Monday, March 7, 2011

Something Old, Something New? Maybe...


My feed reader has been exploding with posts about RIFT. While I don't always comment, lately, I'm still reading them on my trusty Droid. I've sort of been sitting back taking it all in, I didn't want to jump in, like I did so with Aion, and play a game that just isn't for me. Tipa recently wrote a great post about EQ2 and RIFT. I think that pretty much sums up why I've been holding out.

EQ2 has a terrific mix of things to keep me interested. It has housing, in-depth crafting [at times tedious lol] and lots of fluff. I can mentor down with a friend if they are lower than I. I can go decorate my house if I need something relaxing to do or work on trade skill work orders for something different. Travel isn't a pain, I really get tired of MMO games thinking that it's something special... hoofin' it ten miles uphill in the snow. This isn't 1999.

I had hoped to see more good things [most of which EQ2 offers] that so many MMO games lack taking place in newer MMO games. Like what? Appearance slots, housing, mentoring, ease of travel, guild halls and so on. But then I don't think I will ever truly leave Everquest 2. I like it way too much. It's almost a game that was just made for me.

I was wondering, the other day, why some of my friends couldn't stick with it or why they wandered off never to come back. It's really cake to begin with and then things get a bit tougher. Which isn't a bad thing but in the easy MMO age of today some things can turn a new player off, things feel more like a chore than fun- in certain [large] zones.

Sure there was a quest helper implemented much like the one WoW and RIFT have. However, not for every zone. There are a few things like EQ2 maps which can help. Except mine is borked... It will not work right. So I have to tab out and look up every quest or spend ages searching these massive, massive zones to find what I need. Here's something to give you an idea, this is just the top half of the zone. There is sooo much to do, it can become overwhelming without some direction. Here's to hoping Velious isn't as massive and spread out in terms of questing.

It's just slowed down my leveling some and I'm currently waiting on Dire [woot, he's 67 now] to catch up. It's no reason to quit the game, that would be silly. But those are some things that hold me to EQ2 and those that hinder my way to the top. The good outweigh the bad.


So I've been thinking why can't I play two MMO games? Because one always takes over and sucks up all my desire to play. Can't it be different this time? Well, I took the plunge, I bought RIFT. I knew I enjoyed it in Beta, I just didn't know why I liked it so much, it could be another WoW re-skinned. But it sort of reminds me of the older days in WoW- with a twist. And... I picked some random lower pop server to avoid queues. I still have nightmares with server queues and over population in WoW from years ago.

I was so torn by playing a rogue [ranger/bard/sin] and a mage [necro/lock/chloro] that I made both and played each of them to 10. The Necromancer class was not very enjoyable until 12, where I had enough points to acquire the tank pet. I almost quit it, dying over and over wasn't fun. I stuck with it and it's really so much more enjoyable. I think it is a huge flaw to not start out with a tank pet as a pet class. Compare that to the ranger who gets an awesome little piggy tank pet and the fun is tripled. I'm leaning more so towards the necro, who is 12 now. I've always played a Necro in any game where it is available and having the option to heal too, that makes it so appealing! My first character in my first mmo was a necro, I love the class in most games. We'll see how it goes.


Things I like so far. Rifts and invasions, they rock my socks. They add a detour from the grindy humdrum of leveling. I love it when there are lots of people to help, it feels so alive and fun. I love it! I like the crafting system, while it may not be in-depth it is useful. I am already wearing things I crafted: Robe, boots, shoulders, leggings and gloves. They actually have decent stats! I like the classes, or souls. There is so much room to play around here.

I bought the CE online and I am glad I did, it helps even out some of the things I dislike- RIFT has a lot of running to and fro and I think I'd have been pretty annoyed without a mount to help speed it up. I do a lot of running around looking for trainers and so on. I hope this gets better when I get to the main city. I also see no hearth/gate/recall ability. I hear you get this in the main city. Why wait so long for this? Why not make it easier to go to and fro the main city at the lower levels. I could already use an auction house and bank! I suppose I may have to find it sooner than later.


