A few questions for a possible new player! Please reply.

PRforce97 · August 2010

Whats up people! I never played EQ1 or EQ2. I came across a copy of the latest EQ2 expansion The Sentinel"s Fate Collectors Edition for just $10 today. I thought it was a miss priced item since everywhere else I saw that it was priced at $45 so I grabbed it. I figured for $10 it would be worth trying it out since I would get the first 30 free anyways. I have a few questions though. I hear on some forums people saying that EQ2 isn't better then EQ1 but since I never played the first EQ I feel like I wont have anything to compare it too.

1. I have a high power pc rig so with this being an older game would it still look good on the highest settings?

2. With this whole extended free thing starting tomorrow how would it work after I install the game? Do I have to buy the game from the SOE website again even if I just got the actual box of the game? Is there an option to which kind of account I'm creating like the extended or monthly?

3. This question is more for people who play and pay the monthly fee. To get the best experience am I better off doing the free extended version or just stick with the actual monthly subscription? Which and please explain why if you can?

4. If I go with the monthly subscription which server would be better? Population wise, good community, non-pvp and grouping?

5. If I do decide to go with the monthly subscription route can I still create a new character and play on the free extended servers? If I can and decide I like the extended servers better can I cancel my monthly account and switch to the extended version and keep any characters I created on those free servers?

6. Is this game a good PvE game? I dont mind PvP but just like PvE more.

7. I know almost every mmo has some sort of grind once you hit the higher lvls but how is it in the game?

8. If I do go with the monthly subscription is there any guilds out there that would take a new player into their ranks? Please let me know if so and in which server. The name of the guild or a members ingame name that can help me get in the guild. I dont mind soloing but I play mmos to meet, talk and group with people not to play alone at all times and have no one to talk too.

I hope I get some replies soon. Thanks for you're time and help people. I look forward to see what you guys (or females) say.

nolic1 · August 2010

Read this it anserws most of your questions on EQ2x. Asfor best live server with alot of people is Antonica Bayle its the highest populated server for sub players why can say. thats about it heres a link to the extended FAQ.

http://everquest2.com/free_to_play/extended_faq

It will give you alot of info for the extended version.

Heres a link to the exxtended forums so you can see if there are any changes that might come throughout beta.

http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2x/forums/list.m

DarbiiRue · August 2010

Originally posted by PRforce97
Whats up people! I never played EQ1 or EQ2. I came across a copy of the latest EQ2 expansion The Sentinel"s Fate Collectors Edition for just $10 today. I thought it was a miss priced item since everywhere else I saw that it was priced at $45 so I grabbed it. I figured for $10 it would be worth trying it out since I would get the first 30 free anyways. I have a few questions though. I hear on some forums people saying that EQ2 isn't better then EQ1 but since I never played the first EQ I feel like I wont have anything to compare it too.

1. I have a high power pc rig so with this being an older game would it still look good on the highest settings?

Chances are, you can't play on the highest settings regardless of your PC. I have an amazing PC, but even some specs of that game, won't work on this computer. Unfortunately EQ2 is not optimized properly and therefore, you'll run into some roadblocks.

2. With this whole extended free thing starting tomorrow how would it work after I install the game? Do I have to buy the game from the SOE website again even if I just got the actual box of the game? Is there an option to which kind of account I'm creating like the extended or monthly?

As far as EQ2X goes, you can use the regular game that you have now, and play on either or, however if you have a subscription (a normal one) on Live, you do not get automatic "Gold" access on EQ2X. To play, similarly to how you would on the Live server, on X, you'd have to still pay $15 a month. EQ2X is incredibly gimped in terms of pricing and limitations.

3. This question is more for people who play and pay the monthly fee. To get the best experience am I better off doing the free extended version or just stick with the actual monthly subscription? Which and please explain why if you can?

Time will tell. Right now, Live is probably the way to go because at least you have the ability to transfer to X if the Live servers die off. If you start off on X, you have no options aside from rerolling, if this new plan of theirs tanks.

4. If I go with the monthly subscription which server would be better? Population wise, good community, non-pvp and grouping?

Antonia Bayle has the highest pop, but its also the "RP" server. If that bothers you, I think Crushbone and Nagafen are the other two highest.

