Eq2 / Aion / Riift

bilaggin69 · March 2013

Hey all,

Trying to decide which game to give a shot next. I have played rift pretty extensively per expat, and loved it. I haven't really played much eq2 at all, same with aion. I'm just looking for a game that takes a while to max and not really run out of content. I've only heard great things about eq2, so I'm thinking of giving it a whirl.

That said, it is an older game so it's easy to get lost in what xpacs I actually need, etc...

Anyways just looking for some opinions.

thanks!

MikeJezZ · March 2013

Aion if you like Asian games

Rift if you like PvE games

EQ2 if you like oldschool

evilastro · March 2013

The only xpacs you need for EQ2 are the latest 2. And not until you are level 90. Give it a try, they recently made the F2P model less restrictive for races and classes. Once you get to 90 its sub (or farm plat for Chrono) or leave.

Banquetto · March 2013

EQ2 certainly takes a while (yeah you'll hear people tell you that they can level from 1 to 90 in a day, but trust me, a new player with no XP bonus for max level alts, no twinking, and no knowledge of the world will not level quickly) and has a lot of content.

If you're accustomed to playing more modern games I think you will probably absolutely hate the combat gameplay - by far the worst example of tab-targetting auto-attack-and-cooldown MMORPG combat ever, imho - but try it for yourself and see what you think.

Nadia · March 2013

Originally posted by bilaggin69 I've only heard great things about eq2, so I'm thinking of giving it a whirl.
That said, it is an older game so it's easy to get lost in what xpacs I actually need, etc...

before level 86

you will have access to all EQ2 content without buying any expansions

I recommend buying Age of Discovery for access to mercenaries at all levels

w a merc its easy to do heroic content under level 86 (read dungeons)

at level 86+,

buy Chains of Eternity, it includes the DOV expansion

COE will let you boost two characters to 280 AA (280 AA is required to level beyond 90)

I recommend rolling on the Freeport or Antonia Bayle servers

spookydom · March 2013

Playing EQ2 myself at the moment. Loving it. It's huge! Bought it years ago but never really played it for long. Came back last week and really enjoying it. Combat and animations do suck ass which is weird becasue the game world can be quiet beautiful at times. Be prepared also for bad multi processor support also, If you can get past that there is a great game waiting for you. Lots of awsome race and class combo's now that the restrictions have been droped, more bank and bag space etc etc. Good time to get involved. There are some gear restrictions where you have to pay with station cash to unlock some items but who gives a crap about gear until you are end level, and if you have played all the way to level 80 or so as a free player you should probably invest some money in it by then imo. I say give it a wirll.

bilaggin69 · March 2013

Ah nice, exactly what I was looking for. Comparing eq2 to rift, which has a better pve endgame? What is there to do the same dungeon / raid / etc..

Thanks!

Theocritus · March 2013

Of the 3 its easily EQ2 for me...Thought the last couple of times I logged in I didnt see anyone the entire time....I think they eased up the f2p restrictions now thouigh and all classes/races are avaiable.

arieste · March 2013

Originally posted by bilaggin69
Ah nice, exactly what I was looking for. Comparing eq2 to rift, which has a better pve endgame? What is there to do the same dungeon / raid / etc..

Thanks!

EQ2's current: end-game is:

Approx 10 6-person instances of medium challenge level. These take 30-120min to do depending on your group, skill, etc.

2 12-person instances, one of medium challenge level, one harder. Each one has 5 or 6 boss encounters iirc. Both are doable once every 3 days and take 1-3 hours each.

5 24-Person instances. Featuring a total of 37 different named encounters as well as some loot-dropping trash encounters. Challenge level varies quite a bit ranging from extremely easy to stuff that was only killed after being in game for over a year.

6 24-person contested encounters. Each of these spawns out in the open world approx twice a week and the top guilds fight for kills them first and gets some of the best loot in the game.

In addition to this, there is some terrible PvP (if you want to PvP, pick another game) and there is lots of crafting, decorating and other activities are considered "endgame", but which I don't think you were asking about.

There is a major game update coming in May that will add new 6-person and 24-person instances.

EQ2 without a doubt has the most pre-made PvE content of any MMO. There - at last count - more that 6000 quests to do and countless older instances and zones. On the flipside, the game is over 8 years old, so the vast majority of the population is doing endgame stuff, leaving the older (lower level) content mostly empty. The good news is that the developers are aware of this and have been working to make most of hte old stuff soloable, the bad news is that you probably WILL have to solo a lot of it until you get to your 90s.

The major downside of EQ2 at the moment is that for reasons of stupidity, TWO expansions are required to be purchased to have the "full" game, each one costing about $40. For years and years you only needed to buy the most recent expac to have the entire game, but recently this has changed to now require two. These are only really required if you plan to do endgame. Otherwise you can live without either of them fairly well.

Make sure you roll on a populated server. Antonia Bayle tends to be the heaviest, so go there.

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Eq2 / Aion / Riift

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Eq2 / Aion / Riift

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