Awesome sauce imo. I think they overfixed it (for my taste) in terms of ezmode but because it wasn't designed that way from the beginning you can easily jig it the way you like with some simple house rules e.g. still use a merc but vendor the defiant and other non old-world gear, and that way you can get it to the level of difficulty you like.
I doubt i'll go gold unless i change my habit of low-level altoholism but i expect i'll be unlocking all the races/ classes eventually.
Now level 75, with 300 AA. Recently did a raid to get members the Fabled Elemental Plane pet weapons. They are amazing! And it was a blast getting them all. Oh also, haven't spent a dime.
EQ original was my first MMO, i guess I want to say that was a while back. About 1999 maybe? Stopped at GoD but came back after a couple times to box a couple toons and mostly grind aa and such. I am a rare breed that enjoys the grind but they have made alot of improvemnts for questers.
A couple things I would like to point out the to prospective player or the returnee, maybe even a few of the ranters. I will attempt be impartial and point out the good and bad:
* If you are a new player, you will have enough content, learning and research to keep you well absorbed before you are concerned about the restrictions implemented in the F2Pgame.
* You will need to get passed the outdated graphics in trade for a depth that has in my opinion been unmatched in an MMO since. Johhny is a good example of someone who looked past the paint job and checked out the engine.
* The restrictions are still a work in progress and the concept of "unlockers" and/or grandfathering in characters who already possessing gear that is now "locked" has already being illuded to. The word "April" and "update" used in the same sentence regarding this matter. We will see if this takes shape. If anyone has a difinitive time or post from devs please add.
* Essentially, I see EQ and EQ2 as F2P. However, I would really classify them as a P2P with a F2P option which gives you an option to really see what you want before you buy it. They are a business and still offer a subscription based game for both titles, of course the free to play options are meant as an incentive towards gaining new subscribers.
* This game is 13 years old. The graphics are outdated and the animations seem ridiculous when first seeing them after the new generation of MMORPGs out. Newer games offer quality in a graphical manner and have the flash bang luster to aastound and draw in new fresh crowds. This game is more or less like your grandfather if you are an MMORPG fan. EQ has had a playerbase which remains loyal for 13 or so years. Read that and think about it. The content is unlike any other. The lore is equivelant to a library of D&D books if you are into that sort of thing. The group mechanics are entirely different than any other I have seen. Classes have roles, this has been immitated but never quite duplicated the same as it is in EQ.
* If you are an explorer this game is for you. If you are into character progression this game is for you. If you are use to the WoW generation of MMO's and rate all games in comparison to wow, this game is most likely not for you. It is easier than it was, but it still plays with less than what the average modern MMORPG player would call kid gloves.
* This really is the game that started it all. If it were not for EQ there would not be a WoW. I still remember reading about WoW while it was in its conception phase with EQ2 and expecting it to be all that EQ was with awesome graphics. The fact is no game has really ever lived up to the depth and breeding of this game. Community, roleplaying and an inability to make max level without the help of others w/ the exception of a few classes(soloing capability is very viable now) made the game more immersive than anything I have played since.
Aww hell, I have a hard time being impartial. Its like grandpa, old as hell and sometimes comes off a little hard because of the time he came from, but ya just cant help but love em =P
Let me start saying that I absolutely love EQ. My first real MMORPG, I played from the '99 during 8 long years with a bunch of serverfirsts, couple worldfirsts, first epic 2.0 on my server, raid leader top guild in server and other misc whatnots...
Really, love(d) it.
But we gotta see this from two points of view, from the newb side and the returning veteran side.
The newb will really enjoy this F2P system with the only downside of having too many restrictions in classes to choose from, not to mention my three favourite ones are locked (ranger, shaman, chanter), but if we let aside that, we have a free game to play from level 1 to 90, matchless amount of content, hundreds of non instanced dungeous (and a good heap of instanced ones) and tons of questing to do.
My rant here is regarding the returning veteran side. I've got a mail from a good friend telling me about the new F2P system, and what if we give it a try. I had to deal with customer support for a while to unlock a few accounts (my wife's and mines) and after the 8GB+ download we were quite excited to re-log in after so long.
