New Everquest Expansion is Announced

Here's the press release: SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES EVERQUEST®: DRAGONS OF NORRATH™EXPANSION FOR EVERQUEST - EverQuest Returns to its Roots With an Epic Fantasy Storyline including New Dragons, an Updated Look and Feel, and New Features for Guilds and Casual Players! - SAN DIEGO, CA – January 11, 2005 – Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming, today announced EverQuest®: Dragons of Norrath™, a new expansion for the incredibly popular PC Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), EverQuest®. EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath is scheduled to be available at retail and for digital download from Sony Online Entertainment for U.S. $29.99 in February 2005 with a special incentive price for U.S. and European consumers who pre-order and digitally download directly from Sony Online Entertainment. “The EverQuest development team continues to deliver new content, adventures and features in yet another thrilling expansion pack for the world of EverQuest,” said Michael Lustenberger, vice president of marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. “Combining the power of the new graphics engine and nostalgic new storylines, EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath offers a beautiful new world and challenging new quests sure to please both new and veteran EverQuest players alike.” EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath returns EverQuest to its original foundation with appearances from a familiar cast of characters who will find themselves at the forefront of events transpiring across the world. Featuring new lands with enhanced graphics, bold new storylines, updated creatures including goblins, drakes and the ominous Frost Giant, and all-new guild management tools, EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath is the next great expansion pack for the fantasy adventure that is EverQuest. Make ready with new features such as the ability to regenerate your mana/health before a battle, easier inventory access via a potion belt, and the ability and to quickly swap pre-arranged weapons sets using a bandolier. All-new guild hall management tools allow players to easily ready their guild for encounters! EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath is bursting with new adventures and features for players of all levels. About EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath A series of events has transpired across the world of Norrath and the familiar faces of Firiona Vie and her nemesis Lanys T’Vyl return to find themselves at the forefront of these events. Unbeknownst to them, a dark influence has seeped into the world of Norrath causing new tensions to arise and conflicts to intensify as the dawn of a new age emerges. The Age of War is upon the people of Norrath and heroes return in this ultimate, unending battle between good and evil. EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath includes the following features: Feature Set: * New Zones, Creatures and Content - From Lavastorm to the Thundercrest Isles, adventure in graphically enhanced zones with all new themes. Brave challenging new quests, discover new treasures, and battle new NPC’s, including drakes, goblins and fierce dragons. * New Interactive World Map - A full color interactive map of the world allows players to point-and-click from a world view down to a zone view of the traditional line maps. * Player Barter System - Allows players to set up their own method of giving platinum or items in exchange for other items. * Potion Belt - Allows for quick use of inventory items. * Bandolier Equip - Lets characters have two sets of pre-arranged weapons for each hand. * New Spells, Tradeskills, and Recipes. All- New Guild Hall Management Tools: * Guild Halls – An instanced guild hall for guild members to meet and prepare for playing. * Guild Bank - Bank slot for storage of items accessible by all designated members of a guild. * Guild Stone - Allows guild members to easily port to the Instanced Guild Hall. * Mana/health Regen Pool - Allows players to easily regenerate their mana and health in preparation for battle while in the guild hall. * Mass Corpse Summoning Altar - Allows guilds to summon guild corpses en masse to the altar room. * Guild Portal - Allows guild members to purchase the ability to have a persistent port to pre-determined areas around the world. * Guild Tradeskill Objects - Various tradeskill tools are located in the guild hall for easy access by guild members. * Guild ‘Looking for Members’ Tool - Allows guilds to recruit by placing persistent “ads” on bulletin boards, search for player characters who match guild criteria and send in-game emails to those members. * Players ‘Looking for Guild’ Tool - Allows players to find guilds recruiting members. * Buff timers - Allows guild members to suspend buff timers while in guild halls. The new expansion will be downloadable via the EverQuest Station Store for U.S. $29.99 (plus tax where applicable). A special incentive price will be available to consumers who pre-order and digitally download direct from Sony Online Entertainment. Additionally, retailers will be offering a boxed version that will carry a suggested retail price of $29.99, which includes a special in-box item and in-game item. For more information on EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath, please visit: http://www.dragonsofnorrath.com.

