EQ2 - new player (ish) - is EQ2 worth the time investment?

Quick summary I played EQ2 awhile ago when the F2P came out and had a character to lvl 32, quit for some reason I can't remember.
I always been a massive EQ player, and always loved EQ2 just never got into it.
This year a lot of big mmo's are coming out, a few are already. I just see the all the stuff EQ2 has (housing, dungeons, dungeon makers, guild housing, AA, mounts) etc..
Basically I'm bored of most mmo's (playing Rift, and Age of Wush a bit), Wow is making me sick!
It's everything I wanted in a mmo, but is it going to be around for much longer, is the player base almost gone, what is the state of the game these day?

Well, I really don't think this game is going anywhere anytime soon. The servers for the first EQ are still up, and it came out in 1999. Also, the next game update for EQ2 is currently in beta.

The population has of course diminished since 2004 when the game was launched. I am one of the least active servers and still don't have too much trouble finding a group when I need it. But, there is not much grouping that occurs in the lower levels, because it is not necessary, especially with the introduction of mercenaries.

If you are adamant about grouping, your best option is to find an active guild on the server of your choice. This game does have a dungeon finder, but it is rarely used.

Some people are predicting doomsday for the game because of a change that SOE is making to the economy, but it is a necessary change that will likely cause difficulty in the short term but is good for the game in long term.

Welcome back, and hope you enjoy the game!

I agree. This one isn't going anywhere, for all it's vagaries and weirdnesses. There's still lots to do. Time spent here is 'worth it' as long as gaming for you is a hobby in which you like to have goals, but you don't really need huge amounts of progression to feel good about.

If that's the case, this game is so old that you will never quite be caught up - even if you hit max level. So much has changed, and you are missing so much of the in-between stuff. If you don't treat EQ2 as casual as a newcomer right now, you might end up being disappointed. You might want to start with the launch of a newer game.

That said, there's still a lot of interest, plenty of great lore, scenery, questing and things to do in this game for quite awhile. The things everyone is yelling about that have been 'ruined' depend on if you are at max level or not. The newest content is really a hash. The older content is still awesome.

Sounds good to me, it just seems EQ2 has so much of what I want in a mmo and I'm tried of these other failed mmos