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Huggles, sir?
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For those who don't want to click:
Quote:
I was very honored to be invited to the internal Friends & Family Beta toward the end of July. I had been following the game development for three years, and bought a new system with a 6800ultra and 3.0 processor to test it.
(*corrected. I had a typo that said 3.8 not 3.0)
I have been an avid EQlive player for many years (with my druid being my favorite). I have also played many other games including Horizons, DAoC, AC.
I have Beta-tested all of SOE's products starting with Kunark.
I am a 49 year old female. I do not like large raiding guilds, but would not call myself 'casual'. I play long hours, and like gaining levels and loot. I just prefer it be done with 12 people or less.
I enjoy making my character stronger, and playing it well. I like the thrill of thinking out of the box, and figuring out ways to take down a dragon with 6 people instead of 60. I like to solo, and I like crafting and questing.
I tell you all of this, because I think it is only fair to understand where I am coming from. If you are to read my opinion, you should know something about me.
I also want to avoid being called a 'Sony hater' because some of the things I say may be negative. Obviously if I was considered F&F, I do not hate SOE.
I have played the Beta much longer than most people I see posting to boards. I thought that gave me a better long-term view of the improvements they have made, the existing problems, and perhaps a view of how the game feels after 3 months..not 3 days.
I will be posting this in segments over the next day or two.
I will try to tell you my view of:
The graphics
The music
The voice overs
Adventuring 'archetypes' -healer
The questing
The artisan 'archetype'
Housing and bazaar
Travel
Guilds
Leveling & Death Penalty
Combat
The Druid
Misc. Things
Is it ready to be released?
Will I play it when it is?
All I ask is that if you do not agree with me, please be polite.
I expect to disagree with many. These are my personal views of the game. Nothing more.
If there is another major topic you would like covered, please feel free to ask.
Thanks! Sue
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The Graphics:
Visuals are a personal choice, and people can debate whether EQ2 looks better than WoW or whatever all day long. I will not go there.
What I will do, is comment on the screen-shots and movies they have shown us...Versus what is actually seen in game.
Many of the graphics were stunning when I first started playing and only 80 people were online at a time.
I could run around nicely, and have the settings all the way up. I saw the world exactly as the screen shots portrayed it.
As they added more players, I had to start turning down my graphics options or I could not walk. (but if I turned them up to take a screen shot, they still looked great)
Soon, the zones started getting so bad that people literally could not take a step. There was a series of patches..and suddenly even if I did turn my graphics all the way up, the graphics had been scaled back..
Layers and Layers of armor detail were gone. They began to look washed out. They no longer had pretty reflections off golden etchings. Yet still the lag persisted.
The movies touting fabulous flowing robes that move as we walk, were suddenly becoming a bunch of drab looking models that all look the same.
As I stated in my previous post, I have a 3.0, 6800Ultra, 2 gigs of ram. (corrected- had a typo of 3.8 not 3.0)
We also tested the game on a range of other systems. (all well above the required and most above the recommended) All of them ran even worse than mine.
I think SOE should post telling players they have had to scale back.
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The Music:
It's awesome. There is no other way to describe it. It is beautifully done. I have no desire to play other MP3's while I play.
Each is appropriate to the zone, and often enhances the mood of where you are.
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The Voice Overs:
They are well done (professionally done) but the implementation could use a bit of work.
The NPC's that talk when you hail them are fine, and although I was not looking forward to the VO's (could not care less either way) I was surprised to find it very emersive.
My problem was with the roaming ones in the villages.
If I had to hear one more time "Qeynos is a bastion of light" I might have gotten ill.
They need to either:
1. Make a large number of random things for these NPC's to say.
2. Give players options to turn off the Random VO's and leave the Quest ones on.
3. Give us some duct tape to shut them up.
It is especially annoying if the tradeskill instance keeps crashing..it pops you out next to an annoying frog that just bombards you with spam. All the crafters discussed ways we could possibly kill him.
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Adventuring archetypes: Healer
I am assuming you have all read about the boat and Isle of Refuge ad nauseum. I have nothing to add to those reviews.
The boat is fun the first couple of times. It serves the purpose of teaching you the basics of game play.
The Isle of Refuge is great fun (especially the first time). You are presented with the four choices and make one. You then proceed to learn how to play for the first few levels. There are plenty of quests, that lead you out to hunt. You gain decent levels and loot. Spells and Skills magically appear in your book.
I will use the healer class in this discussion. (since it would be what you choose if your path is to become a druid)
You stay on the island to about level 5-6. Your spells appear in your book automatically.
