Hello, Just coming back to the game after a long break. I have Desert of Flames, Kingdon of Sky, Bloodline Chronicles, The Splitpaw Saga, and The Fallen Dynsasty. Two of those being expansion, three being adventure packs. EQ2 being an MMO like others, I'm sure the old content is emptied once new content comes out. Will I have any opportunity to experience the adventure packs that are out, or has everyone gone through them, beat them, and moved on?
I think that many people have done these already, but as well many have not. I was just in the Village of Shin yesterday, in fact, doing some of the location-ding quests in the village. There are three adventure packs and I think each is unique in its situation. Bloodlines: This one was for characters in a specific level range (30s?) and required a group to work on it -- and that group needed to stick together for a number of quests. Many people did not do this at the time and likely still have it outstanding. You might be successful in getting people to mentor to join you. Splitpaw: This one scales to your level at least to level 45 or 50. Not sure what it does after that. Most people did work their way through this one to get the shard that let you teleport there. On the other hand, the shard means that people are willing to do this on alts which means that you might have luck finding interested people. Fallen Dynasty: This one is high level -- everything past the initial village requires at least level 50ish, if not higher. It is likely there are people that would be willing to do this with you. I tried going into a dungeon there with a small group a few weeks ago but it seemed quite difficult for us -- I do plan to go back sometime with a full group.
[p] They're pretty quiet these days, but Splitpaw is an eternal favorite in particular as there's a fair amount of solo content and you can also quest a handy teleportation shard that will take you straight there (you have to complete 3 quests to earn the trust of the gnolls -- Flitch's Prank, Harclaves, and the solo arena will do it and are all soloable, though you can take a group into Flitch's too). The Harclaves instance is always popular to solo when there's no groups going - you can do it once a level and it rewards a significant chunk of XP, even if all you do is invis all the way to the end and kill the minimum number of monsters. I'm fond of Splitpaw and always do the shard quest on every alt. [/p][p]Fallen Dynasty has a number of solo quests and some raid content that people still visit on occasion, there's not a lot in between however. It's quite a high level area but when you're 70 you may well find groups still heading to Nizara, which is in there.[/p][p]Bloodlines ... that one I have to say is pretty deserted, and I doubt you'll ever find a group for there unless you actively organize one.[/p]
Well, since Splitpaw and Bloodlines are primarily instanced, it's not like you'd find crowds there, anyway. Bloodlines does require a group, so you'd need a regular group of friends to run through the entire series. I did it solo on my 63+ mystic, and had fun with it, so I redid it with a couple of friends starting at about level 36 on my berserker alt. We all had a really good time in there, but if you can't keep one group together for it, you probably shouldn't bother. Splitpaw has group and solo instances, but again, we have instances. Not going to be teeming with players. There are some great zones, though, and since it scales to your level, you can go any time between 20-50 and still have a challenging time. It also has a Splitpaw gate as a reward for doing some of the quests, and that can be handy. Fallen Dynasty is a bit more like a mini-expansion. There are a few open zones and several instanced zones. It's for level 50+, really, and has some very tough raid content as well as fairly difficult dungeons. Personally, I like it, though sometimes it's hard to get people to go there. I always see other players when I go, though. Not tons, but there are people there. The main problem with the adventure packs is that some people don't have them. None of them are must-have (unless you're in a raid guild; I think they all require you to get FD at least), so you see a lot of more casual players opting out of them. As for old content being emptied out, well, you always have people flocking to new zones, and since EoF is the latest expansion, you'll find a lot more players there. But since (in my opinion, anyway) the game has a fairly high replay value, you've got people starting new characters all the time, all over the place. The zones aren't as packed as they used to be, but the world is getting bigger, so we're all spread around a bit thinner.
Splitpaw's upper tunnels is great for soloing. Its indefinately repeatable from levels 20-50+. I leveled three characters to 53 or so there in about 2 weeks after EoF came out. Has two easily accessable collectable spawns that were rather rare on The Bazaar.
