Thinking about coming back to EQ2 - Looking for input

[Kesha_Vex]

<p>My wife and I played this game intensely, all through beta, one of the first off the island on release day, lots of discoveries, etc. I was the first Alchemist on Antonia Bayle (so you can imagine how rich I was). Fun as it was, I quit some time after hitting 50 (level cap at the time) and getting all 22 Heritage Quests done. Had a great ride, but went on to other things. After Vanguard and LOTRO, my wife and I are getting restless and looking for a new home. I imagine our characters are still around (me Shaman, she Swash), so we could probably just pick up and start working our way through new content immediately. We're considering it, and I thought I'd drop in to get some input.</p><p>I keep hearing great things about the evolution of this game. It was pretty good back then, but it's apparently gotten better. I've played virtually every MMO that counts and played them hard, and to date I've never come across any dungeon or quest line that was more fun, more exciting than Nek Castle. Since we played it at release, we had to figure it all out on our own, no walk-throughs, etc., and omg was that fun. Is there more content like that now?</p><p>I was in a raiding guild so my wife and I were always grouped and in raiding parties.  We always preferred group-oriented games (loved the original EQ) and have never cared for massively soloable games like WoW. But this time through we would probably just duo for a while, getting to know the game again and taking our time until we found a guild that we like again. Are we going to find enough content to get us to the new level caps as a duo, or will we need to group up with PUGs until we find a guild?</p><p>We quit playing almost exactly 2 years ago this month, June of 2005, prior to the release of the first expansion. So much must have changed since then, I realize this is a tall order, but for any of you who have been here the whole time or know the game's evolution, can you summarize what's new since then? Major gameplay changes? I'm excited to think about the possibilities, and I look forward to the research to determine if this is going to be our next stop for a while.</p><p>Thanks for any input.</p>

[Kesha_Vex]

<p>Somehow I missed the "What's new in EQ2" sticky thread before posting the above, but I just got through reading it. </p><p>Many of the changes sound exciting, but I still have some questions and some concerns. Sounds like the game is *very* soloable now? And I see that you no longer have to recover your shard? In WoW, the combination of massive soloability and virtually no death penalty led to a gameworld that was populated by really bad players who never learned how to play well (they didn't have to since they never feared death) and were horrible to group with. What does this game do to avoid that unpleasant result?</p><p>Thanks for any additional input, I have to admit I'm getting psyched to try this out again.</p>

[Miele]

No death penalty is a good thing, less wasted time and more time where you actually play, but discussing on this may open up a can of worms... anyway, come back and see yourself, the game is really fun nowadays and the average player is better than the average wow player and for sure a lot more mature, but I bet you knew this already (if you exclude some of the resident forum nerds). You can solo, yeah... if you want to skip all the cool content, feel free to <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Gorpier]

OP I think you are still ok <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Yes they've added much to the solo end of the game, but there is still tons of group activity and I don't think our player base is too bad.. especially when compaired to wow.  We seem to have a much more mature player ba se.  Yes, we have many many kids who play, but the y are, for the most part, respectful and mature (w hich I did not find in wow)  I have played both WoW and EQ2 amongst many others, and this one is still one of the most fun MMO's I've ever played.  There are many new challenges.  Yeah, a lot of the trash mobs are solos now, and they have added more solo nameds, but the rewards for group encounters and the like, are still worth grouping for (in my opinion anyway <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ) If you decide to come back and play, welcome back <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  If not, good luck finding the right one.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Edited because I left out a thing or two. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Magpie1]

<p>I would recommend trying the game again. </p><p>Whilst alot of the 'difficulty' has been removed (such as the neccesity to retrieve your shard or an absolute requirement to group) this has been replaced by other difficulties that are far more enjoyable than shard runs or endless hours lfg. There is absolutely tons of quests that replace the old time sink = difficulty equation. Many of the really good quests are part of questlines that generally start out with solo content, progressing to easy group content and then on to the difficult group content and, sometimes, raid content. How far you progress down these lines is reflected in the rewards as you move through them. There are also a few item drops and quest rewards that are raid quality which helps with the whole gearing up your toon. Raids still provide the best gear but the line between the two is less distinct which helps the casual player/raider. Furthermore, since the aquisition of decent gear / wealth is heavily dependent upon questing and the broker system it requires some thought as to how you spend your time... this tends to keep the instant gratification crew (kiddies) at bay. You can aquire some decent gear from the broker to help you out but most of the really good stuff is no-trade, quested or raid obtained.</p><p>The addition of AAs to your charater allows for a certain degree of variation in character build, whilst respec's are available (at a price!) to allow you to experiment with your setup. </p><p>There is absolutely no problem with player numbers on the two servers I have been on (Befallen and Splitpaw) and there are regularly calls for groups to do all sorts of instances, quests or pick up raids.</p><p>The death penalty is still an issue in my book since I know many players who regularly kill themselves rather than run across a zone, and I admit to having done it myself. That needs sorting but it certainly is not game breaking.</p><p>Overall SOE seem to have found a fairly good balance in the game, there are still many issues (check out the class forums :lol<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />, but almost everyone I know that plays is contented, barring the occasional isuue, bug or ld at an innapropriate time. I think the game has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, despite my misgivings on various changes.</p><p>PS - "I've never come across any dungeon or quest line that was more fun, more exciting than Nek Castle." .... wait untill you get to Unrest <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Crib92]

