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Thinking of returning
mcmfire
Member Posts: 9
in Everquest II
I've been playing SWG since close to launch and have dabbled here and there with EQII since it was launched. Now that SWG has for all intents and purposes gone down the crapper I'm thinking of returning to EQII despite my hatred towards SOE. I know a lot has changed since I last played, I guess what I'm looking for is some reassurance that the team running EQ is not doing the same things as the ones running SWG. The biggest things I'm looking for are the ability to solo, solid crafting and good support for groups and guilds.
Part of me thinks I should just stay away from SOE all together (as I also saw first hand what happened to MxO), but for the brief time I played EQ2 I did enjoy the gameplay and thought it was a realatively well put together game. I'm currently playing EVE, and DAOC so for anyone who playes either game (mainly DAOC) is EQ in a state worth returning to or are they going through the same BS as every other Station Pass game?
Part of me thinks I should just stay away from SOE all together (as I also saw first hand what happened to MxO), but for the brief time I played EQ2 I did enjoy the gameplay and thought it was a realatively well put together game. I'm currently playing EVE, and DAOC so for anyone who playes either game (mainly DAOC) is EQ in a state worth returning to or are they going through the same BS as every other Station Pass game?
Comments
EQ2 has changed alot since launch, however the are dumbing down the crafting aspect of the game. People correct me if I am wrong, but they are making it more easier (like WoW's crafting IMO). And also got rid of alot of the classes as well. (Now you can just pick your Class, where as during the launch days you had to level to 20 I believe to pick your main class or was it 15?) I forgot.
The graphics are still excellent imo as well for this mmo. If you got the itch to retry EQ2, just download the free trial that they got going and see if the game grasps you.
Yeah, I too have the bug to stay away from SOE products, but hell, if you like the game and can enjoy it, play it then. I dont wanna sound like a hypocrite, but EQ2 was fun when I did play it during its day (when it wasnt crashing like every 15 to 30 minutes and thats just the start, I could go on), its a shame I had a bad experience with SWG,EQ2 and Planetside.
"...and with that cryptic comment, I'm off to bed!"
They are removing the pointless sub-combines. You now can use the item you harvest to directly make what you need. For a sage this means you no longer have to make grey oils, inks and grind wood for paper. Instead it's assumed you do that in the process of making the scroll. You don't get smarter making sub-combines they are grey. It is however less tedious though the system is still not for those who want something like WoW's quick crafting to 300 system.
The game is a lot better than it was at release and its a shame they didn't release what they have now instead of what they had. They'd have done a lot better against WoW.
http://www.greycouncil.org/
They are removing the pointless sub-combines. You now can use the item you harvest to directly make what you need. For a sage this means you no longer have to make grey oils, inks and grind wood for paper. Instead it's assumed you do that in the process of making the scroll. You don't get smarter making sub-combines they are grey. It is however less tedious though the system is still not for those who want something like WoW's quick crafting to 300 system.
The game is a lot better than it was at release and its a shame they didn't release what they have now instead of what they had. They'd have done a lot better against WoW.
Oh, that actually sounds better to me.
I liked making potions in EQ2 but the trouble I had to go through with all the sub-combines I really didn't enjoy.
Thanks for taking the time to explain that.
Was just recently considering returning to EQ2 -- they sent me a large envelope with a nice poster and a letter saying I would get an in-game reward if I returned -- and the crafting changes sound good to me.
Noted that there is an RP-PvP server. This sounds tempting.
~ Ancient Membership ~
Dumbingn down? Maybe. Personally, I think it is removing the tedium. Let's face it, it is not complicated to make a single item. Having to make 20 subs to make an item is really just breaking it down to making 20 items, which is not difficult. Perhaps I am the only one seeing the old way as just a simple process.
Who it really hurts are those who time leverage the game for tradeskill/selling. Things will settle down in time.
I mean makiing it possible to sell things offline instead of staying in your inn was a good idea, making the game too easy wasn't.
No more subcomines,crafting is so easy even my cat can do it now
You pick your class from start which i think was a lose as the progression gave you a good chance to do class quests and feel out what you have in mind.
You can solo 1-70 but grouping is faster(hey its called a mmorpg).Can assure you of anything because i can't assure myself that next time i step out of the house a bomb will not explode!
The team developing EQ2 are different from SWG is all i can tell you and have taken the game ahead my a whole lot in just over a year.
Dunno what you mean about MxO it was dead on arrival to SoE anyhow.They only wanted the DC licence.Can't do much for a game some other company broke from the core .Only thing they can do is re make the game which is not on SoE agenda .I hear they fixed the game slightly but i doubt it can be repaired fully,again not SoE fault to start with.
Well consiering how many ppl spammed here that EQ2 was too hard and flocked to WoW,i think SoE just responded.
I too think crafting should be complex and more rewarding as it was pre 60 but SoE have already said that it will be so again soon.
Quest givers been marked i like it good idea from WoW(one of the only good things to come from WoW along with rest experience).
Soloing mobs 5 levels higher.Well i played a dirge,assasin and guardian to 70 and after level 30s i never could solo anything more then 3 levels at best then me.
Well consiering how many ppl spammed here that EQ2 was too hard and flocked to WoW,i think SoE just responded.
I too think crafting should be complex and more rewarding as it was pre 60 but SoE have already said that it will be so again soon.
Quest givers been marked i like it good idea from WoW(one of the only good things to come from WoW along with rest experience).
Soloing mobs 5 levels higher.Well i played a dirge,assasin and guardian to 70 and after level 30s i never could solo anything more then 3 levels at best then me.
