Why base level 99?

[rubie123]

I have seen so many servers with the max level being 99. I have also met so many people who prefer max level being 99.
Do people love partying this much? Is this the reason for choosing 99? Or is it class balancing reasons?

At 99 you are very limited and forced to party after a certain point.
I personally prefer max level at 150 or 175, since this opens up alot more doors for solo playing and yet it still requires partying when it comes to tough Monsters/MvPs.
Care to share your thoughts?

[Playtester]

I like it when you are forced to party. I never play solo. Not to mention that the whole pre-renewal concept is designed around level 99 being max. Higher levels will just make e.g. status immunities too easy to achieve.

[Terpsichore]

Pre-renewal is built around the level 99 cap, increasing it throws any semblance of balance out of the window, you would need to remake many things for it to work, such as all formulas, exp tables, mob levels and their stat values, probably even add a renewal-style damage scaling for skills past level 100, etc.

[moon hunter]

immunities and bonus make building a character with the stat points you get at level 99 quite a brainscrambler, with more stat points you can just have it all.

[Judgement]

Balance is the main reason.  Of course there would be a big focus on partying too seeing as this is AN MMORPG.  Game can already be pretty soloable too outside of some MVPs.