I will erase "SOE" from my memory and pretend they never existed if there's even an ounce of instancing in EQ Next.
I don't care and will never care about the so called "benefits" of instancing. As far as I'm concerned, there aren't any.
The second I enter an instance is the second I lose all immersion.
So incredibly sick and nauseated from all these instanced single player quest grinders. I can't take it anymore.
It's time for a renaissance, a revolution.
Keep it real SOE.
I agree completely. MMO is an MMO for a reason. WoW has taken the MMO genre and shifted more towards single player/multiplayer gaming with every patch.
But that is not the only thing that will ruin it for me. Linear play that holds your hand and pushes you from one area to the next (rift) is total shit. So far, the only thing i've been able to sink my teeth into to get any kind of enjoyment is Darkfall. I'm awaiting the next hardcore game. I can only hope, but have doubts, that SOE will go back to the roots and deliver another TRUE EQ (aka NOT eq2, not even close)
The neverending camps for quest mobs and such killed immersion too, but I still think there is a better way to go about fixing it than instanced dungeons.
As long as the new EQ starts you off with no direction, plops you in the world, kill hordes of rats to get to level 5, CC that is actual CC like EQ1, group dynamics and tactics like EQ1, AAs like EQ1 (not WoW's version of talents that completely change your role), open world raids and spawns (no instance) or at least instance raids that take thought and planning.....Then I'd be game.
As long as the new EQ starts you off with no direction, plops you in the world, kill hordes of rats to get to level 5
Sorry they actually want to keep players, not drive them away.
Originally posted by acidworm
I will erase "SOE" from my memory and pretend they never existed if there's even an ounce of instancing in EQ Next.
I don't care and will never care about the so called "benefits" of instancing. As far as I'm concerned, there aren't any.
The second I enter an instance is the second I lose all immersion.
So incredibly sick and nauseated from all these instanced single player quest grinders. I can't take it anymore.
It's time for a renaissance, a revolution.
Keep it real SOE.
Well since the whole world of any mmo would be considered a giant instance guess you better stop playing any of them, since they ruin your immersion so bad.
Youd almost think there were games out that played just olike old games.....oh ya there called those old games, if you want them go play them, get with teh times or give up mmos, its as simple as that.
Apparently stating the truth in my sig is "trolling" Sig typo fixed thanks to an observant stragen001.
As long as the new EQ starts you off with no direction, plops you in the world, kill hordes of rats to get to level 5, CC that is actual CC like EQ1, group dynamics and tactics like EQ1, AAs like EQ1 (not WoW's version of talents that completely change your role), open world raids and spawns (no instance) or at least instance raids that take thought and planning.....Then I'd be game.
ehh I dunno about the grinding mobs(rats or anything else) to level bit.It worked back when MMO's were young,it wont these days.
Times have moved on, WOW is the standard by which all games are now judged, its gameplay mechanics the norm and its player numbers the holy grail of all mmo developers. Now youre never gonna reach WOWs numbers or even get close to em, all developers know that, you cant emulate a cultural phenomena but you can try and copy what makes it so bloody good to play and attracts so many people back time and time again.
Have to admit when supreme commander 2 came out it had a look at Warcraft 3, and replicated it because it clearly was the only valid design around. You see my point?
1.Personally I think a good mix of the 2 would be great. Something along the lines (similiar) to what Aion did but with more content and areas to do it in..
I will use Aion as an example and what I mean is something like this. In your 30s you have Fire Temple the big "instanced dungeon" However you also have Ice Claw Village and Mist Mane which were open world elite areas. The only problem with Aion is thru your 30s there wasnt enough option and the big open world areas are hard to do because everyone is running the instance of fire temple because the probable reward of the weapon is just so much better.
That leads me to a 2nd point on how it wouldnt be exactly like Aion. If your going to have an instance make it a Quest oriented instance that you only run thru once to do the quest, for a certain reward and story background. Then open the dungeon up as "ZONE" that is open world much like old EQ dungeons. With completely different Bosses that are on world timers with place holders and all.
An approach like this would be great because you would get a story with the instanced version. Once you finished that you could just hunt there as a social hunting ground.
From what I have read about WOWs new phasing system something almost akin to that but being used to deal with dungeons.
2.Another thing I would love to seee implemented. I realize questing is not really a bad thing. It does help to describe the world around you. However Questing has been overdone in the MMOs. I hate having look thru dozens of quests in a quest journal. Most the quests are pointless anyway. I hope the questing they do put in place means something.. IE big story arc campaign quests are fine. However in order to get rid of the grindy go out and kill X number of mob quests. I would suggest looking to Guildwars Nightfall and use a system like they had in place.
It works like this. You go into an area a Guard in the area pretty much tells you they are having issues with lets say Orcs. As long as you stay in the area you recieve a buff in which that any orc you kill you get bonus XP.. Instead of the whole go out and kill 20 orcs and come back for reward. Just make it where its a buff you get as long as you stay in the area. Allowinging players to actually play the game instead of constantly running back and forth turning in quests to get yet another go out and kill X number of mob quest right behind it.
3. Organized Chaos and Roaming mobs... I am so tired of games having all the mobs stricly in one small area. I mean I can understand camps and such. But have mobs (not nessissarily of a given level) roam large expanses of land. Example of this would be Giants. That could end up stomping the snot out of lower level players because it has roamed into lower level hunting areas. Games these days are just to "safe". Its one of the reasons I like Aion (especially now that they fixed the rifting) It adds an element of danger because something your not expecting can come upon you during your adventure. Games these days are to organized and entirely to predictable.
1. I want a solid selection of classes, all the standard ones (Warrior, Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Druid, Rogue, Bard, Elementarist, Necromancer, Enchanter) plus some less common or experimental new ones (kind of like Blood Mage in Vanguard or Mesmer in Guild Wars).
Primary tank and healer classes should be able to compete with their peers, like in Vanguard. Real hybrids should only occur in the dps classes (like the drunken monk of Vanguard, the de facto offensive tank of the game).
Please avoid an completely overpowered Bard class in Vanguard. Having a Bard made a group so much more powerful, it wasnt funny at all, and that effect got only even worse on higher levels. Otherwise Bards are very fun with their individually designed songs.
I do NOT want to see classes which are enslaved by their primary task. Every class should have secondary tasks as well. Dont make healer classes which only look at hitpoints and sit down to improve mana regeneration when they dont need to heal. Like in Vanguard, sitting down has no effect, and Healer classes get active abilities they use on mobs to regain mana.
