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going from WoW to EQ2

epic_ilsepic_ils Member Posts: 8

ok i am a WoW player love the game but i want to try out EQ2 just for the hell og it never played a EQ game befor so i diced to try this one but i want to know a few things dose iis there a huge grind to this game b/c that is what i like about WoW and what is the commonity like also TY for ur help

Comments

  • herculeshercules Member UncommonPosts: 4,925

    Its harder to level then WoW but IMHO not a huge grind.

    Community is very good and mature.

  • ThoomThoom Member Posts: 436

    Only downside is the early morning server resets to keep things running smooth, but you get use to them , and later become thankful SoE is on top of it.

     

  • quentariquentari Member Posts: 9

    Ive started playing EQII just before Christmas. Started out with 2-8 hours of daily gameplay. But about a week ago i got bored with it.

    It might be because i enjoy soloplaying. But soloing is a huge grind. Ive been playing in some good groups, but most of the times you just sit there waiting on somebody from the group. The server i played on wasnt really crowded, so finding a group wasnt easy neither.

    You really need to be in a guild to get everything out of this game. Most guilds dont accept low lvl. players, and entering a guild hasnt been easy for me.

    I really enjoy crafting, and the EQII system is to my likings, but if your not in a guild you cant get the interims ressources you need, when you get into the high lvls. Mainly because as in EQ1 you need to be online, doing absolutely nothing, if you want to sell your goods. Its a good way for SOE to get peps to have a second account! (I actually got 2 accounts before realizing that the game just doesnt do it for me) So not many people sell interim ressources!

    I hope WOW does it for me! Just have to wait until i can get it in Europe!

     

  • herculeshercules Member UncommonPosts: 4,925



    Originally posted by Thoom

    Only downside is the early morning server resets to keep things running smooth, but you get use to them , and later become thankful SoE is on top of it.
     



    Yes each day has a 1 hour reset.Which is in actual fact never one hour.2 days ago i was able to log back on oasis after just 20mins.

    EQ2 is a game that demands you doing things as a group and interact a lot.I feel that what makes a mmorpg  well a massive game i dunno but thats how i interpret it.

    Thats why mmorpg that promise in future to hold 20k plus per server and yet promise soloing for almost everything seems pointless to me.

    So yeah grouping makes the game much more fun.If you are a pure soloist you can play it but this is more of  an interactive game.

  • ScarisScaris Member UncommonPosts: 5,332


    Originally posted by Thoom
    Only downside is the early morning server resets to keep things running smooth, but you get use to them , and later become thankful SoE is on top of it.
     

    that is REALLY aggrivating. I thought I got away from that when I quit UO 5 years ago. Now I am stuck with it again. Other then that its a wonderful game, I love it.

    - Scaris

    "What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World

  • PashoPasho Member Posts: 85

    I was playing EQ2 and changed to WoW. I didn't even finish my trial period. Why? Because i really believe EQ2 still needs a lot of work!!! Dont take me wrong, i really think the game has potential but in the future. This is my opinion:

    **Graphics: 100% imagebut the game was made thinking in hardware of the future!! i Have a P4 HT, 3.2 HGZ, 1GB RAM, ATI Radeon 128 MB Video GFX and the game was set in medium (sometimes low) settings...and Lag was terrible!!!!image

    **But beyond that, the game needs more content, loot items are crap image, and you have to have a second account if you want to sell your goods!! why? you have to be inside your room and logged in if you want to sell your things at a decent price....that means that you grind your brains out finding resources, also working to lvl up your tradeskills, and at the end...you cant sell anything at a good price because you have to spend hours sitting in your room, waiting for someone to show up and buy your stuff. See? Otherwords....crafting sucks in EQ2, not because the crafting part per se, but for the selling process.

    **You can solo your way up to lvl 20 or so... but after that, it is almost impossible to advance because you always need to be in a group image. And that is something not easy to find in EQ2...not only the group but one that fits your needs. Otherwise you will be useless to the group and wont get an invite. I saw people running thru all the citys yelling "Mage lvl 22 looking for group" after two hours playing..they were still yelling the same thing.

    The good things for EQ2 is that i believe they will polish it and will fix it....sooner or later...or the game will sink...

    I bought my copy of EQ2 at $49 on Jan 5th/05, and now copies are being sold for $30 bucks now (not even a month has passed)....that is almost unbelievable.

    Well, lucky me i got a copy of WoW last week. Now i'm playing WoW and I am very happy and I'm enjoying it heaps of fun.image

    Maybe EQ2 will be really good in the near future (who knows), and maybe I will be back there ...but for now, I rather stay with WoW.

    My 5 cents.

    Pasho.

