No one cares if you dont like the game, or are bored!
EQ players love the game, nuff said. If you want to whine go do it on the WOW forums or something. That way you and the panda players can have something incommon!
Thats said, to the OP, glad you are finding entertainment in EQ. Its actually very very fun! I have a blast everytime I log in. regardless if im soloing or in group. Yes, grouping is the top line of most excellent fun! especailly when you have a good group :-D
Glad you are enjoying it!
People need to learn to post only good things about games and to fall into line with whatever the topic is otherwise we may end up with a world with differing opinions and long run on sentences trying to be witty and clever.
let me make this something that you (or even Simple Jack) can grasp...this is a discussion board for people interested in the game. it makes about as much sense if I went to a forums for people who enjoy going on cruises for vacation and talking up what I perceive to be negatives to people interested in getting/sharing info on their vacations. Go somehwere that makes you happy and stop trying to piss all over everyone else who is simply trying to enjoy life. in other words go to hell and take your friends with you.
Funny, I played for about half an hour and after I logged off on Friday, haven't logged on since and haven't felt ANY urge to. Which annoys me. I want to like this game but it's just boring right out the gate.
I love the world and the classes, but I just can't bring myself to do it again. Will have to wait for EQ Next I think.
Enjoy the wait, EQ Next has been talked about for years and years, i don't see it happening. Hell they just recently a few months ago shutdown 3 studios and fired more then 250 people. The EQ series is going down the tube and EQ Next is just a wishful thinking ideal for EQ fanboys.
Yeah, SoE is going to ignore their main product, I see that happening. That would be like Square not making anymore Final Fantasy games.
Eh both sides are being overly sensitive for no good reason, but then it's mmorpg.com so I suppose this forum drama isn't out of oridnary.
It keeps me entertained during the slow periods at work.
I've thought about trying the F2P EQ model but, I tried F2P EQ2 and it was WAY too restrictive. I just assumed EQ would be more of the same.
Not sure since I didnt try the EQ F2P. But since its free no harm in you trying. I think SOE could use some tweaks to their F2P and should even take some hints from NCsoft, but I am enjoying my return as silver member and some minor SC purchases. So far, I dont see it as a deal breaker, if I ever get to that point, I will definitely stop playing.
I apologize for my "misinformation". My account was automatically Silver because I had played the game before. When you log in as a free member, you automatically have access to 17/18 expansions. So if you pay 5 dollars for Silver, thats like buying 17 expansions for 5 dollars. I'm sorry that EQ isn't FREE TO PLAY. It's a game, they were making money before off of subscriptions, why would they go completely free to play? There are no MMORPGs that are completely free to play, they all have a cash shop, or charge 60/expansion, or a sub fee, or all of the above *WoW*.
That being said, a free to play player can drop 5 dollars on the game to get a silver account, and play the game up until the most recent expansion (Level 90 and 1000AA) which will take months if not more. I don't know where else I can get that kind of entertainment for 5 dollars.
I apologize for my "misinformation". My account was automatically Silver because I had played the game before.When you log in as a free member, you automatically have access to 17/18 expansions. So if you pay 5 dollars for Silver, thats like buying 17 expansions for 5 dollars. I'm sorry that EQ isn't FREE TO PLAY.
Why do you need to pay 5 dollars if you already have access to the 17/18 expansions?
I am glad that people do get enjoyment out of SOEs F2P models but they really are the worst company when designing F2P with the restrictions.
I apologize for my "misinformation". My account was automatically Silver because I had played the game before. When you log in as a free member, you automatically have access to 17/18 expansions. So if you pay 5 dollars for Silver, thats like buying 17 expansions for 5 dollars. I'm sorry that EQ isn't FREE TO PLAY. It's a game, they were making money before off of subscriptions, why would they go completely free to play? There are no MMORPGs that are completely free to play, they all have a cash shop, or charge 60/expansion, or a sub fee, or all of the above *WoW*.
That being said, a free to play player can drop 5 dollars on the game to get a silver account, and play the game up until the most recent expansion (Level 90 and 1000AA) which will take months if not more. I don't know where else I can get that kind of entertainment for 5 dollars.
Its not like buying 17 expansions for 5 dollars because you already have access to them for no money.
SoE F2P models are an abomination. They give out the most boring races and classes for 'free' and make it so it is basically impossible to be competitive or even desirable at max level without a heavy cash injection or subscribing. What they havent realised yet is that this is why there hasnt been a massive resurgance in interest in their games. People can see it as a rip off from a mile away.
You are right, they could have kept the games as subscription based, but we all know how many players were interested in paying a subscription for those games. SoE is just greedy, they have been triple dipping for quite some time, long before the terrible F2P models they were charging for expansions, monthly fees and had a cash shop.
