There has been talk of server merges again however according to the devs they need to work on some server issues before doing so. Any further mergers are put on hold. Read up on this in EQ2Wire. And thats very unfortunate. I'll probably stick around to see Halas but thats about it.
im not playing EQ2 at the moment but I do enjoy that game
regarding this commentary, the same fansite posted that subs were on the RISE too
This is most definitely not the case. Our subscription numbers are on the rise.
The addition of easier character transfers through the Station Marketplace has made population numbers more liquid than in the past. We are seeing players migrate towards higher population servers like Antonia Bayle and Crushbone.
In fact I’d be willing to bet that AB currently has a higher population than it has ever had in the history of EQII.
In order to stabilize the population, we’d like to increase the numbers across all servers and the easiest way to do that would be to merge some of the lower population servers making more “super servers” like Antonia Bayle.
There always seems to be an excuse when soe merges servers for eq2. I recall the first round of mergers also wasn't because populations were falling either. It was due to the gameworld getting so large with the first expansion that people couldn't find each other. One would think if that was true there would be 4 more rounds of transfers.
If people are migrating to servers with higher populations, then obviously something is wrong with the servers they are leaving.
I wish developers would just be honest. Subscriber numbers are increasing, but we need to merge servers. Sorry that doesn't wash.
If people are migrating to servers with higher populations, then obviously something is wrong with the servers they are leaving.
I wish developers would just be honest. Subscriber numbers are increasing, but we need to merge servers. Sorry that doesn't wash.
Well I think they are honest here, population on AB is definetly up as people want big servers with lots of people, so AB and naggy and Crushbone are overcrowded, people complain about lag and lets face it IMHO AB is not a friendly server anymore (partially due to te population) and still noone rolls on the smaller servers where they would most likely have more fun. SOEs solution to do fewer but bigger servers is quite logical from that point of view. With the upcoming PvP improvements we jut may get Venekor back, that would be awesome!. Another solution would be to lock AB and CB for new players but it would not really help the smaller servers.
Funny how you keep talking about the poor attitudes of adults Gloomy when you are displaying a far poorer attitude now than anyone else in this thread. And wow threatening to report someone for their opinion instead of just letting it roll off your back, thats very adult like behavior isn't it? Just like telling someone to "Now go lie down your obviously upset." That post seem to be far more aggressive than the one you replied to, which only referenced you one time. You also never answered anyones question about what server you were on. Not that i can help with this discussion as i don't currently play EQ2. The only reason im posting is because of the rampant hypocrisy i saw, and if reporting me for any of this makes you feel like the adult, go ahead, I don't mind, so report away
I dont see how my attitude is being poor. The person I was referring to continues to accuse me of "bashing" EQ2, when if you read my posts you would see I am not at all. This person is obviously a recognized troll on these forums and frankly I am very tired of dealing with them. I'm not a "run and tell" type at all, but imo its the only way to get trolls to stop. Sorry if you see "rampant hypocrisy", but I don't see it in the least. Have a good day.
To get back on topic.....
I am trying to have a discussion about the game. I love many elements about eq2 but I find myself not enjoying it because the game world is so empty. I am on Butcherblock, and I have been reading some of the helpful posts here that tell me what the more populated servers are. If I continue to play maybe I'll consider a transfer. Thanks to those that posted helpful info, its given me something to consider. And thanks for the headsup on the local troll.
I definitely agree that the whole "sub numbers are up so let's have a server merge" statement sounds very fishy to me. In all the years that I have played mmo's I have never played a game where they merge servers because of an increase in subscribers that just doesn't make any sense.
I play on oasis which seemingly has become the lowest pop server in the game but I'm pretty loathe to consider what a server merge would mean based on my game experiences. So I would now never be able to harverst anything at all since all the level 90's would be out farming every node and shiny in every zone even if you are standing right on top of one. They already do this on oasis no matter what the tier the zone is it's quite common to see anon tagged 90's even in tier 1 zones grabbing everything they can and almost daring you to say something to them about it and with game features like named mobs that have respawn timers of either hours or in a few cases a day or more I guess I can forget about trying for decent loot drops or completing certain quests.
Funny how you keep talking about the poor attitudes of adults Gloomy when you are displaying a far poorer attitude now than anyone else in this thread. And wow threatening to report someone for their opinion instead of just letting it roll off your back, thats very adult like behavior isn't it? Just like telling someone to "Now go lie down your obviously upset." That post seem to be far more aggressive than the one you replied to, which only referenced you one time. You also never answered anyones question about what server you were on. Not that i can help with this discussion as i don't currently play EQ2. The only reason im posting is because of the rampant hypocrisy i saw, and if reporting me for any of this makes you feel like the adult, go ahead, I don't mind, so report away
I dont see how my attitude is being poor. The person I was referring to continues to accuse me of "bashing" EQ2, when if you read my posts you would see I am not at all. This person is obviously a recognized troll on these forums and frankly I am very tired of dealing with them. I'm not a "run and tell" type at all, but imo its the only way to get trolls to stop. Sorry if you see "rampant hypocrisy", but I don't see it in the least. Have a good day.
