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WAR vs EQ2 vs AoC vs LotRO
jetepilepsy
Member Posts: 27
Hey -
Out of Warhammer, Everquest II, Age of Conan, and Lord of the Rings, which of these is looking in the best shape at the moment? A friend and I are getting bored with Warcraft and have looked into these, but can't make a decision on which route to take.
We tried the Warhammer trial, but is the PvE evolved enough where one would have plenty of things to do? And how does endgame compare to the others?
We also played Everquest II and are considering going back. The crafting is amazing and the combat is good, but the look of the game is a little dull. We reached about level 47, is there enough excitement later in the game to make up for the scenery?
Age of Conan - haven't tried, but we're wondering how it measures up to the other major MMOs out there in terms of combat, endgame, content in general.
We've also tried the LotRO trial, and it was decent, but is there enough to hold your attention if you don't get as immersed in the storyline as it seems a lot of the other players do?
Kind of just in general wondering which of these is the strongest all-around. If you had to make a list of which you'd rather play out of these games, first game being the one you enjoyed playing the most, last game being the one you enjoyed playing the least, what would it look like?
Thanks in advance,
Jet.
Comments
WAR - You don't play this game for the PvE, whilst it has a couple of interesting encounters it simply is boring as hell for PvE.
EQ2 - Can't comment on the later levels, but the game is well made and polished.
AoC - Fun combat, nice graphics but limited amount of content in the game. They do release quite a bit each time they do a patch but could use more time to flesh things out and resolve PvP issues.
LOTRO - Nothing special here, its a solid well built MMO, with an interesting setting offering a bit of everything. Dungeons are good fun though.
As an ex-WoW player, I'd recommend Aion later this year instead of the above, but in the meantime, LOTRO is probably the best of them from a PvE perspective.
It's very difficult to pick between these games.
I know WAR,LotRO and EQ2 have trials you can try and possibly AoC also. I would play through each one and make up my own mind.
Also Vanguard has a trial and TCoS are about to hit Open beta that may be something you're interested in.
I've played EQ2 and LotRO and both games are good at what they do, they're great pve games with good dungeons,crafting and endgame dungeon content. WAR is to the point of where it should have been at launch with patch 1.2 and is very enjoyable if you like a More pvp centric game with Average pve (quests, dungeons, raids) And from what i've been told AoC seems to need a few more months before that game is really good.
While I understand WoW is the big boy on the TP mmo Block the gap between WoW and these other games isnt so large anymore. Lotro does the pve questing and small group content better then WoW, Both AoC and WAR do pvp better and EQ2 is equal if not more advanced Endgame progression wise then WoW. So I can understand why more people would be leaving the ten ton gorilla to try these games.
My pick for you would be WAR since its fun and believe it of not it actually has fun pve.
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
Age of Conan is a pretty decent game. Personally though, I like other things to do before I hit level 40 other than combat. Theres no crafting before level 40. From what I hear, the crafting is aweful anyway. I also think the itemization is pretty bad.
Warhammer is a lot of fun. The PvP/RvR apsect of the game is one of the best on the market, its easily accessable (easy to learn and easy to master) but the game is extremely linear. You wont see many variations in gear appearances and really talisman making is the only decent craft Id recommend picking up. Potions etc. drop too frequently from mobs and from quest rewards to really make alchemy viable. The game also has a social disconnect as most players are just grind grind grind. You wont see much (if any) social chat in areas.
Everquest 2: Completely flooded with content. Theres a gazillion quests in the game and the crafting along with the player economy is done very well. Its a PvE'r and Crafters dream MMO. It has a dark gritty side to it as well as a colourful innocent side to it as well. It caters to many MMO gamers tastes and has many classes and races to coose from. It is the epitome of a true high-fantasy game. You have many choices in armor and gear appearances as well as skill choices to customize your character. Only downside is that the population is spread out in the massive world. Travelling can be a major pain in the ass. Also, if you plan on "doing it all" meaning crafting, collecting, PVE questing, reputation questing then you'll find it to be an inventory nightmare as well as a journal nightmare. Expect your bags to be full of bits and peices of which half you'll know not what to do with. Even the journal gets to be a mess with the bajillion quests and tasks you'll pick up. Expect that after level 20 it will take a considerable amount of time to accomplish anything in the game.. and expect that length of time to increase around level 40 exponentially. You'll also need some decent hardware to push the graphics.