To make it worse than WoW all the good appearance items and mounts were on the cash shop instead of obtainable in game, as a bit of a kick in the face to loyal subscribers. See someone in some cool new gear? Oh where did they get it from?.... Oh... Station Cash. Thats pretty much how it went.
The biggest problem with SoE F2P is that you are a complete gimp if you dont pay heaps of money to unlock your character or just subscribe (which is temporary, all the stuff will get locked again when you unsubscribe). Noone will want to party with you. Back when I played EQ2 there is no way in hell we would have invited a F2P gimp in crappy treasured gear and adept spells to do anything. Hell, you cant even put on most basic quest rewards at level 80+ because they are all legendary. In EQ1 you are limited in AA, prestige gear and higher spell tiers. Why would anyone want to party with you at max level?
If they took a look at Aions F2P model they might get some real interest in their games again. No restrictions to character power, races or classes.... then make money off appearance and convenience items. I can guarantee they would make a lot more profit and have far more robust populations.
i am loving this game. i never put serious hours into the ogirinal eq1 before the changes so i never noticed much difference except that it had a tutorial area which i loved! I will be playing this gmae until Tera comes out for sure! its a ton of fun!
as far as end game goes. if you reach level 80+ you should be paying sony for the work you put into this game anyway. If i reach 50+ i will subscribe. If i dont then i will have enjoyed the free model of the game a ton!
Hero Evermore Guild Master of Dragonspine since 1982. Playing Path of Exile and deeply in love with it.
Well thankyou for proving my point that the F2P players will not be competitive in EQ.
So? Why should they be? There needs to be a reason to subscribe...
Fact is it will take the average person several months to get to the point where they get the 1000 aa cap and need prestige gear to "stay competitive". Thats more than the average person lasts in a game like Rift or SWtoR anyway.
Fortunately, EQ is also a PvE game so "staying competitive" doesnt mean nearly as much. There will *always* be challenge appropriate content in EQ.
The best MMOs are like wine. They improve with age.
MMO industry and particularly majority of pioneer MMO generation is still too young to understand this. In a decade or two there will be a much bigger number of older and more experienced (thus wiser) gamers who will learn and understand MMOs are evolving products and will value the longetivity more and more. More and more people will look for depth, not just shiny. Just shiny is shallow and wears you out sooner or later. Companies sticking up with their good "old" games adding content and polish year after year will win on the long run.
Many know this and that's why games like UO, DAoC or EQ still exist. However majority of gamers still like to jump over to new shinies but with time more and more will go back to oldies.
Looking from the big picture it has barrely begun.
No one cares if you dont like the game, or are bored!
EQ players love the game, nuff said. If you want to whine go do it on the WOW forums or something. That way you and the panda players can have something incommon!
Thats said, to the OP, glad you are finding entertainment in EQ. Its actually very very fun! I have a blast everytime I log in. regardless if im soloing or in group. Yes, grouping is the top line of most excellent fun! especailly when you have a good group :-D
Glad you are enjoying it!
People need to learn to post only good things about games and to fall into line with whatever the topic is otherwise we may end up with a world with differing opinions and long run on sentences trying to be witty and clever.
Well to be fair, that isn't an opinion about games but about the people who play them.
SoE F2P models are an abomination. They give out the most boring races and classes for 'free' and make it so it is basically impossible to be competitive or even desirable at max level without a heavy cash injection or subscribing. What they havent realised yet is that this is why there hasnt been a massive resurgance in interest in their games. People can see it as a rip off from a mile away
The only people that think it is a rip off are the people that cant think for themselves and just assume that its bad because its SoE. You say 'heavy cash injection', which shows that you never tried making a max level character in EQ2 competitive, because it does NOT take much money at all. Gear unlockers are 50 cents each, and thats if you take the absolute worst deal on Station Cash. EQ1 is still to new of a system and the kinks havent been worked out yet.
And no, there hasnt been a 'massive' resurgence for eq2. DCUO has done about as well as DDO did though. And its clearly been successful for EQ2.
You are right, they could have kept the games as subscription based, but we all know how many players were interested in paying a subscription for those games. SoE is just greedy, they have been triple dipping for quite some time, long before the terrible F2P models they were charging for expansions, monthly fees and had a cash shop.
However SoE also puts out the most content in the industry, and currnetly has the cheapest sub cost in the industry to it's intelligent consumers (I got an eq2 sub for a full year for 30 bucks)
To make it worse than WoW all the good appearance items and mounts were on the cash shop instead of obtainable in game, as a bit of a kick in the face to loyal subscribers. See someone in some cool new gear? Oh where did they get it from?.... Oh... Station Cash.
