You can apply for it, we just don't often approve it.
Locked Moderate/Ruthless
At least that gives hope =)
I was probably going to try apply for Ruthless after my first 30 deaths. Gives me somewhat a bit of motivation to condeath this one.
It is more than just number pad. It is the overall skill of the playerbase is expontentially higher than it was in the "old days". ten years ago gear was a scary place meant for 4-6 people. Now character(s) have solo'd the place.
The general abilities have gone up is all.
I'm going to disagree. The 'tip of the spear' may or may not be as sharp, but I don't think its all that much sharper. Perhaps less brutal with the petition against full loots.
As a returning player I've had zero issues evading would-be attackers. You know, the kind that 'hate life' or 'don't like my face' In fact, there are many more of these at lvl 50 these days - which I'm wondering if it is because full loots are dropped and people don't have a fear of death they once did. In any case characters seem to have far less respect for other characters these days. As much as people claim to not like dying what they really don't like is being looted.
My current experience is that player skills (as a playerbase) aren't significantly up - the equipment which player 'must have' to fight is now of a higher level so players can last a few more rounds in combat than before.
L-A
L-A
L-A
L-A
You know he's serious when he double endorses it. =D
This full loot complaining is detrimental in a lot of ways to the in-game circulation of power/rares. Not only that, but it shapes a lot of attitudes in and out of game in the wrong way.
Killing someone they lose 2 rares off the rip, then maybe 1 or 2 pieces you need...now all of a sudden you're full looting trash and catching an ear full in game about it from the victim.
If full looting is the #1 complaint here......not having any rares in game to go get is #2. See the link?
If you don't loot people, how are rares ever going to circulate? Just because you got decked doesn't mean you are entitled to keeping it.
I am not a full looter just because I typically don't have many allies to help and I don't take things I don't need...but I'm getting sick and tired of the incessant "WHY DID YOU TAKE EVERYTHING?!" stuff in game when all I did was loot a Banner and a backpack.
L-A said it best....harden up, princess(es)
You know he's serious when he double endorses it. =D
LOL
L-A
Loot stuff you need. Full saccing someone in basics while your decked too the teeth is uncalled for, and really only serving to hurt and perpetuate an unnecessarily hateful act iss my main argument. If your wearing adeptus torso, why are you sacrificing that shadow plate if your using hells fury, why sac my onyx lance. I see the character reasoning but at some point you have to take a step back and see being in that mind set is only going to harm players desire to play.
Taking your adeptus gear isn't going to make you leave the MUD. It's making people want to stop playing? So is getting to 50 and not being able to get a onyx lance or a scythe. Those aren't basics but when they get looted all you hear is whine whine whine cry cry.
Am I going to sac his tit bracers, teeth, mithril? No. Am I going to loot/sac his Steel gear, etc? Maybe. And if I do, I shouldn't have to hear him bitch about how I full looted him and how I'm making this place less fun while i'm also hearing from the other 50s that they can't find any rares. Well of course you can't...
The rare problem in my opinion stems from people having 3-5 characters and they are all partially decked.
As with most any problem, there are several contributing factors.
I had a small rant, but it basically mirrors the conglomeration of Egreir's posts. So... +1 to his past three...
That's what I'm here for. Typing through the pain of carpal tunnel so you don't have to! 
Don't use conglomeration to gain faux-intellectual status! I know you well.
He has a point... now if we are talking about something that is perpetually in, be it a non-rare or a rare we all know is constantly around, it might not be necessary to sac it. If it is that GOD unique, then maybe saccing a piece or two is warranted. Full saccing someone you just punched completely out like it is nothing, that is probably going too far. I mean, they have to acknowledge they just got ROLFstomped. Why make them also acknowledge they don't actually know where to get that wicked barbed pike?
Those are all my opinions, obviously play your characters how you wish. Those are my protocols.
I could make a whole checklist.
If you steamroll them and they play regularly...2 rares crumbling per death is fine.
If they don't play regularly, full sac.
If they only have one or two nice rares, don't touch unless you need.
If it was a hard fought battle against someone who gives your allies fits, full sac.
If you need it, take it.
Hmm, maybe a looting flow chart to go along with my when-to-pk flow chart.
If someone can't dump alot of hours a week into fl they deserve fulled? If they offer your allies opposition, full sac?
I can't abide. My lets say I have pked 50 people. Lets say I fulled half. Factor in the lack of a real group at pinn so say maybe a week for them to recover. That's half a year of player time that could have been spent pking, and rping. Instead it is frustratedly spent equipping. So in a week I can do it to them again? Tell me a normal person would subject themselves to that madness. We few remaining vets can deal with it. Most don't want to, and I don't blame them.
I don't look at it like they deserve to be sac'd as much as I do that my cabal mates could put the eq to further use.
The only other option is to keep raising rare count which isn't going to happen.
We all subjected ourselves to that madness and it's what we came to know and love.
But because we've tried to foster a new environment here where we protect people and they are under this illusion that being looted is bad and evil and wrong, you get people going ooc in game when you loot a backpack, you get people afraid to fight for fear of losing eq, etc.
Looting isn't a problem, it's an answer to a question that won't be solved any other way. I'm all for someone having 3 decked characters as long as they are putting in equal time and risking their things in PK. There has to be some self accountability. Just like qrace slots and the honest people who delete when they know they are holding up a spot.
I'm against multiple cabaled, heavily armored characters for that reason.
Could be an account system.
Log on using a username:
select character to play
character a
character b
character c
This system could allow 1 cabaled per account or however many.
You could have a certain amount of rares per account, this would stop the "Too many decked characters" issue.
Every time "egreir" starts plating actively again, we have discussions about rares... it's getting old mate, or should I give links to the last 3-4 threads?
There is no problem.
I didn't start this topic so piss off, I haven't said one thing about rares except in terms of discussing full loots. Your ignorant attacks on my character is what's getting old.