I would like to see unique abilities on all classes, like in EQ1 with teleport on mage and corpsecall on necromancer.
All classes should be able to work solo. Dont make classes that are forced to group. Dungeons shouldnt be soloable by anyone, no matter how skillfull they are.
All classes should stand a chance in PvP. At very least in a paper, rock, scissors system.
I consider the "not all races can choose all classes" clause stupid, impossible to justify, and superflous, but I can live with it.
2. I want a combat system that is at least as complex, dynamic and challenging as Vanguards. No mind numbing button mashing. Make people having to think what they do. Give them lots of special conditions they have to react on.
3. Harvesting like in Vanguard is not so good. I rather would like to see some system where harvest nodes pop at random, like in WoW, and you need some sort of skills to find them on the map. And the maps with ressources should be filled with mobs as well.
4. Just as mind numbing as Harvest was crafting in Vanguard. While the complexity of the Vanguard crafting was nice, I would prefer to see a system where you can avoid the extremely boring crafting leveling. I rather would like to see a system where you need many different classes to craft items - where the warrior/rogue classes basically provide the items for the base item and the magic classes provide the enchantment scrolls on top of it. Rather than repeat a "crafting game" over and over and over until your bleed out of eyes and ears, I would prefer to need adventuring level and getting special hard to get crafting recipes.
I would also like to see the enchanting and overenchanting idea implemented. You can always enchant an item even more, but you have an ever increasing chance to break it. Say the first three enchantments or something will be safe, but afterwards you have a 1/3 or so chance to break the item.
I do NOT want to see soulbound like in Vanguard again. Its OK for quest items, its OK as an option, but dont force it on everybody. It takes all the fun out of making the better item.
5. Diplomacy in Vanguard. Hmm. Ok the basic idea wasnt so bad. But I would prefer it if it was more individualized and questbased. A Highelf wouldnt need much diplomacy, everyone would respect and like them. A darkelf needs to gain the trust everywhere first. However, they would have to solve REAL QUESTS. No mind numbing mass slaughtering of mobs please.
For the record, the diplomacy card game of Vanguard was too simple. Very painful in the beginning, but higher level diplomats never needed to switch their card set any more.
6. Housing. Well theres a lot more options thinkable of than the ones in Vanguard, like having an own crafting station, own mailbox, being able to build more dynamically, etc. I heard other games have much better housing.
7. No problems with AA. Individualization is always nice to have.
8. Individualization rules. This includes btw the crafting. I would have liked to see more random and more personal influence. Like a crafter would choose ONE of the three continent styles and cant do the other two.
9. I fail to see the point of having instanced dungeons, but then overland bosses. I already said I dont like instancing. In fact I dont like the idea of quest items you have to have, which results in everyone (of the same class) running around in exactly the same gear.
When you create any wizard, they always look like this:
Strength - who cares
Dexterity - second or third most important stat, gives initiative and defense
Constitution - second or third most important stat, gives (a lot) hitpoints
Intelligence - most important stat, maximize
Wisdom - who cares
Charisma - who cares
Or for a fighter:
Strength - most important stat, except if you do a dualweapon build
Dexterity - needs to be exactly the right amount for whatever armor you're planning, or 13 for certain feats, or needs to be aggressively maxed for dualweapon build
Constitution - well, some points here wont hurt - in the end its not that important
Intelligence - needs to be 13 for certain important feats
Wisdom - who cares
Charisma - who cares
I.e. you dont really have much of a choice, you are actually just asked if you have a certain kind of knowledge.
Guild Wars already does it better, at least you get a class dependent list of stats.
What I really would want in this field however is a REAL choice, like, for a wizard:
Willpower - how hard your spells are to resist and how much damage they deal
Wisdom - how much mana you have and how much resistance against spells and casting disruption you possess
Intelligence - how fast you cast, how complex and many spells you can learn
Empathy - how strong your supportive spells are and how fast you regenerate your mana
Here I would actually have to think about what I rather would like to have, because I can get an advantage if I accept a disadvantage.
P.s.: Oh, and also: I really hate the idea of having to mechanically add new stat points every levelup. Just add the character level to the formulas, already.
I've been playing RPGs since the old Apple II days of the early 80s. I've played countless MUDs, MUSHes, etc. I've played the first graphical MMORPG called Meridian (no the first was not EQ1,) and all the crap from then to now.
One thing I will say is, there are enough hardcore players like myself for a game like EQ1 to be remade. If EQNext ended up being hardcore like EQ1, you'd have a ton of old players from EQ1 moving over to sub to EQNext. There are also games like Darkfall Online that contain another large group of hardcore players. If EQ Next had "PVP" done right from the start, with a sandbox feel, then many of that player base would find a new home in EQ Next as well.
What I am trying to say is that there is enough of a player base in the hardcore fantasy niche market to have a very profitable hardcore fantasy MMO. If any franchise can pull it off to bring all player bases together, it is the Everquest franchise.
Sadly, I doubt SOE will go this route. Even though I love both EQ1 and EQ2 I don't believe SOE will attempt to keep that player base. It makes perfect sense. The hardcore EQ player base is still playing EQ. The more casual player base is playing EQ2, and EQ2X now. So naturally EQNext is going to try to be a WOW killer to try to take that player base. Sad but true.
Anyways, for most of you wanting a sandbox feel with fear and mystery everywhere (albiet the PVE is not the greatest,) then try Darkfall Online.
I'll keep my hopes up for EQNext, but will be looking forward to GW2 in the near future.
Ohh and for the love of God, if any developers are reading this, NO MORE "ON RAILS" MMORPGs please!!! sf
Soe isn't a company aimed towards making games for niche markets anymore. They are quickly becoming a company that churns out browser, console and facebook style games. Their aim is at whatever currently has attracted the most users and trying to get those players.
I just cannot envision a scenario where EQNext will be a throwback to old gameplay styles or anything resembling the good old days. As much as I think that would be a winning formula in the next several years I fully suspect EQNext will be some bastardized version of free realms with everquest lore slapped on top of it.
Soe isn't a company aimed towards making games for niche markets anymore. They are quickly becoming a company that churns out browser, console and facebook style games. Their aim is at whatever currently has attracted the most users and trying to get those players.
I just cannot envision a scenario where EQNext will be a throwback to old gameplay styles or anything resembling the good old days. As much as I think that would be a winning formula in the next several years I fully suspect EQNext will be some bastardized version of free realms with everquest lore slapped on top of it.
