Everquest II

Originally posted by elocke

I just said I'm not sure if that's what I'm not liking. I know I can't stand the animation movement of my characters. the only ones I really liked were the Fae, and the semi flying aspect. When my characters run it just looks odd. But again, its a matter of opinion. Also, my graphics when I played it were up pretty high. Maybe its the lack of story, and there is a lack, the quest dialogues do not leap out at me, I wonder what I'm doing in each zone and why I'm doing certain quests, etc. I give FFXI and LOTRO as example of what I consider great story aspects to an MMORPG. If that helps.

Again I am not trying to put you down just wondering about some of the things you do not like. Lack of story?  I played LoTRO for over a years and FFXI for almost 2 years. EQ2 has more and deeper lore then both of those games. Many people do not take the time to read and enjoy it. The lore is great! My library of tons of books, collected in game, will keep you busy exploring the lore and story of weeks just reading them. It is up to the player but EQ2 has more lore in game then LoTRO. I have been in EQ2 for 4 years and still am reading and finding out new things. Took me a few month to go through the available lore in LoTRO at that time.

Originally posted by eccoton

Originally posted by elocke

I'm not sure what it is about EQ2 that makes me want to play it one second and then the next second I'm like nah, maybe when I have an mmorpg glut I'll pick it up again.

I don't know if its the annoying character model/movement or how insanely annoying buying ranks of spells is to upgrade their power. Or if it is something else altogether. I always liked the music and environments in EQ2 but for some reason my character always felt like a shadow in the world, not really a full part of it.....if that makes any kind of sense.

I want to like this game, I really do, but so many things turn me off to it.

 What? It is generally accepted that EQ2 has some of the best character models/animation in any mmo out. That is it's strongest point not it's enviroments. You might take a look at my sticky here on setting up graphics. You do know there is an animation setting and you need to max it? Character movement is fantastic. There is a huge difference in look of EQ2 between the high setting and lower ones. How is this character model annoying? It's movement is fantastic as well. I guess we are seeing different things.

They're just trying to find things to nitpick over. The haters always do that. The thing I don't understand is why they come to the EQ2 forums if all they're going to do is bash. I don't go to the wow forums just to bash the game. It makes no sense to me.

I know you aren't putting me down I'm just trying to figure out why we differ in opinion so much. Like I said, I WANT to really like the game, but it is missing ..something.

Perhaps the way the story is delivered in LOTRO and FFXI is the difference. In EQ2 and WAR I find that reading about the lore is not as fun or good as being in cutscenes and whatnot. Perhaps it is the lack of help from the community as well, when I play, since I am low level, it is very difficult to find parties and help for many group quests. Also, what is my goal in EQ2? besides leveling up? I'm actually asking, because I find setting goals in these games helps make them worthwhile and fun.

Originally posted by Moirae

Originally posted by eccoton

Originally posted by elocke

I'm not sure what it is about EQ2 that makes me want to play it one second and then the next second I'm like nah, maybe when I have an mmorpg glut I'll pick it up again.

I don't know if its the annoying character model/movement or how insanely annoying buying ranks of spells is to upgrade their power. Or if it is something else altogether. I always liked the music and environments in EQ2 but for some reason my character always felt like a shadow in the world, not really a full part of it.....if that makes any kind of sense.

I want to like this game, I really do, but so many things turn me off to it.

 What? It is generally accepted that EQ2 has some of the best character models/animation in any mmo out. That is it's strongest point not it's enviroments. You might take a look at my sticky here on setting up graphics. You do know there is an animation setting and you need to max it? Character movement is fantastic. There is a huge difference in look of EQ2 between the high setting and lower ones. How is this character model annoying? It's movement is fantastic as well. I guess we are seeing different things.

 

They're just trying to find things to nitpick over. The haters always do that. The thing I don't understand is why they come to the EQ2 forums if all they're going to do is bash. I don't go to the wow forums just to bash the game. It makes no sense to me.

And you are better exactly how?
I've seen you dismiss valid concerns because you didn't experience that, i've seen you put down people for saying they were having frequent crashes and mind you back in the KoS days i've had mysterious crashes that only happened when i've been playing a certain amount of time and only in instanced dungeons.
You seem to get defensive really fast whenever someone is not having a rosetinted view on how the game is, sure the game have great graphics for it's age but as others have said i'm finding it hard to get a feel for it.
Anyhow, enjoy the game but don't be so quick to flame away at the people who don't like it, try a more positive persuaive method instead, might get you further.

