What do you think holds players in your server?

[lukatxd]

Considering the whole tibia like game experience, what do you think is holding people playing your servers?
Is it the core game loop of leveling up and unlocking more stuff? New items with mechanics? Your support team?
I mean, they might come for cool sprites, colorful areas, nice looking modules and such, but what do you think exactly holds them?

I've played Dragonball servers, Digimon servers (theyre the same as pokemon, but I think pokemon are dumb) and even became gamemaster in one of those.
From my experience, having simple goals is captivating enough, but at the same time just grinding to get the next milestone becomes boring quick and thats why many people leave after getting X milestone, and also admins who make their goals to ruin the players experience.

I do not own a server, I've tried shaping one for years, but I always give up doing it by myself lol Altough I am currently planning one, the ideas in my mind all seem pretty simple, like the core mechanics are attractive to me but theyre soo 2010 lol

 

[lindero33]

the only thing that holds player nowadays is how do they can farm money from your server, its all about money. Those who says "im here for fun", no they're not, they seeking for a way to farm money. So, do things that player will be able to RTM, runeing, servicing etc. Players who plays for a singles moments of "fun" will only play there is there is players that poppulates your server because of the RMT. War make the server bumps, there is no war if there isn't players farming and selling shits on your server...

Any thought contrary to this is irrefutable.
Whoever agrees, breathe. Whoever disagrees is an OT owner who will try to argue that their OT is the best for several "imaginary" reasons.

 

[Perun]

the only thing that holds player nowadays is how do they can farm money from your server, its all about money. Those who says "im here for fun", no they're not, they seeking for a way to farm money. So, do things that player will be able to RTM, runeing, servicing etc. Players who plays for a singles moments of "fun" will only play there is there is players that poppulates your server because of the RMT. War make the server bumps, there is no war if there isn't players farming and selling shits on your server...

Any thought contrary to this is irrefutable.
Whoever agrees, breathe. Whoever disagrees is an OT owner who will try to argue that their OT is the best for several "imaginary" reasons.

clueless

 

[Royal Inferno]

the only thing that holds player nowadays is how do they can farm money from your server, its all about money. Those who says "im here for fun", no they're not, they seeking for a way to farm money. So, do things that player will be able to RTM, runeing, servicing etc. Players who plays for a singles moments of "fun" will only play there is there is players that poppulates your server because of the RMT. War make the server bumps, there is no war if there isn't players farming and selling shits on your server...

Any thought contrary to this is irrefutable.
Whoever agrees, breathe. Whoever disagrees is an OT owner who will try to argue that their OT is the best for several "imaginary" reasons.

what a bizarre comment lmao

 

[Zyzz immortal]

@Perun
give him break, he tried to copy paste fibula with added PACC in shop and tiny changes. It didn't work SOMEHOW
project failed = blame another people those greedy money farmers who think only about money

 

[lindero33]

hypocrites

 

[M4rcin]

the only thing that holds player nowadays is how do they can farm money from your server, its all about money. Those who says "im here for fun", no they're not, they seeking for a way to farm money. So, do things that player will be able to RTM, runeing, servicing etc. Players who plays for a singles moments of "fun" will only play there is there is players that poppulates your server because of the RMT. War make the server bumps, there is no war if there isn't players farming and selling shits on your server...

Any thought contrary to this is irrefutable.
Whoever agrees, breathe. Whoever disagrees is an OT owner who will try to argue that their OT is the best for several "imaginary" reasons.

Haha, I never met a player (nor developer) that would say "I am here for the money", and would pay their rent on time.

 

[Bloodbringer]

I think mmorpgs are all about ego, you want the player to have a way to show off he is stronger than his peers, be it through "power" like wars and pvp where players that kill others feel good about it, or through hard to achieve PvE achievements, items, stats, where players can compare who is the best via highscores, display of wealth, etc.

Thats the nature of any mmorpg - its about progression and about the community, its about being stronger and being wealthier than others in comparison -> this is stronger with OTs.


Overall you just need to make the player feel like their time is being well spent - think they are investing time in exchange for something, they want to feel something, they want to feel good about it, rewarded, powerful, acknowledged.

OTs that hold players are those where the game loop makes the time spent feel valuable in some way - so yes, that means RMT (like the first dude mentioned) because they feel like investing time means money so its not worthless; but also can mean other things like I said, mostly tied to community. The more player interaction you allow to happen, usually it is better. Players like to play with each other, they want to spend time with other people.

Thats some random thoughts but those are my feelings on the subject

 

[Troublesome]

From my experience, what brings players is one thing… but what keeps them is something else.

1. Micro-progression and the core loop​

I think one of the biggest factors is constant micro-progression.


In psychology there’s something called the Goal-Gradient Effect, people become more motivated as they feel closer to a goal. If your server gives players small, frequent rewards (level 5 unlocks a spell, level 8 unlocks a quest, level 10 unlocks a new attribute, outfit, mechanic, etc.), they constantly feel like they’re progressing toward something tangible.


That ties into the dopamine reward loop. Small, predictable rewards at short intervals keep players engaged because they’re always “almost” unlocking something.

Simple goals are captivating. But pure grinding toward one big milestone becomes boring fast. That’s why many players quit after reaching X milestone, there’s no more short-term target pulling them forward.

The server needs:

• Things to do.
• Short-term goals.
• Visible progression.
• New mechanics introduced gradually.

Players might come for cool sprites, colorful areas, or nice modules — but they stay because the game keeps giving them meaningful steps forward.

---

2. Population balance and social gravity​

There’s also a reason new servers explode with players and then slowly decline when the next one launches.

A server needs a well-balanced player base across levels.

In real Tibia (especially old-school days), a huge part of what made it engaging was that there were always people around your level:

• You’d meet others at spawns.
• You’d compete over spots.
• You’d get killed.
• You’d make enemies.
• You’d make friends.

That social friction is content by itself.


Now imagine joining a server with 200 players, but 40 of them are ultra high levels warring with each other, and the rest are far behind. Without catch-up mechanics, new players feel like they’ll never be part of that action.

Eventually you want new blood joining the war, joining the rivalries, joining the politics. That doesn’t happen if the level gap is too big.

A healthy server needs:

• Catch-up mechanics.
• Mid-game relevance.
• Incentives for veterans to interact with newer players.
• Enough players around similar levels.

Because in the end, what really holds people isn’t just grinding, it’s shared progression and social competition.

 

[oen432]

What do you think holds players in your server?

Internet connection

 

[lindero33]

They talked, talked, talked, and in the end everyone ended up agreeing with the obvious: that it’s all about RMT.

Next question please.

 

[Sorky]

They talked, talked, talked, and in the end everyone ended up agreeing with the obvious: that it’s all about RMT.

Next question please.

@topic

I did not play a proper server in YEARS (at least tibia), but these little numbers like level, dmg, more xp, more loot were keeping me on the server. The second part is stability. If I knew that the server would reset/end next week, propably i would not log in there anymore

 

[lindero33]

You represent 0.01% of the population that actually brings any benefit to a server — that’s the truth.

You and others only join a server if there are already people playing.
If there are people playing, it’s because there are people farming.
If there are people farming, it’s because there’s RMT.
If there’s RMT, then in the end it’s all about money.

If RMT ends, people start leaving. The ones who farmed leave. The ones who played because there were people there also leave. The server dies. Another world gets created.

It’s all about RMT.

I’ll end this here, no chance for replies. My comment is more than obvious (the same opinion as my first post, and yes, I’m 101% right).

If you agree, take a breath again.

Thank you.