WoW or Everquest 2?

I've played both..

Published on November 22, 2004 By ins11 In PC Gaming

So I made it up to level 22 as a Human Paladin in World of Warcraft before they ended the beta (And europeans were persona non grata from the NA servers - but thats another subject) and what were the results?

So how do I rate the game, compared to all the other MMORPGS I've played.
[ Asherons Call, Asherons Call 2, Anarchy Online, Lineage, Lineage 2, Ultima Online, Everquest, Meridian 59, Some Sierra Game I forgot the name of, Dark Ages of Camelot, Shadowbane, Neocron]

The result? I will put it up there with Asherons Call and Ultima Online as the best MMORPG I have ever played.
For a running thread about WoW/EQ2 - Updated daily, check out this forum thread on the Adrenaline Vault Forums.

http://forums.avault.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=006215

Regarding Everquest 2? Well. There are some aspects of the game I like.. but a lot I dislike. I will say this though, WoW has got Everquest 2 beat in every aspect - at least for me. From rewards, combat, tradeskills, userinterface, combat, graphics... everything is better in WoW. Sure, Everquest 2 has fantastic graphic effects... but they dont 'feel right' compared to WoWs.

At first I judged WoW poorly in the graphics saying it "looks like Warcraft 3.. man, this sucks". But after playing it for many days I can say that the screenshots do not do the game justice at all.. and I came to like the graphics in WoW very much.

The graphics in EQ2 are fantastic, with Blooms, Heat "haze" from fires, and everything.. it makes for pretty pictures.. but.. it does'nt look Good.

Edit: Changed "slept around 4 hours" to "slept about 4 hours".. Slept around may mean something in English that the author
did not intent to insinuate

Comments (Page 2)

Splateaux

on Nov 23, 2004

Perhaps there is a marker or something on the mini-map, but I have not noticed it

When you get close enough to whomever you have to talk to for your quests, they'll show up as a little yellow dot on the radar.... unless they changed it from Beta of course.

ins11

on Nov 23, 2004

Thanks for the replies.

MythicalMino, Check out http://www.cosmosui.org if you want to replace your stock WoW user interface, you can get it pretty advanced.
Check some pictures here for it being used (http://ecstatica.mine.nu/3pics/wow).

You shold get the dot on the radar once you get close, as Splateraux said. You can also ask guards for directions, if my memory servers me correctly.

I totally agree with your posting though.. there is just something about WoW that makes me like it more than other mmorpgs.

Splateaux

on Nov 23, 2004

I'm only sad because two companies release new MMORPGs and both "did most things right". I've yet to see anything posted here pointing out any real specific of what's so terrible about EQ2, even though nobody else here seems to like it

It would be sooooo much easier if one of the two (EQ2 or WoW) would have just put out a crappy game.

PLUS!!!! Unreal 2 keeps reminding me of how cool it is, and how I just HAVE TO go buy and play it

There just aren't enough hours in the day to play all these games

MythicalMino

on Nov 23, 2004

i don't know really what is "wrong" with EQ2....just it never really grabbed me....maybe it was the setting.....i don't really know. I just know it didn't....and WoW totally has....

ins11

on Nov 24, 2004

i don't know really what is "wrong" with EQ2....just it never really grabbed me....maybe it was the setting.....i don't really know. I just know it didn't....and WoW totally has....

I think it is the graphics.. or .. well something. EQ2 has a lot of good features.. its just that, when you throw them all together, somehow, they dont seem as right as they do in WoW. WoW just feels like a more 'complete' fantasy world. Hopefully I'll be level 20 in EQ2 by Friday and I'll be able to run my real comparison test. Stay tuned.

I think those MMORPGS should both allow for a 7 day trial at once, so people can decide what to play. Of course, that means they would loose out on all the 30 day players who quit afterwards => Less sales over the counter. From a user perspective a 7 day trial is the best.. from a "I want your money" perspective.. the 7 day trial might have to wait a year.

I'm kinda interested in getting a "come back to planetside please!" email from SOE, so I can see if it has become any better now that I have a faster computer.

ins11

on Nov 24, 2004

There just aren't enough hours in the day to play all these games

Aint that right..

I'm taking a day off on Friday so I can play more games

Frightlever

on Nov 26, 2004

(hey, are you the Instant off Blues forums?)

The European Open Beta for WOW should start December/January since they're saying you have to pre-order from today to get into it. If you're sure you want to play WOW then pre-order and off you go in a few weeks into the open beta. (for free, still). Obviously check the fine print on the European site first. I haven't checked the details to see which retailers are participating.

Unreal 2? The bits on the ship killed that game stone dead for me. The MP patch that came out was kinda cool but I'm mainly SP in FPS these days. Too slow.

Frightlever

on Nov 26, 2004

I just checked and the UK online partner is Gameplay who want ukp29.99 for the pre-order. Play.com wants ukp24.99 but no beta code... The special pre-order also gets you an EP with the some WOW music on it. I can really see that pushing Eminem off my stereo.

