Everquest's November Updates

This was posted on the EQ Live Site regarding the planned updates for November: ------------------- Here are some things we're working on for the November update: (Please note: my producer is making me tell you that in addition to this list, we'll still be bug fixing and maintaining the live game and that, while we hope to get each of these features in, nothing is certain. But this is what we're working on at the present time.) New LDoN raids will go Live - We be moving the two new raids that were introduced on Stormhammer to the Live servers. These raids will prove an interesting challenge for the best of guilds. Another new LDoN raid - We will also be bringing one more new LDoN raid to Stormhammer with our next update. This raid will be created with Elemental capable characters in mind. Font changes - Since EverQuest was launched, there has only been one font available. With the next update we plan to introduce the option for players to choose the font for their interface. Targeting - Sometimes it can be difficult to tell which NPC you have targeted. With the next update we hope to add a targeting indicator of some sort (something like the ring that surrounds your target in EQOA). The exact form hasn't been decided, but the goal is to make seeing what you currently have targeted much easier. Consider - Along the same lines as the proposed improvement to targeting, we want to add a way to distinguish the /con color of your target. We plan an indicator that will be easily distinguished once you have a target (probably someplace in the Target window), that should remove the need to use the /con command. Other interface changes - We are also working on some other changes that will help you to organize your information. We plan to add a new text color option for damage shield reports that will allow you to pick what color those messages use. We also want to split the "My Pet Attacks" filter into two separate filters, one for hits and one for misses. /tell windows - It is very easy to lose /tells in the confusion of combat. We want to add an option that would work much like an instant messenger. Each time you get a "tell" from a new character, a new chat window would open. That window will only display "tells" from the particular character, and any message sent from the chat window would automatically be sent as a "tell" to that character. Obviously this would be an optional feature. Help for new players - New characters will start with a bag. This will give them a little more storage space and the opportunity to learn how storage containers work earlier rather than later. We are also working on removing one of the more tedious "features" of the game, the need to practice Sense Heading. Most folks have that skill mapped to trigger along with one of their movement keys. Not an exciting skill to practice. So we plan to have all characters start with a 200 skill in Sense Heading. This will allow new players to navigate more easily, and will reduce a bit of tedium over the course of gameplay.

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Ummm, ITS GONE!
# Oct 22 2003 at 5:18 PM Rating: Default
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508 posts
heh heh, all I can do is sit back and laugh.

Ummmm, sense heading was not a defining feature of EQ. It was boring, and frustrating. It sorta-kinda-might have been useful if you could max it out before level 39. But maxing it out is a trivial challenge, and not a difficult one.

If you like to promote that fact, go ahead. Let people know you worked so hard to max sense heading. But, its not like the druids foraging skill - that one is REALLY hard to max out. They aren't at all on the same level, and they never have been.

For 4 years now people had been complaining that "SOE/Verant can't even put a friggin map into the game!". So, they put maps into the game, which essentially makes sense heading irrelevant. All you had to do was move about and you could see which direction you were going. So, maps made Sense Heading obsolete; certainly enough that is hard to justify making people press the sense heading key 10,000 times over 39 levels of play.

Just say "Wow! I loved the Sense Heading skill, its the most wonderful thing I ever saw in a game", and be glad you had the experience to enjoy it in your life. Hopefully you will find some other way to justify your time in EQ, other than practicing Sense Heading, and joining your highly exclusive "Maxed Sense Heading" guild.

Sense Heading -- ITS GONE NOW!

There is still plenty of skill up torture in EQ, for your endless joy. Make a druid, and max foraging. THAT is an achievement. And no, I don't have a druid with maxed foraging.

The game will survive without Sense Heading. And, newbies WILL be able to play in LDoN, even though they never had this "knowledge" of the game.

