Let's talk about our old memories. Feel free to be as descriptive as you like. I remember when I was playing EverQuest Trilogy. My game had a gray, basic window for a launcher and a basic status bar that slid across. I was a cleric like usual. Doing a lot of grouping in the Dreadlands / Karnor's Castle area. Now, I was always slow to explore new places and I had an invite to a place I had never been before... Emerald Jungle. So a druid ported me and I stared at my black failing to load computer screen... You see, back then computers were just awful and so very hard to keep up with. My computer processed most zones fine... but Emerald Jungle, with the trees, well, I barely zoned. My frame rate was something like 1 frame per minute. I finally, after about 20 minutes of lagging managed to cast gate. I sadly apologized to the group for my terrible pentium computer, which I think may have been a pentium 100 MHZ. (But I am not certain.) Funny thing is, this is actually a more recent memory. My EverQuest memories go back even farther.... I could tell you stories. ::wink:: Let's hear yours!
I didn't know what a tank was when I began. My friend kept telling me I was going to tank in Crushbone for us, and I kept wondering if my character was going to turn into an army tank or some craziness. That and trying to pull as a warrior when I began. Man, all I ever managed to do was train the camp until they finally got a real puller class.
I remember when I played my first week as a paladin oh those many years ago without knowing I could target myself to heal/Lay on Hands. Lots of unnecessary deaths!
First trek into Oasis ( a zone that now combined to South Ro ) as I was playing my mage. Sat down on the dock looking at my book and medding. Then a spectre proceeds to eat me, was a fun day after that killin crocs none stop. Next week started playin a monk and never looked back.
I remember : (in as chronological order as this mind can remember) -I started EQ and (when Kelethin was *the* place to be) a friendly red robed gnome gave me a fire opal, which funded me for like the first 15 levels. -kiting geonids was good xp and coin -scarabs dropped gems in sebilis -quad kiting aviaks in timorous deep, then raptors (thought i'd never be able to kite on such a small island after having so much room with the aviaks) -my first raid in Tower of Frozen Shadow ! -Epic 1.0 - specifically waiting for that dorf. -Gawking at the Plane of Time raid loot, and that's where it all began. -Conquering the Planes of Power while it was current. -Late night SSRA temple and Vex Thal runs (coth bots for the win) for clickies -Finally beating Jelvan in Anguish, then Overlord Mata Muram -The absolute care and finesse it took to craft an event like: Code: Where'er he smelled Jumjum he'd pick it. The halflings grew cross when their profits were lost screamin', 'Where is that brownie? I'll kick it!' Time bleeds like a wound that's lost all meaning. It's a long winter in the swirling chaotic void. This is my torture, my pain and suffering! Pinch me, O' Death. . . Where will you be? Dreaming with me. Please, everybody, hear the music. It felt like the end of my days. Until I suddenly, suddenly realized this life was better off alone. Solitude was the best gift you ever gave me.
my first toon was a druid in surefall glade - a protector of the animals I would try to buff and heal any bear that was being killed by some pagan who didn't know better - oddly enough the bears always die
I remember my first time playing. I was a warrior in field of bone with my first group. They designated me as the puller (bad choice). I was given a bow and some arrows by someone. They told me to keep mobs constantly coming in. So I kept constantly bringing mobs in to the group and everything was fine. After a while the cleric in the group said oom (I had no idea what oom meant) but on I kept pulling. Needless to say the group wiped soon after.
My first Plane of Hate raid as a cleric. I just hit level 46. I hit 46 several more times that night, as I waited for a rez to allow me to get back to my body, that contained: a full set of bronze armor and quest pieces from the 20s and 30s. I was sweating bullets all night. "Don't touch the walls!"
I remember when I first started playing I had zero concept about tanks. My first characters were a bard and ranger and you could literally hear the "WHOOSH" sound when groups shouted that they needed a tank and I sent them a tell saying I could tank for them.
I remember my first night in EverQuest pretty clearly. I had been planning my entry to the game for some time by going through a Prima strategy guide my friend had loaned me. I knew I wanted to play a Dark Elf Shadowknight. I had it all planned out before I even had a computer and internet connection that could run the game. Once I did, I didn't wait for any of my friends. I just rolled my character and started my adventure in Neriak. It didn't take too long to find my way to Nektulos Forest (the Prima guide had the maps!!). It also didn't take very long for me to end up with more shadow wolves than I could handle and get sent back to my bind point. I spent the rest of the night looking for my corpse. I never found it. It didn't come to my attention until much later that low level corpses didn't last very long in-game, and it probably expired during the hours I spent looking for it. In hindsight I should have just rerolled and started over. However, I was so determined to progress my first Shadowknight that I refused to delete him. I explained my situation to other players I encountered the next day, and a few of them offered me some items to get started again in Nektulos Forest. And after I gained a few levels? I may have sought out more than a few shadow wolves to let them know how I really felt about them.
Recall my first day or so of EQ. Did absolutely no research at all, just clicked around alot, decided against being a midget, human or elf. Nope, had to be a Troll, and a Shadow Knight at that. Sounded cool, and it was one of the few combinations rated very hard to be. Went for the glowy stats to add, so strength and int mostly I think. Anyways, managed a couple levels off the frogloks and such, but then decided to go off on an adventure. I had no idea where anything was, or what anything was, so I just followed the wall. I proceeded to follow the it from the swamp all the way to Rathe Mountains, having absolutely no idea how I got there. It was scary though, I turned to the left, saw some giant skeletons near a gold tower. I was certain this was the entrance to HELL, and having no knowledge of agro rules at the time, quickly ran away before they could spot me from 1/2 a mile away. Proceeded to conquer a few beetles and bears to the right, before deciding to explore a strange camp. Instant death and teleport to bind, to the INVISIBLE MAN ! This of course was just an enchanter pet, but I had no idea at the time what this was at all. Needless to say, that corpse was long gone, and that was about my first experience with EQ.
