As the game shrinks, the people who run it and play it must adapt. I think it may soon be time for another group size reduction, perhaps to 8. Chars could be buffed a little more to account for the loss of 2 members. There are still people who want to play the game, but to do what was once considered "regular" zoning is more difficult now because the players have grown older and people log considerably less.
It's an idea and I'm throwing it out there.
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I'm kind of against that
I'm kind of against that idea. Maybe its a good way to deal with inevitable shrinkage, but I'm not one to accept shrinkage without at least trying to fight it. Getting involved with big group zoning is pretty much the best thing we have to retain new players--the biggest obstacle is keeping them interested long enough through that awkward, lonely newbie phase so that they get to the point where big group zoning keeps them hooked. Even if their group experience is only in the context of being a needed warm body to fill a tenth spot, that still gives them a much needed chance to make contacts and develop the zoning skills they need to find more groups, and to earn themselves a higher place in those groups. With ten group slots, I'm not too worried about taking a few less experienced neutrals to a fight like Sleet or Frosty, but with only 8 or less, even if the characters would be slightly buffed, I think I'd want to make sure that every slot was filled with somebody solid.