Thoughts from a Returning Newb

Jarnvargr · 03-24-2007, 03:00 PM

All personal opinion and experience ... not meaning to change anyone's opinion, just sharing. I started EQ2 a couple of years ago, but left due to a variety of reasons mostly linked to what I consider to be SOE's poor decisions and overall mis-management of a game for which I had HIGH expectations. I never leveled very far into the game, as both personal and guild experience was so bad, so I still consider myself somewhat of a newb. Fast forward a year or so later and I decide to give EQ2 another shot, without any guild or friends joining me. So what do I find? Here are a few random thoughts ... The Good -A great server in AB, with lots of spontaneous and planned RP events -A population that is very willing to help -A high population making it easy to find groups when I want them -A huge game with an incredible array of adventure filled zones. Lots to look forward to! -Many of the bugs that had previously annoyed the crap out of me ... are finally gone (although I know there are more ... I haven't seen them yet) -The Fae and Faydark -Lots of great UI & player features -Capes and horses -Solid (but not inspiring) gameplay and animation The Not-So Good -Lag in the cities can still be a pain at times, but nothing that is unbearable -Personally I still think the majority of the character models are poor to average -A dizzying array of guides, maps and tips on various sites, (most of them inaccurate) that do little to really help new players (IMHO) This board is an exception. -SOE as a whole. I've moved them up from Ugly (where they were before)... but they haven't made it to Good yet. The Bad -The look of these new boards ... ugh The Ugly -Plat Farmers Random tells .... letters ... and players whispering out from shadowy alleyways. I've received 8 offers since I started back. -Despite all the money that SOE has made off of the Exchange servers they still haven't found a way to minimize the farmers and botting on EQ2. I still question their effort to clean up the problem especially as they are making so much money off of those types of players, but that is a post for another board. So what's my personal verdict? For my style of play, which is casual, fun and somewhat RP focused, I am surprisingly quite happy. The AB server and the players I've been lucky enough to interact with really make the game. The majority of the gameplay chaos I experienced in my earlier days seems to have died down. Nothing SOE is currently doing is keeping me from that enjoyment, and for that I am very grateful. Overall, I'm really happy I came back, and excited about the fun I hope to have in the future. If anyone is looking for a (hopefully) honest opinion from a formerly jaded ex-EQ2 player, please take mine into account.

steelbadger · 03-24-2007, 05:36 PM

Jarnvargr wrote:

All personal opinion and experience ... not meaning to change anyone's opinion, just sharing. I started EQ2 a couple of years ago, but left due to a variety of reasons mostly linked to what I consider to be SOE's poor decisions and overall mis-management of a game for which I had HIGH expectations. I never leveled very far into the game, as both personal and guild experience was so bad, so I still consider myself somewhat of a newb. Fast forward a year or so later and I decide to give EQ2 another shot, without any guild or friends joining me. So what do I find? Here are a few random thoughts ... The Good -A great server in AB, with lots of spontaneous and planned RP events -A population that is very willing to help -A high population making it easy to find groups when I want them -A huge game with an incredible array of adventure filled zones. Lots to look forward to! -Many of the bugs that had previously annoyed the crap out of me ... are finally gone (although I know there are more ... I haven't seen them yet) -The Fae and Faydark -Lots of great UI & player features -Capes and horses -Solid (but not inspiring) gameplay and animation The Not-So Good -Lag in the cities can still be a pain at times, but nothing that is unbearable -Personally I still think the majority of the character models are poor to average -A dizzying array of guides, maps and tips on various sites, (most of them inaccurate) that do little to really help new players (IMHO) This board is an exception. -SOE as a whole. I've moved them up from Ugly (where they were before)... but they haven't made it to Good yet. The Bad -The look of these new boards ... ugh The Ugly -Plat Farmers Random tells .... letters ... and players whispering out from shadowy alleyways. I've received 8 offers since I started back. -Despite all the money that SOE has made off of the Exchange servers they still haven't found a way to minimize the farmers and botting on EQ2. I still question their effort to clean up the problem especially as they are making so much money off of those types of players, but that is a post for another board. So what's my personal verdict? For my style of play, which is casual, fun and somewhat RP focused, I am surprisingly quite happy. The AB server and the players I've been lucky enough to interact with really make the game. The majority of the gameplay chaos I experienced in my earlier days seems to have died down. Nothing SOE is currently doing is keeping me from that enjoyment, and for that I am very grateful. Overall, I'm really happy I came back, and excited about the fun I hope to have in the future. If anyone is looking for a (hopefully) honest opinion from a formerly jaded ex-EQ2 player, please take mine into account.

