Why is WOW beating this game in popularity?Follow

Seriously I don't see why WOW is so popular? MAybe its just better advertised or because its got Blizzard backing it up? Everquest II seems like a better game in just about every way though.

Friend of mine talked me into trying WOW. Since he tried EQ2 I said I would give it 1 month. The only good things I have found is on a technical standpoint it performs very well. I mean you can open up the game and within 15 seconds be on-line and playing. With EQ2 it takes me at least 3 minutes since it wants to download everquest2_delta along with LON crap every time.

That is really about it. The player base is very immature. I have gotten to 23 and about the most player interaction I have had is random invites to duel, join guilds with obscene names, and thats about it. The auction house is a pain to use IMO, and prices on lower lvl stuff seem rather inflated.

Try to do SOLO quests on WOW and you have to worry about breaking camps with 4 or 5 mobs in them. That is at least when the stuff is actually spawned, usually the stuff is over camped and you can't even find the mobs you need. I guess a high lvl can group with a low lvl and the low lvl will get exp and quest updates, so you can only imagine what they do? All the quests seem to be exactly the same. Go kill X amount of mobs, or go gather X amount of uncommon loots from mobs.

In any case I have 2 weeks left on WOW before the time runs out. I think I will be coming back to my 77 necro after that. I had been a little down as PU groups have been down on eq2 thanks to kunark. However in 23 levels I have had like 2 3 person groups and thats about it on WOW.

Don't tell SOE, but I'm glad EQ2 is not as popular as WOW. Otherwise, all of our servers would be full of squabbling kids instead of theirs.

Advertising. You see WOW ads all over the place plus they sponsor stuff a lot.

With no evidence whatsoever, I think WoW pads their numbers. I think that most recent number is "total number of subscriptions since launch", not "currently active subscriptions."

Also because a huge number of players cannot run EQ2 without some serious hardware upgrades, whereas WoW will run well on lower-end systems. I played EQ1 for years, left a few years ago to try to get my life back, and tried WoW when they came out with their 10-day free trial. It is like 'EQ for Dummies', all the challenge and all the interest have been stripped out to make it more 'playable'. Not to mention, some of Blizzard's developers were GMs on EQ1 and actually took content and even actual player's names and worked them into the storyline of WoW, to suck EQ players into switching (who wouldn't want to see themselves immortalized like that..."I know her" or "Holy crap, that's ME!"). I finally built myself a new gaming system last weekend and DL'd EQ2, and am instantly sucked right back into the much deeper storylines and gameplay. Maybe another reason it is popular is that you can play it for an hour and then go do something else (because it's so boring) whereas EQ2 causes your fingers to heal to the keyboard so you cannot walk away from it.

True, but if you need a new motherboard to use that new video card, and they don't make the kind of memory chips your old system uses anymore, you have to build a whole new system. My old system was only a few years old but none of the EQ2-supported video cards were compatible with my existing motherboard (trust me, I tried). To make EQ2 worth playing I had to spend almost a grand (because if I have to turn off all the bells and whistles to make it playable on a low-end system I'd rather play WoW...or read a book).

Edited, Feb 9th 2008 9:49pm by Mistmantle

Edited, Feb 9th 2008 9:50pm by Mistmantle

Wow is more popular for a few reasons.

1.) Your system can suck and still run wow.

2.) EQ2 had a rough start and that bad taste stays in peoples mouth, they don't often give something a 2nd chance in the MMO world.

3.) Many people were/are disillusioned with SOE, and wouldn't even give EQ2 a look.

4.) Blizzard had never had a MMO, and there was a lot of momentum behind the Warcraft Franchise.

5.) WoW = easy mode up until the end raids and that appeals to the truly casual gamer.

Wow, that's pretty old. My last systemboard upgrade (and therefore memory/CPU/etc) was August 2004, for EQ2, lol.

I think I found the only remaining video card that will fit on by board last fall, and that was a necessary upgrade. The fan on my video card died and I coudln't find a replacement that fit.