Smed already stated EQ Next will not be anything like Freerealms, so that is good :P
why was EQ1 so great? it was great due to all these bad things people whined about. so people whined and the devs made EQ2 and WoW, a fully dull and refined theme-park. even EQ1 became worthless and boring after they "improved" it and fixed many of these "issues" with later expansions.
1. classes have been mostly unbalanced: e.g. warriors whined about not being able to solo like a necromancer and necs whined that in kunark era more then 1 nec in a raid was worthless. but classes had a meaning! they had exactly the role and the abilities such a class should have according to D&D or common sense about such fantasy classes. and finally a good player was always welcome.
2. mob encounters have been mostly unrefined: they simply put a group of mobs into an area whithout much thinking how to kill them or if every damn class had the same chances. players will figure it out. nowadays every mob is refined and there is mostly just 1 or 2 tactics to approach them. no challenge, repetitive and utterly boring.
3. pathing was horrible: if you entered a dungeon in the wrong manner, you most propably pulled the entire crowd. people have been upset. but on the other hand, you needed experience to manage the bugged pathing and a good player could do it. so experience had a meaning and you had to learn a dungeon before you have been able to really manage it!
4. players had to compete about mobs: i am talking especially about raid mobs. when we planned a raid, we placed scouts in the dungeons, watching if perhaps the spanish are comming while the guild was setting up. and if, there was a big rush to get to the spawn first. mostly it ended with some negotiations and a temporary partnership between 2 guilds. this way you learned a lot about other guilds and their people. in the endfight for my nec-epic about 6 guilds joined my fight. i have met them during such competitions and we made friends.
5. you could train: oooh boy, i hated them. but on the other hands it was a challenge. my best moments occured after such trains. we laughed a lot, even if it was mostly tragic. and finally, if you met an idiot in PVE, there was a tool to get rid of him.
6. you could killsteel: thats perhaps the one thing i hated most, but it hapenend not so often. however, if you compete about a spawn, bring 5 wizzards and the problem is solved. use your brain or talk to people and negotiate. to day there is no reason to talk to foreign people at all. and no need to use your brain, of course.
7. mobs didnt reset correctly: this was actually a bug, but they decided to not fix it, because players made a feature out of it. if you pulled a mob with snare and run out of range or feign death, this mob will keep staying apart of his camp. his buddies you pulled with him did reset immediately. this was the basic of at least 5 different pull techniques.
8. death was harsh: again i hated it, but i loved it. my best moments have been, when i tried to reach my corpse after a death, fully naked. that was adrenaline of its best. again i had to talk to other people for help and this builded community.
9. travelling needed time: no teleporters in these early expansions. you had to ask a friendly druid or wizzard or run. so you had to plan, where to go tommorrow and what to do and you had to prepare. and dont forget the spell you ding tomorrow in your bag. again it was a good idea to have friends amongst wizard and druids.
10. you could twink and powerlevel: who cares, honestly? if people have fun to twink and powerlevel, so let them do it. i remember when my level 20 warrior bought these 2 level 50 swords from a friend, i guess i fetched millions of arrows to get the gold. but man, that was a blast.
11. orientation was tricky: you got a map without anything but landscape on it. in the early days you even had to copy it from the internet. and then you had /north and /loc, thats it. if you like to know more, ask somebody. he will describe the way or even lead you and perhaps then even help you. this way you meet people an make friends. nowadays there is no need to talk to people.
well, i stop here, its would be easy to get a list of 20.
every f... game nowadays had fixed these issues, and the devs are proud of it. unfortunately this way they ruined the MMO genre. mostly all games since 2004 are missing immersion, versatility, community and challenge. and after all they are more or less the same. think about it devs, with every "issue" you solved, you castrated MMOs a bit. i am not against solving issues, but think about the consequences first and avoid them. you wiped communication and immersion with your fixes. and much more.
actually there is just 1 bug, i would like to see solved, like they actually did in later expansions: the hell levels. that was a bug in xp-calculation. tricky to fix, but finally they did it. however, even hell levels have been a bit charmy somtimes.
but regarding all the other 11 points: if you like to bring us EQ1 back Mr. Smedley, dont touch these 11 things, implement them more or less as they have been and you will get a new EQ1. if not, it will become just another dull theme park.
i am smiling, if i hear people crying, that they like EQ1 back. i would like it, but would YOU like to have these 11 EQ-defining features back?
Yes I do want all of these oldschool features back. I want a game where even the journey is full of danger, exploration because I am so sick of handholding and tutorials, instances all that crap doesn't belong in a real MMORPG. I agree Aion had a great mixture of instances and free group areas but for myself instances are a no go in the greatest game ever made, called Everquest 1.
I don[object Window]t believe anything coming out of Smedleys bigmouth but I think companies are starting to realize, that there is an oldschool niche market, the masses will play their [object Window]aimed for the facebook and kids crowd[object Window] walk in the park, the more serious gamers are looking for something different.
[object Window]
We need a MMORPG Cataclysm asap, finish the dark age of MMORPGS now!
"Everything you're bitching about is wrong. People don't have the time to invest in corpse runs, impossible zones, or long winded quests. Sometimes, they just want to pop on and play." "Then maybe MMORPGs aren't for you."
why was EQ1 so great? it was great due to all these bad things people whined about. so people whined and the devs made EQ2 and WoW, a fully dull and refined theme-park. even EQ1 became worthless and boring after they "improved" it and fixed many of these "issues" with later expansions.
1. classes have been mostly unbalanced: e.g. warriors whined about not being able to solo like a necromancer and necs whined that in kunark era more then 1 nec in a raid was worthless. but classes had a meaning! they had exactly the role and the abilities such a class should have according to D&D or common sense about such fantasy classes. and finally a good player was always welcome.
well... classes had meaning till they started giving out abilities that are class defining to other classes:D how many years did they tell enchanters that they cant have illusion because there wasnt enough vid memory? and bam they started giving out illusion to everybody and their grandma with a CC# if you actually sat down and count the number of classes that share their class defining ability with others, you'd realize there arent really any classes left in EQ, everybody is a hybrid:D
2. mob encounters have been mostly unrefined: they simply put a group of mobs into an area whithout much thinking how to kill them or if every damn class had the same chances. players will figure it out. nowadays every mob is refined and there is mostly just 1 or 2 tactics to approach them. no challenge, repetitive and utterly boring.
actually, everything comes down to puller/cc system in eq. no other real way of dealing with them thats different then other games. just as repetitive.
