When you say similar time investment are you considering the 5 nights a week the 5 hrs a day (25 hrs a week) that raider plays to get his gear ? I dont see a person who just groups playing that much.
When you say similar time investment are you considering the 5 nights a week the 5 hrs a day (25 hrs a week) that raider plays to get his gear ? I dont see a person who just groups playing that much.
A lot of people who don't raid really do play 20-40 hours a week. I was guilded with a lot of people like that the last time around. But they had all the top end group stuff for TSS and were collecting powersources for it the last time I played. They certainly weren't hurting for gear!
In my last round of playing EQ1, my observation was that a lot of the people I knew in raiding guilds only grouped if they needed to get to a new level cap or collect new AAs. Otherwise, they ONLY raided, for the most part. That was a big enough of a commitment. Has anyone else observed this, or do I just hang around with freaks?
Anofalye hates raiding. If someone who raids is even 0.01% better or more effective in a group than someone who doesn't raid, Anofalye will not be happy. The fact that there's been a lot of attention paid to the single group and three-groups-or-less crowd in recent expansions will not dull or diminish Anofalye's Mighty Hatred of Raiding (Rk. IV). In a game where effectiveness is a function of HP/AC/MANA/(stats generally) + Level/AAs (aside from the skill of a player at his or her class), creating a scenario where raiders get gear that makes them better at raiding but not better at grouping seems... ah... unlikely at best.
(EDIT: Redundant redundancies removed and deleted.)
... This is where I draw the line: __________________.
"creating a scenario where raiders get gear that makes them better at raiding but not better at grouping seems... ah... unlikely at best"
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. What the hell is all this "grouper" "raider" BS. What is it with MMO players that immediately want to create classes of players that don't really exist. Reminds me of the whole "casual" "hardcore" shit. The only difference is the casual is an average player and the hardcore spends a potentially unhealthy amount of time playing the game. All you should be concerned about is if there is equal amounts of grouping to raid content to play. People get so fucking rapped up in wagging their E-peen around
Originally posted by neschria Anofalye hates raiding. If someone who raids is even 0.01% better or more effective in a group than someone who doesn't raid, Anofalye will not be happy.
I've had many long conversations with Anofalye. He is at least consistant in his opinion and willing to defend it. I totally disagree with it, but that is my opinion vs his. I respect him.
Originally posted by neschria In a game where effectiveness is a function of HP/AC/MANA/(stats generally) + Level/AAs (aside from the skill of a player at his or her class), creating a scenario where raiders get gear that makes them better at raiding but not better at grouping seems... ah... unlikely at best.
I've actually been thinking about this, alot, lately...
So, I was wondering;
Let us say you have a town zone which has two joining zones - Grouper Valley and Raider Caves. These two zones are both content aimed directly at certain class of player (groups and raids).
Grouper Valley leads to Planes of Groupness. Raider Caves leads to Halls of Raiders.
Now let us say that; Grouper Valley content is basically level 50 Planes of Groupness is basically level 55
Also lets assume that our raider raids often enough to get the lion share of the drops, gears and spells.
Then suddenly there is a server crash - but only certain zones are down and will be down for the rest of the day, just to force our raider out of his zones and into town.
Wouldn't you think that our Raider would be over in Planes of Groupness, playing and NOT in Grouper Valley?
What I'm thinking here, is could it be that the raiding has actually given the raider an advantage over the grouper, much like what Anofalye says - however, the advantage would put the raider in HIGHER group content - and thus NOT competing with the grouper for content?!
Which could be resolved, simply by changing the names of the player levels. If Anofalyes player was only 50 and restricted to Grouper Valley and the level 50 Raider comes over and starts hunting in Planes of Groupness, Anofalye (and myself) are going to feel slighted.
But if the raider was level 55, I suspect, neither of us (Anofalye and myself) would notice or care? Thus a simple solution, might be - just change the level names (system) to reflect accomplishments and areas of access as opposed to raw exp earned?
Now, this is just something I've been thinking about, I don't know if it has any bearing on reality... it was just a vague formless thought that crossed my PC
---------------------------------------- My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me.
---------------------------------------- My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me.
Well, here's what I think. I just bought Everquest: Anniversary and haven't really had a chance to dig into it much. However, there's a simple reason why the subscription numbers have fallen off. First off, the game is eight years old. The average gamer will play an mmo for what... 1.5 years... maybe. The fact that this game still has 100k subscriptions... well... I think that's pretty impressive. The fact is, the game is starting to look dated or looked dated about five years ago... depending on whom you ask. Plus, you've got so many options now. With games like WoW, Everquest 2, LotRO, Eve Online, Star Wars Galaxies. It's an oversaturated market and I think any game that can have the following that EQ has had and continues to have... should be quite pleased.
