Some first impressions of EQ2 beta testers

Desaitar · Posted: 09/03/04 - 02:33 Post subject:

"So yeah I've been playing around with this bad boy for the past few days. It's not bad, the startup interface which I thought was pretty sloppy in EQ is very streamlined in EQ2 and actually FAST. The tutorial can be rather time consuming, considering I got disconnected about 4 times while trying to do it. Otherwise it's about 30 minutes long. The graphics are ... well ... great to put it lightly. But I will warn you, even with the setting set to max performance(lowest quality for best output) I still have fps problems in some areas with a 3GHz 1.5gb ram and a 128mb G4, so this game is definitely not a game for the weak of PC power. Even 2-3 years down the line I can't see anyone being smooth in a raid type setting with 24-36 players running around ... although I will admit that even on the lowest setting it looks damn good. Even the NPCS do emotes and stuff that are pretty cool(goblins will shake their ass at you and say "nana nana boo boo", etc).

The gameplay is pretty good. Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed because there are so many things to do and I'm not particularly sure what I SHOULD do at times. Leveling is pretty damn slow, and the EXP debt, ESPECIALLY if you don't recover your corpse, is nothing to scoff at. It took me a little over 2 hours or so just to get through level 5. My poor gnome rogue kept getting his ass handed to him and built up a full level of exp debt so I pretty much canned him and made a barb warrior after my first character in EQ. He solos alot better and has about the same downtime. So far there isn't much downtime, though I could easily see this changing at higher levels. You will need to sit(and sitting helps a LOT to regain health) and recover after a few fights. Thing is you're back to full in 30 seconds or less depending on how much of a beating you've taken.

Quests! There is no shortage whatsoever of quests. Not only is there bunches, but they are a viable source of exp. Don't like to grind out levels? Do quests. Although so far it seems like grinding is a litte faster, quests give you stuff to run around and do to gain exp(and to save your sanity), and if you're lucky, a decent piece of armor. I was lucky enough to find the quest guy who gave out newbie warrior type armor early on, but the last quest was to kill some orc king guy who requires a group to take down so I ended it there. The NPC's you talk to now have interactive menus to click on. No more "what orc king?" and all that shit. They have a list of things you can say to them, and you click on one. Pretty much every NPC I've encountered so far has some type of quest to give(barring the merchants and gate guards).

The interface goes along pretty well with the graphics. Haven't seen any custom UI's yet but the default one isn't totally useless, much like EQ. You can move your buttons, windows, etc all around. Your UI starts off with hotkeys 1-12 going horizontal across the screen. Alot of them you don't really need, like the melee attack, if you have those already set to a key on your kb. Also something I forgot to mention is the power bar(I think that's what it's called). Each time you do a special ability(like kick for example) it uses a little of your power bar. Sprinting(running) sucks down your power bar gradually so you will need to rest after running a distance. Kinda sucks when you've been fighting and your power is low and you decide to run from an enemy and don't have enough power left to make it to the guard. Also, mobs are "locked" now once you engage them, meaning another player cannot attack them UNLESS you call for help. At that point other players are free to kill it but no exp or rewards will go to the person needing help or the helper. Calling for help on accident sucks, cause if you aren't near a guard you have to kill the critter and you don't get exp from it.

Classes! Classes are not defined when you create your character. When you begin the tutorial you start as a level 1 "commoner". When the tutorial ends you will be level 3(I think) and on the docks where the boat lands(the tutorial is on a boat ... the one in the video with the dragon sailing past blasting fire on the deck and yes, it flies away after that so you don't get to kill a dragon in the tutorial). If you decide to skip the tutorial you start on the docks at level 3. You talk to the guy there and he asks what your profession is(your archtype): fighter, scout, priest, or mage. Not sure what level you gain your sub-class but that is where you will specialize(ie an assassin or ranger for scout, guardian or berserker for fighter, etc.) So far as I can tell the fighter types are the melee damage dealers and scouts are just that ... scouts, which sucks cause I wanted the high dps rogue of old school EQ! Anyways, today I saw a level 23 Guardian so I'd venture to say you get your sub-class somewhere between 10 and 20. If I wasn't still a noob I'd tell more, but I'm still learning this shit."

and

"well ive been in eq2 beta since before most of the people on SH got their invites.

all i can say is that its really cheaply done. so much of the content is missing atm.

yes the sounds and layouts look great, but they are basic upgrades to known zones, nothing new.

the char models are the worst i have seen out of a new game since medal of honor on the PS.

the game play is shacky, from what i have heard they are trying to rush this out to compete with wow. i dont see how they will be anywhere ready for release by dec or jan.

the so call quests they have added to copy WoW does not work, and they are retarded. i have yet to find one that was fun or worked.

to make a long drawn out rant short for you. eq2 is just taking the old world of norrath, giving it a make over with a new engine and rereleasing it. its totaly crap and junk. i cant stress this enough. "

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are just a few first impressions of the game (taken from FoH board).

