PVP:Yes | Distribution:Download | Retail Price:n/a | Pay Type:Hybrid | Monthly Fee:n/a
Desktop Client | System Req:
| ESRB:T| Out of date info? Let us know!
EverQuest II Review: A World of Adventure and Discovery - Edit
8.3
| Pros |
 Immersive world Lots of player diversity Very polished game play |
| Cons |
 Lack of community outside guilds Little innovation, even from its outset Little roleplay even on RP servers |
The land of Norrath has always been a home to me. From its creation and growth in Everquest, to its destruction and slow rebuilding process through Everquest 2, I’ve found that it is a world of adventure and discovery. Almost seven years after launch, Everquest 2 has done a good job of keeping content fresh, exciting, and mysterious. Since launch there have been numerous expansions, which have extended the game world past twice its original size.
The expansions have added many new continents: Faydwer, a nature lover’s paradise and once home to the Dwarves, Gnomes, Wood Elves and High Elves; Kunark, the ancient home of a lizard-like race called the Iksar; the Sinking Sands, which was once the Desert of Ro near Freeport; the Overrealm, which are floating islands above the world; Innothul, a swamp-like land which once was home to the Ogres, Trolls and Froglok; Odus, a magic infused land above the world; and Vellious, and icy wasteland of danger.
Aesthetics: 9/10
Each area is rich in aesthetic flavor and beauty, and each has a unique feel to it, which helps keep the game fresh as players journey from beginning to max. For example, in traveling through the continent of Faydwer there is a very wild feel to it, as nature is important to many of the cultures that live in the area. At the same time, there are elements of clockwork and steampunk due to the ancient city of the gnomes being there. Now from there one may travel to The Sinking Sands, which is made up of deserts and Arabia themed wonders; a very different feel.
)
Innovation: 8/10
As the game stands now, players are able to get to a max level of 90, with character development continuing far after hitting max (usually). Alternate Advancement (AA) points, think of a more mix and match version of talent trees in World of Warcraft, but you use experience to gain points instead of gaining them at level up. Levels are gained with the conventional kill and quest experience, but AA experience is rewarded through various means such as questing, completing collections, finding rare items, or killing powerful enemies. This provides players with a reason to venture off the beaten path in search of the much-valued AA points.
Players returning after a few years will find a very different experience starting up a new character. Many classes are now available for both factions, with only ones inherently good or evil, such as a Shadowknight or Paladin, being faction specific. A handful of new player races have also been introduced, such as the Fae, a fairy, and the Sarnak, a dragon/Iksar hybrid, and starting areas have been added and changed to fit the way the in-game world has changed over time.
The old, outdated starting area of The Isle of Refuge, which led to Freeport or Qeynos, has been eliminated and replaced with Neriak, the dark elf lands, and Gorowyn, home of the Sarnak, for evil players. For good players, Kelethin, a city built in trees, and New Halas, built in the middle of a glacier, are the new starting areas. These starting areas do a good job of introducing players to the game and getting them acquainted with the new features that have been added.
)
One thing added which changed the pace of the game in a massive way was the introduction of new mount types. There are four different types of mounts, all with their own pros and cons. Ground mounts are your standard mount type. They run on the ground faster than any of the other type, but that’s about all they can do. They next type, which was newly added, are leapers. Leapers aren’t as fast as ground mounts, and can’t really go far, distance wise, once up in the air, but they jump extraordinarily high, which can help in mountains or cliffs. The third type of mounts are gliders, which were my personal favorite. They’re the fastest of the airborne mounts, but once in the air they can only glide down, hence the name gliders. Finally, we have flying mounts, which are slow on the ground and relatively fast in the air. While slower than gliders, they can stay in the air for as long as necessary, which comes in handy if a player has to go AFK in a dangerous area.
Battlegrounds have also been added for those who enjoy PVP, and though I didn’t personally experience them I do know a little bit about them. There are three maps, each with different methods of gameplay and player limits. One is a 6v6 capture the flag match, where players battle deep within one of the Kunark jungles. The second map, another 6v6, is a capture and hold map, where opposing teams try and keep an object away from the other teams as long as possible. Finally, there is a 24v24 king of the hill type of map, where players must capture and hold various territories on the map to score points.
As for PVE, a lot of the difficulty has been reduced in overland zones (depending on when you last played) and a player can get to max with any class solo. If you’re one who enjoys grouping you don’t have to fear, however, because a host of epic quests, dungeons and raids have also been added. For those who have trouble finding groups or a guild to play with, or don’t have the time to seek them out, guild search and application features have also been implemented. This makes finding a group of players to regularly team up with is a lot easier than I find in most games.
)
Gameplay: 8/10
As for actual gameplay, I found it to be pretty standard with many mainstream MMORPGs, but still different enough to have its own feel. Enemies can attack solo, but also be a part of a group, and though this has been around since launch, I like the concept. Many of the quest lines in a zone have a hint of intrigue and mystery to them as well, giving a feel to the zone and adding some spice to the “Kill X” or “Collect X” types of quests. However, that’s not to say those are the only types of quests to be found in Everquest 2. Exploration, escort, and lore quests are all a part of the Everquest 2 experience, as well as a slew of quests for crafters and even some for PVPers.
Longevity: 9/10
On top of all that, there’s a lot of variety in Everquest 2 that keeps the gameplay fresh. All of the classes, and there are a lot of them (24 to be exact), have their own special aspects and roles in a group or raid, which make playing classes, even in the same sub-group, a new experience. Also, the amount of zones make multiple play-throughs new and exciting, instead of being streamlined through the same one or two zones for each level bracket.
Social: 7/10
As with any MMORPG, I find community is one of the biggest factors bringing long-term enjoyment to player (it is for me, at least). My main community experience came from the guild I joined, which I found using the guild search. Another feature which brought me closer to my fellow players, and was highly convenient, was built-in voice chat that automatically linked with your guild, group or raid (should you be in one). Zone-wide chatting was also fairly active and always allowed me to feel like someone was there.
