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How is Everquest I/II these days? or DAoC?
Just Like That
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OK, so I used to play the original Everquest a lot. I really liked the game world and the fact that it actually took a while to level up and stuff. I eventually quit a little bit after Planes of Power came out though, mainly because it was nothing but grinding and it was starting to take way too long to level up (I was level 52, I think).
Didn't play anything else until WoW, which was a blast for a while, but now I have 3 level 60 characters and nothing much to do. Too easy to level. Raids were fun for a little bit, but after the coolness factor of killing Rag/Ony wore off it was just a lot of wasted time trudging through boring trash mobs to get to what I really wanted. I PVPed a lot too but got tired of that also. I have zero interest in the game world, which has no atmosphere at all. The expansion comes out in a few days but I could really care less. I have a feeling I would get to level 70 in a week or two and then be in the same situation I'm in now.
I tried the EQ II demo (Trial of the Isle) and had a lot of fun. The graphics are a bit silly (the players look like they are made out of plastic) but it didn't bother me too much, and I found the game world pretty interesting. I never bought the game, though, because I wasn't sure if the demo area quality was really indicative of the whole game quality.
So basically, thread title. Anyone here still play EQ I, or currently play EQ II? Is it still a bitch to level at 50+, and do they have instances or anything? Also, can you play solo or do you still need groups to not get your ass kicked? Any other big changes? I would also like to know if there is any chance in hell I could "catch up" to everyone else at level 90 or 100 or whatever it is now and get decent equipment without playing for 5 years (though this isn't super important).
In addition, is Dark Age of Camelot any good? I've never played it but read a few good things about it. I don't really know anything about it.
And no, I don't want to play Eve Online. Somebody is going to mention it anyway though, because it gets mentioned in every thread about MMOs.
Edit: I would also like to know how each game is as far as amount of quests there are to do. I remember EQ had like 2 quests total when I played it, which was kind of a bummer.
Didn't play anything else until WoW, which was a blast for a while, but now I have 3 level 60 characters and nothing much to do. Too easy to level. Raids were fun for a little bit, but after the coolness factor of killing Rag/Ony wore off it was just a lot of wasted time trudging through boring trash mobs to get to what I really wanted. I PVPed a lot too but got tired of that also. I have zero interest in the game world, which has no atmosphere at all. The expansion comes out in a few days but I could really care less. I have a feeling I would get to level 70 in a week or two and then be in the same situation I'm in now.
I tried the EQ II demo (Trial of the Isle) and had a lot of fun. The graphics are a bit silly (the players look like they are made out of plastic) but it didn't bother me too much, and I found the game world pretty interesting. I never bought the game, though, because I wasn't sure if the demo area quality was really indicative of the whole game quality.
So basically, thread title. Anyone here still play EQ I, or currently play EQ II? Is it still a bitch to level at 50+, and do they have instances or anything? Also, can you play solo or do you still need groups to not get your ass kicked? Any other big changes? I would also like to know if there is any chance in hell I could "catch up" to everyone else at level 90 or 100 or whatever it is now and get decent equipment without playing for 5 years (though this isn't super important).
In addition, is Dark Age of Camelot any good? I've never played it but read a few good things about it. I don't really know anything about it.
And no, I don't want to play Eve Online. Somebody is going to mention it anyway though, because it gets mentioned in every thread about MMOs.
Edit: I would also like to know how each game is as far as amount of quests there are to do. I remember EQ had like 2 quests total when I played it, which was kind of a bummer.
Just Like That on
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Seriously though? EQ takes too long to get into these days, with 12 expansions of content to try and trudge through.
EQ2 is supposedly doing pretty good with its echoes of faydwer expansion.
and i couldnt tell you a thing about DAOC.
I decided to just stick to other games/hobbies and wait for a new MMO. From what what I've seen of Warhammer online and Age of Conan, they look like the front runners for the next big thing.
It takes some getting used to again, but I'm having fun. They've really speeded up the leveling process so I'm already looking forward to RvR. On top of that there are BGs for every 5 levels which is cool.
The classic zones and SI zones get a 150% exp and 200% coin bonus. Also when you start off you get tons of gear from quests. Used to be you'd be level 20 with maybe a couple magic slot items from random drops, now quests replace them every few levels in every slot.
I got to level 14 yesterday in a few hours but then read a post which shat all over my race/class/stat point allocations and I've now started over to min/max appropriately.