Lord of the Rings Online: great game, very easy to learn and get into and has an original PvP twist with monster play. Graphics look amazing (even on low end specs), the crafting is complex enough to make it interesting and easy enough to not make you want to blow your brains out. The quest lines are extremely well written. The game is very social as well, you'll find it alive with players and the world is (dare I say) the perfect size for an MMO. Travelling is very easy, you wont expect a lot of downtime from running place to place. You can log in for a very short amount of time and accomplish quite a bit. Like everquest 2, theres a lot of gear to make your character look unique, however it doesnt have anywhere near the amount of classes EQ2 does (or races). Theres actually a lot of fluff in the game, and the more you play it the more you'll find this. For instance, fishing. Helps with cooking and if you catch a whopper you can take it to the taxidermist and get it mounted for a wall trophy for your house. Its downside for me is that it doesnt have a dark, gritty element to it unless it involves your enemy. You're playing for the forces of good and thats pretty much set in stone. However, I would highly recommend playing it. Also with this game, you'll need to actually read the quests that are given. Theres no waypoint system like WAR or WoW has, so you really need to prepare yourself to be immersed.
so considering all of this, it seems you've played EQ2 quite a bit so I wouldnt recommend it to you. Id say check out LOtRO for a bit, you'll probably enjoy it.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
1. LOTRO
2. EQ2
3. WAR
4. AOC
I currently play LOTRO. I love it for how deep it is, but at the same time it's relaxed. I don't mean relaxed as in Easy either, I mean the players aren't all jerks who judge you by wether your strength is 900 or 898. It's not a big mathematical gear theorycraft like most MMOs. I mean, you want better gear, but it doesn't make or break your style.
The fishing is awesome, and a great way to relax and kill some time. The housing element is superb, and very addictive. There are just enough people to not feel crowded, but not like you're the only one playing (like vanguard).
While many of the quests are standard fare with "kill 10 of these" and such, at least there is the DEEDS system, which rewards you for killing X amount of monsters, doing a specific skill a number of times, etc. So unlike most MMOs, where you simply do the "kill 10 things" quest, you are also earning titles, skills, and major experience bonuses for completing your deeds while you're doing normal questing. Also, the epic storyline quests have alot of single player instances where you'll fight a couple of trash pulls, and then a named epic fight, alongside a character from Middle Earth lore. I find that alot of fun as well.
Also, the music system is alot of fun, and just adds to the social aspect of the game along with housing.
Should also be noted that the next book update, which comes out tomorrow is adding many many things, overhauling the experience grind, specifically from levels 1-15, and adding the quest helper type feature mentioned in the post above mine. So it's a fantastic game, and just getting better.
Science flies people to the moon. Religion flies people into buildings.
WAR - If you are PvE player you will be done with this game in 6 weeks. 8 tops. It just isn't there. What is there is hiddeously dull and easy. Not a real fun element to it.
AoC - This game was a disaster at release and has been shedding players ever since. Not sure on how well it has improved, but chances are it is not worth the risk or expense. It's a trainwreck, just move along, nothing to see here.
EQ2 - An extremely deep well polished and well evolved PvE MMO. Worth looking into. It's been going for awile so has had alot of improvements, expansions etc.
LoTRO - is the RP and Lore Lovers PvE game. Well polished PvE with alot of deep story, and possibly the nicest comunity of any game. I mean scary nice. Really worth taking a look at.
Take a good look at EQ2 and LoTRO, skip the other 2.
LOTRO- Since the beginning of my MMO career I haven't seen a community this nice and this mature. The PVE is freaking excellent. PVP leaves some to be desired but isn't as bad as some would have you think.
EQ2- Played this from the start till too many changes were made to the game. Left after the Fey expansion. Felt like I was getting nickeled and dimed to death by SOE and there expacs and mini-add-ons. Not a bad game overall though.
WAR- I have a few friends who play this and everytime we talk about this game they are always complaining about how something else was broken or another class got nerfed. I ask them why are you still playing and they never have an answer.
AOC- Is on the verge of shutting down. That is from most sources. The whole company FunCom has enough money to keep going for about a year to a year and a half.
If I was going towards any game it would either be LOTRO or EQ2, although EQ2 did just add in item malls where you spend real money to get in game items. Micro Transactions + P2P = No Sub for me.
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
I have answered that decision: NONE OF THE ABOVE.
As members of the gaming community, we can no longer support "bad" or "OK" games until something better comes out.
Developers think by paying for a game we really do not like, although we are waiting for developers to devleop something with more immersion features, that we want that.
