Just curious - what's it like? I haven't played since 2003, so.. PoP?

I was... BARELY A THOUGHT NOT EVEN CONSIDERING BUT PERHAPS FLICKERED IN TO MY MIND...thinking about popping in for a few hours of play every couple of week evenings between finishing work and the fiance getting home.
So would be a newbie and levelling once a week, or less.

Are all the zones the new graphics? Old content still there? How much is subscription? Etc.

And what's best package to buy right now for CD's?

Thanks for any help.

You can buy a package at least in the US (sorry don't know for Europe) that has every expansion INCLUDING the most current one for $19.99.

You know, as I've been baking here in the desert I think it has affected my mind because I've been toying with the idea of playing around a bit. Would be kind of cool (maybe) to get a small group going.

The subscription is $15/month if you pay one month at a time. There is the option to subscribe for 2 years for $199 ($8.29/month); there are also 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year options but they're not really worth it. There's a $30/month "Station Access" option which gives you EQ1, EQ2, and a bunch of smaller games that I can't remember the name of; Vanguard might be included as well.

Old world zones are slowly being revamped a few at a time, typically the ones near where a new expansion is attached to. Some zones are reasonably faithful to the original, such as Nektulos. Others, like East and West Freeport, have been completely redone and have generally not been well received as a result. Most content beyond the original world has not been touched; Kunark and Velious graphics don't look nearly as dated as the original zones anyway.

Old content is nearly all still there. Even the "pocket zones" Chardok B and Solusek C that were originally meant to be temporary are still there. I would suggest at least checking out the low level content in The Serpent's Spine, though.

Actually, I think you'll be pleased to know that the "Epic 1.5" and "Epic 2.0" quests in the Omens of War expansion span a wide variety of zones from all expansions up to that point. For example, the druid epic 1.5 includes steps in:
* Old world: Rathe Mountains, Toxxulia Forest, The Feerrott, Surefall Glade, East Freeport, West Freeport, North Ro, South Qeynos, Kithicor Forest
* Kunark: Lake of Ill Omen, Frontier Mountains
* Velious: Eastern Wastes, Cobalt Scar, Velketor's Labyrinth

Other classes have steps in such out-of-the-way places as Dragon Necropolis (bard), an LDoN raid (paladin), and the 7th Hammer in the Plane of Justice (monk). It was a great way to provide a little life to underused content. (I know you wouldn't be looking to do these quests for a long time, if at alll; I only mention it because it means you may very well run into people in places you'd expect to be completely deserted.)

Epic 2s are still used? I'm excited about the Epic 1s in EQ2 that might be coming soon :)

For casters, the epic 2.0 is still the best primary slot item available. While a few items have been introduced with more hp/mana, they just aren't good enough to justify bagging the epic.

I think in the last two expansions melee classes are finally starting to see weapons that are marginal improvements over the epics (though the clicky effects are irreplaceable, and the epic "2.5" augments in the Demiplane of Blood extend their life further).

of course the epic 2.5/2.0 is inventory clickable if you do replace them

Yup, but the focus effect won't work from inventory.

For $19.99 you can get the Anniversary Edition which, as was mentioned earlier, contains the original EQ as well as ALL the expansions up to and including The Buried Sea.

Since this is a "boxed" version, you also get ALL of the box rewards if you do not already have them.

There's been a lot of changes since you played, graphics, game play, enhancements and many changes to tradeskills and quests.

Alt 294 Reporting .. err I mean hey Gandaar, does that box set also give you the reward that was giving from TSS, I remeber that TSS was download only and was not released in stores.. lol WTG Sony on that bright idea of thiers, they lost alot of people because of that

That's fantastic info guys, just what I was looking for.

Guess I'll be the only sub-70 running around the server eh.

'You know, as I've been baking here in the desert I think it has affected my mind because I've been toying with the idea of playing around a bit. Would be kind of cool (maybe) to get a small group going.'

- Sounds good to me!

As top-heavy as the game is, there are still people running around at all different levels. I've even seen some recent /ooc drama between guilds of level 50- and 60-somethings that I had never heard of.

Actually, since a new race (the Drakkin) was added less than a year ago with the Serpent's Spine expansion, there are a lot of alts of various levels being actively played.

