I'd like to say, it may have been said already, I havnt read all the posts, when the reviewer saidthat soloing is faster than grouping, he was more wrong than he could, possibly, possibly know. I am currently a level 59 engineer. I can tell you with 100% certainty, that grouping, is 10 times faster than soloing, and Im not even exagerating. The only reason I do missions know, is for cash and rewards /mission tokens. it also becomes harder to solo after around level 40, alot harder. That orange mob will lay a smack down for 120 a time and running isnt such an option like EQ.

Another points Id like to add is about the reviewer talking about classes being similar. i would wonder what levels he has played too, because as you get higher, the roles start to come through more than say how it is, below 50, which is shoot shoot shoot no matter what class. But as the non total fighter classes start to do less and less damage with their pistols or whatever, theirs roles change and its more efficient for them to use some of their class specific skills to help the group.

Anoter small points, when EQ was released, servers were down 75% of the time, thats no worse than the problems AO has had, I mean we are only weeks in, and now a massive amount of problems are fixed, in fact just about only memory leak still remains, and lag with huge amount of people.

Also you said about how all classes can use all weps and armour. Maybe so, from a lower level charachters point of view, as with most of the review. As you get higher, you do not have enough skill, say as an engineer, to keep your casting skills, your weapon skills, and engy (trade and related) skills, and stats up, you have to narrow down. This will result in 1. You wont have as much, not even nearly as much AC as say an enforcer, who can devote all his points into str, stam, agil, anything he needs for the best armour.
2. There is no way, a casting based class, can keep up with say, ranged energy, fling, burst, rifle, SMG etc, the kind of skills that are required to use most top class items. most wont even have say their pistol and multi ranged maxed, and will be using much lower qaulity level than say a soldier. As you grow higher, you will start to see a very, very large rift between fighters, and other classes damage output, and the weapons they can use. I can currently as a fighting engineer, use just over half the qaulity level weapon as say a soldier, who has skills to insure he can use those weapons. So although its true we can all use same weps and armour, only to a certain extent, and a certain qaulity level. So really there is a large difference in classes, and what equipment they can use.

A last point, you said how playing one class, doesntr seem different to playing another, I ponder weather you have actually played more than one class, above the level of about 50, it seems unlikely, because there are so many routes that can be taken, ive tried two different engineers over level 50, and my game play was absolutely different, I took a fighting route, with dodging skills, and little trade, other than to use trimmer,s which my other engy specialised in, I also get pets lower than my nano mage engineer, and its interesting finding ways to boost those skills, also being an atrox now, my stat allocation is totally different, I am a tank engy (heh) and my game is completely different, to my frail nano mage engy.

One LAST thing, I would like to see rare items on AO, that added alot of fun to my EQ game play, the idea of one day getting that glorious piece. Also I would like to see missions, that go on over a long period (like EQ quests could take you weeks etc) and the final reward be very desirable, possibly even that rare I spoke of.

Ok thats it, I hope you read this, and dont flame me for this, just give me your opinions

There is one thing i have to agree on with Allakhazam, this game is buggy like hell and should NEVER have been released in the state of development it was.

Nevertheless when you can play it it's a very fun game making up for most flaws that always ruined my EQ experience..

No more camping, no hours and hours of CR no more gathering for hours to get a shot at an Uebermob.

Also may loot be less interesting for some players because it is more common but it takes away ALLOT of the greed that ruined EQ for many players..

Ebayers will hate this system and so will twinks but did we all really enjoy those in EQ?

There is one thing worht ot mention about grouping in AO though.

In a group the experience for each kill is pretty much the same as it is when you solo and does this not motivate people enough to group and sozialise?

You really want to compare EQ and AO?

Well the first one is an enormous time sink almost impossible to enjoy for casual players the second is the game most people playing EQ always wanted.

I'd like to say, it may have been said already, I havnt read all the posts, when the reviewer saidthat soloing is faster than grouping, he was more wrong than he could, possibly, possibly know. I am currently a level 59 engineer. I can tell you with 100% certainty, that grouping, is 10 times faster than soloing, and Im not even exagerating. The only reason I do missions know, is for cash and rewards /mission tokens. it also becomes harder to solo after around level 40, alot harder. That orange mob will lay a smack down for 120 a time and running isnt such an option like EQ.

Another points Id like to add is about the reviewer talking about classes being similar. i would wonder what levels he has played too, because as you get higher, the roles start to come through more than say how it is, below 50, which is shoot shoot shoot no matter what class. But as the non total fighter classes start to do less and less damage with their pistols or whatever, theirs roles change and its more efficient for them to use some of their class specific skills to help the group.

