EQ Beta Impressions

Discalced · Post by **Discalced** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 7:12 pm

The game just doesn't seem like a whole lot of fun. The alleged depth added to the game (i.e., combat wheel, subclasses, etc.) do not serve to distinguish EQ2 from any other MMORPG that has come before it in any significant way.

Instead of clicking once, you might have to click twice, and ensure that you click the button that is flashing.

This game, as most of its ilk, will come down to how many friends you have playing alongside you. I suppose we cannot expect much more than this from the genre, but at least with PvP you don't need a group of buddies. Create a stealther and go gank some mages.

To each his own, but this game could never give me blue balls.

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

Been playing an hour or so, and I'm enjoying it as much as I enjoyed WoW my first couple hours.

Question about the combat wheel, is it working? I see a coin icon and sword icon, etc.. but not sure what to do.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 10:47 pm

If you don't think the combat wheel or character customization in EQ2 adds anything new to the genre, then you better stay FAR, FAR away from WoW.

The more I play EQ2, the more I like it. The more I fight, the more I see the strategic opportunities the combat wheel provides, the more I understand the group tactics necessary. EQ2 is not as instantly accessible as WoW, but in my opinion it offers a richer gameplay experience.

knob · Post by **knob** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:22 pm

YK and I must be exact opposites. After putting more and more time into EQ2, the less and less I want to keep playing.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 2:00 am

I've been in EQ2 beta for a while, and at first thought it was neat. Then I got higher in my levels and my downtimes have greatly increased the higher I got. I came to the realization that it still feels like EQ1, and that was the key thing why I quit EQ after 4 years of playing. I got tired of sitting around.

Sponge · Post by **Sponge** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 9:49 am

naednek wrote:I came to the realization that it still feels like EQ1, and that was the key thing why I quit EQ after 4 years of playing. I got tired of sitting around.

But you played it for four years nonetheless. What other game can you say that about? Not too many I'd wager. I would think after four years anyone is going to get sick of a game.

knob · Post by **knob** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:55 am

I think that's part of his point, though. Many people who played EQ1 have put atleast a year into it. Many of them have put close to 2 - 4 years into it. I don't think all of the former EQ players are wanting a game that feels like more of the same.

New features aren't enough to get rid of that feeling.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 11:40 am

Sponge wrote:
naednek wrote:I came to the realization that it still feels like EQ1, and that was the key thing why I quit EQ after 4 years of playing. I got tired of sitting around.
But you played it for four years nonetheless. What other game can you say that about? Not too many I'd wager. I would think after four years anyone is going to get sick of a game.

I think the main factor on why I played so long, is because I had a lot of friends that played. It was mainly played for the social part of the game.

Falcon554 · Post by **Falcon554** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 12:05 pm

Im with YK here. Im sorry but I have been in WoW for almost a year. And the game is on tracks. Quest Quest Quest you really dont have time to explore or adventure at all. If you do you fall behind your friends and then they have to take time out of there quests to do your quests that you did not do. Quests are great and alot of fun but when the game is all quests thats a mistake for me. I have had a blast the last few days in EQ2 it has everything I want.

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

Falcon554 wrote:Im with YK here. Im sorry but I have been in WoW for almost a year. And the game is on tracks. Quest Quest Quest you really dont have time to explore or adventure at all. If you do you fall behind your friends and then they have to take time out of there quests to do your quests that you did not do. Quests are great and alot of fun but when the game is all quests thats a mistake for me. I have had a blast the last few days in EQ2 it has everything I want.

I completely and totally disagree.

Questing IS the best source of experience, but you're very, very wrong if you say you can't explore doing quests.

Unless you really want to keep following the quests from your starting town to wherever they send you, there's no reason to just stick to one place.

I found WoW to be very friendly towards exploring. I even found Horde quests in Westfall (Human lands) completely by accident.