There are tons of mounts and appearance gear in the game already. this is a 'so what' thing in conjunction with what i wrote above. let the people that buy that stuff fund your development. I can live without a giant jumping squirrel mount. the difference between SoE and Blizzard is that SoE *might* actually use the micro transaction money for the game. WoW clearly does not, they clearly do not use all of ther sub revenue to support the game or else wed see a *lot* more content over the last 7 years. WoW has even said it doesnt do housing or increased bank capacity because it is 'too costly'. You ever see EQ2s housing and inventory space?
The biggest problem with SoE F2P is that you are a complete gimp if you dont pay heaps of money to unlock your character or just subscribe (which is temporary, all the stuff will get locked again when you unsubscribe). Noone will want to party with you. Back when I played EQ2 there is no way in hell we would have invited a F2P gimp in crappy treasured gear and adept spells to do anything. Hell, you cant even put on most basic quest rewards at level 80+ because they are all legendary. In EQ1 you are limited in AA, prestige gear and higher spell tiers. Why would anyone want to party with you at max level?
Again, its not heaps of money. Regardless, you are the type of person that wants as much as possible for free so are you any better than what you claim SoE to be? Yes, at max level in EQ1 without spending a dime you arent as powerful. Why is this an issue? Subs are 30 bucks a year on triple station cash days, if you are max level you like the game enough to support it.
If they took a look at Aions F2P model they might get some real interest in their games again. No restrictions to character power, races or classes.... then make money off appearance and convenience items. I can guarantee they would make a lot more profit and have far more robust populations.
I dont follow Aion (I know it has an abysmal NA population so most NAs dont either) so I cant comment much on it other that it is a vastly different target audience than EQ/EQ2 so not necessarily relevant. But its all hypothetical since it isnt even f2p yet.
SoE F2P models are an abomination. They give out the most boring races and classes for 'free' and make it so it is basically impossible to be competitive or even desirable at max level without a heavy cash injection or subscribing. What they havent realised yet is that this is why there hasnt been a massive resurgance in interest in their games. People can see it as a rip off from a mile away
The only people that think it is a rip off are the people that cant think for themselves and just assume that its bad because its SoE. You say 'heavy cash injection', which shows that you never tried making a max level character in EQ2 competitive, because it does NOT take much money at all. Gear unlockers are 50 cents each, and thats if you take the absolute worst deal on Station Cash. EQ1 is still to new of a system and the kinks havent been worked out yet.
And no, there hasnt been a 'massive' resurgence for eq2. DCUO has done about as well as DDO did though. And its clearly been successful for EQ2.
You are right, they could have kept the games as subscription based, but we all know how many players were interested in paying a subscription for those games. SoE is just greedy, they have been triple dipping for quite some time, long before the terrible F2P models they were charging for expansions, monthly fees and had a cash shop.
However SoE also puts out the most content in the industry, and currnetly has the cheapest sub cost in the industry to it's intelligent consumers (I got an eq2 sub for a full year for 30 bucks)
To make it worse than WoW all the good appearance items and mounts were on the cash shop instead of obtainable in game, as a bit of a kick in the face to loyal subscribers. See someone in some cool new gear? Oh where did they get it from?.... Oh... Station Cash.
There are tons of mounts and appearance gear in the game already. this is a 'so what' thing in conjunction with what i wrote above. let the people that buy that stuff fund your development. I can live without a giant jumping squirrel mount. the difference between SoE and Blizzard is that SoE *might* actually use the micro transaction money for the game. WoW clearly does not, they clearly do not use all of ther sub revenue to support the game or else wed see a *lot* more content over the last 7 years. WoW has even said it doesnt do housing or increased bank capacity because it is 'too costly'. You ever see EQ2s housing and inventory space?
The biggest problem with SoE F2P is that you are a complete gimp if you dont pay heaps of money to unlock your character or just subscribe (which is temporary, all the stuff will get locked again when you unsubscribe). Noone will want to party with you. Back when I played EQ2 there is no way in hell we would have invited a F2P gimp in crappy treasured gear and adept spells to do anything. Hell, you cant even put on most basic quest rewards at level 80+ because they are all legendary. In EQ1 you are limited in AA, prestige gear and higher spell tiers. Why would anyone want to party with you at max level?
Again, its not heaps of money. Regardless, you are the type of person that wants as much as possible for free so are you any better than what you claim SoE to be? Yes, at max level in EQ1 without spending a dime you arent as powerful. Why is this an issue? Subs are 30 bucks a year on triple station cash days, if you are max level you like the game enough to support it.
If they took a look at Aions F2P model they might get some real interest in their games again. No restrictions to character power, races or classes.... then make money off appearance and convenience items. I can guarantee they would make a lot more profit and have far more robust populations.