  • ScarisScaris Member UncommonPosts: 5,332


    Originally posted by Pasho
    I was playing EQ2 and changed to WoW. I didn't even finish my trial period. Why? Because i really believe EQ2 still needs a lot of work!!! Dont take me wrong, i really think the game has potential but in the future. This is my opinion:
    **Graphics: 100% imagebut the game was made thinking in hardware of the future!! i Have a P4 HT, 3.2 HGZ, 1GB RAM, ATI Radeon 128 MB Video GFX and the game was set in medium (sometimes low) settings...and Lag was terrible!!!!image
    **But beyond that, the game needs more content, loot items are crap image, and you have to have a second account if you want to sell your goods!! why? you have to be inside your room and logged in if you want to sell your things at a decent price....that means that you grind your brains out finding resources, also working to lvl up your tradeskills, and at the end...you cant sell anything at a good price because you have to spend hours sitting in your room, waiting for someone to show up and buy your stuff. See? Otherwords....crafting sucks in EQ2, not because the crafting part per se, but for the selling process.
    **You can solo your way up to lvl 20 or so... but after that, it is almost impossible to advance because you always need to be in a group image. And that is something not easy to find in EQ2...not only the group but one that fits your needs. Otherwise you will be useless to the group and wont get an invite. I saw people running thru all the citys yelling "Mage lvl 22 looking for group" after two hours playing..they were still yelling the same thing.
    The good things for EQ2 is that i believe they will polish it and will fix it....sooner or later...or the game will sink...
    I bought my copy of EQ2 at $49 on Jan 5th/05, and now copies are being sold for $30 bucks now (not even a month has passed)....that is almost unbelievable.
    Well, lucky me i got a copy of WoW last week. Now i'm playing WoW and I am very happy and I'm enjoying it heaps of fun.image
    Maybe EQ2 will be really good in the near future (who knows), and maybe I will be back there ...but for now, I rather stay with WoW.
    My 5 cents.
    Pasho.


    Sorry, if your lagging your 128 ATI is a low end one with a rather shotty processor. If you set to medium or low you should run fine with it. Either that or you should have played with the settings to find something that would work for you. The only time I see this complaint though is when people purposfully try to turn on settings they feel they "should" be able to use either though your system can't handle it. Shadows are a big no no on older video cards, they are rather intensive to render.

    The merchant system is the very same successful one from EQ 1, so why now is it a complaint with EQ 2? You can use a broker and not have to be in vendor mode while you play, you don't even have to be logged in. The crafting is wonderful in EQ 2 and the resources are in plenty if you actually look. My only complaint is I don't have enough storage space to handle it all because I end up with so much each time I go out.

    If you can't find a group, start one, how hard is that? If I sit in LFG for more then 10 minutes I just do alittle searching and find everyone else LFG and invite them, its very easy to get a group formed in EQ 2, they can even use waypoints to get to you quickly and easily. I have no idea why you would actually try shouting for a group, that was the original EQ 1 method, EQ 2 has much better support for finding a group.

    EQ 2 is down to $40 in stores, not $30.

    In all honesty it sounds to me like you tried your hardest to make sure you hated this game from the start. I don't find your argument very strong on why EQ 2 is not a good game.

    - Scaris

    "What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World

  • aeric67aeric67 Member UncommonPosts: 798

    I think the claims in this thread about finding groups in EQ2 are a bit exaggerated. For me, it wasn't the difficulty in finding a group, it was the difficulty in keeping the group. As soon as one non-DPS person left, the group would usually break up because the game design makes healers and tanks almost mandatory... Every other class is fluff; so unless you are one of those critical classes, the groups you want usually fall apart.

    Then, as someone already touched on, even if you get a group in which everyone stays for a while, it's tough to get them on the same track as you. I made an alt recently and noticed the lack of available people doing the same things as me as compared to my main that I made from initial launch. My main had very little trouble getting compatible groups since everyone else was on the same track, but now that everyone is higher in level you don't see many people at newbie levels anymore.

    I think part of this reason is the mechanic of the newbie game. You start in the Isle of Refuge and always get the same quests. You can't start anywhere else, so variety is gone. Then you head to one of two towns, each always having the same set of quests no matter what class you pick (except the one hallmark quest). The 1-20 game gets very boring if you can't decide what class you want to play and want to try quite a few. Who wants to keep doing that? Most will stick with their mains and you end up with alot of weight on the upper end sooner. Not a newbie friendly situation in a group-oriented game.

    Any solo content they have put in is trivial. All these new solo quests are too little too late. That content was only put in so SOE could make the claim that the game is solo-friendly. Any player who uses that content quickly realizes how pointless it is. SOE thinks it will cause players to then group and build community that makes them stay with the game longer. They don't want people to be able to "finish" the game by themselves. What they don't get is that most people will not solo all the time even if you let them. Also, what they don't get is that cornering players into a certain style of addictive play using contrived methods is a sure-fire way to alienate those players and lose that subscription money.

    EQ2 was a great effort, but its attempts to maintain the feel of EverQuest while implementing all the claimed "improvements" to make it friendlier and more approachable have only succeeded in making the game flawed. You can tell that SOE simply owns the intellectual property and does not own the talent that originally created it.

  • PashoPasho Member Posts: 85

    Dont take me wrong here guys....

    What i was trying to say is that the game has some significant flaws that they need to fixe first...

    As Aeric above me said: "Any solo content they have put in is trivial" and that is true. Not because it's not needed in the game but because it is not good. No variety, the same lame quests for all players.

    Maybe it is because of the fact that SOE was expecting a bigger base of players (maybe), but if they planned the game that way, they were wrong. Lvl 20 and up, the game is not "as good as you expected" at least for now....and you dont have the feeling of starting another char because you already know it is going to be the same....see?

    About the required PC spec....what's the point in mention superhigh tech specifications if no one can use them? to give the game a high tech profile?? that is dumb!! and as a marketing strategy....let me say...its simply stupid. Let's put it this way: you have a plane that cannot fly....why you would want such thing??? BTW...my machine has some of the latest things in the market...and they cannot expect that a huge base of EQ fans change their machines just to play EQ2...see?

