May 24
Why EQ2 Is Still The Underdog
Over at Common Sense Gamer, Darren talks about how kickass EQ2 is getting. Couldn’t agree more. I play it every week, and I lovez it. Then he wonders this, which makes me wonder if he’s been paying attention:
When I see updates like this one and consider the amount of content that SOE has put into EQ2, I’m left to wonder why WoW is still number 1 after only one expansion. Is it the bad start EQ2 had? Is it SOE fault for not pimping their game more? Is it the WoW community’s fault for being massively simplistic in their requirements for entertainment?
This started as a comment, and then exploded into a full on post. Here’s why WoW is still beating EQ2, by the numbers:
1.) Darren and Brent and Brenden said something like this in the last VirginWorlds podcast, and I shouted this answer at my monitor. It’s THE most important reason, cuts to the heart of Massive games, and is really really simple. The reason there are more people playing World of Warcraft than EverQuest 2: ALL OF THEIR FRIENDS ARE STILL PLAYING WORLD OF WARCRAFT! Nobody cares if EQ2 is a better game. Nobody cares if EQ2 is the second coming, and nobody cares if WoW is that great a game. The fact that Darren referred to WoW’s community as having ’simplistic requirements for entertainment’ speaks volumes about the way we MMOGBloggers think. All that matters is whether or not you are having fun. As social creatures, humans naturally gravitate to spaces where there are a number of other people to interact with. For many people, more people = more fun. WoW is the online social space right now, and it doesn’t matter at all what SOE does as long as WoW has that cultural gravity well; Gamers leave to go play other games but will (for better or worse) always come back to WoW. It has become a cultural touchstone for Massive gamers, and unless something dramatic happens in the next few years I can’t imagine anything happening to change that.
2.) EQ2 looks better than WoW because its system requirements are higher. This is an exclusionary decision, making WoW more of a mass-market game than EverQuest 2. WoW looks great even on a piece of crap machine that’s 5-7 years old. Anything outside of a high end dungeon will render just fine, and you can play with a minimal outlay of cash. EQ2, when it launched, required hardware upgrades.
3.) WoW was built from the ground up to be solo-able. EQ2 has taken enormous strides over the last few years to adopt a solo-friendly stance, but it really shows the difference between changes after the fact and a ‘from-the-get-go’ approach to ease of play.
4.) For better or worse, and I’d like to stress that I really don’t feel this way, SOE has a bad reputation with MMOG players. After Galaxies, negative experiences in EQ, and EQ2’s lackluster launch, some players have an irrational dislike of Sony Online Entertainment. I was talking with a friend about Gods and Heroes last week, and even though they aren’t developing, just because SOE was publishing the game he had a negative reaction straight off. Even those who firsthand haven’t had bad SOE experiences probably knows someone that did.
5.) It’s EverQuest. You and I both know that EQ2 is almost nothing like EQ1, but SOE hasn’t told anyone that. People hear EverQuest and think catass. They think long grind, high level raiding, soulless world, harsh death penalty, all that crap that even EQLive doesn’t have anymore. Since EQ2 changed for the better I feel that SOE has done a poor job of communicating what is good about EQ2. Certainly interviews like the one I did with Scott are a step in the right direction, but there needs to be more of that to the general gamer populace.
Someday there may be another game that ‘usurps’ WoW, but it’s just not going to happen overnight. It’s going to be a slow, gradual process, and could take years to happen. Such is the way of things in a post-Pardo world.
34 comments34 Comments so far
Ohhhh trust me, I’m paying attention…hence the reason why I’m asking the question.
I don’t think that people are playing WoW just because their friends are. Take me for example…I started playing WoW waaay before my friends did. They stuck it out in EQ2 for quite some time before they moved over. Trust me, I’m not that influential…so they didn’t come because of me. The issue is a bit more multifaceted than that. 1) WoW is THE first MMO that appealed to more than just stat geeks, 2) system requirements were very low, 3) it was fun. Gamers go where the fun is and, yeah, maybe where their friends go.
Now, before you start getting me in trouble, the “simplistic entertainment requirements” thing was just part of an answer to a question of why WoW has the numbers and EQ2 doesn’t…even tough WoW commitment to content is dwarfed by EQ2. Other reasons were, yes, bad launch, bad SOE rep, or something else entirely that I’m missing maybe??