It's also great for testing gear combinations, spell / CA upgrades, strategies, and the like, because every time you go in you're guaranteed a steady supply of the same mobs of the same con-to-you level range. Eliminates a couple of variables, so to speak. I did a lot of levels with my main in Splitpaw, because it was in testing on, well, Test, and that's what I did. I haven't taken my Fury in there much at all but I think my new fae Brigand may do a lot of work in there again, since it's something that it's been the longest since I did.
[p]One nice thing about Spiltpaw is the ability to find something you need level-wise.[/p][p]I needed a Jeweler essentials volume 20 and 28.[/p][p]Made a new toon and when I got to 20 went to Splitpaw and turned off adventuring xp until one dropped. Did the same with that toon at level 28.[/p][p]There are three solo instances in Splitpaw which are fun. Harclave, Arena, and the prank one.[/p][p]Bloodline gives a class specific spell. I know for my Necro I was still using swarm of bats at level 70-even though its a level 35 spell.[/p]
[p]Splitpaw is still used, but you don't see huge groups of people going through it anymore. Mostly I see solo characters progressing through the solo-friendly quests when I've been there.[/p][p]I haven't seen ANYONE around the Bloodline zones on my server for quite a while. [/p][p]The Fallen Dynasty is a GREAT set of zones once you've reached your mid-fifties. Lots of stuff you can do by yourself or with groups. I frequently see people in those zones.[/p]
I purchased Bloodline about 2 weeks ago and started on it at level 38, finished up on it at level 50. A lot of the mobs were grey to me but I had a lot of fun. Its a good adventure pack. Twice I needed help and was able to find someone come help kill a boss. I thought about getting splitpaw but since i'm 52 now, I don't think I will.
Well I purchased EQ2 when it was first released, but opted to play "another" game that was released the same time. I think the transition from EQ1 (what I was used to) to EQ2 was too difficult at the time, because EQ2 does numerous things differently. Not better, not worse, just different. Anyways, I got bored with the "other" game. It's a good solid game, but being a bit older in age and somewhat of a veteran with the genre, I need a little more depth. So yes, I've noticed quite a few adventure & expansion packs have been released, and I'm wondering do I need these? I'm basically starting from scratch, so I'm thinking the basic game should give me plenty to do. It's nice to know there's solo content, but my whole reason for playing a game like this is to make friends and group. And I don't want to be in a situation where I'm left out because I haven't purchased add-on A, B or C. Are there a few must-haves? Sounds like many people have moved on from the original release, and I hope the original game isn't too much of a graveyard. There's nothing more deflating than jumping into a game in high hopes of adventuring with people, and feeling like you're the lone survivor of a nuclear fall-out. So I guess my other question would be, is there a particular server I should play on? I chose to create a character on Permafrost, but if there's a server where the majority of players are old like-minded duffers like me who'd be willing to group with an experienced noob (experienced to MMO, noob to EQ2) then I would obliged. Thanks!
Actually no, I still see most or all of the old content still active. Right now Unrest is the "zone of the moment" because it is new, but I still see a lot playing Mara and other older pack zones.
Fallen Dynasty has content up to level 70 and decent drops and quests and stuff, ya, it's worth getting once you're 55-60+. Splitpaw is only for people 50 and under, has some worthwhile solo stuff and the teleport shard you get that takes you to the Thundering Steppes can be handy. If you can get a group there that's a fun time too. The instances have neat little gimmicks. The loot is adepts and crap gear. The only use for Bloodlines unless you have some sort of permanent group in the mid-30s that will work through all the quests together is to get your vampire attack. Unless you have that kind of permanent group I'd screw it unless you get to high levels and you really want the vampire attack. Loot in Bloodlines is universally crap.
[p]You don't NEED any of them to play - but in many you will be missing out on a few cool things (like the bamboo spoon for provisioner from Mara ).[/p][p] [/p]
