Tag: EQ2

I’ve been playing EQ2 since release, and EQ1 before that though admittedly not for long. Both games for the past six years and of course like everyone out there I have my thoughts and opinions when it comes to game play, content, and mechanics. Here are a few of the very basics.

• Players need something to do that feels like progression

What I mean by this is that once you’re 80/80/140 (adventuring, crafting, aa) you’re out of things to do except work on gear (which can tap out depending on your play style) and make an alt. So many players I know have more then one level 80, in fact I’d almost say a majority have at least two, and quite a few range between 3-4 now depending on their commitment to the game. There are some (what I see as) very simple and easy solutions to give players the illusion of progress even if it is meaningless. Well take it.

Number one would be extend the achievement lines. All of those racial abilities that people are offered such as extended drink and food, 4% melee or spell crit chances, the ability to breath under water, a 15% bonus to run speed while invis – off those as achievements instead. Make each one or each rank of one cost a number of points rather then just one. Give everyone the same opportunity to personalize their characters. Is it really going to hurt if a high elf has extended food or can breath under water? It gives players something to aim for, a goal, that makes it feel as though they are making progress. All mmo’s need this. You should not be able to say you feel as though you’ve completed an mmo. The achievement line in EQ1 is a very fine example of this – and I realize there are flaws such as guilds requiring you to have a certain number of aa before you can join. However, I am not talking about game-play changing aa here, I’m talking about very basic ones that will not alter or change the way the game works in any drastic measure.

Another example of the illusion of progression would be to implement a Lost Dungeons of Norrath era in EQ2, or at least monster missions, or some other sort of mission that rewards the player with coins, points,  tokens, or shards that can be saved up and traded in eventually for gear, spells, adornments maybe – something, anything. Even having a tracking board to see who has beaten the most missions, have them scale by level and have different difficulties exactly like the LDoN in EQ1. Promote group play! With RoK solo quests rewarding things on par with grouping (the cloth gloves in Kunzar Jungle as just one example, the waste hunter line items as another) what is the point. Bring the game back to promoting group play. This does NOT mean neglect solo play since players need something to do in between grouping, but there should be a higher risk vs. reward if you’re grouping.

Even if a player KNOWS it is simply ‘busy work’ they will take it. At least it is progress of some sort.

• Stop trivializing your own zones

This one is more difficult. What I mean by this is that in EQ1/VG/WoW none of the zones ‘grey out’ per say. Sure, the lower level encounters no longer give experience as a reward, but they do all still drop loot. Yes, this means that lower level mobs and zones can be farmed – but as your player base levels up, this is almost needed in order to keep zones active and busy. If you allow zones to grey (such as they do in EQ2) you allow them to become empty of players – unless you are expecting players to level alts or always have a high flow of new players to the game (which is almost impossible these days with so many new games on the market).

I have ventured into so many ‘old world’ zones where there is not another soul in them. Not even that old per say – Steamfont mountains is only one expansion away and it’s quiet. Crushbone Keep, another example. If higher level players could still obtain anything at all from these zones (aside from shinies) we might actually see the population spread out a little, and see PEOPLE in zones. Wouldn’t that be great?

It’s not without its flaws. Yes, this means that lower level characters may have a difficult time obtaining what it is they need, but how would it be any different then any other game out there whose zones do not trivialize. They will find a way to make it work. Players are not stupid they can be resourceful. They don’t need to be hand fed as much as they are.

• Promote grouping

This is another trickey one. There’s a balance between solo content and group content that’s slightly out of whack these days in higher end zones. Aside from instance runs there’s no reason to group. What happened to the good ‘ol days of EQ1 where you’d sit in BoT or some other zone and camp for hours with a group. There needs to be more heroic content (separated from the solo content) with a significant bonus to being in a group. Something that won’t take away from the solo players. Perhaps an increase to the experience you obtain from a group encounter. Right now the difference in experience from killing a mob solo vs. group (in RoK at least) is so insignificant, it’s barely noticeable.

I realize this is not the case for all expansions and that from 1-60 running through dungeons in a group is probably the fastest way to level up. It is not the case certainly with RoK.

• Rare gear should be just that, rare

This one is a little difficult to explain. Does everyone remember Prismatic 1.0? It was quite possibly the MOST difficult quest chain I have ever done. It required numerous raids, and a long ‘speak as a dragon’ quest that at the time of the level cap (50) was really hard. The quest required at least 6 different raids, and fabled gear was almost unheard of – in fact I don’t believe it was even implemented in game back then.

The reward from all that hard work? Was legendary.

That’s right, we all worked for those prismatic 1.0’s and they were legendary.We were SO proud of those weapons.