Regardless…I agree that SOE should get out the word on this game, because I think pound for pound, EQ2 hits a bit harder.
Thanks,
Darren
You are wrong. Second Life is the place to be. John Edwards has a campaign HQ in SL… what does WoW have???? Hmmmm…….
“They think long grind, high level raiding, soulless world, harsh death penalty, all that crap that even EQLive doesn’t have anymore.”
Bah. Back in the day, we LIKED our grinds. We walked ten miles through the snow uphill both ways for our corpses, and we created the soul ourselves. Ask anyone who’s done a spawn dance to make the mobs pop faster, or attempted to train an entire zone without dying because they were bored.
But yeah. I agree. We actually played because our friends were playing. Nail. Head. Match.
Yeah.. I’d agree with a lot of that. EQ2 is the best MMO I’ve ever played. Yet I play LotRO. Why? That’s what my friends are playing. And I like the IP. That’s it, and there really isn’t anything SOE can do about that.
Now we know who the followers are? Guess you are very influential in your friends’ lives. Bunch of lemurs.
I think this article is spot on as to why EQ 2 hasn’t gained a lot of ground. We beta tested it, and it wasn’t very solo friendly at the time.
I’m personally done with games that require me to sit around for an hour organizing some group, and then 30 minutes into the event someone drops and screws over the whole party.
First off, SecondLife plain sucks. It is currently being taken over by companies and the game is already full of trash, it doesn’t load well or display stuff, even on my high end machine. Everything is too hard for a noob to learn in SL and it has potential but that is it.
Wow is easy to learn, loads fast, and doesn’t let players trash the environment. Everything is very well done for the most part, it is easy to be social, play the game, do quests, have fun, without having to take night classes to learn the interface. Making things in game is a cinch and never compromises the integrity of the world itself.
Wow will be on top til someone else gets their game straight, and I doubt that will be for very long. Blizz is so far ahead right now like Apple and the iPod. No comparison. Play both and you’ll notice the difference.
Well, if you ask me trouble is that other companies do not give two cents anything else besides Windows gamers.
There are tons other gamers out there with Apple computers and Linux based computers playing World of Warcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, etc. one way or another… Of course I am talking about Mac OS and Linux solutions with Wine and/or CrossOver and in the case of Mac OS (10.3.x / 10.4.x) even natively!
Now, before anyone start saying/thinking that these platforms are not spread… Or avid gamers. Or whatever. Just think for couple seconds before you do because in my case at least 150 people that I know, playing WoW in Apple computers or typical Wintel/AMD running NOT Windows but Linux.
And don’t tell me that only Blizzard wants/needs/cares about 150 x 13 euro = 1950 euro each and every month!
Do I care about other MMOs running under Mac OS or Linux? Yes. Do I have those choices? No. Until those companies starting Thinking Differently (pun intented) they can be underdogs all they want/care/whatever. We will not miss them because they seem even after all these years they don’t miss us and our money.
GG
http://www.apple.com/games/
http://www.dell/open/
http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://www.winehq.org/
http://www.codeweavers.com/
http://www.linux.org/
Learn more. Buy less. Enjoy more. Think Different.
I think it’s simple, really. An MMORPG seems to require you to play it regularly, if not necessarily for long periods each time, or you become isolated from your online friends and guild. Since I use a laptop Mac for everything except playing games (for which I have a home desktop that I use most of the time), I play WoW. This way, when I’m away from home (which happens too frequently), I can still play.
Granted, now that I have an Intel Mac, I could play any other game too, but modern games take so much disk space that I can only fit one, maybe two, on my Boot Camp partition, and they’re more likely to be single player games like Supreme Commander or Oblivion which can divert your attention while on the airplane, at the airport, and what have you.
If any other MMORPG had a full Mac client, I’d absolutely try it. I don’t count Second Life as an MMORPG, but I have heard that their client has become “open” and can be ported.