Funcom had losses but its not on the verge of shutting down
arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/02/funcom-posts-23-mil-loss-cfo-steps-down.ars
AOC expansion is planned
and Secret World is being hyped next week at the Game Developers Conference
www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/57580
EQ2 fan sites
OP,
I can't choose between those games for you, because you and I probably enjoy different things. I'm fed up of lame ass MMO quests that are more reminnicent of doing chores than doing something epic. So I wouldn't play EQ2, AoC, or LoTRO if it was me, because they all are boring due to their PvE quest centric nature.
I just resubbed to WAR, and I admit that I don't play the game hardcore. But when I do log in, I enjoy my play experience. Most of the community plays it for the RvR, but there is quests to do and they have better stories attached to them than other PvE games. I don't do the quests, because I'm burnt out on them. I do, however, do the PQ's. I find the PQ's enjoyable, because by doing them I'm working on my Influence, which unlocks rewards. PQ's have multiple stages, all of them pretty much requiring you to kill stuff, which is hack n slash fun for me. At the end, the game rolls on the chest and gives you a bonus based on your contribution. The chests have some decent loot in them too. So what I do is I log in to do O-RvR until I cap out my Renown, then I do PQ's for the chapter I'm on until I level up. What ends up happening is that I keep a good balance of PvP and PvE, my renown level and my character level, and I get the Influence rewards from every chapter and RvR lake. I spend about 1-2 hours a day doing this. If I wanted to quest, I could spend another hour or two doing that as well. Add in another half hour if I wanted to craft. So WAR has a lot to offer, and is an all around good game.
Funcom had losses but its not on the verge of shutting down
arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/02/funcom-posts-23-mil-loss-cfo-steps-down.ars
AOC expansion is planned
and Secret World is being hyped next week at the Game Developers Conference
www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/57580
AC2 shut down weeks after the Xpac released. Shadowbane had an Xpac planned and announced. A few other games have announced Xpacs as a last gasp before fiscal realities hit them (Horizons?) Not saying AoC is or is not shutting down, just that the announcement of an Xpac is somewhat meaningless to the equation.
I agree anything can happen but Funcom has never "pulled the plug" on a failing mmo
just take a look at Anarchy Online
EQ2 fan sites
1) EQ2. (PvE with some PvP)
2) LOTRO. (PvE with some PvP)
3) Age of Conan. (PvE beginning with PvP endgame)
4) Warhammer. (Realm vs Realm PvP game with PvE)
I prefer PvE over PvP generally in my day overall (questing and such), so that's the order I put them in for me personally by the most classes and most opportunities with the best questing. I gave EQ2 a better rate because of the class diversity (significantly more) and having more quests. Warhammer had the worst PvE of the bunch and was considerably more population dependant to do things. Warhammer also had the shittiest crafting in any MMO I've played.. ever. I don't even know why they put it in there at all. You won't get an argument from anyone anywhere on this point with half a brain.
"TO MICHAEL!"
I don't know if any of them are for you.
If you are looking for a temporary filler, I'd say find something free.
The opinion on the games above is pretty solid. Yeah, there are disagreements on some subjective matter, but overall they are fairly solid games. IMO, the 3 best PvE games right now are Lotro, EQ2, and Vanguard. If you will be playing with your own friends, then grouping isn't going to be an issue, so it doesn't matter which IMO. If you are looking for some nice storyline, Lotro is leaps and bounds above the others. If you make a group of friends to level with, you will have immense fun in Lotro especially if you like the Tolkien lore. Population wise, Lotro and EQ2 will carry you the furthest as they are the easiest to get groups for quests and such. EQ2 is an excellent game, but I too have grown weary of SOE's expansion packs and such. Vanguard, to me, is an excellent game that just got squandered by mismanagement in the beginning and trying to acheive too much. I have to reserve comments on AoC because I never played it, however I can say that of the twenty-ish friends I have that play mmo's, none that tried it are still playing it.
Special section for WAR. If you want your mmo journey to be a grind followed by pvp, then WAR is nice. Some of the pve content is decent, however most people skip the good stuff because it is actually difficult and they want to get to 50 ASAP to go RVR. WAR is a game in which you can pvp from 1 to 50 and have fun. The disadvantage of that is that the classes are constantly getting tweaked, so if you are a person who likes a challenge and doesn't mind adapting to change, WAR might be for you. If you ever played DAOC, you have an idea of how Mythic runs WAR. Bottom line though, if you don't like change or don't like RvR, then don't try WAR. Of the twenty-or-so mmo friends I have, nearly all of them play WAR, although I don't anymore.
