[reactordev]

My first memory of EverQuest was leaving the tutorial quest, running along a road at night, and being eaten by a lion.

I had no idea what I was doing but I was hooked on figuring out.

[djtango]

Based on my experiences playing FFXIV, there's an entire generation of gamers now that get completely despirited by experiences like that and give up on the first sign of a wipe, even though these days there's no penalty for even dying...

[reactordev]

And then there’s Dark Souls and Elden Ring…

I think you are generalizing on a stereotype. Gamers love experiences. If you give them enough to know there’s more beyond the wipe, they will keep wiping.

[Cthulhu_]

IX is probably the most accessible "traditional" MMO there is, but it's still very intimidating because it throws a lot of information and a complex UI at you right away. If you've never played an MMO before, it's a lot.

[kwk1]

For me, I made a high elf, didn't know page up/page down were needed to control swimming, and died in the water by the bridge leaving Felwithe, I didn't even get beyond the city gate.