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*ONGOING* Current BETA testers view's now that NDA is lifted
Aldreth
Member UncommonPosts: 79
This is a LITE review, I will try not to spoil anything
Performance: 10/10
Requirements for this game are very large, as anyone with a brain can see, the graphics are unbelievable. I have beta'd both EQ2 and WOW, EQ2's graphics are much better, performance wise and looks of course, however it really depends on if you like alot of color or more of a dark realistic approach.
VC=Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
PROC=AMD Athlon 2500+ Barton Core
MB=MSI K7N2DeltaL - Nforce 2 chipset
Audio=Old Soundlblaster Pci
RAM=1024MB PC3200 DDR
NIC=Some Crappy NIC
OS=XP PRO
CABLE MODEM
Combat 8/10
Much better than EQ1, the combat is much faster and alot more realistic, it really feels like you are "in" the game. Heroic Opportunity Combo's are a great addition as well, with many other things I won't spoil for people. There are options to turn on your character model swinging his sword/axe/etc in the options menu if you want to see yourself doing so in combat, however the larger models are kind of annoying from my pov, because the model itself gets in the way of the animation in first person. My only complaint is that combat is a bit repetitive, however most all mmorpgs have very repetitive combat.
Soloing 8/10
I can get to level 6 in 5 minutes, I got to level 10 in 5 hours, if that helps you understand how much better this is than EQ1. You also get bonuses for killing grouped mobs which you will just have to play and see what they are. Just make sure you take the appropriate time to upgrade your spells, especially your pets -summoners- ! It will help tremendously. ALSO if you like soloing, don't try to solo ala EQ1, this game has a ton of content for the solo quester, that will fatten your wallet, outfit, and level you at the same time, never underestimate what a good quest can do.
Grouping 9/10
Pretty much the same as EQ1, you will want a well rounded group, or a really mage heavy one. Pet groups are also viable, heck you could group with anyone just depends on what suits your personal taste, and how you want to fight/what you want to fight.
Crafting --- 8/10 Only level 11 scholar atm, but heres the score.
The crafting system is alot like Gothic 2, if any of you have played it. There are some differences. You have to go out and adventure to find the regeants required to make items, which is alot better than DAoC in my opinion. Crafting is also almost like a minigame in itself. You have to be on your toes or you will be dead quick 
I really liked the fact that it is impossible to macro your way to crafting uberness. Very good change from what I am used to. However, it was quite complicated to get into, which is why I only gave it an 8. I am a scholar - I can create spell enhancements, jewelry, and potions (whenever potions get implemented) After you level up a ways you can make more advanced spell enhancements, there is a catch however. You have to get books from monster drops in order to make the enhanced spells. These books are currently very rare. Which is another dock in my book. Anyways, overall it is one of the better crafting systems I have tried in a MMORPG. I am not a crafter by nature, (just not my thing) but this game has had me crafting for days on end.
Questing 10/10 -- Currently I have completed 135 quests in game on my primary character.
Quadrillions of quests, so many you can get very overwhelmed, very quickly - my suggestion to everyone is to just take the game as EQ, "SLOW" you can get many quests from each part of each city and everywhere in between, you can have so many quests so fast that you would be lost like I was. Just take it slow and enjoy the game. The voiceovers add a completely different feel to EQ, it really feels like a true RPG - many quests have had me laughing at my monitor with my wife staring blankly at the back of my head, thinking "I married this guy?!". There are so many quests that my first character stayed on newbie island till he was 220% and had achieved Goblin Master title. There are alot of new ways to get quests as well, which you will see.
Classes 6/10 <---- This score im sure will go up after the class overhaul is completed in the coming weeks.
One of my few complaints thusfar. The base classes are just fine, plenty of skills/spells etc. However, after you level up a ways and choose your subclass there are hardly any differentiating abilities/spells for each class. You can't really separate yourself from other people of the same class. Hopefully this will be addressed soon, as I know I am not the only one as dissapointed.
Graphics 9.9/10
The graphics are unbelivable, I spent about my first 10 hours in the beta just messing around with all the different settings given. Most give minimal performance boosts. But there are a few that give TREMENDOUS performance boosts for hardly any impact on the graphics. On my computer the game looks absolutely stellar, and my PC is by no means even close to the best that is available now. I really couldn't believe how well it looked on my pc, after I adjusted the settings the game ran smooooooooooooooooth even in Qeynos! - My only complaint is the hair/beards - as they seem like they were just glued to the models heh.