I'd probably agree with you on most of these points. I'd say the character models have it in them to be great, the engine is technically brilliant, but the armour and clothing lets it down. I'd say that, when I joined, I steared clear of all but the most basic guides, a game like EQ2 is far too big for you to be able to digest it all in a single guide. I'd say I've had no problems with SOE really, those times I have made an important petition they have responded to it in good time, and dealt with the problem. I'd say that the plat farmer problem changes with server, I know that on LDL the spam is quite bad, whereas on Runnyeye we barely get any. I think regional servers get off lightly. But over all, I'd have to say a good summation SMILEY

Didi · 03-24-2007, 07:04 PM

Looks like a pretty reasonable summary to me. The outdated guides issue is not really something that the game designers can control, so that's a difficult one to address, really. If anything, the high number of outdated guides are more an indicator of how much the game changes and evolves (and hopefully improves), as new content is added of course the older guides become outdated, and while that's annoying to the players trying to find guides, on the bright side it actually may mean a better game itself. SMILEY

Your main 'bad' point was plat sellers and spammers -- definitely no argument here -- but unfortunately this is becoming a problem endemic to all MMOs and EQ2 isn't any exception. I don't think anyone has found a solution yet, unfortunately, whether you play this game or another. SMILEY

LadyAnnaAnna · 03-26-2007, 02:20 PM

The only things I have to add to this are some things that I miss (which I am pretty sure no one else does). Call me crazy, call me a masochist, but I miss the archetype class selection, where you picked your archetype, you chose your class at level 10, and you chose your subclass at level 20. I'm glad this survived a bit in tradeskills, but I remember that being one of the things I thought was coolest about the game when it came out. I know I'm probably going to get looked down on for this one, but I also actually loved the old crafting system. It made -sense- to me, that you had to fist cut lumber into boards to be able to use them in furniture, and other similar things. It made tradeskills challenging and interesting to me. Now the hardest thing about tradeskills I can see is picking which class to be, and I miss the other challenge.

Delameko Stone · 03-26-2007, 03:29 PM

LadyAnnaAnna wrote:

The only things I have to add to this are some things that I miss (which I am pretty sure no one else does). Call me crazy, call me a masochist, but I miss the archetype class selection, where you picked your archetype, you chose your class at level 10, and you chose your subclass at level 20. I'm glad this survived a bit in tradeskills, but I remember that being one of the things I thought was coolest about the game when it came out. I know I'm probably going to get looked down on for this one, but I also actually loved the old crafting system. It made -sense- to me, that you had to fist cut lumber into boards to be able to use them in furniture, and other similar things. It made tradeskills challenging and interesting to me. Now the hardest thing about tradeskills I can see is picking which class to be, and I miss the other challenge.

I enjoyed the architype thing at first, but with 10 alts it soon got old. I like that you can get a feel for your class in the first few levels now. I have a necro, a coercer and a warlock, and the first ten levels for all those classes were exactly the same. The crafting system is half and half for me. As a sage I wasn't sorry to see all those inks disappear - that was really boring - and with the new system I could level just on new recipes and bonus pristine xp. But as I'm levelling up my provisioner again I'm finding it very frustrating and I miss the old crafting system for him.

