Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Veteran EQ player choosing EQII or WoW...ugh.. Help?!

Greetings all,

I'm hoping to run into some people who have played EQ since it's release way back then who played EQ for years, and recently switched to either WoW, EQII or both. I am really in a hard place when it comes to either sticking with my familiar world of Norrath and delving into EQII, or heading into a (what looks like) flawlessly created game of World of Warcraft. I know a decent amount of information about both, and have tried other places to check out reviews and comparisions. Most of the comparisons I find are from people who haven't played MMORPGs for very long and I can't really trust their input image . I've been a member of this site for a while although this is my first post. I'll give some things of what I like about a MMORPG and maybe people could lead me in the right direction.

(in order of importance)

  • A serious, knowledgeable, somewhat older player base.
  • Content that will leave me living in my expensive Herman Miller desk chair.
  • A good guild population that "gets-er-dun". (ex. Fires of Heaven in EQ)
  • PvP is a plus, but not required.
  • Good graphics to push my 4th gen card.
  • Quality, Quality, Quality, No Bugs, No Bugs, No half content...ok you get it.

Thanks in advance for any help from you guys. I will surely take your advice. I have also added a quick poll for people who dont want to contribute as much advice. Thanks again!

 

 

Chonka Kimoto 70 Shaman (EQ I since beta) - Retired
Azuri Spiritweaver 26 Mystic / 13 Craftsman (EQ II) - Retired due to boredom
Azuri Jingizu W/N20 (Guild Wars)

image

image

«1

Comments

  • TackleburyTacklebury Member UncommonPosts: 295
    I've been playing EQ1 for 4.5 years and recently gave my account to a friend still playing the old version.  I wasn't impressed with EQ2, but my wife likes and plays it.  WoW has some great new features and is quite fun, although the player base is a bit young and guilds are still nubile.  I was in Ring of Shadows guild in EQ1 and we had a pretty nice group of mature adults with some nice kids in the mix.  I haven't messed with the guilds in WoW yet however, because I will probably be switching to D&L or Mourning or D&D Online once they are out and I see which I prefer.  Peace and good luck though on your decision.

    Tacklebury --}>>>

  • AdrenalNAdrenalN Member Posts: 28

    They are both mediocre as far as Im concerned.

  • ChonkaChonka Member Posts: 27
    If you say they are mediocre....have you played them both? What did you like or dislike about them?

    Chonka Kimoto 70 Shaman (EQ I since beta) - Retired
    Azuri Spiritweaver 26 Mystic / 13 Craftsman (EQ II) - Retired due to boredom
    Azuri Jingizu W/N20 (Guild Wars)

    image

    image

  • herculeshercules Member UncommonPosts: 4,924
    Try both and see.
  • KaneKane Member Posts: 780

    Having played and being unimpressed by EQ1, I dont know how much you'll trust my opinion. Reason I didn't like EQ1 was the VERY slow grind and throw-away quests in low levels that didn't keep me interested long enough to get anywhere.

    So, I'd have to say, EQ2 is a big improvement as theres lots of content everywhere. MUCH improved crafting system IMO. Good overall, but still a bit on the slow side.

    WoW is very fast paced, lots of stuff to do contantly. Never have to just kill...you'll always have a few quests to be working on and the bonuses for doing them is quicker leveling and good items. Its fast paced and just generally fun. The crafting may not be nearly as deep as EQ2, but you can make usefull equipment and its better than MOST MMORPG crafting...except maybe Horizons, but thats another story.

    Given all that, I do prefer the fast pace and constant activity of WoW over the slower, slightly deeper EQ2.

  • AdrenalNAdrenalN Member Posts: 28

    Ok, Im going to really quickly sum this up, I could write a long ass post about it but I don't have time or really feel like it.

