I've played WoW for seven years and am getting tired of the community and lack of customization for my character/game. I'm thinking about switching over to EverQuest 2. (Being a Gold member that is) So far I'm a level sixteen wizard, I like a lot of the lore behind all the quests, like character customization setup (was worried because my friend said it was too confusing), I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the housing system, the community seems to be a lot older/mature in EverQuest 2 from what I've seen. (Maybe be the game requires a brain, unlike some other MMO's) Still figuring out a few things like mounts and the marketplace. However, I do have a few questions and would appreciate any other input you have about the game. Why do you play EverQuest 2 over other MMO's? What is the end game like? Do you feel that your $15 a month is worth what you're getting out of the game? (is sony doing their part?) Any other input you have that might help me make my decision would be much appreciated.
Why i play? Simple, i got addicted. It´s the mix from comunity and gameplay, which keeps me loging in. Some players that used to become realfriends. Somehow the content, that gets delivered spoonwise. At least the endgame of CoE isnt that much at all, if there is any, hopefully next expac will do better, but it is challenging (somehow). If i would think i didn´t get enough bang for my bucks, i would not stay around for over 8 years straight (or better said, since beta). Sony could do better, but i think it turns to the right way and listen more closely to the comunity.
I feel $15 a month is reasonable. Now if you are like myself and reached tip-endgame (Meaning less than 4 instances bosses left to clear in the game) Then you are at the end of the road and probably will look to alternatives... that is far and won't affect you. I have played EQ2 since Rise of Kunark and can say that sadly it has gone downhill for "my kind" of crows which is a number-crunching "earn your rewards" type player who chaffs at the recent Solo Instances dropping better than Heroic Instances a mistake I hope Sony will fix. Until you hit Chains of Eternity content you will find $15 a month is well worth it. If you happen to be on Freeport (maybe Antonia Bayle) servers you will find many players at all levels of content. A server like Crushbone/Permafrost/Guk and many others have lower populations but are mostly 2+ Year veteran players who are very helpful. I personally play EQ2 over other MMO's because it still somehow has the most customization (really) character wise. The Appearance Gear system is unique to EQ is seems. I have tried SWG, WoW, Runescape, Florensia, Domo and dabbled at Tear and Aion for a day or two yet I have always returned to EQ2. Endgame is good if you are new to it, players again like myself are feeling a bit cheated by lack of "new content" because the jump from lvl 92-95 had such a small gear-upgrade that Heroic/Solo gear is almost on par with Raid Gear again A mistake I hope is fixed. I personally am a Bias opinion as I am an End-Game raider and my idea of hard is possilbly your idea of a nightmare unless you raided lvl 60 Naxxramas or Nixia (however her name is spelled). You will find EQ2 is well balanced till you hit 95 and Endgame gear... hopefully the games bugs will be ironed out when you get there. Every time a new Expac is launched everything is broken/glitched for about a month or so while they fix everything they should have fixed before going live. Btw, welcome to EQ2 hope you enjoy your stay.
EQ2 was my first MMO. Played for about 2 years before switching to WoW. The ONLY reason I switched was to play with a group of RL friends. Just my opinion: WoW was like a playing a dumbed down version. It seems to be marketed to the younger players which makes a big community difference. Playing WoW was like sitting at the kiddie table (spent 3 long years there). I had to come back to EQ2. I absolute love the depth of this game. I tried a few other MMO's but could not find any that were as complex and enjoyable as this one. Welcome to the "Adult" table...lol I hope you enjoy your time here as much as I have.
You shouldn't find it to be much different. They are at every turn dumbing this game down even surpassing WoW in some areas.
Welcome Drendor! I started playing EQ2 a few years back and, no matter what other games I try, I always come back to it. I do enjoy other MMO's too, but the offerings here keep me far more entertained and occupied! Part of it is the community, but mostly its the amount of content.
I play Everquest 2 because it has depth and is not boring. I played WoW as well for about 3 years and while it had it's good points, it didn't hold me. Housing and decor alone will keep you busy for months. Characters are powerful in this game especially 90+. The game is worth $15. I will play it for years. They constantly update this game and add new things. It seems like every week there is something new going on...It's such a welcome change from most other MMO's I have played. I don't think you will be disappointed.
