Returning to a game you’ve been away from for some time is never an easy feat. You have to make some tough decisions, do you re-visit your old characters that you love but you have no idea how to play / where to go, or do you start fresh so that you can try to re-learn the game (and your class). I opted for a combination of the two.
I started off re-visiting my higher level characters. Right now I have a handful of level 120 characters, and an unused boost for 130. The rest all sit at level 100, except for a brand new Ratonga Coercer, who was created so that I could get a feel for things again. Most of my characters sit on the Antonia Bayle server, but that has grown quiet over the years, and so this time around I created on the more populated Maj’Dul. There were some events taking place and chat was lively as people were trying to figure out timers and zones to head to. I wasn’t quite ready for that, yet. Soon though.
I’m not really a fan of the ‘starting over’ method, but you’re not given a lot of choices. Games (IMO) do a very bad job of welcoming back the average returning player. In most cases you log in and you’re given zero indication as to what you were working on 10 years ago, and you have no idea where to go to progress – or if you even want to progress. A lot of update notes that you’ve never seen have probably crossed the paths of most players, and you’ll be expected to stumble your way along until eventually, finally, if you stick with it – you’ll catch up.
So where does that leave me? A level 2 coercer, who at least knows where to go and what to do – and a few level 120 characters who have no idea what is going on. In the end, I settled for some crafting.
As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
A Pixel Nomad 
Welcome back to EQII! I think it’s among the hardest MMORPGs to come back to now, sadly. Any game that’s been continually updated for more than two decades is going to be challenging for new or returning players but EQII is one of those that rarely removes any systems or mechanics, just keeps adding new ones on top. In one way it’s good that these features have time to spread out and become familiar but it means there are so many to discover and learn and not all of them are going to be useful any more.
At least you have characters that got as far as Level 120. The entire game pivoted at Level 100 and anyone coming back who hasn’t played since before then is in for a shock. I used to try and give returning players quite detailed advice on how to settle in but not any more, for two reasons. First, it’s insanely complicated and requires a huge amount of explanation but second and more importantly, even though I play regularly and am up to date on solo content, I have next to no idea what happens in the group game now. It’s another world.
In fact, the only suggestion I have is that it might be a good idea to restart from the new expansion, which I think you’ll be gifted in your new role as Content Creator. That will give you everything you need to get going along with some good advice on how to use it. I imagine you know about the free gear and mounts and familiars that come with every expansion these days but they also added an NPC who explains what you’re getting and what to do with it, which is certainly not always obvious.
Still a great game, though, for all its challenges.
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Glad you are back and playing on my server :)
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