Everquest II - Best MMO Out there(My Review so far)

[XFiFiX]

Greetings, everyone!
Haven't done anything useful in awhile, so I figured I would like to try to point some of you in the direction of an MMO that has changed the way I see games. It's a little something called "Everquest II."

Now, a brief history of the game:
Released in 2004, soon before WoW, and due to it's rough launch, it was not as popular at the time and WoW won. However, there have been many changes since then, and the game is much better now.

Hmm, where to begin. I've been playing for about, oh, 3 months now, and absolutely love it. There is so much to do, so much customization, and the community is millions of times better than WoW. Don't believe me? Think it's "lol everqueer"? Well then, ask yourself this; have you tried it yourself? Or are you going by what some child has said? Not to say that I hate children, but you get the point.

In this game, there are sooo many dungeons/raids/zones that I'm not even sure I can list them. I've only scratched the surface in the 3 months that I've been playing. Not only that, but you have extremely rich lore. And the graphics are beautiful to look at. There is an album at the bottom of this post.

-Beginning

When starting out in this game, you can choose 2 factions: Good or Evil, and within those factions are your cities of choice(Freeport, Timorous Deep, Neriak, Qeynos, or Greater Faydark, and soon to be New Halas), and you have 24 different races to choose from. You also can choose between a host of classes, listed here: Wiki: Category:EQ2 Classes :: EverQuest II at ZAM
The best part is, none of these are carbon copies. They all play differently and uniquely.

After choosing your race/class you choose a starting city, and from there the world of Norrath is in your hands. You may choose to quest, grind, collect valuables, be a tradeskiller, build your own house.. actually, theres really no limits. As you will soon find out, you have 3 different levels: Adventure level(1-90, similar to WoW's levels), Tradeskill level(This works just like leveling, however you have a profession. For example, you level up by being oh say, a carpenter, and as you make items or what not, you level up just like your adventure levels), and your AA or Alternate Advancement levels(your "talent trees" so to say). You level all of these up in many different ways, but also it's not a grind like most people think. Also, at level 20 you get "appearance slots." These slots are basically where you can throw the gear you want to look like in, as opposed to a WoW like system where you are a carbon copy of every other character. Not bashing on WoW, however.

-Dungeons/Raids

Next, I'll cover the dungeons aspect. Wow, that's the only word to describe them. They're massive, and more like a game than a job *ahem,* and can keep you entertained forever. Theres hundreds, ranging from level 10 or so all the way up to 90. Heres a timeline of them: Dungeon Timeline - EQ2i, the EverQuest 2 Wiki - Quests, guides, mobs, npcs, and more
You have 3 different types of dungeons, solo dungeons(for when you don't feel like grouping), heroic dungeons(regular group, 3-6 people), and Major Heroic dungeons, which require many more, and the amount of people you need vary. The gameplay is quite different, also. You don't just spam skills and take your loot. You have many different ways of doing dungeons, some ranging from "ring of blood" type events to stuff like this:[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeDGJ_p2Xro"]YouTube - EQII - Aiden[/ame]. His job is to jump over the chasm, collect the lava rocks, and stop the beams. As he does this, less mobs spawn, and the group doesn't get overwhelmed. If you're interested in how the higher end stuff looks, here's a trailer for the most recent expansion(Best to watch in HD): [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvnw7aM46kg"]YouTube- Everquest 2 Sentinel's fate launch trailer final - MMO Reviews HD[/ame] Now, on to the next section.

-Skills

Skills. They work quite a bit differently than many mmo's. As you level up, you get all of your base skills and spells, and they level up as you do. However, by running different raids/dungeons, you get better ranks of these spells. So, it's basically like another way to progress, but it's not like you're useless without the highest rank. You can still do damage or whatever .

-Housing

Next up, housing. In each city there are about 20-30 houses you can choose from, each with it's own design. Within your house of choice, you can do pretty much anything you want. The possibilities are endless with this, as there are thousands upon thousands of items to obtain for your house, and you can get trophies/heads/banners etc by killing raid mobs, exploring, finding hidden landmarks, events, and many other ways. You can place these items anywhere within your house, and scale/rotate them to your liking. This system also plays a part in some dungeons, as in the Frostfell holiday event, where you have to build a bridge out of planks to cross a ravine, to get into a giant ice fortress. Too cool . Also, your guild may have it's own keep, which is unbelievably cool.