5. If I do decide to go with the monthly subscription route can I still create a new character and play on the free extended servers? If I can and decide I like the extended servers better can I cancel my monthly account and switch to the extended version and keep any characters I created on those free servers?

Two options here: You can start on Live and pay $35 to have your Live character copied to the extended servers, or you can start on Extended but you can never move an extended character to the Live servers.

If you choose to play on Extended over Live, you can cancel your Live monthly account and either chill with Bronze/Silver or pay $15 a month like you do on Live, which offers you more things (like more then a few classes).

6. Is this game a good PvE game? I dont mind PvP but just like PvE more.

It's primarily PvE and it's very good for that. PvP, in my opinion, is not the best with EQ2.

7. I know almost every mmo has some sort of grind once you hit the higher lvls but how is it in the game?

I never felt like I was grinding, but I love to quest, so I just go from quest to quest. I guess thats quest grinding. :P

8. If I do go with the monthly subscription is there any guilds out there that would take a new player into their ranks? Please let me know if so and in which server. The name of the guild or a members ingame name that can help me get in the guild. I dont mind soloing but I play mmos to meet, talk and group with people not to play alone at all times and have no one to talk too.

Not my area.

I hope I get some replies soon. Thanks for you're time and help people. I look forward to see what you guys (or females) say.

arieste · August 2010

Originally posted by PRforce97

1. I have a high power pc rig so with this being an older game would it still look good on the highest settings?

Yes, EQ2, despite its age still looks better on max settings than a lot of MMOs today. The flipside is that it's terribly optimized due to having been so far ahead of its time that even on a high end rig, you may need to fiddle with settings to get it to run smooth. If the game is running poorly in some way, don't stress, just look it up on forums there are many very simple and minor tweaks you can do to improve it.

2. With this whole extended free thing starting tomorrow how would it work after I install the game? Do I have to buy the game from the SOE website again even if I just got the actual box of the game? Is there an option to which kind of account I'm creating like the extended or monthly?

No, if you have a box, you should have all expansions up to now and not have to buy the game. Oh and don't forget /claim! should be some nice goodies for you including a bear mount that levels up with you.

3. This question is more for people who play and pay the monthly fee. To get the best experience am I better off doing the free extended version or just stick with the actual monthly subscription? Which and please explain why if you can?

I've been playing for 6 years. The regular subscription model is absolutely better than EQ2x. Especially since you already bought the game. EQ2x is only good if you never plan to try the endgame or to pay for any part of the game ever. You can't transfer from EQ2x servers to normal ones either.

4. If I go with the monthly subscription which server would be better? Population wise, good community, non-pvp and grouping?

Antonia Bayle is the most populated server and the best for what you're looking for. There are a few others as well.

5. If I do decide to go with the monthly subscription route can I still create a new character and play on the free extended servers? If I can and decide I like the extended servers better can I cancel my monthly account and switch to the extended version and keep any characters I created on those free servers?

I am not 100% sure if you can transfer from regular to eq2x servers, i know you can't the other way. I suggest you play your free month on a regular server and then if you dislike the game enough that you don't want to pay but still like it enough to play 1-2 hours a week, you just roll a new character on EQ2x.

6. Is this game a good PvE game? I dont mind PvP but just like PvE more.

Yes. The strength of EQ2 is PvE in every way. There is tons of solo or soloable content (most of 1-90 is done solo these days. There is awesome group content (although most people are the level cap, so majority of grouping takes place at 90). And there is great raid content that is both accessible (you don't need to be a hardcore 8hrs a day / 7 days a week raider) yet challenging (it's easy to get into, but hard to do all of - great for all levels of dedication and skill). The PvP in EQ2 is terrible, so I recommend most people who want PvP to look elsewhere.

7. I know almost every mmo has some sort of grind once you hit the higher lvls but how is it in the game?

The "grind" in EQ2 these days is doing solo quests. If you like soloing and questing, it's paradise. If you prefer to get in a group and kill mobs for a couple of hours, it's your worst nightmare. The game is 6 years old and the developers understand that lower-mid levels are severely underpopulated, so they've made everything soloable and have made it much more efficient to level solo.

