What is the meat of the game now? [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

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Sergo Cheddargnobbler

11-17-2011, 08:40 PM

It seems that the game all happens at 90. It's pretty difficult for me to get groups to experience lower-level content. Any groups I've gotten in are all zerging their way towards 90, so I ask you this: What's for me when I get there?I've never played at game at level cap before, so levelling has always been one of my goals. I understand there's increasing one's AA at 90, but what else is going on? Are people grouping, questing, or only raiding? Is there a point to crafting? It seems that levels 1-80 are now set to blow by so fast, it's not very worthwhile to spend a lot on items and even spell upgrades along the way?I'd like to know what the day-to-day experience in the game is like. I have a 71 I could probably get to 90 relatively soon, and just wondering if I'm going to enjoy things when I get there, or be disappointed. I can solo a level in an hour or two right now, but I'm not a solo player at heart. I'm not intrigued by blowing through easy solo content, but I don't have the time to be a raider. I want to group, meet people, make online friends, and overcome challenges.Thanks in advance both for the helpful replies and the suggestions that I posted this in the wrong forum.

Masako

11-17-2011, 09:49 PM

This is only my experience and how I see it - others' could be different.I've heard as I was leveling up and when I reached max level "the game really starts at end-game". I can see why in some ways. At 90, especially once you have all of your AA, it becomes a test of skill and how much you improve with not only that but gear upgrades as well. Without getting better with levels, it's up to you as a player to get better. That's why I like being at max level is it's a challenge in that respect.There is a lot of raiding at max level, but there seems to be quite a bit of grouping as well. I can guarantee you you'll get more group adventuring at 90 vs lower levels. How much grouping depends on the server, time of day you're looking for grouping, etc.As of now crafting is useful for end-game. There are certain recipes that make very decent gear for instances and the like and I'm almost always seeing someone asking for a crafter to craft certain items for them. Expert spells may be a little less needed as masters are dropping a lot at 90, but for instance my alchemist is always needed for cure pots and stat pots. My provi gets used still for foods which include special foods at end-game. I'm always getting use out of transmuting and adorning, too.I'm a bit different in my day-to-day playing as I kind of go all over the place. I raid three nights a week but outside of that I go revisit old questlines. I'll group if I'm working on a questline that requires me to get updates in dungeons and istances, but I do a lot of solo-related "side projects". I'd probably group a lot more if I wasn't raiding - I don't usually go for groups since I don't need gear upgrades from there on my main. When I'm not doing all that I just decorate, heh.

feldon30

11-18-2011, 04:45 AM

EQ2 is two games:1-8990That 1-89 has become a solo tutorial which ill-prepares the player for level 90 is just an unfortunate reality now.This dichotomy started manifesting about halfway through The Shadow Odyssey and was fully realized with the introduction of Destiny of Velious.

Rectale

11-18-2011, 05:10 AM

For me at least the meat of the game was repeating raid zones, ez mode DoV not including piling up inordinate ammounts of raid shards, with nothing to spend them on. Then doing HM up to a certain point, pants mob, kraytoc, weapon mob resectively. Over and over and over again. 90 crafter, 450 tinker, muter, adorner. Done the HQs donbe pretty much all that is to be done.Then it was just level alt time, which got a bit dull.So ended up just being a plat farm. And with nothing to spend the plat farm on except for SC was sort of boring, as I've got money to buy SC with if I want to.So the nitty gritty - the 'meat' of the game as you say is saying helo to a few people that you know and maybe gearing an alt up to do nothing with.

Mermut

11-18-2011, 05:24 AM

It depends what your preferences are. I have several 90 toons and raid with a few of them. I also have several lower level toons. I enjoy the process of leveling and learning my toons and I enjoy questing my way up to 90 with group, instancing, etc along the way.There does seem to be a mentality of a 'mad dash to 90' that is growing more and more pervasive though. It's somewhat frightening to see lvl 90 toons with fewer AAs then my lvl 40-couple that has the AA slider between 50-75%. People are missing a huge amount of content if they see the end (lvl 90) as the only worthwhile goal and ignore then journey. But that is myst my opinion. Other people find questing horrifically boring, even for their first toon. I think the strongest thing EQ2 has in it's favor is that it offers a variety of ways to enjoy the game.

kahonen

11-18-2011, 05:52 AM

I believe the game is in 3 parts:Level 1 to Level 89 - the tutorial for when you get to level 90.Level 90 - You start raiding and see the real game - Easy Mode and the first few mobs of Hard Mode.Level 90 (2) - The rest including the broken content that nobody has seen or is likely to see unless things are fixed.Note: I accept that I have a somewhat skewed view as my sole purpose for being in the game is raiding with good friends. Everything else is there simply to get me to the point where I can do this. Not everyone shares this view, as others have said, you will have your own idea of what you want from the game and will be able to decide if you are actually achieving that.

darwich

11-18-2011, 09:01 AM

OP i see this game differently, there are so many things to do, the levels dont really matter in my opinion. I play it to have fun, not rush along to someone elses idea of whats important... yes i have 3 90s and several 90 crafters etc, but heck i honestly need to sit down and prioritize what i want to work on with what toon as i sometimes sit there staring, not knowing what to do or start first...

