Rangers on WoW

[Kom]

<DIV>I hear the rangers on WoW rock.  Maybe it's time to make like Smedley and the SOE developers and go play there. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Sirlutt]

off ya go then.I hear the Rangers on EQ2 rock ... in fact.. i checked this morning and yep.. they still rock.If ya dont like the class.. re-roll another.. just stop [Removed for Content] whining about it all the time..its turing into the Berzerker board in here.. whine whine whine .. there is less and less useful info and more whine of the day posts... i rerolled a ranger from my Berzerker because i wasnt happy with the change to Berzerker..

[Neec]

<DIV>WoW and EQ2 are difernt games both offer a diferent style of game, this is EQ2 not WoW, i agree the nerfs are a little heavy at the moment but it should balance out, it doesnt afect our grp play we still do serious damage, Perhaps they need to tweak solo mobs and grey mobs a little or boos us a little btu we do have a really nice selection of skills.. </DIV>

[Kom]

<DIV>Ummm... for those that didn't figure out the message.  It was a tongue in cheek commentary on John Smedley's recently posted message.  If you read between the lines on his commentary, SOE is taking a hard look at WoW and what is making it so popular which should benefit us here.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm far too immune to SOE's nerfs to get as upset as many people in this forum seem to be.  If you're new to Everquest and SOE and surprised by their nerfing, get used to it.  Someone said it best in another thread - "Adapt and Overcome".</DIV>

[Ren]

Go play WoW then, and join all the other 14 year olds and battle-net [Removed for Content], bad enough I need to put up with their attitude playing WC3 online, imagine that in an MMO, just sit back, drink a beer, and tally how many names you can find with a refrence to Pot to it. Yeah, I played Beta, and on and off for about a month after launch, couldn't stand the player base, and for your info Hunters on WoW are overpowered... well every class in WoW is, a Paladin can solo everything in game short of epic mobs, well correction, they could solo epic mobs, until last patch. If you want everything handed to you on a silver plater, and dumbed down to your playing level, go to WoW. Don't bash the Devs, I want to see you program, code, update, and make expansions for a game, and keep them fresh, good, and original. WoW has 0 originality, its pretty sad, it seems like they made a pot-luck stew of every other mmo out there, slapped their label on it, and said, w00t, we got a game, now lets get the massive amount of kids with have on b-net, to pay us 15 a month to play, and were rich, and you know what, they were right, but they made a community of opprotunist, selfish, and greedy players ,with no sense of community or commradery.. kinda like FFXI, after the ps2 invasion. I work at a Lan-Cafe, and all the kids and I do mean kids ( I seriously know one person over the age of 18 that played), I knew who came in ranting and raving about how fantastic WoW is, all quit within the first month, for the reasons above just stated. Argh, sorry I am ranting, but when I hear kids talk about how they like WoW so much more, get the [FaarNerfed!] off our boards, go play WoW, and cheers, have fun, get bored, quit, and come back.

[Deck-]

<DIV>I rolled as 2 classes in WoW beta.......and I play EQ2..</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>WoW, in my opinion, only has so many subscribers because the game appeals more to the 13 - 17 age bracket. The community is comprised of a majority of younger players with access to thier parents credit cards. As the poster above me stated what they see while working a Lan cafe, I myself visit a local Lan center in my area and play EQ2 there with a few friends. There are several groups of WoW players that come there as well. The average age of these players is 15 and there are at least twice if not three times as many Wow players as EQ2 players that visit this particular place.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My point is.....There may be much more quantity of WoW players, but the community is crap. The kids are too young to know how to act in a mature way when dealing with other players, or general communication if there is a dispute. I cannot count how many times in WoW beta I saw in chat "j00 n00b" and "1 am teh 1337" . Just my opinion, but WoW would only be worth playing if they implemented age restricted servers.</DIV>

[Kyriel]

<DIV>same old story again, why even compared eq2 to wow ? this is a rangers forum not a sarcasm one sigh* </DIV>

[Troja]