Granted, they were some of the best darn legendary out there, but still. Now a days, everyone wants fabled. People can even obtain mythical if they complete raids. What happened to keeping those things rare and out of the reach of the average player. Legendary has become the new treasured. Fabled has become the new legendary. Mythical has become the new fabled. There’s only so many ranks of gear that can be introduced, and the easier they are to obtain, the more players want the next rank up.

There are solo quests now that reward fabled. There are group quests that reward fabled. This rank of gear should have never been allowed to become so common. The more common it is, the more it loses it value. Now, I realize that there is probably an outcry from people who do not raid, who also want to be able to obtain these levels of gear and perhaps that’s why they were made more common. As both a raider, and a none raider – I personally feel that there is no reason why fabled should drop anywhere aside from raids. There IS a difference between players. It’s not a bad one. It does not mean that one is any better or worse then the other. Personally, I don’t think the casual player should be wearing gear equal to or close to a raider. It is not a matter of deserving it or not, but simply the fact that raiding is heavily involved, it requires things that grouping and solo play does not. It’s not harder per say – but it is more involved. I’m a firm believer in rewarding people who take those steps, and I understand that not all players can do so. It’s complicated I suppose in the end.

Anyhow, those are just a few basic thoughts and ideas I had about gameplay and EQ2. No doubt more will follow, I didn’t want to ramble on for too long today.

Revamped it and tweaked it a little bit more… it still looks far better in person…

Now all that’s missing is all the books I need…

Lots and lots of books needed..

Changed the look of the seating area some

The rest of the house is very much a work in progress, but I’m pleased with how the library area turned out at least for now!

I had three booster packs unclaimed in LoN (which don’t sell for nearly as much in EQ2 as they do in EQ1 at least not on the Najena server) as well as an unclaimed cloak that gives you a purple tinge (I did not particularly care for the cloak) so I decided to set up a few trades within LoN and see what I could get.

I left the trades up for only a day before I’d gotten everything I wanted. Now, maybe it is because all I was looking for were house items (and a new cloak) and perhaps that’s silly of me, but I do love the items you can get.

I ended up getting three new house items plus the new cloak for my three boosters + old cloak (those boosters may or may not have had something interesting inside of them, I don’t know). There’s a trick to getting items you actually want from LoN – and that’s NOT to open the booster packs. The chance you’ll actually get a loot card can be very slim. If you’re one of those people who only stumbles across them from time to time you’re going to be far better off actually saving up those booster packs and creating specific trades instead of hoping for a chance that you’ll get what you want out of the package.

I enjoy playing the LoN game, though I am not that good at it. So the boosters I suppose could have been handy had I opened them – but with 1400 cards already in my collection, I didn’t see a reason to. I managed to get two paintings I did not have (pictured above) and a gold book (also a house item of course) that is filled with images of the paintings that came with LoN.

The cloak I traded for gives a reduced falling speed for the wearer (not that I really need that portion) and it also has an effect of a halo that hovers above the player (which is why I wanted it at all). You can have the effect on while you’re not wearing the cloak, which is nice.

The only issue for me now is who to claim the cloak on. I was contemplating Silhouette, just because it would be amusing to see a dark elf coercer with a halo above her head – but the utility of the cloak (reduced falling speed) would be completely wasted since dark elves come with the ‘hover’ ability that allows them to float. So ideally, I’d put the cloak on someone who didn’t already have that ability.

It’s not often I get LoN (Legend of Norrath) house items, and a lot have been released since the game came out. It’s nice to be able to add to my collection every so often though.

(Collection quest from The Estate of Unrest)

By Nicadius Quellborn

I, Nicadius Quellborn, praise the Tranquil One, the Goddess of Peace, Quellious, daily for the bounteous blessings she has blessed me with. The greatest of her gifts is the health and beauty found in my only child, my daughter Jessa. She is as every bit lovely and kind as her wonderful mother. May my wife’s soul always find peace and rest in the light of Quellious. I will one day also depart this life and be reunited again with you my love.

I sit now to write this account in the comfort of my home, the Estate of Rest. This marvelous house has become a sanctuary and place of relief and respite to the peaceful people of Faydwer. The creation of this estate is a special story to me and one that is my intention to record on the pages before me.

The history of this beautiful structure began five years ago. Our home at that time was nothing more then a meager hovel that Jessa and I lived in for all thirteen years of her young life. It was the same place I built when Jessa and I first came to this land, seeking to bring the word of Tranquility to the people of Faydwer and the knowledge of the goddes Quellious.

It was Jessa’s chore at the start of the day to draw water from the well and bring it inside for washing and cooking. One day my daughter awakened early and began her chores. When she went outside to draw water she found a wounded and unconscious dwarf lad next to the well. She was able to rouse the young dwarf with handfuls of water splashed upon his face and helped him inside our cottage.

Jessa quickly awakened me and urged me to attend to the dwarf lad. I tended to his wounds, cleaning and bandaging the cuts and gashes he sustained. Jessa was constantly over my shoulder, concerned for the welfare of the young lad. I suggested that the best way for her to help was to prepare something for the dwarf to eat and something for him to sip to help regain his strength. She quickly took to the task and allowed me to finish with the wounds.