screenid

11-18-2011, 09:07 AM

<cite>Sergo Cheddargnobbler wrote:</cite><blockquote>It seems that the game all happens at 90. It's pretty difficult for me to get groups to experience lower-level content. Any groups I've gotten in are all zerging their way towards 90, so I ask you this: What's for me when I get there?I've never played at game at level cap before, so levelling has always been one of my goals. I understand there's increasing one's AA at 90, but what else is going on? Are people grouping, questing, or only raiding? Is there a point to crafting? It seems that levels 1-80 are now set to blow by so fast, it's not very worthwhile to spend a lot on items and even spell upgrades along the way?I'd like to know what the day-to-day experience in the game is like. I have a 71 I could probably get to 90 relatively soon, and just wondering if I'm going to enjoy things when I get there, or be disappointed. I can solo a level in an hour or two right now, but I'm not a solo player at heart. I'm not intrigued by blowing through easy solo content, but I don't have the time to be a raider. I want to group, meet people, make online friends, and overcome challenges.Thanks in advance both for the helpful replies and the suggestions that I posted this in the wrong forum.</blockquote><img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /> once FTP hits you will find pleanty of people who are here to enjoy the journey (they are not interested in zerging to lvl90).

Zorastiz

11-18-2011, 09:50 AM

The meat of the game is station cash......

Crillus

11-18-2011, 09:45 PM

<cite>Sergo Cheddargnobbler wrote:</cite><blockquote>It seems that the game all happens at 90. It's pretty difficult for me to get groups to experience lower-level content. Any groups I've gotten in are all zerging their way towards 90, so I ask you this: What's for me when I get there?I've never played at game at level cap before, so levelling has always been one of my goals. I understand there's increasing one's AA at 90, but what else is going on? Are people grouping, questing, or only raiding? Is there a point to crafting? It seems that levels 1-80 are now set to blow by so fast, it's not very worthwhile to spend a lot on items and even spell upgrades along the way?I'd like to know what the day-to-day experience in the game is like. I have a 71 I could probably get to 90 relatively soon, and just wondering if I'm going to enjoy things when I get there, or be disappointed. I can solo a level in an hour or two right now, but I'm not a solo player at heart. I'm not intrigued by blowing through easy solo content, but I don't have the time to be a raider. I want to group, meet people, make online friends, and overcome challenges.Thanks in advance both for the helpful replies and the suggestions that I posted this in the wrong forum.</blockquote>Go check out the RP server (Antonia Bayle) - RP isn't all that bad, really. You can still solo there, etc.RP is what you make it - there's no real "pre-defined" way to do it - heck actors make millions a year doing just that. I just mention this, because I notice a few players from the normal servers creating new toons on AB to check it out and then hanging out for a while.

Irgun

11-19-2011, 06:36 AM

<cite>Zorastiz@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>The meat of the game is station cash......</blockquote>I like to add:Glory is gone.EQ2 is already only a cash cow via SC-stuff, releasing unbalanced content, bad/boring itemization + no real work on long lasting issues prove that.This game has a way bigger potential - delay AoD till Feb/March `12 and fix things would be the ultimate /win - but as mentioned: having a handful of new fluffy (and unnecessary) SC-stuff released every week while the rest is left alone like a starving child in Africa is just poor management and a slap in the face of dedicated players who accepted alot changes/nerfs/bad stuff over the last 5years+Sadly, products that have become cash cow status wont get a revival or something, because they generate enough money without any care.EQ2.....what have you become......

Yimway

11-22-2011, 06:00 PM

Crolack

11-22-2011, 06:51 PM

SpineDoc

11-22-2011, 09:01 PM

Pengefinchess

11-22-2011, 09:57 PM

i dont understand what everyone posting.. the answer to the op is : brontotherium

wullailhuit

11-23-2011, 04:05 AM

<cite>Grimnebulin@Nagafen wrote:</cite><blockquote>i dont understand what everyone posting.. the answer to the op is : brontotherium</blockquote>Lies!....everyone knows the answer is always PIE.

retro_guy

11-23-2011, 05:16 AM

The "meat of the game" is whatever you want yo make it.EQ2 is a sandbox, although not as sandboxy as I'd like, but you can do whatever you want.For me the "meat of the game" is everything leading up to 90, the journey. It's questing and exploring and enjoying the details that a lot of people run straight past, or never even see.I'm currently betraying Qeynos, to do as much content in Freeport before it gets revemped. I've found the mobs in the Freeport sewers drop lots of quest starters, mostly short quests, some of which lead to the burbs for updates. I've been blown away by the little details in the architecture in the sewers, the original developers put a lot of work into these zones, and while they don't offer any great material rewards, they are great to explore, and beautifully designed.I get as much out of exploring the old zones, if no more than running L90 instances.I know that's not everybodies cup-of-tea, but that's what's great about EQ2, you can find a niche you enjoy. I'm fortunate that I enjoy most of the game, except for raiding. I can understand that some people only like raiding, so for them the game is quite limited.

Questall

11-23-2011, 05:43 AM

I agree with most people here that the game is played at 90 and not a second earlier.If u do choose to play lower lvl content u will find it hard to find ppl to group with and sheer impossible to do that same thing with people of ur own lvl, so as to have at least some degree of challenge.Itemization at lower lvls is so overpowered now that it shattered any challenge of doing quests, so doing quests is dull nowadays.And when u do get to 90, as stated above also, u will have no idea how to play ur class in groups. So, expect lots of abuse when entering ur first dungeons. Crafting is dull too, but definitely has it perks, so i wouldnt pass it over, but if u do craft i'd go for woodworker, carpenter, provy or chemist. The other crafts are so neglected over the years they have lost all meaning.So...do what most ppl do i guess....PL to 90, max out ur AA's, grind dungeons till ur all white inside ur head and gear up for raids, then start ranting against SOE.

