Hey guys. Better get the formalities over with: yes, I'm rerolling from World of Warcraft to EQ.
Why? Well, I've done level 60 chars twice in WoW, one of which was in a raiding guild - we cleared Molten Core and Blackwing Lair - the main two highend raid encounters in WoW. Bang. Nothing more to do. Coupled with the fact that the community there is beginning to bother me: it's gone from laughing at some of the idiotic stuff to actually getting _very_ irritated.
Anyway, yeah, I've played some EQ2 before - I kinda enjoyed it, but it felt a bit like "extreme WoW"... and from reading many (many!) different posts in the official EQ1/2 forums as well as various other sites/forums EQlive looks like a pretty enjoyable game - it seems to cater to how I want to play (immersive, big world, mix of grouping/soloing - preferred to grouping, and a nice community).
But I was wondering whether it'd be advisable to roll on an established server, or wait for one of the classic progression servers (don't know much about these - just seems they're new servers that need the newer high end content unlocking? When are they out?).
And another question which will probably make some of you shudder... transitioning from WoW to EQlive... any tips/suggestions? heh. I'm well aware of the things like bigger downtimes, more requirement on grouping, these kind of things appeal to me. Was just wondering if there were any other big.. tips.. when starting EQ indoctrinated by Blizzard *coughs*.
Then a few final zergs of questions: how big exactly is Norrath? Are any classes better for a first-time player to learn about the game? Are there raiding encounters pre-level cap (In WoW raiding begins at 60 and only if you can find 40 other people and a big raiding guild) and do they require a big guild.. or do many get pick-up-grouped?
And finally, are there plenty of lower level guilds/players about to level with and ease a newb into the game on most servers?
Heh, gonna stop my ramblings now... thanks for your time reading this, hope someone can answer at least a few of my questions. :)
Thanks, Rik.
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Ramblings of a newbieFollow
Greetings Rik,
just to answer two:
I am quite a newbie myself. I started 2.5 years ago, and played average 15 hours a week. I maybe know about 30% - 40% of the zones in game…(know the zone as in: I know what most of the camps are called, hunted a few times there and did not just travel through). Does that answer your question?
they are all suited, apart from maybe the enchanter and the bard.
have fun :)
just to answer two:
Quote:
how big exactly is Norrath?
I am quite a newbie myself. I started 2.5 years ago, and played average 15 hours a week. I maybe know about 30% - 40% of the zones in game…(know the zone as in: I know what most of the camps are called, hunted a few times there and did not just travel through). Does that answer your question?
Quote:
Are any classes better for a first-time player to learn about the game?
they are all suited, apart from maybe the enchanter and the bard.
have fun :)
Still a noob. :-P
Characters on Drinal, Povar, EMarr, Firiona Vie.
Characters on Drinal, Povar, EMarr, Firiona Vie.
You may find that getting a group is difficult until you start to reach higher levels due to the fact that the game being as old as it is has a very mature (i mean lots of higher level characters, not neccesarily older players) playerbase, so you may want to make a class that soloes well, some suggestions for good solo classes IMO would be:
Druid: good all round soloer, can heal, do decent DPS through nukes and DoTs, has snare and root, runspeed enchancers, can get to different zones easily and has the ability to "quad kite" the exp from this means you can level very quickly thru the lower levels (30-50ish), and can solo for great exp from levels 53 - 56 for awesome exp charm kiting in PoN. can solo effectively from level 1-70
Necromancer: awesome dps, has a pet, can snare, root, fake dead, awesome mana regen abilities, has special abilities against undead mobs, can solo red con mobs for amazing exp, can solo from level 1 - 70 also
Beast Lord: very good dps, with right gear can take a beating and live, has a pet that can tank efficiently, can SLOW mobs, they come into thier own a little later than druids and necros though, as thier slows arent really effective till somewhat higher levels, however a well equiped high level beast with a few AAs under thier belt can kill mobs that takes grps of other classes to do.
