Bit of background....
I have been playing SOE's (previously Verant Interactive)games for around 5 years now. I started eq pre-Kunark and left just before Dragon's of Norrath and soon after GoD (Gates of Discord) expansions to come to EQ2. What I found I liked, but there were a few issues.
The main benefits I found were...
1. Good intro tutorial.
2. Amaaaayzing terrain and character graphics.
3. Large selection of spells and classes.
These, after a few months, revealed themselves to me in their true colours.
1a. Almost no emphasis on quests after the intro tutorial, instead on grinding.
2a. Dull, lifeless terrain with no thought put into it (tell me the commonlands are nice to look at and i'll laugh in your face).
3a. 4 classes
What I loved about the original Everquest, the diversity, the complexity, the freedom to do what you want with what skills you have, the obvious tender loving care that had gone into creating the game, the humour ("Teaching snakes to kick."), ALL of it had been leeched out in favour of egalitarian blandness. Where once, there were different items that did different things, now there were sets of items that you could get per level. Items per slot did all the same things, they did nothing different. Head items were ALWAYS +int +wis. Nobody levels in any way different to any others.
I ask, what was so bad about fear kiting that it was destroyed? Likewise, quad kiting, charm kiting, aggro kiting, bard dot kiting. There was nobody who was 'damaged' by these... sure, some people didnt like them because they were 'unfair' but there are always whingers. When I quad-kited with my druid, i was proud, yes PROUD because I was using all my abilities in the best way, as opposed to a far less imaginative route.
EQ2 destroyed everything in the EQ franchise that was dear to me. All those quirky little in-jokes that only people who played eq would know. I never once even heard about a virtual wedding taking place in the world of EQ2, yet I even SAW many of them happen in the original EQ.
It used to be fun. It used to be a hobby. It used to care about the game itself and not just for how many new people it can get to pay the bill. If you think I'm wrong, just look at "Trial of the Isle" and the recent Station Exchange. Sony have lost track of the original dream, perhaps this happened years ago... Personally I believe it happened when Gates of Discord came out. It has been changed into a commercial, bland entity.
I have tried to have fun. I have tried, since release, to enjoy Everquest II. I have failed. I used to think about EQ all the time, think about what I would be doing that evening, what amazing new thing I would discover and whether or not I would be able to get the BFG. Logging onto EQ2 was a chore for me.
The only, and yes i do mean ONLY thing that I enjoyed about EQ2 was doing big damage with my berserker. Now they have taken that from me and I can see no reason why I should keep playing.
I never thought I would do it, but I have moved to WoW. It is with great sadness that I write this, my lament to love's labours lost. That was what eq was, a labour of love. EQ2 is, and always was, a business opportunity.
Farewell.
Trahelion Skyeflyte, 63 Half-Elf Ranger of Morell-Thule. Proud member of Wandering Warlords.
Magefyre, 61 Erudite Magician of Morell-Thule. Proud Lone-Ranger and ************
Muluven Canabellum, 54 Wood-Elf Druid of Morell Thule. Proud founding member of Wandering Warlords.
Bruce Almightye, 39 Gnome Berserker of Befallen. Top Dawg of Legends.
Beatrice Russo, 27 Half-Elf Brigand of Befallen. Initiate of Bloodthirsty.
Tutenkhamen Ra, 25 Iksar Inquisitor of Befallen. Lone-Wolf.
I bid you adieu.