Is it realy worth comming back now?

Elivo

I have a LVl 50 Iksar SK in EQ2, played the game for a while and i did enjoy it while playing, but the grind of getting a group just got to be too much and i found myself out soloing more then i wanted to, so I left for WOW(again)

Now im into LOTRO and haveing a good time there, but as of late i have been feeling a bit EQ2ish.

So my question is this, is it even worth trying to return now or has the population moved so far above 50 that getting a group would be at the best very time consuming?

I also like to mess with alts, so is there much of a lower lvl population anymore?

 

Im sure that there has been a ton of these posts but i would like to get the most current info out there on this matter rather then stuff posted a whlie back.

 

Thanks for all your input in advance

Neopsych

Like you I played EQ2 religiously since beta but needed a change. I swapped to WOW, which after EQ2 felt like an underwhelming experience, and now play LOTRO. I like this new game but it just feels like EQ2 in a different package.

 

I have recently gone back to EQ2 and restarted some new chars - lovin every second. The bizarre aspect is that having spent some time off, playing in the old zones are like rekindling fond memories.

The community are as good as ever and I am glad i took the break so I can come back and enjoy it all again.

Abraxos

Neriak is the new evil city patch (free, released last week) and it is quite crowded. It offers content similiar to Faydwer for the evil side and has been really fun for me. I am just returning after quitting two months after release. I couldn't stand EQII before and now am loving it. My wife feels the same way and we both have the Norrath bug again. I'm not sure about lvl 50's finding groups or not but certainly a new batch of  characters are leveling up into the 20's right now with the new patch. In November they will introduce the Sarnak's and the Kunark expansion and you will see even more alts.

OBK1

Come back! This is a fantastic game that keep getting better. I see a lot of people in the low level zones, at the moment most of them are in the Neriak zones. Lots of alts of course, but I think there is a steady stream of new players as well.

dpf1978

You can absolutely solo all the way to 70 if you want to.

Clatil

And as you level up, which you can do solo, groups are easier to find along the way. Also with the last patch the LFG tool was upgraded. I haven't been able to play since, so I don't know what exactly this entails, but perhaps that will help some too. But I only sometimes had difficulty finding a group while playing, and that was on a PvP server with half the possible player pool to group with.

edmonal

Grouping can be a challenge at times. The community is small enough that a lot of people only play with friends and have sworn off PUGs altogether. I find it more difficult as I get up in lvls to find PUGs, and if you factor in PUGs that are decent, they are few and far between. The other factor is what class you play, some classes are more needed then others. I'm hoping that the new lfg tool will help in getting groups.

Elivo

I went ahead and reinsalled EQ2, im suppriesed by all the lower lvls esp in the new neriak area.  So i made a DE wizard and have been having a good time.

 

I also have been useing my SK (now 51) and so far have been ok on getting groups together.  Ive notieced that most of the LFG chat i see is for mid 50's and up so it should go ok.

But the newb area of neriak is booming right now. Nice lay out and the quests are fun and easy to get to.  And neriak itself is so much better then dealing with freeport.

Gammit100

So I SHOULD get back into this game?  I mostly solo-ed (groups around my level were rare) a Ranger to mid-low 20s, and then gave up.  The game more friendly to pick-up groups now?

Elivo

The new LFG tool is real nice, sort of like the one from old eq but with more options on it.

And i have seen alot of low-mid lvl groups going since going back, you have to do some looking but most times i think they are pretty fast to come by.

But this also depends on your server, Im on the AB server and it is mostly in the yellow as far as population.  The pvp server is almost always red.

VSRayven

I've just returned to EQ2 after a year out & it's like i've never been away.

1st night online my old guild took me back the proceeded to Kit my Necro out with some stuff they had in the back.

Next i went out and did a bit of exploring and picked up a few quests on the way.  After playing a few mins i got a tell from a conjurer asking if i wanted to group as he was doing the same quests.  I warned him that i was very rusty as this was my 1st night back. 

Have to admit we had a great laugh & even though he died once & i managed to Feign death & ressurect him we totally cleaned the place out & took out a few nameds.  Got a few spell upgrades too.