To get back on topic.....
I am trying to have a discussion about the game. I love many elements about eq2 but I find myself not enjoying it because the game world is so empty. I am on Butcherblock, and I have been reading some of the helpful posts here that tell me what the more populated servers are. If I continue to play maybe I'll consider a transfer. Thanks to those that posted helpful info, its given me something to consider. And thanks for the headsup on the local troll.
Hi Broomy,
Here is a list of zones that I used to level with. This game is not put together well at all. The world does not flow like games such as WoW, some will call it hard core, I call it bull. I played EQ2 on and off for years only to get discouraged quiting soon after several times, but something keeps bringing me back, and I think because it does have a lot to offer if you can get passed the puzzle. However this puzzle will be your burden alone as no one will help you solve it because of the crappy way the game is put together. It's to the point that you can't even put into words the questions you would like to ask.
To enjoy this game, you need perseverance and have a very strong desire to break thru and some day you will understand how to get around and do stuff. It took about 3x of playing 20 days at a time to get the feel, and enjoy the game. EQ2 is kind of like driving a car, but you also have to be an auto mechanic and be able to fix your own car. The veterans learned to do both so they see no problem, but the new player is screwed.
I understand the game now but it took a long time to really enjoy it and be comfortable. HOWEVER i'm not playing at this time because of the low populations and the low level alts that will not play with anyone other than their friends.
You can use the search tool to find others by level or class, but you will also find that their really is not as many people to play with that others are telling you on any server. Add to the fact that a lot of them are alts of high level players that will ignore you.
Couldn't agree more. The servers I play(ed) are total ghost towns. Splitpaw has somewhat "normal" population at prime time but Runnyeye is pretty much beyond the point of no return.
Bottom line, it depends on your server. Sure there are crowded servers here and there, but there are tons of more low population servers also.
As for the server merge, well, considering how Nagafen / Venekor merge went, I'm guessing there won't be any merges anytime soon.
Personally, couldn't be arsed to server transfer my toons to more crowded ones, especially since they implemented rmt, no matter how fluffy it is.
I recently resubbed to EQ2. I played it at launch and for 2 1/2 years after before taking a break. I was very curious about the expac so I just threw myself into it, bought the expac and resubbed. My character is only 74 so I have about 6 levels before I can see the new content. All I can say is the games a ghost town. Nothing in chat, I dont see other players (Im exping in Fen and Moors) and the cities are abandoned. Its depressing.
Has SOE thought about another server merge? I know there are guild halls and housing that people spend time in, but to not see ONE other player in 2 hours of playing ??? Its like being the only player in an MMO Anyway I ended up unsubbing. Seems you can't go back.
Regarding "nothing in chat", each server tends to congregate around certain chat channels, and that's something that bit me when I returned.
I'm on Splitpaw and everyone talks in the 1-9 channel and also the custom norrathtrade channel. I'd turned 1-9 off (it wasn't being used the last time I played) and because I lost all my settings I no longer was a member of norrathtrade. As soon as I joined them again life returned.
Ask in the chat or your server forums what channels people are using.
Crushbone server is on heavy load just like AB, so people only flock to AB statement is not true. The game this huge can never be filled so yeah you are bound to find some zones empty. Doesn't mean population is low or server need merges. No matter how many servers you merge lower level zones will end up being empty sooner or later. However lately Antonica and Greater Faydark regions have way too many players and sometimes gathering and mining resources get very frustrating.
WOW with so called 11 million players can't fill up the lower zones, doesn't mean it need server merges. Also Broomy stop being a hypocrite. You are doing the same what you are accusing other for. And good job on painting all the EQ2 adults with same brush and claiming that all of them are un empolyed. And then you wonder why you get bashed around?
Why even wait till Hala? leave now... you have certainly made up your mind about EQ2 and its community. Remember people treat you exactly they way you treat others. Respect begets respect.
WOW with so called 11 million players can't fill up the lower zones, doesn't mean it need server merges. Also Broomy stop being a hypocrite. You are doing the same what you are accusing other for. And good job on painting all the EQ2 adults with same brush and claiming that all of them are un empolyed. And then you wonder why you get bashed around?