Sound 9/10 ---- Some voiceovers aren't in game yet.
Not all of the voiceovers are in yet, most are though, and the ones that are have been stellar. I love the kerrans accent's. Fits them perfectly, along with every other race in the game. I can't stress enough how much of an impact this will have people. The only one I didn't understand was the Froglock's ? :P The background music is appropriate and I have enjoyed almost all of the theme music's.
Story 9/10
The story in EQ2 is much better than previously, mainly because of the voiceovers as stated above. They really envelope you and grab your attention. I have noticed that I actually retain alot more of the storyline than from reading the text previously.
Immersion 10/10
Captivated me the moment I finished messing with the graphic options. I haven't stopped other than to sleep since. Everyone is in for a great suprise when it gets released. The immersion factor is great so long as you take your time, if you try to rush through this game like some diablo clone, not listening to any npc's and quickly clicking you way to L33TD0M you will end up being a dissapointed forum EQ2 hate spammer.
Lag 9/10
VERY MINIMAL, even in beta, it has actually been better than WOW's beta, and I would have to rate it the best for a beta that I have ever experienced, I have btw beta'd over 20 rpg's. The only lag I have noticed was when I turned up the graphical settings to way above what my pc could handle, then I got GRAPHIC lag, but thats the user's fault not the servers :P For all the people who say they have to wait a long time to cast spells/use abilities, this has never happened to me. I haven't gotten any lag at all.
<MY PRIMARY SERVER IS BETA2--If you are having lag problems and you are on Beta 2 please let me know.>
Server Stability 6/10 --- Up, down, up, down etc......
There have been numerous times when my character has been "stuck" in the world. Most annoying and quite frustrating. This is a beta, I understand that, but I had to add this in just because of the frustration it has caused many beta testers. I primarily play on Beta 2, this server in particular has had many zone crashes as of the last patch most noticeably.
Conclusion
Yes I am a WOW fanboi :P but, I will give props where they are deserved, and so far EQ2 looks better and plays just as good as WOW. I really hope they add alot more to the classes to define them more, and perhaps add an ARENA combat system with rewards. If they add those, this game could be one for the record books, as I see no other flaws.
Blah
Don't get excited about a tax cut. It's like a mugger giving you back fare for a taxi.
Comments
Very professional. Not a fan boi at all...
It is a good rule never to listen to fanatic believers.. if you disagree they have a tendncy to land airplanes in your house. So I will just let you continue to believe....
Only game I wait for right now: Imperator.
Go Mythic!
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force"
thnx for the review. Do you have some screens of Qeynos pls? I have seen mainly freeports screen shots.
Signaturen-Creator
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://www.imperium-arcanum.com
Blah
Don't get excited about a tax cut. It's like a mugger giving you back fare for a taxi.
Well, I dont know too much about the town at all? just some pics from all around lol, what ever you think looks awesome
Also how bout some guild houses? that would be cool, thnx.
Signaturen-Creator
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://www.imperium-arcanum.com
ok i uploaded some pictures in Qeynos, not very good ones but they'll do lol
http://home.comcast.net/~jumpa01/EQ2_000001.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jumpa01/EQ2_000009.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jumpa01/EQ2_000008.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jumpa01/EQ2_000007.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jumpa01/EQ2_000005.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jumpa01/EQ2_000003.jpg
Blah
Don't get excited about a tax cut. It's like a mugger giving you back fare for a taxi.
Blah
Don't get excited about a tax cut. It's like a mugger giving you back fare for a taxi.
Wow, very nice. I dont like how the robes go through the persons legs tho. Have they fixed this or do they plan to?
Thnx for the screens tho!
Signaturen-Creator
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://www.imperium-arcanum.com
Well its just this type of robe, there are many, and the robe flows around your legs as you move around, looks like real cloth :P
Blah
Don't get excited about a tax cut. It's like a mugger giving you back fare for a taxi.
Ok good, but also I saw a video of a human female rolling in the grass with another robe on, and the rob went through her in every way possible lol, maybe it was similar to that robe.
Signaturen-Creator
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://www.imperium-arcanum.com
I played the EQ2 Beta and I decided that I will not be purchasing the game upon release.
I was mostly daunted by the amount of lag, the difficulty in soloing, and the fact that I didn't feel that sense of "magic" that you get when you play a game and really click with it. It's that personal, intuitive response that you get when you are truly excited about a game. I just didn't feel it.
