EQ F2P- Returning Players & Current Content

Zaide

TLP Idealist
3,741
4,398
TFO killed Mayong last night. It's a pretty fun encounter.




I find it amazing how many of these EoE people weren't far from sperm when I started playing EQ. I thought only 30 something potheads played EQ, and yet we have people as young as 17 that weren't even bred by their parents to farm plat for them as a child.
I'm pretty sure I was 19 when I formed TF on Vulak.
 

Krozman

N00b
99
-2
I think you hit the nail on the head for why this game still has drawing power for intelligent people. I get apps from people who devote 15 hours + a week to their characters, and they have to still be taught how to raid, how to perfect their tanking/utility/dps, etc, and barring ego issues they do well after about 2 months, and the gear catches up to the lessons. Then there are the morons who haven't played a game of real difficulty in their life, and telling them that they don't measure up results in their prompt termination because they can't mentally grasp that there is "winning" and there is "winning correctly."

EQ is horribly unforgiving because after all this time, the real mechanics of the game and the numbers behind them are still a mystery. There is so much misinformation out there because the game has evolved in significant ways. If you create a level 1 character today and kill a mob, you'll loot it and find 2 cash items, 4 quest items and a tradeskill item on that. A normal person starting can't even fathom what to do with all that shit on a corpse, much less level efficiently enough to enjoy it.

Even the bigger websites devoted to the game are so ill maintained now that only a long time of dedicated time/experience will allow you to truely master a lot of the mechanics. I think it's awesome personally, but i'm not sure if I came to EQ fresh that i'd give it more than a day without ending in frustration. Even after leaving for WoW with FoH and returning in the SoD/UF expansion it took a long time to get a feel for the basics again, and since then i've enjoyed it immensely.
 

roddo_sl

shitlord
42
0
This isn't the EQ I quit 8 years ago thats for sure. I like it, and i realize the learning curve is going to be alot steeper than WoW or diablo3 or any of the many xbox games I've played in that time. But i like that, theres more to this game than just spending time pugging everything your gear level says you can, and thinking your good because you won some loot. This game always took a hell of a lot more skill to play, and I'm really enjoying that fact when I get into a situation where i can't just sit back and watch my mercs steamroll shit. almost all content in wow is instanced where if you die its just run back and start over. theres never been such a thing as a naked corpse run through fear hoping invis doesn't drop, or being bound in halas when your hunting in kunark etc. I'll always remember the first time i wandered out into west karana at like level 10, and lost all my shit. or entering the qeynos sewers at level 6 and doing the same thing. It sucked, but it created memories, and made the game epic.
 

Venhom_sl

shitlord
1
0
This isn't the EQ I quit 8 years ago thats for sure. I like it, and i realize the learning curve is going to be alot steeper than WoW or diablo3 or any of the many xbox games I've played in that time. But i like that, theres more to this game than just spending time pugging everything your gear level says you can, and thinking your good because you won some loot. This game always took a hell of a lot more skill to play, and I'm really enjoying that fact when I get into a situation where i can't just sit back and watch my mercs steamroll shit. almost all content in wow is instanced where if you die its just run back and start over. theres never been such a thing as a naked corpse run through fear hoping invis doesn't drop, or being bound in halas when your hunting in kunark etc. I'll always remember the first time i wandered out into west karana at like level 10, and lost all my shit. or entering the qeynos sewers at level 6 and doing the same thing. It sucked, but it created memories, and made the game epic.
I happened across this thread while browsing for a new or old game to play, and it gave me the itch to re-install. It's definitely not the game I remember when I quit around LoY, but logging in still gave me the same thoughts I had some 13 or 14 years ago. Roddo is definitely right, this was the only game where I feel you've needed some actual skill and cooperation in order to be successful. So thanks to all for the thread and sucking me back in. I'm a lowbie on Test now named Dinvardare if anyone happens across me, say hello.

Thanks
Ven
 

othree

Bronze Knight of the Realm
505
1,042
I happened across this thread while browsing for a new or old game to play, and it gave me the itch to re-install. It's definitely not the game I remember when I quit around LoY, but logging in still gave me the same thoughts I had some 13 or 14 years ago. Roddo is definitely right, this was the only game where I feel you've needed some actual skill and cooperation in order to be successful. So thanks to all for the thread and sucking me back in. I'm a lowbie on Test now named Venhom if anyone happens across me, say hello.