I also don't agree with you on your assessment of Everquest 2. In my opinion, it's the best mmo on the market (especially if you enjoy PvE). It's just an entirely different experience from EQclassic. I would suggest EQ2 over just about any mmo out there though.
I might still take EQ2 over anything currently on the market, but I'm still more partial to classic EQ and there are a few up coming MMOs that are interesting me. I have a feeling I may be playing both EQ and Tabula Rasa for a period of time.
Maybe you had fun running around with your speed enhancers and potions and shit, but not everyone had those.
You know, I didn't start at level 65 with potions and clickies. I didn't buy my character on eBay. I'm not a social giant.
In fact, I started playing with the release of Kunark. I wasn't in a guild until sometime after the release of Velious.
I had to do those same CR's you speak of. I had to level, just like everyone else. I had to find my own clickies. POTIONS?! It was a friggin quest! Anyone could do it! The thurgadin gate potion was a subset of the shawl quest.
Some of us had to hoof it across 20+ zones to get where we needed to be, and if we died half way, tack on another 10.
At a guess, EQ released with 78 zones. Kunark added 27 and Velious added another 19.
If you had to travel more than 10 zones to find an adventure, I don't think it was the size of the world. Thats appx 124 zones. Of which appx 3 each would have been town zones (Qeynos, Neriak, Freeport, High Hold Keep, Erudine, Felwithe, Kelethin, Ak'Anon, Grobb, Ogguk, Kaladim, Rivervale, Fironia Vie, Cabilis, Thurgadin, Skyshrine, Kael). During this point in history, Wizards and Druids were available for ports. That leaves appx 73 zones without bind points - which would have been fairly evenly spread out across the entire game, broken up by town zones.
Qeynos to Freeport: 7 zones apart
Faydwer: 12 zones (of which 4 are towns)
Kunark: 28 zones (of which 5 are towns)
Velious: 19 zones (of which 4 could be towns)
Thurgadin bank to NToV: 9 zones (if you have to run it)
Anywhere in game to Plane of Hate/Sky: 1 (but we always ported from South Ro - add 5 to Thurg)
Thurgadin bank to Plane of Fear: 8 (if you have to run it)
Also, many zones were to high level or low level (depending on the player) to count.
(all zone counts are appx because I can't find my original boxes and I'm not really interested in searching the web for an exact count - when an appx will do)
I accept your opinion, you feel the world was to large. IMO, the world was an excellent size, just my play style or something.
Well that may be your opinion but thanks to the devs having the same mentality as yours for such a long time, most of those zones you mentioned are completely empty now.
Hacking killed the game too. Everyone hacks in EQ 1.
The number of hackers is so widespread, and I have observed it for myself, that I would say about 70 percent of the players use some sort of hack. You can get character boosts to different abilities and things.
A lot of hacking is going on in all games now, though.
----- WoW and fast food = commercial successes. I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
It makes me feel a little dumb because I have no idea how to hack. I'd say it keeps me honest, but I am terminally honest anyway.
Let me put it this way:
when I was able to observe how many people hacked, how many people in my Guild (I was a Guild Leader) were hacking, I was totally and completely floored. It is still unbelievable to me. It is horrible. I think there is more hacking in EQ 1 than even WoW.... You cannot punt a gnome in WoW without hitting a botter or farmer. lol.
----- WoW and fast food = commercial successes. I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
Hacking killed the game too. Everyone hacks in EQ 1.
The number of hackers is so widespread, and I have observed it for myself, that I would say about 70 percent of the players use some sort of hack. You can get character boosts to different abilities and things.
A lot of hacking is going on in all games now, though.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
Hacking killed the game too. Everyone hacks in EQ 1.
The number of hackers is so widespread, and I have observed it for myself, that I would say about 70 percent of the players use some sort of hack. You can get character boosts to different abilities and things.
A lot of hacking is going on in all games now, though.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
My friend, seriously, when I was able to observe how many people hack in this game, it is UNBELIEVABLE! I remember hearing rumors while playing from friends and guildmates that around 70% of the players hack. When I was able to observe this for myself, and I confirmed it was true, I was nearly floored.
The hacking in EQ 1 is rampant and widespread. The hacking a serious crackdown a few months ago, and it worked. However, everyone is able to hack in full-swing now....
----- WoW and fast food = commercial successes. I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
The hacking in EQ 1 is rampant and widespread. The hacking a serious crackdown a few months ago, and it worked. However, everyone is able to hack in full-swing now....
