Nope, not returning because of nostalgia, not returning because I'm tired of WoW ( in fact I've only played the trial and I wasn't really interested in trying more. ) Just...new. I'm trying out all the MMOs that I can. So far I've played RIFT, Gw2, LotRO, ArcheAge, Neverwinter, TERA, Dragon Nest.. ( wow this list rly looks short, I'm sure I've played more ._. ) Anyway, the reason why I'm trying EQ is because, well, this is sort of what started it all. People say it's still awesome. I'm trying to find out why. Why do you still play EQ? Is it because of the nostalgia? What's so good about EQ that you aren't moving on to other MMOs? Also, why do the YouTube videos have only 2.8k views or something? ._. Is that the amount of players playing the game right now? I just want to know what I'm getting into, although it'd be pretty stupid of me to stop downloading the game now, because my internet is pretty slow and I've already downloaded 3.8 GB overnight. Also, I believe I'll have to choose a server. Are the EU servers populated ? If not, will I experience lag if I choose on NA ? ( I know I will experience some lag, but is it really important in an MMO like this which doesn't really have an action combat system? ) Is the game going to die out / be shut down like various other MMOs? Is SOE pumping out enough expansions for it to strive ? Sorry about my inquisitive personality..I'm just curious . Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Well, honestly the golden years of everquest were 1999-2004. The game now isn't what it was, but I enjoy the modern game now too. Last I checked the EU was at medium population. I play EQ because I've always loved it, and always eventually return to it. I enjoy progression classic guilds, and just exploring around or doing random quests. Sometimes I log in and don't really play, but read up on lore instead, or go exploring. I have random characters in just about every server, including test, and for the most part they run fine. ... except when they don't. About youtube videos, well, I have no clue. I've only watched a couple, and I'm sure that not all players get on these forums, much less youtube videos. I'd wager maybe just 15% of the player base use the forums and if they don't use the forums they likely don't hear or care about promotion videos.
Ah, I see. I hope there are more people playing than on the forums . So hm..are you playing just for old time's sake ? Would you be playing this game in 2014, if you had never tried it in the first place ? I don't know why people are attracted to it actually. The graphics are dated, the gameplay is dated. But other than that, I don't know why it attracted so many in the first place. Why am I playing this ? Well...to find out what's so good about it. I'll say this though, it does give me a Morrowind vibe. I never finished that game because I started in 2013, but I loved creating a character, a backstory, finding out more about the setting, etc. Are there any RP servers out in EU, and would you recommend a newbie to hop right into RP instead of playing on a PVE server first?
RP in Everquest is what you bring with you. While there is a RP Preferred server (Firiona Vie), it isn't as common as it was back when the server first started. That said, watch for Guide events on the various servers (Drinal for example) and you will get to participate in more RP sessions. I keep coming back to the game for two reasons. It feals comfortable, sorta like home, and for the chatter in the various boxes. The group/chat freatres have always been a corner stone of the game, and is probably why it has been so popular. Sony doesn't plan on closing down the game anytime soon. The just releast their 21st expansion, have a booming Free 2 Play model with a marketplace that players can create items for sale (and share in the wealth from SOE. Check out the Player Studio if you are artistically gifted), The is also support for the interfaces that the users can modify (see eqinterfaces.com for more details). This game is what you want to bring to it. We also love to have new players come along where we can teach them the game. I play on three servers, right now more on The Rathe due to eye problems, but there are other servers where you would be more than welcome to join. Let us know what direction you are wanting to go, and we may give you some insight on what class and race combos you might find pleasing to play. I would suggest if you have a new account and have NOT logged into any game or any other SOE website for the game you want to play, then get hooked up with a recruiter to get some leg up bonuses. (See the link in my sig for more info). Good luck, and welcome to the ever loving world of Norrath and EverQuest. (You are in our world now(tm)).
