I Didn't Like EverQuest 2 Until...

A review of EverQuest 2. A comparison of how EverQuest 2 relates to the original EverQuest. The good & bad changes. Also what is it like to play on the Varsoon TLE server? ‪@bear.necessities‬
Link to 4 Part Yelinak Series: • Why We Broke Up | Ever...
I will reply to all comments made within 24 hours of a video upload.
Main Channel: / ianbclark93
Spotify Page: open.spotify.c...
Bandcamp: ionblazemusic.... [Free Music Downloads]
Viewer Discretion Advised: EverQuest is rated "T" for teen. But Discord & In-Game Chat may contain material not suitable for minors. Cursing is kept to a minimum when possible.
#EverQuest2 #VarsoonTLE

[@IonBlaze1]

Special Thanks to Bear Necessities for helping out with the video! Link to 4 Part Yelinak EQ1 Series: kzbin.info/www/bejne/govFf62jr5lrqa8

[@bear.necessities]

No problem at all! Love your content!

[@IonBlaze1]

@@Op2623D thank you Pierce :)

[@kurticusmaximus]

You couldn't imagine my joy when I finally convinced my dad to play P99 again after 20 years since we last played together. EQ is my game for life. Thanks for helping relive the glory days.

[@IonBlaze1]

Oh that's awesome you were able to do that Kurt. Thank you for the kind words :)

[@Faith_Risen]

Man that nostalgic eq1 music is beyond real. the feels.

[@IonBlaze1]

Definitely great music :)

[@WhyYouAskingMe]

When EQ 2 first launched... it k.o.'d my computer even on low settings.

[@IonBlaze1]

Oh yeah it did not run well at all.

[@brettbender10]

Lol that's how everqust was for me too, I had to look at the ground the whole time during raids, especially when moving, still loved it, and same with eq II and it was a dif computer

[@KingZercules]

EQ2 has been my main MMO since 2004. I have played over 30,000 hours on it, done every quests, raids, expansions, etc. I would take breaks, but I would always find myself back to it months later. There was something to it that appealed to me more than EverQuest which I played from 1999 to 2004.

[@Nickelback8469]

It’s been the opposite for me; I’d love to give EQ2 another try some day but my friends and family have all stuck with EQ1 and making the swap sounds like it would demand a large time and social investment which may or may not pay off

[@louisburland5346]

I quit when pro sieves sat1 briefly took eu I’m glad I did cos next time I looked in the game felt like it was on life support Eq1 return too frequently but krono farmers destroy tle

[@nickm9134]

Man I played for so long. I quit when they got rid of multi attack as a viable main stat. And I had to re roll all of my raid gear to learn the new playstyle. I miss this game. Sitting here watching these videos telling me everything I already know just for the nostalgia

[@Classic_DM]

WOW WOW!

[@DeiagonismSr]

Is there a steady player count?

[@novellerfane]

Let's Go! Love you bro, keep the juice for EQ alive!

[@IonBlaze1]

Thank you for the support Tony :)

[@JasonfromEarth]

Glad to see you covering this. I just started on Varsoon a week or so ago.

[@IonBlaze1]

Oh how's it going for you?

[@JasonfromEarth]

@@IonBlaze1 Good. I am slowly leveling up a DE Wizard. My altaholicism is holding me back. ;)

[@possibly12]

Yours a very unique viewpoint and experience that I totally vibe-with. As a young girl I was playing my own games while my dad and stepmom played EQ2 religiously. And now, literally one year off of 20 years later, I'm playing it on my dad's old account he still had the login for. Been playing for about a week now. The sounds of this game are triggering some of the most intense emotional memories I've ever had even though I've never even played it myself. I'm mostly a housing enthusiast with my MMO's of choice. It's why I decided to start playing again since EQ2 still boasts one of the best housing/decorating systems. But now I'm enjoying it all around!

[@Truecaveman1999]

I tried EQ2 just for the hell of it a month or so ago. I was decently surprised at how many people there were grouping and how streamlined everything was. Looks great, has a more fleshed out plot, and has a nice class system. I didnt stick around but definitely worth a shot especially since it’s ftp.

[@IonBlaze1]

There was people grouping on free to play?

[@Truecaveman1999]

@@IonBlaze1 there was man. I was shocked by how many people were playing. From watching Josh Strife’s video I thought it would be a ghost town.

