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EQ2 should I buy it?
illenvillen
Member Posts: 9
in Everquest II
OK I know this is goign to start alot of commotion but I have a difficult choice to make. This choice is of coarse between EQ2 and WoW. CAn anyone give me helpful information as to which game I should get?
Here's some information about what I like in games:
1.THe ability to play either solo or with a group
2.Minimal rewards for powergamers other than level.
3.A good community
4.A game wiith a good balance between classes of the same level
That's about it. Unfortunatly I didn't get to play a beta of either game.
Please only post if you have helpful information not EQ2 sucks or WoW is the best tell em why please.
Comments
I think both meet 1-4, you need to visit other sites like eq2/wow warcry and stratics they have good info on most mmorpgs.
I've choosen EQ2 over WoW purely because it looks more like a traditional rpg and has a #stricter# class system.
Make sure you meet the specs for EQ2. From what I've read, it is a graphic intensive game. So make sure your CPU, Memory, and VideoCard meet the recommended specs.
EQ2
Very in-depth game, more realistic graphics, grouping works better, longer experience till max level
WoW
More Laid back, practically no learning curve, solo works well, PvP, colorful graphics, Can play for just 30 mins and have fun.
Basically if you want a very in-depth graphic rich game, like grouping or taking your time leveling go EQ2.
If you want a quick playing game with a good story (but less in-depth) that solos as well as it groups and a PVP element go WoW.
**Note** Hopefully this thread with not get locked. If people cant compare the games the value of the forum is lost.
After trying both game I am going WoW for many reasons. The main one : DOWNTIMES.
Downtimes in WoW are not even comparable to EQ2, for exemple if you are half-HP/Mana after a fight in WoW, about 5secs to wait and you are ready to go.. And belive me.. you don't want to wait for that in EQ2.
Features : Next reasons WoW won my hearth is because of many SIMPLE and NICE features, for exemple the ability to Link item-names in windows is just awesome. You can click any item you just looted, in your inventory, equiped, whatsoever, Shift-Click it while chating, and the item name is linked in the chat window like that : [super axe of death]. Next other peoples can just click the name in the chat window and have the items name. Auction house is also a pretty damn nice feature (kind of a eBay integrated in the game) you can bid, buy/sell things on it, just playing with money on it can be pretty fun, interface is just so simple it works just great. I'll stop here for the features, I mean there's so mcuh of em..
Interface : I hate EQ2 interface, tried removing the black bars on top/bottom didn't help. Even tought it's fully customisable, after 20mins working on my interface I had one that was barely bearable. While WoW default interface is not perfect, and even tought it's not as customisable as EQ2's, it took me about 5mins to get the one I found to be perfect.
Graphics : Yea EQ2 got great "graphics" technologies. But the design and artwork is pitifull. No more to say. As for WoW, I am able to crank up ALL graphics setting to MAX, Anistropic, and AA, everything!, AND THE GAME IS PLAYABLE. The game is just beautiful, artwork in this game can't be compared to any game of the genre. And this is why I consider WoW graphics WAY better than EQ2's
Performance : I hear a lot people say "make sure your computer is up to date and all" well god.. belive them, I wouldn't want to see the game with an old graphic card... I recently bought a 6800 GT card. Witch is a pretty damn great (and espensive) card. I am sitting it on a gig of ram and a 2500+ CPU (witch isn't that bad). First, WoW with every graphics setting cranked up, is running so damn SMOOTH (40-80fps). With each patch Blizzard is releasing, I am gaining FPS, they are doing some great job tweaking the thing out. And now EQ2.... ooooh god... Now I have to say it is the worse point of the game. While I liked the fact graphics can be customised a LOT. At start (default graphic settings) the game was just about playable (around 30fps avg). Than I tried cranking everything to highes just to see those "mighty beautiful graphics" everyone is talking about. Yea it was beautiful, but my 5-10fps convinced me turning it back to default. Back to default settings I had now about 15fps avg (wtf?). Kind of buggy thing as if a setting didn't apply, had to restart the game to fix it. I have taken a lot of time trying to find the best quality/playability ratio and finnally got tired and set all settings to lowest to play the game.
I could continu like this all day.....
I'm far from being to my first MMORPG (UO, EQ, AC, AC2, DAOC, EVE-o, to name a few) and I may sound like a wow fan-boy but let me tell you I have tested both of these game the best as I thought and WoW won my hearth easily.
