exploring in wow and eq2

Vinda-Lou · Post by **Vinda-Lou** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 7:02 pm

For those of you who have been playing these two games, yet another question... I am a casual mmorpg player who might be able to manage 5-10 hours a week, maybe more, maybe less. I am really looking for a mmorpg that is fun to explore and check out new areas. I don't play to rush through levels, although I know certain levels are needed to visit certain places. But out of wow and eq2, which is better in terms of cool vistas and interesting scenery and places to visit? I'd play both solo and in groups, but mainly to check out the lands, meet people, and kill cool things. Thanks in advance.

knob · Post by **knob** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 7:26 pm

I haven't put much time into EQ2, so I can't comment on that.

But WoW is by far the most fun MMO I've ever played when it comes to exploring. Blizzard has an awesome team of artists and this game really shows it.

I don't know how easy it is to explore the whole world now, because I had most of it explored before a lot of the more interesting, high end zones were populated. But there are a lot of really kick ass places just waiting to be discovered in WoW.

And this isn't biased speaking, but I have a hard time believing SOE can compete. Mostly because I don't care for its graphics. They're bleeding edge, but something about them just drives me nuts. Something about them is ugly in my eyes. And I'm not talking about the models (I hate the models more than anything, but I can forgive that -- They sucked Post-Luclin in EQ, so I'm used to it).

Maybe a little bias.

Falcon554 · Post by **Falcon554** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 12:10 pm

Well I for one love the art in EQ2, Freeport is amazing looking. I liked WoW to it has some amazing places. The only thing that bother me in WoW are the angular models but the animation is top notch. In EQ2 I went to the Commanland (or what ever it is) today and really had a great time just running aournd with a group of guys killing here adn there and getting killed

These are to good games but they will attract diff kinds of players thats for sure.

Warfran · Post by **Warfran** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 1:23 pm

Like I said in another post I have a friend who was in the WoW stress test and showed me the game.

I was very impressed,this game is beautiful to explore,like a fanasty novel come to life,it has that magic to it.I don't play MMORPG's but this will be the first,after messing with the game for an hour I'm hooked.
It seems really geared for the more casual player,as well as being solo friendly which is real important to me,at least at the beginning.

Warfran

fancydirt · Post by **fancydirt** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:52 am

Some of the most fun I've had with WoW was the first month or so where I played and quested with friends (usually CSL, Kaigen, Chris Grenard and Chris' roommate). We never spent a lot of time mastering the mechanics of the game and power leveling or anything (ground I've since covered

), just ran around and checked things out and whatnot. We had more than a few enthusiastic screenshot threads from our travels. There are some breathtaking zones and places. I think Feralas and Un'Goro have been my favorite, but the game has been very consistant.

You can level pretty well without too much time. I started my first new horde character since my main, and have gotten him to level 20 in the three days I've had him. Granted, I know the zones and how to play the game (the the rogue class is new to me as a player), but I don't think I'm going at a pace that even a new player couldn't keep up with. One of my guildies is a crazy power leveler person from Diablo 2 (I think he was #92 on the ladder at one point), and has gotten his new character to level 24 in a little over the same amount of time I've put into mine. For the most part, it helps to know what to do solo and what to group with others on.

The social aspect has been cool too. The gonegold people I started to play with all moved on to other games after the first month I played, but I've made a lot of friends in the game and am on my third guild now (created with a couple friends who had also grown tired of being in some of the bigger guilds that were getting to be too big and inconsistant). There's never a point where I don't have anything to do at anytime in the game.

Again, anyone on the Horde side of the PvP server, send a tell to Salyn (60 Warrior) and Suryn (20 Rogue) whenever you're on.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:36 pm

The one thing I liked about EQ2 over WoW in the exploration department (but certainly won't sit well with everyone):

WoW's approach is that each race has its own city, and each city must necessarily be surrounded with newbie and mid-level zones. So it's very easy to travel from city to city, each one of which has a fairly large radius you can explore at low levels. EQ2's approach is that there are only two cities, period, and they're separated by some extremely tough terrain. In addition, the land has been fragmented into islands, making travel from one low-level zone to another extremely difficult if not impossible.