I admit to feeling a bit out of the mainstream in MMO’s these days because I never caught on to WoW. I played it, but it never grabbed me and, most importantly, all of my old EQ friends moved to EQ2. And although I played EQ2 for a couple of years before a recent layoff, it was and always will be EQ that will be the prism through which I see all MMO’s. I always find myself comparing other games to EQ where so many others compare them to WoW. I hear “Barren’s chat” and I think “you mean Lake of Ill Omen chat.” But only a minority will understand that reference it seems. I feel a bit sad for those who didn’t experience EQ to its fullest though. I now consider it a trial by fire and a badge of honor that I did what I did in that game because I know there is no equivalent in today’s MMOs and never will be again. Would any game today ever DARE to put in quests similar to EQ’s Kunark Epics? Just imagine Blizzard dropping in something like the Necromancer Epic or a Ragefire type of camp (I’m talking original Sol B Rage). WoWers would riot and the truth is, I’m not sure I’d ever do a quest like that again myself. The response to this is that this was all just tedium and time sinks and those aren’t fun. This is true of course. Why then would I feel bad for someone who didn’t experience it? Because all of that pain produced a feeling in the end that remains uncaptured by any other games. I know people who CRIED when they got their epics. Literally cried, not just emoted /cry. You beamed when you did something like that and the reward became a part of you, not just something to replace a gear slot for the next couple of weeks. Anyway, I miss that experience but know I’ll never get it again in part because I’m not willing to pay the price any longer.
I haven’t read everyones posts, but I disagree with a couple I have that bases WoWs playerbase on ‘friends’ and ’social interaction’.
WoW is 1. more fun, and 2. not built to vacuum money from people. To explain 2. in more detail. Consider how much time it takes a player that is casual and not glued to their computers to level to 70 in WoW and then compare the EQ2 player to whatever EQ2s max level is. It’s at 2 far parts of a spectrum.
SoE has built EQ2 to appeal to people who are pretty hardcore, OR people who don’t mind levelling forever…
Can your player ever be ‘maxed out’ in EQ2? Probably, if you play at a rate of 20 hours a day for a year, you may be 1/2 way there! I was an EQ fan, and I purchased EQ2 and played it for a while before WoW was released – but when WoW came? That was it….love at first play. In WoW, as…’simplistically entertaining’ as it is, you can level to 60 in about a month, maybe less and then level to 70 in about 2 weeks…and that’s completely casual at 9 or so to 12 or 1 am daily and with lax’ weekend times.
Lets move now a little further into 2. What…about 4 expansions in 2 years? And none that are of any serious significance than to have the consumer spend. WoW releases some content for free and raid zones are added regularly pretty regularly (BWL, AQ20, AQ40, ZG, Naxxramas) and now in the expansion they’re starting with Zul’Aman. EQ1 had a whopping 11 or 12 expansions, good grief! At 20 each that’s a lot of money for value that could easily be added for free. But hey, they’re not there for charity right?
One of the biggest reasons I quit EQ1 in the first place was that it seemed more like people were ‘working’ than playing. Levelling for the goal of selling their characters or in-game currency/items on Ebay. In WoW it’s against the ToS so while there are some unscrupulous people doing it, it’s not even 1/4 as widespread as it was in EQ1 at the time….and in WoW especially not, because it’s a bannable offense.
Finally…EQ2 is simply overwhelming. It doesn’t seem like a game made for fun, but as I mentioned before a cash cow…and not a subtle one at that. It takes a long time to level up, and added to that, the AA points and different ‘paths’ to take for each class is just too much. I don’t understand personally, how people who just want to play a game and have fun enjoy EQ1 or EQ2. Because of the intense amount of time you have to put into 1 character, it’s next to impossible (again, unless you’re some kind of hermit crab that doesn’t leave the house) to play another character…unless you’re willing to ‘pew pew’ with a few without ever really intending to max their levels.
WoW ofcourse is a cash cow as well, but they’ve done it in a completely different way.
Added value from WoW comes in the form of free patches, and the raid content never gets stale before they release a new patch with new content and more functionality. Then there’s the PVP aspect which also appeals to a different genre of player…so what you have is a mix that keeps people playing for fun and new adventures. Vs. EQ2 which keeps you playing to, well…see your max level spells!
