The Glade 4.0

To da tune of New York Groove by Hello

It been many years since me was here
Tings have changed since me gone away
Dumbheads breeding left and right
Without someone to give dem a fight
And it just not right
Dey need to be bashed tonight

Here me is wit a fresh new hammer in me hand
And a generation of Dumbheads who never knew me wrath
So baby,

Me back! Back in da Norrath groove!
Me back! Back in da Norrath groove!
Me back! Back in dar Norrath groove!
Me back.... in da Norrath groove. In da Norrath groove.

In da back of Crushbone Keep
Da orcs all cower and begin to weep
Me stomp and bash dem all real good
And chomp and gnash cause dey also food
Dis now Numbuk's neighborhood, and den dey understdood

Me feel so good tonight
Me covered in orc and dorf goo
And now dis world will remember:

Me back! Back in da Norrath groove!
Me back! Back in da Norrath groove!
Me back! Back in da Norrath groove!


Me back..... in da Norrath groove.
In da Norrath groove!

And me ain't gonna move

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Yay!

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Yeah, EQ2 seem a bit different. It look like Numbuk lost some weight. Me guess dose dorf handles needed to be excercised out. Dat ok. If dorfs taste great and are less filling now, den dat fine.

Me not sure if shaman still da best way to go dis time. Maybe me try someting else so dat me bashin' arm get good workout. Me will see.

But if yous on da Lucan D'lere server, dat where me gonna be at for now. Me need big change from udder worlds me been in. Me pretty sick, tired, and ungodly bored wit dat crafty wargame.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Numbuk! Bash good!

I dont know what it is about EQ2, but Ive tried... 5 times, Ive got 4 different characters all in their mid 20s, and one high teens....

something about that range of zones is just... BLAH

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Exactly how I felt about WoW.

Grats Numbuk -- welcome to the best (and sadly most over-looked) MMO on the market.

I didn't have any problem with WoW, but I'm with Crim, I never could get past the mid 20s in EQ2.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Tried a free trial of EQ2. Got to 32 in the first month. Not bad but not something I would pay for every month.

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Raell Kromwell

Well, me not so sure shaman da right fit for Numbuk dis time. Me tink me try bruiser for a bit. Bash stuff wit me fists. Take da middle-man hammer out of da picture. Me see how dis goes.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Numbuk,

What kind of class do you want to play, or what kind of game experience are you looking for?

I've played since launch and can offer some advice if needed.

Main tings me require:

1. Being able to bash all dumbheads.
2. Not get out-bashed by dumbheads who bash Numbuk.
3. Big two hand hammer be nice, but not fully necessary.
4. While spells and stuff is nice, me like da bashing more dan anyting.
5. Did me mention bashing?

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Hmmm, sounds like you might be into bashing things.

Bruiser is a good choice, as is Shadow Knight (SKs are beast currently in EQ2). Hell, any of the Warrior archetypes will do.

If you like the idea of playing a Shaman, you may want to try Defiler (evil version of Mystic). They are more offensive based, whereas the Mystics are more about buffage.

Course, as a Ranger you can always bash things from afar

Me tank yous, Rodahn!

Me will stick wit Bruiser for now, see how it goes. It seem fun so far. Plus it let Numbuk show off his sexy chest. All da little elf women faint left and right when me show up.

But den Mrs. Numbuk get mad and chomp dem so dey leave Numbuk alone. Life was different when Numbuk no had female ogre. Me have to adjust!

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

LOL np.

Good progression for evil side (sticking to mostly vanilla EQ2) = FP quests --> outlying FP suburb outdoor/indoor instances -- Commonlands --> Howling Caves ---> Fallen Gate (might need group for this) -- Nektulos Forest/Thundering Steppes --> Enchanted Lands/Zek/Innothule ---> Lavastorm/Everfrost ---> Faydwer (namely Loping Plains) ---> Kunark/Moors of Ykesha ---> Odus.

For more expansion exploration, hit Desert of Ro and Gfay/Lfay around your 20s-30s up to the 50s, then hop over to Sky for your 50s-60s (might pop back into Faydwer for your 60s), then Kunark/Moors of Ykesha, ending up on Odus.

The game does a pretty good job of moving you through the logical progression. For the most interesting experience, I suggest buying add-on packs and expansions and exploring those to their fullest, as vanilla EQ2 is, well . . . vanilla I think part of the early burn out people get is because they stick to the vanilla content, which admittedly is drab compared to what's out now.

How can me see what expansions me have? Me bought da ting online, so me no sure. Heck, me no even actually purchased it. Me just "reactivated" what me had from before (which was a trial of da fae folk).

