Then you can absolutely beat out people who use XP Pots as well. Time Played has a MUCH larger impact on advancement than anything sold in a P2W shop.
You're telling me play time doesn't impact leveling advancement MORE than XP Pots? You are completely fucking stupid.Not even remotely close to true when it comes to expansion launch races in EQ.
Why does that matter? Math decides this debate. If I play twice as much as you, your little 10% XP Pot isn't going to do jack shit to help you keep up with me.Let's settle this with some COMMON SENSE.
Kaines, what server first kills in the last 3 TLPs were you a part of? Let's say classic-pop when it matters.
Ok. This conversation just isn’t going anywhere. Clearly you aren’t interested. So move on?You should have negative opinions about the p2w aspects. If you don't you're that's just massively cucked.
It will surely contribute to the opposite.
You're telling me play time doesn't impact leveling advancement MORE than XP Pots? You are completely fucking stupid.
And a liar.

Being carried by people who DO play every day is the most CUCK argument against XP Pots....When it comes to expansion launch races It's like Guild size>Guild Organization>Skill>XP pots>Class>Gear>>>>>>>>>>play time.
On Phinny we had a Bard that would show up for 10% of our raids, only played the first week or 2 of expansion but was always our first or second Bard picked for expansion launch races because Skill as a puller.
I've done multiple server firsts in expansion when i was playing less than 10 hours a week. Play time really isn't that big of a deal.

Being carried by people who DO play every day is the most CUCK argument against XP Pots....

There's not that many AAs1) They had Donate for server wide XP pots, so the removed the p2w aspect of it while still allowing people to "TIP them"
2) How many AAs you'll likely need to eventually kill the boss.
How many is there?
Nothing gayer than when you and your homie cross swords in the night and someone shouts DOUBLE RIPOSTEYou earn about 60ish leveling to 50. (This means that the current meta will be to level 1 additional class at a time after your first loadout, because getting AAs as you level is a lot more time efficient than at 50.)
I'd say there is probably 100-150 AAs to spend on stuff that gives you real combat power, not fake and gay shit like double riposte.

From what I have heard so far this is meant to be a solo server. Your personal enjoyment is the only thing that matters. There's no competition other than what you and whoever you want to compete with make up. If tradeskills and baz are useful, great. They probably aren't going to be required, but the social component for solo/casual friendly servers is mostly just chat.That's a much more reasonable argument than the usual "XP pots aren't P2W because convenience magically doesn't count" nonsense, but I still think you're underselling how progression advantage functions even in heavily instanced environments. You're basically arguing that because the degree of competitive impact is reduced, the monetization no longer qualifies as P2W at all. I don't think that tracks.
Instancing absolutely mitigates a lot of the worst MMO behaviors, agreed. But reduced impact is not the same thing as "no impact." Even in a fully instanced game, progression speed still affects: access to stronger gear sooner, AA accumulation sooner, farming efficiency sooner, economic generation sooner, market influence sooner, raid readiness sooner, group desirability sooner, etc. Those are still forms of measurable character advantage obtained via real money.
The thing I think people keep doing is conflating: "Does this negatively affect MY personal enjoyment?" with "Is this P2W?". Those are not the same question. You personally not caring if Faceless clears everything instantly doesn't somehow erase the monetized advantage that got them there faster. It just means you've decided it doesn't meaningfully damage your own gameplay experience.
But there are absolutely shades to this stuff. A mostly instanced server with XP pots is obviously nowhere near as toxic as an uninstanced krono-ridden sweatfest where guilds weaponize every progression advantage to dominate content access. Still, paying real money for accelerated progression in an RPG where progression directly translates into character effectiveness is, definitionally, paying for advantage. Even if the environment softens the downstream impact.
So I think the more intellectually honest position is: "Yes, XP pots are technically P2W, but in a heavily instanced environment the practical impact on other players is reduced." That's a much stronger argument than pretending the mechanic somehow stops being P2W entirely because the server ruleset is "friendlier".
It's 2026 and anyone who thinks that a nearly-three-decade-old video game still represents some sort of challenge/competition and they have to "be first" and they need to win, needs serious therapy. The way some of you talk about playing EQ like it's some sort of grand accomplishment is beyond ridiculous. Are your real lives that empty?
It's a video game, you pathetic fucking losers. Play it, or don't. Enjoy it, or don't. No one fucking cares.

...When it comes to expansion launch races It's like Guild size>Guild Organization>Skill>XP pots>Class>Gear>>>>>>>>>>play time.
On Phinny we had a Bard that would show up for 10% of our raids, only played the first week or 2 of expansion but was always our first or second Bard picked for expansion launch races because Skill as a puller.
I've done multiple server firsts in expansion when i was playing less than 10 hours a week. Play time really isn't that big of a deal.