I'd prefer to mix it on the US servers too but anything that involves faking addresses and buying game cards doesn't appeal to me. And theoretically it'll make it easier to find groups if the time zones aren't different. I remember I was in an EQ guild for a while and the number of times I had to do stuff in the middle of the night wasn't even funny. Um, EQ stuff...

ins11

on Nov 26, 2004

Frightlever: Yea, thats me.

I heard some of the stores in Norway had the pre-order kit which also included access to open beta, however, there is no set date on when this open beta will start, so you might just end up paying 100 NKR [about 15$] for nothing except a copy of the game when it gets released.

If they run into the same problems the US version has had - *mass subscribtion* I assume that even if I do get the key and copy of the game on launch I will be 'waiting' to log in for a while.. The ingame lag issues I read on their main site today is not favourable though, as this were the same problems the open beta were plagued with. Its probably a database issue and I hope they get it fixed a-s-a-f-p.

I really want to order the US version, but like you, the hassle of gamecards etc, not even knowing if it will work is putting me off. So, I guess I'll just have to quest myself through EQ2 while waiting for WoW to appear in a store near me... I *really* hope Viviendi Universal France does'nt fubar its euro release though.. I fear a lot, like non-english people communicating (badly) in english with players, a bunch of people ignoring you due to language, etc. [As well as the usuall /OOC or /1 in WoW Spam in French, Italian, German and whatnot... ] The best feature in any MMORPG is the /ignore function

The best with the US servers is that you get to play with a lot of people from the US who are up at your primetime - and they speak english - you have a low/medium full server. The Euro servers will most likely be HIGH load during daytime and Low at night. So if you're a nightplayer you will have noone to play with.. Good thing Soloing is so much easier in WoW than EQ2. [at least from my experience(s)]

But being in a non-local-timezone guild could be a huge problem, unless they schedule events to be done on the weekends.

Frightlever

on Nov 26, 2004

The European Final Beta is scheduled to begin in December is all it says on their website. The official launch is scheduled for the beginning of February. I'm convinced they'll underestimate demand in Europe and it'll be even worse at launch than in the US. But I was there in the first days of Anarchy Online so I've already earned my stripes.

Alternatively I suppose you could look at the pre-order push as a way to gauge enthusiasm. Take the pre-orders add in X number of store copies and you have a good idea how big your server cluster needs to be to cope.

To get back to your original topic - EQ2 or WOW. I found the original EQ to be akin to holding down a job you hate but you have to keep on working to put food on the table. When it was good it was spectacular but it just wasn't good often enough. So far my WOW experience has been mostly fun.

ins11

on Dec 01, 2004

I'm starting to feel the grind in EQ2 now.. so I made a new character to see if its any 'easier' with it.
And I've pre-ordered the CE of European WoW.. I bet it will be a shitty experience, thanks to VU France, but we shall see...

Splateaux

on Dec 01, 2004

It's definitely an easier and quicker leveling process in WoW than in EQ2.

grubworm

on Dec 02, 2004

To instant:

Just went through some of your old OU screens and it brought back some memories. I had a blast playing the game between 1997-1999. I remember when I first logged in and was standing in the middle of town and some guy was running around in circles with an afro and knife yelling "I DID IT!" I brought up his paperdoll and saw he was named O.J. Simpson. I was laughing so hard I cried. I wasn't much of a PK but would participate in Anti raids and usually ended up getting spanked. Anyway, liked the screens

ins11

on Dec 06, 2004

hehe, thanks.

I miss the old days of UO 97-99 myself. It was the best, probably because UO was the "only" game and it offered you the player so much freedom as well as customization abilities. Its sad that other games have not followed more closer, except now just recently. I used to play an ANTI on the US SErvers and a "semi-pk" on the European servers

so I could try out both playstyles. But pvp in itself was the most rewarding and exciting thing in the game.. your pulse rate doubled quickly while you were trying to find the right spell and cast it on the enemy while also trying to avoid getting hit by his halberd..

Some of the images also capture the 'friendliness' of many UO players .. notice how many tell me to f off etc

PvP in WoW kind afeels the same way, as a melee you have to close in on the enemy before he turns you into a sheep and nukes you

Speaking of WoW, have the pre-order of the EU version now, waiting for "final beta(*)" to start. And the grind has seriously set in, in EQ2. However, I'm ranked 63 on the server for quests now!

[Btw. Crusader is a useless class in EQ2.. unless you're grouping [and then just leeching off the others]]

ins11

on Dec 06, 2004

Grubworm: UO did have a lot of fun moments..

Remember I used to switch 'gear' when I entered the city, and ocassionally would put on my jester suit or robin hood costume, or other (before the 400 stone (or so) bank limit). I just stood outside the bank talking bull.. and suddenly another guy would appear - dressed just like me, and imitate what I did.. and then another.

Soon there were 3 of us doing the "i'm a lumberjack" song, complete with axe and farmer hats

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