So I tried EQ 1 and could not get passed the hardcoreness of the game. My hats off to all of you guys that were able to play this. I just became a hardcore pvper in UO ;)

So my question is, now that I am thinking of starting EQ2 a little late, what is the grind like to get up to 80?

How bad is it compared to like WOW or COH. Is it going to take me weeks/months/ or years to get to max level?

                         i have 2 friends who joined us on Unrest 4 weeks ago and last night at guild nite they both hit 58...

                             Never really experienced any grind in EQ2 plenty of quests to keep you busy.. Hope that helps.

That doesnt seem bad at all, but is that hardcore 8 hours a day of four weeks?

Also those sigs are cool, do you have to pay extra for those? I thought I once read something to that effect...

The sigs are free.

Originally posted by kingfet

That doesnt seem bad at all, but is that hardcore 8 hours a day of four weeks?

Also those sigs are cool, do you have to pay extra for those? I thought I once read something to that effect...

there is a free and pay version

You can solo to lvl 80 in a few days playtime with levelquests which are so popular atm in the mmo scene (you know, kill 10 wolves/bears/goblins/other villains).

1. EQ2 is about questing. Thats why its called EverQUEST. If you're not taking part in the quests, you're not playing the game and it will take much much longer to reach the top because quests give at least 1000 times the xp than just killing monsters. And thats exactly the way it should be in a game labelled EverQUEST.

2. This game is NOT PvP centered and never has been. PvP was added as a late addition in demand from the small minority of PvP'rs who play the game only. It was not, and will never be, a mainstay of the game.

3. in WoW you can level far too fast for your own good. I played that game. I was level 26 in two weeks playing only an hour or less a day. In EQ2, I've been playing almost since the game opened and my highest level character is only lvl 64 (despite 80 levels). But thats mostly because I get bored easily and create new characters.

4. Are you obsessive about getting to the highest level asap? Then you'll probably reach the top level in a few months. But I don't see the point in rushing. If you rush, you're missing the point of QUESTING which is what the game is all about. If you rush, then all you get is to endlessly raid.

Originally posted by Moirae

1. EQ2 is about questing. Thats why its called EverQUEST. If you're not taking part in the quests, you're not playing the game and it will take much much longer to reach the top because quests give at least 1000 times the xp than just killing monsters. And thats exactly the way it should be in a game labelled EverQUEST.

2. This game is NOT PvP centered and never has been. PvP was added as a late addition in demand from the small minority of PvP'rs who play the game only. It was not, and will never be, a mainstay of the game.

3. in WoW you can level far too fast for your own good. I played that game. I was level 26 in two weeks playing only an hour or less a day. In EQ2, I've been playing almost since the game opened and my highest level character is only lvl 64 (despite 80 levels). But thats mostly because I get bored easily and create new characters.

4. Are you obsessive about getting to the highest level asap? Then you'll probably reach the top level in a few months. But I don't see the point in rushing. If you rush, you're missing the point of QUESTING which is what the game is all about. If you rush, then all you get is to endlessly raid.

You seem rather defensive.

First of all, your playtimes are not that of a typical MMO player. Playing for years and at level 64? Players in Lineage II can get to level 64 in a couple/few weeks and that game is far harder to level than in this one.

You are talking about leveling beeing too easy in WoW when EQ2 is hardly better. From what I understand they have actually carebeared the leveling system up and made it even easier to level from what it actually was. MMOs are about challenge, Risk and Reward. It seems most players want things handed to them - that includes players like you who want to do nothing at all but run around questing and collecting the rewards.

All of the quests that I have completed in this game were TRIVIAL, easy to complete and mindnumbingly boring. After you get to level 20, suddenly the quests all seem to feel like you have done them before, because you basically have (except a few).

WoW is easy, and boring. EQ2 is easy, and boring. Questing to level is easy, and boring. There is no challenge to this game, or WoW. They are very alike and the biggest difference between the two are the graphics and the crappy Line of Sight system that WoW has for casters. The graphics don't really matter on my systems since they lag me to hell, anyways (which in the end puts WoW > EQ2 as far as graphics, for me - my systems are relatively recent, all 4 of them).

I find it somewhat ironic that an uber-excessively-casual player has the balls to tell another player that they are trying to level too fast, when they aren't even leveling at anything near an average speed. Players on the EQ forums report going from 1-80 in a month in EverQuest II by questing. That is too fast of a leveling potential for "legit" leveling (I don't cheat in games, but the distiction needs to be made since real people have to sleep).