Thunderthyze

11-23-2011, 06:58 AM

<cite>retro_guy wrote:</cite><blockquote>The "meat of the game" is whatever you want yo make it.EQ2 is a sandbox</blockquote>Err no...it really isn't.

Thunderthyze

11-23-2011, 07:00 AM

The meat of the game is coming on to the forums and reminiscing about how good the game used to be.Raiding Labs in KoS.....good times.

MrWolfie

11-23-2011, 10:23 AM

Q: What is the meat of the game now?A: Pork? No, it can't be pork - I don't really like pork. I do like bacon though, but not if it's burnt.Not a huge fan of beef, so it can't be that.Lamb is good. Maybe too good for this comparison.It's probably mystery meat. Since no-one will be able to agree.

Filly67

11-23-2011, 05:26 PM

<cite>Holymoly@Runnyeye wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>retro_guy wrote:</cite><blockquote>The "meat of the game" is whatever you want yo make it.EQ2 is a sandbox</blockquote>Err no...it really isn't.</blockquote>Umm, yes it really is to many of us. There is so much to do in this game that if you're bored it's because you are limited by your own choices not the games. Is the current game annoying, frustrating, broken in some ways? Yes. Is it complex, challenging and fun? Yes. I play all aspects with my 9 adv/ts toons. Some have high AA some have low. Some raid, some don't. I spend a lot of time playing everyday (and yes I have a very real demanding job and a full real life) The meat of the game is what you choose to put in the sandwich.

Midsong

11-24-2011, 03:36 AM

<cite>Filly67 wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Holymoly@Runnyeye wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>retro_guy wrote:</cite><blockquote>The "meat of the game" is whatever you want yo make it.EQ2 is a sandbox</blockquote>Err no...it really isn't.</blockquote>Umm, yes it really is to many of us. There is so much to do in this game that if you're bored it's because you are limited by your own choices not the games. Is the current game annoying, frustrating, broken in some ways? Yes. Is it complex, challenging and fun? Yes. I play all aspects with my 9 adv/ts toons. Some have high AA some have low. Some raid, some don't. I spend a lot of time playing everyday (and yes I have a very real demanding job and a full real life) The meat of the game is what you choose to put in the sandwich. </blockquote>The correct technical term for EQ2 is a "themepark" game. "Sandbox" is a very different style of game. Probably best to use a different term to avoid semantic debates.

Onurissa

11-24-2011, 12:59 PM

<cite>retro_guy wrote:</cite><blockquote>The "meat of the game" is whatever you want yo make it.EQ2 is a sandbox, although not as sandboxy as I'd like, but you can do whatever you want.For me the "meat of the game" is everything leading up to 90, the journey. It's questing and exploring and enjoying the details that a lot of people run straight past, or never even see.I'm currently betraying Qeynos, to do as much content in Freeport before it gets revemped. I've found the mobs in the Freeport sewers drop lots of quest starters, mostly short quests, some of which lead to the burbs for updates. I've been blown away by the little details in the architecture in the sewers, the original developers put a lot of work into these zones, and while they don't offer any great material rewards, they are great to explore, and beautifully designed.I get as much out of exploring the old zones, if no more than running L90 instances.I know that's not everybodies cup-of-tea, but that's what's great about EQ2, you can find a niche you enjoy. I'm fortunate that I enjoy most of the game, except for raiding. I can understand that some people only like raiding, so for them the game is quite limited.</blockquote>Agreed although i do like to raid on occasion too...but i love running lowbies through zones and just exploring doing all the quests, its relaxing for me.

Rijacki

11-24-2011, 01:38 PM

The game serves many different gameplay styles and it is possible for each gameplay niche to think they are the primary focus of the game because those focused only on one aspect ignore the rest or think the rest is superflous and can't possibly be important to anyone.The 'meat' of the game is what you enjoy doing. That might change from time to time as you play or might even expand to a multitude of things.

Artaxiel

11-24-2011, 02:31 PM

The meat of the game is house decorating, with quests done in order to obtain moar house items.

Elskidor

11-24-2011, 04:32 PM

The message board.

Eugam

11-25-2011, 04:00 AM

<cite>feldon30 wrote:</cite><blockquote>EQ2 is two games:1-8990That 1-89 has become a solo tutorial which ill-prepares the player for level 90 is just an unfortunate reality now.This dichotomy started manifesting about halfway through The Shadow Odyssey and was fully realized with the introduction of Destiny of Velious.</blockquote>While you are right and most of us have seen this comming, the real answer for the OP is:There is instance grouping at 90. Since its late into Velious you will have a hard time to gear up for the top heroic content. If you make it there you can group every day. But you wont go there solo and besides gear you ll need a certain amount of AA. Like 280 or so.The game is not as the 1-70 content. There is no dungeon crawling, just instances. A few instances hold questupdates tough. If you dont group you will solo daily missions.A few also do x2 raiding, which is not to hard and not to easy.

