Where did EQ Live go wrong?

[Edrick]

Two biggest complaints I have about how EQ Live went wrong.

First is the progression. This hit really hard at Planes of Power. There was a very harsh progression that you could not deviate from, your only way to get into raids you weren't flagged for was to fall into the 85/15 rule. Everquest's biggest strength during classic, Kunark, and Velious was that it wasn't so linear. All you needed to get into Veeshan's Peak was the key. The key was a long, difficult quest, but most of it you could do on your own. In Velious, to get into Sleeper's Tomb you needed a key you could get from killing dragons or certain giants. If Velious was remade today, you would have to complete 6 tasks in Iceclad Ocean to get access to eastern wastes, then complete another quest chain to choose which faction you want, then complete a number of instanced raids to work you way up.

The other is mudflation. This wasn't a problem during classic, Kunark, and Velious, because all stats mattered. Once we got to Planes of Power, you didn't have to worry about making sure you got enough of a certain stat, since eventually all of your equipment will have maxed them out. Items were losing their "individuality" and just becoming something with every single stat vomited onto it.