I have been playing mmos since I was very young, playing EQ when the game itself was young. I just recently quit WoW when I came to the conclusion that my class (druid) was completely underpowered. So, for the last few weeks i've been scouting around for a new mmo. I checked vanguard, but with all the mixed veiws about it, I'd rather play an already established mmo. So, here I am, looking around the eq II forums, seein' if I like it.
Basically Im trying to recreate the EQ expeirence (lol, what better than eq II?) except without the forced grouping. I'd like a game that actually took me a while to hit the cap. A game where even PvE is slightly challenging. A game where no class is god compared to others and I'd like a nice array of classes.
So, whatcha guys think? Will I like EQII?
And could someone through in some other info that my help in my decision of perhaps buyin' this game?
Thanks in advance
(sorry about any spelling errors)
Comments
While EQ2 is more casual than EQ, it is far from being a solo friendly game. You will feel forced to group because that is where the majority of the good content and the good loot will be found and that pales in comparison to all the goodies raiders get. You will be locked out of most of the dungeons, since they house heroic monsters which is virtually impossible to solo or even duo. They have solo instances, but they're on the boring side and the loot is craptastic.
The heroic opportunity combat mechanics may seem cool, but in the end it feels like "simon says" and "whack-a-mole" wrapped up into one. The game is unforgiving in that if you don't use heroics, you will have a difficult time beating the content. The game just feels so much more linear than original EQ with far fewer areas per level range. In EQ, you would easily have dozens of areas to visit for any given level range, you have far less than that in EQ2.
The game's graphics are pretty decent if you have a machine that can run it well with many of the bells and whistle turned on, if not, the game can actually look worse than the original EQ. Too many of the quests are FedEx style or kill 20 rats for their tails which usually do not drop often, wasting your time.
The crafting is pretty cool and has even had a boost lately in viable products that can compete with non-raid dungeon loot. If you're not a fan of raiding, I wouldn't waste my time with this game. The high end is definitely focused on raids and the wonderful goodies they get. Stuff that the rest of the peons could only dream of getting. Raids only need up to 24 people, but they require a significant time investment.
My suggestion is to wait another week or two and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will be released. Its suppose to be the true successor of EQ. Granted, its not a very solo friendly game either, it focuses primarily on group and raiding content.
With PvE raiding, it has never been a question of being "good enough". I play games to have fun, not to be a simpering toady sitting through hour after hour of mind numbing boredom and fawning over a guild master in the hopes that he will condescend to reward me with shiny bits of loot. But in games where those people get the highest progression, anyone who doesn't do that will just be a moving target for them and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay money for the privilege. - Neanderthal
Eq2 is a very fun game, and yes you can solo all the way to 70 if you want to, There is so much content you will not get bored. Eq2 is sorta like wow but with more of a challange. If you are looking for a solo game where it is fun and you can solo or join a group eq2 is for you. Vanguard is WAY more grouping and hardly any soloing so if u want to group most the time then maybe vanguard is for you. I have played eq2 over a yr and having a blast, i will not be getting vanguard cause i perfer the faster combat of eq2.
YMMV, of course. The 'new' EQ2 is a shallow, raid-centric WoW clone with a snooty, cliquish community. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, anywhere, ever.
Bite me, Turbine.
This is a perfect game for the casual player (like me). It will take you a while to hit the cap unless you go at it hardcore.
Soloing is great also in EQ2. Sure there is better gear if you go into instances with a group, but you know what, you dont need that loot unless you plan on going back into heroic dungeons with groups on a regular basis. I solo most of the time, all my gear is mostly bought and for me as a soloer the gear i have is top notch and does the job.
EQ2 is not EQ. At all. It's better, in my opinion, than EQ, which I really don't get much entertainment out of. But if you enjoyed EQ, then EQ2 will bore you to tears.
On the plus side, you get a good number of spells. I play a fury in both EQ2 and EQ, and played several druids in WOW. And you can use them all. At once.
On the whole, I thought my druids were by FAR more powerful in WoW than in either EQ game. I very rarely soloed, while in WoW, solo was easy, even for my Rest Spec druid. You will not get the utility out of and EQ2 druid that you got out of your WoW druid. Though you got a nice boost when druids finally got a root spell.
I hit the cap in 6 months. Longer than WoW, but it was still pretty quick for my tastes. That's the cap with level, tradeskill and AAs.
I wouldn't call any class God in EQ2...not like rogues or whatever flavor of the month in WoW, but there are classes that outshine others.
Endgame is a LOT of sitting in the same dungeons. You will vomit every time you hear "SoS" after a while. At least WoW had the option of BGs when dungeon crawling got old. And rerolls offered at least early levels of "new" game play {different quests for UD vs Tauren vs NE vs Human etc in the first dozen or so levels}.
I really hate to say it, because WoW is not what I'd call a good game by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I had fun playing that one pre-cap. It was simply dull and at times highly frustraiting to level up in EQ2. It got better at the cap when you had enough AAs to see a real difference in things, but that wore off fast. Even when I hated WoW and was this far away from quitting, I could always reroll and level something new and enjoy myself a while longer. I could never bring myself to do the same in EQ2, I'd be bored and frustraited again by level 15.
Vanguard, on the otherhand, I wanted to hate. I paid no attention to it in beta and had no plans to play it when it went gold. But I have the station pass and got in the recent beta flood {and I was bored} and I have to say it wasn't bad. Some of the classes were very interesting and I'm looking forward to giving it a better run when it's live. *shrug* I'm as surprised as anyone.
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Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
EQII definitely made me an addict, even though I am a regular solo player. I don't have that much time to play, but every time I play it's more than thrilling. The funny thing I've recognized is that so many male players actually have female avatars and I have a male avatar, even though I am a girl ... but that's another story.
I can only recommend everyone to play that game, since it is the best mmporg (for male and female ) ever - from my modest point of view.
Nothing changes faster than history.
Download the Trial and try it for yourself.
www.playthefae.com
I left and started playing Guild Wars and I really enjoyed that game as well. The PvP was outstanding imho. Plus you could level up alts quickly with only a lvl 20 cap. Although I enjoyed it very much, I found myself longing for more content and more levels. So I went back to EQ2. I started up a Bruiser / Defiler dual box duo, and I was hooked like never before. The one thing I did this time is not pressure myself to spend tons of hours trying be the top player on the server anymore. I took my time with everything. If I made some levels great, if not, as long as I had fun doing something, that was just as great. I started trying out different duo combos just to see what else would work. It had me logging in at every chance I had.
They have done a lot for this game since release. I honestly think that this is the most well rounded game out there. The new expansion is maybe the best work they've ever done. I am no SoE fanboi, I think they have wasted tons more potential than they've actually used. I will, however, give them credit on EQ2 for a lot of things. They've swung the nerf bat pretty hard at times, but every class brings something to the table that is unique, and doesn't isolate certain classes as better than the others. The only problem I have now is that dual boxing in EQ2 is not as good as it was in EQ1 since they adjusted the entire game as far as damage dealing, and defense, npc's and player characters alike. So, the only reason I do not log in every day still, is beacause I get a little burned out. If I was playing only one character at a time, I probably still would.
I say give it a shot. Pick up Echoes of Faydwer, it will have everything included. I know for a fact that Vanguard is not ready. It will not be for a good while. It has potential to be good, but I'm not completely positive that it will ever reach it. EQ2 will at least keep you occupied and having fun until Gods and Heroes, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online come out.
You're NUTS if you think, and are serious, that druids are underpowered. They're the TOTAL opposite.
To answer the original question of "Will I like this game?" I have this to say - I don't think anyone likes EQ2.
Nothing changes faster than history.