First of all, let me begin by saying I *love* Istaria...the game, the world, the community...to me, it's simply the best out there. ;)
By Istaria standards, I'm very much a new player, having been in-game with Tondargaet, my white dragon, for about 8 months. As those who know me - especially my long-suffering Guild-Mates :p - will attest, I try very hard to do as much as I can by myself; even when I'm told by my elders that I'll need assistance, I'll usually give whatever it is a try, solo, before asking for help.
Whether it's alone or with that assistance, though, when I've finished a quest or conquered a new (to me) critter, I have a warm sense of accomplishment. I felt good when I accomplished my first major goal within the game, reaching level 50 so I could earn the final hatchie scale...that was also my personal "trigger" to begin the RoP, and I was determined to solo as much of that as I could, which I also accomplished. It was the same with the ARoP: I soloed as much of that as I could, although I'd also learned that having a group combat isn't just safer, but, a LOT more fun, and I welcomed the assistance of 3 Ancients during my time in the Rift.
I don't mention all of this looking for praise, but, to make a point. I take the game, the world of Istaria and all of its challenges, as it comes to me. As a new player, it's *all* new to me...and, it's all challenging. I constantly hear that the game has become much easier...that the RoP and ARoP, especially, have been "watered down" from what they originally were. Well, that's nice, but, there's not a thing *I* can do about that.
Things may have gotten "easier," compared to how various quests were set up in the past; I'll stipulate that they have done so. But, while they are easier to *you*, someone who remembers going through things in the past, believe me, they're not all that easy to *us*, the player who's encountering all of these things for the very first time. I'd have happily attempted the RoP and ARoP (along with all the other quests) in their original form, if I'd had such a choice. But, I don't have that choice...I can only do what I'm required to do in-game.
When I finished my ARoP, and was still feeling a lovely sense of accomplishment, I heard, a number of times, about how much more difficult it used to be and how I'd gotten off "easy"....well, thanks very much for denigrating what I've done.
I'd simply ask the veteran players to remember that they were once a new player, too, and that they were experiencing everything for the very first time. No doubt they had a sense of accomplishment when they finished the various quest-lines for the first time; the newer players have that same sense of accomplishment, and it's every bit as valid as was the feeling of that veteran player. We don't have the memory of "how it used to be" to compare against today's experience...and, quite frankly, being told that what we've done isn't all that great, because things have been made "so easy"....well, that's simply rude.