I guess, I was hopin for something with a little more bite than WoW. WoW is a good game, just a little too casual friendly for me. I started up playin that again but it just got too boring, and many people I knew were paying powerlevelers (a practice which I detest). So I cancelled my account. EQ2 is a bit more interesting at times.
Crafting even after they changed it was still fun, if you like crafting and forraging. My 2nd turn I went with making food because that seemed to be the only thing that makes good money. Subcombines and dependancy was a good way to make money too in the early days, but no one caught on to that fact.
Quest marker are convienient I'll give you that, but take away from the exploration and talking to everyone experience IMO. (yes you can turn it off, but that's not really the point) It always kills me when people try a game like FFXI and get frustrated because they can't find quests.
Soloin mobs that much higher to me kinda sucks... believe me I don't consider myself a uber player but as a ranger it was pretty freekin easy. But then even if you die trying, what does it matter?
Back to the subject.... I'd say try it out for a couple months. I think the game lost some of it's complexity but they have made it more user friendly. I'd leave it up to you to decide if the changes are improvements or not.
"The biggest things I'm looking for are the ability to solo, solid crafting and good support for groups and guilds."
Solo - if you play one of a few classes, yes, to a point. At high levels, no. Xp over time vs being in a group is horrid.
Crafting - very time consuming, but pretty involving.
Groups / Guilds - depending on your class finding a team can be a chore - getting into a good guild could help resolve this issue, though.
I'm one of those power-gamer types you know ....10 hours a day, on the laptop at work then the desktop when I get home from work - I ran out of things to do. Started in December, Quit in mid march after hitting 70 the week KoS was released and being bored. I'd say that 90% of my game time and levelling was done solo, but I played a class that could do so effectively. I tried to solo with a few alts and found it painfully slow - so it depends.
The game *does* kind of hold your hand getting started, but it doesn't feel quite as easy-mode as WoW.
Gaming? That's not gaming!
That's just people sat 'round in costumes drinking...
I was the same way as the original poster, though I played EQ2 quite a bit more at launch. Played EQ2 for about 8 months, levelled a couple of characters to 50 and quit before coming back 6 months later and I do like most of the changes. Although, to be honest, I did enjoy the complexity of the tradeskill system before they made it simpler. It was unique before, now it is very similar to not only WoW, but many other MMORPGs.
SOE's EQ2 team has done a nice job of continually adding new content post launch and fiixing bugs, to the point where I haven't had to engage SOE's notoriously shoddy in game customer server (been back for 3 months now). They also seem to have flattened out the exp curve pre 50, as I basically started over on one of the pvp servers, and it didn't take as long to get to 50 as it did before, but that may be because of all the added content and quests, not to mention exping off of Freeporters
.
In a nutshell, I think you'd enjoy the game if you came back, I know I have. The nice thing about EQ2 is that now you can do something whether you only have an hour or two, or whether you are prepared to grind the weekend away. IMO, there isn't really much out there that compares favorably.
Honestly I would say the game is overall in a general better state now than it was 6mo ago. SOE seems to have a never ending desire to tinker with balance and change core components of the game, the main difference between swg and eq2 is that in eq2 they don't butcher the entire concept of the game at the same time... the changes may not be the greatest but you're still left with the same game and after a few weeks of bug fixes generally the changes are acceptable to most parties involved unlike swg.
Shadus
The lack of equipment and content really bore me. Then at 70 all you can look forward to is raiding. Limited AA options, which are again not very unique. Inability to form groups without a cleric/healer is too restrictive. I also was never a fan of trivial looting. To me it diminishes the rewards of leveling.
I know some people will claim there is a ton of content. I don't feel that, right now. I can go to splitpaw, which I've done a million times or go to EF/lavastorm and look for that rare solo mob mixed in with tons of heroics. No questlines that I have been able to find that suit a soloer past 40. I'm not going to kill that same goblin 1000 times just so I can be lvl 45 and do it 1200 times.
There is a lull in solo content in the upper 40’s if you don’t have the DoF expansion, however I just can’t see lack of customization being a problem. Back in the early days it was, because everyone wore the exact same crafted equipment, but since they started doing the dungeon revamps this has changed. There is a wide variety of redily available legendary equipment out there and even if you can’t get hold of any yourself you will still have different gear because other people do get and use this stuff.
For the guys screaming about being able to solo mobs 6 lvls higher than them, and how they do not like that....well, yes any class can solo a mob 6 lvls higher if its a vv mob. Go grab yourself a mob 6 lvls higher that you thats a ^^^ heroic, and see how long ya last.
Point is here guys, their is so much stuff to do for any gamer in EQ. Their is a ton of solo content, group content, and yes...even raid content for those of you who want it.
My only real complaint is that you almost must raid to get the good gear in EQ2, and most other mmos as well. I think their should be very tedious solo quest that take forever or something for good gear for soloers. If you are just a solo player, you will never have any gear better than the rare crafted stuff, and i dont agree with that. Make some quest lines that are uber hard and possiably take forever, but reward a soloer with something near equivalent to a good raid drop.
1) Crafting drove me almost to insanity. Hitting button that had little or no effect on creations and hopping things worked right.
2) None of the loot was interesting. Everything looked the same looked the same. Very bland
3) Very linear wack a mole. Keys to unlock areas.
4) None of my new abilities when leveling made me felt powerful over older abilities. Everthing seems pretty watered down
5) The game was a PIG on resources. I have a AMD 64 bit 3500+ Nvidia 6800, Gig ram, and raid 0 10k raptor drives. The game dragged.
6) With all the server mergers and changes. I have no idea where I would be with my old characters.
I hear they fixed some things, but.. Didn't want to spend the time on trying.