The game is fun. Maybe it's the simplicity of doing quests and being shown where to go, maybe it's the rifting, maybe it's just shiny and new. I don't know if I will stick with it but I am already eager to log in and play. I have been pacing myself. Maybe this will help with my normal 2-3 month burn out cycle. I am still playing EQ2 and making a point not to play RIFT when I could be playing EQ2 with Dire. When he isn't home... well it's on with RIFT! But I still enjoy playing EQ2 with him too much to abandon that, so I plan on bouncing back and forth.

So stick around and I'll put up some more thoughts on my adventures in RIFT and yet more of EQ2. See you in Norrath or Telara... or somewhere!


-kaozz

8 comments:

  1. I played an elementalist mage in beta and liked it so much I went ahead and another mage for launch, on the guardian side. However, I wanted to try another pet class so went with the Necromancer to see how it played. I agree, not too great. The skelly pet does not hold aggro well at all, and is as flimsy as toilet paper. I had to get my Chloromancer soul early on just so I could survive a little better. Glad to hear it gets better with the "real" tanking pet.

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  2. Welcome to the madness! What shard are you on?

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  3. @ MMOGC- Yes the necro is really crummy to start off with! I am going chloro mainly for now I think as it just feels more solid. Maybe with a few more levels and points I'll re-visit the necro to see if it's any smoother.

    I saw you played a mage and it really looked like a lot of fun, had to try one. Love the flexibility!

    @ Mojeaux- Hehe ty! I am on Akylios for now but I was pondering moving to Byriel for more of a population. I didn't want queues so I went to a lower pop server... late night it's not so hot for rifting lol.

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  4. I suck at double MMOs too. I've been trying really hard to do both Rift and WoW at the same time but I can't...

    still my sub for Rift is still good for 3 months so I guess I'll go drop by Akylios sometime... if I manage to remind myself

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  5. It's a lot of fun once you get the feel of it. I'm having so much fun just wandering around questing and doing rifts it's such a blast. Hope to see you around!

    And yeah I suck with two mmo games too. EQ2 is only getting attention when Dire is home but I am still enjoying it. I see him eying RIFT... I am thinking he wants to try it.

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  6. Yes, despite my latest comments on my blog, I am having a *good time* as well and do plan on continuing to play until either a.) SW:TOR comes out or b.) It bores me.

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  7. I have 3 roles as mage:
    1- elementalist/stormcaller/dominator;
    2- chloromancer/warlock/necromancer;
    3- necromancer/warlock/chloromancer.

    Currently I am soloing with the necromancer build, group instancing with the elementalist (stormacaller added a lot of usefull AOE nukes) and doing rift/invsion raids as chloromancer (that puts my participation and reward on top).

    From my personal experience (including what I saw at beta): both elementalist and necromancer are pet mages, but there are nuances.

    Necromancer is a dot dps, and its main dot is the pet. It is good idea invest points at necromancer tree for get better pets. The tank pet come only at level 12 and soloing bellow level 12 can be a problem if you don't have a chloromancer soul at your build. After level 12 I think necromancer is a better soloer than elementalist.

    Elementalist is a nuker dps and start with a tank pet, so it is a good option for solo. The problem start at higher levels, when the elementalist pets start to use AOE: the mage can get more mobs than she intend fight because the pet is aoeing mobs too much close to the mob it is fighting. But the AOE pets and a build taht add AOE spells to the mage make a good class for fight in groups, with a good tank mantaining the multiple mobs under control. You and your pet will nuke multiple mobs to oblivium.

    Chloromancer is a healer that generates few hate. The spells have the advantage that can heal everyone at a raid. But can be a few tricky when the tank get massive damage, because the healing done is at small continuous packages.

    João Carlos

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  8. The post above got into the spam filter, so sorry!

    I think those three you chose are my favorite specs too. I like the flexibility they seem to have.

    I'd have to say, so far the chloromancer is my favorite!

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