Nobody asked you what you thought about WoW...the topic was if this particular person would enjoy EQ2 based on some criteria he specified. He didn't ask for a longwinded WoW fanboy hype. If you love WoW so much, just go back to the WoW boards and tell everybody how much you love WoW, I'm sure they'll all agree with you (except the lame EQ2 fanboys who troll the WoW boards, they'll tell you how great EQ2 is, reguardless of what the WoW topic is)
But to answer the original question of this topic. No, if you don't like people getting rewarded for their time investment, ie power gamers getting better gear than the average Joe who only plays a couple hours a week, then you will not like EQ2. Actually I can't think of any MMORPG, except maybe the Sims or something, that doesn't reward the most active players, ie power gamers, with the best gear while the average and casual gamers get far less quality gear. Thats just the way MMORPGs work.
Nobody asked you what you thought about WoW...the topic was if this particular person would enjoy EQ2 based on some criteria he specified. He didn't ask for a longwinded WoW fanboy hype. If you love WoW so much, just go back to the WoW boards and tell everybody how much you love WoW, I'm sure they'll all agree with you (except the lame EQ2 fanboys who troll the WoW boards, they'll tell you how great EQ2 is, reguardless of what the WoW topic is)
Isn't it great that when ever someone asks a question about EQ2, for some reason people start talking about WoW. If people wanted to know about WoW they would goto the WoW boards, not the EQ2 boards.
Currently Playing: EQ2, AC2, WW2Online
Retired: Everquest, DAoC
Quit: SWG
_________________________________
Currently Playing: Eve-Online
On the Backburner: EQ2
Retired: EQ, DAoC, WW2Online
RIP: AC2
Tried: Ryzom, Roma Victor, RoM, KH2, Forsaken World, AO, AoC, APB
Quit: SWG PRE-CU(Radiant/Starsider), WoW
Achiever 47% / Explorer 40% / Killer 87% / Socializer 27%
Are you all scared that he will convert people that you don't even know to play WoW? I'm EQ2 all the way, but I liked the way he set his argument, I don't agree with some of it, but I'm not going to whine about him being a WoW fan and trying to tell his perspective on the games. He obviously has a lot of experience, and the person asking about which game was better would have gathered a lot of useful information from it. Truthfully, none of us can tell you which game is better. It's all based on what you like in a game, see if you can't find a friend that has them, and go take a look at both of them. Look around at the different web sites as was mentioned earlier, and see which one appeals to you more.
Dude you got that even in EQ1.
[quote]Originally posted by dougfrippon
After trying both game I am going WoW for many reasons. The main one : DOWNTIMES.
Downtimes in WoW are not even comparable to EQ2, for exemple if you are half-HP/Mana after a fight in WoW
[/b][/quote]
Maybe soloing, but while grouped that's plain false.
Highly advanced EQ2 graphics will stand test of time better than wow. So, maybe if you are forced to play it with medium settings, which are great graphics too, you'll get new life at high settings, after a system upgrade 1 or 2 years later.
Imho EQ2 han an immersive atmosphere: bso, voices, graphics, an excellent questing system. EQ2 it's a real rpg experience, while Wow it's more "arcade". It's nothing wrong, if you are easily amused, you'll enjoy Wow. But personally i prefer real challenge EQ2 is.
I was going to buy WoW because I didnt like the first EQ at all. But I was at a friend from works house and he had EQ2 yesterday, I saw it and was blown away. He fell asleep while I played it at his house til 4am. Very addicting and totally immerses you with its ultra insane quality graphics engine!
Buy EQ2 it has set the new standard by which all other mmos must now try to reach its bar.
Hmm, not really sure why the above posters think your not asking about both EQII and WoW since you plainly ask this:
"This choice is of coarse between EQ2 and WoW. CAn anyone give me helpful information as to which game I should get?"
Before I answer let me say this, I am a huge EQ1 fanatic. As far as I am concerned no mmorpg to date has been even close to as good. If you hated everything about EQ1 then you can know up front you probably don't have similar tastes and my opinions wont be of much help to you.
Keep in mind these are just my opinions!
1. You can solo in both games.
I hate how they have done it in EQ2 by marking some creatures as group and some as solo, it makes the whole thing seem artificial is is very immersion breaking and really adds nothing that couldn't be accomplished in another better way. WoW is almost all about solo at least up through the teens. In fact it may be a bit too much solo oriented and hurts the social and teamwork aspects.
2. Minimal rewards for powergamers other then level? Here I just think your playing the wrong type of game.
Mmorpgs are games where you develop and improve your character through gameplay. It will, and should always be the case that more effort = more reward. I do think that you should be able to accomplish tasks in a reasonable amount of time so that you don't have to have a 8 hour block of time to accomplish a task. In that respect I believe both games have made progress in becoming more casual gamer friendly.
3. This is hard to compare, EQII is brand new so the community is just developing and new people are signing on all the time. Both have their goods and bads. Personally I lean toward EQII here so far. Much (not most or all by any means) of the WoW crowd seems on the lower end of the IQ scale but there are many great people to play with as well.