)
All this being said, Everquest 2 did have its fair share of flaws. Staying on the theme of community, in my time in the world I saw very few groups outside of dungeons, and even then they were usually all members of the same guild. I saw no role-playing either, aside from a player here or there having a back-story to their character, and I was on a designated role-playing server.
Polish: 8/10
Lag was also an issue at times, though not nearly as much as I expected. In fact, I experienced few technical problems during my stay in Norrath. Occasionally an enemy would disengage from combat, or would be un-damageable (though they wouldn’t attack either, if this were the case). While this was slightly annoying, it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed by just finding a different mob to fight.
The SOE store is another thing some might have a problem with, though others may love it. I, personally, like how it’s set up, as a lot of the items on there are appearance only, though there are things like mounts, combat potions, and other things that could help one in game, though they aren’t really a necessity.
)
Value: 9/10
Overall, I found my return to Everquest 2 to be a lot of fun. Revisiting old zones with new characters gave a sense of nostalgia, while at the same time leaving me excited and giddy to see how they had changed. At the same time, visiting new zones with old characters allowed me to unlock new mysteries and battle new evils as I journeyed through magical cities and deadly wastelands. Easy to find and welcoming guilds added a greater sense of community and companionship to the game, while epic quests and dangerous dungeons brought us together for a common cause.
The world of Norrath is one of danger and excitement, mystery and conspiracy. It is a place ripe with adventure for those brave enough to seek it, and riches for those strong enough to persevere. It is a gorgeous, immersive world that I’m glad to have experienced once again, and I recommend those interested to check it out. There’s even a free version for those who would prefer it, so why not jump in and see the magic for yourselves?
not a bad rating for such an old game. Im honestly suprised on how well its holding up, we will see how it remains once eq-next comes out though
I tried going back to EQ2 recently but I couldn't stay. The graphics are pretty good, but the art design isn't. The gameplay is what killed it for me, as X of Y quests dulled my senses to the point that I gnawed off my leg to get away from my friends who are playing the game. It's polished, full-featured (the mentoring system is great), and there is a community.
if current EQ2 was like this at launch i think wow would have had stiff competition.just to add eq2 was the first i know to implement the collection quests which gives tons expand good items.in kunark some of the best trinkets were only gotten thru collections which meant the market for it was steep and someone could make a very descent living from selling collectibles.
sadly soe during beta ignored a lot of us testers(at one point i wondered why we were there) in favour of some hardcore guild from eq1 that was testing it .
thinhs like death penalty from group member dying,the over dependant crafting system on other crafting classes ,lack of solobility etc were all things we mentioned as bad in beta but despite popular voice got ignored.all this got changed but took a while by then wow became king.
hopefully soe has learnt their mistake.
I agree with most of your assessment, having been there for beta I remember the criticism and the fact that SOE didn't seem to be listening.
I don't think EQ2 would have been that much of a competitor to WoW though. EQ had a die-hard following of gamers, but Blizzard had an IP loved by millions (Warcraft games), plus the millions of people who played their other games (including Diablo and Starcraft). I think it was a perfect storm as far as Blizzard's success with WoW, and I don't think any company, no matter how polished the game was, could compete with it.
Not trying to sound like a fanboy. I'm definitely not a fan of WoW or its effect on MMORPGs. Just saying I don't think EQ2 had any real chance of competing with WoW.
<edit - holy frikkin' typos, batman!>
I think games like WoW, EQ2, Rift, and LotRO are excellent for the first two years, but then you get bored with "kill x number of bots" quests.
It doesn't matter how you present it - even the new Star Wars MMORPG looks tired before it's born in this respect (even though it has lots of speech).
I think The Secret World will offer more because it's based on storytelling, and it's not an obvious WoW-type.
Eve Online should be really good once DUST comes out.
However, in summary - the whole MMORPG market looks really tired because they are all too WoW-like.
If you want to play a new game, Battlefield 3 is the one to get at the moment.
I am playing eq2 right now and imo the scores are all too high.Instead of innovating or creating some new ideas or combat structure,the game has tried to streamline everything.Imo the game as most others do as well,need a sub class system.To login on a level 90 player is imo a waste of time,why bother?If you enjoy the classes and game ,then you might as well shelve that 90 and make a new player.
Selling loot rights is a very lame mechanic that should have long ago been fixed.IMO it seems like soe is just trying to hang onto players by adding mounts and making the game easy mode to solo.It is nice to have that super uber raid fight drop,but in the end it doesn't make that much of a difference and is not needed to continue leveling to 90.
Crafting has been ruined because SOE was lazy in their changes to items.Now you can get simple quests or any treausred item that can be as good as a legendary or crafted item.This leaves perhaps food?Nope food in eq2 is laughable it means almost nothing.The ONLY thing food is good for is power regen and that is ONLY if you are speed killing and even then it is hardly needed.In FFXI food actually means alot "during" combat[accuracy for example],eq2 it means nothing during combat,which is dumb.
I just hope SOE can innovate for their next MMO project as more of the same old will simply not cut it.So far i have not seen SOE ever use any thought to innovation thorughout the entire game,so i don't have a lot of confidence.It could however be a simnple case of SOE is afraid to make change after their SWG debacle.I however played FFXI and sqaure without making a huige change [until recently] was able to add several new gameplay/ combat ideas and creative new classes.
In Eq2 for example your choice is to do that quest or kill mobs there is no variance in game play.In FFXI you could raise a npc fellow,raise your own chocobo utilize gardening or chocobo digging.You could capture a mobs picture and use it make an Arena mob for Arena fighting.Ideas like Salvage/Einhejar to name a couple allow you to get away from the same old everyday boredom.This is what EQ2 needs,it is called innovation or some simple tohught put into each new xpac,not just more maps and maybe a new levels and questline.
IMO the original FFXI was the best most innovative design,EQ2 comes in at number 2 and is pretty much lumped in with all lhe other games doing the sme old same old.There is an argument that VG is maybe the second best game in the market,it just has no players.Wow has tons of players overall,the same server to server cpaacity however ,but offers nothing to change game play either.
