What's your motivation in this game? Pixels vs the experience

[sox7d]

and I don't mean "exp."


Why did you come back to EQ? Most people I talk to say that their favorite part of this game was the harshness, player-dependency, fear and wonder you don't get from modern MMOs. They often mention that modern MMOs suck because there's no player interaction anymore and it's just a solo-grind to max level.

But it seems like a significant portion of the player base is only interested in getting to 60 as fast as possible and getting the best gear and that every other aspect of the game is just a chore. I'm not saying that people shouldn't want to progress and gain levels, but with all the powerleveling, purchasing MQs and refusing to group/denying exp penalty classes because of an exp dip, it seems odd that you all play a game that you don't enjoy playing. If grouping sucks so bad that you'd exclude others or pay for powerleveling to make it go slightly faster, why are you here? We all want to level up, but compared to when we played back in 2000, I feel the overall community has shifted on the spectrum between pixel-hording and sincere enjoyment in playing very much towards E-Peen. Maybe the MMO trend of the last decade of viewing 1-60 as a chore has changed us. (E.g. WoW's consistent updates lowering the amount of experience between 1 and max and especially their "instantly make a character max level" feature of their new expansion.)

I feel like we all used to view Everquest as more of a world-simulator than a game as far as MMOs go. It's different. We came back to it after 15 years despite huge strides in graphics and combat mechanics elsewhere. But when I see all the people gaming their way to max level like all the other WoW clones, I think why? I guess the fear and wonder died a long time ago. And that's why I envy the newbie in patchwork armor and a Short Sword* over the fungi twink claiming wall + slaver pits.

Just some thoughts over my morning cup of tea.

tl;dr Why do you play?

[khanable]

i'm here for the chicks and the glory

[Danth]

I'm here for the fun of playing the game. I like the combat mechanics and the designs of the classes I play. Loot is a means to and end and I wouldn't bother with it at all if I didn't have to; I've never had a "high end" character in Everquest (P99 or Live) and never will. Some folks seem to be here out of a desire for a sense of achievement or victory. That's fine. They play their game, I play mine. Got nothing against 'em.

Danth

[Uteunayr]

I am here because Necromancer is the most fun and interesting class ever designed into a MMORPG, with Protection Warriors Pre-Pandaria being damn close to matching. It is a damn fun class, it has a lot of cool things to do, and it is very rare that you just sit there idly because there is nothing else to do.

It's a genuinely very fun class, and Live ruined it badly.

[arsenalpow]

i'm here for the chicks and the glory

[khanable]

I am here because Necromancer is the most fun and interesting class ever designed into a MMORPG, with Protection Warriors Pre-Pandaria being damn close to matching. It is a damn fun class, it has a lot of cool things to do, and it is very rare that you just sit there idly because there is nothing else to do.

It's a genuinely very fun class, and Live ruined it badly.

I used to think Necromancers were the most useless class until this guy came along all Yukon Cornelius style - "I've tamed the necro! This is my necro, and look what he can do!"

[Glain]

I feel ya man. I came back for the harshness and the unforgivness this game has to offer. I agree that there's a but ton of twinks....but these players lost your spark a few years ago. Remember our server is lile 3 years past due on velious

[slappytwotoes]

To each his own but you're missing the point of twinking... its not just about rushing to max level.

Wanna level somewhere new or out of the way? Forget waiting for a group, bring a fungi. Did you group on live in crushbone and want to experience it differently this time? Twink and solo. Leveling a 6th alt that's seen and done the lowbie zones a hundred hours already? Speed it along.

Remember that twinking is pretty much dead outside of EQ among modern MMOs. One of the alternate rewards of grinding out 50+ levels in EQ is farming and twinking out alts.

Lastly, the game feels very different as a twink in the same way it feels different on a new class. Understand that it adds to the replayability of EQ. Twinking helps make it the unique game people come back to after 15 years.

[Whirled]

I recently came here & have been met by some friendly people who have helped me out. In the past I was never in any raid guild, never one to have the best gear, never had infinity imaginary coins or any of that stuff. Perhaps the main reason I came back was because there's so much unexplored & I can enjoy it at any random pace I wish to without being told to hurry up, I should be doing XYZ instead or some how to play seminar in a game we're meant to relax & have a good time with.

I am a lv 21 warrior & exploring Swamp of no hope was an adventure since there's plenty of things out there that can kill me quite easily. The questing part is another main focus that no other game compares to (have played WoW-paid & free servers). Another part would be the comradery that this game gives "if/when" people work together without being eaten by the dark side.

Another part is when I get to help others too. That random save when I run pass a lower lvl & I help them with a bandage or whatever, Those quick transfers to someones other character, and many other things I have done in an attempt to balance the karma since people have been nice to me.

tl;dr version = [like it] just my opinion -fwiw*

[StinkyGreenBud]

Very good question. I'm not sure what drags me back in. Though i have a problem and cannot stop making alts. Been on this server for years but still don't have a maxed leveled toon yet. Trying really really hard this time to achieve that with this new rogue i made.

[Doza]

Altaholic here! Love twinking, granted can't make super twinks, but still satisfying. Will I ever get 60? I hope so.. Also love the nostalgia =p

[Glain]

I also wanted to mention the quests system. I love eqs quest system because the quests are not tied to just one zone. Also the quests are player interactive...you actually type to the npc..I like that, its more immersive

[Daldaen]

The science/math of it. AC equations, damage calculation, specialized mana calculation, maximizing DPS, utilizing known pathing to maximize cast time when kiting, parsing DPS, soloing / low group count challenging content, etc.

EquationQuest is why I play(ed). Though I do enjoy nostalgia starting up a random dude and playing for a few hours. But once I get into the 5-10 range it feels like a chore unless I'm playing with friends/family.