By level 5 these are the spells you have:
1 - Minor Healing
2 - Blessing
3 - Smite
4 - Inspiration
5 - Courage
If you compare this to a druid that is level 5 in EQlive (as an example)
• Skin Like Wood
• Burst of Flame
• Minor Healing
• Flame Lick
• Snare
• Endure Fire
• Lull Animal
• Panic Animal
• Sense Animals
• Dance of Fireflies
• Cure Poison
• Invoke Lightning
• Cure Disease
• Grasping Roots
• Burst of Fire
• Camouflage
• Ward Summoned
• Harmony
• Whirling Wind
• Gate
I felt that the spells offered are sorely lacking in creativity and options. It causes you to just mash the same two spells over and over..
Heal the tank
Smite the goblin
Heal the tank
Smite the goblin
I had expected the spell list to have much more variety and innovation. This is supposed to be a next generation game.
Even Horizons had options to customize your spells. You could have a fire DD that had extra damage for undead, or one that did additional ice damage. They at least tried to improve upon spells and make them unique and new. The player could have a crafter make a spell using ingredients that dropped off mobs to make unique spells to mem.
Everquest 2 falls very behind the times in this reguard.
Instead of offering new and innovative ..they offer fewer and standard.
Even the upgrades you can have crafted are not unique..they are mearly upgrades to the ones that automatically appear in your book. They heal for a few more HP, or nuke for a few more damage.
IF Variety is the spice of life....EQ2's spell list is as bland as bottled water.
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The Questing:
EQ2 definitely put the 'quest' back in Everquest.
I have heard people complain that many of the newbie quests are fetch this or kill x number of that.
That is the nature of newbie quests..but honestly I saw quite a bit of innovation in EQ2.
The sheer number of quests available to you once you leave the Isle of Refuge is staggering! I did a test, and pretty much leveled from 6-11 just doing quests with one alt.
They are designed to teach you all the nearby zones (please deliver this to ...) or please go kill x. If you do them all, you become very aware of how to get around, and end up with good loot, a few coin and excellent experience.
As you progress, you do find some very interesting new twists that are more than just fetch this type. (even at the lower levels)
---------------examples:
Tour of Antonica. - When you reach about level 10 you can move out to Antonica (or the Commonlands if evil). While killing the yard trash, near the guards, you will sometimes get quests that drop. One is a book that takes you on a 'tour'. For the tour, it is your job to read the clues and find the area they are describing.
Places like Fippy's hill.
All of the destinations are in the one zone, and can be done at a low level. You must be careful, and sometimes skirt around agro NPC's, but each time you find a place it is announced on screen and your quest journal advances.
If you read the book, it gives you more detail than the journal does. It was a nice solo journey. It could be completed in a couple hours if you didnt shout for help and figured it out on your own. The reward in both experience and the item was very nice. Most important. When I was done, I knew my way around a very large zone!
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Collection quests- As you roam around adventure zones you often see question marks on the ground (starting on the Isle of Refuge).
You harvest it, and find a seashell, butterfly etc.
There are NPC's that you may turn completed collections in for nice rewards and experience. Also, some of the collections are grouped..and if you turn in for example all the butterfly collections (striped, spotted, solid) you also get an additional reward.
These are not quests that you actively are trying to finish. Instead they are more of a treasure find. Oh look! a question mark...what will it be?
Over time while out adventuring you find yourself getting excited if you happen to find one that completes one of the collections...
It was at least different than the standard kill x number of Mobs quests.
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The quest Journal:
This is an area that EQ2 could have done better. (I played when there was no sorting and a list of 140 quests was difficult to scroll through)
It has improved. They now sort each quest into the starting zone (unless its a collection quest or hallmark quest)
But most players do feel that it could have been much better.
1. There are no custom sorts.
2. There is no way to remove a quest from your journal ever.
The general feeling was that players should have been able to make thier own folders and move the quests around to what made sense to them.
Basically I would give the quests in EQ2 (both sheer number and quality) an A+
......and the Journal..I have to say gets a D-.
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The Artisan Archetype: Part 1 Expectations vs. Reality
(this is the hardest part for me to write, because I feel that many players have different expectations than what is currently in game)
Please bear with me if I ramble a bit.
I feel the need to state what I think the player base expects, using examples and quotes. (again you must understand where someone is coming from before you can see if the opinion has validity)
When EQ2 was in the first few years of development the Artisan was going to be a separate archetype. Players complained that they hated to have to make a separate alt to do trades, so they changed it a bit.
From the FAQ on the official site:
Is the artisan a separate archetype I must choose, or can my adventurer character craft items as well?
Every character can be both an artisan and an adventurer. The artisan archetype is actually a separate advancement path that is open to everyone. Artisans gain experience through practicing their craft, gaining levels and moving through the class tree to choose a class and subclass. Artisan experience is separate from adventure experience, so the only way to advance as an artisan is through the crafting process. A single character can, for instance, simultaneously be a level 23 paladin and a level 15 scholar; players choose which profession they want to display when another player sees them in the world.
