Everquest (No Expansions)
 

If you were to describe Everquest without expansions to a someone who has never played before, how would you best describe it?

Casters were king, hybrids were powerful, gear wasn't extremely powerful. Overall was a fun game, you could have a good time without raiding.

PetspamQuest

Nice one! I do like the original game without expansions. It has it's charm.

Necros needed a good nerf!

Real life.

True dat. I remember mage pets in particular being OBSCENELY powerful at the level 50 cap.

I am probably in the minority who would play one permanent Everquest server that never applied expansions. I enjoyed the expansions but the game changed to be raid heavy. I wonder how the game would evolve (devolve?) if it stopped before expansions and the server went on for years? Felt like a more laid back, experience then. Though everybody was really new to MMORPGs.

I think that's the biggest distinction.

It was new. No one knew everything. But now, everyone knows everything, and if you don't, then fuck you. Learn or fuck off.

EQ before expansions is my favorite version. I thought maybe I was the only one who felt that way.

EQ without expansions is also my absolute favorite but that is probably because of the passing of time paired with the game being cracked open like a coconut. Kunark and Velious, as great and genuinely classic as they are, have trace elements of the lopsided top heaviness that would end up defining MMOs as they are today. Vanilla EQ very much feels like some nerds tricked investors into giving them money so they could make digital DnD for their friends. This feeling, while present in Kunark/Velious, is vastly overshadowed by the looming promise of the mountain top, especially so with the game being aged and figured out so thoroughly.