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What isthe current game experience like?
I ask because I am unsure if i want to invest time in EQ again.
I noticed that when I played a few months ago that the classes have not changed too much.
My main concern is that with the defiant armor, does that mean that you jsut collect a set of defiant every 10 levels? That almost makes me wonder if that ruined the experience of getting some of the gear we once collected in the past.
I do wonder if playing EQ with a merc takes away from the old school experience, but I know that most places in the game jsut 1 merc will not make a difference.
I guess what i mean as a returning player who has not played since LDoN, will I still enjoy EQ, or will it be so different in so many ways I would jsut not like it anymore? How is the game experience different from the LDoN days (I know that is going to have a long answer)
Nirrtix
ALPHAs:
-Pantheon
-Shroud of the Avatar
-Camelot Unchained
BETAs:
-World of Warcraft
-City of Heroes
-Star Wars Galaxies
-Saga of Ryzom
-Homeworld
-Starcraft II
-Warcraft III
-Hearthstone
-Star Wars The Old Republic
-Vanguard Saga of Heroes
Comments
The classes are basically the same as you remember them, not sure if you remember the beserker class. The game is different, and the older the zone is the worse it looks. The newest zones actually look nice. They are STILL using those awful, horrific, amateurish, Luclin models....with their lolworthy animations. If you can suffer the looks of the game, and if you can find people that are not AFK or Bots and you can get a group or a decent guild you should be set.
Here is a basic guide to EQ as a new player or a returning player who has not played in forever/. I am sure some of the stuff might be outdated...
-First thing is to decide whether or not to start a new character or work on an old character. Chances are that old character is on a server with few people. If you decide to start a new character, check to see what servers are the newest as those will probably have to most people.
-Once you do that, the goal is not levels but AA levels. You can level from 1 to 65 in about a day, just follow the HOTZONES, which are the zones that they inflated the EXP value so people can level fast. You may have veteran rewards or potions or whatever, don't bother with any of them (unless it is a mount) until you are post 65 (which is when the EXP slows down)
-Stick to the older zones (of course) because those have the weaker mobs. The newer the expansion, the tougher the mobs. So, the HOLE (the preferred lev 65 AA leveling area) mobs are weak, while a newer level 60 plus zone is much, much tougher.
-Hang around in the guild lobby, that is where most people hang out because buffs do not expire. Get the usual buffs (hitpoints, DAMAGE SHIELD, haste...etc) Don't forget about potion for damage shields though those are usually sold out at level 65ish because that is where people stop to power level AAs.
-You can try to find a guild, but most will have max level characters and a lot of people box two or three characters....but there ARE family guild available so check the board in the Guild Lobby thing.
-If you can find a reliable group around your own level, you are set. The only game that even comes close to the amount of content in EQ is EQ2 and WOW.
-Check the bazaar every now and then for decent equipment at low prices. Defiant gear will drop, you do not need it until level 65 when you can go to one of the Planes of Power hot zones to work on EXP for your AA levels.
-MERC. Tank merc to 65, yes you will out level ALL of your skills that is a given. After 65 you can grab a healer merc if you really need one, otherwise you can just stay with the tank merc. There is a merc vendor in Planes of Knowledge, they cost plat every 15 minutes but you should ok just loot everything. The rank 2 merc might require a lev 70 quest or something which will own you, so ask for help.
-There are certain quests that are still viable, some have nice bag rewards,,,,etc. I usually played with EQ Allakhazam opened up to several pages.
-EPIC quest. You do not need your first epic to get your second one, but you may need to do a pre req quest. They vary in difficulty. I just asked a help from a 85 (or whatever the high level is). They get a kick out of pwning old school mobs. Your second epic is what you want because I think you can equip it at 65 (not sure though).
-If you stick around, make sure to log on during the Fabled event as you can get great gear (again, you will need help....you will always need help).
-So you level to 65 and, depending on your class, you lock level and power level some AA EXP to get what you need. Then go to 75 and do it again. If you can find a group that is great, but sometimes it is hard.
-There is a lot of group stuff going on...but you have to suffer through ALL that AA leveling just to get there, especially if you class is ultra AA dependent.
- the graphics are not a problem
- I will be starting from scratch my highest was not near the current max anyhow.
- kk well that changes a lot if the levels fast to 65, that might explain the defiant armor.
I guess the question is when is the defiant gear no longer what you need. I jsut worry that the game is less about finding gear like the Screaming mace and more about jsut getting defiant. When do you start needing something other than defiant?
I guess what I mean is doesnt it take away from the experience if everyone just needs defiant? IS defiant just for most of the lower levels?
