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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  The Gaming Graveyard  |  Everquest 2  |  Topic: Re-Subbed Recently, The Game has Changed, I Like It 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Re-Subbed Recently, The Game has Changed, I Like It  (Read 95819 times)
ShenMolo
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on: October 04, 2007, 11:22:47 AM

I'm very pleasantly surprised with the game as it is now.

I quit a few months after release for various reasons. The difficulty level of most mobs was such that grouping was required for way too much content (at least for my tastes).

Now I'm playing again and enjoying it, and for reasons I haven't felt since UO and the first EQ.

My first suprise was that I had some free time sitting on my account, some type of promotion that I wasn't aware of. I had come back out of 90% boredom 10% curiosity, and finding 10 free days available was a nice way to get back into it.

They have changed a lot from group to solo content. I bought the All in One download after my first few days back, to get the cheap expansions. The new areas are cool to explore and very nostalgic (Butcherblock, Feydark, etc). I haven't been interested in "exploring" geography in a game for a long time, but this is actually fun.

It's taken me a little time to get out of the power leveling mindset that a couple of years in WoW has given me. I've had to stop thinking about the most "efficient" leveling. If anything, I'm leveling faster than I expected, so much so that many many quests go grey.

It may wear off, but I'm having a good time for the moment.
Sky
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I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.


Reply #1 on: October 04, 2007, 11:59:25 AM

I play level-locked (you can turn off combat exp by rt-clicking the exp bar), and I still level too fast (questing experience).

I saw the potential in EQ2 when it launched, I love the Isle (and still prefer the original Isle) newbie experience. But the game really fell apart in the mid-teens. Now it's the only mmo I play, and I enjoy it. Of course, there are some gripes about group-only stuff, but that's going to happen in most mmo.

The EQ2 dev team is the best in the business imo.
squanto
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Reply #2 on: October 04, 2007, 01:59:52 PM

I just resubscribed to EQ2 as well a couple days ago. I hadn't played for a couple years and I am enjoying it. I started as a Dark Elf and am really liking exploring Neriak. I used to play EQ as a dark elf and spent so much time in that city. The EQ2 version really captures the feel of the old city.
Lt.Dan
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Reply #3 on: October 04, 2007, 03:57:57 PM

I think we've had this thread already.

<Mods please, append the why I hate this game thread here>
Brogarn
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Reply #4 on: October 12, 2007, 12:17:28 PM

Ok, I played EQ2 in beta and absolutely hated it. I keep reading, though, that now it's a pretty solid and fun game. Where should I go to get all the standard information like classes and such? I'm not yet sure if I'm going to give a free trial a go yet, or not. I'm just in the initial stages of pondering if there's anything that gets me excited enough to play. I looked at ye ole standard Allakhazam's, but either it's poorly organized and lacking info, or my brain has finally turned to the diseased organ I always knew my company would turn it into.

Any help is appreciated!

Hopefully this isn't a retarded first post. I found this place from Lum's brokentoys.org, so blame him even though he has no clue who I am. Strangers make the best scapegoats imo.
Numtini
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Reply #5 on: October 12, 2007, 12:33:55 PM

It's actually pretty hard to find good information sites on EQ2, partially because it's been so hard to keep up with changes in the game. The official forums are the main resource for information, including links to other sites, which tend to be of the small limited focus type. I think tentonhammer has the best stuff out there overall.

If you can read this, you're on a board populated by misogynist assholes.
Hartsman
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Reply #6 on: October 13, 2007, 09:11:29 AM

EQ2i is pretty good, also -- http://eq2i.com

Cheddar
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Noob Sauce


Reply #7 on: October 13, 2007, 09:03:33 PM

EQ2i is pretty good, also -- http://eq2i.com

Thats my dawg.

Hartsman is still one of my favorite devs.  EVER


He is like the helmet of gaming.  (the pink is a link, click it.)

No Nerf, but I put a link to this very thread and I said that you all can guarantee for my purity. I even mentioned your case, and see if they can take a look at your lawn from a Michigan perspective.
Brogarn
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Reply #8 on: October 14, 2007, 08:18:16 AM

Well, the first few levels have been fun so far. Still quite a bit to learn before I decide wether or not I really like it enough to subscribe. Unfortunately, my video card has chosen to remind me of it's age and frailty. Something's wrong with it. It's locking up when I get around a bunch of NPCs. It's not EQ2, though. It does it in Titan Quest as well. /sigh Uninstalled/Reinstalled drivers, etc. Anyways, just babbling because I'm all sad face right now.

