Hello, First of all..I CAN'T believe I got my old name. omg! Anyone remember Taki from back in original Beta? I was a Lvl 26 Erudite Wizard when Beta ended. Have not played EQ since 2000..I know, I'm a bad girl, but real life happens. I heard about the new Ragefire server and I really want to get back to what once was now that I have the means and a little extra time......uuuugh 16 yrs older thou HAHA. So many fond memories back then. I can't wait to get in. Not sure if I will make a Wizard again...Getting paid for portals was a nice income. Maybe a Druid with SOW. Best way to get around. Anyway..I'd like to hear from others who were in Beta back then and into release. Maybe form a group/Guild or just get together for some old time fun. Medding with a spell book open? Hell YEAH!! *evil grin* See you all soon. PS. Downloading Beta atm
Your right time flies, I started June of 1999 and I quit in 2004. And I just came back about 2 months ago and I am having a blast. I have to plans to play on Ragefire though.
Welcome back, and have fun in the game! My wife and I started in early EQ as well (eventually we met on FV server). We have been part of previous progression servers, and very much enjoy playing on them. It's not at all like it was back then, so many little tweaks and changes, but the essence is still there.
Don't pick a class based on abilities you think were important/profitable in '99. There has been a lot of bleed-over of abilities among the classes. Ports are pretty much not needed now with the various portals and everyone having gate (origin AA available at level 1 I think.) It's not like the old days in LOIO where it was dangerous and time consuming to travel back and forth. You will make much more plat just killing stuff. Even sky and hate don't require a wizard anymore. Everyone has SoW now with SoW potions made through alchemy (shaman only) as well as regen, HoT, direct heals and mana regen (Breeze is probably what you remember.) You can get a bard-speed horse or mount too. There are other changes too that I'll let you discover. Just wanted to get you out of the '99 mindset. Play what you feel is fun (unless you are free-to-play or silver and think that tanking is fun.)
Origin AA is level 5, but your point stands. Porters are useful for bot groups, mainly, where reaching far away zones is a pain (level 80 hot zone, I'm looking at you). But for the first few expansions on Ragefire, which will probably equate to the next couple of years, most of the old values will still apply, from the value of ports to the importance of clerics.
Yes, all the classes are better than they used to be, so it's important to try out the ones you find interesting. Ports are very much needed, and will be for at least two years. Origin is level 5, and also useful to take you back to your home city (it's the same as the "Go Home" button at character select). LOIO is dangerous, and it is time consuming to travel, although there are teleporter npc's now so the boats are optional. Sky and Hate both require wizards for the next few years. SoW and sow potions are similar to 1999, in that shaman make the old world recipes for several years. Breeze may or may not be part of classic EQ (not clear in testing), or if we have to wait for Kunark to open. There are no mounts until Luclin opens in a year and a half, unless they change the rules for the store. And, there is no silver or free-to-play option. Everyone on Ragefire gets to pay a monthly subscription. Of course, this is all for Ragefire server since you came back and are downloading the beta client. For most other servers, SomeEQGuy is right.
I can't share little bits of game secrets, or a little favoritism (although Vah Shir are awesome, goes without saying). But I did want to welcome you back, and I hope you enjoy your time back with EverQuest! We always love to see returning players, even after fifteen long years. Welcome back to the Crack!
Didn't realize they were coming back to a progression server so yeah, ports will be important again til the portals open up. One other option for travel I used back in the day was the firepot room in TD. It's a long run and there's the dragon you have to worry about but it did save boat rides, dangerous runs and zoning a bunch of times. I still have a character bound there but I don't think you can do that anymore.