Well, that was my $2.00…maybe $20.00…haha. I completely agree that EQ2 is a beautiful game. But that’s as far as it goes for me. While I agree that a nice ‘chunk’ of WoW population are ‘friends’ and playing for the social yum yum – 9 million players scream that it’s much more than that. Technically you could get the same thing from EQ2, if only people would play it…
Ok one thing here WoW is a cash cow game in the same instance… alright they give some free content that no one actualy got to enjoy (besides those power grinding instance farming guys and gals that no one likes) they just push out expasions now that they have released info on WotLK we wont get to full see all the stuff like Illidan my guild hasent even downed moroe… (sad i know) but yeah i have playd both games and the class system in eq2 wooed me over if blizzard did that instead of talent trees they would be unkilliable… no game would ever capture them but blizzard is in it for the money NOW… they dont care about the players or the lore i have been told some stuff by a game master and then told others i had to go into there office by my home and talk to the guy who runs that place about it… it pisses me off to get hte run around in eq2 i never got that
In my opinion, WOW is number 1 due to brand loyalty, namely Blizzard. People have played warcraft when it was orcs and humans and from that point forward a fan base developed, which Blizzard nurtured with new games, such as Warcraft 2 and 3. However its not just warcraft that people played, it is other games Blizzard produced such as Starcraft and Diablo that players have come to love. Now go a few years later and Blizzard produces their first MMOG, World of Warcraft and look what happens. They already built a strong customer base, which sits on a solid foundation of warcraft’s past success. When WOW hits the market its no wonder it quickly grows and is successful.
Blizzard not only knows how to produce quality game software but they obviously have an incredible marketing research department specific for the gaming industry. I never played EQ or EQ2 so I don’t a place to judge the game, so I will believe others who have played it, that it too is a great game, however to stay number 1, its takes constant customer feedback and gauging the market or your competition. I think Blizzard has researched SOE, took the good things and capitalized on them and further capitalized on SOE’s weakness by making sure those weakness were not in World of Warcraft. Such things for example could be the ease of play, the ease of social gathering and ease of soloing to name a few.
I know for myself as a paying WOW customer it’s the name Blizzard that draws me to their product. If I know Blizzard is making a game, then I know it is going to be worth paying for due to their excellent reputation for quality software product. There was a time that I swore that I would never pay to play a game, but now, I find it is a value to continue to pay in order to play World of Warcraft due to Blizzard’s quality products.
Ok hands down the reason not as many people play EQ2 is they just dont know about it. No one can argue that its not better than WoW, if they do, it’s because they’ve never played EQ2, and they’re just retard diehard WoW fans mad because some1 said that there’s a better game than WoW. I played original everquest for 2 years before EQ2 came out and was obsessed from the start. Then when EQ2 came i switched over like many others did. Again i fell in love.
Yes its true that some people don’t play EQ2 because none of their friends do, and why don’t their friends?? because they don’t know about it, think there’s nothing better than ,and don’t feel like spending their money on something new. But that’s sad. WoW is horrible after playing EQ. It’s like going from eating filet mignon to munching on hamburger patties. EQ2 is like brain surgery compared to WoW. And when u go from a game that actually involves patience and skill to a game that you can level to 70 within 2 months easily, you’re bored out of your mind.
And if the issue with EQ2 is your friends not playing, then you obviously didn’t play very long. After two weeks of playing EQ2 i was in a guild with people i joked around with and grouped with almost every night. No i never met any of them but we were still like a massive online family.Truly.
I havn’t played EQ2 in almost a year now because of work, school, football, and my gf. I love playing football. I love hanging out with my friends. And i love my gf. But through all the shit i do. I still miss EQ2. It’s sad and i feel like a loser saying that, but I play other games that don’t require 4 hours of my time to really do what i want to do, but they all seem like shit compared to EQ2. It’s the best MMORPG ever created other than original EQ.
SOE needs to get some advertising campaigns going and get EQ2’s name out there because it’s pretty sad when the best MMORPG has been out for almost four years and hardly anyone knows what it is.