You forgot to mention the housing and guild halls. Has to be the best game out there for decorating and owning multiple houses. There are over 98,000 items in eq2 according to mmo database, its just a very in depth game , they also now have outside areas you can purchase to build your own house on ect.
Well so far im enjoying it .
Not to sound like a dick to the poster two above me, but if you want people to read your stuff after you put all that effort into it, you need more newlines and please put spaces after your punctuation.
After reading this, I was looking for page 2. Because somehow the writer fails to mention crafting and housing. Which are major selling points for many EQ2 players.
Not to mention how AA isnt just a mix of talent trees. The fundamental difference with talent trees or other comparable alternate advancement systems in other games, is that you as player can chose how much xp is going to lvling and how much xp is going to AA. So you can even put 100% XP into AA. So fleshing out AA without lvling.
Then there is no mention of the mentoring system. Another very important feature for anyone who likes to group (like the writer). It makes it possible to always group with your friends regardless of lvl difference. The bonus xp that it gives makes it another incentive.
The write up is very shallow and incomplete, written by someone who only mentions what he/she is interested in.
Theres alot of whiners in comments as usuall.
there's tons and tons of great content youll be spoiled with that many new MMO's dont have (quantity) and a great playerbase on the live servers, not so mutch on the free server where many young kids come to play.
Theres still so many cool features this MMO have that others havent, like leveling up and decorating your guild, having special amenities, gatherers, miners, crafting stationsn Houserating system etc etc.
Most classes feels deep and takes a while to master, and youll notice who know their classes in group/raids etc, super rewarding.
If you havent played the game before give it a try!
The Housing system and crafting is really the best part of the game any more. It is very deep with a rating system. However, while this area of the game is thriving, the rest of the game is seriously hurting.
There is alot of content to enjoy, but the testing and development crew is so utterly incompetent that the makers of this game are their own worst enemy. This becomes more and more apparent as you advance in the adventure side of the game. Anyone who has been playing the last month knows what a mess the adventuring side of the game is. We had a massive game update which was so broken and untested it was insulting to any paying player. The raiding part of the game is so messed up right now, it has become an example of how not to run a game for every other developement team out there.
It is not a game to play as an achiever, it is a game to play very casually and live out your interior decorating fantasies. If you can look past the complete ineptitude of SOE's developer and testing teams there is some fun to be had still. Do not play this game hoping for any type of good raiding and end game progression.
2007 EQ2 - 7/10
2011 EQ2 - 5/10
Im not sure why you quoted me. I was just pointing out that the review was far from complete. You dont have to tell me that the EQ2 devs have some of the worst testers in the business. I know that they are able to botch any major update with missing sometimes quite obvious bugs.
I really tried to like this game, but it ran so horrible on my computer that I just couldn't stand it.
The gameplay I am sure is great, I got to about 26 myself before I decided I just couldn't keep playing with the way the game performs on my system.
I can run age of conan at medium to high settins, but yet even at low settings EQ2 runs like crap on my computer.
I was really liking the game, but I just cannot play a game with such horrible performance on my computer.
i played eq2 for about 2 months. i got to lvl 60 or so i really did want to like it. problem was i was constantly solo-ing all the time everywhere i went, and that killed it for me. i like the way the skills had different lvls of power like apprentice, novice, etc. graphics were ok. i always felt like i was watcing action figures moving and fighting on a tupperware looking environment.
I don't think the graphics and the art design are bad, but what's really bringing down the visuals for me is the very bad atmospheric lighting in the game. The overall scenery looks like in the cheap old hollywood movies in which they shot supposed to be outside scenes in a studio with floodlight. It doesn't look like you are being somewhere "outside" at all.
Still i loved Eq2 all the way, but couldn't get over the bad performance for years. Now that i can finally run it at max settings with 60 fps, they've build in an item shop :(
To me, EQ2 is like an adult version of WoW. However, both are linear and simple.
I liked EQ2 a lot back in 2006 - World PvP, No BGs, Plenty of End-Game, etc. I started to hate it back when they tossed in Battlegrounds (Arenas). When BGs became a good soruce to grind out PvP Gear, I flat out quit.
Why anyone would enjoy grinding out PvP points via the same 4-5 small arena maps is beyond me.
Great to see a re-review of EQ2!
I love this game, yes it's a themepark and it is very linear, but it is also very immersive and I love the lore.
Anyone else excited about the new expansion? I can't wait to try the build-your-own-dungeon feature :-)
Yea,
I started off quoting you agreeing with you about how incomplete this re-review is. Then I went off on my own tangent. I meant to take your quote off.
This game has a ton of great aspects and a ton of horrible ones. Sadly the horrible ones are game breakers and made me unsub.
1. I hit level 90 and found I couldn't do the SOLO content in the new Velious areas due to AA's not being high enough(mine were at 177 when I hit cap), this wierd critical mitigation stat requirement for the zones and the level gap is STILL there even at level 90 because the game is so gear oriented it's disgusting.
2. The crafting while a novelty at first, becomes the most boring, tedious mind numbing grind I have ever seen in a game past about level 30. I spent 10 levels crafting useless items JUST to progress. The only caveat here was the few crafting quests they have in the game that give you levels without having to craft a thing. I liked that. sadly it only gives about 2 to 3 levels and you need to be in the next tier to get the next set of quests.
Best parts of the game are the guild system, housing, collections, music, spell/ability effects and sound.
I like EQ2. It has everything a standard AAA mmo should have and then some... but...
....
I recently got into the SWTOR Beta... and I just can't bring myself to play any other mmo, ever again. I am not some fanboi, as i'm not really a Starwars fan, but Bioware did an amazing job. It may not be for everyone, but it sure beats any of the competition.
EQ2 is a good game and I wish it well.
EQ2 is a pretty good game. IMO they went from many problems up front, and fixed them. but they lost momentum and angered a lot of players.
