The fight'n and the brawl'n and the unexpected adds. Part of that is trains and other people's actions changing the script of an encounter willy nilly. Obviously, i prefer open zones ;D
EQ is a unique game in that over the last twenty years the developers have stacked ability after ability and feature after feature onto it. This has caused this sort of stratified set of layers of complexity that most games are either too new, too fixed or too streamlined to build up. This, combined with the fact that they all changed over the years so documentation is sparse creates the kind of crazy game you have to really work hard at to figure out and perfect. I love stupid-complex games that I feel I can never achieve perfection in. I'm having a lot of fun in Anno 1800 for basically the same reason.
For me it's the people. Running a guild and helping others. Twenty years of running a guild and yes some times I run more events and guild activities and sometimes less but I always work at keeping a friendly environment where players of all skill levels are valued equally as people. That's a thing with me. I have some highly skilled players and some less so but they are all good peeps. I guess that makes my guild a smurf guild but that is fine by me. I also enjoy the fact that with a large guild we can help a lot of returning and new players giving them a home until or if they are ready to move on to a raid guild. And there are great raid guilds out there where people feel like they are with family too. I also really enjoy running MGB sessions in pok as I run all buff classes except necro and do buffs for all levels. Buffing the low level folks is the best because it helps them so much in soloing their way into range of grouping with the big kids. And since most don't bother to load low level buffs I think it fills a need. All the positive feed back I get has kept me doing it for over 7 years. And trust me doing 10 minute buff sessions a couple times a day most days gets ummm.. tiring at times but then some players will tell me how they buffs are helping them level up and it keeps me going. I also keep playing for that false sense of accomplishment we all get leveling, obtaining new gear, becoming more powerful in game then we were before etc but I think the most fun I get is being able to help folks on my own terms which leading a guild allows me to do. One example of helping on my terms is I will almost never PL anyone by adding them to my box group but I will group with them on my main or help to form a group with my main. Had a member leave my guild because I wouldn't PL him and only group with him on my main but just as well eh? Many will disagree but I don't think my job as guild leader is to provide instant groups to everyone. And thats okay they are due their opinion. It's just not how I run things and what has kept me going for 20 years leading a guild is being able to help on my own terms. If I wasn't running a guild I may have kept playing but I suspect I would have been taking some rather large breaks from it over all this time. Going through some of the roughest times of my life I still made sure I was in the game for my guild. I may not have done much playing other then guild management and helping folks during those times but it kept me in the game.
The thought that maybe, just maybe, the next expansion will improve my character enough that I can complete the unfinished stuff in the current, previous, two prior, etc., expansions. It hasn't worked out that way for a long time, but maybe next year
I actually like the FEEL of the game, and to this day, I swear it was made specifically for ME. While I know this isn't true, it still feels like that, and it did the very first time I started kicking rats in Freeport. I have been reading SF and Fantasy for well over a half of a century, and this game "scratches that particular itch". My main problem is that sometimes I obsess over it and need to take a break for a month or so.
Trolling keeps me logging in. What I loved about the game the community and playing with others died a long time ago. EQ isn't really an MMO anymore outside of raids it is just a play with a handful of friends but it still beats most the other crappy MMOs out there.
The time between kills, and during kills, to socialize with group mates, share information about strategies, tell jokes, etc.
For me, it's the people. I have a very tight fellowship, one of them I've been playing together with for 20 years now. We're on a regular schedule, and for the most part, all of us are online at the same time, and do progression/etc together. None of us ever has to go LFG, and we always know we're going to have a good balanced group when we get online.
The music, the art, the memories, the endless list of things to do that can indeed keep you questing forever… And the Firiona Vie server