3. pathing was horrible: if you entered a dungeon in the wrong manner, you most propably pulled the entire crowd. people have been upset. but on the other hand, you needed experience to manage the bugged pathing and a good player could do it. so experience had a meaning and you had to learn a dungeon before you have been able to really manage it!
wiping to path bug isnt fun. but once managed, it's no different then any camp that doesnt have the path bug. just minor annoyance.
4. players had to compete about mobs: i am talking especially about raid mobs. when we planned a raid, we placed scouts in the dungeons, watching if perhaps the spanish are comming while the guild was setting up. and if, there was a big rush to get to the spawn first. mostly it ended with some negotiations and a temporary partnership between 2 guilds. this way you learned a lot about other guilds and their people. in the endfight for my nec-epic about 6 guilds joined my fight. i have met them during such competitions and we made friends.
well, I guess you never camped for ragefire and have it ganked from under you after camping it for 4 days straight. if you think thats fun, you can have it(all by yourself for another 4 days of camping:D)
5. you could train: oooh boy, i hated them. but on the other hands it was a challenge. my best moments occured after such trains. we laughed a lot, even if it was mostly tragic. and finally, if you met an idiot in PVE, there was a tool to get rid of him.
training is fun, till you actually want to get something accomplished. then the griefers really gets on your nerve and make you decide that EQ isnt worth your time:D PKing using trains is especially fun since you can cause repeated xp death to your target....
6. you could killsteel: thats perhaps the one thing i hated most, but it hapenend not so often. however, if you compete about a spawn, bring 5 wizzards and the problem is solved. use your brain or talk to people and negotiate. to day there is no reason to talk to foreign people at all. and no need to use your brain, of course.
yah KS is fun too, till you got your epic mob KS'ed by someone else who did it just to be a d1ck:D cockblock i believe is the term of the day here:D I guess in your imaginary server, there arent any griefers:D
7. mobs didnt reset correctly: this was actually a bug, but they decided to not fix it, because players made a feature out of it. if you pulled a mob with snare and run out of range or feign death, this mob will keep staying apart of his camp. his buddies you pulled with him did reset immediately. this was the basic of at least 5 different pull techniques.
feign pull wasnt really a bug, it was part of the game mechanics that they decide not to fix because by the time they acknologed it as a bug, it had already became a class defining ability for monks. besides, fade pull was much more effective after bards got their boost before they killed the class.
8. death was harsh: again i hated it, but i loved it. my best moments have been, when i tried to reach my corpse after a death, fully naked. that was adrenaline of its best. again i had to talk to other people for help and this builded community.
thats why everybody and their grandma had a cleric bot on their 2nd acct:D most even did the epic1 on their bot just so they'd have it:D
9. travelling needed time: no teleporters in these early expansions. you had to ask a friendly druid or wizzard or run. so you had to plan, where to go tommorrow and what to do and you had to prepare. and dont forget the spell you ding tomorrow in your bag. again it was a good idea to have friends amongst wizard and druids.
riiight... you and maybe 2 people who ever played EQ that actually enjoyed the stuid boat ride through OOT I guess the 1 hr LFG wasnt enough waste of time that you have to wait another 2 hrs for people to RUN their arse through 8 different zones to get to the camp spot:D
10. you could twink and powerlevel: who cares, honestly? if people have fun to twink and powerlevel, so let them do it. i remember when my level 20 warrior bought these 2 level 50 swords from a friend, i guess i fetched millions of arrows to get the gold. but man, that was a blast.
my warrior was born with about 4 million plats worth of gear:D and he was "POWER" leveled:D I think it was lvl 60 with like 1 day of /played:D twinking was kinda fun, but it only last so long
11. orientation was tricky: you got a map without anything but landscape on it. in the early days you even had to copy it from the internet. and then you had /north and /loc, thats it. if you like to know more, ask somebody. he will describe the way or even lead you and perhaps then even help you. this way you meet people an make friends. nowadays there is no need to talk to people.
again, was interesting for about 10min worth of gameplay then you pretty much got sick and tire of it cuz you are lost in CB with 15 orcs chasing after you
well, i stop here, its would be easy to get a list of 20.
every f... game nowadays had fixed these issues, and the devs are proud of it. unfortunately this way they ruined the MMO genre. mostly all games since 2004 are missing immersion, versatility, community and challenge. and after all they are more or less the same. think about it devs, with every "issue" you solved, you castrated MMOs a bit. i am not against solving issues, but think about the consequences first and avoid them. you wiped communication and immersion with your fixes. and much more.
actually there is just 1 bug, i would like to see solved, like they actually did in later expansions: the hell levels. that was a bug in xp-calculation. tricky to fix, but finally they did it. however, even hell levels have been a bit charmy somtimes.
but regarding all the other 11 points: if you like to bring us EQ1 back Mr. Smedley, dont touch these 11 things, implement them more or less as they have been and you will get a new EQ1. if not, it will become just another dull theme park.
i am smiling, if i hear people crying, that they like EQ1 back. i would like it, but would YOU like to have these 11 EQ-defining features back?
The problem is you had maybe less then 100 days of /played on your EQ account so you dont understand why some of the fixes were put into the game. MMORPG is supposed to bring people together and group together, not make grouping a chore and something to be dreaded. not everyone has 4 hrs to waste on TRYING to get a group together every time they log into EQ and PUG's arent exactly the most reliable way of getting things done since there were still alot of idiots out there.
I agree with the vast majority of the posters on this thread who want a return to the old skool feel of EQ1 with a few minor tweaks to improve upon that experience, but essentially wish the gameplay to remain the same - or thereabouts. I suspect the differences between us will be:
1. what constitutes a tweak e.g. mob AI, classes and roles, combat, instancing, questing, spawn rates etc
2. the extent / range of these tweaks
It will be the 2nd that will really determine if old skool players are turned on/off by EQ Next. For any affidavit, I'm neutral on instancing as it is a game-mechanic; like any other game-mechanic, it's purpose and how it is implemented [execution] is more important (IMHO). Snap PvP, snap item-shop (for purely fluff, cosmetic stuff). The only game-mechanic that I am prejudiced towards is insta-travel. It reduces world-size, ruins immersion and atomizes the community. Fast travel, yes; insta-travel, no (IMHO, of course).
I enjoyed instancing (questing) in LOTRO by and large. What ruined it for me was dumbing down quests by removing the challenge from some of the dungeons; adding a solo option for group quests signalled my sub cancellation. I want the old skool challenge, of a large, open world (with instances where necessary and appropriate e.g. Ragefire, some portions of quests and Epic Quests - maybe Planar zones?) where I am free to explore, and free to get my ass handed to me (thirty-two flavours and then some).
