EQ2 versus DDO?

[nageov3t]

I feel like I need a second MMORPG to play... I mean, I still love WoW, but it's gotten to the point that pretty much anything *other* than raiding has become really boring, so I need something to play in between raid nights.

I'm going nuts trying to decide between these two, though.

 

[CKent]

I'd rather be trained in go@tse's art than play another SOE(Sony) game. Actually, the two aren't dissimilar, that's pretty much how Sony treats their customers - remember the rootkit hubbub? So DDO gets my vote by default. However, I believe it has world PvP as its only option, so be prepared for angsty teens to "get back" at the world by griefing you.

 

[natep]

Don't go for EQ2.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

DDO is next on my list to play.

 

[Bateluer]

I haven't played DDO personally, but a few people I work with played it, they didn't like it. It should also be noted that they play WoW and enjoy it. EQ2 is my game of choice and I don't see myself changing anytime soon.

I am not sure about DDO, but EQ2 does have a free 14 day trial. And despite the Anti-EQ2 sentiment on these boards, EQ2 is a great MMO with an outstanding community and everyone who enjoys MMOs should give it a try. It is true that the slower leveling system, and complex crafting system aren't for everybody though. With only the original EQ2, no expansions, a casual player will have quests to do for probably close to 2 years. PvP is available on several servers as well, if thats what you are in to. The normal and RP servers only allow dueling.

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
I haven't played DDO personally, but a few people I work with played it, they didn't like it. It should also be noted that they play WoW and enjoy it. EQ2 is my game of choice and I don't see myself changing anytime soon.

I am not sure about DDO, but EQ2 does have a free 14 day trial. And despite the Anti-EQ2 sentiment on these boards, EQ2 is a great MMO with an outstanding community and everyone who enjoys MMOs should give it a try. It is true that the slower leveling system, and complex crafting system aren't for everybody though. With only the original EQ2, no expansions, a casual player will have quests to do for probably close to 2 years. PvP is available on several servers as well, if thats what you are in to. The normal and RP servers only allow dueling.

Personally my sentiment is primarily anti-Sony, I couldn't care less about EQ2. If they released a great game I'd gladly admit it. I might even repent on my vow to never purchase Sony products and/or services again as long as I live, and play it. The fact that most people who've tried EQ2 (myself included, if the trial counts) have hated it is just a byproduct of the way Sony works; such a greedy company would never shell out the money required by a sufficient number of sufficiently experienced and talented developers, coders and artists to put together a good game.

If nothing else - remember that every time you purchase a Sony product or service, you're supporting a company which put rootkits and their ensuing vulnerabilities on unsuspecting and unconsenting customers' computers and reinforcing their notion that it's ok to do so. Customers; this isn't like spyware you get for free, people paid them money for this!

 

[Noema]

They are very different games, by the way.

EQ2 is a more 'traditional' MMO, in the same vein as EQ1, WoW, Star Wars Galaxies, etc. in that there's a 'persistent' world in which most of the game takes place. You travel around different, 'public' zones in which you run accross monsters and friendly and enemy players. In newer games like WoW and EQ2, some areas like dungeons are 'instanced' and whenever you zone in, a particular copy of the dungeon is created for you and your party. But most of the game world is comunal and non -instanced.

D&DO is different in that there's no sprawling, persistent, public world. Except for the main city, which is a hub, everything happens in instanced dungeons. As far as I know there's no 'public' overworld but rather quests which you aquire from the hub (city) inside instanced dungeons.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
EQ2 does have a free 14 day trial.

does EQ2 have a downloadable demo or something, or is it one of those "pay $50 for the software and get 2 weeks free" kinda things?

how solo-friendly would you classify EQ2? that's the one thing that makes me really hesitant about DDO... I'm not averse to grouping by any means, but I hate the idea of having to just sit around in-game spamming for a group because I can't do anything solo (see also: Final Fantasy Online)

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: Bateluer
EQ2 does have a free 14 day trial.

does EQ2 have a downloadable demo or something, or is it one of those "pay $50 for the software and get 2 weeks free" kinda things?

how solo-friendly would you classify EQ2? that's the one thing that makes me really hesitant about DDO... I'm not averse to grouping by any means, but I hate the idea of having to just sit around in-game spamming for a group because I can't do anything solo (see also: Final Fantasy Online)

Yes, the EQ2 trial is completely nonobligational - I would never have tried it otherwise, I don't trust Sony that much. EQ2 is not solo-friendly at all.

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: Bateluer
EQ2 does have a free 14 day trial.

how solo-friendly would you classify EQ2? that's the one thing that makes me really hesitant about DDO... I'm not averse to grouping by any means, but I hate the idea of having to just sit around in-game spamming for a group because I can't do anything solo (see also: Final Fantasy Online)

Neither are very solo friendly. EQ2 more so than D&DO, but none have the 'soloability' as, say, WoW, in which you can get to 60 without grouping once.

 

[Zeeky Boogy Doog]

Originally posted by: Noema

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: Bateluer
EQ2 does have a free 14 day trial.

how solo-friendly would you classify EQ2? that's the one thing that makes me really hesitant about DDO... I'm not averse to grouping by any means, but I hate the idea of having to just sit around in-game spamming for a group because I can't do anything solo (see also: Final Fantasy Online)

Neither are very solo friendly. EQ2 more so than D&DO, but none have the 'soloability' as, say, WoW, in which you can get to 60 without grouping once.

First I'd say between those two, go eq2, I've heard DDO is a terrible game.
EQ2 is much more solo friendly than others have said, you just need the right class. Obviously a guardian, which can take hits much better than deal it can't solo, but if you choose a class such as a necro or conjuror you'll have little trouble. You will miss some of the game as there are group and solo areas, but if you're just wanting to solo, I'm sure thats how it is in any case.

