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I don't know.. Should I return to the game I was destined to finish?
This was my first MMORPG. I played it back about a month or two after Kunark was released. About 4 years of playing and I grew bored of it so many times and shut it off for other things. But I put so much time into it as well. I'm thinking.. Should I get a station pass? To play all those games for 20 bucks? I think it just might be worth it. I can enjoy all these games all over again.
Current MMO: WoW/GW2
Comments
EQ1 is worth returning to... others aren't.
My opinion... no... sorry. EQ1 is just old and outdated. Yes, SOE comes out with expansions alot, but, im sorry... EQ1 just needs to die so Sony can focus on the future.
Yes, I am a 3 year EQ1 vet.
Yes, I am a fan SOE.
No, I dont think EQ1 is worth returning to.
i'm currently utilizing the generous Sony(SOE) offer of 21 free days play in EQ. & i do thank Sony(SOE) for the opportunity. Around the 25th of Jan. i'll post whether or not i decided to resubscribe. The Titanium package tempts me, & i think is a good value per the content, but with the current state of EQ & how Sony(SOE) is operating it's probable i wont resubscribe unless i catch a miraculous lucky break that shifts the tide. Titanium package has the complete game of EQ ... till this Feb. when Prophecy of Ro releases being the 11th expansion. Sony(SOE) routinely releases expansions every 3-6 months creating an ever-widening gap between older & the newest content. This chasm is becoming more & more significant since the EQ populations are depleting. Sony(SOE) touts EQ has 375+ zones & 50,000+ items ingame. An inflated economy, many MANY of the zones not routinely used, items not attainable &/or wasted by Sony's current design makes progression difficult & discourages unless already an established veteran player or a multi-account player. EQ is my 1st MMO & this is my last hope to continue playing it. i've heard & read many great things about other MMOs current & future. i'm still debating about EQ with a decision soon to come. Sony(SOE) isn't very casual player friendly, most current players are the veterans &/or multi-account players with well earned tenure. EQ is a game, a game is suppose to be fun, if not able to progress & achieve goals then wont have much fun. Sony(SOE) still uses tactics emphasizing much time need to invest for progression. With EQ currently i think it's the community holding it together more so than Sony(SOE). i do think there are glimpses of the customer service striving to do better though. i like EQ, i know there is much i haven't experienced ingame & i want to keep playing. Looking for a group about 1/3rd of the time, not being able to solo moderately, lethargic pace of progression, not able to obtain wanted items, are a few of the reasons i think as a casual player & the stage of EQ's age Sony(SOE) is considering my type of play style as an after thought. By all means i concede i'm not the most efficient player. If you want a game to waste spare time or will become a hardcore &/or multi-account player then good luck. EQ can indeed still be fun, but as a brand new character i'd have to recommend against it the majority of the time. The value is the balance between what you want to accomplish & the required investment, & with Sony's EQ there's still no guarantee of achieving.
Q, MNK, Veiled One resider, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
I stopped playing EQ after Luclin. I have had a Station Access Pass until SOE destroyed one of my favorite mmorpgs and I could no longer bring myself to pay them money that might have gone to support this game.
So for this reason alone I am not returning to EQ, although I would like to with the new release of the Titanium pack (Classic plus 10 expansions!).
Star Wars Galaxies has ruined the SOE Station Pass for me and now I am back where I started, wondering which game to subscribe to instead of paying one subscription for them all. I only subscribe to Everquest II now, which I will continue to play, it is still fun, but I wish I could play EQ again.
I would not suggest anyone to resubscribe to EQ. The game has seen major cutbacks in the development team and a new producer was appointed within the last couple months. SOE wants to keep the veteran players happy. I can understand that they know attracting new players to this game is all but impossible with today's choices that gamers can pick from. However, with the reduction of staff that are on the EQLIVE team, their ability to correct problems and push code to the live servers is not up to a standard that a LIVE game needs. The most recent mistake was with the last patch that added npc vendors in POK that should not have been there.
You can read about it here:
EQ Official Forums
With the introduction of Monster Missions I think EQ devs have lost their mind. You don't even play your character in these missions. They are boring, repetitive, and lack any training for what lies in the "real world" of EQ. Gone are the days of going through a challenging dungeon crawl. Its all about hitting 70 and joining a raiding guild. Raiding is so boring. All you do is stand there with 30-100 other people, and ask why you pay 15 bucks a month to do this when a 10 year old can come up with better content.
The glory days of EQ aren't coming back unless another LDoN type expanion pack comes out that rewards players for playing their toon. The chances of that happening aren't looking good. They're already scheduled for another ho-hum expansion pack that looks as jazzy as plain cardboard.
I would suggest going back. I'm currently using the free 21 days to Return to EQ. I have started a character from scratch, and have had NO problem finding a group.
If you go in with the mentality that you cannont get a group, you probably won't. Just look around, the old zones aren't where people are now. Initially i went to North Ro and went to the derv camp when i hit 14... no one was there! People were at the hotspots where xp gain is greatly increased.
So far, do a little talking to people, pick a server that you feel you could join, and you'll be set. I'm currently on Stromm and there is a high population of eople of all levels. Granted it is No where near server pops from Kunark days, but it is still large enough for you to group.