What are you considering hacking? Maybe I know different people, but most of the toons I encounter are being played by real people - not hacking progs. I don't know how to hack. My friends don't either. Are you saying 70% of my guildies are boosting their stats somehow? I don't get this at all. I certainly don't see it 70% of the time...
Hacking killed the game too. Everyone hacks in EQ 1.
The number of hackers is so widespread, and I have observed it for myself, that I would say about 70 percent of the players use some sort of hack. You can get character boosts to different abilities and things.
A lot of hacking is going on in all games now, though.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
I would have to agree with you, because 70% is too high of a percent. Everyone's gotta remember that EQ is a raiding game and alot of high end raiders dont need to hack because they are already uber enough to take care of whatever they want. I personally use to 2 box a cleric and my ranger killing things in WoS, just to level up my cleric ( I would of done it the easy way and did monster missions if they didnt mess it all up in DoDH expansion) But it got to the point where I can solo most of the Named monsters with my ranger.
But for real anyopne who needs to hack in a game like EQ (with so much combinations on armor weapons charms items potions etc) there really is no point in hacking. Its by far the game with most content and if you're high enough level say like 65+ you can easily get 8k+ hp for melee types NON BUFFED with armor and items augments etc same goes for casters you can get that much mana as well (thats about 10-11k hp buffed and 9k mana buffed). And if anyone who doesnt know how to solo with that much hp/mana then you really need to quit the game. I feel sorry for people who needs to hack in this game for real man, its just pathetic that people who hack doesnt know how to play their class. There's a reason why they give you so much content in a game like EQ.
Hacking killed the game too. Everyone hacks in EQ 1.
The number of hackers is so widespread, and I have observed it for myself, that I would say about 70 percent of the players use some sort of hack. You can get character boosts to different abilities and things.
A lot of hacking is going on in all games now, though.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
I would have to agree with you, because 70% is too high of a percent. Everyone's gotta remember that EQ is a raiding game and alot of high end raiders dont need to hack because they are already uber enough to take care of whatever they want. I personally use to 2 box a cleric and my ranger killing things in WoS, just to level up my cleric ( I would of done it the easy way and did monster missions if they didnt mess it all up in DoDH expansion) But it got to the point where I can solo most of the Named monsters with my ranger.
But for real anyopne who needs to hack in a game like EQ (with so much combinations on armor weapons charms items potions etc) there really is no point in hacking. Its by far the game with most content and if you're high enough level say like 65+ you can easily get 8k+ hp for melee types NON BUFFED with armor and items augments etc same goes for casters you can get that much mana as well (thats about 10-11k hp buffed and 9k mana buffed). And if anyone who doesnt know how to solo with that much hp/mana then you really need to quit the game. I feel sorry for people who needs to hack in this game for real man, its just pathetic that people who hack doesnt know how to play their class. There's a reason why they give you so much content in a game like EQ.
A Cleric and ranger duo, if the Ranger has a lot of AAs, works very well. My main was a Ranger on Tribunal for several years. Some of my best memories are raiding with my Ranger. It was an easy job with endless quiver.
The hacking I am referring to --am I not sure if I can share details-- is one in which people are able to "warp" to any location within a zone, have a ranger track ability, and able to teleport to any zone. You would be SHOCKED the number of people that use this. Furthermore, there are many and varied hacks and third party programs in EQ 1. It is horrible.
----- WoW and fast food = commercial successes. I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
Why anyone would have to hack to do the things you mention is beyond me. Most the mobs all spawn in the same place. between guild halls books and the magus travel is pretty trivial. Maybe hacking is rampant and I'm just not noticing it but honestly if I'm not noticing it that means it isn't affecting my game play so it could hardly be "ruining the game" if anything I'd suspect that most of the hackers have moved on to WOW which is far more current for the same reasons that real hackers hack windows instead of Linux.
I also think people see stuff they can't do and automatically assume that hacking is taking place. I see alot more accusations of hacking that I've seen examples of it. Hell I've been accused of it before while farming runes in NC one day. Guess the guy was pissed that I already had the camp. And saw 3 toons and just assumed that I was a macroquester mainly because he was mad that I'd gotten the spot before he did.
And while I'm sure there are hackers out there I don't honestly think that most the people who play the game have the technical sophistication to hack anyway and definitely not to anything approaching 70%.
I do not blame you at all for being skeptical. i really do not. I said the SAME things until I observed the amount of hacking and use of third-party programs in Everquest. It is awful.
