Short version: Exploration is just the icing on the cake that, despite all efforts to the contrary, make this game too much of a time sink for more than 2 or 3 chars a year for me lately. It's a headache and I can't quite put my finger on why.



Long Version:

I don't have the knack to put myself in the area writer's head, the luck to find these things on accident, the persistence and ally base to get a group together to kill in PvE the mobs (and keep them alive in getting to these mobs) and the desire to comb logs, read flashy descriptions, or cheat, to get this information.

And the fact of the matter is, if you want to be Ravon, Niheriva, Victoria, Cabdru, Drucyrus, Jhyrb, any lich, or whoever else, you need to know where these things are or be able to find them quickly and spend time you don't have thinking of obscure or tedious ways to kill mobs (assuming you don't have a perma on your side) and the persistence to harrass elite cabalmates during the rare times they log in, using cop-out excuses when they delete for why they couldn't help you.

I also am not interested in catering to someone else's playtimes to get what I want done so that rules out a large part of empowerment and immteraction for tattooes, and increases the rewards for those playing the game longer tenfold.

Couple that with a smaller playerbase and an inability to come up with things besides exploration I could be doing because getting spotted in the Inn damns your character to being permanently hunted down for gear-whoring whether or not you actually have the gear or can probably easily avoid those tracking you, well, exploration is the least of my worries for figuring out how to better enjoy the game. Yet, it is the most damning weakness I, and many other players, have that could otherwise put up a fight against the top-tier competition of the game in the PK sense.

Is it possible to get that good? Sure. Is it worth the time investment? Hell no.

For instance, I haven't seen a noticeable character I personally can remember out of Death_Claw since his last Vindicator, and he and Vladamir and Magus are all people that, despite their shortcomings, I know could put up a decent competition for some of the most sterling high end roles in the game, cookie-cutter or otherwise. They've all at one time or another expressed exactly those sentiments.