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I bought WoW today and found out you HAD to pay upfront to play. Which means you have either had to enter your credit card details FIRST before receiving your Guest pass or wait for another week to play via Subs card system. What a real pisser to wait so long for a game and betold you get a free months play if you pay upfront. Okay I know they won’t charge your credit until AFTER a months play but where or who is holding your credit card details for a month.

After the forums the WoW servers are so laggy and the waiting times could be up to 1 hrs in time.

max number of characters for WoW is 50 as far as i knew 10 per server to a max of 50 is what i read from some blue text on WoW forums a while ago.

Sounds like Blizzard is more interested in making money on the server side. If 50 characters is the limit with 10 per server I just hope blizzard is ready for the flak from both players and the legal side of the argument.

I think I might return WoW and get my money back if blizzard intends dishing out this crap on its community.

lol, you plan to have more than 50 characters? Yeah you probably should return it..

Some corrects for WoW:
Can Non-US players play on a US server at release? - YES.
Rare quests on monsters etc? - YES.
Death Penalty - 10% item damage, no other penalty if you find your corpse or get a rez, 25% penalty for spirit healer rez.
Can players “bind” to a location? - YES (Can bind to inns).
Share Bank Slot - NO (but you can email items to your own characters if they of the same faction - horde/alliance).
Linked Mobs - YES (rare).

Do you have to download a 20 mb patch to setup a character ? yes

Blizzard have failed miserably in keeping upto it’s standards and supporting the community ? Shame Blizzard , Shame Blizzard

What about FALSE ADVERTISING ” FREE MONTHS PLAY ” ? yep, thats correct pay b4 you play . $79 for the game plus extra for online time , but no free time .

Biggles, I’m not sure what you are saying in your first post.. that being able to make 50 chars (10 max per server) is Blizzard trying to gouge us somehow?

Yes, you have to download a patch at launch. I guess you don’t have to for EQ2? (very very strange).. but nearly every other MMO I’ve played, I’ve had to download a patch before playing for the first time. Try starting EQ1 now =)

You have to enter a credit card number or gamecard number to create an account, it’s the only way Blizzard has of verifying your location. You are not charged anything at account creation time, you get the first month free.. (notice the button that is at the bottom of the page where you enter your cc/gc details “You will not be charged at this time”)

Some more WoW corrections:
Do the NPC’s talk to you with text or real voice. YES, though not the full quest text, NPC’s do speak to you in audio.

On average do players find solo or group XP a better way to get XP? Up to level ~20, solo.. after that, the xp is very good in groups in instances and solo.

From what I am hearing, both games are a lot of fun.. I’m playing WoW at the moment, because I like the universe (and I already played EQ1 for 3 years.. need something different for a while).

While that’s a nice if slightly out of date list of features (great effort btw), it really tells you nothing about what it’s like to play each game. I challenge anyone to play both games and come away with the opinion that EQ2 is a better experience or more fun. You may like the EQ2 fantasy approach (I would tend to prefer that style of high fantasy setting myself), but there are so many things wrong with the game, as Daakist pointed out previously. A comparison of the two Griffon rides puts it in context - WoW’s is sublime, EQ2’s is so bad it’s embarrassing. It’s a matter of taste in the end of course, but after playing both, I can’t see it any other way.

I’m going to give EQ2 a year or so and revisit it to see if they’ve managed to polish it. I fear there are some fundamental things they got wrong however, which will not really be fixable.

On the subject of requiring credit card details to register and play WoW, what MMORPG doesn’t? They *all* offer a free month (including EQ2), and the *all* require a credit card and registration before you can play at all (including EQ2). It’s not a new situation, it’s consistent across the genre, and has been this way since UO and Meridian 59.

The only reason that I can see that this has become an issue is because so many new people are interested in playing WoW ie. those who have never tried the genre before. That’s a good thing, but a little bit of research goes a long way. You don’t have to look very far on online forums, or go very far in a conversation with someone who plays already to discover that access to a credit card is almost a prerequisite.

I guess one thing this has pointed out to the marketing people is they could be clearer about the credit card issue on the boxes.

Correct monty , but as a person who has never played a game like WoW ,not unless you count Diablo2LOD as one. But it seems that by entering your details guarantees that they have access to charge you whether you agree or not. As the sub cards are not available yet why can blizzard allow one months play on the cd rego details and then start after that month. But at the end of the day it sounds like deceptive advertising.

[ I DON’T TRUST SERVERS WHICH HOLD CREDIT CARD DETAILS]

On the server issue you have thought that blizzard would have been well prepared after a beta testing period that it was so popular that at least their would have enough space 20 fold for the amount of players registering and logging in on day one. The one thing that annoys me is that this morning I tried to download the via dialup through the WOW updater first it updated itself then proceeded with the download . Okay after 30 minutes all I managed to grab 1.25 mb normally I would have downloaded about 5-6meg in that time . Apart from that blizzard have made sure this the ONLY way you can download the patch meaning no external sites have access to the patch.

Now accuse me of going over the top ,I don’t think so.That even EB stores have been getting a lot of complaints about the FREE month .

{afterthought}

That if this was the only way to setup the game by registering the game and (simulating)paying for a months play,why did not Blizzard include a 1 month Sub card in the box to make this process easier?

You’re partially right Biggles, in that MMO’s that require a cc/gamecard to create the account should probably include a gamecard in the box for 1 month playtime (your free month).

The other side of the story is that this is the way every MMO I’ve ever played works, including patches (you can’t download the patches anywhere except from official patch servers).

I hate to say it, but dial-up (while playable) is really not the best medium to be experiencing full online play via an overseas server. I know some people don’t have a choice in the matter, but at the same time, if you’re running a game on min-specs, you can’t expect it to perform at peak performance.

WoW is not the only MMO that works this way, but perhaps if you are dissappointed in the game, you could try EQ2 and see if the grass is greener…

All I know is, WoW sold 250k copies day1, with 100k concurrent players playing it.. those kind of figures are close to some established MMO’s, so it seems some people really like WoW =)

Thanks for the corrections stonewalker and Unifex, I’ve updated the table above.

Some more WoW updates:

Max group size: none but a group above 5 has the option to become a raid group

Max number of characters a person can have: 50 per account 10 per server

WoW does have a max group size of 5 players Deadshiza. You can combine groups into a raid (which is a group of groups), but then you suffer xp penalties compared to single group.

5 player groups is a bit low imo.. EQ was 6 (also low) and SWG was 20 (which rocked, but no raid feature was present to join multiple groups together).. most of the time I played EQ, I could have always used a few more spots in a group (for those friends who show up at odd times).

WoW VS EQ2

hmm, let me better understand this, wow cost more for the game, you have to WAIT! to sign on a server, and it looks like the cartoon channel??? Face it WoW is EQ’s little sister always has been always will be EQ is the Benchmark for all
MMORPG’S to be judged, and always will be!!
Ive played them both, and WoW is worth playing but simply not as in depth, especially in character creation!!!

EQ2 + WoW cost the same to play (and original purchase price).

EQ2 + WoW are both nice games. This thread is simply providing a list of features for both games, for those people who are sitting on the fence with which game to play.

I prefer WoW myself, as I’ve already played EQ1 for 3 years, and it’s time for a change. WoW is a far superior game over EQ1, if you ask me..

And the cartoon graphics are part of the charm of the warcraft world. It wouldn’t be warcraft without these graphics, and quite frankly I see the EQ2 “realistic” models as alien looking, after playing EQ1 for so long, they’ve really removed EQ2 from that “look”.

Play EQ2 if you don’t like WoW, nothings stopping you..

The amount of misinformation in these threads is a bit annoying. I think people need to play both games before they start slagging off either - at least then your opinion means something. Calling WoW’s graphic style cartoony just means you haven’t played the game long enough to form an opinion (if you have at all). I challenge anyone to play the game for any length of time and not be amazed at the handcrafted detail and aesthetic beauty of the environments. You may still not like the style, but you’d at least acknowledge the standard.

