I'm kind of looking for a little personal advice, so feel free to jump in

I have been thinking about coming back to EQ. I have all expansions except The Buried Sea on my account already, so I could just renew my account and play, with or without that last expansion. I have a level 73 SK. She needs a lot of exp groups to really get the AAs she should have, but it wouldn't be like starting from scratch. Also, I could just hook up with the people I knew before. And I'd have all my vet rewards available.

On the other hand, I could go buy the new box with everything in it and start over from scratch on a brand new account. I really enjoyed "bootstrapping" in L2, gearing up and leveling with no help from higher level players. I managed to avoid the pressure to level up and get to the "real" game and just enjoyed the lowbie experience as a new adventure. I am wondering if I would enjoy EQ like that-- no twinking, no powerleveling, just playing.  It wouldn't be like being a REAL newbie, since I already know so much about the game, but if I can get my mind into the right space, I could have a new adventure. I'd miss my vet rewards, but there was a time when there was no such thing, and I liked the game back then. If things go really well, maybe I'll start collecting vet rewards in a year or so.

 There's a really personal bit here too-- my husband was pretty well known and had a kinda-bad reputation (for being an asshat on a personal level, not for being a bad player). He made it really hard for me to meet people and make friends because he'd always come along with his big mouth and take over, to the point that people who had been talking to me would stop and talk to him, even asking him questions to/about ME. He would never let me speak for myself, and he was constantly talking about me behind my back in really unflattering ways-- and then acting like *I* was the rude one when I found out and got upset! We fought about the game a lot, too. We just didn't share the same ideas of in-game fun. He and I are on the verge/in the process of separating IRL, and I'd like to be outright divorced from him in-game if I play. I think starting over fresh, maybe on a different server, or only letting select people know who I am, would help me avoid the really uncomfortable situations that will undoubtedly arise when people see me online and cheerfully ask me where he is and how we're doing.

I could just keep my account and go play on a different server or play lowbies that noone knows. That would work. I'm not worried about The Buried Sea.

I miss EQ. Maybe it is just nostalgia. Maybe I am setting myself up for disappointment. If I try it, adopting a new attitude and not playing with my husband, and still find it isn't any fun, I don't think I'll try again. I'm at the point that I think I can spare the $15 or $20 to find out, once and for all. I really do think that I could still have a good time, if I can play without pressure. I am just on the fence between resubscribing my old account and creating a new one. Advice?

abey create an ALT email address on yahoo or hotmail, and sing up for the free trail. See if its something you really want to still do. Just me two bits worth of advice

John

When I wrote the title, before actually writing the post, I was thinking about getting the new combo pack and upgrading my old account with The Buried Sea vs. using it to create a new account. There's no game on the planet, now or ever, that I would upgrade my system for. I'm not a gamer. (I am about ready to upgrade for better Office multitasking, though. Sexy, eh?)

I am well aware of when EQ was released. That was when my UO guildies all jumped ship. I switched later, in Sept. 1999. And the EQ of today wouldn't run on the computer I played on then. FWIW.

I don't mind that EQ is old. I'm old, too.

You have a magelo of your SK?

If she's around 12k hps, and has full defensive, she's gtg really.

Starting out with a new toon would be really hard on you, especially as a tank class.

The problem isn't the first 20 lvl's.

Lvl 50-70 will be a huge pita unless your husband or friends help you lvl and AA, and still, it will be a pita regardless.

The missions in TBS give out ok gear, but you have to be in a good guild, or get some friends, you should be able to tank it with GoD or better gear. Around 11k-12k and full defensive should be ok for ya.

Those are katta missions btw.

Just depends on servers too, starting out of FV would suck for example lol.

You can always transfer server too with your SK, noone will know your name, noone will know who you are really~.

Just look at some of the guilds you like.

We finally broke down, the wife and I, and picked up the Pirates of the Buried sea expansion. I haven't loaded it, yet - not in a hurry. The content is not worth it to me or the guild. However, there are some new high level spells that are No Drop and only available from this expansion...

My opinion, don't buy it. Try to come back, see what you think and how you like it... then later after you've decided, new toon or build up your SK, then you can decide on the expansion :)

Newark H`Tawn, 75 DESK
Druzzil Ro

Originally posted by Drea-mer

You have a magelo of your SK?

If she's around 12k hps, and has full defensive, she's gtg really.

Starting out with a new toon would be really hard on you, especially as a tank class.

The problem isn't the first 20 lvl's.

Lvl 50-70 will be a huge pita unless your husband or friends help you lvl and AA, and still, it will be a pita regardless.

The missions in TBS give out ok gear, but you have to be in a good guild, or get some friends, you should be able to tank it with GoD or better gear. Around 11k-12k and full defensive should be ok for ya.

Those are katta missions btw.

Just depends on servers too, starting out of FV would suck for example lol.

I don't have a magelo. It wouldn't serve any purpose except to let people laugh at my gear.

