EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath (PC)

“This is the last expansion I played the game, as WoW came out and it was a lot more fun (at least at the beginning, see my WoW review). Everquest had a very strong social dynamic. Yes, there was the usual mind-numbing grinding. But also, there...”

“This is the last expansion I played the game, as WoW came out and it was a lot more fun (at least at the beginning, see my WoW review).

Everquest had a very strong social dynamic. Yes, there was the usual mind-numbing grinding. But also, there was high interdependancy between group roles. The experience malus drove people together in groups, and the slow mana regeneration with frequent breaks let them connect on a social level. Groups were not just a means of getting xp done, their were sometimes funny, sometimes entertaining, sometimes frustrating, sometimes disheartening, but each and every group had a social vibe and drive that played out in interesting ways, far more interesting than any in-game event/mob/encounter ever could be.

What drove me away from EQ was:
- the graphic engine change (I liked the original models a lot more, but to be able to use a horse post-Luclin, you *had* to switch to the newer engine which wasn't my taste - and had a higher hardware requirement)
- the strict hierarchy of guild hierarchy on any server due to lack of instancing high end content (boss rushing vs. other guilds, esp. the cleric epic boss before one could spawn it)
- fundamental issues with balancing (caster mana regeneration was abysmal without raiding gear, it took years before druids were allowed to get a proper rezz, making them unfit as only healer despite being able to heal quite well, melee classes could not solo *at all* after about level 20 unless they were equipped with much higher gear)
- the huge penalty that dying was without a 96% rezz. (Death resulted in a huge loss of experience and only by being resurrected by a high level paladin or a cleric you could reduce that loss by 96% to an endurable level.)
- in the later stages: the high demand on time-online (AA xp) - in the beginning, you were 'done' with levelling when you reached the highest level (at least until the next expansion that raised the highest level) and you were free to enjoy as much (or as little) of the game as you wanted/had time available; with the invention of AA points the amount of required (or rather *expected* for groups) gained xp grew insurmountable for casual players, especially if you also enjoyed playing a mixture of characters instead of just one
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“fun game alot of new stuff to find”

“fun game alot of new stuff to find”