Eq II

Venom

Seeing as how SOE has turned off the NDA on EQ II here some info on it as Iv been in the beta test the last few weeks.

To start off I must say I was very surprised at how much I have enjoyed playing EQ2 so far seeing as I have been in a **** SOE mode due to the cluster **** they made out of SWG. While i haven't played any WOW yet the cartoon style gfx and the ****e Blizzard are pulling with what server you can and can not play on have ruled out WOW for me.

EQ2 looks fantastic but you will need a good PC to get the most out of it as the gfx engine was designed to still look good in a few years time so don't expect to be running the game with all settings maxed out as it ain't gonna happen. The sound and speech for most NPCs really adds a coolness to the game and draws you in to the world very well, not to mention they have Christoper Lee lending his voice and the villain of the game Music in EQ was awful for most parts but SOE have really done a amazing job on the music for EQ 2 and its more of a film score than a video games.

There are 1000's of quests in all ready with the promise of 1000's more to come in the final release of the game. While the quests are of the usual go here, kill this or talk to a certain NPC, due to the fact 99% of all npc talk and time and effort being put into the quests they really are fun.

The combat system really keeps the fights fresh and interesting due to special moves you can pull off that bump up the power level of your attacks. These attacks are called HO's or Heroic Opportunities.

Zones are back in EQ 2 and while allot of people like the huge seamless worlds of SWG and Horizons I always found them dull and lackluster. EQ 2 zone layouts are designed by human and are very well done and it adds so much character and feeling to the game compared to the computer generated dull and boring landscapes of Horizons and SWG. Saying this some of the zones are massive and I mean massive and easily the size of a SWG planet.

The lack of PVP does not bother me at all due to the simple fact that PVP has yet to be done right in any MMORPG not to mention cutting out the grief factor that plagues most online games of this type that does have PVP. Kill stealing is gone due to locked encounters. This happens when you attack a mob and any other player will see a little padlock icon over you and the mobs head and cant attack the mob unless you yell for help.

If you enjoyed EQ and want a game that will keep you coming back again and again, EQ2 should fill your needs but feel free to ask any questions

Tusky

Venom wrote:

Seeing as how SOE has turned off the NDA on EQ II here some info on it as Iv been in the beta test the last few weeks.

To start off I must say I was very surprised at how much I have enjoyed playing EQ2 so far seeing as I have been in a **** SOE mode due to the cluster **** they made out of SWG. While i haven't played any WOW yet the cartoon style gfx and the ****e Blizzard are pulling with what server you can and can not play on have ruled out WOW for me.

EQ2 looks fantastic but you will need a good PC to get the most out of it as the gfx engine was designed to still look good in a few years time so don't expect to be running the game with all settings maxed out as it ain't gonna happen. The sound and speech for most NPCs really adds a coolness to the game and draws you in to the world very well, not to mention they have Christoper Lee lending his voice and the villain of the game Music in EQ was awful for most parts but SOE have really done a amazing job on the music for EQ 2 and its more of a film score than a video games.

There are 1000's of quests in all ready with the promise of 1000's more to come in the final release of the game. While the quests are of the usual go here, kill this or talk to a certain NPC, due to the fact 99% of all npc talk and time and effort being put into the quests they really are fun.

The combat system really keeps the fights fresh and interesting due to special moves you can pull off that bump up the power level of your attacks. These attacks are called HO's or Heroic Opportunities.

Zones are back in EQ 2 and while allot of people like the huge seamless worlds of SWG and Horizons I always found them dull and lackluster. EQ 2 zone layouts are designed by human and are very well done and it adds so much character and feeling to the game compared to the computer generated dull and boring landscapes of Horizons and SWG. Saying this some of the zones are massive and I mean massive and easily the size of a SWG planet.

The lack of PVP does not bother me at all due to the simple fact that PVP has yet to be done right in any MMORPG not to mention cutting out the grief factor that plagues most online games of this type that does have PVP. Kill stealing is gone due to locked encounters. This happens when you attack a mob and any other player will see a little padlock icon over you and the mobs head and cant attack the mob unless you yell for help.

If you enjoyed EQ and want a game that will keep you coming back again and again, EQ2 should fill your needs but feel free to ask any questions

Its not in open beta is it ? when is the general release ? How much per month ? cheers.

Venom

Tusky wrote:

Its not in open beta is it ? when is the general release ? How much per month ? cheers.

No its still a closed beta at the moment but Soe are sending out more beta invites every week. Do bear in mind tho that you need to download 2gb of data and this is about 19-20 hours on ADSL.

