Have you ever left a game and not gone back for years? That's exactly
what I did this week when I decided to revisit href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2" target="_blank">EverQuest II
to see what
has changed since my hiatus. I left the game shortly before the first
expansion, Desert of Flames. The server I was on at the time was
suffering from population issues and my hours had become so bizarre
that it became virtually impossible to group with anyone on a regular
basis. Eventually, I went on my way, but knew that sooner or later, I
would return to the lands of Norrath.



What I enjoy most about playing MMOG's is href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/71256" target="_blank">they're
continually changing.
I know this evolution both terrifies and infuriates some people (I'm
looking at you, my faithful Vanguard players!), but as a person that
gets bored easily, I always love seeing something new. It's for this
reason that not only am I glad I finally got around to dusting off my
ancient EQII account, but was completely floored by the depth of
changes as well.



To say things were slightly altered from the last time I played would
be an understatement of gargantuan proportion. The biggest change I
discovered the moment I went to create a new character (aside from the
new races: Arasai, Fae, and the Sarnaks) was the absence of the
archetype system. I can't stress how much of a pain this system was,
especially for those of us that have a habit of making alternate
characters on a regular basis.



I don't want to bore anyone with a "back in my day" story, but I have
to give the quick version so you can understand. Back in the day
(sorry, couldn't resist!), you had to start as one of four archetype
classes (Fighter, Scout, Priest, or Mage). At level 10 each archetype
would split three ways for a total of 12 classes. I'd like to say you
were done at this point, but you weren't. Those 12 classes would then
split further at level 20 for a total of 24 classes.



Any time you wanted to try another class, you had to play through 20
levels of content first. As if that wasn't bad enough, once you finally
became the class of your choice, you only received one or two new
abilities. This meant that you were basically still playing the same
class you had been for the last 20 levels. My necromancer never even
felt like one until I finally hit level 32 or so. That kind of system
may have looked good on paper, but in practice, it was an absolute
nightmare. Thank the gods it's changed now!



With the addition of five expansions (Desert of Flames, Kingdom of Sky,
Echoes of Faydwer, Rise of Kunark, and The Shadow Odyssey), there are
new lands to begin your quest for glory and adventure depending on your
race and class. No longer are we poor souls relegated to the cities of
Qeynos or Freeport. Characters can now begin in Timorous Deep and my
beloved home away from home, Neriak. There was no way humanly possible
that I could resist checking out a new version of a city I had known
every nook and cranny of from my EQ days, so I created an Asarai
Shadowknight.

It was easy to see the team had
been hard at work on exploring ways to get information into the hands
of players without making them feel they're being force fed.
Immediately upon opening my inventory, I discovered an 18-page book
describing the various crafting professions in far greater detail than
I have ever witnessed in any game before. I couldn’t believe
the depths they had gone to lay everything out. 



As I walked through Hate's Envy and the surrounding area, I also
discovered a number of NPCs with headings under their names such as
"Understanding Your Inventory and Equipment". When I went to talk with
them, I was pulled into a conversation that explained virtually
everything I wanted to know in relation to the topic. It may not be a
perfect, but it's an ingenious solution to an age old problem. If I
didn't have any questions about inventory (or the numerous other topics
listed under other NPCs), I was free to completely ignore them. If I
did have a question though, it was an easy process to scan the NPCs I
ran by to see what topics of knowledge they were offering to enlighten
me on.



With most of my graphics settings cranked to the max, I was finally
ready to see what new discoveries the EQII development team had created
for players to explore. Starting out in the Dark Elf outpost of Hate's
Envy, it took less than a few minutes to discover yet another
significant change to the game - everything was right there.



That statement may sound like a no-brainer to the gamers of today, but
in the early days of EQII (after you got off the starter island), you
had to constantly hop between at least four or five zones to complete a
million starter quests and zoning was not a fast process. Not only did
you need to get to the other zones for the purpose of completing quests
(and thus leveling), but different zones had different crafting
materials you needed to gather. By the way, at this point, you still
weren't even a citizen of your chosen city; you were a beggar
attempting to garner enough favor just to be allowed within the city
walls.



Any worries I may have had about reliving the same irritation from my
earlier experiences were clearly put to rest. No more hopping zones
continually. Everything you need to get all of your harvesting skills
up is right around Hate's Envy. The quests you get sent on are also all
within close range and like me, you'll be glad they are because you're
really going to want to get your hands on the loot you'll receive.



It may be the typical old man syndrome, but the stats on the armor I
received from my starter quests were almost enough to bring a tear to
my eye. Never again would I have to wait until I was level 14 to be
able to use an item that had more than a "+1 Strength" stat on it. The
gear you can gather within the first five levels is miles above the
rusty scraps we had to deal with for a significant proportion of our
adventuring careers during my EQII heyday.



With the major changes we've covered so far, one might think the game
had lost some of the charm from its earlier days. I don't think
that’s the case at all. The early experiences for players
(where it counts the most in my book) have been streamlined and
enhanced. The senseless need to run all over hell and back in your
first five levels is gone, various game mechanics are now explained in
far greater detail than ever before, and it’s the most fun
I've had in a while. It's obvious to me that this is all just the tip
of the iceberg, so be sure to stay tuned as I continue to explore the
myriad of changes the game has seen over the years.