8. If I do go with the monthly subscription is there any guilds out there that would take a new player into their ranks? Please let me know if so and in which server. The name of the guild or a members ingame name that can help me get in the guild. I dont mind soloing but I play mmos to meet, talk and group with people not to play alone at all times and have no one to talk too.

There are guilds that take newbies. But they are generally not good ones. If i were you, i'd pick a populated server, play to about level 20 and then either guild up with people you run into that are helpful or lf guild in-game. It's really important to get on a populated server as you don't yet know what kind of guild you want in the long run and it's always good to have options if yours doesn't work out.

I hope I get some replies soon. Thanks for you're time and help people. I look forward to see what you guys (or females) say.

Also, I strongly suggest against playing any kind of Fighter or a Ranger as your first character. I'm not going to get into long details, but trust me that it'll just make your life really miserable in the long run.

Answers above, welcome to EQ2.

uquipu · August 2010

I have a fairly high end PC.
.
EQ2 runs poorly at times. I just turn the graphics down to low. If you PvP or do instances it's helpful. EQ2 recognizes this and makes adjusting your graphics easy so you can shift from high to low graphics quickly and painlessly.
.
This is one reason WoW crushed EQ2.

PRforce97 · August 2010

@ arieste

Also, I strongly suggest against playing any kind of Fighter or a Ranger as your first character. I'm not going to get into long details, but trust me that it'll just make your life really miserable in the long run.

What classes fall under the fighter class? I was looking in to rolling a DPS Warrior so if this class falls under fighter what other class would be a good for a new player? Also what area or faction would be good ( good or eveil) to start in? I also read that a new starting area from the first EQ called Halas has been added. Is this area resrticted to a certain faction if not is it selectable once I create my character? Thanks for the replies so far people. So far from what I hear from you guys I'm interested in starting the game today or tommorrow.

arieste · August 2010

Originally posted by PRforce97
@ arieste

Also, I strongly suggest against playing any kind of Fighter or a Ranger as your first character. I'm not going to get into long details, but trust me that it'll just make your life really miserable in the long run.

What classes fall under the fighter class? I was looking in to rolling a DPS Warrior so if this class falls under fighter what other class would be a good for a new player? Also what area or faction would be good ( good or eveil) to start in? I also read that a new starting area from the first EQ called Halas has been added. Is this area resrticted to a certain faction if not is it selectable once I create my character? Thanks for the replies so far people. So far from what I hear from you guys I'm interested in starting the game today or tommorrow.

Fighter / Tank classes are: Guardian, Berserker, Shadowknight, Paladin, Bruiser, Monk.

If you want a melee DPS - Brigand, Swashbuckler or Assassin are all good. Dirge and Troubador are bards, they're highly desired in groups, but in my opinion pretty boring to play. If you like mages, ANY of the mage classes are good. Same with healers, although Furies and Wardens are weaker, still decent and good for soloing.

Starting in Halas is a good idea as it's recently been added and people who're starting or rerolling are mainly starting there. It's a "good" city, so you'd have to be a Swashbuckler to start there. (you can do a somewhat cumbersome betrayal quest later in the game to switch from the good to evil version of your class or vice versa - Swashbuckler to Brigand or Ranger to Assassin. So if you really want to play an assassin, you can always start a Ranger, play through Halas (and maybe Kelethin) and then betray to Assassin. The first 20 levels or so of Ranger have minimal ranged attacks, so the gameplay is pretty similar.

The reason I urged you to stay away from fighter classes was not because they suck, but rather because they're very hard to succeed at. Guilds and groups have very high standards for tanks, requiring you to not only know what you're doing, but to have really good gear and upgraded spells at all times. Grouping in EQ2 is extremely tank-dependant, so if the tank is a newbie, it generally leads to group failing and they get tons of hate and very quickly. The competition is also very fierce and new people are at a disadvantage. The same isn't true for other classes, where people care a lot less - DPS doesn't drag groups down until you get to really high-level play.