    Soloing is not an option in EQ2(at least for higher levels). And what can be done soloing has no variety so far.

    The game MAY BE the best if they put some more effort on it...but not now. That is why they didn't get the big slice of the cake. That is why the price is dropping (and yes..it is in $30 here where i live), and that is why they are announcing BIG Changes only after 1 or 2 months after release....

    it is not that i liked or not, it is what its going on out there...

    I hope SOE fix it and fast...it could be a great game....besides I still have the game and can reactivate my account any time...and i'd like to do that.

    Pasho.

  • WickesWickes Member UncommonPosts: 749

    Seems like we go over the same points again and again.  Some see things one way, some see them another.  This game is simply not for some people, and that's okay ... it's not intended to be.

    They certainly have a large player base ... over 300k when last announced.  The game is busy as hell.  When I regularly see 3-4 instances of Antonica and 4 of TS there's not much of a mystery.  And I've started a few new guys here and there and when I do the newb isles are constantly quite busy.

    I don't know about this soloing complaint.  Seems to me it's about the same as EQ1.  My main (templar) is only 22, I grant you, but there sure is plenty he can solo.  Is it slow.  Yes, indeed.  I do think the rate of exp gain for both soloing and grouping is a too slow, and I would adjust that.  To have to kill 2-3 whites/yellows to get one percent just seems too slow to me.  Nevertheless, I can sure do it, and I'm a frickin cleric.  My cleric in EQ1 wasn't really much different, except the EQ2 guy is a little tougher.  It was very difficult in EQ1 for me to solo whites and yellows were essentially out of the question.

    As far as my friends playing other classes, the ability to solo is somewhat class dependent, which seems right to me.  My level 26 Pally friend can solo quite well.  My monk buddy can't.  Etc.  Seems to me by now people should recognize that some classes are better for soloing than others.  To make every class solo equally would destroy the game.

    The whole soloing issue is a tough one.  You have a large base of players who want to mainly solo, and a large base who want the type of content which is geared to grouping and raiding.  It's really not possible to go too far toward making soloing easier without hurting the other.  It's a grouping game.  Everyone knew this, didn't they.  Both EQs are designed for people who want a heavily social experience and are able to handle that.  In any event, when I feel like soloing I sure never come close to running out of things to do. Personally, I want the game to remain primarily a grouping/raiding game.  Adding a little solo content is okay, but not too much.

    As far as the quests, it seems endless to me - FAR FAR more than EQ1.  I never even run low on quests I want to do. Being one who loves quests, I'm in hog heaven here. I'm mainly working on finishing up the Watcher quests now, and, of course, the AQ quests, all of which have been fun as hell. The Heritage quests are fabulous.  And when I make little guys, I don't do all the same quests over and over ... who in the world does and why would they.  I do the ones I liked, some I missed, and the ones that give rewards I want.

    With the hundreds of quests that exist you expect them to have entirely different sets to cover every time you make a new toon?  And having quests work for all classes just makes it fun to work with friends on them.  This is bad?  The game has an astonishing number of quests, and they are about as varied as one could imagine.  Honestly, if you can't find quests you like here, I can't imagine what you would like.  Let's face it, there are a finite number of activities in games and all of them are sure used.

    The complaint about needing high computer specs is absolutely bogus.  Anyone with a half decent computer can play it fine, and at settings which look excellent.  OF COURSE we're all going to improve out computers over time, and it will only get better.  I can't see bringing out new games designed for a Model T.  You simply cannot make an engine which runs on a Model T and has the desirable capacity for the future.  For people who can't afford a half decent computer there are plenty of other games out there. Do you mind if we have A game designed for people who can.

    The game isn't supposed to be EQ1.  We have EQ1 for that.  SOE would have to be idiots to put out a new game which was designed just to suck everyone away from the existing game.  They designed them for somewhat different appeal.  Given that they currently have over 700k people playing the two, it doesn't look like a bad plan.

    It's a shame that some people are not enjoying the game, but that's the way it is.  That's exactly what you would have expected.  The game is not designed for everyone.  It's simple .. if you like it, play it ... if you don't, don't.

     

  • herculeshercules Member UncommonPosts: 4,925



    Originally posted by Pasho

    I was playing EQ2 and changed to WoW. I didn't even finish my trial period. Why? Because i really believe EQ2 still needs a lot of work!!! Dont take me wrong, i really think the game has potential but in the future. This is my opinion:
    **Graphics: 100% imagebut the game was made thinking in hardware of the future!! i Have a P4 HT, 3.2 HGZ, 1GB RAM, ATI Radeon 128 MB Video GFX and the game was set in medium (sometimes low) settings...and Lag was terrible!!!!image
    **But beyond that, the game needs more content, loot items are crap image, and you have to have a second account if you want to sell your goods!! why? you have to be inside your room and logged in if you want to sell your things at a decent price....that means that you grind your brains out finding resources, also working to lvl up your tradeskills, and at the end...you cant sell anything at a good price because you have to spend hours sitting in your room, waiting for someone to show up and buy your stuff. See? Otherwords....crafting sucks in EQ2, not because the crafting part per se, but for the selling process.
    **You can solo your way up to lvl 20 or so... but after that, it is almost impossible to advance because you always need to be in a group image. And that is something not easy to find in EQ2...not only the group but one that fits your needs. Otherwise you will be useless to the group and wont get an invite. I saw people running thru all the citys yelling "Mage lvl 22 looking for group" after two hours playing..they were still yelling the same thing.
    The good things for EQ2 is that i believe they will polish it and will fix it....sooner or later...or the game will sink...
    I bought my copy of EQ2 at $49 on Jan 5th/05, and now copies are being sold for $30 bucks now (not even a month has passed)....that is almost unbelievable.
    Well, lucky me i got a copy of WoW last week. Now i'm playing WoW and I am very happy and I'm enjoying it heaps of fun.image
    Maybe EQ2 will be really good in the near future (who knows), and maybe I will be back there ...but for now, I rather stay with WoW.
    My 5 cents.
    Pasho.



