Where did EQ Live go wrong?

[Danyelle]

Originally Posted by azeth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The sole-killer of EQ was itemization. All arguements can be boiled down to this.

To be honest, the only expansion hat didn't suffer from poor itemization after Velious, was surprisingly Luclin. (given I quit the moment my guild killed Quarm, like within 25 minutes of it)

Luclin, however, introduced us to the first hints of pussification - The Nexus and Bazaar.


edit:

In hindsight, we ignore the fact that Kunark class armor was outdated the minute Velious opened. Somehow, early EverQuest didn't suffer. Whereas when PoP opened we really began to question the direction of the game.

I remember clearly thinking the first time I saw Plane of Fire loot, "So I've raided enough to have geared myself out in VT and Ssra gear, in addition to having spent a hundred or more hours gathering key pieces... for what?"

I gotta agree with this

Basically anything I could say or any argument I could make has already been made (and in fact I may have already posted earlier in this thread and forgot lol) so basically let me boil this down as best I can.

Flames aside, most people that assume Luclin killed EQ are either jumping the gun, or mad about the graphics change. Plain and simple. The ONLY difference (again...graphics aside) that Luclin introduced was AAs, Bazaar, and Nexus. Now I get a lot of crap for liking Luclin so let me lay out my reasonings in detail and maybe, just maybe, people can understand my thoughts on the matter.

The Bazaar I didn't like, I liked the convenience however it killed several aspects of trade in EQ. A good example would be you could no longer barter prices down on someone. It also became a little harder to buy low and sell high, which is one of the primary methods of dosh attainment in EQ. The Nexus I wasn't bothered by. Why? Because there was one spire per continent (which, with the sole exception of Faydwer and Odus, required you to make a long and/or dangerous trip to reach) and then it also wasn't instantaneous. There was quite a long delay between arriving and getting ported, unless you got lucky on arrival time (which the same could be said for boats...). AAs didn't bother me either. In fact having something to shoot for besides the level cap, not to mention the debates over which ones to get and when to get them or what level to start grinding them, added a bit more substance to EQ imo. Long story short, the only thing I didn't like about Luclin was the Bazaar. That's it. And, in my heart, Luclin is still Classic. This is of course an opinion but whatever I'm entitled to state it as much as I am to have it.

For me Planes of Power was the actual start of EQ's decline. A decline that finally hit rock bottom with Gates of Discord. Every once in awhile a good expansion still shows up (I for one actually liked Seeds of Destruction, and The Buried Sea brought back boats..despite the fact that it doesn't really matter because lolPoK but still..) but ultimately the "magic" as earlier referenced could not be recaptured by GoD...it was gone. It was still very much a good game...but it was not the same. By any means. They began to stop putting new things in that benefited the game, and instead put things in that casualized the game (*COUGH*corpse summoners*COUGH*) until eventually there was no challenge. It became a WoW-clone grind fest.

That's my 2 cents

[envino]

Originally Posted by azeth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

In hindsight, we ignore the fact that Kunark class armor was outdated the minute Velious opened. Somehow, early EverQuest didn't suffer. Whereas when PoP opened we really began to question the direction of the game.

I remember clearly thinking the first time I saw Plane of Fire loot, "So I've raided enough to have geared myself out in VT and Ssra gear, in addition to having spent a hundred or more hours gathering key pieces... for what?"

Yes. You can do this once in awhile, every couple of years maybe, but every 6 months? Im perfectly happy for this thing to end at Velious and then just chill. Wow has this problem right now, the second you get all geared up and happy it starts all over....its like running a marathon where they move the finish line just as you reach it every time. But, there is nothing much else to do but get gear, unless you enjoy killing 10 rats over and over.

[webrunner5]

[QUOTE=Excellio;601021]And there it is. It is about money, and it really needs to be about money. I'm not sure what the operating costs are for this P99 server, but I'm sure it's significant. I can't imagine the costs of developing, publishing, marketing the game, and then maintaining the ongoing server to run the game.

I think I heard once awhile back that the server cost was like $500.00. I may be mistaken. Not sure if that is a week, month??

[Earshel]

Personally, I feel that EQ Live went wrong when they removed the arena from the bazaar. It's where I spent most of my time and I was absolutely crushed when they did. That's when I stopped playing every day.

[Scavrefamn]

Raids killed EQ.

If raids hadn't been such a huge focus in PoP and GoD, EQ would have been fine.

[kazroth]

Envino, your post brought a tear to my eye. You definitely get it, my friend, see you in game.

[Scavrefamn]

The Bazaar was one of the best things to happen to EQ.
No idea why people bash the bazaar.



I absolutely positively 100% agree with Envino's post, brilliantly put(If I may, I would love to quote it sometime in a video or something :P)
I also stand by my earlier statement with a minor change;
Raiding was the main source of EQs problems.




Remember the EQ player summit that was held with the developers shortly before the EQ mass exodus?
I DO!

It was attended by the top raiders of the top level guilds in all of EQ.
Basically these guys said that everything EXCEPT for raiding was pointless and needed to be streamlined so more people could hit the higher end raids.

Don't believe me? Google it.
These raiders and raiding in general are the cause of EQs demise.

[Danyelle]

Originally Posted by Scavrefamn [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The Bazaar was one of the best things to happen to EQ.
No idea why people bash the bazaar.



I absolutely positively 100% agree with Envino's post, brilliantly put(If I may, I would love to quote it sometime in a video or something :P)
I also stand by my earlier statement with a minor change;
Raiding was the main source of EQs problems.




Remember the EQ player summit that was held with the developers shortly before the EQ mass exodus?
I DO!

It was attended by the top raiders of the top level guilds in all of EQ.
Basically these guys said that everything EXCEPT for raiding was pointless and needed to be streamlined so more people could hit the higher end raids.

Don't believe me? Google it.
These raiders and raiding in general are the cause of EQs demise.

This is how shit like GoD was formed.

[Barrier]

After PoP was when it started going downhill for me. I mean seriously. There are mobs stronger than the Gods of Norrath? Was that what they were trying to tell me (and sell me)? I ended up lasting to about The expansion that got us to 80? Maybe 85 and then me and my 800 AAs said f this and quit for good.

[porigromus]

I think AAs should have been obtained by higher level grouping with lower level system. A end level players stats and abilities' power level is reduced to the groups level while grouped. They still obtain the same abilities but they are not as powerful.

When they are grouped and they are in this reduced stats and abilities mode, they are obtaining AAs.