I just want to set the record straight for a few people out there who may not really understand what all the hype these days is about the newest EQ progression server. From my perspective, (not saying this is the same for everyone, although I’m sure there are some others who share my opinion) the point of going back to this 12 year old game and re-experiencing the content is NOT because we all want things to be harder. That being said, as soon as we ‘discover’ just how hard it is, we’re not suddenly giving up. The point of this whole experiment (at least for myself) is to experience the COMMUNITY for what it used to be.
An example. I spent this weekend in at least 6 different groups, meeting 30 different people (most of them quite nice). We sat at our respective camps while rangers pulled and warriors tanked, talking about everything under the sun because in EQ you’re not constantly button smashing. You have time to get to know who you’re grouped with in between your pulls. If you really want a true EQ experience you’ll look for a group every chance you get, and when that doesn’t work you’ll start a group yourself. I spent the first part of my weekend in Misty Thicket working on getting the cleric back to level 10 where the druid was sitting. Thanks to numerous Orc groups it wasn’t that long before I reached it. After hitting level 10 Ninga and I decided it was time to see more of the world (and what a very crowded world it is right now) so we headed first to Freeport to bind ourselves there (not wanting to walk across Kithicor forest again due to a death) and from there we headed to the desert of Ro.
We attempted to duo some things while we were LFG – but zombies, madmen, and other nasty critters were only too eager to make the experience a memorable one as they seemed to flank us on all sides. After running a few times down to South Ro we finally got into a group with a druid and a necromancer, and were quickly joined by another monk and a shaman. We set up camp in the desert up against a wall, which is where we saw everyone else (all along the wall) doing similar, then pulling to the camp. Ruins also work great, in EQ you always need a ‘home base’ wandering around from mob to mob is typically a bad idea. It didn’t take long, an hour or two and I managed to inch my way to level 11 which grants me my first ‘real’ hitpoint buff, symbol. I haven’t checked if it takes a reagent yet, but I bet it does. I probably can’t afford it, either.
I’m having so much fun playing EQ again that I’ve decided to keep playing it as my main game. I won’t be playing Rift at release, instead I’ve activated my 2nd EQ account, and I’m going to be boxing an enchanter along with my cleric and I’ve managed to convince Ninga to keep playing (not that I had to convince very hard). If you want to group up please feel free to add Velours to your friends list, and /join twitterchat to see who is around (you can /list # to see the specific people in a channel). Keep in mind you can also join this channel from EQ2 (or Vanguard) by /join eq.fippy.twitterchat.
Today marks the first ‘real’ day of the server – it’s the first day where free accounts are not enabled. I’m expecting the population to decrease but from what I saw on channels there should still be a healthy amount of players. A good number of them said that they would be subscribing and continue to play – at least until the expansion that “killed it all” for them which ranged from a few different ones.
I think if SOE plays its cards right and gave two free weeks every time the server releases a new expansion it could be a very good thing. Speaking of progression last night the server witnessed its first Nagafen kill as well as Lady Vox. That is probably the only down side to playing on a progression server, I’m unsure of whether or not I’ll get to partake in any old school raids until they are also old school on the progression server. I’m going to try, but we’ll just have to see.
Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself! I’ll see you in (old) Norrath.
I am too eager to find out what will happen to the two progression servers. I played this morning, but I bet that will be the end of the free ride. In the few days I played, I got to 4th level (exclusively soloing).
There is much to be said about EQ and its harsh game mechanics. It seems the more it punishes me, the more I want it. Everquest II gives me everything freely and it ultimately cheapens the entire experience.
I am at the crossroads now on deciding my fate. . .