Marialle

11-25-2011, 01:18 PM

<cite>Irgin@Valor wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Zorastiz@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>The meat of the game is station cash......</blockquote>I like to add:Glory is gone.EQ2 is already only a cash cow via SC-stuff, releasing unbalanced content, bad/boring itemization + no real work on long lasting issues prove that.This game has a way bigger potential - delay AoD till Feb/March `12 and fix things would be the ultimate /win - but as mentioned: having a handful of new fluffy (and unnecessary) SC-stuff released every week while the rest is left alone like a starving child in Africa is just poor management and a slap in the face of dedicated players who accepted alot changes/nerfs/bad stuff over the last 5years+Sadly, products that have become cash cow status wont get a revival or something, because they generate enough money without any care.EQ2.....what have you become......</blockquote>^^ This. That and going back on things they said and doing it anyway (Beastlords, anyone?)

kaboro

11-25-2011, 05:31 PM

<cite>retro_guy wrote:</cite><blockquote>The "meat of the game" is whatever you want yo make it.EQ2 is a sandbox, although not as sandboxy as I'd like, but you can do whatever you want.For me the "meat of the game" is everything leading up to 90, the journey. It's questing and exploring and enjoying the details that a lot of people run straight past, or never even see.I'm currently betraying Qeynos, to do as much content in Freeport before it gets revemped. I've found the mobs in the Freeport sewers drop lots of quest starters, mostly short quests, some of which lead to the burbs for updates. I've been blown away by the little details in the architecture in the sewers, the original developers put a lot of work into these zones, and while they don't offer any great material rewards, they are great to explore, and beautifully designed.I get as much out of exploring the old zones, if no more than running L90 instances.I know that's not everybodies cup-of-tea, but that's what's great about EQ2, you can find a niche you enjoy. I'm fortunate that I enjoy most of the game, except for raiding. I can understand that some people only like raiding, so for them the game is quite limited.</blockquote>Im with this guy 100%To the OP, if you need community help to tell you what the meat of the game is....im sorry for you.

screenid

11-25-2011, 06:03 PM

This game offers so many things to do...and covers sooo many play styles..=-) I am lucky ...... because I love doing it all!! And I am ALT Crazy

SpineDoc

11-25-2011, 06:32 PM

<cite>kaboro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>retro_guy wrote:</cite><blockquote>The "meat of the game" is whatever you want yo make it.EQ2 is a sandbox, although not as sandboxy as I'd like, but you can do whatever you want.For me the "meat of the game" is everything leading up to 90, the journey. It's questing and exploring and enjoying the details that a lot of people run straight past, or never even see.I'm currently betraying Qeynos, to do as much content in Freeport before it gets revemped. I've found the mobs in the Freeport sewers drop lots of quest starters, mostly short quests, some of which lead to the burbs for updates. I've been blown away by the little details in the architecture in the sewers, the original developers put a lot of work into these zones, and while they don't offer any great material rewards, they are great to explore, and beautifully designed.I get as much out of exploring the old zones, if no more than running L90 instances.I know that's not everybodies cup-of-tea, but that's what's great about EQ2, you can find a niche you enjoy. I'm fortunate that I enjoy most of the game, except for raiding. I can understand that some people only like raiding, so for them the game is quite limited.</blockquote>Im with this guy 100%To the OP, if you need community help to tell you what the meat of the game is....im sorry for you.</blockquote>Yeah unless you are on your 15th alt running thru the same EXACT content. You know killing those 10 rats just gets a tiny bit boring the 15th time you do it. Don't get me wrong I don't begrudge newer players such as you guys your leveling pleasure at all, it's just that there used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping in those levels and now THAT was fun. As for soloing all the way to 90 yeah maybe it was kinda fun the first time or 3, but it gets old real fast, and I'll tell you what Skyrim has MUCH better graphics if I wanted to solo thru a game.But yeah basically I'm very jealous of newer players who get to experience the content first hand, but at the same time I feel extremely bad for them that they have to solo thru it and essentially miss it IMO as it was meant to be enjoyed originally.

kaboro

11-25-2011, 08:44 PM

<cite>SpineDoc wrote:</cite><blockquote>Yeah unless you are on your 15th alt running thru the same EXACT content. You know killing those 10 rats just gets a tiny bit boring the 15th time you do it. Don't get me wrong I don't begrudge newer players such as you guys your leveling pleasure at all, it's just that there used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping in those levels and now THAT was fun. As for soloing all the way to 90 yeah maybe it was kinda fun the first time or 3, but it gets old real fast, and I'll tell you what Skyrim has MUCH better graphics if I wanted to solo thru a game.But yeah basically I'm very jealous of newer players who get to experience the content first hand, but at the same time I feel extremely bad for them that they have to solo thru it and essentially miss it IMO as it was meant to be enjoyed originally.</blockquote>Used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping and that was fun. You sure mean FORCED grouping, as for how fun it really was, im not so sure.Also if you're on the 15th alt running through the same exact content...how is forced grouping gonna make it better.Also when you send solo players to skyrim......you belower yourself to wow crowd.The difference between an offline game and an mmo is that in an mmo the gameworld is shared, used simultaneously by many players.Grouping is merely an OPTION that could, or could not make the game more fun.Its like a bar.The bar is a public place, but i can go there and have a drink ALONE, without some smart azz telling me that if i wanna have a drink alone i might as well drink it at home.As for feeling sorry...you should feel sorry for yourself because you are not able to enjoy a game on your own, you need a group to do so.

