The Mines of Gloomingdeep (Revamped) #EverQuest
stargrace 
I was never a big fan of the mines of Gloomingdeep tutorial when it was implemented. I felt like it took forever to complete, the gear was not very good, and it didn’t actually teach me anything I needed to know about Norrath. I would normally skip the tutorial and head to Crescent Reach, which had a lot of very nice quests for level 1+. From there I’d go to whatever the lowest level hotzone was at the time.
So it was nice to see that the tutorial has been revamped, again. I was feeling a bit lost on my level 90 characters still so I created a magician. I’ve never played one before but I hear they’re great for solo play (or for ‘moloing’ which is a new term I’ve picked up from the forums). There are achievements now for listening to the NPCs drone on about maps, communication, and achievements. You can hire a mercenary while in the zone, which is great because right away you can start talking to someone that won’t ever answer you back.
The gear has been given a make over as well, and I found it better than the defiant items that drop within the zone. The quests are more detailed, and the new map system works very well. I still wish there was more information on what to do later on in the game, if you happen to have left around level 90, but it’s really not that difficult for me to figure out. I’m just a bit lonely seeing as no one I know plays any more (I’m trying to work on that).
I even managed to get an augment in the tutorial, complete with an explanation on how they work. You don’t need to place augments in bird baths any more, you just put the item on your mouse pointer and drop it onto the augment slot on your gear. Much better (imo). Over all things have been streamlined, but they’re still quite difficult, it’s still a game that doesn’t give anything to you on a silver platter.
I spent last night in North Kaladim harvesting mushrooms and bits for Kaladim Constitutional. Out of 300 combines, I managed to get from 273 to 281. I’ve got a ways to go still until I reach 300 in brewing but I’m looking forward to it. I had grand ideas of one day having 300 in all of my crafts, but in order for that to happen I would have to actually settle down and stick with a game. I have been contemplating doing that exact thing, I get tired of wandering some times, but we’ll have to see.
Anyhow. It’s been really nice to be back so far. Guilds are still recruiting, and with the 19th expansion only months away there are players returning all of the time. Not to mention the game is F2P, so if you’ve wanted to peek in on your characters and see how Norrath is doing, there really is no better time.
As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!