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Trial of the Fae Folk is the Faydwer expansion (circa 2006). That should carry you to lvl 70. If it's just a trial, you only have 14 days before having to upgrade to a full membership, and you are greatly limited in what you can do. If you re-activated as a full membership then yeah, you're good to add on other expansions. Rise of Kunark, The Shadow Odyssey, and Sentinel's Fate hit after Faydwer. It's a bit pricey right now, but purchasing Sentinel's Fate (retail or virtual download) will give you all the other expansions before it, and maybe some of the other add-on content/adventure packs (i.e. mini expansions), but I'm not sure about that.

As for checking your expansions, go into the "My Account" button on the patcher when you first load the game ---> sign in ---> "Subscription Info" ---> "Details" button on upper right, and from there it should load a screen with everything you have active on the left hand side.

Hope you enjoy your time in the game.

Speaking of EQ2 -- most awesome-est current raid level armor on my Ranger.

Bow is not most awesome-est, but cool-looking.

so what do you guys think of the EQ2 F2P service they're setting up?

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If I were actively subscribed to EQ2, I'd be pretty pissed... If they want to do something like that, they should develop a game for it from the ground up....

Awesome bow, Rodahn!

As for EQ2 free to play, meh. Haven't really thought much about it.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Yeah, I think it has one of the better graphics. Sadly, the second best bow in the game has the ugliest graphic on the face of the Earth. The best bow in the game is pretty nice looking, but with fewer particle effects.

EQ2 F2P server is actually great for casual gamers. Log in for a bit, do some stuff, get some loot, log off. The pay to get more features aspect is a nice graduation for those who want to advance.

The pay for high-end gear feature has some EQ2ers' panties in a bunch, but really -- it doesn't affect anyone except for those on a F2P server.

When F2P goes live, I will take the opportunity to download it and screw around with it. I enjoyed DDO for a little while, and I'm jonsing for a new video game.

I was searching through steam yesterday, and noticed that Vangaurd was still available. People actually still play Vangaurd? Holy crap!

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It feels like all the people who want limited government really just want government limited to Republicans.
---The Daily Show

I actually logged in to Vanguard the last few nights to see what has changed. Unfortunately, the answer is 'not much'. The game has been all but abandoned by SOE, and other than server merges (they are down to one North American and one EU server), there hasn't been much, if any dev work on it. There are still odd bugs that were there when I played 2 years ago. No one bug is so horrendous that it makes the game unplayable, but there are enough annoyances that it challenges the patience. Right now, the single most glaring issue is lack of players. Unless you know people who play, and can coordinate play time, the chances of getting a group are slim to none. Especially at low levels.

That said, I'm still enjoying putzing around on my Psionicist, and plan to break out my Shaman before the month runs out. These two characters are as fun as any I've played in any MMO (overlooking the bugs previously mentioned). I think the time I spent grouping my Shaman with Teekeela's tank (BOOMHAUSER!!) back in the Ategenos days, was as much fun as I've had playing an MMO, even with the bugs. I wish I could say the same for my Ranger (Midgen! lol ). I had a hard time getting into the mechanics of the Ranger class in Vangaurd for some reason.

Anyway, I think the game has fallen off a cliff, and is hanging on to a rocky precipice that is about to give way. Unless SOE does something to bring players back to the game, to justify the development time to fix the bugs and add content, I don't expect is has long to live, which is sad. I think if it hadn't been launched before it was 'done', it had a lot of potential to be a great game...

So, since New Halas has been highly recommended as a new starting area, I decided to give EQ2 another go.

I started by making a trial acct, and leveling up a new Ranger to 20 in about 8 hours- a huge improvement over my last experience! New Halas is great, and all the lead in quests are nice.

What I really like is the streaming downloader, honestly- it let me start up playing on a laptop with no previous files in about 2 hours.

What should I know about coming back? My highest char on the account is 26, I have the first 4 expansions, and 3 years worth of vet rewards.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Neph:

Yes, the new starting areas are loads better than those horrid newbie islands. EQ2, while it has its issues, has come leaps and bounds since launch.

As far as general advice -- see what I posted near the middle of this thread for tips for Numbuk for a primer.

Oh and grab those vet rewards! There are some extremely nice things in those.

If you have any questions, send me a tell in game.

/tell Blackburrow.Siennah

Beyond that, I will say for Rangers -- don't play the class like an EQ1 Ranger, you aren't meant for melee. Root/snare/lay a trap (when you get it) and burn mobs down with arrows, kiting as needed. Rangers are one of the best soloing classes in the game.

Also, Neph, I would suggest you /join Butcherblock.worldranger chat channel. Loads of good advice in there. There are some of course some trolls/pricks in there, but there are also many people who like to help. Just make sure you specify that you are new to the class.