kaboro

11-25-2011, 09:11 PM

<cite>Arduous@The Bazaar wrote:</cite><blockquote>This game offers so many things to do...and covers sooo many play styles..=-) I am lucky ...... because I love doing it all!! And I am ALT Crazy</blockquote>Yep, if only more people agreed with this common sense *sigh

SpineDoc

11-26-2011, 12:06 AM

<cite>kaboro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>SpineDoc wrote:</cite><blockquote>Yeah unless you are on your 15th alt running thru the same EXACT content. You know killing those 10 rats just gets a tiny bit boring the 15th time you do it. Don't get me wrong I don't begrudge newer players such as you guys your leveling pleasure at all, it's just that there used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping in those levels and now THAT was fun. As for soloing all the way to 90 yeah maybe it was kinda fun the first time or 3, but it gets old real fast, and I'll tell you what Skyrim has MUCH better graphics if I wanted to solo thru a game.But yeah basically I'm very jealous of newer players who get to experience the content first hand, but at the same time I feel extremely bad for them that they have to solo thru it and essentially miss it IMO as it was meant to be enjoyed originally.</blockquote>Used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping and that was fun. You sure mean FORCED grouping, as for how fun it really was, im not so sure. There was solo options back then, but yes most of the game was for grouping. I'll readily admit this is MY preference as it's a MMO meant to be a social game where people band together for tough content. I hope you are not mistaking me for trying to tell you how to play the game, I'm not, I'm just putting in my experience with the pre 90 content and giving you some insight why there are still a lot of players who don't care to ever see that content again, much less if they have to solo thru it.Also if you're on the 15th alt running through the same exact content...how is forced grouping gonna make it better. I never said it would, I was just saying the content was MUCH more fun when you grouped thru it, but then again just my opinion.Also when you send solo players to skyrim......you belower yourself to wow crowd. Not sure I understand your point there, I've never "belower" myself before, but it does sound like fun. I just never understood why people want to only solo in a MMO wouldn't rather play a better graphics and better gameplay game, they can even have their instant chat window open so it feels like a MMO lol.The difference between an offline game and an mmo is that in an mmo the gameworld is shared, used simultaneously by many players. Not if you have an instant messenger window open. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" />Grouping is merely an OPTION that could, or could not make the game more fun. Once again I'm not trying to impose my playstyle on you, I'm just stating what's fun for me. In the end SOE will decide, based on their income, which playstyle makes them more money. I would say they have indeed decided a long time ago that decorating houses and buying stuff off station cash makes them much much more money than old dinosaurs like me who actually want to socialize and group to beat content.Its like a bar.The bar is a public place, but i can go there and have a drink ALONE, without some smart azz telling me that if i wanna have a drink alone i might as well drink it at home. Yeah but you will probably get beaten up on your way out as the weird loner looking at everyones girlfriend.As for feeling sorry...you should feel sorry for yourself because you are not able to enjoy a game on your own, you need a group to do so. Eh, no I feel sorry if you took my posts personally. I'm quite amazed that you saw any kind of insult in my feedback and I even went to far as to note my jealousy at having that "new" feel in a MMO, that "new" feel is what we all are chasing and most of us vets don't find it anymore. If you read the OP post you will see that they are specifically asking if they will find more "meat" once they get to 90 and they don't see themselves really liking having to solo to 90, this and your puzzlement at why he would even ask this question is what I was responding to.Life is too short to be wound so tightly, relax a bit it's only a videogame. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" /></blockquote>

millie

11-26-2011, 01:29 AM

<cite>kahonen wrote:</cite><blockquote>I believe the game is in 3 parts:Level 1 to Level 89 - the tutorial for when you get to level 90.Level 90 - You start raiding and see the real game - Easy Mode and the first few mobs of Hard Mode.Level 90 (2) - The rest including the broken content that nobody has seen or is likely to see unless things are fixed.Note: I accept that I have a somewhat skewed view as my sole purpose for being in the game is raiding with good friends. Everything else is there simply to get me to the point where I can do this. Not everyone shares this view, as others have said, you will have your own idea of what you want from the game and will be able to decide if you are actually achieving that.</blockquote>roflmao, and this is really why the game is dying. Raiding is not the meat of the game. It is for a select few all they log in for, they tend to be the vocal frequent posters on the forum and have a blinkered view that ignores everyone and everything else. For them its a race to 90, chronomentor gring your AA, gear up and then endlessly grind the current raidzones. Then there are a host of other player doing there own thing; questing, grouping, decorating and crafting. Or more usually a combination of these. Yes some people enjoy the lore and the quests and raid, but on the whole the niche 'hardcore raiders' who login for raid, and logout immediately after are not the interesting folk in the game. They are also missing out on 95% of the fun of the game. The note says it all realy, "I dont play, I raid!"

