Simple as that. You see, I'm searching for a new MMO to play after finally finding the ability to say good bye to my friends in WoW (they were the only reason I played for MONTHS).

I played EQ1 a long time ago, lets see, 7 years ago, back when I was 13. Had to quit because my mom made me quit :P I was skipping school to stay home and play my paladin. Hell, I still find myself humming the music from certain zones I liked!

My favorite experience with the game was the exploration, never since EQ did I WANT to explore new areas. Hell, I still have the EQ Atlas, it was the first "book" I read to completion (and now I read all the damned time, ain't that something) I'd read about a zone, about all this awesome lore, and I'd be all giddy when I finnally be able to GO there. I was great.

After playing around on other stagnent MMO (WoW had no sense of exploration EVER, FFXI did, but the exploration felt weird due to the anime backdrop etc...) I think I should go back to my roots. The issue is, after the trials, I really like them both. Chances are, part the love towards EQ1 stems from nostalgia, but it also has that old school feel that just works, not to mention is the more difficult of the two (which to me is a plus)

EQ2 also has nostalgia, checking out places I used to go to and what not, not to mention the combat system being more involved. 

So, why would you choose EQ1 over EQ2 or vice versa?

EQ1 has AAs and it is great.

EQ2s AA system sucks ass.

Originally posted by Markusan

EQ1 has AAs and it is great.

EQ2s AA system sucks ass.

EDIT: Posted in wrong topic, whoops.

Originally posted by Namica

Originally posted by Markusan

EQ1 has AAs and it is great.

EQ2s AA system sucks ass.

Why are people so damned jaded concerning cash shops that don't effect gameplay ><

The AA system isn't related to cash shops in any way; it's an alternate path of gaining experience where you spend your experience points in certain skills.  But anway, yeah the EQ1 alternate advancement actually makes a noticeable difference in your game play, EQ2 not so much.

EQ1 isn't quite so difficult as you remember though.  They added minions to play with that are pretty powerful.  But it's made the game more fun for some and you can tackle content solo now that you couldn't before.  In some ways, I'd say EQ1 is more solo friendly than EQ2, as you can explore the majority of dungeons on your own with the minion.  Especially with the powerful gear that drops now which you can buy in the bazaar relatively cheaply.

EQ1 had server merges a few weeks ago so most of the servers are pretty active now.  EQ2 could use some server merges.  Unless you're playing on AB or Crushbone, you may have more trouble finding groups.

Originally posted by Cherise

Originally posted by Namica

Originally posted by Markusan

EQ1 has AAs and it is great.

EQ2s AA system sucks ass.

Why are people so damned jaded concerning cash shops that don't effect gameplay ><

Perfect example of how many people comment on games they don't know much about.

The AA system isn't related to cash shops in any way; it's an alternate path of gaining experience where you spend your experience points in certain skills.  But anway, yeah the EQ1 alternate advancement actually makes a noticeable difference in your game play, EQ2 not so much.

EQ1 isn't quite so difficult as you remember though.  They added minions to play with that are pretty powerful.  But it's made the game more fun for some and you can tackle content solo now that you couldn't before.  In some ways, I'd say EQ1 is more solo friendly than EQ2, as you can explore the majority of dungeons on your own with the minion.  Especially with the powerful gear that drops now which you can buy in the bazaar relatively cheaply.

EQ1 had server merges a few weeks ago so most of the servers are pretty active now.  EQ2 could use some server merges.  Unless you're playing on AB or Crushbone, you may have more trouble finding groups.

I play on EF and have never, ever, ever had a hard time getting groups.  Perhaps our server just has an inordinate number of altoholics, I don't know. But I've seen mutliple comments on these forums about EQ2 population and none of the complaints jive with what I see every single day on EF.

Maybe all of the people leaving WoW are just congregating on our server....I don't know....but it's NOT in need of any merge, that's for sure.

Originally posted by just1opinion

I play on EF and have never, ever, ever had a hard time getting groups.  Perhaps our server just has an inordinate number of altoholics, I don't know. But I've seen mutliple comments on these forums about EQ2 population and none of the complaints jive with what I see every single day on EF.

Maybe all of the people leaving WoW are just congregating on our server....I don't know....but it's NOT in need of any merge, that's for sure.

Maybe Lucan D'Lere is one of just a few that's suffering then.  And it's noticeable not just out in the world, but just trying to find things on the broker.  Just six months ago there used to be three to four pages of an item and now we're lucky to find just one person selling it.  Casual guilds I was familiar with for years gave up and shut their doors recently.  It's all been a bit depressing there lol.  But good to hear EF is faring well!

'Cause group grinding>solo questing.

Ha! That last post of mine was done badly! I meant to post it on the EQ2 forums where someone mentioned the cash shop! My bad!

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/3664906#3664906

EDIT: 1. Could I get info on these minions?

2. Do people still group low level content? I'll admit, I did like grouping, but there were many times in EQ1 I wished things would go faster, or that I could do more stuff on my own when people weren't in the mood for exploring.

Looked into www.project1999.org?

Originally posted by Damage99

Looked into www.project1999.org?

