tutanbriarpaw wrote:
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I ask any ropleplayers out there to please comment on how it is in EQ2
It's difficult to find any RP'ers, even on the RP servers. You might look for a RP style guild to help with that. I have a character that I use for strictly roleplaying - not sure how my guild is taking it, but they are all good sports.
I have to disagree here a little. I tink it larger depends on server/level. I find a lot of RP on Lucan D'Lere, from the occasional in chat channels, to running into people, to guilds. No one RPs 100%, but I see a lot more in general RP then in WoW. Aka in the chat channels and such. Like in WoW, the best thing is to find a good guild though.
tutanbriarpaw wrote:
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but how big is the game world
Literally hundreds of zones, with dozens of huge overland zones.
Again, I have to disagree a little also. Yes, there are a TON of zones, yes the zones are HUGE. However, one thing that is a little deceptive is most of the zones are dungeons, which you have no chance to go very deep in solo unless you are about 6ish levels ABOVE the zone/dungeon level. Even then, unless you are a full ten above the highest mobs in the zone (normally bosses) you wont be able to do as much on your own. Now, that doesn't mean there isn't a lot to do outside the zones solo and such, nor does it mean no one ever goes into those zones. But, if you are looking for a more WoWish experiance with basically soloing from 1 to cap, stick to WoW. EQ2 is more of a middle ground between forced grouping (aka FFXI) and fully solo to cap then forced grouping at end-game. Even a duo will help out a ton with where you can go and what you can do though.
tutanbriarpaw wrote:
You can get around by several means. Running with speed buffs, horses that you mount and gallop around, and flying carpets. There are also griffon towers in certain zones, just like WoW. They don't take you to different continents, but to the other side of the same zone.
Cities have piers with "bells" that will transport you to various locations within the city. Imagine it as a subway system.
Not going to disagree here, just going to expand on what you said some :P
Only a few classes (namely scouts and a few priests) get speed buffs as a class ability. Everyone gets a "Sprint" move that increases movement speed by 40% for 1 minute... at the cost of 3% power (aka mana/rage/energy all rolled into one) per 3 seconds. Well iirc.
Mounts are available at level 1, provided you have the plat, which that actually be very expensive w/o being a guild. The "Bells" are available at any level, and you can buy tickets in your home town to travel directly to (some) of the higher level zones rather then having through a low level to get to a higher.
For example, at 30 I personally go to a place called the Enchanted Lands to quest/exp. To get there I have 2 main ways to get there. I can either take a bell out to Commonlands (I could also run out the front gate) then run/fly (from a Griffon which is actually nearer the bell) into Nektolus Forest, and from there to the dock where I can take the bell out to EL. On the flip side I could pay for a ticket out to Nek. Forest and then just jump on a boat out to EL from there. I've heard you can (maybe used to) directly purchase tickets out to EL, but i've not been able to find that NPC. Nek. Forest and Thundering Stepes are the main travel hubs for 30+, and you can buy tickets to both, and both link to each other but not to the lower level zones. The bells in town are mostly for getting around town and maybe out to the 10-20 zone if you don't want to run out the front gate from the zone(s) it is in.
tutanbriarpaw wrote:
Very stable. Even though there are gold-farmers, the market is not impacted by them. Prices are determined by the players that sell their items. Free trade policy is in effect, where the lowest price usually sells fastest. Sometimes you'll find an item priced for some outrageous amount, but it jsut sites there.
Can you name a game where free trade isn't isn't in effect and where players aren't free to put something up for whatever they want? I'll admit i've only played WoW and FFXI besides EQ2, but in both of those I could put something up for whatever I wanted to. Sometimes it just wasn't smart to highly undercut the going price (ffxi price history) or place something for way too low (WoW's "suggested price thing, which is now pretty much in EQ2 with the "max" you can get from a vendor showing) though. Sure, the economy in FFXI was totally ruined by gil sellers, but the players were also slightly at fualt too. We could have not payed those high prices or price our items lower, making them sell first and if people would catch the lower price it would essentially lower the going price.