Edited, Wed Oct 22 18:05:01 2003
RE: Ummm, ITS GONE!
# Oct 23 2003 at 12:56 PM Rating: Decent
Scholar
22 posts
It's actually more than just eliminating the sense heading and giving bags out now, much more. This SH change probably is needed due to the maps and I agree completely that the SH skill was an annoyance but the point here is that this is just one more change in a long line of changes that Sony has done which are slowly degenerating the quality of both the game and the players. Many who have jumped on this latest change and are voicing their concerns see this point. Some seem to be looking at it as this one little change will have virtually no effect on the game play, which is true, instead of looking at it in terms of all of the other changes that have been made to make the game easier and reduce the challenge and quality of EQ. In just about all cases, the one or two changes made a month to make things easier by themselves effect little but the cumulative effect of these changes do effect the overall quality of the game as time goes on.

While there does have to be a balance between attracting new customers and keeping the game challenging, the challenge of EQ is slowly being taken out. Changes to many NPC/MOB's have been done in many newbie areas so that most things are indifferent so the new players don't have to worry about being jumped by wandering mobs. There's really no need to use or learn about /con at the lower levels in most cases since you don't have to worry about the mobs aggroing on you since most things are indifferent in some of the zones. Even some NPC/MOB's in the teen levels outside of the newbie areas have been toned back because players constantly complained about how tough the mobs are and that they aggroed without being provoked. Where's the challenge of EQ when Sony is slowly reducing the toughness and aggressiveness of the mobs to satisfy the players that don't want a challenge?

What I see happening is that the real frustration curve for true newbies now starts at level 11. The arguements that these new players are now hooked by level 11 because they put so much time in the game is false as you can make level 11 in an extremely short period of time (usually just a few hours). Where people would give up previously at level 2 to 5, these same people would give up now between levels 11 to 13 simply because of the abrupt changes in experience per kill and the abrupt change in toughness of the mobs in the teens.

Granted EQ has many other issues, both inside and outside of Sony's control, that are slowly degrading the quality of play such as players that buy high level chars on auction sites and don't have a clue how to play them as well the bazaar issues but why degrade the quality on your own by constantly making things even easier? Think about it for a moment and ask yourself where EQ will be at a year or two from now if they continue to tone things back and make everything easier just because the newer players complain about how tough it is. Eventually they'll start toning back the 20 and higher level NPC/MOB's as the newer breed of players complain that they are to tough.

That is what I believe many are upset about here. As Sony continues to hand hold the newer players and make it even easier for them, they'll eventually have to continue hand holding them through the higher levels. When all is said and done, EQ will end up as a game that nobody will have to think about what they are doing and there will be no challenge left at all as there will be little danger out there to harm the players. If this trend of making things as easy as possible continues, that's what will happen. Not on the next patch, not next month but in a year or so from the cumulative effects of each "make it easier" change, it will.

Maybe Sony needs to have a server for those players that just want to level quickly, not have to use any brain cells thinking since nothing will hurt them since everything will be indifferent and have few hit points and want absolutely no challenges.
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RE: Ummm, ITS GONE!
# Oct 25 2003 at 10:05 AM Rating: Decent
1 post
I started EQ in August and in just the few months I have notice that the game is being made easier for the new and lower lvl players. One reason only " To keep new customers paying their monthly fee for as long as possible". The more effort(in this case time) you put into your character the more invested you are going to be to level up and then your hooked! That's is what Sony is counting on. How does it keep Sony in bussiness(servers running) if all a large number of new customers quit before the their 1st month because they can't get halfway thru a map or find their corpse?

As far as difficulty it's still there. I'm level 36 warrior( in 4 months time) real fast compared to the beginning times I know( ubers make sure u know this fact). The main reason for my quick rise? Equipment! and where did I get this nice array of articles? From the very same groups who complain about the Bazaar at the Bazaar.

Maybe if the older wiser players of Eq wouldn't equip their Alts with items and plat their Ubers aquire, then maybe the newbies wouldn't feel that they are at disavandage when competting for mobs with the expirenced players.

