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[Column] EverQuest Next: Five Things We Dont Want in EverQuest Next
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Last week we took a look at five things we'd really love to see in EverQuest Next. This week, we look at the flip side and offer our choices for things we do not want to see in EQN. See if you agree before adding your choices in the comments.
I'll make no bones about it, EverQuest is my favourite MMORPG and, quite possibly game, of all time. From those opening moments witnessed as a dorky 9 year old, to the absolute thrill of hearing the word "Qeynos" uttered out loud, I'm an unashamed Norrath fanboy. In the next few days, Sony Online Entertainment will be unveiling more about their MMO sequel. I begged our Managing Overlord, Bill Murphy for any and all information on the game, but he’s decidedly mum about the thing. Instead he tasked me with this article. Before the parade of information from SOE Live starts to bombastically march into town, here are the five things I don’t want to see in EverQuest Next.
Read more of Adam Tingle's The List: Five Things We Don’t Want in EverQuest Next.
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Comments
+1
Dont like either see damm faes or pandas running around.
Funny thing about "fantasy fans", we are all racist.
Yup. you hate Fae, I hate Elves.
Bringing me to the conclusion that I agree with your list, except the restriction on Fae. I just don't see how including this or excluding that race has any effect on game play. If done correctly any "race" should fit.
Research the lessor god Pan a bit, before you cast a "childish" light on Fae.
I agree too with the list. Always seems the fans are much smarter and more imaginative then devs. Heres hoping these guys FINALLY wake up and finally give us a true MMO. Heres hoping they don't cave in and try to copy you know who, to get x amount of money.
If this MMO in anyway reminds of the epic disaster that SWTOR was - I will for sure be done with MMOs and any hope that there is any Dev out there with any common sense.
Don't screw this up SOE.
great list adam!
thank goodness you didnt have a problem with frogloks, we would have had to rumble!!
FROOOOAAAK!
RIP Ribbitribbitt you are missed, kid.
Currently Playing EVE, ESO
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
Dwight D Eisenhower
My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.
Henry Rollins
Seamless worlds, lots of individual character choices rather than a linear story on rails, SOE, hmm, hmm, where have I heard these things before?... Seems like there was some game... the name Koster floats by in the aether...
Adam, I loved STAR WARS GALAXIES too. Unfortunately, the "lessons" of GALAXIES are baked into SOE's DNA by now. And they have seen what the new audience likes in MMO's. I suspect you'll have five disappointments when EQN is revealed.
No 2 makes me laugh because an Iconic Folklore type creature breaking immersion in a "Fantasy" setting.. has to be a joke...
The only thing I personally don't agree with is the "instance" point. The last thing I want to see in a new game... is 2000 people standing around in a place full of "epic danger" with absolutely no danger.. because everything is dead.
That is one of the most immersive breaking things in MMO's for me. "Oh look a dungeon full of adventurers... and nothing else.." Altho I guess that's a good argument for FFA PvP...
I'm fine with instances, I just don't want them used to an extent that they are in pretty much every MMO. There are simply some things you can do in an instance that you can't do in an open world zone, but they definitely need to be used sparingly.
Things I don't want to see include tiered content, multiple difficulty levels of the same content, reused content, and a linear progression path that every single character follows.
I dont want combat that is clunky and exhausting like rifts. Its 2013 and if wow could do it in 2004, then even a caveman should be able to do it today. (No offense to those cavemen out there reading the mmorpg forums)
I dont want the "everyone wins" mentality. When I aquire items they should be hard for me to aquire and thus rewarding, not just freely given for logging in or time played or because I spent x amount of dollars in a cash shop. Dont just let me take it all for granted like the mainstream does.
I agree and disagree. I want the game world to be as large as it can be with no zones but to have really awesome UGC you need zones. For the sake of UGC I hope there is zones. As for linear game play. I really hope EQN is 60% sandbox and 40% themepark. Taking a ride once and a while is fun but I also want to be able to create my own story when I want to be engaged more deeply.
As for the races my hope is they have all the races for EQ1 and EQ2 and new ones as well. I would love for players to have the ability to pick the story they want and live the fantasy dream they want. As for story on rails, I hope there is real options in the story. SWToR did a great job with VO story but the options were mostly fake. I would like to see story with some vast different outcome. But thats a huge request. Can it be done without costing the moon? Im not sure.