There are some "newbie" servers but the newest one (stromm) is now a couple of years old and is probably packed with high levels players already.
As for your questions regarding the size of EQ, the game is MASSIVE there are literally hundreds of zones and i doubt theres anyone who knows all of them well, the only problem with this is, there tends to be a few popular zones and the rest rarely get visited anymore
Guildswise - there are plenty of guilds going that will take on a low level player, just use the recruiting tool in the guild lobby which can be found off of plane of knowledge or try asking in the SoE forums under the relevent server and im sure you could get in a guild in no time.
/edit typos
Edited, Mon May 1 08:05:33 2006 by sickseventwenty
Druid: good all round soloer, can heal, do decent DPS through nukes and DoTs, has snare and root, runspeed enchancers, can get to different zones easily and has the ability to "quad kite" the exp from this means you can level very quickly thru the lower levels (30-50ish), and can solo for great exp from levels 53 - 56 for awesome exp charm kiting in PoN. can solo effectively from level 1-70
Necromancer: awesome dps, has a pet, can snare, root, fake dead, awesome mana regen abilities, has special abilities against undead mobs, can solo red con mobs for amazing exp, can solo from level 1 - 70 also
Beast Lord: very good dps, with right gear can take a beating and live, has a pet that can tank efficiently, can SLOW mobs, they come into thier own a little later than druids and necros though, as thier slows arent really effective till somewhat higher levels, however a well equiped high level beast with a few AAs under thier belt can kill mobs that takes grps of other classes to do.
There are some "newbie" servers but the newest one (stromm) is now a couple of years old and is probably packed with high levels players already.
As for your questions regarding the size of EQ, the game is MASSIVE there are literally hundreds of zones and i doubt theres anyone who knows all of them well, the only problem with this is, there tends to be a few popular zones and the rest rarely get visited anymore
Guildswise - there are plenty of guilds going that will take on a low level player, just use the recruiting tool in the guild lobby which can be found off of plane of knowledge or try asking in the SoE forums under the relevent server and im sure you could get in a guild in no time.
/edit typos
Edited, Mon May 1 08:05:33 2006 by sickseventwenty
Beastlords become sub-par DPS compared to other classes in very high end, but that shouldn't really be a concern when starting out.
I am somewhat interested in coming back to eq1. Been playing eq2 and the game is just boreing. There is so many restictions (can't get loot if a mob isn't exp, every single piece of gear has to be attuned then sold to a vendor for peanuts, every piece of gear has strict level requirements, mobs are just as hard to kill at lvl 10 as they are at lvl 50, quests give junk for rewards, etc etc.
Seriously I have a 57 Paladin and have been hunting in the Desert of Flames expansion since 45ish. I have YET to find 1 piece of armor off a named or anything worth wearing! I mean there is just nothing to look forward to. Go through long lengthy quests and get crap exp and some piece of armor that has a high req level and junk stats.
Making alts on eq2 is boreing becuase SOE feels the need for every freakin esxpansion to be high level content. So newbies have to level up through the same stuff that was released on launch pretty much.
Only thing holding me back in eq1 is groupage problems at 25+. Seems like there is plenty of peopel to group with in kurns, paludal caverns but then they just drop off the face of norrath! And even with a solo class trying to solo to 50+ in eq1 is VERY VERY VERY boreing and tedious.
Seriously I have a 57 Paladin and have been hunting in the Desert of Flames expansion since 45ish. I have YET to find 1 piece of armor off a named or anything worth wearing! I mean there is just nothing to look forward to. Go through long lengthy quests and get crap exp and some piece of armor that has a high req level and junk stats.
Making alts on eq2 is boreing becuase SOE feels the need for every freakin esxpansion to be high level content. So newbies have to level up through the same stuff that was released on launch pretty much.
Only thing holding me back in eq1 is groupage problems at 25+. Seems like there is plenty of peopel to group with in kurns, paludal caverns but then they just drop off the face of norrath! And even with a solo class trying to solo to 50+ in eq1 is VERY VERY VERY boreing and tedious.
