Pretty popular mmo youtube reviewer made an eq2 video

Discussion in 'General Gameplay Discussion' started by Vortalis, Apr 25, 2021.

  1. Vortalis New Member

  2. Torpian Member

    I played WoW and EQ2 when they first came out and EQ2 was graphically way ahead of WoW. Graphics wasn't the reason WoW overtook EQ2. The UI in both games were very similar and I'm certain if they changed it now they'd irritate their loyal player base. It took me about 2 hours to make my first character in EQ2 and I never encountered any player who looked like me. In WoW I was a carbon copy of the person who spawned next to me - there was no uniqueness to your character in WoW. You follow the same path as a hundred thousand other players who decided to play your race/class that day. Now had he compared the graphics of this game to Black Desert, I wouldn't even attempt to defend it and BDO is a graphical masterpiece compared to EQ2.

    EQ2 was my first MMORPG and for me, it is still the best and I've played them all. The other game I would rate is Neverwinter but it doesn't have the same depth and sense of 'home' that EQ2 has for me.
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  3. MightyMeaghan Well-Known Member

    I think someone at Darkpaw needs to take this video to heart. The new user experience could be better. Maybe a popup that encourages brand new character to choose the Isle of Refuge as their first starting location, since it has the most comprehensive tutorial.

    A more proactive UI tutorial couldn't hurt either. The EQ2 interface is one of the most highly customizable UIs of any MMO, but you're left to figure that out for yourself.
  4. Bhayar Well-Known Member

    Would concur with this assessment. It's over complicated and most definitely not user friendly. Put another way, it's like bringing someone who's used to 'driving an automobile' in the early 1900s into the future and sticking them into a modern car and wondering why it's all so confusing. Not the least of which, many of current combat/auto attack/defense mechanisms have totally changed, but the UI doesn't show any of that if you're looking at stats on your "character."
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  5. ttobey Makes the Monsters Move

    I thought that was a pretty good/fair overview of what the new player experience is like. Spot on with the UI comments too.
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  6. Tanto Done, finished, gone.

    *sounds of scuffles, muffled screaming and something being dragged away*

    "Our head animator just.. er.. resigned, so we're looking for a new one, click here to apply!"
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  7. DENSER Well-Known Member

    15min20 sec.
    I had a real good laugh hehe ;)
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  8. ttobey Makes the Monsters Move

    I hate hate hate that zombie! haha
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  9. Jalathan Active Member


    the only problem I have with steering people to the isle of refuge is that the early quest lines after that are pretty... questionable? difficult to find and follow? I mean, I'm an experienced player and I steer clear of the isle of refuge, because while the isle is a great place to learn the game, it is mostly a dead end in todays game...
  10. MightyMeaghan Well-Known Member

    The island itself I think is really smooth and easy to follow. However, where I think the improvement could come would be the transition from the island to existing level 5-10 content. I think it would overall be easier to create an effective bridge from the more tutorial-style island to the faster-paced leveling content in newer zones than it would be to try and restructure the beginning experiences in all of the existing zones. A big part of why I suggest directing brand new players to the island is the voice acting. While later starting zones do have voice acting, the island zones really excel at it, with deep, informative conversation branches all voiced out.

    Then, when it's over, you get dumped off in Qeynos or Freeport with no clue where to go from there because the city content has been drastically restructured. Sure, you can choose to go to one of your other allied cities on the way out, but why would you? You're hit with these extra options somewhere around level 7 with no in-game explanation as to what they are.

    So, how does this sound- An additional questline is added to the island once you've completed the boss instance for the zone. It sends you to NPC representatives of the three cities available to your alignment with, each NPC giving the new player an idea of what each city is and what the gameplay there would be like for them. Then they choose their new hometown and hail the boat captain and away they go, better informed as to what's ahead for them. This effectively takes something that the classic version of the game did very well and uses it to drive new players into friendlier leveling paths once they have the basics.


    Edit: Have the city representative quest automatically granted upon completion of the main story arc, or on demand by asking Murrar/Tayil how to leave the island, in case you really don't feel like finishing the questline.
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  11. Obano Well-Known Member

    The reason some people think wow has better graphics is because it runs at 100fps on integrated graphics.

    I could never get into WoW because the combat is garbage. Their 1 second global cooldown is not something I would ever want to deal with.
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  12. Tkia Well-Known Member

    You mean like the suburbs that they removed? That was precisely what they were designed to do. I think just about every quest in there led you out to the various newbie zones. Now when you get off the boat in Qeynos/Freeport you're just left standing there wondering where to go next. One of the worst decisions they ever made.
  13. DENSER Well-Known Member

    and also thanks to a monstrous advertising campaign across the world ... eq2 did not
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  14. Almee Well-Known Member

    I think EQ2 is still the best overall MMOG out there despite its issues. I think the reviewer was fair in his initial, superficial experience.