Timberelf, as I recall, yes it did give all the rewards..... in fact I recently used a box set to upgrade an account I was using for a trader toon mostly. It was only 6 or 7 expansions behind. When I upgraded and then logged in an alt on that account, I got the message about all the rewards.... and yes.. I got the robo-pig, the war horse, the Crescent Reach clicky-port stick and all the others I had not claimed on that account.

I purchased another one for an account that was only one expansion behind... <shrug>... $29.99 for The Buried Sea.... or $19.99 for the Anniversary Edition? Thank you Sony... they finally did something that the players really could appreciate.

Yup, but the focus effect won't work from inventory.

Well I'm a bard, I have been able to replace all my instrument mods from my epic, heh.

Halo, you will be able to do some good catchup playing in The Serpent's Spine zones, doing the quests. They borrowed from WoW and designed the quests to actually give real experience, so you can see the bar move. :)

To be honest, having checked out most of what has come along over the last several years, from EQ2 to WoW to Vanguard, EQ1 and the expansions keep me having fun much more than anything that has come out since. I keep my WoW account for when I want to kill an hour and see something from it by myself, but other than that, a game that is simple enough to be able to solo a character to max level is just not that exciting.

It is EQ 1 for me.

Of course you can solo a character to max level in EQ1 as well, though it's hardly the most efficient or most fun way to do it. :)

I haven't played WoW, but I suspect the main difference is that there may be a lot more to do at max level in EQ1 than in WoW. With each level cap increase it takes me maybe a few weeks to get the additional levels, yet the list of things I want to do in game is growing faster than I can accomplish them.

WoW has tons of endgame but only like .1% of all the guilds ever achieve it.

also, its completely horrible!

so does this mean EQ1 is sucking Haloface back in? :)

Oh, some good reading here, "The Returning Player FAQ Thread":
http://forums.station.sony.com/eq/posts/list.m?topic_id=34207

Hell Halo, look me up when you log in!!

Is there a place to go to see what they changed my characters name to? (Bise)

Not anymore Bise.

Hmm I am almost tempted to get a game card and checking things out.. and also that new box set.. I've been gone since late october.. early november. I know I am so rusty, not even sure if I'll trust my self pulling for groups.. hmm I wonder if I still have Lorefinders Hand Bokk on pullign layign around :D

Thanks folks, mucho help, especially the FAQ link.

'so does this mean EQ1 is sucking Haloface back in?'

- No, no sucking. Err, of any kind. But a few hours a week perhaps!

Will do Fanny, might not be for a few weeks though.
Thanks again guys, big help.

you can send me a tell at ;t maelin.taleren if you have any questions when you get back too.

Top bloke, thanks Taleren. Though you may have cause to regret that, you too Fanny :D

I returned a month and a half ago from a high end WoW guild that was doing all current raid content at that time...really the "end" content doesn't come close to EQ, while to you, end content is in TBS most likely, but for me, its much furthur behind so I have much to look forward to, but with WoW, you hit max level and theres nothing to really "build" towards. Maybe with the black temple now the game would get a bit more fun, but I doubt it.

Little more time needed baking before the muffins are done... so to speak but when I get back to a real internet connection I'll look you up halo, maybe I can get you trained a few times while I figure out how to play again

Should you guys try EQ and not like it as much, EQ2 captured my interest. I guess my attention span dropped significantly with the new age games and I can't farm over and over to level up anymore. Everquest2 has so much similar with EQ but a lot of the improvements that the next gen games made ... plus you can still hunt in Crushbone or Blackburrow :)

'Little more time needed baking before the muffins are done... so to speak but when I get back to a real internet connection I'll look you up halo, maybe I can get you trained a few times while I figure out how to play again'

- I'll take you up on that offer mate! Only thing I remember was that "A" was for attack. Wait.. or was that activate? Oh I'm so confused.

It was a serious toss up between EQ and EQ2 Kelraz.. but to be honest, I was in EQ2 beta and in release for a few weeks, and it just never captured me.
I doubt I'll dabble in EQ1 for more than a couple of months while my schedule gives me a few spare hours over the summer, but it will be nice for memory sake :)

I've tried EQ2, didn't hold my interest too well, WoW was great for awhile but now I'm kinda "meh" about it. Just been a bit nostalgic for awhile about the good ole days of EQ been thinking about starting over again, just casually. I wish they;d start up a new combine server type thing I'd definitely get in on that.

