Everquest Free to Play

[kyrax12]

Anyone here tried it yet?

What did you think about it so far?

 

[SomeoneSimple]

I've only played Everquest 2 F2P, but if I am not mistaken the restrictions and monetization within EQ1 F2P are similar.
Do note however, I never had a decent internet connection up until a few years ago, so my experience with older MMO's is quite limited. I imagine that the experience for a returning player, or MMO-veterans in general, is a lot different.

So, what I think after playing EQ2 for a few weeks in the past; unless you're joining up with friends, want a classic-mmo where you can drown in content or just want to experience the game for nostalgic reasons, there doesn't seem to be a catchy lasting appeal for a new player (IMHO).

I guess it is nothing you wouldn't expect from an older MMO, but to sum it up; It's mechanics are severely outdated, the engine is very, very poorly optimized (it runs terrible on current-gen high-end machines if you'd like to max out the graphics) and movement/action is very static and non-interactive.

If you want a 'pure' F2P experience, there aren't a lot of progression-blocking restrictions (apart from character classes and races at char-gen, those are quite limited) until fairly late in the game, and if you don't mind to dish out some coin and wait until Sony does their occasional 2x/3x SOE-Station-Cash conversion you can get good value for your money.

All-in-all, I guess you can get some fun out of it, but there are other F2P MMO's out there (DDO, LotRO, etc) which aren't as outdated gameplay- and engine-wise.
However, in my opinion, games like GW2 or The Secret World (since it went subscription-free, as long as they can keep their servers up) and other Buy-to-Play games, give a much better overall experience, and in some ways, better value-for-money (especially on discounts).

That said, I am really excited to see what Sony will do with 'Everquest Next'. I really hope they'll go the B2P-route, with expansions and some, but less-crucial reliance on micropayments compared to EQ2 F2P or even Planetside 2.

Seeing how much content EQ and EQ2 has, and how they still manage to add unique features in EQ2 (player created objects with the Player Studio, the Dungeon-Maker and the silly but awesome facial recognition), I would really enjoy a modernized EQ2, with somewhat better streamlined and more diverse gameplay, less static combat and running smoothly on a current-gen engine.