One of the main reasons I enjoy EverQuest is that there is simply so much to do. While there may not be player housing (which draws me to Vanguard as well as EQ2) there is so much other stuff I never feel as though I have nothing to do. This also comes with a downside though – you can feel overwhelmed, like there is too much to do. If you’re a fan of alts (and lets face it, I can’t even pretend that I’m not) this may make you feel even MORE overwhelmed because of the desire to accomplish everything on all characters.
Take for instance crafting. It’s a long complicated process (that has gone through many changes over time) especially if you take into consideration the crafting trophies. Then there are also the aa you dedicate to the skills. Not to mention the fact that any character can learn all crafts (minus tinkering and things like alchemy and poison making). Countless hours go into farming supplies for crafting, and if not farming, well a whole lot of money goes into the process. That’s just one aspect of the game.
Questing is another complicated side. Have you heard of the quest Breakdown in Communication (also known as BiC)? It’s one of the longest quests in game and people worked for (literally) years completing it. Yesterday my group started working on a second one that came out with The Buried Sea for a hand augment. The quest chain is 39 tasks long. I think we got close to 10 of them done yesterday, maybe 8. Each quest rewarded a bit of bone that I assume gets combined into the final skeletal hand augment by the end of things.
What makes things even more complicated is that this quest in particular is a solo quest. If you do it in a group (as I was, with two others) it takes even longer because none of the drops are group drops. You’re not just looking for 10 ultra-rare bottles of rum, you’re looking for 30. It’s one aspect of EQ I wish would change to encourage grouping a little more.
If I’m not in the mood to quest nor to craft there’s always just plain leveling. Already at the cap of 85? No worries, there are a LOT of achievement points to obtain. Afraid of not being able to catch up? Since the points now scale based on how many you already have it’s quicker then ever to gain a few. Especially if you are in a hot zone.
Simply exploring some place new is great too. Just watch out because you may find yourself lost (as I do, often) or being chased down by large groups of angry critters.
The only time I find myself floundering on what to do in game is when I’m personally feeling restless and that’s simply because there is so many options I can’t settle on just one. Give me a game that offers me multiple venues to explore and that’s the game I’ll end up sticking with the longest even if it’s a combination of questing and pvp and crafting or some other weird combination. I’m sure the main reason for my choices comes from the fact that I have quite a bit of spare time to play these games. People who are a little more restricted in that aspect may dislike the fact that there are so many choices and so many paths to take. A game with fewer options can easily become appealing if you’ve only got time for so much.
Enough with the rambling! The druid hit level 72 yesterday, exploring through The Buried Sea working on the hand augment quest and then hanging out in Valdeholm for the evening. The enchanter is practically level 79, but I just didn’t have the patience last night to try to gain the last 3% she needs. When you’re watching the experience bar it seems to just stand still.
Today? Crafting, aside from some real life chores. I’d really like to get my halfling tailor her craft trophy and there are of course numerous other side quests I’m looking forward to doing.
Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!