EQ2 or WoW

[Howitzer]

This decision is going to drive me crazy. I was talking to the clerk at an EBgames. His Guild is divided between the 2 games as well. According to the clerks where I live in AZ, USA WoW is outselling EQ2 in pre-orders. But that may be because many EQ fans pre-ordered long ago. And one area may be different from another.

On the good side Trimethicon gave me his extra pre-order for EQ2 and I'm playing WoW Beta stress test 2. As well as playing the first. It will give me a chance to compare the 2 and make up my own mind on which one is better to me. I'm having a blast with WoW. Leveled a Tuaren Druid to 10 last night. What a hoot transforming into a bear and kicking some butt. I hear EQ2 has a similar character. I will have to explore it when I get there. Unfortunatly there are no pre-order kits available for EQ2 at the stores in my area. So I guess I'm not going to pre-build my character.

Anyway I'll see you in some game some where coming to TOG soon.

[BlindTyldak]

I'll be very interested to see what you think. While I won't be playing EQII (I got burned too hard by Sony with SWG) I've heard a lot of good things about it. I also know that a lot of the good folks in the Dev and Community management teams went over there.

[Delim]

Initially I was all for playing EQ, but since wow has moved up the release date(I was thinking 2005) I'll be playing mostly wow. Im still buying both, but since time is precious and I can only do one game properly at a time, I'm leaning into WoW for the pvp option.

[Twiz]

And the opposite of Delim, I lean toward EQ2 because it has NO PvP!

Been messing around with the WoW beta and seems okay, and did the initial stress test, but just don't think I will ever get past the cartoonish look...kept expecting the Roadrunner and Coyote to come running by...

I am pretty much of the group that says the games are for two different types of gamers...EQ2 for those that want an RPG and WoW for those who want to level up quickly and duke it out in PvP. Nothing wrong with either type, I just prefer to play in a world free of ganking.

[GhostDog]

I think WoW will be a more 'casual' MMORPG than EQ2. The depth of the guild features in EQ2, and the 'heroic' opportunities functionality seems to favour much more organised groups than the gameplay of WoW. WoW guilds are just for show and a convenient communication system, really - a player is just as effective whether they are guilded or not.

And WoW PvP will not be about ganking (assuming you are using the term to refer to the act of opportunistic killing of players when they are busy with environment-based quests). Once people get to sufficiently high level - it is full-on open war. I've seen it, been in it, and it's a heck of a lot of fun to be involved in or on the receiving end of an organised raid. Reminds me of the epic battles of PlanetSide, but in fantasy setting.

WoW is a delight to play. The game is awesome as you explore and level up, all which happens reasonably quickly. After 6 months or so, the top level PvP action will be the deciding factor of it's logevity, I think.

I also think people will start and progress many more characters in WoW than in EQ2. You can get to level 10 in one long sitting, and by then you have a very good flavour for the style of the race and class.

[Twiz]

Originally Posted by GhostDog

And WoW PvP will not be about ganking (assuming you are using the term to refer to the act of opportunistic killing of players when they are busy with environment-based quests).

Exactly what I meant ... have they implemented something to prevent say lvl 40s from arbitrarily killing lvl 10s? I realize there are PvE servers, but it is the ability of the player killing hunting groups where this is exactly what happens that keeps me off of PvP servers and out of PvP.

I had read early on about an honor system where you would actually lose something if you did it, but recently have not seen anything on it, which leads me to believe the PKers may have won that battle...

[Delim]

I think the point twiz is that leveling in WoW shouldnt be compared to say eq live pvp. Like GD said one good playing session will yeild you level 10. WoW isnt desinged to be a heavy duty grind game like EQ. If you played original eq, which i think you did, you know the grind is not an easy one and guess what? As soon as people top to lvl 50 there will be an expansion and then lvl 60 or 70 etc etc etc etc. All along the game favors power gamers and power guilds. I know I am one.

What attracts me to WoW is that people dont have to grind their assess off to enjoy top end content after a month or so everyone will be sufficient level. Your analogy of a lvl 40 stomping down a lvl 10 really doesnt hold in wow because if your lvl 10 after a months play, then you havent even logged into the game. Also, pvp is optional in WoW. Eq doesnt even have that option and whether people like it or have had bad experiences with pvp its a part of a game that can bring major excitement. PvE encounters cannot get my heart pumping like a pvp encounter. The more options in a game the better.

As far as graphics I prefer simplistic designs. I played shadowbane for 8 months and the graphics were terrible for the most part, but the game was very exciting. Unfortunately that didnt equate to game stability as every large encounter we had game crashes. If WoW crashes when its war time I wont be hanging around for 8 months if they cant fix that. I have faith in blizzard that this wont be a problem.

As GD said having multiple characters across many environments is also a big plus and not having to kill a camped mob ad infinitum is a big plus in my book. I've had enough camping, kill stealing and level grinding in past mmos to deserve a treat of easy leveling and all out massive wars where 100's of players are involved!

Once again to each his own but for casual gamers wow should be a better experience and pvp is there if you want it, its a choice its not mandated.

[BlindTyldak]

The anti-ganking system is still going in in full force, as it protects not only the lower level players but also NPC's. If you gank players/necessary NPC's (like trainers or gryphon handlers) you lose honor. That might not seem like such a big deal, but if you lose honor you lose access to high-end equipment, mounts, areas, clothing, etc. On top of that, if you fall too far, whether you are on a PvP or PvE server, you become constantly attackable by anyone anywhere, even of your own faction. They will be reviewing this system as the game goes forward, and tweaking it to be harsher if necessary.

As for the games to be "EQ2 for those that want an RPG and WoW for those who want to level up quickly and duke it out in PvP", I couldn't disagree more. I am only a PvP'er in WoW because they made they system fun and valuble; in every other MMO I've played, I haven't PvP'd for more than a total of maybe 3 hours in six years of various games. I was a die-hard Trammelite, never left the safe regions of Hibernia, made my faction points by running Fed-Ex missions for the Empire, and lasted a total of 20 minutes in Lineage II, lol. The RPG in WoW is there moreso than any other MMO I've subscribed to or tested, which at last count I believe was ten. In WoW I expect to probably spend about 20% of my time PvP flagged and the rest enjoying the RPG aspects of the game client.

I think (if I understand EQII correctly) that perhaps a better description will be that EQII is more geared toward friendly, cooperative gameplay, while WoW is more geared toward personal gameplay; not that grouping isn't allowed or rewared, I've just seen it moreso in other games.

[Ellianora]

I have been trying the Wow stress test and must say it is a fun game. I like how everythiing is driven in the game and the armour priices are not insane.
Not to crazy about the avatars though. It is a nice break of Lineage and lots of fun. Though if EQ 2 holds true to its promises it will be even better. Plus, like Twiz I'm not big into PvP and like no PvP in EQ 2.

[Ashrack]

I've stayed far away from EQ even though many of my friends got heavily involved. I didn't want to pay for continuing environment, and just made excuses for keeping away.

However, I've gotten nearly everything Blizzard has ever made, love the graphics style, LOVE the warcraft storyline and I'm totally caught up in the environment already. WoW takes it to the next level and from the moment they announced it's production, I knew I'd be sucked in. The one missing component was a group of gamers to play with.

I played CoH with some local friends, but we could never coordinate schedules, and it just wasn't as fun to gang up with random strangers and hope they have a clue as to how to play in a group. I needed something more.

Then I come across TOG and I can't believe how fortunate I felt. It was the first link I clicked on from the WoW forums, and it was almost too good to be true. I really look forward to playing WoW full time now. Just have to remind myself that I still need to work/sleep/eat at the same time.