EQ Never

So:

Choose a class

granted 4 abilities* on selection

*these can be customized based on classes you own

Choose a weapon your class can use

granted 4 weapon abilities

Tarrant_sl said:

Damn a company that makes a product in order to make as much money as possible for doing just that.

Damn them.

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That is the difference though. When they created EQ, they did not know that it would earn them so much money. They even acknowledged that on the livestream, EQ was them just wanting to create a cool game. And they did. Them going the way of a cartoon style similar to WoW indicates a clear shift in terms of building for profit rather than building just to create something cool. That is not to say their style is not cool to some, even maybe the majority, but there is no denying the style has more in common with what is popular now than the style of the game EQ:N originated from. EQ:N is clearly capitalizing on current trends.

The philosophy you are describing fits into todays society of growth, where growth is nothing more than monetary gain. Before products were built to last. In a consumer based economy, pumping out products that are constantly replaced increases more profit than making them to last.

MMOs built trying to capitalize on trends is like corporations desperately trying to make viral video ads. They rarely work and are rarely good. I would not say WoW tried to capitalize on EQ, it was very different in style and the core mechanics that made EQ a harsher world. Blizzard tried to capitalize on a new market, by developing a superior product made far more accessible and appealing to the masses and succeeded in making it huge. Since then though, it seems companies are associating the mmo market with the WoW market. Products made to cater to the spesifics to WoW rather than to make something different/better/unique in the MMO genre. EQ:N is trying to do that, so A+ there. But the style of EQ:N did not come from a discussion of "You know what it would be cool to make the game look like?" It was more of a "Know what is popular at the moment? Know what mmo is losing subscribers in numbers that would make any mmo successful even if you just got their lost subscribers?"

Not that I hate the art style. It just does not remind me of the game I liked. That is not to say I will not like EQ:N, it just does not "look" like I will like it. Because if they design the entire visual from the perspective of "making money" then the next very obvious step would be to stay the hell away from any old EQ mechanic in regards to making the world more dangerous and harsh. As Itzena constantly states, the marketshare of people who want that is far smaller.

The people who want a world similar/closer to EQ, be that in art style or game design, will only ever get that game if the developers make a game they want to create, instead of basing the features on gaining as many subscribers as possible. When they made such a fuzz about that in the opening speech, I think it is a valid point to bring up that their art focus seem to suggest trying to capitalize on a market rather than making a new one like EQ did.

Banks for instance live by your statement. Their mentality ruined our real world. Let it stay the hell away from Norrath.

Character abilities are pick and choose. Not weapon abilities. #EQNext

...this is good news. I thought it was like GW2 for a while there, which I wouldn't mind too much but eh. If that's the case there is a whoooooole lot of abilities to choose from.

ThunderCougarFalconBird_sl said:

No offense, but that is a terrible idea. Last thing the devs need to do is listen to the community on core design decisions, especially ones who want the game to look act and behave more like EQII- a terrible wow clone. Devs caving into the vocal community has ruined many an MMO. I hope, for better or worse, SoE sticks to their guns and gives us something different.

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If the feedback was all negative then I would hope they listened. But from what I've seen most of the feedback on EQNext is positive or at least hopeful. They should just stick to the path they have defined and make sure they do a good job of it.

Vinyard_sl said:

Darkfall.


Oh, you mad now.

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making something PvP doesn't make it hardcore. try again.

ThunderCougarFalconBird_sl said:

Devs caving into the vocal community has ruined many an MMO.

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I wish it was that simple and that you could cave in to demands. But on these very boards some people have argued for and against GPS maps. So in the end you have to decide for yourself and no matter what someone is going to be pissed. The good part tho is that you keep comparing your experiences to EQ and WoW, and this being a completely different game people can't have strong opinions of stuff they have not tried yet (on average ofc!!).

Butler: Who has played Magic the Gathering and League of Legends? A new expansion alters the strategic landscape of the game. The strategic landscape alters. Keeps game fresh and interested.