----- WoW and fast food = commercial successes. I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
I do not blame you at all for being skeptical. i really do not. I said the SAME things until I observed the amount of hacking and use of third-party programs in Everquest. It is awful.
Perhaps it was just your guild, I know my guild takes an extremely dim view on hackers/exploiters.
And it would make sense that the sort of people who were accepting of such things would tend to congregate together.
Still the idea that any significant portion of the EQ population has sufficient computer skills to actually get some of these hacks to work for them in ways that are not obvious (it was a misstell that gave away a certain famous Zerker who used to be in my guild) just don't fly half these people couldn't tell you what model of video card or processor brand much less setup a linux box to run showEQ or program a macro for MacroQuest.
Also I can't see there being a significanty greater % of hackers in EQ as compared to WoW which has 8 millions supposed subscribers beating against it. The best stuff is no-drop raid aquired stuff anyway and it would be pretty obvious if people pop up with stuff they shouldn't. For example people would instantly be suspicious if some unknown ranger were to pop up suddenly on my server with say a Sekv since there are only 2 guilds that have beaten the mob who drops it.
I do not deny that hacking takes place I'm sure it does but I think 70% is just hyperbole.
Perhaps it was just your guild, I know my guild takes an extremely dim view on hackers/exploiters.
It was not just my guild. It is the entire server and all servers. My guild that I was a Leader of merged with another Guild that had a very clear anti-hacker policy. An Officer of that Guild, a monk, with one of the highest AA points on the server, was the most egregious hacker on the server. Well, one of the most. OH, and the Guild Leader whose Guild mine merged with had a husband who was a Guild Leader on another server. His entire Guild hacked. I started to learn about it from her. It is a very well kept secret in the game. It is an astonishingly well kept secret. Make no doubt about it: SOE will suspend, but not ban, you for hacking and using third party programs in EQ 1.
The hacks do not require you to hack the code. You can buy or receive for free a number of hacks you can run in the background and play EQ 1 one. I am seriously considering giving you one so you can see for yourself. You will be utterly astonished to see how many are hacking and running third party programs. EDIT: Btw, hacks and third party programs do not work on www.shardsofdalaya.com/intro_starting.htm
----- WoW and fast food = commercial successes. I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
Originally posted by truenorthbg The hacking I am referring to --am I not sure if I can share details-- is one in which people are able to "warp" to any location within a zone, have a ranger track ability, and able to teleport to any zone.
"ghosting" and "warping" are not tolerated. Once the GM's figured out it was happening (which took way to long) they put a stop to it.
Relic was a major target of "ghosting". OUr guild was not able to hunt certain targets here, for several weeks, as the GM's killed the spawns and then sat on the location AS the mob - waiting for "ghosters".
These folks were aparently identified, and banned. Then the content was patched.
Warping: this is the ability to teleport to any location within the expansion that you are currently in. "Tracking" may have been a subset of this.
Ghosting: this is the ability to tank a mob, without taking any damage - players were able to solo raid mobs in this fashion.
Note; "Ghosting" and "Warping" are relatively new EQ1 problems.
---------------------------------------- My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me.
Hacking killed the game too. Everyone hacks in EQ 1.
The number of hackers is so widespread, and I have observed it for myself, that I would say about 70 percent of the players use some sort of hack. You can get character boosts to different abilities and things.
A lot of hacking is going on in all games now, though.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
I would have to agree with you, because 70% is too high of a percent. Everyone's gotta remember that EQ is a raiding game and alot of high end raiders dont need to hack because they are already uber enough to take care of whatever they want. I personally use to 2 box a cleric and my ranger killing things in WoS, just to level up my cleric ( I would of done it the easy way and did monster missions if they didnt mess it all up in DoDH expansion) But it got to the point where I can solo most of the Named monsters with my ranger.
But for real anyopne who needs to hack in a game like EQ (with so much combinations on armor weapons charms items potions etc) there really is no point in hacking. Its by far the game with most content and if you're high enough level say like 65+ you can easily get 8k+ hp for melee types NON BUFFED with armor and items augments etc same goes for casters you can get that much mana as well (thats about 10-11k hp buffed and 9k mana buffed). And if anyone who doesnt know how to solo with that much hp/mana then you really need to quit the game. I feel sorry for people who needs to hack in this game for real man, its just pathetic that people who hack doesnt know how to play their class. There's a reason why they give you so much content in a game like EQ.
A Cleric and ranger duo, if the Ranger has a lot of AAs, works very well. My main was a Ranger on Tribunal for several years. Some of my best memories are raiding with my Ranger. It was an easy job with endless quiver.