No offical word on a release date. If you preorder now you get a special account that comes with a pair of Jboots (makes you run faster) like the shades with the SWG special edition.

Again no word on the monthly cost but I expect it to be the same as SWG.

Sarn

I have to say I do find EQ2 pretty immersive. Wandering through Freeport (one of the two main cities) you really get a feeling that the place is alive, with background chatter going on. I'm playing it on my laptop at the moment (mobility 9700 64 MB, 1.7 Ghz centrino, 1GB RAM), while not on the highest settings it still looks gorgeous and no stutter. There are so many graphical tweaks available that you can cater for your system easily.

The only thing I'll say at this stage is that the difference between characters of the same class are pretty small at low levels (don't know about higher) i.e. fighter, mage, priest, scout. It's part of the plan to not have an uber sub-class.

Gizzard

I must say EQ2 is quite impressive, Im finding the combat to be much faster then EQ1, to be honest it takes some time to get used to, but im impressed so far, they have still work to do but its quite solid atm, and the 8th november release date shoudl not be a problem.

quests are excellent, its a bit dumbed down in some parts but i have a feeling they will change that

Nemesis

I can get a beta key but since I dont have broadband I need to know can anyone put the game on a DVD and post it to me?

Or is that possible?...

If not how big is the file/game


Nemesis/DemonBaby/Avoca...

Ivan

Nemesis wrote:

I can get a beta key but since I dont have broadband I need to know can anyone put the game on a DVD and post it to me?

Or is that possible?...

If not how big is the file/game


Nemesis/DemonBaby/Avoca...

How/where did you acquire a beta key?
For such information* I might be inclined to dl it for both of us and send you a copy on dvd.





*Depends on if I get into beta.

quozl

Brian if you pm me a link to the file I'll download it and burn it to dvd. Then you can either get it next time your in dublin or i'll post you it.

You sure you want to try EQ2 though? Digital crack cocaine remember

Greg

Nemesis

Thanks Greg.

Thing is..I dont have the beta key yet.
Have some guys in Germany looking into it.

I reckon you will need the beta key frst before you Download it.
It's 3 gig btw..so How long will that take you?.
You still with that wireless crowd?.

You going to try it out?.

And it was your fault I got addicted to that EQ1 originally!.:)

Brian.

Venom

Nemesis wrote:

Thanks Greg.
I reckon you will need the beta key frst before you Download it.
It's 3 gig btw..so How long will that take you?.
You still with that wireless crowd?.

Brian.

You use the key to create a profile/register on the SOE site. You then download a small install.exe file which gives you the basic login style screen SOE users will recognize. Like downloading a patch in EQ,SWG and PS, you will download the 2 gig game.

Ivan

So you cant actually download a seperate file? You need to get launchpad to dl it for you. Yikes

quozl

Nemesis wrote:

Thanks Greg.
I reckon you will need the beta key frst before you Download it.
It's 3 gig btw..so How long will that take you?.

Under 2 days if it's a decent connection. I've an uncapped 512/512 connection, still with Leap. Love the service, pity about the cost

You going to try it out?.

And it was your fault I got addicted to that EQ1 originally!.:)

Hmm I dunno. I might, but it might be a better idea for me not to Playing The Saga of Ryzom at the moment. Heh and yeah I still feel guilty for introducing you to everquest in the first place

Greg

paddyman

"The lack of PVP does not bother me at all "

Can u expand on this for me please, what is pvp like, or the plans for it.

tnx, nice read.

Venom

paddyman wrote:

"The lack of PVP does not bother me at all "

Can u expand on this for me please, what is pvp like, or the plans for it.

tnx, nice read.

There is no PvP in EQ2 at all. No duels, no arena areas like in EQ1 and no guild wars. And from what Iv read on the beta forums the Devs seem to have no intention of adding any sort of PvP to the game. If you want to PvP rather than PvE then EQ2 is not the game for you.

paddyman

lol

cheers mate, ill be scratching eq off the list so , im completely a pvp person. pve is just something u have to do to be improve your char to pvp well.

hmmmmmm, ill be looking into wow some more then.

Gizzard

It took me 23 hours to download on 512 connection, I averaged about 40k a sec download.

Yfi, I saw EQ2 box in Game Henry street so its not long to wait now.

Awesome game

Gizzard

If you want PvP play WoW, eq2 has none

Venom

Gizzard wrote:

It took me 23 hours to download on 512 connection, I averaged about 40k a sec download.

