I didn't see a better place for this so I'll place it here. The solo content in the Withered Lands is some of the best I've experienced in EQ2 yet and specifically here is why: Mob Density: Pro: Mob to mob distances are large enough to skirt by on foot without forming a train and enough to use the odd AOE when fighting without necessarily grabbing many more than you intend. Density also seems to thicken and thin out based on environmental cues making it feel more natural between transistions. Compare: In ROK the mob pathing in KP could often result in a challenging time wading through without pulling unintended aggro and at the time the ROK change made extra adds = smackdown. In GrDi and EW in DOV many sections felt overdense and underused except for that quest you just had to trudge through which placed you over in x,y,z artificially. Basically there is/was too much unused space so density near 'quest' areas felt artificially thickened. In WL all the space feels equally full so you don't feel like you're specifically being punished when you need to go to x,y,z since it doesn't feel any more dense than the areas you happen to be passing through. Mob Displacement: Pro: The mob placements are such that they seem believable and yet between their placement and the environmental layout there aren't large 'lines of sight' which still keeps some of the 'exploratory' feel to the exploration especially on the first time through. The distances between quest sets feel natural and not exaggerated. Compare: In ROK and SF the large overland zones allowed for a player to have long lines of sight and it felt less exploratory than undesirably vast compared to player movement speed. I need not point out that solo quest completion in those zones felt like time limits were stretched by waiting to get from mob to mob or mob set to mob set which just doesn't feel the same way in the Withered lands. Quests: (Quest Hub Nodes), (Random Drop Quests), (Random Mob Quests) - Pro: I think there is a nice balance in 'hey welcome to WL...' and the natural progression of new, strongly story driven hubs, NPCs, etc. in WL. Some of the best balance I've felt in awhile. Part of this is due to not being distracted by mechanics like mob density, displacement, and zone line of sights. Compare: When EF and LS were redone I was quite taken back with the improvement of quest and zone flow but WL really demonstrates that the EQ2 is getting better and better at hiding the mechanisms which is a good thing. Most times only the best stories seemed to stem from heritage quests or epic weapons but now the 'regular old' 10-rat style has less recognizable. I think this has to do with the fact that 1/5th of a regular expansion was placed on the team's plate AND they have tons of existing quest styles from previous expansions to do neat things ("Clever Girl" anyone?). Instead of focusing on how to do something and having the time to implement it with class they had time to do it correctly (WTG SC keeping the lights on). Environment: Like I mentioned the environment enables the tone, mood, as well as line of sights to be managed. The peroidic no-fly zone is a nice touch. Mob Animation and Graphics: New mobs are always good and the mobs here all look nice and appropriate. (WTB monkeys throwing black fudgeballs during combat). New mobs, nice animations, are always nice. the Marsh Fiend deserves a special commendation. So much going on in the swamp area it took me a bit to look down and notice the bubbles. The Animation of the fiend/look is also very appropriate and is one of my favorite new models. Fluid Quest Transfer: Other than the odd broken quest here or there on launch the section to section transfer felt natural and smooth. Story Coupling Factor: The 'average' story of 'welcome to WL, pick up your quests and start shoving through...' grows nicely such that even the lowliest alt #3 five months from now may be interested in piddling around and reading text so they can 'watch the movie' over again to full effect.
