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Vast Improvement

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: November 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I first played EQ2 at release, almost three years ago now. The game was beautiful, no doubt, but lacked the fun factor that kept me involved in the original EQ for over two years. I gave up on the game after three months, and only stayed with it that long due to some friends I had made in the game and didn't want to just walk away from. At that time, the crafting was horrible, the questing overly drawn out (I recall gathering 100 each of wood and metal for a very early stage in a very long questline), and grouping was absolutely necessary to advance.

After a recent free-trial weekend, I decided to buy RoK and give EQ2 another shot. I found a much improved questing path in the new area (the Sarnak). There's nothing earthshattering in the mechanics - go there, kill that, come back for your reward that is the staple of rpg's - but the implementation shows a lot of effort was put into increasing the action and reducing the running from place to place that plagued the game at release. I have not gone back and levelled a character in the original game areas, so I will not speak to any improvements that may (or may not) have been made there, but I would hope there has been improvement in the "old" areas as well.

The crafting system was also, in my opinion, greatly improved. At release, the crafting system was in-depth and engrossing, but also incredibly frustrating. Originally, you crafted preliminary components from harvested materials, then turned the preliminary components into final products. Those final products frequently (at higher levels) required the crafter to acquire preliminary components that the crafter would need to rely on other crafters in other skill trees to provide. Finding the items you needed to advance required turning to brokers, either slowing the process, or making it hopelessly expensive to advance your crafting skills. Now, the crafter is able to harvest all of the necessary components to create a final product. The "action/reaction" part of the crafting is still in place. Crafting failures are still a possibility, but no longer are you destroying carefully crafted components in the process (only raw materials), and they occur far less frequently (greatly reducing the frustration level).

The most noticable difference is the ability to advance. It took me three months to level a character to 30 at release, and a few weeks in the current expansion. It is now possible to go out and accomplish a quest solo, and likely to do a great deal of levelling that way. This was just not possible at launch. It happens occassionally that I don't have time to form a group to go questing, but I still want to accomplish something in a limited amount of time. Being able to do so is a welcome addition to the game.

The one potential drawback has to do with grouping. At this point, the majority of players are max level, and a lot of the newbie areas are less populated. It may be tough to find a group to do the quests that require a full group. However, it's usually fairly easy to find one or two people to group with, and most of the content can easily be managed by two or three players.

It's clear to see the impact that other mmorpg's have had on EQ2 by the changes made since launch. EQ2 has clearly made strides to broaden its appeal, and from what I've seen of it there's quite a bit to appeal to both the casual solo player or the hard-core, raid-oriented player.

A definite must have for the EQ2 lover!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was one of the beta testers on this and I have to say it's a great addition to the EQ2 universe. The low level quests all follow a logical progression and many of them can be done at the same time. The huge world that contains multiple zones without zone boundaries makes for seamless gameplay. The high level area as well is expansive and, except for the uissue of having to sail to the other areas of the world to progress from level 20 something to level 60 something and then come back, a logical place to go once the first part of the expansion is completed. The Sarnak "safe fall" racial ability that absorbs 25% of falling damage is wonderful and you can't fall to your death from a griffin because jumping off is not allowed. The means for acquiring this ability is found right before you see your first tower, and so once again things progress logically. I look forward to exploring the high level area more and pre-ordered this as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Another great expansion!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

A fantastic follow-up to Echoes of Faydwer (EoF). Now you can explore the long awaited continent of Kunark, straight from EQ1 lore. I was so excited with this announcement that I participated in the beta, though purposely didn't explore very deeply until after release when I had the ability to have more friends along for the journey.

The newbie area is, like Darklight Woods in EoF, quite well thought-out and wonderfully progressive and more expansive than it first appears (and getting from one area to the next isn't always completely apparent). The Sarnaks are a glorious race, almost as large as the tallest trolls (and better looking that the Iksar, if you ask me).

However, this expansion is (purposely) missing mid-level content. So once you hit level 65 again, you can return to Kunark through the Kylong Plains (a short boat ride from the Commonlands or from Antonica) to see what this new continent REALLY has to offer. The quests there, once again, are wonderfully thought out and easily soloable through the mid-70s, at least. The areas are jam-packed with plenty of new creatures (many of old) to make exploration exciting. Fans of the old Dreadlands zone in EQ1 will recognize many landmarks and monsters roaming around... however, you may not want to step foot inside Karnor's Castle (not to mention a few other places) without a fairly sturdy group. The zones I've explored thus far are HUGE - many cover multiple mapping windows and, some of the ones that don't, SHOULD be simply because of their size. Luckily, there are also "griffins" or other faster transports in many of the zones and you CAN jump off of them (I'll leave that spoiler OUT of this review, though).

