I have been a 20 year EQ1 player and I have not much left to do over there so I wanted to give EQ2 a shot. Just a couple questions so I know what I'm getting into. As far as leveling goes, is the experience mostly quest based? Mostly sit in a camp and grind based? A combo depending on how you want to play? What servers would be a good recommendation? I don't want to do a TLE so I'm looking for one with a decent population. Is it true box? Can I load up 2 game instances on one computer? I have played a ranger in EQ1 and boxed several other classes but I am not locked into any class type. I am looking for something that I could 2 box to start and potentially add more characters. Appreciate any input and hope to see you all soon!
At earlier levels, you can level either through grinding or questing. From level 100+ you will need to do quests to level. I think the servers population is like this from most to least: Maj'Dul, Anotonia Bayle (AB), Halls of Fate (HoF). Skyfire. Those are the US based servers. Thurgadin is the EU server if that's something you're looking for. Whatever the case, log on to them during your normal play time to see how busy they are. The most populated server at your play time is better than the most populated server when you're not on. You can have more than one instance of the game running on a computer, if your computer can handle it. If you buy nothing, you will have up to the Altar of Malice (AoM) expansion. I only bring this up because you will get the merc feature for free if you buy the most recent expansion. That will make leveling easier, especially since your two toons will all of a sudden be four toons. That said, you may want to hold off on that while you try out the game to see if you like it. If you're not going to buy the Blood of Luclin (BoL) then I'd recommend a tank and a healer. If you are going to buy BoL, then I'd recommend a tank and DPS because you'll be using the mercs for healing.
Levels 100-120 are mostly quest based, with very little XP rewarded for combat. Up until 100 though, it is your choice. You can grind in agnostic dungeons and contested dungeons, or you can run all of the quests you find, or you can run just the main stories. I've only played on the Halls of Fate server. I'd say it's fairly active. There's players LFG almost all day, though evenings American time are definitely more active. You can load as many game instances as your computer can handle (most I've done is 3). However, each account can only be used once, so you'll need multiple accounts if you want to multi-box. I've mostly played a Paladin and a Ranger, so my class suggestions will be a bit biased. A Paladin pairs well with any DPS class, since Paladins can largely heal themselves. Rangers pair well with a healer, as many mobs have "surge" damage that hits everyone, even those not directly tanking. Pet classes (such as Conjuror, Beastlord, and others) have pretty good solo-ability by virtue of being a 2-in-1.
As a fellow EQ1 veteran, welcome to EQ2! EQ2 has a very generous F2P system. So it is a risk-free to tryout. I might suggest purchasing the base expansion to maximize your pursuits. You may also want to wait for the next expansion pre-order because they always give a bonus buff (xp modifier included). Most EQ1 players (which is often pet class heavy) seem to jive with Beastlord on EQ2. Channeler is also an interesting class if you've played an enchanter on EQ1. Pure melee on EQ2 has some familiarity to melee on EQ1. Some of the popular EQ1 classes such as mages, necros, and SKs, feel totally different. If you played Live on EQ1, you will find Chaos Descending expansion EQ2 as a fun compliment to EQ1's The Burning Lands.
All Access from EQ1 will also apply to EQ2 so you will receive some benefits (membership buff, double coin, daily crates).
Thanks for all the info! I am all access on my accounts so I won't be in the F2P boat here. Been watching some YouTube videos on the introduction to EQ2, it's quite different!
The things that always gets EQ1 players in EQ2: (1) pets aren't tanky, (2) mercs are calculated support (but can rezz in combat), and (3) less strat finesse on EQ2. Beastlord (sold separately) is popular among EQ1 vets because their warder can heal and nuke (specialized based on warder animal type). Lol. Chaos Descending is much easier than TBL. The graphics and concepts are pretty cool.
I played EQ for a decade or two. Not getting about 50th level... Anyway, over here the graphics are much better and I rather like the game over here as well.
Because he's a devotee of Brell that likes his brew served in a tall glass? Brewtal, it is also worth noting that you can disable combat xp, quest xp, or both, and also if you are a subscriber, you can decide how much xp to convert to Alternate Advancement. So if leveling goes too fast for your playstyle, you do have options.
We're no longer camping things, for the most part. I would start out by bookmarking the EQ2 Wiki's Solo Timeline. That's the path through the various expansions. For level... 20 I think it is, all the way to level 90 you can do Level Agnostic Dungeons for leveling if you wish. The Agnostics are helpful because the XP rate seems to be higher there. These are instanced dungeons that scale to your level. There's a zone-in statue to click in both Qeynos and Freeport. My understanding is that you and a merc are enough for most of these, if not all. I don't know how Vitality is handled in EQ. In EQ2, your XP gain is boosted as long as you have Vitality. The Marketplace does sell Vitality potions, and you may get some along the way from /claim. Time not gaining XP refills your Vitality, and you don't have to be in-game for that. Maj'Dul is the most heavily populated Live server. You can true box. I have run two characters from my computer, having the secondary autofollow the primary toon. You should read the Terms of Service carefully, you can't use third party programs to automate your boxed toon(s). I'm not sure where exactly they come down on software that allows one keystroke to be directed to both toons simultaneously. Right at the moment, EQ2 Rangers have problems because they just don't have a lot of utility. Assassins (the evil counterpart of the Ranger) do a lot more DPS and are more valued. It takes an afternoon to level a toon to 20-30 or so, so you can test-drive a couple of different classes to get a feel for them. I recommend not getting a mercenary until after about level 30 so that you can really learn how the class plays. At low levels, mercenaries are hugely overpowered and mow stuff down, so you're not using your abilities to their utmost. At high level, mercenaries are of much less use. I have a healer merc follow me around to cure and heal pretty much.
Assassin hasn't had a faction associated with it for a long time. The Queen has her enemies "dealt with" too!
