Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
The pre-EoF zones really need to be reworked
Elikal
Member UncommonPosts: 7,912
I am playing, with breaks EQ2 since launch day. It has always been a problematic relationship. For me, EQ2 was the best MMO, but it was more like the one-eyed is king among the blind. What we heard often now is also my opinion, that EoF saved EQ2, after 2 mediocre expansions. TBH, I quite hated DoF (I just say "beetle herding! yuck!) and KoS even more (never saw a more incoherent and inaccessible zone in a MMO). Sure, you can always feel this or that way about everything, so I focus on the one thing thats of the most importance here to me: the sense to have something achieved.
I really dislike WOW, while I respect that others like it, it never was my pair of shoes. But, if there is one thing they did well, it is this: giving people the feeling to have something achieved, even if they are solo or have little time. Eq2 is still terrible in this. The EoF zones are a HUGE step in the right direction, but the old zones are still quite awful, most of them. It comes all down to two factors for me.
1st) The quests are extremely long-winded and inter-connected. I understand thats a matter of telling complex tales. But why do ALL EQ2 quests have to be so complicated and inverwoven as if I'd study nuclear physics? It is still VERY difficult to find ppl who have the same quest or are on the same step, and every goal is so TOTALLY different, its hardly something you can still do together. These days, trying some old quests in the launch zones, it was awful. Just awful. After playing LOTRO a while, it was a real pain to see all those complicated questlines, which makes it SO hard to find ppl for it. EoF did make this much better, but there is still much to do. I hope Kunrak furthers this, but I feel the older zones also need a thorough rework of the quests. Less serial quests were you need XYZ to enter or join. More quests whose targets are placed in a way so people can be on different quests and still work together in an evening working on all of them at the same time. It can be done, look at LOTRO.
2) Loot. Its abysmal. We were in that dungeon in Tenebrous Tangle, with the bird-things, I am bad with names. LV 62 heroics all of them. And after 3 hours of grinding heroics with 3 arrows up we got a collection of ribcages, livers, bones and brains (likely ours from being numb by then) and some minor items, worth only to sell for a hand full of gold. I mean, wut the heck? Its heroics! Shouldn't there be a probability that everyone of us get something exciting out of it after 3 hours? I really thought these livers, brains and bones had been taken out, no? For me this is really the most notable, unique feature of everquest: looting bear paws, zombie livers and skeleton ribcages. I never saw this anywhere else. Its fantastic crap. I mean, who WANTS that? If it were a ribcage of doom which I can wear as a hat or a liver which spawns 100 squirrels attacking the enemy, that would be cool. But just a lame liver and bone? Why is such loot there? If you dont want to give out valuables every time, give us coin and save us that crap.
Thats were WOW really shines. No matter what, you always have a good chance to get some small thing, a new pair of gloves or a belt or what, something cool or useful, even after a short quest. The quest rewards of EQ2 are still abysmally bad. EoF is better, but all those old mobs, zones and quests CRY for a rework to be at par with EoF.
Overall, again I get the experience I never had in any other of the many MMOs I have played: I can play hours and entire nights of hard work, questing and killing, and I get NOTHING of value, zero, nada. And worse, I come to quest-stoppers because of some stupid requirement I dont fit, or the others dont fit into and I cant make a group for it.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Comments
Some good points and unfortunatly LoTRO copied some of the worst aspects of EQII as far a s the chained quests and crap loot from mobs in the instances.
I miss DAoC
I played EQ 2 from the start. I did not mind the leaving a shard when I died, or having few solo mobs or any of the other complaints people had about the game when it started.
But like you it does seem that you can play for hours on end and get nothing for it.
The quests that start out as a solo and all of a sudden turn heroic are ridiculous.
I think you hit the nail on head.
I would be SOO happy if they reworked all the original zones, and DOF zones. Make them more epic, update there graphics.