Result? All the gear unusable... basically naked (stat-wise, the look is still there) and with ALL the worthed gear being prestige level... Even the epics v1.0 are unusable... I mean... You have got that gear from endless raids and farms, worked your a$$ off to get all your armor, weapons and utilities just to come and see everything "greyed out" and having to punch your way through mobs?
No thanks.
So, its a no go for me and my buds, but hey, if you are a new player I still recommend the game, specially in Vox where there are tons of new starting toons you can join with. OR if you have the time and want to start a character from zero... God knows I don't...
Funny, I played for about half an hour and after I logged off on Friday, haven't logged on since and haven't felt ANY urge to. Which annoys me. I want to like this game but it's just boring right out the gate.
I love the world and the classes, but I just can't bring myself to do it again. Will have to wait for EQ Next I think.
Enjoy the wait, EQ Next has been talked about for years and years, i don't see it happening. Hell they just recently a few months ago shutdown 3 studios and fired more then 250 people. The EQ series is going down the tube and EQ Next is just a wishful thinking ideal for EQ fanboys.
The rumor mill states that the original concept of EQ Next has been discarded and a newer facebook style of game has taken its place. Perhaps that's why there have been absolutely no updates from the developers over the last few months.
Was a great game. I use to be in the number 1 guild across all servers a few years back and to my knowledge they still are number 1 or in the top 3 I would say. Triality. Awesome guild and some of the best times of my life gaming in an MMO. Also I played EQ for 4 years and that was to this day the longest I have every played an MMO. I do miss it.
Result? All the gear unusable... basically naked (stat-wise, the look is still there) and with ALL the worthed gear being prestige level... Even the epics v1.0 are unusable... I mean... You have got that gear from endless raids and farms, worked your a$$ off to get all your armor, weapons and utilities just to come and see everything "greyed out" and having to punch your way through mobs?
No thanks.
old raid gear * is * useable
what is not are the augments -- take the augments off and you can use your gear
I dont agree with SOE descision to make almost all augments prestige but o well
Enjoy the wait, EQ Next has been talked about for years and years, i don't see it happening. Hell they just recently a few months ago shutdown 3 studios and fired more then 250 people. The EQ series is going down the tube and EQ Next is just a wishful thinking ideal for EQ fanboys.
The rumor mill states that the original concept of EQ Next has been discarded and a newer facebook style of game has taken its place. Perhaps that's why there have been absolutely no updates from the developers over the last few months.
LOL.. I hope these posts are april fools jokes, even though they were posted before april 1st. Let's just say EQ1 recently had their best lead programmer reallocated to the EQ Next team. He even stated as such on the official forum. Everybody agreed Steve Klug's departure was bad for EQ1, but great for EQ Next as EQ Next will have an awesome programmer that made some impossible things possible in EQ1.
Yes SOE consolidated some of their studios and games. But that's also because their other games haven't done well, so they are going back to their roots and going to revisit the Everquest franchise. EQ1 being as old as it is, is stil a very populated game. It's a cash cow for SOE, there's no way SOE would drop EQ1. EQ2, while it never did as well as EQ1, got revitalized with their new F2P model and it's making good profit for them. So to suggest EQ seriesis going down the tube, you got it wrong. EQ series appears to be the only IP they have that consistently makes money for them and pays for all their other endeavours.
Some of the facts we know about EQ Next:
-It will be using freerealm's engine, which would take the Everquest franchise to a seamless world for the first time. It'll be a newer engine that'll support all the new age features such as flying mounts and such.
-It will have PvP from the start, they will have optional PvP like you see in WoW.
-The developers are looking to strike a middle point between EQ1 and WoW, so it would attract the newer crowds but at the same time make the old vets feel comfortable.
-EQ1 devs have mentioned that they run a tight ship, meaning the EQ Next developers are not sharing any information with even the EQ1 team at all.
You will hear more about EQ Next during SOE's fan faire later this year that's for sure.
