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Great point. It did great things for Everquest 2 as well. It should console those who are worried to realize that EQ was profitable on a subscription basis for longer than EQ2 was. Unless Everquest: Next is literally the next Everquest, I don't think we have anything to worry about for a long time still.

As a former player, I can safely say that the restrictions have doused any thoughts I had of returning under the F2P model. Those are some really poorly constructed tiers.

They would be much better off going with an overall complete free experience with plenty of value-added purchasables than telling potential returning players "You get two of your characters. And they gets to hold four bags each. Oh, and you won't get any more plat because you're over the cap. And your Rank II+ spells won't work any longer. And all those AA past 250 no longer count..."

Edited, Feb 6th 2012 7:25pm by Jophiel

Keep in mind that as a former player, you'll automatically be silver. They have similar, but less severe restricitons (AA cap, for example, is 1000, not 250).

And even if that's not enough to entice you back, that's OK. It will entice other people to come back and still more to try the game out for free. I'm sure there are some people that wouldn't come back no matter what. And some who won't play unless it's totally free for everything. However, based on the numbers they saw for EQ2, I'm sure there will be a pretty nice bump in population at least to start with (whether they stay or not, and improve the SOE earnings will be seen in the coming months and years.)

Edited, Feb 7th 2012 9:50am by amastropolo

This is true, but I don't think EQ needs the same boom EQ2 had. I'd say EQ is sustainable with a far lower population. Only time will tell, though, I suppose.


Edited, Feb 7th 2012 8:55pm by LeWoVoc

Going by the FAQ and Q&A on F2P (Heh), this will be introduced to the marketplace. Purchases to up most of the noticeable limitations will be available it seems.



Edited, Feb 9th 2012 6:09am by Saeel

Hello,

I'm one of the new people trying Everquest because of the free trial. I've had people talk about it but I've been disappointed too many times (after spending money) on a MMO or game to take a chance on it before. Although I am really, really lost and having to read tons of "how to" articles, I think this will be a game I'll enjoy.

I do hope to find a good guild so I have a place to ask questions, so if you you are willing to take on a newbie let me know! I've played wow for years and I was good enough to raid in a top 100 world wide guild (elite healer).

I second that! The pool of experience and people so willing to share it here is incredible.

I'm the flip side of your gaming experience, jessicakay. I've been playing EQ since 1999 and just began WoW last December. Although there are some overlap similarities, thus far I have found them two completely different games in many ways so trying to compare the two is like apples to oranges. I enjoy both in different ways as well.

As for guilds, what server are you on?

I haven't looked at the server list for a long time - many of the original servers (like the one I began on) merged over time - but I've never heard of the two you mentioned. Has the F2P already begun and have new servers been introduced?

I transferred my 3 toons from my original/merged server over to Firiona Vie which is EQ's only "role play preferred" server but it has changed drastically from how it began so now it is much like the other servers EXCEPT: there is an experience bonus on this server (someone else can likely tell you how much more, I really don't know) and items that are no drop on other servers *are* able to be sold/transferred on FV. The other major factor to know about this server is that you can transfer characters from other servers TO FV for free, but you cannot transfer OFF FV...at all.

I personally like FV but I'm a soloer, don't raid and, even though I'm in a guild, I really don't participate much so I can't speak to those areas. From my brief experience in WoW I can tell that guilds work quite a bit differently than in EQ, so that will likely be a change for you.

Anyway...have fun and enjoy!!

EDIT: Re: servers - I just realized you were referring to zones within EQ, not servers. Not sure if you realized that.

Edited, Feb 15th 2012 3:40am by Azalysa