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What does EQ2 have more than graphics?
Stereoviewer
Member Posts: 238
in Everquest II
Well? We should all have learned by now that nice graphics are meaningless if the gameplya is not good. Star Wars Galaxies and Lineage 2 both have awesome graphics, but are booring grinding games. I heard EQ was about grinding too (never played it obviously), so what other new features makes EQ2 a good game other than the looks? Innovative PvP with territorial control, military tactics, ingame economy and pollitical intrigue, like in Dragon Empires, Mourning or Darkfall? Story driven, multilegged, interactive, openended, and varied quests like in World of Warcraft or Dargon Empires?
Comments
If you read any reviews you would know the answer to this.
Laying in bed, looking up at the stars, a single thought passed through my head. Where the fuck is my roof?
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Hmm.. I am going to sum up a little cause I am lazy to type. Just to begin EQ2 is not that much about innovations.. its about fixing and perfecting whats wrong with the other MMO's.
Ex: In every other MMO you see the typical char. The char with the same race, class, etc just because almost every other type is not desired in a group. In EQ2. the balance is such so that in every group you will need at least 1 of every type.. meaning 1 warrior, scout, mage, priest. +2 of any type. AND all of the classes/subclasses of warrior, scot, etc are able to fill the role perfectly. So you dont end with a crappy char that nobody wants.
Also, they have some key ideas in mind. Ex. If you can hit a mob, it can hit you. So no more standing a mile away and getting xp. At least not unless you use some tactics/skills. Another key phrase is if it isnt fun.. we change it. If you follow the game's history u will see many things like "we changed it because after testing it.. it wasnt fun".
Since i haven played the game.. I cant tell you much :P but PVP will most likely not be as good as Drag. Emp. or DnL. simple because EQ2 is more oriented towards PvE (player vs environment).
The crafting system according to Moorgard will be as fun to lvl up as adventuring.. cant tell cause i havent played but its nice to know they are trying to make it fun.
Oh.. something I forgot to mention is that NPCS talk to you with original voices :P
Stereo you really need to go look at some of the sites there is just SOOOOO much information its hard for someone to dump it all here. The game has a great many exciting aspects but without knowing what is exciting to you or what pieces your interested in its hard to pick individual things.
Here are a few basic things about the game. EQ2 is loaded with quests. For instance WoW has indicated they have about 1400 quests planned for release. EQ2 has a similar number (1500 I believe they said).
EQ2 has a very large selection of classes. There are 4 archetypes: Mage, Scout, Fighter, and Priest. Within each of those groups there are 6 classes that fill primary roles but differn from one another in many ways.
As an example under the Scout archetype there are Brigandes, Swashbucklers, Assassins, Rangers, Dirges, and Trobadours (sp).
The combat system is very fast and strategic with a combat wheel that allows for skill chain type attacks that take advantage of the abilities of those in your party.
Crafters play a very large role in spell research, weapon creation and many other areas.
There is a very large array of housing for individuals and guild halls.
The main cities are HUGE (larger then any other mmorpg from the information released) with tons of scripted events and NPCs that actually react to one another and the players which no other mmorpg has done. Npcs wander and when they come across each other they speak to each other and interact. Some NPCs will actually seek you out to give you a quest when you have gained some fame.
You really should watch some of the videos, there are voice overs for every npc and monster in the game that speaks. Over 135 hours of professional voice acting that from the examples you can see on their site is very well done. Groups of npcs you are fighting will actually talk among one another as they attack you directing their own actions.
Players can control, and I believe even own, ships to sail to unexplored islands and such.
There are instanced encounters where the environment can actually be affected. Walls that shake and crack when a dragon lands nearby or cave ins in dungeons or fires that spread durring battles.
I could go on and on and on. There is no way to say if the game will be good or not at this point but your fooling yourself if you think there is nothing to be excited about from what they have released. No other mmorpg is offering the level of detail, immersion, and new features that EQ2 is saying it will include. Thats not to say they will come through with it but I think they have the money and time to do it better then most other teams.