Corpse runs? Hell yeah! Possibility of permanent corpse loss? Hell yeah! Zones / mobs that will smack you HARD back to your bind spot? Hell yeah! Training players in CT? Hell yeah! (did I just say that out loud!?)
Yet, it was the players whom I met on my travels, forming friendships, buying / selling in EC Tunnel, chatting whilst waiting for the boat from BB to FP, camp checking, dungeon crawling, etc, that really made the game. Those friendships which resulted in too many nights without sleep, so you could keep your buddy company whilst waiting for his/her quest or Epic quest mob to spawn, yada yada yada.
Another poster had it spot on when he/she stated that he/she just wished that SOE had the cojones to target a specific market segment - namely EQ1 players, or rather those players who shared a similar ethos - and stick to their vision (think CCP) rather than dilute their game to be everything to everyone.
Despite all the encouraging sounds from SOE, I don't believe a word Smed says. His track record - as does SOE's - speaks for itself. In other words, I don't expect to be playing EQ Next. Regards
"If you think I'm plucky and scrappy and all I need is love, you're in way over your head. I don't have a heart of gold or get nice. There are a lot nicer people coming up. We call them losers."
I hope EQnext is a combo of Vanguard and EQ1 with nice graphics. That would be my dream MMO. To me Vanguard had alot of promise and so much depth to the game. It almost reminded me of a 3D Utlima Online which is another game with a lot of depth. Any game let's you command a ship of your own that you built from nothing to something is a winner too me.
All I've ever wanted is to see EQ1 recieve a complete graphics overhaul, even leaning towards something WoWesque in style.
EQNext might just realise that concept, and it sounds as if SoE are starting to see the benefits of lowering system specs, what with Free Realms and Clone Wars.
There is enough content in EQ1 to keep anyone happy, and just like Cataclysm, redoing the entire game world will give the impression your playing something entirely new.
why was EQ1 so great? it was great due to all these bad things people whined about. so people whined and the devs made EQ2 and WoW, a fully dull and refined theme-park. even EQ1 became worthless and boring after they "improved" it and fixed many of these "issues" with later expansions.
1. classes have been mostly unbalanced: [...]
2. mob encounters have been mostly unrefined: [...]
3. pathing was horrible: [...]
4. players had to compete about mobs: [...]
5. you could train: [...]
6. you could killsteel: [...]
7. mobs didnt reset correctly: [...]
8. death was harsh: [...]
9. travelling needed time: [...]
10. you could twink and powerlevel: [...]
11. orientation was tricky: [...]
Uh.
I dont think "unbalanced classes" is really what you want. If class A sucks and class B is better in every respect, the game just sucks. For every disadvantage a person gets, you need to give them an advantage as compensation.
So what you really seem to want is HARSH differences. Make every class have a HUGE advantage in SOME field.
Same for the rest of your list.
It all reminds me really of Baldurs Gate vs Neverwinter Nights / Dragon Age. The later are so "balanced". That also means opponents never have really harsh advantages.
That especially means Baldurs Gate mages where FEARSOME opponents.
While NWN and DA mages, meh.
NWN mages only needed ONE strategy: hack them, and hack them even harder. Thats all you needed to do.
DA mages arent much more complex, though at least you need another mage to fight a DA mage.
I would never claim D&D3 is not an improvement over AD&D - but it lost in harshness and tried too much for balancing everything against everything else. Thats way sad.
I hope EQnext is a combo of Vanguard and EQ1 with nice graphics. That would be my dream MMO. To me Vanguard had alot of promise and so much depth to the game. It almost reminded me of a 3D Utlima Online which is another game with a lot of depth. Any game let's you command a ship of your own that you built from nothing to something is a winner too me.
I'd like to also see better PvP (esp castle sieges), Overenchantment and more Sandbox Elements in EQN.
I hope EQnext is a combo of Vanguard and EQ1 with nice graphics. That would be my dream MMO. To me Vanguard had alot of promise and so much depth to the game. It almost reminded me of a 3D Utlima Online which is another game with a lot of depth. Any game let's you command a ship of your own that you built from nothing to something is a winner too me.
I'd like to also see better PvP (esp castle sieges), Overenchantment and more Sandbox Elements in EQN.
If it should be my "dream MMO", anyway.
Give us the best of both worlds.
I would also like them to add a feature like GW2 is doing were your attacks could work off each others ( mage lays down a wall of fire/ ranger shots arrows through it causing there arrows to catch fire). Castle sirges would be nice where your guild controls the castle and reaps benifits for it and the longer you hold it the better the rewards but, they would have to put some kind of restriction on it like you could only have a keep for a week and then they reset them to all be free again for other guilds takeing.
Comments
Camp check plz?
I agree completely. MMO is an MMO for a reason. WoW has taken the MMO genre and shifted more towards single player/multiplayer gaming with every patch.
But that is not the only thing that will ruin it for me. Linear play that holds your hand and pushes you from one area to the next (rift) is total shit. So far, the only thing i've been able to sink my teeth into to get any kind of enjoyment is Darkfall. I'm awaiting the next hardcore game. I can only hope, but have doubts, that SOE will go back to the roots and deliver another TRUE EQ (aka NOT eq2, not even close)
Rofl!! Now THAT brings back memories
The neverending camps for quest mobs and such killed immersion too, but I still think there is a better way to go about fixing it than instanced dungeons.
As long as the new EQ starts you off with no direction, plops you in the world, kill hordes of rats to get to level 5, CC that is actual CC like EQ1, group dynamics and tactics like EQ1, AAs like EQ1 (not WoW's version of talents that completely change your role), open world raids and spawns (no instance) or at least instance raids that take thought and planning.....Then I'd be game.
Sorry they actually want to keep players, not drive them away.
Well since the whole world of any mmo would be considered a giant instance guess you better stop playing any of them, since they ruin your immersion so bad.
Youd almost think there were games out that played just olike old games.....oh ya there called those old games, if you want them go play them, get with teh times or give up mmos, its as simple as that.
Apparently stating the truth in my sig is "trolling"
Sig typo fixed thanks to an observant stragen001.
ehh I dunno about the grinding mobs(rats or anything else) to level bit.It worked back when MMO's were young,it wont these days.
Have to admit when supreme commander 2 came out it had a look at Warcraft 3, and replicated it because it clearly was the only valid design around. You see my point?
1.Personally I think a good mix of the 2 would be great. Something along the lines (similiar) to what Aion did but with more content and areas to do it in..
