[Preview] EverQuest II: Exploring Scars of the Awakened

SBFord

We recently went on a guided tour of the most recent EverQuest 2 update, Scars of the Awakened. Find out more about what you can expect in Scars before heading to the comments to discuss!

If there is one thing that can be said of Sony Online Entertainment, it’s this: They are the Energizer Bunny of the MMO development world. They just keep going and going on a pair of our favorite titles. Two of the genre’s oldest and most venerated games, EverQuest and EverQuest 2, are still being updated and those updates aren’t just token efforts either.

Read more of Suzie Ford's EverQuest 2: Exploring Scars of the Awakened.

inmysights

BY far, the best MMO still is EQ2!

xerax

This game seems to mature like a good wine. Of course not everything is perfect but the volume and variety of activity is 2nd to none.

If you have not tried it sub for a month, get a merc and make some friends...well worth a try.

Fluxii

Gawd I loved (love?) EQ2... IMHO it was far superior to w0w (though I won't deny I played w0w too).


I just wish there was still a population =/ I was just too dead last time I checked.. probably everyone left at endgame though.

Volenibblets

Dead? You must be on the wrong server, Freeport, for example, is rammed. 

Even with the greasing of the path changes it's still one of the best out there. It's a reminder of a time when MMORPGs had depth deeper than a puddle of luke-warm pee. Expansion costs are a little extortionate but I like supporting it because I think the only way to increase the quality of MMOs (from the dire state the industry is mostly in) is to vote with my credit card rewarding gaming companies that make decent, fleshed out games and ignoring the half arsed, two dimensional efforts that have been cluttering the genre over the last 6-8 years. I just hope they won't succumb to the lowest common denominator in developing EQ Next.... 

Zarriya

I echo the sentiment that EQ2's population is alive and thriving at all levels.  This game is very alt  friendly so you see activity before endgame too.  It may not have the subscription numbers that WoW has, but the servers are balanced where I see people leveling about the same as wow.

 

mysticaluna

On my server there isn't a functional working dungeon finder, due to no one using it (and lack of rewards), and since no one uses it people can easily think the server is "dead". Also, no one hardly ever advertises for a lower level group below 85 in any chat channel, so the game is basically all about the "end-game" . 

 

mysticaluna

Now the game is thriving at end-game as it always has and as Everquest 1 has, but they still need to fix that lower level concern in EQNext, and make the game alive at all levels, not only the highest tier "end-game", I like how WoW's dungeon finder is actually used and how you can do raid finder... hopefully, someday they can add some fun fluff cosmetic rewards and stuff to the dungeon finder and get us all using it? 

citadelli

I have many fond memories of EQ and EQ2. There is only a thriving population if you happen across a cool guild. And the ones left are usually very mature and such, kind of locked in.  And that will usually be dedicated to either gear grinding to raid, or decorating/crafting.

In most ways EQ2 for example has the most robust game play style available bar none. Which has also been SOE's nail in the coffin.  It actually limits player social interaction.  The newer subscription models are off putting at the least, and the "ftp" requirements are a joke - then you have the constant pop ups for this or that and bombardment of real money purchases. Even if you are a full gold member. It just seems so desperate.

I played EQ2 since beta, EQ before that, and only stopped about 8 mos ago. Mostly because I when I have tried to login after dropping gold membership can't do anything because all of my gear is not wearable anymore. Despite that the game is dead. Sadly. It just really is. So disappointing, it has so much to offer. Very rich, very deep, but as an MMO it has just pretty much shut all that down.

I feel sorry for the great devs who have made such an amazing game only to have it nuked by their corporate money grabbers (looking at you Smed :-P). It's all just very off putting to players. I had put well into over 2k towards EQ2 alone during my tenure there, only to see it keep slipping.

My gf got me GW2 for $50 same as EQ2 sells each expansion, and was surprised how big and beautiful that world is. And I've not had to spend a penny more. But have because it was more fun, better and just something I enjoyed.

Compare the population in a major city in the remaining servers of EQ2 to one of the cities in GW2.  A half dozen vs hundreds at the minimum. It's an MMO game after all. And PvP forget about it, crazy fun!

An MMO needs people. That's what makes it fun. Server merge all of EQ2's servers together you still wont see half the active pop you see in any one server on GW2 or that silly WoW game. Sad.

As a last side note I don't even think Sony backs SOE game's. After E3 and the launch of PS4 there has not been a word I've seen for a single SOE game. There is no backing, perfering to highlight Oblivion Online as a feature launch. Nothing about FR, PS2, or EQ in any way... just saying. EQnext was totally thrown aside once GW2 and other games came out.

Despite that, will they ever try to reconnect with the player base again? Or will you all just keep doing what you've been doing and throw more money away on a dead end game?

Citadelli 

http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Destroyer_of_Ordanach_(painting)

 

citadelli

Well that and the 5 posts above ^^^

vs. several hundreds on a start up MMO here. Sorry EQ is dead.... :_( sigh

Scorchien

  EQ2 is still a great game and Norrath always brings fun and challenges , i dont think any game brings the content and activities of EQ2 , and as far as population gpoes i see no problems here as i am lvling a new Bl and at lvl 40 i can always find groups .. Plenty of folks playing and FAr from dead ...