Originally posted by ArChWind

The first video I every saw was Deathfist Citadel. Well then when I get all the way to Deathfist Citadel I find the game didn’t even come close to the video there was no gate to open but a zone line.

 

Anyway,

Played from release up to LU13 at which time they decided to change the mechanics of the game and the way the classes functioned. With this update, I now had to re-learn my class because they swung the nerf bat HARD.

I was only out for about 2 months but I was still a bit put off with the changes. Slowly but surely they fixed the game up (As you see it, made it Wowified but to many they made it MUCH better) UNTIL.. LU19 which totally changed the entire class system of course at which many got really ticked and quit again including me.

I was forgiving though and came back again after a couple months and played for sometime until one day I got BORED and decided to take a break it was right when they added a cash store but that was different reason. For many it was a bad decision by SOE to add a cash shop to subscriber based game.

After 2 months I returned and stayed active until last November. The reason I quit this time was, I decided that paying 40 buck an expansion every 6 months to a year and then paying a subscription of 20 bucks a month for full access was not worth the value of playing something else.

SOE is killing EQ2 no one else is because they are gouging the subscribers.

I will get over it in a few months again but still I hate on em once in awhile. :)

OH,, BTW did you know you can turn off the quest givers quills and actually customize the UI so you never have to see one including the mini map? You can customize the UI to the point all those dumb downed features are not visible?

I definitely remember early in the game them changing the classes around and even getting rid of subclass quests and instead you just started as the class you selected. It was a change but did not ruin the game. Honestly what I think ruined it for some of us (I know the servers are high) is the nerfing of the game + the gouging through the cash shop and subscription. Sure, who doesn't like to make money? But when you're focusing on a in-game shop more than adding regular content + charging for xpacs + charging a subscription this is what pisses me off. They need to pick a route better route like B2P + Shop or Subscription based without a shop. Should not be both.

I agree with most that we have simply gotten bored of the games out there. Most MMO's are trying to accomadate those who want to jump into the game for a bit and jump out due to time restraints and other reasons. Lets also look that they are making them "F2P" which IMO affects the quality of the content subscribers pay for (just look at what SOE is doing to it's games now).

I have tried Vanguard and it does have a similar feel EQ1/EQ2 as well as multiple interesting other features added to it, I have realized they are not developing content for the game but rather just the marketplace in an attempt to milk the game until its dead.

Not only that but you will need to have time to group with people (and find people to group with) to actually get anywhere around level 20. There are still things you can do solo but the solo content drastically decreases.

Most games that have a market/cash shop are not pay to win. They just have nice things in there to squeeze every bit of money out they can. Sadly this affects the game itself imo. I played EQ2 for years where they created content for those who PLAY the game. Now they develop most content for you to purchase.

So now it goes like this. Go do a hard dungeon here's some gear but it looks like crap, so why don't you purchase some nice "appearance gear" to make it shiny and sparkly for $10+. And that ugly old mount you have, why not pay $15-$30 for a nice shiny one. I remember when you actually worked for good stuff, you got good stuff. Games now are starting to piss me off and this needs to change for the furture of gaming.

Originally posted by evilastro

While nostalgia is nice, EQ2 isnt the same game it was back then. Everything is easier, there is no need to work as a team. In fact all the dungeons now have a solo version. There are lots of botters and multi-boxers. People just farm money for charity loot. Raid progression is a joke.

EoF and TSO were the best, would be good if they could get back to those good old days. I think EQ2 has gone too far from that though, but will be looking forward to the latest version of Norrath in EQNext.

 

Pretty much this sums it up for me. I played EQ2 on and off since 2005 and admit I had a lot of fun but now the games just changed too much for the worst. I enjoyed EOF and ROK but TSO is where the game dropped off for me. I'm playing Vanguard now and having some fun in that, miss my melee spec warden though.

EverQuest 1 probably is larger seeing as it has more expansions to bring out content. I have never actually played it so don't hold me to that. But EverQuest 2 actually is a big game. There are multiple large zones for each level range including many dungeons each zone. There is plenty to explore and plenty to do in EQ2 if you haven't played it before.

I really don't see F2P being the future since there's no real way to do it right to benefit us players. Take a look at EQ2 for example. You can pay $15 a month, and for what? Most of the content being added is to the store instead of the game. So you spend more time buying content that should already be included since you pay $15.

And look at the fact that you still pay for expansions and all the previous players that payed hundreds on the game and expansions only to be screwed out and have to pay for stuff again (I'm talking about race/class packs).

I would rather buy the game and be able to earn everything by PLAYING it.

Originally posted by stratasaurus

Originally posted by Nadia

http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=522444&post_id=5794240#5794240

The team has been brainstorming ideas that would ease the re-entry back into the game and soften the learning curve for returning players as well as creative options for a Refer-a-Friend program.