Idea!There should be a specific board on the forums just to whine and get it all out..hehe <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[GoNom]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Trojake wrote:<BR>Idea!<BR><BR>There should be a specific board on the forums just to whine and get it all out..hehe <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <P>Yah and they should call it................the Trash bin.</P> <P> </P> <P>Stupid thread.............</P>

[Boos]

<DIV>Okay folks, this is where I tell you, the following email is <STRONG>my opinion</STRONG> and should be flamed gently over a long period of time on a low to moderate heat.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I saw this thread several days ago and I, like a many other players, chose a class that they believed they would enjoy playing based upon experience of playing similar classes.  I didn't want to go big dps, I didn't want to go anti-melee, but I did want to play a ranger because distance fighting with a bow, crossbow, clothes-line or a slingshot appeals to me.  I enjoy the whole, 'hug a tree and buy a bird' stuff and I'll plump for that one each and every time as a class.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I decided to go and try it out for myself.  So I parked my 37 ranger for a while and created a WoW account, hunter class of course (nearest equivalent to ranger) and some time 'doing the thing with the thing' and levelling, questing, exploring etc.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This, to be absoutely, completely and utterly honest, is my opinion of my (limited) experience.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Initial impressions were that the visual aspects of wow were absolutely nothing on eq2.  It made me realise just how much effort and skill has gone into the world design, character design, emotes, graphics engine and character models in eq2.  Even the colour palettes seems far more realistic in eq2.  Graphically, I have to say kudos to eq2 designers.  On the lowest possible graphics settings, eq2 made wow look far less 'beautiful' in world terms.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Off I sped (of course I didn't read the manual) to pick up some quests, fight some baddies and see what the combat systems were like and of course, the surrounding 'bumph' that we all take for granted:  LFG channels, chat windows, bag control, hotkey/macros etc.  I know these aren't fundamental to the game itself, but if you ever actually stop to think how many times you use lfg windows, use your bags and move stuff around inventory - you'll soon see the difference if it isn't made easy.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I didn't like the hotkey system in wow, only one hotkey bar open at a time meant that by level 10 I was switching between them like an epileptic just to 'get it on' and smack some skillz about.  I didn't like the running speed (pathfinding is a talent you can learn later on, and even then isn't as big a difference as it should be imho), I got ridiculously bored running back and for between towns.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I didn't like the 'feeling' that with all the 3ghz processors and dolby surround sound I have in my gaming experience, the single factor which my home set-up is missing is apparently my youth.  I did get an impression that the average age of the players around me in wow was better suited to my daugher than me.  I have absolutely no proof of that (clearly I didn't create a poll to get people to give me their ages - next would be a call from the police) but it was just an 'impression' I got.  Call it 'intuition'.  Call it 'fear'.  Whatever.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now, a brief word on this one issue before I move on.  I realise you cannot approach a game like wow independently unless you are seriously thinking about staying with it for the long-haul.  Me, from the UK, and the wow europe servers opening last Friday seemed like an opportune moment to see which of eq2 and wow I would go with for the duration.  So don't think I was approaching this biased whilst praying to my four foot high statue of Smedley.  I wasn't.  I approached it as you might - as though I was going to play it for a long time.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>A couple of evenings ago, however, I double-clicked that icon marked World of Warcraft on my desktop and launched the game.  Put in my username and password and sat back awaiting the 'DA NAAA' moment.  Instead, I got a message telling me that my server was full and I was number 21 in the queue, would I ever-so-much mind waiting a minute or two.  This seriously got me.  I almost-nearly-but-not-quite removed the wow application at this point and sat my ranger back on his Karana Planestrider for eternity.  I just didn't get this and this still remains a serious low-point for me.  I'd rather see half as many people in an open land area than a queuing system for a log-on because the server has accepted too many characters.  Bizarre.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And then, I dinged level 10 and got the class defining skill for the hunter.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tame beast.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What a difference this made to my experience.  The hours of desparately trying to solo a mob armed with a tickling stick and as much armour class as a small bagel were gone.  The inability to take my eq2 ranger and go and actually hunt something....</DIV> <DIV>with my bow...</DIV> <DIV>on my own...</DIV> <DIV>in the wilderness...</DIV> <DIV>was removed in a flashing light of godly worship.  </DIV> <DIV>Tame beast.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It is such a fundamentally simple difference between the eq2 ranger and the wow hunter and it is this difference, I believe which is the cause, and fundamentally, the justification of this thread.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You see.  Prior to level 10 in wow, the hunter has bow skills, he can get arrows, he can use a dagger.  As far as rangers go, it's like the scout class but with a significantly less beautiful world within which to live.  Level 10, however kind of brings all the abilities that the 'ranger/hunter/scout/wilderness/tree-hugger' kind of player I am to fruition.  (Skinning dead animals and making leather from the skins to patch your armour, building a campfire in the wilderness, hunting a bird and cooking its eggs to feed your panther are another bunch of rather neat hunter/ranger-esque moments I enjoyed)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You stand in front of a 'beast', hit the skill button and watch the beast try to maul you.  Several seconds later, when your 'channeling' of the skill is done, you either tamed it...or it killed you (or as near as, without the cigar).  From that point, you can name the pet, level it up, teach it combat skills, feed it, love it and even stable it while you get another.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The beast taunts for you, tanks for you and you control aggro by controlling your damage throughout the fight.  Too much aggro and you get munched, too little and your dps is too low, resulting in munched pet.  Ranged combat is now feasible, pet at your side and finally a tree-hugging class definition which does not have to rely upon that well known master bowman's skill, the 'let-me-stick-this-dagger-in-you-but-please-don't-hurt-me-as-my-ac-stinks' skill.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So now I am in a little bit of a quandry.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I enjoy traveling through Norrath for the sheer maturity of the playerbase, the visually stunning landscapes and life-like movement of the characters.  The little things like speech bubbles and lfg buttons.  Heroic Opportunities and having to actually 'think' about your combat moves.  I am still enthralled by the quests, the group dynamics and the ability to feel as though you are creating a character with a future.  The tradeskill feeling that you've actually stood there, hitting buttons and you MADE something, rather than just picking three items and hitting 'combine' (the wow method btw).  The whole dynamics of the game are still magnificent.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And then you've got me.  A dad.  A husband.  A full-time job.  A kind of sick and twisted (platonic) love for rangers, bow wielders and hunter types that drives me to pretty much pick a class simply based on whether it's the closest thing to Robin Hood or Legolas or Streethawk (with his neatly balanced compound bow...heh).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I gotta say.  I enjoy playing that wow hunter.  Really, I do.  But I long for the visualisation of a graphically enveloping world and gameplay that is eq2 as well.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My free first month with wow will run out during the month and then I'll make my choice.  In the meantime, don't judge my loyalty to eq2 from this post.  Just read it like a poorly written newspaper article, think about it for a minute, then forget you ever saw it.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And btw, no, you can't have my stuff.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>On either game.</DIV>

