long term player. What meaningful ways can you think of to bolster activity on this server? Either way... Activity is life.
I think Occlo is often the first impression we can give new players, so I think it's fun to roleplay random characters there and interact with people. I hate that Occlo is mostly afk'ers sometimes that just stand around, so you've gotta liven it up a little sometimes
If you have a spare 5-10 minutes, run around Occlo. Stop by the bank, inn, occlo sewers and orc fort. I always find new players and give them a gift package and steer them to IRC. Many of these players have stayed.
Occlo is a very fun place for roleplay indeed. When there's people attended. Non-peak hours it's like trying to train taming talking to people Sooooo... does that mean you folks are in?
Why just today there was some abnormally pale fellow dancing in front of the Occlo afk zombies to some catchy ballad he called "Thriller"!
A great suggestion Caska and one I know the majority on server in general & PS members applaud. PS hand out welcome packages include full spell book, leather armour set and a small book inviting them to PS channel #PS to ask any questions on game / mechanics that they may have. This isn't for recruitment purposes as a ratio of packages handed out to people who stay in game is minimal but more as a way of saying hi and welcome even if they become a PK in a weeks and end up robbing PS folk who'd given them a head start, it's all about ensuring folks stay and help us keep the server as vibrant as possible. If you see a new player around who would benefit from one of these packages feel free to ask them to contact MikeK (EST / PST) or myself (European time zone) via IRC or just come ask in #PS channel if we aren't about so someone can note and we can sort at a later point. Your suggested method is great idea as I do think it wrong just to throw money at new folks though as seen done at times i.e. 100k cheques, free house etc.. much better to give them a weapon or kit them out in a set of armour they metaphorically earn by picking cotton as many who come burn out due to brutal nature of the game and in truth turns UOR into potential easy mode that then turns into oh no I have no money left and leave because it's not easy anymore. Helping them help themselves or taking and showing them the hunting spots in Occlo dungeon a much better use of resources as time is a much more valuable commodity than gold to a new player.
I agree. New players benefit a lot more from small things since it forces them to discover the game on theyr own. My welcome bonus when ive started here: 2 Runebooks with some empty runes A small house owned by the noble Vlar in which he co-owned me. A small gold check (something in the 3k range) Small things like that are much more effective than giving away 100k checks. And that was propably one of the main reasons why ive stayed on this shard - or in my Guild in general. Im offering new player housing in Stormhold nowadays, like Vlar did before. If there are some interested new people, send them over. There are also a lot of free services available (like an accessable libary, or public workplaces) which people can use.
Make sure to get these guys in irc!! I have noticed this has the most powerful effect, seeing the community.
I stopped by IRC and it was very friendly and welcoming (thanks TimeLord!) I am brand new and I will tell you what I personally would like and would make me feel useful and feel like sticking around... I don't really want to be given anything for free, but I would love to do a job(s) for other players, like being hired to mine for an hour or cut trees or whatever else. That sort of thing is win-win, it helps me as a newbie raise my skills and make a little honest money, helps the established player because hey, they just got x amount of resources, and helps establish a sense of community overall I think.
That's the kind of idea I had in mind, Alex. Hopefully we can make Occlo kinda like the front of Home Depot, but minus the illegal migrant worker wages
I challenge all veterans of this server to help spark commerce by participating and encouraging trade with new players in Ocllo this week. For example: I have a future project that requires iron ingots. I could easily spend some time and either mine them myself or purchase from a vendor. However, in the spirit of the Under 60 Club challenge, I just placed a buy order for iron ingots with a new/aspiring miner. What this does: aside from giving occupation, this also acclimates this new player to our forum and our IRC chat. Hokey or not, it feels good to be an active part o' the community. Now get out there and help rid Ocllo of this zombie plague by inspiring activity!
