Me and a few friends are looking for something new.  We thought we might want to take another look at EQ2 (played it in beta, briefly).

Here are the things that made us not want to play the game in retail:

1.  Locked encounters.  Not being able to assist someone when they're about to die was just rediculous.

2.  Shared XP loss.  If someone in your group died, everyone lost XP.

3.  Ceramic doll look for all the models and the ambiance of the world.  Artwork is what makes graphics nice, not poly counts.

 

Have these areas been improved?

A few months ago, I downloaded the trial and was thoroughly unimpressed with it... but I've been told that the trial island hasn't been updated since launch and that the game is actually fairly different, is this true?

Originally posted by dogsalad

Me and a few friends are looking for something new.  We thought we might want to take another look at EQ2 (played it in beta, briefly).

Here are the things that made us not want to play the game in retail:

1.  Locked encounters.  Not being able to assist someone when they're about to die was just rediculous.

2.  Shared XP loss.  If someone in your group died, everyone lost XP.

3.  Ceramic doll look for all the models and the ambiance of the world.  Artwork is what makes graphics nice, not poly counts.

 

Have these areas been improved?

I JUST picked this game up this weekend and to comment on these...I can answer two of them.

1:  You can unlock them...if someone is in trouble there is a way to unlock it so you can get help.  Actually, I think there is even a setting so they are never locked to begin with, but I may be mistaken.  I know that I have assisted players several times by doing damage to the mob and by healing them.

3:  The graphics were enhanced with the last expansion I have read.  They look decent to me, not the best ever, but not something I would complain about either.

I have only grouped once so far and it was briefly just to share a boss kill, so not sure about shared XP loss. 

Seriously is this reviewer getting paid off by SOE?  The graphics for one are no where as good as Vanguard, but they are much better then Wow's Cartoonish look too.  Secondly, there is a friendly and helpful community on the fourms, but in game? A bunch of elitist high level morons, that are anything but helpful to people. And random "Guides"? I've been playing EQ2 since Desert of Ro and none of my friends or I have ever seen or much less heard of said guides.

This re-review is BS, i hate when reviewers spew propoganda lies.

Originally posted by dogsalad

Me and a few friends are looking for something new.  We thought we might want to take another look at EQ2 (played it in beta, briefly).

Here are the things that made us not want to play the game in retail:

1.  Locked encounters.  Not being able to assist someone when they're about to die was just rediculous.

2.  Shared XP loss.  If someone in your group died, everyone lost XP.

3.  Ceramic doll look for all the models and the ambiance of the world.  Artwork is what makes graphics nice, not poly counts.

 

Have these areas been improved?

A few months ago, I downloaded the trial and was thoroughly unimpressed with it... but I've been told that the trial island hasn't been updated since launch and that the game is actually fairly different, is this true?

Locked encounters only exist if you lock them. You can choose to lock or leave it open to help. So if that player locked his encoutner then if he dies that's that cards he drew.

There is not shared XP loss. You dont lose XP like in Vanguard. Instead you get XP debt which must be paid off. No chasing shards or running around as a ghost. You just re-zone and start that bit again.

The look of the game will depend greatly on your GPU and CPU. You need a decent machine. You also have to option of running a different set of models known as the SOGA models. Again you chose what you want and how they look. With the Graphics turned up to max the visual display of this game is outstanding. The 3D engine they have used is amazing. Cloth looks like and acts like cloth. Bushes move when you run through them (unlike some snow capped trees that you can pass right through). Water, moves like it should when you swim.

Originally posted by dogsalad

Me and a few friends are looking for something new.  We thought we might want to take another look at EQ2 (played it in beta, briefly).

Here are the things that made us not want to play the game in retail:

1.  Locked encounters.  Not being able to assist someone when they're about to die was just rediculous.

2.  Shared XP loss.  If someone in your group died, everyone lost XP.

3.  Ceramic doll look for all the models and the ambiance of the world.  Artwork is what makes graphics nice, not poly counts.

 

Have these areas been improved?

A few months ago, I downloaded the trial and was thoroughly unimpressed with it... but I've been told that the trial island hasn't been updated since launch and that the game is actually fairly different, is this true?