Originally posted by eccoton 

What? It is generally accepted that EQ2 has some of the best character models/animation in any mmo out. That is it's strongest point not it's enviroments. You might take a look at my sticky here on setting up graphics. You do know there is an animation setting and you need to max it? Character movement is fantastic. There is a huge difference in look of EQ2 between the high setting and lower ones. How is this character model annoying? It's movement is fantastic as well. I guess we are seeing different things.

 

 

Actually I wouldn't say it is generally accepted that the models/animation are some of the best.  Considering that so many people often site the animations, model and the feel of combat as being not right I would lean towards the oposite. 

This is not to say the games graphics can't output beauty, but for people who tend to not stick around the game the graphics/animations are usually listed as one of the reasons for leaving. 

If there is some sort of fix that can be achieved in the graphics settings it would be in the games best interest to put those as the default.  While I think your screen shots look excellent, everytime I fire this game up from a fresh install it looks awkward.  Keep in mind this is the first thing new players will be presented with.  Maybe if they stumbled across your guide on how to tweak the graphics [which should be a sticky post, kudos to you], odds are most won't be able to find a great combination of settings to bring the game to life.

Originally posted by Snipan

Looking at myself, I can think about several reasons why I avoid it.

All the zoning. Its so much zoning so you almost are bored of the game even before you reach your destination.

Every time I have resubed to this game, they have changed the game. I don´t mean added stuff or balanced some skill or rule, but really changed the game basics. First time i reactivated my account, I had to respec my character and some skills was gone and replaced with something else. Second time reactivating, a respec again. It is one thing to expand the game, to add new content, more options, but it is not ok to mess with peoples old characters imo.

Its not fun to level up in this game. You grind, level up and find that you your new skills are recycled versions of old skills. I don´t know how many times my druid got the same heals and spells with improved stats to replace an outdated version with. Compared this to WoW or CoH, where you gain new skills all the way, who actually makes your character better and more fun to play. Here it is all the same over and over again.

Combat could be more fun. I have never really noticed that you need different strategies for different enemies. Even in raids it was pretty much the same thing as normal group play, just with more players. I always found combat very static and slow. Nothing you did really made any big difference. It always felt like you just exchange mana into damage before you run out of life, and usually you could see early if you had enough mana to beat an enemy or not. Heroic mobs with way to much hit points takes away all sense of action, and it makes the average bad guy feels much more powerful and heroic than you, who are supposed to be the hero.

EQ2 have a great community, but there is no gathering place for people to just hang around and chat. Compare to Ironforge in WoW, or Atlas park in CoH. People are just spread around the zones, and talking in guild or group chat most of the time, and this makes the game feels dead and quiet, even when much people are online. I believe they have made to much effort to split the community into smaller parts, with zones, instances, guilds, groups and by levels, that there is no sense of a world. It´s almost like they don´t want people to play together except for in small groups.

Ok, so here we have a prime example of a WoW fan boy. The feeling that I get when I read this is of a guy/girl who played WoW and loved it and is trying to compare this game to WoW. You just can't do that, granted alot of MMORPG's do have some of the same concepts... to a certain extent. Now I, for one have played WoW and EQ2.. and many ofhters for that matter. EQ2 has way more storyline and something rather amazing that WoW doesn't have, that being SEVERAL starting areas and zones to level up in. You don't have to go to your basic Barrens/Silverpine Forest and then on and on... when I say several different option. Now I am not bashing World of Warcraft, I play it myself and I can say it is an amazing game but you just can't compare these games!
 

As far as leveling up, that is part of the fun in this game as well as any other.  The skills being recycled versions of old? Hah, I just hit 74 with my rogue and I have rank 11(i think) of ambush and rupture, just two examples haha. Poor excuses here to bash EQ2. The respecs for your character were necessary to improve the game and move forward. I wouldn't complain about this, it actually made you character better... Heroic mobs are the equivalent to Elite mobs and they are supposed to be harder than the norm. If I am not mistaken aren't you supposed to be the hero in WoW too?

If you want to hang out in this game go to one of the main cities like Freeport, Qeynos, Kelethin, Neriak, or Gorowyn.

I will admit when this game came out originally it was horrid but I fooled myself for 4 months sayinig that it was great, it wasn't. The game was released too early, simply stated right there. That is the reason the community will not come back, and it is a shame that they will never experience one of the better games out there in the market because of this bad taste left in their mouth.

