greploco wrote:thanks for the complements, I gave this some thought
hm, I have not noticed that about the clothing but I have not seen a lot of EQ2 yet. yes, you could make several different items of clothing in WoW, not sure about a wardrobe but you could definitely have fun with it. if that's missing in EQ2 I suppose that's something that would need work, the game does need more polish. Yeah, the armor and weapons in this game need a ton of work. I'm sure you will start to notice as you level more, but essentially all the armor looks the same. There are very few different patterns and designs to each type of armor and the level 60 armor, for the most part, looks almost identical to the same armor characters can be wearing at level 10 or 20. It's a very big complaint from lots of players, myself included. I love the variety and creativity that WoW offered with their armor and weapons. I wouldn't like to see EQ2 have the same designs or anything, but if they would start making some creative looks and making some armor that didn't look so puritanical it would do a lot to add some much needed flavor to the game.The look and feel of a game matters a lot. In business they say there are three "P"s --- product, packaging, and price. You can somewhat fail with product and price and still do ok if you have packaging. quite simply people have to be grabbed by the look and feel of something (and advertizing) if they are ever going to purchase it. EQ2 just needs to work on it's packaging, not dumb itself down to WoW levels.You're very right. I wouldn't worry too much about them dumbing it down though, with the changes they really have not made it that much more like WoW.
Remove of the tradeskill system will be especiallly damaging. I suppose if someone groups all the time in EQ2 they can indeed powerlevel but there isn't too much of a way to do that with the tradeskill system --- as far as I can tell at this point. simplification of the system makes attaining level 60 tradeskill less rewarding. it would be one thing if it was so painfull that people were simply generally unwilling to do this but that doesn't seem to be the case.I see lots of complaints about this, and I can somewhat understand old players that have been crafting being upset about it, I still see it as a positive change. The reason being, is that with the current system, for the average person, there is too much tedium. With the amount of combines and little things you have to make that really don't seem applicable to your chosen craft, it can be very frustrating when someone just wants to get to work making items for the craft that they like. The system is still going to be much more complex and interactive than WoW's, they are just removing a few of the more monotonous steps of the process. And also, crafting here will always be important and have a place. Unlike WoW, the items made from crafting are very useable and worth making.
look at eve online -- they have a real time based learning system, when things are attained there they have some extra meaning and reward. and they have one of the strongest player bases around with a huge economy.
That is true, but you also have to consider how different Eve Online is from other MMORPG's. It appeals to a different crowd for one thing and has a different style of gameplay.
as for maturity of player base, that's certainly true. WoW has the most immature player base I've ever seen. the 24/7 no-DK gankage system attracts not only people who enjoy some healthy competition but also the most annoying irritating dweebs on the planet earth.
Amen! 