So i quit EQ when GoD came out, and now like 7 expansions later this game is revitalized my MMO playing. I been playing about 3 weeks, I am level 59 and loving the game (thanks to some awesome xp zones and help form my Valiant Crusader homies). The new content is great, the downtime is so so so less, and i havent even scratched the surface of content.

Hell I have only died 11 times so far. Anyone who knows me, knows how i feel about staying alove so long, i say eff living. (Dane Cook ftw)

Anyone who hasnt played in a while you can get all 14 expansions + EQlive for $29.99. I really recommend it even if its just for the free month.

If you have not yet, check out the quests in "The Serpent's Spine". This was the first real nod to WoW, with the quests giving real measurable experience as well as some nice rewards for some.

i did the entire Armor quest in the MEsa yeah good stuff

I've been been wrestling with coming back for sometime now but have really been dreading the thought of grinding to cath up to 80, or is it 90 now?

The level cap is 80. If you have people to group with on a regular basis, it's really not that bad. There were a few crazy people that didn't go to sleep until they had reached level 80 (from 75) upon the release of the last expansion, and that's without any cheesy tricks for "banking" extra experience ahead of time. :P

Also, there are plans in the works to increase the rate of AA experience if you have below a certain number AAs.

im 62 now, and it hasnt even been a month, its a lot easier to level.

did you gain 62lbs with those 62 levels? EQ is the devils tool to get you dead!

nope lost 5 pounds since you ask :)

I tried to send you a tell man, send me a tell after 7:30 tonight at maelin.taleren

holy crap, i can't believe you guys are still in EQ. That's nuts, I still have dreams about it sometimes.

It's funny, because I've played a lot of new MMORPGs, but none of them have left me the same impression that EQ did. Kunark was one of my favorite expansions, especially if you consider the art in the dungeons, castles, and ruins of the City of Mist.

Kunark and Vellious were my favorites. its sad to think that we can never really capture that feeling in a game again.

The problem with World of Warcraft is that it's really utopia--there is no real struggle, there are macros. The biggest mistake I think Blizzard made is making the game accessible to everyone. Perhaps that is in credit to Blizzard, but I think what made EverQuest fun was in spite of the crap (e.g, before instancing) was the struggle to be the best. Racing to kill high level targets in Sebilis was fun.

World of Warcraft has the feeling that everyone can be number one. Level 70s with fairly nice gear are a dime a dozen.

The problem is that if everyone is number one, then no one is number one.

Unless they changed things drastically since the TBC beta, raiding in WoW is pretty difficult. It's easy to make it to the cap and get some epics, but actually being on top took excellent skill and organization.

As long as people play, EQ is fun, even after 9 years. There will always be games that promice better graphics, faster leveling and more treasures for less work but the human interaction has kept me hooked still. Stuff like Team speak and Ventrilo helped alot with making things alot less anon and more personel (and also keeps things more civil). Competition from other titles has really done alot to help fix alot of the gripes.

I still play quite a bit, although FD is gone and I have since transferred to The Rathe. Its always a learning experience since the game always seems to have changed alot over the time span of deployed overseas trips.

It's easy to make it to the cap and get some epics

Agreed. I soloed a BE Hunter to 70, and half my equipment at least is epic without ever having grouped for mobs.

If you like to play at your own pace without having to worry about others relying on you, like I do in some of my spare time, than WoW is great.

If on the other hand you like the interaction with others, as I did for many, many years with Lost Fires, than EQ is still a great way to go.

'Kunark and Vellious were my favorites. its sad to think that we can never really capture that feeling in a game again.'

- Very much so. I haven't really played an online game since EQ. I get very, very nostalgic, especially for my old times with Jokers, despite having a busy and wonderful RL. It's funny, aint it?

I'd have to agree with ya Halo, while I have played other MMos after EQ, nothing really has come close to the richness of experience that I felt with EQ.

Kunark and Vellious were my favorites. its sad to think that we can never really capture that feeling in a game again.I agree, there will never be another game like this because gamers have changed. If you were around for the original EQ, remember all of the rumors about high level zones? The instant death zone supposedly under Upper Guk? If you went into...um...forget the zone, where the original white dragon is...she'll randomly kill one player every hour. Lower level characters couldn't go from Freeport to Qeynos through Highpass because it was suicide, between the gnolls and griffins.

Then we all became complacent, and the internet had spoilers for everything. Kunark came out and it all began again. So many players were afraid to explore these giant zones, for fear of death. Standing in EC holding some junk Kunark weapon in those early weeks made you a celebrity. Exploration groups were made of multiple levels, and no one cared if they got experience - we were just creeping out to explore.

After Kunark I never experienced that feeling again.

Exploration groups were made of multiple levels, and no one cared if they got experience - we were just creeping out to explore.

After Kunark I never experienced that feeling again.

