Originally posted by Redemp

Thanks for all the answers. Feel free to pm a link ... will probably get the game today. What does the link do btw?

If you buy today, do expect to play today.  You might be done DL'ing and patching in about 7 hours, just enough time to name your character, log in and see what you've been missing, then the servers are going down for 24 hours for a patch, then you will be able to log in and play, but I heard the end of the world is in 2012 so you lose for starting so late.

A "guide" really?

Two words.  LTP  o.0

Here is the true guide.

Buy game

DL game

Install game

Launch game

Play game

You are roxor!! and will die alot

I'm still pretty new so I don't know about the shield slam thingy.  But sword and board isn't a bad combo, but once you're in the game and relize you can do everythign and anything, you'll pick up ever weapon and want to make sure you are skilled in it.  I've never been a caster, but in this game I catch myself using a mage staff often, just to make sure I'm getting those stats up, so I'm not a gimp in any areas. 

If you're grouped, you don't go rouge by "accidentally" hitting a group mate, but if you're not grouped and attack, or even accidentally hit another player, you go rouge for about 20 seconds...then you're back to blue.  While rouge, you can be attacked by the guy or any other blues in the area without then acureing a penalty.  Don't let this scare you though, no one cares if you go rouge and most ppl will let you alone until you go back blue.

The game is a blast and although I hate the bunny hop tactic of melee to melee combat, this is still the most fun I've had in a game in a while.

Originally posted by Predator160

It's nothing like EQ1 ......... I bought it and was terribley ripped off. Everquest II = WoW Clone, NOT EQ II.

/end trolling

The the exception that EQ2 was released 2 months before WoW.

I don't think the learnng curve in that game is any more difficult than any other game I've played.  I think that is just something people who don't want to like this game say.  The only way I think this game might be hard to get a hang of is if you've never played these types of games before and even then it would still only be difficult if you've totally avoided any type of computer gaming.   Secondly on this point, it is stupidly easy if you actually read the tutorial that pops up in your face when you make new toons.

And I still don't see how people complain about the graphics or anything in this game, bash it if you want, but until you've read the lore and understand why some lands look the way they do then you should have no reason to bash or complain.

Again, I'll agree with whoever mentioned the starter zones in some of the oldest areas.  The are small and should be linked, but again remember 5 years ago, it was the way to go and did make sense.  Now it seems stupid, but nor does it much mater because as someone else said, you should only be in those zones about 10 total minutes of your exsistance.

Originally posted by cybertrucker

Everzerg.. The grouplinked mobs in EQ2 just blow. Its like the developers created the game and said play it the way we want you to and no way else.. In most other games players can learn strategies to handle certain situations or split group mobs so they can be tackled differently.. Not in EQ2... they took tactics and player enginuity out of the game.

Along with that Strategies that prevalent in other games that players came up with its like the devs intentionally said no way are we going to allow that to be done in this group.

Ohh yes another thing. Hope you like zoning... Because untill you get to higher levels and some open terrain.. Get used to load screens. ZONING PLEASE WAIT.. the first few weeks of gameplay you will be getting that once every 2 to 10 minutes... its kinda a pain.

Lets see last thing I can think of the classes in the game are really just mirrors for example play a necro its pretty much identicle as the conjuror just with different particle effects and diffferent resists coded.

oops thought of something else. While the graphics arent bad. The world is bland colorless and lifeless (some of  the newer areas at least add a bit of color to the game). It also just isnt meshed together well. There are just to many hard lines.

With all  that being said I will not say that EQ2 is a bad game... Just didnt do it for me... There are much better games available that offer a slightly similar style which are much better games IMHO

IE Vanguard, Age of Conan, Lord of the rings.

I would recommend one of those.

Hmm...I've raided at the highest levels of this game, and with each and ever encounter I've seen it handled no less than three different ways.  I've seen mobs just blown up, and I've been with PUGs that have had to be ingenious to get past a certian mob.  But ehh...maybe it was just me.

As for the zoning, I'll agree that this at certain times even I said, WTF didn't they just combine those zones.  But remember 5 years ago it was a wise decision.  Now it's like those 3 zones are so small why didnt' they just make them one.  But the zoning isn't bad unless you're still on a dial-up connection or have only 5 kb of ram.

And lastly, a Necro is a conjorour.  One evil, one good.  Just like a Brigand is the same as a swasbuckler.  One evil one good.  Lack of effort on SoE's part, sure, but I will say that once you make it past 30, even like classes really start to break apart.  And when you have 24 different classes a few likenesses might show up somewhere.

I loved EQ2, it was by far and away my favorite game I've ever played.  On-line in off.  I had to quit though because I was horribly addicted.  I wish I could play again and tell my wife I'll just play a bit here and there, but we both know that wouldn't happen.  It's a great game and although it's been out for 5 years I feel it would not be bad at all to join and start now.  Best bet, is to find a guild when in the game that will look out of lower level toon by occasionally having the mains help the noobs.  I did that in my guild and I know some others that still do that.  Remember, to talk in chat and get to know your guild then when you ask for help they'll willing do so.

Question 1: Yes, you equip daggers.  A dagger goes in each hand and they attack fast.

To the OP: You should seek help.

