An EQ2 experience(I really tried to like this game)

Puoltry · November 2004

First things 1st, i posted in the eq2 forums about EQ2 before i had all the drivers updated on my system.So go read that 1st.

2nd thing i want to thank Hercules for giving me a suggestion to update my drivers in the 1st place it helped run the game a lot better.He actually sent me an email on this site so:Thanx Herc!!!!

Ok im trying to be as unbiased as possible with my experience but i know im going to get flamed anyway it always happens on this site.

Graphics:

Quite simply the best ive seen in a longtime.Ill warn you though if you havent played this one yet.The graphics engine is so advanced it doesnt matter what kind of card you have.You will HAVE to turn down the settings to play this.I turned it down to an acceptable level and the game looks great.I can only imagine what a real nice video card would look like.The game still appeared choppy at this level so i went to letterbox and framed the game itself on my monitor.Now im running this on a ATI 9700 pro and my monitor is a SONY 25 inch flat screen.Walking into Freeport the 1st time is aweinspiring in itself.Looking up at Luclin is breathtaking.All the characters look great.Noone looks the same.

Gameplay:

The quests are varied and at low levels pretty easy to do.One thing i liked was the npc finder.Like most new mmo's the 1st few days are over whelming.So go to a city guard and right click him 3 options come up one of them is find npc.Type in his name and the guard will either shake his head and shrug or he will point past you.Turn around and there is a lighted path leading to him.This makes the questing at least at low levels a LOT easier than most games.Gameplay is intuitive and easy to get into even on noob island.

The combat is pretty much what you would expect from other games as well A hot bar with your best attacks loaded up.Hit the button and the attack goes off.

Housing:

Ok 1st thing you are lead to do and take my advice here and DONT do this right away.(or do what ya want!!)When i get into longshadow (or whatever the hell its called) your kind of lead down a path to get a room at the inn.Now i went ahead and did this but the up keep is every 7 days and its 5 silver and change.The inn is pretty basic one room and an entry way.When i was in Freeport i went on a tour of some upper level housing something like 8 plat for up keep.It was 5 rooms and i think 3 levels with a rooftop courtyard.The inn keeper come in and gives you a table,mirror,statue and a chandalier.So its something to start off with.

Outside the city:

Again graphics are best ive seen just behind EvE online.I went out side freeport and it looks great!!The animals were unexpected.Ya know you expect to see "fantasy animals"right?I ran into a rhino an elephant and a few others.It occured to me that this is pretty unique.It still has unique animals though.

NPC:

The voice acting is pretty cool i have to admit.Once they give you a quest it goes into your quest journal.In addition to that they have a chat bubble.Well i think they should have a way to turn off the chat bubbles.
Ok so get this im walking out side the city gates to the commonlands and i hear this:Hey you stop!!Get over here!!!This took me by surprise.Im sitting here thinking was he talking to me?You will see npc's walking by you talking to you.You will walk by apartments and hear them talking.I didnt think this would factor in to the game but it did.Its more immersive for this type of game.But for a game of equal caliber(and i consider EVE to be that game)it wouldnt work i dont think.

What does it need?:

Now i think EQ2 is fine.But ill admit im biased. Im a scifi fan and i have never been able to get into these "fantasy"games either.As good as the graphics look on the landscapes and cities the characters look as if they tried to hard to make them fantasy characters.In particular the dark elf race.Hmm im not sure if i can pinpoint what it needs.A lot of it has to do with the storyline itself.The world is being rebuilt after a sort of cataclysm.So in the time i played i saw no quests towards rebuilding it.
The good VS evil aspect needs PvP.Im sorry folks but with player built towns supposedly being released this game is screaming for it.Perhaps there could be more at stake here ala AO with bonus xp after ya kill something.The evil towns of Freeport taking more and more land etc etc.But if it does get PvP it needs to MEANINGFUL PvP.The kind of PvP that L2 has would ruin EQ2.
Im not sure why i dont like it.Its a perfectly fine game overall.Its like the game is built more on questing and less on culture within the game.And imho less socializing.What i mean by this is like in AO everyone knows the reet retreat and gridstream productions.It needs something like this but im not sure what exactly.It lacks something to keep me hooked on it im just not sure what it is.
To be honest it feels like a lot of other games in that your striving for the next level.The way it is setup with questing is great for new players.But it feels initially thats ALL your going to do.There is crafting and although i didnt really get into it it is an additional part of the game.My understanding is that it is an essential part of the game as well.