    I found EQ2 to be pretty bland. Seemed to suffer from a lack of creativity. Some classes were very similar. Only had 2 starting citys. Very linear and tiered game, level 10-20 in this zone, then move one zone out and level from 20-30 etc. The main factor was my dislike for there lock-combat system. The whole game feels extreemly locked down. This is a real turn off to most people. Doesn't leave a whole lot of freedom or choice to the player. It totally killed the immersion for me. Got to level 20 and could no longer make my self log on.

    I found WoW to be mainly a solofest. I enjoy grouping. I know a bunch of people IRL that are playing but they were not my leval. Noone really groups up for experiance. I like joining random pick-up groups. I don't mind group-grinding. Some people do, some people will like they fact that you can solo 1-60 at a faster pace than you could level in a group. I, however, do not. I don't like the way you don't really get many new abilities after 20, you just get upgraded versions of the one you had. The levels strat you use at 20 will probubly look very similar to the strat your using at 50. I did like the enviroment graphics, but I hated the character models. The instances are probubly fun, but I always had someone in my group atleast 10 levels higher than me, turnning the whole instance into a lawnmover job. Some of the classes have major balance problems. The server stability is pretty bad right now. The community is weak. I hate quest, atleast the quest in WoW. Go kill X number of these, come back, go kill y number of those, no thanks. I made it to 36 before becoming bored, had a few other characters too. I can't stand to grind exp solo, some can, they will probubly like the game.

    Im personally looking foward to Dark and Light and Vanguard. Pretty sure Vanguard will be good, DnL could be really good, or complete brick, I want to keep my expectations to a minimum.

  • ReapaReapa Member Posts: 30

    I personally tried both of them, I bought all the guides and went all out on both of them. I first went with EQII (i'm also an EQ veteran) so it was my first choice. Although I agree the community in EQII is slightly "older" they never help you. There's no soloing what so ever so that could go either way for you, but im more of a Lone wolf myself ::::28:: . WoW provides a more solo friendly environment but still has great rewards for grouping. Its also has instances like which you see in EQII. If you like grinding and pounding your way through lvls slowly (why im not playing EQ anymore) Go with EQII. Im not saying EQII is bad at all but I'd go with WoW. The tradeskill are much easier and have more room to grow in WoW, so if you're a big tradesman i'd go with WoW. I do admit PVP in WoW is lacking but it still has decent PVP on thE PVP servers.
    So ultimatly i'd recommend WoW.

  • AdrenalNAdrenalN Member Posts: 28

    Adding a bit, If you really like the grouping social aspect of EQ, you will probubly miss this in wow. If you like figureing out ways to defeat things that you arent supposed to beat you will probubly find EQ2 a bit lame.

    If you liked Old-School EQ you should be following Vanguard. Both WoW and EQ2 will probubly bore you to death. Keep playing EQ if you can, lol.

  • ChonkaChonka Member Posts: 27

    cool this is the type of feedback I need

     

    Chonka Kimoto 70 Shaman (EQ I since beta) - Retired
    Azuri Spiritweaver 26 Mystic / 13 Craftsman (EQ II) - Retired due to boredom
    Azuri Jingizu W/N20 (Guild Wars)

    image

    image

  • AdrenalNAdrenalN Member Posts: 28

    I'd like to add that, WoW in its current state lacks a LFG tool. There is a LFG channel for each zone, but the whole thing is really a pain. If you dont have a group of friends already playing, dont expect to group much. You will find groups for instances, but once there done with there quest the group is over and you back to solo.

    EQ2 crafting system seems pretty decent, didn't get that far into it. WoWs crafting system is mostly useless untill you reach the highest level. Everyone will have a craft, and the market will be flooded with crafted goods. Decent gear drops off EVERYTHING, so there is not a huge demand for crafted goods outside of usable stuff like potions and the like.

