I played the original EQ from launch till about right before the release of Velious. I was forced to quit due to a lack of play time and for me it was a money sink. I loved the game though. It was new to me, my first MMO (as with many out there).
When I was ready to head back into the MMO scene, I was prepared to go back to Norrath and enjoy it all again. Peer pressure from friends lead me to DAoC, which I remained there for quit sometime, until, right before the release of Trails of Atlantis expansion.
During that time, I also dabbled in Asheron's Call 2, SWG (which is horrid), and many others. I always kept an eye on EQ and it's progress though. Then I decided to finally jump back in. Right before LoY was released, I picked up all the expansions and jumped in. Due to a lack of old buddies no longer in the world and none of my close friends wanted to touch EQ with a 10 foot pole (ex-UO players), I was quickly disgruntled and felt a little left behind due to the massive changes since Kunark to PoP. Maybe too much for me.
I began to follow EQ2 and it progress as well as World of Warcraft's. I was able to get in the beta for WoW, and I was extremely impressed. EQ2 on the other hand, I was out of luck. No one I knew was in the beta either to give any first hand impressions. So I have been in the dark except for what I read here and there, usually rantings of fanboys, and the media, which we all know, they should be used only as guidlines of buying games.
I have purhcased WoW and have had a blast with the title, BUT, I am still keeping my options open. I love the combat in WoW and the solo-ability (due to work schedule, that is a higher priority to me), it's great questing and enough content to mask the boredom of grinding.
I wouldn't want to get left behind the EQ community again and from what I understand, SOE has somewhat learned from their mistakes of EQ1... or least addressed some concerns to the core mechanics. I am willing to give EQ2 a shot. I do have some questions though.
Is the grind as bad as it is in EQ and SWG, or do we have great content to help drudge through the grind? That also leads to my next question... The length of exp between levels, would I feel like I am accomplishing something rather then the slow grind? Now I have always been a big PvE player and my next question is exactly that, how is the PvE content in terms of groups and soloing and can one even solo in this title, beyond being a pet class? Have the devs been keeping their fingers on the pulse of it's gamers and listening to them? Is there instanced dungeons? I tire of camped zones which are rampant in the previous EQ title and in games such as FFXI. How is the quests? Can some of them be solo'ed or is soloing in this title, as a whole, a plain ol' mob grind?
I am the kind of person who is forced to solo a good deal, but I do prefer the group scene, just sometimes I can't just sink the time or effort to that on a daily basis (on a weekend basis maybe). Which how is grouping? Has it been fairly organized as far as the community goes? How are the quests in general? Have they been varied and enjoyable or simple kill tasks or delivery type of thing?
I think you guys get the jist of what I am aiming for. Like I said, I love WoW, but I do want to keep my options open and I want to play EQ2 and not get left behind like what happened in EQ1. Any and all help is apperciated.
Thank you
Edited, Sat Jan 1 01:38:21 2005 by Verse
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If you're a soloer, I guess it all depends on who you hear it from. I myself haven't had too much of a problem soloing. But then again, I'm only lvl 21. Some say you can't solo past 16, some say you can. I guess it all depends.
You said yourself that you hate the grind. Well, nothing in eq comes easy. You have to earn every penny. But there ARE things that you can do that make it very fun. Yes, the levels are long. But there's so much content and so much to look forward to that it seems "Not-so-bad". I really liked my experience so far. And I can say that at some points it was more fun then eq1 ever was. Going in new places that you just earned access to. Seeing all the old sites from the first everquest (neriak).
The tradeskill system is jaw dropping. It's very in-depth and takes a bit more skill then one would think. It's MUCH upgraded from EQ1.
The customer support seems to be doing fairly well at the moment. Thought I have heard many people complaining that they have sent a petition and have yet to get a reply 5 weeks later.
Tired of those camped zones? No more with EQ2. Rule #1, there is NO camps. When you engage in a battle with a mob, the encounter is locked and no one else can participate in it. This was a big improvement. For the most part you don't have to worry about others mistakes (getting trained), because of the AI enhancements. Also, EVERY zone has an instance. This depends on the amount of players. But once a zone reaches a limit. It'll create another. And some quest have their own instances also. So you don't have to worry about waiting in line.
The questing in this game is great. Most all NPCS have their own voice. There's a very helpful journal at the top of your screen telling you your progress of the quest. And the color of the text that the quest is spelled in indicates the difficulty of the quest so you know what to expect. There are a LOT of soloable quest. And most group quest I have end up getting completeld along the way anyways.