Locked encounters are totally optional now and default to being unlocked.  I know they changed the XP debt and I think it is no longer effecting the other group members. I think they changed that over a year ago. The artwork in Faydwer is fantastic. In fact you can see for yourself.

You can try the new expansion out for yourself and see how you like it with the free trial: http://everquest2.station.sony.com/promotions/playthefae/

What do you get when you take,

1 cup of WOW
2 cups of EQ
and a pinch of Vanguard

Few more questions.  Forgive me if I'm a little wary... I vowed to never play another Sony MMO a few years back.

 

Is the Trial Island an accurate representation of the full game?

Was the whole game given some artistic upgrades or just the new Faydwer area?

Do I need to buy the original game and the two expansions to get all the content or does the last expansion come with all the previous content?

Downtime.  How bad is it?

I read they added in PvP.  Is it a faction vs. faction world PvP or is it limited to instanced areas?

What are the three best things in the game?

What are the three worst things in the game?

I recently reactivated my Everquest 2 account. Vanguard made me do it This review is mostly spot on. Great value (Latest expansion with all others included), tons of content and it's quite fun.

I'm sorry, but I find it difficult to take a website's reviews that scores a game with such horrible art direction as Everquest 2 a 9 in Graphics, but gives the Burning Crusade, which is WoW, which is well known for its art and detail, a 5.

Another sentence that annoys the heck out of me is this:

" Everquest II is very easily the best looking game currently on the market even beating out next generation mmo's like Vanguard."

Just read that again. "Very easily". My dear Adele, please look up games such as Granado Espada, ZerA, or even older games like EVE, Lineage 2 and even WoW (all maybe not WoW, as this website is as anti-WoW as it can get), and then come back here saying Everquest 2 is "Very easily" the best looking game on the market. My problem isn't with the fact the Adele says Everquest 2 is the best looking mmorpg out there, I am not saying it isn't (nor am I saying it is, if you want my opinion on that, just ask me), my problem is the "Very easily" part. Adele is acting like Everquest 2 has no competition whatsoever in the graphic department.

More examples are the fact that WoW received a 6 in roleplaying, but somehow, Everquest 2 deserves a 9? I am not saying that WoW didn't deserve that score, but my point is that EQ2, imo, definitly doesn't deserve a 9 if your going to give WoW a 6. Everquest 2 doesn't add that much more to roleplaying then WoW does.

As an example that is supposed to enhance EQ2's Roleplaying part is this.

---

"Just like the sound and music in a movie can change the way a viewer is feeling or help to create a scene, it can dramatically change the feeling of the mmo world. Everquest II does an excellent job of setting the mood for each of their zones. As you fight your way through places of the undead such as Stormhold or The Living Tomb, you can feel your skin crawl as the cackling of the undead echo through the air. While standing in Qeynos Harbor you fill with pride as the sound of Antonia's voice encourages you to be strong and fight the evil that has fallen upon Norrath. The quest givers each have their own voice, and even leveling has a sound. Emotes add sound as well enhancing the role-playing aspect of the game".

---

 But that should be taken into consideration when your judging the sound and music of the game, not the roleplaying part.

Other examples of roleplaying are the emotes (its shorter to make a list of MMO's that doesn't have emotes), and the so called guides. In all 3 months I have played Everquest 2, I have yet to see 1 of those guides. In fact, I didn't even know they existed.

a bit off-topic, but I find it rediculous mmorpg's get even judged on roleplaying aspects. Some MMO's like Lineage 2 and RF Online are simply not build for roleplaying. that would be like judging the RPG aspects of Counter strike and take it into consideration when giving the final score.

Another one is the Community score. a perfect 10? are you kidding me? are you going to tell me there is not a single bastard, annoying kiddy, or "Go-back-to-WoW elitist?" let us stay realistic here. Funny thing is in the part talking about the community, it mentions this: "It has found what World of Warcraft is lacking: Adults". Nice going, lets attack a diffrent game in a game's review. absolutely amazing. there are plenty of other Games with even far more immature communities, such as Guild Wars or actually pretty much every free to play mmorpg out there, but No, we, as mmorpg.com have an anti-WoW reputation to keep up, so it must be WoW we're attacking in an EQ2 review.