[@eideticex]

I had the opposite experience when I gave EQ2 a seriously shot a couple years ago. After months of playing I felt confident enough to lead a group and started to try inviting people in the zones I was having the most fun in. There were people out there doing their own thing but I was met with confusion. Kept trying and eventually a player filled me in on why. From what he said it was rare that anyone wanted to group up unless they had something they needed help with, where I was just trying to do the EQ thing of forming a group and seeing what everyone wanted to do. That tutorial though... holy crap that was a lot of fun. Really set the stage for how to handle playing. If that was there when the game launched, I might have stuck with it for more than a month back then.

[@Eliilizz108]

I still remember everyone freaking out when the Ancient Cyclops would spawn in EQ1.

[@WesleyWyndam-Pryce]

It is good to see someone producing an Everquest 2 video in a positive light. The TLE is a lot of and the game really can be a blast.

[@IonBlaze1]

It's rare to see positive Eq2 videos haha? Thank for coming back around Juan

[@BerraLJ]

I played EQ2 and while i love the crafting i never really got into the game.

[@Pantaro2007]

@@IonBlaze1 it really is tho. i swear i only ever hear or see people dump on eq2 and praise eq1. people do seem to agree eq2 has some of the best housing in the entire genre tho!

[@sweetfry]

Depending on the class you can actually get a lot done solo. As a conjuror I had a lot of fun finding challenges I could solo, dungeons and things like that....they were brutal but getting it done was rewarding af!

[@Fizzinthorpe]

Each race having it's own starter city and newbie area was great IMHO. It helped flesh out the world. It gave each race a different introduction to the world and their particular peoples story and background. Your character should mean something and be a fun investment. That's been lost in modern MMO's where everybody is basically the same just with a different skin. Forgettable and replaceable.

[@cmdrfunk]

Yeah, make a new character of a different race and you then get to have the same exact experience in the same zone again.

[@kidocman]

EQ2 LETS GOOOO. I was worried when you said you were done with EQ but this content is just as good

[@IonBlaze1]

Thank you so much for the compliment Eldoorman :)

[@demris15]

Great review. Glad to see the post!! Hope new dad life is treating you well!!

[@IonBlaze1]

Haha not a dad yet but thank you Demris

[@raouldegrunt2685]

As a 2000 EQ1 player who moved to EQ2 when it launched I agree with all the points that you brought up. I had a lot of fun in both games, but EQ1 was my more fun experience. It could be the guild I was in, but it just seemed more engaging and less of a walk-through and pull-everything game that EQ2 was/is. Although it is fair to mention the abilities being a plus for EQ2, especially for tanks and healers, for me it is a big minus as well. Later in the game, there are so many abilities, via AA/Prestige, that magically appear on your hotbar when you level up. A fast leveling player will just gets lost in all those choices. I think EQ2 would actually benefit from purchasing abilities and spell gems the way EQ1 does while offering the same number of spells. P.S As a EQ1 Bard I totally understand your point. Expecting the Dirge/Troubador to be a replacement of an EQ1 Bard will make anyone disappointed, but with my Dirge I was able to find my role as a Support/DPS in the MT group of my raid. The proudest I was of my Dirge was in a PoH raid back in the day, where I was late, but when I joined the DPS of the entire raid force went up from 40k to 50k. Just because I joined.

[@IonBlaze1]

Thank you for the excellent comment Raoul. Good point about ability bloat. It gets very overwhelming at times with all the buttons & crazy numbers.

[@cktp971]

I was an avid EQ player and I was excited to play EQ II. My computer had no chance of running EQ II, though, so I became a WoW player. One part I disagree with you is on the amount of starting zones. I felt this added variety; starting an ogre in Feerot was a completely different experience than a human in Freeport. I think it was one of the things that EQ did better than WoW. It is good to see another EQ video from you, thank you.

[@IonBlaze1]

You bring up a good point about starting areas. I do definitely prefer varied starts like you say. I think what aLovingRobot said was that they made Plane of Knowledge to fix the problem of having everyone spread out. But it created unintended consequences.

[@feeblemind]

I agree. While I didnt play EQ1 I put years into EQOA because I didnt have a good PC back then which is basically like EQ1.5 because it mixed systems from both games. Half the fun of the early game was coach running and trying to get to the "central hub" which in those days for lower-mid leveled players was freeport due to its close proximity to good camp spots. I prefer each race having its own unique civilization and starting zone and its something that should come back into design philosophy.

[@dw22509]

Heads up, may 22nd 2024 the new tle server launches

[@EQOAnostalgia]

That server is going insanely well atm daaaang! LOL!

