Hiyo, I'm thinking about starting up EQ2 sometime soon (or rather, starting up an MMO sometime soon, with EQ2 in mind) and had mainly one big question about the game.
How many people play?
I would consider myself a veteran of EQ1 and remember it during its glory days (East Commons instead of Bazaar, anyone?) and recently (2 years about) tried to get bak into it after a failed attempt at WoW (Hated it) only to find that it is a shadow of its former self and virtually impossible to play at lower levels because only diehard players with level 70 (or whatever the cap is now) characters remained, meaning I found myself all alone in pretty much every zone.
Needless to say, I wasted $12 on the Titanium Pack.
So before I commit to purchasing the game, I wanna be sure that people actually PLAY. It didn't help that I was looking in a Gamestop and no EQ2 stuff was to be found (although they had the most recent EQ1 expansion...).
I just really miss the days of being able to group at any level, with lots of willing players. WoW has lots of players, but a terrible (I think) grouping/leveling up system, I found myself more alone there than any time when I played EQ1.
That's my big question, I guess I could ask if my computer would run the game. If I ran WoW fine, would this be any issue (I don't really care about graphics and would probably set them to the lowest possible anyways).
Anyways, yeah, thanks for letting me ask my question, and hopefully I'll be joining all of you soon!
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EQ2 is about to release their fifth expansion this November. Before this, two of the previous expansions featured new player races and starting areas giving us all more incentive to start alts and see the new low level content.
In addition to that, the game is flourishing and there are new players coming online every day.
So to answer your question, you will not find a vast wasteland in the early stages of the game and will have plenty of people to group with once you start.
There is an important caveat to all of this and it is that the beginning of the game (say the first 10 levels or so) only take an experienced player a couple hours to complete so don't expect to see anyone there for long! Your first time through will take you longer than that but it is time well spent since you will be learning the basic game mechanics. Also, one could make the argument that these earliest levels are best played solo anyway so an abundance of other players around is really a moot point!
It is highly possible that you saw nothing at Gamestop because it has been almost a year since the last expansion and shelf space is a valuable commodity. No doubt they will carry the next expansion (which will include the entire game as well as the new content) come this October.
Your last question is very important. The EQ2 game engine is FAR more sophisticated than the engine used in WoW. WoW is an entry level MMO and was designed so that it would run on anything. EQ2 on the other hand is a (graphically) high end MMO and is very demanding in terms of CPU, RAM and video card. If you could post the particulars of your system, we can better help you determine how well (if at all) the game will run on your rig.
In addition to that, the game is flourishing and there are new players coming online every day.
So to answer your question, you will not find a vast wasteland in the early stages of the game and will have plenty of people to group with once you start.
There is an important caveat to all of this and it is that the beginning of the game (say the first 10 levels or so) only take an experienced player a couple hours to complete so don't expect to see anyone there for long! Your first time through will take you longer than that but it is time well spent since you will be learning the basic game mechanics. Also, one could make the argument that these earliest levels are best played solo anyway so an abundance of other players around is really a moot point!
It is highly possible that you saw nothing at Gamestop because it has been almost a year since the last expansion and shelf space is a valuable commodity. No doubt they will carry the next expansion (which will include the entire game as well as the new content) come this October.
Your last question is very important. The EQ2 game engine is FAR more sophisticated than the engine used in WoW. WoW is an entry level MMO and was designed so that it would run on anything. EQ2 on the other hand is a (graphically) high end MMO and is very demanding in terms of CPU, RAM and video card. If you could post the particulars of your system, we can better help you determine how well (if at all) the game will run on your rig.
5 posts
I by no means have a powerful computer, but it does meet the basic requirements I've read.
And if I know computer games (which I don't), then that doesn't mean all that much in terms of how it would run.
Pretty much the minimum requirements, XP, 1.6GHz, 512 MB RAM, and so on.
And if I know computer games (which I don't), then that doesn't mean all that much in terms of how it would run.
Pretty much the minimum requirements, XP, 1.6GHz, 512 MB RAM, and so on.
I'd go minimum 1gb ram, period. It'll run with 512, but you'll be disappointed.
What's your video card?
What's your video card?
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The one that came with my computer, some ATI 64mb one.
Hrmm.....When you say "disappointed", what do you mean? Like I said, graphics, not so important to me. Lagging and glitchy models and graphics that affect performance and experience, very disappointing.
Hrmm.....When you say "disappointed", what do you mean? Like I said, graphics, not so important to me. Lagging and glitchy models and graphics that affect performance and experience, very disappointing.
Unfortunately, even with everything at the lowest settings, you're not gonna do well with those specs.
Your CPU is fine but between the lack of ram and a very weak vid card, you're looking at lackluster performance at best.
Regardless of published requirements, the minimum amount of RAM for this game is really 1GB and 2GB is the sweet spot for XP (4GB for Vista)
In a video card, 128GB of vid ram is really the least you can get away with and again, 256mb is the sweet spot.