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Al'Kabor
# Jan 30 2005 at 10:28 PM Rating: Default
all of you saying 'OMG! the bazaar dosent have more then 200 peeps in it!' can all go shove it. my server has NEVER had more then 200 people online tops!
wth?
# Jan 27 2005 at 1:35 PM Rating: Default


Edited, Thu Jan 27 13:45:06 2005
Desperate Act of...
# Jan 25 2005 at 5:17 PM Rating: Default
...a desperate game.

Well, as long as they are able to collect da monies from 100k people every week, what do they care, right?
AA
# Jan 25 2005 at 3:28 PM Rating: Decent
only thing SOE has not done yet is offered a vendor where 1 can buy AA points :P
Guild Halls
# Jan 22 2005 at 2:00 PM Rating: Default
I for one would love the Guild Halls to eliminate myself from showing up in PoK...

You know how annoying it is being a cleric and just running from one stone to the next and getting 20 tells for conviction? Not that I mind helping folks.. hell, I never accept donations, but I am busy doing what I need too. Most peeps are cool when you tell them your getting ready for raid, or your in a hurry.. but some folks just keep on and on and on.. Even name calling. When I tell them to meet me in PoE or wherever my destination is, they get ****** like I am supposed to drop what I am doing to buff them. When I am in PoK and I am busy, I have AFK up so I can take care of what I need to take care of without dealing with it. Will be nice to have Guild Halls if it eliminates the BS, so I can focus in on making sure my Guildies have the buffs they need for a successful raid.

Just the other side of the coin.

AA skills
# Jan 19 2005 at 6:45 AM Rating: Default
Think there is any new AA's?

Thirty-two thousand hitpoints!
# Jan 18 2005 at 2:58 PM Rating: Default
It's about time 32,000hp dragons became exp mobs.

Edited, Tue Jan 18 15:06:00 2005
Needs to follow EQ2 Back Lore
# Jan 17 2005 at 10:29 PM Rating: Default
Remeber they have to Follow teh EQ2 back lore

In EQ2 it says that the Age of War is eventually followed by the Rallosian Army, orge and trolls, rising up and raging war on norrath, Then Qeynos and Freeport become super powers( theres three now Rallosin Qeynos Freeport, and they defeat the Rallosian army. THen they but horns and then the moon goes boom( damn gnomes( actually it probly ahs someithing to do with the POTatics invading Luclin)) THis is all followed by the age of destiny, which is the era of EQ2.

So i wouldent be supprised that in teh expansion after the Rallosion creatures start to revolt. Oh yea and when teh moon goes pboom it causes Norrath to go threw cataclysms adn all hell breaks loose.
sheesh
# Jan 17 2005 at 4:47 PM Rating: Excellent
You canm debate forever till your blue in the face! Bottom line is these are all tottally diff games in graphics content game play etc. Of course EQ1 is gonna lose some folks. Personally my server (Tarew Marr) losin a few thousand folks is good by me. I find groups allmost as easy as B4 and not as many others camping spots i wanna hit. The weeding out of players is a good thing. Those that remain are your die hard EQ players that will be around quite awhile. So EQ1 dead?.....I think not
RE: sheesh
# Jan 27 2005 at 1:42 PM Rating: Default
Getting its player base cut to less than half is on its way to dead, IMO. The problem is that EQ NEEDS a big player base, some classes cannot exist without others. Since EQ2 and WoW have come out, groups are rare, because you need this or that class with isn't available, so you all suffer.

It won't be long before this game gets down to the population of Asheron's call and games from that time. I'd start looking at WoW, Lineage 2, or any of the other well-designed games. Or, you can just suffer untill Vanguard comes out. I'm sure EQ will take another big hit from it.
RE: sheesh
# Jan 25 2005 at 12:31 AM Rating: Decent
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387 posts
Well put! Eq is far from dead. I think there will be a market for it for another decade at least. (Either that or when VR (Virtual Reality) mmorpg comes out!) Wouldn't that be awesome.