Being an EQ fanboi earns you no points (any more than being a Blizzard fanboi does). And as Unifex said, less people right now means less lag for those of us who are playing while they tune their servers for the immense load. Which, by the way, tells you how most people who play it feel about the game. How’s the EQ2 server load going? Flawless because so few people are playing. Why is that do you think?

I HEAR U TALKING SMACK ABOUT THE SERVERS AND EQ2 HAVING SLOW SERVERS? ITS THE PERVERBLE “THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE” YOU HAVE PLAYED EQ AT SOME POINT AND ARE CHOMPING FOR A CHANGE, WHEN YOU ALL GET TIRED OF WHAT 8 PLAYABLE RACES AND 9 CLASSES??? YOU CAN ALWAYS COME BACK TO EQ WITH 24 RACES AND 16 CLASSES. AND I HAVE PLAYED WOW ENOUGH TO SEE “THE HANDCRAFTED DETAIL” IM JUST NOT SATISFIED OVERALL WITH THE GRAPHICS THATS WHY WE ALL HAVE OPINIONS… HAPPY GAMING TO ALL!!

New AOL lite… save time and bandwidth by leaving out all those pesky lowercase letters.

Monty, looks you need to start practising what you preach (ie, getting your facts before opening your mouth). I’ve been on EQ2 for the last month and a mate of mine has been trying WoW. You claim the EQ2 servers are running flawlessly because of low demand??? How bout you have a look at how many new servers have to be brought up every week due to the fact that every time a new one comes on line it fills within a couple of days. Gotta just love people with double standards…

I logged into EQ2 tonight. There are 24 servers, 18 of which have a “light” load, 4 of which are marked “medium”, one which is “heavy”, and one “full”. My play experience on Najena over two weeks, (the “heavy” one and the unofficial Oz server), was that not many people were around. If the load is heavy it must be during US time (though we played at all hours).

WoW on the other hand currently has 88 servers with more coming, all suffering from some type of lag at various times (though it’s getting better).

This is what I’m saying.

However, if you are having fun in EQ2, great! Don’t let me rain on your parade. My comments were made in response to someone knocking WoW, and in comparison to EQ2 - which is what this post is all about. I really wanted to like EQ2, and may revisit it in a year or so. We’ll see. We could discuss objective and subjective differences between the two ad nauseum, but from what I’ve seen, WoW is a better game on many levels. I’m still hoping EQ2 has something to offer in roleplaying and character depth (something an exclusively PvE game is in a better position to do). I won’t be finding that out for a while though, as WoW has nailed it for me.

Ok Monty, much clearer thx. My mate has been on WoW since the beginning of beta and we have been constantly comparing notes. We’ve agreed in the end that the biggest difference between the two is that WoW is definitely geared more towards people who want to be able to play for very short periods of time if they want to, without needing to rely on partying or grouping. For example, each race is designed to be able to stand on it’s own without needing the “skills” of others to accomplish quests. He said other than that the bottom line is that there really is nothing overly new in WoW (aside from the way it looks that is!). I just prefer very obvious differences in races with obvious upsides as well as downsides. As the “Gamespot” review said, there are no real “downsides” no matter which race is chosen WoW… :)

Hey Monty,

Perhaps when you logged in to EQ2 and did not see a ton of people in your zone, it is because EQ2 instances replicate zones so we do not have PoK (EQ1) situations where there are over 300 people in the zone, making even the best computer most high-end computer geeks run (me included) play choppy and laggy.

No I have not played WoW, and I am not here to bash it. I am however VERY impressed with EQ2. At first I did not like it, because I kept thinking how such-and-such doesn’t work like EQ1, or this is not the same as EQ1. I quickly stopped thinking about it as an extension of EQ1, and look at it as a completely different game. If you look at it that way, it is an amazing game, and very fun to play.

I also like the fact that there are 10 login servers, and you never get the message that the login server is full. If 1 is full, you bounce to 2, 3, 4 etc, until you bounce to 1 again. I have experienced a few instances of booting to desktop due to server drop or just bad lag. Countered that by playing on 2 servers (2 chars on each) and now just swith if the sevrer goes down. (Only had server down once)

Anyway, just my 2 cents, all have fun.

EQ2 destroys WoW to the max…. look at all the ‘No’s to the features above. Played both, and EQ2 crushs WoW. And the ‘Cartoony’ feel everyone likes so much is rediculous. Let’s copy/paste EQL graphics into WoW then make their legs/arms/heads bigger. Both games can be very repetative at times, but EQ2 deffinetly keeps you on your toes.

My 2 cents

It’s so easy to get intensely parochial about these games. I started doing that as well, and then realised how silly it was. I actually enjoy the fact that anyone else gets as much enjoyment from them as I do. EQ2, SWG, WoW, DAoC - I don’t care. It’s great you guys like playing them. If you love EQ2, more power to you. If you love WoW, awesome. Maybe we’ll all meet up in Vanguard: SOH if it lives up to its promise.

Till then, game on I say. These are the games I dreamed of when I discovered computers back in the early 1980’s. I can’t be anything but satisfied and excited to be playing them now. Just be nice while you play :)

“Let’s copy/paste EQL graphics into WoW then make their legs/arms/heads bigger”

Give me a break. Have you really that little understanding or appreciation of artistic styles? That assertion is simply laughable.

Artistic style? Who’s talking about art? That is a perfectly valid ‘assertion’. It really is the same graphic level as EQL. But with all the expansions EQL released I’d even be as bold as to say they were better. The point I was trying to make is they aren’t breaking new ground really, or trying to do new things. Maybe things that have (Gasp* dare I say it) never been done before. Like make graphics so outstanding that few computers can even run it on the ‘balanced’ level. If you like all the Warcraft games then WoW is awesome. It takes just as long to beat the warcrafts as it does to get to the highest level. Do you really want to pay a monthly fee for something that you can master so easily? My opinion. You can make your’s, but at least add something to this debate, rather than just trying to call me out.

i played eq1 for Several years and ive been having some fun the last 2 weeks on eq2 . i have a 20 necro now and a 17 brawler and a 15 predator. basically i am disapointed in the LACK of strategy.. you fight the same way with all characters.. spells dont matter when you solo because you can only use them at range for a minute.. you cannot kite or do anything of that sort, and root holds for about 2 seconds. and after 2 weeks and alot of time. i am very bored of eq2, and alot of my friends are switching to wow. atleast the pvp+pve will toss things up a bit. i need a game where i can use some skill to play. to me this is just an improved version of DAOC. i dont care about graphics or how long it takes you make your character. i like gameplay and strategy in a MMORPG. hopefully WoW wil give me this. im cancelling my sony subscriptions tonight.

Who cares about graphics seriously, I’d rather play a game that looks like pacman and is the best game ever than to play a game with good as graphics but plays like s***t.
On another note eq2 has the best classes and races but where is the pvp.
Im going to go with wow because it has prepaid and I haven’t seen prepaid for eq2.
By the way where is the closest server for both

Yeoman, I think I see where the difference of opinion comes from here..

“It takes just as long to beat the warcrafts as it does to get to the highest level. Do you really want to pay a monthly fee for something that you can master so easily?”

You can’t “Master” an MMORPG. Sure, you can reach the maximum level, but that doesn’t mean you win the game.. MMO’s aren’t designed to “beat” like a normal single player game with an ending cutscene.

WoW has far more graphical detail than EQ1 (I played EQ1 for over 3 years, up to just before Omens of War release).. Everything in WoW is lower poly than EQ2, sure.. but it’s how they use those poly’s that makes the difference. Fewer objects/higher poly per object or more objects/lower poly per object.. WoW has the second, which means the same number of poly’s in a scene as most games have, but WoW is immersive, believable and what’s more.. playable. You can have heaps of players in an area, and not get noticable slowdown in fps.

I’m not saying WoW is better than EQ2, since I have not played EQ2.. What I am saying is WoW is a damned fine game, which you will enjoy if you’re not just after a graphics benchmarking program…

(You can’t “Master” an MMORPG. Sure, you can reach the maximum level, but that doesn’t mean you win the game.. MMO’s aren’t designed to “beat” like a normal single player game with an ending cutscene.)

I know what an MMORPG is and that is why I used the word ‘master’ instead of ‘winning’ when talking about the end of the game.