Even with everything turned down to max your performance, running on half a gig of ram and a 64mb card is gonna get you lotsa lag in populated areas (like Qeynos Harbor), plenty of lag if there are more then a few players and/or mobs around and looooooong zone times.
I own a laptop that I play on every now and then (like when I'm away from home and I'm jonesing to log on). The computer has a CPU about like yours, a 64mb vid card and 2GB of RAM. With everything hugging the lowest settings, I can play if I don't try and go anywhere heavily populated or try to play in a full group.
In the past when I have tried play on the laptop, I have ended up doing little more than checking the broker, chatting with guildies, hanging around my house or doing some crafting.
Now here is the ray of sunshine in all this...
These days, a decent vid card will set you back less than a hundred bucks and 2GB of ram should run about a hundred. And for that money you'll have a computer that will let you run at well above minimum settings. Worth considering...
Your CPU is fine but between the lack of ram and a very weak vid card, you're looking at lackluster performance at best.
Regardless of published requirements, the minimum amount of RAM for this game is really 1GB and 2GB is the sweet spot for XP (4GB for Vista)
In a video card, 128GB of vid ram is really the least you can get away with and again, 256mb is the sweet spot.
Even with everything turned down to max your performance, running on half a gig of ram and a 64mb card is gonna get you lotsa lag in populated areas (like Qeynos Harbor), plenty of lag if there are more then a few players and/or mobs around and looooooong zone times.
I own a laptop that I play on every now and then (like when I'm away from home and I'm jonesing to log on). The computer has a CPU about like yours, a 64mb vid card and 2GB of RAM. With everything hugging the lowest settings, I can play if I don't try and go anywhere heavily populated or try to play in a full group.
In the past when I have tried play on the laptop, I have ended up doing little more than checking the broker, chatting with guildies, hanging around my house or doing some crafting.
Now here is the ray of sunshine in all this...
These days, a decent vid card will set you back less than a hundred bucks and 2GB of ram should run about a hundred. And for that money you'll have a computer that will let you run at well above minimum settings. Worth considering...
You might want to upgrade that vid card and double the ram to at least 1GB. Processor speed is slow, and you most likely won't be able to get a very smooth gameplay in certain areas.
Everquest II is a very fun game, even if I've gone back to EQ at the moment I really don't regret playing it and am considering a return when the next expansion comes around even if only to boost my Monk's quest numbers.
Although it is not as group oriented as EQI, this game does require a fair amount of grouping at almost all levels if you want to do quests and fight the mobs at an appropriate level. You might find that some areas are not really all that populated anymore, I guess it also depends on server, but if you get in a good guild, you could easily find a good group for those few areas too.
Everquest II is a very fun game, even if I've gone back to EQ at the moment I really don't regret playing it and am considering a return when the next expansion comes around even if only to boost my Monk's quest numbers.
Although it is not as group oriented as EQI, this game does require a fair amount of grouping at almost all levels if you want to do quests and fight the mobs at an appropriate level. You might find that some areas are not really all that populated anymore, I guess it also depends on server, but if you get in a good guild, you could easily find a good group for those few areas too.
5 posts
Thanks for the answers, it's too bad about my computer...But honestly, I don't think I want to play enough to upgrade it. I'll think about it though.
In reality, I'm suffering from EQ1 withdrawls! After how many years of not playing.....It's like an acid flashback.
In reality, I'm suffering from EQ1 withdrawls! After how many years of not playing.....It's like an acid flashback.
Maeksevhin wrote:
Thanks for the answers, it's too bad about my computer...But honestly, I don't think I want to play enough to upgrade it. I'll think about it though.
In reality, I'm suffering from EQ1 withdrawls! After how many years of not playing.....It's like an acid flashback.
In reality, I'm suffering from EQ1 withdrawls! After how many years of not playing.....It's like an acid flashback.
Boy, I totally understand that!
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If you're testing your system against the EQ titanium pack, your going to run into problems with the later expansions. EQ started upgrading their graphics with OoW and DoN and continued on with each future expansion.
Even WoW upgraded their specs when the expansion came out. While your system may work in the old world, it wouldn't hold up in the expansion.
I assume the 64mb video is an on board chip and not a dedicated card. If so, you're going to have to upgrade it to play any MMO released in the past 5+ years.
As OBD said, I would strongly suggest a 256 card but you might be able to get away with a 128 depending on the game. I also suggest 2gb of memory but you can get away with 1, again, depending on the game.
Even WoW upgraded their specs when the expansion came out. While your system may work in the old world, it wouldn't hold up in the expansion.
I assume the 64mb video is an on board chip and not a dedicated card. If so, you're going to have to upgrade it to play any MMO released in the past 5+ years.
As OBD said, I would strongly suggest a 256 card but you might be able to get away with a 128 depending on the game. I also suggest 2gb of memory but you can get away with 1, again, depending on the game.
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