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Everquest 2 review from eq1 veteran
kboy_5
Member Posts: 77
Well for starters, I played everquest 1 for 5 years, I started all the way back before kunark came out 
also note.. i played a bit of Shadowbane, WOW beta, Anarchy Online, Guild wars, and City of Heros. But I always went back to eq1
ok and now for my review
GOOD POINTS:
The graphics are AMAZING.. anyone who says they arent, does not know what they are talking about... It has great eye kandy... the spell effects are the best of any game I have seen... and I have not even had the chance to see the high level spells.
This game has the best quest system I have ever seen I actually like how you have to FIGURE THINGS OUT... I dont like games where the quest system holds your hand the entire way. It really does a great job of making you feel like you are part of something... they did an amazing job with it, and the quest system gives you just enough help... but not too much. I dont like games where you follow a way point all around and such.It is amazing how you can find a quest almost ANYWHERE.... hell clicking on a barrel underwater in Commonlands gave me a quest to kill gunthak pirates etc... suprises like that make the game great.. Heck even loot of mobs starts a quest.. hehe
The gameplay is the most dynamic experience I have ever had in a group... You really cant afford to sit back and relax like you did in eq1 and press a button every now and then Like i did with my level 68 wizard. Characters are gives so many skills, that depending on the situation, you have to ada[t, you really have to have each member paying full attention and working together to get through many encounters.. and change them as different types of mobs come... the mob AI is good.. they generally go after the healers... the priests heal other mobs etc.. its challenging... In this game I do not see how you can 2box or anything like that. I play a warrior and its the most fun I have ever had with a warrior type in a mmo
For me the community is great. I am in desolation guild, which is full of awesome helpfull people, if it wasnt for them, my experience with eq2 would not be as good, I would be a gimp level 16 warrior with no good gear.. With the help of them, I am in almost full quest armor with stats, and have a decent weapon... I try and only group with guildies, because we all talk on ventrillo, so communication is great.
I really like how no class seems gimped yet, everything is well balanced, I like the class tree. I hate games with a skill system like shadowbane, where there is the template of the month type deal, that gets nerfed a month later, and your always re-rolling your character. In this game your character becomes good with how much you put into it etc..
The bad:
Well here are the parts I do not like... well first of all, since I am a warrior, Im still pissed they have not fixed their app3's... which is a player crafted note that upgrades your skill... warriors are stuck at app 2 skills when everyone else has app3 or adept 1. (im not going to go into detail on how that all works)
Currently I do not like much of the community other then my guild. I think that is mainly because everyone is a newbie, and that is understandable... At the higher levels im sure much of the noobness will be fitered out.
Twice ive had buggy quests.. for instance, on newbie island, the bone chip quest where you have to get 3 bone chips... I killed and killed and was stuck at having only 2 bone chips... i wasted about an hour on extra killing, finally got fed up, and went and talked to the quest giver, and apperently I had the item, but it did not update it on my UI.
THe stupid find trail, its this yellow trail that is supposed to help you get to where you are going... It is buggy as hell, the one in eq1 is waaaaay better lol, I dont know how they let this happen, half the time it goes straight down into the ground, is shaky, or goes into walls... it needs to be fixed. Also, in the commonlands, when you click on someones name for a waypoint to get to them, if they are really far away, the waypoint will like go to the bottem of the world... it eventually fixes itself, but its really annoying, im sure people know what I'm talking about
Lastly sometimes when you fight indoors.. mobs will like go invis, and attack you, but you cant see them, just the arrow under them that you have the mob targeted, but its standing right in front of you attacking you, this happened to me alot in wailing caves.. and the instance for you key to fallen gate. It rarely happens, but when it does it sure is annoying.
Also, there are those pvp people out there... and to them that would be a bad thing that eq2 doest have pvp... but im glad it doesnt. I hate greifers etc.. they ruin the game.. I hate it. All pvp is to me is. : person A is lvl 20 and goes and kills person B who is lvl 10... person B gets mad, and goes and gets hits firends and kills person A....and the process repeats... I am glad EQ2 does not have PVP because pvp games have the WORST COMMUNITIES>.... of just mean, immature, trash talking people.
overall I would give the game a 9 out of 10, and if they fixed the issues I talked about 10 out of 10
If you want the best experience playing eq2, I think the most important thing to do is join a great guild, or make lots of friends from groups, of people who seem smart, and try and group with them as much as possible... that works well too... but definantly my guild made my eq2 experience 100% better.