    1)plays without lag on a athlon 2400,1gb,R9800pro on medium setting and in RAIDS.So dunno why you have trouble,You say a 128mb card but as most seasoned gamers knows the power lies in a graphics card not in the mb but the type of card.After all there are 256mb FX5600 around but its not even half as good as a 128mb R9800.So maybe whoever build the system for you get a cheap card in there .

    When buying a card look at core speed,vertex/sec,badwitdth NEVER maximum memory aka mb.

     

    2)I don't have a second account.I simply put my character(mule) to trade when i am not playing simple as that.I have over 50pp which is more then i ever need .But i rather see an offline system of trade like all would  but certainly not to any degree i need a second account thats for sure.

    3)soloing.Well soloing is possible but not as rewarding as grouping as it should be.It is not impossible to solo i can prove it at level 41 as a guardian(which is one of the worst soloable class possible in eq2).Dunno about finding a group i never had trouble finding one  but you state it -"on that fits your needs".

    So i assume you mean one doing a quest YOU are on.Now of course you will find it hard because most people ask their GUILD for quest help and group mainly for exp like most games.

    Seems you decided to stay without a guild(or at least one worth more then a dime) and then expect people to group with you to do a quest which YOU are on and at specific point  which most times will be boring for them since they don't have it or most likely finished it already.

    4)Dunno about pricing.It never reflects the success of any mmorpg as far as i recall.DAoC first launched in UK at a discount from recommended price .I got it for £15 which was sold for £25 at other shops  and i got it on day of UK launch.And other europeans know that DAoC sold very well in europe.

    Key for a mmorpg is to gain paying monthly clients and holding there thats where the $$$$ is .Unlike half life kind of games.

    5) happy you like WoW its a good game and clearly much more to your playstyle then EQ2 was.So  i am  happy you found a mmorpg that suits you much better and playstlye.

     


     

  • SaragothSaragoth Member Posts: 84

    This game can be a grind if you let it be one.. You need to go into it understanding that there are different ways to gain experience.

    1. Quests. You can level up from 1-20 pretty darn quick doing quests and there are a ton of quests to be done =)

    2. YOu can ignore combat all together and be an artisan, which has it's own level and xp system, much like that of combat you gain experience based on the difficulty of the item you create.

    3. Of course the grind. Which actually I can count on one hand the times I've sat in one place and pulled mobs. Usually I'm in a group and we're running around getting quests done so it stays pretty interesting, not just a mindless slaughter.

    SG

    image

    Originally posted by Wickes
    BTW, Saragoth, it's just a guess ... but I'd bet you were banned for bad language.

  • Divine_WillDivine_Will Member Posts: 3

    Well here's some good new for soloists!

     

     

    EQ II Producer's Letter

    New Beginnings: A Time of Change

    It's a great time for EverQuest II. I'll apologize for the length of this letter ahead of time -- when you're excited about your game and this proud of the teams working on it, it can be hard to stop talking about all the great things that are going on, especially when there are so many things.

    For starters, let me introduce myself. I'm Scott Hartsman the Senior Producer for EverQuest II.

    Those of you who followed the game through its development (or saw the trailers at Regal theaters) would probably have been expecting another name to be next to that title. One of the new beginnings for this year is that our own John Blakely has moved on to being the Director of Development for our little studio here at SOE San Diego, where he still gets to watch out for his baby, and also make sure we're able to concentrate on the part we love the most -- making a great game.

    If you'll indulge me for one short paragraph more, I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we're glad he's still a part of EverQuest II. I hope to be able to live up to the incredibly high standards he's set for what a producer of a game is supposed to be. With this team, and this game, at this time, I definitely feel like I'm the most fortunate guy around. From all of us -- thank you. :)

    All right, enough waxing sentimental. Let's get back to the game.

    In this first installment, I'll be talking about some radical changes in store for those who primarily solo and play in small groups; how your feedback is important to us, some of what we've already done to the game since launch; and a few of the other changes in store for the game. And I'll answer a couple questions regarding our live game updates and how they relate to our new Adventure Packs.

    Making Yourself Heard

    When you're playing a game along with a few hundred thousand other people and you have something to say or a problem to report, it's really frustrating to think that you're not being heard. It's even more frustrating when it feels like no one cares to listen in the first place. We've all been there. It's our responsibility to make sure we don't give you that impression. We're a little outnumbered, but we absolutely do care about what you think and what you have to say. I'd like to take a few minutes to explain all of the methods we've set up to ensure that your feedback arrives at the ears of those making the game.

