Information SoughtFollow

Greetings Seasoned Players:

I too was a EQ player back in my day and, like you, I've decided to pick it up again. Consequently, I am seeking some information before I make my decision final and I would appreciate as much detail and information as possible. (Just so you know where i'm coming from, I played a cleric on Vallon Zek and stopped playing back in 2004.)

From expansion to expansion (or year to year) since Gates of Discord (2004)...
1. How has the game changed since I knew it (i.e. population, play-style, and so on)?
2. What is new in the game?
3. How has the cleric class changed as I knew it?
4. What happened to the Vallon Zek server and how has PvP changed?
5. Should I play on Project1999 or on an original EQ server? (and why?)


Thank you for any information and opinion given.

Greetings and welcome back,

I had started EQ in 2005 and over the years a lot has changed in the game. Where should I start....

Within 1 years time( a patch before TSS expansion)the developers introduced ooc (out of combat) regeneration which cut down on med time significantly. This ooc regen adds about 3% iirc of mana and hp's of regen/tick when in a med state- to all classes. No matter the size of the characters mana/hp pool it will gain at this base percentage (of your full mana/hp pool) plus the gain from any items and effects on the character.

TBS (late 2006 iirc) expansion brought "Infusable Armor" and powersources to boost the stats on infusable armor.

SOF was the next then SOD(2008) expansion changed the game (most say) for the better for other classes, in the nonraid game, by introducing Mercenaries-Healer/cleric or Tank. However it changed the game for the worse for a non raid cleric not in an active guild..Most veterans would rather a real cleric over the mercenaries(Merc) but in practice some nonraid clerics find it harder to get groups..Most grouping nowadays is in guild or ingame friends and cliques. While "pick up groups" are rare except the hotzones (designated zones with increased xp modifiers) on occasion.

By UF expansion(2009) Dps mercenaries: "melee" or "castor type" were added to the merc vendors in POK. This expansion is a more hardcore/difficult expansion. The mobs hitpoints and dps spikes ramped up more than on the launch of previous expansions since I was playing and adds were plentyful. EDIT : Forgot to add ,UF brought the "extended target window" which is great for targeting mobs when fighting multiple mobs. Once you grow accustomed to it you wouldn't want to be without it.

HOT expansion(2010) Was a more progression friendly expansion and brought "housing" and "neighborhoods" (massive bank space plus other conveniences and immersion)to the table.The mob hp increased over UF but progression and gear including tradeable were bumped up and easily available. The mercs power was increased a bit also from lvl 86-90.

VOA (current)has had mob HP increased again and the level cap moved to 95. I have heard that the mercs at lvl93 and up are bugged and do not perform up to mark. But cannot confirm this or if its fixed as my main 3 characters are staying at 90 for awhile..

If you are a nonraid cleric and like the class play it and try to find an active group guild.In the raid game clerics are still coveted highly and their is no alternative class-by the way,mercs are not allowed in raid zones.

Population wise all the regular servers have decent densities in the 80 and up range. Lower level zones are quite empty compared. ZEK/PVP server has a lower but dedicated population if you rather PVP.

As far as the cleric class itself goes I cannot ascertain if spell line changes or additions/nerfs were made as my cleric alt hardly sees playtime since the introduction of mercs a few years back(neglected since L73). They are still the king of healers though.

Hope this helps.


Edited, Feb 17th 2012 8:28pm by hexeez