Why even wait till Hala? leave now... you have certainly made up your mind about EQ2 and its community. Remember people treat you exactly they way you treat others. Respect begets respect.
I think more and more people are moving to the high end population server now through character transfer. I'm guessing SoE will milk this until they decide to go ahead and merge the servers. Or the game has really gone down hill since SF was released. Either way, theres no way anyone will know for 100% certain if the game is dieing.
Loosing their Senior Producer didn't hurt (or maybe it will help according to some). People over at eq2flame mentioned something along the line of affair
WOW with so called 11 million players can't fill up the lower zones, doesn't mean it need server merges. Also Broomy stop being a hypocrite. You are doing the same what you are accusing other for. And good job on painting all the EQ2 adults with same brush and claiming that all of them are un empolyed. And then you wonder why you get bashed around?
Why even wait till Hala? leave now... you have certainly made up your mind about EQ2 and its community. Remember people treat you exactly they way you treat others. Respect begets respect.
Broomy brings up good points. You do not.
And you bring nothing to the table. Prove me wrong, i am waiting for your reply. EQ2 does not need server merges. If higher zones start ending up empty then yes the complaints are genuine.
Also being a hypocrite and using double standards does not make your point good.
WOW with so called 11 million players can't fill up the lower zones, doesn't mean it need server merges. Also Broomy stop being a hypocrite. You are doing the same what you are accusing other for. And good job on painting all the EQ2 adults with same brush and claiming that all of them are un empolyed. And then you wonder why you get bashed around?
Why even wait till Hala? leave now... you have certainly made up your mind about EQ2 and its community. Remember people treat you exactly they way you treat others. Respect begets respect.
Broomy brings up good points. You do not.
And you bring nothing to the table. Prove me wrong, i am waiting for your reply. EQ2 does not need server merges. If higher zones start ending up empty then yes the complaints are genuine.
Also being a hypocrite and using double standards does not make your point good.
Funny, reading your posts, Broomy's statement about the "adults" in EQ2 seem pretty correct. You did not treat Broomy, nor the other poster with any respect either. And not everyone has a high level character. if newbie zones are sparsely populated (I do not know if this is true or not, just "if"), that is bad for the game, as growth has something to do with attracting new players. By making those low level zones more populated, that brings in more players. As such, Broomy's concern does not have to do anything with bashing. Broomy's first post was in no way disrespectful, so I do not understand all those aggressive posts. Broomy did not anywhere state that Everquest 2 is bad and, playing it for that long, I'm sure Broomy could also say a lot of things about the good things.
Where EQ2 truly shines is at cap and near-cap levels. DEVs have long-since realized this and have made lower level content easier and more solo-friendly. This in turn has resulted in people blowing through that content and leveling up quickly. This is good in terms of driving people towards the same area of the game where the majority of the population is - which is 80-90.
If you're interested in staying a lowbie and having a good time playing 15 minutes a day, I suggest DDO, it's excellent and you can find tons of groups even at level 1.
EQ2 is 6 years old, no matter how you want to cut it, lowbie zones aren't going to be populated. Adding a new lowbie zone will help for about a month as people roll alts, then it'll be just another way to fracture the world. Trust me, it's already been done, this will be about the 6th newbie zone they've added to the game.
So, if you want to play in groups and at low level, EQ2 is a bad choice of game. If you want to be able to solo/duo and enjoy the immense content largely on your own, EQ2 is pretty good choice. If you want to be able to solo or duo and catch up to the "end-game" crowd quickly and easily, EQ2 is a great choice that gives you that opportunity. You just gotta figure out what you want out of it.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
WOW with so called 11 million players can't fill up the lower zones, doesn't mean it need server merges. Also Broomy stop being a hypocrite. You are doing the same what you are accusing other for. And good job on painting all the EQ2 adults with same brush and claiming that all of them are un empolyed. And then you wonder why you get bashed around?
Why even wait till Hala? leave now... you have certainly made up your mind about EQ2 and its community. Remember people treat you exactly they way you treat others. Respect begets respect.
Broomy brings up good points. You do not.
And you bring nothing to the table. Prove me wrong, i am waiting for your reply. EQ2 does not need server merges. If higher zones start ending up empty then yes the complaints are genuine.
Also being a hypocrite and using double standards does not make your point good.
Funny, reading your posts, Broomy's statement about the "adults" in EQ2 seem pretty correct. You did not treat Broomy, nor the other poster with any respect either. And not everyone has a high level character. if newbie zones are sparsely populated (I do not know if this is true or not, just "if"), that is bad for the game, as growth has something to do with attracting new players. By making those low level zones more populated, that brings in more players. As such, Broomy's concern does not have to do anything with bashing. Broomy's first post was in no way disrespectful, so I do not understand all those aggressive posts. Broomy did not anywhere state that Everquest 2 is bad and, playing it for that long, I'm sure Broomy could also say a lot of things about the good things.
