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.
Yeah, they are making this game like wow to much. And why am I reading this. Well the servers are down…again :( This is sad to read. I remember that new game box smell, and now it smells a bit rotten. I wish we could see some revamp of old content and get off this cycle of beta release beta release beta release!
What has RoK meant to me?
Well I have found myself not logging in for the past 3 days now – and I normally log in religiously for at least an hour every night, just like some people may read a book before bedtime.
I used to have 4 characters, one from each archetype – Fighter, Mage, Scout, and healer.
Now I find I only play Mage (Wiz) and Scout (Swash) in the new expansion because of their high DPS.
For the first time in ages – the small casual guild I belong to has lost a few members who have migrated to bigger guilds for raiding and instance play.
I don’t wish to sound like I hate EQ2 now – but it is going to mean a change of play for me. No more is it worth logging in for an hour to have a quick run around and kill stuff.
Perhaps I will start a new character and play through the old zones that I have not visited in a long time, and will call level 70 end of game for a while.
I have even thought about using my laptop to 2-box, although not sure if I will like doing that yet – going to try the weekend with a 7-day trial account.
There are 3 more instances still in the works and at least 3 more raid zones. Hopeully they will learn from their mistakes. Unfortunatly we all suffer from one mjor defect.. being human. We can all learn fom then so we do not make them again.
personally, i dont mind the expansion so much…its going to be hell grinding all my alts up to 80 soloing the same quests over and over and over again. Grind groups are nonexistant because the exp is simply far better in questing or old world grinding. also, guilds are ready to raid the endgame boss, 3 weeks into the expansion. it shoudlve taken FAR more time to get to Trak’anon. so, we now have 11 months of repeating quests on alts (which have a sort of linear thing), doing rok raidzones or eof raids to fill the time between zones (since all of t1 raids take about 30 minutes or less), and farming mobs for masters (and when released, epic quests). For rok being so huge, it just doenst feel like theres much to do. /shrug, the best part always was/is/will be raiding, so ill keep playing :P
Its natural for any expansion to have a hangover period. Everybody was just way too interested in hitting 80 right away and taking on the higher content immediately. In my opinion they should have seperated the instances like they did in every other tier. One for 70-73, one for 73-76, and the rest 77 with a couple harder ones for level 80s. Instead, they just gave us 10 “free” levels and some gear that makes all my fabled gear from t7 look like crap. In 3 weeks – 3 weeks!!! – there are NUMEROUS raid guids at endgame content again. It wouldn’t be a problem if they were releasing expansions every 2 months… but we’re not getting a new one for a year! I think what most people are coming to that realization now and it’s killing motivation.
Just my opinion.
Ouch, im still yet to join in with RoK (Although I hit 70 last night, go me!) as im waiting for my wife to catch up so still busy doing old school dungeons at the moment, but this sounds so bad. I played WoW since launch and got totally fed up with the game, I dont really want to be playing another game which is in essence a carbon copy, just not done as well!
I think that it may feel ok for my wife and I as we will do nothing but duo, and if one gets ahead on a quest then we help the other catch up. Time will tell.
As for the guild drama, I really feel for you. I remember having some drama on Oasis before I transferred off to join the Euro servers, wasn’t pleasant. All I can say is keep looking for that guild that is right for you. Im lucky enough to be in a very mature guild (with many married couples I might add) which makes the game a lot more fun!
Doesn’t help that every other night when I get home (4am PST), theres always a 1 hour server maintenance that somehow drags on to 3 hours, leaving me with no chance to play the game at all.
well accidentally hit return before i finish my comment.
My guild has been slighting different. I believe the difference is we have a lot of wife/husband teams, and they will leave together or get together and level. And a lot of the people who would end up by them self will join them. Also i don’t know if it cause of the server or what, but if someone need help doing something in my guild 1/2 the guild is will drop what they are doing and go help. Maybe thing will change now that are first RoK raid is planed for this weekend.
But i do aggree with a lot of what you and Average Joe and a lot of other (my self included) have been saying
I second that.. Amen!!!
Amen.