Other then that I do agree, the economy is very stable, if not shifting towards an alt's market (it's actually almost there already im) with things being a bit high in price for it's level. 30g for a master 1 at level 20ish is just insane, but they do sell rather then just sit up. Some could argue that they are worth that much just for their rareness, but enough people find them/sell them you would think it would be a bit less... Hell I had 3 drop in a group I was in a couple days ago. Took us maybe 2 hours or so to run through this instance and we got 3 Master 1s and many other great items.
10+ for a weapon/armor at 20ish (hell 30ish too) is just insane. They don't sell that often at that price, but they do occasionally. I'm talking about the non-rares here... the rares i've seen listed for close to a plat. What kind of person (besides a twinked alt) has that kind of money? Even with being a weaponsmith and playing the market some i've only made like maybe 150gold ish selling things (aka 1.5 plat) on the broker, aka the AH. Of course i've not got many "rare" drops/harvests. So if you get really lucky...
However, even with that, the economy still isn't that bad and most way overpriced things wont sell.
tutanbriarpaw wrote:
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do you find more value and connection with a character outside of combat and dungeons?
Guilds are the mainstay to casual hanging out and socializing. Players that log on typically are down to business to knock out some quest steps, kill a named, or grind a little exp.
Special clothing requires certain guild levels to unlock the items from the merchants. Armor has only recently become varied and different. There are several items that are more common or better than others, and you'll see them often. However, there are many to choose from to customize yourself.
Again, agree pretty much 100% and to add on a little...
Joining a guild has quite a few advantages, you are able to buy more things and get discounted prices on others depending on the level of the guild you're in.
tutanbriarpaw wrote:
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how is everything being handled, and is new content every month or period
I've not heard many good things about SOE customer service, but I've never had to deal with them myself.
There are 2 (soon to be 3) new expansions and 3 adventure packs. There is a huge amount of things to do to keep you busy! They plan on putting out new content at least every year.
I've not heard many good things either (The "I'm being blackmailed by SoE" thread here is a good example, if what he says is 100% true) but in general it is a pretty hard stance on things. From things like gold/plat selling to exploits to harassment and such. I've heard of sony banning quite a few accounts who obtained duped gold somehow... whether they bought it from dupers or just had it traded/sent to them I don't know.
As for content... i've heard the devs planned for a level cap of 200. It is 70 right now. So still a lot to do/add. Everything is spread out across the levels also. Some od the Adv packs are for higher levels (the current/newest is 50+ I believe) and some are a little lower. Some have implications at a lower level, like Kingdom of Sky. KoS allows you to use these teleportation spires to teleport up into one of 3 (I believe) zones, where the teleportation devices are in a safe area and then you can teleport back down to another area. Kind of like a free warp. You also start gaining "achievement points" (think talents) at 20 if you have KoS.
The next expansion is going to offer a new faction/race/starting town I believe... They are also revamping zones left and right... They just recently totally changing around the 10-20 and 20-30 Freeport zones, Commonlands and Nek Forest. I can't speak for the frequency of big changes though, as i've only been playing about a month. This was the 24th "Live Update" as they call them, so go figure the schedule since I don't think the game has even been out 2 years yet... so about every month for some changes i'd roughly GUESS.
tutanbriarpaw wrote:
[quote]Is world PvP existant? Are there faction based wars?
A recent addition to the game is PvP, there are certain PvP servers. Check my signature for the link to the Server Index.
The gameplay is basically this: there are 2 sides, good and evil. Each has their own language, and you can only group with others of your same alignment. There is a 3rd faction, Exiles - players that have betrayed their home city, and are hunt-able by both sides.
There is also consentual dueling on the PvE servers.
Be sure to check out the sticky thread at the top of this forum for much more info.[/quote]
I've had pretty much 0 experience with PvP/Dueling so I can't really comment on it much...
However, i'd like to add that you are an exile is only until you complete the betrayal quest. The Exiles have their own city, and are indeed basically in a "Free-for-all" PvP mode. Well irrc the update correctly. I believe on normal servers there is also an arena type thing in the town introduced with the Desert of Flames expansion.
Overall, this game is really great so far and I’d really suggest going out and buying the game to fully try it out and get OFF the island before making a choice. The isle thing is really so limited it doesn’t give a good picture of the game. It isn’t as limited as it used to be (no crafting before, but now I believe they unlocked that) but it is still just so limited.