It’s been nearly two weeks since my last post. Why? It’s because I’ve fallen back in with my old crew in EQ2 after being on hiatus for the better part of a year. No doubt, the ease with which I’ve jumped back into things is largely due to the fact that most of the people that were part of the guild before I left are still there. However, I found myself mucking around on a new character (a ratonga brigand) on a different server and I still find myself enjoying the game. In fact, after trying nearly every North American title that’s been offered in the past 5 years I can confidently say that EQ2 satisfies my MMO needs like no other game out there and I’m pretty sure that it’s because EQ2 was my first MMO experience.
When I look back on things, my adventures in Norrath have been among my most memorable gaming experiences, ranking up there with Ultima VII (the first computer game I purchased) and all-night sessions of AD&D. Returning to the the game after nearly a year long break, I’d half expected to feel like I was so far behind the end-game that I wouldn’t want to play anymore. Yet despite the fact that a whole expansion (the fourth for EQ2) worth of content has passed me by, I’m still having a great time working through content from the Desert of Flames expansion as I quest and kill my way through the game with my level 61 Dirge.
At the moment, my goal is to run through all of the quests for the Peacock Club to earn my tier six epic weapon, Dark Fury Sabre of Anuk. For those unfamiliar, the questline is a long one and, at least in the the early stages, involves a lot of ‘clicky harvesting’ to get updates. It isn’t the most exciting way to earn a decent weapon, but at least the story line is fun to follow. I would have skipped it, knowing that it’ll be obsolete a few levels after I get it, but I’ve heard that a future patch to the game will introduce appearance slots for weapons! Now all I have to do is finish this quest, go back and get the tier five epic, Prismatic Swiftblade of the Scale and I’ll have a rave glowstick for every occasion!
I really shouldn’t read about people’s experiences with other games. I always feel like I’m missing out. I had fun in EQ2 the last time I tried it, though I ran aground on the shoals of No Guild. Must…. fight…. urge to resubscribe!
If you’ve been away for a year did you upgrade yourself with the latest expansion? Just curious. I probably couldn’t help myself in your position, but can see both sides.
Comment by Anjin — March 3, 2009 @ 7:22 pm
I did buy the newest expansion because I’m a sucker that way. However, the best part is that SOE packaged this latest expansion with *all* of the previously released content. So it’s more of an all-in-one thing than a just an expansion.
I’m not sure when you bowed out, so I might be telling you something you already know, but EQ2 has some “looking for guild” tools. If you’re unguilded, hit “O” and a list of guilds and a mini guild-bio for each will pop up along with links that’ll put you in contact with a recruiter. Personally, I like to keep things casual and straddle a couple of guilds on the two servers I play on.
However, if you do succumb to the urge to resubscribe, feel free to say ‘howdy’.
/tell Antonia_Bayle.Exeter
/tell Antonia_Bayle.Ballads
/tell Oasis.Vandhal
Comment by Exeter — March 4, 2009 @ 8:30 am