Heh, brought back memories of the claustrophobic halls of Howling Stones and the stifling canopy of lush green of Emerald Jungle; the oppressive nature of Skyfire Mountains and the drearines of Burning Woods (where are they this week?); the tension of those crawls to the Royals in Chardok and trying to get around in Old Sebilis. Great fun and great memories with some great friends. Recapturing that is quite improbable.

I'm guessing most of you haven't played EQ2 yet, huh?

Deep Sebilis runs *are* just as much fun as before, the biggest draw to the game is its throwbacks to EQ1 (sans Beastlords, of course).

So what happened to Final Destiny, I'm way out of the loop since I haven't been on Tribunal more than the first day it opened. That's the last I knew most of what was going on, though I do still follow the exploits of RIP some since a few of my old friends (most of which I don't even talk to anymore) are there.

FD finally imploded which either led to or was precipitated by the exodus of Dashmoo.

Rest in Peace still going strong, reveling in the Fabled Planes of Power month along with progressing through current content, SoF.

We're looking to start on Meldrath's Mansion right around the time that Fabled stuff ends, 3 weeks from now. :)

I'm guessing most of you haven't played EQ2 yet, huh?

Deep Sebilis runs *are* just as much fun as before, the biggest draw to the game is its throwbacks to EQ1 (sans Beastlords, of course).

I hate EQ2 Sebilis, itemization sucks, and I've been there more than any other RoK zone b/c of my stupid epic. I think I know CoA blindfolded and can run that instance in like 30 min with a stellar group. Maybe I'm just bitter over my epic but I liked EQ1 Seb better :D

FD finally imploded which either led to or was precipitated by the exodus of Dashmoo.

Rest in Peace still going strong, reveling in the Fabled Planes of Power month along with progressing through current content, SoF.

Fabled Planes of Power is almost enough of an enticement to renew account for a month.

Did Dashmoo quit game, or just guild? Getting to be fewer and fewer of the old names left.

Heh, brought back memories of the claustrophobic halls of Howling Stones and the stifling canopy of lush green of Emerald Jungle; the oppressive nature of Skyfire Mountains and the drearines of Burning Woods (where are they this week?); the tension of those crawls to the Royals in Chardok and trying to get around in Old Sebilis. Great fun and great memories with some great friends. Recapturing that is quite improbable.

How many years later and I still drop a "I think BW is off of EC this week" joke. Not many get it, but I end up chatting for quite some time about the old zones with those that do get it.

'How many years later and I still drop a "I think BW is off of EC this week" joke. Not many get it, but I end up chatting for quite some time about the old zones with those that do get it.'

- You can always tell an old timer by that joke :P

FD finally imploded which either led to or was precipitated by the exodus of Dashmoo.

Rest in Peace still going strong, reveling in the Fabled Planes of Power month along with progressing through current content, SoF.

My guild has in the last week breeched Crystallos. We have 4 events out of 11 so far. Triality (the only other guild currently in Crystallos, and a month ahead of us) has at least 6 of the events down. We are still raiding MMM obviously due to getting some more Meldrath flags and due to the fact that if a person wants an armor slot from Crystallos, they must have the coordinating armor item from MMM. We have done one fabled Time run with another one tonight supposedly. All other fabled stuff that's been done by my guildmates have been done by pickup raids (everything with the exception of the bugged Coirnav).

How many years later and I still drop a "I think BW is off of EC this week" joke. Not many get it, but I end up chatting for quite some time about the old zones with those that do get it.


Well see the problem with the joke, is in the joke it was called "Burned Woods" not "Burning Woods," and btw this week it's off of the Gorge of King Xorbb.

I thought it was Burnt Wood.....?

Thinking about that story still makes me chuckle to this day. :D

Nah, Burned Woods....

http://ancarett.com/eqhumour.html

My guild has in the last week breeched Crystallos. We have 4 events out of 11 so far. Triality (the only other guild currently in Crystallos, and a month ahead of us) has at least 6 of the events down. We are still raiding MMM obviously due to getting some more Meldrath flags and due to the fact that if a person wants an armor slot from Crystallos, they must have the coordinating armor item from MMM. We have done one fabled Time run with another one tonight supposedly. All other fabled stuff that's been done by my guildmates have been done by pickup raids (everything with the exception of the bugged Coirnav).

Taleran, as far as progression across all servers - how is Cestus Dei doing? And my m8 Goodurden with Momentum?

Just curious. Thx :rolleyes:

Cestus Dei and Momentum are chugging through MMM right now. Momentum recently had a significant rebuild, but I don't know much more than that.

Rest in Peace should be flagged for MMM and moving into it within the month.

Fabled is slowing us down a tidge , but who can blame us when the loot is of such quality and just pouring down our Bags O Holding!

The Fabled Binden neck thingie quest apparently is getting some attention, with mobs being contested a little once again.