Overall this is a very well built game.If your into fantasy games and not into PvP then this is your last stop imho.
Well i hope i appeared unbiased and objective but im not going to be playing this game.(another 40 bucks down the drain:)Im going back to EvE online as it is more inline with what i like in gaming(oh and X2: The threat great game check it out if you havent yet.)Well i hope my little review/experience has helped some make a choice about what they want out of a mmo.

moonblade · November 2004

thanks for the nice review

Some of the people i've been playing with in AC2 and Final Fantasy XI were leaving to EQ2. I've been playing ffxi for little over a year now, and although it is great fun, i would love to try out EQ2.

Unfortunately, i work a lot, so i am happy with my ffxi for the time being. This certainly looks the most promising MMORPG around at the moment, together with ffxi (and maybe WoW, for those who like it)

Tymora · November 2004

Originally posted by Puoltry
Graphics:

I've kept up with the reading and info about Everquest II before I bought the game. I realized that my computer would not perform as well as I want with Everquest II, so I bought a new computer that would run it smoothly and look great. This is a factor that many companies battle with when making a mmorpg, they want to make it accessible for everyone, even those people wil moderate or even lower-end PCs.

Everquest requires an above average computer to play it smoothly and really get the full enjoyment from what it can offer. Those people who are complaining about performance issues, lag, crashing, etc. should have been aware of this beforehand.

Gameplay:

The combat is pretty much what you would expect from other games as well A hot bar with your best attacks loaded up.Hit the button and the attack goes off.

There is a Heroic Opportunity feature in combat that makes it sort of unique. FFXI had skill chains that are similar, but in a group, or even solo, these Heroic Opportunities often turn the tide in battle and cannot be overlooked when commenting about the combat in EQ2.

There is alot more to the gameplay other than Combat.

Housing:

Ok 1st thing you are lead to do and take my advice here and DONT do this right away.(or do what ya want!!)

I agree. I passed up the room at the Inn so that I could save more coin. I will need it in the future when I or my guild decides to purchase a large house of our own. The room was pretty nice, though, with great lighting effects and plenty of room.

NPC:

Well i think they should have a way to turn off the chat bubbles.

There is, in options. The user-interface is almost totally customizable, it just takes some time to get to know how to turn things on or off, there are so many.

Ok so get this im walking out side the city gates to the commonlands and i hear this:Hey you stop!!Get over here!!!This took me by surprise.Im sitting here thinking was he talking to me?You will see npc's walking by you talking to you.You will walk by apartments and hear them talking.I didnt think this would factor in to the game but it did.Its more immersive for this type of game.But for a game of equal caliber(and i consider EVE to be that game)it wouldnt work i dont think.

I don't consider EVE Online a game of equal caliber to Everquest II, they are totally different, even if I thought EVE Online was as good as EQ2, it would be hard to compare them because of all the differences.

What does it need?:

Now i think EQ2 is fine.But ill admit im biased. Im a scifi fan and i have never been able to get into these "fantasy"games either.As good as the graphics look on the landscapes and cities the characters look as if they tried to hard to make them fantasy characters.In particular the dark elf race.Hmm im not sure if i can pinpoint what it needs.

Everyone has their preferences, it's all good.

A lot of it has to do with the storyline itself.The world is being rebuilt after a sort of cataclysm.So in the time i played i saw no quests towards rebuilding it.

The game just began . . . patience.

The good VS evil aspect needs PvP.