Yfi, I saw EQ2 box in Game Henry street so its not long to wait now.

Awesome game

8th of Dec for the yanks and I believe 9th or 11th over here. Cant see myself not picking it up at this point unless the last few patches totaly fook over the current gameplay.

Gizzard

Venom wrote:

8th of Dec for the yanks and I believe 9th or 11th over here. Cant see myself not picking it up at this point unless the last few patches totaly fook over the current gameplay.

with your spec PC I see from your SIG, EQ2 will look totally and I mean TOTALLY Awesome

Venom

Gizzard wrote:

with your spec PC I see from your SIG, EQ2 will look totally and I mean TOTALLY Awesome

I cant run it at full wack but settings are close. Turned off shadows and toned down detail on players out of viewing distance. Game looks sooooooo good but custom designed landscapes will always win out over computer generated ones.

joe90

Hi all

Just wondering if there will be any euro servers for EQ2 up and running when it is first release or will we have to play on US servers for a while.

Thxs
Joe90

Nemesis

Venom wrote:

8th of Dec for the yanks and I believe 9th or 11th over here. Cant see myself not picking it up at this point unless the last few patches totaly fook over the current gameplay.

The Official release date from sony is the 8th of November.

I rang Gameplay.co.uk (very good customer service btw) last week and was told the game would probably be posted on Nov 5th so I'd get it on day of 'release' Nov 8th.

The 8th Nov is acyually the Day EQ2 gets shipped (which I think means goes from Manufacturer/main Distributor to the Retailers).

So I rang Gameplay.co.uk today and was told they will receive their shipment of EQ2 on Tuesday evening and will post them out at 5pm Wedneday..So I might have my copy on Friday 12th Nov or maybe Monday 15th Nov.

Two days ago I called into GAME-Tallaght branch and noticed EQ2 was to be available on the 19th Nov on one of their signs.
So I enquired to see when would EQ2be in (Thinking to myself 'maybe it will be in onTuesday 9th Nov)

So they guy looks it up and says it has been delayed to Jan 2005 and he got that notice only last week.

The box in Henry-GAME...was it the Pre-order box I wonder?.
I didnt see any Pre-order box's in GAME-Tallaght.

And to a question about Euro Servers..
Yes there will be a Euro server...3 actually. (English,German and Fench one)
and will be going live on same date as US ones.(8th of Nov I presume).
They...the Euro servers will be based in Amsterdam so pings should be fine and dandy.

Nemesis

Pugsley

What way is the combat system in it? it has always ben the c*ck up of MMORPG's for me, the combat system used in the lieks of DaoC and SWG are the biggest flaw in both games, does this game use similar (keep in mind, I have never played EQ1). Im reading the webby currently for it, and Im liking the look of the race's, but what way does the XP system work? is it get xxx XP and ding, you spec whatever you want, or do you get XP in each specific tree? (ala SWG).

Sarn

I would consider the combat system to be fairly similar to DAoC. You have your special abilities that use power. They have this thing called Heroic Opportunities, where a specific series of special abilities gives you a bonus magic attack.

What I observed is that there are XP bubbles (about 10/level). Now I don't know if this was due to patching but say 1/2 way to the next level your basic abilites go up a point e.g. you get better at martial arts, swimming etc. Doesn't affect combat outcome noticeably (too little change). Eventually you ding and you get handed a new special ability, there are no trees like in SWG, no choice in what ability you spec when you ding. The class choices you make are at 10, 20th etc. Essentially very little customisation (compared to Horizons).

They introduced traits near the end that would boost basic stats at landmark levels.

Ivan

Sarn wrote:

I would consider the combat system to be fairly similar to DAoC. You have your special abilities that use power. They have this thing called Heroic Opportunities, where a specific series of special abilities gives you a bonus magic attack.

What I observed is that there are XP bubbles (about 10/level). Now I don't know if this was due to patching but say 1/2 way to the next level your basic abilites go up a point e.g. you get better at martial arts, swimming etc. Doesn't affect combat outcome noticeably (too little change). Eventually you ding and you get handed a new special ability, there are no trees like in SWG, no choice in what ability you spec when you ding. The class choices you make are at 10, 20th etc. Essentially very little customisation (compared to Horizons).

They introduced traits near the end that would boost basic stats at landmark levels.

EQ 2 is begining to sound like it sucks, the more I hear about it

joe90

Thxs for the info Nemesis.

Lockup

Play.com says my EQ2 order is at packing stage. So hopefully should have it by Friday..

Nemesis

Nemesis wrote:

They...the Euro servers will be based in Amsterdam so pings should be fine and dandy.