My SK has a total of like 50 AAs and she's wearing PoR groupable gear (from the marks in Arcstone), and OoW "trash". (All HUGE upgrades when I got them, FWIW.)  I might hit 12khp buffed to the gills. MAYBE. I am a passable puller though, but not much of a tank. She was a replacement for my previous (deleted) SK who was level 65 + twice the AAs and decent gear-- back in the PoP era.  The moral of this story is deleting your character doesn't mean you won't come back. It just means you'll be frustrated when you do. 

I have a level 60-something mage on the same account, so I could go do that, I guess.  (Blah... my mage was my husband's pet project, so she's dressed ok and stuff, but I never got into it.)

I do have a 69 cleric with about twice the AAs on another account, and a 65 enchanter with essentially zero AAs on yet another account.  I really hadn't thought of those. Those accounts need more expansions, so upgrading might be a good deal.  Ah... This isn't making a decision any easier.

If I start over, I am likely to not really be too worried about even getting to level 50, much less 75. I'd basically be logging in for maybe 7-10 hours a week just to screw around, and I am ok with that. I don't think I'd play a tank again.  I think I'd pick a class I haven't really played, like shaman or ranger, or pick one I dabbled with and had some fun with, like a druid, beastlord, or zerker. I figure getting to level 40 would be a major accomplishment, under the circumstances.

I am really kind of leaning toward starting over, at this point. Probably on Xegony, though. Home sweet home, you know.

Originally posted by tigris67
I don't know...Although I love EQ...hang out around the forums, and follow the game's news/progress, I don't think I would ever actually want to resub or come back to the game unless it were to somehow open up and become free. Even if I was to start out as a noob again, I wouldn't feel the same nastalgia I felt back in 2000 when I started due to the fact that I would want to go level up in the noob zones as I once did when I was younger.   I would just feel depressed and lonely with absolutely no noobs around to chat with or group with in those areas.  I would want to start my character in Qeynos or something and go group in Qhills killing gnolls and Blackburrow, then move to the karanas and run from griffons, etc. But I know no one else would be there to experience it with me, so meh w/e.

I want to see all those places populated like hell again, everfrost, Qhills, the karanas, Highhold keep, etc etc, but I simply never will. Thats my main beef with the game. The other is that Its true about raid gear. All my characters simply suck(in the 65's) considering I hate raiding and none of them have anything remotely valuable compared to the other players. my level 55 SK and tank worth crap and all groups that invite me ussually disband me due to my low hp and the fact that I can't tank as well as all the other uber geared up tanks around me...I just need a new game I suppose, EQ is too old in my heart to ever want to restart.

Maybe new players can enjoy the game, but for the old players, it seems its just a memory.

I'd be happy if pok was crowded really, regardless of newbee zones, but it's not.

Some keep saying EQ hasn't lost a lot of people but there's really not many around.

The thing is, you know who's who already..you really know them all almost lol.

It's just kinda boring sometimes, idk.

If I would consider EQ again, then I would return to existing characters.

- It is good to have a name for you, it settle tons of stuff without having you to do everything from scratch again.  For example, peoples know I am likely to say yes to about just any group...while I would be the last resort, the player they ask if nobody else is online, if it is raiding, just because I strongly dislike that.

- Friends list and peoples all over the game.

- The old guild tag that many players would recognize, it adds to their fun a LOT more then you think.  See, for example, on my server, the guild I am still in (they didn't kick me I think as they went inactive in big part) is 1 of the oldest guild on the server.  Seeing this banner flies high is a pleasure for many players, both you and the peoples who recognize it.

- Jerks will will treat you accordingly to what they know of you.  It will avoid many conflicts that would have arise with them if they didn't know you.

I don't think I will ever play EQ again...but IF I do, it will be my silly old chanter...or maybe some of my twinks...not new toons.

PS: With all the modifactions and the add-ups to the game, the difference between a new character and your existing character may seems big, but it isn't.  73 levels are the first steps of progression, not anywhere close to completion...even if you have very few levels remaining, these are just the first path, the first progression...

PPS: That IF is still linked to the endgame...and I don't see any progress, nor any hope for that game, so it is close for me, unless they change that...and I don't believe in the tooth fairie nor in Santa so...  (They shouldn't try to cater to peoples like me now that I left the game, they should have adapt the game while I was in...changing it now would be a NGE 2.0, they have a raiding focus, which is an awefull mistake, but they have to remain on that side of the street, trying to cross the street now that the light is green on the boulevard would be a very bad idea)

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Originally posted by Anofalye

 

 
PS: With all the modifactions and the add-ups to the game, the difference between a new character and your existing character may seems big, but it isn't.  73 levels are the first steps of progression, not anywhere close to completion...even if you have very few levels remaining, these are just the first path, the first progression...
 

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This is exactly why I am thinking about ditching the level 73 and starting fresh. I am TOO aware that I am just starting, and I've never gotten over my sheer hatred of the high end game. I could play levels 1-50 over and over ad infinitum, but after that, all the AAs and progression-related crap is an awful drag to me. AAs aren't an achievement. They are a chore, just a prerequisite hoop you have to jump through before you get to do anything fun. And then there's gear to worry about and spells to get. And then access quests to do. Blah. The only saving grace is that I don't raid, ever. I think that would just push me right over the edge.

Ya know, I think I am starting to remember why I quit. I am getting irritated and frustrated just thinking about it.