This expansion also raises the level cap to 80 (you need Echoes of Faydwer to make it to level 70, though) and raises veteran rewards to four years, now. It also adds a "character development" pane to your achievement windows (press "L") which makes it easy to not only select which traits you want, but see what you're going to get in the future as you level-up. The map pane is also zoom'able, now (and quite slick if you ask me); folks using UI enhancements like EQ2Maps will want to stay on top of patches for a while, though. They've also added adaptive combat music, though I've yet to turn mine back on (ie. the music changes depending on both the pace of the fight and "how well" you're doing). Additionally, things such as the persona window have nicely changed along with a few other things that I'd not want to spoil for anyone.

Overall, SOE has shown that they can release exciting and worthwhile content with two consecutive hits. My only real critique is the lack of the mid-level content, though they've claimed to have balanced out the levels between 20 and 80, now (and certainly leveling through 70 to 71 was NOT difficult, even running solo and without adventure vitality (ie. experience bonus)). At this rate, I can hardly wait to see Velious in some future release! (*crosses fingers*)

Great expansion

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game includes everything previous to this expansion and the new content. It is a great expansion for people lvl 60 + that likes to quest.

All included

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

One of the best EQ2 expansions so far. It also includes all the previous
expansions and the basic game. A good way to save a bit of cash if you
do not have all the other expansions

EQ2 is one of the BEST.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I played EQ2 at the start. It was promising, but still did not have the polish of WoW. So off I went to play WoW for a good long while. Then I decided to give EQ2 a try once again, and I'm glad I did. EQ2 is has become a first class game, with well thought out content for everyone. I have decided to make this my main MMORPG.

Note, there truly is content here for everyone now. Soloers, groupers, raiders and crafters. You can make an in-game career of becoming a grandmaster crafter and don't even have to run quests to bring in an income.

Great work SONY!

BUY THIS GAME, it's worth every penny.

Biggest/best MMO for $40 anywhere

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game has it all. Solo content, grp content, raid content. A real nice balance of each. Excellent crafting for more depth. A vast legion of players(not WoW by anymeans, but still impressive), who are always willing to help out a n00b. Some of the most impressive graphics ever seen in an MMO. Constantly updated content(no waiting 3-4 years for an expansion like some other game). Level cap up to 80 for crafting, adventuring and guilds. The developers really seem to care about this game, instead of just collecting a paycheck.

In this boxed release, you get the original game(EQ2), 4 expansions(Rise of Kunark, Echos of Faydwer, Kingdom of Sky, and Desert of Flames). Plus you get 3 mini expansion packs called adventure packs(Bloodline Chronicles, Splitpaw Saga, and Fallen Dynasty). And it also comes with the Legends of Norrath card game as well(if you are into that type of thing). They called the Orange Box "The best deal in video game history"(IGN.com). So @ 5 games=$50. EQ2-RoK is 9 games for $40...I'd say this is a much better deal.

There is a free trial out there(2 or 3 of them actually, so you can experience more of the game) if you wanna try it out first.

EverQuest Rise Of Kunark

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It is a well thought out expansion of the Everquest II World with a multitude of solo and group quest oprtunities. Quest rewards have been greatly improved.

Solid Expansion for EQ2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Rise of Kunark adds a great deal of content for the high end game of Everquest 2. The primary entry point has some creatures that characters can begin hunting around level 68 and the dungeons provide some of the best loot in the game.

The zones are vast, but easiler covered with the help of a new Dragon companion. Most of the groups in the game are now found in the RoK zones, and many of them are seeking the instanced zones within.

If you are a serious EQ 2 player I recommend this expansion. While it does not add new features, it expands on old ones (more AA points, higher level cap) and greatly increases the amount of real estate to explore.

Quite Possibly The Greatest MMO On The Market

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've played a variety of MMOs, my favorite being Pre-NGE Star Wars Galaxies, which I loved dearly and was absolutely torn when it was ruined.
Anyways, I have VERY high standards after playing SWG, and it seemed that nothing will fill the void that it left.
I've tried World of Warcraft, just wouldn't hit the spot.
Everquest II gives you the opportunity to really develop a character, guild, and overall community.
Especially since you get ALL the previous games, and add-ons when you purchase this, for a very low price.
This is a perfect gift for a true gamer, and a perfect product for anyone seeking an MMO with a mature community.

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