Well thats about it, feel free to critique my review
Tekvenge
16 Kerra Warrior, Befallen server
Desolation
Comments
I dont know... most MMORPGs i try out.. i get bored of after about an hour... the thing about eq2 i forgot to mention... is time just FLIES>... like the one post said, its so good it hurts lol.''
Ireally did have to force myself to level up in games like shadowbane, COH, and Anarchy.. no fun
but just exploring new areas and all the quests. and equipment upgrades out there in eq2 really make it immersive imho.
original eq even took some time to become addictive.
So many good points in this review. I totally agree with your community opinions and the quest opinions. The bugs must be fixed as well. If I ever see another boss mob disappear into thin air when I am about to kill it I will freak out.
The stupid find trail, its this yellow trail that is supposed to help you get to where you are going... It is buggy as hell, the one in eq1 is waaaaay better lol, I dont know how they let this happen, half the time it goes straight down into the ground, is shaky, or goes into walls... it needs to be fixed. Also, in the commonlands, when you click on someones name for a waypoint to get to them, if they are really far away, the waypoint will like go to the bottem of the world... it eventually fixes itself, but its really annoying, im sure people know what I'm talking about
Yes, it is annoying. When your shard is a lower or higher elevation than you, the arrow goes berserk. I am just glad that the arrow makes finding NPCs in cities and fellow teammates a breeze.
See you in game, Tek!
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Stealing sub-woofers everywhere!
"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
To add to the original post I have my own list of good and bad points of EQ2:
GOOD:
Same as the original poster, graphics are amazing, having played in beta and since retail this game hands down has the best graphics I have seen in any of the many mmorpgs i have played (UO, SB, AO, EQ, DAoC, PS, L2, AC2, and SWG).
The world is very interactive and life-like. The npcs make the towns and cities seem alive.
The game runs flawlessly for me (ie: no lag), it has since beta (and no my graphics are not set to min., they are set to balanced or higher).
The classes seem well balanced for their roles, and every class I have grouped with has thus far contributed greatly to every group I have been in.
BAd:
Soloing in this game is just too hard. I know everyone will jump on me about this one, but it is hard to find groups sometimes that are doing the quests that I am doing, and I dont particularly care to sit around and waste what little time I have waiting for one. This is further compounded by the fact that the "aggro" mobs are so close together and wander at the same time. Getting jumped by other mobs is terribly aggravating when you are soloing.
Even when you call for help and run mobs will chase you for way too long. How many times have I had to run from one end of antonica almost all the way back to queynos to ditch a mob that I never hit nor attacked in the first place?
Overly repititious quests. Some quest givers tell you to go to point A and collect or kill thing B, then when you return to complete the quest they send you back to point A to kill thing B or thing C.
Quest rewards vs quest difficulty, for the most part is set up right, but there are some quests that require you to take on boss mobs and it seems even with a group the quest cons green to me when we can take on the boss, and even then its a tough fight with a small reward.
Combat becomes dull and patterned real quick until you learn a new skill that is helpfull, and then that gets entered into your combat routine. It is just way to repititious.
Combat is way to dificult unless you do your heroic combinations, and since you typically only have one or two decent ones, then you get stuck in the above point.
Trying to kill a specific mob and having to compete for the spawns. Some quests are given to kill specific mobs and frankly you end up sitting somewhere hoping to be the first person to hit the mob when it appears so you can lock combat. This is very aggravating at times.
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Overall I am a bit dissappointed in this game. It is really nothing new to the mmorpg world, just better packaged version of what has been available. I will continue to keep my acct. active for now, but every day it becomes harder and harder to log on. I want a game that is fun, not a grind chore, and after lvl 15 this game becomes that. I am not looking for any flames here, just stating my opinions on this game. I just wish that they would make this game more solo friendly, because I play sporatically and am not always able to play with my guild or friends.