EVERQUEST THREE - SO REAL YOU EVEN GET THIRD DEGREE BURNS!!!


(notice: Verant(TM) and Sony(TM)inc. are not responsible for any injury that will be caused, ekhem, may be caused to your physical, mental or social health by this game! Your in our world now!(TM)
Free
# Jan 17 2005 at 4:36 PM Rating: Default
They should make this one free.. and make a big deal about how it's free.. might win back some people. My subscription runs out in june, would be nice of SOE to do something selfless for once, to give me some sort of reason to continue playing.. but as is, I have no plans to renew, and I hate to think of all the invested time basically going *poof*..... but I guess that has to happen eventually =)
Grouping
# Jan 17 2005 at 3:17 PM Rating: Decent
I hope this will help get some of the players back. We have a guild of over 230 toons but only 10 to 15 online at any time as of late. I try to get a group and can't find players of my level online so I travel around just to find zones empty. I also can't see buying a new computor just to get addicted to evercrack2. I feel so all alone.

Edited, Mon Jan 17 15:30:07 2005
I hate zone-revamps.
# Jan 17 2005 at 8:32 AM Rating: Decent
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169 posts
I hate zone-revamps. If they are changing Lavastorm into some unrecognizable High Level plyaing ground, this is one expansion that won't draw me back to the game. It's a personal preference I know, but I truly detest zone-revamps. I don't care that they are underused, I love empty zones.

Been playing from day 1 and all I see is the old world getting consumed for the benefit of more "lewt" for the AA-grinding crowd. EQ has gone from a great game with a believable world to a stomping ground for level 60-70's.

"Waaaah, this zone gives bad xp now, I want to grind faster and gather more phat loot, give me more zones, revamp the old zones, take out the boats and put in the teleporters so I can get even quicker to my next AA-grind zone, I dont care about the old world or a consistent world, give me more LOOT and XP, WAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

Sad.




More stealing???
# Jan 16 2005 at 9:47 AM Rating: Excellent
Lets just think for a second.... EQ came out 6 years ago and was the first or one of the first MMORPGs. Besides Ultima Online, GEnie and the old BBS MUDs. Now everyone is saying that EQ is taking things from other games. Think for a second.... When EQ came out they did not have these "graphics" and other things that we enjoy now. Is it EQ trying to copy these other games or the other way around? Maybe EQ stole their idea from UO? Yes, EQ does have some graphics that are less ‘pretty or colorful”. But SoE has the technology now to make the graphics much better, this is seen with EQ2, But think of how hard it would be to replace all the old graphics with new graphics and not have at least a few days of down time? Hell everyone complains if a zone goes down or there is a patch. God forbid if an emergency patch is happening!

With all the games that are out now-a-days there will be new ideas and new things/ideas brought into games. Companies will “borrows ideas” from each other. All this does in improve the current games and bring ideas for new games or improvements. And in turn when someone borrows an idea, someone else will improve on it, and so on and so on.

Let’s just let SOE update what they can in the older zones/graphics and bring new zones in with these updates. But to say they are getting desperate? I do not think so, Why? Well as I said EQ, as all other MMORPGs will have to update as new advances come out. (Just think… when EQ first came out the fastest computer was an 850 and now they are up to AMD 3800+/3.8s, Video cards were 32/64 and now they are up to 256 with 1gig cache) All of these “new” MMORPGs are using the ideas of the engines that first started MMORPGs and just improving the older technology with what is available now.

EQ still has bugs, and everyone is saying the newer games do not…. Do you think this could because they learned from Verant’s and SoE’s mistakes. And of these new games that are out, how many of the designers have played EQ just to get ideas? Or played EQ and thought of different things that they like and disliked. I would bet more then 90% have.

EQ will be around for a long while. Before SOE kills or ends EQ they most likely will start combining servers. This in its self will bring a change to the effected servers. My guild was hurt by players leaving and playing the new games that came out, but as in all things we are pulling back together and rebuilding. And soon will be back to raiding Tacvi/Riftseekers (I can not wait). This will always happen.