Nirrtix
ALPHAs:
-Pantheon
-Shroud of the Avatar
-Camelot Unchained
BETAs:
-World of Warcraft
-City of Heroes
-Star Wars Galaxies
-Saga of Ryzom
-Homeworld
-Starcraft II
-Warcraft III
-Hearthstone
-Star Wars The Old Republic
-Vanguard Saga of Heroes
Actually by the time you hit 65 - 70+ you'll find that the Defiant gear becomes less useful. Depending on the class you chose, past level 70 the mobs will do an insane amount of damage. This is perhaps one of the main reasons why AA's needs to be worked on. Around those levels (even cons), the mobs will usually hit you for around 1k damage per hit so (again depending on your class) without dmg mitigation AA's, it's almost impossible to get anything done; well, at least very challenging.
Check out the "Hero's Journey" quests. These will give you some useful gear as you move along. But, the gear rarely enable you to suddenly become superman and tear through mobs with ease. At the most some of the gear will help you survive a fight a little longer.
Just a suggestion but the FV server has a different loot system, i.e. almost nothing is No Drop / Trade, meaning that you can usually buy a lot of raid drops in bazaar (for very high prices). Most epic items are still No Drop / Trade though. This may make your journey back to Norrath a little easier. Only problem with FV server is that you can't transfer your toons off it once you're in. Only in rare circumstances will they allow a transfer out and even then you transfer naked.
Good luck and have fun.
Good lord, 1 - 65 in a day now.
Is the game mainly instanced now? Are their still open world dungeons?
I left during OOW I think it was and max was level 75.
I went back to see how the game worked in F2P and.. well.. it's already uninstalled. What the hell did they do to that game? It's morphed from the once awesome group based MMO to a copy of all the current quest grind solo MMO's. I picked a Druid to play and by Level 10 my Wisdom stat was already at the maximum 255 - I had mana regen, health regen, spell extensions, everything, a couple of levels after leaving the tutorial. I could solo everything, but if there was a hint of trouble I also had the option of a tank mercenary that seemed pretty much invulnerable to damage. He was tanking 4 mobs and his health never moved. But then again, neither did mine.
Just like every other MMO around, the game has become a solo quest grind with no danger whatsoever. I hit level 30 after 13 hours /played, though I had spent time messing around with other things so wasn't completely focused on levelling, and I still had a ton of quests to do and loads more in the foreseeable future. And I never grouped once.
What a change from what this game used to be. It's no surprise the original population moved on, the game barely resembles what it was originally. I imagine the game gets harder in the later levels, but the thought of soloing through those levels and then the thousands of AA's that would be needed to be able to reach that point makes me think, "No thank you.".
I've been playing on a new server and it seems OK. I played EQ for it's first few years, but I don't remember the program you are talking about to cheat. Anyway you can play any class solo now I believe. You just hire some mercenaries and they can fill the role of tank/healer/dps/etc. I would recommend playing a class that has a large variety of spells to new players. It makes the game experience a lot more fun. I never found Warriors/Rogues/Monks to be enjoyable. All they could do was auto attack and use few melee skills like bash/back stab/flying kick. Hybrids could buff/heal/slow/levitate/mez/lull and other neat stuff. The healers and pure casters are probably the most enjoyable though. They can bind, have high damage, and access to lots of fun spells early on in the game. Druids/Shaman/Necro are probably the most fun classes all around IMO. The Enchanter/Magician are not too bad either. The Wizard is a bit dull. All they do is nuke. Clerics are pretty dull as well. They just heal and hp/buff. Not much fun stuff.
Pretty much, the game is empty outside of people multiboxing multiple accounts. The community is gone.
This is true and one of many things that went downhill.
Verant made the game up to Velious. They left just after Kunark release.
Smedley took over under Sony, as they did to many developers beforehand the like of Core Design etc.
It like a fat finger boss think he knows everything and ignore every possible talents around him.
By disallowing boxing for a start.
Then again you know what Sony are like, profit$ come first.
If I am inferring correctly - you really didn't understand his post if you think that somehow levelling a toon is easy now. Lvl 65 is the new level 5 - and 65 to max is a long hard slog taking months and requiring lots of help. Sounds like EQ to me.
This was my experience as well. By the time I got to North Ro I had better armor then I have ever had in EverQuest including classic. An entire set with great stats.
To be fair I uninstalled it before Playing long enough to see if I could find mobs tough enough to be a challenge. This is without touching a minion.
Very true. It seems like all loot is now random drop. You can get a nice sword with good damage and stats off almost any mob. I remember having to use a rusty dagger with no stats for a long time. Eventually I got some fine steel weapons with no stats and then some magic scimitars with no stats lol. I'm not sure I ever got a weapon or armor with stats in Vanilla EQ. I think I got some when the Planes of Power was released and I got a Necromancer to high level. My poor original Ranger was always fairly weak.