    I have to agree with TheLazyPeon about the UI. While a lot of it is customizable my channeler and beastlord both have huge pet bars that make playing difficult. We should be able to resize both of these bars. The same with the merc window and normal pet bars.

    But the main thing about EQ2, that keeps me playing despite all its frustrating issues, is that my characters are like members of my family. When you build, or add to houses, and make your home's furniture and decorations, you create a personality for that character which isn't easy to forget. Each home is unique. Some are modern and minimalist. Others are traditional clutter. The variety is endless and reflects our perception of the character we've created.

    I often return to houses I made years ago and marvel at how the character has changed over time by comparing houses then and now. And while part of that is due to new furnishings that can be bought, found, quested, or made, there are more subtle signs of growth that can often be seen. Furnishing might be organized in a more dramatic or original fashion. Or maybe the color palette has switched from conservative neutrals to more vibrant colors.

    One character's wall hanging might reflect an emphasis on people while another's on adventure. Some characters might be ultra neat while others more haphazard.

    If you can't give your character a personality, you aren't trying as characters, gear, and housing are endlessly customizable. Even the spells and abilities a character gets are customizable. You might have a warrior inquisitor or a healing paladin.

    The way you play is customizable. You can go slow, and disable xp gain so you can do all the available quests, or you can get your character power leveled by another character or through agnostic dungeons. You can focus on trades, decorating, exploring, adventuring, raiding, or any combination.

    And then there is the lore which is only rivaled by LotRO. You can ignore it or delve deeply into it. You can succeed in playing the game, regardless of which way you approach the lore, but the lore adds a richness few other games can claim.

    So I get a little antsy and angry when I can't play. I have so many real-life responsibilities that I don't usually have that much time to play each day. And if I pay someone, to take over some of my chores on bonus days, and then the servers go down, I tend to overreact a little.

    But hopefully the devs will forgive me as it really is a backhanded complement that I get so angry when I can't play. The EQ2 world is where I go to forget about real-life responsibilities, illness, loss, etc. And I have more than a few of those at any given time.

    And that's what TheLazyPeon missed in his review. EQ2 is our safe space. We depend on it to take us away from the pressures and sorrows of the real world. Other games do that at a superficial level but only EQ2 lets us truly escape, from a world we have no control over, into a world we build for ourselves.
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  15. Jalathan Active Member

    Definitely agree on this. I love the island, but you are left with no where to go when you are done... I made that mistake when I came back and realized it was a dead end... now I mainly play evil toons because I like the Neriak line...
  16. Nicolos Active Member

    Having played since launch, I actually agree with the video on almost all accounts. The housing in this game literally can’t be beat by any other mmo out there. The crafting mechanic is unique and interesting. There are plenty of pros to be sure and it’s still the mmo most dear to my heart. That said, the ui definitely needs a look at and we could desperately use a stat squish. The numbers are so ludicrous that I literally can’t tell if I’m casting spells for 30 million or 300million. My personal stats are so overblown I can’t keep them straight. Then you have tons of “sub stats” like resolve; it just all feels....unnecessary. Having to have 5+ hot bars of skills is bad; scaling some of these abilities down would be ideal. Just a back to basics overhaul would be so nice. I realize the team is smaller and I’m not a developer so I don’t pretend it’s an easy fix. But I do think the current state of the game is a massive turn off for new and returning players.
  17. MightyMeaghan Well-Known Member

    Using DLW as an example for my idea- At the end of the Island, a player would speak to the three city representatives, choose Neriak, and be given a quest to speak to an NPC on the Neriak docks. The NPC then gives them quest options to buy their first house, tour the city POIs, and to continue leveling by directing them to T'Vatar post, or Hates's Envy if they are below level 5.

    There should be a greeter NPC like that on the docks of every city after the island.
    Almee likes this.
  18. Carynn Well-Known Member

    The captain on the island should dump you into the newbie city zone - Sprawl and Peat Bog - instead of the city dock itself. That would help.
  19. MightyMeaghan Well-Known Member

    Oh god, Peat Bog would make anyone quit. Oakmyst Forest all the way for Qeynos. Actually, they'd exit the tunnel from the docks and immediately get eaten by Grubdigger. Welcome to Norrath!

    Honestly a quest to report to Lieutenants Charlin, Dawson, or Germain and instructions on how to use the city bell network would do the trick.
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  20. Zynt Feldon's sock puppet

    If Grubdigger had been in the new Godzilla vs Kong movie it would have had a completely different ending.

    Team Grubdigger 4 life.