  • SpadezSpadez Member Posts: 2
    From what i hear, EQ2 is a good choice for you.  I've been playing it for a bit now, and loving it, although it started with some minor bugs (nothing major at all) the report a bug system is great, and bugs are usually fixed pretty quickly.  I see no major bugs at this point.  The game itself is lots of fun, the best thing to do is to get in a guild, lots of help doing quest, which is a big, and fun part of EQ2.  The quest are never ending, lots of quest to do, and unique and rare items to get off of doing them, as well as xp and money.  As far as graphics go, they are the best i have every seen for many games, especially an MMORPG.  At times i am just shocked that i'm playing a vast MMO world, yet the graphics look so amazing.  Just hope you have a computer that can handle it, and especially a good amount of RAM, at least a gig, i got 1.5 gigs.  My comp at first was playing it at a pretty low quality, although my computer is one of the best gaming comps out there.  I only had 1/2 a gig, and if i tried to play it to high the lag was unbearable.  Then i got 1.5 gigs, i can now play it at high quality, and it looks great,and pretty much no lag at all. My younger brother still plays it with a computer not nearly as good as mine, and it still looks great. If you want a game that like you said will keep you in your seat definitely go with EQ2, not to bash WoW but from what i hear the leveling goes pretty quick.  With EQ2 getting a lvl is more of a challenge, but it is not at all a painful grind, because of the fact that you can get xp from just hunting, but a fun part is to do quest, and from that you just have fun and later realize that you get good xp off finishing it. What i love about the lvls in this game which many others i have played have lacked is that you can really tell that each lvl counts.  Each time you get a new lvl, you become quite a bit stronger un-like other games where you gotta get 5 or maybe even 10 lvls before you start to notice the same creatures are beginning to be too easy for you.  Getting lvl 50 is truly a challenge, and you don't just run quickly through your characters life getting to it, for me the game continues to stay interesting this way.  Wow i talked for quite a bit thereimage, hope you can get some useful info. out of all that, and good luck.
  • AdrealAdreal Member Posts: 2,087

    Help?!

    neither. Dark and Light. It is a beacon of light... er dark. (whichever) image

    "Put your foot where your mouth is." - Wisdom from my grandfather
    "Paper or plastic? ... because I'm afraid I'll have to suffocate you unless you put this bag on your head..." - Ethnitrek
    AC1: Wierding from Harvestgain

  • SpadezSpadez Member Posts: 2
      AdrenalN made a good point about EQ2.  The one thing i hate about it is that you can't really find a good way to go out a solo things that you shouldn't be able to handle alone.  I used to love being a rifleman on SWG and concealing myself while sniping targets i usually couldn't handle alone.  EQ2 is very group oriented. I'm a wizard and got a few tricks with rooting a creature, and plus the big damage helps in taking down things slightly stronger than me when soloing, but really any wizard can do this.  I enjoy the actually skill it takes to time things just right to keep an enemy off you and somehow come out winning, not so much of an option in EQ2.  That is my main regret about the game
  • ZordZord Member Posts: 3



    I've been playing EQ1 for 2 years and recently i cancelled my account EQ2.
    In my opinion EQ2 = EQ1 + graphics + 1000 boring quest - FUN

  • SolarRainSolarRain Member UncommonPosts: 32

    I played EQ1 for a 4+ years and also just recently cancelled my EQ2 account after getting very bored.

    Whatever you do, don't go to EQ2 thinking it's a sequel to EQ1 as the name would suggest, and certainly don't assume they took the best parts from EQ1 either..they didn't. The devs took a very different approach to EQ2 and everything just seems very dumbed down and more group orientated. The quest system is awesome, but too much emphasis is placed on this part of the game..problem is if you don't follow the quests you will really struggle to gain equipment appropriate for you. If you ever decide you want to start another class you will be doing these quests all over again, and trust me, they get really tedious the 2nd time round...

    I have so many other gripes...locked combat sounds great on paper, but puts an end to the fun of pulling. Classes are all equal and far too similar. Not enough options for customising your characters in regards to their abilities/stats. Soloing too difficult (expect to keep LFG on a lot). Little reward for level up. Shared EXP debt...I could go on and on..

    I'm going to try WoW pretty soon, but I don't hold much hope for this game either. I think a lot of people really underestimate just how much of a good game EQ1 was/is. If your still playing EQ1 then IMO, stick with it for now..and keep your eye on Vanguard.