03-24-2007, 05:36 PM	#2
steelbadger Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 816	Jarnvargr wrote: All personal opinion and experience ... not meaning to change anyone's opinion, just sharing. I started EQ2 a couple of years ago, but left due to a variety of reasons mostly linked to what I consider to be SOE's poor decisions and overall mis-management of a game for which I had HIGH expectations. I never leveled very far into the game, as both personal and guild experience was so bad, so I still consider myself somewhat of a newb. Fast forward a year or so later and I decide to give EQ2 another shot, without any guild or friends joining me. So what do I find? Here are a few random thoughts ... The Good -A great server in AB, with lots of spontaneous and planned RP events -A population that is very willing to help -A high population making it easy to find groups when I want them -A huge game with an incredible array of adventure filled zones. Lots to look forward to! -Many of the bugs that had previously annoyed the crap out of me ... are finally gone (although I know there are more ... I haven't seen them yet) -The Fae and Faydark -Lots of great UI & player features -Capes and horses -Solid (but not inspiring) gameplay and animation The Not-So Good -Lag in the cities can still be a pain at times, but nothing that is unbearable -Personally I still think the majority of the character models are poor to average -A dizzying array of guides, maps and tips on various sites, (most of them inaccurate) that do little to really help new players (IMHO) This board is an exception. -SOE as a whole. I've moved them up from Ugly (where they were before)... but they haven't made it to Good yet. The Bad -The look of these new boards ... ugh The Ugly -Plat Farmers Random tells .... letters ... and players whispering out from shadowy alleyways. I've received 8 offers since I started back. -Despite all the money that SOE has made off of the Exchange servers they still haven't found a way to minimize the farmers and botting on EQ2. I still question their effort to clean up the problem especially as they are making so much money off of those types of players, but that is a post for another board. So what's my personal verdict? For my style of play, which is casual, fun and somewhat RP focused, I am surprisingly quite happy. The AB server and the players I've been lucky enough to interact with really make the game. The majority of the gameplay chaos I experienced in my earlier days seems to have died down. Nothing SOE is currently doing is keeping me from that enjoyment, and for that I am very grateful. Overall, I'm really happy I came back, and excited about the fun I hope to have in the future. If anyone is looking for a (hopefully) honest opinion from a formerly jaded ex-EQ2 player, please take mine into account. I'd probably agree with you on most of these points. I'd say the character models have it in them to be great, the engine is technically brilliant, but the armour and clothing lets it down. I'd say that, when I joined, I steared clear of all but the most basic guides, a game like EQ2 is far too big for you to be able to digest it all in a single guide. I'd say I've had no problems with SOE really, those times I have made an important petition they have responded to it in good time, and dealt with the problem. I'd say that the plat farmer problem changes with server, I know that on LDL the spam is quite bad, whereas on Runnyeye we barely get any. I think regional servers get off lightly. But over all, I'd have to say a good summation

03-24-2007, 07:04 PM	#3
Didi Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 828	Looks like a pretty reasonable summary to me. The outdated guides issue is not really something that the game designers can control, so that's a difficult one to address, really. If anything, the high number of outdated guides are more an indicator of how much the game changes and evolves (and hopefully improves), as new content is added of course the older guides become outdated, and while that's annoying to the players trying to find guides, on the bright side it actually may mean a better game itself. Your main 'bad' point was plat sellers and spammers -- definitely no argument here -- but unfortunately this is becoming a problem endemic to all MMOs and EQ2 isn't any exception. I don't think anyone has found a solution yet, unfortunately, whether you play this game or another. __________________