SOE says there isn't plans for it yet, but I am sure there will be in the future, most likely in a separate server. Everquest and Everquest II are PvE games, it is understood, and everyone who comes to play these games should understand that right away. That is why I am also getting Guild Wars to satisfy my PvP needs

Im sorry folks but with player built towns supposedly being released this game is screaming for it.

I haven't heard of player townss but it makes perfect sense and it was huge in SWG. That will be nice, but again, PvP isn't something that nees to be implemented along with it. Saga of Ryzom uses their NPC monsters to attack player cities, I wonder if SOE is considering something like this?

Perhaps there could be more at stake here ala AO with bonus xp after ya kill something.

There are experience bonuses for encounters.

The evil towns of Freeport taking more and more land etc etc.But if it does get PvP it needs to MEANINGFUL PvP.The kind of PvP that L2 has would ruin EQ2.

In my opinion, PvP in Everquest takes away from the balance and the overall visioin of what I think EQ is supposed to be.

Im not sure why i dont like it.Its a perfectly fine game overall.Its like the game is built more on questing and less on culture within the game.

You need to do some more background reading.

And imho less socializing.What i mean by this is like in AO everyone knows the reet retreat and gridstream productions.It needs something like this but im not sure what exactly.It lacks something to keep me hooked on it im just not sure what it is.
To be honest it feels like a lot of other games in that your striving for the next level.

This is how mmorpgs are. It is why they are fun. EVE Online is an exception because you gain skills by doing absolutely nothing. If Everquest allowed you to earn EXP and gain levels while you were at work or watching TV, it would lose half of it's players.

The way it is setup with questing is great for new players.But it feels initially thats ALL your going to do.

EverQUEST

There is crafting and although i didnt really get into it it is an additional part of the game.My understanding is that it is an essential part of the game as well.

Crafting has been made in such as way that it mirrors combat. A crafter basically "battles" against the object he/she is trying to create, using skills and abilities while making the item, all in a combat-like sequence.

Overall this is a very well built game.If your into fantasy games and not into PvP then this is your last stop imho.
Well i hope i appeared unbiased and objective but im not going to be playing this game.(another 40 bucks down the drain:)Im going back to EvE online as it is more inline with what i like in gaming(oh and X2: The threat great game check it out if you havent yet.)

I tried EVE Online and although I give it credit for doing things differently and in most case very well, I chose not to play it anymore because for me it just wasn't much fun. The major problem I had with it was that for a roleplaying game, I need a character to play, not a spaceship. A little portrait in the corner of the screen doesn't cut it for me.

Well i hope my little review/experience has helped some make a choice about what they want out of a mmo.

Thanks for your review, everyones opinions should be welcome here.

Malianea · November 2004

Very nice read, thank you.

After much debate with myself, I have passed on EQ2. I am going to wait for DnL, if it actually comes out ::::05::

Puoltry · November 2004

Hey Tymora thanx for responding in the way you did.It really did add to my little review.Clearly you are playing this game and having fun.And in addition thanx for being respectful about it and not flaming me as is done so many times on this website.

TaskyZZ · November 2004

Does each character get their own room at the Inn?

Can other poeple find your room or is it an instanced thing?

If I have 2 characters, can they both get in the same room? So, I can leave an item in the room from one character to give to another character? Or is there another way to do this safely in the game?

therax · November 2004

Originally posted by TaskyZZ

Does each character get their own room at the Inn?
Yes
Can other poeple find your room or is it an instanced thing?
Yes and Yes
If I have 2 characters, can they both get in the same room? So, I can leave an item in the room from one character to give to another character? Or is there another way to do this safely in the game?
You can't drop items ( that I know of ) but you get shared slots in your bank ( Provided that the characters are of the same alignment)

Just to explain some of the above answers, every character gets a room that is instanced - but you can set access levels to grant other to visit or even adimistrate the room.

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An EQ2 experience(I really tried to like this game)

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An EQ2 experience(I really tried to like this game)

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