But that's where opinions differ. I'd rather explore and do quests while I explore. I have no desire to run around and kill random mobs I come across for experience. That just leads to camping.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 12:32 pm

The thing I like about EQ2 is that it doesn't feel like the quests are a necessity. Generally we just grab a bunch of quests, then go out exploring. If we happen to kill mobs that fulfill a quest, so much the better. It doesn't feel like we HAVE to solve these quests RIGHT THIS MINUTE.

Now maybe you can play WoW like that, but I never got that feeling. In WoW it felt like if you weren't questing then you were wasting your time. Everybody was on a quest. If you're in a group, you're doing quests. If you're solo, you're doing quests. Quests, quests, quests, and you HAD to do them.

That's what got me so burned out on WoW - the quests started feeling like a full-time job.

Eightball · Post by **Eightball** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 12:33 pm

Falcon554 wrote:And the game is on tracks. Quest Quest Quest you really dont have time to explore or adventure at all. If you do you fall behind your friends and then they have to take time out of there quests to do your quests that you did not do. Quests are great and alot of fun but when the game is all quests thats a mistake for me. I have had a blast the last few days in EQ2 it has everything I want.

Actually, Falc, that's not true. Best way to get xp in the game isn't questing, it's monster grinding. Questing just offers a very good alternative to monster grinding in WoW.

Should change your post: If all you do is quest quest quest, you'll fall behind your friends who grind mobs

Falcon554 · Post by **Falcon554** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 1:57 pm

Well I guess we were playing a diff game then guys. I got so damn frustrated during my time in WoW it almost make me quit MMRPGs altogther. Then came CoH and I found out how much fun they can be again. You guys that go to play alot had no idea how hard it was for the guys that didnt. The 5 man group limit did it to. I guess my early experiance with WOW just put me off the game for good. I kinda got tired of soloing all the freaking fing time.

Falcon554 · Post by **Falcon554** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 2:06 pm

That's what got me so burned out on WoW - the quests started feeling like a full-time job.

It did for me to. You start feeling stupid and dumb that you dont have these quests done. Its like wow you ddint do that quest whats wrong with you. Now again nothing at all wrong with quests, but when it feels like thats all there is with a game there is something wrong. You are hit so hard in the face by them in WoW its hard just to head off and explore, there right there with the ! on them. As I said my fav parts of DAOC was getting a pick up group or wanderers group and head to a dungeon or look for some mobs in upland. Hell the quests in DAOC were there just for loot and you tired to get them done as fast as you could so you could go out and hunt.

knob · Post by **knob** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 5:20 pm

Sounds like your play style is all screwed.

Why are you required to solo? Because the Wanderers were higher level? You don't have to group with them. I frequently joined random groups and had a lot of fun doing it. I used to be anal about it and group only with friends, but then you suffer because you'll end up soloing a lot of the time. It's not the game's fault, it's your fault. When I stopped playing like that, MMOs became more fun.

And I still completely disagree with you on the quest thing. I frequently went off exploring any and every zone I could get to. I don't see how it's any different than EQ2 or even EQ1. If you're exploring, you're probably not making much experience, regardless of the game.

If you're so dedicated to doing quests that it's ruining your fun, then maybe you need to reconsider your play style. I was able to advance at a fairly reasonable rate given the amount of time I put into it. And I also had the entire continent of Azeroth explored and was working on Kalimdor.

As Eightball said, YK, Quests aren't a necessity. The hardcore players will find a place with plenty of easy to kill mobs and just go apeshit on them. It's quicker than questing. You don't have to quest if you don't want to. It's just more fun to quest, in my opinion. Grinding EverQuest style just isn't fun for me.

Falcon554 · Post by **Falcon554** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 7:32 pm

Well it was not my fault. I have never and I mean never had a problem with getting group as much as I did in WoW. And I mean never, I never reley on the guild for helping me thats just not me, ask anyone. I never did in DAOC, CoH or even WoW to be honest. But I play to play with my friends, guys I have played with for 3 years now and thats what I enjoy.

Again I dont think WoW is a bad game at all. I just find if frustrating as hell that I cant group with my friends because I was so far behind the quest curve. And the 5 man group limit blows.