Sure WoW is immersive with it’s graphics. But EQ2’s real graphics I find alot more immersive. Just due to the fact that it looks alot more realistic than WoW. The over-all feel of the game is like a movie. I think thats why they make it look wide screen. Have you seen the interface, with the black bar below and above your characters? Anyways, what I ment was it is such a short amount of time for an MMORPG to reach the max level. I believe that MMORPG should take a long time to reach the max level, for a greater feel of acheivement when you reach it.

The fighting in EQ2 is not boring at all. Seriously, look at the EQL, the fighting in EQ2 is much better than EQL and WoW. Maybe you can’t kite to solo anymore, but I’m sure if you played a little longer past level 20 you would find things get more interesting. EQ2 is not only a graphics benchmark. They have inserted hundreds of new ideas and extra things to add to the feel of the game. Read the list above and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I Perfer WoW over EQ2, I played EQ one from beta testing to about a month ago, I beta tested EQ2 then once release bought WoW. I personaly like both games all though EQ2 had several problems and the one thing I disliked most about EQ2 was they made it so big, and so graphic intense you almost had to have the best hardware on the market to play it. Even with really good hardware it was rather choppy in the citys. WoW toned down the graphics a notch and made it more enjoyable to play with good hardware. That is why I started playing WoW over EQ2 maybe in a year or so I will give it another chance.

Wow Solarite, I deffinately feel you there. the one thing that is probably the most annoying about EQ2 currently is the high demand that EQ2 brings on computers now-a-days. They say that they made it so computer heavy because they want the game to get better as computers do. I can deffinatly see this happening. Though right now being on the second lowest graphic setting is kinda humbling. Don’t get me wrong the game still looks great and all, but try setting it low then turning it all the way up…. it takes for ever just to change, and then once you get it changed the game looks great but your frame rate is about 1 frame every 5 minutes. But hey! At least they left a big gap for improvement.

For those reading my posts, I do think that WoW is a good game (better than most MMORPGs. star wars galaxies is a good example of a budget MMORPG…… They just don’t capture the star wars feeling ya know?)

My preference is just EQ2

I guess i should start by saying, i wasn’t searching for any of this information on google, but it came up and seems like you guys could use a little clarification from someone who’s played all 3 games (WoW, EQ1 and DAoC Catacombs). I’m likely to not come back and read the responses to this, but use the facts here as you will. FYI: I will also only be comparring the newest versions of all 3 games, Comparing a new release of WoW, to a version of EQ1 that came out 3 yrs ago, means nothing.

Since the biggest issue here seems to be the graphics, here’s the techinical facts. These are As-Is, some people like fantasy, some people like realism, some people like a mix of both, while other just don’t really care about the graphics.. as long as there PC can handle it.

Graphics:
WoW - Very Fantasy style, not as realistic looking. Lower Polygon counts (means that there are less moving parts) but the images paints on the sides of the textures are pretty detailed. Lower polygon means that the individual moving pieces will look more “boxy”. (This method is also very easy for MOST lower end video cards to handle, even on all max settings). Colors are very vivid, kind of dream-like (hence the fantasy look).

EQ2 - More realistic looking, Still has a light fantasy side on the realm of Quenos (Good realm), but the Freeport (Evil Realm) is very dark and bleak-looking (obviously this was intended). Much higher polygon count. Don’t even bother trying to max all the video settings, they haven’t invented a PC that can handle that level of detail yet. More polygons means that your object can have more (smaller) moving parts. For instance, your eyes can have eyelids that blink. But at the same time, requires a mid-high end video card just to handle the “Normal” settings without problems.

DAoC Catacombs - Graphics have slightly less polygon count than EQ2, not anywhere near as low as WoW. (For example, Characters still have seperate moving parts for Eyelids). Can be played with most low-high end video cards, the higher details (example: Reflective water) will not be an option in the config panel if your video card doesn’t support them. Reasonable performance on MOST low-mid range video card, excelent performance on high-end cards with max-settings.

My opinion, DAoC seems to be the best mix of both worlds, it’s not as extreme in either direct as WoW or Eq2. 8 players per group, 8 groups per raid (i think), 8 chars per account, per server (10 if you have the catacombs expansion), has PvP, has quests.

Unfortunatly, I’ve been playing DAoC for 1.5 yrs and even with the new patch, the game-play itself won’t be changing, and i need a break from it.

Hehe so your saying WoW

First sentence is supposed to say:
Hehe so your saying WoW’s graphics aren’t as good as DAoC’s which aren’t as good as EQ2’s? I think anyone that has seen the games coulda told us that.=P

My computer will be able to run eq2 all right with a 6800gt 1gb of ram and 3200+ athlon 64, but im definately getiing WoW because of PvP which eq2 doesn’t have. Will there be an Australian server for WoW because I think there might be a high demand for one.

There isn’t currently an australian WoW server (or EQ2 for that matter).

Many aussie/nz players got together and decided to make Proudmoore our “unofficial aussie” PvE server, and Blackrock is the PvP server, with Silverhand (I think?) as the alternate PvP server.

Actually Spinebreaker is the Aussies secondary PvP server.

The graph is a little bias, most of thing things where EQII beats WOW you don’t mention WOW will be including it in the next patch, but you do go out of your way to mention what will be included in EQII in future.

I have played EQ for over 2 years before I quit. I hated playing a mage that could not solo after 30. I want a game I can play solo anytime I want. I wish to thank all of you for your postings, they helped me decide to go buy WOW.
See you there!

On the chart above … correction in the WoW column:

There most definitely ARE grouped monsters that act together. Try attacking any monster in a camp, anywhere in the game!

This in places also includes boss monsters that act in concert with ‘helpers’, and even other bosses. (Try out the house in the Elowyn pumpkin patch).

Another example is the dockmaster in Elowyn who has 3! hidden helpers that pop up when you attack him.

Regarding graphics. I just spent a considerable amount of time looking at EQ2 screenshots. A post earlier said that it was supposed to have more detail from more Polys. One problem I had with EQ was that everything looked like a set of triangles glued together. EQ2 improved that look, but in every EQ2 screenshot I views, I still see triangles all over the place (just somewhat better hidden). WoW hides this superbly. I challenge anyone to look at a WoW screenshot and find even one overt triangle, let alone dozens.

I find EQ2’s ‘realistic’ art to just look … wrong. Heads and necks are often badly proportioned. Eyes in the screenshots I saw were commonly hidden in shadows (so much for eyes that blink LOL). There’s no question that the EQ2 artists worked very hard to get a ‘realistic’ looking game. They just have a LOT more work to do to succeed in that goal. WoW looks great right now.

I just read threw the whole thred and in about an hour will be walking EB games to get my self a copy of WoW.

Thanks to everyone that posted here

I played WoW beta with my brother. Because (thank god) it didn’t require a super computer to play nor any money. So I may be a bit biased because I got to play with my bro (which is a very fun thing), but I found WoW to be very entertaining. The way quests drive you to new areas and the way everything fits together is so great. Now I think we were around lvl 16, so I could see how everything might “get old” at higher levels if you end up doing all quests and moving onto a new “base of operations” aka town, and doing all those quests and moving on, etc.

Combat fun was alright, grouping was good for questing, playing with a buddy was excellent (my bro), the RP and environment facilitated each other well, the graphics were fine (stop knocking the graphics :p besides I don’t like EQ2’s textures, they need to take lessons from Valve), I didn’t try crafting, nor raiding, nor guilding, nor PvP. If PvP is like or better than DAOC BGs then I know I would have a blast with that.

Now when all this is said and done everyone thinks I probably bought WOW and stuff. Actually I bought EQ2, I’ve liked all there design decisions and followed it thru dev. for a long time. I haven’t tried it out yet because I have been so tied up lately and I want to wait till we get a second copy (if we are entrigued enough after playing around) so I can play with my bro and get a fair comparison.

I am a pretty fair guy. I am not biased toward either game or either company. I think both games will do well and both will have a nice fanbase. I think you should play whichever vibrates with you more. I must say WOW looks appealing right now because we have 3 computers than can run it and only 2 computers than can run EQ2. Then I could get my other brother to play with me as well. That would be a blast I think. We are already planning on playing WC3 together, just need another copy.

