I am looking at returning to one of these games but I am just not sure to which one. I have not played either in a few years. If I have limited time to play and will mostly do solo and group stuff but no raids which would be the better choice? How are the populations? How active are either of the games still? Overall I like both games I am just not sure which is a better choice for me at this point. I will probably do F2P for a few months before going with a subscription but since I already have characters in both game that are not even close to max level that should not be an issue at all.
Populations are nice in EQ since it went F2P. Vox is a new server and you will find people milling around in Gloomingdeep, PoK and CR. Which game to play is a personal choice. I played EQ2 till about level 34, then I switched to EQ and never looked back. EQ2 has nicer graphics but the atmosphere and art style turned me off. EQ is graphically inferior to EQ2 but it has gameplay in spades. I started EQ about a month ago so I cant speak to what it was like in 99 or classic EQ. But what I can tell you is it has adopted enough of the new mechanics (quests, XP-deficit death penalty, and even glowing trails if you want them) to make the game approachable. The UI is complex but completely customizeable. One of the aspects I love about the game. It doesnt hold your hand. If you dont read up on websites or speak to people in the game you will be lost amongst the mass of content you can go through. I also love the fact that there will (soon) be 100 levels for me to earn. Community is more mature, and for the most part very friendly. I've only seen about 1% of the game and anticipate logging in whenever I can. And you also get a Hero's Journey or golden path if you are like me and don't know exactly where to go to level. But from experience I've learned it doesnt really matter. Just explore and you will find more than enough stuff to keep you busy.
Hello Immudzen, Indeed like ntellect said both games are great games and I am sure no matter what you play you will have fun. With that being said if you do decide to give EQ a go again check us out over at Progression X. We are a casual progression raiding guild going through each expansion at the level, gear and order it was meant to be tackled at and are always looking for new recruits! We are currently in PoP and doing raids in Luclin/PoP. For more information visit our site, send me a PM or /tell Draconic, Burp, Raynard, or Nemo.
The only thing better in EQ compared to EQ2 is Nostalgia level. That's it. This game is good if you are end-game level/XP'd but starting from scratch you have a much better change getting things done there than here. You have a better chance in WoW too, for that matter... The only factors you have to worry about is whether or not your PC can run that game decently. The EQ2 client is not well-optimized, IMO. Other than that, that game is superior - just a bit more complicated depending on what class you play. They are both F2P. Try them out.
I'd have agreed with you in 2007. When I visited back this year, though, I found EQ2 to be nothing but a ghost of its old self. It's been simplified to the point of becoming dispensable, there is no challenge in the group game whatsoever, and mudflation is through the roof. Still fun to fool around in for a month and revisit the old, abandoned content (whatever they've left alone, anyway), but it's rotting much quicker than EQ1.
EQ2 is ok, but it's a different style of game than EQ, much closer to WoW. If that's what you prefer, then fine, go play it. EQ still has much more challenge, and has been made much more accessible for solo players or those who are still establishing themselves with a guild group. Getting started isn't any harder (or much easier) in EQ than in EQ2.
I play both and pretty much agree with what others have said, but given what you seem to be looking for I'd probably suggest EQ2, as it is an easier game to get into and progress in and much more of a linear storyline overall. If I just want to relax and play a bit I log into eq2, if I want a challenge and a more involving experience, I log into eq1. Server wise Freeport is the server I am on in eq2 and it's very busy with several good newbie friendly guilds in it. If you decide on eq2 and end up on the Freeport server send me mail and I can get you in my guild. Guild Halls in eq2 are a big help, especially if you like doing tradeskills like me.
What level did you get to in EQ2? Doesn't seem like you've raided seriously there, or started that game late and leveled up to join a progression guild to raid. It's a completely different experience than EQ1. Most people who would play EQ2 with full access (i.e. not the gimped F2P accounts) would quit EQ1 within a week because the gameplay, content, and class balance simply isn't up to par with the newer games. Almost all games are top heavy once they've been out for a while, and being able to get there in a reasonable timespan without feeling ridiculously gimped is a HUGE factor to newer players. EQ1 is no Lineage II, but it's almost getting there. It does feel a bit like a Korean grinder compared to WoW and EQ2, IMO. It's an old-style MMORPG in a new world and really isn't not as bad off as you make it seem. EQ has seen more server mergers than you can shake a stick at so I'm not sure what perspective you're speaking from in regards to that.
EQ2 has the higher population I'm sure. Personally I just can't stand that game because of the awful AA system. I much prefer the EQ1 system. Also I would rather kill mobs for xp rather than quest grind which EQ2 forces you to do, aka WoW style. You aren't going to find many groups in either game outside max level. The EQ1 merc system is pretty awesome though for doing low content. They even have DPS mercs now which is great. If nothing else just try both free versions.
I should have mentioned that I've played EQ2 on and off since launch, but haven't raided in any of the content post-Echoes of Faydwer. That was also the last time I was at level cap. Maybe the raid game in EQ2 is really fun and makes up for everything else? Is this still directed at me? I'm a little confused because I wasn't saying EQ1 was bad off, in fact exactly the opposite
I meant EQ2 isn't as bad off as you made it seem. My sentences ran together, becuase I was multi-tasking at work trying to get the post out before my screen was spotted by someone else.