Jessa took great care spooning the broth she made into the dwarf’s mouth. He was able to tell us that his name was Kyll Rucksif from the dwarven city of Kaladim to the north. Kyll said he had gone hunting with his younger brother several days ago and lost his way. He said that while he slept that night he was attacked by a crazed and misshapen bear. Kyll saw the light from our hovel and ran toward it, eventually collapsing near the well where Jessa found him in the morning.

After feeding and tending to the dwarf we let him rest upon my bed. It was only three days time before Kyll was arising from his bed before either myself or Jessa awoke for the day. He would draw the water and start the cook fires eager to assist those that helped him. I knew then that the boy was more than healed enough for the journey home. I anxiously realized then that the time had come for meto finally meet the people of Kaladim, if only to return the boy to his family.

Young Jessa was amazed by the sight of the Statue of Stormhammer, the mighty carving of rock that graces the entrance to the Halls of Kaladim. We were welcomed with open arms as we escorted the young Rucksif home to his worried father. Kyll’s father is a greatly respected and prominent dwarven mason by the name of Viktur Rucksif. Viktur was so greatful for the care my daughter and I showed his son. After showering us with a veritable feast of meats and cheeses, Viktur offered his home for as long as we wanted to rest.

Being polite, Jessa complimented Viktur on such a beautiful home and how it was so different from our own hovel. The elder dwarf inquired more of our living conditions and I humbly told him of the place I had built with my own hands near my beloved wife’s grave. Upon hearing this Viktur insisted that to properly thank us he would offer to build us a proper home. As much as I declined the offer Viktur persisted until I finally gave in and agreed to let him build us a small house.

Viktur asked us to stay as his guests for a couple days while he finished his commissions in Kaladim and then escorted us back to our humbel abode to the south. He set out right away creating plans and recruiting apprentice masons for the work. What started out as a humble and quiet home in my mind became a magnificent manor of exquisite workmanship. Viktur had created a marvelous estate that represents gratitude and friendship.

Whenever I mention that the estate is too much Viktur quickly rebuttals with a grin that I speak nonsense and this is the standard size for a house built in gratitude for caring for one’s child. Viktur and I have become the closest of friends, even though he has jovially resisted all of my friendly attempts at converting him from his unwarvering devotion of Brell. The same was true for all dwarves of Kaladim, except for Kyll. He has been forever grateful to Jessa and me and has grown up with Jessa. He alone has spent equal time in the chapels of both Quellious and Brell.

My hope and prayer is that Kyll’s perpetually troubled younger brother would also follow the footsteps of his sibling and take to the words of the Tranquil One. That lad shows disrespect for his elders and even to Brell. In spite of the efforts of his family, the guards are always escorting that boy home in the middle of the night.

Quellious knows that poor Garanel would benefit from the teachings of Peace and Tranquility.

I spent a little time yesterday (ok, a lot of time) working on Silhouette’s house. I typically devote a lot of time working on everyone else’ house. While my own may seem impressive, they are nothing compared to the ones you can find on the forums at the Norrathian Homeshow. With the new RoK recipes, it’s easy to design some amazing things – and the Gorowyn houses surpass all others that I’ve seen so far except perhaps the Neriak ones. I used one of the expanders, and am able to place 600 items in my house now instead of the regular 500. I also used a vault expander, so instead of 5 vault slots, I have 6. Granted, it’s not as though I have that much to sell, but you never know when they will come in handy.

Pictured above is the start of Silhouette’s library. I figure even though she’s a carpenter and spends most of her day covered in sawdust and smells faintly like coal and other fuels, there’s no reason why she can’t also be well learned. She is a coercer after all. She had to learn how to manipulate others to do her bidding some where!

For now I’ve blocked off one of the rooms in the home, there’s just too much space. The ceilings are really high which makes for great lofts, but I mean they’re REALLY high so high in fact that hanging anything from them is practically impossible without some fancy manipulation of some sort.

A little reading area I designed for the library. I’m thinking in the center I’ll place a large ornate table of some sort and surround it by chairs, and stacks of books, scrolls, and what ever else someone would have strewn about such as in a study. I haven’t decided on anything for the remainder of the house yet. Perhaps a games room along with the weapons display, a bedroom area, a kitchen and dining area. Maybe a garden. It also depends on the item limit and how close I get to it. I typically work on rooms one at a time until I feel like they’re completed. If anyone wants to view the house in person (because honestly the screen shots do not do it justice) please feel free.

As a side note, I love decorating houses. I think every owner has a particular look or feel that they want for their homes and it’s fun to try to display that. Granted my characters are some what boring and very similar to one another, but I still have fun adding to their various collections.