If EQ3 Hypothetically were in development, what would you suggest?

[Vexenu]

If you're really going to make EverQuest 3, it's important to actually make EverQuest 3. In other words, stay true to the formula. Don't try to make a generic, WoW-inspired MMO. Don't try to make some console-playable MMO. Don't try to make some garbage with action combat and interchangeable classes. If you want to make EQ3, then commit to it, knowing that the game itself will have relatively niche appeal and will not be the next WoW or Fortnite blockbuster game. If you can't at least commit to that from the outset, nothing else is going to matter because whatever you end up with may be called "EverQuest 3" but will in no way contain the spirit of EverQuest.

That being said, what I would consider some of the core elements necessary to preserve the feel of EverQuest:

• Distinct classes with very different roles and abilities
• A clean, classic art style
• Crisp, minimalist, non-bloated UI
• Slow-paced, relatively simple combat with long time-to-kill (NOT a lot of button mashing/skill rotations like in most other games)
• A heavy emphasis on grouping and relying on other players to accomplish things in-game
• Gameplay that revolves around acquiring rare and powerful items that gradually enhance your character's power
• A world that feels large and dangerous (limited means of traveling long distances and meaningful death penalties, including XP loss and corpse retrieval)
• Adherence to a mostly high fantasy setting (i.e. no Luclin sci-fi elements)
• Small population servers where reputation matters
• Character progression that relies mostly on grinding XP by killing mobs, not doing quest chains (whether we say we like it or not, that's EQ)

Here are some ideas for EQ3:

• Some kind of system that involves characters aging and dying and passing on some of their gear/skills to their "heirs" (i.e. your alts). Sort of re-imagining the game away from playing individual characters and toward playing a lineage of different adventurers. This would solve a lot of the problems with the high-end stagnation at the endgame as well as item mudflation. So rather than spending 5 years pimping out Blort the Ogre Warrior you might have a few generations of Blorts, with the final Blort wielding legacy gear and items inherited from his ancestors.
• A greater emphasis on specialized abilities (both combat and non-combat), and the choice to customize your character through them. These could be similar to AAs but chosen during the leveling process. For example, certain dungeons could have climbable walls, but only for characters who chose to train their climbing ability. And climbing might require fewer points for Monks and Rogues to learn, but more for Mages. Or maybe you want to specialize your Warrior in the use of shields and warhammers. Or you want a Wizard who runs faster than normal and who regenerates mana more quickly (which sounds great, but what if those abilities meant you forfeited other abilities that gave you larger mana pool or a regenerating ward?). This would allow for distinct class roles but give greater customization and specialization options within classes.
• An endgame that shifts away from "raids" and toward "campaigns", which would basically be giant guild-scale quests that would take months to complete, and which would involve all facets of the game, not just killing a few high-end raid mobs. These campaigns could involve direct and indirect competition between guilds and between servers, depending on the type. There is great potential here especially when integrating the sort of "generational" characters in my first bullet point.