EQ2 Test Update #18

[Cuppycake]

Unfortunately I played the game for a couple of weeks in September....so unless all these changes have been since then.....I'm afraid I'm still stuck with WoW.

I never got high enough to enjoy the DoF expansion though, only to level 16. I think I would enjoy the game more if I had RL friends that were playing it. Right now, everyone I know is playing WoW =(

[Etadanik]

I don't think it's a matter of "too little, too late." It's easy to make that claim for any dying game (and I've seen it made for EQ1, EQ2, SW:G, Shadowbane, AC2, etc. etc. etc.), because there's *always* something that someone isn't satisfied with and then that flaw becomes a scapegoat when people start leaving, as if the presence of the attribute at release would've changed anything. In reality, the situation is more complicated, and alot of what constitutes success and failure in the MMO world depends on whether your game is the "king of the hill," because that's the game that gets the most word of mouth and popular coverage. In this respect, the principle of a diasporic market appears, at least from the present perspective, rather skewed - as in pop culture, players tend to congregate in multiplayer games that they see as being the most popular, if only for the fact that their "position" in such a community means more.

[Itzena]

Originally Posted by Aethn Anvel

So, when are you going to resubscribe and give up those 3 hour ques and play a real game?

When someone other than SOE Mgmt. is running it?

[Duppin]

Originally Posted by Aethn Anvel

-- Now if the game could get an entire revamp and fix a lot of the classes Done ... class reinvisoning took place last summer

-- change the scenery to make the world exciting, Done ... Desert of Flames expansion shipped 10 months after release

-- fix the combat system..... Done ... Combat Update completed and patched last September.

So, when are you going to resubscribe and give up those 3 hour ques and play a real game?

You must be a paid SOE shill!

EQ2 is a pretty decent game these days.

[Pasteton]

basicgameplay/combat mechanics, which were severely broken/lackoing for the first year of the game, are starting to improve. Meaningful lore/interesting quests are still few and far between unfortunately, but when its good the game gets really fun. The raid game has seen aton of content added, and a significant amoujnt of challenge. Unforunately the lore here is lacking as well, itemization is kinda boring, and encounters are somewhere in the eq1 pre-kunark level as far as creativity to the msot part, with most challenge simply coming from making the mobs significantly higher level than the player. But i doubt anyone could argue that, atleast as a raider, there isnt plenty to do now in eq2. It's just a matter of how much fun you're having doing it.

And i think the game could benefit from a few carefully selected server merges, as some populations are just way too low for people to enjoy an mmo the way its meant to be.

[Moontayle]

That *is* one of the problems with EQ2 that WoW doesn't seem to have (mainly due to the sheer success of the product on Blizzard's end). I ocassionally create a new character for no reason and even in those extreme newbie areas you can find at least a dozen people running around. The Island of Refuge is similar but once you get past that all similarities end.

[Zehn - Vhex]

Now if they could make tradeskills less a pain in the ass. Remember folks, tedium != challenging or fun. And the first motherfucker to say "It's all just button mashing anyways lol...." gets hit with a smacknuts.

[The Hiram Key]

My Templar is 49, met a really great group of people who I play with daily. We have done alot of excellent questing and exploring, last night playing in Sol Eye for the first time. Amazing zone design, the art team really went to town there.

Honestly it doesnt really matter what you play, if you are playing with friends and you are having a good time, then that's all that matters. I think EQ2 is doing fine.

These changes are good I think.

[AladainAF]

Originally Posted by Kasonic

But quest NPC markers are ezmode! You're just being led around by your nose and it's immersion breaking and catering to newbies! wtfbbq!

No kidding! Thank goodness theres an option to turn it off

[Arbitrary]

Originally Posted by Zehn - Vhex

Now if they could make tradeskills less a pain in the ass. Remember folks, tedium != challenging or fun. And the first motherfucker to say "It's all just button mashing anyways lol...." gets hit with a smacknuts.

You can solve most tradeskills with a basic macro program. I found a free one, installed, it, and was on my way to provisoner in a couple minutes and I knew fucko about macros.

[Iannis]

Originally Posted by Itzena

This plus the death & runspeed changes in the last live patch for EQ2 almost make me want to go dredge up the threads where the EQ2 players were flaming WoW for making game-life too easy.

I'm actually suspicious of that removal of spirit shards. They implemented NPCs who you could pay to recover spirit shards for a fee......and remove spirit shards very soon after. Err, what? Internal communication? Whazzat?

One guy in my guild got all up in arms about it though, and he was trying to convince everyone to send an email to SOE complaining about it. He loathes the playing philosophy that WoW's penalty-free death encourages. Retards shall inherit the earth in his opinion, it seems. He overlooked the fact clicksticks made death in original EQ virtually meaningless long before devs came up with the great idea to make death utterly meaningless. As of this moment i think City of Heroes' xp debt is actually the most punishing death system. Maybe camelot...if they still have it on life support...

vaguely glad i've gotten to DoF levels to check them out, even if I don't stick around when I get 60 and notice there's nothing to do. Sort of the same problem every MMO has atm, isn't it? I'd resub to wow but...really, why bother?

[Arbitrary]

EQ2's death penalty often made me stop playing.

So, I get debt when someone dies in a game where grouping is almost mandatory (in the beginning). I often reached points in which it was less painful to log off and try again tomorrow after the debt cooked off than go back in and group with people who would probably give me more debt.

The changes over the months are good, and if they put a dedicated PvP server on they will get another 15 bucks from me, but as things stand I'd rather play WoW.

[Guiness]

Originally Posted by Cuppycake

Games are social for me, and being the only person I can see running around the vast cities is just boring.

I fucking wish this were the case, my early 40s group ended up logging due to the fact that every non instanced dungeon was packed like a liqour store on a friday night. Roll on Antonia Bayle, you have the RPers to keep you entertained, either by ridicule or by sheer RP catassery factor, the number are insane and when they are not out XPing they really do add to the atmosphere and depth of the cities (well, when they are not acting like faggots).

[Slick Willey]

Originally Posted by Pasteton

And i think the game could benefit from a few carefully selected server merges, as some populations are just way too low for people to enjoy an mmo the way its meant to be.

That is sad - game has only been out one year.

[Dis]

Blizzard needs to hire Gallenite.

My wife and I have given up on SoE products. We bought my mother in law World of Warcraft, I give her 3-4 months before she cancels her Sony all access pass, and my brother in law is the last hold out. It is only a matter of time before he gives World of Warcraft a shot, he constantly hovers over my shoulder critiqueing WoW trying so hard not to like it, but with his sis, mom, and bro-in-law playing it will be hard for him not to give it a shot.

I am wondering if we are slowly witnessing the deathknell of SoE products, someone needs to do a massive corporate reorg, and quickly.