In the beginning there used to be discussion in ooc about whether twinking another character or your own alt was acceptable or to be even allowed. I used to wonder why anyone would play more than one character.
I remember reading an in-depth preview article about EQ in some gaming magazine, maybe 6-12 months before it was scheduled to go live. Circa 1998, it had been a good 10 years since I was last involved with computers or "internet" (as a teen in the 80s, it was my trusty Commodore 64 and Compuserve/BBSs). But I was absolutely stoked by what I read and planned the purchase of a new cutting-edge PC just to be a part of this clearly-epic thing called Everquest. Too many fond memories to list... 2 that stick out: - GM event... I was part of the Forces of Light, who launched an attack against Lanys in Neriak and then defended E Commons, Kithicor and High Hold from a dark elf invasion. - Secret portal in W Karana... right near the zl to N Karana, if you entered the river at just the right angle you got ported right outside the gorge leading to Qeynos Hills! I thought that was the coolest thing ever... especially after a couple months or so of making that looong run back and forth.
So many - My first character, a Human Wizard.. Lvl 6, hiding under a tree in EC from a Griff.. duh.. Lvl 12, dinging 12 repeatedly, as I kept dying on the run back to get my new spells Medding with my face in my spellbook, and hearing the battles around me.. Checking to see if my port spells required reagents in Highkeep, while my group fought down in the raiders room... /cast Loading.. "Group.. wth?" as we all arrived in G fay lvl 60 - AE'ing Sebilis, OH YES! Time as a Guide - Taking part in events, threatening to eat everyone (as a Giant) unless I had halfling meat..and a little halfling running up to me and saying "You can kill me if you want, just don't kill my friends" AWWWWW! Killing a fellow Guide after he killed me while I was afk, making comments like "Its hard work getting a woodelf naked!" (I bound him in lava when he ran to the store, lol) As a Enchanter - the feeling of power standing in a train, and STOPPING it! What can I say, its been 15 years...
Hiding your money behind a tree, for your alt to pick up... and its gone! In Lake of Ill Omen, at the sarnak fort, our group's puller would sometimes be confused about our group's location. There were several groups set up so I guess its understandable. He pulled mobs to the wrong group. We decided it would quite funny to drop all of our copper on the ground, in two neat rows, creating a runway directly to us. We all had a good laugh over that one.
I remember strafing left and right thinking it would make the mobs miss me more I also remember my first boat trip from BB to FP. I was a level 12 wood elf ranger back in May of 1999. I wasn't to keen on the banks yet so carried pretty much everything on me.(remember this) There were several waiting for the boat as no one could teleport yet. I vaguely remember someone saying don't move to the edges of the boat, stay in the middle or you will lag out into the ocean. Well when we zoned in, I stayed in the middle, started seeing the cool islands and a CYCLOPS. Being the curious little ranger I was I pushed the key... yes, to go to the edge of the boat... Long story short... I lagged out like that person said, when it refreshed I was in the water... I was encumbered... no EB items were known at that point minus the earring that no one had and the few spells that could be casted. Yes, I drowned... in the middle of the ocean... level 12. When I finally went to bind naked I was devastated. Spent 2 days looking for the corpse and of course it was finally found on you guessed it Cyclops island... Needless to say several deaths later I was finally able to get my corpse and gear back. There were no rez's then either, no one I knew was even high enough to cast revive. It was a different game back then. Consequence... I miss that part sometimes.
So way back in '99 I worked for my uncle and we had been playing video games and hanging out for as long as I can remember because he was 10 years older then I was... I picked up Everquest, and made a human warrior...I fought, died, learned, grouped, died some more...I finally leveled him to 17 and had a full suit of bronze armor and a quested langseax...I brought my uncle by my house and showed him this awesome new game I found...I ran up to a green to me orc pawn in north ro and got owned...It wasn't a very good showing of the game but he was so excited afterwards he would call me into the office regularly(I was an Air conditioning installer, and he was the install manager) to talk about everquest, how awesome it was, and how we "needed" to build him a computer that could play it... At exactly the same time I got divorced at 23 years old, we built his computer and I moved into his house to get back on my feet...We had to buy a second phone line because only dialup was available in the area... He rolled a few characters, a wizzy, then a ranger, we leveled to the mid 50's...Then we met Shedder, who two-boxed...All we could think was wow...some time later we both had 2 computers and our group was formed...Xukil the monk, Rolinfire the cleric, Lifeblood the sk, and Limelite the shaman...We pounded our way to 70(the level cap at the time)...Then he had an accident at work falling off a ladder from a second story roof to the ground and really screwed up his leg...We got to 75 when the cap was raised... Next I get a call from my grandmother that his girlfriend found him dead on the couch after a shopping trip... To this day, 15 years later I soldier on boxing his characters for him I keep them up to date, I keep them around for company, out of respect for my uncle Drew, He was probably my best friend for most of my life.
KC people yelling 'TRAINNN TO ENT' and being an enchanter in a group at the ZI. Training group runs by, and the train starts comming. Well the entire train is now derailed and mezzed, and my entire group proceeds to start killing one at a time. Training group zones in and my group zone back and in were like 'da fug?' we thanked them for the mobs and killed there named in front of them.