I've only been playing for a few months now( and I'm hooked) but I do see the game getting easier rapidly, which can only hurt the game in the long run. But if you don't want the newer players to have it so easy, stop selling your items in the bazaar that would be a start and petition Sony to get vendors to offer more plat for your items.

PS lest we forget Sony is launching EQ2 in November. I hear it's going to be more rugged, requiring maintance on equipment, if you die you lose an item, ,more social( a real challange for many hehe) and such. I don't know what the fee will be the games going to set you back $50 and Sony will be offering crossover incentives to current Eq members. Coralations of how easier the game is getting and the up coming EQ2. Just a thought.

PSS okay maybe 2 reasons.

PSSS No strike that just one reason more $$$$$$ :)
RE: Ummm, ITS GONE!
# Oct 23 2003 at 11:00 PM Rating: Default
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105 posts
Now that is what I am talking about. I feel the same way about this and I am glade you posted. It is true that all the new playes want to do is level up quickly and get the phat loot, but what about the danger, exploration, and the feeling that you just did something that few have done. All theise things can't be found if you are trying to make it easer just so you can level quickly. Some of their newbie changes have accully made the first few level a bit more fun, but where is the fun if you are being walk from level to level.
RE: Ummm, ITS GONE!
# Oct 22 2003 at 8:28 PM Rating: Excellent
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710 posts
I agree, I think skilling up sense heading is tedious and unnecessary - my concern was more with dwarves (see my posts below) who now are losing one of their innate abilities.

The game has been easy since LOY came out, for those of you who have made a froglok, you can reach lv 2 with one kill after doing the newbie starting quests. Plus they give you a beer, 5 gold.

I do however, think that making the game easier is taking a wrong turn as much of the game mechanics has not caught up to the reality of current game play. Many people have made comment to how they remember when having one peice of bronze was uber for a character. Now look at the same item and getting a peice of bronze is just good for 2 plat. Further, with newbie armor quests there is no need for much of what all the merchants sell, fine steel weapons or armor is useless and *WAY* overpriced - only serving a purpose if you really want to work on various tradeskills. Much like they did in SW Galaxies, I think a good step next would be to look at the prices of 'vanilla' items such as bronze and fine steel - reducing its purchace value (not its sale value). Perhaps bronze could be sold to the vendor for the same 1 or 2 plat you get now but instead of buying it for say 50 plat you can buy a piece for 5. Still not quite easy, but a little bit easier.

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World of Warcraft - Cairne-Horde
Kursh - 85 Shaman
Gonthur - 73 Hunter
Elrend - 49 Priest
Fajah - 40 Druid
RE: Ummm, ITS GONE!
# Oct 22 2003 at 7:39 PM Rating: Default
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105 posts
The point is that the adults that play also pay. Whith all ther chages that they are doing to help the "newbies" is changing Everquest in to Kiddiequest. This game should not start off where you hvae everthing, you should have to work for it at first.

I play this game because I enjoy grouping and playing with people that I can relate to and share a common interest, not to teach and babysit a 7-year old while their parents are off doing what ever they want to do. I don't mind adding a little flovor to the lower level, that the part of the game that I like best, but don't make it so easy that the game playes like a D&D version of Pokemon (Just think what the Beastlord pets would look like, ouch!).

Change is good and things do outlive there importance, but don't ruin the game in the process. Most of us that are complaining have been playing for years. We stayed on even when Soney raised the monthly fee, and we have been paying our dues for a long time.

One last thing I would like to note since we all seem to be on the Sence Heading topic. What about the Dwarves, will they get anything to make up for the loss for one of their race advantages? If you remove Sence Heading you also remove a feature of the Dwarves. It no different then if you where to remove the slam ability from the Ogre, Troll, or Barbarian.
#Anonymous, Posted: Oct 29 2003 at 12:29 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) A child cannot play this game simply because they get sense heading and a free bag. These small changes don't ruin the game in any way. Higher level chars are not affected by it.
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