Looking Back at Old Times

While looking up the Rod of Oblations, we came across a great discussion about EQ's game progression.

Enjoy some quotes from the past. What are your thoughts as of 2016?

Item update is after the jump.

2002 Onielara:

"Let us travel back long ago to a time before Luclin, before Velious even, when Kunark was the first expansion EQ had ever seen, the population of uber folks was much smaller, and the game overall was a smaller place. We all look back on these days, long before focus items, before beastlords and enchanter pets that didn't break mez. Epics, the staple of the 50+ existance NOW, had just been created, and no one had one. No one. 50+ didn't even exist yet, since it was with the birth of Kunark that there was even a level 51...or 60. We look on some of those things now and laugh. Some things that have changed we look upon with trepidation, dismay, perhaps disgust. Others we have welcomed. At that time and in this context this item was uber. Then and only then. It may not be now to some, others may decide this item still has value. Hold your opinion to your heart and call this what you will. Just remember always things were not always as they are now, items were not created all at one time, but over a long haul that has seen people and items get progressively more uber in an attempt by Verant to keep the higher and higher numbers of 50-60 folks happy. Who knows what new items we can expect with Planes of Power. Who knows what drops from Kunark will become unsellable newbie junk, what uber items from Velious will be handed to twinks, and even perhaps what great and still somewhat new items from Luclin we can expect to see called "crud" in the future..."

2006 qenelil:

Was just looking around for gear for my necro on the progression server and I read yoru speech. Very heartwarming :). I started eq in 1999 when it was fun. The uberest of all uber had robes with intelligence on them and the greatest champions sported a blackened alloy weapon. Banded and bronze were considered uber, until you were high enough to hit up lower guk and naggys lair which was not for a LONG time. And then i look at current everquest, nobody goes to cb, uguk, najena, befallen, the warrens, or any of those old zones that used to be bustling with people. The gear we used to pay all of our money for, which was only a few pp off rusty weps, is sitting on npcs that havent been touched for months and 7 years ago had a lifespan of 30 secs. All that "sweet" gear that was trickling from Kunark and Velious into EC and Gfay is left on corpses, being sold in bazaar for 20pp, or thrown at the tribute masters. A 2 hander that doesnt have more damage than delay is considered useless, and a 1 hander with less than 25 delay is scoffed at. I wish sony would make an all classic server so we could all relive those days. The progression server is no fun because everyone rushed to lvl 50 so they could be the first to raid and kill naggy and vox leaving all of us relishing the fun of the old days behind. Now the servers already progressing and the greatness of classic eq is going to be lost.....again.

2003 Lundaein:

Aye. I was not around to see the original EQ, nor was I around for the arrival of Kunark. Even with Velious, I came late, but still before Luclin. I played a barbarian warrior and a high elf mage. The barbarian warrior levelled in Blackburrow until he reached 9, then found his way to Crushbone thanks to a port from a friendly druid. He died there, without getting a bind at the orc lift (before soulbinders, whippersnappers!), and sat at the bridge in the Karanas once more, begging for a port to his body, which held everything.

I remember the first level I lost, before that. I was level 6, and at that time, level 5 corpses die FAST. I lost the level to 5, then died twice trying to retrieve my corpse (I had hit a on my keyboard talking to a merchant!), and thought it lost. I managed to get my corpse, but only after buying everything over again, or making it as I had before I could not retrieve my corpse.

The days of eld I shall miss, now anyone can get to 65 in a matter of days with every pl'ing spot, groups always LFM in 20 different zone for each level range, and solo tactics for most classes now, not to mention every single char on nearly every server is either a twink or in the Planes.

Aye, there were days when Mages could not do the damage they can do now, nor was there always a KEI (though there was Crack). There was a time where if someone ran through Gfay or Ecommons selling silver jewelry, people bought one for every slot they had it. There was a time when Necros were not overpowered (nah, I'm j/k on that :D). When I started playing, though I had no clue what Kerafyrm was, AL had not yet awakened him. There was a time when I would have laughed if someone saId he was stronger than a 34 dwarven warrior I met, who got his xp turning in stacks of gnoll fangs in Qeynos (I kid you not!), and helped me get my corpse. Aye, those were the days... to go back to them...

Updated Items: Leather Tunic ;  Round Shield ;  Sealed Letter ;  White Wine ;  Box with Two Heads ;  Rough Silk ;  Raw Crude Hide ;  Toala's Box for heads ;  Black Bart's Spiced Rum ;  Gunthak Earring ;  Visage of Chardok Royalty

New Quests: Shipside Bounty ;  I Need a Drink

Updated Quests: Staff of Temperate Flux ;  Hogcaller's Inn ;  A Job for Nanrum ;  White Wine to Lady Shae ;  Legendary Enchanter Illusions ;  Hunting the Gaz

Bestiary Updates: Atwin Keladryn ;  Shintl Lowbrew ;  Lady Shae ;  Hollish T'noops ;  Swin Blackeye [General Supplies] ;  Arinna Trueblade ;  Toala Nehron [Warrior Guildmaster] ;  Plagus Ladeson [Warrior Guildmaster] ;  Lempeck Hargrin ;  Whysia Flock [General Merchant] ;  Astaed Wemor [Paladin Guildmaster] ;  Kizzie Mintopp [General Supplies] ;  Erg Bluntbruiser ;  a fallen deckhand ;  Retlon Brenclog