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 Thread (24 posts)
Lepidus  5/27/05 11:57:29 AM
#1

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It won best expansion. Now you can find out why we were so impressed with "Desert of Flames", the first expansion to EverQuest II due out in September of this year.

The centerpiece of EverQuest II: Desert of Flames is the desert city of Maj’dul. Maj’dul is not a reputable place in Norrath, quite the opposite. It is dominated by a criminal element and only the bravest of travelers will venture there. All NPCs in the city can be attacked, and based on which of five factions you are aligned to – they may well attack you. The sub-game is that these five factions are in a constant tug of war for control and it is up to you to ensure that your faction remains on top. Based on what players do, the city itself will change. What was a friendly kiosk yesterday may well be hostile territory tomorrow.

That said Maj’dul does not really relish fighting in the streets. As a result, if you pick a fight, expect to be sent to an arena to do battle. In this arena, players are given the ability – although not the requirement – to transform into a “champion” who will fight their battle for them. This led to some beautiful – if a bit inexplicable – visuals of fire elementals and other wonders doing battle in an underground arena. In the demo, one Halfling chose a duck as his champion and transformed into an admittedly well-modeled duck. No word on whether this will be an option in retail. The PvP aspects offer a variety of games including capture the flag, and a dedicated reward system.

You can read our full preview if you click here!

 
Zeaus  5/27/05 12:20:25 PM
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When you have a shiny new hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Sounds like they're trying to copy Guildwars with the capture the flag.

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Anofalye  5/28/05 2:47:28 AM
#3

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The enemy is so dumb! They believe that WE are the enemy! - A famous orc commander.

The halfling in the demo MUST be Mennix! 

 

Woe to such a powerfull halfling to do so lowly actions and use a poor duck! 

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JestorRodo  5/28/05 9:01:58 AM
#4

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Come to The Rodo Report!

CU @ Dragoncon 08! Love that Jestor!
Capture the lost player customer  sounds more like. Ok then what is the problem here , SOE has add on to eq I about 15 times now and this is the 3 or 4 annouced addon for EQ2 . In the Meantime , their competiors . World of Warcraft and now Guild Wars have added nothing for an additional cost (guild wars is free and will only make new revenune by adding on ). You get the feeling that SOE is like a very bad Dam maker and is now adding on to patch all the leaks in their products?

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Gunblade  5/28/05 11:36:01 AM
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"Wheres the violence....wheres the bloodspray?!" -Zorak on the Brak Show
Originally posted by Zeaus

Sounds like they're trying to copy Guildwars with the capture the flag.
Cause we all know Guild Wars invented that

Whine, Whine, Whine...seriously.. I think the exp is cool. I am not to keen on the idea of being teleported to an arena and changing form but everything else sounds like fun.

Iijs  5/29/05 12:35:06 PM
#6

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Sounds like they have a winner. This should help retain what they have, and maybe bring in a few more. Lack of pvp was an issue.

When they say "500,000 people have tried" the game, that makes me wonder.... how many are playing now?
 
alicorn  5/29/05 7:11:22 PM
#7

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I played almost non-stop for 2-3 months.  EQ2 was fun, but hardly different.  Pretty graphics but it was all much the same as all the others.  Playing WoW now and feeling that deja vu... it's all the same with minor differences.  Expansions wont bring me back, I would have preferred a more well thought out game from the outset.  The continuous stream of nerfs and vain attempts to balance gameplay just always made me feel I was paying to beta test.  Yes it was fun, but they all are for awhile.
 
shae  5/30/05 7:19:25 AM
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"Don''t take life seriously because you can''t come out of it alive."

- Warren Miller

I'm quite honeslty the last person to give SOE any credit at all, they burnt my monthly paying bidge long ago with SWG and the EQ2 launch but I will say that it looks like they may actually do something right with Desert of Flames. I highly stress "MAY" here because anyone who has delt with SOE before knows that they are the undissputed kings of falling short of promisses or plain out lying through their teeth to get people to stay.

That being said, hopefully the expansion will bring some depth and fun to a stale, drawn out game, someting I feel EQ2 sorely needs to have any sort of future. Renewed optimism for EQ2 ? Absolutely not, if the past tells us anything it's that SOE will find some way to botch this up, but maybe... just maybe they can do something right, for once.

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dukebballfan  5/30/05 9:47:37 AM
#9

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The expansion looks and sounds really cool. I JUST canceled my EQII account too ::::11::

I just wish they had more details on the cliff-scaling, and that being transported to an arena. Who knows, maybe the expansion will win me back, but EQII was just kinda cruddy from the beginning.
 
chriswsm  5/30/05 2:10:19 PM
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Never make anything idiot proof as someone will make a better idiot.
Originally posted by Gunblade
 
I am not to keen on the idea of being teleported to an arena and changing form but everything else sounds like fun.

Type /hide_illusion and you wont change form

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Bandcampgirl  5/31/05 7:32:59 AM
#11