PLEASE scrap the mercenaries plan, it will kill EQ2

Someone REALLY needs to take a look at how detrimental the introduction of Mercenaries were to EQ1...
Instead create a system for dungeon queueing like WoW has, if you're trying to counter problems finding a group.
-Michael

see other topics on this same subject already http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=502950


I am looking forward to having Mercs

They are doing a dungeon finder system like WoW as well. Also the mercs are only 1 per character. Check out the live blog of the EQ2 panel here http://eq2wire.com/2011/07/08/live-...ort-and-beyond/ lots of good info.

Arduous@The Bazaar wrote:

Me TOO I an glad they are putting MERCS in. Great idea!!

bheam wrote:

No.

the world is ending@!@!@!2231121~

You do realize you won't be able to hire 4 of them and run around soloing all the group content, right? From my understanding you can hire one per character. It's actually quite well thought out.

Which is enough to get some things done, when you need to go on a quest in unpopular zones and need extra muscle or heels, Groups are fine for popular content. (Not that I want to be sheep pulled to a random zone)

Please note that since AT LEAST LU13, every change SOE announces has been met with cries of "Oh noes! This change will destroy EQ2! ZOMGBBQ!!!!!1111!" Same thing when any new game comes out.
What really happens is that people stamp their little feet, throw their hissy on the forums, and nothing actually happens bad. Some people may drop the game for a while, but most come back.
Don't be Chicken Little. The sky is not falling. Wait and see how it works.

Sigrdrifa@Lucan DLere wrote:

I will admit that back in EQ1, i was one of these people. I always assumed the worst would come out of these massive changes. As time went on, I realized that there are very few changes that have negatively affected me in either EQ1 or EQ2. Now I mock the sky-fallers with derision. The sky is not falling, only the moon.

Mercenaries were going to kill EQ1 too..... but its going stronger than ever.
Mercenaries will never replace a good healer/dps/tank/utility. So relax. Bad players will still get groups over mercs.

I know for sure I'll be boxing Instances with them. They don't need to be great. They just need to be functional.
I like how people claim it's going to kill this game when this game is only barely alive these days...
Seriously, let's get real...

Mercs will breathe new life into it if anything. You want to unbreak the game, give raiders a reason to run heroic instances.

Cyan@Antonia Bayle wrote:

Or just stop focusing on raiding being the end all be all.

Raiding is less than a quarter of dev time. The hardest content should result in the best loot. Anything else and your game design is horribly flawed.

Amanathia wrote:

In EverQuest (which has had mercenaries for quite some time now) I have no problems running a new toon through group content. Yes, you only get one merc (healer, tank, or dps) but that's all you need. Until you get to end game, the tank merc holds aggro better than most players and does great dps. The healer never seems to run out of mana, always heals on time, and offers the best buffs for that level.
I'm not saying mercs will kill EQ2 (they won't) but it will kill what little pre-end-game social aspect the game has left. Low level players are already powerful enough to solo most heroic content, with mercs they'll be able to run through any group content up to the 60s or 70s. In my opinion, they should be balancing low level content so players are encouraged to group, not offering yet another tool for turning this game into a single-player experience.

Sakiri@Crushbone wrote:

Without raiding what would people do at endgame for years at a time?

Gaige wrote:

Gaige really? i didnt think you were so disconnected.

Really, I think the mercenaries have potential to keep the game alive for much of the player base. Think about it - the couple that doesn't have time to get a group together but wants to enjoy some heroic quests, the loner who wants to take down some more difficult enemies, the person sitting out from raid that wants to do SOMETHING but doesn't want to get in a group unless they're called on for raid... I mean, there are so many practical reasons for mercenaries. Players will still be better than mercenaries because they're AI - so it doesn't render grouping obsolete or anything like that. I know this sounds resoundingly positive of me, but I do have some concerns and reservations about it as well - but I want to wait and hear more details over the next few months rather than speculate.

therodge wrote:

Answer his questions, don't try but fail to insult him.
Higher end players need a reason to log in outside of raids, and at the moment there really isn't. Right now you get more value out of your off-raid time playing WoW or RIFT. It's just the way things are.
Without raiding there would be no reason to log in. There barely is a reason to log in RIGHT NOW outside of Raiding except to Twink Alts or rerun the raid content on raid alts.
I can log in for 10 hours and guarantee you most of that time is spent sitting around chatting. You don't have to run useless heroics to socialize with people in an MMORPG game. I can do that on Ventrillo or TeamSpeak while I play another game, even.