Official EQ2 Q&A Thread

[Riggswolfe]

I'm trying to think of a nice way to say this but I can't. Shouldn't somebody who is a little less fanboish about EQ2 be writing the front page about it? Sorry but you've been practically sucking Sony cock for months now over this game.

[schild]

I'm trying to think of a nice way to say this but I can't. Shouldn't somebody who is a little less fanboish about EQ2 be writing the front page about it? Sorry but you've been practically sucking Sony cock for months now over this game.

Have I? That's interesting. I thought I was sitting here saying it's turned from it's own game into EQ1-2. Oh my mistake, you don't like me dissing WoW. I'm very much non-fanboish about it, kthx.

[jpark]

What I would like to see in the write up is what is new by way of game mechanic.

[HaemishM]

...

This silence sponsored by NDA.

[Alluvian]

EQ2 is a good game.  Not everyone will like it.  I do like it.  Best mmog to date IMO, but that really aint' saying much.

WoW is a good game.  Not everyone will like it.  I don't.  I think it is too simplistic visually and gameplay.  Others disagree.

[jpark]

...

This silence sponsored by NDA.

heh - Glad you clarified that - thought it was the new Bush Cheney rational for the invasion of Iraq.

Alluvian - by simplistic - you mean worse than WoW or CoH

(Blast it cannot get punctuation on this keyboard - travelling)

[SirBruce]

Isn't it against the NDA to even indicate you're in EQ2 beta by saying you're under NDA?

Bruce

[Soukyan]

...

This silence sponsored by NDA.

Ahahahahahaha! Good one.


And what Bruce said. Most NDAs state that you cannot even acknowledge that you are testing for them. Not sure about EQ2 though as I'm not testing it... yet.

[schild]

The first post in this thread mentions all the people from f13 in the beta. I have gotten some limited permission to say things. It was part of the condition by which I got them and myself in. When someone breaks NDA, I'll be the first one to call them on it. :)

Edit: I didn't like the...phrase I used the first time.

Another Edit: From the looks of Haemish and Alluvian's posts, they aren't exactly NDA breaking from a 'content' standpoint. I will say to actually back up Haemish's...Yes, there are new things, but they are so covered by the sort of 'meh' gloss that they have their work cut out for them (EQ2 dev team) at the moment.

[SirBruce]

The first post in this thread mentions all the people from f13 in the beta. I have gotten some limited permission to say things. It was part of the condition by which I got them and myself in. When someone breaks NDA, I'll be the first one to call them on it. :)

Yeah, but your phrase was:

(which would be Joe, Haemish, Alluvian, Signe, and a few others)

Which is open-ended to include any number of people you DIDN'T mention by name.  So... there are certainly people in the beta you didn't mention directly. :)

Anyway, I was just making a joke, not trying to get HaemishM (or myself) in trouble.

Bruce

[Kageru]

The NDA was clarified (or modified) to allow you to say you're in the beta, but nothing more.

I'm still trying to work out what the point is of starting beta so late in a game with a substantial levelling curve. Have they been buffing characters up to higher levels or are they only intending to test their newbie zones again? MMORPG problems mostly tend to show up mid to late game from what I've seen.

I haven't yet seen anything interesting about EQ2. The existence of a combat wheel is primarily indication that combat is dull so you need a mini-game to keep you occupied. The class system with 4 archetypes and various flavors is either boring (if the archetypes dominate) or probably un-balanceable (if the flavors do).

That and SOE always screw up in execution anyway.

[SirBruce]

The existence of a combat wheel is primarily indication that combat is dull so you need a mini-game to keep you occupied.

Tabula Rasa has the same sort of combat wheel.  It seems to be a logical progression in the evolution of MMOG combat design.  We had auto-attack, then auto-attack with special moves, then special times for you to use those special moves, and now a special timer which tracks your special moves and triggers new opportunities to use new special moves when the time arises.

Bruce

[Kageru]

It's very console inspired and like FFIX too I would think. The problem with it is that it exists outside of the logic of the combat. People have already mentioned that a fighter doing a slice, shield block, kick (while solo) shouldn't neccessarily cause a lightning bolt to shoot from the sky and hit their enemy.

The auto-attack on / watch TV problem is better solved by situational chaos, balancing of local resources / abilities (which WoW has for what are traditionally melee classes) and co-operative effects within the abilities themselves (for example a sequence of melee specials that reduce AC / resists).

More seriously one report I saw said that most parties don't end up bothering with the combat wheel at all. Which is a pretty serious problem when one of the 4 archetypes is based around manipulating that mechanism.

[Margalis]

I am also in the EQ2 Beta.

