Home › Game Forums › Everquest
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Everquest, My First Love
EQ was my first MMO and will always have a place in my heart. I stopped playing a little after PoP was released. I'm looking to pass some time and have considered going back to EQ until that lightsaber game comes out. My question is, is the magic I remember of EQ, Kunark, Velious, PoP still there or is she a whole new beast? I just do not want to taint my fond memories I have of EQ and see that she is now a whore for money.
Comments
I think you can still get on what they call a "progression" server, which basically means they started new servers that had the game in it's initial condition at launch.
My understanding is that the players then vote, over time, to approve a given expansion. I think some of the servers are now voting on Kunark, for example.
If it were me I'd hope they'd put the brakes on before Planes of Power or even the one before that.
The magic of those zones is still there, but on most servers you're likely to have it all to yourself. As the previous poster mentioned, the progression servers haven't even opened much of that up yet so you can re-experience it there. Also I see a lot of low to mid level players on Firiona Vie. The other servers are pretty top heavy though and you will find those zones pretty empty.
Don’t do it!
It will never be the same.
What EQ was and what games are now is so drastically different going back will kill the coolness of what it was.
I started playing EQ right after they released kunark and I remember spending weeks on a level and farming FrEnZy for what felt like weeks to get a sash. The games since then have changed us, the gamer, to want more instant gratification. To go back now it will feel slow and tedious.
In games now would you die once and loose 3 days of exping? Would you grind in static camps for a week to get the last few bubs of a level?
Back in the day people called out when they level because it meant a lot of work was done to get a level. Now we can hit level cap a few weeks after a game is released and if we do not get the “ubar” drop in the 2ndor 3rdtime we kill X mob we cry.
Well that is my take on going back to play games from the day.
I'll give flippy a try. Going to go druid and relive my memories of camping that Testament of Vanear.
A lot is going to depend on what you will look for in Everquest. There are lots and lots of new zones, new gear, new spells, new levels and even new abilities. The communities, while smaller, are still very active at the high end.
Since you're coming back after PoP, chances are your character will be very far behind the curve. If you're a tank class, you will probably not be able to tank for a normal group because your armor and weapons aren't up-to-date. Players are less tolerant of undergeared characters than they once were.
So, you look around and decide to get some armor from one of the newer expansions. Good idea. But you're going to need a lot of help. A PoP geared tank can't easily survive in the DoN expansion, one containing a nice, alluring armor buying system. Worse yet, it will be very tough to find more than 2 or 3 people in that expansion, everyone is off in the newest expansion getting the newer gear/skills/abilities.
Failing and frustrated by that, you will turn to the bazaar, hoping to buy gear. Bring lots of money. Cash in-game was a pretty rare commodity pre-PoP. Prepare to spend a lot of time farming for cash, so you can afford the gear you need to get a group.
Now, you're geared up sufficiently and actually find a group. They want to go to zone X. You've bought all the expansions, so that's not a problem. But you don't have the proper flags to get there! Flagging was bad in PoP. It got a little better in some of the other expansions, then came back in force. There are all sorts of progressions, flags, factions and qualifying quests needed to catch up. These take time -- lots of it.
I took an 18 month break from EQ. I left when Luclin came out, and came back for the LDoN expansion. It was phenomenally difficult and frustrating to catch up then. I was always behind the equipment curve, and I was an enchanter! After realizing I didn't have the spells/gear to survive in the newer expansions, I left again. Every time I managed to get caught up a bit, another expansion would come out, and I'd fall further behind.
You're best bet may be to find a guild that is actively trying to work on their alts. You might be able to catch up a bit. If you are skilled at soloing, and are satisfied doing so, EQ is still a phenomenal game, with lots to places to explore.
Your final option could be to roll a character on a progression server. But then, you're just starting over and that could be frustrating in itself.
I'd love to return to EQ. But the frustration levels are just too much for me.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
I'm not looking to go balls to the wall on EQ. Just looking for a filler until Lighsaber madness comes out. I logged into WoW last week with my free 7 days they gave me but logged back out within a minute. I'm just gonna peddle around Misty Thicket and see how it goes.
I went back and levelled a Paladin through Unrest (my fav dungeon of any MMO). Both good and bad having the zone all to myself. But the nastalgia hit is still there...minus having other low level players around. I plan on coming back later this year and levelling a druid or necro. Those old zones still hold some magic, only thing is they are empty. But its still fun.
I havent played EQ in years but would love to go back. But, are there any MMO's that are even remotley close in feel based on how they play or work?
It's good: Kunark is open and Velious should be voted on soon, and the next expansion is at least 60 days later. Fippy and Vulak aren't classic servers: the graphics and Freeport layout are the newer models, and no corpse runs (got voted down). Compared to the regular servers, gaining XP is extremely slow, but groups (XP bonus!) are plentiful. If you don't have much spare cash for Wizard/Druid transport, getting across the continent by High Pass can be pretty painful for low levels.
If your looking to pass the time with the 'old school" everquest, check out project1999.org, it's a tidbit of the first two years of everquest, on a free emulated server. I started playing it about a week ago and it has really gave me the feeling the original everquest did when I first put the disk in and joined the world of norrath for the first time. The server usually averages around 450-500 players one the weekdays and I've seen it hit up to 670 on the weekend. It is before PoP though, so you have to use the boats for travel, and i must admit that waiting on them is painful, but there are plenty of druids that advertise for group gates. there is no Bazaar, people sit at the east commons tunnel and advertise there needs over /ooc (links do work however, so no looking through bags like in the old days). I've created 4 new toons and freeport is by far the most active when it comes to newby population, paineel being the least active. but still plenty of opertunity to find yourself a group or someone to duo with to pass the time.
It's nothing like it was back in the PoP days and defitely not like it was pre PoP. The list of mistakes Sony has made over the years could fill a Steven king sized book.
In short, the state the game is in now will break your heart.
If you want to play PoP days (Exactly the same code and all) get a Mac and load up EQmac. Its Still running the code from late 2003, and doesn't have any maps, no hacks, and its as geniune classic pop as you can get. Look up www.eqmac.com for more information, I have an account on there, and its fun to remember all the old school stuff you can do, but the population is small although it has the best community out of any MMO i've ever played.
Its fun until you get into the 70s. Then it becomes slow and tedious with no rewards. Sadly, you can get to level 70 pretty quickly, so don't expect that to burn a lot of time.
Once in the 70s it takes days to kill anything, and any rewards that would help you progress will take a lot of man power(or just 1 high level). Also, expect the best XP places to be camped by max leveled toons(rangers love pulling PoF tables and killing everything in about 10 seconds, which is the best place for level 70-80).
I see no reason to play EQ nowadays.
TLP were good for a while but the srs bsniss players ran everyone else out fairly early on, they're pretty toxic now.
Barring some new server revelation or another Serpents Spine-type expansion I think I agree with you.
EQ is still fun if you know what to do. PoFire tables is good maybe 60-70 but post 70 its crap exp compared to Vergalid Mines. As with anything in EQ, if you don't know the game very well, it won't be the best experience. As for speed of leveling in EQ, its crazy fast now.
5 hours I can have a character to level 85 with a lvl 90 PL. 51-60 = PoNightmare 61-80= Vergalid Mines 81-85= Tosk or Kaesora Library 86+= HoT Zones.
EQ isn't the game you remember, levels and AA aren't nearly the time sink they were. In 1 month of playing couple hours a day you can have a lvl 90 toon with a couple thousand AA. If you know what you are doing and can box properly. Shaman+Monk = Ownage...