Now it is true that a lot have left EQ for EQ2 or WoW... But some have returned already and there will be more to return as well. Will there be new games that will take players from the current MMORPGs? Yes. Will EQ die? Yes as well as the other MMORPGs die in time. Anyone remember when DAoC came out, they said it would kill EQ. Same thing happened with AO. Both are still around but so is EQ.

Each of these games EQ, EQ2, WoW, DAoC, Eve, FFXI, Lineage II, City of Heroes, Camron’s Call, Ragnarouk, Planetside, SWG, Diablo II, Vanguard (when it comes out) and a few others that I do not know about, are similar in some ways and different in other ways. Daily more and more people start playing MMORPGs and as more and more people learn about these games they will grow. These games are all different because we are all different. How would life be if you could only buy Ford cars, or only drink Pale Ale’s?

Don’t knock EQ because it is not as graphically enhanced as WoW. Some people like the graphics more then play style some like the quests more. But how ever you look at it they are all similar games and not one is better then the other in the fact that they are all addictive and are extremely fun and challenging. (personally I enjoy playing EQ the most. I have tried some of the other games and enjoy EQ more) So do not say EQ is just trying to keep their people and say they are stealing ideas. Each of the games mentioned above are trying hard to get players to stay or to join them.

Geez I can talk a lot when I am on a roll. Just remember that these games are made to have fun and enjoyment. Some are for solo’ing, some are for grouping, some are for <put whatever you enjoy about these MMORPGs here> Just play the game you enjoy the most and Have FUN.




Yay
# Jan 15 2005 at 6:04 PM Rating: Decent
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110 posts
Hooray for these two, straight from Diablo II.

* Potion Belt - Allows for quick use of inventory items.
* Bandolier Equip - Lets characters have two sets of pre-arranged weapons for each hand.


I was just ranting to my guild about how I hated constantly switching from my weapons to Opal Steins, and then going into battle while still using them, having to switch right in battle, maybe it's just me, Im lazy.
RE: Yay
# Jan 16 2005 at 4:58 AM Rating: Decent
And talk about usefulness for bards. I never liked playing them because of the swappings... They recently created the /melody command and now this. I think im gunna play my bard again.

For those who don't read patch notes, /melody makes you auto-weave your songs. For instance: /melody 2 4 6 will play songs in slots 2 4 and 6 then repeat.
Old Zones
# Jan 15 2005 at 11:59 AM Rating: Decent
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53 posts
The solution is simple to getting ppl to old zones. You make a aug that increases with power for each zone you visit. Have one for each continent etc. And you have to kill at least (put number here) mobs that you get exp from in each zone (not including cities) for the aug to go up in stats.

Hugs,
Tambora
lvl 63 druid
Diamond Circle
The Tribunal
Lots of space
# Jan 15 2005 at 2:16 AM Rating: Decent
There are a ton of old, empty zones...

Lets pretend you're in real-life and you're in the Andes, or the rainforest or some other wilderness situation. You look around. Do you see anyone else? Not likely.

Every expansion came with new zones. Every new zone abandoned the older zones... Now no one goes to the old places. It's a little depressing, and I would like to see more people check-out the older zones, but it is kind of "good" in several ways:

~ You're traveling for months and finally come across the abandoned city of Old Sebilis. You make your way into the main entance only to see that many others are here just hanging-out. If this were real life i'd be like "What the hell is this? How in god's name are there people here?!"

~ There is a supposed "powerful" army of gnolls set in the middle of the Karanas; yet there is a group of guys that have been leisurely kicking-back in there for the last couple of hours.