    Every few weeks, we will release a major game update, gather up what people think, determine shortcomings and address problems; then we'll start the cycle over again. That's a feedback loop. This was a great tool that we used throughout beta, and it continues to be one of the most important things to us now that we're live. When reactions, observations, and comments make their way back to us (combined with our own observations), a better game will result for everyone.

    Early in beta, this was pretty easy for us (and we had a lot of fun with it, too). There were one or two servers for quite a bit of the time, and many of us on the beta boards knew each other by name. Since launching and growing to 30 servers housing hundreds of thousands of characters in different places across the globe, we've had to adapt to this huge onrush of people by necessity. The underlying goal is still the same: "You have something to say that we need to hear."

    There are five main ways that your feedback makes its way back to us.

    • Daily Community Reports. Every day, the community team for both the US and International servers gathers up the hottest issues from all of the forums. It's not uncommon for the biggest issues to result in special broadcast emails to the entire team to ensure that the hot issues are addressed as quickly as we can.


    • Daily Customer Service Reports and Weekly Live Meetings. Every day, in-game petitions are tallied up. The most common problems and the newest problems are sent over to the development team. Every week, the issues that remain unresolved are gone over in our weekly live meetings. Your interactions with GMs via petitions do make their way back to us, even if there may not be an instant solution to a specific problem.


    • Test Server Update Threads. Beginning this past week, every time we update Test Server (which will become more frequent), we will post the release notes to the Test Server Forums and start a feedback thread to ensure that everything we said we fixed is actually fixed, and that we don't break anything else in the process. Look for this to be an important tool in evaluating test server updates now and in the future. Our public Test Server is small, but it's growing. And it's importance to us that it will only grow over time.


    • In-Game /bug and /feedback Reports. These continue to be invaluable. We have an entire QA staff dedicated to evaluating these and ensuring that your reports are verified, and entered into our project tracking system for us to follow up on.


    • Playing and Participating. We play our own game and participate in the forums as often as we can. One would hope this is obvious, but I'll list it for completeness' sake. There's no substitute for first-hand knowledge and talking with others who play to ensure that the game remains fun.

    To sum up: if we open a means of communication, it's our responsibility to ensure that we close the feedback loop by making sure that we use that information and let you know exactly how that information gets to us.

    This is how issues in the live game get addressed. Information that you supply down these five avenues of feedback comes back to us. Week by week, you've been helping make EQ2 a better game whether you knew it or not. :)


    Big Groups, Small Groups, and the Group of One.

    With the help of your feedback starting from beta and through launch, we like to think that we've created an extremely solid, fun, and rewarding gameplay experience for balanced groups. That's no easy task, but we're aiming higher. There's no reason that an online game like EverQuest II can't be just as much fun for those who prefer to play solo or in small groups, and it doesn't have to be done at the detriment of the group experience.

    Playing a game with a small group of close friends that you bring with you, or being the solitary and introspective soul who just walks the earth (Like Kane…from Kung Fu) in an online world around other people, are both types of gameplay that are just as valid as the traditional forms of grouping and raiding. Those forms are more important than they've ever been in this era of past-generation hardcore gamers. People who just don't have the time they used to, but still want a rewarding game experience in the time that they do have.

    This generation of gamers is very different from those that have gone before. Many people out there (quite a few of us included) just don't have the large blocks of uninterrupted time that we used to. We still want to be able to come online, have fun, be challenged, and be rewarded for our efforts. Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they're the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were.

    EverQuest II is a big game that takes place in a big world. It's big enough to support this diverse set of playstyles in fun and satisfying ways. It's on us to make sure that happens. Grouping should be something that there's a high incentive to do. Choosing to not group shouldn't ever feel like punishment.

    That's an easy enough thing to say, and talk is cheap. (Typing promises on a web page on the internet is, arguably, cheaper.) Here's what we've done already, and what's going to be going on to get us closer to the goal.


    What's the Plan?

    Since launch, we've added dozens of new quests and hundreds of new NPCs all over the world, aimed at providing soloists and small groups with more interesting things out there to do. The overall goal has been to reduce the time it takes to find something enjoyable to do if you're in a less than ideal group. Expect the steady stream of additions like this to continue over the coming weeks and months. Whether you have a half hour by yourself or all night in a group, we want to make sure that EQ2 has something fun for you to do.

    In an update scheduled for tomorrow, expect significant solo and small group experience boosts across the board that allow for advancement that feels much more visible and satisfying. In the following weeks' updates, there will be new classes of creatures added to the game that present an increased challenge to soloers and small groups. Specific details will be posted in the notes accompanying the updates. Soloing shouldn't feel like a grind; it should be an exciting and fun style of play in its own right.

    In those same updates, brand new item rewards will be added for soloists and small-groupers. Some of the rewards that have been reserved solely for groups will also make their way, though more rarely, to the solo and small group encounters in the world.  At the same time, expect group rewards to improve as well. The chances for some of the group-only ultra-rare drops will be increased.

    In the weeks following that, expect new dungeon instances to be made available for those who solo, duo, and trio. Exciting dungeon crawling is a core part of what people love the most about online games, and it shouldn't be reserved solely for those who choose to play in full groups.