-It will be using freerealm's engine, which would take the Everquest franchise to a seamless world for the first time. It'll be a newer engine that'll support all the new age features such as flying mounts and such.
maybe the game engine will borrow from FreeRealms but its been revealed as a -new- mmo engine
I've noticed the New Player numbers have dropped quite a bit the last few days......I dont know if people are going gold or just not playing anymore, but the numbers are down quite a bit on the server I am on.
EQ had some of the most interesting ,civil and friendly gamers back in the day. And some really offbeat Guilds. There were guilds with all Senior Citizens (those guys would be like Betty White old now), and theme Guilds like ,"Knights Who Say Ni", which was based on the Monty Python movies ( you had to know the coconut line and about the shurberies). That Guild popped up in lots of games later. Game populations these days seem like a bus station at midnight, walk fast ,don't make eye contact, and wash your shoe laces if they touch the floor.
Ballerinas are always on their toes. Why don't they just get taller ballerinas?
EQ had some of the most interesting ,civil and friendly gamers back in the day. And some really offbeat Guilds. There were guilds with all Senior Citizens (those guys would be like Betty White old now), and theme Guilds like ,"Knights Who Say Ni", which was based on the Monty Python movies ( you had to know the coconut line and about the shurberies). That Guild popped up in lots of games later. Game populations these days seem like a bus station at midnight, walk fast ,don't make eye contact, and wash your shoe laces if they touch the floor.
Try the Vox server, the new server. Some of the people you mentioned from old times have started back up again on the new server. I would say that's part of what makes Vox server enjoyable because it does have a lot of the ex-EQ players from ages ago.
I am also enjoying EQ. I have 2 gold accounts and many free accounts. I joined the Progression guild on Trakanon server, so it has been very fun because we group together, farm together, and we raid a few times a week, which is the most fun for me. We are still in classic era right now, but we have beat all our classic raid targets so we will be moving on to kunark soon.
I would highly recommend any player who wants to play EQ from start to finish and not just race through expansions or skip most content look into Progression X guild on Trakanon server. I started EQ in 99 but I did not really begin raiding (at appropriate level) until about Luclin. So I am having fun raiding content at level 51 opposed to being already above the contents level. (60-65).
EQ is definitely not the same as it was for us a long time ago, but it is still very fun. I quit during the expansion that DpoB was the final raid for. So, it has been a few years, so I really hope the guild continues on strong so I can raid content I did too late, raid content I have not done in years, and raid content I have yet to do.
I tried playing last year on a regular server, but found it boring because I was basically soloing 100%. Doing the progression guild has caused me to play every single day that my schedule permits. And when I log on there is always something to do, whether it is help the new players level up, level up another box for fun, farm for gear for main or boxes, or just join a group with other guild members to grind and chat.
Comments
exaggerations
Ive personally leveled 2 chars to 80 without legendary gear or spell upgrades since EQ2 went ftp
I leveled on a brand new server when Freeport launched
broker was useless -- no one was selling anything on a new server
I didnt even have adepts because no one was selling them
leveling is EASY in EQ2 -- you dont need good gear or spell upgrades
the issues you decribe are for when you are already 90
EQ2 fan sites
Awesome sauce imo. I think they overfixed it (for my taste) in terms of ezmode but because it wasn't designed that way from the beginning you can easily jig it the way you like with some simple house rules e.g. still use a merc but vendor the defiant and other non old-world gear, and that way you can get it to the level of difficulty you like.
I doubt i'll go gold unless i change my habit of low-level altoholism but i expect i'll be unlocking all the races/ classes eventually.
Now level 75, with 300 AA. Recently did a raid to get members the Fabled Elemental Plane pet weapons. They are amazing! And it was a blast getting them all. Oh also, haven't spent a dime.
EQ original was my first MMO, i guess I want to say that was a while back. About 1999 maybe? Stopped at GoD but came back after a couple times to box a couple toons and mostly grind aa and such. I am a rare breed that enjoys the grind but they have made alot of improvemnts for questers.
A couple things I would like to point out the to prospective player or the returnee, maybe even a few of the ranters. I will attempt be impartial and point out the good and bad:
* If you are a new player, you will have enough content, learning and research to keep you well absorbed before you are concerned about the restrictions implemented in the F2Pgame.
