EQ2 wishlist

Reading my brothers post ‘Question & Answer’ stimulated by a question Jahf posed to him, got me to thinking about what I would like to see different in EQ2. Unlike my Bro I have only had two breaks from EQ2. One was for a month and the second one for 3 months. Aside from that I have pretty much been a player since launch. So of course I have seen lots of changes, most of which I have forgotten were ever implemented and some which I have been hankering for years for, but have never seemed to materialise. So being a long time vet of EQ2, what would I like to see change, or what could be implemented that I would like to see?

It’s weird really but one of the first things that pops in to my mind is something my Bro mentioned. I know it is mega petty and really has no direct benefit aside from pleasing a lot of EQ2 players if it were brought in to play, but it really is something that annoys me. I don’t know why, but it does. I want to be able to sit in a chair, or lie (not Feign Death!) on a bed. It’s a really minor issue, but one that makes me think about it every time I click ‘sit / stand’. I guess that is what he referred to as ‘fluff’ content, but in my opinion it is one of the more important types of content as it adds to the immersion of the game.

I never forget the first time I wandered in to the Sign of the Prancing Pony in LOTRO and lo & behold a full band with six members were playing a concert. Nope. No raid gear was gained, no fancy items or levels, but wow. The fun level was way up. There were Hobbits dancing, people smoking tabac pipes amongst many other things. All in all it resembled a busy night in an Inn. Great atmosphere created by players utilising the in game ‘fluff’ content. Fantastic. Oh, and the players were...yes, you guessed it, sitting in chairs, properly.

I guess my love of the ‘realism’ of MMOs and the fact that I am drawn to that side of it (hence why I don’t play MMOs with cartoony graphics) makes those sort of things a lot more important to me. I know it sounds silly to talk of realism when we fight Dragons and Orcs and other weird creatures, but I mean realism in that context. I want to feel like I am in the middle of a David Gemmell novel and I’m damn sure Druss used to turn a chair round and sit on it with the back rest facing towards him and didn’t kneel on the ground with his hands in his lap. For me, for the immersion to be complete I have to be playing a toon that can do what my body can do, like sit, or lie. Of course there are limits. I don’t want to actually have to go sit on the toilet for 10 minutes and I certainly do not want to have a break from raiding so all the toons can go into the corner and squat or aim.

I need the immersion to enjoy my game just that little bit more. Having said that there are plenty of things that have a more technical side to them that I would like to see improved. For example, I have 7 toons that are level 80 or above. OK they are on various accounts some which are not active now and haven’t been for a while, but I think it’s pretty clear I have a good knowledge of all levels of experience and what the game has to offer across all tiers. I would like to have the ability to create a toon at a level I desire (obviously not top tier). I think if you have got at least two toons to a tier (again, not top tier) then you can start a new toon at that level, say up to level 70 in increments of 10 levels. I know there may be a few toons at higher tier that really don’t know how to play their toons because of this, but let’s face it (and Jahf knows what I am talking about) there are plenty who have played the game for 6 years and don’t know how to play their toon class. Part of my reasoning for this, is that we now have the Chronomancer, so it is entirely possible to hop around the level ranges and actually dominate more than if you created a toon at the tier you wish to play, especially considering if you have a lev 90 raid geared toon. Try mentoring down if ye haven’t, you absolutely decimate stuff. It’s kinda overkill. Players would still be restricted by their amount of character slots so they couldn’t go haywire and create loads of level 70 toons. We all know that if you absolutely desire it and have enough time to spare you can level to 90 in a week max if you cane it, perhaps as little as two days, so why not be able to create a toon at that level if you have already done so twice.

Another techie thing I would like to see a change in is having the ability to unadorn stuff that is heirloom. An example. I have a lev 80 zerker. I have not played him (seriously) for more than a year. However, I had been levelling an SK. Now I know not all SK stuff can be worn by Zerkers/Guards and vice versa, but it would be nice not to have to grind all the old stuff just to get to the same spot with him equipment wise. Again, it’s not as if I haven’t experienced that content before.

I know the reason why things like these two suggestions may never be implemented, and that’s cash. Why would SoE let you create a level 70 toon when they could have an extra months subs from you whilst you get to 70 (if you level at a normal-ish rate). Or why indeed allow you to unadorn stuff when they know you will spend subs to log in everyday to go adventure to get the stuff (I know a LoN card allows you three charges to do this, but that’s mega rare and cannot be considered main stream EQ2 availability). Cash is the answer I’m sure. It’s all about capturing us for longer periods of time and both my suggestions would cut time /played perhaps.

Oh, and I’d also like to see truly interactive cosmetic pets. Remember that poor hound in the Freeport citizenship quests that you have to train? That’s right the one that you train, make love you, then kill (coz you’re now Evil!). I’d like a pup I could train to sit, lie down, track, maybe have some battle abilities, like distract or something. I’d like to be able to feed my pup and actually see him waddle over to his bowl to chow down. Mebbe I should just borrow my daughters Nintendogs. That’ll keep me happy!

Be well.