I allways liked the way blizzard set up the WoW world, with the little towns in the zones, really made it feel lika a "world" I would love if they moved all the travle points and spwn points and aranged them so they were all like i small towns, I think it would do alot to make the world feel more "alive"
The new EQ2, better than ever befor !
don't click this link...
I've just returned to EQ2. i left at launch, I tried it twice (maybe even three times) before this last re-sub and lasted about 2 days each time. The problem each time was the lack of that MMORPG feeling in the lower level zones. This time, so far I don't feel that way.
I haven't delved too much into the content, but i do find the quest lines to be a little too wordy in some places. Yes, i do want to know what the quest is all about but in 5000 words or less, and 15 clicks or less would be nice. Overall though, I have yet to compare EoF with 'old world' zones but this is a symtom of every mmo. The new stuff always replaces the old stuff.
I guess i should get on a bell and head over to Kelethin.
They need to merge the zones. Zoning is one of the worst points of the game imo. Noone expects them to remove zoning totally, but the city zones are an absolute must.
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
You know, I could never pinpoint exactly why I stopped playing when my toons hit around level 30ish, same thing for my husband... but now it's all clear to us both. No rewards.
Important questions, as I am very seriously thinking about returning. Is the new Fay content much better with a rewards/loot system? And if so, how high of a level does the new content take you? Is it possible to just play this and leave out the older content?
Yes, the EoF zones are MUCH better, and you can play through ALL levels from 1-70 in the new EoF zones. It was a BIG step ahead.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Yes, the EoF zones are MUCH better, and you can play through ALL levels from 1-70 in the new EoF zones. It was a BIG step ahead.
Sounds like they're just repeating the original EQ formula. Each new expansion creates content for all levels, so that later on, noone will ever start ( if they ever go at all) in the previous zones. Ending up with acres of no longer viable/used zones. Look at EQ. A new player starts up, but doesn't know where the hottest new "newbie" zone is, tries to level in a barren old starter zone, thinks the game is dead 'cause noone's around, and unsubscribes.
Yes, the EoF zones are MUCH better, and you can play through ALL levels from 1-70 in the new EoF zones. It was a BIG step ahead.
Zorvan, great point... somebody just goes out and buys the box without the Fay...Sounds like they're just repeating the original EQ formula. Each new expansion creates content for all levels, so that later on, noone will ever start ( if they ever go at all) in the previous zones. Ending up with acres of no longer viable/used zones. Look at EQ. A new player starts up, but doesn't know where the hottest new "newbie" zone is, tries to level in a barren old starter zone, thinks the game is dead 'cause noone's around, and unsubscribes.
Well, I'm going to dust off my old account and give this thing another whirl.
So what you're saying is if I am just starting out and want to get a few levels under my belt I should move to Faydwer and avoid Antonica?
So what you're saying is if I am just starting out and want to get a few levels under my belt I should move to Faydwer and avoid Antonica?
Go in a guild, then you always find groups. My guild still goes to old zones, and they are not deserted, but of course there are much fewer. Its a dynamic thing, sometimes you see many and then no one in the old zones, its hard to predict, but of course with the better loot the trend goes to the newer zones. Personally I felt the expansions DoF and especially KoS was quite sub par, I never liked them much. DoF was so so, but KoS I really hated.
But as it is you should be able to group in all zones, still. When it expands the older zones will of course drain voer the years. But its not true that ALL expansions were for all levels. DoF and KoS were basially or high end levels.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Well up until you reach the later stages it is entirely possible to solo the whole way especially if you do all the zones solo quests and then there are always groups around just through listening into the right level channels.
The best thing is that the older zones have been turned far more solo orientated than they were at release right up to Everfrost and Lavastorm which i agree are probably about due for a rework to make them less heroic (group) orientated.
Not entirely sure what the rewards thing is about but then I pretty much never buy anything until a char gets to level 55 or so.
There is always the option of doing the heroic stuff once the mobs have turned grey, you still get the xp for the quest if not the AA's or mob xp, but again it would be preferable is some of the more vital quests were turned solo.