Keeping the population high - Phoenix Freeshard

First off, love the server and am so happy to see it with such a healthy population. I was just wondering if there is any plan to keep the population growing. I think this server has achieved a perfect balance of classic DAoC with QoL changes for a modern gamer, and I think there are a ton of old and new DAoC players who would play if they knew about it.

Maybe this should be more of a community effort and this isn’t the best place for this post, but I was wondering what, if anything, is being done to spread the word about this server?

Fri 1 Feb 2019 5:24 PM by chryso

Defiasbandit is planning on running a superbowl commercial about it.

Fri 1 Feb 2019 5:33 PM by relvinian

From what i have observed in people's in game conversations it appears that there are people who have never played daoc who are playing on this server.

Since the game is fun and it is free, and worldwide, there is no reason the population will not remain healthy.

So long as it remains both fun and free.

Fri 1 Feb 2019 6:14 PM by Quik

relvinian wrote: ↑
Fri 1 Feb 2019 5:33 PM
From what i have observed in people's in game conversations it appears that there are people who have never played daoc who are playing on this server.

Since the game is fun and it is free, and worldwide, there is no reason the population will not remain healthy.

So long as it remains both fun and free.

I am surprised by the amount of new players I see. It's great and I hope it gets even more.

Fri 1 Feb 2019 7:09 PM by Wool

Totally agreed that the server is relatively friendly to new players and there’s no reason why the quality of the server would stop the population from remaining healthy! I guess I was just wondering if there was any structured means of continuing to get the word out, since I only heard about it from word of mouth.

Of course it’s free so I have no expectation that the Devs would pay for ads. I’m just so happy to see this server so lively and want to see that continue.

Mon 4 Feb 2019 3:35 AM by Frieza

I dont think we can expect the population to continue at this level if we dont continue to market the server using certain tools.

Naturally, people will leave when a new game comes out theyve been waiting for (conservatively a 1-3 months hiatus), get tired out on daoc (usually 2-4 weeks break), real life happens, etc etc. Combine that with others not seeing their friends on for that period and they can take a break too. The problem occurs when they break, come back and get so lost they decide not to return again (weve all done it right? either in this game or another).

Its the age old "whats cheaper, keeping existing customers or obtaining new ones", however i think there should be a little mix with this server.

My advice (all free options):

1. Run posts on relevant forums advertising the game i.e. steam forums/ Wow forums/ DAOC unchained etc etc (i.e. "did you know daoc is still alive and booming? should check it out"

- this will help find "new" players i.e. either brand new or ones that dont know we exist)
2. Run periodic events i.e. weekend/ monthly/ once a year i.e. xmas/ halloween (this will help people stay)
3. Be friendly to other players, run free PL sessions, invite that noob along although they may wipe your group, it may mean they stay playing for 6 months rather than 3. Help lvl that stealther who is having a hard time finding groups, etc. (this will also help people stay)

Also im not saying we need to do this, as i know the devs and everyone has already put in more than enough time for this game/server, im just saying if we want the population not to dwindle, this is what we need to do imo.

Mon 4 Feb 2019 3:43 PM by Wool

Completely agreed. I can certainly help with options 1 and 3. Can we get a list going of active forums that might be interested in the server? I think you’re spot on that WoW and Camelot Unchained would have some overlap. Anywhere else we can think of? Would love to see this server keep its pop healthy for as long as possible.

Tue 5 Feb 2019 2:41 AM by Frieza

Thanks Wool, i just recommend on any IT sites/ gaming sites really. Its starting to get a little rare when you ask in an open forum "who used to play daoc" to not get a few asking what it is, but i look at daoc as the game (for me) that started it all.

Ive posted on my (country specific) IT forums that has a gaming section and i urge others to do the same if you want to continue this daoc server for years to come