SpineDoc

11-26-2011, 09:42 AM

<cite>millie wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>kahonen wrote:</cite><blockquote>I believe the game is in 3 parts:Level 1 to Level 89 - the tutorial for when you get to level 90.Level 90 - You start raiding and see the real game - Easy Mode and the first few mobs of Hard Mode.Level 90 (2) - The rest including the broken content that nobody has seen or is likely to see unless things are fixed.Note: I accept that I have a somewhat skewed view as my sole purpose for being in the game is raiding with good friends. Everything else is there simply to get me to the point where I can do this. Not everyone shares this view, as others have said, you will have your own idea of what you want from the game and will be able to decide if you are actually achieving that.</blockquote>roflmao, and this is really why the game is dying. Raiding is not the meat of the game. It is for a select few all they log in for, they tend to be the vocal frequent posters on the forum and have a blinkered view that ignores everyone and everything else. For them its a race to 90, chronomentor gring your AA, gear up and then endlessly grind the current raidzones. Then there are a host of other player doing there own thing; questing, grouping, decorating and crafting. Or more usually a combination of these. Yes some people enjoy the lore and the quests and raid, but on the whole the niche 'hardcore raiders' who login for raid, and logout immediately after are not the interesting folk in the game. They are also missing out on 95% of the fun of the game. The note says it all realy, "I dont play, I raid!"</blockquote>That's a pretty one sided view from the other side. Raiders pay their subs and just want to be heard in the method of gameplay they choose to enjoy. I'll chime in here as a raider who only logs on to raid, I'll gladly admit that's my playstyle. I've been playing EQ2 since beta, for me there is NO questing left. DOV has been out for how long now? I've done all the group zones DOV has to offer, I've grinded thru them to get my shards to make my armor to advance. I've enjoyed all the games lore, there is no lore left for me to enjoy until we get new content, I do try to log on and enjoy new lore with any GU's that come about like the new beastlord lore so I agree that there is some stuff that peeks out here and there.But I'll wholeheartedly disagree that those of us who raid and log off are not interesting. I find that raiders are the most interesting people of this game and the only ones who really are true to the spirit of what MMO's were when they first came out. Raiders understand the concept of banding together to fight an enemy that would kill each of us separately. I just cannot describe how incredibly satsifying it is to get a group of 24 players together, know that each and every single one of those players has outfitted their toon with knowledge on how to play that class and how to play with other toons and when to cast certain spells or certain actions and what gear to wear. To get those 24 players together and take it to the next level and actually coordinate those 24 players into beating this one huge boss.On my side of the fence, as someone who has experienced questing, crafting, lore, decorating ad nauseum, I'd say that it's you who is missing 95% of the game. Once again I'm NOT denigrating your playstyle at all, I'm just saying try to consider where raiders are coming from. Take this thread for example, what raiders are asking for in this thread would impact your ability to decorate, craft, enjoy lore and quest exactly ZERO, zilch, nada. So why do you think the game is dying because of raiders? That makes no sense whatsoever. In fact, as I've stated before, raiders are NOT the lifeblood of the game anymore, it's quite apparent seeing how SOE is not fine tuning raid content anymore and they spend more effort on station cash and house decorationg and releasing features like DYOD which are geared to put more items on the marketplace.I used to think the game was dying, and it may very well be losing population to the MMO's SOE tries to blatantly copy, but what it's doing is shifting from concentrating on paid subs and raiders to concentrating more on the marketplace and apparently it's working for them. But they still have to give their raiders some love to, as there are still many players who join and may convert to a sub exactly because they may aspire to raid one day. Raiding is still very important in this game, maybe not the end all be all anymore, but it still is a factor in the games existence.