[@ehliaskarim1520]

Awesome vid, and it really has me debating trying EQ 2. I haven’t been able to log on to yelinak for a month or so due to real life work stuff but I never knew anything about EQ 2 until now and this vid is great endorsement to try it. Oh and I totally agree and love the music and EQ 1 clips added

[@IonBlaze1]

Ehlias! Nice to see you again. Thank you for coming by :)

[@Merkades13]

I hated that EQ2 made the starting areas just 2. It felt so cheap (from a dev/money side), especially as there were areas where the denizens of norrrath lived outside of the two cities. There is no way all the races would have just moved in together like in EQ2 even if the moon rained down on it. I still fondly remember Kelethin though.

[@RichardEKranz]

I'll never get used to Voice chat. Having someone breathing through their nose in my ear or hearing their insane families yelling and fighting in the back ground. Uugh.

[@IonBlaze1]

Oooof that is bad. Were you using push to talk? Every guild I've seen uses mandatory push to talk in their raid chat channels to curb that annoyingness

[@RichardEKranz]

@@IonBlaze1 Im just not comfortable with it in general.

[@bear.necessities]

EQ2 Hypeeee

[@IonBlaze1]

Thanks Bear :)

[@DrScientistSounds]

Hey what a nice surprise! I've always been curious about EQ2, I think it looks really good actually.. great review, thanks IB!

[@IonBlaze1]

Thank you for coming back around & the compliment :)

[@eddie5525]

Just dropping a comment to tell you that I very much appreciate your Everquest content. EQ holds a very dear & special place in my heart. I lost someone very close to me.. we used to play daily. It was traumatic and I wasn't able to play/enjoy EQ anymore.. as the memories were always there and always deeply painful. I've been able to get back to playing it and enjoying it (on TAKP), and your channel was very influential in me being able to 'ease back into it'. I know it's cheesy.. but it felt like you held my hand through it. Just know, you've been a force for good in my life. May God bless you and everyone you hold dear. Thank you.

[@IonBlaze1]

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm flattered you feel that way about my cheesy videos. Thank you for the great comment Eddie.

[@sweetyd]

Love the EQ2 content .. more please!!!

[@IonBlaze1]

Thank you D :)

[@mimicryofnothing]

this video is super helpful ive been slowly getting into eq2 again after playing years ago when i was a kid im currently ftp but honestly it has been really fun so far. at some point i may go sub to exprience the more fast paced stuff

[@matthewolson2386]

I think I will give EQ 2 a try again, thanks for the video.

[@IonBlaze1]

Thank you for the comment Matthew :)

[@boss_gamers]

I haven’t played EQ 2 since just after launch. I like that they used the Vanguard crating system

[@IonBlaze1]

Oh Vanguard used that system? I really wish Vanguard was still around beyond emulator. I've heard great things.

[@boss_gamers]

@@IonBlaze1 loved it but the combat was a bit slow, especially if you were a tank 😂

[@joshh828]

@@IonBlaze1 the Vanguard emulator is still going and is actively being worked on by the devs. I tried it a few years back and was underwhelmed (particularly because Bard songs weren't functional at the time), but I've tried again recently and have a static group that plays together weekly. You should try it again!

[@IonBlaze1]

@@joshh828 Thank you. Yeah I might check it out. Heard Vanguard's bard was the best designed in any MMO

[@bernatzmark]

Looking forward to your explanations of the class differences and such.... Always love your vids man! Cheers! Felixx

[@IonBlaze1]

Thank you for coming by again Felixx :) Nice to see you here.

[@bernatzmark]

@@IonBlaze1 Well..... I'm here.... not sure I'll be THERE (in EQII) LOL

[@rorygreen2141]

Tubbins working his lil butt off in your vids I see. Good times they were indeed ! Currently playing EQ1 again as I rediscovered my love for it.

[@dregaus]

It was actually really "refreshing" to go back (from action-packed MMOs) to just chillin in camp, having a puller or waiting on pops, sittin in discord with friends. p99 has been an incredible experience. I enjoy that it's really difficult and takes dedication... the progress I've made feels like it really means something. The scarcity of items means I really feel good about some of the items I've been able to get. The way you describe EQ2 kinda makes it sound more like WoW, but there's a reason I left: "it's a single player game where you just see other people" and it's very true. "Sitting still is intense" is a great quote from this vid! It is an experience unique to classic EQ and I felt it coming back... getting lost in the early levels and getting help from someone and it was meaningful, instead of the game itself just holding my hand the whole way. The world FELT dangerous, I was scared to go outside, that was a great feeling coming back to EQ. But yeah it's really hard to do in a group-based game trying to level on classes like a cleric or rogue. Ok sorry for rambling.

[@Lessthanpropane]

as a quarm player who appreciates the QOL features and heard horror stories from classic and P99, You have convinced me EQ2 is worth giving a whole hearted shot sometime From its unique experience as its own game and as a family member in the EQ tree.

