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POK is still the problem with EQ and has been for years
POK is a poor fantasy city. I think what would pump life back into EQ is to give players a reason to hang out in old world cities (Freeport, Qeynos, Halas, etc...). Have auction houses and banking and training and such ONLY in those places. Or mostly so....
As far as travel in this huge, huge, huge, world, I think the same teleportation spires can exist in those cities, just eliminate POK altogether.
Just my two coppers.
Comments
Yes. People need to hang out in the original cities.
However, the reason should not be because PoK does not exist. Rather, there should be content immediately available in the surrounding areas for all levels.
I am still, from years ago, shocked that in EQ they designed entire new cities that caused a mass migration. I think it was the beginning of the end in many ways. I think if they would have added dungeons (and instances) surrounding the old continents, it would have been more fun, authentic, and retained many subscribers.
I would love if they would make take the PoK and while still retaining it as-is as far as it's layout and content, and make it have only limited usefulness in travel. Yes every starting city should be able to reach the PoK with relative ease. But why not make it a little difficult to initially gain access? Why not make a requirement for using the teleportation books/stones? How about a quest for using the book nearest to your starting city? Why not make players actually visit locations before being able to fast travel there via the PoK? How about needing to have an expendable item to use the stones so you have to actually weigh the convenience against the cost? There are a lot of ways the PoK could be improved, but SoE will never do it. It seems to me that they have convinced themselves that they did it right the first time and won't look back. We can always hope, but I do think it would be in vain.
Most of the simple ideas I cited would also help give more usefulness to the teleportation abilities of the Wizards and Druids. I play a druid myself, and while I came after the advent of the PoK, there were still some places I could port to that were useful. I do miss the times of being able to give people rides when they were in need. I never asked for payment, but of course accepted donations (and yes I'm one of those rare players that makes a distinction between payment and donation). It was a source of immersion, a feeling of community, just plain fun to RP when you're bored, and a minor source of livelihood.
I agree I have to admit, PoK was one of my hates of the game. Not so much because it had instant travel, but just because it is such a bland area.(as are all the planes of power) As people have said its ok as a plane but shouldn't be the central meeting point.
It would be easier than you think, IMO to change the PoK travel system, putting both Druids and Wizards back to work - it's the Plane of Knowledge! Don't you need to be level 46+ to travel to the planes?! And there you go. Repopulate the racial newbie areas.
The problem with this is, now, EQ1, no longer supports a large enough low end population to make racial newbie areas, entertaining (or viable). Which puts everyone right back into Glooming Deep Mines and skipping the racial areas.
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My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me.
It would be easier than you think, IMO to change the PoK travel system, putting both Druids and Wizards back to work - it's the Plane of Knowledge! Don't you need to be level 46+ to travel to the planes?! And there you go. Repopulate the racial newbie areas.
The problem with this is, now, EQ1, no longer supports a large enough low end population to make racial newbie areas, entertaining (or viable). Which puts everyone right back into Glooming Deep Mines and skipping the racial areas.
Ugh, Glooming Deep. There's another problem in my opinion. To me it was quite valuable to have started the game as a complete newbie (I didn't even read the instruction booklet and still have screwy stats), and learning how to play as I go. I remember getting my butt kicked by fish in Surefall Glade. I also remember being taught how to fish by a friendly ranger who also happened to be there. The Glooming Deep, just lays it all out a little too simply so that there is no learning curve. Add that to the fact that it gives too much xp with next to no effort, so people end up whizzing by the first handful of levels without really learning anything meaningful in the process.
Whenever I recommend to someone to give EQ a try, I always tell them to skip the tutorial, or risk ruining the experience of the game. I was lucky, that there was no tutorial when I made my first character (which is still my main). Nothing ever amounts to the experience with that first character, the first time you play the game. Going through the tutorial seems to cheapen that experience in my opinion.
Well since you brought it up...
My feelings on the topic are similar to those above. However, would go further to say the beginning of the end of the "Golden Age of EQ" started with Shadows of Luclin expansion. I know myself and a few others thought the lore was going "coo-coo" by going to the moon. That being said, Planes of Power expansion with Plane of Knowledge (PoK) was the last nail in the coffin. The PoK books totally removed the old world from the equation.