All in all, I wouldn't compare this game to EQ1 too much. It's completely different. And in my opinion, if you have the comp to play it, then by ALL means, pick this up.
Edited, Sat Jan 1 02:11:02 2005 by Kensi
You said yourself that you hate the grind. Well, nothing in eq comes easy. You have to earn every penny. But there ARE things that you can do that make it very fun. Yes, the levels are long. But there's so much content and so much to look forward to that it seems "Not-so-bad". I really liked my experience so far. And I can say that at some points it was more fun then eq1 ever was. Going in new places that you just earned access to. Seeing all the old sites from the first everquest (neriak).
The tradeskill system is jaw dropping. It's very in-depth and takes a bit more skill then one would think. It's MUCH upgraded from EQ1.
The customer support seems to be doing fairly well at the moment. Thought I have heard many people complaining that they have sent a petition and have yet to get a reply 5 weeks later.
Tired of those camped zones? No more with EQ2. Rule #1, there is NO camps. When you engage in a battle with a mob, the encounter is locked and no one else can participate in it. This was a big improvement. For the most part you don't have to worry about others mistakes (getting trained), because of the AI enhancements. Also, EVERY zone has an instance. This depends on the amount of players. But once a zone reaches a limit. It'll create another. And some quest have their own instances also. So you don't have to worry about waiting in line.
The questing in this game is great. Most all NPCS have their own voice. There's a very helpful journal at the top of your screen telling you your progress of the quest. And the color of the text that the quest is spelled in indicates the difficulty of the quest so you know what to expect. There are a LOT of soloable quest. And most group quest I have end up getting completeld along the way anyways.
All in all, I wouldn't compare this game to EQ1 too much. It's completely different. And in my opinion, if you have the comp to play it, then by ALL means, pick this up.
Edited, Sat Jan 1 02:11:02 2005 by Kensi
Thank you, very informative.
Yes, I am aware that all games have a grind that will be tedious and boring, but a successful game is one that can either mask it with great questing OR minimize it totally (as in case with AO, they are up to levels 250 now or something) to help reduce it's wear on the gamer's nerves.
I am glad they have instanced zones, a la City of Heroes. Too crowded, they make another instance of it. Very keen on SOE's part I will say.
As long as I feel like I am accomplishing something when I sit down and play, then it's all good. I don't have to gain a level every other night, as long as I feel that my character is developing is a great thing.
I meet the requirements, but I think I need to get from 512MB RAM to 1024MB. I was going to upgrade that anyways.
Another quick question, do they have Role-Playing servers?
Yes, I am aware that all games have a grind that will be tedious and boring, but a successful game is one that can either mask it with great questing OR minimize it totally (as in case with AO, they are up to levels 250 now or something) to help reduce it's wear on the gamer's nerves.
I am glad they have instanced zones, a la City of Heroes. Too crowded, they make another instance of it. Very keen on SOE's part I will say.
As long as I feel like I am accomplishing something when I sit down and play, then it's all good. I don't have to gain a level every other night, as long as I feel that my character is developing is a great thing.
I meet the requirements, but I think I need to get from 512MB RAM to 1024MB. I was going to upgrade that anyways.
Another quick question, do they have Role-Playing servers?
Scholar
42 posts
Yes there is much more than a slow grind to adventuring lvs. If you want it to be a slow grind it can be, but generally everyone had quests to fuffil and things to help guide a party. For example, today I got lv 20 and Warlock subclass killing scarecrows with a group, go get my AQ1 quest, kill some skeleton mages for it, then need to kill more crows. Well, can't kill them on my own so I go LFG and harvest. Get a group, help them with quest in Blackburrow, then finish off my crows. Go back to Queynos(sp><) and finish that quest, start AQ2, and continue doing quests and stuff with the same group, getting right to the last boss in that AQ quest, advisor pandrus. Group is small now, as ppl have been leaving so i go LFG and harvest more. Get another group, go kill pandrus, no OWN pandrus, and then help the mystics get their AQ as well, getting EXP along the way. Then off to Stormhold for AQ3, get a nice group, do most of the quest and get awesome exp, and then main tank and healer bail with 2 kills to go ( some ppl you just can't understand ). Well, what do we do, make a better group, finish AQ and make some more exp! So in one day I got lv 20, did 3 AQs and got 82% into lv 20, and never a dull moment. Just an example of a day in the life of an EQ2 player.
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