Hi All, I would appreciate your view on something. I played EQ2 from beta up to Rise of Kunark and then left the game for many years. I've recently come back to the game starting on the Fallen Gate TLE, and have been having fun (currently lvl 60), but the groups are somewhat sparse, and the guild I'm in is pretty much only interested in top level content. From what I've been reading as well, Fallen Gate is likely to er… fall when a new TLE server lands. This got me wondering if i should just resurrect my guys on Thurgadin and play on Live instead. I know live is a bit unforgiving on 'new' players, but at least the servers are likely to be around for longer than 6 months. so what do you think, should I continue on FG, or is the population on Thurgadin a better bet? I'm not in any particular rush to level, am euro based and have all access membership.. I've also got the latest xpac (I needed it to unlock up to SF on TLE), so content unlock is also not an issue. This really comes down to... what's the live game like. Is there still a decent population that's welcoming of returning players, or is the game pretty dead outside of the TLE server. Is Thurgadin the busiest Live server... should I look at another server like Maj'Dul. I don't really trust the player meter on the eq2 front page, as they don't actually give numbers, and a medium load can value just be 'redefined' downwards to make a server look busier than it actually is.
IMHO don't believe everything you read, there are several nah sayers on here that EQ2 has been ending for a while now. I am on Maj Dul and we do have a very decent population it isn't euro based so not sure about what times you play if it is busy or not. I don't have a character on Thurgadin so can't say anything about that server but the times I'm on like from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. est and on the weekends Maj Dul is always busy we usually have at least 6 of the libraries (that's the new expansion CD if you have it) open at one time and I've seen as many as 4 of the overland zones open.
The cool thing about the various regions/realms/whatevers is that you can always create "free" toons on them, up to 7 (and just buy a couple of character slots to get the full 9 tradeskill specialists). I'm guessing that includes Fallen Gate, though I only created a couple of toons there to get the Leaper mount for everyone; I'm really not that nostalgic at all, personally. ;-> So, the good news is you shouldn't feel pressured, necessarily, to jump ship to one region or another, or to bail completely on one, though if Fallen Gate does sunset, they should at least give you enough free Transfer Tokens to get your folks out of there and somewhere like Maj'Dul, if that's your goal. I've got toons on all servers but Isle of Fate, including Public Test and Thurgadin (and play at "odd" hours there for Americans; look me up in either Mayhem [UK guild] or Guerrier Celeste [French guild]! Not under the name Uwkete [he's on Maj'Dul, actually], but PM me and I'll give you the full roster; we only have 10,000 characters allowed here per post ), and can say that there are jerks and wonderful people on all of them. The guilds I'm in include: Restoration (Antonia Bayle) Dragons of Legend (Halls of Fate) Rooted Nomads (Maj'Dul) Harvest Home (Skyfire) Foolish Pleasures (Public Test [7 free ones there, too! It's a fun place, with more than a few advantages, but that's mostly because we do have such a small population...come on by and help us grow! ]) Mayhem and Guerrier Celeste (Thurgadin) Legendary Hero (Fallen Gate; last I checked ) and they're all really cool people. Uwk
That's a really good point I did log into to Thurgadin and have a nose about. I'm not sure what happened after level 80, but there seems to be something really odd with the power levels. at level 80 my old main had around 15.5k hp. it looks like past lvl 100 we're talking millions of hp. In addition the economy looks completely shot. 5000pp for basic stuff like mid level advanced crafting recipes... simply eye watering. I suppose run any game long enough and you're going to get inflation, but it does make getting basic gear/spells/consumables hard for returning players, unless you can quest/craft it yourself. FG still seems to have a more familiar feel to it... much less craziness, so I think i'm going to bite the bullet and stay there for now. As you say, if it goes belly up, I can always transfer off it. Thanks for the replies, both were really useful.
Just like fallen gate, live servers are all about max level content. You will rarely, if ever, see group activity at lower levels unless you are with friends or a specific guild going through the low level content (very few, if any, i'd imagine). At the max level on live servers you will get a rude awakening of how different (for the worse) the game is. Immediately there is a needless mountain to climb w.r.t. stats/spell upgrades/infusion and platinum grind and because of that you will meet people at that level in a bit of rush to clear content and move on to the next the grind. Group content have requirements and those requirements vary in significance depending on which class you are bringing to the group (for example, solo healer or tank). You can be carried within the group if you do not have the right stats (e.g. resolve/potency) but i doubt you will enjoy the ride. Just like in every game out there, you will bump into salty/immature players (some are fairly old believe it or not) whose self-esteem is tied to how well they do in this game (yeah i know, a different topic this) and they may call you out in groups by stating you lack dps/gear/resolve or need on items, that you would see as major upgrades, so they can inflate their parse a tiny bit more. You can ignore them. That said, for solo play, it will be just fine regardless of which server you are on. It will mostly not affect you. FG has its appeal (or had it) because it retained much of what the game was in the years gone by: Fun! Like others have said, stick to FG until it is made to sink then you can hop over to the mess that is live server.