    Essentially, the way it should work is like this:

    Soloing and small grouping should be a way to advance at a satisfying rate. You should be able to earn good rewards that are exciting in their own right. Soloing and small grouping should also provide a chance at the great rewards that people might not expect in anything except the traditional six-person group.

    Grouping will still provide the fastest overall experience gain, but the advantage won't be as drastic as it is today. Grouping will also provide better chances at the spectacular ultra-rare rewards. This isn't a knee jerk reaction: After our designers measured what's been going on in the world, it is far from over-stuffed with ultra-rare rewards. There are actually fewer out there than we'd have expected, so making them appear somewhat more frequently than they currently are is just the right thing to do.


    You Mentioned New Instances. Is That the Adventure Pack?

    One natural question that occurs to people when we talk about making these kinds of changes to the game, especially when we start talking about new places to adventure, is that they assume we're talking about doing this for just the EQ2 Adventure Packs. That won't be the case. These instances will be available to everyone as a part of the live game, just like the others we've introduced for everyone over the past month.

    Answering that question provides a good opportunity to take a minute to talk about the live game in general. One question that's come up repeatedly in feedback is how the Adventure Packs will affect the live game of EverQuest II, and concerns that we'll be focusing less on the live game in favor of doing these packs. As Smed's already posted out on the boards, that's not the case.

    The Adventure Packs were an idea that our team proposed as a way to add places to see and things to do above and beyond the standard live game. One condition of this proposal was that we would receive additional team members so that we explicitly wouldn't have to dip into the EQ2 live or expansion teams to work on them, which was granted to us. The EverQuest II live game is our team's lifeblood, and everyone up the line is in complete agreement on that.

    Adventure Packs (and eventually Expansions) are cool additions to the world and its game systems. It is in no one's best interest -- yours, ours, or the game's -- to add premium elements without paying proper attention to the heart of the game.

    Speaking as a gamer, I like this approach because I play a lot of different online games and I prefer those that are well maintained, where the team responds as quickly as they can to problems and concerns in the world; where I get the feeling they're taking their live game as seriously as I am. Speaking as a developer and producer of online games, it just makes sense to keep your customers satisfied in the long term.

    When the heart of the game is cared for properly, everyone wins.

    We get it. :)


    What else has been going on?

    In addition to the changes I talked about above, you can also expect the next weeks' updates to include other new and interesting things in the world and changes to the game systems. Our goal with live updates is to make sure there's always something new to see or try, every week or two, in addition to sending forth a steady stream of fixes to the things that bother you the most (as we've been doing sometimes daily). We want to make sure you can plainly see that we're committed to keeping EQ2 as fresh as possible.

    We've already introduced our first free instances aimed at level 25-30 characters, The Condemned Catacomb and Gobblerock's Hideout. These instances are available to everyone who subscribes to EverQuest II, with no additional downloads.

    If you haven't been keeping up with the weekly updates to our official website (such as the article describing Guild Advancement), they're a great way to gain a deeper understanding of some of the things in the game that not everyone may be readily familiar with.

    We'll also soon be adding the ability to name your house pets, and will be following up on our commitment regarding Vitality in EverQuest II by adding easy to understand UI elements that will show you more clearly when it is that you're earning this bonus experience.

    Also coming up in the next few weeks will be a limited time offer to transfer your character to our new Test Server. For those who have played on Test Servers in other games and prefer both the more dynamic environment and being able to comment on and contribute to game changes in the weeks before they hit the rest of the live servers, we'll be offering you the chance to move over and come play on the more wild frontier of EverQuest II. We'll make sure to let you know on the boards when the time gets closer.

    Thank you very much for continuing to give our team the opportunity to prove our dedication to you. As always, without you, EverQuest II wouldn't even exist.

    Feel free to add your comments regarding this letter to the discussion thread on the official forums. I can't promise that all comments will be addressed, but as always, we're interested in hearing what you think.


    Warmest regards,

    Scott Hartsman (aka Gallenite)
    Senior Producer, EverQuest II

  • ZenNatureZenNature Member CommonPosts: 354

    Great post Wickes... You're one of the few posters I would look for in a discussion to see your opinion on things. It covered just about every complaint I think I ever heard (and I ever made) about EQ2 concisely and unoffensively.

    I firmly and decisively moved from EQ2 to WoW when I realized there was just no fun in it for me due to the same already-addressed issues and opinions in this post and others. Your post and the producer's letter had me raise an eyebrow though, and consider that the future of EQ2 might hold considerable improvement.

    To answer the original posters question in my own opinion, EQ2 became a terrible grind for me. I am a soloer at heart and don't like to be forced into groups (same reason I left FFXI) and I saw the same thing happening here upon reaching level 20+. I think my opinion of the grind would be vastly different if I was more of a group player because most, if not all, of the quests I have that seem like fun require groups either because of what I need to kill, or simply because the area it requires me to go is too dangerous on my own to succeed. That means when I want to solo once I reach the early 20's on, it means all I can do is go somewhere and kill one thing after another. No excitement in that at all when it was 3-4 kills for 1%. I'm very curious what the difference is now after the update though. If I felt like I was actually accomplishing some reasonable experience, I might enjoy exploring and just killing what I come across a lot more.