However, it didn't have to be that way. SOE could have not even added any books except to the Plane of Tranquil (PoK). I would have gone a step further and made PoK only allowed for level 48+ and have to be taken their by a wizard, much similar to how the planes were intended at the release of EQ. Furthermore, I'd not added NPC teleportation scions to wizard spires in Norrath. Instead, I'd made it only possible to visit the moon via a PC wizard who could only cast the spells inside the spires.
I can hear some of you now screaming, "Thats too much power for a wizard." My response would be, "This game was built on class inter-dependance. By doing such a thing you slow travel, but don't make it impossible. Before you know it you'd have people willing to shuttle you around for a small fee. The more people who are seen making money at it, they more people will do it and the cheaper the price."
Anyways, that is not how the game evolved. I am in full support of a "Classic" server and would re-subscribe to play there. I would also consider playing in a completely re-vamped EQ without the PoK Books, return newbie zones to the old world, and other oddies that have dumbed down EQ.
Long Live EQ Classic or EQ v.3
Honos
Past: EQ, EQ2, DAoC, SWG, WoW, LotR, VG, WAR, GW, GW2, Rift
Present: The Elder Scrolls Online
Future: Everquest Next
I agree but I also in a sense disagree. I like LUCLIN a lot, although many do not. The beastlord class is my current main, and I love that class for dps, offtanking, grouping, solo, and so-on.
PoP - with zerg-raiding, flagging, and all those gods ruined it.
GoD- was the anti-fun and ultimate zerg-raiding and bug-killing game-destroyer.
If they could some how create a progression server that does not really include PoP and GoD, I would be happy. I must say, even thinking about it more, I really enjoyed LUCLIN a lot. I would like a progression server that is not zerg-guild oriented (no progression timeline) and opens each expansion after several months. The moment they create that, I will sign-up.
Great points made by everyone.
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
Since PoP expansion was released, I haven't felt the way since.
For me, I actually liked PoP. (don't shoot me before I can explain) Everything before PoP was great. I mean really great. I actually liked Luclin, except for a few things that kind of sucked about it, but for the most part I liked it. The thing I hated about PoP though, was that it basically killed travel and threw immersion out the window. But what I loved about PoP was the raid progressions (PoStorms was always fun) and especially the Lore. I know a lot of people hate PoP for the raids, but I liked it because it was in my eyes, the true End-Game for EQ. It was the end of the road, the final destination of the long journey. By that same token it sucks because it's an MMO and it shouldn't have a true End-Game, but still it was fun to have that to work for.
My main still hasn't been fully PoTime flagged (he's lazy and not in a raid guild). And I won't quit EQ until he is. I also won't settle for being 85%'d into a zone for flagging. Everything after PoP has been progressively worse, and PoP in my eyes remains the End-Game content, and if I were ever to cancel my subscription it won't be until after I've completed everything that expansion has to offer.
So I guess in the end, I love PoP for a lot of the same reasons I hate it. I like the raid content, but I hate that it's pretty much a raid only expansion and was the beginning of that trend that EQ would follow from then on. I loved the Lore, but it had such a sense of finality to it that it left them with little place else to go, and Lore quality has just sucked since then. I love the IDEA of the PoK as a repository of knowledge and wisdom where lore would be all around you, but hate that it destroyed travel in the process, and became such a hang out that sucked the life out of the rest of the cities. All in all, PoP was a good idea, and could have been an AMAZING expansion, but ended up being the beginning of the end. It could still be salvaged if SOE were willing, but they would never go for it.
But for non-raiders it wasn't so hot. Which is why LDoN was released next!
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
I played a wizard...and started pre-Kunark. I choose a human (*gasp* heretic! I hear you cry...well f'off min maxers I was a ROLEPLAYER dang it!) and chose Freeport for my home city. The most memorable time of my young magical career was when I turned level 16 and was able to finally cast the spell invisibility. Only one problem...I was in Freeport and the only place that scroll could be purchased (at that time) was Erudin. I had to RUN from Freeport to Qeynos, hop a boat, and then find the vendor in Erudin. It took me most of a day to accomplish this as I died several times to Griffons and Ghouls in West Karana and met a kindly elven mage who crafted me some silk armor. In short I was FORCED to have a great adventure and meet a kind friend that I grouped with for months after that because I had no choice but to travel. So yes PoK has killed some of the fun in the game, but so has much of the other 'simplifying' that has occured.
I think a lot of people enjoy forced travel (exploration) in an unpredictable world that has a real and authentic feel to it.