Please, Sir, may I have some more?

by: Elisabeth "Kiara" Grey

So what do you do when you've reached "the end" of that totally awesome game you're playing? You've reached the level cap. You've maxed out your crafting abilities. You've beaten EVERY major mob in the game. You've hit every zone. Now what?

You twiddle your thumbs and wait for new content. You hang on every word leaked about new zones, level caps, items, quests, etc.

Now, there are two major MMOs on the market right now. They take very different routes to releasing new content. Everquest 2 does it in the form of adventure packs and expansion packs. There's usually one adventure pack in between each major expansion. World of Warcraft releases new bits and pieces every so often through updates. Their first expansion is going to be released in January, a little more than two years after the initial launch.

EQ2 has released three adventure packs and is about to release their third expansion. Without actually taking the trouble to find out I'll say that I think there's usually three to four months between release of some kind of content.

Adventure packs are nifty little side bars of content. They aren't integral to the overall game storyline or progression. They're completely optional and are like pre dinner snacks.

EQ2's expansions are, of course, far more elaborate and contain a lot more content. The first two expansions opened up whole new parts of the world and gave vast new areas to explore. They added content for every aspect of the game and new items and quests at all levels.

WoW appears to release a few dungeons at a time here and there as they finish them. It seems as if WoW keeps up a fairly steady stream of new content released for free. They will be releasing their first expansion after two years.

So what's the difference and which way is better?

That's a really good question. The answer is, I have no idea. I don't play WoW, so I can't really say how their system would affect me. I do play EQ2 and played EQ. The expansion system has never bothered me, although I can see the allure of more frequent injections of new stuff. I mean come on, who doesn't love new things to play with?

Currently WoW has delayed the release of their expansion in order to make sure they ship the most polished possible product. They're being hailed for it on a lot of fronts. Naturally there are going to be people who disagree with it and whine and pitch hissies because they want it NOW NOW NOW. Especially after waiting for two years. They've got a large enough subscription base, however, that they can afford to lose a few players here and there. It isn't as if they won't be back, after all.

EQ2 has, however, been blasted repeatedly for rushing out expansions and adventure packs with bugs that are never fixed as quickly as players would like. Along the same lines, they never contain as much content as players would like either. Soloers complain that there's not enough solo content. Groupers complain that there's not enough group content. Raiders complain that there's not enough raiding content. Everyone complains about the tradeskills.

Such is life with any form of new content no matter how it's released. There's never enough to satisfy everyone and it's never done just the right way to make everyone happy. No matter how great Echoes of Faydwer is or how great The Burning Crusade is, people will find something about which to complain. That's just human nature.

Personally, I could care less how I get my new content. So long as it works and I get it at all. I think both methods are equally viable as l.