<p>Yes the game is much easier now.  You can easily solo to 70 without any issues at all.  If you remember how Nek forrest was back at launch you will not recognize it now.  (Much Much easier)</p><p> In terms of content...there is a boatload to do for leveling toons.  If you are lvl 50 you can hit Lesser Faydark, Desert of Flames expansion and Tenebrous Tangle in Kingdom of Sky.  You can also hit shared instances like Klak'Anon in Steamfont.</p><p>I would say that the quality of players is lower now then say the year of launch.  The ability to solo to 70 has hurt player skills/knowledge of the game and I've seen more then a few lvl 70 toons say things like Ancient Teachings spell...what is that?  (Desert of Flames class spells)</p><p>One other thing, they added AA's to the game so there is another way to develop your character. </p>

[Kesha_Vex]

<p>Thanks all for the candid replies. I get a really good feeling about the playerbase here and that alone calls us back. </p><p>Now I gotta figure out which expansions and adventure paks to buy. I don't like being locked out of existing content, but then I'm not interested in spending $$ on content that we will never experience, either. Is there a good summary somewhere?</p>

[Copperheadr]

I would say Kingdom of Sky and Echoes of Faydwer are a must...

[LordByron]

This is the best MMO on the market right now.  The game has come a LONG way since the level cap at level 50 increased, particularly around the time the Kingdom of Sky expansion pack was released.  What a great game.  The community is still, on the whole, awesome.  Lots of content.  The changes are generally great. You need to buy the Echoes of Faydwer (EoF) expansion in the retail, boxed version from a store (like Amazon.com or Best Buy).  You should not purchase it through digital download from SOE.  The retail version of EoF comes with ALL of the previous expansions in addition to the original game.  The latter only comes with the EoF expansion, leaving you without the other two expansions (most importantly Kingdom of Sky).  It'll probably be about 40 dollars for the entire package, and it is well worth it. Welcome back!

[tass]

yep lots of content and zones. Keep in mind the zones are dead (most anyway) but lots of zones to explore. And as stated the game is solo based now as they debuffed all the different mobs and such (you can even solo fyst now). No zone is really to dangerous to run around it except maybe places like the loping planes. They have new aa's which customize your character. Basically every character can solo now except a few. (they can solo its just a pain to do so) Oh ya and this new gu is coming where they're changing stuff stuff like aa's and classes and all that while adding some more zones and increasing the cap to 80.... God I hope they get those bugs fixed before it comes.

[Ter]

<cite>Kesha_Vex wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>Thanks all for the candid replies. I get a really good feeling about the playerbase here and that alone calls us back. </p><p>Now I gotta figure out which expansions and adventure paks to buy. I don't like being locked out of existing content, but then I'm not interested in spending $$ on content that we will never experience, either. Is there a good summary somewhere?</p></blockquote> The <b><u>RETAIL BOX</u></b> version of Echoes of Faydwer will probably be a good purchase, it'll include DoF, KoS and EoF, and it's pretty cheap. Sadly the digital download one does not contain previous expansions =/ If you will be playing your 50 chars, then I don't think you'll need any of the adv. packs really, atleast not till 70. IIRC splitpaw caps out at 50, bloodlines is 35-ish. At 70 you might want fallen dynasty so you can raid Chel'drak though.

[Lakaah]

IMO, the Fallen Dynasty adventure pack is worth the money just for the 36 slot harvesting bag, and Village of Shin is a beautiful area. Well worth my 8$ already and I'm not even big enough to do anything there except look around the village and do the tradeskill quest.

[LordByron]

Also, a dungeon that is comparable to your experience of Nek Castle is Unrest.  It's a very long, creepy zone with a lot of puzzles.  Very well done.