[@FirstNameLastName-okayyoutube]

Early computer problems for eq2 was memory leaking. That was server side if I understood correctly. You would run around and suddenly end up on the other side of the zone. It could have been processor related but I didn't have much issues after they did some patching

[@JosephAlanMeador]

Love EQ2! I'd argue that it's still quite fun as a F2P account IF you are part of a guild and have folks to play with, connected through Discord. I had a blast with my guildees last winter! However, with the guild onto other MMO's atm, Antonia Bayle is a ghost town for me when I log in. So yeah, like you said, All-Access account and TLE is probably the way to go right now!

[@hatemeister]

- „EQ 2 runs a lot better now than before” *background gameplay in steady 10fps*

[@IonBlaze1]

Oh lol! That was from my end. My PC struggled to record it & play at the same time. Ran smooth without OBS.

[@Fred_BlackB]

Thanks for the video. I just started up EQ2 again on Varsoon. Haven’t played since 2009ish.

[@chrisjarvis2287]

Played EQ1 for 5 years until EQ2 came out.

[@immutablecantrip]

You called aLovingRobot Mandrake Farms. Mandrake Farms is the archivist but the guy in the stream was aLovingRobot

[@IonBlaze1]

Yup you're right. Thank you for the correction. He has good stuff :)

[@Darkasasin80]

I never played EQ1 only EQ2 and it was way back in the early days. I was a young and inexperienced gamer at the time and was easily overwhelmed playing. I had an aweful habbit of making characters spending an absurd amount of time exploring Tutorial Island, eventually leaving, getting overwhelmed and making a new character with a different class to just do it all again. To be fair I still loved it. The aesthetics are so nostalgic and the sound effects bring back so many memories. It was definitely a game that left a lasting impression on me.

[@oliverbrandstrup7668]

Great video! I just left EQ2 again but i still love the game

[@IonBlaze1]

Thank you for kind words Oliver :)

[@joelfernandez536]

Loved playing a fury to lol 80. Lots of solo and one group-friendly early and mid game stuff too

[@LunchBoxEpics]

I enjoyed going into EQ2 with a boosted toon and just exploring and learning the lore of the game!

[@IonBlaze1]

I'm glad you had that experience Michael :)

[@LunchBoxEpics]

@@IonBlaze1 Thanks! If I remember right, the story is based on us in EQ1 not going into POP and killing our gods, and over the next 100 years or so, Luclin fractured and good and evil are at war!

[@WayneTwitch]

yea boosted toon that alone is why eq is a bad game lol.

[@boss_gamers]

Something to watch while I play my bard on EQ TAKP tonight! 👌👍

[@IonBlaze1]

Heck yeah! Thank you for swinging by :)

[@sweetfry]

This is a really good video and fair review of EQ2 not gonna lie you hit every point very well.

[@alley28]

had great memories raiding eq2 during the destiny of velious era. Later expansions (Thalumbra and later) were not as much fun.

[@IonBlaze1]

Never got that far but I that velious expansion seemed cool. I'm glad you had a good experience back then.

[@alley28]

@@IonBlaze1 thanks. You were spot on about the eq2 experience being enhanced greatly when you play with others.

[@sweetfry]

11:25 I was actually really stoked when i got GEBs on EQ2 on my Conjuror. It was such a fun quest, I agree that the hard quest system for getting realy good items that are even from EQ1 so that theyre nostalgic is really awesome.

[@jprec5174]

In old vanilla eq2 you definitely needed crowd control in public dungeons. Couldnt tell you how many times you'd get a respawn from a group that was ahead of you. That role was given to enchanters/coercers in eq2.

[@CiphecDec]

Man I would be interested in coming into a ground floor of a New TLP of EQ2. I played from day one of EQ2 live and Only played an Inquisitor for 4 or 5 years before making an alt. The quests, Bosses, Raids, Dailies were just so well done. Crafting has a reason, armor and weapons are worth having crafted with special materials, and class abilities upgrades through crafting was a great idea.

[@JS-rk1vc]

Crowd control was shunted to coercers/illusionists in EQ2. Over time, though, it became less needed in groups and raids. It helps in solo heroic zones, though. And as someone who has played since 2005, I heartily agree for new players to sub and go to TLEs. You'll always find low level groups until the fifth expansion releases.

[@nigralurker]

13:00 this is very true, especially in its first couple of months. I had a beefy rig in 2004 (1gb ram, 3.2mhz P4, ATI 9800xt 256mb) and it was known to absolutely chug at anything above low-medium settings, especially specific zones that acted as choke points for travel (Qeynos Harbor was legendary for running terribly back then). It didn't help that when it launched, they used old EQ1 servers to host the game before making a transfer. So bad it was that the game was down for nearly an entire month for maintenance during December of 2004.