Welcome Drendor I've played this game on and off for a year. I've played: 1) WoW - Dead now killed the talent trees, made a joke of questing, no challenges, horrible community, etc... 2) Rift - Vanilla good, new storm legion xpac = terrible. Seems that trion is into grinding now. They've placed horrendously expensive money sinks in the game, the new xpac has tons of bugs that are effecting other parts of the game. Granted bugs are to be expected with new xpac but not on this scale. Trion has now adopted EA's philosophy is being sneaky and adding, subtracting or "fixing" things without telling the community which has them a bit annoyed now to say the least. The community is going in the crapper. What do I mean? We have a concept of IA's (Instant Adventures) - kind of like an open world raid group that goes around doing "random" quests that should be done together - raid group remember Anywho, with this new xpac, there is a new phenomena of ppl joining and just standing around doing nothing, leaching off of others and getting xp, rewards, etc... Is trion doing anything about this - uh no. They prefer not to get involved with such things. They also have a very shady philosophy when it comes to xploits in the game as well. Their stance is, "Oh well, guess we missed it and if ppl benefitted from it, guess they were lucky... well, we'll fix it now... all good..." 3) SWTOR - No need to reiterate THAT disaster 4) Tera Online - Terable mind-numbing, asian grind with no substance. Don't get me wrong, I love asian games, jade dynasty is one of my favourites but Terable Online was just argh... 5) GW2 - Oy, well I bought the game thinking it would be fun and I'm sure it is... Well, if not for the fact that ANet decided to nerf open world drops, lie to the gaming community, corral everyone into a dungeon, and make it so that people HAD to buy off of their market place... But I'm sure when I get into it, I'll do the exploring and questing on my own... So those are the ones I've recently tried out/played. They all have their good points and bad points but still something in them for everyone. EQ2, on the other hand, is the "thinking MMO." You have to think as to what you're doing. Even after a year, I get confused on a lot of stuff as there is a ton to learn and understand. But, I actually die, it takes me time to level, the community is really nice and helpful here, Everfrost server , and I can go as fast or slow as I want - no pressures.
I played EQ1 for 6 years or so, which I loved until everyone I knew from that time quit. I didn't play anything for a few years but then got the itch to try another MMO. As I loved EQ1 so much, I decided to try EQ2 rather than WoW. And I got hooked. It was familiar from my EQ1 days but had better graphics, more storylines and just felt fresher (this was 5+ years after release too). I really like the progression to make your character more powerful. And I like multiplayer games and working with others to achieve something. Not everything is perfect, but I still want to log in and accomplish something all the time, and there's still loads for me to do. I quit EQ1 because I was logging in and didn't know what to do. If that happens in EQ2, I'll do the same, but currently it's 3 years and counting and I've still got a huge list of things to do, which keeps growing with each expansion.
Welcome to the game =). Well, I started playing this game as a fresh start with my guild when it was released because we were mostly sick of the raid scene in Eq1. I have tried quite a few games over the years, some with friends some on my own and this is the one that keeps pulling me back. I played Eq1 for years & just got tired of the high end game. Just prior & post EQ2 release I've played Vanguard, WoW, Rift, LOTRO, DDO, Perfect World, Secret World, Age of Conan, DCUO, COH, as well as several other games that I beta'd and promptly forgot about afterwards. EQ2 is the game I always come back to. The only other game I've keep a regular subscription for is Vanguard (also a pretty decent and much less buggy than it was when it was released). I periodically check back with a couple of the other games but they don't have anything that keeps me playing. I haven't even used the free time Blizzard sent me after they released their last expansion. I sometimes check in on LOTRO but not in months now. Despite changes over the years (some I think were great, some I didn't much care for) the heart of this game has still stayed (imo)and I enjoy it when I am playing. I enjoy the lore of the world. I have an addiction to crafting & have been trying my hand at decorating. I still have fun grouping though I haven't had time to raid in years. I think what I get from the game is well worth my $15 a month (actually I pay less but it would still be worth it). Enough so that we actually keep 3 accounts gold in the house and brought back 2 of our old eq1 accounts as silvers.
I hope you find much fun and enjoyment here for many years to come, there are a lot of good people around these parts.
I played EverQuest for nearly 11 years, even while playing EverQuest II for a good portion of that, as well. I played World of WarCrap and have either beta-tested or played nearly every game that has come around. I seem to always migrate back to Norrath because I enjoy the lore, community (one of the best communities I have ever seen in my nearly 20 years of online gaming) and gameplay. Graphically, EverQuest II surpasses many other games that are still current and even many that are newer, which I enjoy. Gaming is a personal preference. While I can't stand WoW and many of the other games out there, I actually enjoyed T.E.R.A. and RIFT, but admit I haven't played the latter since well before the new expansion. I play what I like, after all, it's my entertainment that I'm paying for and why pay to play a game that I don't enjoy?
Thank you all for your input! I was not expecting this much feedback, this this definitely helps me make my decision. I will be starting my gold member subscription tonight. I am on the Everfrost server and my name is Drendor - if anyone feels like making new friends should drop me a message. Thank you everyone!
