Should You Play The EverQuest 2 Origins Server As A New Player?

Should you play the EverQuest 2 origins server of Anashti Sul if you are a first-time new player who has never played EQ2 before? Let's play EQ2 with Renfail as he talks about some of the caveats to playing EverQuest 2 as a new player for the first time, and why the Origins server may not be the right choice if you are a new...or maybe it is, depending on your point of view.
This Origins server is the latest progression server for EQ2, offering a slightly different experience than in previous years. If you want to join our guild, Risen, on the Anashti Sul server, hit us up in Discord!
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[@damienmadovski6678]

I started yesterday as a completely new player after a long thinking because of the sub requirement. Never played eq 2 before more than 10 minutes. This is a completely different experience and I love it. The first thing is that I have the pleasure to discover a brand new old school mmo, and I feel like when I was beginning wow back in 2004. Everything is new and it's a real enjoyment to learn the game playing the newbie highland, taking my time, reading things, trying to understand all the stuff. By the way I'm French so it's sometimes more difficult. But I love that. The feeling of the game is absolutely stunning. I grouped a couple of times, with people willing to help and take their time to. What a good experience. It's actually a good thing that the game is slow : you remember all the things you do and all the locations. Yes, it needs that you take your time, but it's so much more rewarding and compelling than a fast food mmo like many I've tried before. I recommand playing this server for all adults who love old school feelings and want to discover a new mmo, I mean really discover and enjoy the process. Best experience for me so far since... I don't remember 😅. Ty renfail for all your stuff, love your channel, keep going!

[@Renfail]

Have fun :) That's the most important thing!

[@stevejennings2394]

Well put

[@xkollx]

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Amazing game and the origins server is what an mmo experience should be imo! It’s so great!!!

[@marcmann3]

I’ve been playing and have definitely noticed people asking in local chat and LFG channels for grouping. The biggest draw to the server is that it feels more community based and not just a single player MMO

[@Renfail]

Most players want single player MMOs in the modern generation, and definitely matchmaker systems.

[@meatybtz]

@@Renfail Then there are plenty of places for that. EQ2, I love it because it's a world to be lived in.. not a world to speed-run and hit end game and grind M+ till your eyes bleed. There is a place for all game styles. But in the modern world there simply are no lived in worlds. Worlds where you have to look under tables to find quest items. Quests without much "help" in them. Hidden quests that don't appear or have instructions and that people have only documented because they stumbled on them. EQ2 is supposed to be spent wandering and being (grinding, yes). It's perhaps the one thing lost in the Live servers. Big numbers are surprisingly ok. But the structural problems are things like in raids, 1-hitkills render most kinds of non-reactionary death prevention healing obsolete. There has been a loss of being "here". I don't really think Origins is the answer. But rather to take a good solid look at the game and realize what it's core properties are. What makes it.. it. Refocus. Rebuild those properties. Maybe a game-engine swap. There is very little wrong with EQ2 in regards to quests, story, etc. Even 20 years of content isn't as bloated as Wows (I play both). Housing, crafting, endless quests, the need to swap faction grinds for access to recipes or a raid. It's not a one and done. It shouldn't be. Plenty of those games out there. I find myself thinking about it a lot more these days. What's "missing". The social aspect of the games came from more than just not having discord or teamspeak or uhh what was it called back then. It's not even that we have to grind mobs that take 15 min to kill. It's that it's a world you live in, always something to do. Go back into a zone to complete something you couldn't before. Asheron's Call was the only other game to have dungeons like EQ2s old public dungeons (outside of this franchise). Folks think the MMO genre is dead, no innovation, but instead I'd say it has forgotten what made it a place to "hang out and socialize". Been playing eq2 since 05 (off and on). Currently playing it again after a stint in MOP-Remix. Play with my family. Our guild dates back to 05 and I inherited it.. some decade ago. Last man standing I guess. It's still special. Just recently ran through the Draconic Language quest chain. What a hoot. Finding those scrolls and items. No highlighting, no easy find. Its something SMALL, but immersive. So yeah, immersion is gone in modern games. Immersion isn't about being hard but drawing you IN, making you focus on the world (not the gameplay.. the world) while you play. I don't think we will be playing Origin, just because. No particular reason, except that we have younger players and the slight increase in difficulty is probably asking a bit much of them.