Tempting to reactivate, just for the Fabled month. /sigh

... Lower level characters couldn't go from Freeport to Qeynos through Highpass because it was suicide, between the gnolls and griffins.

Hey... I made that run at level 5! Sorta. My best friend and I had both created humans. He was a paladin and started in Freeport. I created my character second, a druid which started in Surefall. I leveled up to 5 and headed out.

I think I ended up in SK (took a wrong turn somewhere). I was being chased by a lion when a level ~30 cleric found me. He guided me from SK to Freeport and bound me there. Asked for nothing in return, other than to help out newbs when I was higher level.

I remember a few kind higher level people helping me out from time to time, when I was a n00b Rogue.

When I play my Ranja, I hand out buffs to the n00bs I run into when I'm farming. Hopefully when they get to be higher level, they will pay it forward......

'How many years later and I still drop a "I think BW is off of EC this week" joke. Not many get it, but I end up chatting for quite some time about the old zones with those that do get it.'

- You can always tell an old timer by that joke :PA number of my students play WoW, and I've let it slip a few times that I'm a gamer. They think all the great jokes come from WoW, including references to Burned Woods. I think they overhear the old timers make the jokes, and try to make them fit.

They were blown away when I tried to explain that "pwned" is older than WoW. They all think I'm ancient and just don't get it. Fools!

As to trying to make the run from Qeynos to Freeport - I lost one of my first characters in the Karanas. Couldn't tell you where I was, but he died, and I just couldn't find the body.

Taleran, as far as progression across all servers - how is Cestus Dei doing? And my m8 Goodurden with Momentum?

Just curious. Thx :rolleyes:

Two nights ago, Goodurden apparently retired without leaving Momentum with a guild leader. The first person I heard mentioned as a potential guild leader for Momentum was Keredd (their raid leader, and not to popular with much of the membership). Add too that, Keredd from what I hear is on vacation and wasn't informed of this scenario(keep in mind I'm in a competing guild on the same server, so what I hear are mostly rumors except what I got out of one of their bards).

Basically what I'm saying is that Momentum seems to be in a heaping of trouble now.

Youch talked to Goodurden during this last beta and he seemed still enamored of the game. ;(

Sad news to see a former guildie retire like that.

Dahell Tale, you haven't linked me any of your goodness for awhile in game ;P Won't be on tonight but should be on next 6 days after that...hit me!!

Just click my magelo in my sig to see all my loots :P

That shit is just sick, Tal.

Think my Rogue will stay retired from the game.

holy crap, i can't believe you guys are still in EQ. That's nuts, I still have dreams about it sometimes.


That fucking scares me cause I have dreams about it from time to time too.

ding 70 /flex

On Grrrrr or Swifthawk?

Swifthawk, Grr (my second account)is 16

ding 70 /flex

Grats Grey; you'll pass my 77 Rogue(ret) pretty soon. :cool:

I had a dream a terminator was chasing me.... I tried to bust through some visquine (sp) and got caught up in it..... so I laid flat cover by the plastic and he went right by me!!! whew! then I woke up :)

Just for the hell of it, I downloaded and patched EQ to try again. My first response upon logging into the bazaar was WTF happened?

Couldnt find my effing way out so I had to portal to PoK, heh.

What didcha get Tale??

Hoping to nab a Fabled TRC sword soon myself!

Look at my magelo in my signature in my mainhand.

70 damage, 23 delay, 850+ hp

edit to add: We are only one more kill from trying Kerafyrm. We might potentially see Kerafyrm the Awakened tonight.

yeah they changed it so lag wasnt so bad and its a little easier to move around.

Ding 71 btw :)

A LOT has changed.

yeah they changed it so lag wasnt so bad and its a little easier to move around.

Ding 71 btw :)

A LOT has changed.

Back in '04 Nekko and I powerleveled Gekob's bard from lvl 1 to lvl 54 in under 4 hours. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Also congratulations on your accomplishment, Greystone... or should i say SWIFTHAWK!! (i am on to you)

Can't check magelo here at work I'm afraid.

70 dam in a bards main hand, good lord that'll put you up next to clerics in dps!!!/ducks Trikki loves the bard dps discussions /chuckle

well, prior to this weapon I could parse approximately 4000 dps on Orc in Solteris. I wouldn't gloss over bard dps anymore.

Hell, if I just turned on auto attack and did nothing else but play my songs, I parsed at 1600 dps prior to getting my new weapon last night.

As far as Trikki talking about bard dps, I've tried to give her some pointers over the last couple weeks as she's asked me. DPS is the most important thing to focus on for a raid bard anymore because with the instrument mod cap, there's not much difference in song power from an anguish bard with an epic 2.0 to me with my superior (albeit marginally) worn instrument mods. What separates a bard at my raid tier from a bard using a seven expansion old instrument mods is my dps and my HP (ability to survive aoe's and the like). The bard power curve doesn't scale as well as just about every other class due to the lack of tangible upgrades to our songs, and the fact our class focuses have been capped since Planes of Power.

