I see this as a full-on attempt to take minecraft playerbase with Landmark, and the tradional mmo crowd with Next.
It's interesting. Landmark without combat is more of a Sims-style thing... and would totally have legs even after Next launches. I'll be very curious to see how much population base Landmark can hold after the "real" game is launched, now that they seem set on making it DietNext (with building!).
Of course, if Blizzard buys out Minecraft, evolves it into World of Minecraft and launches it beside WoW2...
Edited, Oct 2nd 2013 7:03pm by snailish
EverQuest Next Landmark Will Have Combat
The MMO about building and exploring is becoming much more.
Courtesy of Forbes.com, we have a very intriguing tale about the future of EverQuest Next Landmark. It turns out the game, featuring amazing creation tools, will also include combat – a move that further blurs the line between EQN and EQN Landmark. What's even more perplexing is that it will use the same "weapons, item drops, monsters, and...emergent AI" as EverQuest Next.
Apparently the move has been planned for quite some time. Although combat won't be present in EQN Landmark upon release, it should appear "pretty close afterwards" and will eventually include PVP. Combat won't be quite as complex as EQN, but that's to be expected. While there's still some debate regarding the presence of enemies while building, it seems they want to give players the choice of high-risk and low-risk areas.
Finally, we receive a confirmation that players will be able to carry over elements of EQN Landmark to EQN: "There is some questing/tasking involved to get a plot of land and other details involved, but players will be able to bring elements in." Further still, players will also be able to bring over their "Adventurer class" character.
Is the inclusion of combat a good move by Sony Online Entertainment? Personally, I'm incredibly excited for the concept of two separate games with such close ties. Tell us below what you think!
Colt "ShdwFlm" Casey
Deputy Editor