Once upon a time there was a lonely gamer. Playing by himself on a dsl connection on a kitchen computer. he played games such as Diablo 2 and warcraft 3. After 10+ years of diablo 2 he learned of a ultra sweet trading site. D2jsp it was called. everyone in diablo 2 seemed to want to trade for fg. WTF is that. Playing in .08 and before. back when soj, 40/15 and 290 spc were the go to currency. now its hrs and fg WTF. so he checked it out, and was amazed.

D2jsp was a pretty cool site. the appeal of a multi-game multi-platform trading website amazing. what a wonderful idea. taking long investments in one game with you by trading out for a third party currency that you can use in the next adventure. Mindbogglingly fantastic idea. they had everything. even NEOPETS. seriously if you could trade it in an online game its probably on jsp.

there were all sorts of people not just gamers. forums about science movies sports. seemingly endless sub-forums. fg could be used everywhere from homework help to graphic design requests. you can do so much with this stuff. meeting people and merging into a guild our hero found himself surrounded by friends who enjoyed similar things. similar games. similar hobbies.

looking over someones profile one day he noticed a character for a game called ladder slasher. "what is this?" he asked. and the rabbit hole started to open up. It was fairly early version of a site game, developed by the sites owner/operate Paul. This simple mostly text based game wasnt winning any awards for graphics or story line for sure. But simplistic ways to waste ones time, priceless.

The forums for this game weren't operated like the diablo 2 forums. In Ladder Slasher one must pay attention to early bumping or any other number of violations. While most might be ignored in other forums here it was not tolerated. The main reasons were probably 1 of 2. Many Ladder Slasher players were site moderators or trusted tagged. and the people were just better. scamming was practically no existent. friendships were made good times were had.

soon this gamers gaming time by himself evolved to 3 more of his household playing, as well as dozens of those met online. Good times on vent were to be had. finds and character passes celebrated. the thrill of good fortune and fun were better than by ones self.

the story here would mostly continue for a while on a path of extreme enjoyment from a simple game as it slowly evolved. however was not be this way forever. that time was ticking away towards its end. that end had a name, a date, even a time.



Some of you may not be old enough to remember, or maybe you weren't into the game then. But most of you were. and understand the impact this update had on the game. In all other areas for good or for bad the game has adjusted in economy, play styles, and playablilty. But not this one.

Prior to this update huge mutes were sold at massive prices. threads were swamped with players bidding on items left and right over the right item. a 200+ dagger was sure to gain EVERYONE'S attention if for anything to be a first bid, or just wishful thinking at owning such a nice item. These items were muted from items people picked up and sold. In turn i believe this was a functional cornerstone holding up the economy.

Any game if its to be successful in a genre similar to this one must be able to play the game, grow their character, and increase his wealth as well as progression into the game. The feeling of accomplishment that comes with min maxing obtaining certain BEST IN GAME items is exhilarating as well as the thrill of finding one. Making one such item is a gamble and comes at a cost. Buying mutes was not cheap. any 55 weapon other than a club or a staff sold for 40-50 fg. daggers 100, for magical items. the price was steep compared to today but the risk/reward involved made it worthy of anyone willing to play the odds.

On hardcore i can remember playing a few climbs when it was only no maze. The game progressed in difficulty so high with my limited gear. Players would smash endless waves of what we know as EPS now. Regen took took long. the only way to level was KILL, buy shrines from the MP, repeat. You could spend 1-250 fg on a climb this way. but man was it worth it. Drops sold for so much to muters. 55 mythical fire charms ( used for muting INTEL robes ) could be sold in excess of 1200 fg. just a 55 axe would run u several hundred fg for a magical or rare. not the mention the bidding war an arcane of higher level presented on the forums. But although the price was high to buy shrines to immediately get back into battle with your party you were practically guaranteed to be able to make the fg back that climb with 1 or 2 drops that could be sold as mutables.

