thinking about returning to "new" Norrath

[MOJOPHREAKY]

<p>I played beta and for a while after launch...up until shorly after desert of flames was released. It was a rough time for the game (combat revamp 1.0 anyone?) and I gave up when I felt my mystic was irreparably broken.</p><p>I two boxed a berserker/mystic combo up to level 40. I also had a monk/warden combo up to about 30.</p><p>I'm thinking about coming back even though all of the people I used to play with have since returned to my old eq1 guild. I've tried returning to eq1 a few times and while I have a lot of friends there, it doesn't make the game more bearable from a useless timesink, unbearably long faction grind perspective.</p><p>I know this game is way, way different than when I left. I'll probably want to start up a new pair to play with to get used to the game and it's changes before hopping back in with my higher toons. </p><p>I guess my question is am I going to find myself 2 boxing exclusively until I get to the end game or are there still folks running around the newbie areas that I could group with for things like doing the heratige quests?</p>

[SaraBH]

really depends on the server.

[Lithran]

I am on Nektulos and I found that until about level 25 most folks just solo. I know there are some that group, but usualy those are folks who want to do a certain quest that they cannot seem to do alone. I am not saying no one groups. But you need to activily look for it. I did tend to get random invites, but mostly when I asked what they wanted they just needed help killing mob x because they kept dying. I have soloed my necro up to level 32 and I have 22 AAs. I find that I can take on pretty well anything. (other then white heroics). Gear makes a huge difference. What 2 classes are you thinking of going with?

[TheSpin]

<p>Welcome back!</p><p>Leveling is now way faster than it used to be...I play a lot, but it only took me about 2 months to level my last toon (brigand) to 70.  I definately suggest you start fresh and get a new feel for things before hoppin back to your other characters.  Solo questing is a very viable option now and you can solo fine if you want to try playing without the stress of two boxing (I don't know how people 2 box because I keep myself very busy playing one character).</p><p>Groups definately still happen, though it is not required and not something everyone enjoys.  With the addition of the achievement points many people prefer to quest because it is better achievement exp than dungeon grinding.</p><p>Questing is also great exp now and gives you something to do in between groups.  I usually do a combination of grouping and questing since I play a lot of off hours when there are less players on.</p>

[Leatherneck]

<p>Eh...it may depend on your server.  Darklight woods is usually from populated to pretty crowded, depending on the time of day.  Mid levels are populated, but not crowded and then you see more people as you hit higher levels.</p><p>However, that might not apply to your server.</p>

[Orsham]

I'm finding levelling pretty quick. Up to 20 anyway. As for the improvement in the game, it's far better than it was last year when I previously tried it.

[Calthine]

If only 1/10 of new/returning players post here, we're seeing a LOT of new population.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> 

[Tag]

I am just coming back too. I two boxed a Paladin and Warden to 50 then three boxed a Guardian, Templar, and Illusionist to 40+ before quitting. I only want to play 1 character at a time now but am unsure what to play too.

[MOJOPHREAKY]

Bonefoot@Nektulos wrote: <blockquote>I am on Nektulos and I found that until about level 25 most folks just solo. I know there are some that group, but usualy those are folks who want to do a certain quest that they cannot seem to do alone. I am not saying no one groups. But you need to activily look for it. I did tend to get random invites, but mostly when I asked what they wanted they just needed help killing mob x because they kept dying. I have soloed my necro up to level 32 and I have 22 AAs. I find that I can take on pretty well anything. (other then white heroics). Gear makes a huge difference. What 2 classes are you thinking of going with? </blockquote><p> I really used to enjoy my Ratonga monk/Iksar warden combo, they seemed much more durable at the time than my zerker/mystic, but they were also 10+ levels lower.</p><p>Not sure what I'll go with this time. I had a low level paladin/swashie combo that I toyed with when I was bored that was also fun, but didn't have great survivability with the weak pally heals...</p><p>The fact is that I like to try lots of different classes, I 3 boxed in eq1 (Mage/Druid/Enchanter) and had all slots on my server taken up on all 3 accounts and played all the alts during downtime between raids. When I tried WoW for a short while I ended up with at least two of every class to try different specs, but the game was infested with l33t speakers and I generally felt dumber for the experience after reading zone chat. Vanguard was the only game where I stuck with one class, disciples. Unfortunately Vanguard changed so much from beta to live and so many good players left (many to come here) because of the lack of follow up. So here I am again, still trying to find someplace with the consistency of the original EQ but without the mind numbing faction/grinds.</p>