  • firemagicfiremagic Member Posts: 878


    Originally posted by hercules
    Try both and see.

    I'm with Hercules on this - the only opinion that really matters is your own.

  • AnofalyeAnofalye Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 7,433

    WoW try to appeal to Kunark era folks, however everyone can solo and the game mechanic is ''balanced'', for the better and especially for the worst.  They openly wear noobs garbs, but you will see beyond it as soon as you ''hit 60''.

     

    EQ2, you live, you breath, you exist for your guild.  It is a different game, not bad, different.  The guild is everything, the individual is nothing in EQ2.

     

    I am walking away from MMORPGs for a few months(not the site hehe), I will go to single RPGs until a MMORPG is solo friendly(solo uberness belonging to soloers, not to the l33t raiders exclusively).

    - "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren

  • UmbroodUmbrood Member UncommonPosts: 1,809

    Never played EQ1 so really no clue how that worked.

    But my take on eq2 thus far, 38 Warden/25 Carpenter here.

    As I am slowly moving into the higher end of the game many things become apparent. First of all I am a numbers gamer, skill/level systems like Anarchy Online or Ultima were I can make a character build that is somewhat unique is what I want. You will find nothing of this in eq2, after you have picked your final class at lvl 20 your influence on your characters development is miniscule on a good day and non-existant on a bad. The training choices is a poor attempt to diversify characters and most all of them you will never use, master smites is silly that they migth increase you dmg output towards that particular race by 0.05%, prolly less, the special spells you pick are mostly all on a 15+ min timer hence no one uses them, even if they are decent at times.

    No matter how far you push your STR for example with a healer you will see no increase in dmg, you can not influence this and sacrifice PWR for example for higher melee dmg, every lvl 38 warden out there with my weapon does the exact same dmg. All skills are lvl locked to lvlX5, no way to infuelnce them either, so every warden out there lvl 38 with adept 1 in say frost will do the exact samde dmg as me, same goes for everything.

    I have yet to try WoW though but a common argument for EQ2 seems to be "well if you want no challenge or complexity go WoW", for that to be true WoW would have to be like quake or simpler, and allthough I do not know for sure that is not the case I doubt it.

    The only complexity in eq2 at this point, for me at least, is to figure out wich quests are bugged so I can delete them, translate their quest con system into a real con so I know what I need to complete that quest, cause that is totally borked. Figure out a way to make ok cash without having to have my computer on all nigths. In all honesty people who say this game has any dept at all moust have really low expectations of a game.

    At my lvl absolutely 100% of everything worthwhile to do requires a full group, allthough I understand the point of grouping there is a flaw with this and that is, access. Allt the major zones after nektulos or Tundering steppes have access quests, most dungeons have access quests and allthough at a certain lvl you gain entrance to to the big zones the dungeons stays locked.

    This leads to another flaw, alongside with the zero customizations options it is 100% linear, more linear even then most offline RPG's.

    Yes there are many many quests to do, about 5% of them is worth you time though, most of them seem to be created by automation or some tool of sorts and you can tell no human was involved in making the quest, or at least had very little to do with it.

    All that said, it is also very addictive for some reason, or have been up until now, the simplicity of it is appealing and there is almost no thougth involved outside of the bigger encounters like bosses and so forth. Once you start figthing the action is really there and a well rounded group have little to no downtime, you can just go on hitting them 6 or so odd hotkey buttons until no end, no strategy is needed for the common XP mobs.

    I can say I still like it for some odd reason, it REALLY rubs me the wrong way at times, or most of the time, but I go on. I suppose this is the secret of both eq1 and 2, why this is so I do not know and I will not venture a guess either.

    I can say though that of the 12 friends that started with me, and that I ended up starting a guild with, 3 are left, not much of a guild really and unless we disband and join someone else I do not see how any of us can get access to high end content.