That aside, I came back and found the game super easy to playl...almost to easy.
I found it odd too see a re-re-re review of EQ2. I played for 4 years. I loved the houseing..etc. The 1st several expansions were very nice. Then came The Shadow Odessey. This is my opionon is where the game took a drastic WTF feel for me. The odd direction seemed to go against the rest of the game the same way PoP in EQ1 did.
I'm also not a fan of the instance. In raid situations it does work. But for just regular groups I'm against. I miss the place holder dungeons. Why ? It was a way of getting to know people. Yeah people did complain..ya know the I want it NOW crowd. But what made EQ1 great was doing stuff that took time. Now you get a group..when ya get a group. And it's gogogogogogogogogo. BYE. Maybe EQNEXT will bring that back.
And last on my rant is the numbers game. Sure you may start EQ2 and get 90 in a week. But you want be able to really do anything. WHY ? What's you DPS < Biggest problem with mmo's today> What's you resist ? What's your AA tree look like. And several others. EQ2 is not a casual players game. Why have AA trees if when you get to raid content you are told " you need to respect you're tree because we need this ability"
And my last last thing. What happened to home land pride ? It used to be if you cam from Neriak, Halas, Freeport, Grobb etc. You had a pride where you where from. Now everyone comes from pretty much the same place. Citys used to be important. EQ2 destroyed that idea. You want an idea SOE put PvP in you're next game kinda like RIFT does. And rebuild home town pride.
I dunno. I love the EQ lore and cherrish my EQ1 days before the numbers game ruined it. Got my fingers crossed for EQ3 but not holding my breath.
In my on-going efforts to bring reviews and critics back to reality...
Under cons this review listed "Little innovation, even from its outset" and yet still gave this title an 8/10 under innovation.
I feel as if people just pull numbers out of their asses (or are paid to do so?). Please, at the bottom of the review write "I was paid to give this game higher numbers" or use a numbering system that is accurate. If you feel this game is an 8/10 or 2 steps away from perfection, great, but please don't include conflicting opinions within the same article!
Shame it's owned by $0E, because EQ2 is a fantastic MMO in it's own right.
I don't play, nor will I ever again but the review is pretty spot on. Though the game itself could certainly benefit from a new parent company and graphics engine.
I didn't mention housing since it's been there since launch, I believe, or at least since before the previous review, the same goes for mentoring (I remember mentoring my lowbie friends back in '05 or '06), though I agree both are great features and a source of a lot of fun.
As for crafting, I have no real knowledge base when it comes to crafting in any MMO. For this reason I tend not to comment on it, because I'd rather leave it blank than go off on a tangent on something I know nothing about. This being said. I should probably start looking into it in various games to get a feel for the different crafting systems so I can comment on them in the future, so I thank you for the motivation :)
I felt there was little innovation to the genre, but innovation within the game itself as it went from launch to where it is now; that's why the scores/pros and cons are like that. I appologize for the confusion
It's a really great game!
Shame the current dev team (namely the itemization department) is UTTERLY INCOMPETENT and has practically destroyed the game with the last Game Update! /FACEPALM
It's one of the better MMOs on the market, but I find myself struggling to comprehend how it can get a score of 8/10 for innovation. It doesn't really do anything significantly different from the rest of the genre, but I'll say it does do it with a bit more variety. At the end of the day it is just a solo quester though, at least until you reach the end game and people might want to group.
The overall score is a little high, but then isn't that the norm with MMORPG.com? I'd rate EQ2 at maybe 7.5 to 8.0. The big let down is the community and that is not helped by SOE's refusal to do anything to promote grouping, but instead an insistence to chuck out solo heavy zones in every expansion.
When you consider the man behind EQ2's remergence, after a dreadful release, was Rift's Scott Hartsman, then you can fully understand why it is such a solo game. The man thrives on letting people play the game by themselves.
EQ2 could be an amazing game if people grouped, but soloing from 1 to 70 just dilutes the whole experience sadly. The game has some amazing group content but it's washed away by how easy it is to get anywhere by yourself.
I made a visit to EQ2 not long ago also and had alot of fun too. Great MMO with tons of content, but lacklaster combat made me switch to GW
See this makes absolutely no sense.
EQ2 is great because of, not in spite of, SoE. The only game with as much effort behind it at this point is Rift. If SoE did not own EQ2 it wouldnt have half as much content as it does now.
While its not necessarily innovative, it does have things that are different from the competition.
They were the first to have collections for one. The housing system is more indepth then any other game. The new leaping/gliding mounts. The upcoming create a dungeon thing. You have to *earn* your powerful spells. Heritage questlines. The mentoring system. IN GAME VOICE CHAT WORTH USING.
While some of these arent really innovations, they do stand out from the other games.
How about adding this... great game, backstabbing slime ridden greedy corporation.
You dont really give a reason to not review certain features. Housing and crafting has changed too, just like pve content. More recipes have been added and every toon can now be the owner of more then 1 house. There are also new types of housing. It is quite obvious that this would be a big deal for players that like EQ2 housing.
If you leave out features on purpose in your review, then you shouldve at least mentioned why. The way it is now, its not really a re-review. Also, anyone who just checks the most recent review of a game, wouldnt even learn about the existence of the features you left out.
EDIT: I just realised that it makes no sense to give a score to a MMO if you only review part of the features. Then what is the score really about?
[Mod Edit]
But seriously:
$0E doomed EQ2 by trying to compete against Blizzards reputation and established fanbase with a hardball EQ1 sequel. (Not to mention alienating IT's fanbase with EQ1 shenanigans. Aka Omens of War.)
All changes made to EQ2 that significantly improved gameplay were in response to what's popular on the WoW side of the fence. They have a fantastic design team, developers. Poor artists, coders (Someone needs beaten with a pillowcase full of doorknobs for that poor excuse of an engine.) and a bad parent company that warrants, nor deserves further cash from it's previous customers.
