Welcome to Clan Lord

I've been giving some thought to the overall newbie experience.  This is another area that needs attention, and it is high on my to do list.

One of the things requiring attention is variety of low level monsters coupled with local hunting grounds.  The rats towers are a fine introduction to simple solo hunting, but the towers are rather dull, and I'm not a fan of rank grinding.  A couple of easy hunting areas will offer some variety, but it's not the sole solution.

New players could use some activities and some goals.  I think that a couple of quests for low level players within the safety of town would be a welcomed addition, allowing the players to familiarize themselves with town and services.  New players will find such quests helpful, and old players with new characters will find the quests fun (I would hope).

The hardest part of a MMOG is getting players to group together for hunts.  As I've mentioned before, game designers can't force people to play together.  Some players just want to solo hunt, and that's fine, but Clan Lord's goal is (was?) to be more of a social game and encourage people to cooperate together.  As the playing population shrinks, this game model becomes increasingly challenging to support.  Is it time to branch out and support the solo experience, and is this a game model – or game tone – that we want to introduce and instill in to new players?

I have to shake my head in amusement for giving thought to "the new player experience" of a game that's eleven years old.  I'd like to think that it's still a timely topic.