All that combined with thist last sentence: "Everquest II is arguably the best mmo out there.",

I find it harder and harder to take these reviews seriously. If you ask me, these reviews should be taken just as seriously as the ratings on the front page. This is also the very first time I doubt the ubiasedness of the reviewer. Not saying that SOE opened its wallet to pay for a good review, but Its a coincidence that, now that Everquest 2 reaches the top of the raitng, we, by totall coincidence ofcourse, get an Everquest 2 re-review. I have a feeling that this review is either made by an Everquest 2 fan, or its just a tool to keep the community of mmorpg.com happy.

Originally posted by dogsalad

Few more questions.  Forgive me if I'm a little wary... I vowed to never play another Sony MMO a few years back.

 

Is the Trial Island an accurate representation of the full game?

Was the whole game given some artistic upgrades or just the new Faydwer area?

Do I need to buy the original game and the two expansions to get all the content or does the last expansion come with all the previous content?

Downtime.  How bad is it?

I read they added in PvP.  Is it a faction vs. faction world PvP or is it limited to instanced areas?

What are the three best things in the game?

What are the three worst things in the game?

 

1) Play the Fae is moer representative now. But trial of the Isle is great too.

2) Every expansion since the original game has gotten better and better looking. This is the 3rd expansion and they are at their prime. Original zones have not been updated.

3) If you buy the Expansion of Faydwer retail box you get the base game and all 3 expansions. Only things you don't get are the 3 (or was it 4?) adventure pakces

4) Downtime. There is no downtime. You use food and drink to replenish power and health after a fight.

5) Best things? I love the vast number of zones and things to do. I love the quests and the feeling I am never grinding. I simply do quests and have a blast. I love heritage quests. I love playing with my guild. I love druid teleports and Conjurer's call of the hero. I simply love this game as being the best of all MOGs at present and I have tried allot of them.

6) worse things? You have to pay to play! If you play more than one SOE mog then all pass costs as much now as 2 subscriptions. I don't play another mog at present so dont use it. I wish there was a true Z axis in game with levitate etc. Fae glide comes close but its not the same. I wish the game was seamless like Vanguard. there are some big giant zones but they are still zones. I also wish there were more druid rings around the world, but in gneral I can get anywhere I want in under 15 minutes now.

I reccently tried eq2 agian witha free trial and i was noithing but disapinted, the graphix are not really that great, not saying wow's are people so cool it. The combat system and just the mechanics of the game are like a throw back to eq1, which i did not think were good at that time also. To review this as things have changed would be rather silly i feel , not looking at a game like DDO  things HAVE changed and thus you coudl re-review and come out with a higher view of the game , but EQ2 has not made any significante game mechanic changes that would make me feel as it has improved.

Hehe people like some games, don't like others.

People complain in every game, just go to the vanguard, wow, EQ2, etc, etc. forums and people will be complaining about things they don't like.

Hell in EQ2 forums people that want to solo complain that there isn't enough solo content, those that want to group complain that there isn't enough grouping content or it is too hard to find groups, raid people complain about some mob being too difficult or in some cases too easy.

My suggestion is you try any game you are interested in and see for yourself. 

Personally I like EQ2, been playing it for the most part straight through from launch.  I play on one of the RP servers mainly because those seem to have had more mature players over other servers.

As was mentioned before Try the new play as a fae, I don't think the trial of the isle has been updated in awhile.  Also note that in these "freebies" some stuff is probably locked down.  I know it is one way plat sellers were using to spam players so they put some restrictions on them.

 

 

 

Originally posted by Citron

What do you get when you take,

1 cup of WOW
2 cups of EQ
and a pinch of Vanguard

I thought we were only talking to adults?

Good review, however I had to laugh when I read the part about WoW's graphics having the edge over EQ2, EQ 2 was pushing the limit on MMO's graphics when it was released, WoW was already behind with it's muddy textures, lack of detail, and low quality character models.

heh yeah EQ2 isnt too good with solo, moreover some of the community doesnt help because they are too elitiest to accept alot of people enjoy soloing. Everyone I know though is laughing about this review, mostly the part of the graphics, its so bizzare someone actually wrote EQ2's graphics are as good as Vanguard but Wows Graphics are better then EQ2 lol, that is really crazy.