Can I play an artisan exclusively or do I have to be an adventurer as well?
You can play only an artisan if you wish; the two aspects of your character are totally separate. You have the option to experience both crafting and adventure content, or you can select only one path. In the latter case, both options will always remain open to you.
You can advance to level 50 as an artisan while putting as much or as little time into adventuring as you want. The choice is totally up to you.
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On the official website if you choose Character/Archetypes they still list five. They are still advertising the Artisan as a valid Archetype.
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This simply is not true. Period. No amount of double-talk, or flowery excuses can make it true. And here are the reasons for my saying so:
Pretend you are a player who has decided to be JUST an artisan. (as they have advertised for years and promised you) Try to put yourself in that mode. I created an Alt and tried to do just that!
1. When you are on the boat, you are not offered a quest to perhaps fix the mainsail, or repair a crate. You must kill rats and a goblin to get off. In no way is there mention of artisan skills. They are giving you a tutorial of fighting.
2. When you land on the Isle of Refuge the NPC asks you, What is your profession. You are not given five choices. You are given the four choices of Adventuring classes.
3. He hands you a weapon and you go off to kill goblins. When you return he sends you to your trainer. (as an after thought they pop up a window that if you are interested in tradeskills see an NPC in the mage tower)
4. You complete the quest in the mage tower and advance to level 3 artisan. There is nothing else on the island to do, as an artisan, so you move on to the city.
5. When you get to the city, you think "Now I can start working on my Archetype" You get your apartment, do a few quests to find the banker etc, and are instructed to complete your citizenship quest. (however the only citizenship quests are for adventuring classes.)
So now your level 3 artisan must go level the adventuring class to level 6 (or you cannot gain access to Qeynos, to do your artisan advancement at 9 or have access to the Marketplace) Problem is -- you never did any of the hunting and quests on the newbie island for your adventuring class. You are naked with a weapon and have to try to level in the city newbie zones designed for level 6-10.
6. Now you are level 6 in the Adventuring class (the one you didn't want to play at all) and still a level 3 in Artisan. You decide to go harvest raw materials and start leveling your class.
(I wonder how much a healer or fighter would complain if they had to level to 6 in Artisan before they could play the character they choose?)
7. You grind away for days, and days, and get to level 6 in Artisan. (the quests are not in yet --they have been promised.)
(again from the official FAQ)
How will artisans get the money to begin their crafting careers?
There will be quests for artisans that are essentially jobs NPCs hire them to do. These will result in cash, which the artisan can then invest into making items that players will want to buy.
Not only does this process provide the artisan with much-needed funding, but it does so without flooding the market with useless junk.
The fact that they have 1000's of quests in for Adventurers already, and none for Artisans makes you wonder how high a priority the Artisan class was for them? When you become a 9 healer, you do a long quest to become a druid/shaman/cleric. They don't even have a quest to advance in artisan. You just go to the city..talk to an NPC and choose one. Nothing interesting about it. It definitely made me feel that the artisan class is an afterthought at best!
8. You begin to progress and get to 10 in artisan and choose a sub-class. Its now time to move on to harvesting in Antonica. But alas, that does not work out well. It seems your harvesting skills are linked to your adventuring level. You fail more than you succeed. You must either level your adventuring class to make it safe enough to be in the zones, and have the skill - or rely on the adventuring classes to sell you everything you need. Its very hard to level when there are no quests, and you now have no ingredients to make anything.
9. You do have a separate experience bar for Artisan, but if you die doing crafting the death goes toward your Adventuring debt. (I still do not understand the logic of that)
10. There is no switch to decide which class you want to proudly display. Even if you become a level 50 artisan..people see you as a level 6 fighter for the rest of your life. /who all should allow you to display the class you have chosen to play. Again, it seems like that was not thought out ..another sign the artisans are not a full class in thier own right.
11. Even the guild roster does not allow you to display your artisan class. Everything is shown as it relates to the Adventuring class in game.
I think its time for SOE to come clean with the players. Change the website to clearly state that they have a robust 'Tradeskill system" and remove the Artisan from Archetype.
If I had been looking foward to being ONLY an Artisan class, I would be very angry if I bought the game and saw the implementation.
I think they should lower the expectations NOW!
-tbc- with Artisan part 2 - Is it fun and engaging?
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Artisan part 2 - Is it fun and engaging?
It is hard to fully evaluate whether the tradeskills will be fun and engaging. They are very much behind everything else. (Honestly if the game itself is Beta, then Tradeskills are Alpha)
They have improved a ton in the last 3 months. When I started there were no tradeskill instances, and very few recipes. You had to buy your items in a hamlet, then run to Qharbor where they had some temporary machines set up to do your combines.
