Why is there so much hostility/dislike towards Renewal?

[Aqualys]

Stats having different effects? I don't mind. Monsters being moved around? I don't mind. Equipment working differently? I don't mind. Getting an experience penalty for killing a monster too low, or too high compared to your level? NO WAY.

What makes RO's charm for me is its openness (whether that's a word or not). You can go anywhere you like, anytime you like. If I want to kill Hill Winds at level 98, it's my right. If I want to kill Zombie Prisoners at level 35 (I do that with my mages), I can. Why wouldn't I be able to do that anymore? That's plain dumb. That's what made RO last so long. If people were always forced to level on monsters around their level to receive good experience, they would have been bored of RO long before they did with the current system.

On a similar note, item drops. If I need to farm a specific monster because I need a specific item (weapon, armor, card, whatever), the current system is perfect : drop rate is fixed, and so is experience. With the renewal system, drop rate would become lower (as it's with experience).

I also play Rose Online, another game by Gravity. Past a certain level, older monsters don't drop loot anymore. At all. A monster that used to give you 5k experience will give 100, and no drops. At all. Now, in Rose, it still works okay, because you don't need to hunt specific low level monsters for one specific item like it happens all the time in RO. But if you're level 80 and need to hunt very important stuff such as a Thara Frog card or whatever... well, good luck. Okay okay, I assume drop rate won't be affected as much, but...

As far as classes are concerned, I have no gripes about them. Although renewal will make the need for a bard even higher, due to the impossibility of getting very quick cast times like it is now (130 dex is easy).

[GM-Ayu]

All def in renewal is like current Vit def. So it's direct damage reduction.
Your +110 def means you take -110 damage from every attack(like how it'll be on renewal), not 11% btw.

Quoting for emphasis.

If you want to know exactly how life changes in renewal, Salamander does 1000 damage down from 10000. Assumptio doubles your def, not divide damage by 2. Currently we don't know what will refines do to armor too clearly yet.

I personally welcome all changes, even the monster level change. Perhaps we will finally get out of the usual 5 maps that we grind on with this. Though I understand why some players do not like it, as when a player stays in a game so long, they like the game just as it is.

I'm still on the opinion that while renewal is great in theory, it's not the greatest idea from advertisement and business point of view... it's still better to do this as RO2 to me.

[Galt]

but the way they're doing it, by changing RO so much and pissing people off, is not how it should be done.

Which is why heRO exists (RO old-school).

Though, I can't blame them. iRO is popular as it is, but it's population levels is something more akin to a bear market chart (to those who get what I mean), so they need something new to keep things fresh and bring in new players, especially with all the new MMOs out these days. But that's Gravity, not heRO. It doesn't affect us per-se, so I think the renewal is entirely optional.

The only problem with that is that I don't think anything they'll ever do to RO will significantly increase it's population anymore.??Beyond a certain point, games are sort of destined to die.??RO survived longer than a lot of others, even if it was never as big.... but it's basically a dying game in my opinion.??Renewal will change things, and might bring back some players or even bring in a few new ones...??but they're up against so many other newer, more appealing MMOs that I don't think anything anyone could do at this point will "renew" RO.??At best, they can hope to keep their current player base and maybe hope for a small % increase instead of the current bleeding of their player base.??

That's quite the basis of an MMO. It's a never-ending circle of simply getting outclassed by the newer ones that come out. The old game will maintain a loyal fanbase but it won't ever reach the amounts like it had at its peak. Though I'd have to say, compared to some older games (like RO, Ultima Online, etc), they don't hold as much content or have as much depth and immersion like they used to.

To be honest, I'm actually interested in seeing how Renewal actually works. Perhaps a separate server from the current one entirely, though that's purely just wishful thinking.

[Matrim Cauthon Jr]

Personally, Nont a one of the changes in "Renewal" sounds like it should be brought over. As the saying goes, "Don't fix what isn't broken"

And the problem with saying the new EXP/Monster system would get people out of their current 5 maps is that they'd end up in....a different 5 maps.

If it is only worthwhile to hunt certain things, then everyone will be hunting those certain things.

[Rankin]

Getting an experience penalty for killing a monster too low, or too high compared to your level? NO WAY.

no no no no no *smashes fist through wall* this had better not happen...

[DoctahW]

What makes RO's charm for me is its openness (whether that's a word or not). You can go anywhere you like, anytime you like. If I want to kill Hill Winds at level 98, it's my right. If I want to kill Zombie Prisoners at level 35 (I do that with my mages), I can. Why wouldn't I be able to do that anymore? That's plain dumb. That's what made RO last so long. If people were always forced to level on monsters around their level to receive good experience, they would have been bored of RO long before they did with the current system.

The problem is, most maps these days aren't even considered worth it anymore. I have a small problem with level only being a number. It's a pointless statistic for a monster, and doesn't mean much more for players, either. Currently, for monsters, level is a worthless little number that is supposed to denote it's 'challenge level', and currently, for players, level denotes 'time left for me to rebirth', or 'time left for me to wear that nifty accessory'. Renewal is going to make levels mean something more than some more HP/SP, and marginally increased FLEE/HIT.

On a similar note, item drops. If I need to farm a specific monster because I need a specific item (weapon, armor, card, whatever), the current system is perfect : drop rate is fixed, and so is experience. With the renewal system, drop rate would become lower (as it's with experience).

Just to say: Drop rate doesn't change with level. That'd be utterly ridiculous. Drop rate multipliers are actually separate from base and job experience.

I apologize if I sound like I'm being irrational or annoying. I just want to give my two cents on some things. I hope I'm not seeming too aggressive.

[Matrim Cauthon Jr]

I'm fine with an EXP bonus if you kill stuff above X levels above you. But there should never be an EXP penalty in RO. And yes, most maps are ignored. But I don't think changing the whole game to force people to those maps is the solution.