The Glade 4.0

It's free to play now.. go check it out =)

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Classic Zelda, Link to the Past, FF4, DQ3,4

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

EQMac. but i'd be single.

EQ is free to play, but I've always been Iksar. For some reason, I have a fondness for lizardmen. It is weird, and I am unrepentent.

Long story short, I don't have money to throw at games atm, and Iksar are not free to play. XD

But I think that existing characters should be accessible. I think the race/class restrictions are for new characters (i could be wrong).

And even if not, you could try one of the available race/class combos just to get your nostalgia fix.

This is true. IF you had your characters before the F2P move, you will have access to them no matter how long ago you played.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

Free to play huh? I don't remember my password and my credit card information is like 3 cards ago.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

I just called their service desk, and explained my situation, which was similar. They asked me my basic account information, and the name and billing address of the account when it was last open. They were very helpful, and the game is currently installing in the back ground as we speak. I figured I'd give it a try, as my schedual is very light for the next two weeks. I suspect I'll be disappointed by what I hope be very nostalgic.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

Depending on how long ago you played, the game is a very different beast now. Some zones have had graphic updates, mercenaries make it easier to level without having to find groups(to a certain point at least). A load more levels and AAs as well. But deep down, it's basically the same game it was where you sit in one spot grinding. Though, the population isn't what it used to be.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

I last played about 7 or 8 years ago. I immagine I won't even recognize the game. It will be nice to see Rynar parked beneath the waterfall in SFG where I left him so long ago, however.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

If he's still there; Surefall got an update too IIRC.

A buddy of mine fired up EQ a few years back, and was trying to convince me to give it a whirl as well. I never did, because a few days later, we both came to the realization that we can't go home again. Too many people were gone. We went out on top. We were the go-to guys in our server's top guild when we retired. Not many people got to say that in EQ.

I'd relive all of it in a heartbeat, but it's not there for me to "go back" to.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

As someone whose gone back to EQ a couple times. It was fun, but it was hardly as magical as the beginning, though seeing Rorin with swiftwind is still tingly.

If course I've never seen the top so I can understand the difference. I played on a nwn server for several years and it's hard to go back for that reason. Once youve ruled the Underdark, what's really next?

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

EQ is definitely not the same game it was when most of us were playing.

You can read the Everquest subforum to read about what its like to go back. Several of us played on a fresh server a couple of years ago.

It was fun, but it wasn't the EQ I remember. It just had some familiar places and things.

With the mercenaries, it's much more solo friendly, and the game in general is far far far less grindy. This is probably a good thing for most people, as I assume most of us would not be able to commit the time and energy to the game that we did back then to level and advance.

For those going back after a looong break. I would suggest running a new character through the tutorial, rather than try to play your old character with their old gear in the way you did back then.

The tutorial will give you a good basic intro to the modern version of the game.

I know the first time I logged Midgen in after many years of not playing, it was jarring. I had no idea how to play him. I ended up starting a new character (Druid this time) to level with the Gladers on the new server.

Come to think of it, I miss text MUDs too.

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I. MISS. EQ.

Don't tell Sony, but when I was a kid, I played EQ on Dal's account, so my character has long since ceased to exist. XD

Oh. My. God.

The game is painfully different. I logged Rynar, with his PoTime gear and ugly *** elf shoe, at level 65 with some 600 AA's, and low and behold, he was a complete gimp. The world is dominated by level 95's, and all my best gear can be replaced in the bazaar for litterally no more than a few K plat. I was amazed to learn that aa's are now awarded for leveling normally rather than AA exp, and I was told that rangers are the best and most sought after class in the game after they reach level 73 and have their headshot aa's.

I don't know if I'll ever log in again, but if I do, I'll have to remember that it's not the EQ I played when I was younger.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

Oh really? Then that has changed since I last played, which was a few months after House of Thule was released. Back then, Rangers were still the gimpy class they had always been(as a matter of fact, Headshot had received a major nerf around that time in that it would only proc on the target selected when using our archery AOE spells making it virtually worthless to farm AAs with) and AAs were still earned with AA exp.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

Are stats (other than health and mana pools) still useless in EQ? That was one of mine (and the entire shaman community's) biggest irks. The majority of players didn't know that stats were worthless, so shamans were still asked for their stat buffs. But, in reality, it really was just a placebo for the players.

Many a shaman did many a number crunching and gains were so miniscule that they really weren't worth the mana. But, as long as other players were happy about seeing a big buff and a big number, they didn't care. But we shamans still felt dirty about letting them think their kool-aid was magical.

We really wanted our buffs to mean something and make an actual difference.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Most of the shaman buffs have had "cap raisers" and heroic stats added.

Definitely not worthless.

I'm quite puzzled about the getting AAs for regular leveling thing, too... Maybe this is just a few at lower levels to help people catch up? I stopped playing during the last Beta, so I'm sure I'm behind.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

There were a few AAs that were refunded quite a while ago, and became level based. For the majority of AAs, though, you still have to grind them out.

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"Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use one!"~ Matthew Quigley

"nothing like a little meow in bed at night" ~ Bruskey

"I gotta float my stick same as you" Hondo Lane

"Fill your hand you son of a *****!"

I remember reading something about making some of the original core AA's acquired automatically at certain levels, but this was well after I started playing.

I think the majority of the AA's are still purchased with AA experience in the old familiar way...

The only shaman buff used regularly was the Focus line, which added hit points, strength, stamina, agility, and dexterity. (I'm not entirely sure about agility). The buff was mostly used for hit points, because the other stats were useless, and everyone had them capped anyway.

Whenever I was grouped with a shaman, I usually had Avatar up, which was a humongous attack buff. Later spells in the line may have had accuracy and critical hit modifiers on them.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.