Improvements they have made:
1. Created the tradeskill instances.
2. Gave us vendors to sell things like books and interim goods.
3. Added recipes (including baking and brewing recently)
4. Added a way to display your artisan exp bar.
5. Added events and abilities
6. Added the quest to the newbie island.
Things that are not in:
1. Good storage options
2. Quests for experience, coin, special abilities or anything else.
3. The faction system
4. Most of the recipes for above 20, and many for below 20
Things that are lacking but I am not sure will be in for live:
1. Upgrades to the crafting abilities.
2. MORE abilites..two per craft is not enough
3. Tradeskill machines for your apartment
4. Banking for your apartment.
5. A way to display your crafting class instead of your adventuring one.
Things that should be changed but they have said will not:
1. There should be a banker in the tradeskill instances.
2. Reactions to the 'events' need some work. It feels like you are playing BoP the Mole. (a picture pops up on screen, and you click the corresponding picture in time or you take damage) Nothing that requires skill..just make sure you click the right picture. I had my 5 year old grand daughter do it for me while I ran to answer the phone.
3. Artisan items to wear (hammers, clothing etc). They have said maybe in the future, but for now there will be no artisan gear.
4. A way to 'farm vendors'. Craftsman often visited newbie zones in almost any game I have played to buy low level crafting items (spider silks etc) that younger adventurers had sold to the NPC's. That ability is removed in EQ2. Once something is sold to an NPC, it is removed from the game forever.
*The fact they are still developing so much, and the recipes are not even done ..never mind the quests just reinforces what I have said about crafting being an after thought.
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Is it fun?
Its more fun than Everquest tradeskills. It's more engaging, and involved.
Did it meet my expectations based on the hype the fed us about it?
No. It is not all that innovative or great. It is a good tradeskill system, but not any better than Horizons or SWG.
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My other concern is how viable the tradeskills will be. I wonder if many will find it worthwhile to get to the high levels to create the Uber dragon scale whatever.
Too many of the quest rewards and Loot drops are MUCH better than the crafted items at similar levels.
The only viable crafts at this point are spells, food and drink.
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Housing and the Marketplace:
Player housing is nicely done. I have never invested in a larger apartment than the one you get when you first get to the city.
The upkeep is currently 5 silver per week, which is a bit hefty for a newbie, but otherwise quite affordable.
I have no objection to a rent being charged. It is a good way to remove cash from the game, and fits role-play that you must pay to live.
There are still some bugs in customizing your walls, floors etc. I often pay to have my walls changed to something else, only to find it back to default the next patch. (that is to be expected in Beta- and I am sure they will resolve the issue before live)
Placing furniture is a bit awkward while using the controls, but not something you do every day, so not really an issue.
Furniture can be crafted by other players, bought from vendors (which they should remove so the NPC's are not competing so much with the crafters), and you often get furniture as quest rewards.
The chests you can place in your room are purely decorative. The room offers no additional storage at this time. (and they are vague about whether it ever will)
I have not seen any pets working. They gave us a cage that was buggy as a quest reward. It would get stuck in the ceiling. They seem to have removed it and have not made it available again yet. It is rumored we can have pet cats, dogs, dragons and other items around our home (not sure if it will be done before live)
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So there was an out pouring of complaints a few months back. ...
The housing is nice..but pointless. (if you can't use it for additional storage)
They tried to convince us that it was cool we could have pets and parties with our friends, and decorate it any way we want. That did not seem to soothe the savage beta-testers.
Suddenly, there was a mention that we would be allowed to have tradeskill machines in our room, and it calmed down a bit. (at least now we had a reason for some people to have an apartment)
The machines are not implemented yet. Not sure how they will work, or which will be allowed to be in there.
Then the awful lag started in the cities...
**(note this is just my supposition of the chain of events and may not be what happened..but you will have a hard time convincing me otherwise)
It became apparent that using the city as a bustling area for a marketplace would not be the ideal. The city they have touted to be the 'center of your entire eq2 career" Alive! Someplace you will want to come back to all the time. A place for fun, carousing, commerce was suddenly too laggy to support that.
(it made bazaar in EQ with 650 people in it look smooth)
DING! "Hey! lets make all the players set up thier vendors in the apartments."
This way we cut down on the number of people in the city, and create a use for the housing.
So the bright idea is..each of us stands alone in vendor mode in our apartment. We don't even have the banter of a bustling bazaar. No more /ooc chatter to read and respond to. Just stand there and stare at your walls.
1.There is no offline vending.
2. You cannot put an item on a consignment NPC and go off and hunt.
If you want to sell something, you must be online in your apartment by yourself.