Bottom line, this quote is from an uneducated and clearly biased World of Warcraft fan boy. Yes, I play  World of Warcraft, it's fun as hell but I will never get rid of EverQuest 2, this game is way too good. I will admit though WoW has a way better pvp system... way better than EQ2. However when it comes to dungeon content and raids, I'm fairly certain this game is on par with WoW and hell... it may even have more.

Thank you

Ok, taking a little break from expansion overload to check out forums and see this still has activity, which is good to see. I like that there are opposing arguments and views. After a couple months, I come back to see activity and interest, which is a good thing. So don't bash each other for bringing up points that may very well be completely valid to them, but maybe misunderstood. OR maybe they have a point, but are unable to validate through forums what they mean.

Here's an example:

LORE: I've seen this brought up before, and was very confused before. I mean, there is SO much lore and content, and stories, that I often find myself completely overloaded with lore in EQ2. I have stacks, upon stacks, upon stacks, etc., of books and lore and stories and collections that I'm STILL finding new books to put together in tier1-5 zones after 4 years and 80 levels. Whenever I'm in an old zone, I see a shiny, and think, cool, maybe I'll finish an old collection quest finally, and BAM, a NEW page to a book I haven't even disco'd yet and I'm like WTF?

I played LotRO and WoW and here's the significant difference I've found in quests and lore. Quests in those games, while I think the presentation is absolutely horrid, are very spectacular and over dramatized. They usually sound, in the literary sense, to me like a flamboyant commercial. I like the presentation better in EQ2 because it's presented as a conversation. Just a couple "dudes" talking, and having a conversation. While the other games put up this annoying conversation box (I hate that). But here's the real kicker, and I'll present it in example form so you'll understand.

EQ2 quest: Hey traveler, would you mind helping out an old man, and get me a sandwich? I really do like those deer sandwiches, and I'm just too old and feeble to run to town and get one. I must meditate and save my strength, but doing this small favor would be appreciated.

WoW quest: Hey traveler, I'm about to die of starvation, and I'm too feeble to get to town. If you would be kind enough to get me a deer sandwich, it would save my life. Please hurry, as my life hangs in the balance.

Now that particular quest in EQ2 is full of lore and interesting story, but if you could care less about the old man to even get him a sandwich, then you'll never advance to what the old man REALLY wants. WoW and LotRO give a feeling of ergency, and danger. While in EQ2 when you get the sandwich he says thanks and could you get something else, while in the other games, he's like omg, you saved my life, and perhaps the entire world. You've single handedly thwarted all the evil in the world by getting him the sandwich.

Character and animation: The animation in EQ2 is life like. In fact, it's too life like. There is also the problem of CA's and spells that "interrupt" animation. In EQ2, when you swing a sword, it is exactly as you would swing it in real life. If you watch fencing, or swordfighting, you'll notice they take quick jabs and short swings. The shield should always be held in front of you, and you crouch to eliminate the surface area of your body for stabs. If you've watched movies and anime you'll notice they like flamboyant swings and big arcs. You'll see jumps, and twirls that are completely unrealistic and that open themselves up to critical attacks and stabs that a good fencer would use to win. BUT that's what people like to see. They like flamboyant, unrealistic arcs and swings. Look at all the martial arts movies and the people in EQ2 that play brawlers. WHY? Because it's fun to watch.

Also, I've noticed that with WoW, not so much with LotRO (as the animations in LotRO imo are worse than EQ2, but I had more lag in that game), when you hit a CA or spell, they've made a "transition animation" that basically returns the character to a ready state and completes the animation. Very smart, and it happens so quickly that when you watch the fight at normal speed it looks complete and fluid. In EQ2, the character immediately stops his animation and completes the CA or spell which might, and usually is, completely different than the animation he/she was doing. So it looks jerky and stop action, and looses fluid movements. Plus the fact that WoW has 4 or 5 animations/CA's/spells that all link in some way. While EQ2 has 8 animations and up to 16-20 CA's and spells. In this case, more is not necessarily better.

I would have liked to see EQ2 keep the abundancy of actions, but use animations that were more similar and "linked" to a common ready state. Then the animations wouldn't be so jerky and could get back a lot of the fluid movements they should have. I do like, however, the more realistic, non-flamboyant, attacks though.

That's all for now, going back to game. Keep it civil, and GAME ON. :)