I dont follow Aion (I know it has an abysmal NA population so most NAs dont either) so I cant comment much on it other that it is a vastly different target audience than EQ/EQ2 so not necessarily relevant. But its all hypothetical since it isnt even f2p yet.
Aion EU has been F2P for a while now. The US one is out soon. Either way it still makes you atleast wanted in groups end game if you dont spend any cash at all unlike SOEs F2P counterparts.
SoE F2P models are an abomination. They give out the most boring races and classes for 'free' and make it so it is basically impossible to be competitive or even desirable at max level without a heavy cash injection or subscribing. What they havent realised yet is that this is why there hasnt been a massive resurgance in interest in their games. People can see it as a rip off from a mile away
The only people that think it is a rip off are the people that cant think for themselves and just assume that its bad because its SoE. You say 'heavy cash injection', which shows that you never tried making a max level character in EQ2 competitive, because it does NOT take much money at all. Gear unlockers are 50 cents each, and thats if you take the absolute worst deal on Station Cash. EQ1 is still to new of a system and the kinks havent been worked out yet.
And no, there hasnt been a 'massive' resurgence for eq2. DCUO has done about as well as DDO did though. And its clearly been successful for EQ2.
You are right, they could have kept the games as subscription based, but we all know how many players were interested in paying a subscription for those games. SoE is just greedy, they have been triple dipping for quite some time, long before the terrible F2P models they were charging for expansions, monthly fees and had a cash shop.
However SoE also puts out the most content in the industry, and currnetly has the cheapest sub cost in the industry to it's intelligent consumers (I got an eq2 sub for a full year for 30 bucks)
To make it worse than WoW all the good appearance items and mounts were on the cash shop instead of obtainable in game, as a bit of a kick in the face to loyal subscribers. See someone in some cool new gear? Oh where did they get it from?.... Oh... Station Cash.
There are tons of mounts and appearance gear in the game already. this is a 'so what' thing in conjunction with what i wrote above. let the people that buy that stuff fund your development. I can live without a giant jumping squirrel mount. the difference between SoE and Blizzard is that SoE *might* actually use the micro transaction money for the game. WoW clearly does not, they clearly do not use all of ther sub revenue to support the game or else wed see a *lot* more content over the last 7 years. WoW has even said it doesnt do housing or increased bank capacity because it is 'too costly'. You ever see EQ2s housing and inventory space?
The biggest problem with SoE F2P is that you are a complete gimp if you dont pay heaps of money to unlock your character or just subscribe (which is temporary, all the stuff will get locked again when you unsubscribe). Noone will want to party with you. Back when I played EQ2 there is no way in hell we would have invited a F2P gimp in crappy treasured gear and adept spells to do anything. Hell, you cant even put on most basic quest rewards at level 80+ because they are all legendary. In EQ1 you are limited in AA, prestige gear and higher spell tiers. Why would anyone want to party with you at max level?
Again, its not heaps of money. Regardless, you are the type of person that wants as much as possible for free so are you any better than what you claim SoE to be? Yes, at max level in EQ1 without spending a dime you arent as powerful. Why is this an issue? Subs are 30 bucks a year on triple station cash days, if you are max level you like the game enough to support it.
If they took a look at Aions F2P model they might get some real interest in their games again. No restrictions to character power, races or classes.... then make money off appearance and convenience items. I can guarantee they would make a lot more profit and have far more robust populations.
I dont follow Aion (I know it has an abysmal NA population so most NAs dont either) so I cant comment much on it other that it is a vastly different target audience than EQ/EQ2 so not necessarily relevant. But its all hypothetical since it isnt even f2p yet.
I played EQ2 for 6 years, and EQ for 4. I am well aware of what SoE's business models are. You are incredibly naive if you think they are the industry standard for value for money.
Gear unlockers are 50 cents? Yeah for every single item more powerful than treasured. Good luck progressing through gear tiers for less than a monthly subscription. You also need to pay for every single spell upgrade. And anyone who plays EQ2 can say that if you dont have at least expert / mostly mastered, you are a waste of space.
DDO and LOTRO are FAR more successful than EQ2. Dont kid yourself, the population barely changed for EQ2 because the F2P model is a joke.
To give SoE some credit, the DCUO model is actually quite good, which is why that is doing well, but then again it doesnt block players from accessing gear or character skills like the EQ1 / 2 model.
SoE put out the most content in the industry? Dont make me laugh, the 3 month updates of late have been pretty terrible to be honest, it was what... 10 months between new dungeon / raid content during DoV? If you think that is good progress then you should look at how much content Rift has added. I dont like Rift, but it does content way faster than the current EQ2 team.
