The State of EQ2?

[xregg]

After buying a 7800gtx card i have found a sudden interest in trying eq2.

Is the game thriving? Are the servers barren? Do any of you still play the game and enjoy it? Doesnt seem to be many threads dedicated to it at all here.

Ive been searching online for a website that lists all the eq2 server firsts by server. No luck on google at all.

Just curious as to how far some of you have made it through eq2 and if the game has improved since launch or declined.

[Nevergone]

Well, I personally think things have improved overall.

Soloing's been made easier, which is nice because it's not always easy to find a group to do the tons of random quests your character gets sent on. One of my biggest gripes was being sent to an area that absolutely no one bothered to go to, and finding that there was no way to actually complete what I was sent there to do without finding a group to go with me. It basically made a good portion of the game inaccessable; not because grouping doesn't occur, just that grouping occurs in places not so far off the beaten path.

As a designer, you have to create paths that the majority of players are going to follow, and you should really only focus on a few at a time. In my opinion, EQ used this idea perfectly. You had designated and accepted paths that characters . FoB > LOIO > FM > OT > DL > KC > SEB/Chardok is a good example of an zone advancement path that worked pretty well for concentrating large amounts of people together.

In my opinion, the further away you deviate from those paths, the more solo or casual friendly the environment should get. Rarely visited places like Droga and Nurga for example should've been (and were) goldmines for soloists. With EQ2, it seems like the overland zones are the soloer's paradise, whereas the dungeons are the places that groups are found in mass concentration - in essence, it's the oppisite of EQ's paths.

Anyway, that was a whole lot of rambling. The game's improved considerably. It preforms better then it used to thanks to optimizations, they're about to release new character models, they're doing a massive overhaul of spells and abilities to bring DPS into line, and there's an expansion coming out later this year that's supposed to deliver arena style PvP (not that I really care).

[Jait]

Here's a link to their boards.

I went back a few months ago and levelled up a troubador and I still couldn't stay long personally. There's tons of people still playing, but you will not see many until you get to Nek or TS (Your 20+ zones). Some guild recently opened up the Frogloks, and I forget who first got Prismatics (aka Nag/Vox quest), but there's not much excitement nor server drama, thus not a whole lot of hype over "firsts". Sony has a webpage setup though that tracks each characters completed quests, items found first, etc... But I don't think they track specific kills.

You didn't ask for a updated review, but I'll give you one anyway. The game doesn't live and breathe like EQ1, but it does provide a decent storyline if you level fast enough. And do check out some Heritage Quests. If you get bogged down in their city newbie quests you'll realize what went wrong, as they focused far too much energy towards a psuedo-immersion that doesn't really work the imagination nor reward it. For example there's this pugly sonuvabitch named Skagga, who runs a store. Skagga needs a new sign for her shop, and she requires the skin of X mob to do that. Great, fantastic, very much like an EQ1 quest, but sadly after running multiple quests for Skagga you'll never see a difference. For a 2nd generation game I want more, but it really felt like a copy of EQ1. They could've loaded a flag on the client that showed you the new sign, or offered more goods at a discounted rate, or hell anything. It ultimately ends up being an experience that doesn't reward, a timesink away from mobhunting. Their inflated stats are interesting, some hate them, but I found them a bit refreshing for a Fantasy RPG.

The game is without a doubt the prettiest on the market in my eyes, and there's plenty of gameplay to be had if you have plenty of time (Especially Heritage). Many enjoy it, and if you wanna believe Curt Schilling's DL'd ass, it's the best thing since crack. But be prepared to spend some heavy camping and xping hours (roughly the same as EQ1) and you'll have some fun. After WoW it's also the most fun MMO out there.

[Magic Juan]

Originally Posted by Jait

Here's a link to their boards.

I went back a few months ago and levelled up a troubador and I still couldn't stay long personally. There's tons of people still playing, but you will not see many until you get to Nek or TS (Your 20+ zones). Some guild recently opened up the Frogloks, and I forget who first got Prismatics (aka Nag/Vox quest), but there's not much excitement nor server drama, thus not a whole lot of hype over "firsts". Sony has a webpage setup though that tracks each characters completed quests, items found first, etc... But I don't think they track specific kills.

