What Are Your Favorite EQ2 Memories?

This month, we are excited to celebrate the tenth anniversary of EverQuest II! It's been an amazing decade full of countless journeys in which friendships were formed, alliances were made, and adventurers triumphed in epic battles.

We want to hear about your favorite Norrathian memories!

• Do you have an interesting story to tell from when you started in EverQuest II?
• Do you remember your first group or raid experience?
• What great milestones do you remember achieving in game?
• What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you and your friends in game?
• Have you formed some close friendships or even relationships with people you've met in-game?

Please share your thoughts, photos, and videos with us in this thread as we reminisce about some of our favorite Norrathian memories and look forward to making many more memories in the years that follow.

Happy Anniversary EverQuest II!

A friend of mine had EQ2. He brought the game over and installed it on my computer. He showed me the intro movie and I fell in love. A couple months later I owned Kingdom of the Sky. I loved the isle of refuge. For me it was that and the little things like deciding to be a mage, then sorcer, and then finally a wizard. Felt like a big part of the game was gone after those were removed

When the game first came out, many players had come straight over from EQ1. So, it was hard to break certain habits. I couldn't for the life of me convince people that sitting did not speed up your regeneration. Or playing a defiler, that I was healer not DPS. This one tank in RE would not believe me. He sat there spamming for a healer for 1/2 hour.

Ahh to remember EQ2. My brother introduced me to this game and it is the very first MMO I ever played but that is not the best memory I have. I remember back when each little town was a zone and I was running through Willow Wood. I saw this mystic that needed serious help. No armor, weapons, jewelry....nothing. I offered to help him and we became friends. Eventually it came down to phone calls in real life.
One night I was not home and my mom answered the phone. He fell in love instantly and they got married 5 days after talking to each other. He moved in with us and I have not been able to get rid of him since.
They have been married 6 years now and are still happy since the day they said "I do". They also both still play EQ2 as well as I do, although neither can play very well lol.

I too started out in a world before EQ2. I played for a long time on E'Ci and a while on Firiona Vie. I was always a roleplayer (prior to and while not online, I played quite a bit of D&D as well) and had a great time writing and building stories for each of my in game characters and sharing or creating them with other people around the world (Thank you Kenazer, Calix, Skylar and Auvergne wherever you might be now). I didn't get into EQ2 right at launch. I think it would have been 2007 when I started, but today, on AB, those old stories have carried on to a second and even third 'generation' of my characters (I even saved Auvy as one of my characters today because she meant a lot to a 22 year old 'kid' way back then). It's amazing how complex the stories have become in over 10 years. I have children who watch me play, and play their own characters - have their own adventures now and I am so glad to be able to share my all time favorite computer game with them, just to see them smile and laugh just as I did (and still do) whenever I play. This game means a lot to me, and as long as the servers drives are spinnin', this old ranger's arrows will be flying (side note - took up archery as a real life pass time too a year or so ago - my DPS IRL sucks!)
~J~

One memory that comes to mind;
A friend and I hunting frogs for over hour in The Peat Bog and Oakmyst Forest because we required some 'frogs legs' for one one of the initial tradeskill missions. Who would have thought you had to actually fish for frogs!

• Do you have an interesting story to tell from when you started in EverQuest II?

When I first started playing Everquest back in 2006 I betrayed my first character from Freeport to Qeynos, it was the most grueling thing I have ever done[ even compared to the Order of Rime faction to obtain the mount and the far seas trading for the unicorn mount/pegasus].

• Do you remember your first group or raid experience? n/a

• What great milestones do you remember achieving in game? Been playing the game since release, I hit level 80 on my main character 2013. I still have not maxed my main character nor have I ever had a level 80. As of November 2014 I am level 85. Hrhr

• What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you and your friends in game? I remember one time me and my friends that I have known for years[online] were doing a quest in Antonica and one of our group mates 'kicked' the Avatar that spawns there. We were all minding our business when all the sudden the whole group died and flung across the map. Lol.

