EQ2 vs WoW
 

I never played EQ and haven't played the WoW beta. Could someone highlight the main differences between the games? I have played some other MMORPG's and am looking to pick one of these up. I don't really like PvP so that isn't a factor for me.

EQ2 is a PvE (player vs. environment) more or so type deal, whereas i believe WoW will have more emphasis on PvP. I played EQ for multiple years and it always kept me addicted. I will be apt to playing eq2 because it is lookin awesome so far, and i want that tingle back again haha. Also saves somebody alot of money. Play eq2 fasho.

Though WoW will put a bigger emphasis on PvP, what are your time concerns? If you have no time concerns, i.e. no job or can play for 10 hours a day, etc, then EQ2 should be for you. It's not called Neverrest or EverCrack for nothing. It is hard to get anywhere in that game without playing ALOT. With my first character in Everquest years ago, I average about a days playing time per level. That is, 24 hours of playing per level! It's easier the second time around though.

Whereas, the designers of WoW made it more feasible for casual players. Think more like Diablo 2 level of time consuming, or a bit more, to get quite high level.

well, you can WoW for free when the open beta comes out on monday, see for yourself!

I've played EQ2 on and off since a month after release, although I did take a 2 year break somewhere in the middle :) I will be jumping back into the saddle playing EQ2 over WoW because from what I have seen EQ2 is more of a grouping game with some soloing thrown in, while WoW is a soloing game with some grouping thrown in. The emphasis on communication and community looks more solid in EQ2 and that's the reason I play online games. Plus I'm biased towards Everquest ;)

And to ask more specifically, how will the endgames compare? The problem with betas is that you don't really know this from playing a limited amount of time. It sounds like they're both based on instance encounters in PvE. What are the mechanics of these, like maximum number of players in one encounter, etc.? Is EQ2 even going to have PvP servers? And is there any news of whether there will be something like EQ's guide program in either?

really depends on what type of gamer you are... Im going for WoW because blizzard never made a game i dint play an EXTREMELY long time...

I played Swg and planetside.... both made me hate SoE. Also lakc of PvP is a big no for me... playing against Ai gets boringa fter so long... while fighting human players is most of the time a new experience

Me and the vast majority of those I talk to on other message boards all plan to play WoW. I've beta'd both and thought that EQ2 sucked big. It was a complete chore! WoW was a GAME!

I played Everquest and after I quit I vowed to never play another MMORPG. But, everyone I know and their grandmothers are playing World of Warcraft and if I were to play one of the two I would have to go with WoW simply because of the terrible support EQ had.

I can't speak much for how EQ2 is set up, although I agree with what has been said about WoW being very playable by the casual gamer. I've participated in both of the stress tests and heading into open beta i've learned quite a bit about why it's far superior to anything I ever got out of any other MMO.

While there are a smaller number of races and classes available in WoW they're all very very distinct, with races having a handful of special abilities/bonuses apart from your basic everyday attributes. Classes are pretty much in the same camp as that, generally getting 2-4 new skills two levels or so.

But enough about that -- the PvP system is quite interesting in that even on a PvP server, you're not always flagged for it. A number of things can turn on said flag, one of them being entering a 'contested territory'. I thought this was a great idea as it makes the that place actually, well, contestable. While I haven't actually found one yet, there are going to be special areas called 'battlegrounds' that are essential large areas populated by players of both the horde and the alliance -- all with the goal of killing the others. You can also go on raids, although I haven't quite figured out how raiding parties work yet (think party of parties).

As for the PvE instance dungeons, essentially what happens is you get together a group (6 person max i believe) and head out to a dungeon. After you head down a ways you'll hit a swirling portal -- step through and your group is teleported into their very own version. That way you don't have to worry about 2 dozen guys camping the dragon.

Anyway, hope this answered some stuff for some people and wasn't just me babbling. Make sure to ask if you've got more specific wow questions :thumbsup:

I'll be trying both out :) Hopefully I'll one of them will suit me.

Both look good so in the end I guess it will be down to the one who suits a solo/small group player :)

Both games I think are geared more towards PvE both games have two factions in some kind of conflict with each other. However EQ does let you group and play with members of the other faction where as Wow doesn't. EQ does make it a lot harder to level, and probably is mroe time consuming, where as I found that WOW was really linear, and kind of directed you where to go and what to do. But to each his own I think both are worth playing just depends on who you know in real life and which one they are playing.

WoW has a huge amount of quests in it, so it is very PvE oriented as well. If you want to PvP you can, but it's not necessary to have your fun.

Yet PvP is very important. There are only so many shiny items you can get before the game turns into nothing more then a chatroom. Though obviously it's not for everyone.

As for end game content, WoW doesn’t have much at the moment but it is in the works. Player housing and guild halls are some of the things promised so far as well as high level quests.

WoW is more casual then some MMO’s yet it’s defiantly not fast. It seem fast compared to EQ and Lineage 2 but that is only because these games are incredibly slow, so slow that it should be considered masochism to play them yet some consider them the standard of MMO’s which is a joke. The first time around if you play WoW around 40 hours a week it will probably take you two months to get to lvl60 (current cap). Once you are familiar with the game’s ins and outs you will probably be able to achieve lvl60 in a few weeks.

EQ2
 

I was a beta tester for eq2, and I have to say it rocks. It is much better than EQ, and I mean outstanding. I quested my way, alone to 12 level in a matter of days. The graphics are outstanding.(takes a lot of horsepower to push it though) You can rent an apartment, and furnish it, including pets and a baby dragon if you buy the deluxe release. There is no more being "trained" and no more "kill stealing". I do miss the pvp aspect of EQ1, I am not sure if they are going to include anything like that in the release. I havent played wow, but from what I have seen of the screenshots, the graphics are not very appealing. I hope to get into the open beta and try it out. cya in game.
RANSOM

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm downloading the WoW open beta right now so I will try that out. A lot of people seem to play it here on campus so hopefully I can find some guys to try it out with.

As pretty as EverQuest 2 looks, the art style is just bland and generic. Compared to it World of Warcraft just blooms with color and interesting deigns. It might not be as technologically advanced, but it sure as hell makes up for it with art directions. I also heard from testers that it plays like a dream.

I think that WoW actually IS as technologoically advanced. The skill system, combined with the talent points and racial abilities makes for a serious amount of uniqueness to characters without having to make things complicated. The classes are well balanced and completely unique. Same with the races. The professions are interesting and as simple or complicated as you'd like them to be. Compared to EQ2, WoW is a better game IMHO.