You didn't ask for a updated review, but I'll give you one anyway. The game doesn't live and breathe like EQ1, but it does provide a decent storyline if you level fast enough. And do check out some Heritage Quests. If you get bogged down in their city newbie quests you'll realize what went wrong, as they focused far too much energy towards a psuedo-immersion that doesn't really work the imagination nor reward it. For example there's this pugly sonuvabitch named Skagga, who runs a store. Skagga needs a new sign for her shop, and she requires the skin of X mob to do that. Great, fantastic, very much like an EQ1 quest, but sadly after running multiple quests for Skagga you'll never see a difference. For a 2nd generation game I want more, but it really felt like a copy of EQ1. They could've loaded a flag on the client that showed you the new sign, or offered more goods at a discounted rate, or hell anything. It ultimately ends up being an experience that doesn't reward, a timesink away from mobhunting. Their inflated stats are interesting, some hate them, but I found them a bit refreshing for a Fantasy RPG.

The game is without a doubt the prettiest on the market in my eyes, and there's plenty of gameplay to be had if you have plenty of time (Especially Heritage). Many enjoy it, and if you wanna believe Curt Schilling's DL'd ass, it's the best thing since crack. But be prepared to spend some heavy camping and xping hours (roughly the same as EQ1) and you'll have some fun. After WoW it's also the most fun MMO out there.

You make a very good point there about that one example of the sign quest. It would be good if players' actions effected the world, even the little things like that. But in thier defense, they did have that disease that was hitting all players til someone found the cure for it. And also the froglok quest. So that is a good start I must say.

[Magic Juan]

Where did you hear about new character models in EQ2?

Edit: Found the models here http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/e...=163786#M12704


Those new models alone will make me reactivate my EQ2 account.

[Lyrical]

In my opinion, Aradune was dead on when he was talking about Eq2 having too much control. They are so stuck to making players adhere to the "vision."

1- Many encounters are controlled. This means that unlike Eq1, if you are in a dungeon, there is now way to split encounters. So forget soloing. In some places, you won't be allowed the freedom to pull the mobs that you want. This game mechanic is too restrictive.

2- The trivial loot code is in full effect.

3- You still need the holy trinity to take on any meaningful encounter.

4- Kiting is dead. When you engage a mob, your running speed slows down to regular until the fight is over.

These are just a few things that aren't so good about Eq2. If it is any indicator, my entire guild from Eq1 moved to Eq2. 80% of them haven't logged in for 30 days or more. The restrictive mechanics are the only bad point, in my opinion.

A positive is that they are patching in new content probably faster than any other MMO out there. Sony has lost share, and they know that many players think that Blizzard is patching new content already. They have patched in two adventure packs (which run like Eq ldon's), and already announced that expansions will be twice a year. The first expansion pack is due shortly.

[Kolle]

I was under the impression EQ2 was dying already or limping along at best.

[Magic Juan]

Originally Posted by Lyrical

In my opinion, Aradune was dead on when he was talking about Eq2 having too much control. They are so stuck to making players adhere to the "vision."

1- Many encounters are controlled. This means that unlike Eq1, if you are in a dungeon, there is now way to split encounters. So forget soloing. In some places, you won't be allowed the freedom to pull the mobs that you want. This game mechanic is too restrictive.

2- The trivial loot code is in full effect.

3- You still need the holy trinity to take on any meaningful encounter.

4- Kiting is dead. When you engage a mob, your running speed slows down to regular until the fight is over.

These are just a few things that aren't so good about Eq2. If it is any indicator, my entire guild from Eq1 moved to Eq2. 80% of them haven't logged in for 30 days or more. The restrictive mechanics are the only bad point, in my opinion.

A positive is that they are patching in new content probably faster than any other MMO out there. Sony has lost share, and they know that many players think that Blizzard is patching new content already. They have patched in two adventure packs (which run like Eq ldon's), and already announced that expansions will be twice a year. The first expansion pack is due shortly.

That was one of my biggest gripes about EQ2, but who knows with the combat changes in the works they might fix that.

I agree with you, alot of the freedom of EQ1 is lacking greatly in EQ2. Which in turn doesn't really make it Everquest-like to me. EQ2 just didnt make me feel like I was in Norrath.

[Transvaal]

Doesn't seem dying on Perma at least. I don't run into the huge amounts of people that used to congregate in PoK or anything, but there is definitely a somewhat consistent playerbase hanging around. The combat changes should be a breath of fresh air to most people as well. And the new splitpaw raid zone is actually pretty fun. If they keep up end-game encounters like this, I doubt eq2 will be dying anytime soon.

Transvaal
50 Templar

[Mkopec1]

Like others pointed out, the locked combat encunters ruined it for me.

I really wanted to like the game too, but I just could not get passed the stupid restrictive locked combat.

[Nevergone]

Originally Posted by Lyrical

1- Many encounters are controlled. This means that unlike Eq1, if you are in a dungeon, there is now way to split encounters. So forget soloing. In some places, you won't be allowed the freedom to pull the mobs that you want. This game mechanic is too restrictive.