Playing many different games over my teen and adult years ive come to learn the value of currency in online games. No matter the game if trading is involved there is something be it igg or some other rare item that lends it self to be traded as currency for other items or to be used. These items can be farmed endlessly with enough effort or traded up slowly. But the system remains the same, one must be able to play, progress, and build wealth. Somewhere there must be a way for you to grind away and slowly stockpile your fortune trading it in on something better, bigger, more fantastic. Predicting market swings, buying low selling high, High frequency sales to corner markets u name it and in most mmos today that concept can be adapted to make a player successful. It is rare that one would find a BIS item him/herself. Typically those will be traded for. but you have to have the currency.

This is an easy concept to understand for many of you. Playing poe with currency orbs, ffxi with igg, diablo 2 with soj's. its there. an economy. a flowing ever changing system whos terms are set by the players, good/bad updates, and ever forsaken RNG. But that's part of gaming. We accept it, understand it, and moving into a new game strive to PLAY, PROGRESS, and BUILD WEALTH. But this ladder slasher is an exception. the currency IN the game is fg that can not be found IN the game. But we adjust we change. players could play Ladder Slasher with little to no fg. gear could be donated, you could be carried, many things were possible. just watching the mp and buying cheap mutables and selling for higher amounts could be done ( remember sniping ).

When this update came out it ruined the average players ability to progress on anything but character experience. there was no currency that could be farmed. no items that could be sold for it. and to DATE nothing has taken its place. We do have Many dedicated skillers who pay a menial amount of fg for items to skill with but this is not sufficient. the reward of these skills is more personal pride and accomplishment than in game rewards. The benefits do not outweigh the costs associated with spending endless fg for materials. the Skewed mod rolls, rng, effectiveness of glpyhs/fish just isnt there enough to support players like mutes used to be able to.

I personally witnessed a PRO slasher in BTG spend 30k 2 if not three times after muted 200+ ee daggers on more mutes without profiting and losing it all. But that is gambling. Still its there though. the currency begetting fg for the players by the players a healthy economy was lost without its backbone. Who would want to play a game that has no way for you to be able to get currency for the game except to purchase for cash or trade from some other game. There has to be a way for a player to start, PLAY, PROGRESS, and BUILD WEALTH. without that DOOMisUponYOU ( slight pun )

It's been 7.5 years since that update. It been a long time. Lots of ups an downs players left, came back. I recently ( yesterdaY ) finally hit rank 56 in muting which allows me to do 55 magicals. A far cry from being able to do it 7.5 years ago. I to this day would not be mad if the system was reverted. All of the time, fg lost, carpal tunnel damage would be worth it. Bringing it back would bring the ability of players to FIND SOMETHING OF VALUE to be sold so they can purchase ITEMS THEY NEED FROM YOU. Back then there were so many muters that are no longer with us. Malte comes to mind first insane luck box. but so were many others. ( remember that guy who got 2 200+ ee ice charms practically back to back F that guy AMAZING )

The game worked. i could take any person reasonably willing to try out the game and make them self sufficient. Granted it was a lot easier when a 80 ee level 5 sword could be sold for 700 fg. but it could be done. I BELIEVE it can be done today. if we had the ability to have people PLAY>PROGRESS>BUILD WEALTH. i see so many threads selling low to mid items with endless weeks of bumping and no response. NOTHING posted to the market place. Its not because these arent are useless they just don't have the demand because the lack of players currently. If 10 new players were to get into ladder slasher that's 10 sets of gear they would be after just for feeder, it only goes up from there. The draw used to be fun, exciting, a good time. But IF you were lucky maybe profitable. Today the slashers i see that are new are very few. Most are Old timers that would play until the Internets gets turned off. that dedication is amazing. The nostalgia thread posted last 1-2 weeks brought up old emotions that were so fond based. i miss it. but i know its not coming back.

Things can not be done by US to revert the game assuming its someone else who needs to do it. Im back to playing and look forward to doing my part in paying well for mutes in the hopes someone new will join our community and our games. I long to see the mp filled with gear abounds and threads dedicated only the better of items. I WANT THE LURE BACK ( not a POKEMON:GO reference ). Ive played POE and other games for years while i have been away. Have a fair amount of wealth that will keep me paying the prices i have put up for mutes FOR EVERYONE not for me. I have no aspirations of being rich knowing how the system works. I will be happy just scraping by. But i hope with something to find that can be consistently sold for something meaningful the value will be there for new players to come. BUY that gear u want to sell, increased YOUR fg so you buy BETTER GEAR, and this cycle continues to make LS great again.