Where is the sense of community in that? This is a massive-multiplayer game?
So now they have huge cities..populated with NPC's who are scripted and talk. The dogs bark. The water sparkles. The cows moo..but there is one thing missing to make it truly come alive! (the players)
They are all in instanced rooms in vendor mode.
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Travel:
Travel is a sensitive issue that usually stirs big debate from both sides.
I can only tell you my personal feelings on it.
I believe that in the beginning of a game, players should have to travel. It should be difficult and dangerous.
As we progress we should learn spells or abilities that make travel faster. Later we should gain perks like horses and instant transport. (at the very least we should have to discover a zone first, before we can instantly transport)
EQ2 has crafted a large beautiful world that feels small.
You do not feel its vastness, when everyplace can be reached by a bell, or griffon ride.
The PoK books were introduced to EQ about 3 1/2 years after release. The vast world of EQ would have seemed very small if they had always been there.
It is the long run across the Karana's that draws you in. Makes you feel like you are in a big world. There is a sense of accomplishment when you run from Freeport to Qeynos. That wonder of what might be over the next hill.
It is the long corpse run from Neriak to South Ro without a SoW, that makes you later appreciate faster forms of travel. (and you never forget the first time a druid cast one on you, as you ran through EC tunnel naked!)
I think that later in the game, it becomes repetitive and boring to have to spend a long time getting to a destination. Ports, books and other modes of travel should be introduced. (with later levels or expansions)
I think they have effectively gimped the players, and made the world feel much smaller than it is, by introducing all the instant travel bells.
I don't like that everyone has a built in SoW with sprint. Granted you can only sprint for a short time before needing to rest a few seconds..but it just seems like it should be a class ability cast by others, or a potion made by the alchemists. (at the very least a food made by crafters)
I played the game before the bells were in. It felt large and you could enjoy the journey. New players entering beta now, have no clue that they can get from Castleview to Greystone by using Oakmyst forest or the Down Below. They have no idea of how the zones connect.
I am sorry they did away with Druid ports in EQ2. They offered a goal for players to get to higher levels, and helped encourage players to interact to get to places faster.
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*As I said, this is just a personal feeling about game design for me. You may feel totally different and enjoy the instant travel to almost anywhere.
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As far as the mechanics of the instant travel:
1. The griffon rides have been buggy since I started playing and continue to be. They drop you off in midair, causing you to die to falling damage. They often freeze, and then catch up..causing motion sickness as it stutters across the screen. When the ride works as intended, its pretty cool.
2. The bells are just a simple interface. Click, and you get a list of destinations. Choose one. (not sure if they plan to put in some kind of boat animation or something to make the bells make more sense.) For now they work fine. Nothing else to say about them.
----TBC tommorro---
I finished half of my posts today. I will finish tommorro! Night
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They are still working on many of the Guild points and reward system.
The Interface looks similar to Everquests.
It did not have all of the tools and abilities that I have seen in some games.
It is just a standard roster, that you can sort by level, name, etc. (There is no column for Artisan class, which many complained about.)
There is a column to check "Patron" on and off, but as of now has no effect in game.
There is an experience bar at the top of the guild screen. Players in the guild do quests to earn experience for the guild (supposedly just the patrons can do this) but right now it is turned on for all.
Not sure how this will work, since its not fully implemented.
The experience is used to buy things like horses.
There was quite an upheaval on the boards over this...Many casual players complaining, they are being forced to belong to powerful guilds, just to own a horse.
I will not comment at this point, since the implementation is not even done yet. We don't know what the final items will be, or what alternate methods people will have to get these items. There are only a couple of quests in to earn the guild status right now, so its hard to judge how difficult or easy it is for your guild to earn points.
It would have been nice if it had some new tools (something innovative to make a guild leaders job easier) ie. a built in calendar, that the leader/officers could update. I saw absolutely nothing innovative or new in the presentation of the guild roster.
It has improved over the last 3 months. At first we could not even create a guild. Now we can create one, and we have a roster. /who all guild works.
I don't think anyone can say anything else about guilds right now.
Not enough of it is in for us to judge.
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Leveling (experience) and Death Penalty:
Both of these topics are hotly debated, with strong feelings on both sides of the issue.
What I am stating here is MY OPINION, and why I feel that way.
My opinion is neither right nor wrong. (and either is yours) You will either agree or disagree depending on where you stand on the subject.
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Experience Gain.
Levels 1-10 seem to be just about right.
The first time through it takes you a couple of evenings to reach 10. (If you are doing the tutorial, following all the quests on the island, and doing a good mix of quests and hunting when you get to the city)
You will have pretty good gear, a good idea of the basics of the game, and will have chosen your subclass.
After multiple times through you can get to 10 in about 3-4 hours of play.