    I suppose that was a very contradictory desciprtion but the game is contradictory as well, on a intellectual level I can not understand why I keep playing, but still I do, it is a mystery. I bet this did not help you at all, image

     

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Originally posted by Jerek_

    I wonder if you honestly even believe what you type, or if you live in a made up world of facts.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  • j-monsterj-monster Member Posts: 1,060



    Originally posted by AdrenalN

    I'd like to add that, WoW in its current state lacks a LFG tool. There is a LFG channel for each zone, but the whole thing is really a pain. If you dont have a group of friends already playing, dont expect to group much. You will find groups for instances, but once there done with there quest the group is over and you back to solo.
    EQ2 crafting system seems pretty decent, didn't get that far into it. WoWs crafting system is mostly useless untill you reach the highest level. Everyone will have a craft, and the market will be flooded with crafted goods. Decent gear drops off EVERYTHING, so there is not a huge demand for crafted goods outside of usable stuff like potions and the like.



    i disagree i never have toruble finding a group even when i wasent in a guild. and im not even an esstial group class either (rogue).
  • ChonkaChonka Member Posts: 27

    Thanks a lot guys,

    SolarRain, Umbrood, Spadez thanks for the deeper introspection. I really agree with your statement:

    SolarRain - " I think a lot of people really underestimate just how much of a good game EQ1 was/is."

    I guess the hardest part for me is knowing this fact, yet still feeling forced to move on with new technology. If I started EQII for example, and it turned out I didn't like it, my chances of being one of the pioneers who actually can compete in the end zones of the game lower. I'm kind of leaning towards WoW more now in a small way. A friend here told me the higher lvl PvP is always something to fall back on. (I just found out about the locked targeting EQII as well in this thread, thanks.)

    Chonka Kimoto 70 Shaman (EQ I since beta) - Retired
    Azuri Spiritweaver 26 Mystic / 13 Craftsman (EQ II) - Retired due to boredom
    Azuri Jingizu W/N20 (Guild Wars)

    image

    image

  • DarkbackwardDarkbackward Member Posts: 115

    Let's not forget what Sony Online Entertainment is doing, they are charging money for questing dungeons. That is sickening, and if you support them, then you are a vile human being.

     

    Wow is nothing special, but it should be a decent daoc clone when battlegrounds comes out.

    Type Seed Game into your search engine. Go to the game's website and learn about it. It may be the best game you've continued to ignore.

  • KnightblastKnightblast Member UncommonPosts: 1,787

    Okay. I played WoW for 2.5 months and have played EQ2 now for about three weeks. From my experiences in both games and your preferences (see below) I think you will prefer EQ2 over WoW eventually. They are both fun games ... just depends on what you like in a game.


    [*]A serious, knowledgeable, somewhat older player base.


    WoW is lacking here. A very immature player base. A lot of non-MMO players who are Blizzard/WC fans. There are some good players as well, but the community (look at the official boards) is not very mature on the whole. EQ2 is very different in this respect I have found.


    [*]Content that will leave me living in my expensive Herman Miller desk chair.

    WoW has great content for the early to mid game and is really lacking in late game content at the moment. This is an issue because if you play a lot you can reach the level cap in WoW in 2 months. If you play casually you can still reach it in 3 months. So the content is there for a while and then it drops off. EQ2's issue content-wise is that after a certain period grouping becomes very, very important to access significant parts of the content, and this happens much earlier than it does in WoW (it does happen in WoW in the later game, however).


    [*]A good guild population that "gets-er-dun". (ex. Fires of Heaven in EQ)

    Both games have guilds and some are power guilds. EQ2 seems to be built more around guilds than WoW is. In WoW guilds are an accessory (like many other things are, like tradeskills for example) whereas in EQ2 they are a very important part of the game with their own quests, rewards, status and the like.


    [*]PvP is a plus, but not required.

    Well, EQ2 has no PvP, so if you need PvP then EQ2 won't satisfy that need. WoW's PvP is not great at the moment and has no real point, but from time to time it is quite fun.


    [*]Good graphics to push my 4th gen card.