Will put up blog now

Azeth_sl said:

So:

Choose a class

granted 4 abilities* on selection

*these can be customized based on classes you own

Choose a weapon your class can use

granted 4 weapon abilities

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And for all we know, each class could have more than 4 abilities to choose from, as well.

It also makes sense that someone using a Staff can't Backstab, so I think abilities based on weapons is necessary to some extent.

xzi_sl said:

Character abilities are pick and choose. Not weapon abilities. #EQNext

...this is good news. I thought it was like GW2 for a while there, which I wouldn't mind too much but eh. If that's the case there is a whoooooole lot of abilities to choose from.

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Well 8 skills seems a bit low, unless there's a hot-swap for class weapons in combat. Which I don't recall reading but I imagine is an imperative at this time in gaming.

Ok, so I've mentioned TSW several times now, but for those unfamiliar, I made a quick image to explain. It honestly sounds like they're completely taking that system.



So on the left is the ability wheel. You level up and you can buy stuff off the wheel with exp. In EQN, this would mean doing achievements or whatever. And you'd be locked into a certain "tree" on the wheel based on which classes you've unlocked. At the bottom of that screen is your abilities. You can mix and match any of the abilities you've unlocked to make all kinds of combinations.

The right is the skills. There's a separate experience type for these, which in EQN sounds like your normal attributes (strength, intelligence, etc). You use these to equip better gear. So essentially this is EQN's tiers, except it may be different in EQN in that your gear doesn't give you attributes, but who knows how all that works yet.

It looks like all kinds of options, and there kind of are. But in the end, most DPS will end up with the same skills until they get nerfed, and then everyone migrates to a different build. Same with tanks/healers.

Since you can swap out those bottom 14 skills (7 active, 7 passive) at any time, you have lots of flexibility. But eventually everyone maxes out everything and you can just swap out gear and skills and fit any role.

So tell me exactly how EQN is vastly different?

"Name your custom class"

"Clit Commander" - A tank

Grim1_sl said:

All the extra space that Station Cash can buy...

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I cant stand in any new MMO not having both bags and space for all my shit.

See my post gold subs and soe all access equals gold sub get 5 bag slots out of like 16 or some shit then you can unlock each for 500 station cash 5$ per even subbed player will give soe $$ for that.

"Lots of abilities don't require a target. Swing a long sword and hit anything in its way"

.

2handed == 4 slots
LH = 2 RH = 2 == 4 slots
?
guessing likely.

Confused now, this is starting to sound more like GW2 than EQN - Can you only have 4 active abilities to use at a time or you only "start" with 4 abilities then can add more by finding other classes until you have X amount in total.

The cartoony almost anime-ish feel to some of the characters put me off a bit, but overall I honestly can't think of how they could recreate the old EQ character look and feel with updated engines. I tried explaining this to my friend watching the video with me and she never played EQ and thought the characters looked amazing.

The whole "larger eye to show emotion" explanation seemed odd to me. In reality it's probably them just pushing for a more expansive market.

I really think they delivered much higher than my expectations. I was seriously expecting a WoW clone.

Tidbit Scaledclaw_sl said:

I cant stand in any new MMO not having both bags and space for all my shit.

See my post gold subs and soe all access equals gold sub get 5 bag slots out of like 16 or some shit then you can unlock each for 500 station cash 5$ per even subbed player will give soe $$ for that.

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Well they have to make money somehow. And selling bag space isn't P2W. It's also one of the very few things that I am actually willing to pay for. If EQNext is anything like the item bloated abominations EQ and EQNext are then they'll be making bank off of me.

But item bloat also kills my long term enjoyment of mmos. One of the reasons I don't go back to EQ much is because I dread opening up my bank and looking at all the crap I have in there. No idea what it's for anymore and looking up every item is a mind numbing chore. If EQNext forces you to collect crap like their other games then I wont last long. Item bloat kills mmos.