The answer is not to re-vise old zones, but it's for people to actually role-play and quit following your levels to about 5 different zones untill you're in your 60's... We need to build our groups and head-out to these places. (This is just my opinion, and this problem has more than just one answer)
GOOD MOVE bc EQ2 WAS A WASTE OF MY $49.00
# Jan 14 2005 at 3:05 PM Rating: Decent
This expansion seems to be a gathering of old and new ideas in other rpg games which i will not mention and all I have to say is Sweet>>>>>>>> With 4 eq accounts 2 on lanny and 2 on the preferred server LOL MS.... My serious concerns of lossing thi s Wonderful RAW game which eq2 can never be is all but disapatied ..... Grats to Sony and "Bring me the NAMED:)"
Barter system
# Jan 14 2005 at 2:15 PM Rating: Decent
I have been talking about the barter system for years, instead of listing an item you list platinum with a wanted ad for whatever you want. That feature will be cool for sellers and buyers alike
Guild Halls
# Jan 14 2005 at 1:58 PM Rating: Good
If the guild halls remove people from PoK then I see that as a negative. PoK is a great gathering place and by using /who you can find people of a class who you can talk to about buying buffs. If all the guildies are tucked away in instanced guild hall zones there will be less opportunity to find people who can sell you the buffs you need and less opportunity for finding/making groups to go somewhere. Remember the KEI parties and MGBs at the main bank...sometimes happens because people are standing around waiting for a group or raid...wont happen if those same people are now isolated in their guild hall!
RE: Guild Halls
# Jan 16 2005 at 8:04 PM Rating: Decent
This would not surprise me at all.. and those of us in small guilds or not in guilds would be hard-pressed to get that virtue/kei before running off to the latest adventure.. hmmm, any thoughts on npc buff vendors?
EQ Evolution--A Years Perspective
# Jan 14 2005 at 1:36 PM Rating: Decent
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642 posts
/ramble on

I started on the Stromm server 20JAN04 with the EQ Evolution bundle--all expansions pre-LdoN. My starting city was N. Qeynos and the joint was jumping, spam grouping rampant--in fact, I got my first 5 levels that night in a group. The bazaar had over 450 traders and the top guild Raiding guilds were going strong.

I've since seen the population dwindle--a couple months less than year later, the NQ newbie yard was definitely not hopping, bazaar trader population dropped down to a low of 193, and the top Raiding guilds were suffering decline if not already history.

Yet, after those couple of months, Stromm shows some life returning, bazaar pop is hovering around 330, and there's 2 guilds that are certainly going ot be top Raiders, with several more making plays.

Part of it I'm sure was/is server selection--when I started Stromm was listed as "newbie" server--may even still be I'll have to look next I log in. I know Morden Rasp is strong in population even with the drop off.

The deal is, I figure around major holidays, populations will dwindle as folks do their RL activities--this year especially hit hard due to game releases from SOE itself and Blizzard.

Nonetheless, I don't know that the population will return like I saw it when I first started, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I own Nurga, hardly a player there--usually zone-ins from Droga or someone passing through on a quest. I've soloed AA and XP there--despite the long haul out and back, it's well worth it for many reasons. If the population were higher, finding such an ideal spot could certainly be tougher.

Folks who previously couldn't get into raiding guilds or wanting to start up a guild with dreams of raiding *can* do so, if for any reason, the log jam is broken from top guilds owning the schedule.

Groups are certainly more talented in my estimate. I rarely do pick-up groups, but I've found when I do, the skill level is off the chart.

I do wonder about the constant release of expansions--hell I just got LDoN in October--impacts the overall population dynamic. It seems that more zones will thin the numbers, and folks finding a comfort zone rather exploring new zones will certainly make one feel lonely when in the hinterlands--Iceclad waiting for Stormfeather is no place for the loquacious and gregarious right now.

I'm reasonably certain that mid-level grouping is hurting on Stromm; my favourite place to solo when I need to be close to PoK is Dulak and getting picked up in a group can be hard for some class and level combinations, that in my estimate, should be snapped up quickly.

At the lower levels, the Warrens is almost always empty, Blackburrow has low numbers--yet GFay and Crushbone are moderately busy, while PC still remains the PL place of choice.