OK. I just bought (Last 3 months) a full computer rig that will run ANY game in the market. It cost 800$ The best way to find out what is the best value is through someone that knows what they're doing: A college student. Now, I run crisis on High, and EQ2 on extreme.

A good Mobo: 100-200

BEST VIDEOCARD nVidia 8800GT: 200$ (there is nothing comparable to it w/o spending 400$ more. Anyways, the bottom end cards cost 170$. Why not shell it out now?)

2GB RAM 50-70 Depending on speed

Case: You can use a pizza box...but instead, spend 100$ Look for a case thet has reviews saying it is 'cool'(temp) and has plenty of space inside(8800GT is BIG).

Processor: For EQ2, you don't need a dual core. in fact, it wont even run on the second core. Suck it up. the only regret I have had on my computer was the fact i could have spent 80$ more and gotten a quad-core(which run @ around 280) Instead, go for a middle end dual core: around 170$

Power source. 30$

I got my moniter and case from friends, so I got those really cheap, but I paid ALOT for extras.

Remember: I have -never- found better deals than on newegg.com(Yes, online is the best way to shop)

Suck it up

Hybrid
(Hope this helps someone)

Ouch. i had a friend that livwed in alaska, and whenever he wanted parts, he'd order them to my house before he came to visit...

But still, Alaska's cool.

I asked this question myself quite a while ago (even PRE playing) as I was an EQ1 BETA Tester as well as a steady player for years after and now play EQ2.

One thing was brought to my attention most of all. It's easier. You can download programs (like some thing that enables you to see a map where every player is <PVP> and another cheat that can instantly kill your opponent if you get initiative) that is really just a cheat.

It's easier in another sense (as explained to me by some dude that works at Blockbuster and is going into officer training school for the army)because any character can kill anything at all and clear a zone with or without a full party. He said it's just fun to have groups occasionally but he likes his "God Like" characters. Essentially he doesn't need to do anything with anyone.

The second thing that was brought to my attention was the majority (I don't have a percentage) are kids between 12 and 16. They beg their parents and it keeps them busy.

One of my friends has a friend that plays it constantly. They have Team Speak and my friend told me that almost 3/4's of the people that were in that "Guild" (fairly large guild at that) were kids. Some of them would say, "On my head set, but me and these other 10 guys can't talk because we're supposed to be sleeping. School in the morning."

A third reason (and last one for this post) is that boredom sets in. They find EQ and EQ2 boring because you have to sit sometimes to regain power / mana or you have to harvest for hours and days at a time for rares or equipment. Also they said (people at a cyber cafe') instead of wasting time waiting in EQ or EQ2 for stuff, the economy is so easy in WoW that there's no reason to waste time trying to get stuff. They don't need a Raid Party for everything so they can get whatever they want.

Personally, I'm not knocking WoW and I'm not PRAISING EQ2. I play EQ2 now and I find it fun. Some people will say I'm addicted, and that's what they see. To me, when I get on I'll do whatever it takes to achieve what I have as a goal that evening.

I've played WoW myself... the ease made me bored. There wasn't a real reason to brag because anyone can do it without trying.

That's just my opinion... :)

WoWs made for noobs, i mean, it seems every month they make the game easier, plus its just a big pop culture icon.

anyone can play it and get to the cap, so everyone who cant play a real mmo plays it.




Edited, Feb 17th 2008 2:23pm by MasterOfWar

I had a similar experience when I went from FFXI to WoW and again while I'm trying out EQ2 now. It's just difficult adjusting to a new game regardless of the differences in difficulty level (otherwise it would have been a snap coming from FFXI). in regards to not grouping - the only zone where groups really form to do an instance is Westfall. If you didn't go there you would likely be soloing. Also you might be on a 'dead server' (low pop). People's comments on the easiness of the game are correct though. There are challenges if you look for them but for the most part it's easy.