I know that they are working on the lag issues. As far as soloability goes, I'm not sure how that is going to play out. I may purchase EQ2 a year from now after many of the kinks have been worked out.
As an aside, I think people on the forums need to stop taking constructive criticism of EQ2 or other games personally. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and I think that as a community discussing MMORPGs we should be more tolerant of one another. Just because someone does not like the same game you do--does not mean that you won't have a wonderful time playing the game.
Best,
Aria
You just lost my reading attention right about there. I think anybody who has been in Antonica can say the lag was horrendus.
Also, the soloing was awful. I don't know why you gave that such a high rating. Maybe you can solo at the low levels, but around level 20 and up, don't even think about it.
Peter: I'll handle it, Lois. I read a book about this sort of thing once.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't nothing?
Peter: Oh yeah.
Nice review and pictures Alderth. It's dead on
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Azzazzimon
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Azzazzimon
Great Post.
I thought your review was thorough and screenshots very nice. My system is similar to yours so Im happy to see that it may run ok.
Its amazing to see the contrasts of peoples perceptions after they have Beta tested this game for a few weeks. Some Love it and some don't. Being a Fan of EQ I think I would love it and would agree to everything being said in this subjects post. People who are not fans would probably go the other way. Neutral bias is hard to find in this industry because everyone has a pre-formed-oppinion whether they know it or not.
Either way. Thanks for your review. I think if I were in Beta I would be seeing much the same. (I hope)
No, no. He's right. all the meanie heads all over the internet that have critisised the lack of diversity, lag, broken quests, etc. are all stupid, WoW fanbois, who were too dumb to realize we weren't playing EQ2. We've all been playing a Final Fantasy 1 rom.
There is nothing wrong with EQ2. There is no lag, that's just the new bullet time feature. The quests aren't broken, we're just to dumb to figure out how to walk up to a location, and get it to update. The classes are diverse, we're just too impatient, and once the expansions come out, and we spend 3+ years grinding to 200, then we'll be diverse.
We should just learn to enjoy the bland grind to lvl 50, and shut up. The devs need upgrades for their Porsches you know.
Very nice review Aldreth! From what I have seen thus far you are dead on. Good Job!
My system is not quite as good as yours, but I have experienced very little lag, and most of the lag I have experienced has been in certain zones. I wonder if those of you who are having a major problem with lag, if it might be your system, or possibly something to do with your connection. I'm a little puzzled why some people are having so much trouble and others are not.
Minxx
Minxx
Lag is not horrendus... its pretty laggy but its not bad, if you ever played EQ live can you honestly tell me it is worse than the bazzar?
And i think soloing is at where it needs to be, if you want to solo so much play a consol game or somthing. They made it so you can delfend yourself solo but grouping is more rewarding.
Playing: Vanguard SoH
Played: EQ, Planetside, SWG, WoW, EQ2
I am on a cable modem, there has been MINIMAL to NO lag at all for me in the beta. I apologize if you have had a different experience, but these are my beta experiences :P
LAG = The best I have seen in an MMORPG beta.
Blah
Don't get excited about a tax cut. It's like a mugger giving you back fare for a taxi.
It could also be a time disparity that we don't know about. You guys experiencing no lag might be playing in the middle of everyone else's night. I never saw times mentioned, so you know, both camps might be right...
Lag always gets fixed anyway; or at least mitigated somehow. If that's all you folks are worried about, then you can probably relax. Quite frankly, I am more worried about the class diversity problems and the thousands of quests that have you running all over the place hailing everyone blindly... That's the kind of stuff we are more likely to have to live with after launch. Graphics looks sweet though
Blah
Don't get excited about a tax cut. It's like a mugger giving you back fare for a taxi.
Everquest 2 has so much money to spend, and so many ways to raise money for the game and for profit (dont get me wrong) so im sure they will make this mmorpg the best anyone has ever seen, just because they can. Everything posted on their forums that is reasonable and not too expensive will probably happen. EQ2 will be the best mmorpg ever, and if anyone denies it, just know this, your wrong.
You cannot blame anyone but the person playing the game for the graphical lag. if you dont have the system you will lag, its a known fact. The server lag is another thing, that does come from SoE. So I think EQ2 would deserve a 7/10 in lag, just because commandlands and Antonica I have heard is a lag fest. The rest ppl say its not that bad at all.
Signaturen-Creator
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://www.imperium-arcanum.com