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Help me chose -> EVE or EQ2
Rattrap
Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,599
Well i know this kind of topics have been chewed over hundered times. And , well being a senior member on this forums - i should be giving the advice... Still I am pondering.
For long time I was waiting for Vanguard. What a laugh 
This is not happening.
So i am left with two choices EVE or EQ2
I have around 3 hours to play daily , and i do not play on weekends. Also i play after i come home from work , which means
that not always i am in mood for complex gameplay. Sometimes i like only to hack or do something on brain autopilot.
So why do consider this two games
EVE: + It is real online world simulation. Your actions mean something. Mature community. Social relations/politics.
- Complex. High risk. Somethimes i just can not be bothered. Needs large time investment and research
EQ2: + After two years it is the best polished and best value hack and slash fantasy mmo. Community is good. It is very casual
- No real influence in the world. Shallow. Not big fan of the graphics.
So as you see bopth games hold valid points for me. And i really want to dig deeply in one of them
I just can not decide which one ...
"Before this battle is over all the world will know that few...stood against many." - King Leonidas
Comments
For your playing hours, I would reccomend EVE.
I've played both games.. and well.. EVE is more 'hands on', if you will.
EQ2 will always be one hell of a game, but I found that I could never really.. escape into it. Yeah, I got caught up and addicted, but it wasn't the same as with EVE.
When I was playing EVE I was working at a sewer sanitation plant. yeah, not the best of jobs. But when I'd come home, I could relax easier with EVE than I ever could with EQ2.
Good luck on which ever you choose.
"Before this battle is over all the world will know that few...stood against many." - King Leonidas
I haven't played EQ2, so i can't give an opinion on that.
EVE is very time consuming and complex, probably not the best bet for someone on your timeframe.
WoW has way too much boring grinding.
I found CoH to have great gameplay for a timeframe of about 3 hours. It's shallow, but nuking 400 minions at a time just doesn't get old
They are totally different games and they're great in their own way.
EQ2 is very much a traditional MMO, graphics are good, crafting is very nice, classes are ok and you get to use a sword and shield
EVE is very different from everything else; because you fly a ship it's a bit more difficult to get in to your persona/avatar, there's no swords, shields or horses and because of that it's less 'cosy' if you will. EVE is a harsh environment, it caters for the smart and active and punishes the ones who aren't able to get their brain in gear. It doesn't mean it's an evil PK game but everything requires thought and planning.
If you like to be challenged, if you like to pick the fruits from your labour BECAUSE you were smart about things and (vice versa) understand that if you were dumb about something that it's your own fault things went wrong then EVE is great. It has great PVP, great 'crafting' and resource gathering, the market is mostly player driven and it's all there for you to joke around with. It doesn't hold your hand, the actual gameinfo is almost non-existant (unless you're being smart about it and go look for it).
It doesn't have many rules or restrictions, it's very minimalistic on a lot of things and because of that it gives you many options, most of them are WRONG options hehe and it's up to you to be smart about it to find the right ones. It's not at all straight forward. Also the rush you get from putting your stuff on the line is addicting
EVE is not about mining or doing NPC stuff, it's about social interaction. ranging from being friends with someone to blowing them up, it's all social interaction
Also because training happens realtime even when you're logged off it caters for the player who doesn't put in a lot of hours, on the other hand it doesn't do instant gratification in any way (this is mostly why people bash EVE) but you should be able to do your thing.
I am aware of COX little hidden jewel of the game. I am old time player
(and it is kind of my 3rd option - although i played it to much allready and i need change)
"Before this battle is over all the world will know that few...stood against many." - King Leonidas
I never got into the EQ2, I was a loyal EQ fan for years. I left Eve cause after three years it got disintrested and did some things and said some thing that I should'nt have and got baned.
But Eve is not a solo game, it never was ment to be. If you only have a couple of hours to play, then Eve will take that and then some. Its a great 'group' game. Best if you can get some RL buddies to form a corp or join one together.
No it not hard, only takes a little brain power to avoid the so call pirates. And with just a little effort you can be somthing there.
---
Actually it sounds like you and I have very similar play hours. I typically only play 2 hours a night. Sometimes 3. So our playtime seems to be about the same. Actually you appear, on paper, to have even more playtime than I do, lucky dog.
Early on in EVE it was a bit daunting because with so few hours I had a hard time getting any of my skills to a level where I could 'set and forget' one overnight. But that was with the old char system where you didn't get hardly any skills to high enough level to make them take a LONG time to train
As far as 'solo'? 75% of my time (maybe even more) in EVE is spent solo. Shopping.... running the occasional mission... ratting.... all of those I do solo. The only time I am in a gang is typically for PvP operations and/or Mining operations or complex runs. Other than that I usually go it alone. I can rat solo pretty much anywhere (as long as I'm careful about local and stay aligned and fight off-grid, etc). sure there are risks in doing that but the rewards far outweigh them.