[@brentpete04]

I’m new to EQ2 and have played a couple of characters on Origins server. It feels like an old MMO without the punishment of death that EQ used to have. I’m enjoying it. Grouped for an hour at lvl 7 and had a great time. Lots of people playing. Lots of groups. Very informal. Just run up to someone. Group for a few minutes to a few hours and have fun.

[@Renfail]

Keep on keeping on

[@julianbruce7595]

I freaking love that music!

[@Renfail]

Indeed

[@metashadow3924]

The answer to the title of the video is: YES!

[@Renfail]

:)

[@ecogreco]

I really got into EverQuest 2 in 2019 and especially into 2020. I thought EverQuest 2 was a hidden gem and just had very bad luck. I am thinking about doing the origin server, but as you stated before, it does involve time commitment. I also play World of Warcraft (retail and SoD) and Black Desert Online, so I feel I am spread thin already. However, I have this urge to try the origin severs because I always wanted to experience EverQuest 2 when it was focused on group content.

[@Renfail]

It can be fun, but it's not easy to find groups unless you are SUPER social and are ready to camp the OOC channels rather than simply playing the game

[@ecogreco]

@@Renfail I am very social in MMOs, I don't have any issues using the OOC chat channels to find groups. That is why I was kind of drawn to EverQuest and EverQuest 2.

[@Renfail]

@@ecogreco good luck

[@ataridc]

@@ecogreco no you're not dude I walked by and you didn't even say "hi"!

[@stoissdk]

I love having to talk to people IN GAME and organizing to get things done.

[@Renfail]

I do not. I'm 45, have tendonitis, and the less typing I have to do, the better. Voice chat is instant, I'm hanging out with my peeps, we're laughing, joking, it's so much better

[@kingknossosthebull9796]

I'm from Pandemonium on the Talon Zek PVP server of EQ1. I think I started around 2000? I played UO when I got out of the Navy in 98 and moved to EQ1. I never played EQ2 because it had no PVP when it first came out, and WoW very much did. I just created a Coercer last night, and I'm having a blast, personally.

[@Renfail]

Have fun :) That's the most important part

[@MistyKathrine]

I never actually did play EverQuest 2 because when this game came out, I was still super into the original EverQuest playing like 70 hours a week and didn't have time to play EQ2. When I finally moved on from EverQuest it was for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, which is a sad story... I always felt like I might have missed out on this game but didn't want to try it several expansions later. I just heard about this server today and it's already a month old which means it's probably not an ideal time to start on this one now. If it's anything the TLPs for the original EverQuest, missing out on that first 4 weeks is going to be a bit rough to join now. You think it's too late to join this server or should I wait for another year or two to see if they launch another server like this?

[@Renfail]

You should honestly wait. If you were a returning player I'd say go for it, and hurry up to catch up, but if it's your first time...no. But what I WOULD ABSOLUTELY SUGGEST is you go start a character on the free to play live game. Pick whatever server; you aren't worried about grouping with other players. The game is entirely solo-able now with the mercenaries the game provides you with, and there are HUNDREDS of hours of amazing story (much of it voiced) quests and dungeons (which you can do with your merc) that you can work through and find solid enjoyment out of it. Then, when the next TLP rolls around, you'll be immersed, up to speed on everything, and ready to take that plunge.

[@MistyKathrine]

@@Renfail Thanks for your advice, I might check it out, not sure I like the idea of soloing in an MMO which is probably a big part of why the original Final Fantasy XIV (the 2010 game) was the last new MMO I ever tried. The grouping is a big part of the MMO experience for me but I'll think about it.

