Well for once I don’t have a screen shot to show off, but that’s because I’ve been gaming on my laptop, and it’s always awkward to shuffle pictures around. I’ve been meandering through some zones with my team of three (shadowknight, enchanter, shaman) and three mercs – and having an absolute blast. The game is still filled with people playing (even if a lot of them are multiboxing these days) and current-day zones are always full of groups. The shaman has leveled up from their boosted level of 85 to almost 97, and the other two characters are sitting at a respectable 105 – that’s 5 whole levels since I returned. I’m quite pleased! Picking up spells and figuring out where I go next has been a bit difficult as I’m not overly familiar with progression in the older expansions, but there are still guides out there and I’m able to fumble my way around. I’m hoping to catch the shaman up and then maybe gear everyone out a bit more. I’m not sure I’ll be able to take the team all the way to 115 but that is the (eventual) end goal. We’ll just have to see.
I remember some time ago when Tipa was writing about a new challenge of hers that she was making – sticking with a video game (MMO) for a year – and I envied that mind set. It’s one that I have not been able to adhere to for a VERY long time, and one I envy because I feel that in a year you’re able to really set down some roots, make friends, and get somewhere in an MMO. Jumping around from game to game isn’t fun on my wallet or my game play, if I have to be honest.
Then I went and looked back to the games I was playing in 2013 when raptr game tracking was still a thing. The games at the top of that list 8 years ago were STILL the top games I play today. They included WoW, EQ, EQ2, Sims 3 (now it’s Sims 4, but that’s close enough), Wurm, and then a few stragglers like EVE. Almost nothing has changed in which games I play. I still bounce around from game to game, and I rarely ever stick with any of the new ones.
Now I find myself back playing EverQuest, talking to the ‘locals’ and getting to know the names I see in chat. Almost all of them are older, with families like myself. Most have been playing for 15+ years. It’s comfortable. Once again I think to myself ‘is this a game I could stick with for a year?’ – and just like always, I don’t really have an answer. It’s still something I would like to do, if for no other reason than I’ve never been able to complete it before.
This outdoor zone was released with Veil of Alaris, and is around level 95 – perfect for my little team. I set the guild portal to Shard’s Landing and made my way there, and picked up two lowbies who were LFG to join my team (which consists of playing a Shadowknight, Enchanter, and Shaman). We made our way to the center of the city, in this odd record keeping type room that had a ton of mobs to pull, and settled in for a few hours of killing. I used my lesson of the devoted skill to boost the experience, and my shaman managed to get a few levels – even my level 102 guys gained a significant amount of experience which was just delightful.
One named spawned in the area, dropping a ring and I think an item that lets you get some rk2 spells. I haven’t upgraded any spells in a long time, so that will be next on my list very soon. I also need to see where I can get gear upgrades these days. The bazaar is a strange collection of high level end game items that I don’t really understand – combined with a whole lot of ornamental gear, which is appearance stuff.
Overall I think everyone had a good time, and it was nice to go back to some old school grinding. Chat was lively, and the pulls were pretty simple. I had the enchanter AOE mez any time we got any extra, and we just plowed through everything else.
I can’t seem to make a decision about where to play. On one hand, I like the idea of FV – there’s few no-trade items, making it easy to gear up. They have a huge population, and I hear there’s some roleplay still going on some days. That being said, I’m well established on Drinal, and being able to play my old characters is something that I’d definitely like to do. Decisions decisions!
I haven’t even been back in game a week yet, and my shadowknight and enchanter have each gotten two whole levels – that’s a huge feat for me. I’ve tried to return a few times in the past, but it never worked out because EverQuest is a game that likes to challenge people.
Or at least it used to – things are MUCH easier these days, and I have to admit, I was PLEASANTLY surprised. One of the biggest changes is something I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to expand on a bit. ‘Auto-Grant’ Enable. This feature is for premium accounts (let’s not start a debate as to whether or not developers deserve to get paid for their work, I’ve got no issues paying for subscriptions) and what it means is that every time you level, you’ll be given the AA from that level / expansion / tier. It stops at (I believe) level 110 – the cap is 115, so it’s not as though you’re handed everything – but this catch up mechanic is essential for players who have been away who haven’t managed to grind up thousands of AA. It lets new players as well as returning players feel like they are not completely useless.
Without this feature I wouldn’t be able to do anything in game that I’ve been doing. I started by running heroic adventures which are a pretty OK source of experience. My heroic boosted shaman (came with the latest expansion pack that I purchased) gained two levels, moving from 85 to 87. My 102 characters have over 20,000 aa points – and when I came back they had around 4000. Features like this allow players like me the option of returning in a way that was never possible before, and I REALLY wish I had of known that this change was made a few years back, because I probably would have returned then.
I’ve also spent some time thinking about WHY I am enjoying myself so much and what it really comes down to is that WoW absolutely obliterated multiboxing – and that was the one thing that I REALLY enjoyed doing in game. Multitasking on multiple accounts is something I find a LOT of fun. When Blizzard decided that 3rd party software and broadcasting and other tools were no longer acceptable, it really put an enormous hole in my gaming style.
In EverQuest, at least for now (who knows if this will change) multiboxing is still allowed. Let me stress that I am NOT looking to disrupt others game play, and I am all for grouping with real people, the best experiences happen that way. That being said, multiboxing IS a way I enjoy playing. Not even to work the economy but just because the plain simple truth of it is I love multi tasking.
Anyway, we’ll see how this adventure goes. For now I have subscribed all three accounts, and I went and bought them all the base copy of the latest expansion. I’m hoping to reach level 115 – current end game. I’ve actually never been at the level cap in EverQuest before when it was the cap. After 22 years, there’s still things I haven’t done, and I love that.
A Pixel Nomad 