Nemesis

The English UK preferred server will be in the states as far as I know.

Nem

Memnoch

Ivan wrote:

EQ 2 is begining to sound like it sucks, the more I hear about it

tbh as a pure PvE game it looks good. Though I would never personally play that style of game myself.

I guess you have to compare it to FFXI as far as PvE MMORPGs go. But since i've played neither, i'm hardly in a position to do so.

My main gripes and the reason I won't be playing this game is...

1) Run by SOE - i've already had horrible experiences with them and i have absolutely 0 faith in this company

2) PvE only. I just don't get the point in the endless leveling up. I guess i'm not a "role player" so the PvE can't be an end in itself for me

muffen

I'm beginning to think EQ2 might be worth a look.
I can understand SOE's decision of not having PVP, its never worked well in any MMORPG, and definately not one made by SOE.

I played SWG for a while, and I think it was pretty alright. There were some issues (I could live with the bugs etc, but the attitude of the CSR's, that I could not live with), so I think I know SOE, atleast a little bit.

However, it seems like a lot of things going into EQ2 is just so they won't run into the same problems they have in the past (well, im sure there are bugs in there, but hopefully they learnt something from the SWG release).
Atleast they are trying, and who knows, they might just have come up with a good game that won't be overrun by griefing 14 year olds...

I've never been one for PVP btw, I like grouping up with a few friends and doing hard missions...

Anyways, I'm gonna see the reviews after its been out for a month or so... if it looks good I'll probably give it a go...

Gizzard

if you want PvP the choice is simple WoW, EQ2 is the better PvE experience by far anyway.

On a side note the European designated server in EQ2 is called Runnyeye, there is also a french and german euro servers

mayordenis

those anyone know if gamespot or pcworld will have it on friday??

Tusky

muffen wrote:

I'm beginning to think EQ2 might be worth a look.
I can understand SOE's decision of not having PVP, its never worked well in any MMORPG, and definately not one made by SOE.

I played SWG for a while, and I think it was pretty alright. There were some issues (I could live with the bugs etc, but the attitude of the CSR's, that I could not live with), so I think I know SOE, atleast a little bit.

However, it seems like a lot of things going into EQ2 is just so they won't run into the same problems they have in the past (well, im sure there are bugs in there, but hopefully they learnt something from the SWG release).
Atleast they are trying, and who knows, they might just have come up with a good game that won't be overrun by griefing 14 year olds...

I've never been one for PVP btw, I like grouping up with a few friends and doing hard missions...

Anyways, I'm gonna see the reviews after its been out for a month or so... if it looks good I'll probably give it a go...

pvp wrked very well in daoc...

Gizzard

Game Henry street have EQ2 in stock, gamestop did not have it when I dropped in this morning

Drakar

I saw eq2 in one of the shops. I presume the servers went up yesterday (friday)? Does anyone know if there was a playerwipe beforehand or will there be loads of high powered players dancing around?

Sarn

Players can't keep their characters from beta, so it's a fresh start. They'll know how to level faster but that's it.

Drakar

I went out and bought it today, I don't know anything about it (yeah I know). Are there any good sites to read?

Venom

Picked it up on Sat and Im up to lev11 so far. Its playing alot better than the beta was stability wise and seems less laggy. Some links below to get you started.....

http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com

http://eq2.ogaming.com/db/index.php

http://eq2vault.ign.com

http://eq2.stratics.com

Drakar

I'm lev 8 Priest. It would be nice to see some guild action since us priests need other players to... you know... hit stuff.

Thanks for the linkage.

Gizzard

Im a 15 Druid from Fridays start, name is Batbat ingame

Venom

Are you guys all on the Runnyeye the Euro server ?

Playing on Mistmore here but might make an alt on a different server for a laugh

joe90

Hi all 11 crusader on runnyeye server goes by the name of Gamill. Send me a /tell in game for a chat or if you want to hook up for some quest/groups etc...

cheers
Joe90

humanji

What server are most of you guys on? I just got the game yesterday and wondered what the best place to be is.

Memnoch

<goes into fanboy mode>

forgot eq2 all play wow instead!!!!! !11111!!

<exits fanboy mode>

hows the game by the way? any hopes of pvp yet?

Venom

PvP wont be in the game for the foreseeable future. Personally I think this is a very good move on SOE's part as every game since EQ has had PvP and have had nothing but problems and much lower sales and return income compared to EQ.

