Some concerns about starting P99

[kined]

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

Long story short, you guys have shown me that me earlier excitement to get back into EQ was justified and my concerns have pretty much been taken care of. Again, thanks for the amazing response.

glad this thread was full of supporting people rather than continuing the circle jerk that youve apparently seen before. people complain alot around here about how stacked people are at the top but its pretty much irrelevant if you just wanna play the game. i started as a warrior and had plenty of groups all the way to my 50's, theres always people leveling and lfg just not in every zone. prices are pretty fair for things tbh, i dont think inflation is much of an issue. you can make alot of plat just by leveling, especially if you make a solo character. people are very helpful and you'll never see 12k rezzes. if you want to experience raid content you absolutely can you just have to select the right guild, although how long it will take to get geared may vary. i got invited to a raid guild a couple days just waiting for a port at level 57. you can definitely enjoy this game if you dont take this forumquesting seriously here!

[Crawdad]

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

I played Everquest back when the game was new and played through the Planes of Power Expansion before moving on to other games. I have always remembered EQ fondly and recently I came across Project 99 and was pretty excited to dive in and see the old world that I remembered. I say "was excited" because there seem to be a few factors that might make starting undesirable. I was hoping the community could address them.

1. Because there is only one server that has been going for a while the game seems very top heavy and overcrowded. Of course, I only have one toon at level ten right now, but it looks to me as if lower levels almost don't exist and end game raiding is a cluster**** because there are so many people going after it. Raiding is obviously a big part of this game and I don't want to get to level 50+ only to find out that every raid has a Disney World sized waiting line just to get a shot at it.

2. Due to issue number one and most players are either already high level or are power leveling lower level toons, it looks like I will literally be soloing all the way to at least level 50. I don't want to solo my way through these levels and having to do so would kill any desire I have to play. But so far I have been unable to get a group playing around the Blackburrow area.

3. Inflation has gotten out of control and I don't know if I will ever be able to catch up financially. Because there are no real plat sinks everyone has tens of thousands of plat. I saw one player offering 12k for a rez, another offering 10k, one paying 300 for a port, etc... When I played live, 10k was more than enough to MQ the Ancient Cyclops quest much less get a rez. And if I got ten plat to port someone I considered myself lucky. I have no idea what that MQ goes for now. If platinum is really that worthless then I will never catch up to the rest of the game.

Any thoughts from the community are welcome.

1) There are always groups to find 1-60 on Blue, as long as you know what's popular. As others have said, the Qeynos area tend to be sparsely populated as it's isolated in Classic EQ. Elsewhere though, you wont have to look very hard to find someone else.

2) The only reason to solo 1-50 is because you want to. There are plenty of people all leveling, all over the place. What time zone are you in? The majority of Blue seems to be EST, and you'll see the population shoot up to ~1300 normally at around 7pm EST. I would say, if you're concerned about population, Blue99 hits ~1400 max, Red99 ~300 max.

3) I don't think this is an accurate reflection of in-game. You're citing posts you've seen on the forums, but in-game its much more sane. Rez's are normally 100-200p or free. Most people pay ~25p for a regular port. A full jboot MQ is 7.5k. If anything, prices for non-"Best in Slot" items are incredibly cheap, making it very easy to gear up.

These forums are potentially a place to go to for help/questions/bugs/good info, but also have a lot of rabble to them. A major selling point (to me) about p99 and EQ in general is that every step of the journey is fun. Don't focus too much about what people gripe about on the forums, just enjoy the process of getting there in-game [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Krule]

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

If you do try Red, though.. do it for the PVP. Not because of misleading information about Blue.

I really hope the OP reads this comment. This is the right answer.

Do not play Red just to avoid all the issues that Blue suffers from. Red is the PvP server. There WILL be PvP. You will get PvP'ed in all forms. Naked on a CR, half health after a large pull or even full health in group @ a camp-spot.

If you don't like PvP then do not roll Red. You will not have fun and many of us will make sure of that. It's not because we hate new players - it's because we love PvP.

So, do you like to PvP?

I think anyone should roll Red as long as the answer to question above is: "Yes." or "I'm not sure yet." If they answer is "No.", then turn back around and play Blue. Either way you will learn whether or not you like to PvP.

Frankly, PvP is an entire aspect of MMO's you're missing out on if you don't give it a chance. I know many disagree with this, but it's true.

[Krule]

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

If you do roll red, /who all Thunderdome and get an invite ^^ They'll help you get started.

This. ^ We 'Domers are good lot.

However, everything you said is true I still think PvP should the focus of people moving to Red. Be prepared to fight someone @ lower levels.

[Swish]

...and don't be shy about starting a fight. I think too many avoid pvp at all costs, get no experience of it and when a fight happens they panic, gate, die, or quit.

Practice practice practice.

[slappytwotoes]

As far as grouping.. Imma come at you from the opposite approach. I LOVE to solo lowbies, specially twinked to the gills. Its a break from the very social grouping and raiding I do most of the time. (Blue)

Every play session I turn down grouping offers left and right. Most people 5-60 are all about grouping. If you visit any of the popular zones mentioned earlier, its full of groups. Go where the good XP is and you'll never lack for leveling partners.

[Wired Aces]

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

I really hope the OP reads this comment. This is the right answer.

Do not play Red just to avoid all the issues that Blue suffers from. Red is the PvP server. There WILL be PvP. You will get PvP'ed in all forms. Naked on a CR, half health after a large pull or even full health in group @ a camp-spot.

If you don't like PvP then do not roll Red. You will not have fun and many of us will make sure of that. It's not because we hate new players - it's because we love PvP.

So, do you like to PvP?

I think anyone should roll Red as long as the answer to question above is: "Yes." or "I'm not sure yet." If they answer is "No.", then turn back around and play Blue. Either way you will learn whether or not you like to PvP.

Frankly, PvP is an entire aspect of MMO's you're missing out on if you don't give it a chance. I know many disagree with this, but it's true.

Oh, I definitely love PvP. I played on a normal server and two PvP servers on EQ Live and PvP was always a ton of fun. I do look forward to making a toon on Red and doing a bit of boxing on both servers. I would prefer the "get one item" method when you kill someone, as opposed to just getting their coin, but it's still fun.

[nilbog]

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

I would prefer the "get one item" method when you kill someone

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Colgate]

make it happen

[Swish]

Rumored to be coming with PvP teams (item loot).