On a closing note--before I even popped in the first install disk, I did some research, and of course, Google led me to Alla, CR, Everlore, etc. After reading posts on these boards from now 3 year ago or older, folks were saying EQ was dead. Yet, give it time, folks not thrilled with WoW &/or EQ2 will come back, after the holidays, folks who got EQ for a stocking stuffer are going to be loading it up.

I certainly can't say any of my posting is true for all servers--I know some were hit really hard and maybe a future server merge among the lower populated will be beneficial.

See the positive in this--try a class that solos stronger than most, farm an empty zone for that drop you were SO sure was uber when you started up, go to The Warrens with your high-level toon an feel like a gawd as you wipe out hapless Kobolds BwahahahahaMwahahahahahah...oops, sorry.

It's a game, have fun--if it dies, it dies, just be thankful for the experience and be grateful there are alternatives out there if you still need your MMORPG fix. =)

/ramble off
Bleh
# Jan 14 2005 at 9:26 AM Rating: Default
35 posts
Quote:
"I might renew my account for this expansion"


That's exactly what SOE wants. Don't fall for it. EQ is ruined at the moment... totally.

There is denial on both ends, both SOE and players. SOE refuses to accept the fundamental breakage of EQ caused by themselves. I've heard that my server went from 20,000 players to 4,000 after WoW came out. If that is correct, then 5 out of every 6 in a group are GONE... history.

The convenient answer is that 4,000 is still the same amount of people as when EQ started, so group availability is fine. That's SOE crap. The truth is that there are 10 times as many zones for those players to be split into now, making it impossible to find a group 90 percent of the time. Every player knows this is true. For a group-based game, that is DEATH.

The only thing available is to be in a guild, and even high-end guilds have lost a ton of players. Raids are almost non-existent on my server now. People hunt a guild simply to GROUP now.

The problem there is that we have about 2000 guilds still around, and 99 percent of those are comprised of about 3 people each, who stubbornly refuse to lose their "cool" guild-tag. Well, good luck on that.

There are only TWO solutions to save EQ...

(1) SOE must suck up the embarrassment and combine servers. There is no other option since players are NOT coming back. These empty zones need to be filled with player-base again.

(2) SOE must admit that there are very few low-lvls anymore and revamp many old zones to new content. This allows the low-lvls less zones to search for groupmates, while providing more content for the vast amount of higher players. Do we really need 80 under-lvl-30 zones in EQ now?

The solution is NOT graphics and a new expansion. Not right now. Guild Hall? For 3 people? Big deal. Who needs to suspend their buffs for a Crushbone raid?
RE: Bleh
# Jan 14 2005 at 12:05 PM Rating: Excellent
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70 posts
Last night I put a group together and went on an adventure in Rujarkian. I haven't been there much before, neither had most of the group. It was fun. We made bad puns and killed orcs and goblins. We got experience, some loot and some adventure points.

This is broken?
RE: Bleh
# Jan 14 2005 at 9:48 AM Rating: Excellent
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508 posts
People are coming back all the time ... we noticed a substantial increase in the number of people in our raids since the start of the year.

EQ isn't broken, what is broken are the people such as yourself who post that a game is "broken", when it isn't. Numbers are down, but they go back up. Its not a big deal.

Not to put a dent into your common sense or anything, but you seem to be saying that EQ is broken because there aren't enough people there, and the best solution is to stay away. Sorry, but the best solution is to come back.

People whine and ***** all the time ... they cover everything from "Too many people everything is camped and there is nothing to raid!", to "Not enough people to go do stuff". People complain, they think complaining makes them stronger when actually it makes them qeaker.

Edited, Fri Jan 14 09:55:49 2005
New Expansion
# Jan 13 2005 at 4:11 PM Rating: Decent
Scholar
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50 posts
Ya know... this astounds me. They pull this out after I leave the game, revamping old zones, finally making guild halls, amazing. I've been playing WoW(I'm not a traitor, honest) but, I might renew my account for this expansion, maybe I can finish the last few fights for my epic, I dunno. I just can't believe they added guild halls. I remember reading about those when I first got the game, during Kunark... *sighs* Memories.
Groups
# Jan 13 2005 at 3:41 PM Rating: Decent
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239 posts
Sounds interesting, but really all I want is to be able to find groups when I'm on. My chanter had LFG up from 7:30 pm PST until 1:30 am PST last night and not one group interested. There weren't even any groups LFM the whole time either.