As a mmorpg EQ2 really is the dogs bollocks. Amazing GFX, music and sound effect really make it a joy to play. 1000's of quest's and some really fun ones as well totally keep you entertain and its scary to see the hours just slip away lol.

Leveling up seems much faster than EQ1 and Iv found there is always something for me to do in game which is such a relief after player SWG to the higher levels. So far I just haven't found anything to really complain about and this is also after 2 months in the beta not to mention I'm not bothered about replaying through content Iv just done two weeks ago which normally bugs the hell out of me

Drakar

jomanji wrote:

What server are most of you guys on? I just got the game yesterday and wondered what the best place to be is.

Everyone seems to be on different servers. I'm on Toxxulia which has worked out well because it's one of the newer ones so there's few big players. It's possible to be one of the top 10 players for you class in the newer servers, whereas one wouldn't have a hope in the older servers. Of course the new servers have the problem that all the good equipment isn't available yet because people are still working on their trade skills.

I was creating an alt today and I saw there's a server starting with F which I hadn't seen before and seemed to be showing low population. That might be newer than Toxxulia, not sure.

I really like the stats on your player you can see on the website btw (so you can see that you were the 100th Cleric to get to level 12, how many mobs you killed, etc).

humanji

Drakar wrote:

I really like the stats on your player you can see on the website btw (so you can see that you were the 100th Cleric to get to level 12, how many mobs you killed, etc).

I just realised now that you can do that. It's great, they even have the paper doll of your inventory!

Is there anyone here on the Everfrost server?

Nemesis

Runnyeye was the official Euro English speaking server.
Now it is the Un-official one since they removed the (Euro/English prefered) tag.
If you want to play on a server with mainly Europeans and do raids etc at reasonable hours join it.

There will be a new English Euro server (based in Amsterdam) in a couple of weeks and you will be allowed to move from Runnyeye to it.
For me at least it will improve my connection and GM events , server downtime and customer service will be at european time instead of Pacific time.

DmonBabee Lev 17 Troll Warrior
The Calling.

Drakar

Runnyeye showed up as being full when I got the game over a week ago. I'm not sure if it would have shown up as being available for play if I'd been looking at a different time of day.

mayordenis

got it today wont play it till tomorow i know a decent bit about mmorpg played EQ/EVE/COH maybe a few others any specific pointers??

zekiel

I've played this game now for a couple of days... and I'm less than impressed, in fact I'm slightly disgusted at some points.

before you go WHAT! let me explain.

First off I install the game (I'm a little excited at this stage) then I finish, log in with my station account and then my face starts to drop... questionaire after questionaire of would I like to purchase this extra feature for $3 more and so on.. (I should be getting this crap for free anyway after forking out 45 yoyo's).. and would I be interested in paying $25 for all these other games... ehhh NO I just play the F'ing game im thinking at this stage.... after pages more of forms I finally get to the log on screen. BAM 45 minutes of dl'ing updates and wahaay I can log in ... woopie.... what a complete waste of time, I wasnt to know this then though.
I join a server and create my character... I'm in finally! so off I go.
It starts out with the training steps... on ship, learn this learn that... great its ok now... its looks amazing! I'm impressed and I'm starting to forget about the previous crap I had to go through.
Then I get to the Island to start my training as a young refugee and make my way in the world. ok, what do I do... its all v.straightforward stuff, nice little missions and you get to interact with all the npc's and I get along ok doing the basic combat missions killing the goblins... then I start to notice the repetetive trend, go to A kill... go to b kill.. and so. I'm thinking at this stage, "nice single player game which I'm paying to play online here"
There is no need for interactivity early on... except for when you have to kill the orc, which requires you to get other people to help out.. right so I do this and then after that they head off on there merry ways.

Anyway:

I finally make it the mainland and I'm told yet again.. go to a, b, c ,d... ohh and I'm told im been given a house!! excellent I thought... at the time. It ends up being a room in a tavern. A little info on the house, you can put furniture in it, you can trade once you have it... but you cant actually store anything in it or use it for anything else... a little pointless, emmm yes.
to do anything in the game requires that you have to talk to npc's and get adventures... then you go do them.. thats it.. thats all there is to the game.

I just feel that there is soo much missing from this game... the players seem to have little or nothing else to do except this linear adventures... there is no real roleplay involved just hack n slash.

I wouldnt recommend this game to anyone seeking an rpg experience, I'd recommend going for a great free alternative and play neverwinter nights.. a nice persistant FREE world..

I might be a little harsh on this game as I might not have played it enough but this i what I saw and how far I got at the time of typing this.. game over.