    WoW for me, had more entertaining and varied quest ideas, class/race diversity, freedom to group or solo anytime, anywhere, and an art style that kept me laughing instead of taking anything too seriously. That won it for me, and will unlikely release me to any other game for awhile.

    Another poster mentioned if you weren't content with EQ2 quests, then you wondered what exactly would one be content with? I can answer that... diversity. Not the same 'go here and kill x number of this creature' repeatedly forever. Any diversion from this typical quest template is rare in EQ2, while they are plentiful in WoW. I had to go around with a wooden beating stick and knock lazy peons on the head when they fell asleep on the job. I had to sabotage an ale company by exchanging the ale from their canister with anothers, but had to get the dwarf that stood guard completely drunk in order to achieve that. I had to dive in a river to search for a girl's lost necklace, the good samaritan that I am, when her parent's wouldn't let her go swimming in the water because of known dangers in the area. I am consistently asked to get something different or interestingly & intelligently related to the reward I am trying to acquire. I had a quest that asked me to take a scroll of mana-rift revealing and a magic containment device, travel to the local inn believed to have mana-rift distrubances, then use the two items to reveal the mana rift spawns, defeat them to temporarily paralyze them, then toss a containment device beneath them to imprison them and bring them back to the quest mage for investigation. Anybody see Ghostbusters? lol But it was incredibly fun regardless of it's unoriginality. It broke the mold of how quests typically pan out, and it continues to do so every new quest I get. That is what EQ2 never provided for me - something new, different, and entertaining around every corner.

    But I'll wait and see... Maybe EQ2 will improve a lot and add more solo content to call me back. Only time will tell, but for me at this moment, EQ2 just can't stand up to the fun Blizzard has successfully implemented.

  • claithclaith Member Posts: 86
    Ya right,Grouping sucs in EQ2,Soloing Sucs,the land mass in zones sucs severely,and its linear as hell,RPG companys like sony are whats screwing up the industry,people who buy those adventure packs and other crap they are alrdy paying for are fools,and i hope Sony fails and i hope all the fools paying them see the light someday.,
  • ScarisScaris Member UncommonPosts: 5,332


    Originally posted by ZenNature
    an eyebrow though, and consider that the future of EQ2 might hold considerable improvement.
    To answer the original posters question in my own opinion, EQ2 became a terrible grind for me. I am a soloer at heart and don't like to be forced into groups (same reason I left FFXI) and I saw the same thing happening here upon reaching level 20+. I think my opinion of the grind would be vastly different if I was more of a group player because most, if not all, of the quests I have that seem like fun require groups either because of what I need to kill, or simply because the area it requires me to go is too dangerous on my own to succeed. That means when I want to solo once I reach the early 20's on, it means all I can do is go somewhere and kill one thing after another. No excitement in that at all when it was 3-4 kills for 1%. I'm very curious what the difference is now after the update though. If I felt like I was actually accomplishing some reasonable experience, I might enjoy exploring and just killing what I come across a lot more.

    Reminds me of Morrowind. I loved that game too. Alot of EQ II quests are also exploration and I do love that part of it. They really push the players out to new places to keep them from getting bored in one spot too long.

    I never got to play WoW long enough to get a good idea of its questing. Its a game I plan on looking at later down the road. Sony All Access Pass pretty much killed WoW for me at the moment, it just made too much sense to pass up. I have been interested in SWG for some time, I currently play EQ 1, have since it was released, and I do love EQ II. I also have been interested in Planetside lately as something alittle less serious.

    I have been a huge warcraft fan since I bought version 1 a long long time ago so was rather appreciative of what they did with it graphically, I have no issue with its imagery at all. Once they get their server issues worked out you never know, I may be trying it again.

    Good questing! ::::20::

    - Scaris

    "What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World

  • ScarisScaris Member UncommonPosts: 5,332


    Originally posted by claith
    Ya right,Grouping sucs in EQ2,Soloing Sucs,the land mass in zones sucs severely,and its linear as hell,RPG companys like sony are whats screwing up the industry,people who buy those adventure packs and other crap they are alrdy paying for are fools,and i hope Sony fails and i hope all the fools paying them see the light someday.,


    Its really a shame this waste of a post landed right underneath Zen's excellent post. ::::05::

    - Scaris

    "What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World

  • claithclaith Member Posts: 86
    Oh yeah,the quest system is stupid,Most peeps don't have same quest,so if you need a group,you have to look for 30 -60 minutes to just find a couple peeps to do same quest you got,etc,etc.Game is all grind and alotta sitten around and waiting.Don't let these fanbois out there convince you its any quicker,cause they can make friends faster and such,they are fools.Also when you finally get to do an access quest,even if you fail,you can't do most for at least a week,another way for Sony to rip you off and restrict access to areas to rape you of more money...why else would they do that...balancing???Ya right!!They also are sellin bimonthly adventure packs for $5.oo a pop,content you should already be getting for your fee.Customer service is horrible,despite having an online system ,thats SUPPOSED to work,ya freakin right..i could keep going,but i'm sure you get the point,wonder why they just hired a new Senior producer...New ideas??ya,well....think its a bit late for that.,.
  • ScarisScaris Member UncommonPosts: 5,332

    no, actually I don't get any point from you and I really don't see anything accurate in what you said either.