kaboro

11-26-2011, 02:08 PM

<cite>SpineDoc wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>kaboro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>SpineDoc wrote:</cite><blockquote>Yeah unless you are on your 15th alt running thru the same EXACT content. You know killing those 10 rats just gets a tiny bit boring the 15th time you do it. Don't get me wrong I don't begrudge newer players such as you guys your leveling pleasure at all, it's just that there used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping in those levels and now THAT was fun. As for soloing all the way to 90 yeah maybe it was kinda fun the first time or 3, but it gets old real fast, and I'll tell you what Skyrim has MUCH better graphics if I wanted to solo thru a game.But yeah basically I'm very jealous of newer players who get to experience the content first hand, but at the same time I feel extremely bad for them that they have to solo thru it and essentially miss it IMO as it was meant to be enjoyed originally.</blockquote>Used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping and that was fun. You sure mean FORCED grouping, as for how fun it really was, im not so sure. There was solo options back then, but yes most of the game was for grouping. I'll readily admit this is MY preference as it's a MMO meant to be a social game where people band together for tough content. There are many ways to have fun in an mmo, if yours is banding together (falsely associated with social game) thats fine, but you can do that in EQ2 just fine, nobody stops you from banding together, but if the only way for you to "band together" is to force people to do so...thats sad.I hope you are not mistaking me for trying to tell you how to play the game, I'm not. What you are doing is not telling me how to play the game, but telling how the game should be made and played in order to be satisfactory for you and the group of players that think like you.Also if you're on the 15th alt running through the same exact content...how is forced grouping gonna make it better. I never said it would, I was just saying the content was MUCH more fun when you grouped thru it, but then again just my opinion. Fair enough, so group. Just dont ask for content to be turned into forced grouping content. Im thinking even if they did turn most the game into forced grouping content, would you enjoy doing it all over again just because you in a group? You think that if you force a soloer to group, they will group? I think they will quit not group and you will be left with the same few people that can only have fun when grouped. Also when you send solo players to skyrim......you belower yourself to wow crowd. Not sure I understand your point there, I've never "belower" myself before, but it does sound like fun. I just never understood why people want to only solo in a MMO wouldn't rather play a better graphics and better gameplay game, they can even have their instant chat window open so it feels like a MMO lol.Seeing as you cant seem to be able to understand nor acccept different play preferences in an mmo, and you continue giving your so friendly advice to soloers to go play solo games, i will not lower myself by giving some sarcastic answer. What you wrote speaks for itself. The difference between an offline game and an mmo is that in an mmo the gameworld is shared, used simultaneously by many players. Not if you have an instant messenger window open. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /> So smart, i stand corrected and humiliated.Grouping is merely an OPTION that could, or could not make the game more fun. Once again I'm not trying to impose my playstyle on you, I'm just stating what's fun for me. In the end SOE will decide, based on their income, which playstyle makes them more money. Its not which playstyle makes more money, they need all playstyles to make money. I doubt an mmo can survive with just players from one playstyle. I would say they have indeed decided a long time ago that decorating houses and buying stuff off station cash makes them much much more money than old dinosaurs like me who actually want to socialize and group to beat content. Socialize? in an mmo? Not the most obvious place if you want to socialize, but fine with me. My question is what exactly prevents you from socializing? Wild guess here is its your own character that prevents that. Pro Tip: Its not because of house decorators, crafters, solo players and cash shoppers that you cant enjoy the game the way you once did.Its like a bar.The bar is a public place, but i can go there and have a drink ALONE, without some smart azz telling me that if i wanna have a drink alone i might as well drink it at home. Yeah but you will probably get beaten up on your way out as the weird loner looking at everyones girlfriend. That mustve been your own experience, never happened to me.As for feeling sorry...you should feel sorry for yourself because you are not able to enjoy a game on your own, you need a group to do so. Eh, no I feel sorry if you took my posts personally. I'm quite amazed that you saw any kind of insult in my feedback and I even went to far as to note my jealousy at having that "new" feel in a MMO, that "new" feel is what we all are chasing and most of us vets don't find it anymore. If you read the OP post you will see that they are specifically asking if they will find more "meat" once they get to 90 and they don't see themselves really liking having to solo to 90, this and your puzzlement at why he would even ask this question is what I was responding to. I didnt take your post personally at all, it irritated me yes, but nothing personal and no insult taken. Again if its not to their liking to solo to 90, then they should group and socialize. And yes im still puzzled at your concept that grouping should be imposed in an mmo. I mostly solo but i group too, in Vanguard when someone asks, i drop what im doing and group even if i dont necessarily feel like it, but i want to help. I do so because i want to not because i have to and i would like it to stay that way, thank you very much.Life is too short to be wound so tightly, relax a bit it's only a videogame. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" /> Perfectly true, hint taken, but you should follow your own advice too. </blockquote></blockquote>

kaboro

11-26-2011, 02:35 PM

<cite>SpineDoc wrote:</cite><blockquote>....................On my side of the fence, as someone who has experienced questing, crafting, lore, decorating ad nauseum, I'd say that it's you who is missing 95% of the game. Once again I'm NOT denigrating your playstyle at all, I'm just saying try to consider where raiders are coming from. Take this thread for example, what raiders are asking for in this thread would impact your ability to decorate, craft, enjoy lore and quest exactly ZERO, zilch, nada. So why do you think the game is dying because of raiders? That makes no sense whatsoever. In fact, as I've stated before, raiders are NOT the lifeblood of the game anymore, it's quite apparent seeing how SOE is not fine tuning raid content anymore and they spend more effort on station cash and house decorationg and releasing features like DYOD which are geared to put more items on the marketplace..................</blockquote>Very good post and i agree with everything you said except the fact that SoE is allocating their resources for station cash and decorating and crafting.The resources needed to add some stupid cash shop items or make some equally stupid and ugly looking decorating items are insignificant.Their adding these items in the game is not the reason so much stuff is left broken.You're not new to the game so you know how good SoE is about fixing stuff....took them what, four years to fix the map bug? And that was before SC and decorating frenzy.I sperculate that the reason so much content issues were left unaddressed is because right now SoE is undergoing changes and is probably trying to get out of a crysis.Im sure once things stabilize a bit, you will see the long overdue fixes.

