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EQII Questions - Needing Unbiased Answers!
DarbiiRue
Member UncommonPosts: 832
in Everquest II
Considering going back to EQII after a very very long break. My boyfriend and I are curious about the following:
1. Player Population - When we first started playing, it was great however WoW took a lot of the population on its release. I've heard since the expansion EoF has come out that the population has "doubled-in-size," is this true?
2. How does it feel to be a lowbie? Is there enough people to provide a good experience for a lowbie with no ties or connections to anyone on the server?
3. Graphics - I've also heard that there have been dramatic increases in graphic quality. By this I mean, a high end computer (which we both have) can run this game on High with no issues of lag what-so-ever, is this also true?
Some unbiased opinions on this would be very welcomed, and may produce two semi-new faces to the EQII community (at least until WAR comes out!)
1. Player Population - When we first started playing, it was great however WoW took a lot of the population on its release. I've heard since the expansion EoF has come out that the population has "doubled-in-size," is this true?
2. How does it feel to be a lowbie? Is there enough people to provide a good experience for a lowbie with no ties or connections to anyone on the server?
3. Graphics - I've also heard that there have been dramatic increases in graphic quality. By this I mean, a high end computer (which we both have) can run this game on High with no issues of lag what-so-ever, is this also true?
Some unbiased opinions on this would be very welcomed, and may produce two semi-new faces to the EQII community (at least until WAR comes out!)
Comments
2. How does it feel to be a lowbie? Well you level reletively fast, so you're not a lowbie that long. There are enough quests varied gear and dungeons at low level to be as isolated or surrounded by others as you want.
3. Graphics. The graphics have never been updated. there are alternate player models, but the core graphics have always been super-high end. Its the computers catching up that make them look 'new or updated'. The settings like 'high' are determined by the machine running it, not a universal standard, so high for your computer is different then high for mine. You can manually adjust settings to match other computers however. The graphics are stunning, and always have been, but it is tailored to a particular style.
~ Adam
I just picked up EQII for the first time this past weekend...had never even seen it before.
I started in the new expansion area from EoF. I also have not left this area yet, I am still in Greater Faydark, moving sort of slow as I am learning the crafting system a bit before I adventure too much.
Population: There are people around, but not a ton, at least on my server, they were all listed as Medium, not sure if others have more players though on average. I have seen some other low level characters, they have been around. I have grouped once to share a kill in a mini dungeon thing and have assisted others in combat with heals and such..so there are people.
Kellethin or however it is...seems to have people at all times..but not big crowds. The market board usually has a gathering..and the main crafting house almost always has a few people working away.
2: Answered part of this I think. There are people that talk on the lvl 1-9 channel quite a bit. I havnt had a lot of time to play so far...so I havnt even really had a chance to make connections with people...but I have used the chats to ask for assistance twice with crafting...and both times I was met with a few good responses and very friendly people.
3: The graphics I think are pretty good. I am coming from WoW, then Vanguard as my last two games. I have a fairly decent system and cannot max the sliders...not that that means much though as far as how they look. They are good though...the lighting effects are fantastic..some of the best I have seen in an online game.
Hope this helps some...not sure how the game use to be...but right now its good and friendly to new players.
As an aside...my GF has watched over my shoulder me playing WoW,VG,NWNII,BF2142 and some other games and has never had an interest before. She has said twice she is sort of interested in making a character in EQII though.
1. Doubled..Nah ?!!!? Well I can only spek for the server i currently play and NO..But there is a good and healthy playerbase thou
2. Yes there is..I guess it depends on server choice thou..
3.There hasnt been a graphical upgrade..If tthat was what you ment..but....
The performance of EQ2 is today alot better than 2 years ago..But you will NOT be able to run it on "high" all the time "with no hick ups what so ever"..EQ2 Is still one of the most demanding MMORPG's on the market and the hardware hasnt yet reached all of the games potencial, even thou you can run the game on the absolute highest of settings with the latest hardware you wont get it playable all around at MAX setting..
But the game will most certainly will play good on your new computers
I have a AMD4000 and FX7800GTX and the game does perform very good at 1600x1200 at high settings, but as I said..from time to time the game gets slower, but this is mostly in areas where is really doesnt matter that much, like Qeynos/Freeport.
Also..If you have 2GB RAM it will speed up zoning alot..
PS..To note there is currently some issues regarding the latest Nvidia cards 8800, so If you got one of these cards EQ2 will run good but not better than the above card.
/Thark
ATI Radeon x800XL 256MB
P4 3.2GHz Processor
2Gigs of Ram
Should be decent, last time I was running with an Radeon 9800XT Pro and 1gig of ram, and it did decently on that, so with 2gigs and a much better graphics card I think Im in business.
Thank you for the answers!
1. Play on one of the two RP PvE servers. They have nice healthy populations and player base. Best is to choose a starting Race / Class that can be in the new Fae zones.
2. Lowbie experience is better (my opinion) in the new Fae zone. Your milage may vary, but I like it. Almost to many folks when I went through. Planning on a new character again, but have no current info. Should be fine.
3. Graphics perform much better now. Areas have been optimized for performance. Still cannot run on Highest Quality, but can run much higher than a year+ ago. But, you will still need a good system to do this.
It is certainly worth the price of the Retail box Echos of Faydwar to try again.
That is correct. EoF has it all. Download has *only* EoF.
Even if you have *all* the other CDs and such, EoF is still a good buy to get it all on one DVD with the most up-to-date files (for hard-copy media).
I think you will be able to run it on balanced very well with that card..and on high maybe but not so well(Here you will get slowdowns in some zones)...There is still 2 more "default " even higher settings and these you cant run with that computer, altou in some zones it will work to activate them aswell...
Balanced and High looks good enough thou, I usually set it on high..then I tweak the setting to "custom" based out of high..
/Thark
My wife and I had played together for about 6 months. We stopped because of her school and money. We were in a good guild, not huge, but very friendly players. We rejoined about a month ago and now have been playing pretty much every night! We really missed the game. We play well together, just the two of us, but we have several friends that play as well. Unfortunately, our old guild broke apart, so we started our own. We are not looking to recruit or grow, but we have always wanted to have one anyway.
As for your questions...
1 - Population. I believe it has grown. We keep commenting on how many people we see around Queynos. It really feels alive, and that keeps us interested. We are on Lucan D'lure, so I dont know how population is on other servers.
2 - Lowbie. As stated previously, you are not a lowbie for very long. Stay on the Isle through 8-10, then you can get to 15 pretty quickly. We work as a two person team, and have started characters in Freeport. Things are still interesting for just the two of us. I really don't think we will have trouble finding people to play with when we reach the higher levels. Our mains are 49 and 48, but we are often playing our around 20's as well.
3 - I have always liked the graphics in EQ2. I just tanked my machine, so I gave my wife an extra gig of ram (she has 2 now) and my 6800 GT video card. It really looks great! She was playing on an ATI 9800 pro and usually one step down from 'balanced'. She is now on balanced, and sometimes one step up and LOVES the difference! I usually customize the graphics for myself, going lower on the models and higer on the environment.
I really enjoy having a spouse who is interested in the game with me. We game regularly with another couple, and his brother as well as another friend. I agree with the earlier poster who feels there is a higher population of couples playing this game. My wife and I are glad that we came back, and we have a long way to go before we leave again!