Anoter small points, when EQ was released, servers were down 75% of the time, thats no worse than the problems AO has had, I mean we are only weeks in, and now a massive amount of problems are fixed, in fact just about only memory leak still remains, and lag with huge amount of people.

Also you said about how all classes can use all weps and armour. Maybe so, from a lower level charachters point of view, as with most of the review. As you get higher, you do not have enough skill, say as an engineer, to keep your casting skills, your weapon skills, and engy (trade and related) skills, and stats up, you have to narrow down. This will result in 1. You wont have as much, not even nearly as much AC as say an enforcer, who can devote all his points into str, stam, agil, anything he needs for the best armour.
2. There is no way, a casting based class, can keep up with say, ranged energy, fling, burst, rifle, SMG etc, the kind of skills that are required to use most top class items. most wont even have say their pistol and multi ranged maxed, and will be using much lower qaulity level than say a soldier. As you grow higher, you will start to see a very, very large rift between fighters, and other classes damage output, and the weapons they can use. I can currently as a fighting engineer, use just over half the qaulity level weapon as say a soldier, who has skills to insure he can use those weapons. So although its true we can all use same weps and armour, only to a certain extent, and a certain qaulity level. So really there is a large difference in classes, and what equipment they can use.

A last point, you said how playing one class, doesntr seem different to playing another, I ponder weather you have actually played more than one class, above the level of about 50, it seems unlikely, because there are so many routes that can be taken, ive tried two different engineers over level 50, and my game play was absolutely different, I took a fighting route, with dodging skills, and little trade, other than to use trimmer,s which my other engy specialised in, I also get pets lower than my nano mage engineer, and its interesting finding ways to boost those skills, also being an atrox now, my stat allocation is totally different, I am a tank engy (heh) and my game is completely different, to my frail nano mage engy.

One LAST thing, I would like to see rare items on AO, that added alot of fun to my EQ game play, the idea of one day getting that glorious piece. Also I would like to see missions, that go on over a long period (like EQ quests could take you weeks etc) and the final reward be very desirable, possibly even that rare I spoke of.

Ok thats it, I hope you read this, and dont flame me for this, just give me your opinions.

I played all the way up to the end of the beta...and I take exception to one item you mention (Unless they drastically changed things at the 9th hour after going live, since I do not have the live version as of yet). Grouping is FAR more rewarding than solo'ing in AO. The breakdown of the grouping chart back in beta went something like this:
1 person: 100% xp from mob
2 people: 75% xp
3 people: 72% xp
4 people: 70% xp, etc
While I don't remember the exact chart the following rule was true: If your group could kill 2 monsters in the time you can kill one solo, you get more xp...this was true even for FULL groups. If your group can't take out multiple mobs in the time someone else your level can take out 1 something is wrong :) The way to get experience in AO is to group, not solo...

This has to be the most Biased Review I've ever read.

AO is playable now, I can play for 8 hours without a crash. Yes there was problems the 1st 2 weeks & the only way they were going to get fixed was to do what funcom did, release the game. If you did play EQ's Beta & release you will recall that it was 5 times worse, & EQ's graphics were outdated one month after the game was released (much like UO). As for the lag, you should exspect it, there is only 1 server currently & the game is only a month old. People have not yet had the time to spread out in Rubi-Ka, so everyone crowds the level 1-30 areas in the game. As for Graphics, I think your smoking Crack if you think that they are "drab" either that or color-blind. The skill system does take time to get use to but is much more realistic. It also allows for much better charecter development & customisation than EQ. EQ is more of a SOlo game than AO is, unless your only level 5. In AO if you want to get some EXP then you need to group. There is no Necromancer or Druid in AO, your gonna need a group. Honestly I think AO is a better game for everyone. But if you don't like AO, don't play it. Your one less person to lagg/*****/cry/throw a fit. Have fun in EQ, it's got about 6 months left. :)

