Everquest II

Can't decide. Heard Vanguard's worth going back to and it like the everquest 3. But also heard grouping, maturity, and the polishedness of this game is better.

I prefer PvP and lots of crafting!

Does anyone have an y suggestion on why our why not i should do one our the other?

I didnt vote but you should goto the Vanguard forums

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/category/188

I know they recently released Update 5

www.massively.com/2008/05/29/vanguard-game-update-5-goes-live/

I'm just curious but why did you put EQ2's option in leetspeak? Its kind of rude. Almost like you're making fun of EQ2 and have really already chosen Vanguard.

Personally I choose EQ2 but I won't vote in a poll thats so disrespectful.

Originally posted by Moirae

I'm just curious but why did you put EQ2's option in leetspeak? Its kind of rude. Almost like you're making fun of EQ2 and have really already chosen Vanguard.

 

Personally I choose EQ2 but I won't vote in a poll thats so disrespectful.

Sry for not making this clear i thought i did......

Thank you for the apology.

I like Everquest because it has pretty much everything an MMO can offer. There's even so many quests that you can't possibly do them all. Solo, Group, and Raid instances, involved crafting (you don't push just one button and hope it comes out, its a mini game so the player is actually involved in the making of the item and too many errors while making th eitem will mean the item isn' t usable and only gives back some of what it was created with), quests quests and more quests, pvp for those who want it (I don't), a more mature game player base (ones that don't use leetspeak and often run around just randomly helping others with things like surprise heals and asking nothing in return), a good economy, and more.

Vanguard is still in its infancy and doesn't even remotely touch everything EQ2 offers. It may one day, but it doesn't now.

Hmmm well I bought Vanguard when it first came out and I jumped into it expecting something that would at the very least be interesting. I was extremely disapointed and I uninstaled it a few weeks later. I remember me and my house mates all being gob-smacked at how dreadful the graphics looked and the shameful framerate of the game. At some points it was almost unplayable.

I will admit that in some areas the game world itself looks quite nice but thats small compensation for the fact that the "nice looking gameworld" is so empty. Its also strange that the world occasionally looks good and yet the character models are extremely UGLY. Character customisation is almost non-existent. You have a choice of about 3 or 4 faces for each race and they all look the same! The hair styles are also a joke. Basicly every race has exactly the same body with the same starting clothes and only the head is different. What a cop-out!

Also dont be fooled by the diplomacy quests. They are absolutely pointless. You "play" a silly little game with npcs and as you progress it reveals lines of text in a conversation. You have no control over the conversation and you also cannot "lose" the diplomacy game as you simply just click on the npc and start it again, remembering which buttons that should and should not be clicked. They should simply remove the boring diplomacy game and simply have it say "Are you the right level for this conversation. Yes or no? If Yes then you can read the full conversation and go to the next npc. If its No then you cant".

Also it has a very small population playing it apparently. I did actually reinstall it a few months ago and I couldnt really see any difference except that maybe it ran a tiny bit smoother. Its still the same old pile of dog poo that it always was and it will never become a decent game. Why should it? There are other games to focus on.

EQ2 on the other hand has improved massively. I started playing it again recently and I am totally hooked. The graphics seem to be better (especially with the new soga models), it runs really smoothly on high settings, there is a HUGE amount of content (eg the quests seem to be endless & loads of different drops) and plenty of people play it so it is easy to get into a group. There are also a lot of mature people playing it who like to roleplay as well although it does have its share of morons like in any game but then what else can you expect from the human race? Crafting is also rather addictive and useful too and you can get involved in PvP if you want to.

The only problem I have with the game is the whole Good vs Evil plot which is completely meaningless and pointless. You either start in Qeynos or Freeport (or a few other good or evil places) and many of the quests and npcs make references to fighting against the opposing forces. However SOE doesnt seem to have a problem with the fact that the good and evil races can group up and go adventuring together. So my dwarf for example regularly ends up with trolls, ogres, dark elves and other evil races traveling with him which completely goes against the plotline of the game and is obviously a load of crap. Many players dont mind this and just want to have fun which is fine of course but its just a shame that the game itself does not fit the lore of the game world. Its clear that a number of people in the games design process just didnt get it. Oh well.

But yeah......EQ2 crushes Vanguard. There is no competition. EQ2 has eveything you will need :)

I currently play Vanguard and have since its release. It certainly had a horrible release, but has done a complete 180 and is moving forward in a positive direction at a record pace.

VG has superior graphics and has been built on an engine that supports newer technology, such as duel core processors, newer video card technology and the such. This game is so frickin beautiful to look at, its simply amazing (its obvious where Sigil spent a majority of its time, graphic design). The Vanguard world has NO instances or zone lines. No running to the zone line for safety here. Fight, out run or die. Another nice fact, if you can see it, you can get there. Whether its over mountain tops or across the sea, you can go there. Oh, did I mention you can rent flying mounts or when high enough level, you can acquire your own permanent flying griffon or wyvern.