I will use Aion as an example and what I mean is something like this. In your 30s you have Fire Temple the big "instanced dungeon" However you also have Ice Claw Village and Mist Mane which were open world elite areas. The only problem with Aion is thru your 30s there wasnt enough option and the big open world areas are hard to do because everyone is running the instance of fire temple because the probable reward of the weapon is just so much better.
That leads me to a 2nd point on how it wouldnt be exactly like Aion. If your going to have an instance make it a Quest oriented instance that you only run thru once to do the quest, for a certain reward and story background. Then open the dungeon up as "ZONE" that is open world much like old EQ dungeons. With completely different Bosses that are on world timers with place holders and all.
An approach like this would be great because you would get a story with the instanced version. Once you finished that you could just hunt there as a social hunting ground.
From what I have read about WOWs new phasing system something almost akin to that but being used to deal with dungeons.
2.Another thing I would love to seee implemented. I realize questing is not really a bad thing. It does help to describe the world around you. However Questing has been overdone in the MMOs. I hate having look thru dozens of quests in a quest journal. Most the quests are pointless anyway. I hope the questing they do put in place means something.. IE big story arc campaign quests are fine. However in order to get rid of the grindy go out and kill X number of mob quests. I would suggest looking to Guildwars Nightfall and use a system like they had in place.
It works like this. You go into an area a Guard in the area pretty much tells you they are having issues with lets say Orcs. As long as you stay in the area you recieve a buff in which that any orc you kill you get bonus XP.. Instead of the whole go out and kill 20 orcs and come back for reward. Just make it where its a buff you get as long as you stay in the area. Allowinging players to actually play the game instead of constantly running back and forth turning in quests to get yet another go out and kill X number of mob quest right behind it.
3. Organized Chaos and Roaming mobs... I am so tired of games having all the mobs stricly in one small area. I mean I can understand camps and such. But have mobs (not nessissarily of a given level) roam large expanses of land. Example of this would be Giants. That could end up stomping the snot out of lower level players because it has roamed into lower level hunting areas. Games these days are just to "safe". Its one of the reasons I like Aion (especially now that they fixed the rifting) It adds an element of danger because something your not expecting can come upon you during your adventure. Games these days are to organized and entirely to predictable.
Ok my own stance to this ...
1. I want a solid selection of classes, all the standard ones (Warrior, Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Druid, Rogue, Bard, Elementarist, Necromancer, Enchanter) plus some less common or experimental new ones (kind of like Blood Mage in Vanguard or Mesmer in Guild Wars).
Primary tank and healer classes should be able to compete with their peers, like in Vanguard. Real hybrids should only occur in the dps classes (like the drunken monk of Vanguard, the de facto offensive tank of the game).
Please avoid an completely overpowered Bard class in Vanguard. Having a Bard made a group so much more powerful, it wasnt funny at all, and that effect got only even worse on higher levels. Otherwise Bards are very fun with their individually designed songs.
I do NOT want to see classes which are enslaved by their primary task. Every class should have secondary tasks as well. Dont make healer classes which only look at hitpoints and sit down to improve mana regeneration when they dont need to heal. Like in Vanguard, sitting down has no effect, and Healer classes get active abilities they use on mobs to regain mana.
I would like to see unique abilities on all classes, like in EQ1 with teleport on mage and corpsecall on necromancer.
All classes should be able to work solo. Dont make classes that are forced to group. Dungeons shouldnt be soloable by anyone, no matter how skillfull they are.
All classes should stand a chance in PvP. At very least in a paper, rock, scissors system.
I consider the "not all races can choose all classes" clause stupid, impossible to justify, and superflous, but I can live with it.
2. I want a combat system that is at least as complex, dynamic and challenging as Vanguards. No mind numbing button mashing. Make people having to think what they do. Give them lots of special conditions they have to react on.
3. Harvesting like in Vanguard is not so good. I rather would like to see some system where harvest nodes pop at random, like in WoW, and you need some sort of skills to find them on the map. And the maps with ressources should be filled with mobs as well.
4. Just as mind numbing as Harvest was crafting in Vanguard. While the complexity of the Vanguard crafting was nice, I would prefer to see a system where you can avoid the extremely boring crafting leveling. I rather would like to see a system where you need many different classes to craft items - where the warrior/rogue classes basically provide the items for the base item and the magic classes provide the enchantment scrolls on top of it. Rather than repeat a "crafting game" over and over and over until your bleed out of eyes and ears, I would prefer to need adventuring level and getting special hard to get crafting recipes.
I would also like to see the enchanting and overenchanting idea implemented. You can always enchant an item even more, but you have an ever increasing chance to break it. Say the first three enchantments or something will be safe, but afterwards you have a 1/3 or so chance to break the item.
I do NOT want to see soulbound like in Vanguard again. Its OK for quest items, its OK as an option, but dont force it on everybody. It takes all the fun out of making the better item.
5. Diplomacy in Vanguard. Hmm. Ok the basic idea wasnt so bad. But I would prefer it if it was more individualized and questbased. A Highelf wouldnt need much diplomacy, everyone would respect and like them. A darkelf needs to gain the trust everywhere first. However, they would have to solve REAL QUESTS. No mind numbing mass slaughtering of mobs please.
For the record, the diplomacy card game of Vanguard was too simple. Very painful in the beginning, but higher level diplomats never needed to switch their card set any more.
6. Housing. Well theres a lot more options thinkable of than the ones in Vanguard, like having an own crafting station, own mailbox, being able to build more dynamically, etc. I heard other games have much better housing.
7. No problems with AA. Individualization is always nice to have.
8. Individualization rules. This includes btw the crafting. I would have liked to see more random and more personal influence. Like a crafter would choose ONE of the three continent styles and cant do the other two.
9. I fail to see the point of having instanced dungeons, but then overland bosses. I already said I dont like instancing. In fact I dont like the idea of quest items you have to have, which results in everyone (of the same class) running around in exactly the same gear.
Oh, and about stats, in D&D 3.x terms:
When you create any wizard, they always look like this:
Strength - who cares
Dexterity - second or third most important stat, gives initiative and defense
Constitution - second or third most important stat, gives (a lot) hitpoints
Intelligence - most important stat, maximize
Wisdom - who cares
Charisma - who cares
Or for a fighter:
Strength - most important stat, except if you do a dualweapon build
Dexterity - needs to be exactly the right amount for whatever armor you're planning, or 13 for certain feats, or needs to be aggressively maxed for dualweapon build
Constitution - well, some points here wont hurt - in the end its not that important
Intelligence - needs to be 13 for certain important feats
Wisdom - who cares
Charisma - who cares
I.e. you dont really have much of a choice, you are actually just asked if you have a certain kind of knowledge.