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After 10 the experience begins to slow down drastically..and naturally people are complaining non-stop that its too slow. (but most are working off debt, and not taking that into account -see below)
I think they forget how hard it was to level, the first time through EQ.
If anything it sometimes feels to fast, but that may be because there is no big thrill to leveling.
You get a message, and your spell appears in your book. (you dont get the feel of DING!! I leveled. I have to go get my spells and see my trainer for my new skills)
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I don't think it's the experience rate for hunting that is wrong in eq2. It seems to be about right..however it is inconsistant and buggy. (one solo level 11 NPC will give much more experience than an identical solo 11 NPC)
I don't know if it is a problem with the way the client is being updated, vs your actual exp on the server. (this might be causing some of the perceptions on the beta-boards)
Group experience is at a much higher rate than solo.
Currently, there are way too few solo encounters in the game (especially past level 20) People are complaining, so I will assume they will add a few more.
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The amount of experience you get for quests (especially past your mid-teens) is often disappointing.
Quests were touted as one of the better ways to get experience 'Solo' yet I see very little of it past the newbie levels.
The experience you get from 1-15 is awesome, then suddenly it's nothing. (even a red con quest --yes they even have a con on your quests..)
It is also very very inconsistant.
You can do the turn in for one yellow quest and get 20% experience for it, and walk to the next NPC and get 1%.
Some of this is caused by the fact that you might get a great reward for one, over another.. (but have seen it be almost identical rewards and still have disparities in experience.)
(perhaps these quests are designed to give us status in the city when factions are in or something..but for now the disparity does exist)
There are many quests in the game right now, but not nearly enough of the repeatable solo quests they bragged about for years. (The ones designed to complete in an hour or two, if you did not have time to get a group.) I hope we see more implemented soon.
Also, at the higher levels you do not get as many quests from hailing NPC's as you do from exploring and hunting. (quests are often dropped from MOBS, or found by clicking on a box or lever in a room) This is a cool way to get quests, but does not solve the problem for the solo player.
How can they get a quest to do for the night solo, if most of the quests require a group to get the quest to drop?
Again, these are issues that are easily added and balanced. I am merely commenting on the current state of Beta. I am sure it will improve.
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Is it a grind after 20? Yes. (But I have not found a game that isn't, so I don't understand the question.)
I will talk more about the CON system under Combat.
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Death Penalty: (or lack thereof)
The current implementation is:
(I have seen four so far, and each has not worked the way they had hoped)
When you die, a screen pops up on your window. It asks if you would like to Revive to (lists several locations-zone dependant). If you are grouped the healer in your group can revive you at this point, and you are brought back to the group. (there is no benefit to being rezzed other than not having to run back)
The only time anyone can see your body is before you have chosen which way you will revive. It can not be dragged.
Once you choose a revive spot, you appear there (dressed). You must now click on your shard (a white image of yourself that only you can see) The interface gives you a wisp (path) to your shard in your quest journal whenever you die.
Before you retrieve your shard, your stats are lowered and you have a nice chunk of debt to work off. Once you click on your shard, your stats are returned and your debt is reduced to a sliver.
If you do not retrieve your shard, then in 3 days real time (online or offline) the effects of the death are automatically removed.
Debt: It is reflected on your experience bar in red. As long as you have red you are only getting half the experience you would normally get toward your level. The other half is going to pay off the debt.
When someone dies in your group..all players get a debt to work off. (yes even if they are taking a buggy griffon ride to get to you -- and die)
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The current implementation is not working either. At least, not in my opinion. Death should be something you fear. Something you want to avoid.
It should give you a feeling of risk vs. reward.
Right now the penalty is laughable.
It is one of those things that has sounded good on paper, but when implemented is just not working.
For now, people just run around with debt constantly.. they just consider it the rate at which they level. (If you get into that mindset, then you have no fear of dying.) When you have no debt.."Hey, I am getting bonus exp tonight"
Without the fear, soon you are not having as much fun..
You have no anticipation as you go over the bridge ahead.. will there be bandits? What if my invis pops?
Will there be a big named spider in the next room? (who cares..I don't fear dying)
It might be most of the reason people are posting that the game seems lacking. They don't feel the anticipation as they enter a new zone of what might kick thier butts.
There is no fear of losing everything you own, if you decide to go into a zone that is 30 levels higher than you. You always repop with your body in-tact.
You never have to ask anyone for help getting your body. We may have complained about "corpse runs" but it was a time when we asked others for SOW, ports, rezzes, locate corpse, summon corpse etc.
Its just (one more area that community is not being built)
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Combat
(ok I got a second cup of coffee, and donned my Kevlar so I am ready to write what I think of EQ2 combat)
This is the area where the flames will begin. This will also be very long, and I apologize for that. (so grab your coffee, and load your gun)
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Here is my opinion in one line: (yes you can quote me)
EQ2 combat is mind numbingly boring, console-like, repetive, and lacks anything resembling fun.