Thanks
Ven
Oh indeed. I was so surprised when I sat down and actually gave this new EQ a try just how much I liked it. It took me an hour or so to get everything that I needed to know at the time in my noggin', the sort of new UI all organized (I still really miss the old hot button bars, these horizontal bars still feel weird to me), and on my way to becoming a bad ass ranger. I haven't had tons of time to play recently, but that's about to change after this weekend. It's not what I remember from back in the day, and it doesn't even really compare to playing on a emu like Shards of Dalaya. It's a very different game now compared to when I left to play WoW and Winters Roar just after GoD released...but that's okay, because who wants to play the same game anyways, right?

After this weekend is over, I'm going in hardstyle. First thing on my list of "to-do's" is to find a really awesome UI for a ranger. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to drop them on me, hard bro. Thanks in advance!

Also, my name in game is Ryraxx. I've made it to 46 so far, but if you're ever bored and looking for a young big dicked ranger to roll up on some homies with, holla at me.

And holy shit. I just logged in and read the patch notes...AFTER 14 FUCKING YEARS, ONE HAND AND TWO HANDED PIERCING ARE FINALLY SEPARATE SKILLS!!! What in the good fuck made them finally decide to do it?
 

Rangoth

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,566
1,715
The UI scene in general has not been as updated as other games now that EQ is old and dated, but there are a few that are decent.

1.) Aya - This is my personal favorite. I don't really have any evidence to say why it's the best(as with any UI) but some facts about it are that it condenses alot of information into compact windows so it is smaller, easier to see and takes up less screen real-estate. It's also comes with built in resolution mappings. So after you rename the UI(follow the instructions) all you need to do is direct the chat to go to the window you want and bam done.
2.) Sars - This is what I used to use back the day. Apparently it is still updated and going. I don't use it anymore but It was a nice hybrid model with everything going for it.

Last and most importantly...the UI's break almost every patch. Or if they do not break, they are missing whatever new component or shit SOE added. The default is NOT that bad and if you just download a few simple things, like graphics that reduce the boarder or change the fonts, it becomes very simplistic and usable with little effort. The benefit of this route being that you never need to worry it breaking or not working or not showing you shit.
 

Alasliasolonik

Toilet of the Mod Elect
<Banned>
4,908
9,890
How bad is the pet nerf? I won't be able to play till Monday, been reading conflicting threads and reports. Suppose to be a 20% cut in ac and hp
 

Krozman

N00b
99
-2
in the group game you shouldnt notice horribly. They're making it more difficult for a mage pet to tank a raid boss better than any warrior.
 

Shabado_sl

shitlord
36
0
Nothing to do with pets, but if you're playing on Test it's worth remembering you can /resetaa once a week, meaning if you find a sweet spot it can be worth filling out on crap AA you have no intention of keeping just because you can reset later and spend them on useful stuff at a higher level.

I've been farming loads of AA in the 60's using a bard and the Hatching a Plan task to the point where I was buying Stat AAs just so I had something to spend on as it's ridiculously quick and painless to do. I did /testcopy over with about 30 exp pots from FV though.
Which is another thing - if anyone is rolling a new Alt and can be bother co-oridinating it then I'm quite happy to let you borrow them for a /testcopy.
 

Xequecal

Trump's Staff
11,559
-2,388
Well, I just hit one of those old school bugs. I was trying to do the old Coldain Shawl quest in preparation for the new aug, and on the final quest you're supposed to be able to spawn Dain Frostreaver IV by turning in your shawl so you can progress the quest with him. This part bugged out and Dain didn't spawn, and it gave me the depleted version of the shawl back, the one that can't be used to spawn the Dain again. So now I'm forever unable to complete this quest unless I catch him up naturally, and with a 1 week spawn time and anyone in the game being able to kill him in 15 seconds, that'll pretty much never happen.
 

Zaide

TLP Idealist
3,741
4,398
Well, I just hit one of those old school bugs. I was trying to do the old Coldain Shawl quest in preparation for the new aug, and on the final quest you're supposed to be able to spawn Dain Frostreaver IV by turning in your shawl so you can progress the quest with him. This part bugged out and Dain didn't spawn, and it gave me the depleted version of the shawl back, the one that can't be used to spawn the Dain again. So now I'm forever unable to complete this quest unless I catch him up naturally, and with a 1 week spawn time and anyone in the game being able to kill him in 15 seconds, that'll pretty much never happen.
It's like a 24-48 hour spawn timer iirc. In TFO we never had trouble finding him up during Velious.