Storytime I first came to EQ in 2004, and the Human Magician I still play today was my first character. I slowly leveled up in West Freeport and the surrounding zones, achieving level 18. There was something satisfying about killing monsters, becoming more powerful, and being able to progress to the next zone where there are even tougher monsters. However I definitely can't say I was particularly good at the game, and I was basically always solo. That was back in more hardcore EQ where you often needed a group, or at least some skill, to keep going. What I ended up doing instead, was trading in the bazaar. I'd farm items that sold decently in low level zones and sell them. Then I'd use the money to buy an item I really liked. This was back in the day when not all the gear was spreadsheeted, and you could occasionally come across some really unique items (and even cool graphics ). Some of the earliest games I've played were in the Armored Core series on the playstation; I had a thing for character customization. This kept me entertained for a while; I'd sell, buy, and test out my new gear. After that got old, I had a blast leveling toons up to 8 or so to test out different classes. There was something about the variety that fascinated me. I did eventually get bored of the game, however, and during the years after that I played on and off. A few years ago (maybe 3 or so?) I came back and tried a new approach. I went to Blightfire Moores, accepted every quest I could find, and spent many hours questing there. To this day that is one of my favorite zones. The size of the zone, as well as its diversity, made for a very unique and immersive experience. It had so many areas and mobs of various level ranges; I could progress and was constantly finding new areas within a single zone (especially since I had no maps ). I had no great drive to level or necessarily grow in power. Instead, I enjoyed the whole experience - my character became powerful relative to many of the mobs, I was killing evil named, and I was going on quests to help people. While I still love EQ, that immersive experience just isn't there for me anymore. At some point I decided I wanted to level up. I don't think I ever dreamed of becoming max level, but I wanted to make an effort to grow my character's power. The power leveling brings your character is awesome; out-leveling Blightfire, while a bit melancholy, made me feel pretty uber. I tried to take some quests in the zones I went to, but I mostly ended up grinding my way up. I found there were some zones that were more memorable than others. The Bloodfields (and the whole OoW expansion) was one of my favorites. Greig's End was another, and I spent many, many hours there grinding AAs. I also loved Wall of Slaughter, Plane of Fire, MPG, and RSS. DSH, Mech Guardian, Beza, and Zeka were some of my favorites too. I honestly can't say why I loved these zones so much, but they all stand out. Personally, I haven't found a zone I love as much post SoF. Many of the zones are awesome, but not at the same level as the older zones. Getting to max level and (close to) max AA/gear is a weird feeling. For months I wasn't really at peace... I'd tell myself that the next day I'd grind 100 AAs, and then I could start leveling, and then grind more AAs, etc. It was kinda nice to not have something that I had to do... I was more or less there. The journey was kind of strenuous, but the growth my character went through was pretty sweet. So... What do I enjoy now? Well once the grind was over, I was free to do quests (not because I had to, but because I wanted to). There are many fun quests and missions throughout the last few expansions, some more fun than others. One of my favorites in recent memory is the Bixie HA where you basically have to help defend the Bixies from attack. It's one of the few that brings back the feeling of previous parts of the game for me. The idea that your character is powerful enough to tip the tide of war was an awesome, and really fun, experience. Besides those unique few quests, I find the game has become largely numerical for me. If you can tank it (which, breaking it down, is all numbers), and you can maximize your DPS (again, all numerical), you basically win. This isn't a bad thing, I like that reaching your full potential requires knowledge beyond pressing a couple of buttons. It's certainly better for me than newer games where a lot of your success is based on reaction times or things of the sort. However, it does make the game less ... immersive (yeah, I've used that word a lot ). So I miss the days when EQ was simpler and felt more like a fantasy world. That being said, today's EQ is still really fun for me, and more enjoyable than other games I've tried. So that may or may not answer your question (only went for the "why do you play EQ" one)... but I like telling stories
To try and answer your other questions: Youtube videos of EQ aren't nearly as captivating as ones for other games. Even I can't watch EQ being played, even though it's by far my favorite game. The watch-ability of other games is way higher. And EQ is an old game... so yeah, the population isn't huge As for servers, I doubt you'll experience much more lag not using the EU server(s), but I don't have first hand experience. Lag isn't a huge deal, especially earlier in the game. Some people worry EQ is soon to be shut down... and I've been hearing it for years. The development resources are definitely decreasing, but EQ is still profitable and I think it will be continued for some time to come. Personally I think it makes sense to keep the game running, even if they stop producing new content. So even if SOE stopped developing EQ, I personally think we'd get more years to play what we have (and EQ has a lot of content already).
