Low Gold level at start out

[Ellora]

So far I have found that the start out gold is alittle low. I am hitting level caps and still do not have enough gold to level up. I am not saying up it by alot but a small amount should help. I am leveling on Frogs, Mosquito, Snakes, and Bullfrogs. If you want me to collect average drops amounts let me know.

[NiteHawk]

So far I have found that the start out gold is alittle low. I am hitting level caps and still do not have enough gold to level up. I am not saying up it by alot but a small amount should help. I am leveling on Frogs, Mosquito, Snakes, and Bullfrogs. If you want me to collect average drops amounts let me know.

Can you give exact levels when you started struggling? What class were you? etc

[MoonFire]

It's actually that way up thru lvl 8 for several classes. It's the worst if you have to buy spells as well.

[Rodeo]

Yea I encountered this on barb monk cleric and sorcs up till level 16 or so when I could kill things that dropped food/drink for regeneration. It's not that bad on the melee classes but casters have it hard.

[Kruell]

As someone who has several classes of various levels, the gold problem isn't really as bad as a few people may feel. The main issue is for people who are starting out with no help or with limited gold gathering ability. It is even worse for those who rely on buying potions to keep themselves healed while leveling even if it's in the arena. Some people, no matter the game, are unable to gather money in a meaningful manner.

The problem is a compound issue. As players level up each level costs more. For players who have to buy spells, gear, and potions, that expanding cost is difficult to overcome. With soulbinding costing so much and then paying for further "decking", non-gold farming players are struggling just to be able to level up. They often have to choose between leveling up or buying a piece of gear (or enchant) that will help them survive.

I've heard players talking in clan chat about having nearly 500k gold. I've seen people hand out 10~15k at once to players who are struggling. I probably have 20k in the bank right now and am playing sparingly. Until we get the full stretch of areas in game from 1~25 any kind of gold balancing we do will end up being patchwork. Shanti and I worked around changing the leveling costs on RoK a few times after 2008. We must be careful not to make it too difficult on new/casual players while forming gold sinks. Ultimately what we decided in RoK was to lower the overall end cost for all classes to reach lvl 25 and then adjusted the curve. By reducing the gold sink effect of leveling, we felt it was moving even casual or struggling players toward end game content without making them frustrated at the most simple of game mechanics.

[Kruell]

It's not that bad on the melee classes but casters have it hard.

Casters have it harder than melee by far. There are no good mana pots/food in game right now to compare to the hp equivalents. I brought this up already with the builders and pointed out an example. This is a balance issue that won't be fixed until we near end game content. For now, builders just need to give a little love to the casting classes when they design their areas.

[Ellora]

Druid- at around level 5 - 10 ish... keeping up with mana + leveling cost then eventually morph spell was really taxing.

[NiteHawk]

I'll have to take a look at this in more depth later on myself. Mainly caster gold usage for leveling up + spells (+/-hp pots) + mana pots vs melee classes + hp pots and all that.

[Aieron]

Nitehawk: Are you intending gold to be balanced so that a player can upgrade their gear at every interval that offers upgrades? Currently, you can upgrade at levels 9, 15, and 20. Moreover, should players be able to sb/bless/enchant gear at these levels or should decking be something new players don't worry about till level 20+?

Reason I'm asking is that you posted previously not to judge druid low dmg with lvl 10-15 morph until blesses came out. Well, they are out now, but a level 10-15 would never be able to afford decking their gear on top of lvl/spell costs.

I was thinking that gear prior to level 20 should come decked/sb, or at least, store bought gear. Alternatively, we could introduce a budget sb/blessing options similar to how we have dull enchant.

[daedroth]

I cant remember having problems with money low level (1-10) and after that there shouldn't be a problem. However I level slowly (use potions/drink and sit (sometimes in temple) over potions) so maybe that's why, I am in no rush .