If LotRO were a little more fast paced, it would be a better game than WoW and i'll be playing it instead. But sadly, it goes in slow motion - still, i enjoyed it a lot the short time i've been there, and i uninstalled EQ2 almost instantly because it felt like... broken. So clunky and weird, hated it.
LOTRO's strength is obviously the lore and story. Lots of great stuff for RPers, and the music system is great. Classes are limited though and i think the IP really cripples the game here. Housing is terrible, crafting is tedious to level up, and terrible inventory space if you are slightly pack ratty. But that story...it's awesome. Group content is decent too, but EQ2 is certainly the better game for this. Of the two LOTRO has the better PvP but thats like deciding which hobbit is taller (or least fat)
EQ2 is a deeper game all around. The AA system is much more interesting in character building (IMO) than the overdone 3 tree system in LOTRO, although classes don't typically perform multiple roles in EQ2. The class variety is light years better though. Also, the races are fantastic and while LOTRO is the better serious RP game, EQ2's races are a lot of fun to identify with as you play for some light RP. EQ2's crafting is also tedious to level and the mini game just makes it take longer. However at high levels with crafting AAs EQ2's system clearly outshines LOTRO's, it just takes a while to get there. Also a ton of crafter specific content in EQ2 even epic quests. EQ2 has the easy winner of best instanced housing, and many would argue best housing period. EQ2's combat suffers from extreme ability bloat but overall the combat is stronger and definitely a better raid scene.
Both are among the best themeparks and have far better communities than most. Both have f2p annoyances, although LOTRO still retains many of the annoyances even if you sub and tries to nickel and dime you even after subbed more than EQ2. You can earn points in LOTRO and it seems great at first, but it is tedious. You can access 90%+ of EQ2 for free, LOTRO you get the best part for free (main story quest) but you have to pay for the zone specific quests unless you sub. EQ2 has limits on the gear and spell tiers you can have, but the unlocks for these are cheap and unless you raid endgame you really dont need them at all.
The AA system is much more interesting in character building (IMO) than the overdone 3 tree system in LOTRO [...] Also a ton of crafter specific content in EQ2 even epic quests.
Yep, the trait tree change was quite a let-down for many, the original character building was a lot of fun for many players... but there are those who like the new system too.
Crafting, LotRO had those too, sadly gone now after the revamps... (you can find a couple post about it from me). I really miss the old farming, it was... relaxing sowing the different seeds, working on the fields. It's simplified, much easier and faster now. Also miss the tier-advancing quests (now it's just a simple talk to the trainer), most crafting quests were removed too (only left a couple low level ones, and some reputation crafting), crafting guilds had quests as well. Those were fun and helped breaking the tediousness of crafting... but at least there's xp now from crafting and gathering
That's a good point and wasn't really discussed so far. Their models are built in different ways and has different chokepoints, but the bottom line I think is, that LotRO can be f2p (as in unlocking and playing the whole game for totally free, or for the more convenient way, unlocking the game with subscription and purchases, then drop the sub and playing for free), while in EQ2 you will need the sub, if you want the whole game (but on the other hand, with the sub you get access to DCUO and PS2 too, due to the All-Access model).
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But sadly, it goes in slow motion - still, i enjoyed it a lot the short time i've been there, and i uninstalled EQ2 almost instantly because it felt like... broken. So clunky and weird, hated it.
tl;dr: Lord of the Rings Online.
LOTRO's strength is obviously the lore and story. Lots of great stuff for RPers, and the music system is great. Classes are limited though and i think the IP really cripples the game here. Housing is terrible, crafting is tedious to level up, and terrible inventory space if you are slightly pack ratty. But that story...it's awesome. Group content is decent too, but EQ2 is certainly the better game for this. Of the two LOTRO has the better PvP but thats like deciding which hobbit is taller (or least fat)
EQ2 is a deeper game all around. The AA system is much more interesting in character building (IMO) than the overdone 3 tree system in LOTRO, although classes don't typically perform multiple roles in EQ2. The class variety is light years better though. Also, the races are fantastic and while LOTRO is the better serious RP game, EQ2's races are a lot of fun to identify with as you play for some light RP. EQ2's crafting is also tedious to level and the mini game just makes it take longer. However at high levels with crafting AAs EQ2's system clearly outshines LOTRO's, it just takes a while to get there. Also a ton of crafter specific content in EQ2 even epic quests. EQ2 has the easy winner of best instanced housing, and many would argue best housing period. EQ2's combat suffers from extreme ability bloat but overall the combat is stronger and definitely a better raid scene.
Both are among the best themeparks and have far better communities than most. Both have f2p annoyances, although LOTRO still retains many of the annoyances even if you sub and tries to nickel and dime you even after subbed more than EQ2. You can earn points in LOTRO and it seems great at first, but it is tedious. You can access 90%+ of EQ2 for free, LOTRO you get the best part for free (main story quest) but you have to pay for the zone specific quests unless you sub. EQ2 has limits on the gear and spell tiers you can have, but the unlocks for these are cheap and unless you raid endgame you really dont need them at all.
Crafting, LotRO had those too, sadly gone now after the revamps... (you can find a couple post about it from me). I really miss the old farming, it was... relaxing
Also miss the tier-advancing quests (now it's just a simple talk to the trainer), most crafting quests were removed too (only left a couple low level ones, and some reputation crafting), crafting guilds had quests as well. Those were fun and helped breaking the tediousness of crafting... but at least there's xp now from crafting and gathering
That's a good point and wasn't really discussed so far. Their models are built in different ways and has different chokepoints, but the bottom line I think is,
that LotRO can be f2p (as in unlocking and playing the whole game for totally free, or for the more convenient way, unlocking the game with subscription and purchases, then drop the sub and playing for free),
while in EQ2 you will need the sub, if you want the whole game (but on the other hand, with the sub you get access to DCUO and PS2 too, due to the All-Access model).