Hi
Yes, the entire world of WoW feels about the size of Kunark. Maybe Kunark and Faydwer.
So that leaves Antonica (largest continent by far), Velious, Odus, the Alter Planes, Luclin, the Planes of Power, Ykesha, Taelosia, the Omens of War place, extra zones for the Dragons of Norrath, the Depths of Darkhollow, and Prophecy of Ro.
All but a few of which are individually larger than the Eastern Kingdoms.
Be prepared for leveling. It's also a much longer haul than WoW. WoW you get a small number of Talent points to customize. EQ you can earn every AA, it just takes time.
I figure with my normal 4-6 hours day play time, and access to a few million plat (call that 10k gold in rough US $ value) to buy gears and spells, knowledge of game.. that I could remake Felicite in 9-12 months.
3 months to 70, 6 months of 150 AA a month.. if I did nothing else.. and there are always "non productive" things that need doing.
There are raids starting in the 40s and 50s. The progression server would be better for this *if* it gets off the ground and you are in a guild that is raiding/progressing.
I would pick a server.. like Stromm. And play a bit there, and check out the server boards (not Sony's.. there will be "unofficial" ones). Learn a bit. If the progression server ever gets off the ground.. well, decide then.
Much like WoW.. priest classes: Cleric, Shaman and Druid are very popular with group builders.
Not sure how hard you study Class abilities and spells and AAs and such.. but it's semi-misleading to think EQ Mage = WoW Mage. Hell.. even EQ Enchanter (the CC class) = WoW Mage.
WoW Mage is basically an EQ Wizard.
EQ Enchanter can (and must) Mez multiple MOBs (even has AoE and pbAoE Mezes). Think how that one change would effect WoW.. if a Mage could sheep multiple MOBs.
And.. almost all casters (cept Mages oddly) can Root. And Root based CC can be a major factor.
Just saying there are differences.
/ramble off
Cleric if you are social.. you can pick your raiding guild. And you can solo.. just painfully.
Necromancer is you are a hermit. The most accessible (to me) of the self contained Classes.
But.. Rogue.. Ranger.. Wizard.. all have fun points. And my Enchanter was about the most fun I ever had, frankly.
So that leaves Antonica (largest continent by far), Velious, Odus, the Alter Planes, Luclin, the Planes of Power, Ykesha, Taelosia, the Omens of War place, extra zones for the Dragons of Norrath, the Depths of Darkhollow, and Prophecy of Ro.
All but a few of which are individually larger than the Eastern Kingdoms.
Be prepared for leveling. It's also a much longer haul than WoW. WoW you get a small number of Talent points to customize. EQ you can earn every AA, it just takes time.
I figure with my normal 4-6 hours day play time, and access to a few million plat (call that 10k gold in rough US $ value) to buy gears and spells, knowledge of game.. that I could remake Felicite in 9-12 months.
3 months to 70, 6 months of 150 AA a month.. if I did nothing else.. and there are always "non productive" things that need doing.
There are raids starting in the 40s and 50s. The progression server would be better for this *if* it gets off the ground and you are in a guild that is raiding/progressing.
I would pick a server.. like Stromm. And play a bit there, and check out the server boards (not Sony's.. there will be "unofficial" ones). Learn a bit. If the progression server ever gets off the ground.. well, decide then.
Much like WoW.. priest classes: Cleric, Shaman and Druid are very popular with group builders.
Not sure how hard you study Class abilities and spells and AAs and such.. but it's semi-misleading to think EQ Mage = WoW Mage. Hell.. even EQ Enchanter (the CC class) = WoW Mage.
WoW Mage is basically an EQ Wizard.
EQ Enchanter can (and must) Mez multiple MOBs (even has AoE and pbAoE Mezes). Think how that one change would effect WoW.. if a Mage could sheep multiple MOBs.
And.. almost all casters (cept Mages oddly) can Root. And Root based CC can be a major factor.