I played EQ2 and it can be a fun game but to be honest I just found it a bit shallow for my tastes. And, as you know, I'm not a huge fan of class/level systems. And, besides, it's an EQ clone... and I did EQ for 5 years or more, not to mention DAOC, AO etc....
So EVE is a very nice change from that type of game. Feels a lot like UO did back in the day
A previous reply stated that with 'only' 3 hours to play you wouldn't have enough time. That's just plain false. I have no problems at all playing 2-3hrs a night. I enjoy EVE tremendously. It can be 'seat of the pants' anticipation type combat (PVP) or it can be 'sit back, relax and enjoy' time when ratting or doing missions or a complex with friends or alone. When on a mining op I usually read a book or play with my kids while occasionally moving ore over to the collection can for the haulers. I never mine except in a mining op. Some folks love it but... bleh... I never liked mining/harvesting/etc in any game
At any rate.... to me it sounds like EVE would be the better fit for you. But it really does wind up being your decision in the end. Hope you enjoy whichever one you choose. both are good games. Eve is just my preferred one.
Other than EVE I am:
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Time investment for EVE is done offline as well, you can leave your next skill running while you're off at work. There really isn't much time required ingame at all . The ingame time investment is in terms of earning money and making friends, both NPC and other players, and as your skills go up, you become quite capable of achieving both quickly. For example, the people who have salvage skills are making a ton of cash these days because of the recent high prices on salvagable materials.
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Hemingway
I trialed EVE several times and played EQ2 for a month (no expansions)
Anyway thanks for the input.
"Before this battle is over all the world will know that few...stood against many." - King Leonidas
In EVE there's no "level gap" and if you start with a friend on the same day as long as you make sure you keep something training at all times you will never "fall behind" your friend in the things you can both do. The person with more playing time will probably wind up with more money but that's really not a huge issue
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
When you get bored of one, you can play the other for a while and it works because they are so different from each other. Both of them are polished games with excellent gameplay features and something to keep you entertained even if you aren't questing all the time.
I've been playing eve for three years and EQ2 for one year now and both of them have kept me entertained.
-rich
Like others already said; I really like the fact that it is not level based. It's a lot easier to play together with older characters and if you play smart you can even beat them in pvp.
I guess that depends on the person. I have never been aggravated when I mentored. Its true I probabaly wouldnt do it regularly with someone I didnt know all that well but if you are mentoring someone regularly how can they be strangers? Also, the ability to complete otherwise grey quests and kill otherwise grey named for achievement more then makes up for loosing a little xp in most cases.
You know what Elnator.
I think you have a point.
In every other game i played so far - Be it COH/COV , EQ2 or WOW (to say a few) i didn notice slight degradation in my level status to
one of my virtual friends.
Take CoX ... one day i would be lvl 20 , happily playing with old crew. Next time they would be lvl 28 and me lvl 21 forced to malefactor me (thanks god CoX is such group friendly game). But whats the point , they are doing quests i will have to do in future...
In EVE things are much diferent.
So at least in that mather EVE wins the casual awards hands down
"Before this battle is over all the world will know that few...stood against many." - King Leonidas
As a EQ/EQ2 vetern I'd definatly recommend EvE if you don't want a linear aproach, it is the most detailed MMO out on the market today, exspecially with the new expansion. Character creation isn't just pick your apperance and name its pick your whole background though a selection of a huge amount of detail. The real time skill system is a big plus for people who don't have a lot of time to play, while you are at work or just out somewhere, you are still playing the game to a sense. Since everything is based on a actual real-time you become more powerful the more you play, but there is no linear approach to this. You can choose to do whatever hell you want in abilites and skills. You can purchase books which open up new skills your character hasn't already began with. Ship customizing is a huge plus, pretty much depends on what you skilled in, you can make a ship just for the use of mining, electronic warfare, fighter, stealth, scanner, jumper, so many combinations. The quest are linear to a sense, you sorta have to stay around but you can choose not to do them, doing them will only earn you money, but if you wish to make money another way you never have to deal with them. Most of the quest though have a lot of varations. Basically it's a game you can live in a world that you can make something of yourself and a name for yourself.
If you havn't tried the free trial I suggest you do, since they released the last expansions they have cleared out the trial accounts so that you may try the new expansion for free. Good luck on your choosing.