I like that there is EQ actually requires some work and time investment for someone to be the best. As was stated above, Most players of EQ are not all that interested in the youtube videos for EQ. You can also play however you like and as long as you are not a donkey you will be treated well. Also, in my opinion now that EQNext Development is winding down the support for EQ is picking up some.
Wow! I'll be honest, I was NOT expecting more than one reply. Mostly because other MMORPG introduction threads of mine don't net more than 1 reply x). Anyway, wow. So, where do I start?! This is exciting. I've never been involved in a discussion on the forums of ANY MMO I've ever played. Nobody has tried to be so friendly, tbh. Alright, so..Anhari, thanks for the warm welcome. It's good to know that the Everquest community is alive and SO friendly! I'll look into the RP servers, might even join you once my game has been downloaded! As for what I want to do here, hm. That's a tough question, I just read the race description for all of the races and boy..are they interesting. I just love them all! But, being the wood elf guy, I'm just gonna play an elf maybe. Or a frog. Frogs hop, I hear! X) The dark elves seem very evil, the Erudites very condescending and the Gnomes too short x). I won't comment on all the races, but I really like them all. I also love how the Iksar ( or Iskar? ) aren't rly welcome in ALL the cities of Norrath! I mean, how cool is that?! About the class, hm. I haven't really read the class descriptions yet, been busy with the race desc. What's fun to play? I know, I know, "Just play what YOU want to play." I'd usually go mage, but the one thing I hate about mages is how rooted they are. I like being mobile, I like using spells. I usually go spellthief in single player RPGs. @Sancus, thanks for the story . I enjoy reading stories, much like you enjoy writing them! That's quite a tale, to be honest, I hate being so young! I wish I was there 15 years ago when EQ launched. People often describe them as "The glory days of MMO genre". Sigh, but I wasn't even one year old in 1999! ( I hope I'm allowed to say that here, some other MMO sites have banned me for being below 18 ._. ) I LOVE being immersed into a game. I enjoy it so much that I've tried all the immersive mods that I can on Skyrim - the modder's paradise! <3. I loved the immersion in Morrowind, it was just...wow. Sad, I couldn't complete it. I stopped playing halfway, not sure why. I'll try to have fun with the game, too. From what I've read in the race descriptions..I'll spend at least a few hours deciding what *I* want to play! @Xianzu - Thanks for the information. EQNext is how I heard about EQ, actually. As weird as it may sound x). I'm really young ( 16 ) so I didn't really dig up the origin of MMOs. For the longest period of time I thought Ultima Online was the first 3D MMORPG! It wasn't even really 3D! Again, thank you everyone, for taking the time to read and reply to my thread! I really haven't met more than ONE friendly person in all of my introduction threads in MMORPGs. Also, Anhari, thanks for the link but I've already logged into the EQ launcher and this website with my account. So er, if I create a new account after my game has been downloaded using your link, can I log into EQ launcher with the new account and still get the benefits ?
Don't wish to be older Nukinator, enjoy your youth while you have it. Will be plenty of years to be old but you're only young once. The euro server is very nicely populated still and definitely wouldn't be a poor choice. Keep that optimism and you're bound to have fun no matter what class you end up choosing.
True. Also, although there is a ping difference between EU and US servers, it's not very obvious in game.
Hello, Welcome then in everquest, I am hopping you will find what you are looking for. Everquest has a tremendous amount of content to be explored really. I am currently finishing underfoot group progression, And am following my own pace with my box team. You can decide to rush to the max level, as many does. I will suggest you to start on FV server, the rule set of this server are especially nice for casual players and beginners. Cheers,
Your experience of playing from Europe on a US-based server probably depends on your ISP. I studied abroad in Europe. I had high-speed internet and didn't notice any difference playing in Europe versus the US on Emarr.