Really how does it seems correct? do you know every adult in EQ2? generalising everyone and saying all adults in EQ2 are unemployed and with bad attitudes is what you call being respectful and reasonable? i am in a guild which only takes adults and all are employed and have families, we all play casually couple of hours a day and sometimes only on weekends.
Also, pick any MMORPG which is couple of years old, you will find all the lower zones less populated compared to higher zones. Over the years the leveling has become fast and unless you are grinding for AA you can get into 60's in a week or so. So yes a lot of new player join but they level up fast and move on.
I think more and more people are moving to the high end population server now through character transfer. I'm guessing SoE will milk this until they decide to go ahead and merge the servers. Or the game has really gone down hill since SF was released. Either way, theres no way anyone will know for 100% certain if the game is dieing.
Loosing their Senior Producer didn't hurt (or maybe it will help according to some). People over at eq2flame mentioned something along the line of affair
That is how soe handled the server mergers in swg. Acknowledging they needed mergers for a long time, but never really getting around to doing it. It may not be the best thing for a games image, but it is the right thing to do for the players.
Losing the leadership of the game again isn't going to help if it causes yet another shift in the focus of the game. That is the last thing eq2 needs again, especially since the new producer was hired to run free realms.
Also, pick any MMORPG which is couple of years old, you will find all the lower zones less populated compared to higher zones. Over the years the leveling has become fast and unless you are grinding for AA you can get into 60's in a week or so. So yes a lot of new player join but they level up fast and move on.
This is not an iron-clad law of nature, just a consequence of how developers have chosen to structure their games. I really miss old pre-CU SWG, where your "level" was the result of your skill selections. By changing skills, your effective "level" went not only up, but down and sideways too. One result was that "lowbie zones" did not become superfluous once a particular character had "leveled past them".
WOW with so called 11 million players can't fill up the lower zones, doesn't mean it need server merges. Also Broomy stop being a hypocrite. You are doing the same what you are accusing other for. And good job on painting all the EQ2 adults with same brush and claiming that all of them are un empolyed. And then you wonder why you get bashed around?
Why even wait till Hala? leave now... you have certainly made up your mind about EQ2 and its community. Remember people treat you exactly they way you treat others. Respect begets respect.
Broomy brings up good points. You do not.
And you bring nothing to the table. Prove me wrong, i am waiting for your reply. EQ2 does not need server merges. If higher zones start ending up empty then yes the complaints are genuine.
Also being a hypocrite and using double standards does not make your point good.
Funny, reading your posts, Broomy's statement about the "adults" in EQ2 seem pretty correct. You did not treat Broomy, nor the other poster with any respect either. And not everyone has a high level character. if newbie zones are sparsely populated (I do not know if this is true or not, just "if"), that is bad for the game, as growth has something to do with attracting new players. By making those low level zones more populated, that brings in more players. As such, Broomy's concern does not have to do anything with bashing. Broomy's first post was in no way disrespectful, so I do not understand all those aggressive posts. Broomy did not anywhere state that Everquest 2 is bad and, playing it for that long, I'm sure Broomy could also say a lot of things about the good things.
Really how does it seems correct? do you know every adult in EQ2? generalising everyone and saying all adults in EQ2 are unemployed and with bad attitudes is what you call being respectful and reasonable? i am in a guild which only takes adults and all are employed and have families, we all play casually couple of hours a day and sometimes only on weekends.
Also, pick any MMORPG which is couple of years old, you will find all the lower zones less populated compared to higher zones. Over the years the leveling has become fast and unless you are grinding for AA you can get into 60's in a week or so. So yes a lot of new player join but they level up fast and move on.
I dont see any hypocrisy or even cause of argument. I was accused of saying "the game is dead" when I never mentioned such a thing. I never said ALL of the so-called adults were unemployed, I said most seemed to be from my recollection. I think the EQ franchise attracted alot of hardcore gamers that spent alot of hours logged in, many of the ones I met were in fact out of work for various reasons. As far as the bad attitudes, I'll again state that many in the EQ2 community were nasty. I for the most part ignored them but when my friends left the game the community certainly aided me in making my decision to leave. In fact your jumping to conclusions, throwing out accusations is indicative to this bad attitude I mentioned so you have confirmed for me that it still, amoungst some people, exists. Again Ill repeat I never bashed the game....in not a single post, yet I have been attacked continuously. And for what? EQ2 is a great game that has a ton of content and many mini-games (ie: housing, lotto etc) that I love and miss. But playing in a space that is devoid of others isnt appealing to me. If feeling that way qualifies as "bashing the game" then so be it, I'm sick of arguing about this.