[@Renfail]

​@@MistyKathrine Your question inspired a video, which is coming out tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. central: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZu8hZ-hYsuCnNk All of the modern mmorpgs and modern variants of old games, are all geared towards solo players, not group-mandatory. They are still great fun, but have to be approached from a different mindset to get the most enjoyment out of them. EQ2, FFXIV: A Realm Reborn, SWTOR, LOTRO, WOW, all of them focus on single player content for 90% of the content, and keep group content reserved for optional fun. EQ2 is a PHENOMENAL experience, but it's a single player RPG these days with optional group content if you want to play with others. Just like all the others =P

[@MistyKathrine]

@@Renfail Alright, I'll look for your video later. :) But yeah, I always felt like if I wanted a single player experience I would just play a single player game. I'm a big JRPG gamer but I do love MMOs but it's just that they kind of stopped making ones that appealed to me. I've played World of Warcraft, didn't really enjoy it, tried it again a few years later still didn't enjoy it. I played LOTRO didn't enjoy it, I played Guild Wars which I liked a bit more but didn't stick around with that one too long either. Only MMOs I honestly ever really liked were: EverQuest up through Omens of War Final Fantasy XI, level 75 era Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Final Fantasy XIV, the 2010 game, aka 1.0-1.23b. I never did play EverQuest 2 and hearing the Origin server has me thinking it might be something I might actually be interested in. Anyway thanks the info, I appreciate it. :)

[@LiamsLyceum]

This timelock idea works really well for MMOs, at least for nostalgia and arguably for different experiences to enjoy or at least try. I wonder if other types of games could do this. Like Halo 5, which obviously doesn't get updates anymore, but 2015 Halo 5 was pretty different than 2017 H5 and 2018 was different from them both. My pc has decided it's old and EQ2 isn't working for me right now or else I'd be on Anashti Sul. You were around when my brother and I first experience EQ2 back in 2020. What a memorable experience. And while I've done the progression servers on EQ1, I've not done so for EQ2.

[@LiamsLyceum]

I got a Mists of Pandaria Remix ad in the middle of this XD

[@Renfail]

This one's quite a bit different than the previous progression servers and it's a lot slower

[@emmettstone9518]

God I miss old school style mmos. I love being attached to my character and it's about the journey not the endgame. Also this game has the best questing ever

[@Renfail]

They borrowed a lot from WOW, which is great, because they both have good systems.

[@jasonbaker6795]

I've had luck finding groups without discord or a guild. For now the population is great.

[@Renfail]

it'll be gone in about 6 weeks

[@jasonbaker6795]

@@Renfail 🥺

[@jasonbaker6795]

@@Renfail still running strong...

[@Renfail]

@jasonbaker6795 less than 25k subs is not running strong. It's still got life in it, but a 25 year old horse don't move the same way you can get a 3 year old to move

[@jasonbaker6795]

If you're a content creator for this game and others, why do I get the feeling you're not promoting it. Are you maybe sour about the way daybreak tanked the game?

[@Cyricaaa]

im brand new to the game some of my older friends who played it back in the day wanted me to join and honestly the grouping is fine plenty of people are open to talk and group up and text chat even people on discord are open to talking in text chat while youre in their group so i really dont know what you mean by thats not how people play these days a big hunk of the community is literally playing for the nostalgia of that >.>

[@Cyricaaa]

hell even in turtle wow there is tons of people who openly chat not a very good point imo

[@Renfail]

The nostalgia crowd are in and out in 4-6 weeks, so they don't make up the normies that play.

[@diannahimi7822]

