Interesting old (but relevant) EQ web paper

[Itchybottom]

Thott's thoughts on Kunark

[Ihealyou]

I was surprised he said it took 40-100 days /played to reach 50. I never played in classic, but here I'm pretty sure it took Uuur a little over 20 days to reach 50, and I definitely wasn't a fast leveler. I can't imagine taking 100 days to reach 50.

[Chanus]

I logged on my first character (rolled in May of 1999) a couple years ago... level 21 with 24 days /played.

It was different back then... leveling was just one of the things you did.

[fischsemmel]

Originally Posted by Chanus [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I logged on my first character (rolled in May of 1999) a couple years ago... level 21 with 24 days /played.

It was different back then... leveling was just one of the things you did.

This was my experience with my first playing of EQ. I didn't start in classic, it was the very early days of Kunark, but when I played my enchanter back then... it was just to play. It wasn't to level up. I roleplayed, explored, died a lot and spend hours trying to get back to my corpse, tried to sneak into hostile cities with illusions and invis just cause, etc. Along the way I earned some experience and slowly leveled up.

[KilyenaMage]

Everyone will be in Seb / KC. Farming chardok and HS will be $$$.

The variety of items in kunark, especially for melees, is what really makes it so much fun.

In contrast to kunark, velious will be interesting - since there is no level increase.

[Kayd]

I was in a large group of people in EQ that started the day the first retail servers opened, the bulk of whom were starting to hit level 50 around 10 a year. Overcrowding was one reason. I spent more than a week on one level alone hunting centars in the Karans because with over 130 people in the zone it was so hard to find mobs. Kunark changed that, and overcrowding vanished nearly overnight.

I have to say the author of the article may have a point. The word "level grind" did not become real common in the EQ vocabulary until Kunark. The level rate may have crossed a line that some people just couldn't handle.

[Duma]

Thott's an asswipe like Furor. No one with an IQ over 85 took anything they said seriously, except Brad. Everything they said or did was nothing but self promotion and deception to try and weasel their way into furthering their career at the industries expense.

[Chanus]

Or rather, there have always been the power gamers, but there were enough truly casual players that you could get away with not having to race to the top in order to see other people.

If I remember right, this character was a Druid and had 130 or so skill in Fletching.

[Extunarian]

Originally Posted by Chanus [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If I remember right, this character was a Druid and had 130 or so skill in Fletching.

That sounds familiar. When I first started I went through 2 or 3 characters before sticking with a chanter. One of which was a monk that got to level 14 and had something like 80 points in fletching.

I think there were just a lot of us who didn't know anything, and didn't know we were "doing it wrong."

[Seeatee]

while a very interesting read, I largely disagree with him, maybe im just strange, or sick in the head, or easily amused, but I absolutely love to grind, I remember fondly sitting in a KC group for 5 or 6 hours a day for weeks, I always enjoyed grinding very much.

in fact, some of my fondest memories in EQ come from the OoW era, getting the 6 way camp in MPG at 8 or 9 in the morning and grinding AA there til midnight or 1 am on the weekends.