OKAY listen…. both games are fair i have played bothahve no bias but when it comes down to it EQ2 is more for the hardcore player whos 14 and wow is for the 9 year olds who think they are kings of thw world just becuase they got a raid going and killed somthing. both games and The best and worse its all about do you want to group with people who are iture and have fun no matter what? or group with mostly your self and be with little 9 year olds all the time talking about pokemon?
When i was younger my cousin played EQ and i loved staying at is house just because i knew he would let me play… i finnaly got me a computer that could hold eq or eq2 but i went with WOW because my buddy already had a 60 lock on it… been payin wow for a while now and im plain sick of it truth be told.. They made Wow way to easy to play where is the challenge in WOW at all? Wow has completely dumbed itself down way to extreme. I agree with what Adam said
I’d say one of the big things putting people off is the SOE logo. People just don’t trust them and not just because of SWG, they have used many underhand tactics in the past.
SOE just seems to use their MMOs as money rakes and you can feel it in the quality, things just feel rushed to get it on sale. Blizzard delay stuff for months or even years to get it right and it pays off.
Alot of my friends play both WoW and EQ/2. I’ve always stuck with WoW, and I hate it for the msot part. I’ve leveld several 60’s and working on my thrid 70, and the game is so damned easy to play my 6 year old brother LITERALLY can play it, and he does a damn good job kickin’ people’s asses in duels as a shadow priest (he killed a 70 warrior earlier today, was so proud of himself, the priest is only 65). Alot of the content is for diehards, and very few people will see the light of it….ever.
I gave it a valiant effort, but no one’s willing to put any effort back. So more or less, I gave up and PvP and heroic like everyone else.
Blizzard during first year, they were doing it 100% for the fans, but after 4 million subscribers, they vaguely didn’t give a shit about them anymore. I mean, they were earning 2 million a day, and 730 million a year, you take that math and times it by three years, not including new customers, they’ve cleared a billion.
Just go on the forums, listen to people who know their stuff, the classes are broken, the game mechanics are wearing, shit is unbalanced and it’s really starting to aggrivate players.
I’ve been trying to download EQ2 ’s patch (good lord for 35 hours :( ) and willing to give the other half of my friends’ game a shot. It looks good, been told it’s good, got high hopes in it.
There are two reasons why people still play it.
A- Cause friends do
or
B- A PROVEN psychological mechanism of the brain that tells the host that as long as they stick with it it might get better. More or less, they hope the game will be fixed, and want to wait it out and see.
Once more visit the shaman or priest forums and look up ANY shaman or shadow priest post, you’ll see what I mean.
I for one know for sure why wow is number 1 The answer is it is simple and people do not have to think to play it. Eq1 you have to research stuff to figure it out – think! Today, people are fat and lazy and want everything handed to them. I left eq to go to eq 2 thinking it was a battle between good and evil. What a joke – no real battle at all and spell effects are so sim to daoc and lotro it is silly. Left eq2 for lotro and at first it rocked, but soon realized the story line and lore of jrrt is too limiting. There is just a few mobs and while the quest line seems in depth, it is just still go kill x in loc b. Recently left it for eq1 again. While sony does make a lot of mistakes, eq1 is a amazingly emense world and the new digital download includes all the expansions up to the last one for just 20 bucks. Yes, the graphics are dated (think they are still better than pics i have seen of wow), but there is just so many mobs and so many zones and all. I like the harsh death penalties, it makes you feel like there is loss from your stupid actions. I like having to look stuff up online to figure it out – I equate that to a magic user having to do research to learn things. I like having to meditate to gain mana in a fight and having to tap my life for power (necro). In lotro i have a 40lm and never ever run out of power – not a thinking persons game. There is no real death penalty in lotro either ( just red stats for a bit). No high end content at all in lotro, most high levs just run around doing meaningless deeds to gain a few points to some stat that means nothing anyway. I never once felt much sense of accomplishment in lotro-even after grinding for almost 3 levs just to afford a horse at lev 35. There are also no real caster mobs in lotro – some half asses, but nothing like the shamans in eq that realy could screw you if not careful.
Everyone made some good points:
1: Blizzard is more respected than SOE.
2: Whether you’ll admit it or not, you’re playing on MMORPGS for the MMO part.
3: EQ2 does need more advertisement.
