This podcast Rot, Leko, Theo and Fupa discuss LU 43 and Wow Vs EQ2.


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Show 53 MP3



Notes:

Well there aren't a lot of notes from this show. Mainly because the podcast is 50% LU43 and 50% WoW vs EQ2.

LU43: http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=409986

WoW: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/index.xml

Excellent comparison of death penalties: http://www.eldergame.com/2007/12/17/whats-in-a-death-penalty/



Intro Song:
Intro music by Sound Tribe Sector 9: http://www.sts9.com/
Concert Live at the Georgia Theatre 2005: http://www.archive.org/details/sts9-2005-04-01



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Bah,sorry I missed this one too..I will be back for the next one.

Always enjoy the podcast - good job! I'm a casual/hardcore eq2 guy, and also play wow a bit. I enjoy Eq2 way more for the depth and immersion of the game, but WoW does deserve several kudos too that I wish would get picked up by Sony folks. To me the ONE thing that WoW really does have that is far better than anything in EQ2 is the pvp and Battleground systems. I don't know if you guys got to it, but the instant pvp in a balanced high-speed environment is just a ton of fun that you can instantly get into at any time of the day, and spend between 15 minutes up to an hour per campaign. There are several different kinds of BG's (battlegrounds) and are divided between 10 level incriments. They are always running and you can usually get into one within 3 minutes. They use a cross-server zone that uses about 10 servers i think to keep that population to the BGs very satisfied. It's quick, its fun, and totally balanced. So maybe it's a 20 man raid vs. 20 man, it won't pop until both sides are full (and i'm literally talking 3 minutes usually), and they are all in the same level range, and on a pretty equal terrain. The smallest BG zone is maybe twice the size of say the Baubleshire. The largest battleground, Alterec Valley, is the largest, a 40 man raid (per team) and has several objectives to it, including in zone quests, even mini dungeons, is about the size of Kyolong Plains (kidding!) maybe half the size of Thundersteps. These usually have an hour wait or so, but you can do 3 or 4 of the smaller ones during that wait. They also have a great PVP reputation and reward system including mounts, charms and up to raid-like gear that is quite attainable. I play on a PVP server, but this is available across all servers, giving those PVE'rs a chance to break out of the box sometimes, which is also nice. I also thought the pet fighting system eq2 made was kinda cool, but just never went anywhere...

As for graphics there's no doubt EQ2 is far superior and takes up more machine, making WoW a bit more accessible to other more casual gamers. But I am inpressed w/ the reflective nature on many of the surfaces and the lighting they have in WoW. I also think their art director is a genious because the color harmonies in zones is just brilliant (mostly in the natural environments like forests and stuff, its not too cartoony for me - cities and character models are a bit goofey). Each area has its own thing going on w/ interesting combinations that really work, really give you its own unique feeling. I think thats something that could be slightly enhanced in EQ2, some places especially in dungeons there is just so much grey and not much contrast between floors and walls (just my opinion).

For leveling EQ2 and WoW have similiar difficulty for the first 20 levels. Thats about where the similarity ends. That high leveling boost drops pretty steadily as you get higher in EQ2 but remains almost consistent in WoW. An average WoW player can pretty easily go from 1 to 70 in 3 to 6 months w/out playing too hard. Another thing is that you can take your lvl 70 toon in WoW and group a low level character and tow them through dungeons and stuff, 1-shotting heroic mobs, basically getting them all the twinked no-trade items they would need, and they will also continue to haul in the experience like mad.

I could go on forever why EQ2 rules WoW but ya'all know those reasons ;-)

EQ2 was the first of the two games I played and at first I did prefer it's graphics. WoW is cartoony and it does take some getting used to. But I found that after awhile of playing WoW I found EQ2's graphics to lack imagination. The level of detail is high but the art is poor. So now I prefer wow's graphics for the fantastical environments that are created through more cartoony graphics.
I also have to disagree with your comments on the auction house. It seems very intuitive to me and very easy to use. The early days of EQ2's broker system were horrible. In fact I didn't even know it changed so that what you buy ends up in your inventory. Last I played you had to follow a glowing trail to their apartment to pick up your item. And the seller had to remain in or log off in their apartment for their items to show up.

There are boats in WoW. They are necessary to get from one continent to another. Once the boat starts moving it takes about 10 seconds, zones, and then is in the water moving at the next continent for 10 more seconds before it docks at your destination. So it simulates travel time. Alliance also have the deep run tram between stormwind and ironforge and the horde have access to a zepplin.

I agree with your comments on the kiddie player base. In all the guilds i've been in it's been a pretty mature crowd. However in the chat channels and around the world you encounter alot of kids. It does get old very fast.

Leveling is pretty quick in wow. I can bang out 1-20 in a day if I play non stop. 2 days casually. 1-30 in 2 weeks of casual play is pretty easy. Leveling speed post 20 was increased in patch 2.3

I do think eq2 is the more feature rich game of the two. I like the character customizations, title system, mentoring system, Guild levels and writs, deity system, solo instances, housing, etc. My highest character in EQ2 is a 20 conjurer. I own all expansions minus the last kunark one.
My problem with EQ2 is the geography and storyline of it. I'm not too crazy about the shattered world and what was at first only 2 starting zones. The world to me feels rather bland, big and empty. Not much imagination. The game would be far better, IMO, if they kept the geography of EQ1. I'd probably still be playing it(for the record I cancelled my wow account).

I would be very interested in learning more about the higher level EQ2 game, 40+. And the endgame and how it compares to wow. If you felt like playing all the way to 70 that is. I think if you did you'd have a greater understanding of why so many people play wow.
So how about an episode for EQ2 newbies and those considering it and go over all the features of the game, what you can do at various levels, pvp, how you interact in quilds, instances, raids, mounts, armor and weapon sets, you get the idea. EQ2 has changed vastly since launch and most people don't know that.

Anyway, that's enough of my rambling.

I rather like the WoW avatars. Especially the dwarf. I'll take a WoW dwarf over a EQ2 dwarf any day of the week. Of course it's all matter of personal preference.

However, as has been said, there is a massive lack of character customization options in WoW. It's not unusal at all to see someone else on your server that looks exactly like you, at least the characters. The armor is very different, usually. Though I have seen two of the same exact avatars wearing the same exact armor. And not on purpose.

It's rather sad that the devs haven't put in more options. Seems like such a simple thing to do.