To sum up: EQ2 fun at least up until level 7.
Murgos
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Reply #9 on: October 14, 2007, 05:37:26 PM

EQ2i is pretty good, also -- http://eq2i.com


I got to give you guys a pretty serious demerit.  Your handling of Windows Vista is abysmal.  The user permissions are just completely borked when installing, at least from the EoF all in one pack, and need to be set by the admin.  A quick look on your tech support forums show an easy half dozen people with the same issue in the last day or two.  I have to imagine you are using up a lot of good will by not being proactive on this especially considering the amount of time since Vista's release.

The issue is that when installing from the EoF pack the launchpad.exe and the eq2.exe do not have permissions to write or modify the contents of the Program Files/Sony folder.  A simple work around is to, as admin, modify the properties of the Program Files/Sony folder to allow all Users Full Control of the Sony Folder.

I am sure that is not the optimal solution, but you aren't paying me to troubleshoot your programs.   wink

"You have all recieved youre last warning. I am in the process of currently tracking all of youre ips and pinging your home adressess. you should not have commencemed a war with me" - Aaron Rayburn
Surlyboi
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eat a bag of dicks


Reply #10 on: October 14, 2007, 09:14:12 PM

that's not a bug, that's a feature.

Tuned in, immediately get to watch cringey Ubisoft talking head offering her deepest sympathies to the families impacted by the Orlando shooting while flanked by a man in a giraffe suit and some sort of "horrifically garish neon costumes through the ages" exhibit or something.  We need to stop this fucking planet right now and sort some shit out. -Kail
Mantees
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Reply #11 on: October 15, 2007, 02:39:23 AM

I also resubbed recently to EQ2, after trying it long ago on a PC unable to handle it.
Well, I would say I am generally liking it and will probably also buy Kunark.

The combat is ok. The crafting is better than many other games and it looks like the economy is also decent. I was surprised to see that I could profit from buying raw materials and craft something out of them, even as a very low level crafter. That's not something happening on every other MMORPG out there!
The variety of what you can build/use is also quite impressive.

But what is the real EQ2 strong point, or at least the reason that convinced me to resub, is the quality of the world building, the lore, the dialogs and in general the setting. You can easily see how there are some very inspired artists and writers working on the game.

Too bad the game mechanic designers seems much less inspired.

For example I was in Antonica, putting traps on creature dens. I was able to get quite efficiently pelts and meat in this way (how come I can get elephant meat from small critter dens, in a place where there is not one single elephant? Mysteries of Norrath). At some point a big bear pass by and I kill it.
Heck! Tens of pelts and meat pieces coming out that small critter den, and nothing on a big bear corpse? Why can't I just get from animals what is supposed to come from animals?
Hunting low level creatures to farm crafting materials would simple be much more fun than double clicking on random spawning critter dens, and it would easily add to the atmosphere instead than killing it.

Too much use of Excel to design a game is not always a good thing.
Sky
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I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.


Reply #12 on: October 15, 2007, 08:34:18 AM

EQ2i is pretty good, also -- http://eq2i.com

eq2i.wikia.com, but yeah. Great site. My ingame /browser homepage.
Hartsman
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Reply #13 on: October 15, 2007, 07:03:27 PM

I got to give you guys a pretty serious demerit.  Your handling of Windows Vista is abysmal.  The user permissions are just completely borked when installing, at least from the EoF all in one pack, and need to be set by the admin.  A quick look on your tech support forums show an easy half dozen people with the same issue in the last day or two.  I have to imagine you are using up a lot of good will by not being proactive on this especially considering the amount of time since Vista's release.

I entirely agree about burning goodwill.    (Weirdly, that phrase in particular is one that's framed a lot of what I think about consequences of action or inaction in live services.)

And, thanks -- Your post reminded me to check in with the Launchpad team to see what the status is on the improvements here.  It's been more than a small pet peeve of mine as well.

Just got word back that at least the first round of "making things better" (e.g. Don't just quietly freeze up while trying to write; At least tell people how to fix it) is out of dev and in the pipeline to make it out to the live servers.  There are smarter solutions down the line, but in the meanwhile I'll gladly take "better than today."

- Scott

Lt.Dan
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Reply #14 on: October 15, 2007, 08:12:32 PM

Too bad the game mechanic designers seems much less inspired.

For example I was in Antonica, putting traps on creature dens. I was able to get quite efficiently pelts and meat in this way (how come I can get elephant meat from small critter dens, in a place where there is not one single elephant? Mysteries of Norrath). At some point a big bear pass by and I kill it.
Heck! Tens of pelts and meat pieces coming out that small critter den, and nothing on a big bear corpse? Why can't I just get from animals what is supposed to come from animals?
Hunting low level creatures to farm crafting materials would simple be much more fun than double clicking on random spawning critter dens, and it would easily add to the atmosphere instead than killing it.