Ahh enough rambling. Oh hey monty, I like your style. We are similiar I think.

Jerivex—”Regarding graphics. I just spent a considerable amount of time looking at EQ2 screenshots. A post earlier said that it was supposed to have more detail from more Polys. One problem I had with EQ was that everything looked like a set of triangles glued together. EQ2 improved that look, but in every EQ2 screenshot I views, I still see triangles all over the place (just somewhat better hidden). WoW hides this superbly. I challenge anyone to look at a WoW screenshot and find even one overt triangle, let alone dozens.”

I’d like to see these triangles your talking about. Because really, playing the games both EQL and EQ2 I don’t seem to notice all these triangles floating around in the graphics=P.
But seriously, if you’re founding your opinion about EQ2 on screenshots alone, not game play style or maybe watching movies of the game, then your really misleading yourself by barely looking into the game.

Anyways, the triangular graphics(if they do exist) are not noticeable at all. I doubt that the designers would use an excessive amount of triangles to create the game’s graphics. I know they used bump-mapping and extremly high tech movie style water effects, but why would a game of that size be made of alot of triangles? I don’t even see how you could sit there and look at screenshots from a game searching for triangles.

Has anyone else noticed triangles in the EQ2 graphics?
If not that guy must be pretty creative=P

99.9% of 3D games released now are composed entirely of ‘triangles’… they’re commonly called polygons. Judge the game on whether it looks good to you, that is what’s really important. After all, they are developed by artists as well as engineers.

Here’s some new feature comparisons:

Can you ride around on a large white tiger, mechanical ostrich or large raptor? EQ2 - No, WoW - Yes.

Can you summon a mechanical Squirel pet, Chicken pet or Exploding Sheep bomb? EQ2 - No, WoW Yes.

These features clearly show that WoW is a far superior game.. =p

I think both games are good games.. I just prefer the environment/history that WoW has for now. EQ2 has elements that WoW doesn’t have, but WoW has elements that EQ2 doesn’t have as well.. so it all balances out pretty evenly in the end.

IMO, Both games are very fun to play (I have a lvl 20 character in EQ2 and a lvl 12 in WOW), but I just find that EQ2 is more engaging and graphically stunning with equal play value. What is boils down to though, is personal preference. Also, please spellcheck this page. IE, loose instead of lose. I do appreciate your effort on this page, to give people a basic overview of the game before purchasing.

After reading this whole forum…and looking at the facts…I have to agree with what every has said (mostly)…But I played WoW beta and I am currently playing Eq2..and I have come to the conclusion..PvP is great. and WoW is less intense on your computer…but eq2 has far more effort put forth into it..and is a much deeper game..and doesnt wear out as quickly as WoW did on me. and Im totally unbiased,..cuz I had never played a MMoRpg before wow (including eq1)…and I enjoyed WoW heavilly..but with stunning graphics….far more character depth..and far more challenging quests….Eq2 is a clear winning…IMHO the only reason WoW sold as good as it did…was because it has the name “warcraft”. That being said. The Clear choice for me. is Eq2., by buslengths. and everyone reaps on how there is no PvP in Eq2. honest guys. 1 patch would fix that. and im sure. one day. it will be a treat for us all. but in any case. this is a great day in age for the gaming community. and boy..does eq2 really look stunning or what!? *drools*. but not to knock WoW, which, obviously had many many of hours spent on its graphical and texture systems. both great games. both very fun…but if u want a game…that is guna look better and better as hardware gets better…and has PvP looming..rdy to go…and far more depth. get eq2. you wont be sorry. I promise you. (oh and I prolly wont check this forum again..so dont reply directly…just supplying my honest opinions. and facts. enjoy.)

-Laser.

I think this is a pretty fair break-down, many will disagree but as a fan of all 3 games i’d put it like this:

1. if you liked high end raiding in eq1 - stick with eq1.. hands down i dont think anyone could give a valid disagreement to switch to eq2/wow if this is what you liked. (eq1 was awesome for other things throughout the 5 years but at this point if you arent their to raid you probably would be happier elsewhere. imo)

2. if you enjoyed more casual mmorpg play or a extremely fun pvp world, with most of the eq2 style elements (though most are lesser comparitavely) - go to WoW

3. if you want to play a great rpg that isnt a mmmorpg at least in the sense that eq1 gave us. its like eq1 combined with final fantasy to generalize it - go to eq2.

Who the heck wants to ride around on a mechanical ostrich and have in exploding sheep bomb???? Ive seen WoW and Eq2 and Ive liked eq2 alot better. I like the huge graphical cities. The really cool combat systems. PvP would be nice. Really fun if you are a quest person. Eq2 is not laggy at all for me and it runs really fine. So a really prefer eq2 over WoW.

You pretty much summed it up there Proximo.

EQ2 is a “Serious tone/High Fantasy” MMORPG,
WoW is a “Blizzard Humour tone/Fantasy” MMORPG.

If exploding sheep bombs, mechanical ostriches, tiger mounts, intelligent goblin merchants, zeppelins and dwarvish mortar teams don’t appeal to you, then you’re gonna hate the graphics of WoW, and also hate the game.. EQ2 is probably more your taste if you said no to all the above things.

There’s nothing wrong with either game, it comes down to what sort of world you want to play in basically.

… yet don’t let that description (while true) suggest to you that WoW isn’t a deep game with genuinely hardcore RPG elements. The truth is it’s both, and combines the feel of Warcraft (and the humour) with the feel of Diablo, and the systems of EQ/UO-clones. It also has some of the most beautiful environments you’ll see in any game (the artists at work watch me play and ooh and aah).

BTW, Laserbreak, PvP takes much more than “one patch” to implement ;) Unless the game has been designed from the ground up for it, PvP will break it irrepairably - case to point, EQ PvP (which was inherently unbalanced and broken). Balancing for both PvP and PvE is a nightmare, and I’m not even sure it’s possible as the demands of both styles of play are contradictory. You end up with two different rulesets to make it work even halfway (I know WoW is attempting to do both, and it is problematic). There is no way EQ2 will ever be PvP - one of its strengths IMO, and one of the points the devs have used to sell it. If you are waiting for that to happen you will be disappointed, I think.

Why in the “classes” section right up the top did you choose to point out that EQ2 also has professions, but you didnt mention anything about WoWs professions?

This whole thing seems pretty biased towards EQ2…

Well now…I just read eveybodies post uptop too and well… Both seem like level headed designers made the game… I really am into EQ because i have played the PS2 version…(sucks in comparison). I like good graphics and i am quite sure that my , “top of the line”, brand new computer can handle the medium high graphics on eq2 quite well. I have a GeForce 6 graphix card in it and it has about….i dont even remember how fast it goes…I play Doom3 on high graphic levels with ease. I am an EQ addidct. I hope you all have fun with WoW and Happy Gaming all. No matter what you play. I am going to go to EBGames in the mall and get my copy of EQ2. See you all later.

welll ive been reading all theres FAQ`s but what i want to know is that if i, bought WOW say in two days, boxing day, would i be able to buy a prepaid pack thing and be able to play it???

and if i can, does it lag or not lag on 56k? ive got a amd ath 2gh+. geforce 4 mx440 128mb, 512ddr ram, 160 gig HD(not that should matter, lol)
please tell me i HAVE TO KNOW!! because im going to buy the collectors edition and i wont be able to take it back and im not losing 120$au when i shoudent have

BTW i live in australia, if that matters, well please reply soon

If you have access to a credit card number, or purchase a gamecard when you buy WoW, you will be able to play from day1.

The modem shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but do note that 56k is the absolute minimum.. all games played from overseas servers will lag to some degree, even on cable.. on modem, it’s worse. Depending on how many people are on your screen at once, things could get quite laggy.. but you should be ok for the most part.

The only other thing is the video card you have.. WoW will adjust graphics content down so that you have a playable frame rate, but the GF4 MX is a pretty slow card for 3d, so you’ll notice some loss of FPS every now and then.