I'm playing on the Classic server cluster which basically makes most of the TOA stuff off limits (I guess, never had any experience with it before nor now) and more importantly for me, there are no buffbots. There is a range limit on the distance between the buffer and buffee. I quit mostly because I tended to solo a lot and fucking hated buffbotted people, so this is a very big plus in my book.
I went Midgard because they're the least populated. Hib seems to be the highest pop and most hated with animist siege exploitation, Albs are slightly less populated but not much.
Like I said it takes some getting used to. It feels kind of clunky at first when you're used to WoW. Like you forget that strafing slows you down in DAoC. Rebinding the hotbar was a cryptic process and I still can't get it to register my extra mouse buttons for the hotbar (can use them for standard keybind things though, oddly enough).
If you pick it up do a Google search for Whatties UI, makes it look better. There are others but this one seemed the cleanest.
And one final thing, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that DAoC subscribers will either be guaranteed a slot or have a better chance of getting into the WAR beta at some point, which is an added bonus.
A couple obligatory screenshots, linked since they're like 800k straight out of the client.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/arcanist/sshot000.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/arcanist/sshot001.jpg
Right now my highest character is only 43 but it has never felt like a grind. I'm in a mid size guild on the Befallen server and there always seems to be enough people on playing. Even in the middle of the night I am able to find a group. I think some of the reason for that is that anyone can group with anyone because of the mentor system.
Basically what the mentor system does is if someone out of the level range joins a group they can select one of the other people in the group and mentor down to their level. This gives the person being mentored a xp boost and the person mentoring down a xp cut. It also downs the higher players stats to around what someone that level would have but you can still use all your spells and fancy equip and it does make a difference.
You can solo quite a bit of the quests but you will level much faster in a group. They also redid the tradeskill stuff and its good times now.
Edit for some pictures
If you're interested in PvP EQ2 just doesn't work. It is relatively fun if you just want a PvE/crafting game, though.
I really reccomend giving it a try...you can get eq2 "classic" really cheap although you may want to just get Echoes of Faydwer so you have everything available to you from the start.
Everyone uses some sort of scout class, experience-locked roughly around level 18-22 or so, and just camped the newbie areas and exploited the zoning rules. And, the markets only ever had seriously overpriced items intended for twinks with the money to buy it.
Granted, I managed to craft myself the same stuff anyway. Then I got bored.
Speaking of quests, you can actually turn adventuring XP (what you get from killing mobs) off and level 100% by exploration and quests. It's really interesting... I don't think any other game has given you that option.
As for the PvP, I played a monk to 30 on one of the PvP servers, and I seriously consider EQ2's ruleset to be the best in the MMO genre. It just works. There are pricks now who are abusing it, but that will change I'm sure.
I've been debating on picking up EoF and playing the game again... we were mostly on Mistmoore before. if someone does a Game On thread, I'm probably fucked.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
It's just got some glaring holes, like the aforementioned level 14-15 guys camping the opposite city's level 10 zones, which was annoying for the short period where I wasn't level 18.
Which kinda lead to an interesting development as far as the actual game went; nearly everyone on the server seemed to have locked their XP at about level 18 for some reason. Which lead to most fight being within the range of level 14-22 inside the respective city "frontier" zones.
Right now I'm leaning towards EQ2 but I haven't made any decisions yet. PVP isn't real important to me since its usually hard enough to get used to a new game without some pimped out level 60 kicking your ass while you're trying to level. (Yet I played on a PVP server in WoW anyway... maybe a mistake). That mentor system sounds pretty badass.
I'm still kinda curious about how the original EQ plays nowadays. I already have some chars for it and it would have a nice little nostalgia bonus if I went back. Plus its got a fuck ton of content now, I'm sure. Oh well, if no one here plays it maybe I'll go find some EQ forum and bother them instead.
Edit:
Wow... how does this work? Is it just some option in a menu somewhere? I'm assuming you get some sort of bonus to the quest/exploration exp, since you don't get the mob experience anymore?
The no adventuring XP is just like it sounds... there's an option to turn adventuring XP off, and then all of your XP is gained through exploration and quest completion. When I was playing, there were some folks doing this, and the highest one was level 45... he was still going, but I have no idea if he was able to make it all the way to 70.