* PS Remember when people used to buy star upgrades to buy ls gear not just poker players getting pretty colors? used to happen regularly. but not anymore. I don't want this game to remain stagnant. and i hope you dont either. not saying spend your money just saying it used to be worth more in the hearts and minds of players more than it is. Its the community that makes a difference. size and quality together are better.

Thank you for a big chunk of your time. IF you legitimately read all of this i appreciate it. more than you know.

GunslingerOfOld
-Dean
( sorry for grammatically errors i type as i think. lot of punctuation missing i am sorry.)[/QUOTE]

I agree with you, if game was brought back to what it was, people would enjoy this game more.
Paul changed this to the way he likes it and he isn't playing the game.
My opinion is, if game was back to was it was and we had more drops(make it permanent), with all the trades through the market place(5% fee), Paul would make profit also
EDIT: And i'm sure the player pool would be back to 100++, Paul would make more fgs/money

This post was edited by Pokela on Oct 29 2016 10:01am

TL:DR version

Bring back the fun, bring back the lure, bring back the gains, bring back the old style of muting (this coming from lvl 56 #4 on the muting ladder)


Agreed. The old style of muting would inherently bring back players, new players, and riches to fg. Even if that was the only change.

its not about that. its about community. if the game in its form is what we have WE have to change it not paul. I will do my bestest to pay Top Dollar for mutes to help towards this end.



it is long. But tbh i read books DAILY. so honestly a good read is a good read. not that this may be. honestly its not a hard ability but i can read this in 2 minutes? thats not much time. hell its slower than 1 transmute

This post was edited by GunslingerOfOld on Oct 29 2016 10:19am

as part of the community im telling you this needs a tldr version, cause that shit is looooong.

I tried. But I apparently missed the feels of it

This post was edited by hasteful on Oct 29 2016 10:19am

I wasn't going to cause the length was overwhelming but I came back to read through ^^

Although I wasn't super active in certain eras of LS, I've come and gone, and come back again like a lot of other players. I can't say I was muting that long ago, and I'm definitely don't have motivation to ever be able to mute lvl 55 items now a days especially seeing all the muters opinions on it. Seems like fun once you get there but a big waste of time during the process... and not worth it in the end according to most

Anyways, I also wish the community itself would be like it once was and it will be definitely be a tough hill to climb if we ever get there again.
I keep trying to get d2/d3 based guildies over here. Some of them have played long long ago and some not at all but a few new solid players at a time would help a lot I think. Offering fg for Gps just for the incentive. Offering some starter gear like half price just to help out. Most don't seem convinced it's worth playing though unfortunately. I did get a couple to come play with me though

Would be awesome if other muters followed your lead but sadly I think it's barely worth it to them as is and most people (not just them) are super tight with fg

I appreciate you m8 and can only hope it gets better from here!

i skimmed it. no chance paul is going to read this. keep it short and sweet bud

its not to paul. hence the point. was written for you not paul.




you are right its not worth it. I KNOW without and DOUBT i will lose fg paying what im offering for mutes. but i will spend every dime doing so. and everything i make doing so. TO try to make it better. I promise you play u find those items i will pay. if i can get ONE fresh NEW player then the goal is worth it.



yes it is. But this is my point. WE must overcome ourselves to draw new people. i will do it with fg on mutes. its how i started its how a lot of people start. No its not the same about but gear is bit more cheaper than it was. but with new people coming it will make a difference. WE need to be the change we want and god damn it i want it back.

This post was edited by GunslingerOfOld on Oct 29 2016 10:41am

god damn that was in 2009..


where does time go. that is crazy. 7.5 years is an insane amount of time for proficiencies. bah. Paul really needs to step up. ive done 2 mqs now since ive been back, and its still missing the spark it used to. one was an explore, and one was just a whistle. and while the whistle climb was fast, blindingly fast, but boring, 3 whole drops from 50-71 above T8. where the hell is the interest in that.

and the problem is that most of the Top gear which can effectivly do those climbs just sits unused in the old timers, and all they do is whistle for GP. because the odds of making Fg are just about non-existent.