It's so good to see the EQ2 community is very good & my 1st night back was a real blast.

I've been back now nearly a week & it's like i've never been away.

I recommend any veteran looking to come back to give it a try, things have definetly improved after a year & there is so much to do group / raid / solo.

I even like the revamped crafting

Cillasi

Now would probably be the best time to come back, especially since the release of the Anniversary Edition that has all the expansions for $40.or less (if you can find it).  There are probably more new players around than there has been in a long time.

There's lots of new content and lots of soloable stuff.  The fastest way to level solo is probably to do quests.  There's been lots of changes to the quest part of the game.  Most quests are now in "quest lines" and confined to their related zone and it is possible to exhaust the quests in a zone by which time, you'd probably best be moseying along to the next tier zone anyway. 

On the downside, most dungeons have been pushed up to mostly group content with lots of heroic and epic mobs.  Great for the group-oriented player, perhaps, but sucks for soloers who would like to at least see the dungeons.

 

   

Chikaca

Why is this game #2 on the highest ranked MMO's?

Is it a completely different game than it was at launch? What has happened?

I played it for about a month at lauch got to 50 and quit. It felt like being on a leash.. the most forcing game mechanics I have ever experienced. Totally hated it.

Is it any different now?

Jakard

It really is a fantastic game... and they've come a long way since the release (although I thought it was great back then too). They have made great strides to giving the community the game they want. Kudos to SOE! Yeah, I said it... sue me. LOL

WSIMike

Originally posted by Chikaca


Why is this game #2 on the highest ranked MMO's?
Is it a completely different game than it was at launch? What has happened?
I played it for about a month at lauch got to 50 and quit. It felt like being on a leash.. the most forcing game mechanics I have ever experienced. Totally hated it.
Is it any different now?

Well, for one... the EQII people at SOE have *really* been listening to the players' overall. I'm seeing things making their way into the game now that people felt were missing at the initial launch and for a time after that.



For one thing, if you check out the "Play The Fae" trial, you'll find, I think, that it's almost like a whole different game than it was. It feels different. They've really brought the Fantasy back into it, without losing the overall style or scale of the world itself. Things are more colorful (not "WoW colorful", mind you - just more fantasy), there are alot more bizarre and unique creatures roaming the areas, and it's clear the designers were given more lee-way to let their imaginations run wild. These are all good things.



Even the "Isle of Refuge" has been re-envisioned and re-done. Now, instead of completing the IoR, almost as a "neutral" and then heading off to the appropriate city at the end, there are two different versions of it. One version is for the evil folks, one is for the good folks. While the basic geography is the same, the "details" are different on each, the creatures are different on each and the quests are completely different on each. It's really a very different experience for each side - and I think this is very cool. Some of the evil-side quests are just.. .well.. .evil... killing "goody-goodies" and even their pet wolves by burning down their tents and the like. Heheh.



The thing is, with EoF... that only really gave a new starting area to the good side, as well as a race only playable by the good side; and it provided a *very* different experience for a new player than the IoR ever did, not least of all, because you start in the actual main game world, not on an isolated island out in the ocean somewhere. There's nothing stopping you from venturing off into another zone of the world, and, you could very well get from1-70 without ever leaving the EoF areas.



So, with the update of Neriak and its new area, they've done the same thing. Darklight Forest = Greater Faydark, only for the evil folks. Like EoF, it gives the evil side a new starting area with a much more "fantasy" feel and is also connected to the main world. You can access the Commonlands or Nektulos Forest directly from Darklight Forest, so you can make your way to Freeport when you're ready.



In all, I really really applaud the EQII team for their efforts of late.. they're really putting effort into making the world a more "fantastic" place to be...

Unknown

In reference to WSIMIKE's post I would have to say the new starting areas and the seperation of those starting areas have to be one of the bigger improvments in the game.  I really would like to see more of this.  It adds some replayability and variety.  Hell move everyone out of Freeport and Qeynos, have those races build new areas,  and make the racial areas in the Qeynos and Freeport more quest hubs for all levels.  (Racial quests would be cool).