Or am I?

[Merusk]

More seriously one report I saw said that most parties don't end up bothering with the combat wheel at all. Which is a pretty serious problem when one of the 4 archetypes is based around manipulating that mechanism.

At what level?  In the combat wheel's defense, newbs in FFXI don't use the Renki attack chains either.  But as they advance it's required in order to be anywhere near an effective group.

[Kageru]

The comment didn't have the degree of detail... sadly.  And of course no one has permission to say what the effort vs. return of high level heroic opportunities is like. SOE were considering doing a combat reaction system for EQ, where you get prompts and can then activate a special to match it, which had laughably inadequate returns.

[Signe]

I am also in the EQ2 Beta.

Or am I?

I thought I saw you there.

... or did I?

[Merusk]

The comment didn't have the degree of detail... sadly.  And of course no one has permission to say what the effort vs. return of high level heroic opportunities is like. SOE were considering doing a combat reaction system for EQ, where you get prompts and can then activate a special to match it, which had laughably inadequate returns.

When they tried that system, it was too radicaly different to install in a game that was almost 5 years old.  First problem with it was it added a 'twitch' element into a game that never had it. (Outside of Kiting or rogue positioning.  And those weren't split-second twitchy by far.)

By all accounts I read it was a 1-2 second window that was very eccentricly random.  If you didn't punch the key within that window then you didn't get your special.  And even if you did, the specials weren't very special anyway.  If they had been, it would have changed the EQ game too much and risked driving off players because it changed combat from 'attack and snooze' to something more twitchy.

[Raven]

I've always been fuzzy on Scouts. I know that Swashbucklers and Brigands are the good and evil Rogues, and that Troub"whatever" and Dirges are the good and evil Bards, but what about Rangers and Assassins?

Are Assassins like evil Rangers or something?

Like Rangers, is the bow their weapon of choice?

Hopefully, this info is not NDA protected.

Oh, and what about crowd control. I notice that Enchanters fall under the Mage tree, so what makes their crowd control different from the other Mage classes?

And lastly, how crucial are stats? Is it super important to select a race that offers a high stat, such as Erudites for Mages, or Ratonga for Scouts?

I ask this because I think a grey skinned Erudite Assassin would look bad ass. Unfortunately, Erudites have extremely low stats for a Scout. I really don't care that much. I'm not a min maxer. Just as long as the race selection doesn't totally gimp him out. That's my only concern.

And thanks for the Q+A.

Raven

[Murgos]

Yeah, I'm curious about how the scout subclasses differ, considering thats the class you played the most Schild could you expound on what makes each variation interesting?  Or, is asking for noticible play affecting variation among subclasses asking to much of a Sony dev team?

[schild]

I've always been fuzzy on Scouts. I know that Swashbucklers and Brigands are the good and evil Rogues, and that Troub"whatever" and Dirges are the good and evil Bards, but what about Rangers and Assassins?

Troubadors and Dirges are actually neutral. You get to pick either class. The others are good/evil variants.

Are Assassins like evil Rangers or something?

Yes, though I'm going the Brigand route so I can't tell you much.

Like Rangers, is the bow their weapon of choice?

No clue. I would expect bows, shortswords and smaller blades.

Oh, and what about crowd control. I notice that Enchanters fall under the Mage tree, so what makes their crowd control different from the other Mage classes?

In all of my grouping, I have seen very little crowd control. Good thing? Bad thing? I mean there are roots and whatnot, but crowd control is so far very 'meh' compared to CoH.

And lastly, how crucial are stats? Is it super important to select a race that offers a high stat, such as Erudites for Mages, or Ratonga for Scouts?

Not crucial.

As for the differences in combat between the classes. Scouts generally do best when in combat and behind or to the side of the enemy. They have anti-aggro abilities, some movement debuffs (ensnare), and other abilities that will keep them shredding mobs from an advantageous angle. Mages and Priests play like damn near any other mage and priest in any game. Warriors are better damage dealers than the CoH Tanker. They also SOAK up damage. It's nice. But they tend to die fast in group.

They have to work on the enemy grouping code.

[MrHat]

Because I'm a lazy whore:

Q: Can you group with people of the opposite city?  Can evil group with good? How hard is it, at what level do you start to get quests that branch into 'opposing' territory?  What else can you talk about the alignments system?

[SirBruce]

I am also in the EQ2 Beta.

Or am I?

Are you sure it was EQ2 Beta you were in?  Are you sure it wasn't... NOTHING?

Bruce

[schild]

Q: Can you group with people of the opposite city?  Can evil group with good? How hard is it, at what level do you start to get quests that branch into 'opposing' territory?  What else can you talk about the alignments system?

