Everquest II

i started a week ago and already bought the newest expasion ( $40 for all the content released thus far)

playing on nagafen (PvP)

i cant believe how much fun im having.. met some cool people and we mess around on vent and play alot.. anyways i highly suggest this game.. which is wierd cuz im usually against eq clones lol..

but honestly im having fun

EQ2 still has my attention -- I'm going on 10 months now (since I returned and rerolled)

WOW never held my attention longer than 3 months (for any "reroll to 70" episode)

I do not PVP but heres 2 helpful links

SOE PVP forum (with sticky guides)

forums.station.sony.com/eq2/forums/show.m

EQ2Flames PVP forum

www.eq2flames.com/player-vs-player-issues/

Is it true that EQ2 as been dumbed down since the last expansion?

Originally posted by Xenduli

Is it true that EQ2 as been dumbed down since the last expansion?

all of Level 65+ content,

highly favors Solo Questing for best levelling experience

But this isn't retrospective is it, just for the latest expansion?

correct

Originally posted by Xenduli

Is it true that EQ2 as been dumbed down since the last expansion?

Now i will say this,the game is much better than when i started playing it back then EoF was a wonderful expansion followed by the very iffy Kunark job thats very solo centric and this has created problems regarding getting groups together for the lower lvl stuff (ie 67-78) after that grouping is viable again but untill then you're pretty much on your own.

And thats the bit i dont like about the "new style" EQ2 in all of the previous expansions there was something for everyone (once you reached the reqired lvl of the first 2 expansions) you could go soloing or just group grind if thats what you wantedd to do,in RoK this latter option has gone and for me at least (as a hardened soloer )find this sad i can but hope that they build it into the next expansion becuase its something thats missing for a lot of people atm

Originally posted by Xenduli

Is it true that EQ2 as been dumbed down since the last expansion?

Maybe the lvl 1-20 zone is a little easier and more rewarding then any other starter area but the higher level content im my opinion is definately not dumbed down, in fact its probably the reverse.  While you can do most of the stuff there solo the mobs hit way harder then any other previous zones.

To the hardcore MMOer, EQ2 has indeed been dumbed down but a lot of it was entirely necessary. Few people miss retrieving spirit shards or the crippling shared XP debt. In GU13 where plate wearers took a major hit from the nerf bat, something that naturally upset a lot of players, in reality it was entirely necessary to balance the classes.

Lack of tradeskill sub-combines and the more solo friendly gameplay is more debatable, while this has certainly made the game more casual and accessible, it has lessened the need for you to rely on others to get things done which is arguably what playing MMOs is all about. But if WoW is anything to go by, solo content is king for an MMO. Personally I believe RoK took it too far in the other direction, apart from instances and raiding there is too little group content. The Epic quests have thankfully redressed this somewhat, and It's nice to see lots of people helping others when there is no reward for them to do so.

Originally posted by DrFod

To the hardcore MMOer, EQ2 has indeed been dumbed down but a lot of it was entirely necessary. Few people miss retrieving spirit shards or the crippling shared XP debt. In GU13 where plate wearers took a major hit from the nerf bat, something that naturally upset a lot of players, in reality it was entirely necessary to balance the classes.

 

Lack of tradeskill sub-combines and the more solo friendly gameplay is more debatable, while this has certainly made the game more casual and accessible, it has lessened the need for you to rely on others to get things done which is arguably what playing MMOs is all about. But if WoW is anything to go by, solo content is king for an MMO. Personally I believe RoK took it too far in the other direction, apart from instances and raiding there is too little group content. The Epic quests have thankfully redressed this somewhat, and It's nice to see lots of people helping others when there is no reward for them to do so.

Of course the game needed to soften itself up if it didnt there would have been far less players than there are now,but RoK took the game in for me at least a worrying direction there was far too much solo content in it and it was way to linear to get to lvl 80 they took the variety out of the game with this expansion and for me at least its a crying shame..it could have been a killer expansion but in the end it ended up a shallow and very buggy one instead.

We can only hope they get the balance right for next november when the next pack comes along with both group and solo content..and we can but hope they've sorted the myriad of bugs that are infesting the game at this present time in the meantime.