I am looking for a game that is similar to what EQ use to be. I am hoping someone on here would be able to point me to a game that has very very limited questing and that takes grouping and time to level. I have played WoW and the new games alike but they come off feeling like a fake hand led game instead of a breathing living world to me. The quest lead to this for me and the difficulty level of the game. I don't understand why quest really are needed? Let the people decide who they are going to hunt. Just put random decent loot on some mobs and let the people do the hunting. It is so fun to be in town and hear someone say, "I heard that x mob in x zone dropped this awesome sword the other day, let's go see if we can hunt him down." The spawn time may be long but it is suppose to be long. This mob doesn't come along much that is what is exciting. When you finally see him one day after a few days of hunting in that area it is amazing. YOU the player made that adventure. An npc didn't make it for you. That feels fake.
I was going to attempt Vanguard but people have warned me it is very laggy right now and that it feels unfinished. I have also heard they copied WoW and make your adventure for you by leading you around by quest. I don't care if the graphics are not very good but I would like fun character development. I would actually prefer different character development than EQ. I enjoy skill based where you have freedom to build your character the way you want. Heck if anyone knows of a mud similar to this I would even be interested. I am just missing the freedom of EQ and making my own adventures in game. EQ has went sour ever since SOL expansion pack. Don't flame me for what I enjoy if you don't like these type of games then this thread isn't aimed at you. Thanks!
Comments
Sand-box game with no levels, no grinds and best of all your character can train skills while you're not online. When you're a new pilot you'll have a lot of short term skills to learn, but the more mature your character the longer the skills take to complete. But its a beautiful skill system, where I can be sleeping, at work, or whatever and my character is gaining skill (unless it completes before I can get home to set another skill to train).
Try the 14day trial, and FINISH the tutorial completely. Give yourself 2hrs for the tutorial.
And while you're at work, or while downloading the client, read up on the game lore. Some really well thought out information on the history of civilization and scientific discoveries (i.e. warp drives).
UO,EQ,AC,AO,DAoC,Lin,RoE,E&B,SB,EVE,PS,SL,SWG,TT,FFXI,
HZ,CoH,L2,Ryz,EQ2,WoW,GW,RF,DDO,SR,FoM,Van,
If you want something similar to EQ, I would say try Anarchy Online. That game is basically EQ in space. The basic game is free to play now. Of course it has been a few years since I have played, so I cannot say what the server pops are like. It has the camping the mob boss to get a chance at x item and all that. Personally that is why I left the game. I hated camping for hours to get a 20% chance at a drop. But some people love that type of stuff. Out of the many, many mmorpgs I have played though, I will still have to say that AO is still #1 for me for the coolness factor. Cool armor, cyborg implants, abilities...That game exudes cool....
The other game that is similar to EQ is DAOC. Again I have not played it in along time. I have heard that server pops are a bit low now for RvR, but if you are just into the PVE that shoud be okay. However, you may have some problems getting together big enough raids to take out the big bosses. So....
Eve Online is a good game, but unfortunately you have to be of a certain temperment to play it. I would say 80% of the activities in that game revolve around afk or offline training/grinding. Things are very repetitive and I am not sure if they have uber item drops off boss mobs. (I didnt play it that long) But, if you want to relax and watch tv or read a book and play a game, then Eve is perfect for you. I think the only time you actually have to pay attention is if you are in a pvp environment.
As far as the new crop of games coming out I think you will be hard pressed to find one that doesnt revolve around questing. The style you are talking about is the old generation of mmorpgs. All the new ones cater to the masses and kiddies who want quests. For western style mmos, I think the grind type games are pretty much a thing of the past.
However, If you are looking for a newer game with better graphics, I would suggest some of the new Asian "grinders" coming out. Although for the most part the grind is brutal in those games (such as L2). But most of them lack any decent quests and all you do is pretty much grind on mobs and get better gear. Boring IMO. But to each his own...
It really, really sounds to me like you would enjoy Final Fantasy XI. It has just about everything you've mentioned.
Chris Mattern
Just what I was thinking.
Final Fantasy XI.
Lineage 2 takes dedication to lvl.
Has raid type monsters that have a chance to drop nice items and can take days to respawn. And a temporary sword that has a chance to drop off any mob that is very powerfull and faught over by guilds.
It's a game centered on PvP. Open PvP were you're only safe in towns.
Has next to no hand holding once you get out of the starting town.
You have to WORK to get what you need. Whether that's leveling or coin for items.
Great game if you're willing to dedicate to it.
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