Neither Rift nor WoW are anything compared to the EQ2 of present day.
Whether or not the parent company is respectable, dependable and trustworthy has little to do with the talent of their design team and how they nix, or improve upon features from other titles. Be realistic, they would've never, ever, in a million years put THIS much effort into the game were it a real financial success. (No competition equates to zero motivation for innovation and quality. Need proof? See: WoW, and Rift.)
"Little Role Play" is a con?
Thats something I dislike strongly about this website.
All of their reviews are so random and there's absolutelyh no system of guidelines that they base this junk on.
Reviews. What a waste of time.
I have major gripes about EQ2.
The biggest has to be by far its an idiotic content design. The devs do not know if this is a solo, group or raid game. Yet, the population of the game should clearly define how the devs should adjust content. Its not uncommon to run through the lower levels areas(1-60), and see no one.
Sure, there is a ton of content, too bad if you want to experience that content you're gonna need to find 3-4 more people. Good luck with that in this game. You're going to skip all content until you're max level. Then good luck getting a guild that actually plays together and invites outsiders. I doubt many people even make it that far, since by level 60 the game has worn thin.
Its fun for a few weeks, then one just realizes its the same old stuff just a different level. On top of that one is passing up all the lore and dungeons, because it takes a group to experience the content. This game could be fun if the devs got their heads out of their butts and adjusted content to the actual dismal population.
Granted, I like the classes, and I love the mentoring system. Sadly, the population doesn't justify group content during the leveling portion of the game. Missing out of way too much of the game.
i LOVE eq2. its my MMO of choice. played it the 1st day it was released and i go back to ot for a few months every year.
I enjoy EQ2 but I agree
I never cared about gearing up - rather explore different classes
for what its worth,
much of that changed last week
http://eq2wire.com/2011/09/30/september-30-2011-update-notes/
update removes the need for Critical Mitigation from Velious overland zones
I agree EQ2 is not great for innovation but there are some things
- collections, first mmo to them
- appearance slot gear, first mmo to have this
- mentoring, 2nd mmo to offer this feature, and many mmos still dont offer it
- upcoming "design your own dungeon" in november (but you cannot play your own character)
I agree on this part ,however SOE managed to ruin that as well by offering the best through cash shop only.You can't get any more lame than selling items that cannot be attained by any other means.
Guild halls are done pretty decent ,however in ROM we had some decent sized guild halls that also acted as a pvp base,so EQ2 could do alot better,they seem to do everything half way.Yes i know most games don't do guiuld halls even half as good,but i don't base it on other crap,i base ideas on what they could be doing.
sadly I agree - the best player homes are station cash only
SOE added a housing leaderboard last month, allowing players to rate different player homes
- they should have taken it one step farther with rewarding top rated house designers w new homes
They appear to not have thier "heads in their butts" as they are attempting to address this problem with mercenaries.
The community of this game has always been one of my favorites, and if you flag yourself for RP on an RP server and stay in character yourself others will usually follow your lead. Be the change you wish to see and all that, really does work on mmo's.
Well that bites, just unsubbed, but anyway, I'll come back in November with the expansion as I'll have a whole new class to play, more interesting game systems to play with like player made dungeons and all the collectable type mini game stuff going in. Really wish they would overhaul the crafting system so that I could literally do it in less time and maybe have more quests throughout the whole crafting experience as opposed to just at the start of each tier.
I'm shocked that anyone could give the aesthetics or innovation of EQ II anything over a five of ten. Honestly, what they're dealing with is standard at best, and less than subpar at its worst. As far as MMO's go, this game is definitely right in the middle for what it offers: it isn't good, it isn't terrible, but it's found a nice spot between quality and crap in which to call its own.
"Little innovation, even from its outset"
Yet innovation gets an 8/10.
There are numbers besides 7, 8, and 9 that you can use to more closely correlate with the garbage you're spewing.
You make a good point, and I'll definetly delve into crafting and other features I may not know much about to give an interpretation, or at least explain why I have left an interpretation out.
As I explained above, I found little innovation to the genre, but innovation within the game since launch.
I wish that had been in earlier too. When I got to Velious I got owned instantly by a badger; it was pretty embarrassing. I ended up getting guild help as I went through Velious, and, while I enjoy grouping a lot, it was a pain when no one was around to help
That's exactly what I was thinking. Shouldn't something that delivers little innovation, even from the outset, place somewhere around one through three on the ten point scale?
I'm playing and mosting enjoying the game on the FTP server. This is my third time getting into the game since launch. My main problem with the game has always been that I have very little sence of where I am in the world. Every zone i've ever been to just feels like a large "map", and with the click of a bell or whatever i'm on some other map. I'm eagerly awaiting EQNext as I believe they are going for a more open, Vanguard'ish world.
Agreed, the game is positively huge & SOE is adding to it constantly even between expansions. I've been playing on & off for 5 yrs.
I'm playing EQ2 since 2005 now, had a break of about 1.5 years in 2007 but since I'm back in 2009 ... the changes and additions have made it much more enjoyable for me. EQ2 works well now for casual players like me - and I don't mind that there are a lot of things for hard core players, raiders and such I can't access. I think they did a really good job in offering content to both types.
Overall I agree with the review but I think it misses a few important things.
For example the PvP zones are on an extra server so player from every server are transfered at the same server for the PvP session. That helps a lot to have people available for fights from what I heard.
Another thing is the addition of Chronomages, so now you can go to these and have your level for as long as you choose lowered (including skills and such) - so you can go with lower levels and have the challenge while doing content you've already outleveled. And you can switch off leveling gain, which I even as a casual do, I enjoy funnelling my XP just into AA while not gaining levels because one levels fast in EQ2 nowadays, there is so much content and XP to get. And no, that is a good thing, because it is not a grind anymore, but you decide how fast you want to level, you can go back with the Chronomages and you can slow it down or have it full speed. And having a MMORPG where you voluntarily switch off leveling because you enjoy just PLAYING - I think that is awesome.
