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Alot have been seeking an alternative to WoW..It's been here all along
HarmTouch
Member Posts: 28
Hello.First let me say that this isn't a bash WoW thread.The aim of this thread is to bring to light a fantastic alternative option, to WoW or WoW clone mmos of recent.Chances are, since you're on mmorpg.com you have atleast heard of or seen images of EQ2.But have you actually played EQ2 from lvl1 - endgame and experienced the content and game itself?
For the past ~8 years, EQ2 has been the red headed step child in the world of MMOs.It has been under the radar of many mmo'rs for years.There are a few reasons for this that i'd ike to bring to light.
* EQ2 was released roughly the same time as WoW.With hordes (pun intended) of blizzard followers from previous (multiple) titles clinging onto WoW instantly, alot had tunnel vision and didn't realize what a magnificent mmo had also been released right beside WoW.ie; EQ2.Alot had never even dabbled in the great world of mmos.Until WoW.
*EQ2 marketing wasn't / isn't so great.This is where blizzard runs circles around SOE.Bigtime.
*In developement and release SOE / EQ2 banked on the future of CPUS being single core.Soon after release single cores were quickly inferior to the multi core processors and no really ground breaking developement went into single core cpus from intel or amd.At launch alot of people lacked the hardware to run the game on the lowest possible settings.This was a huge obstical for SOE.Sales went down, players went to other games.it wasn't til later that SOE supported multi core processors.The graphics in EQ2, in essense (from the start) were designed to scale up over a long period of time as more powerful hardware became avalible, as with any game.But SOE took this concept to a whole new extreme.Until a couple of years ago very few people could even come close to running the game on max setings in a playable state.nowadays, sure alot of people are able to run high setttings.
* People look foward to the next 'great' mmo release.They never look backwards to see the diamond in the rough that they never had a chance to see shine.
*Combine bad marketing, strict system requirements at release and going up agains ta juggernaut company like blizzard = not an easy task.
So, for all of the people out there who have ever wondered or gave a double take at EQ2.. You serioulsy need to play this game.Especially if you are tired of WoW and all of the WoW clones out there.EQ2 movement/mechanics are liquid smooth.The game is very fluid overall.There's endless content.A Vast, immersive, dynamic game world and it looks absolutely amazing.On max settings It seriously looks amazing.Not to mention the difficulty of EQ2 is somewhere between EQ1 and WoW.So it's by no means faceroll.Also i shouldn't forget that if you are used to WoWish combat style (global reuse/cools etc etc) you will find EQ2 combat system very refreshing.As I stated, it is very fluid just really alot of fun.EDIT:For got a few things.probably alot actually lol.But i'll start to fill in blanks as this thread progresses.The crafting in eq2 is simply amazing.Craft thousands of items, such as home furnishings for example.The ability to buy and furnish (highly customizable) your own home is a nice feature.There are difrent homes avalible everywhere for purchase all across norrath.EQ2 has guild halls, wich most people like.Crafters can craft up pedastles to mount the heads of all your defeated raid mobs,pretty sweet if you ask me.Inwich you can place whereever you like in your Guild hall.level locking, lock your toon at any lvl for pvp twinks or just for fun.Apperance slots.Wear your stat gear and then place w/e u like in appearance slots for your desired look.
NOTE: Do Not play the F2P version.You are limited quite a bit on alot of things.Like only being able to select out of ~5 of the 26 playable classes.And things don't get better with F2P. Just P2P and enjoy, imo the best MMO currently on the market.
Since almost everyone likes mounts.Here's just a small portion of the content/mounts avalible in EQ2.There are literally hundreds of mounts and hours of content though.make sure and watch it on high-def =D plus some other random vids. sssssd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3PHCouN3yo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYedOGvqULU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9q0v06Irmc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dGnXoug8yE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3PHCouN3yo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD8nXyBWf0U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TDH1Qkyxwc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPHm5YbfRD8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67N4nHI71yc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYg2nKmOfIY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4-XHXG429A&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsqMNsj1Rg8
??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPHm5YbfRD8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67N4nHI71yc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYg2nKmOfIY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4-XHXG429A&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsqMNsj1Rg8
Comments
I played from beta and at the time, it wasn't the game it is now is any area. But the grind was horific. If i got ha third of a level from a 12 hour session, i would be happy. We used to count in 0.1% amounts, so after a big battle, the XP bar would move 0.2% and we would go "awesome XP for those!".
It was one of the MMOs i played more than most, WoWs release kinda shot it a bit. But once i got to level 41, i saw it was all just big raids and nothing to do, alot worse than WoW was at that point. So unfortunately a couple of years later, i felt it was too long gone to try it again.