Only other thing I should mention, is Proudmoore server is the unofficial aussie PvE server, and Blackrock is the unofficial aussie PvP server… just so you have many people to play with during aussie peak hour =)

Well…I bought the game today but unfortunately… I boought it a EB games and they didn’t have the disks in the box. They take them out so nobody steals them… HMMM… Dam. I am going to go get it tomorrow morning after i go to the airport. Well that really sux. I run on 56k. Will I have to download a 10mb patch in the beginning of the game? And does anybody know how long it will take? If so post or email me at particle_02003@yahoo.com

Yes you will have to download a patch, blizzards updater is horrible on 56k, I know because im dail up as well….no other choice. However file planet is now hosting the executable patches which is much more tolerable of a download, the first patch was around 20 megs and the most recent holiday patch was 39. Well worth it I might add, I picked up eq2 from ebgames with a 25$ giftcard and the 20$ off sale so it was about 6$ figured id give it a shot to benchmark my new card, and see what WoW had to compare too. So far i havent even finished the eq2 updates, and the more i read the more im glad im a dedicated wow player, its not as in depth as eq by far, but why have so much depth when a game seems so flawed. people play games because they are “fun” right, thats the main purpose of a game, for entertainment right? last time i checked entertainment didnt consist of waiting, dishing out money for something that works 1/2 the time or poorly thought out story/design elements. So far im very glad WoW has the success it has, remember MMO’s change constantly 3 months from now it could be a bit of a different story, but if blizz sticks to their guns, im sure we’ll have WoW for years to come.

*SIDENOTE*

On the billing info, you do get a free month, and you can use a gamecard in initial account setup instead of a CC#, same with EQ, sonys billing is a bit more confusing than blizzards, blizzard makes an easy little list telling you upcoming and previous payments. color coded, timed down to the very date and minute in which your credit card will be billed, its easy to add a gamecard, change billing info/methods and even cancell your account. All I know is both of these games even eq2 obliterate my last MMO which was “Horizons: Empires of Istaria” should have been titled “Horizons: Paying to play alpha” it wasnt even beta status as far as im concerned, no name developers went bankrupt and sold out to another no name dev. Pure garbage, dont ever even think about playing.

No one has mentioned the the biggest thing WoW has over EQ2 and that is the city/town progression.
EQ2 everyone starts in either the giant good city or the giant bad city (boring) and at level 12 in EQ2 you are still running just outside the gates to kill lots of rats which takes hours, and then run back inside to get your paltry reward.( that is, if you can move in the city, since EVERYONE has to use the same city, it gets VERY laggy, and I am running a x800 pro ATI card $500, so its not my machine). WoW has eliminated the zone delay (come on sony, get into the 21st century) which destroys the immersive feel. all of EQ2 zones are so… closed in, and feel very limited/box like. in WoW you go out and find new towns/cities and have a real sense of exploration. in EQ2 everyone comes from the capital.
Yes the graphics are more lifelike, but the WoW are nice in a different way, you quickly move to new areas that have rolling hills/forrests and feel like you are there. EQ2, you are standing on a flat expanse watching 10 other people kill the rats/snakes that just sit around in the open (boring).
after playing both to 10+ level, IMHO there is no comparison, if you want to sit and kill rats out in the boring open spaces for hours and hours, and deal with tremendus lag in the only main city, and play a worse version of a better EQ1, then play EQ2, but if you want something fresh that moves at the right pace and changes what you are looking at and has a lot more talented thought put in it, play WoW. you get used to the graphics and IMHO start to prefer them to EQ2. (ps. look at the reviews from the official gaming sites, they give WoW a 9+/10, and EQ2 gets like a 7/

i have been playing eq2 for about 2 months now and i must say i love it. My friend recently got WoW and must say i like that game as well. To me it all comes down to personal preference (dont think i spelled that rigth but oh well hehe:)I love eq2’s graphics although i had to go buy a 400 gpu (6800 gt) to get the best of it. But im am extremely pissed to hear that there will not be any pvp. To me pve is fun but there has to be a reason to lvling and getting all buff, to me this reason is to slaughter other players in a good old fashion warfare lol so i believe im going to try WoW for a bit and get into more depth with it to find out if i will like it. BTW has anyone ever played ryl (risk your life) mmorpg beta?? that was the style of pvp i liked.

Can you do emotional actions like, kiss, hug, or other stuff in eq2? Can you buy land and build a house and stuff in eq2? Can you fly up high and have boats and stuff in eq2? Thanks guys :)

eq2 > wow …wow is just a pathetic attempt of blizzard to make some cash, which is all they’re interested in. WoW will end up like diablo 2…while eq2 will be improved beyond anything WoW could hope to achieve..eq2 does have strategy once you get past level 12ish..wow is just a bunch of disney characters hoping around getting to level 20/50 in like 15 hours..theres no grind like eq2 has…

WoW is for 10 year olds.

Guys i have some questions:
1. Is eq2 compatible with any credit card?
2. Which is the monthly fee in eq2 in euros?
3. Is there a lower price if u choose 3 or 6 months or whatever?

Ok, you people slamming Wow are idiots.
WoW was creating to keep leveling easy. You can sit around and kill monsters all day and level real quick. Maybe leveling is the point in EQ2, it’s not in WoW. The point is to play the quests which in turn make the game more enjoyable and last longer. I don’t know about any of you, but constantly killing the same thing over and over trying to level serves no purpose to me. Granted, you can do that in WoW, but the creators planned that this game would have a lot of quests and that alone is the reason the game is so good. If you’ve played on a WoW server, you’ll notice that a mass majority of the people playing came from EQ2 because they weren’t impressed by it. I personally haven’t played EQ2 but I was a fan of EQ1.
You WoW bashers are more or less trying to say EQ2 is better when in fact, I’m sure both games are just as good. I personally like WoW because of the storyline, the strategy involved, the environment, and mainly the support from Blizzard.
So I had to download a 20mb patch when I first bought the game. So? They told me I would over a year before the game was released.

Just out of curiosity, did EQ2 put a Holiday Theme anywhere in the game like Blizzard did? Honestly, it doesn’t matter if they did or didn’t, but that’s the kind of detail Blizzard does and what has made Blizzard a benchmark in its genre of games.

I had one friend play EQ2, the rest moved to WoW.

Those of you calling the WoW servers laggy.. I have yet to experience lag on a Mid-High population server. The first day I tried to log on I had to wait about 2 hours to get on. I guess that’s not bad when you have 300,000 people trying to log into 42 servers. Roughly 7100+ users per server. I don’t know how many authentication servers they’re using either.

To me, that just means there are a hell of a lot of people that are going to play. 50% could quit playing and the game will still have a good player base.

In no way am I slamming EQ2, but like I said, a lot of WoW people tried it and favor WoW over it.

The work done by the author of to compare EQ2 and WoW was a good attempt, but in order to compare two awesome games, you can’t be one sided. I was reading it without know the stance of the author and I felt he was hostile towards WoW. It was taking EQ2’s game and asking if WoW had those features.

I didn’t see anything about a Rested Bonus for people who don’t play as often as those who afford 80 hours a week in a game. I didn’t get to play WoW for a week due to the holidays but when I came back, I was able to pick up and keep pace to what I was doing before. Granted it’s not all about leveling, but I did keep pace with those who I was used to playing with and I did complete my quests just with an added exp bonus.

How many players have been banned from EQ2 for excessive verbal harassment, using Bots, selling items or characters on Ebay, etc?
Blizzard doesn’t stand for it and will gladly kick out anyone abusing the rights to maintain the satisfaction of the majority.

An example of this: A user was using racial slurs, religious slurs, etc. etc. heavily. I wasn’t involved but I was annoyed by it. He didn’t care if people reported him since he would be suspended for no more than 48 hours.

He was permanently banned because I was the only person to report him. Blizzard went through the chat logs, found what he said, saw the extent and permanently banned him because of it. I received an email within 24 hours from Blizzard stating this.
This is why I’ll pay 14.95.
The question I pose is this, Does this happen in EQ2?
L2 was ruined because of Bots.
New players to the mmorpgs quit because of the sheer arrogance of veteran player’s harassment when asked a question.

