Get back to the origins of this game PLEASE

This is why Ascension Classes need to go away. I know they are a cash cow for the game right now, but I know many people who have left the game and would only consider coming back if they were gone. Yes people say go play on a TLS but that is bs because some people dont want to go do old content again. There should at least be a server that is current that is without Ascension Classes and let people transfer to it.

I would be all over a server that has no ascension

This argument seems to come up every year.

But anyway I really like the ascension system and would be sad if it somehow disappeared. I always kind of wanted my Bruiser to be able to shoot fire balls and lightning bolts. To me it just makes sense. Mages aren't the only ones who can master planar energy.

Martial artists throwing fire balls has been a video game trope since classic arcade games like "street fighter." I am old enough to remember those old games swallowing more than a few rolls of quarters back in the day. This was my childhood. It kind of blows my mind that it actually happened and they put this kind of thing in Eq2. Now I just have to change my signature to include my ascension class and make it look something like this.

Well, I know as many that would leave if they took them away. Personally, I think they are fun. And would be really disappointed if they were removed. Enough to leave the game? Dunno...maybe...maybe not...

well considering the game has less people then ever... not sure that your argument is good

I have come to the conclusion from years of observation and playing Everquest AND Everquest 2 that somewhere along the line they lost the vision. Whether it is the Devs playing other games or just not clear a vision I don't know. This new gu of cowboys in an Everquest World just doesn't fit, imho. It is cute, long, many puzzles to figure out (if you like puzzles) but just not the lore we grew up with.

And as for ascensions, I use them but not often. Mostly the AE ones. I find many don't bother with them now. Like other things, they were a one xpac wonder.

In the original Everquest it had diversity in everything. what I liked the most was the Racial diversity. Each race had their own/different emotes, Crafts, lore, prejudices, beliefs, cities, and styles. Each race had different stats that made them very different. Like wise each class was just about the same, as well as countries. Then they did away with it all because some players complained. You know what, that is the RPG in mmorpg. Now you can have a character that is 2 inches tall with spaghetti arms that can take down a 12 foot tall giant with a toothpick shaped like a sword. They all pretty much come from the same cities. their clothes are all the same (picturing an Iksar wearing a Ratonga dress), and their lore is still there but lost behind old quests no one does or books no one wants to read. They all pretty much like each other, I mean Ogres getting along with Frogloks and Trolls befriending the paladins instead of making more pickles!! What is this world coming to!? Don't get me started on the High elves treating all the other races like their equals.

It's possible to play the game without using the Ascension abilities. Heck, you can even high end raid without using them.

If by one expansion you mean 3, then sure. But KA, POP, and CD were all about the ascension abilities.

IT happened because more dps equals we don't have to think about scripts lol.. then when they put in panic scripts (which was awesome btw) people complained because they couldn't learn to watch their dps.. reminds me of mobs where you had to monitor DPS or mana, etc.. those are true tests of how to play.. not just blow it up and beat the scripts.. but that's where we are lol

And after the initial xpack, unless raiders used them, many didn't bother as much and it got less and less. Casting times and time to reuse made them nearly worthless in many cases. Whatever you were killing was dead long before they could be reused.

I have talked to some friends who after playing EQ2 that they are no longer able to play the class they enjoy playing. It is a shame that some of the classes are no longer viable in game play. Usually fine if you solo but not much else. I recently took my warden, who I used to enjoy playing to a PUR and failed miserably. I worked hard to get her resolve up so I could attend but she was fairly useless for heals. I know some classes are not as enjoyable as they were at one time. People should be able to play the class or classes they enjoy in a group or in a raid and not be dead weight. I know these are mostly old posts and not sure if anyone even bothers to read them. We pay to play the game, what is wrong with the idea of playing whom you enjoy playing instead of which class the raid or group needs. The more you spread out, the less successfully you usually play. Of course there are those who play all or most classes well, but not everyone can do that. There is also a difference in play time when you do not have as much time to commit to the game as others do. Can we not make it fun again?????

You’re absolutely on to something here but with 20 years of garbage tacked onto garbage there’s just no undoing the damage with the resources available to the devs. If they ever do an EQ3 I hope they merge the archetypes and allow point specialization to give players choice. No need to have CC abilities when CC doesn’t exist in the game. Power regen becomes unnecessary after a certain level. AA that prevent fear or root often get ignored later on so why do they exist?

Years and years of statflation.

Absolutely. And as a result it was a heckuvva lot more fun.

I fondly recall those days when, in order to get things done, you actually had to talk to people in game, and negotiate how to get the thing done. These days most* folk have umpty-um alts that do it all for them – no need to interact with others. Bang goes the 'roleplay' in 'roleplay'. The game's mechanics have effectively encouraged alts from the beginning (shared bank – I asked the devs long ago to add a toggle function to that so that I wouldn't be tempted by it, to no avail)... I think The Makers charge more for additional alts a player has (I wouldn't know), so alts are worth more to them IRL**.

Don't get me wrong: using alts is a playstyle, and each is entitled to their own. Doesn't prevent my nostalgia. I have fond memories of smuggling goods between Qeynos and Freeport, for instance. That was fun, but it's no longer relevant

* not all folks, as I for one have never gone down that road. There's just little old foolish me.

** (The Makers are by no means anywhere near as evil as IOI***, but it's a shame IMO that finances almost always take priority over other considerations.)

*** spot the Ready Player One addict

I wish. Fun is why I play: the dwindling stream of it that was once a flood is why I've been a retired troubie for years now.

I hold onto the hope that nothing's impossible. We are, after all, talking about a virtual world here.