(but you do not realize it for about 2 months -- about the same amount of time it took folks to realize it in Horizons)
Here is why I feel that way:
1. Conning NPC's - When you con an NPC it tells you too much.
It tells you if it is agro, what LEVEL it is, what color it is(difficulty), and they even have additional arrows up or down above the NPC's head to tell you if its extremely difficult or easy.
If you mouse over the target window you are literally TOLD whether you can defeat the encounter with verbose paragraphs. (a blue con MOB in eq could be many different levels and difficulties. You were not sure if it could summon you, if it was just one level lower -- or 10.)
I actually felt like they were insulting my intelligence with the way they treat me in the conning system.
2. Linked NPC's. (another one of the things I think sounded so good on paper but in reality removes too many options in the game - I will expound on that in my conclusion at the end of these posts) For now, I will stick to the topic of linked.
NPC's were, and are linked in EQ. (agro range, faction and your level determine how many will agro you) If you used skills of various group members (harmony the Derv camp, Root one, feign pull..whatever) you could somewhat determine what came - providing you had no resists - but alas that was part of the excitement.
Also, part of it was not knowing how many would come. OOPS..I thought I could pull just two..(suddenly the enchanter is trying to deal with your additional 3 NPC's ..the druid is rooting one away..it is what memories are made of. It is what makes everyone say to each other after the fight..wow good job gang!)
The linked NPC's in EQ2 work differently. When you click on one of them it highlights all that will come with it. (no wondering, no mistakes). We are just blindly told that these four NPC's will come and these four will not.
There is no way to change that. No way to beat the odds, think out of the box, or otherwise effect that outcome by being a good player.
3. Once they come the battle is very fast paced. (some argue too fast). There is little time for coordinated effort or strategy. The only strategy is kill them before they kill you. If they con properly and you all mash the keys you need to mash, you will win.
4. The combat wheel has been through so many 'implementations' I lost count. None have worked right. The current implementation is not working either.
Lets look at a battle scenario. The combat wheel pops up, and a little icon is flashing.
As a mage I can either cast "See invisible" to match the icon, or nuke the NPC to kill it. What should I do?
Well duh...let me cast see invis for no apparent reason so we can complete the wheel.. oops mob is dead..wheel didnt have time to go off.
(it is this way with most classes. The cleric is getting a wheel to cast summon food and drink on one of them!)
They had said that the combat wheel would add excitement and special attacks to our fighting and make it less boring.
That is simply not working as intended.
Unless they can resolve it so you have time to complete wheels (before the mobs actually die), and make the spells that need to be cast at times during battle more logical it will continue to be what it is now....(an annoying pop up on my screen that everyone ignores)
I have actually seen people post that they would like an option to shut off combat wheels.
If its so darn fun and exciting, why are players looking to shut it off?
5. Visuals- They are nice but nothing I would write long flowing articles about. Particle effects are not enough to make you want to play a game. The visual battle effects are hardly 'over the top' on wow factor. They are adequate and good.
6. I expected EQ2 to take combat to the next level. More tactics. HIGHER AI on the NPC's. More options in skills and spells. To give you an example of what I mean:
When a named spawned, I thought they might make several versions. You would not know from spoiler sites how to defeat it. One version might not be able to be slowed, while one was resistant to poisen. Your group would have to figure out on the fly --and adjust and overcome!
(and perhaps use a combat wheel to lower the poisen resist or make it slowable)
I thought there would be ways to use special attacks to impact weaknesses in an NPC. The NPC's would be smarter, and counter your strategies.
That is not what I am seeing. (again my personal opinion- but shared by many who have been playing as long as I have)
The NPC's spawn in the same spot, with the same tactics (all spelled out with circles and arrows) and you all mash the right hotkeys (doesn't matter which class--you still have a set series of keys you mash in a certain order)
- yawn- Just typing about it I am putting myself to sleep.
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The Druid -
Everquest 2 is using the theory of "Less is More".
It is yet to be seen if this is a winning strategy for them or not.
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Spell list for Druids in EQ2 from 1-19:
(Bold denotes the ones that are class specific and not shared with all other healer archtypes.)