-Instant Gratification-
I played EQ2 for a month obsessively. I only reached about level 53. With the same playtime with WoW you can have 4 level 70 characters.
-Activities-
I prefered EQ2 though because it had so much you could do! In WoW it was just the same repitition of kill, quest, kill, run to town over and over again.
-Cost Difference-
Yes, they both have the same monthy fee of about $15 a month. BUT with WoW there’s such a playerbase that people have gone out and made free private servers. For EQ2 there is not one I can find.
-Gameplay-
Everquest 2 is the ultimate social network. To do really anything major you need a group. You can solo but it’s really only possible with about 4 classes.
WoW is a better solo play. I’ve soloed all the way to level 70 without breaking a sweat. Hunters make it all too easy.
-Ending Point-
If you want my opinion, Everquest2 is better in the long run if you’re willing to actually play it daily and be able to commit some time. If you have really no time to play stick with WoW.
I agree, I think the game’s gravity at this point is a major factor. Either for people wanting to play with friends, or for just wanting to see what all the hubbub is about, where 10 million people play this game regularly.
Also even though the graphics are lower and the system requirements are lower, I think the art direction is higher. People prefer how WoW looks to EQ2, at least alot of people. I’m one of them. EQ2’s graphics, even on a high end machine which I have. It’s not the level of technology used, but how it’s applied. WoW is bright, crisp, clean, and easy to look at. EQ2 not so much. I know there are people who initially picked WoW just for that reason alone after trying both games.
The funny thing is that I picked EQ2 initially, without even trying WoW, and finally just burned out on how hard it was to play and find groups at higher levels, even though I was in a decent sized guild….I didn’t ahve the time to log on, scrape up a group, make our way there, fight through trash to get there. By the time we got in a dungeon an hour or two might have passed….I stopped playing because there wasn’t anything for me to do. Then some friends convinced me to come play with them in WoW, and I did. I tried EQ2 again this month, and I just can’t go back to it.
WoW wins because it’s easy to play, tons of people play it, and it looks better. EQ2 will never catch up, ever. It’s niche now, and that won’t change.
I play EQ2 simply because I was one of the original eq players. EQ over time has dwindled down into nothing more than a high end raiding game. The newbie zones are empty, the lower level zones that people used to group in are empty, and many of the higher end zones are empty. People who couldn’t solo, or find groups made a soloable class. So, the orginal eq is now either stay up till 3am raiding, or play by yourself kind of game. That was the impetus for my leaving to try something new.
Oops accidently posted before I was finished……
I went immediatly from eq1 to eq2. I tried WoW one time, because my sister played it. Immediatly after logging on, another player killed me. Ok..not my idea of fun. So wow for me lasted about 15 minutes. I think with more advertisement, eq2 could gain a lot of new players. The graphics are amazing, the quests are endless, the storylines are incredible. You can keep items in a player house, books that you get from completing quests, can be placed in this house also, and you can actually read them! There are seperate inventory slots for stat equipment, and things that just look pretty (for us girls hey we gotta be sexy), there are flying dragon mounts in the new Kunark expansion, ofcourse you can only use them in the expansion, but hey flying dragon back is pretty cool, and the mount is free, its the result of a quest. If you want to raid, you can find any number of guilds from hardcore, to family guilds for those of us who have a day job. Soloing is fairly simple, there is no exp debt or corpse recovery, but you do have to go to an NPC to mend your equipment from time to time. Aside from friendships forged in WoW, I really don’t understand what is so appealing about the game. I’ve heard WoW gamers themselves complain constantly about the lack of content, the limited variety of gear, etc. So, why people still play it is a mystery to me.
I have played EQ1, EQ2, WOW, and many others. I started EQ2 when it was launched and liked it, but the lack of solo content was frustrating, but the graphics were amazing. I played for a year and then went to WOW, where I played for 2 years. The graphics are brighter, but they are far less realistic and the content gets old fast. You level very fast in WOW, this makes it less of a challenge. I felt as though I had not really accomplished anything. I had heard that they revamped EQ2 and had some new expansions so I tried it again. It is the much better. Granted, it has the same graphics, which are awesome, but now they have included much more solo material in the open areas. If you like to group, the dungeon areas are much harder and allow you to group. You now get master drops from normal solo encounters on a random basis, so if you do solo you can still get good stuff. The Trade skilling has changed somewhat, it used to be you had to make all the pre-components before you could make the finished product. You used to have to rely on other trade skills to make certain things that you did not know how to make and then use those to make your final product. I actually liked that more, made it harder but more realistic. Now you can make a final product without having to do all that. It is a simple process. And player made equipment is often better then drops. Master Crafted equipment rivals fabled.