[@kalbic]

I liked and still do like having race specific starter cities. It does work and it makes the world seem bigger and more alluring. I was one of the 1999 original EQ players and I was a person who camped 26 hours for the FBSS. That camp was brutal BUT it was well organized. Melee was on in a que and as a person won a FBSS or left the group you moved up the que for the next drop. The best thing about this is there was a lot of honor in this and ninja looting was a big deal then because leveling a character to 40+ wasn't a easy task and nobody wanted to risk their reputation by ninja looting a item. Also, if you wanted to trade the FBSS for another item you wanted with someone else you could, like a Ykesha blade or some other high value item. I liked the difficulty of the game, it really meant something to be level 40+ and to have a Yak blade or a FBSS, people understood the pain it took to get these items. A quest to get a rare item, nobody cares about that. The Epic quests in EQ which some could be a nightmare to get, like the Mage Epic 1.0 or the Warrior 1.0 epic, people where in awe when they saw you with those, these were the exceptions.

[@FirstNameLastName-okayyoutube]

I came back three times and the first time my Prismatic weapon graphic was changed so that for some reason actually depressed me. The first time it was just a bunch of crazy voice emotes that I couldn't turn off so I logged out of that mad house. The second comeback they directed me to kill clusters of random NPCs, no thanks. And the third time I was on a flying Mount and high level and had absolutely no idea where I was supposed to go to get involved in anything and the best way to end that fever dream was the log out. I think I'll give EQ too a chance again someday

[@feeblemind]

Finding a sick Camp spot and setting up with your group tho was really wholesome and a cool experience you wouldn't get anywhere else. It always felt dangerous where EQ2 and similarly WoW I find mindlessly holding W and murdering trash was more boring to me.

[@Tyrael2k3]

I'm a little bit late to the party, but that's probably the best EQ2 review I've seen ever. TLE somewhat the experience I had back in the day and it's nice to get a server full of people LFG for those old dungeons I used to spend so much time in. The only missing point here is the abysmal itemization on Kaladim and Varsoon (last two TLE servers) - heavily limiting the end game progression loops. It felt like DBG wasn't ready to put in the effort to balance character strength to this old content

[@arcamean785]

I've played EQ2 on and off since it was first launched back in 2004 back on Lucan D'lere server and I have A LOT of memories from this game both good and bad. It's a game that really benefits from playing with others even one other person is nice but if you can get a proper six man group is best. That said this game is a vastly different beast than I remember and targeting can be... annoying to say the least but it's manageable. I think my biggest gripe as a returning player would be button bloat as it's very easy to have a wall of icons and AFAIK they're not easily hotkeyed as other games allow. That said it does have a very nice player housing system though the original mansions of Qeynos and Freeport will always be my favorites. edit: Also QQ for the lack of UI scaling in windowed mode lol.

[@IonBlaze1]

Oh yup back in the day. You the corpse shards & you had to pick your class at 10 & 20. Hotkey bloat is definitely a problem

[@kingfisherb90]

Fun to see you complete the prismatic weapon quest near the end of the video.

[@IonBlaze1]

LOUT!!!! It's nice to hear from you again. Thank you for watching :)

[@pauld6222]

I just started playing again a few days ago on a progression server. One thing i quickly remembered that I absolutely hate about his game is how you cannot change your distance that you can see the text above mobs heads until you are very close to them. You really have no clue if they are aggro or neutral mobs until you are way too close.

[@IonBlaze1]

Oh yeah I get you on that! Especially when you go invis & can't tell if it's actually worked to hide you from mobs

[@jms9057]

Very long time solo EQII player here. EQII is a fantastic journey, but some just race to the level cap and miss all the lore, all the little side quests, and don't bother with tradeskills or decorating (there is a very robust decorating community). I don't like to group, and I enjoy the game so much I bought one of the lifetime memberships. ;)

[@rudy5662]