* You will need to get passed the outdated graphics in trade for a depth that has in my opinion been unmatched in an MMO since. Johhny is a good example of someone who looked past the paint job and checked out the engine.
* The restrictions are still a work in progress and the concept of "unlockers" and/or grandfathering in characters who already possessing gear that is now "locked" has already being illuded to. The word "April" and "update" used in the same sentence regarding this matter. We will see if this takes shape. If anyone has a difinitive time or post from devs please add.
* Essentially, I see EQ and EQ2 as F2P. However, I would really classify them as a P2P with a F2P option which gives you an option to really see what you want before you buy it. They are a business and still offer a subscription based game for both titles, of course the free to play options are meant as an incentive towards gaining new subscribers.
* This game is 13 years old. The graphics are outdated and the animations seem ridiculous when first seeing them after the new generation of MMORPGs out. Newer games offer quality in a graphical manner and have the flash bang luster to aastound and draw in new fresh crowds. This game is more or less like your grandfather if you are an MMORPG fan. EQ has had a playerbase which remains loyal for 13 or so years. Read that and think about it. The content is unlike any other. The lore is equivelant to a library of D&D books if you are into that sort of thing. The group mechanics are entirely different than any other I have seen. Classes have roles, this has been immitated but never quite duplicated the same as it is in EQ.
* If you are an explorer this game is for you. If you are into character progression this game is for you. If you are use to the WoW generation of MMO's and rate all games in comparison to wow, this game is most likely not for you. It is easier than it was, but it still plays with less than what the average modern MMORPG player would call kid gloves.
* This really is the game that started it all. If it were not for EQ there would not be a WoW. I still remember reading about WoW while it was in its conception phase with EQ2 and expecting it to be all that EQ was with awesome graphics. The fact is no game has really ever lived up to the depth and breeding of this game. Community, roleplaying and an inability to make max level without the help of others w/ the exception of a few classes(soloing capability is very viable now) made the game more immersive than anything I have played since.
Aww hell, I have a hard time being impartial. Its like grandpa, old as hell and sometimes comes off a little hard because of the time he came from, but ya just cant help but love em =P
Hey guys,
Let me start saying that I absolutely love EQ. My first real MMORPG, I played from the '99 during 8 long years with a bunch of serverfirsts, couple worldfirsts, first epic 2.0 on my server, raid leader top guild in server and other misc whatnots...
Really, love(d) it.
But we gotta see this from two points of view, from the newb side and the returning veteran side.
The newb will really enjoy this F2P system with the only downside of having too many restrictions in classes to choose from, not to mention my three favourite ones are locked (ranger, shaman, chanter), but if we let aside that, we have a free game to play from level 1 to 90, matchless amount of content, hundreds of non instanced dungeous (and a good heap of instanced ones) and tons of questing to do.
My rant here is regarding the returning veteran side. I've got a mail from a good friend telling me about the new F2P system, and what if we give it a try. I had to deal with customer support for a while to unlock a few accounts (my wife's and mines) and after the 8GB+ download we were quite excited to re-log in after so long.
Result? All the gear unusable... basically naked (stat-wise, the look is still there) and with ALL the worthed gear being prestige level... Even the epics v1.0 are unusable... I mean... You have got that gear from endless raids and farms, worked your a$$ off to get all your armor, weapons and utilities just to come and see everything "greyed out" and having to punch your way through mobs?
No thanks.
So, its a no go for me and my buds, but hey, if you are a new player I still recommend the game, specially in Vox where there are tons of new starting toons you can join with. OR if you have the time and want to start a character from zero... God knows I don't...
My 2cps,
Eth.
The rumor mill states that the original concept of EQ Next has been discarded and a newer facebook style of game has taken its place. Perhaps that's why there have been absolutely no updates from the developers over the last few months.