    EQ2 will push your graphics card all right! But seriously both games have engaging graphics. EQ2 has more photorealistic graphics, and it lends the game a more real, more adult (for lack of a better word) feel to it. WoW has more fantasia like graphics that are much less sophisticated technically than EQ2's graphics but follow on the WC theme and are not inappropriate for a fantasy setting -- they are not as sharp as EQ2's by a stretch, however, and while I think they are fine some people find them annoying. YMMV.


    [*]Quality, Quality, Quality, No Bugs, No Bugs, No half content...ok you get it.

    Both are pretty high quality games. Wow has server performance issues like server queues and so forth, and it also has significant class balance issues. There are quests here and there that are bugged, and other little things. EQ2 has bugs in some quests as well. I don't think there is a huge difference here between the games, having played them both.

    So I think on balance EQ2 might be better for you, but you should probably try them both.

  • JohnarkJohnark Member Posts: 901

    Everyone is chosing EQ2 because NO ONE can buy WoW at the moment!  Blizzard stopped production and still didn't resume production!  Our store still gets hundreds of calls per week asking for WoW and when we will get it.  We keep telling them that we do not know.  What's funny is that since we don't have WoW in stock, I always suggest they buy Star Wars Galaxies instead in the mean time, I guess that's why we still have about 30 copies of EQ2 left. image

    But a few veteran EQ players I know still bought EQ2.  Most were disapointed that it did not feel like EQ whatesoever, but they could still get a last name since they played EQ and used their same Sony Station Account.

    ___________ ___ __ _ _ _
    Stealth - Ambush - Hemorrhage - Sinister Strike x2 - Cold Blood - Eviscerate - Vanish - Preparation - Cold Blood - Ambush - ... you're dead! :P

  • KnightblastKnightblast Member UncommonPosts: 1,787


    Originally posted by Johnark
    Everyone is chosing EQ2 because NO ONE can buy WoW at the moment! Blizzard stopped production and still didn't resume production! Our store still gets hundreds of calls per week asking for WoW and when we will get it. We keep telling them that we do not know. What's funny is that since we don't have WoW in stock, I always suggest they buy Star Wars Galaxies instead in the mean time, I guess that's why we still have about 30 copies of EQ2 left. image
    But a few veteran EQ players I know still bought EQ2. Most were disapointed that it did not feel like EQ whatesoever, but they could still get a last name since they played EQ and used their same Sony Station Account.

    Well I played WoW from release (lucky to get my copy on release day I guess) so my views aren't based on a lack of time in WoW. WoW is fun, no question, but it lacks staying power. It's a fun game for a couple of months. I think it will get better when PvP Battlegrounds are released but keep in mind that these are to be instanced, meaning that when a faction gains a tower or a town it doesn't exist in the persistent world of the server, so it's not really like DAoC in that respect and as a result will get rather old after a while as well.

    It's good that Blizzard hasn't shipped more copies of WoW because as it is their server stability is lacking. The servers for several servers crash regularly still two months after release. There is a half-day of downtime once a week on Tuesdays because the servers are messed up. Often the login server goes down and so forth. Blizzard's infrastructure for the game is lacking, and they need to fix it before expanding the player base significantly. But in reality, Blizzard I think expects people to play the game for a few months and anything beyond that its a bonus ... the content is not there to keep people more than a few months.

  • sidebustersidebuster Member UncommonPosts: 1,712

    I don't know if you already know this, but in EQII you can't powerlevel what so ever. You can't be buffed by a high level or by anylevel for that matter unless they are in your group, but if they leave you loose your buffs.

    For WoW, the quest are exactly the same go kill x amount of these, then go talk to this person, or go deliever x to x person. Nothing reall different there.

    Over all though, I think they are both good games and if you happend to choose one it will be the right one (for how long that will last, i dont know).

    I know most of my post doesn't help at all but, since WoW isnt being released, you might as well go with EQ2, I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it since you are a long time EQ vet.

Sign In or Register to comment.