Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Vet looking to come back, got some questsions(you know you love these posts)
I played EQ heavily a long time ago, then 4 years ago my wife and I started over and where having fun but our ISP had major conflicts with EQ so we stopped. ( She complained the entire time about how new MMOs copied EQ, she didn't know this because she never played EQ before that.) Now we have a new ISP and I am looking to try another MMO. 6 months ago we decided to stop playing MMOs and start console gaming again. 42 inch HD tv and Ps3 where fun for a while but the games are all short and I like having an endless amount of things to do. I also love to socialize.
I now run a Mac and don't feel like dual booting so my best option at this point for an MMO is EQ.
Any major changes in the last 4 or 5 years?
I love to solo/duo/low man stuff. Can you get exp solo as most classes now or is it still limited to solo friendly classes? How is duo? My wife says she won't play but I think she will change her mind and want to play as well.
Bit of a story again... I played a VahShir Bard, up to 65 cap and a bunch of AA. I loved my bard but the changes to how songs work and what sounds like a nerf to their soloing ability makes them sound like a lot less fun. After leaving EQ I fell in love with tanking. Ninja/Paladin in FFXI, Paladin/War/Druid in WoW. I think I actually like Ninja and WoW paladin more than I liked bard but there is something about being so stupid fast that people actually want you to turn it off/you kill them with falling damage.
I like to tank or support, I like versatility, I like to be very hard to kill, I like to be able to solo at least a little bit and I like to be wanted. I also love to DPS when I can get good people to fill all other roles but it can be hard to DPS and fullfill the other wants I have. That being said what classes would sound good for me? Without looking into it at all DK, Paladin and Beastlord came to mind. Not sure if there are any other options. Warrior seemed really boring to me before, not sure what all they can do now but they always seemed like they didn't take a lot of thought to play and I like complex gameplay (see my love for bard) and a character that will keep me busy (see my love for bard again, twisting 4 songs for hours was fun!).
Which servers have a good population? The progression servers sound like they are very busy so that has me interested, being locked out of Luclin removes the option of Vah Shir and beastlord but I could see myself joining one. If I understand correctly the expansions are only opened once enough people have cleared the content and there is enough votes to do so. If that is correct I like the sounds of it because that would mean there is a good chance PoP will never be opened, I feel PoP ruined EQ or least for me it did.
I have played DAOC, EQ, EQII, LOTRO, FFXI, WoW and had fun with them all but the only games I really loved where EQ and FFXI. I kind of want some of that love back 
EDIT: The choosing a class guide on the sony site lists Bard and Enchanter as the only two "hard" classes and it reminded me of something. The one thing about every class I have loved in every game I have ever played was their ability to step in when the poopie hits the wind generator and get control over the situation. I think this is why I like playing a tank or something that can tank in other games and bard in EQ. I can remember saving many wipes with a quick kite, charm or mezz and having a lot of fun doing it.
Comments
My friend went back to EQ, said the progression servers are a blast and lots of ppl on them
The timelocked progression servers (Fippy & Vulak) are two of the most active servers right now. They are really the place to go if you are just coming back to re-experience EQ. Yes, expansions are locked until the objectives are met. You can check the progression timeline for each servers to see which objectives were defeated when. Once objectives are defeated, the server goes through a grace period before the vote to open up the next expansion comes. In classic content, the grace period is 90 days (kunark vote should come on may 25th for fippy, and a week later for vulak btw). In any other expansions after classic, the grace period is 60 days. So you know you have plenty of time to play a certain expansion before people vote on the next one.
So if you want to play Beastlord & Vah Shir race, you'll have to wait until Luclin opens. By the way, bards and enchanters are still fun and pretty engaging. Especially in the early expansions where their mana regen, crowd control, slow, and other utilities are very valuable. While bards don't solo as well as they used to, they are pretty wanted in groups & raids.
There are indeed a lot of big changes in the last 4-5 years. You can check Borek's website to see what each expansions added/changed. His site is pretty useful for newbies and returning old vets. You should also post questions on EQ's newbie forum, it's the best place to ask questions as this forum isn't really used often by EQ players.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
Kinda disappointing to see one guild dominating the raid progression on the server coupled with the fact that the raids were all completed so close together.
Dang.. after reading your excellent post, now I WANT to go back to EQ!!!
BUT - have to wait until my new shiny Dell gets here
This one is definately taking a gaming "Dirt Nap" atm!!! Argh!!
/hail & have fun in EQ!!
"Huntress"
This is classic content raid objectives, that's why they were easy to roll through. Plus some found ways to utilize the overpowered mage pets to kill them with a single group. This is kinda what happens when you re-experience something, because people already know how to kill things, it isn't exactly new. But eh, as more expansions open, with more raid objectives available and less mage cheese, you should see more guilds get their names up there.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
There are no overpowered Mage pets, I complained during the expansions first release Mages were overpowered and I was told the pets weren't overpowered. You mean they were wrong and I was right?
Morons gimped melee and gave casters overpowered pets allowing solo and group play to suffer. Even in the old days casters didn't want melee in their groups and you couldn't solo. Everquest sucks and will always suck until they fix melee.
Are you going to be playing on the Mac server? I've considered buying a used Mac to check it out. Planes of Power was the last expansion they got, AFAIK.
I am a Shadow Knight enthusiast. I am playing a magician on my current return run, but SK is still my favorite class for tanking, pulling, kiting, and general tankish-versatility... but I am extremely biased.