And sorry for derailing your thread Kelraz. Can all my e-peen and related posts in this thread get moved to the Wow, I'm back in EQ thread please?

Sanchek edit: Yessir. Done.

The only thing stupider than the Department of Combatting Global Warming is still playing Everquest1 when Everquest2 is so much better :)

Feh Kelraz, still so much more content than EQ2 has atm. I've played EQ2 and it's not so hot. Tho having an apartment with trophies on the wall was purdy cool I must say.

The only thing stupider than the Department of Combatting Global Warming is still playing Everquest1 when Everquest2 is so much better :)

You know, other than the fact that no MMO has EVER had a class as cool as EQ1 bards.

My idea of a game doesn't involve have to hit X amount of buttons in a certain combo to get real damage. I felt like I was playing street fighter ;(

Back in '04 Nekko and I powerleveled Gekob's bard from lvl 1 to lvl 54 in under 4 hours. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Also congratulations on your accomplishment, Greystone... or should i say SWIFTHAWK!! (i am on to you)

Yeah Greystone is $150 and atm dont have it to spend. though at this point i would be paying for 9yrs of vet rewards and about 300AA's i already have better gear.

Don't knock the vet aa's!!

Think I use all of them soon as they are up heh

in all honesty i have a 71 druid with not so bad gear, spending $150 to have another?

The only thing stupider than the Department of Combatting Global Warming is still playing Everquest1 when Everquest2 is so much better :)


EQ1 does not have that ridiculous combat wheel thingie like EQ2 did (or still does, I don't know). That alone would have me opting for 1 over 2. EQ2 just seemed overly cumbersome to me, for some reason. And, EQ1 has a shitload of content, and will apparently be rolling out a new expansion each November.

Don't knock the vet aa's!!

Think I use all of them soon as they are up heh


Hehe, I still have a screenshot, I think, of Saintsaens as a female human paladin, thanks to the that foul little jester vet AA. :D

For some reason, he did not see the same humor as the rest of us.

LMAO that lil jester has put many evils upon me while I've had him up. But one time, 1 time he gave me a full mana bar and I used it to go nuke crazy!!!!

Two nights ago, Goodurden apparently retired without leaving Momentum with a guild leader. Basically what I'm saying is that Momentum seems to be in a heaping of trouble now.

I am sorry to hear Goodurden retiring. That is a loss for EQ. He is a nice guy from all I have seen. When a guildleader leaves like that usually means the death of a guild. :(

/flex /ding 72 phear me.

GRATS Grey! :)

Returning to EQ1, on Fennin Ro Server!!! woohoo

double post

I am sorry to hear Goodurden retiring. That is a loss for EQ. He is a nice guy from all I have seen. When a guildleader leaves like that usually means the death of a guild. :(

If you consider him assigning loot to his alt cleric before members of his guild and ebaying his character before passing leadership off to anyone being a nice guy, than yeah he's a 'nice' guy. I have heard nothing but contempt for him for the last two years because of the way he abused his power, and in the end ultimately shit on his guild mates.

I have nothing nice to say about him, but to thank him for all the nice apps to my guild since he destroyed his.

ugh, that's not the Goodurden I recall when he was in EW ;(

That has been quite awhile tho, everyone changes.

If you consider him assigning loot to his alt cleric before members of his guild and ebaying his character before passing leadership off to anyone being a nice guy, than yeah he's a 'nice' guy. I have heard nothing but contempt for him for the last two years because of the way he abused his power, and in the end ultimately shit on his guild mates.

I had no idea. :(
I am sorry to hear that.
That kind of behavior can make it difficult to have respect for the man.
Sounds like he was a farmer.....not a player per say.

EQ1 does not have that ridiculous combat wheel thingie like EQ2 did (or still does, I don't know). That alone would have me opting for 1 over 2. EQ2 just seemed overly cumbersome to me, for some reason. And, EQ1 has a shitload of content, and will apparently be rolling out a new expansion each November.

What are you talking about combat wheel? If you mean Heroic Opportunities then those are completely and utterly optional and not a requirement to play the game. Hell, the only time I even use them is during raids.

What are you talking about combat wheel? If you mean Heroic Opportunities then those are completely and utterly optional and not a requirement to play the game. Hell, the only time I even use them is during raids.

Maybe that is what it is called, hehe. I started EQ2 the day it came out, and only stayed with it for about 2 months, so it has been quite a while, and all I remember was that you would suddenly have some wheel thing pop up that you had to react to a certain way to make use of, and it was a distraction that only served to further sour my once grand expectations of the game.

Keep in mind tho', Fil, I am an old fart so distractions can be quite a big thing.

noted :p

Kerafyrm the Awakened dead to Crimson Tempest at approximate 12:30 AM EST on 4/16/2008.

Woot! Six months of farming now engaged /sigh.

ding 73....omg 70-80 is SLOW!