OP,
I can't choose between those games for you, because you and I probably enjoy different things. I'm fed up of lame ass MMO quests that are more reminnicent of doing chores than doing something epic. So I wouldn't play EQ2, AoC, or LoTRO if it was me, because they all are boring due to their PvE quest centric nature.
I just resubbed to WAR, and I admit that I don't play the game hardcore. But when I do log in, I enjoy my play experience. Most of the community plays it for the RvR, but there is quests to do and they have better stories attached to them than other PvE games. I don't do the quests, because I'm burnt out on them. I do, however, do the PQ's. I find the PQ's enjoyable, because by doing them I'm working on my Influence, which unlocks rewards. PQ's have multiple stages, all of them pretty much requiring you to kill stuff, which is hack n slash fun for me. At the end, the game rolls on the chest and gives you a bonus based on your contribution. The chests have some decent loot in them too. So what I do is I log in to do O-RvR until I cap out my Renown, then I do PQ's for the chapter I'm on until I level up. What ends up happening is that I keep a good balance of PvP and PvE, my renown level and my character level, and I get the Influence rewards from every chapter and RvR lake. I spend about 1-2 hours a day doing this. If I wanted to quest, I could spend another hour or two doing that as well. Add in another half hour if I wanted to craft. So WAR has a lot to offer, and is an all around good game.
I suppose its true. The game just underwent some huge cut backs in servers offering transfers and merges and closing some. Also, this past week they released a fairly substantial expansion along with 2 new classes. Furthermore, they offered players who had their accounts cancelled longer than 30 days to come back for free. They may have successfully pulled back some older players, and succesfully condensed the existing population. Trust me, I'll be happy if they do because I still subscribe to the game (on badlands).
its linearity still puts the game behind the curve and breaks up the community. Whether or not the community spike will last, who knows.. but for now ya there are a lot of people playing it. No matter how many players you put in it, I stand by what I said. Theres a definite social breakdown which is caused by its linear power grind. IE. you wont see players going back past a certain level associating themselves with lower levels. Also, players are pulled into scenerios away from any other social interaction. Just to give 2 examples..
just to clarify, Im not talking about people chatting in region chat and I dont consider region chat socializing. Its typically dominated by 5 people just like any other open chat system ala Barrens Chat. Im talking about long term group activities. People just seem to want to blast their way through the current tier and move on to the next. The game itself hinders people from going back and assisting or participating with people theyve outleveled.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
Funcom had losses but its not on the verge of shutting down
arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/02/funcom-posts-23-mil-loss-cfo-steps-down.ars
AOC expansion is planned
and Secret World is being hyped next week at the Game Developers Conference
www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/57580
Funcom loses 33.8 million in 2008. Has 39 million in reserves.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Age-of-Conan-Could-be-the-Next-MMO-to-Close-Down-105378.shtml
Not sure how long a company can run doing it this way.
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
Funcom had losses but its not on the verge of shutting down
arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/02/funcom-posts-23-mil-loss-cfo-steps-down.ars
AOC expansion is planned
and Secret World is being hyped next week at the Game Developers Conference
www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/57580
Funcom loses 33.8 million in 2008. Has 39 million in reserves.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Age-of-Conan-Could-be-the-Next-MMO-to-Close-Down-105378.shtml
Not sure how long a company can run doing it this way.
Most game publishers made a loss in 2008, some, like EA, lost substantially more than 33.8 million.
There will be plenty of people who will invest in Funcom because some marketing guru there will convince them that AoC has turned the corner and they've learnt from all their mistakes so their new title will be a smash hit.
Its only the small indie developers that ever close, unless you have horrific management, like Atari, but then even they are managing to survive and they've never made a profit.
1. Warhammer
2. Lotro
3. EQ2
4. AoC
After WoW, to be honest I haven't seen anything better (other than FW) and I'm tired of WoW myself. AoC had so much potential, *sigh. After level 20 it seems to become more of struggle to soldier on. Lotro was and is a wow copy cat. It doesn't even feel or play like the epic story of J.R.R Tolkien. Fans of Lord of the Rings will have a hard time getting past level 12.
EQ2 is an epic classic but I fear the direction and future of EQ2. I personally will never return to that game. Warhammer is too much liike wow. After level 20, you will have a hard time wanting to keep playing but out of the selection, it is the funnest, sadly so.