To paraphrase the great Gary Gygax - if you can live in a world of goblins and fire-breathing dragons then surely you can accept that hide comes from dens not actual animals.
Mantees
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Reply #15 on: October 16, 2007, 03:44:09 AM

Yeah, sure. It is just a bit more difficult to find the world immersive when it is like that, or when a sorcerer needs to cast 4 fireballs to kill a fish (not a shark, a fish), only because the other mobs in the zone are in the 10-20 level range and so the fish also has to be level 14.
Additionally as I was saying, it is not only a matter of immersiveness. It is simply more fun when you have a purpose in going back to an old zone and do a few easy kills instead of farming clickables.

BTW yesterday I dinged. It's good that I can solo gnolls now. Too bad that turtles still pwns me. Damn ninja turtles in disguise!

No really, I like the game.
Brogarn
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Reply #16 on: October 16, 2007, 08:07:15 AM

I'm still having fun with it, but haven't chosen a class yet. I know I'll be primarily soloing just because a) I like to be self reliant and b) It's easier to stop what I'm doing at anytime and attend to the fiance as needed.

Any suggestion as a primary soloer newbie who doesn't have any twink cash? I was thinking necro, which wouldn't be too bad, even though I kinda hate pets, but was reading something about Adept spells (whatever they are) or something being really expensive. I tried monk, but I'm thinking no, too boring so far. At least at level 9 (I know, level 9 does not represent the game when you have 80 levels, but still, I'm bored already.)

I'm reading the main boards too, but a lot of what I'm reading kind of baffles me. There's a lot to absorb which is awesome at the same time that it's overwhelming. Unfortunately, in this genre, the "pros" tend to speak a different language full of acronyms and assumptions that you know what the heck they're talking about. I know I've done it myself having played MMO's and MUDs since the 90's. But it makes for an even tougher learning curve when you're reading the boards not knowing wth half the people are talking about.

Anyways, I'm babbling now...

Any help at all is so very much appreciated.

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot to add: I'm also having a hard time reading through the guides since most of it seems to be old information. The classes have changed a lot since release, at least as far as progression goes. So I'm trying to sort through all of that and not sure what's no longer valid.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2007, 08:15:11 AM by Brogarn »
shiznitz
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Reply #17 on: October 16, 2007, 08:23:10 AM

The game is well-tuned for soloing of any class, really. However, Furies and Wardens seem to be excellent solo and in groups. I also never had any problem soloing my berserker. No matter what class you choose, you will be able to solo fine as long as you play to the classes strengths. Most solo exp comes from quest completion, not grinding mobs.

I have never played WoW.
Nebu
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Reply #18 on: October 16, 2007, 09:00:46 AM

I think saying that a warden is excellent solo is a stretch.  I can solo fine and quite safely on my warden, but it's often slow and boring.  I'd much rather solo on my brigand even though I die more often.  It's a lot more interesting. 

"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."

-  Mark Twain
Soukyan
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Reply #19 on: October 16, 2007, 03:40:55 PM

Through level 14, soloing with an Inquisitor has been fairly decent. It seems to be a little slower than other classes, but part of that has to do with the quality of my spells, I think.

"Life is no cabaret... we're inviting you anyway." ~Amanda Palmer
"Tree, awesome, numa numa, love triangle, internal combustion engine, mountain, walk, whiskey, peace, pascagoula" ~Lantyssa
"Les vrais paradis sont les paradis qu'on a perdus." ~Marcel Proust
Chorulle
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Reply #20 on: October 16, 2007, 05:02:23 PM

In the past I know people complained that the cleric types (templar, inquisitor) were slower for soloing since their DPS was low (they could survive forever because it took that long to actually kill something).  However, from what I have read (I am thinking of an inquisitor alt myself for Kunark) alot of that can be overcome by AA now.  Apparently there is a battle priest AA line which gives a good boost to their meleeing abilities.  If leveling quick isn't a priority you could look into what others here have done (myself included) and lock your combat XP.  That would give you a chance to build up some AA off of quests in multiple zones and boost yourself that way (cheaper then better spells at least). 

I'm not sure if we have any sages to make spells in BC (wouldn't be surprised to find out Sky has one of those too) but even if we don't you can usually find someone to make spells for your by asking in the public channels as long as you provide the rares.  Also, even though they aren't quite as good Adept 1's can usually be gotten pretty cheap on the market and are a perfectly good substitute for Adept 3s at these levels (I wouldn't bother with Apprentice 4s in general unless they are vastly cheaper then Adept 1s)

"Saying that nobody needs more then web apps is like saying noone needs a fridge because we can all drive to T.G.I. goddamn Friday's for chicken wings"

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Numtini
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Reply #21 on: October 16, 2007, 06:41:09 PM

Once I got some AAs into the combat lines, my mystic became a quite good soloer. Able to keep up with normal sort of solo quests and grind through mobs quite easily. Huge difference.