    What would float your boat if you are, or were, a returning player at some point? Creative suggestions?

    And do you have ideas that would make you excited to not just refer a friend, but play with them too?

 

goto link for player responses

I haven't played Everquest 2 but statements like easing the re-entry and softening the learning curve sure sound to me like they are going to nerf the game and difficulty to draw in casuals.  I always hate to hear companies doing that as MMOs are too easy as it is.

This is a big reason why people don't play it anymore. SOE dumbed it down for casuals and then put in a cash shut to get cool looking items and mounts. You no longer have to work for anything, just pay, and if you do work, that gear sucks anyways because they still want you to pay.

I have to say you should listen to these guys and save the money by getting an i5 and use that money towards a better graphics card or even an ssd.

I just built a system earlier this month with an i5-3570k and a GTX 670 and most games don't even touch the CPU. I don't know what kind of games you play but lets take TES: Skyrim for example, I checked the other day and the game did practically nothing with the CPU. It was all GPU.

Vanguard has now gone free to play. I think it's early f2p if you have an account, then everyone next week... not sure.

So anyone still monitoring this want to start playing vanguard?

Originally posted by Jenosyde

i voted for EQ2. would be cool if the group was to stop at each lvl cap ex. 50 run the group content (endgame) then 60 do the same and so on. that way people would full enjoy all the content that has been released with this game. i also agree with an above poster to pick a random server and all level new characters. this stopping at 50 to clear old content before moving on would promote this.

 

edit... im against VG till f2p

This is what I want to do if I start up EQ2 again. I want to enjoy all that old content that no one does anymore. It probably isn't as hard now, but there is a lot of cool stuff to see.

How long do you plan to keep the poll open. Seeing as we pretty much have a tie, should we start with EQ2 (seeing as it is mostly F2P anyways) and we can decide if we want to go VG later if a date comes up?

Originally posted by raystantz

 

Here's a breakdown on my thoughts of each game.. as described in an xfire conversation with my friend Aly. 

 

1) EQ2.. love the housing, love the crafting, love the fluff and content.. never have been crazy about the graphics, especially the character models, not a big fan of how "zoned" it is and don't like how they made the guild houses where you can access everything without leaving home.

 

2) VG, .. its too big to be that empty... I don't like the character models here either.. I like diplomacy and the crafting, but there's not near as much fluff. Not sure how F2P will wind up being or if I want to wait til the end of summer to play an MMO.

 

3.) Rift.. what I remember of it.. was ok.. I kept feeling like I'd been here before. I thought the rifts and invasions happened a little too often, and am not big on the "theme" of the game as much as I am others.. I like old fashioned swords and sorcery.

 

4) FFXIV keeps calling me because of my love for SE and FFXI.. I understand they are totally different games, and I agree that it feels a bit dead due to the population. I also don't really know what there is to do outside of leves.. not much fluff yet.

 

5) GW2.. I just keep hearing so much hype about it, and not wanting to be the guy who follows the crowd.. I'm destined to not like it. But I could be wrong.. I stil however don't feel like its going to be the immersive in depth experience we are wanting, I think its going to be more quick wow like fun with a different mechanic.

 

These are some pretty good descriptions. My top picks were VG and EQ2, but like you said its full of fluff and thats what I don't want haha. If I wanted that I would play any other MMO out there. VG is one of the rare left that isn't fluff and actually takes work, so who knows what will happen when it goes F2P.

Originally posted by raystantz

Thanks for the input! When does VG go FTP? and wouldn't it wind up the same?

Sometime this summer. It will probably eventually be the same, but hopefully not immediately. EQ2 actually used to be a group oriented game. Not saying it's not still in end game, but for the most of lower level you can solo everything if you know what you're doing.

I vote VG once it goes F2P. I would say EQ2 but it is just a big fluff and market game now. It's just not the same as it used to be.

I am considering starting my account back up just because of how great this game is. Does anyone know how groups are forming now days? That's the one problem I had, was getting someone to group with to do harder quests.

Vanguard gets a new community manager. Could this be another sign for f2p?

http://vgplayers.station.sony.com/newsArchive.vm?section=News&month=current&id=1363

I was able to play this game when SoE gave out free subs to all games you had (even trial accounts) and it was actually quite fun. The problem is the game has a large group focus and there is not a large enough population. I think F2P would be great for this game, assuming the cash shop doesn't ruin the game.

Warcraft III - Played for many many years, both playing custom maps and even developing my own maps.

EverQuest II - Played since 2005 and quit and came back many times. Such a great game (before the latest xpacs and f2p)

I think the game plays fluidly if you use a controller on the PC. It even fixes some of the annoying things and bugs that you get using keyboard/mouse in this game. I am really considering on buying this, not sure if I will wait for price drop or not though.