The wheel is for heroic opportunities, and no, you don't even have to use it. But it can get some good damage in if used correctly. Just add the heroic start tab to your hot bar and just include it in your attack lineup. I barely even notice it anymore actually.
(Little over 2 levels to 80 on my frog assassin and every little bit helps... hehe :D )

Grats on Kerafyrm Tal, and grats on leveling, Grey.

I have thought off and on of reactivating my account, but even grinding from 77-80 seems like such a drag now, I cannot muster the enthusiasm.

And, I am hearing they are now making pretty much everything prior to The Serpent's Spine open to anyone based on levels rather than doing the key quests (at least they are testing), so that is like a sharp stick in the eye again too!

Well Byl in the case of Demiplane of Blood you'll still want to do the Curseblockers and such.

Anything to help old players return and to lessen the requirement to help folks flag alts!!

The grind for me to 80 wasn't too bad after I re-activated. If you can find a good group at the farm in Dragonscale Hills, those 3 tasks from Siglik make xp move at a pretty decent rate honestly.

Nothing will ever compare to 45-50 back in the day... ugh. Now THAT was painful.

45 -50.....55 - 60.....level 35 back early on with the hybrid exp penalty!!!

OMG

As of the patch today on the live servers, the game is much more open to new players and returning players. There are two major changes that went in today, and there's one that will be coming up shortly. I'll detail these three changes for you Byl.

1) AA rate has significantly increased through 750 AA. Starting at 0 aa through 750, there's bonus xp assigned for players to attain core aa. The scale starts at 225% of the current aa xp at 0 aa and scales down linearly (but has jumps at certain smallish intervals) down to the standard 100% normal AA gain people see now at 750 AA.

2) Every flag in the game from Deathknell and lower has been, for all intents and purposes, removed. Players will still have to do one flagging run if a flagging run is required to request the tasks (like Tacvi for example). Players will also have to do the flagging requirements to get items like the Fetters needed to kill Ayonae Ro in Deathknell. These flagging changes are based upon the level of the character, but they are fairly low (like level 64 for time as an example). They've even removed group flags based upon level like Sebilis and Charisis (I believe these are opened at level 52).

This obviously will help lower tier guilds progress further by removing the constant backflagging, and will enable those same guilds to try new content in a more timely fashion.


Remember, the first two went live today. The third change I will detail is still a bit sketchy, but is something the devs have stated they'd like to address.

3) They are going to smooth out the number of kills needed to advance in levelling. This should increase the speed of levelling to level 75, and won't have much change at all on the levels after level 75. This should be a boon to the newer player, and to the returning player that's been gone for a few level increases.

Here's the flagging list that's opened...

- Required Level 46 -
The Howling Stones
Old Sebilis
Skyshrine to Cobalt Scar

- Required Level 55 -
Sleeper's Tomb
Veeshan's Peak
Vex Thal
Locked areas of the Temple of Ssraeshza

- Required level 57 -
Bastion of Thunder
Halls of Honor
The Temple of Marr
Tower of Solusek Ro
Drunder, The Fortress of Zek

- Required Level 60 -
Plane of Water
Plane of Air
Plane of Fire
Plane of Earth
Ikkinz
Uqua
Yxtta
Kodtaz

- Required Level 62 -
Plane of Time
Inktuta
Qvic

- Required Level 65 -
Txevu
Tacvi

- Required Level 68 -
Anquish

- Required Level 70 -
Dreadspire
Demiplane of Blood

- Required Level 72 -
Theater of Blood
Deathknell

It does make it much easier on guilds to be able to avoid those horrendous back-flagging raids, which can be a killer of enthusiasm.

Of that list, ToB and Deathknell were the two I had not yet completed, having passed them over and gone on to get my TSS flagging.

I do like that change on the AA exp.

Thanks for sharing the info!

eenie, meenie, minie, moe.......


I may yet dust off the lil ole Rogue.

Give us a holler should you pop your head up Byl!

Is the Plane of Nightmares still in game? I spent so many hours charm killing with those blood ravens, good times, good times.

Here's the flagging list that's opened...

- Required Level 46 -
The Howling Stones
Old Sebilis
Skyshrine to Cobalt Scar

- Required Level 55 -
Sleeper's Tomb
Veeshan's Peak
Vex Thal
Locked areas of the Temple of Ssraeshza

- Required level 57 -
Bastion of Thunder
Halls of Honor
The Temple of Marr
Tower of Solusek Ro
Drunder, The Fortress of Zek

- Required Level 60 -
Plane of Water
Plane of Air
Plane of Fire
Plane of Earth
Ikkinz
Uqua
Yxtta
Kodtaz

- Required Level 62 -
Plane of Time
Inktuta
Qvic

- Required Level 65 -
Txevu
Tacvi

- Required Level 68 -
Anquish

- Required Level 70 -
Dreadspire
Demiplane of Blood

- Required Level 72 -
Theater of Blood
Deathknell


That just made me SICK to my stomach. All those ENDLESS hours camping shit for all those keys... ffs. This is like a huge slap in the face to every veteran player that put in the hours to grind that crap out.