This week they are having a massive update, more like an expansion then an update. It will have mannequins for your house so you can showoff clothing, armor, and weapons. They are introducing Epic weapons into EQ2, something EQ1 had, they are also introducing some new player made fun food.
I have to admit that I miss the fact that I had to get my “shard” after I dies and received debt after death, lots of it. It made it where I tried not to die. Now you do not have to get your shard, nor do you receive a bunch of debt when you die, you receive some, but it is minimal. You do have to repair your armor after death, but not right away, you can die 10 times before it is broke. The amount of creatures is huge, and the world of Norrath itself is enormous.
In short, EQ2 is better then it was at launch, and much better then WOW.
Ok, I know many of you have tried out both wow and eq2, but in my experience when I here a wow player put down eq2 it is usually in ignorance. I will ask them if they have ever played it and the answer is pretty much always no. It just seems like they have been programed by the wow culture to hate eq2. I have played eq2 for quite awhile now and yes there is a grind and you do have to learn quite a bit to really feel comfortable in the game world, but once you do you really get a sense of accomplishment. I am able to solo and get groups and raid, usually all in one day. The amount of detail that is put into the landscape, characters and storyline in eq2 is amazing. In my opinion the creators of eq2 are extremely talented and have done a great job on the game.
we should all just play eve.
I’m one of the “switchers,” so to speak. I actually play BOTH games, and regularly. Yes…it’s a large monthly entertainment bill, as we have 2 WoW accounts and 1 EQ2 account in our home. Heck, it costs as much as the water bill! lol
Anyway, I’ve played both games since their open betas, so I think that’s long enough to “judge” them, at least my OPINION of them. I think that BOTH games are absolutely exceptional. However…they have entirely different “flavors.”
The person that commented that EQ2 is more for 14 year olds, and WoW for 9 year olds…was a bit OFF in their assessment. Okay, well the 9 year olds playing WoW are fairly numerable, BUT…I have yet to run into even a young teen playing EQ2, much less anyone in grade school. The player base is, on the average, much much older than that. Which is ONE OF the main differences in the two games’ “flavors.”
Admittedly, my raid guild in WoW is predominantly older too, but when I say “older” I mean in their 20s and early 30s, mostly, and our guild are considered to be “old people.” LOL! My guildmates in EQ2, are more my age (I’m 45). This could be in part due to the fact that many of the EQ2 gamers have been playing assorted MMOs since before many of the WoW gamers were even a glimmer in Mommy and Daddy’s eyes.
The EQ2 community seems overall much more helpful and considerate than the often brash, ballsy, RUDE community of WoW. That too, may have something to do with age and maturity of the player base.
Okay…the games themselves, however, outside of the obvious community differences:
WoW is more whimsical, lighthearted, and I love the cartoonish colorful aspects of it. I’m a graphic design major and it’s an AMAZINGLY crafted piece of artwork. EQ2 is darker, a bit more drab in color (in comparison to WoW), muted, yet more “realistic” in design. I love both of those things, it really depends on my mood.
The quests in WoW are so simple, for the most part, that a reading 5 year old could easily accomplish them. Not really so with EQ2. They’re a bit more challenging. May take a while longer to find things, and generally things need to be done in a certain order.
WoW has superior PvP in comparison. If PvP is your love, then in my opinion, EQ2 is NOT for you. If you are a hardcore PvP gamer, though, I’m not even sure that WoW is your best choice of what is out there, but it does beat EQ2 by a hundred miles.
EQ2 has superior crafting (if you like that sort of thing), and therefore, artisans are able to make a great deal of money ingame, being it actually requires some effort and a bit of skill TO craft. It’s more than a “push one button, item comes out perfect” sort of situation. Personally…I like that it’s not quite so simplistic.