I've done quite a bit of research, it seems like this game looks decent atm, and still has lots of work to go. Unfortunately, this game seems to be made for the more "casual" player, which isn't a good thing at all I think. SoE did a good job with EQ1 at its release to listen to player feedback, and I am sure they will have their fair share to work with again. The game is just in its earliest stages of beta, I think they are kinda "testing" a few new ideas and I hope they discard them and stick with the basics that EQ1 established in its beginning. Instancing will be RARELY used (mostly for lowbie and epic encounters). This gives me hope.

Also, apparantly kiting is not going to be in the game, and there is a "lock" system (basiclly means unless you call for help the mob is yours when you engage it). I am not sure what to think of this atm, I think they should make this game a challenge and stick with what has made them the best MMORPG game making company ever.

A last disturbing post regarding many of EQ's problems (opinion based of course).

This is taken from www.eqii.com:

1. Monster Factions - EQ2 only has the major city factions as opposed to EQ1 which had a faction for almost any creature and a quest corresponding to that faction.

2. Duel Wielding - In EQ2 duel wielding is dealt as your character holding two weapons but only your primary weapon will affect your attack speed and damage (the second weapon is merely for stats and turns on duel wielding). I'm not 100% sure if that's exactly how it works but in EQ1 both weapons mattered, their speed, their damage, and it was another way to improve your character.

3. Buffs - EQ2 has temporary, ingroup buffs now. No casting on anyone that is not in your group and no longstanding buffs on people that are not with you. This eliminates player interaction, people selling buffs, n00bs asking for buffs, the overall complexity/timing of buffs that came with EQ1. The complexity of buffs has become simplified in my opinion.

4. Equipment - No more giving your old armor to lowbies or your twinks, EQ2 puts restrictions on armor to prevent this.

5. Group/Battle Interaction - EQ2 using encounters blocks out all outer interference from PCs. No training, killstealing, powerleveling, heroic intervention, etc. While EQ2 uses a superior method for balance, it takes away from the unexpected and places the character into a predicatable suedo-environment where there is no fear from the world, (like a mini-instance) and unless you decide you need help you will be locked inside this secure bubble, with no interaction from anything outside of it.

6. Cities - EQ2 has 2 main cities with most likely small outposts sprinkled about, while EQ1 had 13(?) cities throughout the game. While EQ2's layout is more economic it tends to reduce the "safety/hangout points" through the game and brings everyone back into the 2 main cities, instead of adventurer's being able to travel from city to city like in EQ1. Though EQ2 is larger than the original game, it feels somewhat smaller with only 2 civilized points. In addition, the feeling of "I want to travel to that city" is gone in EQ2, because the player is exposed to all racial regions within the starting city.

7. AAExp - EQ2 will not have AAExp at release, something that EQ1 currently has. While this will most likely be added later on it will become something I desire when I approach 50.

8. Looting - EQ2 uses the trivial loot code which essentially prevents higher levels from receiving any rewards from mobs that are not within experience range. EQ1 does not have this in the main servers and allows higher levels to backtrack and get items that they may find useful or for collecting reasons. In EQ2, once you've advanced you cannot go back.

9. All forms of Kiting/Swarm Kiting/Etc - Most viable fighting tactics in EQ1 have been prevented with EQ2's encounter system, forcing all players into a straight line of how to fight. "Our way or no way". EQ1 had a large amount of fighting styles unique to each class while EQ2 will have one; fight with your group and like it.

10. Bard Twisting - EQ2 has classified bards as casters now and songs are played as normal spell buffs. In EQ1 a skilled bard was able to twist many songs.

11. Equipment - Overall there are less equipment slots, less general slots, and less primary stats in EQ2, while is does have 2 more resistances. Charisma and Dexterity have been scrapped, as have the shoulder (or back, one of them) slot, and an earring slot (and one other I think).

12. Teleportation - Druids and Wizards cannot teleport any longer as they did in EQ1.

13. Binding - Set relocation points are used in EQ2 for death, taking away all aspects of binding.

14. PvP - EQ2 has no dueling, no arenas, no PvP servers, no guild wars, no nothing. In addition, there are no plans for this in the future. To boots, EQ1 had this at launch...

15. Dieties - No dieties in EQ2, obviously. In EQ1 you could choose your diety, and there was diety-specific armor.

16. City NPCs unharmable - In EQ2 you cannot attack any citizens in your city, including the guards. In EQ1 you could attack any NPC in the game, kill, and loot them (regardless if they had any). Whether you had fun training around guards or picking on the banker, this is not possible in EQ2.

Some first impressions of EQ2 beta testers

LIFEFORM SOCIAL COMMUNITY NETWORK