The hacking I am referring to --am I not sure if I can share details-- is one in which people are able to "warp" to any location within a zone, have a ranger track ability, and able to teleport to any zone. You would be SHOCKED the number of people that use this. Furthermore, there are many and varied hacks and third party programs in EQ 1. It is horrible.
Acutally my ranger only has 210 or something aa's...But most are defensive aa's...But I'm quite raid geared about 10k hp unbuffed and 9k mana fully buffed im close to 13k hp and 10k mana..That a lone should be easily be able to solo WoS along with HP HoT potions...But like I said before theres so much content in this game that if you're equippeed with PoR expansion+ you can get just as much or even more hps/mana as me just fighting the regular named monsters hence theres really no reason for people to hack in this game...And if you know how to play your class this game is a piece of cake...
I played a necro at level 35 andwas fighting in Burning woods (which should be level 45+) and is a double experience zone...this place is easy to level up...you can get to level 50+ soloing in this place...Hacking is for losers who needs a simple way to cheat and likeI said before this game cant get any more simpler than it is already...
Sony ruined the game. What else can you say about everquest?
They sold out their own product for short term gains, never once considering balance and longterm health. Basicly they milked it for all it was worth and now its a sad broken shell of its former self.
I also think "any" expansion tends to be bad for a game. Having played DAOC,EQ,EQ2,SB,AO,EQ emu,Guild Wars,WoW etc. Most of the add-ons tend to unbalance the games and often arnt nearly as good as the origional. Too say nothing for mudflation and selling out to raiders.
Comments
A lot of people who don't raid really do play 20-40 hours a week. I was guilded with a lot of people like that the last time around. But they had all the top end group stuff for TSS and were collecting powersources for it the last time I played. They certainly weren't hurting for gear!
In my last round of playing EQ1, my observation was that a lot of the people I knew in raiding guilds only grouped if they needed to get to a new level cap or collect new AAs. Otherwise, they ONLY raided, for the most part. That was a big enough of a commitment. Has anyone else observed this, or do I just hang around with freaks?
Anofalye hates raiding. If someone who raids is even 0.01% better or more effective in a group than someone who doesn't raid, Anofalye will not be happy. The fact that there's been a lot of attention paid to the single group and three-groups-or-less crowd in recent expansions will not dull or diminish Anofalye's Mighty Hatred of Raiding (Rk. IV). In a game where effectiveness is a function of HP/AC/MANA/(stats generally) + Level/AAs (aside from the skill of a player at his or her class), creating a scenario where raiders get gear that makes them better at raiding but not better at grouping seems... ah... unlikely at best.
(EDIT: Redundant redundancies removed and deleted.)
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. What the hell is all this "grouper" "raider" BS. What is it with MMO players that immediately want to create classes of players that don't really exist. Reminds me of the whole "casual" "hardcore" shit. The only difference is the casual is an average player and the hardcore spends a potentially unhealthy amount of time playing the game. All you should be concerned about is if there is equal amounts of grouping to raid content to play. People get so fucking rapped up in wagging their E-peen around
Bans a perma, but so are sigs in necro posts.
EAT ME MMORPG.com!
So, I was wondering;
Let us say you have a town zone which has two joining zones - Grouper Valley and Raider Caves. These two zones are both content aimed directly at certain class of player (groups and raids).
Grouper Valley leads to Planes of Groupness.
Raider Caves leads to Halls of Raiders.
Now let us say that;
Grouper Valley content is basically level 50
Planes of Groupness is basically level 55
Also lets assume that our raider raids often enough to get the lion share of the drops, gears and spells.
Then suddenly there is a server crash - but only certain zones are down and will be down for the rest of the day, just to force our raider out of his zones and into town.
Wouldn't you think that our Raider would be over in Planes of Groupness, playing and NOT in Grouper Valley?
What I'm thinking here, is could it be that the raiding has actually given the raider an advantage over the grouper, much like what Anofalye says - however, the advantage would put the raider in HIGHER group content - and thus NOT competing with the grouper for content?!
Which could be resolved, simply by changing the names of the player levels. If Anofalyes player was only 50 and restricted to Grouper Valley and the level 50 Raider comes over and starts hunting in Planes of Groupness, Anofalye (and myself) are going to feel slighted.
But if the raider was level 55, I suspect, neither of us (Anofalye and myself) would notice or care? Thus a simple solution, might be - just change the level names (system) to reflect accomplishments and areas of access as opposed to raw exp earned?
Now, this is just something I've been thinking about, I don't know if it has any bearing on reality... it was just a vague formless thought that crossed my PC
----------------------------------------
My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me.
neschria's a bunny, again -lol-
----------------------------------------
My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me.