Guild Wars already does it better, at least you get a class dependent list of stats.
What I really would want in this field however is a REAL choice, like, for a wizard:
Willpower - how hard your spells are to resist and how much damage they deal
Wisdom - how much mana you have and how much resistance against spells and casting disruption you possess
Intelligence - how fast you cast, how complex and many spells you can learn
Empathy - how strong your supportive spells are and how fast you regenerate your mana
Here I would actually have to think about what I rather would like to have, because I can get an advantage if I accept a disadvantage.
P.s.: Oh, and also: I really hate the idea of having to mechanically add new stat points every levelup. Just add the character level to the formulas, already.
I've been playing RPGs since the old Apple II days of the early 80s. I've played countless MUDs, MUSHes, etc. I've played the first graphical MMORPG called Meridian (no the first was not EQ1,) and all the crap from then to now.
One thing I will say is, there are enough hardcore players like myself for a game like EQ1 to be remade. If EQNext ended up being hardcore like EQ1, you'd have a ton of old players from EQ1 moving over to sub to EQNext. There are also games like Darkfall Online that contain another large group of hardcore players. If EQ Next had "PVP" done right from the start, with a sandbox feel, then many of that player base would find a new home in EQ Next as well.
What I am trying to say is that there is enough of a player base in the hardcore fantasy niche market to have a very profitable hardcore fantasy MMO. If any franchise can pull it off to bring all player bases together, it is the Everquest franchise.
Sadly, I doubt SOE will go this route. Even though I love both EQ1 and EQ2 I don't believe SOE will attempt to keep that player base. It makes perfect sense. The hardcore EQ player base is still playing EQ. The more casual player base is playing EQ2, and EQ2X now. So naturally EQNext is going to try to be a WOW killer to try to take that player base. Sad but true.
Anyways, for most of you wanting a sandbox feel with fear and mystery everywhere (albiet the PVE is not the greatest,) then try Darkfall Online.
I'll keep my hopes up for EQNext, but will be looking forward to GW2 in the near future.
Ohh and for the love of God, if any developers are reading this, NO MORE "ON RAILS" MMORPGs please!!!
sf
Soe isn't a company aimed towards making games for niche markets anymore. They are quickly becoming a company that churns out browser, console and facebook style games. Their aim is at whatever currently has attracted the most users and trying to get those players.
I just cannot envision a scenario where EQNext will be a throwback to old gameplay styles or anything resembling the good old days. As much as I think that would be a winning formula in the next several years I fully suspect EQNext will be some bastardized version of free realms with everquest lore slapped on top of it.
That would just flat out make me weep.
Smed already stated EQ Next will not be anything like Freerealms, so that is good :P
Smed says a lot of things.
why was EQ1 so great? it was great due to all these bad things people whined about. so people whined and the devs made EQ2 and WoW, a fully dull and refined theme-park. even EQ1 became worthless and boring after they "improved" it and fixed many of these "issues" with later expansions.
1. classes have been mostly unbalanced: e.g. warriors whined about not being able to solo like a necromancer and necs whined that in kunark era more then 1 nec in a raid was worthless. but classes had a meaning! they had exactly the role and the abilities such a class should have according to D&D or common sense about such fantasy classes. and finally a good player was always welcome.
2. mob encounters have been mostly unrefined: they simply put a group of mobs into an area whithout much thinking how to kill them or if every damn class had the same chances. players will figure it out. nowadays every mob is refined and there is mostly just 1 or 2 tactics to approach them. no challenge, repetitive and utterly boring.
3. pathing was horrible: if you entered a dungeon in the wrong manner, you most propably pulled the entire crowd. people have been upset. but on the other hand, you needed experience to manage the bugged pathing and a good player could do it. so experience had a meaning and you had to learn a dungeon before you have been able to really manage it!
4. players had to compete about mobs: i am talking especially about raid mobs. when we planned a raid, we placed scouts in the dungeons, watching if perhaps the spanish are comming while the guild was setting up. and if, there was a big rush to get to the spawn first. mostly it ended with some negotiations and a temporary partnership between 2 guilds. this way you learned a lot about other guilds and their people. in the endfight for my nec-epic about 6 guilds joined my fight. i have met them during such competitions and we made friends.
5. you could train: oooh boy, i hated them. but on the other hands it was a challenge. my best moments occured after such trains. we laughed a lot, even if it was mostly tragic. and finally, if you met an idiot in PVE, there was a tool to get rid of him.
6. you could killsteel: thats perhaps the one thing i hated most, but it hapenend not so often. however, if you compete about a spawn, bring 5 wizzards and the problem is solved. use your brain or talk to people and negotiate. to day there is no reason to talk to foreign people at all. and no need to use your brain, of course.
7. mobs didnt reset correctly: this was actually a bug, but they decided to not fix it, because players made a feature out of it. if you pulled a mob with snare and run out of range or feign death, this mob will keep staying apart of his camp. his buddies you pulled with him did reset immediately. this was the basic of at least 5 different pull techniques.
8. death was harsh: again i hated it, but i loved it. my best moments have been, when i tried to reach my corpse after a death, fully naked. that was adrenaline of its best. again i had to talk to other people for help and this builded community.
9. travelling needed time: no teleporters in these early expansions. you had to ask a friendly druid or wizzard or run. so you had to plan, where to go tommorrow and what to do and you had to prepare. and dont forget the spell you ding tomorrow in your bag. again it was a good idea to have friends amongst wizard and druids.
10. you could twink and powerlevel: who cares, honestly? if people have fun to twink and powerlevel, so let them do it. i remember when my level 20 warrior bought these 2 level 50 swords from a friend, i guess i fetched millions of arrows to get the gold. but man, that was a blast.