[dreama1]

i'm here for the chicks with dicks

ftfy

[loramin]

When I started here I created a character with the exact same race, exact same class, and the even exact same name as my first character ever on live. Once I did I went and leveled in (mostly) the exact same places I had leveled on live.

Why did you come back to EQ?
Why do you play?

Why? Because it was all just so damn much fun the first time, I had to do it again.

[Ennewi]

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/203/t2mx.png (https://imageshack.com/i/5nt2mxp)

[myriverse]

Experience

Bone Chips = Epic

[Skittlez]

I feel ya man. I came back for the harshness and the unforgivness this game has to offer. I agree that there's a but ton of twinks....but these players lost your spark a few years ago. Remember our server is lile 3 years past due on velious

Lol what are you talking about? You sound like you think twinks are amazing gods of characters when in reality it couldn't be more false. This is mother fucking EverQuest! Just because you have good gear doesn't mean you aren't gonna get fucked. My toons have amazing gear and I get my ass handed to me way more often than I would like to admit.

[mattkwi]

All of the suffering together creates a bond. A brotherhood.

[phacemeltar]

i dont have a single level-60 toon. its not that i dont have the time to grind up(which i shouldnt), but max-level doesnt really interest me much. in fact, once my main hit 40 i was pretty much done with him. but for some strange reason, 40-51 has gone by so quickly, probably due to the vast amounts of people solely interested in grinding to 60.

i enjoy playing from lvl 10-35, maybe even some higher depending on the camp. there so many cool places to check out at that level range that i think alot of people dont take the time to visit because there arent many groups.

that being said, i think if more people were not so interested in just grinding to 60, then newer players would be able to check out some of the more unique content(i.e. kunark dungeons, splitpaw, karanas) and this may inspire the devs to fix some of the buggy pathing that keeps alot of people from these places to begin with.

forgive me if this mini-rant made no sense, i have been staring at a computer screen for ~1000 hours today.

[Leeyuuduu]

Classic EQ feels like both a game and a chat room (but not the creepy AOL kind with Chris Hansen lurking around). I don't think any other game was structured in such a way to have lots of downtime where it's easy to shoot the breeze with some cool people - let's be honest shit would get pretty tedious if this wasn't the case, and I doubt it was even intentional. Add this to very defined class roles and only a few classes actually being able to solo efficiently past a certain level and you primarily have a game that puts focus on community, and I think that's what made EQ..the community..the good, the bad, and the ugly.


Just because you have good gear doesn't mean you aren't gonna get fucked.

P1999's new logo

[mnemonikos82]

I like being forced to work with other people to get shit done. It's funny that a lot of the people that played EQ back in the day were labeled "outcasts, loners, socially inept, etc.", but were in fact playing a game that required them to be social or never fully enjoy it.

[Zuut]

I'm here to waste time after work between when Seinfeld comes on and my wife coming home.

The ability to collect items and boost stats appeals to my project management and optimization side.

The game mechanics and abilities appeal to my engineering side.

The long-duration play time appeals to my being lazy side.

All in all, it's a game that can require some thinking, at times, requires research and learning, and is a fabulous time-sink when there isn't anything else to do.

[frantz256255]

Experience all the way !

[odiecat99]

I came back because I love and hate this game at the same time.

[Ahldagor]

I am here because Necromancer is the most fun and interesting class ever designed into a MMORPG, with Protection Warriors Pre-Pandaria being damn close to matching. It is a damn fun class, it has a lot of cool things to do, and it is very rare that you just sit there idly because there is nothing else to do.

It's a genuinely very fun class, and Live ruined it badly.

so true about the prot war. never played a necro on live, but enjoying the lowbie i have.

ultimately:
p99 is my i'm getting drunk and playing a game game, and still more fun than most games out now.

[Sarajo]

Last May, I quit my job and moved 2000 miles and went back to college after a 16-year break(never finished my bachelor's)
It feels the same. I feel like there's something unfinished about a bard I played all those years ago. I still have to win the game.
-=-=-=-=-=-
(Don't respond to this section; I'm not here to derail the thread)
Personal opinion based on anecdotal evidence: I feel that twinking and powerlevelling are as damaging to the classic spirit as multiboxing, because they all hurt the ability of a normal player to get a group doing appropriate-level camp or dungeon content.
-=-=-=-=-=-
So you know what I do if someone's playing in an alternative playing style that I don't agree with?
Step 1: be like
http://picslap.com/images/chess.jpg

Step 2: Go do something else besides group. I'm not entitled to a group just because I seem to think that I'm good at what I do, interesting to talk to during med breaks, and full of knowledge about the best way to do everything ever.

And in doing stuff other than the #1 thing I want to do, I discover the #2 and #3 things I like to do. So I come for the experience of playing a game with others: (http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html ) That is, learning extreme self-motivation, weaving a tight social fabric, experience blissful productivity, and attaching epic meaning to my hobby.

[bartly]

Nostalgia, tolkien inspired world, loved diku muds and this is just a diku mud with gfx. Places like Rivervale and Greater Fay just feel like home.

[Tecmos Deception]

But it seems like a significant portion of the player base is only interested in getting to 60 as fast as possible and getting the best gear and that every other aspect of the game is just a chore. I'm not saying that people shouldn't want to progress and gain levels, but with all the powerleveling, purchasing MQs and refusing to group/denying exp penalty classes because of an exp dip, it seems odd that you all play a game that you don't enjoy playing.

Have you maxed your begging, tailoring, and fucking kerra isle faction yet? No?
WHY DO YOU EVEN LOG IN IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS GAME BRO?!