I didn't mean any disrespect to Anofalye. There's something to be said for having strong convictions.
I thought I'd switch back to my old avatar again in honor of the M:TG card tunabun designed and posted for me in The Pub:
There's gonna be some bunny squishin' tonight, I dare say. LOL.
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.
Well, here's what I think. I just bought Everquest: Anniversary and haven't really had a chance to dig into it much. However, there's a simple reason why the subscription numbers have fallen off. First off, the game is eight years old. The average gamer will play an mmo for what... 1.5 years... maybe. The fact that this game still has 100k subscriptions... well... I think that's pretty impressive. The fact is, the game is starting to look dated or looked dated about five years ago... depending on whom you ask. Plus, you've got so many options now. With games like WoW, Everquest 2, LotRO, Eve Online, Star Wars Galaxies. It's an oversaturated market and I think any game that can have the following that EQ has had and continues to have... should be quite pleased.
I also don't agree with you on your assessment of Everquest 2. In my opinion, it's the best mmo on the market (especially if you enjoy PvE). It's just an entirely different experience from EQclassic. I would suggest EQ2 over just about any mmo out there though.
Bans a perma, but so are sigs in necro posts.
EAT ME MMORPG.com!
In fact, I started playing with the release of Kunark. I wasn't in a guild until sometime after the release of Velious.
I had to do those same CR's you speak of. I had to level, just like everyone else. I had to find my own clickies. POTIONS?! It was a friggin quest! Anyone could do it! The thurgadin gate potion was a subset of the shawl quest.
At a guess, EQ released with 78 zones. Kunark added 27 and Velious added another 19.If you had to travel more than 10 zones to find an adventure, I don't think it was the size of the world. Thats appx 124 zones. Of which appx 3 each would have been town zones (Qeynos, Neriak, Freeport, High Hold Keep, Erudine, Felwithe, Kelethin, Ak'Anon, Grobb, Ogguk, Kaladim, Rivervale, Fironia Vie, Cabilis, Thurgadin, Skyshrine, Kael). During this point in history, Wizards and Druids were available for ports. That leaves appx 73 zones without bind points - which would have been fairly evenly spread out across the entire game, broken up by town zones.
Qeynos to Freeport: 7 zones apart
Faydwer: 12 zones (of which 4 are towns)
Kunark: 28 zones (of which 5 are towns)
Velious: 19 zones (of which 4 could be towns)
Thurgadin bank to NToV: 9 zones (if you have to run it)
Anywhere in game to Plane of Hate/Sky: 1 (but we always ported from South Ro - add 5 to Thurg)
Thurgadin bank to Plane of Fear: 8 (if you have to run it)
Also, many zones were to high level or low level (depending on the player) to count.
(all zone counts are appx because I can't find my original boxes and I'm not really interested in searching the web for an exact count - when an appx will do)
I accept your opinion, you feel the world was to large. IMO, the world was an excellent size, just my play style or something.
Well that may be your opinion but thanks to the devs having the same mentality as yours for such a long time, most of those zones you mentioned are completely empty now.
My youtube MMO gaming channel
The number of hackers is so widespread, and I have observed it for myself, that I would say about 70 percent of the players use some sort of hack. You can get character boosts to different abilities and things.
A lot of hacking is going on in all games now, though.
-----
WoW and fast food = commercial successes.
I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
It makes me feel a little dumb because I have no idea how to hack. I'd say it keeps me honest, but I am terminally honest anyway.
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.
when I was able to observe how many people hacked, how many people in my Guild (I was a Guild Leader) were hacking, I was totally and completely floored. It is still unbelievable to me. It is horrible. I think there is more hacking in EQ 1 than even WoW.... You cannot punt a gnome in WoW without hitting a botter or farmer. lol.
-----
WoW and fast food = commercial successes.
I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
My friend, seriously, when I was able to observe how many people hack in this game, it is UNBELIEVABLE! I remember hearing rumors while playing from friends and guildmates that around 70% of the players hack. When I was able to observe this for myself, and I confirmed it was true, I was nearly floored.
The hacking in EQ 1 is rampant and widespread. The hacking a serious crackdown a few months ago, and it worked. However, everyone is able to hack in full-swing now....
-----
WoW and fast food = commercial successes.
I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
I would have to agree with you, because 70% is too high of a percent. Everyone's gotta remember that EQ is a raiding game and alot of high end raiders dont need to hack because they are already uber enough to take care of whatever they want. I personally use to 2 box a cleric and my ranger killing things in WoS, just to level up my cleric ( I would of done it the easy way and did monster missions if they didnt mess it all up in DoDH expansion) But it got to the point where I can solo most of the Named monsters with my ranger.