As much as I loved the old stuff, I will admit that the initial grind is something I don't exactly wish to trudge through again. I find the new ease of leveling an amazingly welcome addition.

EQ2 is crap. EQ1 was better- but that has been incredibly diluted, not to mention aged.

Originally posted by Namica

So, why would you choose EQ1 over EQ2 or vice versa?

The old school feel, it's that simple.  It's one of the last remaining original old school MMO's created, and still populated by players, and supported (and expanded upon yearly via expansions).  No EQ1 isn't the same as before, it's not as populated as when there were 450k players playing.  No EQ1 doesn't receive the same attention from SOE as they used to, nor does it get SOE's marketing money.  But EQ1 is still EQ1, that's what is great about it.

We all know EQ2 is nothing like EQ1.  It shares the same name, same IP, but aside from lore, the gameplay is completely different.  EQ2 feels like a new game, while EQ1 feels like an old school game.

People sometimes pick EQ1 over other new games because there are tons of new game choices out there today, we've been playing them all, myself included.  But there are really only a select couple old school games left, and about only 1 (EQ1) that has a decent population and receives yearly expansions.  So gamers hop from game to game, that's nothing new.  Playing new games is fun and great, but sometimes I just want to do something different.  That's why I'm glad EQ1 is still there so I can go back from time to time, not only for the nostalgia, but to get that old school feeling again.  Because of the yearly expansions, each time I go back there are tons of new things to do.

I'll say if you haven't played EQ1 for at least 5 years or so, going back now would be like playing a brand new game.  There's something cool about seeing the aged EQ, seeing how it has progressed, expanded upon, how things changed, and how they have actually improved on many mechanics that people used to complain about.  Would anybody ever thought they would put in mercenaries in EQ1?  I didn't think so, but they implemented them in last expansion, and I thought it was a great feature.  I've always liked the henchmens in Guild Wars, and I was pleasantly surprised to see them in EQ1.

You can't really describe it honestly.  Like how sometimes you crave for something, you don't really want to ask why you're craving for it, you just wanna go get it

I like both EQ1 and EQ2, but they are completely different games, and I have to admit that I tend to choose EQ1 over EQ2 for several reasons:

(a) It's different style of play-- I prefer the slower-paced, less chaotic feel of EQ1, in many cases, and I'd rather grind than quest for experience. (Questing is just a different flavor of grind, in the end.) 

(b) I have several Level 70+ characters I can step back into, which isn't as hard as starting over or even starting at 25.

(c) I have kept up well enough with EQ1 to know what it is that I want to do when I play and what my goals should be. I don't know the EQ2 world very well. I don't know most of the jargon (in terms of abbreviations for zones or abilities or whatever). I feel really lost a lot of the time, which brings me to my next point:

(d) While other people may have a diffferent experience, I've found that in more recent times, people in EQ1 are a lot more helpful and friendly, while people in EQ2, at least on the server I played on, were not very friendly at all, and especially not newbie friendly-- legitimate questions were either ignored or ridiculed. (This wasn't always the case, though-- the EQ1 community on some servers used to be pretty much the same as the EQ2 servers that I last played on.) 

The reasons I would choose EQ2 are:

(a) It's got a lot I haven't seen yet, and a lot of it is new to me, even if it is old and boring to vets. 

(b) There are some interesting quest lines, and sometimes I am in a questy mood, so I begin to appreciate all that quest experience.

(c) It certainly has better graphics and animations, even when everything is turned down. 

(d) Sarnaks. =D

heh time to go EQ2 now thats going free, while EQ1 still has the full whack costs :D

I was excited about EQ2 when they announced it, and i played it when it was released. I had fun with it, but it just seemed people didn't want to help you out as much as they lvled. EQ1 had lots of max lvl chars, but they sat around and would help you out with an alt, or just sit in the back and make sure you where healed.

I help people out alot and it was due to a max lvl from EQ who gave me a full set of armor and some weapons to help me when i first started EQ1. I'm actually resubbing to EQ1 after playing all the new games, my fiance asked me why and i could only reply "I'm going back to my roots, i'm going to play a game that i loved, and i think i still do too" It seems i have the same problem as some of the WoW fanboys, though i didn't compare everything to EQ1, but i always got bored of a game, but now i'm doing the trial, i feel like i'm back at home.

Originally posted by spades07

heh time to go EQ2 now thats going free, while EQ1 still has the full whack costs :D

Except the "free" EQ2 is so restrictive, I'd rather play a broken game than being restricted so harshly by the f2p model in EQ2.  I was interested in it initially.....until I looked at what they restrict you with, what you can/can't do, etc..

My gosh, besides starving college students and kids with no credit cards, why would anybody want to play f2p EQ2?  You're being chained up and inconvenienced, if I ever go back to EQ2 again, it'd be because I want to play the game, not because it's "free".

Originally posted by Namica

Hell, I still find myself humming the music from certain zones I liked!

 

 

Let me guess: Felwithe and Kelethin?

Everquest was ruined a long time ago and Everquest 2 was rushed to release and crap design from the start.