Pan'Theon: Rise' of th'e Fal'Len - #1 Thread in MMO

I liked how 2-3 races collide to each other in a common zone at early levels to do content near a dungeon or at a dungeon like High Elf, Wood Elf, Gnomes and Dwarves doing Crushbone. Humans, Dark Elves, Halflings doing Common Lands / Befallen. Trolls and Ogres killing crap near the swamps. Barbarians kind of left a lone for a while. Then Trolls and Ogres can meet those Humans/Dark Elves and Halflings around the Oasis. It created a feeling of belonging to a world where you only see a few races in the beginning then the farther you venture the more unfamiliar faces (races/people) you see. EQ had a really decent way to funnel people into area of interest zones/dungeons while not overcrowding a zone like most recent games how they throw everyone in the same starting zone from the very beginning.

I also think a great aspect of EQ is the chase; the itemizations were done so well and the pace how you upgrade your items made you really want to keep playing in order to get those shoes, that earring...etc. I believe itemization is extremely important; I hope they don't go with Vanguard's approach it was so boring and so abundant. I want every magical item to be unique I don't want to see this WoW/Diablo 2 kind of item level / algorithm formula to make an infinite number of items (like the prefix and suffice Strong Belt of the Monkey, Swift blade of the Whale...etc) This kind of itemization is SO BORING. I want items to be designed for each named/boss item table and if you want it go kill that boss to get it. This will keep us playing; delve with friends into a dungeon to slay that named/boss to have a chance at his loot table.

I remember inspecting people wanting to know what items they had. Now everyone has huge ass shoulder pads and a glowing weapon. Meh.

I do like set pieces, though. Even in PoP, I thought they were a great idea. But you also have to keep in mind most servers only had 2 or 3 guilds raiding actively.

Itlan said:

I remember inspecting people wanting to know what items they had. Now everyone has huge ass shoulder pads and a glowing weapon. Meh.

I do like set pieces, though. Even in PoP, I thought they were a great idea. But you also have to keep in mind most servers only had 2 or 3 guilds raiding actively.

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Yes, I like how it's very rare to find a shiny item in EQ; only Epic Weapons had this kind of subtle particles to them. It made hard to attain items really stand out. We also used to know items by name and can tell which item this person is wielding. Because there were less magical items in the world in comparison to the most recent mmos where magical items are virtually infinite. In each dungeon there less than 10 rare items you can name and the same quantity for uncommon magical items. In Crushbone, as far as I remember there were only Dvinn's dagger and Emperor Crush's chain mail armor (which surprisingly I can still remember). I can still remember Efreeti Boots in SOLB and the Fungus Tunic from Sebilis? Making magical items rare and limited gives us as players an incentive to go seek them out. But if the whole game is nothing but a loot pinata the whole thing loses its whole meaning. If I see someone with a Journeyman's boots I know this person have went through hell to get it. Bring this itemization philosophy back and you'll give people one more reason to stay.

Is there a list anywhere with all the awesome rare loot from early EQ?

Convo said:

Is there a list anywhere with all the awesome rare loot from early EQ?

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EQ Atlas

Under the list of unique items and also within the map itself it shows you where some of the most important loot is located.

I actually hate set pieces. I think it forces people down a particular path, especially when it's combined with classes. I liked being able to wear whatever I wanted/could find that worked for me. Putting a little more into crit over dmg or whatever the case may be.

There were plenty of items available outside of the set pieces in PoP.

Set pieces are fine as long as its a trade off of miss matching gear to min max stats/dmg over achieving a set level that doesn't just provide more stats but a new skill or dynamic to an existing skill.

In EQ, especially at launch, rumor was as good as reality. I remember I spent a good week or two chasing down blackened chairmail in my late teens because of a rumored set bonus. Sadly, it turned out to be BS but I didn't care because the magic of the chase was amazing. Plus I looked badass compared to everyone else wearing bronze.