• Have you formed some close friendships or even relationships with people you've met in-game? Most of the people I have grouped or held a clan with are people I have known online for years. :3

Lol

My guild mates on Crushbone. We all worked as a team to group or raid. We were like family. A mature group of people who played and you weren't forced to raid. I left the game for a break for a couple of years and came back. The guild still stands, but many have moved on to other things. The guild though stands as it did in all it's beauty and glory. Just lack those friends who chatted it up in the guild in fun and laughter in my old guild Stealth. I want it to be that way again.

Memories... EQ2 I started around 2006 I think - and it was my first MMO.
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My very first Griffon Flight! Always the best memory. I had watched a friend play - then bought the game - purely because I wanted to fly that Griffon. I thought I would never reach level 10 and get to Antonica! It was harder back then to level up. The very first time I set foot in Antonica and saw the Griffon Tower there was a supreme moment for me. I rode the Griffon all over Antonica for about an hour

Arriving on Refuge Isle - not knowing anything about game or class or anything else. It was all so new and fresh.

Constantly drowning in Razorfin Bay because I couldn't get the hang of swimming!

Standing on the beach on Refuge Isle level 7 - negotiating joining my first guild. It all seemed so Awesome!

Being killed by the Vulth about 5 times ... but I was determined to kill that Octopus - and I did.. eventually.. and Dire Spike - although the spiders on the way out got me in the end

Dying in the cave on Refuge Isle! Eventually I worked out you had to kick down the totems to complete it (blush). I had never seen a clicky before ... Once I logged out in frustration - thinking I would never get it done!

Going to Willow Wood for the very first time - doing my racial quest. What a wonderful introduction to game and race that was.

My very first raid - as a healer - the old city raids - my first guild did them every week for low level players. I spent an hour behind a building in Willow Wood practicing my healing spells - seeing how much power they used - etc ect. Just before the raid was due to start I was so wound up and nervous I was physically sick. Then the raid got cancelled at the last minute lol.

The many friendships I forged at that time. Gradually they all left game for one reason or another and we lost touch. But on my new Refuge Island prestige home - I remember and honour them all. They were good times .

Coming from Azeroth i fell through the floor after playing 5 minutes on the Isle of Refugee. My first intention was "Oh god what crap did i buy" but then i was impressed. A Message appeared "You seem to be fallen through the game. You have been ported to a safe place". I fell several times through the game in the parallel-universe but never got that service.

Discovering that the guildy Templar I had been grouping with fairly regularly was actually the same age as me (>40). We had a good long online chat, started grouping and chatting regularly, met up in London and ultimately got married. We just passed our 6th Anniversary earlier this year.

Doing the Prismatic questline raids on the night of New Years Eve 2005/6, stopping on the hour, every hour so raid members could take an AFK to spend midnight with their families, then carrying on afterwards. By around 2am UK time the whole of Europe had seen in the New Year, everyone was sozzled, some had fallen asleep at the keyboard and raiding halted. I think we had got up to attempting Darathar, but it was the social side of it that night was i remember most.

Joining a pick-up group on my defiler to do Permafrost. The MT didn't know I was a healer (like the earlier post) and invited a warden to the group. I went full-on healing and the tank never lost any health during the run. Everyone congratulated the tank for being excellent and piled the praise onto the warden saying they had never seen such a good healer before. The warden rather sheepishly admitted he hadn't been healing at all and told the group that, actually, defilers are healers and it was me that had kept the group up.

Getting the guild through the Mark of the Awakening questline. We were one of the earliest guilds on the server to achieve it and seeing the guild members wandering round East Freeport with the emblem glowing for all to see.

Successfully tanking Tarinax on my SK at the time when SKs were bottom of the tanking pile.

Having my mind blown by the sheer scale of Sol's Eye on the first time we went to visit Nagafen.

Trying to group with Qeynos guildies at low level. You could hardly travel anywhere due to the access quests that had to be done for the higher level zones, and nor could you invite to group unless you were in the same zone. Our guild leader at the time was a dirge so he would run from Antonica, through Thundering Steppes and Nek Forest to meet up with the Freeportians at the Nek Forest gate to Commonlands. He would form the group, provide the run speed buff and train us all back through to Antonica.

Earning enough gold to be able to buy my first horse.