I liked the Fae, but frogloks could go die in a fire for the same reasons you didn't like the fae.
TBH, I expect we will see all the races represented. The Fae are a huge draw to some, and a market share I doubt SOE will ignore.
Solid list, minus the Fae... not because of my like, or dislike of them, but because of choice and variety. There should always be tons of choices, regardless if you like them or not.
My personal "do not want", is a PvP centric game. If this is supposed to be a sandbox mmo, lets not bring idiotic, non-real rivalries to the game. If there is a rhyme or reason to it, like the froglocks and the trolls, then it should be allowed... but not of this 100% open pvp... Not only will it kill inmersion, but it also means that the PvE game has to be balanced around what could be overpowered in PvP. Wizards or Enchanters that cannot do their crowd control job properly because if done to another player they would cry and moan that it is too powerful to be mesmerized during a pvp match... 2cp
Another thing to add. No themepark, at all. I don't want to be swept away on a guided story. I want to start out as a clueless barbarian in Halas, standing in front of my guildmaster with nothing but a club and a note. The guildmaster says I need to gain in levels, but provides no other quests than that.
In order to find quests, I want to be required to talk to people. NO Exclamation points over their heads. I want to be required to actually follow a conversation with he quest giver, find out what they want or need and then have to figure out how to get that.
And I really hope they include Heritage quests, I really enjoyed playing those in EQ2. Questing that legendary item that was carried over from EQ1 was a major nostalgic blast.
Here is my issue with story and "creating our own" - you won't be a farmer. EQ is not a farmer game, it is not and has not been about crops. Now if they were to add in elements of SWG and a player economy then I could see that happening.
If they are not giving us stories, which is fine, then more than creating stories with anecdotes of play, I want the ability to meaningfully and permanently CHANGE THE WORLD. Unique advesaries who, once killed are dead forever. Real housing that changes the landscape. Real ability to affect the politics and poetics of my server. Otherwise its still story on rails, but rails of my own making.
Just My 2 Lunars
I agree with this whole heartedly. I would however forego the Fae Hating if they were implemented similar to those in Rift.
+1
Who's "we"
I played EQ for 13 years and instancing delivered the best expansions bar none.
LDON, OOW (Proving grounds trials + pizza instances), DON, DOD.
They were THE best expansions.
Instances are GREAT if you do them right.
i'd much rather have instances than multiple servers. What i want is instancing and travel done well, not completely ignored for the sake of some ridiculous throwback that stopped being relevant 15 years ago. Refusing to acknowledge or use modern concepts is how you end up with crap like Vanguard.
I've no issues with fae either. What i don't want is financial logic dictating the game's races, some games (vanguard is another example) wanted all the races to be based off the same base model so that it's easier and cheaper to make armor. This resulted in all races looking the same and made little sense. i really want a diversity of races, with unique models, body types and animations. (and they better include ratonga!)
I agree with 3 and 1 though. Story in an MMO should center on the world, not on each character. You can still have an amazing story even if every single one of us is not it's main hero, but just helping.
Honestly, just give me LoTRO's vast and interesting world, SWG's brilliantly integrated non-combat systems, EQ2's endgame and ratonga and i'll be a happy camper.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
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Currently Playing: ESO
You mean if they could add elements of their most successful sand box game to their "next" sandbox game? I don't think that requires a great leap in faith.
I have to agree the fae are lame. EQ1 races plus Kobolds and Ratonga would be good for me.
I know it's going to have things that I don't want to see (a ton of crafting drops and then, astonishingly, $8 large inventory bags for carrying your crafting drops in the store). I'd like a seamless world with occasional instanced content for groups and raids, but the better gear and drops would be from "contested" areas. PVE competition was a cool thing.
And like the vast majority of fantasy online players, I don't want to see FFA PVP. If you let other people ruin my gameplay, I am not going to play your game.
Pretty good list...
I dont have a huge issue with Fae but i could lvie without them hahaha..
100% agree!
No Instances!
No tiny world!
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
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