SpineDoc

11-26-2011, 11:45 PM

<cite>kaboro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>SpineDoc wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>kaboro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>SpineDoc wrote:</cite><blockquote>Yeah unless you are on your 15th alt running thru the same EXACT content. You know killing those 10 rats just gets a tiny bit boring the 15th time you do it. Don't get me wrong I don't begrudge newer players such as you guys your leveling pleasure at all, it's just that there used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping in those levels and now THAT was fun. As for soloing all the way to 90 yeah maybe it was kinda fun the first time or 3, but it gets old real fast, and I'll tell you what Skyrim has MUCH better graphics if I wanted to solo thru a game.But yeah basically I'm very jealous of newer players who get to experience the content first hand, but at the same time I feel extremely bad for them that they have to solo thru it and essentially miss it IMO as it was meant to be enjoyed originally.</blockquote>Used to be a time when there was a lot of grouping and that was fun. You sure mean FORCED grouping, as for how fun it really was, im not so sure. There was solo options back then, but yes most of the game was for grouping. I'll readily admit this is MY preference as it's a MMO meant to be a social game where people band together for tough content. There are many ways to have fun in an mmo, if yours is banding together (falsely associated with social game) thats fine, but you can do that in EQ2 just fine, nobody stops you from banding together, but if the only way for you to "band together" is to force people to do so...thats sad.See this is what I don't understand. I'm not calling you "sad", I am merely pointing out my own playstyle. Why keep putting others down if they don't agree with your playstyle? I've already mentioned my respect if you want to solo and decorate. Also for the record I've never mentioned forced grouping, I'm not sure why you keep bringing that up.I hope you are not mistaking me for trying to tell you how to play the game, I'm not. What you are doing is not telling me how to play the game, but telling how the game should be made and played in order to be satisfactory for you and the group of players that think like you. Nope, what I'm doing is helping to answer the OP's questions with my experience and opinion. I certainly would like the game to cater to my playstyle, don't we all? Are you not here advocating solo play and decorating?Also if you're on the 15th alt running through the same exact content...how is forced grouping gonna make it better. I never said it would, I was just saying the content was MUCH more fun when you grouped thru it, but then again just my opinion. Fair enough, so group. Just dont ask for content to be turned into forced grouping content. Im thinking even if they did turn most the game into forced grouping content, would you enjoy doing it all over again just because you in a group? You think that if you force a soloer to group, they will group? I think they will quit not group and you will be left with the same few people that can only have fun when grouped. No I'm not particularly saying that. I've readily admitted that much of grouping pre 90 for me is memories, memories of a time when the content was the latest xpac and everyone was grouping it. I did not and am not saying we should change pre 90 content to be forced grouping, I only said I enjoyed it back then and enjoyed it a million times more grouping thru it back then than I ever would soloing it now.Also when you send solo players to skyrim......you belower yourself to wow crowd. Not sure I understand your point there, I've never "belower" myself before, but it does sound like fun. I just never understood why people want to only solo in a MMO wouldn't rather play a better graphics and better gameplay game, they can even have their instant chat window open so it feels like a MMO lol.Seeing as you cant seem to be able to understand nor acccept different play preferences in an mmo, and you continue giving your so friendly advice to soloers to go play solo games, i will not lower myself by giving some sarcastic answer. What you wrote speaks for itself. Lol, why do you have so much anger? Every other word out of my mouth has been respect for your playstyle. Yes it's true that I do not understand why people who only want to solo play and never socialize would want to play eq2 over a better graphics/gameplay game, but that's mainly because I personally don't want to do that. Just because I don't understand it doesn't mean I don't accept it. I'm sorry that you are so sensitive to take offense to that, but it's the truth.The difference between an offline game and an mmo is that in an mmo the gameworld is shared, used simultaneously by many players. Not if you have an instant messenger window open. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /> So smart, i stand corrected and humiliated. Good deal.Grouping is merely an OPTION that could, or could not make the game more fun. Once again I'm not trying to impose my playstyle on you, I'm just stating what's fun for me. In the end SOE will decide, based on their income, which playstyle makes them more money. Its not which playstyle makes more money, they need all playstyles to make money. I doubt an mmo can survive with just players from one playstyle. Certainly, I couldn't agree more. SOE is trying to toe the line providing something for both solo decorators and hardcore raiders and everything in between. But as the years go by the focus slowly shifts away from the raiding end and more towards the solo decorators. Not passing judgement, just commenting on it in relation to SOE being a business and making business decisions. I would say they have indeed decided a long time ago that decorating houses and buying stuff off station cash makes them much much more money than old dinosaurs like me who actually want to socialize and group to beat content. Socialize? in an mmo? Not the most obvious place if you want to socialize, but fine with me. My question is what exactly prevents you from socializing? Wild guess here is its your own character that prevents that. Pro Tip: Its not because of house decorators, crafters, solo players and cash shoppers that you cant enjoy the game the way you once did. Lol, did you just infer that a MMO is not an obvious place to socialize? Nothing prevents me from socializing, I never said that. Pro tip understand the point you are trying to refute.Its like a bar.The bar is a public place, but i can go there and have a drink ALONE, without some smart azz telling me that if i wanna have a drink alone i might as well drink it at home. Yeah but you will probably get beaten up on your way out as the weird loner looking at everyones girlfriend. That mustve been your own experience, never happened to me. Nope I like to socialize when I go to bars, not go by myself and not talk to anyone.As for feeling sorry...you should feel sorry for yourself because you are not able to enjoy a game on your own, you need a group to do so. Eh, no I feel sorry if you took my posts personally. I'm quite amazed that you saw any kind of insult in my feedback and I even went to far as to note my jealousy at having that "new" feel in a MMO, that "new" feel is what we all are chasing and most of us vets don't find it anymore. If you read the OP post you will see that they are specifically asking if they will find more "meat" once they get to 90 and they don't see themselves really liking having to solo to 90, this and your puzzlement at why he would even ask this question is what I was responding to. I didnt take your post personally at all, it irritated me yes, but nothing personal and no insult taken. Again if its not to their liking to solo to 90, then they should group and socialize. And yes im still puzzled at your concept that grouping should be imposed in an mmo. I mostly solo but i group too, in Vanguard when someone asks, i drop what im doing and group even if i dont necessarily feel like it, but i want to help. I do so because i want to not because i have to and i would like it to stay that way, thank you very much. I never said grouping should be imposed, I merely stated my opinion that I enjoy a MMO more that has more of a grouping experience. You realize that forums are for people to put in there opinions so a reader can gather those opinions, consider them and then at the end make his own decision. It's a wonderful thing called discussion that separates humans from animals.Life is too short to be wound so tightly, relax a bit it's only a videogame. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" /> Perfectly true, hint taken, but you should follow your own advice too. Great we can both relax, that sounds good to me. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>