4. Each game seems to have a balance but they are very different from one another. In WoW just about any combination of classes can do well from what I have seen. In EQII your going to do best wth groups that have one of each archetype or at very least a priest of some type in every group.
Being the huge EQ1 fan that I am I completely expected EQII to be the game for me but found it clunky, ugly, and lacking in general.
Many of the innovations I was so excited about in EQII are done better in WoW, for instance voice overs. One of the really neat things about WoW is that your character can speak a number of great lines that are often informative and at many times funny.
I had also heard so much about how huge and amazing the cities were in EQII, but they are broken into tiny little zones that don't give you that grand feel at all. In WOW the cities are awe inspiring and loaded with things to keep you exploring and gasping.
I thought the graphics in EQII were going to be amazing but really WoW is far superior in many ways. The EQII environments and characters lack any artistic flare at all and are very bland to look at. In WoW each and every area is amazingly varied and rich to look at. Also I have a very powerful computer and graphics card and with max settings on WoW I actually think the water looks better then it does in EQII.
EQII does have some neat graphics touches like heat distortion and water distortion but they are minor things rarely seen and cant compete with the beautiful world and characters WoW provides.
I don't like PvP and hope WoW keeps the high level of pve content at high levels and worry about that but all in all, I guess I am a WoW convert now as much as it amazes me.
I have played both! You need a pretty decent machine to turn on the eyecandy or a deep pocket to buy the hardware to fully max it! I dont have that, and the visuals were very blurry and trying to look good, but it failed horribly! Think i had about 25-30 fps in a normal situation killing mobs, but i could hardly move in cities! I tested lowest settings and BOY it looked like something from the early 90 games. :P But i could play much better
Overall, visually aint impressive at a midranged pc.. at all! Looks rubbery, grey and blurry! Think about that, cause many ppl is falling over, drooling for the sweet pictures that can be seen anywhere!
I had some nice encounters which were very fun, and that combosystem was neat! Liked that! Solid controls!
Hated the UI though! Looked aweful in my eyes and uninspiring but bareable.
Chatsystem was "ok" but not great! Grouping was fun, and and it wasnt that hard to get into them either. Ok, i didnt play too long in the beta, but i feel that i had some tastes of it, and it is really not my kind!
You got the hardware? Would like something more advanced than your average mmog? Try this, but i always recommend trial or beta before buy
Then i got into WoW some weeks ago. The intro movie was incredible and got me into mood instantly!
Im no fantasy player, but i am now! This game converted me to play a freaking fantasy game? yes it did!
Game running excellent at default settings in 1280x1024 with hardly no slowdowns with lots of players in view! Visuals is absolutly stunning. Cartoonish and colorful! Far from the advanced system that EQ2 have, but i dont see this as a minus, cause its so much smoother to look at.. and the moood is tip top!
Music is so wonderful, sound's clear and some funny twists here and there! i dont even remember now how EQ2 sounded!!
UI is very simple and you will figure it out in a couple of hours, fiddling around! looks great too!
Grouping is easy and enjoyable! I'd say is a tie between them!
I had some problem with the chat at first, cause you had to type a little command, before sending into Generalchat, tradechat or whatelse there is! Just pressing Enter wont do the trick! Think it just go to the local area!
I have had no pvp encounter yet, but i think yo should enter one of those servers, just to spice it up a lvl higher! I did that! Fun to se a horde running past and then get overwhelmed by players! Crasy horde players
Conclusion: EQ2, more advanced, require more time thinking and a beefy pc for the juicy graphics. Could be fun, but when i played i never felt the right motivation to continue leveling! I had no expectations when i started playing!
Conclusion: WoW, simple, beatutiful and charming, the way i could imagine a warcraft to look at, sort of!
The feeling i got when entering my starting area, i wanted to explore the place and was fashinated by it! Simply put: I was blown away by it! I've not played a game this fun for years!
I would rather been playing World of Starcraft though. :P
I had no expectations when started playing!
My rig is a 2500xp 512ddr and 9800pro.
Oh misti, you have not been around forever. I thought you left us.
Anyways, I am getting the game tonight. Your comments on how great the game is are not helping the wait.
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Comedy and propriety...going together like Peanut Butter and Turpentine
"Whoever controls the media controls the mind..-'Jim Morrison"
"When decorum is repression, the only dignity free men have is to speak out." ~Abbie Hoffman
Currently Playing: EQ2, AC2, WW2Online
Retired: Everquest, DAoC
Quit: SWG
Original poster quote :
OK I know this is goign to start alot of commotion but I have a difficult choice to make. This choice is of coarse between EQ2 and WoW. CAn anyone give me helpful information as to which game I should get?