Will EQ2 get lost in the release of Vanguard?

I left EQ1 after 4 years for WoW.:cry: I left WoW after 2 years for Vanguard.:wink: It's just too unplayable right now, so I heard through the grapevine that EQ2 was polished up and ready to go, I decided to try it..yes, I have spent a lot of cash buying new games and expansions the past 2 months. My husband also!:roll: EQ2 is really impressive, I'm very happy I made the change and want to beat myself for playing that other product for so long, I think back and to be honest I never made the friends in WoW like I did in EQ nor did I have so many fun nights like I did in EQ1. Anyway I hope it's a long journey of good times here. So, just wondering will the Devs forget about EQ2 since the release of Vanguard? I'm sort of scared of that happening. Will the game get dumbed up so little children can play it, like WoW. Will it eventually be a PVP game under the camouflage of having a choice? Will it keep it's original vision and not give in to the mass chimpanzee population? Tell me now, so I can decide if I'm going to stick around.

EverQuest II is developed by SOE. Vanguard is developed by Sigil (a different company). The development teams are completely different.

Well, I think we will be sticking around then!:mrgreen::mrgreen:

The idea of Vanguard is very impressive and many people want it to be good. Sadly as with most MMO's these days its been released in beta condition. I have it and i have access so i'll keep revisiting it but the way EQ2 is now means we have a far more complete mature game to play and i dont think it'll be forgotten.

[p]Seeing ive got station access i did bought vanguard to see what all the fuss was about.[/p][p]They promised us a refreshing MMO what many new things never seen before.[/p][p]While that might count for some things all i can see in vanguard is a mix of WOW, EQ2, EQ1, SWG and many more mmo`s out of there. What im saying that for me it isnt the new age mmo everyone is speaking about and especialy in its current nasty beta state wich they should be ashamed of its not worth playing it.[/p][p]I recently got an invite for the LOTR beta and man even tho that`s still in beta its 100% more finished then vanguard.[/p][p]So what im trying to say is: stick with eq2, its indeed amazingly polished and alot of fun to play with a great comunity! What more can someone want[/p]

Well if you have Station Access Vanguard is almost free except for the box it self For me EQ2 is gonna be main game and Vanguard just something you can jump in on occasionaly, like another errr...alt

Grabbie93 wrote:

Hello, as others have said, Vanguards dev team is different from EQ2's.

I think many are currently trying Vanguard out, however, I do not believe that most will stay, although the idea of a single world with no zoning is very appealing, the Graphics engine is very old by todays standards, and most people expect if not demand cutting edge graphics from new games. So this will cause people to leave.. Most people I have spoken to have said the game has been released far too early and is incomplete. This will cause many more to leave.

So I would say, although many eq2 players whilst trying out Vanguard, will probably decided its not for them, and come back here. As currently it is the best fantasy MMORPG around.

And Finally... Welcome to our community. I hope you enjoy your stay!

Well. I have to say that we have lost some awesome players to Vanguard over the past couple of weeks and all of them cant say enough good things about it. I beta tested it and it wasn't for me. That said if we aren't raiding nobody plays EQ2 now, I mean what on earth is there to do in the new expansion if you are level 70 with 100AA (and yes there are more than you think of those!). Right now comments coming from my guild are "EQ2 needs something and FAST if it isn't going to wither away" "we need another long weapon quest line" etc etc etc. Grinding out the same old tired instances Valdoon and Obelisk and trying to compete with the farmers in Mistmoore tends to get old quickly. I'm facing facts as a guild leader that right now apart from at raid times my guild is barren because there isn't anything to do. Now I fully expect to be flamed for this but I'm here to tell you that these thoughts are not solely mine and as a huge fan of the game I want action and I want it soon.