The biggest problem with EQ2 and WoW is that the "Quest to XP" systems have eventually turned them into solo RPG games. The leveling experience is so cookie-cutter to the point that you can get to 80 completely solo devoid of help from any other player or guild. That is boring. The group content is boring, and too easy, and the death penalties are so pointless that people use dying as a way to dumb down content.

Yes, quests are good. Quest rewards are good. But all of the more modern MMOs seem to do nothing short of holding the player's hand through content while shelling out rewards that they have hardly put any effort towards deserving them.

Raiding is the only thing that exists at end-game, since everyone would quit at level 80 if it didn't exist. If you feel you can get to 80, do so many quests, and keep enjoying a video game - good for you. But most serious players seriously (pun intended :) ) need something to give them incentive to keep playing.

WoW has Raids/PvP that rewards players (battle grounds, etc. - regardless of how imbalanced it is), Lineage II has Castle/Fortress/Mass PvP/Raids, EverQuest II has raiding. Without Raiding, there would be no reason to play this game at level 80. Those things are the reason why the hardcore MMO playerbase plays the game. There would be no reason developing raid content if no one used it, and it would be a waste of money and developer time for SOE. If there were no raids in this game, half of the players would be at WoW or elsewhere.

You are not a typical MMO player/leveler, not with those playtimes. Before EQ2 was released, there weren't too many peple who would even bother playing an MMO with those types of playtimes - that goes to illustrate how easy these recent MMO games really are.

No Risk, Great Rewards. Almost no effort or dedication needed to progress in the game. Easy mode games with horrible replayability because Quest-based content gets boring pretty much after the first time you do it.

 

kill 10 wolves and 20 giant rats are not quests, its just a way to disguise the grind.

Originally posted by ronan32

kill 10 wolves and 20 giant rats are not quests, its just a way to disguise the grind.

Whilst making you run back and forth to do quests turn-ins, sometimes over rather large distances.
 

Originally posted by ronan32

kill 10 wolves and 20 giant rats are not quests, its just a way to disguise the grind.

And that's what I hate on quests.

Quests for telling the game's story = Yes

Quests for hiding the grind, while luring with rewards = No

Originally posted by UbahNecro

Originally posted by Moirae

1. EQ2 is about questing. Thats why its called EverQUEST. If you're not taking part in the quests, you're not playing the game and it will take much much longer to reach the top because quests give at least 1000 times the xp than just killing monsters. And thats exactly the way it should be in a game labelled EverQUEST.

2. This game is NOT PvP centered and never has been. PvP was added as a late addition in demand from the small minority of PvP'rs who play the game only. It was not, and will never be, a mainstay of the game.

3. in WoW you can level far too fast for your own good. I played that game. I was level 26 in two weeks playing only an hour or less a day. In EQ2, I've been playing almost since the game opened and my highest level character is only lvl 64 (despite 80 levels). But thats mostly because I get bored easily and create new characters.

4. Are you obsessive about getting to the highest level asap? Then you'll probably reach the top level in a few months. But I don't see the point in rushing. If you rush, you're missing the point of QUESTING which is what the game is all about. If you rush, then all you get is to endlessly raid.

You seem rather defensive.

First of all, your playtimes are not that of a typical MMO player. Playing for years and at level 64? Players in Lineage II can get to level 64 in a couple/few weeks and that game is far harder to level than in this one.

No kidding. I thought I was just like everyone else... Sarcasm if you can't tell. I'm at level 64 because I get bored of the same thing all the time. I love computer games but I rarely ever actually finish a game because I want to restart. You didn't have to be so rude about it.

You are talking about leveling beeing too easy in WoW when EQ2 is hardly better. From what I understand they have actually carebeared the leveling system up and made it even easier to level from what it actually was. MMOs are about challenge, Risk and Reward. It seems most players want things handed to them - that includes players like you who want to do nothing at all but run around questing and collecting the rewards.

The whole point of Everquest is to QUEST. If you can't handle that, then this game isn't for you and you should quietly, and politely, move on.

All of the quests that I have completed in this game were TRIVIAL, easy to complete and mindnumbingly boring. After you get to level 20, suddenly the quests all seem to feel like you have done them before, because you basically have (except a few).

Your opinion.

WoW is easy, and boring. EQ2 is easy, and boring. Questing to level is easy, and boring. There is no challenge to this game, or WoW. They are very alike and the biggest difference between the two are the graphics and the crappy Line of Sight system that WoW has for casters. The graphics don't really matter on my systems since they lag me to hell, anyways (which in the end puts WoW > EQ2 as far as graphics, for me - my systems are relatively recent, all 4 of them).

Welcome to MMO's.

I find it somewhat ironic that an uber-