It’s my opinion (and just an opinion) that WoW is an awesome game, very enjoyable, and supported by a staff that will come through to make sure the game is always updated, enjoyable, and creative.

First, I will admit that I am not from the area (NA player here). However, I stumbled across this site when I googled EQ2 sales v WoW. I still cannot find those actual figures so if you know and can tell me that would be awesome.

This has been an interesting discussion board and I like the points made. I have been doing my own comparision (though not nearly as detailed as the one outlined above) and am very firmly in the WoW camp.
The matrix above proves a point to that many are well aware of, it can look great on paper.

One correction I would note is that in EQ2 there was NOT an auction house (ebay) style method of selling. There was a marketplace that I could sell things for. People either paid that price or they didn’t vs the WoW ebay like AH.

In terms of graphics for character and environment looks, I started playing MMORPGs with Lineage 2 and neither EQ2 or WoW, in my opinion only, comes close to how incredibily beautiful and detailed some of the graphics in L2 are. However, L2 suffers from a whole host of other issues which led to my canceling of the account.

Gameplay and choice is incredibly subjective. I can tell you this. I, for one, having discovered online gaming with L2, was beyond myself with anticipation for EQ2. After all, EQ1 was the most successful online game to date (NA wise I think). It redefined the genre, it was groundbreaking, revolutionary etc. etc. I saw it previewed and demo’d at various conventions, I watched the trailers. I made a spreadsheet with the race, class combos. I pre-ordered and modeled my characters. I tried to get into the beta (to no avail). I had a computer built to recommended spec. I picked up the game the day it came out the moment the store opened. I did NOT buy WoW, I had played during beta and liked it but I was waiting for EQ2!! With those graphics and all those cool classes and races and…I played EQ2. I was a lil dissapointed but thought, well, it is just noobie learning the ropes. The more I played, the more dissapointed I became. EQ2 has been the single largest dissapointment of a game that I have ever purchased. The crafting system is so complicated that it takes hours to level and gather. Another point that wasn’t mentioned between EQ2 and WoW was if you need to gather, is there a minimap to assist you finding stuff? WoW=Y, EQ2=N. Only certains skills require actual ‘crafting’ locations in WoW, but in EQ2 I had to find a crafting guild/shop that would accept me (never did figure out why some would and others wouldn’t) then I would spend the evening there crafting away. WoW, I find a PUBLIC forge or anvil and craft in like 3 minutes if I have all the material. Not go and find this or craft the reagent and then the other regaent and then make the spike and then the thread and then…Then 95% of the people I knew who were waiting for both EQ2 and WoW were leaving EQ2 and raving about WoW. Really? I asked, because I was remembering beta which was…fun but you know. I picked it up and have been playing non stop ever since. And for the record, I gave EQ2 long enough to have 2 (of the paltry 4 allowed) character obtain ranks above 23+.

I know there are plenty of people playing and enjoying EQ2 and I am sad that I am not one of them. I am not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t to log into a fantasy game that was too much like a actual job. I work all day and want to spend some evening time running around with some friends, killing, questing, and having a good time.

The last point I will make is this, I was speaking about all the things I found to be so ‘frustrating’ about EQ2 to a friend of mine who played EQ1 for 4 years. Every item I listed, she said, Oh they fixed that because of … I have worked in software development and the only thing I could think of, was they over-engineered the solution. They set out to fix the ‘flaws’ of the first game and forgot the bigger picture, which was that a game should be fun. I too will probably check out EQ2 after a couple of significant upgrades to see if the game is worth it. For now, I play WoW, and I like the ‘passive’ lvling in the game. I have maybe 3 hours a night to play and I split that time between 3 servers (to hook up and play with various friends, co-workers and such), I am able to play across those three servers with characters all about the relative same level as my friends. Only in one instance did I have to devote a significant amount of time to a character and that was because the friend on that server was already lvl 24 when I started.

The world of online gaming is a blast and there will likely come a time when WoW will bore me as well but for now, I like what I see and enjoy the gameplay and progressive exploration of the world.

Cheers!

I have been playing EQ1 since beta 3 in 1998 and have been playing EQ1 since day one. Since then I have had 2 accounts and two boxed most of my characters to level 70. I have been in multiple uber guilds and have obtained some of the most powerful items in the game. I had purchased EQ2 when the game came out and was very satisfied up until level 20. Once you hit level 20 the game becomes a little harder. The time syncs are not as bad as EQ1 but can be felt (repetitive monster killing, time LFG, boring quests). For X-mas my wife had bought me WoW. I gota admit… When I first started to play wow I thought it was corny and the Graphics looked kinda balloon and funny looking. The more I played the more I began to like it. I to do not have the Time or Desire to sink another 5 grueling years of bad customer support and endless time sinks that Sony has to offer. Since playing wow I have dropped my EQ2 account and have been playing WOW ever since. I’m not posting this to say that EQ2 is bad in any shape or form but the game still didn’t have the appeal that EQ1 had when it first came out. I felt like I was going to a second job again and towards the end that’s what started me hating EQ1. I read allot of posts saying that WoW is easy and I will be bored a done with it fast. Well let me tell you if you get quests and go and do things with friends it wont. If you sit and wall stand like you can in EQ1 just to level…yes you can level fast..but what fun is that? If I get to the high end content and become bored then ill head back to EQ2 only because I see no other game I would rather play BUT if Blizzard keeps expanding WoW and adding fresh content… GOOD BYE EQ2… My opinion!

This article is so bias towards EQ2 its funny. I play EQ2 and love it, I actually quit WoW because it didn’t suit me, but it makes me laugh how one-sided it is in terms of features. Its especially obvious that you have only played to low level in EQ2 also by some of the comments made.

Example: Can groups perform “Heroic Opportunities”? (Sort of like a group attack if the group does the right moves in the right order.)

There is no mention whatsoever of the system that WoW uses with building up points to use special moves.

Lets talk “System Requirements” and I use that term loosely because there is simply no comparison between the 2. 512 RAM for EQ2? LOL, it crawls with that. If by requirement it means that the game will load even if it takes 10 years, then I guess you could say 512 RAM is a requirement for EQ2. 1 GIG is the absolute minimum. Using a graphics card that isn’t 128MB with a decent machine P4 2.8 or later makes EQ2’s graphics look like kindergarten drawings until you’re in the character models face. All those great screenshots? They’re from machines that will cost you $10000 to build and play with at that setting. WoW I used an Intel integrated graphics card that is on a P4 2.4 machine and it ran easily without stutter.

So many important pieces of information are left out of this article.

Us “Big Kids” probably have wives and children, if you don’t want to neglect them, get divorced or forget your kids faces, don’t bother with EQ2. It takes so much time to play and to gain back XP Debt that you will wreck your life trying to keep up. One butthead in your group can set you back 2 hours easily.

Well…A couple days ago i installed EQ2 onto my computer…Minimum requirements. Peh…It never said anything about needing and FX card. I have an MX card(100dollars cheap card) It has 3 pixel shading cells on it…EQ2 needs 4…Does anybody know how many WOW needs? And if it will work with the MX series of cards. I might think about getting WoW if i can…It sounds actually fun. They both are really great games. THERE should be NO bashing of either game because all MMORPGS are really good if they come from a good company(Sony and Blizzard are both great companies) Im sure the Tech difficulties in EQ2 will be taken out in time and im sure WoW has some things it needs to work out as well…In the mean time i guess i will just play EQOAF for the PS2…*sigh*

Well…A couple days ago i installed EQ2 onto my computer…Minimum requirements. Peh…It never said anything about needing and FX card. I have an MX card(100dollars cheap card) It has 3 pixel shading cells on it…EQ2 needs 4…Does anybody know how many WOW needs? And if it will work with the MX series of cards. I might think about getting WoW if i can…It sounds actually fun. They both are really great games. THERE should be NO bashing of either game because all MMORPGS are really good if they come from a good company(Sony and Blizzard are both great companies) Im sure the Tech difficulties in EQ2 will be taken out in time and im sure WoW has some things it needs to work out as well…In the mean time i guess i will just play EQOAF for the PS2…*sigh*

Well… bashing is not the best way to give good pictures of a game.

