Just not Feeling it
stargrace Lately, I just can’t agree more with posts like this one from Average Joe. You can’t just take a game like EQ2, where we’re all pretty comfortable with the method of leveling for the past 70 levels (sure, we gripe about the ‘grind’ but it’s really not THAT bad) and then implement the method that we see in RoK. It’s as one friend told me, they basically adapted to the WoW method of leveling – except they implemented it more then half way into the game, and poorly at that. There’s a reason the method works in WoW, and why it’s now failing in EQ2.
I’m discouraged logging in and finding only two guild mates on. The length of time it takes me to complete any quests with a healer, and the fact that if I’d like to group, I’m not going to find one for my troubador. Raids who asked for me to play a troubador are now asking for healers. The server log in is atrocious and just plain annoying. The crashes, roll backs, and lack of connectivity, are becoming unacceptable. I’ve praised sony plenty over the past three years, but I’m beginning to seriously question if this is the game for me. I’m actually beginning to miss Vanguard. Yes, the game was filled with bugs, which is why I ultimately quit it, but it was complex. The character models were ugly, but having three areas to level my one character (crafting, diplomacy, and adventuring) was unique. The classes themselves were unique. Having healers with stances, for example. I wish it had less bugs.
I hate the way EQ2’s decided to "wowify" themselves. If I wanted to play WoW, I would. In fact that’s why I have a subscription still active there, for those moments when I need to get away from EQ2 and take a break. Now they may as well both be the same game, with a few variables (pvp, etc). I’m starting to miss the PoA leveling, the SoS, the abundance of instances (Nest, Den, Blackscale, HoF, Vaults) and rewards that were on par with the risks involved. I’m actually tired of getting legendary items for walking 5 feet and hailing another npc in a chain of killing x number of y mobs, and walking 10 feet to another npc, rinse, repeat. DPS classes and even tanks are given a huge advantage in RoK leveling, even classes who are only mediocre dps still leveled fairly fast. At least my bard had track. She could kite. It was slow, but not painfully. My warden at least can do a little dmg and she has her thorn shield. The mystic, slow. Very. The templar, still doesn’t even have her sokokar quest completed yet. I could spend an hour killing Drolvarg alone if she were to solo it. Yes, I know "get a group!" …. ok. EVERYONE is solo’ing. They join together to do the heroic quests, and to complete instances, but other wise, they’re out there on their own. Not interested in a group. So why not duo the quests? Fine, it still takes me and the duo an hour to accomplish things. The quests looked unique when I first saw them, and interesting. However now that I’ve completed over 300 RoK quests, I notice the pattern between them all and how they actually lack creativity. Some of the rewards for quests are also the same as previous quests I’d already completed. I’m sure subscriptions are at an all time high, but unless something changes, and sony acknowledges that there’s an issue, I’m just not sure where I see things going.
Side note. The guild drama. It’s got to stop, soon, I hope. How did things go from being fine and having 24 people easily one day, to having maybe maybe 5 people log in now. Officers who are off completing major quest lines with other guilds and leaving their own behind. The theory of "every man for himself" is just so much clearer now and I dislike it immensely. This game wasn’t supposed to be WoW. That’s why I liked it.