I have played both WOW and EQ2. In WOW I have two level 70 characters, and in EQ2, I have one level 48 character and several lower level alts. Here is my take on both games:
WOW is very much like EQ2.In fact, there are more similarities than differences.
1. Choices: WOW has nine or ten character classes.EQ2 have 24 classes to choose from. In addition, WOW has three lines where you put skill points in order to tailor your character. EQ2 has two tiers of three lines for AA skills, which gives 6 lines to place points. There is no question that EQ2 gives more choices and options for characters.
2. PVP: WOW is really a game geared towards PVP in the endgame. They provide special rewards, items, competitions etc. EQ2 has PvP as an after thought. I certainly give WOW the advantage here if you like PVP,which I don't.
I should note that this can be a real disadvantage to WOW too. In order to get the really good stuff, players need to participate in PVP. Also, the end game in WOW is NOT really raiding but PVP participation. Thus, if you don't like PVP, you will not only miss out on a lot of what the game is geared for but also not get a lot of top stuff. This becomes a particular problem in game balancing since some classes ( such as warlocks) have must strong PVP skills than that of other classes such as paladins. For PVP, the classes are not really balanced well.
3. Balance: With WOW, each class can solo almost as well as other classes.They aren't as balanced for PVP, however. With RAIDS, each class offers a lot to the raid. I can't say that any one class isn't useful. With EQ2, not all classes can solo equally. Rangers, for example, have a tough time soloing in dungeons.Not all classes provide useful stuff in raids too. Overall, I would give WOW the advantage here.
4. Quests: Both have a lot of quests. I would say that EQ2 have more quests,which are needed due to AA skill requirements. EQ2 also has quests that seem related to the plot line. WOW doesn't usually have multiple step quests as with EQ2 nor are any steps related to any major plot. If there are multiple steps,, each step gets experience. Because each game has their advantages here, I would rate this as even.
5. Leveling: No question, it is easier to level in WOW than EQ2. It is about 20% faster based on my experience. In addition, there is no exp debt in WOW. You just need to repair your items, which is also true for EQ2. For the casual player, WOW thus is a bit more casual player friendly due to the faster leveling.
6. Graphics, Both have superb graphics. Frankly, I like the graphics of WOW a bit batter ,but I would say this is a close call.
7. Overall content: This may be the most important factor for evaluation. EQ2 seems to have a LOT more content than WOW. There are more zones, quests, more dungeons, more items to choose from etc. Also, as mentioned below, crafting items seem to be more useful in EQ2 than for WOW. I would give EQ2 the higher score here.
8. Grinding: Frankly, both games involve some grinding or tedious quests. However, with multiple steps for quests in EQ2, not to mention slower runing speed than found in WOW ( WOW does have easy and cheap horses to buy), EQ2 initially seems to involve more of a grind.. Wow does, however, have corpse recovery,which SUCKS. Let me be clear about this. You don't have to recover your corpse,but you will suffer a lot more damage to equipment and and substantially increased sickness time. Thus, geting your body may not be required but is very much encouraged in WOW. If you filter the corpse recovery into account for WOW, the grinding is about even, although it does subjectively feel longer with EQ2. Maybe it is the longer leveling time.
9. Crafting: Both have interesting crafting. With WOW it is easier but not necessarily more compelling. EQ2 does have a compelling form of crafting. In addition, the items made from crafters are more useful on the whole. Overall, I would give EQ2 the advantage in crafting.
10. Auction house: It seems to be a LOT easier to do search for items in WOW's auction house. In addition there are third party software that will search all items for sale and tell you when there are good prices for investment. There seems to be a lot more investors trading stuff on the auction house then with EQ2. Maybe it is the third party software that encourages this. Also, due to having more sellers, prices tend to be more reasonable for good items.
11. Player base: With WOW being a bit more casual player friendly, there seems to be more adults in WOW. My prior guild had most folks who had families, jobs etc. I am sure these types of players are found in EQ2 too. However, I don't think there are as many adults in EQ2 as in WOW,but I could be mistaken here.
12. Casual player friendly: Frankly, I think both games are more casual player friendly than EQ1. However, WOW has faster leveling time. IN addition, most dungeon crawls, even raid dungeons, don't normally take over 1.5 hours to complete. This isn't usually true with EQ2. Thus, I would rate WOW a bit better for the casual player, although it probably is a close call.
13. Third party software: Certainly EQ2 has all kinds of third party software for interface improvements. WOW, however, not only has that but has fabulous sites that give in detail how to do each quests with the exact location of each quest items. It is MUCH easier to accomplish quests by going to to the thottbot site than using any site for EQ2. It isn't that sites like this aren't good,because they are. They just aren't has helpful on quests as found in thottbot. Also, there is a lot of third party stuff for WOW that is terrific such as software that keeps track of all prices in auction house and lets you know when something is underpriced. Overall, I would give WOW the advantage for third party software and for web site help.
14 Miscellaneous: I can't put my finger on it,but EQ2 tends to be more compelling. Maybe it is the greater amount of quests. Maybe it is the larger pool of skills (AA points) available or more compelling crafting, but EQ2 does seem to be more compelling from a long term perspective UNLESS you are into PVP.
Edited, Oct 10th 2007 10:21am by sirmorte
Edited, Oct 10th 2007 10:32am by sirmorte
Edited, Oct 10th 2007 12:16pm by sirmorte
Edited, Oct 10th 2007 12:16pm by sirmorte