[p]I beta tested Vanguard, I preordered it, I played it at release, I got to level 13.[/p][p]Then I realised I was actually pretty bored with the gameplay, the graphics were NOTHING compared to EQ2, the community seemed to be full of bickering children and the content was seriously lacking.[/p][p]So I predict that a number will try it, its free afterall, then within a few weeks they will all be back. Especially when Unrest comes out, as everyone is looking forward to that![/p]

Lost as in development time? Absolutely, not. It's Sigil's baby and there's to develop. From what I've read, Sony is just providing the servers & billing at this point. I'm sure there's more tossed in to the pot like marketing, etc. But, none the less, Sigil still has their own development team. I wouldn't be concerned about Vanguard stealing EQ2's thunder until Devs start posting goodbye messages because they're headed over to join the VG team. Based on VG's infant state right now, I doubt any of the EQ2 devs are ready to toss their career on the blackjack table like that with a pair of 3s. XD

EQ2 has only gotten better with time, unlike my beloved SWG which only got worse. The devs here actually do listen to the players and make changes, albeit some of the changes annoy people but you cant please everyone all of the time. I see EQ2 with a solid future and Vanguard will maintain a dedicated population to be sure..but I dont see it taking too much of a hit on EQ2 in the long run. Those that left for it were ready to leave anyways..and some will come back. The lure with Vanguard is "EQLive" nostalgia and the fact it is on Station Pass is making many try it. I admit i bought it but have not even played past level 5..dont see enough different there to lure me away from my friends and toons here. So in short welcome to EQ2, hope you find what you are looking for here!

I know that Vanguard wont affect EQ2 much so come and join the community lol most MMOs are said to kill other MMOs but they never do. (i know most of that wasnt the question but still lol)

Grabbie93 wrote:

Any major MMO release will affect established games. However I think EQ1 and WoW will be more affected than EQ2, as those two had a lot of people playing who were just "waiting for Vanguard". That said, of course some people will leave EQ2 for Vanguard -- mostly those who prefer old-school gameplay (grinding, forced class dependencies, etc). Vanguard turned out much better than I expected during beta, but it's not the revolution that many were expecting. IMO, EQ2 will remain the better MMO for casual fun players. I think Vanguard and EQ2 can co-exist quite happily.

Call me crazy but I was kinda thinking that EQ2 would get a bit of a bucking up from VG's release, simply because one finds it hard to miss EQ2 when subscribing for VG. That, coupled with the way that Vanguard feels unfinished and with the engine far from optimised, I could see old players coming back (rebooting their old eq2, and getting stationpass) and WoWers taking a look if they find VG to be against their tastes. Because a LOT of EQ2'ers play VG on the side, and there is much talk ingame about comparisons. Dev-wise... EQ2 = SOE; Vanguard = Sigil

It's quite likely that people who aren't satisfied with Vanguard might give EQ2 a shot, or people give EQ2 a shot because they get offered Station Access via Vanguard. But EQ2 still has a bit of a bad reputation from its launch day

Kinda off topic, but what bad reputation? I was there day 1, and I don't recall anything? I think the main problem with EQ2's percieved population issue is lack of Advertisement, both in store and out of store. When I went into 'Game' in UK to pick up EoF, they had no idea what I was talking about and thought I was on about WoW..... very worrying. SoE need to start advertising this great game. I don't understand why they rely almost exclusively on Word of mouth

Seeing how many are already returning from Vg i would think the first six months for sure vg wont hurt eq2.

If you read through general MMO message boards you'll see a lot of anti-EQ2 sentiments, and most of those coming from the "rushed and unfinished" release. There are a lot of people who don't realize how much EQ2 has improved and let themselves be influenced by the people who have only played for a brief time after release present that impression as "this is what the game is like". I've also been around since beta and while I already liked it then, there's no doubt that the game is much better now than it was then.

Yes, EQ2 got bad word of mouth at release, it's a pity as now it's the best game on the market. Vanguard is not really a serious competitor, it dwindles in a crappy to ugly status and has been launched in such a bad state that only real fanbois can endure the pain. You also need a pretty good PC to appreciate it, meaning either you buy a new PC today or you're stuck at tetris like graphics with crappy framerate and stuttering all around. It will improve in 6 months from now, not earlier imo, maybe even later. Having both VG and EQ2 on station access tho is a plus, you can switch without thinking too much about it. I'm not touching it with a 10 ft pole for at least 1 year, especially now that EQ2 is really delivering a lot of fun. WoW is the real competitor, if EQ2 can stay at least on today's quality level or improve, I see players moving here once the novelty of the wow xpac wears off. This game offers a lot more things and whikle I think it could improve a bit in the combat department, it's top notch in every other aspect (a bit more of stability wouldn't hurt tho, lot of crashing issues). I'm trying hard to convince people to move from WoW, too bad their xpac finally arrived and they are playing it. I left wow and I'm not looking back, don't miss it at all.