    Ah yes, I feel so raped playing 5 games that I love for $22 a month. God give me some of that baby! ::::02::

    - Scaris

    "What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World

  • WickesWickes Member UncommonPosts: 749

    I did some testing this morning.  I had not actually tabulated it closely previously, but I do know it was taking me somewhere between 2.5 and 4 white or yellow kills soloing to get one percent exp gain at my cleric's level (22).  As of this morning, it is a solid one percent per two whites.  I think this is an excellent improvement, and just about right.  I do think the prior rate of gain was a bit demoralizing at times.

    As for quests, I'm sorry some of you guys have missed some of the variety, because it really seems quite varied to me ... honestly, I couldn't think of much else they could do.  I am finishing up one now where I had to collect some items and then get them to four spots to have them "blessed".  A couple of these spots are akin to driving thru Bagdad at my level, so it's been a hell of a good time (and I have not managed to complete one spot yet).  Overall, I get plenty of kill this or that, deliver this or that, go talk to somebody and return, harvest items, collect items from mobs, look for something and report back, find something and click it, find a place, etc. ... and what I really like is as I level up the quests are becoming more and more complex and involving more and more parts.  And then there's at least one which I think of as a "time trial" ... I haven't done it, but I understand the deal is you have to get to 4-5 spots on the map in 15 minutes, which I gather is a challenge.  I guess I just don't understand the complaint here.  Essentially every quest has some story attached - for those who like that ........ I don't read them =)

    As for claith (who is apparently unable even to insert spaces between sentences, thus putting his ability to do anything competently in question), the way you manage quests is to keep a large number open and if you can't find people to do a particular one at some given moment, simply do another one.  If you just sit there waiting, you're an idiot.

  • herculeshercules Member UncommonPosts: 4,925



    Originally posted by claith
    Oh yeah,the quest system is stupid,Most peeps don't have same quest,so if you need a group,you have to look for 30 -60 minutes to just find a couple peeps to do same quest you got,etc,etc.Game is all grind and alotta sitten around and waiting.Don't let these fanbois out there convince you its any quicker,cause they can make friends faster and such,they are fools.Also when you finally get to do an access quest,even if you fail,you can't do most for at least a week,another way for Sony to rip you off and restrict access to areas to rape you of more money...why else would they do that...balancing???Ya right!!They also are sellin bimonthly adventure packs for $5.oo a pop,content you should already be getting for your fee.Customer service is horrible,despite having an online system ,thats SUPPOSED to work,ya freakin right..i could keep going,but i'm sure you get the point,wonder why they just hired a new Senior producer...New ideas??ya,well....think its a bit late for that.,.


    Hmm most of your complaints does not even exist for me and many of us one word-a proper guild.And there are loads there.

    Of course no one will group with you for YOUR quest.Most have had their guild do it for them doh.

    Even now i rarely group even for exp since I do everything with my guildies that i understand much better.


     

  • ScarisScaris Member UncommonPosts: 5,332


    Originally posted by Wickes
    I did some testing this morning.  I had not actually tabulated it closely previously, but I do know it was taking me somewhere between 2.5 and 4 white or yellow kills soloing to get one percent exp gain at my cleric's level (22).  As of this morning, it is a solid one percent per two whites.  I think this is an excellent improvement, and just about right.  I do think the prior rate of gain was a bit demoralizing at times.
    As for quests, I'm sorry some of you guys have missed some of the variety, because it really seems quite varied to me ... honestly, I couldn't think of much else they could do.  I am finishing up one now where I had to collect some items and then get them to four spots to have them "blessed".  A couple of these spots are akin to driving thru Bagdad at my level, so it's been a hell of a good time (and I have not managed to complete one spot yet).  Overall, I get plenty of kill this or that, deliver this or that, go talk to somebody and return, harvest items, collect items from mobs, look for something and report back, find something and click it, find a place, etc. ... and what I really like is as I level up the quests are becoming more and more complex and involving more and more parts.  And then there's at least one which I think of as a "time trial" ... I haven't done it, but I understand the deal is you have to get to 4-5 spots on the map in 15 minutes, which I gather is a challenge.  I guess I just don't understand the complaint here.  Essentially every quest has some story attached - for those who like that ........ I don't read them =)
    As for claith (who is apparently unable even to insert spaces between sentences, thus putting his ability to do anything competently in question), the way you manage quests is to keep a large number open and if you can't find people to do a particular one at some given moment, simply do another one.  If you just sit there waiting, you're an idiot.


    The rock is a very good no combat quest that takes you around Oakmyst. I don't recall the real name of it, its a large rock on the overlook to the far end of the zone and it takes you all over the zone figuring out where you need to go next, finding landmarks.

    - Scaris

    "What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World

  • kieliakielia Member Posts: 52

    Not like it makes a difference, but the name of the quest is the Poem of the Forrest.

  • ScarisScaris Member UncommonPosts: 5,332


    Originally posted by kielia
    Not like it makes a difference, but the name of the quest is the Poem of the Forrest.

    DATS it! Thank you very much.

    - Scaris

    "What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World

  • RykerRyker Member UncommonPosts: 207
    If you like to solo, like you can in WOW , there is an extremely hugh grind. This game is not solo friendly. Grouping is still a big grind compared to WOW. Maybe with the upcoming changes the grinding will go down. EQ definitely has better graphics and combat animations and stuff but it feels to much like work. This is if you like games like WOW where you dont really have to worry about leveling
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