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Need help with game comparison

VanazzulVanazzul Member Posts: 11

Hi guys, I've been lurking around the forums quite a bit for the past 2 weeks and have collected a lot of good information.

Though I'd need your help now... First lemme give you a little background.

I've played World of Warcraft from launch all the way to the end of BC (killed Kil'Jaeden) and then quit, due to the game becomming a health hazard (I used to play 10-12 hours a day while working 8 hours per day... had gained 120 pounds from the moment I started playing, haha). At that point, I had much to do in my life and started losing interest in MMOs. A few months back, I've started getting back into it in a more casual (yet hardcore) way.

I've played a few free MMOs but none have really got me hooked up. The main one was Runes of Magic, which I've played for about 4-5 months.

Lately, I've played Aion since first closed beta but have quit 2 weeks ago due to it being way too boring considering the lack of end-game content.

 

So here's where I need help. I am a 100% PvEer, focused on end-game content; I thrive on boss raids that involve the use of strategy/coordination. I really don't mind PvP, even if it's open, if I die, so be it, I'll run back and start again but I play to PvE. I tend to dislike F2P games as they usually are low on content.

I've been considering the following games: Everquest 2, Age of Conan and Vanguard. Also really looking forward to FFXIV (I did play FFXI back in the days but hated the combat system)

How are they comparing to WoW PvE wise? WoW obviously has a lot of end-game content, do these games offer somewhat simillar type of content? How are these game population wise (Do the servers feel empty? Is it easy to find groups/guilds for end-game?). How do a new player fare compared to the veterans; meaning would I need to go through all the original instances before being able to join a server top guild (I'm obviously not trying to jump steps but I don't want to start playing a game where it would be virtually impossible to compete with the best out there)?

That's pretty much all the questions I can think of. If you have more info you can  provide comparing the PvE experience of these games, please post away!

(If there are any other games you could suggest, feel free.

Few things the game must/must not have...

I can't stand DDO-style combat, really needs to be WoW-style combat

I can't stand cartoonish game, FlyFF or anything like that)

 

Thanks for reading this wall of text and helping me find this next game.

 

 

Oh, and I don't want to start playing WoW again... to me, it was like cocaine... I was able to quit, really don't want to start again... :)

Comments

  • Gabby-airGabby-air Member UncommonPosts: 3,440

    EQ2 would more than likely be your best bet, also i see you don't like twitch based combat but AOC has it and vanguard has a very low pop and most of the people are at cap.

  • VanazzulVanazzul Member Posts: 11

    Thanks for the info, EQ2 was my first choice, now that I'm back home, I'll grab the trial and see what it looks like.

  • drbaltazardrbaltazar Member UncommonPosts: 7,856

    ya eq2 is your best bet !the graphic are gothic in style tho ,just to let you know !and they release a new expension on the 16(boxed version)and the 23( the digital version)this expension will get a new starting area so it will be packed with new player

  • ZulTheLichZulTheLich Member Posts: 3

    I love both EverQuest II and Age of Conan. Unfortunately, Age of Conan is a bit low on content (which will seemingly be fixed with its first expansion sometime Quarter 1 2010) especially at higher levels, which is obviously what you do not want.



    If you enjoy the EQ2 trial, I'd definitely give it a shot. There are literally thousands of quests (5000+ last time I checked) and hundreds more are being added with Sentinel's Fate (as mentioned above, coming out on February 16th).



    From levels 1 through 50 ish the content is mainly questing with some dungeon-crawl type instances (mainly hack and slash, no real strategies). 50+ you can begin instances from The Shadow Odyssey which are centered around interesting lore and every boss has a detailed strategy.



    At the mid 50s, most people hit up contested dungeons to level to the low 60s, so there is plenty of grouping there. The 60s to mid 70s are, again, dominated by questing and some minor instances.



    From 75 to 80 (endgame) most people primarily group for instances. The Shadow Odyssey again shows up with dozens of instances that offer "shard quests" which award the player with void shards. You use these shards to buy armor in a tier system (Tier 1 armor is mainly for soloers and light grouping, which can be upgraded to Tier 2 for heavy grouping, and then Tier 3 for light raiding and Tier 4 for heavy raiders).



    As far as raiding, there are many raiding guild that are constantly recruiting. Raids are very detailed and require concentration as most bosses have strategies that require all the raid (24 people) to work together. Definitely not tank and spank. As far as raiding outside of guilds, there are usually 4 or 5 Ward of Element pick up raids a day (at least on the Everfrost server). Ward of Elements (WoE) is a moderate difficulty zone that can easily be completed with a pick up raid of 12 players. People run it for Tier 3 armor (mentioned above).



