Observations After Less Than 3 Weeks Back in EQ

[rewinder47]

In my opinion, the P99 subreddit is a lot more positive than these forums, and maybe more active too. For whatever reason, these forums attract some... interesting people with interesting problems. There are exceptions of course.

[Zarakk]

I really like the opening post of this thread.

I played EQ1 from 2000-2004 and then stopped. I only arrived on P1999 three months ago, also after accidently stumbling across its existence.

Like you, I have found most people either friendly or at least civil. I do like the fact that most folks seem to respect others, and in particular, most people are quite respectful of camps - XP groups and soloers alike - at least as far as I have seen so far.

Yes, I have had a couple of negative experiences. One was quite recent, with some mage who thought it was the right thing to do to try steal a camp and purposefully attack every mob that he saw me running to engage, and when I complained, he started sending me abusive tells. But there are jerks in every walk of life, their existence is inevitable.

But whilst I have not joined a guild (and I am not sure I want to, since I don't have time in my real life for raiding), the experience of the server has been pretty positive to date. Of course, I cannot say about the top ten levels of the game yet, as I have not yet experienced them on the server.

Nice opening post. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

~

[Twochain]

Welcome home!

People complain too much about raiding on this server. You'll find a lot more toxicity, in say, Serious WoW classic raiding guilds than you will here.

There is a lot of great people in this community. Practically unmatched when it comes to helpfulness from random strangers.

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[Gustoo]

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

-- Final observation. I really wish that I had heard about p99 earlier.

I know, when I first heard about EQ EMU I was like "WHATS?!?!?!" I dropped everything and ran to find what was going on. I missed the original guildwars eq pvp server but was able to play p99 and shards of dalaya (another EQ EMU project) in glorious early days.

Good stuff.

[Jungleberry]

Stay away from RnF. That's a shithole that will just make you hate P99.

[Ataria]

Just like your first time playing EQ 20 years ago, this will be your first time all over again, take your time, and enjoy it!! I remember when I first discovered p99 - and it was almost like that first time back in 1999- that first time experience in 99 was so fun, as is the first time experience discovering p99. Welcome back!!

[Pyrocat]

Welcome! There's a ton of knowledge on the wiki, including guides for pretty much every class. We even have our own "magelo". Don't hesitate to check it out!

[Byue]

welcome home!

[NPC]

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

I literally stumbled upon a p99 video on YouTube, and here I am. Took me a while to get the game up and running, but a tutorial video on YT helped there as well. So after less than 3 weeks back, how am I enjoying the game? Some observations.

-- The feelings of nostalgia and being thrown back 20 into a LIFE that I led for 4 years is simply amazing. The first thing I did with my first character was run him from Surefall Glade to Qeynos Main Gate, just to hear that Qeynos theme as I approached. This time I didn't make the mistake I made that first day of EQ, and run up to the guard and hail him, and get insta-killed the moment my finger descended on the "A" key. I was literally choked up for the first 2 or 3 hours back in the game.

-- I astonished myself with what I still remembered, or at least knew from muscle memory. That first run from Qeynos gate, though to the zone into SQ and then on to the bank, went flawlessly with no wrong turns. How spooky is that! I've played dozens of MMOs and hundreds of computer games since I left the original EQ, but nothing ever touched it for sheer immersive gameplay.

-- The player base on P99 is much, much, much more friendly than in the original EQ. I have had so much help and assistance these past few weeks that I am simply astonished. Sure, I've come across a couple of dicks, but for the most part, everyone is friendly and super helpful. I think a big cause of this is that everyone is an experienced EQ player, and nobody is a really true newbie, and so you have far fewer of the really ignorant players that don't have a clue what they are doing, train zones every 5 minutes, blatantly kill steal, spam the zones with /shout complaints, etc ... in other words, a player base like we used to have back in the first years of EQ after launch.

-- Final observation. I really wish that I had heard about p99 earlier. I do understand from what I have read that this it is a small project largely run by volunteers, but I do wish that there was a better way to get the word out, as I am sure that there are far more old time EQ players who would love to come back and give this game a second go around. As I said earlier, the only reason I am here is because a p99 video popped up on YouTube completely by accident, likely related to some other video I had watched, or search I had done. Had I not stumbled across that video, I'd still be completely unaware that this great server was even in existence. I am glad I am now back playing again, however. These past 3 weeks have been a blast, and i'm looking forward to many months/years to come.

FYI- Eventually this server is supposed to get merged with the Blue, then they will start a new fresh green all over again. So you missed the initial Green launch, another one should be coming up in a year or so I believe.

[Nervaaz]

Thanks for all the awesome responses! It was a pleasure reading all of them, even those warning me about the perils of raiding. In the original game, I was at most a very casual raider, and will likely be the same in this game, so I am not at all worried. So you all remember when we called the best gear "uber"? Well, I have never been drawn to "uber" gear that has to be camped for untold hours, or gained only through innumerable raids. Fun for some people, but never has been for me. I am more of the adventuring kind, enjoying checking out various dungeons, playing different alts, joining groups when I can and doing a lot of soloing as well. None of that could ever be considered "hardcore"! lol I've played MMOs where min/maxing was god, but always ignored it. The last MMO I played had an add-on that showed your damage output in NASA-like graphs, and after looking over the online info on the add-on, I made a point of never loading it.

I have had a couple of negative experiences. Twice, while in group, I have had what I assume are veteran players telling me how I should be playing my character. In one group we suffered a wipe, and a member of the group poured over the fight logs to inform me, some 10 minutes later, that the wipe was all my fault because I did such-and-such wrong. Often in groups I do feel like the total newbie playing with a group of seasoned veterans, but I'm very upfront about the fact that I have just returned to the game after a 20 year absence, and very rusty on technique. All in all, though, most of my experiences whether in groups or soloing have been a lot of fun.

My biggest struggles have been with the UI! OMG, how lazy I have become after playing all the new MMOs where everything is laid out perfectly. I once made my group window disappear, and finally had to appeal to a high level player to find out how to get it back ... (alt-p) ... and once accidently changed my point of view midfight, and was struggling to find out how to do it, while also trying not to die in the process! I was successful, but wow, that got confusing for a sec!

The wiki has been a complete godsend! I play windowed, and keep the wiki open all the time. Right now I've got 3 classes up to 20-22, as I don't really want to focus on a main just yet. Those first 20 levels are easy and fun, and I do remember what the game is like when you get to the "hell levels". I'm really enjoying just learning to play different classes, in different areas of the game, even though I know that I will have to eventually decide to make one class my main.

Highlight experiences to date? Recreating a run through Highkeep Pass at level 12, keeping my fingers crossed that my invis won't give out halfway through ... it didn't! Taking the boat through to Firiona Vie for the first time. Loads of memories!! Doing the Stein quest with my enchanter at level 12! That was sooo familiar! Being told by a high level player that if I ran from EC tunnel to Grobb, that he would sell me a Robe of the Advisor for just 75p!! So helpful and just plain kind!

I'm still learning, and still have a ton of questions, but overall it has been a really enjoyable experience.