As far as leveling speed they have added alot of solo content, but as my main is a Defiler, it still makes leveling kind of slow. I have gained a few levels but I am not sure I can make it to 80-90 anytime soon as getting groups for instances is tough. If I continue the game I will have to server transfer.
I live on Nektulous server. The week end is so busy we get sometimes 2 and 3 instances of Sundered frontier as well as stonebrunt highlands.
Also for the first time in my 5 years of playing eq2 the other night we had 2 versions of north and west freeport, and 2 versions of the CL.
So somebody must be playing in order to have that many versions of a zone up and running.
Now durring the week it can be somewhat of a ghosttown. I have seen chat 1-9 and 80 folks saying we need a server merge. I don't if we really need that our not. I seam to find pleanty of folks to play with.
Personally, I think Sony needs to stop throwing money at this game in the way of new expansions. EQ III (Everquest Next) is in the works, and that's where they need to put their greater efforts.
EQ3 is NOT in the works. A new game by SOE is in the works, but it will not be EQ related.
As far as "throwing money" at it, you have totally different development teams. Stopping work on EQ2 will not help the other.
Umm yea thats real smartt considering EQ2 is more than likely the mmog they have that has the most subs and playerbase would be totally smart to stop devloping it watch it bleed subs for the next 1-2 years .
Wake up and smell the coffee, please. EQ2, like WOW, is a retirement home for maxed out characters. The low level game is dead. Dead. And has been for some time.
Throwing expansions at this game is a waste of money. Sony ought to attach a pared-down team to EQ2 for patches and minor updates, and start funneling its dollars towards "Everquest Next."
Do you really believe that when a new EQ comes out, folks will still hang out in EQ2?
Personally, I think Sony needs to stop throwing money at this game in the way of new expansions. EQ III (Everquest Next) is in the works, and that's where they need to put their greater efforts.
EQ3 is NOT in the works. A new game by SOE is in the works, but it will not be EQ related.
As far as "throwing money" at it, you have totally different development teams. Stopping work on EQ2 will not help the other.
Umm yea thats real smartt considering EQ2 is more than likely the mmog they have that has the most subs and playerbase would be totally smart to stop devloping it watch it bleed subs for the next 1-2 years .
Wake up and smell the coffee, please. EQ2, like WOW, is a retirement home for maxed out characters. The low level game is dead. Dead. And has been for some time.
Throwing expansions at this game is a waste of money. Sony ought to attach a pared-down team to EQ2 for patches and minor updates, and start funneling its dollars towards "Everquest Next."
Do you really believe that when a new EQ comes out, folks will still hang out in EQ2?
Wow I am glad you dont work for soe, I love my eq2, its clear you hate it just dont mess it up for the rest of us who love it.
Personally, I think Sony needs to stop throwing money at this game in the way of new expansions. EQ III (Everquest Next) is in the works, and that's where they need to put their greater efforts.
EQ3 is NOT in the works. A new game by SOE is in the works, but it will not be EQ related.
As far as "throwing money" at it, you have totally different development teams. Stopping work on EQ2 will not help the other.
Umm yea thats real smartt considering EQ2 is more than likely the mmog they have that has the most subs and playerbase would be totally smart to stop devloping it watch it bleed subs for the next 1-2 years .
Wake up and smell the coffee, please. EQ2, like WOW, is a retirement home for maxed out characters. The low level game is dead. Dead. And has been for some time.
Throwing expansions at this game is a waste of money. Sony ought to attach a pared-down team to EQ2 for patches and minor updates, and start funneling its dollars towards "Everquest Next."
Do you really believe that when a new EQ comes out, folks will still hang out in EQ2?
Wow I am glad you dont work for soe, I love my eq2, its clear you hate it just dont mess it up for the rest of us who love it.
If I worked for SOE in any kind of significant capacity, you would be playing EQ3 right now. Wake up and smell the coffee. Soon, someday, you are going to realize the Heroic Opportunity Wheel doesn't have any more opportunities left.
Personally, I think Sony needs to stop throwing money at this game in the way of new expansions. EQ III (Everquest Next) is in the works, and that's where they need to put their greater efforts.
EQ3 is NOT in the works. A new game by SOE is in the works, but it will not be EQ related.
As far as "throwing money" at it, you have totally different development teams. Stopping work on EQ2 will not help the other.
Umm yea thats real smartt considering EQ2 is more than likely the mmog they have that has the most subs and playerbase would be totally smart to stop devloping it watch it bleed subs for the next 1-2 years .