I have played the vast majority of mmos that have released since and your teens are something to get through in as few hours as possible. Only EQ has stupid stories like this that I still feel strongly enough to reply about almost two decades later.

Good times.

On the Emu I am playing on I a taking the slow road. I did all the SolRo armor quests, crawled through the Guks and SolA/B, a few planar pieces, and most of my Kunark drops, now grinding Giant faction in Velious. Most of the server is Boxing in there Planes, and I am just loving puttering along, enjoying the nostalgia.

If Brad & Co gets even 70% of the EQ feel, I will be giddy.

RoyalAssassin said:

In EQ, especially at launch, rumor was as good as reality. I remember I spent a good week or two chasing down blackened chairmail in my late teens because of a rumored set bonus. Sadly, it turned out to be BS but I didn't care because the magic of the chase was amazing. Plus I looked badass compared to everyone else wearing bronze.

I have played the vast majority of mmos that have released since and your teens are something to get through in as few hours as possible. Only EQ has stupid stories like this that I still feel strongly enough to reply about almost two decades later.

Good times.

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Yes but this will never happen again. Data mined from top to bottom before the shit even hits live. I will say a lot of Vanguard was shrouded in mystery but part of that was because there was such a small population. A niche game may be able to pull that off, but there's nothing in WoW or most modern MMOs that isn't posted about on some fucking website.

Data mining still has it's limitations I'm sure. They could just put in a bunch of dummy stuff (items, bonuses, skills, etc) that looks real on a spreadsheet and throw it in the database.

And have people endlessly hunting for items that don't exist?

Fuck I want to do that!

That would be pretty damn funny lol.

I liked not having anything to start, then you got a few pieces of raw hide, or netted, and felt great. Cracked Staff anyone? I don't want sets of quest armor at newb levels. EQ did it right with the Temple of Sol quests in your 20s; I especially liked the fact that you had to visit a ton of area for the items you needed, (although hunting crusaders in CT for a month sucked). Upgrades for odd slots, (jewelry, face, neck, waist...) from dungeon crawling got you ready for Naggy, Vox, Phinny where you got some sweet loot, and could make resist jewelry. Then hit the planes for some corpse runs and the occasional class drop...

Yeah, EQ's loot progression was basically perfect IMO, and that's not just rosy glasses. EQ2, WoW, and every newer title has such an over abundance of loot drops that I don't even care about it.

You don't like +1 more gooderer? Main/required upgrades should be generic shit like crafter stuff or mob drops such as bronze, etc. Than you get the rare drop that actually has a few stats or tweaks to a skill, etc. Not every 10 levels should have a set of pimpage that can be acquired by running a few dungeons for a guaranteed drop.

Totally agree with copying EQ's early loot designs but they also need to keep a slow leveling curve and disparate level ranges within zones as well. I get that players will always do what they can to rush to the end game but that does not mean it needs to go fast. Let players spend time experiencing the mid tier content rather than out-leveling it all too quickly.

The more I think about it, the more I think all of these concepts (camping, infrequent/unique loot, slow leveling, disparate level ranges within zones) MUST go hand-in-hand with each other if they have any chance of accomplishing their objective of re-creating a legacy feel.

Playing Rift right now as I had never tried it before and have been jonesing for "something" to play. Pretty decent game but fairly typical of today's slate of MMOs. Lots I like but also many aspects that leave me totally wanting more/better.

For example, it's so disappointing to find a named mob up in this game, kill it with ease, discover that it repops within a few minutes at most, and usually carries no loot outside of vendor fodder. When I think of EQ's model and even to some extent, Vanguard, it's the total opposite. Finding a named mob up (especially one that you've been camping for awhile) almost always prompted an immediate adrenaline rush. Was I strong enough to solo it? Were any other players in the area or look like they were also camping it? Did it have the item on it that I was hoping for? Was I strong enough to solo it? Were there potential adds? Oh yeah, could I solo it?!?

Sooo much shit going through your head the moment you saw a mob like that up. Here's to hopefully experiencing that same rush again.