03-26-2007, 03:29 PM	#5
Delameko Stone Loremaster Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: UK Posts: 279	LadyAnnaAnna wrote: The only things I have to add to this are some things that I miss (which I am pretty sure no one else does). Call me crazy, call me a masochist, but I miss the archetype class selection, where you picked your archetype, you chose your class at level 10, and you chose your subclass at level 20. I'm glad this survived a bit in tradeskills, but I remember that being one of the things I thought was coolest about the game when it came out. I know I'm probably going to get looked down on for this one, but I also actually loved the old crafting system. It made -sense- to me, that you had to fist cut lumber into boards to be able to use them in furniture, and other similar things. It made tradeskills challenging and interesting to me. Now the hardest thing about tradeskills I can see is picking which class to be, and I miss the other challenge. I enjoyed the architype thing at first, but with 10 alts it soon got old. I like that you can get a feel for your class in the first few levels now. I have a necro, a coercer and a warlock, and the first ten levels for all those classes were exactly the same. The crafting system is half and half for me. As a sage I wasn't sorry to see all those inks disappear - that was really boring - and with the new system I could level just on new recipes and bonus pristine xp. But as I'm levelling up my provisioner again I'm finding it very frustrating and I miss the old crafting system for him.

03-24-2007, 03:00 PM	#1
Jarnvargr Loremaster Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 19	All personal opinion and experience ... not meaning to change anyone's opinion, just sharing. I started EQ2 a couple of years ago, but left due to a variety of reasons mostly linked to what I consider to be SOE's poor decisions and overall mis-management of a game for which I had HIGH expectations. I never leveled very far into the game, as both personal and guild experience was so bad, so I still consider myself somewhat of a newb. Fast forward a year or so later and I decide to give EQ2 another shot, without any guild or friends joining me. So what do I find? Here are a few random thoughts ... The Good -A great server in AB, with lots of spontaneous and planned RP events -A population that is very willing to help -A high population making it easy to find groups when I want them -A huge game with an incredible array of adventure filled zones. Lots to look forward to! -Many of the bugs that had previously annoyed the crap out of me ... are finally gone (although I know there are more ... I haven't seen them yet) -The Fae and Faydark -Lots of great UI & player features -Capes and horses -Solid (but not inspiring) gameplay and animation The Not-So Good -Lag in the cities can still be a pain at times, but nothing that is unbearable -Personally I still think the majority of the character models are poor to average -A dizzying array of guides, maps and tips on various sites, (most of them inaccurate) that do little to really help new players (IMHO) This board is an exception. -SOE as a whole. I've moved them up from Ugly (where they were before)... but they haven't made it to Good yet. The Bad -The look of these new boards ... ugh The Ugly -Plat Farmers Random tells .... letters ... and players whispering out from shadowy alleyways. I've received 8 offers since I started back. -Despite all the money that SOE has made off of the Exchange servers they still haven't found a way to minimize the farmers and botting on EQ2. I still question their effort to clean up the problem especially as they are making so much money off of those types of players, but that is a post for another board. So what's my personal verdict? For my style of play, which is casual, fun and somewhat RP focused, I am surprisingly quite happy. The AB server and the players I've been lucky enough to interact with really make the game. The majority of the gameplay chaos I experienced in my earlier days seems to have died down. Nothing SOE is currently doing is keeping me from that enjoyment, and for that I am very grateful. Overall, I'm really happy I came back, and excited about the fun I hope to have in the future. If anyone is looking for a (hopefully) honest opinion from a formerly jaded ex-EQ2 player, please take mine into account.

03-26-2007, 02:20 PM	#4
LadyAnnaAnna Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 41	The only things I have to add to this are some things that I miss (which I am pretty sure no one else does). Call me crazy, call me a masochist, but I miss the archetype class selection, where you picked your archetype, you chose your class at level 10, and you chose your subclass at level 20. I'm glad this survived a bit in tradeskills, but I remember that being one of the things I thought was coolest about the game when it came out. I know I'm probably going to get looked down on for this one, but I also actually loved the old crafting system. It made -sense- to me, that you had to fist cut lumber into boards to be able to use them in furniture, and other similar things. It made tradeskills challenging and interesting to me. Now the hardest thing about tradeskills I can see is picking which class to be, and I miss the other challenge.