 

[Bateluer]

Meh, I love EQ2. Its a much better game than WoW. And Blizzard hasn't been a pillar of virture with WoW either. When Blizzard releases a patch, the flagship zone of the new patch is invariably broken. This has been the case since 1.6, when I started playing. Lag is still an issue. I can't count the number of times I've went to loot an item and kept moving, only find that lag stopped me from looting the item and had to backtrack and hope the corpse was still there.

Sony owns SOE, they do not run SOE. Sony is the publisher, SOE is the developer. They are seperate entities in a business relationship. When SOE releases a major patch for EQ2, known as a Live Update, 95% of the new stuff works. Impressive when you look at the number of things that occur in a LU.

EQ2's trial is completely free. DL the client, install the client, create an account, create a character, play. As far as being solo friendly, thats been one of the principal complaints about EQ2. Its a group oriented game. You can still solo, with the right class. Wizards, monks, guardians, paladins, warlocks etc can all solo quite well. A class such as the Illusionist cannot solo very well, their job is to control aggro, not dish out damage or take damage. There are lots of solo quests, soloable instances, and you can usually solo throughout most zones. You cannot run into a zone and click on monster's willy-nilly like you would in Diablo, but you can solo. Exp will be much slower soloing though, especially at high levels. Part of the point of an MMO, though, is to play with other people. And in EQ2, you can actually have intelligent conversations with other players. In WoW, you leave all the normal chat channels and speak only to people you know in RL. Everyone else is an idiot.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

eq1

 

[EvilManagedCare]

I've not played EQ2, though I am intrigued by it. It's a much different game than DDO. With DDO there's supposedly no grinding, but then again the biggest complaint is a lack of content. I like the increased focus on grouping in DDO, but I don't always have 2 hours to play.

Something to keep in mind is Gamespot's review. Normally a complete fanboi site in regard to high profile games like DDO, they gave it a mere 7.5/10. You have to wonder if that score is even inflated slightly so as not to anger their advertisers. The best thing to do IMO is give it some time to be patched and add new content, then it might be worth looking at.

 

[zzzz]

play horde.

 

[nageov3t]

thanks for the tips where's the EQ2 client downloaded from? I checked the SoE EQ2 website but couldn't find anything...

re: solo'ing, it's not so much that I want to solo to the max levels, but I like being able to sign-in and be able to accomplish something in-game even if it's 4 am and there's no one else in my level range on the server to group with... though I suppose if grouping is so mandatory in DDO, it's probably easier to get groups going than it is in WoW where so many people just solo grind their way to 60.

 

[skace]

You are asking for a second MMORPG. One MMORPG is usually too much for any person so a second one should be as not-MMORPG as possible. That is why I suggest DDO. You can easily put a decent ammount of time into DDO and get to level 10 while still keeping up with WOW. Both games are good although I think the DDO has game mechanics that at least are unique enough to justify trying. EQ2 would be similar as rolling up another WoW char with a different graphics engine.

Edit: You DEFF need a group in DDO, but it has an amazing LFG system. It is a combination of LFG and LFM. A group leader can put in an LFM req with specific level and class requirements. If you fit the bill, you can automatically attempt to join the group and the leader gets a popup that he can accept or deny. The LFG system you just check a box off and put in a possible comment of a quest you are on. You can also click an LFG button for a specific quest and it will auto-fill your comment in with the quest you want to do. When a group leader searches for people, he can sort by LFG and find them all. The whole system works flawlessly to get people grouped.

You can solo better in EQ2, but you will have a more difficult time doing any instances without a locked in group of friends. So you will be relegated to useless trash mobs and only about half of them at that.

 

[nageov3t]

question about DDO... are there any particular classes that tend to be in-demand when it comes to grouping? sometimes I think I kinda screwed myself by rolling a rogue as my first WoW character. it's the most fun class in the game, so my desire to start an alt is limited, but rogues also have the second hardest time of anyone in the game finding a group because of overpopulation (second behind hunters... hunters suffer from equal over-population AND most people don't understand how to correctly utilize them in groups, seeing them as just gimped rogues who do their damage from 30' away).

 

[Yreka]

thanks for the tips where's the EQ2 client downloaded from? I checked the SoE EQ2 website but couldn't find anything...

Loki, I cant look here at work *since its blocked*, but it should be called "Trial of the Isle". I also have a couple of buddy codes I can send if you want.

I think you would need to do an install from the discs to use them though. It is, I believe full access to the game for 14 days whereas the downloaded trial you would only have access to the noob island.

Bateluer, although we are the minority you aren't the only one. My girlfriend and I love EQ2.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: loki8481
question about DDO... are there any particular classes that tend to be in-demand when it comes to grouping? sometimes I think I kinda screwed myself by rolling a rogue as my first WoW character. it's the most fun class in the game, so my desire to start an alt is limited, but rogues also have the second hardest time of anyone in the game finding a group because of overpopulation (second behind hunters... hunters suffer from equal over-population AND most people don't understand how to correctly utilize them in groups, seeing them as just gimped rogues who do their damage from 30' away).

Rogues are pretty "in demand" in DDO because they have a lot of unique skills like the ability to sense and disable traps / etc. DDO dungeons are much different than WOW/EQ2 in that you have actual traps that can and will kill people if they are not removed. But the first group priority is always a cleric, group isn't going anywhere without one.

 

[Bateluer]

Trial of the Isle

Full Client for use wth 'Buddy' codes

They are hefty DLs though, weighing in at 1.6GBs for the trial and 3.6GBs for the full one. The full one requires a preexisting account though.