Or there is a very extensive housing and decoration system, now you can have several houses at the same time, there are skyffs, libraries, theaters, floating islands etc etc. - and there is a "publishing" system, so one can in a central menu see what is offered by players to look at and rate, what other players have rated the plate - and just teleport there to have a look oneself. And there are extremely creative and beautiful houses out there. Since player can now even craft window, floor and wall tiles too it is amazing what people come up with.
And I like the new shader engine, how they rework the textures. From what I heard they are going over Qeynos and Freeport now to make them a single zone too while revamping all for the new graphics engine? Very much looking forward to that.
Other smaller recent additions I liked are the Freeblood player race (vampires) and the new map system where the map is shaded as indicidation what area to go according to the quest you have selected. I prefer that over the EQ2Map plugin actually with specific points. Not completely clueless, but more of actually searching still.
My currently -best MMO ever- and -how you can hate SOE but love their products- award winner..
soon to also be -fallback MMO of the Century- assuming SWTOR will turn out to be peopleswise WoW 2.0..chances of which are sadly, but logically, high..
Can anyone comment on how the population on the EQ2 LIve servers is in comparation to the Extended server?
I actually really like EQ2, and my old server had what was probably the best community in any game I have been in.
I hate SOE's quadraple dip revenue model though. They are just pure greed.
I really like EQ2 and like a few have mention earlier I plan to try it again After the new expansion. the expansion has a lot in it and by then they will have worked out most of the bugs with the new LFD grouping tool.
Well I have a couple of questions for the OP. First all the screenshots you used were from Sentinel's Fate XP, That is 1 soon to be 2 xpac's back. Age of discovery is in Velious, so I have to ask why no screenshots from that region. Did you even get to 86 so you could actually experience any of the Age of Discovery game update?
As far as role play ha ha, you obviously never met the rotunga community, the heaviest of the role playing folks. One thing I do agree with if you are not in a guild your going nowhere fast, and with some guilds you might as well not even try. Running pugs can be fun.
I though it was an ok review, but a review of stuff that was old, none of the new stuff was listed. Like the tradeskill AA lines.
Started EQ2 (again) last Week and i enjoy my stay sofar. Found a nice Guild, started Crafting and some Quests. At this Point, im pretty happy with EQ2. It was worthy, to re-register :-)
/cheers
EQ2 also has a dungeon finder coming soon - its on the test server now
http://eq2wire.com/2011/09/20/dungeon-finder-hits-test-today-september-20th/
clarification: Velious content is known as Destiny of Velious, AOD is not ingame yet
Age of Discovery is a "features only" expansion due next month, November
http://eq2wire.com/2011/09/23/everquest-ii-age-of-discovery-2-months-to-go/
it will be EQ2 first expansion with zero content and only new game features
also in November, with Game Update 62,
Freeport is being completely redone, and they are adding public quests to the commonlands
Tentonhammer has a good 4 page interview about all this -- from the July fanfaire
http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2/interviews/age-of-discovery
future game content will be added through the quarterly game updates
As mention, AoD isn't live yet (November i think). The pictures used by the OP sufficiently represent the graphics of EQ2.
I've been playing EQ2 for 7+ years now. It's not the most progressive or the most innovative game by far. But it is probably the most content-rich and it's graphics are still very decent given its age. (Even though the art direction does suck).
If you enjoy soloing and questing, then EQ2 is probably the best game for you. (5000+ quests, 90% or more soloable)
If you enjoy endgame grouping and raiding with tons of difficult content, EQ2 is a great game for you too. (the currenct tier alone has something like 12 6-person zones, 2 12-person zones and 13 24-person zones.)
If you've always wanted to try raiding but felt that you needed to dedicate your entire life to it, EQ2 is an amazing game to get into it as there are lots of easy raids, you can basically solo your way to being ready for them and they don't take a lot of time.
If you love decorating, EQ2 is an amazing game too.
On the flipside, if you're looking for meaningful crafting, grouping all the way up to max level, good pvp, immersion, good lore, roleplay, dynamic content or being able to actually have impact on the world, then EQ2 is definitely NOT a good game for you.
Know what you're looking for and you may very well find an amazing game in EQ2.
Actually we got children of war, and most of the aod content already been rolled out with gu60 and Gu61, the AOD xpac is going to be week sauce at best. Another 50 AA dungion finder and mercs and beastlords but no new content not good in my thoughts.
However youguys missed my entire point, reviewing a game update thats not even out, showing old picures and not even doing a review of the current game systems. I was just trying to figure out why the op named his review after the comming new xpac we not gotten yet.
having an expansion w no content is risky but its an optional expansion
- no one needs to pay for it
the only "must have" in AOD is raiders wanting more AA
I'm pesonally looking forward to the Design Your Own Dungeon metagame
regarding your primary concern on the re-re-review
his review didnt address the latest expansion but DOV is only for levels 86+ anyhow
alot of the game under 86 has also seen changes
the reviewer also has 2 different versions of innovation being rated in his review
- in his summary, he says EQ2 is not innovative (when compared to other mmos)
- for game changes since launch, he gives the game a high score for innovation but he only means within game itself and not when compared to other mmos
EQ2 has changed more than any mmo I know of since launch - innovation may not be the best word to describe this
Things I love about this game:
1. Housing - This game has my favorite housing system. I like that I have visual representations of my achievements. It's a fun system.
2. Crafting - Even though there are some holes in the system that are kludgy, it's still a fun crafting system. I love that I can grind writs for status.
3. Large world to explore, heritage/signature quests, involved deity system, intertwining quest arcs.
4. Environmental graphics - The world looks nice and the music is okay.
5, Performance Improvements - The EQ2 team has really improved the performance of the client, a lot.
6. Class Play - For a tab-targetting, moderately paced action game I find the class play fun and enjoyable. There are fun classes to play for many styles of game play.
Things I really don't like about the game:
1. Character and item graphics - The character models feel plastic, like toy dolls. The armour looks like you're playing paper dolls. Some of the item graphics like chairs, tables, and such look too thick and cartoony. It often clashes with the nicer environmental graphics.
