The EQ community simply can't be beat. I also think that the fact that a vast majority of the population here are older (at least in their 20's), that there's a lot more maturity (or at least a lot less selfishness) on p1999 than on newer MMOs or even on Live.

The one thing I always tell friends about EQ is the reputation that your character gets. That reputation expands beyond just being good at your class or being the loudest in /ooc and into the 'little' things such as handing a newbie some loot you don't really need, or handing out buffs to random people as you pass through. I know I try to hit people with crack whenever I'm sitting LFG or passing by in part because of this.

Two thumbs up for all the charity buffers... only level 13 and I can't count the number of free claritys and sow's among other buffs I've gotten from random folks running by. Super generous server.

Those clarities aren't free! They're on your tab! :p

So last night I log on for a short bit with my lightly twinked level 4 Troll SK, and I head for the entrance of Upper Guk.

The two frog guards at the entrance are yellow to me, so they're level 5 I guess. I try pulling one, but both come.


First off, I see again first-hand how well tanks are able to stand up to abuse (long time caster here). I wasn't instantly squished!

Secondly, a small crowd of higher levels is sitting around - I guess getting ready to do their own thing in UGuk. A couple of them watch me duking it out, without interfering. But as I get pretty low on HP, I get a heal. Then I get buffed. I DING LEVEL 5. I get grats'd from these (relatively) uber people in their shiny armor and stuff :p

Anyway, yeah, this kind of stuff happens all the time in EQ. I played WoW for months at one point, but don't remember anything similar happening. I don't even remember needing help or particularly caring about dying either.

I would often use dying as a tool in WoW to complete a quest faster or get to other enemies when the path was blocked by stuff I couldn't handle LOL. :rolleyes:

the only time i cared about dying in wow was when i got ganked by another player while fighting mobs/having low health ;)

funny, people would get sick of progression raiding in wow because of the repair costs. but i remember raids in eq where people would actually lose level 50/60 because they had died so many times.

Some true motivation to avoid death. :)

^^^ So true.

Also in WoW someone will stand behind you, and watch you die so they can get the quest mob. Rather than wait the whole 3 min for the respawn... Seriously? In EQ People would help you with your quest spawn, and then wait there for 6 hours...

Or gank you near death for the easy honor AND the quest kill :mad:

What I love the most about EQ is how tense it can be when hunting in a zone with mobs much higher than your own level. The thing is, is that in almost every zone you go into, there are going to be a few outlying mobs that are much stronger than you roaming around. Running into one of these and barely escaping is truly a hair-raising experience.

Having high level mobs in lower-level zones gives a good reason to go back to old zones when you've become much stronger later. WoW doesn't do this: when you've leveled up beyond a zone, it's pointless to ever return, making the game feel like you're on rails.

What makes it even more exciting is the faction system. One day mobs in a zone may completely ignore you, but walk back in there a while later and they may have all turned against you.

So even though EQ is very grindy, there's always something around the corner to keep you on your toes. It requires a quick wit and even some FPS "twitchiness" sometimes to avoid or defeat harder mobs.