11. orientation was tricky: you got a map without anything but landscape on it. in the early days you even had to copy it from the internet. and then you had /north and /loc, thats it. if you like to know more, ask somebody. he will describe the way or even lead you and perhaps then even help you. this way you meet people an make friends. nowadays there is no need to talk to people.
well, i stop here, its would be easy to get a list of 20.
every f... game nowadays had fixed these issues, and the devs are proud of it. unfortunately this way they ruined the MMO genre. mostly all games since 2004 are missing immersion, versatility, community and challenge. and after all they are more or less the same. think about it devs, with every "issue" you solved, you castrated MMOs a bit. i am not against solving issues, but think about the consequences first and avoid them. you wiped communication and immersion with your fixes. and much more.
actually there is just 1 bug, i would like to see solved, like they actually did in later expansions: the hell levels. that was a bug in xp-calculation. tricky to fix, but finally they did it. however, even hell levels have been a bit charmy somtimes.
but regarding all the other 11 points: if you like to bring us EQ1 back Mr. Smedley, dont touch these 11 things, implement them more or less as they have been and you will get a new EQ1. if not, it will become just another dull theme park.
i am smiling, if i hear people crying, that they like EQ1 back. i would like it, but would YOU like to have these 11 EQ-defining features back?
played: Everquest I (6 years), EVE (3 years)
months: EQII, Vanguard, Siedler Online, SWTOR, Guild Wars 2
weeks: WoW, Shaiya, Darkfall, Florensia, Entropia, Aion, Lotro, Fallen Earth, Uncharted Waters
days: DDO, RoM, FFXIV, STO, Atlantica, PotBS, Maestia, WAR, AoC, Gods&Heroes, Cultures, RIFT, Forsaken World, Allodds
Yes I do want all of these oldschool features back. I want a game where even the journey is full of danger, exploration because I am so sick of handholding and tutorials, instances all that crap doesn't belong in a real MMORPG. I agree Aion had a great mixture of instances and free group areas but for myself instances are a no go in the greatest game ever made, called Everquest 1.
I don[object Window]t believe anything coming out of Smedleys bigmouth but I think companies are starting to realize, that there is an oldschool niche market, the masses will play their [object Window]aimed for the facebook and kids crowd[object Window] walk in the park, the more serious gamers are looking for something different.
[object Window]
We need a MMORPG Cataclysm asap, finish the dark age of MMORPGS now!
"Everything you're bitching about is wrong. People don't have the time to invest in corpse runs, impossible zones, or long winded quests. Sometimes, they just want to pop on and play."
"Then maybe MMORPGs aren't for you."
I agree with the vast majority of the posters on this thread who want a return to the old skool feel of EQ1 with a few minor tweaks to improve upon that experience, but essentially wish the gameplay to remain the same - or thereabouts. I suspect the differences between us will be:
1. what constitutes a tweak e.g. mob AI, classes and roles, combat, instancing, questing, spawn rates etc
2. the extent / range of these tweaks
It will be the 2nd that will really determine if old skool players are turned on/off by EQ Next. For any affidavit, I'm neutral on instancing as it is a game-mechanic; like any other game-mechanic, it's purpose and how it is implemented [execution] is more important (IMHO). Snap PvP, snap item-shop (for purely fluff, cosmetic stuff). The only game-mechanic that I am prejudiced towards is insta-travel. It reduces world-size, ruins immersion and atomizes the community. Fast travel, yes; insta-travel, no (IMHO, of course).
I enjoyed instancing (questing) in LOTRO by and large. What ruined it for me was dumbing down quests by removing the challenge from some of the dungeons; adding a solo option for group quests signalled my sub cancellation. I want the old skool challenge, of a large, open world (with instances where necessary and appropriate e.g. Ragefire, some portions of quests and Epic Quests - maybe Planar zones?) where I am free to explore, and free to get my ass handed to me (thirty-two flavours and then some).
Corpse runs? Hell yeah! Possibility of permanent corpse loss? Hell yeah! Zones / mobs that will smack you HARD back to your bind spot? Hell yeah! Training players in CT? Hell yeah! (did I just say that out loud!?)
Yet, it was the players whom I met on my travels, forming friendships, buying / selling in EC Tunnel, chatting whilst waiting for the boat from BB to FP, camp checking, dungeon crawling, etc, that really made the game. Those friendships which resulted in too many nights without sleep, so you could keep your buddy company whilst waiting for his/her quest or Epic quest mob to spawn, yada yada yada.
Another poster had it spot on when he/she stated that he/she just wished that SOE had the cojones to target a specific market segment - namely EQ1 players, or rather those players who shared a similar ethos - and stick to their vision (think CCP) rather than dilute their game to be everything to everyone.
Despite all the encouraging sounds from SOE, I don't believe a word Smed says. His track record - as does SOE's - speaks for itself. In other words, I don't expect to be playing EQ Next. Regards
"If you think I'm plucky and scrappy and all I need is love, you're in way over your head. I don't have a heart of gold or get nice. There are a lot nicer people coming up. We call them losers."
I hope EQnext is a combo of Vanguard and EQ1 with nice graphics. That would be my dream MMO. To me Vanguard had alot of promise and so much depth to the game. It almost reminded me of a 3D Utlima Online which is another game with a lot of depth. Any game let's you command a ship of your own that you built from nothing to something is a winner too me.
All I've ever wanted is to see EQ1 recieve a complete graphics overhaul, even leaning towards something WoWesque in style.
EQNext might just realise that concept, and it sounds as if SoE are starting to see the benefits of lowering system specs, what with Free Realms and Clone Wars.
There is enough content in EQ1 to keep anyone happy, and just like Cataclysm, redoing the entire game world will give the impression your playing something entirely new.
Uh.
I dont think "unbalanced classes" is really what you want. If class A sucks and class B is better in every respect, the game just sucks. For every disadvantage a person gets, you need to give them an advantage as compensation.
So what you really seem to want is HARSH differences. Make every class have a HUGE advantage in SOME field.
Same for the rest of your list.
It all reminds me really of Baldurs Gate vs Neverwinter Nights / Dragon Age. The later are so "balanced". That also means opponents never have really harsh advantages.
That especially means Baldurs Gate mages where FEARSOME opponents.
While NWN and DA mages, meh.
NWN mages only needed ONE strategy: hack them, and hack them even harder. Thats all you needed to do.
DA mages arent much more complex, though at least you need another mage to fight a DA mage.
I would never claim D&D3 is not an improvement over AD&D - but it lost in harshness and tried too much for balancing everything against everything else. Thats way sad.
I'd like to also see better PvP (esp castle sieges), Overenchantment and more Sandbox Elements in EQN.
If it should be my "dream MMO", anyway.
Give us the best of both worlds.
I would also like them to add a feature like GW2 is doing were your attacks could work off each others ( mage lays down a wall of fire/ ranger shots arrows through it causing there arrows to catch fire). Castle sirges would be nice where your guild controls the castle and reaps benifits for it and the longer you hold it the better the rewards but, they would have to put some kind of restriction on it like you could only have a keep for a week and then they reset them to all be free again for other guilds takeing.