Question 2:  The population is decent as far as I've seen.  It is very seldom I find myself with out someone around.  However, I can travel for a few mins to a barren area and luckily find myself alone to gather resources.

To the OP:  Start with something cheep like meditation and if that doesn't work, you might need to find a counselor.

I just picked the game up a couple weeks ago and I love it.

Graphics never sold me on any game, but these aren't bad and don't detract from the game at all.  If anything I'd say with how dark it gets at night and how bloody my toon looks when I'm low on health, I'd say these are some the the most realist graphic's I've seen.

PvE = fun.  It'll be better (assuming they give us what they say in the next patch) but I love that when I'm kickin' a mobs ass it tries to run and get it's health back.  I've never played with my penis while playing a game, and the way this game works makes that impossible to do, so I can see why some people would have a problem here.

PvP = true point that has been lost in games.  Sure I'd like to be a spoiled brat and complain that I'm not getting my way.  But the truth is, there is a whole new level of excitement when I look in my backpack and see that I have 500 gold in there, and I just saw an arrow fired from another player wiz by my face.   It's scary, it's exhilarating , it's fun

Crafting = I have hated it in every game I have ever played.  And I've never done it.  However, in this game, I wouldn't say it's needed, but I do it because I want to.  I want to because I don't wanna be a steangthless wuss.  You actaully increase your own stats by crafting.  I do it because I don't wanna be ripped off by other players that have to craft my stuff.  All other games everyone know crafting is useless because better gear is always found on mobs.  There is gear on mobs but not better than what you can craft and enchant. 

Fun = more fun when you have 5 or 6 orcs standing outside the city gate, chatting with other players on where they are, where to go to get a better shot, whats going on, the fast action pace of it, and then the joy of knowing you killed one, but also the fun that he doesn't just go away he gets revived and is looking to kill me even more now.  Man, thats a blast.

I hate being ganked by asses hunting in noob land as much as the next guy.  And I'm not going to lie, some jackass continually kept trying to kill me.  However the next day I was ready and pwned him when he came for me.  Another time I played the jackass and pk'd some afk reds multipule times until they came back from afk and treated me like they're redheaded stepchild.

This game is fun, prefect no, right for everyone, no.  Hate if you must, but for those that can understand they aren't the center of the universe, then this is a really good game.

Ugh...the slotted item organization of games has always been my biggest pet peev.

I love DFO's way, just the same as UO did it.  I have my main backpack and inside of that I can place other bags that I use for sorting the items.  The only thing I want adjusted is pleae give me the ability to drag and drop an item into an unopened bag.  I don't like having to open a bag to place an item in it...but then again I'm just lazy.

$4.99 a month.   I would definatly give this game a 3 month run at that price. 

I've played MMO's for 12 years.  Yep...since UO came out and I like em alot.  Now-a-days however, the wife doesn't like em alot.  She hates that I play them and hates it even more that I "waste" money on them.

So for a free game, this is an exceedingly well done game, with alot of quests that aren't horrible to read.  Fewer bugs than I've seen in alot of other games and an appearance and UI that isn't completely useless.

For a game that is free, I challenge anyone to show me one better or more comprehensive than this.

One of the main reasons I played Everquest 2 for so long over any other game is because of the story it has...the histroy and the lore.  Still, to this day, in that game, can find something that bring back old old memories form Everquest.  That kind of lore lives on in games.  Even with WoW the story comes from a history of games that Blizzard did, so people that played those warcraft games know that history of the places.

Try to play a game with no histrory or story to it and find how quickly killing 10 rats just to kill 10 rats eats away at your soul.

Oh, don't know why, but when you're title said truth, I actually thought you meant truth as in not biases fallacies. When will I learn?

I'm pretty sure they said it will release in Europe on the 22nd of January.  America should see it 2 to 3 weeks later.  Europe is their pay to play open beta.

And to reply to darwa, yes I have an 80 guard that I've used for everything from raid tanking to soloing

Yeah I know a number that betrayed too, but I don't play paladins as the very first toon in the MMO's I play because they are the best.  I play them for what they are.  I like paladins for a number of reason, the least of which would be their uberness.

Well the first thing you should do is go back to the character creation screen and make a paladin.  ;)

But if you're asking specifically about which AA's to get first.  I'd say go this way since you solo, and you'll want to kill stuff faster.

In the Guardian Tree go down the Slaughter Line and get Double Attack.

Then back to the Warrior tree and go down the Int Line (yeah thats right, Intelligence) 4, 4, 8, 6, 1.  That reuse and recover time can't be underestimated.  Along with the increase of attack speed.  Beleive me, as a DPSer you'll want to attack as often as possible, not just spamming CA's

Then look at the Str line.  4, 4, 8.  Melee crit chance will be nice.  From there, hopefully you'll know what you'll want to be doing.

Good luck

I'm on Oasis, and it's seems to be a very populated server.  I know of at least 20 secessful raiding guilds on that server and still tons of other guilds that have dozens of people in them that dont' raid all the time.  I don't know how much more full AB is but Oasis seems to be living quite well.

No, Baham is right.  These dungeons are hard for anyone to try to brainlessly melee their way though.  On the other hand if you actually use some resources available and use your brain, these become very fun and ultimatly more rewarding fights.