New Player-ish... looking to get started

Greetings friends! I'm looking to possibly jump in to EQ2, but need some feedback.

I started MMOs in 2003 with EQOA, from that point branching out and trying everything and with much addiction. EQ1, WoW, EQ2, FFXI,DDO, LOTRO, Vanguard, etc, etc, etc. The ones I've gotten into have been some of the best gaming experiences ever, and they easily grew into all-consuming completionist/do all quest/hardcore endgame/raids/experience everything style play. I love it, and miss what most MMOs today have grown into. Any vets of the genre know exactly what I'm talking about.

Sadly, I've never had the chance to really get in to Everquest 2. I have probably about 10 hours played, have a couple characters, did a few starter zones, but beyond that I'm just a newbie.

Today I stumbled on these forums and then found info about the Time Locked servers, they look fantastic! The latest server, Fallen Gate, opened up in June and now a few months in and wonder if I can get in and actually catch up to content, or maybe I'm better off just waiting for the next time this happens.

Alternatively, I could just play on one of the older servers out there, but with all the content in the game it may not bode well for someone like me that really want to experience it all. Though dungeon finders and stuff might be nice for a newbie.

Any insight and help is greatly appreciated, thanks for taking the time to read (or at least skim) through this!

First, make a free to play account and try the live. Not for the Live servers total experience but for you to see if the game mechanics, classes and races appeal to your playing style. Know that you can play how you want, but others (random players) may not accept it if you like to play your own way, but see if the game is worth investing real money besides just some time.

If you think the game is worth investing cash, you can get membership and then open a character on TLE. From there, after one month on there you can decide your continued playing.

Return and talk to us if you like, but remember, you have to decide whether you play or not. We cant convince you either way.

Good luck and I hope you stick around!

I would do what Meneltel suggested first and go free to play to see if you even enjoy the mechanics, then try a month sub. Fallen Gate is still going relatively strong. We're at level 70 right now and will be until May, and upcoming is the fourth expansion, EoF, which is a good time to start anyway if you decide to sub. There are groups still available. Make sure to join a guild if you do decide to sub. It'll make things much more enjoyable.

Some good advice, thank you!

I think the overall systems of the game seem to be most appealing for me. I know the UI and base world movement is a bit dated, but that's ok, it's part of the charm!
I'll consider Fallen Gate since it doesn't seem too far in yet, I was concerned it may be too many expansions in for it to be a fair time to try.

I like the idea of adjusting the AA slider so I can play through zones within level range and still have them be viable while collecting something for the efforts.

AA-slider is not in game in Fallen Gate yet.

I would caution against telling people to try live before TLE if they're considering returning to the game. Making a character on live is incredibly intimidating - the amount of AA tree and ability bloat is obscene. For any returning players, they should really be directed to TLE. It's the game as they remember/like it rather than... what it is today.

Yes, but they can try the game and mechanics and not spend a dime. Being poor, I squeeze every penny before I spend it so I try to assume that people are also cautious about money. Why spend $15 (or equivalent) if you don't have to?

I was in your boat a few months ago Saints. I hadn't played EQ2 for 10+ years & signed up for TLE. I'm having a blast & love that TLE has a healthy population across tiers. Want to get a group for the level 12 dungeon? Easy. Not sure how that compares to live, but something to consider if grouping is your thing.

Hey! I am a game veteran too and have played all the games with the same concept in mind, get to the end and be the best type of deal or be really frustrated if you don't figure everything out perfect type of deal. I ended up here right now and I will tell you why. There is a lot to do in this game besides end game content! You can make a ton of furniture and decorate houses and guild halls. Many fights have strange mechanics I have not seen before that WILL kill you if you don't know them.. However they give clues to how to do them and you need to figure them out. I find many heroic dungeons to be solo or duoable if you can figure them out, which has kept my husband and I interested and having a lot of fun for hours and hours! Don't join a guild that wants you to rush to end game if that's not what you wish to do, group geared players are capable of doing dungeons and everything else in the game which is nice for once! There are also weekly and daily solo dungeons if you like those better than the challenging heroics.. So I feel it covers a lot of the bases for that! I would give it a try and see what you think on free to play though, you can fast travel if your a paid player .. and paid players can play any sony game on that account , I think they are all free to play.. So you could try eq1 again etc! Hope this helps!

You bring up a valid point - the person may be hesitant to spend $15 right off the bat. The thing that I'd personally be afraid of, though, is that a new player or long-time-away player's conceptualization of the game is going to be based on that initial login experience. I have to wonder if anyone logging into a live EQ2 server's experience is going to be one that makes them say "this is great, I want to explore further."

Thank you so much for letting me know this! That will definitely change how I progress through!

Tominator, this is perfect info, thank you so much for weighing in!

That absolutely and totally helps, Kllzu! Are the solo/duo-able dungeons on TLE or mostly just the standard servers?

Thank you both for the feedback. Of course it would be best to try before buying, but at this point..... I just paid a fee for both WoW & FFXI - both have changed drastically since their beginnings. In WoW I'm running around solo, doing World Quest, and not much else... then its like... I get a charm to upgrade a battle pet... and then I'm out in a low level zone searching for a dumb battle pet to upgrade to do pet battles that I hate.... wait, when did this happen? this isn't what I want!! lol

Personally, I'm not opposed to paying a sub if there is hope. So far the UI/Hud/World of EQ2 feel like it hasn't aged the best... but I can overcome that if the content is engaging enough - and from what I see, and with all this great feedback is, the game has it.