Was a great game. I use to be in the number 1 guild across all servers a few years back and to my knowledge they still are number 1 or in the top 3 I would say. Triality. Awesome guild and some of the best times of my life gaming in an MMO. Also I played EQ for 4 years and that was to this day the longest I have every played an MMO. I do miss it.
old raid gear * is * useable
what is not are the augments -- take the augments off and you can use your gear
I dont agree with SOE descision to make almost all augments prestige but o well
EQ2 fan sites
LOL.. I hope these posts are april fools jokes, even though they were posted before april 1st. Let's just say EQ1 recently had their best lead programmer reallocated to the EQ Next team. He even stated as such on the official forum. Everybody agreed Steve Klug's departure was bad for EQ1, but great for EQ Next as EQ Next will have an awesome programmer that made some impossible things possible in EQ1.
Yes SOE consolidated some of their studios and games. But that's also because their other games haven't done well, so they are going back to their roots and going to revisit the Everquest franchise. EQ1 being as old as it is, is stil a very populated game. It's a cash cow for SOE, there's no way SOE would drop EQ1. EQ2, while it never did as well as EQ1, got revitalized with their new F2P model and it's making good profit for them. So to suggest EQ seriesis going down the tube, you got it wrong. EQ series appears to be the only IP they have that consistently makes money for them and pays for all their other endeavours.
Some of the facts we know about EQ Next:
-It will be using freerealm's engine, which would take the Everquest franchise to a seamless world for the first time. It'll be a newer engine that'll support all the new age features such as flying mounts and such.
-It will have PvP from the start, they will have optional PvP like you see in WoW.
-The developers are looking to strike a middle point between EQ1 and WoW, so it would attract the newer crowds but at the same time make the old vets feel comfortable.
-EQ1 devs have mentioned that they run a tight ship, meaning the EQ Next developers are not sharing any information with even the EQ1 team at all.
You will hear more about EQ Next during SOE's fan faire later this year that's for sure.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
maybe the game engine will borrow from FreeRealms but its been revealed as a -new- mmo engine
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111555-EverQuest-Next-and-Planetside-2-To-Use-New-Forge-Light-Engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forge_Light_Engine
EQ2 fan sites
Nice catch thank you, I missed that article somehow. That's pretty darn cool imo
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
I've noticed the New Player numbers have dropped quite a bit the last few days......I dont know if people are going gold or just not playing anymore, but the numbers are down quite a bit on the server I am on.
Which server is it?
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
EQ had some of the most interesting ,civil and friendly gamers back in the day. And some really offbeat Guilds. There were guilds with all Senior Citizens (those guys would be like Betty White old now), and theme Guilds like ,"Knights Who Say Ni", which was based on the Monty Python movies ( you had to know the coconut line and about the shurberies). That Guild popped up in lots of games later. Game populations these days seem like a bus station at midnight, walk fast ,don't make eye contact, and wash your shoe laces if they touch the floor.
Ballerinas are always on their toes. Why don't they just get taller ballerinas?
Try the Vox server, the new server. Some of the people you mentioned from old times have started back up again on the new server. I would say that's part of what makes Vox server enjoyable because it does have a lot of the ex-EQ players from ages ago.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
I am also enjoying EQ. I have 2 gold accounts and many free accounts. I joined the Progression guild on Trakanon server, so it has been very fun because we group together, farm together, and we raid a few times a week, which is the most fun for me. We are still in classic era right now, but we have beat all our classic raid targets so we will be moving on to kunark soon.
I would highly recommend any player who wants to play EQ from start to finish and not just race through expansions or skip most content look into Progression X guild on Trakanon server. I started EQ in 99 but I did not really begin raiding (at appropriate level) until about Luclin. So I am having fun raiding content at level 51 opposed to being already above the contents level. (60-65).
EQ is definitely not the same as it was for us a long time ago, but it is still very fun. I quit during the expansion that DpoB was the final raid for. So, it has been a few years, so I really hope the guild continues on strong so I can raid content I did too late, raid content I have not done in years, and raid content I have yet to do.
I tried playing last year on a regular server, but found it boring because I was basically soloing 100%. Doing the progression guild has caused me to play every single day that my schedule permits. And when I log on there is always something to do, whether it is help the new players level up, level up another box for fun, farm for gear for main or boxes, or just join a group with other guild members to grind and chat.