Aye - nostalgia is the word of the day for me lately.

Blimey.. it's very, very different. Yet oddly very similar still, even after 4years.

Forgot that one of my alts is in full, original Rubicite, with Blades of the Green & Red Dragon Eyes.

If I remember correctly, it all stopped dropping years ago. Wonder if that makes me a wealthy man now? :D

Completely forgot how to get to the Bazaar though!

Oh it's a really weird experience.

Rubicite armor unfortunately has little value today. The breastplate can be won today in the casino, and is only useful to have so that you can turn in a Gold Ticket and _not_ getting another Rubicite Breastplate (since it's lore). The other pieces have no value except as collector's items, and even then they don't seem to be worth all that much (perhaps 10k each).

The Blades of the Green and Red Dragon Eyes are extremely rare, far more rare than Rubicite armor. It's hard to say how much they would be worth. I don't think the Blade of the Red Dragon Eye has ever been seen in the bazaar.

Items that have practical value today yet no longer drop are where the real money is. A Circlet of Shadow (the original instaclicky version) is probably worth several hundred thousand, even though it used to be quite common back in the day. Earthshaker, easily over 500k. Earring of Living Slime, name your own price (multiple millions).

Remarkably, even though the Fungus Covered Scale Tunic has been dropping since the release of Kunark, it has held its value well; it looks like you could get 60-70k for it today.

Oh, as for how to get to the bazaar, the original way is the south wing of the Nexus. Sometime in the last couple years they added a direct connection to the bazaar from the Plane of Knowledge (northwest corner).

The bazaar layout has changed completely. Fortunately, when you click on a name in the bazaar search window, a glowing yellow path will appear that you can follow directly to the trader.

Oh! There are in-game maps now, and they are extremely helpful. Press the backspace button (by default) to bring up the map for the current zone. You'll want to download a complete set of maps, and save them in the "maps" subfolder of your EQ folder:
http://www.mapfiend.net/mappacks

That's a shame about the Rubicite. They used to have tremendous value, especially a whole set. Glad to see Dragon Eye is still as rare as back in PoP.


Thanks for your help mate, much appreciated.
Finally found Bazaar today - forgot it was via Nexus. Doesn't help that after 4 years I returned in the middle of Iceclad Ocean. Took me 2hrs to get back to anywhere populated! Thanks again.

If your character is out of the game for 6+ hours and you are in the middle of nowhere, you can click Return Home and be in your home city.

You know Halo, Ulvrim still has my Earthshaker, but he changed the pw on me years ago /miss Gobbles.

BTW, Send me a tell!

Lol OK mate, will do.

Hmm.. well spent a few hours last night and this morning checking it all out.
And blimey.. is it depressing. 85% of the world is a ghost town, itemization and inflation have flooded the game, and it's hard to find anyone below 65 :(

I saw exactly one person in all of Antonica, and that was a 70 druid afk at the zone in to Misty Thicket. From Qeynos to Freeport, it was deserted. Odus was the same, except a group of 50's in Rathe Mountains (maybe on the way to do Phinny, if he still exists?), and I came across a kitting duo in The Great Divide. All in all.. a handful of people. The Bazaar was nice to see, as it was crowded (but only with mules). But the Nexus, PoK, all of those old, bustling zones were dead.

Of course, I've been away for a few years. But I didn't recognize a single item! Things are commonly selling for hunderds of thousands, all with a level cap and with crazy 150+ stats.

Things such as easy CR's (they even have a zone for your corpse now!!), quick med/regen (especially if you log out) and probably a 200% increase in game area, with a rapidly declining population - all of it makes for a very different game.

I realise now, more than ever, that us old Veterans from Luclin and PoP are relics, dinosaurs. To ever catch up, or feel included, in EQ again, will take a monsterous amount of dedication and timesink.

This makes me slightly happy. I'll resign the "uber", or even "current" gameplay to those who gritted their teeth and stayed on past PoP, or for all those newbies who have created new and unfamilar guilds, foriegn from the good old days we all enjoyed - I'll resign the new world to them, and stay in the Old.