Just saying there are differences.
/ramble off
Cleric if you are social.. you can pick your raiding guild. And you can solo.. just painfully.
Necromancer is you are a hermit. The most accessible (to me) of the self contained Classes.
But.. Rogue.. Ranger.. Wizard.. all have fun points. And my Enchanter was about the most fun I ever had, frankly.
in reply to brudish's comment about beastlords
yeah maybe they are a little less DPS than the likes of rogues, necromancers, wizards, etc, but thier DPS is still excellent, the still very nice DPS plus the fact that they can slow for 65% and take a beating with the right gear (and they can heal for small amounts - with heal AAs, they can heal pretty well) makes them very very potent indeed and i know beast lords who regularly solo named in WoS and MPG, that similar geared necros cant solo.
Quote:
Beastlords become sub-par DPS compared to other classes in very high end, but that shouldn't really be a concern when starting out.
yeah maybe they are a little less DPS than the likes of rogues, necromancers, wizards, etc, but thier DPS is still excellent, the still very nice DPS plus the fact that they can slow for 65% and take a beating with the right gear (and they can heal for small amounts - with heal AAs, they can heal pretty well) makes them very very potent indeed and i know beast lords who regularly solo named in WoS and MPG, that similar geared necros cant solo.
4 posts
Thanks guys - some interesting reads. Was thinking of creating a Druid, simply because I've played druids/druid-type classes in a lot of other RPGs and enjoy the play style. From reading up it looks like EQ druid is kinda similar to WoW's druid in the "good at everything but not great at anything" philosophy.
Some more questions, if I may..
How does death work in EQ? I've heard it's kinda "harsh" - in WoW it's just a run as a ghost back to your corpse, and in EQ2 it was just clicking to res somewhere :/. How's it work here?
And also, am I right in believing almost none of EQ is instanced, unlike WoW?. Are there small single-party-sized dungeons/encounters to fight for quests/xp before/aswell as raiding encounters, much like the pre-60 instances in WoW?
And what are the "boss encounters" like at high-level? There's some pretty indepth tactics required in some of the high-end WoW encounters, is it similar in EQ? Watched some raiding videos from EQ of the "Plane of Time", kinda confused me but looked sort of cool, heh.
Thanks for listening to more of my rambling as I wait for EQ to arrive, heh :|.
Some more questions, if I may..
How does death work in EQ? I've heard it's kinda "harsh" - in WoW it's just a run as a ghost back to your corpse, and in EQ2 it was just clicking to res somewhere :/. How's it work here?
And also, am I right in believing almost none of EQ is instanced, unlike WoW?. Are there small single-party-sized dungeons/encounters to fight for quests/xp before/aswell as raiding encounters, much like the pre-60 instances in WoW?
And what are the "boss encounters" like at high-level? There's some pretty indepth tactics required in some of the high-end WoW encounters, is it similar in EQ? Watched some raiding videos from EQ of the "Plane of Time", kinda confused me but looked sort of cool, heh.
Thanks for listening to more of my rambling as I wait for EQ to arrive, heh :|.
high end eq1 fights are a lot less twitching, and a lot more strategy than highend wow fights.
Death isn't bad now, you lose some experience, you get 96% of that back in a high level rez. If you are low level, you really don't even need a rez. After level 11, you do either have to find your corpse (where you died) to get your stuff back, or summon your corpse to the guild lobby, for a small fee. If you can't for some reason do either, in a week, you can get stuff back from corpse in a special GY zone, but cannot get a rez to gain back experience.
There are instanced missions, but lots of non-instanced lands as well. Again the lack of people at lower levels is your basic problem there.
There are instanced missions, but lots of non-instanced lands as well. Again the lack of people at lower levels is your basic problem there.
Dying now-a-days in EQ:
Level 1-9:
No xp loss and you re-spawn at your bind point with all your belongings
Level 10:
No xp loss but your belongings remain with your corpse. You re-spawn at your bind point. You need to get to your corpse to recover your items.
