Well as you may know, from a previous posting, I am playing Everquest (live) again. Well, I am trying. I have gotten snagged by Runes of Magic a little - and I was able to purchase a copy of Darkfall Online one day when the shop was open for like 5 minutes. Combined with my job and my personal life - I don't get much time anymore - and it's killing me.
That said, I have been thinking about how my very first graphical MMO made me feel. That MMO was Everquest, and I dived in about 4 months before Luclin was released. I remember the total newb feeling I had thinking "oh wow. what the hell am I supposed to do now?" I slowly learned how to get quests. How to get efficient (yeah right) with xp gains. How to craft - which at that time in EQ was a royal pain in the ass. I remember getting a quest in Qeynos at level 7 or some such and trying to make my way all the way to Highpass to deliver some mail. I died. A lot.
Everything about EQ that I experienced, I loved. Having to keep a binder of maps and spell lists. It sounds so archaic now, but I actually enjoyed all this! I fed off it. I spent more time reading the lore and printing maps than I did playing the game I think.
I never made it very high level, but I still remember grouping in Timorous Deep. The first time I entered the zone and seeing 100+ people there. All the zone-wide shouts for people looking for a group, or groups looking for a tank or a healer, etc. The times sitting at that first safe spot in Blackburrow as trains rolled past.
Looking back, it all seems so ancient. I don't know if any of these things would "fly" in today's MMO market - but I sure as hell would love to get that feeling back. I don't know if it was EQ itself, or just the newness of MMOs at the time. Is it even possible to get that feeling again, after having played so many MMOs? There is a discussion over at the FoH boards with many people stating if EQ were redone - with new graphics but basically the same content, lore and mechanics, they would subscribe in a heartbeat. This is how I feel. What do you think?
Everquest Nostalgia
So I'm playing EQ again
Yeah, the first one. Don't laugh. I'm serious!
I am not entirely sure what prompted me to play this 10 year old game again exactly, but I have a feeling nostalgia contributed quite a bit. Actually, I had intended to give Vanguard a try again and decided to go for a Station Pass this time. So now I can play VG, EQ2 and EQ as I own all three games.
Everquest was my first graphical MMO. I spent a few years before EQ tinkering around on various MUDs. I remember my first couple weeks in EQ. The graphics sucked and the camera control was horrid. But, it resembled a MUD so much, I instantly fell in love. It also helped that my best friend was in a toppish-tier raiding guild on Bristlebane at the time. I didn't play for very long before moving on to other games (DAoC, EQ2, WoW, etc) but I think my fondest memories of any MMO come from Everquest.
So, ten years after the game has been released, I find myself logging back in to a new character I just created yesterday. So how does the game compare with other current offerings out there? It's hard to say. I stopped playing right after Planes of Power was released. That was the fourth expansion for Everquest and they now have fifteen. Yeah, I've missed a lot! Plus, I have only been back for not even 24 hours!
That said, I still see a lot of what intrigued me about Everquest in the first place. There is tons of lore (though, this lore is a stickler for some people) which I tend to gobble up. The game isn't exactly "newbie friendly". It's no WoW, that's for sure. Hailing a NPC and then typing in key words to obtain a quest is not what many modern MMO players would consider fun, or even intuitive. But there is something about this that I like. Speaking of quests, I see they have changed a lot of NPCs. Now, you can look at the names floating above their heads and tell what they do (ie: there are notations above their heads if they are quest giving NPCs, or if they sell weapons or armor, spells, etc). I remember trekking all over the place, "hail"ing every single NPC to see if they offered a quest or right clicking them to see if they were merchants.
The game is still a bit of a grind-fest, but not near as much as it used to be. Actually, I take that back. It's more of a quest-fest that requires lots of killing. Much the same as many other MMOs out there. "Go kill
One of the biggest changes, and one that I am absolutely loving, is the addition of mercenaries. These are NPCs that you can hire and they act as a groupmate. With my new guy being a Mage, I hired a Cleric mercenary and it's great. It's like having a friend party with you, but without the chatting. I miss that, but it's nice for people who usually tend to solo, like me.
A lot has changed, from the little bit that I have seen - but a lot still remains the same. Those of you still in EQ, or those that pop in from time to time, I have some questions for you:
What are some of the bigger changes in EQ since PoP? How hard is it to get to max level? How is raiding now (I have never raided in EQ before) ? How does raiding now compare to say, raiding in WoW (the only MMO I have attained max level and raided, other than guild raids in EQ2 while leveling)? What keeps you in EQ?
It has been awhile...
I just want to start this off with one comment - I suck at keeping up with a blog. There are many reasons for this - I play a lot of games, and I have a hard time sticking with one. I also have other things in my life that take time and priority. When I started this blog, it was just before I met the love of my life. Not long after, I stopped posting. Heck, I mostly stopped playing many games, including MMOs. We bought a house at the end of the summer last year and finally are mostly settled. Now, I finally have some time to play games and blog my thoughts about those games. For those that enjoyed reading this blog for the few posts that were made - thanks for reading, maybe you will come back!
So, I suppose I should get with it and post something of relevance!