Levitating through the Karanas, running around Hailing NPC's in Qeynos and Erud, whacking Gnolls in BB and Orcs in Highkeep, exploring the merged and improved zones such as Commonlands, Freeport, and Desert of Ro - and soloing, completely alone, in the wastes of Velious.. even running through a good portion of Luclin without seeing a soul - it's all good fun.
I log in, run around, and log off. There may be a few months of fun in this, tops, for a few hours a week. And well, that's all I'm looking for.

Maybe thats why I liked EQ2 much better after coming back to and trying both. Not only is Kelethin and Greater Faydark populated in Everquest2 - but they are similar and yet different at the same time. Its a brand new experience with the same familiar story lines and classes and so forth.

Check out the "hot zones" for your level. They have an XP boost, and a decent concentration of players. Plus the developers are adding neat features (mobs that call for help, quests, etc) to those zones as they rotate them through content.

You should at least take a look at level appropriate zones in The Serpent's Spine and The Buried Sea, the two most recent expansions. The zones themselves won't be nostalgic, of course, but you should hopefully run into a lot more people. It might help if you visit late at night too, when it would be evening here in the U.S. I don't think our server has a particularly strong European population anymore; a number of them may have moved to the Antonius Bayle server (the European server), which actually appears to be among the most crowded servers now.

I'm assuming you're in the low 60's? Take the Crescent Reach PoK book to Blightfire Moors, then head north to Goru'kar Mesa. From there Blackfeather Roost will be to the east, Sunderock Springs will be to the northeast, and The Steppes will be to the northwest, if I remember right. You might also want to look at The Barren Coast, off of Toxxulia Forest.

Laeyakk's suggestion is a good one too. The "hot zones" appropriate for levels 60-65 or so would be Dranik's Scar (in the Omens of War expansion: simply say "I wish to travel to Discord" to any Priest of Discord), Acrylia Caverns, Dragon Necropolis, and Walls of Slaughter (also in the Omens of War expansion).

Can just say "wish to travel"

Though, Draniks Scar is the hotzone for 50-55. Walls of Slaughter is the 65 level hotzone.

I included Dranik's Scar in case Halo wanted an easier "warmup" zone. Ordinary mobs hitting for 500-700 in Walls of Slaughter might be quite a shock!

(Oh, and I think the phrase is actually "wish to go" rather than "wish to travel". It's bracketed in the initial hail text, in any case.)

I'm sorry, I jumped on that too fast at work. I'm a dumbass, listen to pal. It's been a while since I've been in Omens.

/say "Excuse me, I wish to go to the bathroom. Could you direct me where it is?"
/pause 40
/say "Nooo! I don't want to go to Discord! Put out the portal! PUT IT OUT!"

My last EQ experience was the Progression Server. Sadly though I left mid thirties when I got the Vangaurd Beta.

Was definately a blast while it lasted though. They should it again. I think they got a lot of Re-Subs last time they did it.

I tried Progression, but I just couldn't be arsed with the insanely inept pathing, the fact that you had to grind everything with little lore interaction, the trains...
I loved EQ, but it's flair has passed to better products.

If you go to the hot zones I found they are usually more populated too.

I saw exactly one person in all of Antonica, and that was a 70 druid afk at the zone in to Misty Thicket. From Qeynos to Freeport, it was deserted. Odus was the same, except a group of 50's in Rathe Mountains (maybe on the way to do Phinny, if he still exists?), and I came across a kitting duo in The Great Divide. All in all.. a handful of people. The Bazaar was nice to see, as it was crowded (but only with mules). But the Nexus, PoK, all of those old, bustling zones were dead.

Btw, you missed north-central Antonica (TSS), which tends to have lots of people in it.

Rathe Mountains aren't in Odus. Odus now contains an entire expansion (TBS) off of the coast (islands with pirates) and underwater (katta). I'd be shocked if TBS was empty.

PoK is now used as a transportation hub: people run through it, they don't sit around in it -- the Guild Lobby and the Guild Hall are better places to bind and hang out in. They are off of PoK, the big doors that don't lead to the Bazaar from PoK.

I still cherish my Fironia Vie action figure I got for pre-ordering PoP. <3

I still cherish my Fironia Vie action figure I got for pre-ordering PoP. <3

ROFLMAO!!!!!

Mine still sits on the shelf here too.