I had read before buying EQ2. I had anticipated the spending of money to upgrade my computer. I had look at Wow with a friend of mine who play Beta.

Want to play EQ2???

- Be mature ->

a) You want to play a game that is graphics (so is game life) will last for the next 5 years? Eq2 have it. Wow is already 1 year later at this chapter.

b) You want to play in a rich features environnement? What is rich? I had passed a lot of time on EQ2, I had seen a lot of thing I don’T understand now. Mystery is everywhere. How can I complete this quest? Because, a lot of quest have variation in it. Like I must kill some serpent to permit to spawn the beetle need to complete it. Or killed all the undead around the focy to spawn the adept … Quests in EQ2 are splendid. A rich background… a lot of reading (for mature people) to feel what I had to do. My quest book is almost full… I don’t know any one on EQ2 who looked for a quest, because quests are everywhere. You choose path in choosing quest… Ever or Forever quest… People who sit at the gate of the city to kill rat to level 12 are immature people. People who don’t want to just talk to the bunch of NPC (hundred? thousand?) to take their quest… Each hour I passed on Norrath, each hour is great. No gridding to obtain level… just going on quest, group with people that had the same quest than you.

c) see there for the knowed features of Eq2 (spoilers): http://eq2.ogaming.com/db/layouts/quests_search.php They really only have a small portion of what the game had to offer.
» Bestiary : 2,826
» Equip. : 3,526
» Quests : 997
» Skills : 1,488

Be responsible

If you don’t have time to immerse yourself in a game, don’t buy Wow or Eq2. This kind of game are really addictive because all the feelings you will have with the game. Evolution of your toon, evolution of you friend… the evolutions can be found in gear, skills, level, quest, crafting, guild, and so on… this is the game that evolve. Not the same and alway same level that you will do 20 to 100 times before getting bored.

So, you are free to kill the same mob over and over. Kill those hundreds of rats and become a Hunter of Rat… but it is not glamour. In the two game you are free to evolve. The arguments that said Wow is better than Eq2 for his own lifetime is false. You are responsible to play 2 hours or 8 hours. The most of the quests of Eq2 of this table said 2 to 4 hours per quest. On the Wow column we see 1 to 8 hours… please, these seems to be fact. Yes, you can take 2 month to do one quest, if you are not actively on it :o). I had passed some 15 hours on the same day online. The time passed too fast. Cooking became a forgotten thing… But it is my life and I am free to do what I like. (and loosing weight without activity :o) )

I love everquest 2. It is the better game I had play in my lifetime. I hope that feeling will last much longer than the same feeling I had about other game in my past. But for 2 months of play, I continue to bring Eq2 in my dreams when I got to tired to play…

And in any world, it will be always the same. Nothing is perfect. You have the absolute control on the fun you will have with anything. Wow or EQ2, means nothing for me, really. I have what I need in Eq2. I hope that Wow will bring the market a step forward because the future of the MMORPH will be awesome. If this market can bring out billions of dollards… you and I will have the best roleplaying game later… think of it, new dvd that take a terabytes… 1000 gigs…

The dream is on, Eq2 is the next step in the generation of those game for his potencial lifetime, his great gameplay and all the fun I put in it.

Want to be on the waves? Take the game that give you much!

Ombrelune Argenciel , wizard 24 on Lavastorm server

Thanks a lot for your post Ombrelune. I have read this whole thread and am glad I decided to go with eq2 because of this last post (I ordered it along with the parts for a new PC today).

I’ve been playing eq for about 3 years now and the above post hits very close to home as far as what a game like this means to me. It seems to me that both games are enjoyable and at the end of the day it depends on personal preferences.

The fact that the graphics on eq2 are so much better is initially what made me order it. I’m glad that today’s machines are “barely” able to handle it and that there is a lot of room for improvement. Seems to me that they have thought about the longer term and after eq1 I know that in order to enjoy a game I want to be able to play it for years. That said, I’m glad I ordered an sli motherboard on which I can slot 2 video cards cause it seems that I’m probably gonna need them to enjoy this game to its fullest.

The fact that the graphics on eq2 are so much better is initially what made me order it.

I don’t know how many times we can debunk this misunderstanding. It’s simply wrong. Overall WoW is the best looking game in the genre by a long way. EQ2 uses the latest graphic techniques like normal maps on their textures etc., but using bleeding edge graphics libraries and looking good are two different things entirely.

WoW and EQ2 are very different styles, and that is a matter of taste. But objectively EQ2 doesn’t hold a candle to WoW’s graphic (art, design, color use, animation) standard. I prefer the High Fantasy approach of EQ/EQ2, and I’m sorry, but WoW is streets ahead visually (unfortunately).

Good luck in EQ2 though. I hope they update that awful eyesore of a griffon model soon.

My first MMORPG was SWG (which I have to say is under-rated by a lot of people) and I have played EQ2 for two months and have just started to Beta WOW.

As it has been said EQ2 has a high Poly count, allowing for large amounts of detail to be displayed. (Allowing minor changes to the details of your characters face for example.) Scenery such as trees have 3d branches. However this means that you need a powerfull system and the zones tend to have fewer, high detailed objects. (Archers wood is pretty well done)

WOW on the other hand has the low poly count option, which does not allow you to change small face details on your characters face etc. The trees have 2d branches, which when you stop and look at do look naff, but it allows them to create much more intrecate land scapes.

EQ2 uses zones, to divide the areas up, which I feel somewhat diminishes the scope of the game. WOW loads up huge areas in one go. (Where talkin areas 10 times the size of Antonica yet with intrecate detail like that of Willow wood)

It’s not fair for me to judge WOW yet as I’ve only been in beta a few days but I can say this about EQ2

My Secondary was a level 15 warrior level 14 provisioner my main was a level 23 Shaman level 13 Clothier. On my own I found that either the quests where grey or green and thus gave poor xp and reward, or where blue, white, yellow or Red and to hard to do alone. Sometimes it was easy enough to get in a group, others it was impossible. If you where not of the right level or right class for a group, they would not invite you. (ie they wanted a damage dealer and I’m a healer)

Additionally, when grouped either you where killing random mobs for XP (Which was the most fun I could have in the game, it was nice having a specific role to play) or attempting to do a quest. If it was a quest, it was normally very difficult and you’d end up with someone doing something wrong and getting the group killed. This was frustrating because of shared xp debt. (In wow no xp debt so you just laugh at how crap you all are)

The crafting, although a good idea, I found frustrating as heck. Even when casting the correct counter spell it didn’t always work. After spening half ages getting materials, making the sub components (Some times taking as long as 30 or 40 minutes) then getting to the final product and watching the durability bar drop whilste the progress bar did nothing really wound me up more than once.

I don’t know how many of these same problems or different problems will come into WOW, but so far the playing style does feel more relaxed. I can say this confidentally enough though - SWG for teh win. :-)

I just spent over an hour reading every bit of this whole page, because I was wondering if the grass is greener.

I have been playing WoW since Sept 25th, 2004 (I was lucky and got into the closed beta). I currently have a lvl 59 Hunter on the Alleria server, and my in-game played time is about 22 days 6 hours.

At this point, my character is almost topped out, and I feel like the level curve is way too fast - I played hard for 2 months and Im at the top, and kinda wish that it had taken a couple more months. I have several friends who are 60, and we are gearing up for the next phase of the game - doing the top level instance dungeons. They are very challenging, and then we will be doing raid-sized (40 characters) instances, which look crazy fun. And I am waiting for the Battlegrounds to come out - which are PVP zones with questing rolled in to the mix.

Well, after listing all of that, I think Im gonna log in and play. Why was I reading this thread instead of playing?

Oh yeah, my point? I was wondering if the grass was greener. I’d have to say that my biggest concerns are xp debt, crafting, and no pvp. In wow, you sometimes screw-up and the whole group gets wiped. It happens. You learn from your mistakes. But you dont lose hours of experience because of it. Crafting: it takes a few min to do and it doesnt fail. Its fun and generally useful and/or profitable. No frustration there. PvP is in-game in WoW, and its fun and optional. You can be on a pve server (with consensual pvp) or a pvp server (pvp active all the time). The pvp is all faction-based: you can’t pvp someone of your own faction, only the enemy faction.