In WoW, by the time I hit 15 I felt like I had seen a great portion of the world. I had visited most of the major cities and traveled across continents. To be sure I hadn't seen all the high level zones, but there was a very large swath of land I could access at low levels.

In EQ2, I just hit 15 and have seen only two major zones - Freeport and the Commonlands. The rest of the world is a dark mystery to me, mainly because I'm simply too low level to see it. That's not to say that I feel confined. The Commonlands is an absolutely HUGE zone, and has a couple of dungeons coming off of it (only one of which I've explored to any degree).

I'm not saying either way is right or wrong, but they are two very different approaches. I think one of the reasons WoW felt "light" to me was that being able to access so much of the world right from the start made the game feel "easy." With EQ2 I feel like I have to earn the right to see new lands. Of course, which one you prefer will depend on your particular gamestyle.

knob · Post by **knob** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:51 pm

And the usual arguement disagreeing:

In WoW, they let you explore as you level. I mean, you're usually not in one zone for too many levels. (Which is one of the reason so many people hate The Barrens in WoW).

You spent 15 levels in 2 zones. That doesn't excite me at all.

In WoW, I had explored a fairly decent portion of the game, and I still had tons to go.

I don't think you realize just how big the world in WoW is. I explored a good portion of it when I didn't have to dodge mobs and it still took me a long time to see it.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:42 pm

Well, two zones is a bit of an exaggeration I guess.
Freeport is actually made up of around 9 zones. Some of them are small to be sure, and they're all city zones (no enemy content). There are 4 newbie zones off of Freeport - Graveyard, Sewers, Sunken City, and The Ruins.

By the time you're even ready to leave the city itself and start hunting in the commons, you should be around Level 10 or so. So really so far I've only spent about 5 levels in the Commonlands. (The Commons also has a dungeon I've spent quite a bit of time in.) Also, did I mention this zone is BIG. Big, big, big? As in, probably takes a good 15 minutes to run from one end to another? That keeps it from feeling confined. In fact, I stumble across new stuff in the zone every time I play. I certainly haven't grown bored with it, especially since there are areas in the zone that are simply "off limits" to me because they're too dangerous.

I guess the main difference I see is that EQ2 travel and exploration feels dangerous. There are even zones you can't even access until you complete a dangerous quest. I never felt that sense of danger running from one place to another in WoW (in fact, I think my biggest disappointment in WoW was the death penalty, or lack thereof. It completely robbed any shred of suspense from the game for me.)

Again, these are personal opinions. Your mileage may vary.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:47 pm

As this topic involves multiple titles, it's appropriate for the PC Games in General forum. I know that nothing about the forum's current title or the descriptive text below it indicates that, but we're still running from the system used over on the GG boards.

~Neal

knob · Post by **knob** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:44 pm

YellowKing wrote:Well, two zones is a bit of an exaggeration I guess.

I guess the main difference I see is that EQ2 travel and exploration feels dangerous. There are even zones you can't even access until you complete a dangerous quest. I never felt that sense of danger running from one place to another in WoW (in fact, I think my biggest disappointment in WoW was the death penalty, or lack thereof. It completely robbed any shred of suspense from the game for me.)

Again, these are personal opinions. Your mileage may vary.

What level did you get to in WoW, YK? I found many instances where travel was very dangerous.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Tue Oct 26, 2004 8:20 am

I got into the 20s. The reason it never felt dangerous isn't that there weren't dangerous mobs (I ran into some areas that had some high level stuff). It's that again, there's no death penalty. Sorry, I can't feel fear if my only penalty for dying is a bit of lost time running back to my corpse (running back to my corpse while totally invincible, I might add).

My opinion of WoW would move up about 90% if they actually had some deterrent for dying.