500 words, Topic: "the inevitable rise of greed and grind in online games"
Take your time.
Disclaimer: English is not my native language. Also, this sacred scripture is probably more than 500 words. Frankly, I could care less for requirements, as my tested typing speed is over 200 words a minute.
First, Ill start off with an explanation for why I have decided to write this awe-inspiring tome of knowledge. I realized that chadz has made a request to hear my heavenly subjective opinion, and in return is willing to make changes to the game, as informed by a Godly being such as myself. Everyone reading this should envy me, for they do not possess a means to manipulate this grand opportunity.
Now, on to the main topic: why c-rpg is so fucked up, how it has been ruined, and why it is too late (minus a sliver of hope that continues to faintly glow in a pit of unending despair) to undo the erroneous judgments which have occurred in the past. Also, a little disclaimer note should be added, and this point-in-time seems best. The Oracle of Delphi was considered to be able to communicate with the Gods, and thus had the ability to make divine judgment. Her place of residence was examined by French archaeologists, and they found her source of inspiration. She acquired her foresight via inhalation of fumes produced by natural chemical reactions in her lair. Basically, before she gave people advice, she would get so high that standing became difficult. I have adopted her methods for the purpose of this essay, although my drugs are not nearly as powerful. And so it begins
chadz, you have fucked your game up. It all started on January 11th, when the retirement system was re-introduced without a set minimum time similar to what was seen in the previous system. There are currently people who are higher than gen 20, and retire every two days. They wear fully heirloomed gear, which gives them a major advantage over the other players. Of course, you implanted this system to reward time investment into your mod, because, this way, the more you play the greater advantage you gain over everyone else. These players wish to gain such an advantage for various reasons. Generally, the cause is not greed, but rather, an inferiority complex. People seek to gain unfair advantages over those who are better than them, which will in turn allow them to win. This is not what the game should be based on. Not having a life shouldnt give people an unfair advantage over those who have superior skill. Thus, you should (although you probably wont, as you are too lazy, lazy chadz!) remove the system which handicaps everyone who refuse to spend all their time playing the game. I understand you are trying to mine a player base, but you really need to come up with a different method.
I also understand a different reason of why players would try to handicap (relatively) those around them. Such a reason is the only acceptable & morally just one. It is the fact that their opponents have an unfair advantage that they received on an inert basis. What could such an advantage possibly be, you might ask
Well, you see, the advantage is simple: its a ping difference. Clearly, a player with a lower ping has an advantage over a player with a higher ping. So, to conclude this point: Give heirlooms based on ping rather than time invested into the game. But in what manner could such a system possibly be implanted, you might ask. Well, you see, myself being a jack-of-all-trades, as well as a genius, I have already come up with the answer to your woes (now you may sleep soundly at night). The solution would be to apply heirloom bonuses on items at a tick which would occur once every x amount of seconds. X is a specified range of numbers, one of the numbers in this range will be chosen at random, and will define what the timer is for the next heirloom tick. The range of x could be anything, but the range 1-60 seems like a solid base to start with. Anyway, this bores me, I am sure you can figure out the rest without me holding your hand.
About a ladder system, your game desperately needs one. People are bored of your game and fuck around a lot. This means: Lamers, Tkers, Afkers, God-Knows-What else. An individual ladder system which is based on win ratio would greatly help reduce the number of these scum, whom are being encountered surprisingly often.
Now, amalgamate all of the ideas I have so gracefully blessed you with, chadz. Do not allow these words of wisdom to fall upon deaf ears, for it is your duty as a donkey (and a human being) to implant these magnificent suggestions into the game. If you do as I have said, fortune will fall upon you & your family, and your game shall bloom into a magnificent flower of prosperity. I have done my part. You, in return, must not disappoint the Gods.
To sum it all up: High gens with no life have a monopoly on c-rpg, the game is fucked.