I can understand the AA xp thing. But just opening those zones up to anyone that meets the level restriction is just BS to me. Call me old fashioned... :devil

Oh I don't know Immo...

Being able to zone into Demiplane of Blood or Deathknee for any old player is one thing.

Being bitch slapped by ZiThulli or the opening gargoyle event in DK because you're wearing paper for gear is another heh

I used to feel exactly the same as you Immortalis, but the barriers to entry for eq are so steep now for a new player, EQ needs to make changes that help to reduce those. Add to that group attainable gear is better than all those raid zones listed there, and it won't make a huge impact on the game. Also, for most of those raid zones, there is still a run through of the raids prior to those zones required to enter the raid zone. This really just helps reduce the treadmill that mid/lower tier guilds found themselves on with constant backflagging that prevented them from moving forward.

I've raided everything in EQ. I'm flagged for every zone in EQ. I did every key/flag quest needed to raid in EQ. I see this as a good change for the long term viability of EQ, and also as something that potentially will bring back prior players that viewed coming back as too daunting of a task.

I'd rather have seen the requirements reduced but not dropped entirely--make it so that a guild only has to go through flagging raids and such once without worrying about future backflagging, but still having to do it that one time. Individual keys could be made much easier while still serving as an incentive to explore places that they wouldn't ordinarily go.

Oh well. The decision has been made, it seems.

Funny they are doing just the opposite in EQ2 that they are doing here. With the latest EQ2 expansion you must be flagged to enter the second tier of Tier 8 raid zones. It reminded me of EQ1 all over again, and now I read that EQ1 opens these zones up by level. How interesting.

I used to feel exactly the same as you Immortalis, but the barriers to entry for eq are so steep now for a new player, EQ needs to make changes that help to reduce those. Add to that group attainable gear is better than all those raid zones listed there, and it won't make a huge impact on the game. Also, for most of those raid zones, there is still a run through of the raids prior to those zones required to enter the raid zone. This really just helps reduce the treadmill that mid/lower tier guilds found themselves on with constant backflagging that prevented them from moving forward.

I've raided everything in EQ. I'm flagged for every zone in EQ. I did every key/flag quest needed to raid in EQ. I see this as a good change for the long term viability of EQ, and also as something that potentially will bring back prior players that viewed coming back as too daunting of a task.

I hear you, and I understand the reasoning behind it 100%. And I think that from a business standpoint this is the best thing that Sony can do to keep EQ viable for at least a few more years.

However they could have done things differently, for instance for those zones make it to where 1 flagged or keyd player can port in an entire group. For example how the key to xegony island works in PoAir. Not just drop the entire key/quest process in general. I mean when I saw VT and other zones like that on the list it just made my stomach churn. So many hours camping those freakin shards - so many headaches because of bugs not allowing certain drops to be dropped creating massive bottlenecks that did nothing but fuel guild competition and animosity - it just puts a foul taste in my mouth.

Just think if this were the case before, how much better all guilds would have gotten a long in the past... but oh well, it is what it is. I just dont think this had to be the "best" option they had. Most likely it was the easiest, but in my opinion definitely not the best. *shrug*

I think part of the problem is that while it's good for the newer people to not have to do the flagging, it kind of cheapens it a little imho. When i played EQ, and you got yourself flagged for an area, you had a sense of accomplishment that you'd done something not many other people had done. You were proud of being the elite. (At least for awhile). You had a sense that you'd actually done something to be proud of.
Not to say the new changes are all bad. It's just that it seems to cheapen the accomplishments of those who came before you. Time's change tho....wonder if clerics are still needed in EQ1? lol :D

Heh, clerics are most certainly still in demand!

I agree with the sense of accomplishment for achieving the VT key, and access to Anguish, and so on. I also see where many were never able to see Demi because they could not field a force to take out the Queen, or the same with Tacvi/Txevu and the prerequisite flagging.

Yes, the endless hours of camping mobs for the varied keys was a mind-numbing experience at times, but I would rather see those zones opened up now that most have moved beyond them and have more people in the game, than to have people quitting out of frustration at not being able to achieve what the game offers.

Bottom line is subscribers are required to keep the game operating, and SOE made a move that was least intrusive to the overall population designed to keep and expand subscriptions.

I just worry that they'll get to the point where all you'll have to do is log in and play a day or so and get good gear. too many mmo's out there that are so intent on getting subscribers they'll gimp the games themselves to make everyone happy.
As for Crys, i had PoTime and some slightly higher gear when i left in '05 and was about 10k in HP's buffed, so probably on the real lower end of average nowadays.... :p
What i do miss is kiting with my bard and playing on my beastlord. Just getting nolstalgic for the old days i guess.

