I give EverQuest II and SOE a lot of flak. I won’t pretend otherwise. If you didn’t know better you might assume that I really don’t like the game and their products. In actuality the reason I get so fired up is because I’m so passionate about the game. I love EQ2 like an overbearing parent loves their child. Much like that parent I try to “change” my baby whether they want it or not! For a change of pace I thought I would talk about why I like EverQuest II and why you should be playing it.
PvE and Raid Focused
These days there are a lot of options to choose from if you want a PvP focused game. You have a whole pool of niche and failed “next big thing” MMORPGs. If you’re tired of that and want to try something that involves dungeon running and/or raiding EQ2 really is the ticket. SOE does an exceptional job of putting a lot of dungeons in, making them fun to do, and constantly adding more. They also do a good job of serving up fun raid zones. They don’t have as clear of a progression path as World of Warcraft but the trade off is a far less toxic community.
The community
EverQuest 2 is a mature MMORPG that has been around a while. All of the tourists are gone and all you have left are people that care about the product. The community still has the usual people you could do without but they are in the vast minority and crop up everywhere. That environment is further strengthened by a great community relations staff. They actually exist, they are visible and they care. They take a lot of junk and keep coming back for more. If you’ve tried another MMORPG and couldn’t stand the people EQ2 might be just be the place you need to go.
Ratonga
If you look at the picture above and your heart doesn’t melt a little you’re a cruel soul. EverQuest II features ratonga, the allegedly evil race of rat thieves. In reality they’re snuggly, cuddly little mice who just want to be loved whether they know it or not. They’re cheese bandits at worse. What other game lets you play diminutive adorable rat creatures?
Nostalgia
One of the greatest strengths EQ2 has (when it chooses to play to it) is the connection with EverQuest. If you ever played that game and loved it you will be thrilled with some of the re-imagination of Norrath. The classic world was a strong successor to EQ and it feels like the same place. Every turn brings back memories (good and bad). Seeing how Norrath has shifted over the ages (or in this alternate universe) is awe inspiring. Rehashing EQ content is one of the shining points of the title.
Choice of Play
EverQuest II offers a lot of different options on how you want to play. If you’re not into the whole hack and slash thing you can be a trades person. EQ2 has the most in depth trade skill environment around. You can also find yourself on a scale of raid ability. Do you want to raid two nights a week or five? You can find a fit either way and there is enough content for you.
It is growing
Contrary to popular belief, EQ2 is growing. Is it because they’re making tons of really awesome and amazing changes? Honestly, SOE might say yes but I say no. They haven’t made any wild changes (other than adding BGs, which was a waste of time and money). SOE has been sticking to what worked for them in the past and continues to refine that. I think the game’s population is growing because players are returning to an MMORPG that fits the classical model. Folks went out, tried all of the new things, and found that they weren’t better. I think the growth comes from returning players more than new ones.
It isn’t WoW
This isn’t meant to be a dig on World of Warcraft exactly. I just know some people who won’t play the game or won’t go back to it. If you’re one of those people but don’t want to go into a PvP niche game EQ2 is the best possible option. The only rival I see in the same category is LotRO and EQ2 has more content in each given level range. SOE also has more leeway to do crazy things with the title since the intellectual property allows more opportunities.
Try it!
If you’ve tried EQ2 in the past and didn’t like it you might find it to be an entirely different beast now. A lot has changed in the new player experience and it is really worth picking the game up.
All characters are © 2007 - 2012
Though I’m not officially entering the Fan Faire contest because I don’t think the trip to Vegas would be in the cards for me, I was actually thinking about writing a similar post now that I’ve hit the new cap. A few comments:
- Ratonga, along with Frogloks, Kerra, Fae/Arasai, Ogres, etc. It seems like a small thing, but I really love the non-Tolkien race options.
- Nostalgia: I have none of it, because I’ve never played the original, but I haven’t minded. If anything, the world feels richer because I can tell that there is more background behind it, even if I don’t necessarily know all of those details.
- LOTRO vs EQ2: LOTRO is much more of a solo game than either WoW or EQ2. There is group content, but it is extremely limited (the current endgame has 3 3-mans, 1 6-man, and 1 12-man), and the focus is increasingly on adding randomization and scaling to existing material while the real meat being added to the game is new solo content. Though EQ2 does have more zones, my impression (solo-capped in both games) is that LOTRO has more solo leveling content, in part because almost all of the content is solo.
(Also, if you’d asked me to guess which game has the long tedious travel system and which game allows instant teleport access to 1-3 points per zone in every zone in the game, I might have guessed wrong based on the EQ brand name.
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You read my mind, Ferrel: http://www.16bitradio.com/2010/05/why-you-should-be-playing-eq2-and-not.html
I can agree with alot you’re saying, the amount of content is huge, but there just isn’t many people at the lower level ranges, so all you’re left to do is the same instances over and over at level 90. Just about given up on it myself and find myself looking for other MMOs. Been on the FF XIV alpha and enjoyed that, but that won’t be out for another year, so been using the free trials to find something I like, Age of Conan seems to be where I’ll be headed with some APB for variety.
One thing I do disagree with you on is the community. Trying to kick start a new casual raid guild is murder. Only place to pick up people is via eq2flames, and the amount of animosity we got off the self proclaimed “Uber HC Raidorz” was ridiculous. No better than Warcraft, and if anything worse.
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The two reasons I didn’t stay in EQ2 after six weeks of play (free trial + free month with purchase) last year:
1) Just way too deserted at low levels. Maybe I chose my server poorly, maybe it’s because I’m not playing in the US timezone (I’m Australian), but it was pretty close to a single-player game for the entire time I played.
2) I’m a bit bored of the “select target, attack, press buttons on the button bar” style of MMO combat, and on top of that, I thought EQ2′s implementation was on the weak side. My Brigand had about a dozen abilities.. but it felt like the only reason they were there was because they all had short cooldowns. Combat seemed to almost without exception involve me pressing 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0, loot, move on to the next mob.
Between those two factors, I wasn’t inclined to renew my subscription for another month. Not a bad game, by any means, but just not enough to hold my interest in a competitive genre.
Did you choose the Najena server, Claw? It’s the “unofficial” Aussie server, so would likely have more people on during your prime play time.
That said, yeah, the lower levels can be deserted, but I’ve found that by about level 40 or so I seem to always be tripping over people anymore and could group if I wanted.
I can’t remember the server name off the top of my head, but I did check the forums for advice on what was a good server for Aussies, so it may well have been Najena.
I fizzled out somewhere low to mid 30′s I think.
The reason new players never see anyone especially if they are not guilded is Guild Halls. They were a great idea in practice but in actuality made the citys and hamlets look completely devoid of players.
If you don’t join a guild from day one and enter the hall and pick up the “call to guild hall” ability you will feel like a pariah.
Also the game is approaching 6 yrs old and everyone is in the top tier for the most part,thats just something you have to deal with as new player in old mmo.