But for real anyopne who needs to hack in a game like EQ (with so much combinations on armor weapons charms items potions etc) there really is no point in hacking. Its by far the game with most content and if you're high enough level say like 65+ you can easily get 8k+ hp for melee types NON BUFFED with armor and items augments etc same goes for casters you can get that much mana as well (thats about 10-11k hp buffed and 9k mana buffed). And if anyone who doesnt know how to solo with that much hp/mana then you really need to quit the game. I feel sorry for people who needs to hack in this game for real man, its just pathetic that people who hack doesnt know how to play their class. There's a reason why they give you so much content in a game like EQ.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
I would have to agree with you, because 70% is too high of a percent. Everyone's gotta remember that EQ is a raiding game and alot of high end raiders dont need to hack because they are already uber enough to take care of whatever they want. I personally use to 2 box a cleric and my ranger killing things in WoS, just to level up my cleric ( I would of done it the easy way and did monster missions if they didnt mess it all up in DoDH expansion) But it got to the point where I can solo most of the Named monsters with my ranger.
But for real anyopne who needs to hack in a game like EQ (with so much combinations on armor weapons charms items potions etc) there really is no point in hacking. Its by far the game with most content and if you're high enough level say like 65+ you can easily get 8k+ hp for melee types NON BUFFED with armor and items augments etc same goes for casters you can get that much mana as well (thats about 10-11k hp buffed and 9k mana buffed). And if anyone who doesnt know how to solo with that much hp/mana then you really need to quit the game. I feel sorry for people who needs to hack in this game for real man, its just pathetic that people who hack doesnt know how to play their class. There's a reason why they give you so much content in a game like EQ.
A Cleric and ranger duo, if the Ranger has a lot of AAs, works very well. My main was a Ranger on Tribunal for several years. Some of my best memories are raiding with my Ranger. It was an easy job with endless quiver.
The hacking I am referring to --am I not sure if I can share details-- is one in which people are able to "warp" to any location within a zone, have a ranger track ability, and able to teleport to any zone. You would be SHOCKED the number of people that use this. Furthermore, there are many and varied hacks and third party programs in EQ 1. It is horrible.
-----
WoW and fast food = commercial successes.
I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
Why anyone would have to hack to do the things you mention is beyond me. Most the mobs all spawn in the same place. between guild halls books and the magus travel is pretty trivial. Maybe hacking is rampant and I'm just not noticing it but honestly if I'm not noticing it that means it isn't affecting my game play so it could hardly be "ruining the game" if anything I'd suspect that most of the hackers have moved on to WOW which is far more current for the same reasons that real hackers hack windows instead of Linux.
I also think people see stuff they can't do and automatically assume that hacking is taking place. I see alot more accusations of hacking that I've seen examples of it. Hell I've been accused of it before while farming runes in NC one day. Guess the guy was pissed that I already had the camp. And saw 3 toons and just assumed that I was a macroquester mainly because he was mad that I'd gotten the spot before he did.
And while I'm sure there are hackers out there I don't honestly think that most the people who play the game have the technical sophistication to hack anyway and definitely not to anything approaching 70%.
-----
WoW and fast food = commercial successes.
I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
Bans a perma, but so are sigs in necro posts.
EAT ME MMORPG.com!
Perhaps it was just your guild, I know my guild takes an extremely dim view on hackers/exploiters.
And it would make sense that the sort of people who were accepting of such things would tend to congregate together.
Still the idea that any significant portion of the EQ population has sufficient computer skills to actually get some of these hacks to work for them in ways that are not obvious (it was a misstell that gave away a certain famous Zerker who used to be in my guild) just don't fly half these people couldn't tell you what model of video card or processor brand much less setup a linux box to run showEQ or program a macro for MacroQuest.
Also I can't see there being a significanty greater % of hackers in EQ as compared to WoW which has 8 millions supposed subscribers beating against it. The best stuff is no-drop raid aquired stuff anyway and it would be pretty obvious if people pop up with stuff they shouldn't. For example people would instantly be suspicious if some unknown ranger were to pop up suddenly on my server with say a Sekv since there are only 2 guilds that have beaten the mob who drops it.
I do not deny that hacking takes place I'm sure it does but I think 70% is just hyperbole.
It was not just my guild. It is the entire server and all servers. My guild that I was a Leader of merged with another Guild that had a very clear anti-hacker policy. An Officer of that Guild, a monk, with one of the highest AA points on the server, was the most egregious hacker on the server. Well, one of the most.