Aw, Arclite! You're forgetting (or have never had the joy of it) the Public Test server! Yeah, Silver-Crow, the population is really, really low, but as a direct result, we have permanent XP bonuses for the server, and the best part includes: ALL THE ADVANCED CRAFTING BOOKS ARE FOR SALE, at least the regular Tiers, by the regular merchants...at least at a little thing called The Bookworm up in Maj'Dul, up one flight of stairs in the Tower of the Moon, by the bookshelves (heck, in the bookshelves) to the left. It's not just to fight the ludicrous mess the Broker has become everywhere else (which was directly caused by an exploit awhile back that took the devs forever to catch or do anything about; by the time the dust cleared, the damage was done), it's also because of our low population. But, we're mainly there to test things, as the name implies; this means we not only get a sneak peek at events, holidays, etc., but we also get to wrestle the bugs to the ground, best 2 of 3 falls. Kaitheel is our main go-to red name there on the Test forum, and he's wonderful, as well as quite long-suffering. Denmum/Niami is one of our top Testers, par excellence, and keeps everyone informed and on their toes. But don't see Test as a second job or anything. I first came there because: a) "Seven MORE free toon slots?? Where do I sign up?! (this is NOT Beta, btw; the toons you create on Public Test are like any other anywhere and start from scratch [although there are interesting things we test along those lines ;->], they're not copies of your other toons, but you can play them whenever, not just when there's Beta-ing to do) "; b) I've never particularly felt a burning desire to raid or even group much at all beyond my guildies (PUGs have often turned disastrous, and I can barely understand the stuff that's "needed" now, let alone remotely interested in acquiring it); c) there's not a lot of distractions going on around (unless you tune in to the Antonia_Bayle.Homeshow channel, which is often really cool ); for someone like me, who hates being forced to "group or else," it's quite relaxing. And I hope I contribute at least something to the game this way, even if not much. Uwk "father" of a Horde of over 100 now, just on Ye Olde Golde Account
You forgot the other pluses of Test Server Uwk … 1) You and I are there *cheesy smile with some snark to it* , 2) We take group road trips which are a blast!! (read through the Frostfell 2018 thread in the Test forums) and 3) A lot of the Guide Events have a permanent NPC like Nebulous Newsies and such!!!!
Hey I have just returned myself and can really relate to your answer. I have a level 81 on AB that I just resurected after many years away. I just missed Norath and the fun we had leveling and exploring...it wasnt always a race back then. There were guild events...grinding forHooLohs hat...grinding to Speak as a Dragon...or a good ol drunken, naked Antonican guild run. Running Lowbies through Varsoon, SH...just for the ***** and giggles. There was laughs and patience in groups...you actually read the stories from the NPCs...Going to try FG...thanks for the heads up friend.
Waahhh! Newsies is one of the very few that, for whatever reason, DOESN'T have a permanent NPC, but the Guides (headed up by the illustrious Elyshka! ) do show up there if we make big enough Puss in Boots eyes at them in the Test forum. :-/ But Cy does have a point; most of the others, including the Decorative Axes Recipe Book one ("Axe and Ye Shall Receive") are on permanent hire by the gods of Norrath ("We came back to oversee you and gave you these people. All we got were lousy t-shirts and a bunch of you punks up here in the Planes, bothering us again. :-/"). ;-> Uwk
You should seriously join Army of Oobliteration. Just based on what you have said here, Graveshroud and the gang are the guild for you to feel right at home again.
We welcome all, no matter class, race, city of origin or your ethics... or even if member or free to play! We play for fun, so you log in when you want. If we don't see you for a year, you will still get a "welcome" when you do! Oh, and Cy... that's one too many O's! *grins*
You would do better now creating a character on the Kaladim server. If so, look for members of Court of the Blood Rose, any member of Rank 3 or higher can invite or you can look specifically for Salem, Aska, Runa, Valarian, Degan, Mercy, Razoran, or Zaeghen to name a few.