I started playing this game as soon as Varsoon dropped, and honestly, i had a really good time. Grouping was a blast and i plowed through to 50, sometimes dropping like 8 to 10 hours + a session. Even at 50 there was a ton to do and groups farming gear at NEC2 and ICY. Then i decided it was time to start raiding, what could go wrong? I present to you EQ2's biggest problem in my eyes, raid limitations. I got perma benched. I joined a guild who told me they were just starting to raid and they could always use a tank, i was an SK. (Maurie reads the lie detector results) LIE! I showed up raid after raid for me and a few others to be left outside and told "Sorry, we already have all the tanks (or insert class here) we need for this raid, come back next time! We'll give you DKP if you stay logged in though!" And they did, i won't take that away from them, but they had lied to a handful of us. Possibly because they wanted to have extra's around for questing to help their main raid force or as standby's, i dont know. After discussing it in discord a bit i was basically told that unfortunately that's how the cookie crumbles in EQ2 and that not everyone is going to raid, just be happy you're getting DKP so you can still gear up. I didn't want the gear by filling a bench seat, i wanted to play the game and experience the content. So...i left in search of greener pastures. I decided enough was enough and left to find another raiding guild. Next problem i ran into, now all of the other raiding guilds already had faithful raid tanks who were raid geared out, it was too late...i missed the bus and got left behind. Soon, nobody was grouping for end game dungeons anymore so i was literally just logging in LFG doing trade skills. Which got old super fast and lead to me quitting EQ2 before the first expansion even dropped. It's too bad, i really liked it and if it hadn't been for that...i'd still be playing today.

[@AngelTerri]

I had the same concerns you had at the beginning of your video when it came to JoshStrifeHayes video on EQ2. Using Steam as the data for players and FTP only, really put EQ2 in a "bad" light. But when I said something on it, oh boy Josh's fanbois came out. LOL

[@Ashmoleon2006]

i can remember playing eq2 in like...2005..ish and it was lonely as a solo but i had the best grouping experience ever in the commonlands

[@Gilcroix]

My main complaint with this game is. With so many skills and such fast cast times , I feels like I spend the entire game just staring at my hotbars. Once you get over 100 in this game you'll have 5-6 hotbars full of skills and it's just a bit too much imo. Less skills with higher cast times and higher damage would allow you to use keybinds and mouse buttons. So you could see the game while you're playing it. ;)

[@IonBlaze1]

That is a really good point Gilcroix! Completely forgot about how bad it was before I macroed everything. Spent more time looking at the hotbar than the action.

[@Lucid_Intent]

I was really enjoying Varsoon but picked a tank and could never find a guild raiding spot due to fewer thanks being required for raiding.

[@IonBlaze1]

Ooof I'm sorry about that Lucid

[@bakedbeyondbelief321]

Get ready for Origins server in late June. 2006 EQ2 build, as classic as it gets without too much 2004-2005 broken things headaches

[@KaleidoscopicKenergy]

Played EQ2 at launch and performance was fine. But EQ2 had really crazy graphic options that were never designed for computers of the era, so if you cranked up graphic options, you could tank your fps. WoW just ran well because it had simple graphics. But yeah, no performance issues on EQ2 if your settings matched your machine's capabilities.

[@6StringPsychedelic]

This is great content, even though i disagree with almost everything in regards to EQ1 being simple etc. Still enjoy your stuff keep it coming! Long live EQ! =) I cant stand " They break Games" really thinking of checking out Lazarus EMU server.. Anyways good stuff!

[@grazzitdvram]

Just a thought, I was there on the launch of EQ and the noobie zones were overflowing for months after the game launched. My point being that a growing healthy game kept those noob zones fairly populated for years and looking back at that game in its current dieing form and saying "there are too many noobie zones" is just kind of silly.

[@beauthestdane]

EQ1 has revive clickies that you can buy through a couple of methods, also, all priests, Paladins, and Necros can rez. Recovering in EQ1 is not like it was years ago, it is quick and easy.

[@oldironsides4051]

My cleric never had to sit after getting Yaulp! Even keyed it to my right arrow key and was up on the front line with the rest of the tanks smackin and a healin left and right, all w/o running low on mana.

[@EQOAnostalgia]

The one thing i dislike with EQ2 as opposed to EQOA and EQ1 is the insane amount of spells on your hotbar. I find it needlessly complex and turns the game into a cooldown sim. Less is best with abilities/spells imo.

[@powerface71]

I started EQ1 moved to EQ2 in 2004 at launch. I was in many top WW guilds as an endgame Raid Assassin. Things that killed the game were things like DEVS being in guilds giving them the strats to get server firsts, allowing guilds to sell raid loot to people who wern't even in the raid! I tried to get the GDOH for years and it just never dropped, then I see it on a pleb that isn't in a guild buy it in chat from a top guild. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! Guild Halls is what destroyed the social aspect of the game. The game was AMAZING up until The Shadow Odyssey. Now Assassins can't come close to the beast lord so w/e. . . . . it's over.