OH, and the Guild Leader whose Guild mine merged with had a husband who was a Guild Leader on another server. His entire Guild hacked. I started to learn about it from her. It is a very well kept secret in the game. It is an astonishingly well kept secret. Make no doubt about it: SOE will suspend, but not ban, you for hacking and using third party programs in EQ 1.
The hacks do not require you to hack the code. You can buy or receive for free a number of hacks you can run in the background and play EQ 1 one. I am seriously considering giving you one so you can see for yourself. You will be utterly astonished to see how many are hacking and running third party programs. EDIT: Btw, hacks and third party programs do not work on www.shardsofdalaya.com/intro_starting.htm
-----
WoW and fast food = commercial successes.
I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
Relic was a major target of "ghosting". OUr guild was not able to hunt certain targets here, for several weeks, as the GM's killed the spawns and then sat on the location AS the mob - waiting for "ghosters".
These folks were aparently identified, and banned. Then the content was patched.
Warping: this is the ability to teleport to any location within the expansion that you are currently in. "Tracking" may have been a subset of this.
Ghosting: this is the ability to tank a mob, without taking any damage - players were able to solo raid mobs in this fashion.
Note; "Ghosting" and "Warping" are relatively new EQ1 problems.
----------------------------------------
My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me.
Where on earth do you get this sort of idea?
No everyone does not hack in EQ, yes there probably are some hackers but its hardly 70% hell I'd be amazed if it even hit 1% and probably not even that.hacking generally frowned on by the population and the last guy we caught hacking in our guild server transfered in shame because of all the grief we gave him.
Hell for something that is supposedly so rampant you'd think I'd have actually seen it take place at least once over the course of nearing 8 years.
Oh and botting is not hacking unless you're using a 3rd party program to do it. I two and 3 box regularly but I do it the old fassioned way with multiple keyboards and mice and no third part software .
I would have to agree with you, because 70% is too high of a percent. Everyone's gotta remember that EQ is a raiding game and alot of high end raiders dont need to hack because they are already uber enough to take care of whatever they want. I personally use to 2 box a cleric and my ranger killing things in WoS, just to level up my cleric ( I would of done it the easy way and did monster missions if they didnt mess it all up in DoDH expansion) But it got to the point where I can solo most of the Named monsters with my ranger.
But for real anyopne who needs to hack in a game like EQ (with so much combinations on armor weapons charms items potions etc) there really is no point in hacking. Its by far the game with most content and if you're high enough level say like 65+ you can easily get 8k+ hp for melee types NON BUFFED with armor and items augments etc same goes for casters you can get that much mana as well (thats about 10-11k hp buffed and 9k mana buffed). And if anyone who doesnt know how to solo with that much hp/mana then you really need to quit the game. I feel sorry for people who needs to hack in this game for real man, its just pathetic that people who hack doesnt know how to play their class. There's a reason why they give you so much content in a game like EQ.
A Cleric and ranger duo, if the Ranger has a lot of AAs, works very well. My main was a Ranger on Tribunal for several years. Some of my best memories are raiding with my Ranger. It was an easy job with endless quiver.
The hacking I am referring to --am I not sure if I can share details-- is one in which people are able to "warp" to any location within a zone, have a ranger track ability, and able to teleport to any zone. You would be SHOCKED the number of people that use this. Furthermore, there are many and varied hacks and third party programs in EQ 1. It is horrible.
Acutally my ranger only has 210 or something aa's...But most are defensive aa's...But I'm quite raid geared about 10k hp unbuffed and 9k mana fully buffed im close to 13k hp and 10k mana..That a lone should be easily be able to solo WoS along with HP HoT potions...But like I said before theres so much content in this game that if you're equippeed with PoR expansion+ you can get just as much or even more hps/mana as me just fighting the regular named monsters hence theres really no reason for people to hack in this game...And if you know how to play your class this game is a piece of cake...
I played a necro at level 35 andwas fighting in Burning woods (which should be level 45+) and is a double experience zone...this place is easy to level up...you can get to level 50+ soloing in this place...Hacking is for losers who needs a simple way to cheat and likeI said before this game cant get any more simpler than it is already...
Sony ruined the game. What else can you say about everquest?
They sold out their own product for short term gains, never once considering balance and longterm health. Basicly they milked it for all it was worth and now its a sad broken shell of its former self.
I also think "any" expansion tends to be bad for a game. Having played DAOC,EQ,EQ2,SB,AO,EQ emu,Guild Wars,WoW etc. Most of the add-ons tend to unbalance the games and often arnt nearly as good as the origional. Too say nothing for mudflation and selling out to raiders.