1 - Minor Healing
2 - Blessing
3 - Smite
4 - Inspiration
5 - Courage
6 - Summon Food and Water
6 - Cure Noxious
7 - Minor Regeneration
8 - Revive
9 - Minor Ward
10 – *Nettleshield
11 - *Chill
11 - Favor of the Phoenix
12 - *Regrowth
13 - Cure Trauma
13 – Distract
13 - *Spirit of the Wolf
14 - *Winds of Renewal
15 - *Sylvan Touch
15 - Lesser Healing
16 - Symbol of Transal
16 - *Vigor
17 - Admonishing Smite
18 - *Wild Spirit
19 - Daring
19 - Cure Elemental
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Spell list for druid Everquest 1-19
• Skin Like Wood
• Burst of Flame
• Minor Healing
• Flame Lick
• Snare
• Endure Fire
• Lull Animal
• Panic Animal
• Sense Animals
• Dance of Fireflies
• Cure Poison
• Invoke Lightning
• Cure Disease
• Grasping Roots
• Burst of Fire
• Camouflage
• Ward Summoned
• Harmony
• Whirling Wind
• Gate
• Light Healing
• Ignite
• Enduring Breath
• Shield of Thistles
• Endure Cold
• Thistlecoat
• Firefist
• Invisible to Animals
• Strength of Earth
• Starshine
• Protection of Wood
• Treeform
• Remove Minor Curse
• Invigor
• Levitate
• Skin like Rock
• Halo of Light
• Spirit of Wolf
• Befriend Animal
• Expulse Summoned
• Summon Food
• Cascade of Hail
• Summon Drink
• Stinging Swarm
• Bind Affinity
• See Invisible
• Reebo's Lesser Augury
• Reebo's Lesser Cleansing
• Reebo's Lesser Exorcism
• Lesser Succor
• Healing
• Shield of Barbs
• Endure Disease
• Barbcoat
• Endure Poison
• Superior Camouflage
• Feral Spirit
• Cancel Magic
• Careless Lightning
• Terrorize Animal
• Dizzying Wind
• Calm Animal
• Protection of Rock
• Ring of Karana
• Ring of Butcher
• Ring of Commons
• Ring of Surefall
• Ring of Toxxulia
• Ring of Grimling
• Ring of Nexus
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Do I feel like a 'druid' in EQ2?
No..not at all. I feel like a cleric with damage shields.
Is my perception colored by years of playing them in table top RPG's and other MMORPGs?
Probably
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Misc. things in the game worth mentioning:
(I am sure there are others, I am old and forgetful)
The Emotes and facial expressions:
They are just great! My friends and I have spent hours playing with them.
We loved the 'ROFL' one. It was removed because certain models showed thier panties when they dropped down on the ground to roll around.
Not sure why that would matter in a 'mature' rating game, but...
They are supposedly reworking it and it will return.
I give the emotes and facial expression commands an A+
Attuned Items:
An attunable item is an item that can be traded once, and becomes no drop once equiped. It is an excellent idea and keeps things from rotting because there is no one in the group that could use it.
They need some minor adjustments to what is, and is not attuned in game right now.
They are making most of the pristine crafted items attunable, but allowing most quest rewards to be tradable forever. (I think they need to make quest items no drop)
But overall, its a good idea!
Trivial Loot Code:
While I agree in principle with what it tries to accomplish in-game, in practice it does not usually appeal to players.
(The Roleplay server population, and the amount of people who hunt in TLC zone in EQ are proof of this)
Ultimately people begin to feel like:
Why shouldn't I be able to go back and slay Sgt. Slate? He killed me enough times when I was young!
If I want to spend my day farming spider silks for my tradeskills, rather than pay what people are charging in bazaar...I should be able to.
Hey, that was cool! I just rounded up every NPC in Mistmore and did an AE to kill them all. I never saw so many mobs drop at one time in my life!
Personally, I am still undecided about the policy being in EQ2.
I know that I don't like that they have put level limits on zones I can even enter. If I am too old, I can't even go there and sit? Why?
What if I never got a chance to see it when I was younger. I just want to SEE IT?
Freeport LORE:
For the most part Qeynos fits the lore of EQ very nicely. The halfling hamlet looks remarkably different than the highelf town. The NPC's all have distinct racial personalities.
Sadly, the evil side is very lacking in 'the feel' of evil. Its very dark, and depressing looking. The music is excellent. But thats not what I mean...
All of the NPC's are just insulting. (calling you stupid etc) and all of the races live in slums. This is the easy way to portray evil, but not the best way.
(In Nazi Germany Hitler was evil, but that did not mean that suddenly all parks disappeared, they no longer had fine balls with gowns, and everyone lost all education and manners and just became rude pigs)
The Erudites are a very intelligent race. The city of Erudin was a place of great libraries and beauty. (as was Paineel) The Dark elves were sinister, but not stupid. They would be nice to your face, to get you to do something that benefits them.
Why Erudites and Dark elves all suddenly act like trolls (and worse..live like them) is beyond me.
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__________________
seretogis - sieg heil
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most, forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same, open my eyes wake up in flames
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10-24-2004, 05:50 PM