And EQ2 using the microtransaction money on the game? I think not, they just use it on more microtransaction content. Look at how much gear got released in the Station Cash store over the past year compared to what is available in game? What a joke.
I'm the type of person that wants as much stuff as possible for free? Dont make me laugh. You dont know shit about me. I have payed subscriptions to MMOs for the past 10 years. I can still see that the SoE F2P model is a complete farce and will attract no new lasting population resurgance because it is a complete rip off compared to other models on offer.
Aion has the exact same target audience as EQ2... what are you smoking? Its a fantasy MMO with generic dungeons and raids. EQ2 lost a lot of subs at Aions first launch.
Eh both sides are being overly sensitive for no good reason, but then it's mmorpg.com so I suppose this forum drama isn't out of oridnary.
It keeps me entertained during the slow periods at work.
I've thought about trying the F2P EQ model but, I tried F2P EQ2 and it was WAY too restrictive. I just assumed EQ would be more of the same.
If you think EQ2 F2P is WAY too restrictive, you obviously have not played many F2P MMOs out there.
Good Luck finding a game for you
@OP glad you are having a blast. I played a bit over the weekend and had a great time as well. Bit of nostalgia. I even logged back in to EQ2. Something about that opening theme song puts a smile on my face and reminds me of happier times.
It is too bad this thread got derailed so bad by some bad apples.
Not sure how this turned into a F2P discussion anyways. You can still pay a normal sub fee and play everything EQ has to offer. I was simply stating this is my favorite MMO out at the moment, and still a great game after all these years. F2P just gives people another option to play.
Eh both sides are being overly sensitive for no good reason, but then it's mmorpg.com so I suppose this forum drama isn't out of oridnary.
It keeps me entertained during the slow periods at work.
I've thought about trying the F2P EQ model but, I tried F2P EQ2 and it was WAY too restrictive. I just assumed EQ would be more of the same.
If you think EQ2 F2P is WAY too restrictive, you obviously have not played many F2P MMOs out there.
Good Luck finding a game for you
@OP glad you are having a blast. I played a bit over the weekend and had a great time as well. Bit of nostalgia. I even logged back in to EQ2. Something about that opening theme song puts a smile on my face and reminds me of happier times.
It is too bad this thread got derailed so bad by some bad apples.
I've played more F2P MMOs than I can count. Typically you dont see 75% of all races and classes locked without having to be bought. Typically you aren't forbidden from wearing decent-quality equipment without subscribing.
As F2P models go, SoE's is one of the worst I've seen.
Worse than Mabinogi's, and thats saying something.
I played EQ2 for 6 years, and EQ for 4. I am well aware of what SoE's business models are. You are incredibly naive if you think they are the industry standard for value for money.
Gear unlockers are 50 cents? Yeah for every single item more powerful than treasured. Good luck progressing through gear tiers for less than a monthly subscription. You also need to pay for every single spell upgrade. And anyone who plays EQ2 can say that if you dont have at least expert / mostly mastered, you are a waste of space.
And f2p players have access to mastered spells. Which leads to think that you truly arent aware of how it works. But the question is, why should they necessarily be able to do all content? Then what would be the point of sub model? You can argue to remove the sub model completely, but if the sub model is there the game needs to support an incentive to sub
DDO and LOTRO are FAR more successful than EQ2. Dont kid yourself, the population barely changed for EQ2 because the F2P model is a joke
DDO did well and i compared its success with DCUO as both games were initial failures. EQ2 and LOTRO were both successful games at the time of their conversions, and LOTRO obviously had greater initial success. however LOTRO's population, even with the f2p, is now below what it started with. It has not been a long term benefit. A year and a half after its implementation Freeport remains EQ2s most populated servers and the regular servers are clearly more populated than before. Not the boost LOTRO saw, but not insignificant. Will it last? Freeport indicates possibly, but too early to tell.
To give SoE some credit, the DCUO model is actually quite good, which is why that is doing well, but then again it doesnt block players from accessing gear or character skills like the EQ1 / 2 model.
SoE put out the most content in the industry? Dont make me laugh, the 3 month updates of late have been pretty terrible to be honest, it was what... 10 months between new dungeon / raid content during DoV? If you think that is good progress then you should look at how much content Rift has added. I dont like Rift, but it does content way faster than the current EQ2 team
And theres been 9 months between 20 man content in Rift as well. Here is a short list of what Eq2 has added since Rift's release:
Three new Heroic Dungeons - Spire of Rage - Strategist’s Stronghold - Tower of Tactics
Three new x4 Raids - Sullon’s Spire - Tallon’s Stronghold - Vallon’s Tower [Normal and Challenge]
Also, the april patch looks pretty massive. All in all thats more content than Rift put out. For example, the three new heroic dungeons released in may were more dungeon content than Rift added all year.