Welcome aboard. This game has 16 years of history and expansions worth of zones, content and things to do behind it. So you can (at least for a decent amount of time) explore and do what you want in game without much interference.
I think we are just north of 500 zones now, so the content is plentiful. I know I still haven't seen the entire game, but I do purposely try to travel just to see it all.
I am fairly new mysmyself starting EQ for the first time in 2012. If you can get over the graphics and antiquated engine you are in store for one of the best traditional MMO experience. Why do I like it? I played the same MMO that you mentioned (and a few that you have not). The same thing happens. I enjoy it in the beginning (probably because it's new and pretty) then eventually get bored because customization is shallow, or questing is too linear, or there is no value to exploration. EQ (to me) is really a sandpark. There are a plethora of self made goals you can complete to the point where it can be ovwrwhelming. I love the somewhat endless progression. You reach max level? Focus on your AA. I love the customization, with AAs each character is really unique. And I personally love the combat. There is something relaxing about tab target hot bar combat. I get to focus on the fight rather than constant movement. I love the classes. Finally for me I can be a REAL ranger where I have nature magic, melee and bow skills (unlike other MMOs where you are restricted to a bow or gun). And then there is the community. On average more mature and more connected making North feel more real. I could go on and on but the best advice I can give is play the game. It costs you absolutely nothing. And if you love it as I do then subscribe and support. I'm Jokerchyld on vox. I'll be happy to show you the little that I know.
I came back to the game after 9 years away......wish I would have stayed. The zones, the adventure, the challenge it can be, the risk of your char actually dieting ( yes a res is easy to get) , and just the options you have are still much better than current MMO giants. Sure the UI will seem clunky at first, graphics may be behind the times, but it's still a quality game.
You use the same launcher per account, so if you want to use a brand new shiny account to get the perks from the recruit-a-friend program, go for it. Just go to the link, and create a new account then launch EQ and have a ball. Remember the perks come after you have paid at least $10.00, but subscribing to the game (All-Access), or buying 10 bucks of Station cash apply. I currently play two accounts at a time (boxing sometimes), one of which was one of the original recruited accounts. You could also take part and become a recruiter by having your friends sign up under you. (What a pyramid scheme! Brings back memories of Amway!). I look forward to adventuring with you. And again, welcome to our world! (BTW its funny sometimes to see the responses that the Devs put into the game when you try to talk to some of the merchants when you aren't very well liked. "Oh Look, a walking pile of slime!" comes to mind.
Alright, I'll be honest you guys. I did NOT like the game at first 2 days ago. I really, really didn't. The cluttered UI, the different quest style, reminded everything I hated about Morrowind. + That was ONLY the tutorial! However...that was 2 days ago. I said "sigh, another 9 GB of data wasted." I quit the game ( even that took me some time, I used /quit after remembering SA-MP ( san andreas multiplayer ) Then, I downloaded SWTOR to play for the first time. Only 3 GB was done downloading and I could play it today! So I went in, I roamed around, then I was reminded the ONE thing I hate about MMORPGs. RP. Did I feel like I was actually playing a role ? No. I was just going around, slaying things for fun. Enjoying the action combat. I got bored instantly, I realized that I had this feeling in Morrowind too. Something about the music, the story, the characters felt REAL! In EQ I used a spell or two as a bard that damaged the people near me. I was so shocked to find out that a guard had killed me due to this! It was a complete and utter "wtf!?" moment for me. I was so surprised and so immersed into the game! So, I've decided to give this another shot. I'm going to create a new character, delete my bard and go for a Froglok....something. The idea of frogs is funny xD. I have no idea about the class though, I really don't. So I'll wait for a few hours, for a response. Also, I lag HORRIBLY even on such an old game. My rig is completely fine, an i3 540 ( while this sucks, it's still decent ) a GTX 750 Ti, 4 GB RAM and 1 TB HDD. The thing is, I realized that the shadows caused it. Am I the only one ? The shadows made my FPS drop to 15 or so in certain areas. Also, I'm playing on the Rathe server instead of the RP server, because according to a lot of people there's little to no RP there.