Wake up and smell the coffee, please. EQ2, like WOW, is a retirement home for maxed out characters. The low level game is dead. Dead. And has been for some time.
Throwing expansions at this game is a waste of money. Sony ought to attach a pared-down team to EQ2 for patches and minor updates, and start funneling its dollars towards "Everquest Next."
Do you really believe that when a new EQ comes out, folks will still hang out in EQ2?
Wow I am glad you dont work for soe, I love my eq2, its clear you hate it just dont mess it up for the rest of us who love it.
If I worked for SOE in any kind of significant capacity, you would be playing EQ3 right now. Wake up and smell the coffee. Soon, someday, you are going to realize the Heroic Opportunity Wheel doesn't have any more opportunities left.
Rofl, I mean that made me laugh EQ3. Do you not remember how EQ2 was suposed to replace EQ2 and shut down EQ. We all saw what happened with that mess. I really dont belive SOE will make that mistake again.
It wouldn't be to hard to imagine soe making another EQ game, though I very much doubt it will be along the same lines as EQ/EQ2 or anything that aims at that player market.
Looking at how EQ2 underperformed, the focus of their current games and revenue models I think EQ3-next will be much closer to free realms than it will be anywhere close to eq/eq2.
Comments
There always seems to be an excuse when soe merges servers for eq2. I recall the first round of mergers also wasn't because populations were falling either. It was due to the gameworld getting so large with the first expansion that people couldn't find each other. One would think if that was true there would be 4 more rounds of transfers.
If people are migrating to servers with higher populations, then obviously something is wrong with the servers they are leaving.
I wish developers would just be honest. Subscriber numbers are increasing, but we need to merge servers. Sorry that doesn't wash.
Well I think they are honest here, population on AB is definetly up as people want big servers with lots of people, so AB and naggy and Crushbone are overcrowded, people complain about lag and lets face it IMHO AB is not a friendly server anymore (partially due to te population) and still noone rolls on the smaller servers where they would most likely have more fun. SOEs solution to do fewer but bigger servers is quite logical from that point of view. With the upcoming PvP improvements we jut may get Venekor back, that would be awesome!. Another solution would be to lock AB and CB for new players but it would not really help the smaller servers.
Chi puo dir com'egli arde é in picciol fuoco.
He who can describe the flame does not burn.
Petrarch
I dont see how my attitude is being poor. The person I was referring to continues to accuse me of "bashing" EQ2, when if you read my posts you would see I am not at all. This person is obviously a recognized troll on these forums and frankly I am very tired of dealing with them. I'm not a "run and tell" type at all, but imo its the only way to get trolls to stop. Sorry if you see "rampant hypocrisy", but I don't see it in the least. Have a good day.
To get back on topic.....
I am trying to have a discussion about the game. I love many elements about eq2 but I find myself not enjoying it because the game world is so empty. I am on Butcherblock, and I have been reading some of the helpful posts here that tell me what the more populated servers are. If I continue to play maybe I'll consider a transfer. Thanks to those that posted helpful info, its given me something to consider. And thanks for the headsup on the local troll.
Current Games: WOW, EVE Online
I definitely agree that the whole "sub numbers are up so let's have a server merge" statement sounds very fishy to me. In all the years that I have played mmo's I have never played a game where they merge servers because of an increase in subscribers that just doesn't make any sense.
I play on oasis which seemingly has become the lowest pop server in the game but I'm pretty loathe to consider what a server merge would mean based on my game experiences. So I would now never be able to harverst anything at all since all the level 90's would be out farming every node and shiny in every zone even if you are standing right on top of one. They already do this on oasis no matter what the tier the zone is it's quite common to see anon tagged 90's even in tier 1 zones grabbing everything they can and almost daring you to say something to them about it and with game features like named mobs that have respawn timers of either hours or in a few cases a day or more I guess I can forget about trying for decent loot drops or completing certain quests.
I guess time will tell on this issue .
Hi Broomy,
Here is a list of zones that I used to level with. This game is not put together well at all. The world does not flow like games such as WoW, some will call it hard core, I call it bull. I played EQ2 on and off for years only to get discouraged quiting soon after several times, but something keeps bringing me back, and I think because it does have a lot to offer if you can get passed the puzzle. However this puzzle will be your burden alone as no one will help you solve it because of the crappy way the game is put together. It's to the point that you can't even put into words the questions you would like to ask.
To enjoy this game, you need perseverance and have a very strong desire to break thru and some day you will understand how to get around and do stuff. It took about 3x of playing 20 days at a time to get the feel, and enjoy the game. EQ2 is kind of like driving a car, but you also have to be an auto mechanic and be able to fix your own car. The veterans learned to do both so they see no problem, but the new player is screwed.