When released, obviously premature, it had many areas that were not populated well or sparsely so. There are a couple areas that are still like that, but are being reserved for new high level content in the future. Otherwise, 99% of Telon is adequately populated.

Character customization is merely fair, but some sacrifices (facial) had to be made to support helmets, but will return in the future. And really, how much time do we spend looking at faces. Its fun for all of a minute. Lets move on.

Diplomacy has an absolute purpose, not apparent to those that did not progress very far in it. First and for most it provides one of the many ways to raise faction for certain races as to open up more quest lines. Second, and hardly that, it provides buffs to the immediate region in which the diplomacy was engaged. These buffs range from combat, crafting to more diplomacy capabilities and bonuses and are selectable depending on what an individual chooses. And different areas have different buffs than others. When our guild raids, we have people that go to 2-3 different cities to raise the diplomacy buffs to increase the raid forces combat skills before going to the raid, as these buffs last for 1-3 hours. Diplomacy also can decrease the amount that general goods cost, increase the amount given when selling items and many other details. Its very unique and plays much like Magic: The Gathering.

With the significant improvements to performance and bug fixes, the populations are growing on a daily basis, with the exception of the PVP server. I will admit, if PVP is your game style, there are much better options out there.

Crafting in Vanguard is second to none. Crafting includes making just about anything you can put your hands on (housing materials and decorating items, boats and boat building materials, gear for horses, weapons, armor and everything in between). I know you can decorate your house in EQ2, but can you choose what continent and where you want to build it, or is it just a door to an instance? How about boats that can carry you and your friends and go in any direction you choose?? Vanguard has it!! Harvesting is also another aspect of VG, you can choose to log, mine for ore or minerals, reap plants and skin animals for crafting or just sell on the market to make money.

There is no "good and/or evil" thing going on in Vanguard. Just like in RL, some races do not get along with others and it is up to you as an individual to raise your faction  to pass safely, interact with the city folk and/or acquire quests from those certain areas. Again, very open and non linear in nature.

The level of race and class diversity is totally awesome. All classes have their stong and weak points, as the game is based on the idea of being a community game. Many classes have multiple lines of focus to develop. For example, if you want to make a Cleric that is better at combat, than healing, you simply choose an affinity (religion) that allows you to develop your combat skills or spell damage skills more than your healing skills.

Vanguard has excellent solo, group and raid content. As it will only continue to increase in content over time, much like EQ1 and 2 did. I promise, there is no lack of content to keep you busy as these continents are HUGE!!

All that being said, there are many similarities between the two games, as the original developers of EQ1, also made Vanguard. I did play EQ1 for 5 years and EQ2 for almost 2 1/2 years. So my opinions are not based on a fly by night observation or opinions expressed in forums such as this. I simply chose Vanguard to dedicate my time to, as I saw that it had more diversity, potential and quality than what EQ2 is able to deliver over the long run for me( PURELY MY POINT OF VIEW !! ).

I think that it is always up to the individual to find the things he likes in a game and roll with them. Unfortunately EQ2 did not do it for me, but Vanguard does and this is not intended to be a bash on the former. After all, it was something I enjoyed, but enjoy VG more. I have recently decided to start posting on this particular websites forums to clear up the confusion, old or misinformation, conjecture and general bashing when it simply isn't true.

EQ2 has a free trial option, I suggest trying it. Unfortunately, VG does not at this point, but buddy keys are available, in which you can play the game for the first 30 days for free.

Vanguard ROCK!!

Peace!! 

Khilla has made some very good points in the post above.....which is very well written by the way. The point he made about being able to see for miles and actually go there is a very good one and something that I did actually like about the game. The lack of character customisation and the general ugliness of the models was an issue for me personally though. I just find it hard to get into a game if the character I am controling (and looking at all the time) looks completely ridiculous. No we dont always stare at our own characters faces but at least some variety would have been nice......and the problem with helmets is no excuse (EQ2 and many other games dont have this issue). All of those other features that Khilla mentioned are indeed in the game and EQ2 is certainly more restrictive in what you can and cant do. Its just that I prefer quality over quantity and in my opinion EQ2 wins in that respect. Both games have a wide variety of races and classes to choose from but in EQ2 they look very different from each other, having different models for each one while Vanguard reuses the same model for every race.

It just goes to show that you can get everyones opinions on both games and try and take it all on board if you like but really you are going to have to make the decision on your own. Just pick one and try it and if it doesnt work out for you then you have only lost a small amount of money. Whats £30 in a lifetime?