If you can read this, you're on a board populated by misogynist assholes.
Soukyan
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Reply #22 on: October 16, 2007, 09:59:50 PM

In the past I know people complained that the cleric types (templar, inquisitor) were slower for soloing since their DPS was low (they could survive forever because it took that long to actually kill something).  However, from what I have read (I am thinking of an inquisitor alt myself for Kunark) alot of that can be overcome by AA now.  Apparently there is a battle priest AA line which gives a good boost to their meleeing abilities.  If leveling quick isn't a priority you could look into what others here have done (myself included) and lock your combat XP.  That would give you a chance to build up some AA off of quests in multiple zones and boost yourself that way (cheaper then better spells at least). 

I'm not sure if we have any sages to make spells in BC (wouldn't be surprised to find out Sky has one of those too) but even if we don't you can usually find someone to make spells for your by asking in the public channels as long as you provide the rares.  Also, even though they aren't quite as good Adept 1's can usually be gotten pretty cheap on the market and are a perfectly good substitute for Adept 3s at these levels (I wouldn't bother with Apprentice 4s in general unless they are vastly cheaper then Adept 1s)

Good info, Chorulle and Numtini. I have been meaning to look up the Battle Priest spec information, just haven't had the chance yet. I will do that in the next week. I need to figure out how to lock combat xp. I have been gaining AA experience and points, but have not spent any yet. In any case, the Inquisitor is really enjoyable. It helps that I started in Neriak, too, so I get some all new content after my long hiatus. I'll be sticking around and playing through the Kunark release at least. Good stuff.

"Life is no cabaret... we're inviting you anyway." ~Amanda Palmer
"Tree, awesome, numa numa, love triangle, internal combustion engine, mountain, walk, whiskey, peace, pascagoula" ~Lantyssa
"Les vrais paradis sont les paradis qu'on a perdus." ~Marcel Proust
Sky
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I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.


Reply #23 on: October 17, 2007, 08:01:03 AM

Shadowknights are a good solo class, but I might be biased. Monks are fun, too. You can't really get a good feel for a class until you start hitting your twenties. Once you have most of your early class functions in place and start customizing with some AA. You can't make a judgement on monks until you have feign death!

The important thing is to pick whatever you find fun to play, you'll always be more effective. If you hate pets, don't play a pet class. Also pick a complementary tradeskill. Having my shadowknight able to make his own armor means I can always have at least mastercrafter armor.

Soukyan, battle cleric does seem to be the build of the moment for Inqs. AA spent in one tree can't be respec'd to the other tree, so make sure you have a gameplan. Might want to drop one point in the starter skill for the first tree and then build right to BC on the second tree. Lock combat exp by right-clicking on the experience meter and selecting it from the context menu.
Numtini
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Reply #24 on: October 17, 2007, 09:16:48 AM

You are limited to 50 AAs in either tree, but you can respec however you'd like. That went in at the end of July.

If you can read this, you're on a board populated by misogynist assholes.
Brogarn
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Reply #25 on: October 18, 2007, 07:12:13 AM

Thanks for the advice. I'm thinking Brigand so far. I'm such a rogue at heart. SK's look fun, but man there's a lot of them. I know that shouldn't make a difference, but I hate playing classes that are saturated.

Anyways, here's hoping the game remains fun. I haven't played an MMO since May '06 and I've been missing them pretty bad.
UD_Delt
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Reply #26 on: October 23, 2007, 06:20:39 AM

I have a level 52 Battle Priest Inquisitor. Once he hit about 35ish AA's he was easily out DPS'ing my same level SK that I duo with. Now that the Inq has around 42 AA's the SK actually has a hard time holding aggro if I go all out DPS with the Inquisitor.

The best way to spend the AA's is to do the minimum amount of points in each of the skills to turn your spells into combat arts. You want to get all the way to the bottom of the tree to get as many combat art conversions as possible. After that go back and fill in points to spend the required to get the Battle Priest skill, keeping in mind that 5 points in one of the skills is about equal to the Adept 3 of its counterpart spell. After getting Battle Priest you'll want to switch to the Cleric tree and spend enough to get to the 100% melee crit skill (Stamina line I think).

I can't really say though how either class would do solo as I always play them as a duo.

