EQ is the thrill of Adventure; a lesser hero's tale.

Reehay

If there isnt an ever present sense of danger and thrill pervading over all exploration and adventuring then it isnt Everquest, and I will dismiss this franchise that I love so much, forever. All of this awesomeness, this new technology, will just feel like gimmick, cheap. If this is anything like the fall asleep easy GW2, the spectacularly bland and boring GW2,  I will probably quit MMO gaming forever.

But as for SOE not calling EQnext "hardcore"... i understand that. I want EQNext to be widely accessible to a broad audience and they are smart to appeal to that crowd.  And they can do that with graphics and lore and LIMITED solo player content. Classic WoW proved many things... and mostly importantly it proved that you can capture both crowds, the solo'ers who want casual and more tame experience and the hardcore players that grouped together to defeat harder content, who strove for prestige and that awesome virtual adventure. SOE needs to strike this balance. Make it easy to start, easy to get early success and then ramp up the difficulty until you FEEL that EPICNESS that Everqust 1, and only Everquest 1, truely mastered.

Please SOE.. please give us adventure... not currency grind.  Set the bars high, tantalizingly close to grasping if we just try harder, just learn our characters more, if we just learn more teamwork. Give us something to strive for. Make me chip away at my hero statue, 1 chisel stroke at a time. Make me wear banded armor and look like a bum so that  one day my Deepwater set shines even greater.  Let me get lost and get scared in Kithicor Forest.  Make me feel like im on an epic journey. I dont care if I dont ever see all the content, I want it that way. I never made it to Kerafyrm's Lair (when it was relevant) and I'm glad. It was prestige that I didnt attain and I'm ok with that because it enhanced EVERYTHING in the world, made everything epic for me.

During my 5 years in EQ, I was a lesser hero, a mortal. But i enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed the stories from friends that conquered more than me. it felt like i was in a world. I had goals and dreams of adventure.  I achieved some, failed some. But it was always memorable - and hard - and I loved every time i was defeated and beaten as much as the times I jumped for glorious joy at my triumphs. If EQNext can provide that feeling again, you have a lifetime subscription in me.

The stage is set... either EQNext enters the history books as a novel step in MMO technology or it reverberates throughout time as a wonderful virtual fantasy experience that captures the hearts (and $$$) of gamers. More than art style, more than sound effects (although if I heard that midi intro music after I install EQNext I would NOT be sad ;>), the thrill of danger and the epic journey is what EQNext needs to create.