[Kesha_Vex]

<p>Omg, you guys are making this really enticing. Ok, I will look for the retail EoF box and Fallen Dynasty adventure pak and get all caught up with those. </p><p>When we cancelled in June of 2005, we had a nice apartment in SQeynos. I wonder what they did with all our stuff ... you think we'll still have our place? How the hell am I gonna afford the back rent lol! Also, I hope they fixed it so that my wife and I can actually *share* our house. I remember when we left that my wife wasn't able to do anything in my house, not even feed our pets.</p><p>Oh, and what level is Unrest? Have they added any new Heritage quests? I finished all 22 before I left and would *love* to do more new ones. </p><p>This is exciting, I'm looking forward to returning. Thanks for all the input.</p>

[Josgar]

No back rent You have always been able to set your wife up as a trustee unrest= 70 If you cannot find the retail versions anywhere, you could go here: <a href="http://www.direct2drive.com/6/4362/product/Buy-EverQuest-II-All-In-One-Compilation-Download" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.direct2drive.com/6/4362/...lation-Download</a> NEVER EVER DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ANYTHING (but adventure packs) FROM THE SONY STORE Heritage: <a href="http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/questlist.html?type=Heritage" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/questl...l?type=Heritage</a> Signature: <a href="http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/questlist.html?type=Signature" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/questl...?type=Signature</a>

[Kesha_Vex]

<cite>Josgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>You have always been able to set your wife up as a trustee </blockquote>I don't recall the mechanics used by this game to grant permissions to others, but I do remember that when we left the game in June of 2005 she was not able to do some of the things that I could do in my house, no matter what we tried. It's been too long for me to remember now what exactly those limitations were, but I distinctly remember that we were not really sharing the house; she was a 2nd class citizen in some important respects. After I purchase the software, install and reactivate our accounts I guess I'll find out. Rediscovering the game will be an adventure in and of itself.

[AntLi]

<cite>Kesha_Vex wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>My wife and I played this game intensely, all through beta, one of the first off the island on release day, lots of discoveries, etc. I was the first Alchemist on Antonia Bayle (so you can imagine how rich I was). Fun as it was, I quit some time after hitting 50 (level cap at the time) and getting all 22 Heritage Quests done. Had a great ride, but went on to other things. After Vanguard and LOTRO, my wife and I are getting restless and looking for a new home. I imagine our characters are still around (me Shaman, she Swash), so we could probably just pick up and start working our way through new content immediately. We're considering it, and I thought I'd drop in to get some input.</p><p>I keep hearing great things about the evolution of this game. It was pretty good back then, but it's apparently gotten better. I've played virtually every MMO that counts and played them hard, and to date I've never come across any dungeon or quest line that was more fun, more exciting than Nek Castle. Since we played it at release, we had to figure it all out on our own, no walk-throughs, etc., and omg was that fun. Is there more content like that now?</p><p>I was in a raiding guild so my wife and I were always grouped and in raiding parties.  We always preferred group-oriented games (loved the original EQ) and have never cared for massively soloable games like WoW. But this time through we would probably just duo for a while, getting to know the game again and taking our time until we found a guild that we like again. Are we going to find enough content to get us to the new level caps as a duo, or will we need to group up with PUGs until we find a guild?</p><p>We quit playing almost exactly 2 years ago this month, June of 2005, prior to the release of the first expansion. So much must have changed since then, I realize this is a tall order, but for any of you who have been here the whole time or know the game's evolution, can you summarize what's new since then? Major gameplay changes? I'm excited to think about the possibilities, and I look forward to the research to determine if this is going to be our next stop for a while.</p><p>Thanks for any input.</p></blockquote> If you've been playing LOTRO coming back to EQ2 it will really stand out how dated it looks. The character models themselves look decent as well as the animations, but the flora and sky and water look pretty dated. Also if you've got burnt out on LOTRO and Vanguard you're likely to get bored after short time playing EQ2 as it's pretty much feels like you've done it all before and will offer very little new and exciting to experience in the MMO genre. It’s better to have a long break from MMO’s then come back or you’ll just get fed up like you did in LOTRO and VG.

[Kesha_Vex]

<p>Well, "fed up" is probably too strong a characterization. It might be the right phrase with respect to Vanguard, which we loved except for the minor detail that the game was essentially unplayable in its bugginess, and a gigantic ghost town after everyone left. But we aren't "fed up" with LOTRO. We just don't really feel compelled to play it night after night, and that's always been my benchmark. Not sure why, maybe it's just because it is indeed more of the same and we need a break from the MMO genre. It could be that we need to try something altogether different.</p><p>Another MMO we used to play is also getting good notices lately, EVE Online. That's such a different experience after all the derivative fantasy MMORPGs, it's essentially something completely different. But I have such fond memories of EQ2, and we have ready-made L50 characters that we like to play, I'm gonna give that a try first. If it doesn't float my boat then I think that will be a good indicator that it's time for something completely different.</p>

[Of_mice_and_men]

<p>I certainly recommend trying EvE if it interests you.  They have a 14 day trial on the main site.</p><p>That said I'm pretty sure you wont regret playing EQ2 again<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Kunark coming in 5 (?) months!!! /drool</p>