I'm simply trying to prepare you for your upsets. I am not pleased with the direction of most mmos at the moment, but make the best of them if you so decide to select one. I would suggest to look for something outside of that list. I like Fasaria World but I haven't played Darkfall, Vanguard or D&D yet. I'm already decided I will not return to any of the above listed games for my own personal reasons but good luck on your selection. Warhammer is the strongest in that list.
I never tried EQ2 but of the others:
1.LoTRO
2.War
3. AoC
Because LoTRO gets an expansion once a year and a ton of free is content added every 3 months. Gives ya something to look forward to and keeps the game fresh. Who doesn't love new areas and quests?:)
But, why not play each? They all have to be $19.99 at this point and you get a free month. $20 is the cost of 2 movie tickets
Just play all 4 over the next 4 months and decide then which you liked best and stick with that 1.
If you like to PvE with your friend, I would suggest Lotro. If you want some PvP in between that, then AoC. AoC was a mess at launch, like so many people say over and over, but it has really turned around for the better. Still, you might want to wait until the next big patch hit in AoC (1.5), which will make the game far better (it also is superior with regards to your characters visual aspect and emotes if you like that).
Warhammer seemed to me like a big grind, with your typical WoW quests and a heavy focus on zerg pvp. I don't know if you want the limited social aspect Warhammer has to offer. If you liked to PvP in WoW battlegrounds you will probably enjoy it.
But I am an AoC fanboi, so what I say is of course rubbish and faulty. Isn't that right people who played AoC 8 months ago.
It is preferable not to travel with a dead man.
Thanks everyone for your input, it was really helpful.
We've narrowed it down to either EQ2 or LotRO, though we're still waiting to see how AoC develops, and if they'll set up a trial version.
WAR seems like it would be a really fun game if all we wanted to do is PvP all the time, and we did really enjoy that aspect, but it isn't enough.
LotRO graphics are absolutely beautiful, and I've read that crafting is pretty decent up til level 50, but how well does it go from there? Will it be on par with EQ2's? Sorry if I missed that somewhere in all the replies.
Also, if we re-activated our EQ2 accounts, if there a way to upgrade it to Shadow Odyssey xpac only, without having to pay for all the all-in-one stuff? Because it seems like if we already have all the other things, it's silly to pay for it all over again just for the one xpac itself.
Thanks again,
Jet.
its a set price
most mmos that charge you for new expansions ask for $30.00+ anyhow
(regardless of including old expansions)
wont miss anything from EQ2 latest expansion unless you are level 75+ or have over 120 AA
latest expansion targetted higher levels only
EQ2 fan sites
WAR -Looks like WoW, which means it looks like a kid's game. Will never play it.
EQ2 -Still the most satisfying MMORPG I've ever played. Took me 3 years to tire of it. Not too easy like most current post-WoW releases which cater to the non-skilled. Took me a year to solo a Ranger to 60 upon release. Plenty of content and solo and group quests.
AoC -Too Easy to level. XP is ladled out, you get to 80 and have seen everything within a couple of months. Toons can be soloed to 60 in a couple of months and to 80 if you don't get sick of Villas and Kesh. as they are pretty much all there is to do after 60. Hands down best graphics of any released MMO. Seriously lacking in variety in weapon/armor appearance or their stat variation. Worst Crafting system since TR (Look, I can click a button!).
Relatively little exploration because of limited zone size due to graphic demands on system and a lot of steering of where you can go by too many canyons and slopes. Too much canyon and sloped terrain that must be circumnavigated just to friggin' get somewhere.
Fights are too short and too much one-shotting. Over-18 recommended and played by those not much older and with little social skills. Harsh and mostly childish community and all that goes with that.
If you don't a have a killer, and I mean KILLER machine with a recent card sporting gig of graphics memory and max RAM (depending on OS), it won't look nearly as good as it should and fps will suck. Does NOT take advantage of SLI.
For every piece of gear currently existing in the game there should be at least a dozen more comparable pieces that are different in both appearance and stats available. So, one-twelfth of what should be available is. Stats mean next to nothing.
Not enough quests because there doesn't need to be many quests due to ridiculous amount of xp doled out...even for gray quests. Limited toon development due to limited stat variation throughout. No housing and all that goes with it and in it. This game is HALF the size it needs to be to offset how easy it is.
No PvP comments because I don't PvP (combat based on ganking and "Look, the game's engine allowed me to get my stun off first -I'm a player -I'm hardcore". Lol.)
