I'm also having a super fun time. If anything I wish that T2 was harder. Or rather, I feel like there are a couple of really tough dungeons ala Veeshan's Peak missing that have nasty enemies to the jann and basically require you to gear up in the first two tiers to take them on. Zoning into Mearatas for the first time and realizing it was just a weird dungeon with non-KOS mobs that let me freely run around was a little underwhelming. The expansion altogether just seems like it starts off difficult and finishes easy (except for Strange Magic which was pretty tough for me).
Actually I LIKE all of the new ideas and game mechanics. I still say that for casual players it is overtuned.. but I like gamePLAY.
Super casual player here [disclaimer] I think stuff ages well when it is tuned a bit harder in-era --as long is there is a few things to do for the less intense population that are worth them doing. A mechanism/method for stuff to be solo/moloable later when it greys out is important too. There are lots of us that would happily play and plink along years behind the curve and play through everything just to "see it" on that character. This has been a fault in the game throughout eras, sometimes addressed (i.e., I suppose unlocking keyed zones fits under that --though I prefer that not happen for no effort. Meanwhile deathtouch mobs and zone-in requirements block out other content...)
Plenty of groupers are willing to give it more than a week (a day to be honest, before the rage posts started) before throwing their hands up and giving up. Is there some things over tuned? Yes. Is it the end of the group game? Only if you let it be the end of the group game.
I really appreciate all the "early" adopters. By the time I get started in the expansion in January, they will have reported the most egregious bugs and posted strats for much of the content.
RoS raid gear is nearly equivalent to TBL group gear. Given that the raiders are basically doing progression in 100% RoS raid gear, that means that groupers will have the potential to reach nearly equivalent strength with solely group gear. Obviously there is a big caveat to this — you need to be able to beat the content to start gearing up! I think that is actually the really fun part of Everquest. At the start of the expansion, all of the content is going to be really tough and slaughter you given you’re in RoS group gear. With each new piece of gear and new AA you will slowly progress towards RoS raid gear equivalent strength. Things will get easier over time and the rate at which you upgrade your gear will speed up as well. By the end, you’ll be able to handle the majority of content with the ease of current raiders. This happened to me in ROS. In the beginning, a two pull would crush me, particularly T2 zones. I could barely touch named, even t1 named. I slowly accumulated Rk. II spells, bought a few pieces of conflagrant gear, and AAed my way through. I eventually got BiS group gear and even sprinkled in some chase loot. Once I had that, I was multi-pulling T2 trash mobs and tanking T1 named with adds (albeit not super easily, but I could). So my personal recommendation would be to have faith. Work through it. The expansion will get much much easier as you progress through.
The expansions, from what I have seen, and heard about is great. I like the Tradeskill items they have. Unfortunately, my Merc is not strong enough to let me get geared in ROS, in order to go there. I do not have the option top group much, due to real life. What good is a great expansion if the casual, can not get there?
I’m pretty sure you missed the point completely. It’s not a negative to have perfectly geared people in your group, what was being said was having them people made it easier. If we play pick up basketball games and you get Lebron James and Kevin Durant you’ll win easier then me with Bill and Randy Mulkey. I don’t blame you for your team but you can’t then compare your difficulty in the matches to mine because you clearly had it easier even if I’m better then you one on one.
RoV has close to 1700 members in it, so sure some are getting help from the hard core team but a lot of our casual members are not (which is not something we are proud of, it is just that there are FAR fewer of us raiders than casuals). Especially since the raiders are prioritizing the raiders since we are required to be done with progression by a certain date.