I understand the game now but it took a long time to really enjoy it and be comfortable. HOWEVER i'm not playing at this time because of the low populations and the low level alts that will not play with anyone other than their friends.
You can use the search tool to find others by level or class, but you will also find that their really is not as many people to play with that others are telling you on any server. Add to the fact that a lot of them are alts of high level players that will ignore you.
here is a good list of zones :
http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Zones_By_Level
and good luck !
l also agree the EQ2 world does not "flow"
yes the there's a transition in leveling zones but I dont think its intuitive
in regards to believing subs are on the rise, they just released an expansion -- its easy to believe
overcrowding on AB has been a known issue for over 2 years ...
how else are they going to address that server's population issue without making other BIG population servers?
EQ2 fan sites
To OP:
Couldn't agree more. The servers I play(ed) are total ghost towns. Splitpaw has somewhat "normal" population at prime time but Runnyeye is pretty much beyond the point of no return.
Bottom line, it depends on your server. Sure there are crowded servers here and there, but there are tons of more low population servers also.
As for the server merge, well, considering how Nagafen / Venekor merge went, I'm guessing there won't be any merges anytime soon.
Personally, couldn't be arsed to server transfer my toons to more crowded ones, especially since they implemented rmt, no matter how fluffy it is.
Regarding "nothing in chat", each server tends to congregate around certain chat channels, and that's something that bit me when I returned.
I'm on Splitpaw and everyone talks in the 1-9 channel and also the custom norrathtrade channel. I'd turned 1-9 off (it wasn't being used the last time I played) and because I lost all my settings I no longer was a member of norrathtrade. As soon as I joined them again life returned.
Ask in the chat or your server forums what channels people are using.
Crushbone server is on heavy load just like AB, so people only flock to AB statement is not true. The game this huge can never be filled so yeah you are bound to find some zones empty. Doesn't mean population is low or server need merges. No matter how many servers you merge lower level zones will end up being empty sooner or later. However lately Antonica and Greater Faydark regions have way too many players and sometimes gathering and mining resources get very frustrating.
WOW with so called 11 million players can't fill up the lower zones, doesn't mean it need server merges. Also Broomy stop being a hypocrite. You are doing the same what you are accusing other for. And good job on painting all the EQ2 adults with same brush and claiming that all of them are un empolyed. And then you wonder why you get bashed around?
Why even wait till Hala? leave now... you have certainly made up your mind about EQ2 and its community. Remember people treat you exactly they way you treat others. Respect begets respect.
Broomy brings up good points. You do not.
I think more and more people are moving to the high end population server now through character transfer. I'm guessing SoE will milk this until they decide to go ahead and merge the servers. Or the game has really gone down hill since SF was released. Either way, theres no way anyone will know for 100% certain if the game is dieing.
Loosing their Senior Producer didn't hurt (or maybe it will help according to some). People over at eq2flame mentioned something along the line of affair
And you bring nothing to the table. Prove me wrong, i am waiting for your reply. EQ2 does not need server merges. If higher zones start ending up empty then yes the complaints are genuine.
Also being a hypocrite and using double standards does not make your point good.
Funny, reading your posts, Broomy's statement about the "adults" in EQ2 seem pretty correct. You did not treat Broomy, nor the other poster with any respect either. And not everyone has a high level character. if newbie zones are sparsely populated (I do not know if this is true or not, just "if"), that is bad for the game, as growth has something to do with attracting new players. By making those low level zones more populated, that brings in more players. As such, Broomy's concern does not have to do anything with bashing. Broomy's first post was in no way disrespectful, so I do not understand all those aggressive posts. Broomy did not anywhere state that Everquest 2 is bad and, playing it for that long, I'm sure Broomy could also say a lot of things about the good things.
Where EQ2 truly shines is at cap and near-cap levels. DEVs have long-since realized this and have made lower level content easier and more solo-friendly. This in turn has resulted in people blowing through that content and leveling up quickly. This is good in terms of driving people towards the same area of the game where the majority of the population is - which is 80-90.
If you're interested in staying a lowbie and having a good time playing 15 minutes a day, I suggest DDO, it's excellent and you can find tons of groups even at level 1.
EQ2 is 6 years old, no matter how you want to cut it, lowbie zones aren't going to be populated. Adding a new lowbie zone will help for about a month as people roll alts, then it'll be just another way to fracture the world. Trust me, it's already been done, this will be about the 6th newbie zone they've added to the game.