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 7:52 pm

Just another voice to chime in that I'm blown away by EQ 2 now while WoW just leaves me cold. I mentioned this somewhere else, but for me it's the difference between Peter Jackon's Lord of the Rings and that 1970s cartoon version. I feel greatly immeresed in EQ 2 and enjoy the heroic opportunities system. What's really funny is that EQ 2 was totally under the radar for me. I had never even given thought to playing it as it was SOE (SWG shudder) and the old Everquest never grabbed me. I'm enjoying the quests, the graphics, the sounds, and am looking forward to checking out how my warrior develops as he moves toward the specialized class of guardian. In a million year I never though I would say this, but I'm taking the money I put down on WoW and am moving it over to EQ 2.

Ax · Post by Ax » Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:39 am

To each there own I could care less which game everyone play's. I have played them both and given each a fair chance, and hands down IMHO EQ2 is by far a superior game more depth, more challenging, better graphics, better audio, and I could continue the list.

My 2 cents

Discalced · Post by **Discalced** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:46 am

Perhaps I'm not as blown away by the graphics because my rig can't handle them when turned up.

Perhaps I'm not blown away by the combat depth because I haven't gotten into a killer group fighting some crazy mobs where strategy is necessary.

Perhaps I haven't seen anything I haven't seen some close resemblance of before because I'm not looking in the right places/ways.

But without the ability to slaughter my peers and gloat over their still sentient carcasses, massively multiplayer games boil down to a digital tea party. But I have EQ2's Beta to thank for that realization.

Sponge · Post by **Sponge** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:55 am

Valael wrote:I think that's part of his point, though. Many people who played EQ1 have put atleast a year into it. Many of them have put close to 2 - 4 years into it. I don't think all of the former EQ players are wanting a game that feels like more of the same.

New features aren't enough to get rid of that feeling.

I don't think Sony cares about current EQ players, to be honest. Based on what I've been reading about EQ2 it appears that Sony wants to bring in some new blood and also bring back the people that tried EQ originally and didn't like certain things that made it hard for casual playstyles. Oh, and maybe people like me who played on and off for a couple years and loved it but got burnt out but are ready for more.

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 11:58 am

EQ 2 not having PvP is the one downside for me. But I can always play DAoC if I want that. I'm basically looking at EQ 2 as a sort of Morrowind that you can play with friends.

Falcon554 · Post by **Falcon554** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 2:29 pm

Honstly there are better PvP games out there. Hell even Shadowbane is a great PvP game. Maybe WoW will be?

Kraegor · Post by **Kraegor** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 2:41 pm

so, what features have been announced as "not available at release" for EQ2?

or are slated for future updates/expansions? anything public?

Eightball · Post by **Eightball** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:32 pm

Falcon554 wrote:Honstly there are better PvP games out there. Hell even Shadowbane is a great PvP game. Maybe WoW will be?

Hey Falc! Roll up another Wizard!
Oh no...karmic retribution.

For taunting you I get....

sb.exe

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:23 pm

so, what features have been announced as "not available at release" for EQ2?

or are slated for future updates/expansions? anything public?

I haven't really seen anything public. SOE has been pretty tight-lipped, but I have to give them credit for not promising anything that wasn't going to be in release like some other games *cough* Star Wars Galaxies *cough*. Player housing is in, mounts are in. If anything they've been holding back, as John Smedley cryptically said that they were intentionally holding some content back from the beta testers.

I imagine we can look forward to a bunch of expansions, however. After all, they've got a lot of pre-invented world from EQ1 waiting to be discovered in EQ2. Right now EQ2 consists solely of Antonica (or what is left of it after it was shattered into several islands.) Luclin is clearly visible in the night sky, but it looks like it was blown all to hell and back so I don't know if it will be an expansion or not.

They could easily coast by on a new Kunark and a new Velious for their first two add-ons.

The one thing that I was pleased to see is that they didn't simply try to update the old EQ zones with new textures. The new zones are totally different - as different as 500 years and a global cataclysm could make them, I guess. However, there are enough common threads sprinkled throughout that old-time EQers can sort of see hints of the old world shining through.