    From the 70s upward grouping is no issue at all. It's a bit slow at times before then, but if you find a good guild you'll have no troubles (I spend the majority of most days leveling alts with my guild, so I never need to find a group on my own).



    Of course, with Sentinel's Fate in a few weeks and with the NDA still being enforced, no one really knows how grouping will be. SoE has released information regarding at least 9 level 90 instances, though.

  • jdnewelljdnewell Member UncommonPosts: 2,237

    Most MMO's are gonna require alot of playtime in order for you to be competitive and have the best stuff. Including PvE gear, mounts, ect ect.

    If you had that much trouble with time management on WoW you really may wanna consider something very casual. Gaining 120lb while spending 12 hours a day in an MMO is a health hazard lol.

    Thats just extreme man o.O

     

    If you must play an MMO then something content lite and casual will probably be your best bet. AoC isnt a bad choice for casual play IMO.

     

    Just my opinion.

  • VanazzulVanazzul Member Posts: 11
    Originally posted by ZulTheLich


    I love both EverQuest II and Age of Conan. Unfortunately, Age of Conan is a bit low on content (which will seemingly be fixed with its first expansion sometime Quarter 1 2010) especially at higher levels, which is obviously what you do not want.



    If you enjoy the EQ2 trial, I'd definitely give it a shot. There are literally thousands of quests (5000+ last time I checked) and hundreds more are being added with Sentinel's Fate (as mentioned above, coming out on February 16th).



    From levels 1 through 50 ish the content is mainly questing with some dungeon-crawl type instances (mainly hack and slash, no real strategies). 50+ you can begin instances from The Shadow Odyssey which are centered around interesting lore and every boss has a detailed strategy.



    At the mid 50s, most people hit up contested dungeons to level to the low 60s, so there is plenty of grouping there. The 60s to mid 70s are, again, dominated by questing and some minor instances.



    From 75 to 80 (endgame) most people primarily group for instances. The Shadow Odyssey again shows up with dozens of instances that offer "shard quests" which award the player with void shards. You use these shards to buy armor in a tier system (Tier 1 armor is mainly for soloers and light grouping, which can be upgraded to Tier 2 for heavy grouping, and then Tier 3 for light raiding and Tier 4 for heavy raiders).



    As far as raiding, there are many raiding guild that are constantly recruiting. Raids are very detailed and require concentration as most bosses have strategies that require all the raid (24 people) to work together. Definitely not tank and spank. As far as raiding outside of guilds, there are usually 4 or 5 Ward of Element pick up raids a day (at least on the Everfrost server). Ward of Elements (WoE) is a moderate difficulty zone that can easily be completed with a pick up raid of 12 players. People run it for Tier 3 armor (mentioned above).



    From the 70s upward grouping is no issue at all. It's a bit slow at times before then, but if you find a good guild you'll have no troubles (I spend the majority of most days leveling alts with my guild, so I never need to find a group on my own).



    Of course, with Sentinel's Fate in a few weeks and with the NDA still being enforced, no one really knows how grouping will be. SoE has released information regarding at least 9 level 90 instances, though.

      Thanks a lot, that's great info. I've started playing the beta yesterday, graphics are horrible, specially with my last MMO being Aion... but gameplay seems interesting. Targeting system feels kinda weird but I'll get used to it.

    I'll keep playing for the remainder of the trial period see how far I can get...

  • VanazzulVanazzul Member Posts: 11
    Originally posted by jdnewell


    Most MMO's are gonna require alot of playtime in order for you to be competitive and have the best stuff. Including PvE gear, mounts, ect ect.
    If you had that much trouble with time management on WoW you really may wanna consider something very casual. Gaining 120lb while spending 12 hours a day in an MMO is a health hazard lol.
    Thats just extreme man o.O
     
    If you must play an MMO then something content lite and casual will probably be your best bet. AoC isnt a bad choice for casual play IMO.
     
    Just my opinion.

    Heh it truly was a health hazard :) But since then, I've lost 100 pounds (2 hours of gym per day except week-ends).

    Though I know about the need of getting gear to be competitive, I'll just slow down a little on the collecting/grinding money... I had over 50k gold on wow when I quit... I felt a little chinese if you know what I mean :)

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