[Ren]

WoW Graphics arent terrible either, they are set to keep up with the Warcraft worlds graphics, comparing EQ2 and WoW graphics is like comparing 2 artist with completely different styles.

[Boos]

<blockquote><hr>Rents wrote:WoW Graphics arent terrible either, they are set to keep up with the Warcraft worlds graphics, comparing EQ2 and WoW graphics is like comparing 2 artist with completely different styles.<hr></blockquote>I agree. And that is precisely what you do when you appraise art. You do not take into account whether the piece is cubist or impressionist, you judge them both from your perspective. I didn't say the wow graphics were terrible btw, I said the eq2 world was beautiful.But I take your point.

[Aanari]

<DIV>Nice post boosey...i too just started trying out WoW. I like both games and enjoy both. I play eq2 with my fiance (Fury) and when she doesnt feel like playing i solo in WoW with my hunter. That is one thing i like alot about WoW...the solo content. Being able to achieve somthing in a small group or solo.</DIV>

[aurrasing5]

<DIV> <DIV>I'd have to agree, both games have their own strengths and weaknesses.  I am enjoying everquest 2 much more than WoW, but one of the things I really enjoy about Wow is the world.  It is MUCH more massive, diversified and original than EQ2.  The ability to run and run without hitting a zone wall is very refreshing.  But EQ2 is just much more rewarding to play.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But they each have their own perks!</DIV></DIV>