WoW doesnt offer nearly the variety, depth, or new innovations that EQ2 is saying it will have but I think it will be a well designed game none the less. I really think if your interested in either you should read in detail about both.
These are the sites I would go to for most of the information though there are many more.
www.eqii.com
http://everquest2.station.sony.com/
I like involved quests as well. From what I have read some reviewers have indicated the starting quests they had the opportunity to play were similar to ones from WoW but nobody from the press has had the opportunity to play the game to even mid level to see the really detailed ones yet.
As far as long involved quests with multiple steps I am pretty sure there will be many of this type. The orginal EQ had "epic" quests that in many cases took quite a long while to complete and some had as many as 30 or 40 smaller steps to reach the final goal. From what I have read they plan to do this again but with less emphasis on needing a whole guilds help to complete some of the steps. They are trying to tailor it more to single groups and such.
I hope they really flesh the quests out and make them entertaining since thats one of my favorite parts as well. I think we will learn more as beta begins but there is quite a bit you can look up on those links above.
a little too good.. me thinks that she's a program that MMORPG.com had instigated to put us in our place, eh? <tease>
Well done Misti, well done
-Dakkanon
LineageII Knight of Dark Lotus
_____________________________
"I'm not suffering from insanity, I'm enjoying it every moment of it"
-Dakkanon
Paradigm, an Accretia Clan
_____________________________
"I'm not suffering from insanity, I'm enjoying it every moment of it"
Drakol
"you can't be right all the time. thats why i'm here."-Drakol
Drakol
"you can't be right all the time. thats why i'm here."-Drakol
Well Misti summed it up pretty damn good. Here's some more things why EQ2 will be the future of MMO's:
Crafting - simply brilliant. It's almost like a mini game. First you get your components, and fire up the forge. You need the forge to stay at a certain temperature range during this process. To set the right temperature, you have to gather wood and put some logs into the forge to keep it hot. While keeping an eye on that, you take affect the properties of the finished product. You have the ability to refine armor, to make it lighter, however, you might want to bolster durability by reinforcing the armor. You also want to shape the armor which affects it's overall quality. You must decide at which point in the process the armor is done, because keeping it in the forge too long could weaken it.
Cities- There has been lots of talk about how there are only 2 starting cities. Well, yes there is. What most people don't know is the size of these cities.
"One of the goals is to make those two cities have meaning and relevance at all levels, not just when you're a newbie. Qeynos and Freeport will be centers of commerce and traffic, places you will want to revisit at all stages of the game.
This is one area in which you've been at something of a conceptual disadvantage, because you've been envisioning cities in EQ terms, being made up of two or three sub-zones. Believe me, that's far from the case here. Our two starting cities are made up of *way* more zones than that, and are truly epic in size. The goal is to make them the grandest, most immersive fantasy cities you've ever seen.
As for the now ruined cities of old Norrath... let's just say that discovery is going to be a big part of this game, and I don't want to ruin the surprises you will find." -Moorgard
Owning ships- Yes, Misti is right. You can own ships, but they will be added a bit later after release.
Mounts - Not only is there teleportation and boats, but there are also controllable mounts. Moorgard says that : "mounts will primarily be a movement buff and a cool factor."
Story- There is great story to this game, that picks up 500 years after the first EQ. The premis of this story makes this game simply an adventure waiting to be explored.
"One of the major themes of EQ2 is the rediscovery of the world. What survived the cataclysm? Does it need to be rebuilt? Reclaimed from other forces? Is it just completely gone?
You arrive in the world as a refugee. All you know is that the two human cities survived, and it is within one of them that you will make a new home.
As for the rest of Norrath... that's up to you to figure out."
Hope that helps.
NVidia - The way it is meant to be played
ATI - The way it really plays