Looting so many copper coins that my run speed was affected. Having to call back home to go to the bank to cash them in. Wearing equipment with +STR to allow me to quest for longer without having to go to the bank.

Trying to teach a newbie how to do tradeskills. I invited him to a group and explained the principles. He went off to the forge to try to be an armourer, but he failed the events and got blown up and died. I remember laughing, then came the slowly dawning realisation that because I was grouped with him at the time of his death I had earned some group XP debt.

One of my favorite memories was when I got "married" on top of a building in Maj Dul. My (then) real life boyfriend was our best man and our whole guild showed up to be there for us. It was to be a match made in EQ only... It's not a happly ever after love story.. We got a "divorce" and he has never paid me the alimony or child support he was ordered to pay by the judge. And our children have not seen their father in 8 years.. Poor little halflings.

Another one of my favorite memories.. I had been playing for 6 years and had to stop for 3 years... I came back and thought o.k. I will start easy...I will craft in the harbor and get back in the grove... ( I didn't know you no longer had to press the trade skills buttons 100 times for each crafted item ) I died within 1 minute... and I thought ......well that was easy LOL

I have met many wonderful and amazing people threw my travels.. I have a best friend I met in EL that I talk to regularly on the phone. I love EQ2 and although it's never said enough...All the people that work on making this game fun and exasperating at times...Need to know, that I for one, Thank them all.

Heh, yeah, we had a good laugh about it later. Good times

We want to hear about your favorite Norrathian memories!

• Do you have an interesting story to tell from when you started in EverQuest II?
• Do you remember your first group or raid experience?
• What great milestones do you remember achieving in game?
• What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you and your friends in game?
• Have you formed some close friendships or even relationships with people you've met in-game?

First of all, I want to thank all the people who have had a hand in creating and maintaining this amazing game. My wife and I have played EQ2 since day 1 of release and continue to enjoy it to this day.

I remember stepping into Stormhold for the first time. My wife and I had a dwarf berserker and templar combination. We were rolling through the city quests and the Antonica quests so we decided to try out Stormhold. We fought valiantly past the oozes and the skeletons guarding the door. All was going fairly well until we found that named skeleton in the hallway, Sentry Maxillian I believe. I stood there throwing every little heal I had on my partner, but eventually we realized we were just outmatched. I threw a final reactive on us and we advanced quickly in the opposite direction. It was quite some time before we tried that again...

I remember my first master drop was the Swashbuckler skill that made the entire group go camouflage (yes, it used to be an upgradable skill). I also remember the most dangerous things in all of Norrath were the forge and an exquisite chest that wasn't properly disarmed.

I think my most memorable milestone in EQ2 was completing my illusionist's mythical weapon quest during the Kunark expansion. It took our guild a long time to push through VP and defeating Silverwing was no easy task. It was a great victory for all of us.

RIP Steamfont Server

I have too many fond memories to recount...

I'll take the easy way out, and offer EQII [For Teh Win].

[edit]
Since I haven't yet got a round tuit (and haven't made 'FTW Volume 2') -- here's the [link to the full set of comics] in the archived forums. Enjoy!
[/edit]

I will always remember that one scene back in 2004.

We were a bit above level 10 I think and questing in Antonica. Our group was investigating the gnoll cave were the scarecrows are made. Back in the day the gnolls there were all heroic. We had this swashbuckler in our group who called himself Baxter who always tended to wander off. So we were fighting those gnolls at the front of the cave, and suddenly our gnome templer said "Hey, where the hell is Baxter?" You could see our whole group turning to look down from the cave entrance to the planes below and suddenly Baxter ran from the right of the screen to the left with a train of about 5 or 6 heroic gnoll groups after him. It was a hilarious sight!

We were also a bunch of lighthearted roleplayers. So one day we were hunting the giants in the Thundering Steppes and we did well even without having a tank. Yes, back then they were all heroic too. I played a dirge and just had fun to just make up some funny rhymes as we were fighting the giants and like everyone in the group did the same after a while, so we where creating silly poems while yelling "Hit their knees! Hit their knees!" Ah, those were good times .