-PvP

PvP - some say that this game has no pvp, however there are battlegrounds and arenas just like in wow, and the difference is that the classes are actually balanced <3. Haven't delved much into this yet though, just experience it for yourself.

For now, I'm going to stop as I'm getting tired. I will point you in the direction of the trial download, and it's the streaming client, meaning it takes ~5 mins to download before you're in the game.

EverQuest II Sentinel's Fate - Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Game

Thanks for reading, and remember; this is only the surface. The game goes muuuuch more into depth and one review could never begin to cover this game. Also a note, for some the game may start out slow, but give it a chance. The higher level content is where it's really at, and it's not hard at all to level. Also, if you go into your EQ2 menu(esc button) and click claim rewards, all trial accounts get a cape which increases your speed slightly, and experience potions to help you out. Enjoy, and if you need any help ingame, I will gladly do what I can for you. -Parazerker, Antonia Bayle server,*evil side*.

-Videos/Images
This one I made today, 1080p is the recommended method of watching =p
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx6CtE3yTPI"]YouTube- Everquest 2 Lavastorm Exploration[/ame]
Some random screenshots:
http://img406.imageshack.us/g/eq2000014h.jpg/

-Resources

Resources that may help:
(An ingame browser may be accessed at any time using /browser)
eq2.wikia.com (thottbot type site, has much of what you need)
eq2flames.com
Eq2maps - questhelper like addon, you can download it from : EQ2Interface : EQ2MAP - Auto Updating Version [Official] : EQ2MAP - Auto Updating Version [Official]
To install, just run the program and let it update. You're all set.

I hope you've enjoyed this segment, please leave comments on what you think, and if you need any help. Thanks for reading! :wave:

EDIT: One last thing I would like to add about the population of this game; It's GROWING. It's never been more alive, actually, not only at higher levels but all the way up. I've never had a problem finding a group, in fact, and I'm only level 47!

[XC4T4LY5TX]

EQ2 is gross lol ... i played it, an all ive seen are n00bs and 12 years olds lol.

but hey, if you like it gratz

[XFiFiX]

EQ2 is gross lol ... i played it, an all ive seen are n00bs and 12 years olds lol.

but hey, if you like it gratz

How far did you play? Most of the lower levels are trial wow nubs, but they soon dissapear. Theres a "blacklist" for players like this, and they definitely aren't welcomed by any respectable member of the game. I would say give it another shot for sure =]

[Phospher]

EQ2 is gross lol ... i played it, an all ive seen are n00bs and 12 years olds lol.

but hey, if you like it gratz

How is this different from wow?

and to the OP nice review if I could rep you in this section I would.

[ReidE96]

Ah, EQ. Probably the oldest MMO out there. Still shiny.

[XFiFiX]

Ah, EQ. Probably the oldest MMO out there. Still shiny.

Everquest? Yes; Everquest 2, definately not. Except for the shiny part
EQ2 actually released right before WoW did. I'm going to upload a few videos of me running around a zone called "Lavastorm" to show it's shininess in a few minutes. The zone is great, and I think you'll enjoy.

EDIT - Rendering video in Vegas as I type this. Will be done in 45 mins.

[MEC]

Everquest is by far the best MMO out there......if you want to play a game without all the dam kids in it. it would be EQ. thats more of an adult game.
i've got a lvl 27 pally on EQII. i havnt played in awhile due to WoW Emu' but it is a decent game right up there with EvE.

[Notahax]

How's the population? I remember playing it along time ago and i loved it, but much more preferred WoW back then.

[XFiFiX]

How's the population? I remember playing it along time ago and i loved it, but much more preferred WoW back then.

Population is rising atm, theres over 2k people in my guild if that gives you any idea. not only 90s either, it's a nice mix. If you want to give it a try send me a tell, I'll send a RaF link


EDIT: Didn't want to double post; If you guys want more videos I can make more, just ask what you would like to see and it shall be done!