[@kurtnicholas9884]

The problem we're having now is the impact of live on Varsoon, such as wards being almost useless in raids cause of bleedthrough, and the fact that if your tank isn't fully 30 Krono costing plate armor he just gets ate by any significant raid boss. there is no cap on Ab mod making gear with any significant ab mod cost several Krono. The cloth gear for your highest dps classes drops few and far between leaving the caster's getting hit by aoes without the ability to resist it cause the mobs are hitting like they are in RoK during KoS. Never in my years of playing EQ2 have i ever seen a MT raid group needing 3 healers besides super hard fights like Twin Idols of Rallos Zek, Trakanon, top TSO raids, or King Tormax etc, etc. But now in KoS we have to drop several dps spots to load up another healer. They are tailoring it to only a handful of elitist guilds that have 0 raid members missing. I could keep going, this game isn't supposed to be this hard until later and end expansion raid bosses.

[@darthstigater6642]

EQ 1 also had bats, Enchanters or bards that would cast power regen spells and keep the group going.

[@FirstNameLastName-okayyoutube]

Totally agree about the bar class and the classes in general. I love a lot of the novelty, especially the fun spells that served no combat purpose, but the classes are just way too Universal and way too symmetrical. Yet one of the reasons I quit is because you still magically needed very specific class configurations to be elite. Which meant most of the classes were shut out of luck

[@jprec5174]

Back in the old days of eq2 CC was mandatory. At a certain point dungeon encounters became impossible without good CC. This changed with the wowification of eq2

[@ferretbob5431]

I played both games from the beginning, but I remember using vent or team speak for groups and guild. I only remember using text at the west common tunnel

[@Znagol]

I'm currently Playing on varsoon. Doing a decorator challenge run. I may only equip a new piece of gear after I place a new furniture item in my house.

[@thevinceedward]

While much of this is true, a lot of it is based on the evolution of both game mechanics and game philosophy. For example, I don’t know that I think the multiple starting zones were a mistake at the beginning of EQ. It made going to meet with a friend a real event. Getting my wood elf rogue from Kelethin to Freeport to meet up with my friend was quite the event.

[@Daiska_Plays]

Every time I watch a video on EQ2, I reinstall and fire up my sub again. Play for a few months, then move on. It's impossible to leave for good, because it offers so many things that can't be replaced with another game. I first played right after the first expansion was out, and it's never gotten abandoned by me since. One of the greats. Also, love 'em or hate 'em, it's not required to group unless you raid, thanks to mercs. Group content like Armor quests are easily done with a merc by your side.

[@Fububoo]

For people watching in 2024 I have to tell you there’s two kinds of F2P. Returning to my 20 year old account, the restrictions on several things a brand new account has, I don’t have. For one is the broker. I can buy and sell what I want without tokens. I don’t get add pop ups nearly as much as my free accounts. I’m 3boxing and the other two accounts constantly get pop ups.

[@jeffkoenig7402]

I'm all for balanced comparisons (I've dedicated years to both games), but I wish you'd at least given a caveat that your EQ1 comments were primarily applicable to TLP servers. Many of the things mentioned as big differences are far less prevalent on live servers, where a lot (but definitely not all) of the EQ2 QoL upgrades have been part of EQ1 for 10+ years now.

[@IonBlaze1]

That's a really good point Jeff. Thank you for bringing that up.

[@jeffkoenig7402]

​@@IonBlaze1 Don't get me wrong, with that caveat (that you're comparing TLP EQ2 to TLP EQ1) this comparison is spot on. I keep coming back to your videos because they're good, and because so few people are doing good EQ content, and in this one it's great to see EQ2 getting a fair critique for not just its flaws, but what it does really well. Keep up the great work, just keep in mind not everyone who finds your videos will be as familiar with your channel and know that you mainly focus on the TLP game. :)

[@Griz_827]

Biggest part of the whole review, you are on a time locked progression server, these are much more populated and more welcoming to new players. there is no rush to get to 120 to do current content and you can take your time and experience the entirety of the game. this is making me want to play again , i played for 10 ish years. and as for the crowd control comment, eq2 has plenty of classes that have good cc, illusionist, coercers, pretty sure conjurors have a group stun. quite a few classes

[@nfefx]

The problem with EQ2's abilities/spell system is they listened to that EQ1 feedback from melee of "I don't have anything to do I'm just watching auto-attacks go off" way way too much. What you end up with in EQ2 is each class has 4 bars of 12 abilities each to just spam in order or spam them every time they highlight. Every single ability feels the same, and so many DPS classes rotation is just "go down the bar hitting everything as fast as you can". Serious button bloat, it ends up feeling like spell whack-a-mole.

[@alux948]

I like how your guest never mentioned channeler's when it came to healers :P

[@WhatTheSmeg69]

Does anyone have an updated list for beastlord wardens just wondering if any new pets I can get with latest expansion ???

