Renewal of Ro Beta and Expansion Pre-Orders

For me the problem with ascensions is that I do like to play in groups.
I don't like being forced to solo EVERYthing as well as never seeing a good portion of the art in the parts of the game that requires a group, because I flatly just don't have the 'disposable' cash to throw down on ascension upgrades. The length of the wait for it to upgrade is not practical in any way. The number of days to research a spell to the level required by my fellow players to get a group ... is completely unreasonable. I would love to see ascensions ripped out of the game by the roots and tossed on the nearest burn pile.

Remember when voice acting was a feature of this game? What are the odds of getting some more of that in new content?

I'm confused (easily done ;->); they do have "5 new Ascension levels and spells," apparently?

For me, the fact that there ISN'T a 120 Tradeskill level boost Token, except in the Family and Friends version (and even then, it's Tradeable; does that mean we can or can't use it ourselves?), that's the deal-breaker. Unless that winds up going into the Collectible version for my use when it goes live, I'll really have to think hard about getting this expac at all. >:-/

And I probably won't do Beta/pre-order either; did that once (possibly back when we could Beta for free, iirc; invitation only?), and even then, it was a wee bit irksome to have to wade through more bugs than in the Amazon rainforest. Now that we have to pay for the privilege, I think I'll wait to get it when it goes on sale next autumn. ;->

Provided, of course, there's a 120 level boost Tradeskill Token with my name on it waiting for me there...

Uwk

You skimmed over too many of the details I took the time to explain. If at any point you're still wondering why all the hate for ascensions, just read my post again slower.

Word of warning. If you play on live and don't preorder, you can forget being able to be effective in groups or raids for probably a good 50% of the expansion. 24k in lost potency for not having the preorder pet is going to be game ruining for everyone who doesn't preorder, or anyone who returns to the game in 2023.
But stat bloat is fine, right?

That kind of head start reminds me of the pay to win disparity at the start of BoL. You'd have a raid with about 90% of the dps being done by like 3 or 4 characters, and the rest just being carried along.

I think I'll be sitting this expansion out for a while. Sad since I have dont all the previous expansions pre-order

I hope Daybreak gets it to make a buff like the preorder buff buyable in marketplace for some dbc (and it it's 100 USD worth it would be fine too).
Playing EQ2 without the preorder buff is reall a pitty (eg if the player is new)

The new preorder bonuses are huge unfortunately. It should not be like that. I can understand some unic cosmetics as a preorder, but an item that directly influences the gameplay is a bad move.

Another thing, the prorder pet is not included into the tradable part of the family edition, which is another huge hit.

I'd say make these pets a part of the standard expansion and be done with it. Or remove them completely.

The pre-order pet is an incentive to get people to buy the expansion early and at full price. It helps the company keep the game going because serious raiders will all want the "bonus" stats. The suggestion above for adding them to the cash shop might be a good way to help latecomers get the bonus stats, but it's debatable whether that is something that would bring in new players or drive them away. Either way, this has been around since PoP (I think) and probably isn't going anywhere.

There's no potency on the pre-order pet.

It's just +900 to basic stats, +10% xp bonus, and +2.3 experimental success. No potency, no crit bonus overcap, no fervor.

New pre order buff gives 24765 pot (last one was about 6k)

Not showing potency on my 120 character.

Yes, so basically those who will joing later, or those who can not preorder will have almost 25 less potency forever, no matter how hard they try.

Such approach is hardly productive.

you must be 125

ROFLMAO! I have no interest whatsoever, absolutely none, in raids, and in most of the groups I've found myself in recently, they frequently mentor down to me, so... /shrug

Re: raids? More power to those that like 'em, but I'm not among them. ;->

I don't think I've ever bothered jumping right into the latest/greatest/newest/brightest/shiniest/etc. zone to come down the pike since probably before ToT, except for with World Events; I have some higher level toons that are finally poking around in the higher level stuff, but that's mainly for the recipe books from The Great Library crafting timeline and nice crafting mats in slightly lower level zones. The only reason I bother with the Collector's Editions at all is for all the other goodies (mounts, merchant chests, etc.), and those will be there, pre-order or not. ;->

Uwk

Is that just for the potency to show? Are there any other boosts from the pet that will work on low levels?

Here is my issue with the peacock pet. I have used peacock pets in LOTRO. And they are always sticking up their huge feathered tails in my screen. Lovely yes, but most irritating. As I have the preorder pets on recent expansions, I see no reason to have to get the peacock. I do not do high level grouping. I will get the preorder on one account , but unless there is some cool tradeskill reward fom the beta like the deer, I have no desire to do the beta.

You can hide pets and familiars, and most people do (thankfully).

Minor update to the article (https://www.everquest2.com/news/eq2-renewal-of-ro-beta). The key art image now links to a higher-res version of it for those who have larger monitors.

Sticking with Varsoon. The original game was far more enjoyable before the added-on mechanics like ascensions.

Didn't see anyone answer this... this is what I see on my level 125.