There's no bonus xp... there's just enough quests to level on quest rewards alone.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Oh, okay. So he is basically making it harder for himself, LOL. Its cool that you can do that though, because I don't think you could level in WoW just off the quest exp. Sounds like I'll always have something to do besides grind then.
That game's performance/graphics ratio is just way out of whack. Runs like shit, looks like meh.
DAoC's got a trial (downloading it myself, now; haven't played in years, but I loved it), too.
Because, seriously, that annoyed the crap out of me.
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Oh! That's why I didn't play it, because of the credit card requirement.
Edit: Also, is there a certain place I should be downloading the client from? Because FileFront is going to take about an hour and a half.
Yeah, I remember the EQ2 trial being a bit rough on my computer. I eventually got it to where it looked and ran OK though. My computer is kinda old too: 2.4 Ghz, 712mb ram, Geforce 4 Ti. So if you have at least that fast of a computer you won't have many problems. I wouldn't want to play it with less though.
The EQ2 trial doesn't require a credit card, by the way (since were on that subject)
Offtopic: Mythic, (EA Mythic, whatever you are now,) buy some adspace on IGN or some other website, I'm tired of seeing the same webbanners for WoW: BC
EQ2 Echoes of Faydwer expansion includes everything up to now (not sure about the "micropayment" type adventure packs), and the DAoC 5th Anniversary Edition also includes all expansions up to now.
Both are on DVD-ROM, which is nice since the EQ2:KoS version I have was 9 CDs of long installing.
Anyone trying DAoC, I recommend you roll on a Classic style server, Gareth is the most populated though they're clustered and you can travel in between them so it's not much of a matter. Unless you're a PvE fiend and want to do the ToA grind the Classic servers are the way to go, they also have a lot of new players (which surprised me, like total newb questions in chat), and don't allow established players to use the /level command to skip the first 20 levels so you might be able to find a group.
Also, for anyone like myself who didn't know, here are the recommended specs:
PIII 1ghz
256mb RAM or higher
32mb 3D accelerated video card
You mean required,
and yeah, Im open for advice,
If you have a Pentium II:
PII 450
256mb RAM
600mb free hard drive space
32mb 3D accelerated video card
If you have a Pentium III/IV:
PIII 450
128mb RAM
600mb free hard drive space
16mb 3D accelerated video card
(Please note that Voodoo 1/2/3/5 cards are not supported in Camelot, although Voodoo 3's and 5's may work).
I'll probably end up playing tonight whenever the client gets done. So we'll have to figure out where to play and where to meet up.
But you can turn off new models and whatnot to make it better, obviously. The game came out in 2001 so you'd have to have a really poor system to not be able to run it at some setting.
edit.. and play whatever realm/server you like, I'm on Midgard/Gareth, char name Observer for now. Can answer basic questions but like I said I just started playing again yesterday after like 4+ years away so I don't know all the hot flavor of the month specs. Check out class boards at http://vnboards.ign.com for stuff like that.
edit: My download just finished and I'm installing. How much left for your download, MiSTie?
I'm over 75% done and it'll probably be about 17 or 18 minutes until its finished.
Just finished downloading so I'm installing it now. I'll try looking for an alternative patching method.
Edit: Looks like you can download patches individually on their main website under the Downloads section.
If you wanted to make a PA guild, here's my two cents. Hear me out.
Make a ‘gank guild': Eight people only, a well balanced group, scheduled play time (say, 5:00-9:00 every weekday), level up together, hit the battle grounds together, work together, use ventrilo.
Basically, a well organized eight man group can take out unorganized players in groups three times it’s size. Of course it only works if everyone shows up to the play sessions. It basically ensures an enjoyable time will be had by all for those three or four hours you put into the game every day. Just a suggestion.
Edit: Also daoc.catacombs.com used to be a great resource. I don't know anymore though.
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I also just went linkdead. And I've had some issues with quests today that I didn't yesterday. There are a few "visit this location" sort of quests that just won't complete for me today despite standing in the same exact spots I did yesterday when they worked.
So.. some issues on patch day, most likely.
edit for the post above.. my first character to 50 was a necromancer, it sucked. ridiculously easy to level but completely unwanted and unimpressive in PvP. most other pet classes are good, mid spiritmasters are good, bonedancers are good, animists are the kings of siege (but mediocre roaming I imagine), and cabalists are pretty good also. Enchanters and necromancers are really the only two pet classes that I see not being that great/wanted/useful.