Extremely PvE though.
And you forgot to mention the massive amounts of content, the deep customization and lore, the ability to control your XP (power level or take your time - it up to you) 90 levels currently, the crafting, as well as the exploration. This game is huge and they dont make MMOs like this anymore, and not sure if they will in the future.
Yea.It's a very polished game now.Defo worth a try =D. Oh I forgot to mention, there a quite a few high pop servers going.The population overall in eq2 has grown largely over the past few years.yes, the pve is where eq2 is seperated from other mmos.pvp is alot of fun too though i gotta say.
THANKS!! I did forget those things.The list goes on and on with eq2. I did mention endless content though =D. And yes you can also lvl lock at any lvl you like for pvp twinks or just to pve or w/e. The crafting is awsome aswell!! The lore is outstanding too!!
Yes eq2 is very large.I used the word vast though haha.Very immersive..And no they sure ont make them like this anymore... thats for dang sure.
Once i have left an MMO for a couple of years, in this case probably 4 years, it's quite hard to go back to when the game ends up being 'top heavy', similar to how EvE everyone is a trillionaire and it's pointless even joining in.
It kinda feels like i would like new servers started fresh in some of these games, where the game is like new with all the features added and bugs erased over the years. There's no reason why EQ2 can't compete with other games, it's huge, it's graphically fantastic and is very deep. Not sandbox by any means, but such is the content that it feels like it is almost.
The title is wrong. Alot has not been awaiting the "WoW killer".
Yea, i agree. Well, there's sososo much content lvling up and even at endgame.especially nowadays.its ludicrous.
I thought WoW was the EQ2-killer...
Oh yea I forgot about the UI.Very customizable stock UI.Alot of options.Everything is scaleable..even hotbars.You can have (i think 12) hotbars any size or place or even shapes (blocks).
After playing EQ on and off, mostly on since it's release, EQ2 being the same world lost some exploration/wonder for me, even though stuff was changed, it didn't have that 'new' feeling for me at the time...I didn't play WoW either, played the beta and didn't get into it.
If I was to pick between EQ2 and WoW, I would play EQ2...I have debated going to play it, but it seems TSW/GW2 are not too far off, so I probably wont. I played EQ2 for the free month, but my wife was EQ'd out too I think and wouldn't even play the free month.
Just giving some perspective on why I didn't play at release, and maybe others.
I played the trial long ago. was impressed with it but was hard to break away from Wow raids long enough to keep going on. glad to hear it's got allot of interesting features. I still wanna check it out and will before summer.
Well yes for the masses WoW is the EQ2 killer.Doesn't use much resources.Hardly any learning curve.Pretty much faceroll content. Its ben almosta year since DoV release and theres still content that hasn't been cleared...
While it's true that EverQuest 2 has quite a bit to offer now, it was a very different game when it released. Sony released it a month before World of Warcraft in 2004.
There were almost no vendor trash items from creatures you killed. You had to purchase your spells, either generic weak ones from a vendor or crafted ones from players. All tradeskills required components crafted by other tradeskills. Tradeskills had a large number of abilities to use during the crafting process. There was no mail system. I recall the death system being a pain but can't recall the exact details. Traveling was a long process to get anywhere.
Most of the things Sony added to improve EQ2 were in response to World of Warcraft. If WoW had no come out would Sony have added those things? Who knows. Bottom line is, there was a reason that EQ2 was eclipsed by WoW. WoW was easier to get in to and get you hooked. EQ2 seemed to be created for masochists.
That's ironic imo.Seeing as wow was a dumbed down eq1 clone... hows are those shadowknights ..sorry i mean deathknights in wow? haha
but seriously wow stoled alot of things from eq1 and even eq2.It goes both ways.And i would agree WoW was defo easier to 'get into'.
the death penalty were xp debt and you lost "a spirit" so had a debuff on you untill you had regained it, which could be done either by fight your way back to it, or just wait it out iirc 24 hours but cant remember how long exactly...but atleast often made people log out.....personally I liked it, though thought it were good they made it so you could regain it from dungeons by right click the entrance door. but then I were in a great guild back then....once lost about 10 spirits trying to regain one solo in heroic dungeon, then started talk about it in guild chat and in no time had a group of lvl 50s help me regain it.....<3 inverted horizons
also traveling really never took long, you had boat rides to everywhere, only time I felt it were somewhat long were when trying to get to chazic thule trying to level some there in a group, since most of Feerott were heroics at release, so had to fight there....or just have alot of runspeed so could out run everything :P also though this made it annoying to get there as a class without any runspeed and mitigation, since tended to make half the group run there, then moan it took the rest so long get there......SOEs fix.....zone wide zone in...
either way agreed SOE have done alot to change the game to become more like WoW and try please people who complainted on their forum
It's got a butt load of contested content.I do mean a crap ton. Back in TSO we had the contested avatars.(highly scripted raid mobs in the open world) That only a few guilds WW could even kill (~ 1guild per server).And if you were on a pvp server..well you better have an extra raid to block pvp for you..
not to mention how absolutely maassive tyhe game world is.. its very immersive
So true! After so many years of playing World of Warcraft and other mmorpgs, I found that Everquest 2 was the king on the hill! Even tho the population is not the biggest, I don't really care....because that makes the community more mature! No kid drama destroying the gameplay!