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
I guess, even as your friend Vmoped lol um I have to contridict you a lil
Awsome graphics, but yea I get lag! Even on a notch below balanced, but it sall on my end. so im buying new parts lol
I enjoy the way the classes are structured.
Quests are a tad repitious at times, but then you get A Foul Wind "Go find so and so" well you go there to the FireMyst valley and you find out everyone you went to see was killed by crazed creatures. You rampage through there to put their souls at rest. That one was a tad different cause it never todl you to kill anything, yet you were having too. Of course the Quest Con system is a tad screwy, some of the green quests still have to be done by groups so it gets to be a pain in the ass to find that out lol.
Battling of course repitious...Every Single game is repitious on fighting. The part that makes it fun is going somewhere new. I stay in alot of groups so im traveling all over the place all the time.
The Mob problem..yea..I've only had that problem on 1 Mob. The Scarecrows!!! They don't spawn enough and they only spawn in one spot. Atleast with the jillion gnoll quests available there's gnolls of that type all over the place. As for Bears and wolves well if you're old enough I found tons of places for those too! lol.
Over all Im happy with the game *shrug* and addicted. I just hate the invisible mobs and the disappearing npc's, but thats just minor bugs they'll fix. As for broken quests, the bone chip quest isn't broken, maybe it was broken in the Instance of the Island you were on.
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!
Actually, there are some awesome solo spots in the game, you just have to look hard. well maybe not for all levels, but i found a spot in the commonlands with all solo mobs, lvl 16-17 and I can solo them non stop without downtime and im a warrior lol
ill probly fight them till lvl 20 because i fouind another spot where they get to lvl 19
Awsome graphics, but yea I get lag! Even on a notch below balanced, but it sall on my end. so im buying new parts lol
I enjoy the way the classes are structured.
I dont know what you are contradicting me on these. I aggreed with these points.
Quests are a tad repitious at times, but then you get A Foul Wind "Go find so and so" well you go there to the FireMyst valley and you find out everyone you went to see was killed by crazed creatures. You rampage through there to put their souls at rest. That one was a tad different cause it never todl you to kill anything, yet you were having too. Of course the Quest Con system is a tad screwy, some of the green quests still have to be done by groups so it gets to be a pain in the ass to find that out lol.
My statement in my original post was a generalization, so yes there will be deviants from the norm like the above example, but for the most part the majority of quests are repetitious.
Battling of course repitious...Every Single game is repitious on fighting. The part that makes it fun is going somewhere new. I stay in alot of groups so im traveling all over the place all the time.
I believe you missed my point. In this game when you fight a certain mob you go through the same actions every combat unless a spell is resisted or a power misses (and even then you still continue with your combat routine, so i guess this changes very little). No this is not true for most mmorpgs I have played. In most games mobs perform varying actions, or at least dont always use their powers/effects and/or do critical hits that make combat slightly different at times, in this game it is practically always the same. I have fought many mobs in EQ2 and I can predict that mobs actions every combat. The only variance in any combat is whether or not another mob runs up and begins to wack on me.
The Mob problem..yea..I've only had that problem on 1 Mob. The Scarecrows!!! They don't spawn enough and they only spawn in one spot. At least with the jillion gnoll quests available there's gnolls of that type all over the place. As for Bears and wolves well if you're old enough I found tons of places for those too! lol.
I have had this problem not only with scarecrows, but with young timber wolves, vicious badgers, giantslayer thugs, ghostly orcs, banded armidilloes, named mobs, and various other low number spawns. I usually play during primetime hours and it is not fun to have to sit and wait for one mob to appear and you have to compete to be the first person to lock combat. If I wanted to compete in a game I would go back to playing PS or SB.
Actually, there are some awesome solo spots in the game, you just have to look hard. well maybe not for all levels, but i found a spot in the commonlands with all solo mobs, lvl 16-17 and I can solo them non stop without downtime and im a warrior lol
ill probly fight them till lvl 20 because i fouind another spot where they get to lvl 19
I appreciate the suggestion
, but I didnt get into this game to grind levels killing the same mob over and over, this leads to too much repitition.
Im not looking for flames or to flame, just voicing my opinion about this game, I still currently play, but as I said, it gets increasingly harder day after day.
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!