Granted, on the server I'm on alot of people don't use that feature, but the only other option is standing in PoK looking for someone or running to a zone and hoping people are there.

Maybe this already works, if so please let me know, but I'd love to be able to check who is in certain zones (I'd even settle for just the # of people in each zone, or # of groups in zones). Nothing worse than running for 20 minutes to a zone and end up being the only person there.
RE: Groups
# Jan 14 2005 at 12:22 PM Rating: Decent
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70 posts
Another option... the only one that's really worked for me consistently for the last 5 years...

Check the LFG list.
Grab a tank, a healer, some DPS.
Make something happen.

------------------------------------------------

If you can't find what you're looking for on lfg, (a lot of folks seem to ignore it) try this:

/who all cleric 55 63

If a name comes up in PoK, PoTranq, Abysmal Sea, Nexus, or Shadow Haven, send em a tell. I generally get at least 10 "no thanks" responses and a few non-responses, but I'm always gracious, thank the ones that respond. And I almost always end up with a group.

Substitute your level range. There is no essential class. Every class has a use.


Edited, Fri Jan 14 12:48:35 2005
RE: Groups
# Jan 16 2005 at 11:20 AM Rating: Default
i used to play a warrior. i recently quit. and the only problem with starting groups is the fact that classes are stubborn. i send a cleric a tell asking if they want a group. to start out the group. they ask. "have you got a slower?" i say not yet. they say ok no thanks. so i ask a slower first. "do you have a cleric?" no. ok no thanks.....gets old fast
RE: Groups
# Jan 18 2005 at 12:34 AM Rating: Decent
Dumb slowers and clerics spoiled rotten. There is one good thing about the lack of grps, they get to feel our pain :P. Nothing cracks me up more when as guildy cleric whines about not getting a grp after being lfg for an hour.
RE: Groups
# Jan 14 2005 at 1:29 PM Rating: Decent
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239 posts
The LFG thing isn't working very well for me.

I didn't realize you could do a /who all based on levels. Thanks for the info. I'll give this a try tonight!
racking the noggin here
# Jan 13 2005 at 1:45 PM Rating: Excellent
The biggest issue with EQ is all the underutilized zones. I think about umpteen people already mentioned that. The trick of it is how to get an old player to be interested in an old zone they already know well because they had to spend 5 weeks dying in it back before (Insert expansion here) came out. And with the new players, as long as they keep oocing where they need to go and keep getting answers, they'll not have to explore Norrath. I mean, when I say trainer hill, i bet maybe about 10% of the players know what I'm talking about. I honestly still like to walk into crushbone and smack around orcs for old times sake... but i digress.
SoE has tried to keep up with player demand on chasing gear, which is why I think we have so many empty zones. Everyone wants to be where they can get the better gear. When Luclin came out, we had the Twighlight Sea quests to replace the Temple of Solusek Ro quests is a good example of their intent to keep people playing. Now, the problem there was that most of the people that could get to twighligh might have already had a ton of better gear, and by the time players new to EQ got to the point of being able to quest the Twighlight armor, well, they were looking at PoP, maybe even the LDoN expansion with much better armor options. Soe appears to be expanding itself out of a population base. Like an Upside-Down Pyramid for lack of a better comparison. SoE has tucked away many quests/features sending people to the far side of the empty world to get drops they need. If your Epic is worth getting (for example, as a Pally, at lvl 50 back a couple of years ago, i knew my epic was useless since I could get AA's to two hand bash, and there were literally dozens of better 2 handers dropping all over the planes) but, with the possibility of upgrading your epic to 1.5 or 2.0, those players in large, er, helpful, guilds have the incentive to go back and explore the karanas, Trakanon's teeth, or whereever your epic takes you. However, again, as a player whose guild began leaving when GoD shattered their dreams of a good update ever happening, even a 1.5 is a ludicrous dream. So, that plan really didn't help out most people, I believe. A better example is the freed slave quests in Kunark. Getting the items they require sends us to under-populated, and appreciated areas for some good gear that a casual player can acheive. Same goes for tasks if you happen to be a lower level player, however, for the higher level tasks, like drake hunting in skyshrine, a lvl 65 or + soloer might be able to get a drake, and burn all their Disciplines, might.. But then, EQ isn't designed for soloers. The problem there is how do you convince a pick up group to go to the other side of the world for YOU to get a task complete? You can't. So, maybe as a fix to get players interested in exploring, offer something tangible and real to encourage it? As I racked my brain, and thinking about other MMORPGs I've seen... Here are some ideas I had to aid in getting people out of the pack and into their own.