So, if you want to play in groups and at low level, EQ2 is a bad choice of game. If you want to be able to solo/duo and enjoy the immense content largely on your own, EQ2 is pretty good choice. If you want to be able to solo or duo and catch up to the "end-game" crowd quickly and easily, EQ2 is a great choice that gives you that opportunity. You just gotta figure out what you want out of it.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
Really how does it seems correct? do you know every adult in EQ2? generalising everyone and saying all adults in EQ2 are unemployed and with bad attitudes is what you call being respectful and reasonable? i am in a guild which only takes adults and all are employed and have families, we all play casually couple of hours a day and sometimes only on weekends.
Also, pick any MMORPG which is couple of years old, you will find all the lower zones less populated compared to higher zones. Over the years the leveling has become fast and unless you are grinding for AA you can get into 60's in a week or so. So yes a lot of new player join but they level up fast and move on.
the SOE dev said -both- AB and Crushbone are experiencing population surges
QUOTE
We are seeing players migrate towards higher population servers like Antonia Bayle and Crushbone.
EQ2 fan sites
That is how soe handled the server mergers in swg. Acknowledging they needed mergers for a long time, but never really getting around to doing it. It may not be the best thing for a games image, but it is the right thing to do for the players.
Losing the leadership of the game again isn't going to help if it causes yet another shift in the focus of the game. That is the last thing eq2 needs again, especially since the new producer was hired to run free realms.
This is not an iron-clad law of nature, just a consequence of how developers have chosen to structure their games. I really miss old pre-CU SWG, where your "level" was the result of your skill selections. By changing skills, your effective "level" went not only up, but down and sideways too. One result was that "lowbie zones" did not become superfluous once a particular character had "leveled past them".
I dont see any hypocrisy or even cause of argument. I was accused of saying "the game is dead" when I never mentioned such a thing. I never said ALL of the so-called adults were unemployed, I said most seemed to be from my recollection. I think the EQ franchise attracted alot of hardcore gamers that spent alot of hours logged in, many of the ones I met were in fact out of work for various reasons. As far as the bad attitudes, I'll again state that many in the EQ2 community were nasty. I for the most part ignored them but when my friends left the game the community certainly aided me in making my decision to leave. In fact your jumping to conclusions, throwing out accusations is indicative to this bad attitude I mentioned so you have confirmed for me that it still, amoungst some people, exists. Again Ill repeat I never bashed the game....in not a single post, yet I have been attacked continuously. And for what? EQ2 is a great game that has a ton of content and many mini-games (ie: housing, lotto etc) that I love and miss. But playing in a space that is devoid of others isnt appealing to me. If feeling that way qualifies as "bashing the game" then so be it, I'm sick of arguing about this.
As far as leveling speed they have added alot of solo content, but as my main is a Defiler, it still makes leveling kind of slow. I have gained a few levels but I am not sure I can make it to 80-90 anytime soon as getting groups for instances is tough. If I continue the game I will have to server transfer.
Current Games: WOW, EVE Online
I live on Nektulous server. The week end is so busy we get sometimes 2 and 3 instances of Sundered frontier as well as stonebrunt highlands.
Also for the first time in my 5 years of playing eq2 the other night we had 2 versions of north and west freeport, and 2 versions of the CL.
So somebody must be playing in order to have that many versions of a zone up and running.
Now durring the week it can be somewhat of a ghosttown. I have seen chat 1-9 and 80 folks saying we need a server merge. I don't if we really need that our not. I seam to find pleanty of folks to play with.
Wake up and smell the coffee, please. EQ2, like WOW, is a retirement home for maxed out characters. The low level game is dead. Dead. And has been for some time.
Throwing expansions at this game is a waste of money. Sony ought to attach a pared-down team to EQ2 for patches and minor updates, and start funneling its dollars towards "Everquest Next."
Do you really believe that when a new EQ comes out, folks will still hang out in EQ2?
Wow I am glad you dont work for soe, I love my eq2, its clear you hate it just dont mess it up for the rest of us who love it.
If I worked for SOE in any kind of significant capacity, you would be playing EQ3 right now. Wake up and smell the coffee. Soon, someday, you are going to realize the Heroic Opportunity Wheel doesn't have any more opportunities left.
Rofl, I mean that made me laugh EQ3. Do you not remember how EQ2 was suposed to replace EQ2 and shut down EQ. We all saw what happened with that mess. I really dont belive SOE will make that mistake again.
It wouldn't be to hard to imagine soe making another EQ game, though I very much doubt it will be along the same lines as EQ/EQ2 or anything that aims at that player market.
Looking at how EQ2 underperformed, the focus of their current games and revenue models I think EQ3-next will be much closer to free realms than it will be anywhere close to eq/eq2.