I’m basically implying that yes, Epona does it right and makes the most out of the drop mechanics. The server is wildly popular for a reason (people are actually leaving because it’s getting way too overpopulated). The problem is within the drop mechanics themselves, because 3-4 drops from a whole raid of 2-3 pages of players for any given raid is ridiculous and there’s isn’t enough to go around. Epona proves that a drop system like I explained would work and be much more popular than how things are now.If you're implying that Epona's system is any better please don't. Not even close. I've played both worlds and what I can say is at least I actually can win drops with dkp. Simple but very much needed items and easy to get for free and maybe even from clank bank for free without spending millions.That’s the biggest flaw with dkp. You have two types of people in this game, those who treat it like it’s the real world and those who treat it like it’s a game... the people who treat it like it’s the real world and think this game is a part time job rack up so much dkp that the people who treat it like it’s a game have no chances of competing against those players with dkp.
It’s a game, everyone should have an equal chance of obtaining gear. That I’m sure is another reason why players leave this game because they can never get anything good, it’s not new player friendly in any way. The way drops work and how clans have built around those mechanics are largely to blame. If I were designing this game I would make it so that everyone present at the boss has a chance to obtain a drop if you meet a certain dps threshold. That would make things fun for everyone. I’ve played MMOs that use that loot system and they’re a whole lot more fun and satisfying than what is used in Celtic Heroes.
And I would not limit the drops to 3 or 4.... everyone has a certain percentage to obtain a drop of any kind, meaning 20 things could drop at once on individual players or nothing at all, although unlikely. This would ultimately get rid of competition, prevent clans from hoarding loot from the rest of the server and, yes that’s right, force players to work together... what??? Omg!!! Players actually cooperating with each other instead of constantly fighting each other?? No way! MMOs are always about players cooperating with each other, the competition is always found in the PvP... always, or atleast all of the great MMORPGs.
Quick example. There’s this MMO I started playing this winter break which is pretty fun. After a few days of grinding out bosses (it takes like an hour max to get to max level and participate in endgame content, but the drawback of that is perma death) I managed to get one of the rarest quivers in the game to drop on me which has a 0.125% chance of dropping. A veteran player who was there said he’s been looking for the quiver for months with no luck. That is what new player friendly content is. Knowing I have the same chance at obtaining loot as someone who’s been playing for years... it’s fun and its satisfying and it makes me come back for more.
Due to the low drop amount it makes any system not work.
A common thing in Epona for people xfering is due to their toxic server's environment. (however saying you joined for easier gear is one way of not getting in a clan since apparently having gear as a priority is greedy and a big taboo) So I wouldn't say overpopulation is because of the gearing system. I have noticed they mostly come from corrupt gearing systems or servers with boss griefing.
Servers with fair systems tend to not have that many xfers. Like for example in Mabon, I don't recall anyone I know in endgame that went to Epona unless they were a reject due to their awful behavior.