Level 11+:
Xp loss with death. More xp loss the higher the level. Your belongings remain on your corpse, yata yata..
Corpse recovery:
Once you die, your REZ timer starts. You have 3 hours of on-line time before which you can be rezzed to regain some xp loss. Max regular rezzes from 56+ cleric is 96%. There are other types of rezzes to regain 100% (vet rewards, cleric AA). Rez timer will continue as long as you are logged in from this account (meaning even if you are on any alts as well). If you /quit, rez timer will suspend. Not sure if rez timer runs if you are at character select screen or not, but I wouldn't risk it.
Dragons of Norrath owners have the option of purchasing a soulstone in the Guild Lobby and handing it to a NPC summoner. This will summon ALL of your corpses to the Guild Lobby (Zone off of Plane of Knowledge). There you can be rezzed. Corpse will remain there unless looted until corpse timer runs out.
Unlessed looted, your corpse will remain in place for 7 days of real time, regardless if you are logged on or not. After that you will still be able to recover your belongings by going to Shadowrest. You can get to Shadowrest from an NPC in Plane of Knowledge. If the 3 hours of rez time have passed you cannot get a rez to restore any xp loss from death, but you are able to get all your belongings.
Level 1-9:
No xp loss and you re-spawn at your bind point with all your belongings
Level 10:
No xp loss but your belongings remain with your corpse. You re-spawn at your bind point. You need to get to your corpse to recover your items.
Level 11+:
Xp loss with death. More xp loss the higher the level. Your belongings remain on your corpse, yata yata..
Corpse recovery:
Once you die, your REZ timer starts. You have 3 hours of on-line time before which you can be rezzed to regain some xp loss. Max regular rezzes from 56+ cleric is 96%. There are other types of rezzes to regain 100% (vet rewards, cleric AA). Rez timer will continue as long as you are logged in from this account (meaning even if you are on any alts as well). If you /quit, rez timer will suspend. Not sure if rez timer runs if you are at character select screen or not, but I wouldn't risk it.
Dragons of Norrath owners have the option of purchasing a soulstone in the Guild Lobby and handing it to a NPC summoner. This will summon ALL of your corpses to the Guild Lobby (Zone off of Plane of Knowledge). There you can be rezzed. Corpse will remain there unless looted until corpse timer runs out.
Unlessed looted, your corpse will remain in place for 7 days of real time, regardless if you are logged on or not. After that you will still be able to recover your belongings by going to Shadowrest. You can get to Shadowrest from an NPC in Plane of Knowledge. If the 3 hours of rez time have passed you cannot get a rez to restore any xp loss from death, but you are able to get all your belongings.
People say "oh, it doesn't matter what server you play on, they are all top heavy." This is true but some servers have a much higher lower level population. For instanced, inthe past moth i've taken 2 chars to Kurn's Tower. The one on Povar there were atleast 3 whole groups. On the Rathe, there were 3 players, myself included.
rikbrown wrote:
And also, am I right in believing almost none of EQ is instanced, unlike WoW?. Are there small single-party-sized dungeons/encounters to fight for quests/xp before/aswell as raiding encounters, much like the pre-60 instances in WoW?
Almost 100% of my activies for the last year+ I played EQ were in instances (aside from the travel to them).
I would bet at any given moment, between 50%-80% of a server's online population (aside from Bazaar) is in an instance.
The entire LDoN expansion and a large part of DoN and DoDH is groupable instanced missions with rewards.
**
Note re: Druid. Druid is hybrid yes, but they are not really viable melee past the young days (ie: not WoW second best Tank and Cat Melee DPS). I lubs my Feral Druid..
**
Saying Time is endgame raiding today is like saying the first thing you do out of the tutorial is high end content. Time was beat about the time I started EQ. It's 7 expansions old (LoY, Gates, LDoN, Omens, Dragons, Darkhollow, Ro.. I miss one?)?
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