What Made EQ Great? Tell your stories to a filthy casual

The game was designed for someone who was willing to have almost unlimited patience in order to succeed. It was designed for the basement dweller. It's also why I think that even if an exact replica of Everquest came out today, with updated graphics that it would have a limited shelf life for many. Games are designed the way they are today because a vast majority do not have that kind of patience that you need for EQ. Even the old school who clamor for this type of game again, some in this very thread and in the EQN thread, I don't think would stick around for more than a month or two, tops. I just think the nostalgia and rose colored glass effect would wear off. I know I don't have that kind of patience anymore and loved EQ, there is never going to be another like it.

Bels_sl said:

What was the name of the NPC that would 1 shot you if you talked to it? Like crazy was the trigger word or something.

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Sirran the Lunatic

Big Phoenix_sl said:

Haha. Shit was the wild west.
Griefing in EQ was the single funniest thing I have ever experienced. I would train SGs through the docks in Oasis or Griffs to the tunnel in EC. Pull massive trains in KC and zone out on the "entrance" side. Aggro a mob in solb or lguk and move to a spot that would make it take some insanely long path through multiple groups while pulling a massive train. Make ogres and block the bank in Kelethin or the entrance to Thurgadin. Charm newbie mobs and buff the hell out of them and watch them rape everyone.

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I think griefing was the best part for me too. I played a monk, when anyone messed with you, Grand Central Station would deliver some cold justice.

I remember trying to break into Plane of Fear and had to do CR for 10 hours straight. Now that was entertainment.

Itemization was also awesome, you could feel like a bad ass walking around with full planar gear, and it was a different color then any other set!!! Items may have had more value since it would take forever to get a full set of planar gear.

Shakerpaging in PoNightmare for the first time with a couple of other warriors on Bertoxx. I couldnt tell you how many mobs we had pulled, but it was enough to cause the zone to crash, ended up getting killed while we were disconnected, but ended up with like 5 or 6 AA. Good times.

Running through Oasis training as many SG's as I could (I'd have that baddass version of SOW on, I hated Jboot speed, since I was a 4-6 mob AOE kiter). I'd get far enough away where it didn't seem like they were chasing me (sometimes as far as the zone line to NRo).

I'd then run to the docks over where everyone was resting, and just sit there and act normal. Even strike up a quick chat with folks. On the corner of my eye I'd watch the shit-storm coming up the coast line. I was pretty pro at figuring out pathing and the best way to cull as many noobs as possible, it was like playing pool and setting up the cue just right.

The best one was the werewolf in West Commons. Not a lot of people knew about it, specially newer players (circa 2000-2001?). There was a lot of mystery about it and speculation (only comes out at night, special quest trigger, etc). So I was leveling up my cleric and walked over to the dervish camp and ask for a spot.

If the folks said no, sorry full, or no sorry "we're saving the next spot for so and so"; I'd hook-line-and sinker the werewolf, again I'd use one of my sow potion stock (twinked from Yago) run back to the dervish camp and just sit there.
I'd waltz back nonchalantly and sit there, usually ask again "so any spot open up guys?" Keeping track of the werewolf at the corner of my eye. I'd then waltz off and watch as the level 14s-17 tried in vain to put down the level 20ish+ underconned meat blender of death.

I was a bastard, specially if you didn't open a spot for me.

Wuyley_sl said:

That was slow mode. Try 4 wizards and 2 enchanters(spamming AoE stun) Shit we cleared like a 4th of Old Sebilis a pull.

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I retired soon after people started doing AoE groups, so maybe there was some evolution in strat, but how the hell did you do it without a cleric and bard/monk? From my experience you needed the bard or monk to pull the train and the Cleric to shield every one pre-pull and possibly save a wizzy or chanter during the AoE firestorm. I could see how the two chanters should mitigate more damage than one with the chain stuns, but in my experience if a few mobs resisted the stun your chanter was instagibbed without the cleric to save his ass until another stun could hit.

The worst thing about AoE groups was once you saw the mad xp you could get (not to mention the adrenaline rush) going back to the standard xp single pull grind became entirely unpalatable. but unfortunately 90% of the playerbase was too pussy to do an AoE group, or they had never done it before and you'd insta wipe.

Roxby_sl said:

I think griefing was the best part for me too. I played a monk, when anyone messed with you, Grand Central Station would deliver some cold justice.

I remember trying to break into Plane of Fear and had to do CR for 10 hours straight. Now that was entertainment.

Itemization was also awesome, you could feel like a bad ass walking around with full planar gear, and it was a different color then any other set!!! Items may have had more value since it would take forever to get a full set of planar gear.

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I will add GM's to the list. No game since has used a dedicated person to help with problems and to add events on a server. I remember the last day they used live GM's on the individual servers. Our GM ran around with the BFG gun model with the Lollypop guild tag. I asked if I could have a Lollypop and he handed my wizard the last and most difficult staff portion for the epic weapon. I was shocked.