I welcome any additional feedback anyone is willing to leave about my particular... disorder!
My next avenue is allegiance and (since I'm not an alt-o-holic), trying to figure out what class to play... so probably will sub in a few days after thats sorted out.
Thanks so much!

Glad to help. I don't use downloaded UIs other then mapquest but I'm sure others can suggest some custom UIs to look into. I find the standard works for me. (Got burned constantly when WoW first came out with each patch breaking the UIs for a few days until they were upgraded also).

Agreed, imo just pay for the subscription and if you don't like it you can cancel. Live and TLE are very very different. I don't want to restart the beating of the dead horse...but it's only $15

I didn't even consider custom UIs for EQ2. Although I'll probably pass on that - for exactly the same reasons you do (That wow-burn is real!).

Sometimes you gotta beat a horse! My OP was essentially asking for more opinions on that, so knowing the game is quite different between the two really helps in my decision to come aboard.

I mean, Live is something where for the last 15 years, the focus has perpetually been on the max level experience. I've played on Live servers at various times, but by and large, the only thing that people care about is max level. You won't find people shouting for low level groups, frollicking with you in the "newbie yards", etc. The worlds are enormous, but they're also enormously empty. Your mercenary will proooobably be the only dungeon or quest buddy you have for 90+ levels. One thing nice about these timelocked servers is that the entire leveling experience is still a group game that feels like it matters. It's challenging at times. Folks don't have a mercenary to 2-shot elite enemies. You can group from level 2-3 onward throughout the entire experience. The old dungeons are perpetually run with full groups of live players. Folks need each other, the crafting/broker economy is active throughout all the levels, it just feels like how the game would exist in an "ideal" world.

I just started up again a few days ago and I first rolled a new character on Fallen Gate, but I ended up going back to Skyfire (where all my old characters were), as there seemed to be a lot more people.

On TLE it is group-heavy. If you're many levels over the content, you can solo/duo it, but not so much at level. It also depends on your class. I got my butt kicked as a level 60 trying to kill a level 40 gray mob as a guardian, which is sad, but some of the mobs still hit like crazy!

Since you'll be trying the sub for TLE, welcome! Next week on the 6th of March is the release of the next expac, Echoes of Faydwer, and it's a "start at level 0" expansion. I suspect there will be alts made with its release.

The best part of this game is the quests, if you take the time to read them, up through and including the expansion Tears of Veeshan. It's one big story about dragons, with a lot of little stories in between.

Thanks! What features of Echoes of Faydwer make it alt/new character friendly? Are there alternate starting zones ? If so I may wait a few days and just jump in with that, or wouldn't it matter too much?

The lore is something I'm very interested in, so that content seems like something I'd really like to get into!

It's the beginning of what is called the "Golden Path" in the game. Meaning, one zone leads to the next and the next smoothly. However, since leveling is slow on TLE, you may still have to jump around zones to be able to do the content without dying repeatedly. The expansion after EoF, Kunark, also has a golden path for evil beginners, which comes out in August.

There are currently Four starting zones, and EoF release will make it five: Three good and two evil. Frostfang Sea (good) and Darklight Wood (evil) currently in game have better equipment rewards than Queen's Colony/Isle of Refuge. Greater Faydwer (EoF - Good) should have decent rewards, but I bet FFS and DLW will still be better for level 1-15ish, as those start zones came out later in the game originally.

I would probably jump now and play around in the new start areas for the rest of this week, and play different classes to decide what you want to Main in, and if you go Good you might like starting with EoF. Either way, it gives you a chance to see the wide variety of classes and playstyles - there are many! And some are much harder than others.

Keep asking questions. You're making me want to start a new character again.

I'm leaning mostly towards an Arasai Necromancer, and will try one out later on today (I heard that on Fallen Gate all races are available at the start). The starting zone I previously played through was Timorous Deep and it really had a nice flow to it and was so much fun. I think it comes with Rise of Kunark? Although afterward, I was totally lost and now just have a level 20 character on live servers. I'm was planning to start fresh anyways, Fallen Gate is just more motivation for that!

Since you offered, I do have a couple more mysteries that you vets can easily solve-
1. Is experience gained mostly from quest rewards, or killing monsters?

2. Since there is no AA slider in TLE, when you effectively out level content (grey mobs), does it sort of defeat the purpose of playing through that zone. Like, drop unfinished quest and just move on to other areas?

3. When does the AA slider become a thing/which xpac (I'm assuming it came with a large update)?

4. Does EQ2 have any kind of 'side kick' or 'level sync' system, for if a friend joins down the road?

5. I know its quite a ways off, but curious as to what happens with Fallen Gate after everything becomes current? Does this just transition into a 'Live server' and things like Mercenaries are added?

I know these question are mostly simple, and with some digging online I could probably find the answer - but we're talking over a decade worth of content to search the google through, and sometimes finding a clear answer is rough!