Prison Prison needs more meaningful progression and things to do

[hazeuwu]

Minecraft Username:

hazeuwu​

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Prison needs more meaningful progression and things to do​

Suggestion Details:

Prison has a progression problem and not much to do after a point. I'm not saying we need to remove P2W, PvP, or overhaul the whole gamemode. P2W is part of Jartex, that's not changing.

The issue is that for a normal player, once your pickaxe is developed, there aren't many meaningful goals left to chase.

---The gap between new and old players---

The gap between a new player and an established one is huge.

Seasonal keys and seasonal pickaxes give a massive advantage to people who already have money and resources. If you don't get a seasonal pickaxe, catching up takes forever. On top of that, some older players have stacked advantages over multiple seasons, including a ton of alts with gkits.

I'm not asking for any of that to be removed. P2W is part of Jartex. But there should be more things a normal player can realistically work toward without already being established.

---New players don't have much reason to stay---

The main problem for new players isn't that they don't understand how Prison works. The tutorial handles that.

The bigger problem is that after joining, there's nothing that makes them want to stick around.

They start with a normal pickaxe that can take days to develop, while watching players with way better gear and pickaxes. If they go to PvP, they get killed by experienced players and just leave.

A tutorial explains how to play Prison, but it doesn't explain why they should keep playing.

New players need goals where they can look at something and think, "If I keep playing, I can get that eventually."

Right now, Prison doesn't have enough of those.

---Pickaxe progression---

The normal pickaxe takes a long time to develop, and that's fine.

The problem is what comes after.

Once your pickaxe is done, there isn't much new to work toward. You mostly end up mining for levels, keys, Gold, or GTOP.

Mining stops feeling like the actual gameplay and more like a way to grind out another reward.

---Levels---

Levels aren't useless. Keys are a huge reason people grind levels, and that's fine. People grind levels in other gamemodes for the same reason.

The problem is that the level itself doesn't give you much to look forward to beyond the reward attached to it.

Progression becomes:

Mine -> get levels -> get keys -> sell/use the rewards

The keys are fine. I'm not asking for them to be removed or changed.

The issue is that nothing really happens because you hit a higher level.

Levels could be part of a bigger progression system where certain milestones actually unlock new things to do. I'm not saying every level needs a new reward or that keys should be removed. Keys should stay.

---GTOP---

GTOP is another major end goal, but it's only realistic for a tiny percentage of the playerbase.

For the average player, competing for GTOP isn't realistic because of how much it depends on resources, time, and being online at the right moments.

The current GTOP is heavily dependent on attendance and timing, not just how much effort you're willing to put into the season.

It also means that missing a single important booster can potentially ruin your chances of competing for GTOP, especially when the people you're competing against are already spending heavily and have more resources to begin with.

I'm not saying GTOP should be removed or changed completely. It can stay exactly as it is for the players who want to compete for it.

The problem is that GTOP is only a realistic goal for a very small percentage of players. For everyone else, once their pickaxe is developed, there aren't many other long-term goals left besides levels, keys/Gold, or PvP.

GTOP can be an end goal without being the only end goal.

---PvP---

This is probably the biggest part of the problem.

PvP is currently a huge part of Prison. A large chunk of the online playerbase is mainly there for PvP, and I get why - PvP is actually fun. I'm not saying remove it or nerf it heavily.

The problem is PvP has become one of the only consistently fun things to do once normal progression gets repetitive.

That also means when PvP is ruined by cheaters, it hits a huge part of the Prison experience. There are regularly people who log on just to PvP, get banned, come back on another account, and do it all over again.

I'm not suggesting "make the anti-cheat better" - I know that's not a useful suggestion. I'm bringing it up because it shows how much Prison's current gameplay leans on PvP.

If PvP isn't enjoyable, there often isn't much else to fall back on.

---Soul Cave---

I don't think Soul Cave is a problem. If anything, I think it should be used more.

I recently suggested bringing back Soul Cave levels/quests because leveling right now is basically:

Mine -> fruit -> mine -> fruit -> playtime

and it gets repetitive.

Soul Cave mob farming used to give players something different to do while leveling, and I think that kind of variety is exactly what Prison needs more of.

I think Soul Cave levels/quests could be a good way to break up the normal leveling loop and give players another thing to work toward.

At the same time, Soul Cave shouldn't become the only way to make meaningful progress. PvP is a big part of Soul Cave, and some players simply don't want to PvP.

Soul Cave can have good rewards and be worth doing. I just don't think important progression should require players to PvP if they don't want to.

The point isn't to make Soul Cave weaker. It's to give players more options.

---What I think Prison needs---

I think Prison needs more long-term progression paths for normal players.

Not another GTOP.

Not another Gold sink.

Not something that requires a seasonal pickaxe.

Not something that makes PvP mandatory.

I'd like to see the existing progression systems, especially levels, used to unlock actual gameplay options as players progress.

For example, instead of hitting a level and only getting the usual key reward, certain milestones could also unlock new things to do.

I'm not saying every level needs something new. The important part is that progression should eventually give players something new to work toward, not just bigger numbers and more keys.

PvP players should still have PvP.

GTOP should still exist.

P2W can still exist.

Seasonal keys can still be a major part of levels.

I just want another path where a normal player can say, "If I keep playing this season, I can eventually unlock something I actually want."

---Overall---

I don't think Prison needs to completely change. It needs to give players more reasons to keep playing after basic progression is done.

Right now, for a lot of players, the end result is basically:

Pickaxe -> Levels -> Keys/Gold

or

Pickaxe -> GTOP

or

Pickaxe -> PvP

The problem is that each of these has its own limitation.

Levels are mostly a way to get keys and other rewards.

GTOP is only realistically competitive for a very small percentage of players and depends heavily on resources, attendance, and timed boosters.

PvP is fun, but it has become one of the main things keeping people engaged when the rest of progression starts feeling repetitive.

I don't think any of these need to be removed. I just think Prison needs more options alongside them.

I'd like to see more meaningful progression and more actual gameplay options for players who aren't interested in spending most of their time PvPing or competing for GTOP.

A normal player should be able to look at Prison and have something they genuinely want to work toward, even if they aren't one of the richest players on the server and aren't able to be online for every important booster.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

I genuinely want to spend time coming up with new gameplay options and developing them properly, but it's hard to know if it's worth the effort when a suggestion can just get a vague response like "not the goal we're going for."

I understand the Prison team has their own plans, and I'm not expecting every suggestion to be accepted.

But if there's a specific direction the team wants Prison progression to go, knowing that would make it much easier for players to make useful suggestions instead of guessing.

I'd rather spend time designing a detailed gameplay idea that fits the team's direction than waste hours on something that was never close to what they wanted.

If there is a specific direction the team wants Prison progression to move towards, I'd genuinely appreciate some clarification on it.​

How could this idea help improve JartexNetwork?

Give players more reasons to keep playing Prison after their basic progression is done.​