Might be one of the best MMO's around (which doesn't necessarily mean financial success) a couple of years from now when the average person's (that's PERSON, not player) computer has the crunching power to run it effectively...but it will likely ALWAYS be far too easy to level. When MMO's are too easy to level, players get bored and move on. There's no sense of accomplishment to getting a piece of top gear that can be quested in a mere couple of hours by anybody. Top Gear should be a friggin' long grind to get and rare to hold. It should make you feel as though you accomplished something instead of just getting that Bow every other topped-out Ranger has. I like a challenge. Sue me.
LOTRO - Currently playing and best since EQ2. Plenty of quests and leveling isn't too fast. Expansive world with killer combat animation. Have found grownups here. Plenty of gear and stat variety. Nice long group quest-chains that take time to complete. Plenty of agro.
1 aoc
2 lotro
3 eq2
4 vanguard
AOC- The best graphics of any mmo! need a dual core good graphic card and 3gb of ram to play. Best combat of any mmo with possible exception of COH , I was playing War the other day and it was so dull just pressing buttons put me on automatic game play (except pvp of course which is a mess). gathering does not start til 20, crafting til 40(silly and no reason for it, oh well crafting is secondary to me). community is made up of 50% idiots with an average iq of perhaps 20, you do meet the occasional nice person which is a pleasant surprise. PvP is like eq 2 or maybe shadow bane on a pvp server, head on a swivel, immature gankers, but fun as long as you dont do it to much or are in a guild. Like eq 2 q and sb very poor rules set up for pvp-why ? who knows i guess most people just like to gank each other. Alot of good and sometime very good quests certainly enough so you dont have to do the dreaded grind, i did not notice lvling up quicker than in other games although I am not a hard core. I find it difficult to do combat in other mmo's after playing aoc they all seem so slow and automated
Lotro- Very good graphics but with occasional hitching no matter what machine you have, can run it with a average computer but will have to put up with more hitching. Fantastic lore and story lines , if you are into this you will love Lotro. Combat-meh, average at best, very slow combat sometime it does not look like anyone is hitting anyone, i recently tried one of the new classes and that was a little better but not in aoc class. Crafting very good if a bit confusing , you can play a character that fights by playing a banjo (how cool is that) you can play musical instruments in game -very creative. PvP is very different as you can play as a monster, but seems like an after thought , some people like it and some dont. Has some great quests and average quests but does follow a story line which helps keep you interested. community has its share of fools but over all very good and willing to help. Again average to sometime poor combat is the only thing which keeps this back otherwise a great game.
EQ 2- Used to be you needed a mammoth computer to even think about playing this game, Sony has now scaled this very well and you can play it with an above average computer however this game has very dull graphics in spots and nice in other spots which makes it weird, very brown looking. Combat while "automatic" is much better then Lotro with great annimations and fairly quick combat, you lvl fairly quick which i see as an asset although you can stop yourself from lvling perhaps a strategy in pvp which again is head on a swivel (which is fun if somewhat tireing) You will get ganked but i found it is not as bad as aoc and is a good deal of fun. crafting again is good if predictable and redundant. they have a very complicated card game but with so much to do try finding time to play it. You will never run out of quests it is called everquest for a reason. Quests range from good story to very boring. there is something blah to me about everqust maybe it is the scenery , my advise would be to start in Fay of mayweather it is more colorfull.
Vanguard- Even with a very good computer you will get major hitching in this game (no one seems to be able to cure it) Graphics are very good and it is a seemless world which is great to some and confused others. Combat is like eq2 but not as fast or good prob due to lag. crafting is excellent and they have added Diplomacy which makes the game interesting although some peole dont like it. Ive never played pvp cant comment on it but most people say it is poorly implemented. the big thing about this game is the performance really hurts it, do not listen to people who say it is so much better, aoc runs much smoother then Vanguard it is not a contest. I put it in here because if they could get their performance fixed it could be a very good game.
War- I dont even rate it, PvE compleatly worthless and linear, bad graphics , hitching although not as bad a v angurd, Crafting a joke. Pvp somewhat fun but congested , confusing , redundant (run upp this hill run down thiss hill, lag, poor flowing combat again a joke compared to aoc. this is a niche game so if you like that thing?
As you can see i rate aoc as the best mmo but that is my opinion, Oh music if you care about such things are best in aoc and lotro,
Ive only played Warhammer and Lotro but out of those overall, I liked lotro, theres alot to do in game whereas in warhammer its pretty much PVP or Public Quests otherwise you will want to spill yourself on the keyboard.
From Soho down to Brighton I must have played em' all.