I remember how social the game was. There were always those named monsters that everyone needed for all those heritage quests. I liked the groups that were spontaneously created because someone needed Bloodtalon in the Steppes, people were also announcing when he was up in the chat. If you camped a spot for one of those named mobs, there were always other people that you grouped up with and just talked a bit to kill the time between respawns. Not that the people in this game aren't social anymore, but most named mobs don't have placeholders or long respawn times anymore.

It is really funny that I have so much nice memories of stuff I did in EQ2, even though I played a lot of MMORPGs. But somehow EQ2 was always my favorite. Something always draws me back after a while to this game and every time I start up the game and log in after months or even years, I always have that feeling of coming home again.

Thought of some other stuff that was pretty good to so had to post again:

I once spent 7 hours in Stormhold with a guildie who offered to take me and some others there to clear up quests! It was the most hilarious time I ever spent in EQ2 .. the fun we had in chat RP'ing and getting through that place. At various times I had to mend - in those days you were actually naked when you broke - and all your gear was gone until you mended. I thought i had lost all mine - didn't know it went to the overflow slot. The panic moment I had thinking I would have to find all new gear makes me laugh even now. Leaving Stormhold had to run all the way to the lodge - naked - mend - (no mounts affordable in those days) - then run all the way back and pick up again where we left off. The guildie tank kept changing form - I had never seen illusions before and had no idea they existed. He went AFK one time leaving himself in the D'Morte vampire illusion. I was fascinated - it looked so horribly beautiful! I had to have it one day I knew that. I spent many happy hours years later - taking my Necro through the bloodline chronicles (think it's called that) to get that illusion. It's one of my most treasured possessions.

Looking on Heccie Thump's post - yes. I had the same experience. In a pick up group in TS (yes people did group for questing back then) - tank told me not to heal - he asked the swashy to heal for some reason. I had no idea whether or not a swashy could heal being new to game - but seeing the group die - i couldn't let that happen so - i healed them. The tank noticed this and tore me off a huge strip - saying he had told me not to heal. So I didn't. After a few wipes and half the group leaving .. he suddenly turned to me and said - oh .. you're a fury.. you're a healer then? ... duh... Swash sent me a tell afterwards laughing like mad .. saying he couldn't believe it when the tank told me not to heal! Was a funny moment.

Not so funny was the level 80 tank in a PuG - (in the days when that was cap level). In one of the old Shard instances - Everfrost it was. Yelling at me while we waited after a wipe because I didn't cure his rez sickness! ... I did wonder how he got to level 80 and didn't know rez sickness can't be cured. When I pointed this out - his friend piped up - rubbish - a fury can cure everything! I take a bow ... as a Fury ... I am immortal and infallable according to some it seems

The very first time I saw a dragon - ever! It was Nagafen and I had done the long run down to his lair with some guildies for the speak as a dragon quest. I sitll love Nagafen although he is just as haughty and rude to me as ever - even with my 95 status! I once called him Naggy to his face.. he dropped me dead like a broken doll.. I learned that day - never disrespect a dragon no matter how long you have known him!

Running to Nektulos Castle - for my first run in there with guildies. The tank went afk and put me on af while he was away .. and i fell off the bridge right up near the top of Mars. When he came back he screamed - 'what the hell am I doing in the graveyard?!". Sheepishly I told him - rest of group laughed and said don't EVER put him on af - he falls off everything! 9 years on ... I'm still doing it.. I've lost count of how many times i've overshot Qeynos, Freeport and Zek docks and landed in the ocean! Jumped off the platforms in kelethin and cliffs after forgetting to fire up my flying mount... the list goes on...

The Billy Doll in Nektulos Castle. First time i saw that i ran and hid behind my mage friend! I feel the creeps everytime i see it. It's weird. I have lost count of how many group mates/guidles/friends have tormented me with that illusion over the years - knowing i hate it so much ewww 'shudders'

now THAT wuz funnee !!!! thank you so much for the early am laff ) ... tho it does sound like sumthin I'd have or did do ...*cough* ..

i remember when me and my brother and sister would start in qeynos, brings back memories.
i'm just sad now nobody plays anymore, this is my favorite game