Itemization initially was also what set the game apart. My first character was a bard. It was awesome running around in the planar gold armor when the planes first came out. I got extremely lucky being the only bard and having 5 pieces drop in one raid run.

Favorite sploit: bard LD fear trap pvp. Target player, hit escape, hit lvl 27 AE fear, hit escape again to target last, and PBAE fear lands. Hit charm. Player pet.
Best memories with players pet: Necro got the drop on me, hit me with ebolt at around 70% hp. Shit. feared + charmed, dragged him into the middle of Umbral, release charm, he gets aggro. Hits invuln, I hit fading memories and run for zone, ??? I die to dot as he dies to mobs, on top of each other.
Best memories just using it to clear people: bard + warrior alt. Bard would fear + snare, on the warrior, I'd hit with Dain axe. My god. Completely cleared out a group at treants, two groups at SK, a group at Avian village. And then Quill popped on top of us. Jesus fuck was that fun. Then a few levels later, we'd always clear out the SF ramp group of darkies.

Second favorite sploit: Warrior /shield + druid 1 hit damage shield. So, if the warrior is outside of the level range of druid and the attacker, the damage shield will not decay. Rogue popped discs on cornered druid, hit shield on warrior, druid pops the ds on the warrior, rogue is now being hit for 400 damage a swing . ???? dead rogue, no idea how it happened.

What made EQ great? The world was stronger than you and unless you banded together, the world would destroy you. Contrast that with modern MMOs where the player is much stronger than the world. Give me vitae penalty for deaths in EQNext instead of xp loss, and I'll enjoy myself.

I picked up EQ in the summer of 99. I remember waiting for the patches to download and reading all this stuff about the Plane of Fear and Rubicite armor and thinking 'wow this is a lot more complicated than I expected. I rolled a Half Elf Paladin in Freeport and was so lost for the first few days. I got to about level 3 and someone was watching me kill rats and bats and sent me my first /tell. I had no idea how to reply so he taught me the basics. Then he gave me a FS two handed sword, a greater lightstone, bronze bracers, and 1 gold, and I felt like I won the lottery. I was hooked at that point.
Bazaar was at the EC tunnel on Saturdays on the Rathe and I loved looking for deals.I felt like a pro when I finally got a full suit of bronze plate. I leveled slowly, but loved every minute of it. My first trip to Faydwer I got killed and ressed back in Freeport. I camped Goulbane with two buddies and I got mine in the first 30 minutes, but we waited around for another 12 hours to get a second one for the other paladin. Questing for a full suit of Ro armor, camping Mistmoore for Soulfire handle, and killing Lucan with a group of friends were some great times. Unrest was my favorite zone early on, then Deadside Guk later on. My first trip into Fearplane was with Nobel House/Silver Blades as a guest and I got to loot some Valorium legs because all the paladins had them already. Later on I went to Skyplane with the same group and got to loot a haste sash lol. It was just little things like that that made EQ so cool. I played trough Velious and when Luclin came out I took my leave. I came back for a bit with Planes of Power, but it just didn't hold the same feeling of the first three expansions.

People mentioning EQLizer and Alla's reminded me of how I'd check those sites multiple times daily for the new item updates. When Kunark and Velious launched there would always be that huge influx of new items.

Here's a little snapshot of EQLizer back then:

http://web.archive.org/web/200104130...eq/index.shtml

Edit: That site is pretty awesomely archived. You can click through and almost all the links/images are working.

Once you left the game the first time, it really was the beginning of the end. I quit initially in 2002, would eventually return 3 more times over the course of the next 5 years and each successive return lasted less and less. You really can't go home again, nothing ever captured the magic of those first 3 years. Guild had a lot to do with it, once my guild broke/merged and many of the people I knew started leaving the game, that was pretty much it for me. Your enjoyment of the game had as much (if not more) to do with the people you hung out with on a regular basis than even the game itself.

What made EQ great? I met my RL wife there.

^^ Genius. Wow.

I just remember soloing Gorenaire. God that bitch was a joke.

Itlan_sl said:

^^ Genius. Wow.

I just remember soloing Gorenaire. God that bitch was a joke.

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In PoP era I imagine? Not sure if it's doable even in luclin, maybe with full VT.

Shamans were the first to start the dragon soloing craze if I recall correctly. I bet a VT stacked shaman could do it.

Szeth_sl said:

In PoP era I imagine? Not sure if it's doable even in luclin, maybe with full VT.

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Luclin - BL. I think I was max AAs.

I just watched this and realized that there were places in EQ that I still hadn't been to 5 years in, and still haven't been to today.

God damn...

Velious was the shit. What's the story again behind Lord Bob's name?

I wouldn't want to go back to camping mobs because it's already been done, but you can probably recreate some of the magic by incorporating a lot of EQ's elements.