PLEASE scrap the mercenaries plan, it will kill EQ2

Trenshero@Antonia Bayle wrote:

I think sometimes raiders forget that not all end-game players have the goal of being a raider. I was only a raider for one expansion, but I've been here "for years at a time" logging in every day at the level cap. In fact, when I WAS a raider I was the least interested in logging in - I'd log in for the raids then log out until the next raid, running the same monotonous content just wasn't for me. I'm not interested in raiding, but I log in every day to interact with my guild - we run current-level instances, go back to old expansion content that we haven't done in years, or just pick a random quest someone in the guild needs finished and work off of that. The end-game is only the smallest percentage of the game.

But, I'm not quite sure how a topic on mercenaries turned into a discussion on end-game.

Nobody is going to replace a level 90 geared out player with a mercenary and run DoV groups except maybe Pools. Mercs are to have a helping hand when leveling an alt. The end.

I think it all depends on your play-style and time of play.
I know that sometimes when I would get in a group to do certain quest I would be forced to backtrack while the group members who did not know of the quest would catch up, and once they catch up they drop group leaving me back at square one.
Probably one reason I primarily Solo now, I do interact with people in the chat channels and occasional groups, Still they are usually interested in getting X done while I need to get Y done elsewhere.

Knives@Everfrost wrote:

To a tiny minority of players, perhaps. However, what actual guilds spend time in game doing would dictate otherwise.

Not having played EQ1, I don't know what the mercenaries are like, but if they're anything like the heroes/henchmen in Guild Wars, it'll be the most interesting suggestion I've heard in EQ2 in a long time.

feldon30 wrote:

Respectfully disagree, Feldon. I'm primarily a solo player, it's just my style. That's why my 90 main is a bruiser. Mercs simply mean I can more confidently solo and solo in perhaps more places than I can now. I'm looking forward to them for exactly that reason.

Trenshero@Antonia Bayle wrote:

I don't know Rift, but since its basically a clone of WoW which I do know then crafting can be struck off as both useless and uninvolving.
Both games have no longterm value to their AA's (WoW's are earnt while levelling, Rift has yet to add them in).
Neither have housing, Rift has EQ2's collections (seeing how liberally they're strewn around Kos to RoK zones I guess I know where the enthusiasm for them came from ).

So the question has to be, what do you find to do in those games that is useful outside of raiding?
Or do you just not raid in those games?

Gladiolus wrote:

That's the most positive way I can think about them too, in Guildwars they really were filler, people would always want a real person over a henchman, even a second spec healer was preferable/equal to a henchman healer.
I'm intrugued too how they will look, and what sort of longterm customisation we'll be able to do here (I'd like to see people able to recruit racial/faction ones).
But how it will work with EQ2's levelling and much less even power throughout the game I'm not sure, looking at what Mentoring has become I just fear that it will trivialise even further the lower level instances. If so then its not going to encourage grouping at lower levels, which in turn really relies on the player either enjoying soloing a lot or having the patience to stick it out until 90.

I'm looking forward to mercs being added.
The only time I get to play is when my 18 month old son is asleep, and I very seldom group because as luck would have it, as soon as I do, he wakes up and I have to go AFK. That's not fair on a group, so the only time I've grouped in the last 6 months is a one time guild group.
This really limits what I can do in the game, so having a merc who doesn't care if I got afk or have to log suddenly will be really good.
It will be nice to mentor down and clear out some of the many heroic quests in my journal and adventure in a few areas I couldn't otherwise solo.

Just as the post above me,, i've got kids and worse a wife that demands my time, I've got heroic questing to do, but don't always have time to find a group and I feel like a jackarse when i have to bail on them. Bout time I got a little support but that merc better keep his hands out of my loot.

retro_guy wrote:

This is why mercs are great.
They won't be a substitute for players. You're just gonna have to trust the devs (*Gasp* I know) to balance them correctly. Mercs won't affect grouping(they'll be too slow and dumb, people move too fast anyways). They won't affect raid(lol@jousting mercs). They'll affect soloers, and in a good way.
Seriously, the only reason to be scared of a merc taking your spot in a group is if you can't outplay it. Which really won't be hard considering they have no AAs.

Can't wait for mercs personally.

Ive come to realize that the EQ2 community is the most whiny thing in existence, at least that is the general idea from the forums.
Nothing the devs do please you people. Sure there is stuff to fix, things to tweak, which the devs slowly do. Yet you wonder why admins hardly ever post on these boards, because the threads will be full of whine storms 10 pages long.
I for one and looking forward to Beastlords and Mercs. The latter was my favorite class in EQ1, and the former will be nice for when you need just a bit of extra help to get something done.

Anyone needing extra help to get from 1-90/300 aa solo is playing the wrong game.

Vlahkmaak@Nagafen wrote:

Anyone assuming I "need" extra help shouldn't do so. As I said earlier, I'm looking to expand my soloing horizons. I can solo just fine in a good many places now--I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with a merc at my side.
I REALLY hate it when people think they know everything about everything and everybody else who even mentions an alternate option or playstyle is a drooling idiot behind the keyboard that never learned how to play their class. Grow up.

I support the merc idea. Can't wait for them to be included.

We've trusted SOE to balance a good many things, Cyan. If there's one thing SOE has proven over and over again, it's that they have absolutely no idea how to balance their own designs.

I can't wait for that GU to be released so that all you yes sayers can finally admire the results of this atrocious idea.
If you really think SOE will balance something ( abything), boy are you in for a world of pain.
I'll still be around to tell you I told you so though and i will probably have a lot of fun while doing it .

Please remember that the forums are a great place for discussion. Keep it respectful please. Thank you!

Hahaha I'm glad to see "X WILL KILL THE GAME!" threads still exist. You guys are sooooo dramatic!! They can't replace a whole group, how on earth will this kill the game? It's not like there's a big premium on groouping solo quests.