[@digitalhillbilly8863]

EQ2 had so much potential but too many classes lost their identity, and that nerf stick came out so often. I remember the poor paladins that grinned 150 percent experience required for the class to be more powerful, only to have EQ2 to nerf the class because they thought no one should be more powerful, even if they did have to suffer that 150% experience penalty. Every few months a class would get nerfed and a lot of players would get mad and leave.

[@iwinnimi]

The trade skills leveling is crazy during frostfell. Unless they changed it. Been a long time since I played

[@raycollins8794]

Apolinus/lifesuportt was my characters you see me MT in the raid at the 23 min mark. I miss those days

[@efraim3364]

the biggest problem EQ2 had when it was released in 2004 is you basically needed a Department of Defense computer to run it. A lot of people were still on Dial up(myself included), you are NOT playing EQ2 on dial up

[@aaronjlaw00]

Hands down the best MMO soundtrack of all time

[@sweetfry]

14:50 some people like myself prefer chat because I can do it at my own pace and I feel less pressure, I get anxiety when I have to talk to people and I'm a voice chat and there s a higher expectation to speak and whatnot. Typing lets you reply and think about your responses more.

[@hkoizumi3134]

I've been playing MMORPG since 2000's as well but I chose Ragnorak as my first MMORPG then FF11 online in 2002. I did had the opportunity to try Everquest. Heck, I remember holding both FF11 and Everquest box at the store deciding which to get. I eventually settled with FF11 and that got me for 9 years of my life until FF14 was being tested. Sometimes it makes me wonder what would have happened if I chose Everquest instead. Would I had picked up Everquest II?

[@tren380]

But does EQ2 have epic quests for classes?

[@IonBlaze1]

Yup it's in the 4th kunark expansion

[@kb6530]

Is there other players to join after the starting area? Or did you get freinds to join for the video?

[@Prismatic_Rain]

EQ2's biggest problem is that is came out at the same time as World of Warcraft. EQ2 definitely has a lot of good things going for it. It is an improvement over EQ1 in many ways and feels like what the next step in MMOs would be. Unfortunately it had to compete with WoW which was like 10 years ahead of its time and the game that completely revolutionized the genre. No MMO being developed in the mid 2000's had a chance.

[@IonBlaze1]

Oh completely right about that. WoW also had the better commericials/marketing.

[@Alexander-ix2jp]

It's the other way around actually, EQ2 was a decade ahead of its time and that's one of the reasons ppl couldn't run it well back then. Example: It was too advanced and looked, played and sounded a decade ahead of the competition. Compared to how Eq2 looked, WoW looked like Minecraft against it, but the latter ran well everywhere. This also goes for other aspects of EQ2, like crafting and true sandboxed elements like housing and guildhalls, features that WoW still lacks even today. Mainstream = lower quality at affordable prices but higher popularity. Same thing happened back in the old days Gameboy vs Game Gear. The Game Gear was by far the better and more advanced product, but in the end, the cheaper and underpowered Gameboy won the battle.

[@darkwulf2k]

I do like EQ2, but as i have commented on other vids before. picking up can be a bit rough after you start getting a lot of the abilities, and then get into having to rank them up. Things can get a tiny bit complicated. I do want to dive back into EQ2, but FFXIV takes up a good bit of my time, and been messing round on Yelinak of late.

[@Banditman]

Specifically regarding classes in EQ2, the devs had things in place for both Bards and Enchanters to have solid group roles. Unfortunately, they allowed gear and AA's to greatly mitigate the need for those classes. Bards and Enchanters should have been kings of regen and buffs. But by the time you get anywhere near a level cap, the buffs and regen brought by those classes is largely irrelevant. Blame the devs for not setting and maintaining specific limits that kept those classes relevant.

[@InimicusSolitus]

Played EQ2 for years. We where there launch day, and it was simply amazing. I've returned many times, and it will always be "home" in my MMO games. I just can't play the game past 100, because I do not like what daybreak did to the game. Huge power creep, resolve stat ( worst thing ever added to the game), and you can only level in the new zones. "Play your way" , not anymore. I very much doubt I will play again. :(

[@JoeBonez]

#11 - player housing! How did you miss that?

[@Deadwolfthedark66]

man you made me download EQ2 again

[@fanglethorpe]

I liked the game back when my ranger could wear the Assassin hood from veeshan's peak. I had to do the quest to change my ranger to an assassin and then do the quest to change myself back to a ranger... then they patched it to be class specific instead of ranger/assassin after how many years? After that I put down the game and never went back.