How about a bonus for exploring? Not necessarily exp for entering a zone you've never seen before, but maybe, say give an AA for visiting every unkeyed Zone in Classic Norrath, one for all the new zones in Kunark and Velious? Maybe another AA for having all the keys for every zone up through Luclin? Roll with the idea.

Ease of travel.. As a pally, i have the AA for the Holy steed, which is nice. but, just for someone of lvl 51, just starting out on AA's, what about a Gate AA, sort of like a discipline. Downtime of a couple of hours or more?

Group quests! Get a pick-up group? Too spread out to do an LDoN? Someone not have OoW? maybe have a few things that a group leader can start that involves gathering-killing, just like an LDoN, but happens off general mobs in a underpopulated zone. Maybe for a group ranging from lvl 25 to lvl 35, they could talk to someone in, i dunno, shadowhaven, and have to go to Firiona Vie and collect drachnid web sacs or something. And when the group leader does a turn in, everyone gets the prize.

Anyway, all I'm saying is that to get people in underutilized zones, it's going to have to benefit the whole group to go, not take have the night to get there. (i.e. "I need to go to Dragon Necropolis, anyone got a port nearby?" "Uh, I can port us to GD" "You nut, i can take the book there" "Well, its not liek I get to cast it that often, and I never picked up the other velious ports cuz i didn't need to ever go there" And thus there is a group taking over an hour to get in place, getting there and realizing that work starts at 6 in the morning and having to run back because it's late without ever actually doing anything other than running.)

oh, and something about Hot Spots. before they made Grieg's End a Hot Spot, my regular group LIVED there in our lvl 50's. it was a great zone for exp, money, and drops. Then, every idiot in norrath crashed our party. I'll tell you what I'd like to see other than a 'Hot Spot' and thats a rolling xp curve based on the number of players in the zone. OK, you're level 17, you go to Paludal and see there are 5 groups in the zone, if you knew that you could take your group to a zone that no one else was in (The Warrens, for example) and get a 50% xp bonus for being the only group hunting there, why would you add group 6 to the paludal mix? Just a thought.

K, I'm done

Dweebus the retired
Pert the Inept Pally
and Oozing the monk-ey
bristlebane
RE: racking the noggin here
# Jan 15 2005 at 11:49 AM Rating: Decent
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53 posts
even better how about a charm that goes up in stats the more zones you visit?

Hugs,
Tambora
Lvl 63 druid Diamond Circle
The Tribunal
Much too much
# Jan 13 2005 at 9:13 AM Rating: Good
Its cool that SoE is still taking an interest in EQ1, and I always like new toys, spells, menus, Quests etc... However it pains me that instead of revamping the old completely wasted old world kunark zones, they just keep " finding " new continents.

How bout...having NK (<<< North Karana :) over-run by the minions of hate, destroy the old zone features, crumble the guard towers, some new mobs, some new loots, and something for the level 40 somethings to do. Just one option, and Im not saying that a new dungeon cant be found here and there ( I love Ldons ) but there are soooo many empty zones why make new ones? when with alttle thought you could make the old ones interesting :)

And again, I would pay SoE 10bucks cash to let me permanently name my pet

safe hunts and rare drops
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