EQDiva

Is it worth it? is it as good as eq1? I wish there was a testdrive for eq2 so i could see if i like as much as eq1 but without paying and for a certain amount of time for free. Like say 2 weeks or 3 weeks.

EQ2 has had it's ups and downs. Right now (well, as soon as Echoes of Faydwer comes out) may be the best possible time to buy it. A new starting area/race is being introduced as well as familiar places like Mistmoore, Steamfont, etc and it's supposedly done [b]extremely well[/b]. This should also bulk up the population of lower-level players and be a good time to group. I've actually considered re-subbing and getting the expansion just to play around with it. However, it's still not EQ. And the EQ2 Bard bears little resemblance to the EQ1 counterpart.

The PvP servers are a blast. A bunch of us from Molto Espressivo are playing on Venekor in a Qeynos guild called Diadem. I found the PvE game to be entirely too easy. But when you add the real challenge and unpredictability of other players, it's great. If you give it a shot, send tell to Feroce (me), Sujae, or Abizen and tell them you are from EQDiva. (I never PvPd in eq1, btw. I'm a recent convert, hehe. The ruleset is pretty good. It's NOT an FFA gankfest etc.)

I think EQ2 is a decent enough game. The EoF expansion is actually a winner. The new race has an ability (glide) which is pretty cool. The starting zone and progression are well designed, although, convenience wise, they blew a few decisions. The home city layout of Kelethin is in EQ2 what it was in EQ1--spread out and convoluted. The regular living areas in Qeynos are much more convenient than in the new Kelethin, although if you'd never played EQ2, you'd just think they are far mor convenient than in EQ1, lol. There is a lot to do. I tried going back to EQ1 on the retro servers. I played maybe a month. I am not gonna twist again (bandolier is neat, but..) and I am not gonna rely on buffs to make the game tolerable. I happen to believe in the death penalty, but all in all, I'd much rather play EQ2 overall, although I think I could 'fix' EQ2 with a few tricks from EQ1. That said, the Vanguard release date is set at January 29, 2007. While there are a lot of loyal EQ2 fans who say they will not leave, expect the same type of thing that happened to EQ1 when EQ2 came out. There will be a bit of a shakeout and probably some server mergers. I have no idea what the WoW Expansion mid-month will do. There is a body of EQ 1&2 players that say they would play WoW if there was sufficient content. I have been looking forward to Vanguard for a long time. In a way, I am dissapointed in its introduction now, that I am enjoying EQ2 as much as ever. (I had leveled a Dirge to 70, done and quit the raid thing and am in Feroce's PvP guild). I have very little interest in solo PvP, probably because my troubador is such a weak solo pvp toon. Part my fault and part the classes makeup. Nevertheless, going through the original content on a PvP server with this guild is fun. I only wish there were more member in the guild playing in my late night (9 p.m. till 1:00 a.m. cst). At any rate, now is a great time to start EQ2 because of the large newbie player base in Faydwer. The EoF expansion that includeds the game as well for $39.95 is a pretty good deal. In a couple of months when/if Vanguard begins hitting its stride? Thats anybodies guess, but I will be there (Vanguard that is) to try it.

By the way, there is a test drive. Go to the Sony Forums and download it. It will give you a LITTLE bit of the feel for gameplay and classes, but it is so small that it doesn't begin to give you the overall picture. If I get a chance, I'l come back and post a link, but all of Sony seems busted this morning.