I hear you, and I understand the reasoning behind it 100%. And I think that from a business standpoint this is the best thing that Sony can do to keep EQ viable for at least a few more years.

However they could have done things differently, for instance for those zones make it to where 1 flagged or keyd player can port in an entire group. For example how the key to xegony island works in PoAir. Not just drop the entire key/quest process in general. I mean when I saw VT and other zones like that on the list it just made my stomach churn. So many hours camping those freakin shards - so many headaches because of bugs not allowing certain drops to be dropped creating massive bottlenecks that did nothing but fuel guild competition and animosity - it just puts a foul taste in my mouth.

Just think if this were the case before, how much better all guilds would have gotten a long in the past... but oh well, it is what it is. I just dont think this had to be the "best" option they had. Most likely it was the easiest, but in my opinion definitely not the best. *shrug*

For Anguish, DK, Demiplane, and Tacvi (the 4 highest end zones of the opened zones today), you must have someone that's flagged to get the task to zone in. So for most of the harder zones, it's the case of either having to go through the content once to get a flagged member, or get someone that's been around for a while to get the tasks. I think that address the comment you suggested.

I think part of the problem is that while it's good for the newer people to not have to do the flagging, it kind of cheapens it a little imho. When i played EQ, and you got yourself flagged for an area, you had a sense of accomplishment that you'd done something not many other people had done. You were proud of being the elite. (At least for awhile). You had a sense that you'd actually done something to be proud of.
Not to say the new changes are all bad. It's just that it seems to cheapen the accomplishments of those who came before you. Time's change tho....wonder if clerics are still needed in EQ1? lol :D

Flagging tasks I did 2+ years ago have nothing to do with me feelign "elite" or a sense of accomplishment anymore. The things that give me those feelings are the recent content my guildmates and I have conquered. Raid zones with gear worse than group attainable gear aren't going to make anyone elite by having access or farming said content.

Allowing people to learn EQ scripting by using the older content and fine tuning the guilds abilities is what this content is most useful for. Keeping smaller guilds backflagging for years only leads to people quitting, it doesn't make those guilds more "elite."

Also, opening these zones isn't going to magically make guilds that skip a couple tiers of progression magically be able to beat the events, but sure can have some fun trying them.

Going to agree with Taleren here on current vs old raid content.

When, with a lil work, you can get group flagged for Crytallos and pick up gear argueably better than Dp or DK what's the drive for people in guilds to spend hours and hours flagging for raids that accomplish lil?

So here's an idea of the mudflation in EQ. Keep in mind, I am the second best geared bard serverwide, but this is still insane...

I soloed all 4 dragons last night in Sleepers Tomb. The first 3 each died in less than 5 minutes a piece and took no heal potions. The last one (the one with the unresistable slow) I soloed in 54 minutes with 21 heal potions.

Of course, no dwarf mask dropped, but I thought I would share the insanity that is high end EQ now. So yes, unleash me on a new server and I could solo wake the Sleeper!! haha that would rule.

Was fun waking him the first time ;P

Shoot, I still need that mask for my Rogue......

i do find struggles in the fact i cannot gimp much older content as a druid. Also, the almost completely made it unsoloable for druids in upper levels. Seems a TON of things summon, are unsnareable, or highly resistant.

Lots of stuff in DSH lack the ability to summon Grey.

Druid soloing is still alive and well, though it is almost always more productive to group (which is the way it should be). Charm soloing in a few locations is still quite productive; at levels 76-80 the place to do that is Loping Plains. The method is a bit different now that charmed pets have weak damage output: you want to send your unbuffed pet against a snared but otherwise unbuffed mob, wait until it is almost dead, break charm with Innate Camouflage, then finish off your former pet with a nuke or two.

As for soloing tough mobs, druids have never been especially good at that; we can't do anything nearly as impressive as what well geared clerics and shadowknights can do. Still, summoning doesn't automatically mean not soloable by a druid; it just means we have to take some damage in the process and keep ourselves healed. Fernspike and Skin of the Reptile are good tools to use.

i do find struggles in the fact i cannot gimp much older content as a druid. Also, the almost completely made it unsoloable for druids in upper levels. Seems a TON of things summon, are unsnareable, or highly resistant.

I still remember quite fondly Reveille and I (when I played Bylimet) quad kiting the Wyverns in Cobalt Scar. Fun times.

Cobalt Scar--ah, those were the times. I think it took a while to get my faction back up with the dragons though. Good money, good experience...

I still wonder how many wyverns I killed while quadding in CS. And damn Yvlcron or whatever his name was.

Lots of stuff in DSH lack the ability to summon Grey.

Yeah, too bad a lot of stuff (at least the stuff at the farm) is immune to changes in run speed hehehe.

Mino's , nymphs (or as Kristobel calls them "winged bitches") and brownies all can be root/snared.