And EQ2 using the microtransaction money on the game? I think not, they just use it on more microtransaction content. Look at how much gear got released in the Station Cash store over the past year compared to what is available in game? What a joke.
Its cosmetic gear. Why whine over it? there is still a TON of it available in game as well.
I'm the type of person that wants as much stuff as possible for free? Dont make me laugh. You dont know shit about me. I have payed subscriptions to MMOs for the past 10 years. I can still see that the SoE F2P model is a complete farce and will attract no new lasting population resurgance because it is a complete rip off compared to other models on offer
LOTROs model might be more return player friendly but EQ2's is certainly more new player friendly. I dont think you grasp that SoE uses free to play more as a trial type system than a true way to play. Some people do play EQ2 at a fully functional level with top gear paying 5 bucks a month (this is fact) but its not meant to replace the sub model totally.
It is funny how almost all negative opinions about the model come from vets, but most people who are completely new to the game dont seem to mind at all.
Aion has the exact same target audience as EQ2... what are you smoking? Its a fantasy MMO with generic dungeons and raids. EQ2 lost a lot of subs at Aions first launch.
Aion has 4 NA servers, and they arent heavily populated at all. Aion did not cause a big sub drop for EQ2. Aion is very high fantasy with a heavy asian influence and attracts a younger crowd or a more PvP oriented crowd due to the companys ties to Lineage 1 and 2. EQ2 is an older, PvE crowd. if you think the two games attract the same audience just compare the communities between the two.
I've played more F2P MMOs than I can count. Typically you dont see 75% of all races and classes locked without having to be bought. Typically you aren't forbidden from wearing decent-quality equipment without subscribing.
As F2P models go, SoE's is one of the worst I've seen.
Worse than Mabinogi's, and thats saying something.
How many f2p games offer more than 8 classes?
How much content is accessible to that 'decent-quality'equipment (hint: the answer for EQ2 is every last scrap of 1-80 content, and most 80-90 content as well...compare that to the amount of content other games offer)
I've played more F2P MMOs than I can count. Typically you dont see 75% of all races and classes locked without having to be bought. Typically you aren't forbidden from wearing decent-quality equipment without subscribing.
As F2P models go, SoE's is one of the worst I've seen.
Worse than Mabinogi's, and thats saying something.
How many f2p games offer more than 8 classes?
How much content is accessible to that 'decent-quality'equipment (hint: the answer for EQ2 is every last scrap of 1-80 content, and most 80-90 content as well...compare that to the amount of content other games offer)
Leveling with adept spells and not being able to equip legendary/fabled gear is aweful.
You cant even use the broker to sell the gear you cannot use because f2p doesnt have access to it for selling.
So EQ F2P servers just came up Friday Morning at 12:01 PST. I've already played on the new server longer than I played SWTOR for my free month. EQ is that good.
It's not the same EQ I grew up playing 12 years ago, but it's still the best thing I've played on the market.
I hear you Jimmy. I unsubbed from SWotR after two months and playing EQ again feels a thousand times more fun.
I played around ten hours on Saturday and had to force myself off to go and eat. Something I never did with ToR. It certainly is Evercrack. Ten years ago I nearly lost my job I was so absobed in EQ, hopefully it won't be so addictive second time around...
Funny, I played for about half an hour and after I logged off on Friday, haven't logged on since and haven't felt ANY urge to. Which annoys me. I want to like this game but it's just boring right out the gate.
Why did you find it boring Elocke? Genuine question.
I've played more F2P MMOs than I can count. Typically you dont see 75% of all races and classes locked without having to be bought. Typically you aren't forbidden from wearing decent-quality equipment without subscribing.
As F2P models go, SoE's is one of the worst I've seen.
Worse than Mabinogi's, and thats saying something.
How many f2p games offer more than 8 classes?
How much content is accessible to that 'decent-quality'equipment (hint: the answer for EQ2 is every last scrap of 1-80 content, and most 80-90 content as well...compare that to the amount of content other games offer)
Leveling with adept spells and not being able to equip legendary/fabled gear is aweful.
You cant even use the broker to sell the gear you cannot use because f2p doesnt have access to it for selling.
I've played more F2P MMOs than I can count. Typically you dont see 75% of all races and classes locked without having to be bought. Typically you aren't forbidden from wearing decent-quality equipment without subscribing.
As F2P models go, SoE's is one of the worst I've seen.
Worse than Mabinogi's, and thats saying something.
How many f2p games offer more than 8 classes?
How much content is accessible to that 'decent-quality'equipment (hint: the answer for EQ2 is every last scrap of 1-80 content, and most 80-90 content as well...compare that to the amount of content other games offer)
Leveling with adept spells and not being able to equip legendary/fabled gear is aweful.