Welcome Drendor! Like you I played WoW for many years but was finally bored and decided to try other mmo's like Aion, Runes of Magic, Perfect World, Lotro... the list goes on. I am not a raider, hate questing and crafting and mainly just do bg's or open-world pvp when I can find it. I love the character customization and the fact that you can talk to the other factions on the BG server. I am sorta neutral on the whole bg server thing. I would rather have open-world pvp but my ADD kicks in and if noone is around will always return to the bg's. I move alot so it is nice that if I need to save some bucks I can still play even if I don't pay my $15. I always hated that with wow. Work for years on your character and then if you don't pay your money then your basically just out of luck for a month or two or whatever. At least here you can still play. From what I have seen of the content it seems far superior to wow. Wow's lore is very centralized on the Horde and Alliance struggle. Eq2's lore seams much more varied and since i don't quest or raid much i'm still not sure what it is Just like the community of wow you have jerks here too but for the most part they seem fewer and farther between. Most of the people I have met have been extremely nice and helpful. The guild hall's and housing is awesome and I love the fact that you can make your own dungeons and now they are letting players provide in-game items. For pve server's i think the mercenaries are great but I hate their role in pvp right now. Hopefully this will change though. If you stick around I think you will find eq2 much more rewarding than wow. I have anyways. Oh one thing I have noticed is that when downtime comes around it usually is about the amount of time they say it will be. Or at least it seems so to me. I remember in wow it was like: servers will be down for 2 hours for maintenance and then it ended up being all frikkin day lol Hope you stick around and if you do pvp then i will see you in the battlegrounds or you can always make a toon on Naggy, we always need more people to fight
Why do you play EverQuest 2 over other MMO's? I just like my characters better here. SoE devs do things that completely tick us off from time to time, but overall this is a solid, fun to play game. When I started EQ2, at launch, I had a ton of playtime available, and was able to really immerse and do a ton of quests, instances, a couple years on a pvp server, raids..etc. Now I really only have time to log in and do dailies and chat a bit with friends, but I'm still working my characters up for raiding...just in case! I've played WoW, SWGTOR, Rift, GW2...and just prefer how things work in this game. WoW makes me crazy with all the add ons you 'have' to have if you are going to do anything interesting. I also REALLY hate how WoW makes you start all over, basically, from scratch...when a new expansion comes out. You just spent however many zillions of hours raiding, and the first drop off of a fish or something in the new expansion is better than your hard-mode gear. EQ2 kind of 'folds' the expansions into each other. There are new rewards you want to get and better gear, but your good stuff isn't totally obsolete the day you log in to the new zones. Rift was, unfortunately, a WoW clone where the designers of the game started with a good product, then bent over backwards to make it a mini-WoW so they'd keep that player base. It ended up being a hot mess. GW2 is fun till you get to 80. If you don't want to PvP, there's not much to do...but it is a pretty game and I do like the jump puzzles. That's not enough to keep me there. I love the housing system here, too - even though I'm Norrath's worst decorator ever. I just like 'having' my own houses. If there were a Norrath version of "Hoarders", I'd be featured on it - so it's nice to have a place to keep all the stuff I've had since Day 1 that I just can't get rid of. What is the end game like? - I have seen every end game boss up till Sentinel's Fate, then didn't have enough time to raid bleeding edge. Many end-game raid guilds have folded, as well. On my server (Antonia Bayle) it seems there are either casual guilds that sometimes raid, and one hardcore guild that raids in old-school fashion. Currently there's no guild in that sort of right-middle space where I'd belong. That said, the end-game goal is what I work towards, even if at this writing it's slowly. Do you feel that your $15 a month is worth what you're getting out of the game? (is sony doing their part?) - Basically, yes. $15 a month for a hobby compared to how much...say..skiing or tennis costs ...is negligible. You definitely get value for your money. There have been a lot of changes that older players don't like, but the changes are, unfortunately, the way MMOs are headed as more people start playing (Joe Averages..not hard core gamers anymore). You really can play this any way you want to. "Free to Play, Your Way" doesn't mean you log in and get everything handed to you cause that's the way you want to play. But if you want to put effort and time into your characters, this is a very rich, solid and in the end...fun game.
One of the main reasons that I'm letting my sub run out and not return for a good long time. Pity as I'm an annual pass holder and like the different zones in the game. I may go back from time to time but, as you said, they are turning that game more and more into a WoW clone that it's really so sad I beg to differ. I'm prob the WORST decorator - I only have a tent, a fire pit and a fire elemental in my lava house lol! But yeah, the housing in the game is great and the guild houses are amazing We have a tier 3 castle guild house that's GINORMOUS. I often get lost in there I totally agree with you on this. Sometimes I just let the sub "run" and not play for a time. Then I come back, hear the music, and get back into my toons One of the great things about this game is that fact that I never feel rushed about doing stuff. The game is so huge that I take my time to collect shinies, explore (and avoid death ), and quest/craft at my pace. In WoW, people would often say to me, you're STILL lvl 20, it's been 5 days... When I tell them that I have 8-9 lvl 85s and I just want to lvl slowly and enjoy the experience they get confused and shut up lol!
I am enjoying my freebie version. Customization is a fun fun thing. (and OMG I had no idea how much I would enjoy having a house in a game- and after soooooo many years poo-pooing Wow forum goers for even mentioning it >.>) For the most part I am running around like an idiot wondering if guards are going to attack me or not since they are red. Ha ha. But fun, for now. As far as the OP's question of "Why do you pay EQ2 over other MMOs?", I have to say that I am tired of the rest so figured I would give EQ2 a try. WoW isn't worth the money. GW2 I do really like but sometimes I dont want to have to actually pay attention to what I am doing. Rift I think still has a monthly fee? Uhhhhh, yea there ya go.