PRforce97 · August 2010

@ arieste

Starting in Halas is a good idea as it's recently been added and people who're starting or rerolling are mainly starting there. It's a "good" city, so you'd have to be a Swashbuckler to start there. (you can do a somewhat cumbersome betrayal quest later in the game to switch from the good to evil version of your class or vice versa)

Why is the Halas starting area only for Swashbucklers? you also mentioned Ranger so can a Ranger start there? At what lvl can you do the betrayal quest and is it a quest I have go out my way to find or do you come across it normally and is it for every class or just the ones you mentioned? At what lvl can you get mounts and is it like WOW where you have to pay alot of money to learn the riding skill?

arieste · August 2010

Originally posted by PRforce97
@ arieste

Starting in Halas is a good idea as it's recently been added and people who're starting or rerolling are mainly starting there. It's a "good" city, so you'd have to be a Swashbuckler to start there. (you can do a somewhat cumbersome betrayal quest later in the game to switch from the good to evil version of your class or vice versa)

Why is the Halas starting area only for Swashbucklers? you also mentioned Ranger so can a Ranger start there? At what lvl can you do the betrayal quest and is it a quest I have go out my way to find or do you come across it normally and is it for every class or just the ones you mentioned? At what lvl can you get mounts and is it like WOW where you have to pay alot of money to learn the riding skill?

EQ2 Class System works like this:

(1) there are 4 Archetypes: Fighter, Mage, Priest, Scout).

(2) Each Archetype has 3 Classes: e.g. Scout has Bard, Rogue and Predator

(3) Each Class has 2 Subclasses (there are what's generally referred to as the final "Class" of character): Bard divides into Troubador and Dirge, Rogue into Swash and Brigand and Predator into Assassin and Ranger.

For each of the the Classes (#2 above) there are two that divide into Good and Evil versions and one that is neutral. So for Scouts, Bards are neutral - you can play either Troub or Dirge in any city, for Predators - Assassin is Evil and Ranger is Good, For Rogues - Swash is Good, Brigand is Evil. You can betray each of the Subclasses into the other subclass ( i.e. Ranger can betray to Assassin and vice versa, Troub to Dirge or Swash to Brig. But you CANNOT for example betray Assassin to Swashbuckler as they are different Classes.)

It sounds really confusing when i try to describe it, but it's really very simple once you get in-game. The betrayal quest can be done pretty early on and it has to do with grinding faction for the opposite city. It's not tons of fun, but it's not impossibly hard either. I know many people that have done it multiple times. You lose all your spell upgrades when you do which is the main downside, but at a low level this has zero implications as all your spells will upgrade anyway.

You can get a mount at any level and you do not need any skill for it. However, mounts have their own restrictions and some can't be used at low levels. They also increase in stats and speed with levels. Buying SF should include a free bear mount that will level up along with you and is actually quite good at high level. Depending on the version of game you bought, you may also get a cat mount - i'm not 100% which version had this. Do /claim when you get in game and look trhoguh the stuff available to you. Don't claim anything that is list as "1 per account", but anything listed as "1 per character" you can go ahead and check out as any characters you roll in future will get it too. (The bear mount is like this - you get for all characters).

CasualMaker · August 2010

There are two main factions in game: "good " and "evil". Some races and classes are specific to one side or the other, but through the betrayal quest you can have any race on either side.

There are four starting areas, 2 "good" and 2 "evil". It could be argued that it's really one each of "good" and "evil", with two neutrals that happen to be aligned with the other pair. Kelethin in Greater Faydark is definitely "good", and Neriak in the Darklight Woods is certainly "evil". You can no longer start in Qeynos (good) and Freeport (evil), but they are major cities and the de-facto capitals of the opposite sides. Gorowyn is aligned with the evil side, as Halas aligns to the good, but they are really more neutral in outlook. Despite their official alignments, players of the other side are able to quest there and are safe from guards in most areas.

arieste · August 2010

lol.. as of today's (literally like an hour ago) patch notes:

More classes are now neutral:

Neutral: Troubador, Dirge, Ranger, Assassin, Templar, Inquisitor, Fury, Warden, Coercer, Illusionist, Wizard, Warlock, Bruiser, Monk, Guardian, and Berserker

Good: Swashbuckler, Mystic, Conjurer, and Paladin

Evil: Brigand, Defiler, Necromancer, and Shadowknight

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A few questions for a possible new player! Please reply.

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