Also quite a few faction quests involving them if you want to work on faction for your rk 2 spells/disciplines.

I hit the Mino's daily before raids as I'm working on Brownie Rebel faction.

yeah i can do those, but i lack some spells. No one likes to do the older isntance based spell dropping missions. i lack skin of reptile which i dearly want.

My issue is ATM, at 74, my single kiting xp benefit is low due to it almost takeing a whole mana bar to do it. Which is why quadding was nice. You used a whole mana bar but got 4 kills out of it.

Quad kiting has been dead for a long time. Charming is _much_ better, and if you ask me, a lot more fun as well.

At level 74, try charming in Icefall using your level 71 spell Beast's Beckoning. If you catch me at a time when I'm not raiding yet still at the keyboard (rare these days!) I can demonstrate. :)

I highly recommend the Entrap AA if you go that route, even if it means delaying levelling--get rank 2 as soon as possible. (I forget what the minimum level for rank 2 is, but you should be able to get at least rank 1 right away.) Snare is critical to safe charming, and the Entrap AA gives you a 14 minute snare that can be cast _between_ spells--no 2.25 sec recast time delay between snare and charm!

Entrap 2 for the win...

Vineleash cascade is also verra nice.

yeah i tried it...i need to be more patient, the proximity of the mobs made adds common, and the resistant nature of the beats hurt too. AGain i am probably out of practice. I charmed PoNight and PoStorm mayn year ago for LEVELS at a time so...i will give it another shot.

Adds can actually work to your advantage with the newer "reverse charming" strategy. Some druids deliberately have multiple mobs attack their pets at the same time, resulting in very quick kills (while increasing the risk of not getting credit for a kill due to waiting too long to break charm). Basically it's a weaker form of the bard "swarm kiting".

As for resists, are you using Glamour of Tunare? If you see Beast's Beckon Rk. II or Beast's Bewitching Rk. II for a reasonable price in the bazaar, pick it up; the built-in -15 resist check on Rk. II versions of the spells will help.

yeah i got GoT, and Rk 2. I am about to give it a whirl.

Ok, what expansions are included in the anniversary edition?

All EQ expansions from now on include all previous expansions, I believe. So if you pick up Secrets of Faydwer it should have all everything included. (New expansions will be released each November.)

Lost Fires is done, as a guild. Most of us that were with it for most of it's run are finished as well, as it would not be the same.

I love the game, as do many others, but there seems to be no place for the casual players or guild anymore, with the complexities of getting keyed/flagged for encounters requiring too much of a time sink, and there always seems to be a need to be backflagging. Obviously, everything else is going to be compared to the EQ experience, so it is doubtful anything will ever really capture that same level of involvement.

Real life wins out, in the end.

Actually they auto flagged everyone through Deathknell recently based soley on level.

Tons of casual guilds anymore if that's your fit. Hell I think the 2nd and 3rd guild on the server only raid aprox 3 nights a week?

Backflagging was actually at its worst around the DoD/PoR era. Things improved considerably with TSS (at least once some changes went in), and with TBS and SoF most of the flagging comes from completing single group tasks.

SoF did step up the timesinks overall, but largely because the expansion had to last for a year.

.... life wins out, in the end.

Living life always wins out. Games and TV are always time sinks but they are entertainment and can be a form of social interaction. They are fun! Take it as it is...just fun. :)

PS...there are more casual guilds out there than you can imagine. :)

Anyone got a link to a client download? I've been feeling the sudden urge to play EQ again. :p

:eek:Wow, I haven't seen these names in years. Hello all. Hope your all doing well :)

Ok, so I'm taking a little breather from Vanguard (Been at it constantly hehe, my sig doesn't show my other two alts), and am playing EQ casually.

I'm on Tribunal, and have my bard Binnuven there as well as my dark elf Necro. I can't remember how to spell his name yet hehe, but if you get a tell from a necro named Seluen or something like that, it's me. :p

Anyone else still playing on Tribunal?

Btw, need some advice on some maps, ui's and community boards for the tribunal site. Man, I'm so out of practice it's sick. Feel like a newb all over again LOL.

Maps: Mapfiend is still the place to go. http://eq.mapfiend.net/
UI: Lots of choices here. EQInterface is the standard place to go; you can download complete, maintained UIs or pick and choose the components that you want. http://www.eqinterface.com/
Community: These forums are as good as any. More EQ discussion happens here than on the "official" Tribunal forums: http://thetribunaldotorg.yuku.com/
Class forums and of course EQLive (http://forums.station.sony.com/eq/forums/list.m) are useful too.

I still play daily, though primarily to raid for now. :)

Bin,

You'll find an entire passel of us still playing in Rest in Peace.

Look us up and shout, if we're not being driven to the raid grindstone by our mad froggy HM we'll swing by and say howdy ;)

Sweet! Hehe, will do!