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Skeptical to Play After Recent SoE Hacks
JakeSim
Member RarePosts: 884
in Everquest II
Okay, so I honestly liked EQ2, however, with the recent Sony Online hacks it's hard for me to commit to their game as I have the fear that this may happen again.
What are everyone's opinions on playing EQ2 at this time? Is there anything you can do to convince me to play? :P
Comments
Ive been playing the game since it came back
I waited a week after game had returned because the whole downtime/hack thing was depressing
no one can convince you if any game is worth a future hack
--- thats up to you to decide
EQ2 fan sites
Fair enough.
How's the population since the recent hacks?
Also, thank you for the response.
I came back after some time off, the population in the new areas is surprisingly decent. Lots of folks coming back to higher characters as well as starting new ones. Also, I would still say it is the higher end of the gaming community, so that is a plus. At the end fo the day, we are all playing on a digital landscape where information is constantly being exchanged. I can understand being shy about a return but I would suggest an alternative reaction. This happening to an entitiy like Sony forced a rethink on the way they protect them selves and the liabilities they incur by handling player information. I seriously doubt they want another black eye, the fan base from time to time already treats them like a red headed step child. Enjoy the game and if you are still concerned perhaps consider a pre paid game time card.
Inkpuppet,
Thank you for the response!
I believe I am going to try getting back into EQ2, however, Idk if I'm going to be joining as a f2p member or a p2p. Any suggestions. I mainly want to be playing as a froglok monk.
Also, is the f2p servers healthier, or the p2p?
Look at the bright side...your information is going to get hacked whether you were actively playing or not. It had nothing to do with whether or not you were "in-game".
Disclaimer: This is not a troll post and is not here to promote any negative energy. Although this may be a criticism, it is not meant to offend anyone. If a moderator feels the post is inappropriate, please remove it immediately before it is subject to consideration for a warning. Thank you.
Both the froglok and the monk you'd have to pay extra for under the EQ2X scheme, to the tune of about $14. You can use Station Points cards instead of your credit card for either points or subscribing nowadays.
Far as populations go, my guess would be that the pops on the free server are higher at low levels than on the Live severs, AB, possibly excepted, but that the opposite is true at the high end. Plus at the high end there's a lot of fiddly microtransactions you wouldn't need to worry about on Live.
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I was one of those thinking about leaving originally when the hacking incident happened. I was upset about how it was a European player database that got hacked and old info stolen. Plus those who had their bank details stolen were European players. Looks to me like Europeans don't get the same treatment as Americans do with SOE.
I stuck with it because well, I really like EQ2 and I thought that SOE's actions after the fact were pretty good. There isn't a lot one can do once someone gets hacked plus a bunch of other game companies whose games I have enjoyed in the past got hacked too. So if they got my info, they got my info. Is it worth feeling like you're being held hostage by these people? That's up to you to decide. I have made my choice though.
As for which server to join, I recommend whatever fits your playstyle: Extended if you're really casual, Live if you are more than casual. A Froglok monk would be kinda expensive starting out and you're really limited by what you can do for free. The gold membership is also more expensive than a Live sub. There are more people playing on the Freeport server though, but at least on LdL/Crushbone, the community is good and I see low levels all the time.
Hope that answers a bit.
Playing MUDs and MMOs since 1994.
Let me clarify that a bit: the EQ2X Gold subscription costs the same as the EQ2Live subscription. However, it doesn't unlock the races for you, although it does unlock all the other classes, the bag slots, etc. So it costs the same on a monthly basis, but if you want to have the full spectrum of EQ2 races available EQ2X gold works out to be more as you unlock races for a one-time fee.
Classes in EQ2X unlock at $7.50 each, by the way, and races come in packs of 3 for $7.50.
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Anything can and most likely will be hacked someday.
Yeah, it's really not possible to protect a system with 100% certainty against determined, skillful hackers. Your two choices are basically to deal with the potential issue and protect yourself through good security practices, or wall yourself off as much as possible from the online world, which means not playing online games - or even single-player games in a lot of cases - entirely. While nobody is happy that Sony got hacked, Sony is even less happy about it than we are. It really could have happened to anybody.
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