Thank you for the informative video! I am brand new to Origins and 2006 version of the game, but played for a few hours or so the Live version. What I heavily dislike about Origins server is the average community - and I cannot believe I say it.. yes, people tend to not be directly hostile or write childish insults, some seem to be helpful, but there is an air of Elitism and superiority which I felt already from the Starter Island. The server seems to have attracted lots of purists with free time, who seem to be shaming and outrigh pushing away people like me who are introver, shy, not really social and like to Quest and explore and complete everything. If a person like me offers an opinion about something they deem as "non-2006/non-EQ2", there is this heavy rain of "Go play another game/Learn to group/That's how the game should be/Don't touch my game with modern ideas" etc etc. I truly like slower leveling, because it allows me to do many quests and experience many dungeons before I outlevel everything. And this is such a hypocricy, because they insist on keeping things slow/even slower (I like slow, I really do), and yet are the first to start optimizing the best 'grinding' route, hour after hour killing the same monsters or same route inside of a dungeon and rush to that level 50 mark. Why can't they increase Quest EXP, by at least double, for people like me? It wont harm anyone? The quests currently give between 3-10% per completion. Doubling that seems reasonable, while still allowing the 'grinders' to do only that and ingore each and every quest as they have been doing anyways. It just provides alternatives (with a fair and balanced EXP imo) and variaty to others who don't seek to group. And whenever I say I do not like grouping as much, I am seen as this strange, weird alien? Why? Is it that difficult to understand that people are different and just as they cringe at 'solo-players', I cringe at the idea of having to be constantly grouped, expected to keep up via certain pace, skip on so much content, lore, voice acted quests and little secrets. And no, I cannot emulate this on a Live server, because the game there is different. I don't mind challenging mobs, but I like to be rewarded for it properly when finishing the said challenging quest. Compared to full group of people plowing through Heroics like knife through paper, yet many of them insist that they want this server to remain difficult... sorry, but what I do, soloing group-quests, strategizing what to pull and how to pull it on my own, is much much more difficult and intelligent than just clicking 1-2-3 while standing still and 7 mobs around you drop dead. Reading quest descriptions and figuring out where to go sounds way less boring and much more involved to me, compared to 'grinding' like a robot. No offence to anybody, but because I have been indirectly offended based on my playstyle, I don't mind expressing my disatiscation with this all. And sorry for the wall of text, but let's not mention that the times I do actually try to group and search for people, I am mostly ingored or unseen in a flood of LFG spam. Other than all of this, I like the idea of the server and just wished it provided some alterntives, little ones, to players like me. I don't see the harm in a quest giving me 12% EXP, compared to 6% as it is now.. I still end up 'grinding' anyways while doing said quest or while trying to get a certain drop. Stay safe and hope you are having lots of joy with your games 💜

[@Renfail]

The one counter I would add, in regards to the exp, is that the normal progression servers are nowhere near this slow, and offer a MUCH more progressive pace of leveling, if not as fast as the live servers. As far as the rest, it's the typical "neckbeard" crowd of elitists. They'll clear the content in 3-6 weeks and be gone, so don't worry about them too much.

[@diannahimi7822]

@@Renfail Oh yes, I definiely agree that balancing Quest EXP and EXP overall is not easy, lest they risk going into Live territory with the pacing. I considered trying the other progression servers, and imitating 2006 playstyle, hindering myself on purpose to make it slower and just as difficult, but then I realized that Origins has syphoned probably 2/3rd of their communities :D As much as I don't care about grouping, I love seeing other people run around, chat, perform stuff around me, it makes it feel immersive and real and alive.

[@scolack123]

I just started up and looking for someone or a few to run the game through with as a consistent group if youre interested My buddy was going to join but backed out My char is only lvl 5 right now but i have a got Qeynos High elf Fury Soloing as a healer just seems daunting lol

[@Byndle6969]

so much fun!

[@Renfail]

Enjoy

[@cynthiadavidson9301]

I'm coming back! This is the way MMORPGS should be! I wish they could have gone back just a bit more in the EQ2 timeline.

[@Renfail]

Ok

[@dlear85]

i never got into eq2 much passed the midgame. Have been messing about on project quarm, but it just doesnt scratch the itch anymore. May give this a try

[@Renfail]

Enjoy

[@dlear85]

is it casual friendly? or like EQ tlps where you need to be playing daily to keep up with release schedule

[@Renfail]

@dlear85 I covered this in the video. You pretty much need to keep up with the Joneses or you'll get left behind them because you can't solo anything on this server in the population goes in waves so you get about a 2 to 3 month window before the bulk of the people leave

[@dlear85]

@@Renfail ah thanks mate im watching now, i hadnt managed to get far on my work break!. Was hoping it was a longer timeframe server as it sounded different to TLPs

[@ravnos18]

Its has been incredibly easy to get a group. also the looking for group features are very usefull.