If anyone is searching for a social, mature, friendly and helpfull guild....then PM me!
Yes I hear that alot from former WoW subscribers.Infact, there has been a ludicrous influx of WoW players subscribing,playing and loving eq2.Those who aren't too bias /wink ... and those who actually lvl to endgame (enjoying content otw) and see what the game is all about usually stay and have nothing but good things to say about eq2.Usually they (i've heard this one NUMEROUS times) "wanna kick themselves for not playing eq2 alot sooner".To those who are WoW bias, i'd say just give eq2 an honest chance, by lvling to endgame and experiencing content.Chances are very very high you wont go back=D.This isn't a WoW clone... this is a whole diffrent bred of MMO, especially when you want to compare combat mechnics/style.(very fluid, smooth and polished) It's a breath of fresh air from the global cools/faceroll action or however you want to put it.
The population overall isnt as big as wows, but there are over 10 high pop servers as we speak.So from a 'server pop' standpoint there really is no diffrence.IMO, who cares if WoW has 50 high pop servers and eq2 only has ~10? Join a high pop server and you wont notice any diffrence in population =P from wows high pops to eq2 high pop s..no dif from server to server.
OK, but my understanding for the given idea of a "WoW Killer" is that of a game that can, not only have the paying subscriber base WoW has, but also one that is directly responsible for a huge drop on WoWs player base wich, im afraid, EQ is not.
It has nothing to do with WoW current game design, wich i can tell you, and you all know, it sucks in such an epic way that most people dont even take notice of it and still think it is a great game...
Eq 2 's mistake was it focused on pve while on the same time wow included pvp. Most ppl i knew that wer eplaying wow wer eplaying it because of pvp bg's at vanilla ,arenas later on and arenas+rated bg's as it is now.Only a few of them were dedicated raiders.
If somehow eq2 had a polished combat system and smooth animations added a well organised pvp system,ladders,bg's or whatever else someone could think im sure it could be a better option for the funs of eq2/wow style mmorpgs than wow.
Logic is flawed. Bad advertisement at its inception isn't an excuse for years later once everyone and their mothers knows about, and has known about it for years since. If it was a WoW killer, it wouldn't need someone making a thread about it to do so.
That said, I agree that EQ2 is a great game. I don't agree that the 'free' version is super limited, that's the one I was playing and the only things that come with the sub version vs the free version is end-game epic gear that, unfortunately, it actually ~worse~ than Mastercrafted Gear which you can make yourself, and wear. You're limited in spell tiers, but if you look at the difference in effect from a free version of a spell, and a master version of it, the difference is overall negligable. If anything, there's not enough incentive to actually pay for the sub, probably better off just throwing some money at it and buying things you need from item mall.
But anyway, it's a good game, give it a try if you haven't. It didn't keep my attention for long, mainly because aside from endgame there's no reason to play with anyone else and, even if you go looking, you probably won't find many people if any willing to run low level content with you. But that's not a barrier of entry for everyone, if anything 'solo' mode is more popular these days. EQ2 is not as popular as it should be but it's no king of the mountain, either.
"Forums aren't for intelligent discussion; they're for blow-hards with unwavering opinions."
well, i'd have to disagree bigtime. While eq2 out does every other current MMO in terms of PVE content (by far). And eq2s animations > WoWs by miles.The combat is VERY fluid.And yes eq2 didnt have instaned pvp for many years.Instanced pvp is terrible though.It goes against what any good mmo stands for... eq2 had ludicrously great world pvp all acros norrath....and it is a very polished game haha
Well if everyone and there mothers knew about it then why when i ask others in various diff games if they'd given eq2 a try and they reply they never heard of ir..but that they did play and enjoy the original very much so..? And ya your missing out on ALOT with F2P.. only ~5 out of the 26 avalible classes with F2P..
and just like with any seasoned mmo... there wont be a large quantity of people doing the low content..most just want to get to endgame.though you can mentor down and go with your lowbie friends to any lower tier dungeons at any point and time during the game...