It would be nice to see EQ going back to being EQ with more choice of gear and complete visable pieces dropping rather than having to add something to it which costs a fortune to make it wearable. I'm not talking about the tradeskill stuff, that is just a mess now with no idication as to what some items are for, ie augs and weapons. Also where are the tunics? It has been years since we have had any tunics drop and robes need a new look they have been the same plain design in different shades for many, many years now.
Instead of continually remapping old zones, and has been said many times in this thread mainly due to lack of people and money. Maybe they should stop the every year expansion and just release 1 every 18 months or 2 years to give time for a limited staff to actually build an expansion from scratch.
All visible armor has been the same designs in different shades for many, many, many years unless you want to pay for the unlock to use the ornamentation slots.
Extensive zone revamps can be more time consuming than creating new zones. For the sake of better and bigger expansions that is a nice idea but many players do think that it would kill EQ because we already had a discussion about that some years ago. Basically EQ just does need more devs but if this is not going to happen, 18 or 24 month expansions might be a thing.
I wouldn't mind seeing the next expansion reduce the focus on missions. Currently missions have overtuned rewards that feel like loot pinata dailies while the static world is there for quest progression, achievement hunting and solo content. Something that made fighting in the static world more rewarding (ex: faster named spawns, group currency from named, higher chance for ores, etc) or missions less rewarding is all that's needed.
That might be useful for returnees, too, to get back into the swing of things or even for someone feeling a bit of a struggle optimising their character with all the AA and other stuff available only in the upper levels.
I am expecting 30th expansion to be BIG lowbar is 9 new zones new quests/missions/raids new gear new spells level increase some QoL thing keyrings etc. highbar CHATGPT NPC sophisticated AI INNOVATIVE weather system ship to ship combat ship mounts NEW fishing, actually have to do something races mini games NEW visual armor designs NEW events, meta events NEW shrouds NEW neighborhood designs/house designs It's EQ 30th expansion. BIG DEAL. 21,22,23,24,25 they can do lowbar. But 30th.The bar is set HIGH. Other games are making EQ obsolete, 3rd world, outdated. Its HIGH time for EQ. Its DO OR DIE time. 30th expansion, be more like EQ. INNOVATIVE sets the bar HIGH gets things DONE You have your 64 bit, you have your updated UI. NO EXCUSES on 30th expansion bar is set high, this year, 2023, 30th EQ expansion its HIGH TIME. We are ready for HIGH BAR 30th expansion, showcasing WHY it was important to go 64 bit. Showcasing WHY it was important to update UI. Showcasing WHY we should continue playing EQ over these other VERY VERY quick paced quick evolving MMORPGs EQ competes with. Boom here is the weather code, easy DONE next high item Boom here is CHATGPT sophisticated AI, easy DONE next high bar item Boom here is ship ship combat, easy DONE. next high bar item This 30th expansion. All eyes on EQ. They still got or they fading into 3rd world obsoleted MMORPG? Code has been done, its available publicly, NO EXCUSES. It's 2023. It's 30th expansion. I am expecting HIGH BAR, this is 30th expansion. BIG BIG BIG deal.
It will not only be the 30th expansion, it will be the expansion for and during the 25th anniversary. Two big anniversaries combined ! Lowbar: 10 new zones. Something "innovative" like dyeable Hero Forge armor or many new faces and hairstyles for models 1.0 and 2.0 or a Global friend list tell chat channel Retro themed expansion, based on original Norrath. My favourite theme would be the First Ogre - Dwarven War on Faydwer involving zones like Dagnor's Cauldron, Butcherblock Mountains, Kaladim, Greater and Lesser Faydark, Hills of Shade. New merchandise articles Highbar: 15 new zones with a good mix between retro-revamped, new, outdoor, dungeons. Bazaar trader access for FTP/Silver (without offline trader). General chat useable by FTP/Silver (other channels do stay locked). Additional account model between FTP and AllAccess (Could be combined with above). New class ; like the Spellsword (WIZ/WAR hybrid; Part 1, Part 2) for Gnome, Human, Drakkin, Dark Elf, Froglok. Player Character models 3.0 based on a revamp of 1.0. Merchandise Shop
What are your expectations for the next expansion, McMarrin ? Are you kidding me ? What About Bob? is one of the most funny comedy movies. On top of it, even in RL "Bob" and "Dr. Leo Marvin" had conflicts which might had been usefull for the movie.
What my expectations for an expansion are have nothing to do with my opinion on your suggestions but lets look at them 1. What value to the game does an "innovative" weather system add at this point in its life? 2. Ship to ship combat? I guess that is just a phrase from the old days when that was listed as part of an expansion. 3. Ship Mounts? Not sure what use that would be outside of a very few zones. 4. New fishing sounds like normal tradeskill updates 5. Not sure what "races" is supposed to mean 6. Not sure what you want by mini games but I would rather focus on the main game 7. New looks sure 8. New events sure 9. There are so many issues with shrouds they should just be left alone 10. Sure new housing could be good.
I think that EQ needs to start experimenting with new ideas no matter how crazy they are. EQ 3 will never be made if the only path forward is creating EQ 1 with a graphics update. It would satisfy the current playerbase but not bring in a lot of new players. Daybreak should try something wild and see what sticks. The franchise has so many expansions that you can just enjoy the previous expansions if the newest expansion is too much for you.