Both EQs have their place. EQ 1 is not really outdated per say, but it is not the same style as the current MMO market. The engines and graphics are more dated, but in my opinion the classes are far more unique to one another and complimentary. Versus the more cookie cutter healer, dps, tanks of WoW and EQ 2 where the class name is different but the mechanics are still close to identical. EQ classes were all different. There was none of this...this is your big expensive heal, this is your small efficient heal, this is your fast expensive heal.....now go out and find your identical play style because if you change it up....it pretty much won't work. Until you have max gear.....you have 0 wiggle room. EQ classes gave you the sparkley tools, and how you flung your sparkles around was up to you..it worked or it didn't and you learned that. There was more then one way to be good though, and that was neat.
That makes sense! And I can happily concede that's true... I'm a bit of a drama queen. I think I exaggerated the problem because I have really fond memories of EQ2 in its heyday. It was just so deflating seeing the old zones being pillaged by chronomentored 90s, or wandering into Castle MM and levelling it with a single paladin merc.
Sophia that goes for any game, though. EQ isn't user friendly. I'm hardly a newb to these games (having initially started around Velious and raided fairly hardcore - even on two servers at once, Euro and US 5-6 days a week) up until PoR release. But coming from games with Quest NPC WayPoints, better Mapping, Better Stat and Spell Casting Systems, MOBs actually balanced for toons that level not assuming uber/inflated gear/stats. I mean seriously. The idea that in 2012 I should be content with sitting in a field to Mem/Swap/Scribe spells is ludicrous. The idea that the game hasn't already moved to the point where it gives you the lowest rank spells with higher ranks being dropped from MOBs raids, causing you to run halfway across the world to buy them in PoK or stockpile them before you run out (with VERY limited bagspace) is a bit insulting. I was playing my OLD necro and wondering why my FD was failing and then realized... They added Comatose expansions after I had quit that toon (haven't played it since Shadows or Luclin or early Planes of Power) and had to waste 30 minutes going to PoK and running back to the zone where I was, which BTW was an absolutely HORRIBLE experience because the game client has no decent MAP for the adjacent zone, so I actually ended up in the wrong zone and having to run all the way back through the other zone (after downloading mapfiend maps). Then Summon a Pet, sitting and swapping spells to buff, then going back to my other spells... WoW and EQ2 classes work differently and have different mechanics. If you seriously think a Tank Warrior, Paladin, Bear Druid all work off the same mechanics then you are out of your mind. EQ2 has Good and Evil Classes and many of them are off the same archetype, so yes many similarities exist. That's the point. You can still play a similar class without being Good or Evil. Conjuror and Necromancer are similar, but have totally different mechanics especially when AAs are factored in (especially endlines like Dot Extension vs. Elemental Blast). Wizard and Warlock, one is primaritly single target while the other excels at Encounter damage. Those classes are similar, but they play completely different. If you feel you made the wrong choice, EQ2 lets you betray to the sister class. There are neutral classes, though... More now than they used to be. WoW classes have a lot of diversity, but there is still some overlap due to their talent system and the way each class can be setup. Yes, you need a tank and a healer for anything that requires a group. That goes for any game. They all still have to be viable, as well, or you create huge balance issues. You're completely overexagerating the class similarities in those games, many of which exist only within archetypes, which is how it SHOULD be.
While it's true that all games do decline, I really do think some forms of decay are particularly salient in the case of EQ2. Take quests, for example. Initially, EQ2 actually had some really great and interesting quests - the betrayal questlines back in the day were probably some of the most exciting and cinematic quests I've ever played in an online game. The voice acting, the touches of flavour, it was all absolutely top notch. Now FP and Qeynos have been effectively obsoleted by Gorowyn and Neriak, both of which are dominated by a stupefyingly dull series of courier and kill quests. The EOF zone progressions are almost as bad. Every quest giver leads to the next quest giver, who will tell you to kill 10 of X as opposed to 10 of Y. On top of that, the writing is sloppy at best, atrocious at worst (not that EQ is always on the ball here either.) It's worse, imho, than the directionless EQ grind. The quests are so directed that it feels like your character has been co-opted by the devs. For example, the quests in Gorowyn put reams of dialogue in the mouth of your character; I took a troll character through there and was forced to choose dialogue options that looked as if they were written specifically for a Sarnak noble. Very different to the original days in Freeport and Qeynos, where NPCs treated you differently based on your race. Nostalgia, I know, but I have nostalgia for EQ as well. I was there when boats began leaving for the Overthere, when the Spires first opened. Despite all that's happened to EQ since, I've never felt that something essential has been lost, as I do with EQ2. This is all deeply subjective, of course. Also I'm with you 100% that classes in EQ2 are quite diverse in action, even between their pairings,
I stand by my statements, I know they are not identical but they just seem bland. There is not enough of a difference that each feels it has its niche carved out. I don't want healers all working off the same archetype. I love the EQ shaman, that can be played and played well several ways. WoW and EQ 2 are just not my play style. No classes had definition like EQ, in my opinion. I know there has to be a tank and healer, what I like was being able to go tank utility dps dps healer offhealer/dps, or any other mix.