You cant even use the broker to sell the gear you cannot use because f2p doesnt have access to it for selling.
Prior to free-to-play you didn't get anything without a subscription. Now you are getting at least 75% of the game gratis, and b*tching because you don't get more. As to being unable to sell on the broker: go set up a player-to-player direct market somewhere, maybe the docks area on Mara.
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It keeps me entertained during the slow periods at work.
I've thought about trying the F2P EQ model but, I tried F2P EQ2 and it was WAY too restrictive. I just assumed EQ would be more of the same.
let me make this something that you (or even Simple Jack) can grasp...this is a discussion board for people interested in the game. it makes about as much sense if I went to a forums for people who enjoy going on cruises for vacation and talking up what I perceive to be negatives to people interested in getting/sharing info on their vacations. Go somehwere that makes you happy and stop trying to piss all over everyone else who is simply trying to enjoy life. in other words go to hell and take your friends with you.
Enjoy !!
Yeah, SoE is going to ignore their main product, I see that happening. That would be like Square not making anymore Final Fantasy games.
Not sure since I didnt try the EQ F2P. But since its free no harm in you trying. I think SOE could use some tweaks to their F2P and should even take some hints from NCsoft, but I am enjoying my return as silver member and some minor SC purchases. So far, I dont see it as a deal breaker, if I ever get to that point, I will definitely stop playing.
I apologize for my "misinformation". My account was automatically Silver because I had played the game before. When you log in as a free member, you automatically have access to 17/18 expansions. So if you pay 5 dollars for Silver, thats like buying 17 expansions for 5 dollars. I'm sorry that EQ isn't FREE TO PLAY. It's a game, they were making money before off of subscriptions, why would they go completely free to play? There are no MMORPGs that are completely free to play, they all have a cash shop, or charge 60/expansion, or a sub fee, or all of the above *WoW*.
That being said, a free to play player can drop 5 dollars on the game to get a silver account, and play the game up until the most recent expansion (Level 90 and 1000AA) which will take months if not more. I don't know where else I can get that kind of entertainment for 5 dollars.
You know I didn't ever play a lot of EQ. Played a lot of EQ2, but this is something that has piqued my interest so I will try it out. Wish me luck.
Why do you need to pay 5 dollars if you already have access to the 17/18 expansions?
I am glad that people do get enjoyment out of SOEs F2P models but they really are the worst company when designing F2P with the restrictions.
Its not like buying 17 expansions for 5 dollars because you already have access to them for no money.
SoE F2P models are an abomination. They give out the most boring races and classes for 'free' and make it so it is basically impossible to be competitive or even desirable at max level without a heavy cash injection or subscribing. What they havent realised yet is that this is why there hasnt been a massive resurgance in interest in their games. People can see it as a rip off from a mile away.
You are right, they could have kept the games as subscription based, but we all know how many players were interested in paying a subscription for those games. SoE is just greedy, they have been triple dipping for quite some time, long before the terrible F2P models they were charging for expansions, monthly fees and had a cash shop.
To make it worse than WoW all the good appearance items and mounts were on the cash shop instead of obtainable in game, as a bit of a kick in the face to loyal subscribers. See someone in some cool new gear? Oh where did they get it from?.... Oh... Station Cash. Thats pretty much how it went.
The biggest problem with SoE F2P is that you are a complete gimp if you dont pay heaps of money to unlock your character or just subscribe (which is temporary, all the stuff will get locked again when you unsubscribe). Noone will want to party with you. Back when I played EQ2 there is no way in hell we would have invited a F2P gimp in crappy treasured gear and adept spells to do anything. Hell, you cant even put on most basic quest rewards at level 80+ because they are all legendary. In EQ1 you are limited in AA, prestige gear and higher spell tiers. Why would anyone want to party with you at max level?
If they took a look at Aions F2P model they might get some real interest in their games again. No restrictions to character power, races or classes.... then make money off appearance and convenience items. I can guarantee they would make a lot more profit and have far more robust populations.
i am loving this game. i never put serious hours into the ogirinal eq1 before the changes so i never noticed much difference except that it had a tutorial area which i loved! I will be playing this gmae until Tera comes out for sure! its a ton of fun!
as far as end game goes. if you reach level 80+ you should be paying sony for the work you put into this game anyway. If i reach 50+ i will subscribe. If i dont then i will have enjoyed the free model of the game a ton!
Hero Evermore
Guild Master of Dragonspine since 1982.
Playing Path of Exile and deeply in love with it.
So? Why should they be? There needs to be a reason to subscribe...
Fact is it will take the average person several months to get to the point where they get the 1000 aa cap and need prestige gear to "stay competitive". Thats more than the average person lasts in a game like Rift or SWtoR anyway.