So, I was wondering if I should consider switching to EQ2, but after reading this whole post, it has helped me in re-affirming that I am going to stick with WoW. If the game wears thin and the content added isnt enough to keep me there, then I may give EQ2 a try in a year or so.

But for now - its time to log in and go pvp hunting on some nightelves in Ashenvale ;-)

To curi0us and other who said that EQ2 is open for future ‘improvements’. Why would you want to play a game that you would have to wait to play properly? You buy a game and you wanna play it.

As for the best game to play it depends what you like yes. Dark age of camelot has the best pvp system i have ever seen while WoW has the bg comign soon. Eq just lacks an entire pvp system and therefor is very repetetive ( wow guys lets go kill computer controlled mobs for hours ). For graphics, sure spend a couple thousand and play EQ or play WoW and DAOC which look dam fine imo and not even upgrade. I admit Dark age is dying out and if your looking for a new mmorpg i can say from experience go for WoW.

WoW pwns! The screenshots of EQ2 and its interface look like crap. WoW looks a lot better to me. They made better use of the graphics system they have. The graphics and game itself is much more polished.

Let’s just face it. EQ2 flopped. WoW broke all the sales records, and is an awesome experiecne for both the hardcore has no life loser or the casual gamer. Not just cuz it has the name warcraft, but also because it is an awesome universe and story behind it.

WoW is the big boy in town now and he’s here to stay. He’s no little sister like that stupid post above stated. EQ2 is only for hardcore EQ lovers.

The rest of us, well we say… WoW!

I am really enjoying WoW… I Think its a bit more creative, and i agree that the Cartoon looks put lots of character in the world!

I am really enjoying WoW… I Think its a bit more creative, and i agree that the Cartoon looks put lots of character in the world!

biggles, I hear you moaning alot, but that is all it is. How old are you, anyways? Sounds like you don’t have alot of real life experience. Here are some facts….

ALL MMORPG’s ask for your billing info up front. Sony, Horizons, PlayNC, Shadowbane, even Ultima Online. They are doing 2 things: corroberating your location and individuality (people do get banned on occasion, ya know) and they are prepping for your end of free time billing so that you have a seamless account status change. Nothing sucks harder than getting kicked off in the middle of your session because it’s time to pay the game bill…

50 Characters is MORE than plenty to play with. If you are dividing up your time among that many, you are not sleeping and you have far more hours in your day to play than anyone else in the human race.

Just a note on “Can Non-US players play on a US server at release?” for WoW, It should actually be “No” because I live in Europe and I can’t even play on any server yet and the game has been released. Blizzard has also stated that European players won’t be able to play on US server at release.

I have ordered both EQ2 and WoW - of which i’ve played the Final Beta for WoW. I am going to have to choose which one I want to keep pretty soon.

Ok, Im going to chime in. First, let me say that I have not played EQ2, only WoW.
I watched the episode of XPLAY(its on TechTV, upper digital cable channel) and they independantly tested/analyzed both games. EQ2 got a 4 out of 5 and then WoW got a 5 out of 5. They went through some comparisons, for example, in EQ2 swimming under water was just a huge blue cloud. In WoW the graphics are great. You can see fish, monsters, broken down trees, etc. It seems that only like one or two people prefer EQ2(Yeoman), which is fine. I love playing WoW and wouldnt switch. It’s incredibly smooth except for the 6 major cities where lag sits in. As far as the graphics go, its a fantasy game so graphics are supposed to be fantasy-like. Just a preference I guess.

Played both and EQ2 is far better game IMHO. I think that WoW will be praised more by younger gamers, while adults will stick to EQ2.

There is no way I can enjoy an infantile game like WoW, where my cartoonish character is hopping during his run.
Within its style WoW graphics is fine, but it is not even close to EQ2, and those who attack EQ simply did not see its graphics and motion-captured (mostly) animations played on a good machine.

Similary, I enjoy much more a serious world presentation as it is in EQ2 than “teenage mutant ninja” style presented by WoW. Mortar teams and goblin zeppelins? No, thank you. This is nice background for playing RTS, but not a world I would like to immerse in.

Gees, the awful animation in EQ2 was one of the things I couldn’t cope with. Sure it was mo-capped, but much of it was completely inappropriate in the sense it isn’t how anyone would respond. The woman who walks around the city like a pretentious catwalk model (noone walks like that though, even on stage)? Female NPCs who talk with one ear touching a shoulder - I mean what’s that? Lots of it was nice, but the bits that were bad were terrible. There was no artistry or subtlety to any of it. It felt like all the animations were over acted and had been completed in isolation to each other so they didn’t have any continuity of style or tone. It was another case of using bleeding edge technology without any artistry, which I think EQ2 does a lot of. I agree with the preference for a more realistic style, but I assure you many adults play WoW and love it. I don’t think you can realistically fault the animation or the graphics - though you can certainly take issue with the style.

Actually i take back my earlier post. If you havn’t tried Dark age of Camelot play it now with the new expansion. PvP in that game is unbeleiveable. Something that both EQ and WoW both currently lack. WoW is so mundain and god damned boring after hitting high lvls ( lvl 54 undead warlock here). The envirnment never changes….its either all bushy or all dead. I have a lvl 39 Eldritch in DAOC and i can remmber how fun that was to play, daaaaam. The environments are so much richer, game play is awesome, groups are better(8 ppl), and if you want proof go download a DAOC video. Pvp is badass and raids are the shit.

My recollections of PvP in DAoC are who can hit the mez button fastest. Not my idea of fun PvP :/ Most of the people who I knew who played it since it began said the same (and warned me not to play it). The issue with Albion overpopulation and all the insta-win abilities just made it unbearable after a while. Atlantis pretty much broke their game for PvP anyway as it introduced enormous amounts of time sink PvE content that players had to complete to stay competitive.

DAoC is sitting on a code base almost 10 years old now, and it shows (the game was built on top of old code). There’s so many things wrong with the implementation of their systems, and it comes out in the game (horses; housing; etc.) People who played it pre-Atlantis say it was fantastic 8v8 fun. I missed all that though. Still, the new DAoC expansion was my fallback if WoW and EQ2 both weren’t good enough. I’m sort of glad it wasn’t necessary.

Hey,

I’ve played EQ1, EQ2, WoW… in my opinion… WoW is just a MMORPG for people with crappy video cards… no offense. BTW, Its practically impossible to play EQ2 with 512 Ram you need at least 1024…

Oh yeah,
Anyone who says that WoW is better than EQ2 is a dumbass who refuses to accept they need an upgrade. EQ2 has a much richer storyline, more interactive combat, more techincal tradeskilling, better graphics, more players, and overall, everyone playing EQ2 seems to be more satsfied with the game. What the hell is with WoW not having guild houses, levels, writs. There is no personal status or anything. There is no player housing which is a drag and WoW actually had less sales than EQ2… If anyone actually thinks that WoW is doing better than EQ2… dream on jackass.

PS… Character is WoW all look the same because there is hardly any customization… no height customization…

Oh yeah, I think EQ1 was even better than WoW

I haven’t played EQ or EQ2 but I did play SWG w/ JTLS. Bottom line is Blizzard rushed w/ this game. The lack of character customization is annoying…..and even more so is that how in the hell can a 5-4 Undead Warrior ever be as strong as a 8ft 500lb Cowman(tauren). I believe WoW had and maybe still has the potential to be the best MMoRG. But there should be clear cut differences between a Troll Warrior an Orc Warrior, a Tauren Warrior and an Undead Warrior. And when you think about it the lack of customization will be obvious once you have a server w/ like half of the players are lvl 60 because most of the ORcs will look the same….elfs, trolls, Dwarfs..etc. I am by no means saying EQ or SWG are better but they have better Features. Blizzard should have added more races more customization……you should be able to swap stat points to make the Smash and Bash Warrior or the Light o his feet always critical striking warrior.