I played EQ from the beginning, or 5 months after lauch (practically the beginning) and if I can mark one point as the beginning of the end, it would be the Luclin expansion. From Luclin, POP, and onward, the original Norrath was no more. Old zones became ghost towns, the exhilirating and dangerous cross-continent treks became a thing of the past, and the thrill of making it to a remote zone became meaningless with all the inta-ports available.
Funny thing is, the EQ I remember and think of as the foundation actually lasted little more than a year. 1999 to 2000 or so are EQ's glory days. Luclin and POP, and the ridiculous and drab Plane of Knowledge have been the standard for EQ for 5 years now. That IS the game.
I'm just glad I got in that first year of play. Hoping the next year shows releases of games that will let me relive some of that experience.
now is actually the best time for you to rejoin everquest considering the new expansion. With it you can lvl up to 70 quickly and even get you gear on par with other mid game raiders (quvic level). now with titanium out this is ther perfect oppertunity to come if even just to test it.
the low levels still sucks balls though even with monster missions
i recently decided to end my EQ gaming as well, so you'll understand my perspective for my decision. i have to say over all, "No," to rejoining Sony's EQ. Yes, the Titanium is the best package deal so far, makes sense EQ being 6 years old. The Titanium tempted me almost back into the Sony(SOE) fold. Prophecy of Ro expansion, not included in Titanium, is being released in Feb. & Sony(SOE) routinely releases expansions every 3-6 months since they took over EQ.
What's not told with this good valued content that's Titanium is how because of slowly shrinking populations & EQ's very own age there's much waste in the game. Sony(SOE) raised subscription rates in 2005 too. Legends server, a premium pay to play service, had for months been trying to communicate with Sony(SOE) about their community to only have it fall upon deft ears until Sony(SOE) gave about a month notice they were closing that server just for an example of how Sony(SOE) treats it's customers/players. i wont even go into details about the recent massive customers/players roll-backs done by Sony(SOE) because of their admitted mistake. Almost all the servers were merged in 2005 because of lack of players. Of the 375+ zones plenty are ghost-towns, of the claimed 50K+ items much are wasted. Depending upon class you can solo moderately to a certain level, but then have to wait for the Looking for Group response. Also, the economy is of a much higher cost of living now since there are fewer players & most of them being veteran players &/or multi-accounters. Then there are AAs which are increasing in total amount with every expansion more quickly than most can keep pace because of the Exp. given.
my suggestion is to be a little patient & wait for a more current or soon to be released MMO. MMOs are to be played for a duration, they are an investment & you'll probably want to be able to get the most out of your investment via fun accomplishments & progression, Sony's current design for EQ doesn't allow this for most players unless already established or able to multi-account play. Nonetheless, EQ can/could still be a fun game, some depends upon how you want to play, the right niche, Sony's design for EQ, pure luck even, but more than likely you will be severely behind & playing catch-up unfortunately. If you do concede to the Sony(SOE) marketing machine good luck, but i would advise against it unless Sony(SOE) does some changes to EQ.
The only real reason I can see for getting the All Access pass would be if there are actually a couple of games there that really interest you-- if you wanted to play EQ1 and EQ2 or EQ2 and SWG... Or you had a burning desire to play Tanarus and the Matrix Online... whatever.
If you haven't played EQ in a long time, you might find the game a little disorienting now. A number of people like myself who came back after a long absence had to deal with things like figuring out what levels you get what spells under level 50, new jargon based around expansions that were missed, and figuring out where the heck everyone is. And if you thought it was boring before, all the changes aren't likely to have made it any more interesting. If you're nostalgic for the places you used to go, you'll probably find most of those places empty and abandoned.
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.
Their biggest mistake was in going back to old zones and turning them into "uber" raid zones. Had they left them alone I'd strongly recommend Everquest to anyone with 5 other friends to group with. There is more world to explore in Everquest than any game ever released.
But because alot of the level up zones are fubar you'll wind up being funneled into the same zones as everyone else and hell will freeze over before you find a low-mid level exp zone without at least one f#%#ing PLer and his bot.
It would really be something great if another developer/publisher were to buy Everquest from SOE and restore it back to what it should be. That alone would take alot of work though.
My youtube MMO gaming channel
Hrm...looks like EQ will be great game for me
1year in wow ... too easy and booring. But EQ looks like alot harder to lvl up and so ?
LOL, so true. Finding low level groups isn't impossible, but they are always veteran players alternate charcters, all twinked, and they are usually PLing them up to the level they can finally group with level 70 toons, and raid. I see very very very few "never played EQ before" noobs in this game anymore.
We'll see what kind of shake-up Vanguard does to EQ, I been looking into it, and I'm intrigued. Alot of players in EQ chat mention Vanguard. I've seen the term "The Next EQ Killer" thrown around alot to describe it. If it has close to the impact that EQ2 did, it will hurt EQ badly. Fatally? Maybe, hard to say. SOE might make it a free game, and start advertising Pepsi and Quiznos in PoK. (Pure speculation, but worth a laugh)
I still like EQ for being a challenge though. Making a wealthy toon with uber gear isn't all that easy, especially for a total newbie. It's a blood sweat and tears job to get that first toon into the ranks of High Level Raid material, and with all the AAs you'll need, plan on alot of gameplay.
I still go back, and do the lower level quests I never got around to doing. It seems there are an endless supply of quests to dig up from Old EQ days when the rewards were uber, but now the gear is crap. I did the Badges of Qeynos quest for kicks, and had alot of fun doing it. The necklace is far inferior to anything that players wear these days, but it was fun.