- Bloodgather

Playing AO reminds me alot of the early days of UO. New, different and lots of problems. Since I played all three from the retail beginning I'll give you all my 2 cents. UO started with tech isssues (lag) and never were able to fix it. EQ had small tech issues effecting playeability and were fixed. At this point I wonder if AO's lag type issues are correctable. If the lag and tracking does get fixed I believe this will prove to be an awesome game. When it comes to playing AO the first thing I notice is it's much easier than EQ. All the issues that drove me nuts with EQ are not a problem in AO. You die? no problem you pop up at a safe reclaim center. No more 3 or more hour corpse runs and begging some necro to help. You want to travel? no problem, hop the whompas. No more 3 hour zone hopping and boats to get to the other side of the world. Of course you could beg a druid for a lift. Personally I dislike begging. Then there is grouping. Finding a group in EQ has more than often been a real pain. There's no place to go hang out and find a group while you do something else fun. Often in zones you want to group in there is not enough people your level or too many people in the zone to make it worthwhile. So your off on another 2 hour run to find a group in another zone around your playing level. In AO if you want a group go hang out at a mission center in a town. People run thru EQ cities grab what they need and leave. In UO people hang out in cities and chat, do trade skills, socialize. Eventually in AO I think you'll find people setting up groups, learning trade skills, auctioning and socializing. Then there is the problem of all the places in UO and EQ that nobody ever goes to. That has always seemed like such a waste. It's called lack of content folks. From what Ive seen so far in AO, people are everywhere. And then there is the issue of auctioning in AO. Click the friends list and check the box for the shopping channel. Auctioning is very much alive and growing by the day in AO, folks. And no more lvl 50's twinking their lvl 5 chars. I'm giving AO a chance because I have faith in the overall playeability and fun potential of AO....but, (only) if they get the lag fixed.

I have not played AO and I don't know if I will, but from what I can gather reading up on all the reviews/comments, AO is just a futuristic Asheron's Call. I think i'll hold out for AC2 myself.

AO Has to be the most anticipated, but most disappointing game ever...a friend of mine went to play it and now after about 2 weeks, he has come crawling back to EQ because of how many bugs and how laggy the game is. Some of the missions you are assigned cause your computer to CTD(Crash to desktop), or some of the items you are soposed to get are not moveable. Lag in citys is so bad that without the most up to date computer, video card and a Cable+ connection, you have no chance. In my opinion anyone who just wants to play a game and have fun should stick with EQ, AC or UO for now and let Funcom fix AO up alot before they attempt to play it.

if you read the posts on the http://community.anarchy-online.com/news

leveling go's as thay want to ... lvl 50 is like lvl 25 in eq ... lvl 100 is lvl 50 in eq ..

the only bigest problem ao got now is the memory leak and thay say there working hard on that to fix it ..

i played ao from beta 4 and i knew the game wasnt ready when it came in my mail .but i still play it .

i see mutch difrence from the start of ao and what it is now ad i think there doing a good job
this game can make it to be a good game.

and thay never wanted to be ao to be a EQ2 .
ok so it looks a lot like it and i think thay used it for some ideas if ya dont like it dont buy it ... if ya wanna thry it out so go a head but dont crack this game up becorse of its flaws (uo and eq where that to in the begining though funcome had a good vieuw how not to do it but thay failed :)

i see a lot of people whining in game about the game ..

and the fighting is a cross of uo and eq ... uo you always solo (till thay put in those team groupings) you can just choose i wanna solo or i want to go in team .. and i know there are teams out there just check outsite the gates of newland city

this was my words (and mistakes in typeing :P )

If ya dont like it dont play it!

Tarcy clan fixer

I played it for 3 weeks and have quit. Played a Doc, and a Meta. One thing I saw was that xps is incredible when you group, but grouping is hard to do right now till some where in your teens, as few realize its power till then. This game has tons of potential, but is a different game from EQ. No one knows what's going to happen with the higher lvls, though we will soon find out, as people are lvling like crazy. I think this is one of its biggest problems right now.

This game's basic structure is very much like AC (which I find funny since so many flamed that when it came out) and though they have taken many steps to keep it free from AC's problems I think we will see many of them surface. The real question is will it ever reach it's potential?

What is clear is that EQ, even when/should AO reach it's potential, will still have some things over AO and AO will have some over EQ.

One thing I see is that if it becomes a RPing world then it will not retain its audience. Most people don't RP. The ones who do are very vocal and so many think that there is a big market there but I have never seen it. This game has a lot of niche things that draw the RPers, but to the average player they don’t mean jack.

What may increase its draw is the pvp aspect. People may get drawn into this regardless of the RPing. Though few that play these RPing games seem to want this, though that may be do to the structures that have been offered so far. Those that want pvp generally play strategy games, and AO has none of that right now.

This game sounds a great deal like Phantasy Star Online for dreamcast...what da ya think???