[@Renfail]

groovy

[@roncarter8079]

I thought they were going to unlock expansions every 12 to 18 months? This server is actually 2006 version with the first two expansions included (max lvl 70)

[@Renfail]

They never do that pacing

[@gavinchism9383]

There is a line between to easy and to hard that grey area is what you want . And it is a social game and if your not in the clique or a guild your wasting your time , it sucks . Ppl will return to their servers as you said ppl rush in until they start getting left behind and can’t get group because the ppl that actually play are high lvl and your stuck at lower lvls , good luck

[@Renfail]

ok

[@troyb4533]

It is a shame that ppl don’t use game chat to communicate anymore.

[@Renfail]

Not needed. Discord is far superior

[@Cyricaaa]

i would like to know how rare legendarys are tho and why ive gotten one on all 3 characters ive made so far in the tutorial island

[@Renfail]

it's not really a math equation. It's just roll of the dice

[@scolack123]

God its so nostalgic!!!

[@Renfail]

Yep

[@kilabee6433]

Yes you should play and stay of you like it.

[@Renfail]

ayep

[@scolack123]

4:00 What? Yhere are TONS of players calling out "LFG RoV 2 more, need non chain healer" and stuff like that

[@Renfail]

Only for the first few weeks. THE nostalgia wears off after about 3 weeks and then it goes back to being fairly quiet

[@brandondeakins564]

Lol, all the negatives you started with, slower, group based, more social, no match making, I view every single one of those as positives 😂 Your reasons not to play it sold me on playing it and I've never played any EQ before

[@Renfail]

You are one in a million. The amount of people looking for this old school, hardcore type of gameplay is EXTREMELY niche compared to modern games. That's why no one makes them like this anymore and they only ever show up via progression servers. Nothing wrong with that, it's just understanding your lane and the lane everyone else is in.

[@brandondeakins564]

@Renfail ya I've mourned the loss of these types of games for years. The instant gratification, monster energy fueled ADHD 2 second attention span style of games bores me to tears. I need to feel satisfaction and accomplishment, not just instant gratification. But I'm also almost 40 so I grew up in a different era

[@Renfail]

@@brandondeakins564 I'm mid-40s. The old school, hardcore, forced grouping, corpse runs and item loss and lack of quality of life features bore me to tears. I want easier, not harder. Happy to have these in the rear view as fun nostalgia titles, and VERY happy the industry moved on to faster, better, more polished ways of doing things. Great to jump on for limited windows of time for nostalgia, but there is a reason these games fell by the wayside, and it ain't because they were some gems among games. Product of their times, remnants in the Video Game Musueum. Fun to look at, fun to touch, but just a part of history.

[@brandondeakins564]

@Renfail to each their own, I get no satisfaction by being rewarded for clearing content so easy that I can set my character to /follow and noone in the group would even notice I was afk 🤷‍♂️ If my 8 yr old can clear content it's not going to engage me, I'm glad it exists for those who want it, it's just not for me. I just prefer the very slow paced, long term sense of progression, I put 100s of hours into WURM online even 😂😂

[@Astarahl]

@@brandondeakins564 There's a much larger "niche" than you realise; the big rise of cookie-cutter mmos came out due to WoW's popularity and they followed Blizzard's model because of it. There were, and remained, a very large profitable proportion of gamers who do not like what you propose is the majority. Publishers often know less of the industry they are buying into than you expect, and as in film, something becomes commplace not always because it is the only way to be successful but because it's the publically best-known way to be successful. Lots of poorly performing games are making a sweeping profit based on the hidden "niche" you are saying barely exists. BG3 recently proved that a sweeping number of available gamers existed in the female 30+ category who have never gamed before, nor even care to, which swept in in the millions purely for erotic pretty boys. The type of player who wants grouping and socialising and a more challening experience that forces group dynamics and... yes, more socialising... is greater than you think. That will become apparent the moment any decent game comes out that caters to it. The kickstarters that made a bomb on that promise (and their teams fell apart due to awful handling) is evidence enough, let alone all the folk you talk to in the cookie cutter modern easymode games, who are disatisfied by it but have no other option. There is a huge number of people who want what you say do not. In fact, the "majority" of all grossing revenue globally for gaming is centered in the east, even, who love that model. Soon as a game crosses the international market that achieves it well, you'll have that market as well as the "niche" western market to enjoy.

[@delphidark]

I hate Asherons Call never made the classic trend

[@Renfail]

Ok