Nothing is stopping you from playing with people from the other city. I don't know how hard the betrayal tests are. The alignment system is made up of arbitrary boundaries and other BS. More important, the experience had from playing the game in Freeport or Qeynos is fantastically different. The cities are bipolar oppisites. I played a bit in both and Freeport wins hands down in terms of game environment. I wouldn't recommend anybody go good in EQ2. Ever.

[MrHat]

Q: Can you group with people of the opposite city?  Can evil group with good? How hard is it, at what level do you start to get quests that branch into 'opposing' territory?  What else can you talk about the alignments system?

Nothing is stopping you from playing with people from the other city. I don't know how hard the betrayal tests are. The alignment system is made up of arbitrary boundaries and other BS. More important, the experience had from playing the game in Freeport or Qeynos is fantastically different. The cities are bipolar oppisites. I played a bit in both and Freeport wins hands down in terms of game environment. I wouldn't recommend anybody go good in EQ2. Ever.

So did you ever group with someone from the opposing city?

[schild]

So did you ever group with someone from the opposing city?

I believe I grouped with a high elf once. So yes. One of my friends in game also went all the way to Qeynos once and I do believe he grouped for a couple zones there.

[Cosmik]

Like Rangers, is the bow their weapon of choice?

Assassins are more melee inclined. To quote a HOC answer;

Rangers primarily use bows and ranged attacks, Assassins do more stealthed backstab maneuvers within melee range.

Basically, if you want to fling wooden sticks through the air, you're restricted to a Good-aligned class.

[Raven]

If Assassins are melee, then I wonder what the big difference is between them and Rogues. Maybe Rogues backstab, and Assassins can attack from any angle, as long as they are in stealth mode.

I am glad to hear that stats are not so crucial that you're forced to min max. Erudites have crummy stats for a Scout, but they just look very sinister to me, and that's what I imagine a Predator looking like.

Any non nda breaking info on exactly what differs between Assassins and Ranges, besides using a bow, will be welcomed.

I enjoyed Enchanters in EQ, so I'm super curious how they play in EQ2.

[schild]

I can share this. I would never want to be a ranger because Qeynos is drab and hippie-type characters (druid/ranger) are nothing I would want to play in a game. At least not a virtual world.

Freeport is the place to be. I don't say this because I'm inclined to being evil but because it's just more fun. The passion of whoever designed all the characters really shows.

[Nebu]

I can share this. I would never want to be a ranger because Qeynos is drab and hippie-type characters (druid/ranger) are nothing I would want to play in a game. At least not a virtual world.

Freeport is the place to be. I don't say this because I'm inclined to being evil but because it's just more fun. The passion of whoever designed all the characters really shows.

I officially hate you.  

I normally play the good_guy_save_teh_princess type, but now will probably be some dark, evil bastard.  Hell... may be a nice change of pace given the genre hasn't really changed much.

[Luxor]

schild -  How many zones does freeport have? what level were you when you first left freeport? Hows the lag outside?

[schild]

schild -  How many zones does freeport have? what level were you when you first left freeport? Hows the lag outside?

You can't leave freeport really until you're level 7 and a citizen. So I was level 7 and a citizen.

Zones...sigh, I'd have to look at the map. A decent number though. I never complained about the lack of places to play.

[Xtro]

1.  Two boxing in EQ was huge. Many people like to play two chars at once. It created an uper soloing style of play.  Will there be the ability for smaller groups less than 4 to do well, or does it look more like you run either solo, or 4 plus people groups with little in between. I also know of many who like just to hunt with a partner and stay away from the larger group environment.

2. I plan on playing an enchanter. Can you say a little about if that mage class was done right?

[schild]

1.  Two boxing in EQ was huge. Many people like to play two chars at once. It created an uper soloing style of play.  Will there be the ability for smaller groups less than 4 to do well, or does it look more like you run either solo, or 4 plus people groups with little in between. I also know of many who like just to hunt with a partner and stay away from the larger group environment.

I generally grouped in 3-4 person groups if that says anything. Of course, if I knew the other players I'd be more inclined to group with them. When I was constantly playing I knew nobody else in the beta.

2. I plan on playing an enchanter. Can you say a little about if that mage class was done right?

I never play mage types. So, no.

Edit: Lemme rephrase that - the only magetype I play is necromancer/lord of the undead/the grim reaper, himself. Regular Mages and pure support characters bore me to no end.

[Raven]

How is travel time? Is the little run buff a nice boost, or something you've already grown addicted to.

And can you cast it on strangers, or is it group only?