2- The trivial loot code is in full effect.

3- You still need the holy trinity to take on any meaningful encounter.

4- Kiting is dead. When you engage a mob, your running speed slows down to regular until the fight is over.

1. So forget soloing? Yea, by that statement alone I can tell you haven't seen the game in the past two months. Almost every mob in the overland zones (Antonica/Commonlands, TS/Nek, etc) can be solo'd, or has solo versions. For example the majority of gnolls are group encounters, but there's quite a few wanderers that are solos. I don't see how this is any different from the way it's been in other games, except for the fact that in EQ2 your told what you're probably able to kill or not. An accurate consider system is a good thing. I would much prefer to be able to look at a mob and see that "this creature might defeat a group of three people," instead of just having a color coded response of "oh, it's white".

Oh, and for the knowledgeable players, there are ways to split encounters. There's an entire archetype that's partially devoted to crowd control - mages. Root, mez, stun, stifle, all very useful for slowing the pace that enemies enter a situation.

2. TLC is nothing new to EQ2; you do realize Brad originally promoted that idea? I wouldn't be surprised to see something very similar in V:SoH.

3. Holy trinity? I guess, if you consider the holy trinity to be a fighter of any cloth, a priest of any cloth, and some form of damage. Your "trinity" is composed of close to 24 classes. In reality, it's the opposite, there isn't enough demand for utility in the game. Crowd control isn't needed in almost every encounter, run speed buffs are suspended during battle unless you break, certain buffs that are intended to be almost class defining have barely any effect.

4. There are still ways to kite, you just won't see Druid_019192 doing it. Mages pretty much rely on kiting to solo, albeit they don't use snare, they use roots, stuns, and mezzes.

[Khalikryst]

Originally Posted by Magic Juan

Where did you hear about new character models in EQ2?

Edit: Found the models here http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/e...=163786#M12704


Those new models alone will make me reactivate my EQ2 account.

Did they actually formally confirm they are bringing those character models to the NA servers? Last I heard Smedley was saying the equivelent of "we'll look into it but it would take alot of work" which is usually PR speak for "no".

[Nevergone]

Originally Posted by Khalikryst

Did they actually formally confirm they are bringing those character models to the NA servers? Last I heard Smedley was saying the equivelent of "we'll look into it but it would take alot of work" which is usually PR speak for "no".

It was confirmed that the new models would be optional for customers in the US, as soon as they're done making them.

[Andric d'Regor]

I still enjoy the game and it seems to be getting busier again on my server atm. The splitpaw adventure pack is fun.

Whoever said you need the holy trinity is wrong - if anything best is one of each arch at least and fill in others.

The 'groups of mobs are all linked' is also misleading. Basically a group encounter with several mobs in it can really be viewed as one mob with lots of diferent parts to it. They are not a linked group of full power mobs but 4 - 6 gimped down sub-versions of a single group mob. Infact its pretty much why chanters are rare - they arnt needed to control those encounters as they really are just like a many headed/handed single mob.

Rangers kite a lot, melle kiting is possible by timing runs with teh target starting a spell/ability, root/mez kiting works fine...

Best way to xp is to group - groups of 4 are my favourite - preferably one of each arch. sitting and grindign is very inefficient - do the dungeons movign down and clearing named spots then working back round with such a group is fun and profitable. Solo - get to level 20 and get splitpaw sage and do teh harclave adventure repeatedly. Fun and good xp/cash/ok items - would get tedious but likely the bext xp in game.

it can be a fun game but I would recommend taking your time levelling not rushing to the end game and missing a lot of the content. End game is zilch/nada/sweet fuck all unless your in a raiding guild and the raiding guilds have other problems.

[Onte]

I would say that on Befallen, 50% of the population of the server is level 35-50. I pulled that number out of my ass but as I travel along, the zones for levels 30ish+ are fairly full whereas lower level zones such as Commons or Nek Forest aren't very populated at all.

Personally, I love the game. I'm having a blast with it and do not intend to cancel any time soon. It's rather funny, though, the game has been out long enough and enough folks have hit cap and been through most of the content that the "omgz the ubers control the server" threads are starting to pop up on SoE's boards. ("omgz we ran out of content so we're going to bitch about contested mobs, we want that loot too but we don't want to actually DO anything to obtain it." ala pre-Velious)

Anyhow, I log on and always have something to do. I really miss trains, though. There's something lacking in 400 mobs just giving up and turning around after a couple hundred yards.