The best solo class I have found is my Swashbuckler. Than again I could just be biased because that was my first char, the first I got to 70, and he's also semi raid geared.
Brogarn
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Reply #27 on: October 23, 2007, 07:21:02 AM

My Brigand is level 17 now. I keep trying other classes, but so far he's my fav. I did nuke some stuff on a brand new wizzy this morning and that was kind of fun. Bit too one dimensional, though. Not sure if that's the case throughout its career. I still want to play a caster type, but my favorites always seem to be the most played. Fury, being the big example. I love the self containment of that class and versatility. But apparently, so does everyone else. I don't think I'll ever do much in the way of raids, but I'd like to keep that option open by not playing a class that's overly saturated. Anyone play a Mystic? Was thinking of looking at Shamans next but nobody seems to play them and I'm curious as to why.

As far as the Brigand's AA's go, I've gotten 10 so far. I'm trying to do all the quests I can find so that I don't have to go back later for them to catch up on AA's. I'm going Str/Wis with him and after accidently putting 1 pt. into Str, I've put the rest into Wis. Got 4/4 in that line so far. Was going to keep going up it, but not sure of the specifics yet.
Sky
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Reply #28 on: October 23, 2007, 09:59:38 AM

There's two ways to approach AA - the optimal path and the supportive path. They might be the same. Optimal path is what everyone on the boards thinks you should take. Supportive path is the stuff that supports the way you play. After taking the optimal SK path (to Reaver), I found the end ability isn't very useful until you're in the 60s, I never use it. I still haven't tried respeccing across trees, but I did respec a couple weeks ago with a character and got a message that points could only be spent in the same tree (ie no EoF pts can go to the KoS tree).

The reasons certain classes are popular is that they are good classes that support play archetypes. I don't know a 'bad' class in EQ2, just classes that don't fit your playstyle. I'd go with your preferences for playing over class popularity...playing an underplayed class you don't enjoy is a recipe for quick cancellation or a lot of frustration.

I have a lvl 33 wizard, and he's ok (My beta/release EQ guy was a wiz). But very one-dimensional. Hello, root/nuke.
Murgos
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Reply #29 on: October 23, 2007, 10:24:07 AM

They changed the 'not spending in a different tree once you allocated to a particular tree' an update or two ago.

With free respecs being handed out left and right (you can get five by talking to a Counselor at any city and there have been several in recent updates as well) I go with what helps me the most now and change as necessary.

"You have all recieved youre last warning. I am in the process of currently tracking all of youre ips and pinging your home adressess. you should not have commencemed a war with me" - Aaron Rayburn
Soukyan
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Reply #30 on: October 23, 2007, 12:03:09 PM

They changed the 'not spending in a different tree once you allocated to a particular tree' an update or two ago.

With free respecs being handed out left and right (you can get five by talking to a Counselor at any city and there have been several in recent updates as well) I go with what helps me the most now and change as necessary.

This is good information. I'm glad I can get some respecs. Now at least I don't have to worry so much about screwing up.

"Life is no cabaret... we're inviting you anyway." ~Amanda Palmer
"Tree, awesome, numa numa, love triangle, internal combustion engine, mountain, walk, whiskey, peace, pascagoula" ~Lantyssa
"Les vrais paradis sont les paradis qu'on a perdus." ~Marcel Proust
UD_Delt
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Reply #31 on: October 23, 2007, 01:38:41 PM

I think you can also now pay for respecs at a slowly increasing price that also slowly descreases over time.... Does that make any sense at all?
Murgos
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Reply #32 on: October 23, 2007, 05:07:03 PM

I think you can also now pay for respecs at a slowly increasing price that also slowly descreases over time.... Does that make any sense at all?

It within 30 days I think.  The first one is cheap, the second one is like 10 gp? and then it goes up pretty quick.  If you wait 30 days it drops back to a lower price.

"You have all recieved youre last warning. I am in the process of currently tracking all of youre ips and pinging your home adressess. you should not have commencemed a war with me" - Aaron Rayburn
shiznitz
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Reply #33 on: October 24, 2007, 11:08:21 AM

10gp is the cheapest now, but has been mentioned you do get 5 free in each tree. Those should last you awhile.

I have never played WoW.
Sky
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I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.


Reply #34 on: October 24, 2007, 11:12:04 AM

I only got one free on my monk, who's been around for a couple years now as a crafter alt :) But he was level 12 and had AAs, so he should have a full battery of respecs.

Really, though, I'm just pissed about not being able to play since GU39 with no fix in sight, no reply from tech support (even before their outtage from wildfires), nada. I'm not quite at the point where I want to bother Scott H while they're in Kunark crunch-mode, but it's pretty shitty imo.
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