2. Better items sold in the store - Some of the coolest houses and cosmetics are sold in the store instead of providing a reasonable deterministic path to achievement ini game. This is what I hate about cash shops in most games like EQ2, LotRO, etc. I'm there to game and earn stuff in game, including fluff, not go mall shopping Facebook style. Bleh.
3. Paid Expansions - I hate how they charge a sub and then expect a full box price for an xpac. The game is old and barely worth a subscription at all. I can see charging for xpacs on EQ2x, but not for the Live servers. If the game was B2P/F2P with xpac charges, that would be great.
4. Vet Rewards - I like the rewards, but I hate how they implement them. I don't get vet rewards on EQ2x even if I'm subbed. I don't get my vet rewards until the time passes for the account. So my annual rewards come up just as my sub ends - it feels like a ploy to get me to resub so I can actually use the reward. I like how RIFT implements the rewards. I hope SoE changes this.
5. EQ2 Extended - I really hate how this was implemented. I would like them to make Live servers open so I can access my favorite characters like Turbine did with LotRO. Starting all over on Freeport just isn't worth it, plus I don't have my vet rewards there.
6. Content Identity Crisis - SoE, like Turbine, seems to have a content identity crisis. Maybe they're trying to garner more players, but they go all helter skelter with the kind of content they're putting out. They used to be a lot more consistent. Now I don't know if I'm playing a raid or die game, a solo and group game, and such. Sparkly vampires (ala True Blood)? What the hell was that about? Veilous being an overland raid zone, or at least feeling like it? Does the team have a lead designer with a vision anymore? The same could be said about a lot of middling games like this though (LotRO I'm looking at you too), so it's not just a problem with EQ2, but it's there.
lesser faydark is for levels 50-60 too
http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Soloing_Timeline
if you play on EQ2X (freeport server) theres grouping at all levels 15-90
its only the live servers that are top heavy
all old mmos do this, its not unique to EQ2
EQ , EQ2 , and maybe LOTRO are the only mmos I know of
where you pay for latest expansion and ALL past expansions are included
wish aging mmos like WOW included past expansions
Regarding EQ2Live,
the new 14 day trial includes everything except the latest expansion
- dont have to buy anything, only subscribe
http://eq2wire.com/2011/08/25/everquest-ii-launches-free-14-day-trial/
This wasn't a review of the new expac or new update. It was a re-review of the game as a whole. I think you got thrown off by the word "discovery" being in the title of the review and the new expac being called "Age of Discovery". The two are unrelated. i.e. EQ2 was a world of discovery long before "Age of Discovery" expac ever existed.
Actually this expac is pretty consistent with the last one. What happened was this:
People wanted more solo stuff so...
SOE overcompensated and the RoK expansion came out and the entire expac was made up of soloing. Leveling in a group was horrid.
As a result, people complained that there wasn't enough group stuff, so...
SOE overcompensated and the TSO expac came out and the entire expac was Group instances, with one terribad overland zone that everyone hated.
As a result, people complained that there wasn't enough solo / overland stuff, so...
SoE finally got the point and made SF that was kinda the middle ground between RoK and TSO, having both lots of overland solo stuff, but still having quite a few group instances and a terrible contested dungeon.
With DoV, it's pretty much the same thing as SF, the overland zones are all solo questing, with several really long quest-sequences that take people through the storylines. There are also a bunch of instances. SoE introduced a bunch of new mechanics that are required to survive DoV, however, they neglected to communicate these very well throughout the game. So the lesser capable players were totally blown away by even the easiest content. Not because they sucked, but simply because they weren't the sorts of players that went on eq2flames to find out that all new content required certain stats to defeat.
Lately SoE's relaxed a lot of that stuff, leaving the easy stuff for the ignorant people, but keeping a lot of the harder stuff for the veteran players.
IN terms of mix, there is still a variety of content available for all playstyles, althrough where the game truly excels is at the group and multi-group dungeons. The solo quests are the same as any other themepark.
How can " Little innovation, even from its outset" be one of its Cons when the Innovation attribute receives grade 8??
Anyway, EQ2 is a wonderful MMO, highly immersive and with deep mechanics.
its confusing because hes using the word in 2 ways
- not innovative when compared to other mmos
the 8 score applies only inside the game itself and how the game plays much differently since launch
eq2 content is now HUGE I mean it feels good Iam currently playing it
You guys should just drop the reviews and admit you are a fan site run by people who's writing experience is all in blogging.
For christs sakes, somebody might see this score and think, judging against your other scores, that EQ 2 is one of the best mmos ever made and currently worth playing. Have some integrity.
I bought it last year but didn't really give it a chance. My problem was finding people who could show me the ropes, because I wasn't seeing many people in the starter towns.
I was going to look for a guild but I didn't want to be the guy "Looking for Guild" in the chat channels. Everyone gives that guy a hard time hehe.
I have nothing going right now, so maybe I will install it again. With that said, any reccomendations for class, race, starter area? I'm interested in being around people.
I never paid for an expansion in Lineage. I played for years and my subscription included all expansions and updates. Maybe that game spoiled me, but I love what I got there for what I paid. RIFT has also given me a lot of content updates in the last 6 months for just a sub fee, and I love that.
LotRO doesn't include any old expansions if you buy the latest. You must buy every LotRO expansion separately. They do sometimes bundles some xpac content with bonus sales. LotRO sells Moria and Mirkwood quest content with their Isengard "Legendary" edition, but it doesn't include all the stuff the expansion purchases released with and it costs $20 more. LotRO does have the occasional "free" content update for subscribers. My perceived value with LotRO has been steadily declining as I feel nickeled and dimed for every little thing.
I do think it's cool that SoE includes previous xpacs in the latest purchase. It is one of the reasons that got me playing in early 2008. That doesn't do much if you've already purchased the old content. Long term playing is expensive as is revisiting the game after a while.