Fortunately, EQ is also a PvE game so "staying competitive" doesnt mean nearly as much. There will *always* be challenge appropriate content in EQ.
The best MMOs are like wine. They improve with age.
MMO industry and particularly majority of pioneer MMO generation is still too young to understand this. In a decade or two there will be a much bigger number of older and more experienced (thus wiser) gamers who will learn and understand MMOs are evolving products and will value the longetivity more and more. More and more people will look for depth, not just shiny. Just shiny is shallow and wears you out sooner or later. Companies sticking up with their good "old" games adding content and polish year after year will win on the long run.
Many know this and that's why games like UO, DAoC or EQ still exist. However majority of gamers still like to jump over to new shinies but with time more and more will go back to oldies.
Looking from the big picture it has barrely begun.
Well to be fair, that isn't an opinion about games but about the people who play them.
Aion EU has been F2P for a while now. The US one is out soon. Either way it still makes you atleast wanted in groups end game if you dont spend any cash at all unlike SOEs F2P counterparts.
I played EQ2 for 6 years, and EQ for 4. I am well aware of what SoE's business models are. You are incredibly naive if you think they are the industry standard for value for money.
Gear unlockers are 50 cents? Yeah for every single item more powerful than treasured. Good luck progressing through gear tiers for less than a monthly subscription. You also need to pay for every single spell upgrade. And anyone who plays EQ2 can say that if you dont have at least expert / mostly mastered, you are a waste of space.
DDO and LOTRO are FAR more successful than EQ2. Dont kid yourself, the population barely changed for EQ2 because the F2P model is a joke.
To give SoE some credit, the DCUO model is actually quite good, which is why that is doing well, but then again it doesnt block players from accessing gear or character skills like the EQ1 / 2 model.
SoE put out the most content in the industry? Dont make me laugh, the 3 month updates of late have been pretty terrible to be honest, it was what... 10 months between new dungeon / raid content during DoV? If you think that is good progress then you should look at how much content Rift has added. I dont like Rift, but it does content way faster than the current EQ2 team.
And EQ2 using the microtransaction money on the game? I think not, they just use it on more microtransaction content. Look at how much gear got released in the Station Cash store over the past year compared to what is available in game? What a joke.
I'm the type of person that wants as much stuff as possible for free? Dont make me laugh. You dont know shit about me. I have payed subscriptions to MMOs for the past 10 years. I can still see that the SoE F2P model is a complete farce and will attract no new lasting population resurgance because it is a complete rip off compared to other models on offer.
Aion has the exact same target audience as EQ2... what are you smoking? Its a fantasy MMO with generic dungeons and raids. EQ2 lost a lot of subs at Aions first launch.
If you think EQ2 F2P is WAY too restrictive, you obviously have not played many F2P MMOs out there.
Good Luck finding a game for you
@OP glad you are having a blast. I played a bit over the weekend and had a great time as well. Bit of nostalgia. I even logged back in to EQ2. Something about that opening theme song puts a smile on my face and reminds me of happier times.
It is too bad this thread got derailed so bad by some bad apples.
Not sure how this turned into a F2P discussion anyways. You can still pay a normal sub fee and play everything EQ has to offer. I was simply stating this is my favorite MMO out at the moment, and still a great game after all these years. F2P just gives people another option to play.
I've played more F2P MMOs than I can count. Typically you dont see 75% of all races and classes locked without having to be bought. Typically you aren't forbidden from wearing decent-quality equipment without subscribing.
As F2P models go, SoE's is one of the worst I've seen.
Worse than Mabinogi's, and thats saying something.
How many f2p games offer more than 8 classes?
How much content is accessible to that 'decent-quality'equipment (hint: the answer for EQ2 is every last scrap of 1-80 content, and most 80-90 content as well...compare that to the amount of content other games offer)
Leveling with adept spells and not being able to equip legendary/fabled gear is aweful.
You cant even use the broker to sell the gear you cannot use because f2p doesnt have access to it for selling.
I hear you Jimmy. I unsubbed from SWotR after two months and playing EQ again feels a thousand times more fun.
I played around ten hours on Saturday and had to force myself off to go and eat. Something I never did with ToR. It certainly is Evercrack. Ten years ago I nearly lost my job I was so absobed in EQ, hopefully it won't be so addictive second time around...
Why did you find it boring Elocke? Genuine question.
Also you're getting way too defensive over this.
Prior to free-to-play you didn't get anything without a subscription. Now you are getting at least 75% of the game gratis, and b*tching because you don't get more. As to being unable to sell on the broker: go set up a player-to-player direct market somewhere, maybe the docks area on Mara.