Originally posted by vesavius

Yeah, so much hate...

You obviously left EQ2 a long time ago and it's definitly not the same experience that it was when when you played.  Maybe it's time to let go of the anger and realise not everything stays the same and opinions/ views can become outdated. I'm not asking you to give EQ2 another chance or anything, but please realise that this isnt the same game it was on release, for better or worse depending on personal preference.

They might have changed a lot, but the old resentments I feel over it all still there. Maybe if it was the only game out there, I'd try it again, but its not. With spellborn and Conan and the pirate one just to name a few coming out just this year, I have no reason to waste my time with EQ2. I tried it. It wasn't for me. The glowing review just reminded me of a lot of things I didn't like about it.

Originally posted by dogsalad

Me and a few friends are looking for something new.  We thought we might want to take another look at EQ2 (played it in beta, briefly).

Here are the things that made us not want to play the game in retail:

1.  Locked encounters.  Not being able to assist someone when they're about to die was just rediculous.

Well the person about to die could unlock the encounter by calling for help (/yell). Then anyone around that wanted to could assist. Its simple to set up a macro for that.

You can also heal someone if they are in trouble even if they don't yell for help. I have had random people do that for me plenty of times when I was soloing a quest and got in trouble.

2.  Shared XP loss.  If someone in your group died, everyone lost XP.

Since EQ2 is not a grind game or at least does not have to be one unless you insist on playing that way and the xp loss on death is so minor, I not ever really noticed the loss on death.
Note that the xp loss on death was more significant in the game early on near release.

3.  Ceramic doll look for all the models and the ambiance of the world.  Artwork is what makes graphics nice, not poly counts.

Well guess this is a matter of taste. The models look about as good as vanguard to me on my system at playable settings. But then I can play EQ2 on very high or extreme settings and "at the time" I had to use balance or lower in vanguard. 

Have these areas been improved?

A few months ago, I downloaded the trial and was thoroughly unimpressed with it... but I've been told that the trial island hasn't been updated since launch and that the game is actually fairly different, is this true?

If you want to do the trial in EQ2 then get the fae one.

 

 

Originally posted by batpuppy

Originally posted by dogsalad

3.  Ceramic doll look for all the models and the ambiance of the world.  Artwork is what makes graphics nice, not poly counts.

Well guess this is a matter of taste. The models look about as good as vanguard to me on my system at playable settings. But then I can play EQ2 on very high or extreme settings and "at the time" I had to use balance or lower in vanguard. 

 

Thats not really saying much tbh.

Originally posted by euangelion
Good review, however I had to laugh when I read the part about WoW's graphics having the edge over EQ2, EQ 2 was pushing the limit on MMO's graphics when it was released, WoW was already behind with it's muddy textures, lack of detail, and low quality character models.

Yes, I certainly did not understand that statement either. I have played EQ2 since release, and also tried very briefly WOW, and the graphics in WOW were a definate turn off - and I don't mean the cartoon character models, I mean the almost total lack of any detail. Even when EQ2 first came out it was by far the most detailed game around, beating WOW by a wide margin.

And what others have said about the 8800 card is true - the 8800 has some serious problems with MANY games, not juse EQ2.

I have a 7950 and am easily able to run the game on nearly all max settings with practically no lag at all.

And I also question the 7.9 rating - This game is far better than some others with higher ratings.

Originally posted by LordRikerQ
Seriously is this reviewer getting paid off by SOE?  The graphics for one are no where as good as Vanguard, but they are much better then Wow's Cartoonish look too.  Secondly, there is a friendly and helpful community on the fourms, but in game? A bunch of elitist high level morons, that are anything but helpful to people. And random "Guides"? I've been playing EQ2 since Desert of Ro and none of my friends or I have ever seen or much less heard of said guides.

This re-review is BS, i hate when reviewers spew propoganda lies.

Compare the character models and character animations in Vanguard with what EQ2 has, and then come back and tell me that VG is better.

And funny, but I have never seen any of those "elitist high level morons" you speak of. Maybe you just have an attitude problem and are on everyone's ignore list...