So where I'm going with this is: If I want to resub to EQ2 and play the latest content I have to shell out $50 or so plus my sub fee package. It's just not worth the money to me anymore and I find that quite expensive for a 1 - 3 month visit.
Your point about WoW is well said though. It is the main reason I never really went back to play again after my first 3 month stint. I didn't want to buy WotLK just to play with new goodies for a short while. I think if MMO companies would make returning to their games for a visit less costly they might not have to go F2P. I would rather pay for a subscription, but I don't want to feel like I have to pay another $95 ($50 xpac + $30 to $45 sub fee) just to dink around for 3 months.
makes sense - wish more mmos did it that way
if youve been gone for longer than year, the bundles work in your favor (gettin at least 2 expansions for 1 price)
but otherwise I agree with you
i tried to play Eq2 , but isnt the same , played it at launch (was buged as hell) , i remember GROUPING! , i remember doing blackburrows , SH (lots of times!) , RoV , giants! i miss giants !!! , was the thing that impressed me the most when started
oh a path behind the mountains.........OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII..................... a GIANT! , lets kill it!!! :D
tried it some months ago? .............................soloing to lvl 30 ..............ok try to get a group.....no luck ............oh lets keep leveling..................40 no groups , 50 ? 1 group! , 60 , 0 groups ><
i play EQ to group :( , and no my friends arent giving eq2 a chance anymore >.>
the mentoring idea was cool , but CoH and FFXI do it well (exp/ratio i mean)
When I was leveling through EQ, I never had much of a problem staying in groups from around level 20 all the way until I was in my 70s. In my 70s, people occasionally grouped for Karnor's Casle, but there weren't that many I think because dungeon XP seemed to take a huge nerf in RoK. Of course, when I was 80 I had no problems finding groups for TSO dungeons.
Take into consideration though that it has been about two years since I really progressed through Everquest II, so your mileage may vary. I would, at least, suspect that where I said I rarely got groups in my 70s to extend to 70s - 80s with plenty of groups to be had at the level cap.
In my experience though, the best way to find yourself in a group is to start your own. I know that's a cliche, but personal experience shows me that in EQ2, it wasn't nearly the hassle it can be in other games for whatever the reason.
not sure if this is best choice for you
but may want to try the EQ2 Extended server instead of the live servers
EQ2X has many more players at low levels - but the pricing could be better
http://everquest2.com/free_to_play/
I agree with this suggestion too. It's an odd thing, because the subscription for the Live servers is a better deal, but the gaming experience on Freeport (EQ2X) is better from my point of view. The world feels more alive, there are people grouping, and it's more fun even though you get less game for your money with the same sub.
I agree with some of the comments; an 8/10 for innovation is way to generous, especially when most of the features mentioned are similar to a game that just got a 2/10 for Innovation on this site.
I have strong roots in Norrath. Love the world that was created in EQ and then played again in EQ2. I've quit several times, yet I seem to keep coming back. I'll be coming back in a month with the new expansion and playing alongside the thousands of other newly rolled Beastlords.
The only thing that annoys me is how $medley is handling things. That and SOE's trademark dearth of communication to their playerbase.
I try to stay out of the General Forums, and I should, but sometimes you need to go there for valuable information. The forums tend to be heavily patrolled by fanboi's and equally heavily modded to censor the masses. Recently, I think the fanboi's and the rest of the populace have formed a truce against a common enemy (SOE) due to all the ..issues.. so that's a good thing. Still, the General Forum and In Test Feedback are not nice places to be. Many other games have that same problems with the forums being the outlet for the vocal minority, so its not a new nor unique thing.
Overall, its a fantastic game. The current issues revolve around itemization which is *mostly* an end-game thing that the raiders have their panties in a knot over. I'm not a raider, so my interest level in that is..here (gestures to an ankle-high height).
I am very much looking forward to my new BL and playing that until it gets stealth-nerfed without explanation, then I'll quit again.
Very nice review. Makes me want to log on to EQ2 and check it out again.
People who write off the "innovation" aspect either have a very specific and myopic viewpoint, or simply don't like the game.
Just because *you* may have a *singular* definition of "innovation" that maybe involves something game mechanic related, and you may have a massive bias (like 'sandbox only!') doesn't mean that there is no "innovation" in EQ2)
The depth of the faction system, the guild mechanics, the language and class system, the massive breadth and depth of housing and crafting options. There are *endless* places where you can point to "innovation" that completely doesn't exist in other MMOs or exists in a much more shallow form.
Saying "yeah big deal, I dont care about any of that... all I care about is XXXX" just means that you arent qualified to weigh in on any game *overall*.
To be objective, you have to look at a game hollistically (including the things that you may not be interested in, but others are)
Housing and crafting alone put EQ2 *far* ahead of nearly any other MMO. The faction system, and how it ties into the lore, and the diversity of starting cities, and the concept of citizenship even existing, and the impacts that all of that have, are also very much unique. If you simply ignore all of that and say 'dont care, doesnt matter', then again, thats really your issue.
This isnt even so much to the reviewer, but more to the really vocal naysayers. Its fine to not like the game. Many dont. MOST dont probably. But to say "no innovation" is just willful ignorance. Of course thats no surprise - a big chunk of gaming forum posters seem to be a nearly terminally unhappy lot most of the time.
It's been a long time since i've played but from what i remember the world itself was great, the quests however, were boring. The community was virtually silent on the few servers i tried.. And I couldn't find quests other than papers that told me to kill such and such. But I do think it had one of the most beautiful immersive worlds to date. I really felt like i was a part of the world instead of playing a video game.
Little innovation? Let me guess, you find that WoW is innovative? lol
Comparing AA's to talent trees, even though they've been standard in EQ games for 10 years. Completely misinformation when it comes to player starting cities, you may want to play again and pay attention to where classes can start. I'll give you a hint, some of your evil/good aligned only cities are incorrect.
Tried resubbing to this game, just could not get back into it. Deleted it again after my 30 days was up.