Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
How Casual/Hardcore is this game?
JK-Kanosi
Member Posts: 1,357
in Everquest II
I am debating on whether or not to remain a station subscriber after my one month has passed. What I need to know in order to help decide is how long do the raids take in this game to complete. I'm assuming that the raids are the best content in the game and the longest content in the game. I'm the type who believes that if I pay $15/mo, all content should be available for my play style.
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
Comments
The best content in EQ2 is for groups. A well balanced group of 6 is what the game is designed for. Originally the teens and 20's were that as well, but as the player base is mostly at cap, they made those level's mostly solo and some group after 20.
how does consumerism buy you the right for someone to hold your hand to woushi?
I'm not sure about the "all content should be available for my play style" thing. Some guy with the opposite playstyle may be loving the game. Why is your $15 more important than his? You should use free trials etc and be sure your money is going to the right game for your playstyle, not that a game should somehow bend to you.
Hello all,
I am not here to debate with you all about if a company should cater to one play style or another. Because quite frankly, no worthy out come will come about from the discussion. Aside from that, your play style is probably no different than mine. You all are just assuming that because I include the word casual in my post, that I don't group, don't like grouping, and etc.
I prefer grouping.
I am not limited on the amount of time I can play per week accept by my own accord. However, I would like to know how long it takes to do the longest raid in this game.
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
Raids take anywhere from 1 hour to 12 hours.
The Longest raid in game is probably Emerald Halls which has about 4 levels, it takes so long SOE made it into a persitant instance, which means you and your guild can leave and it will save your progress.
So does that mean I can play that raid in 3 hour increments if others are willing to? Is that the only raid longer than 3 hours. By the way, 3 hours is just a ball park number.
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
There is all types of playstyles fitted for this game. Although the "true hardcore" is not fully recognized in this game, there is a segment of hardcore activities and raids/groups. By "true hardcore" I mean that a person playing 60 hours a week and raids endgame every night for several hours will run out of things to do. This is why a lot of hardcore gamers moved to VG hoping they would fill this need, but we all know how that turned out.
Anyways, groups go from easy contested like Sanctum of Scaleborn and Palace of Awakening to hard contested like Temple of Scale and Forgotten City and Castle Mistmoore. There are also contested raid targets that roam around freely in different places. Depending on your server, they'll be up a lot, or hardly ever because the better guilds will take these targets out as soon as they can (as they drop the best loot in the game). What's great about contested is that the zone is constant, and spawns on a timer, so you can come and go as you please, join or make groups and not have to worry about any schedule other than your own. There is no goal other than any quests or experience or loot you are looking for. The bad thing (and some people like myself LOVE) about them is that they are CONTESTed. If a named is up, he's free pickings for anyone that gets there first and takes him/her out. So if a "better" group/raid gets this target first and kills him, oh well, better luck next time. It's a contest, and some people like contests, some don't.
There are also group instances. These also go from easy like Acadechism and Laboratory of Vyemm to hard like Halls of Fate and Crypt of Varsoon and Unrest to downright nearly impossible like Mistmoore Inner Sanctum and Nizara. Some have puzzles to work out to get to the end, and some are just kill X to Y and work to the bottom. ALL instances, save two, are 3 hours or less for a good group/raid, and usually depend on the skill and tenacity of the group members. A bad Labs raid takes 6 hours, while a knowledgable raid with a good group takes less than 2. Unrest is the longest running 6 man group instance and you should schedule out a good 4-5 hours but it is a lot of fun. Most 6 man instances don't go over an hour, and maybe 2 if the group is slow or new.
The longest running raid in the game is the infamous Emerald Halls, which takes DAYS to get through, and it's 3 full levels of 24-man raiding that's the toughest in the game, period (aside from Avatars which are contested targets). They made Emerald Halls a persistant dungeon, so you can come and go from your instance as you please and do it in smaller chunks. It saves where you left off when you leave and you have up to 10 days to finish it, or not. Don't worry if you don't finish it though as only about 1 or 2 guilds on a server can even beat Woushi, who's the boss of that dungeon. He's no joke, and you'll be lucky to even take out a few of the other named in that instance. BUT, there is a TON of stuff in there and you will be well rewarded for even taking out the minions with recipes and rare tradeskilling loot. A couple of the named aren't too bad, and you can take it at your own speed.
The other raids include Crab, which is a 12 man and takes 20-30 minutes. Freethinkers which is 24 man and takes around an hour or so. Clockwork Menace Factory which is 10 minutes or lose (it's a timed dungeon, so once you start it, you have 10 minutes to finish it, or die). Mistmoore Inner Sanctum is all of 3 hours or more for slow raiders. Lyceum of Abhorance which is an hour or so, maybe 2 at most. There are tons and tons of instances and raids that are all over the spectrum of 30 minutes to several hours, just depends on what you wanna do. The 2 hour instances drops just as good of loot as the 10 day instances, so whatever trips your trigger.
What's really unique about EQ2 is that this playstyle is consistent throughout all levels. You don't have to wait to endgame to experience raids and tough dungeons. While the ones I mentioned were "endgame", or 70th level, there are raids and 24 man and 12 man instances throughout the levels to enjoy. Although the lowest level 24 man is 20th, so you have to at least get to 20th level.
"Granted thinking for yourself could be considered a timesink of shorter or longer duration depending on how smart..or how dumb you are."
So does that mean I can play that raid in 3 hour increments if others are willing to? Is that the only raid longer than 3 hours. By the way, 3 hours is just a ball park number.
Yup
eqnext.wikia.com
EQ2 has a great balance that means you can be as casual or hardcore as you like and as the guild you are in. I have played it hardcore for long periods but am pretty much a solo player of a few hours at a tie. The number fo quests and size of the game makes it such that you can dip in and out as you want. The raids are the longest aspect and like other games, your choice.
Highly recommend trying thegame.
To err is human....to play is divine
You can't put a timer on raiding that's insane. Another example of EQ2 being mis-understood. I hope sony never and I mean never make anything avail because of a monthly fee! Are you insane?
EQ2 is for gamers choosing to become pro-gamers. Theirs many variables in raiding.
lol pro-gamers?
Yeah, SOE is in the business of making pro gamers. /exhale a big cloud of smoke
So does that mean I can play that raid in 3 hour increments if others are willing to? Is that the only raid longer than 3 hours. By the way, 3 hours is just a ball park number.
Uh. What exactly are you asking for? You appear to want a pretty concise number. There is no way to predict, even down to the hour, how long one raid might run... you're not going to get any better than a ballpark number because there's no objective way to measure it.
Three hours is a good, round estimate. Any raid post 50 will take longer if your guild moves slow, talks over ventilo a lot, looses a tank, wipes a few times due to neglect, and so on. There are no giant raids that take 42 hours like back in EQ1.