In EQ2 most of the NPCs actually SPEAK and acknowledge you, even saluting you, if you have gained status/rep with them. There are a lot more voiceovers in EQ2, which for me, makes the game more real, as well. It makes you feel more a part of the world in which the NPCs live, not just the world the players “live” in.
WoW has a lot of cute little “bonuses” like the unique dancing styles of all the races. Yet, I personally don’t think they have NEAR enough racial or class choices. Pretty much, if you’re a mage, you’re either an arcane, fire, or frost mage, with some small amount of blending. You’re also either a troll, bloodelf, undead, human, gnome, or draeni. And 2 of those were only recently added as races. I understand they have lore to stick to, but it’s extremely limiting.
On the other hand in EQ2, there are no “plain mages,” and you can be almost ANY race of 3 times more races. The classes are much more specialized, to the point that I sincerely believe it is possible to make an ENTIRELY unique character using the class choices and achievement points.
WoW is a SEAMLESS and vast game world There are no loading screens, unless you count the very BRIEF zoning in to an instance. Not so with EQ2. This is one of my primary complaints about EQ2, actually. I’m not fond of load screens, and although they are relatively short with a good computer and good internet connection, they’re still annoying to me. WoW winds in that category hands down.
I could go on and on and on.
Suffice it to say, both games are massive and incredible. To choose a favorite for me would even be difficult. This is why I’ve just given in and play both. :)
i agree mostly, i played everquest and everquest 2 and trash talked WoW in eq2 almost every day. then when i saw more people were playing WoW i thought id try it. when i started playing for the first day i found out that i hate just doing quest after quest.. i need people to interact with at 2 in the morning to keep me going.. yall feel where im coming from?
and kcgirlgeek im like in love with your comment, swear to god i was like into your comment no lie
I must be odd in that I never could get into WoW. It was mainly the people there.. I think I could have just been unlucky but trying to get a competent group on WoW was like herding monkeys. I never once found a group where people didn’t repeatedly do stupid things and get us wiped out. On EQ2 I can find a competent group or even a kick ass raid party with minimal effort.
I need help im still scared of SOE because of what they did to starwars Galaxies i was hardcore into that game untill the day they had the combat “upgrade” So basically is Ever quest 2 worth playing because my best friend that i have been playing online games with for 8 years is quiting wow to play it. So if anyone has any thoughts about Ever quest 2 or any reason i should join my bud and play it or somethign like that my Email is misterpibb897@msn.com please email me i really want to know about this game
kcgirlgeek i really want to talk to you via email or instant messanger because i trust your opinion i want to know about this game please email me
I believe WOW has the numbers because EVERYONE has tried it and come to the realization, you can feel better, things happen faster, and are easier through it. Leveling is easier than I’ll get out, and the game has BASIC functions that are user friendly. I’ve seen 10 year olds with epic 70’s, it doesn’t take skill to be what you want. I mean sure it takes more to get into high end, but since the WOTLK patches, it has gone to easy. I hit my third 70 cause my character is stuck in transfer for pre WOTLK and the day of hitting 70 I ran Kara (which used to take all blue and 1/4 epic gear) and Zul Aman (used to be not even full epics could run this) The grinding for rep isnt there anymore, and ANYONE can play the game, if my girlfriend sat down for ten minutes she could be up to speed…
As an old EQer,I just could never make myself like WoW.I did try it,and it seemed everything to do was trivial.I personally did’nt like a lot of the chat,i’m guessing teenagers etc, or really immature adults,and there’s no worse thing in the world than to get a good group and your tank says “my mom says i have to go eat now”,/shrug.(actually happened)
I’m still in a high end raiding guild in eq1,and have recently given EQ 2 a shot,i love it,and if not for the people i’ve been playing EQ 1 with for seven years still playing i’m not sure i’d ever sign back in.I have,so far leveled a cleric to 42,completely solo and have a warden to 27.It does’nt take that long to level and at the same time not everything feels “trivial”.If folks have’nt tried EQ 2 and could never quite get into WoW,i’d highly recomend trying it.Just my 2 copper=).